"You don't have to guess anymore. On the seventh day after we set out, we encountered that terrifying Abyssal Leviathan. It must have surfaced while hunting a Deepsea Terror Croc, and our luck was just awful—we happened to be near the battlefield. That Level 40 Deepsea Terror Croc was swallowed in two bites by the Leviathan, and then it devoured our ship and killed everyone onboard.
Only I, a Gale Mage, survived. I relied on Gale Cyclone to keep fleeing for over a day, and that monstrous fish chased me the whole time. Unbelievable—why was that stupid creature so persistent? It’s not like I have much meat on my bones...
My mana was already depleted, even my mana-restoring potions were gone. At the last moment, I finally remembered I had a bottle of Azure Mana Elixir from the Gilded Rose. Thanks to that potion, I made it back alive."
"Azure Mana Elixir? I think I’ve heard of it. Isn’t that the new potion from the Gilded Rose in Neverwinter City? But I heard it hasn’t even been officially released yet. How did you get one? Is it really as good as the rumors say?"
"You’ve got to be kidding—a mana potion helped you escape from the jaws of that monster?"
Hearing the disbelief around him, Tom instantly grew angry. He suddenly straightened up, raising the potion bottle in his hand, which had only a little residue left.
"What would I gain by lying to you? Damn it, you have no idea—I’d forgotten about it myself until the last moment. I was about to use a healing potion to restore my mana, but then I remembered the Azure Mana Elixir.
I only drank half the bottle, and in just three seconds, my mana was restored to eighty percent. And it kept recovering slowly after that. Just half a bottle gave me more mana than I’d ever had before.
The most incredible part? In one second, I got back thirty percent; in three seconds, eighty percent of my mana. Damn, that potion saved my life. If I hadn’t had that Azure Mana Elixir, I’d be dead by now.
Thinking back, it really feels like fate was looking out for me—letting me get my hands on that Azure Mana Elixir!
Hearing Tom say this, the people around him were left stunned.
"You recovered thirty percent of your mana in one second, and eighty percent in three? My god, does such a potion really exist? Damn, that's even better than the rumors!"
"Just half a bottle was enough to nearly restore all the mana of a Level 9 Title Archmage like Tom. Wouldn't a whole bottle work even for Sky Rank powerhouses? Is this Azure Mana Elixir actually a top-tier True Spirit Potion?"
Instantly, the dock became lively. All you could hear was talk about the Azure Mana Elixir. Whether Tom was telling the truth, there were plenty of witnesses on the dock—everyone knew Tom’s strength, and there’s no way he could have escaped that far without enough mana to burn.
Besides, nobody believed the Abyssal Leviathan showed up just to help Tom advertise...
Even the potion bottle with just a trace of Azure Mana Elixir left in Tom’s hand was bought for a high price—just for that tiny bit of residue.
After such an incident, it didn’t take long for the story to be verified. The ship that set out seven days prior was found wrecked thousands of miles away, with some debris still drifting on the sea’s surface.
Just days before its official release, the Azure Mana Elixir’s effects had already spread far and wide. The potions previously given away as prizes were gradually being used, and every result was met with astonishment. Especially the incident in the Endless Sea—the story of a Level 9 Title Archmage escaping from the jaws of a Level 42 sea beast thanks to the Azure Mana Elixir was spreading like legend...
With all these trial users, the Azure Mana Elixir was already a sensation before it even went on sale. Many factions wanted to sign large-scale procurement deals with the Gilded Rose. After all, with effects like this, everyone knew what it meant—a strategic alchemical potion, and the rarest kind at that.
You have to understand, this is the early stage of the Plane Colonization Era. In this age, Title Archmages are the main force in conquering new planes. Sky Rank powerhouses only intervene at critical moments; normally, ninety-five percent of a plane’s conquest is handled by Title Archmages, and sometimes Sky Rank powerhouses aren’t needed at all.
The Azure Mana Elixir works best for Title Archmages. Sky Rank powerhouses can use it too, but only those below Sky Rank Level 3. Anyone stronger than that gets almost no benefit.
Even if you don’t need it often, it’s wise to stockpile as much of it as you can. No one thinks having too much of this potion is a problem—if anything, the more Azure Mana Elixir you have on hand, the better.
Because demand for this potion far exceeded expectations, trouble started brewing two days before its release. More and more shady characters began lurking around the Gilded Rose.
Especially at the branch shops, plenty of suspicious people were