Chapter 162: Mysterious Script
Besides being a legendary magic relic of boundless power, the Death Tome is also the control hub of the entire Bone Plane. Leon’s urgency to seize the Death Tome comes from its ability to open the Bone Plane at will, anywhere, anytime.
Right now, Leon desperately needs this ability...
“Damn it, what’s going on?” Leon reached out, almost on the verge of tears. He discovered that the Death Tome in his hand wouldn’t open at all, as if some mysterious force had sealed it shut. “You’ve got to be kidding me—at a time like this?”
With each roar from the Bone Dragon, the entire Whitebone Pinnacle seemed to tremble. Leon could feel the dragon’s overwhelming aura of death drawing closer and closer...
“Kain, get out here—now!” Leon called out several times, but the sentient spirit of the Death Tome was nowhere to be found. Not even a hint of response.
At this point, Leon was truly on the verge of tears. Heaven offered no escape, hell held no refuge—and behind him, the Bone Dragon was still in pursuit...
For a moment, Leon was utterly flustered.
"Wait—Sage’s Chapter. Try the Sage’s Chapter..." At this point, Leon didn’t care about anything else. He fished the Sage’s Chapter out of his pocket. Since entering the Bone Plane and absorbing countless soul flames, the once stone-like Sage’s Chapter had become crystal-clear, gleaming like a piece of pure crystal.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Leon didn’t hesitate—he took out the Sage’s Chapter and jammed it straight into the Death Tome.
To his surprise, it actually went in.
A flash of light burst from the Death Tome, and the palm-sized Sage’s Chapter fused directly into it...
Then, the first page of the Death Tome flipped open!
“Damn, I knew it...” Leon wiped away cold sweat and poured a surge of magic into the book. Instantly, countless symbols appeared on the previously blank page.
These were symbols Leon had never seen before...
They were adorned with ornate patterns, radiating a mysterious beauty. Just a glance, and Leon could faintly sense that these symbols seemed to possess a natural, arcane power.
But it was strange...
Leon was certain he’d never seen these symbols before, yet as they appeared one by one, he somehow began to recite an incantation, almost involuntarily.
"What the..." Leon jumped in shock. What was happening?
Leon remembered clearly—in that brief moment, he hadn’t intended to speak at all. The incantation had just spilled from his lips, as if on its own.
What sent a chill down Leon’s spine was that, after uttering the incantation, he instantly understood its meaning. The incantation used the very symbols from the Death Tome: three to open the plane’s path, two for positioning, and the last two for completing the plane transfer.
Cold sweat trickled down Leon’s back...
Just three symbols to open the path between planes.
Such terrifying power—these three symbols held the force of a master-class alchemical array. Leon racked his brain, unable to think of any civilization in Northend’s history whose script wielded such miraculous might.
In that vast, decaying library thousands of years later, you could find nearly every language that ever existed in Northend: Common, Elvish, Draconic, Demonic, Dwarvish, even the dead Nesser script and divine script... Their creators were once powerful races or even founders of entire dynasties, but none ever held such near-miraculous power.
This was power far beyond anything mere script should possess...
As Leon marveled in silence, the space around him began to warp. In the next instant, he found himself back home in Seaview City.
Leon looked around. He was in the underground chamber, the Death Tome still in his hand, and only the first page was accessible.
"Kain?" Leon tried calling out to the spirit of the Death Tome again, but—no response.
It was maddening. The Death Tome held far too many secrets, and the clues Leon possessed were just scraps, leaked by a Heavenly-ranked mage of the Ivory Tower after millennia—barely more than nothing at all...
Originally, Leon had planned to question Kain once he was out of danger. But clearly, that wasn’t going to happen. Just like when he first acquired the Sage’s Chapter, he’d have to figure it out himself...
With that in mind, Leon picked up the Death Tome again and turned to the first page, examining each symbol one by one.
The first thing to catch his eye: five slots for Limit Spells.
Five slots—exactly.
Previously, after the Sage’s Chapter absorbed a massive amount of soul flames and transformed from stone to crystal, it finally allowed second-tier spells to be upgraded to Limit Spells. Yet, there were only three slots. Clearly, each additional slot was incredibly rare.
But now, with the Sage’s Chapter fused into the Death Tome as one of its components, two more slots for Limit Spells had been added at once!
“No wonder it’s a legendary magic relic...” Leon couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. This upgrade was terrifying—he’d gained two second-tier Limit Spells out of thin air. The possibilities in combat would multiply exponentially. With five second-tier Limit Spells, if he played his cards right, he might even stand a chance against a fifth-tier Magus.
(This chapter isn’t over yet~.~ Click next page to continue reading the exciting story!)
Beyond those five Limit Spell slots, the first page contained thirty-three symbols. Seven had opened the path between planes. Ever since Leon had involuntarily recited that incantation, those seven symbols were etched into his mind, as if they were knowledge he’d always possessed. He felt he could call upon their power whenever he wished.
But the remaining twenty-six symbols were completely beyond his understanding...
For Leon, it was a bit frustrating. Seven symbols could open the path between planes—what kind of astonishing power would the remaining twenty-six hold?
Still, Leon now possessed those seven symbols, which meant he’d touched the core of these mysterious scripts. If he was willing to invest the time, he’d eventually decipher the other twenty-six. After all, calculation was his specialty—magical arrays and advanced formulas gave him computational power far beyond his era.
Leon figured it would take no more than a year to crack all twenty-six remaining symbols.
But the rest would be much trickier...
The Death Tome was a legendary magic relic—there was no way this was all it could do. Yet Kain, its sentient spirit, refused all communication. Leon had shouted himself hoarse, but not a single response. Who knew how long it would take to pry the Death Tome’s secrets out of him?
Clearly, Leon would have to find a way to force Kain out.
For the next few days, Leon didn’t leave the underground chamber. Besides working on the remaining twenty-six symbols, he had to periodically recharge the alchemical array. Without it, a few Abyssal Magic Diamonds and a single Frost Witch’s Heart wouldn’t keep the plane’s path open for long...
On the morning of the seventh day, just as Leon spread out a new sheet of paper to continue his work, the space around him suddenly twisted—and William Merlin stepped out...
"Where’s Faro?" Leon asked absently, still focused on his calculations.
"He still can’t bear to leave..." William Merlin still felt like he’d been dreaming these past few days. Looking at Leon, his eyes were full of admiration. "Cousin, you really pulled off something incredible. Fifty fifth-tier mages, and in just days, some have broken through to tier six. Now everyone’s desperate to stay in camp. You have no idea—the mana in there is so thick it’s turned to mist. One meditation session is like a hundred normal ones..."
"Let them stay for three more days, but after that, everyone has to come out. The environment there is nothing like Northend—staying too long could cause problems." Leon thought for a moment, saw that William Merlin had no intention of leaving, and set down his quill. After tidying up a bit, he stood up. "Want to go check out the Gilded Rose together?"
"Perfect. I’ve got a batch of Nether Iron Ore to deliver." William Merlin shook his spatial ring—the one Leon had given him after entering the Bone Plane. Six alchemical golems had worked nonstop for seven days, filling the ring to the brim. Otherwise, William probably wouldn’t have wanted to leave.
Leaving the house, the two didn’t bother with a carriage. They simply walked all the way to Triumph Avenue...
Business at the Gilded Rose was as booming as ever. Nearly a dozen carriages were parked outside, sent by all the major factions in Seaview City. Leon spotted representatives from the Silvermoon Mercenary Company, Viper’s Nest, Snowfox Mercenary Company, even Sage’s Spire and the Alchemist Guild—top-tier powers, now the most loyal patrons of the Gilded Rose.
"What’s wrong?" Leon was about to step inside when he noticed William Merlin frozen in front of a carriage.
"Someone from the family is here..."
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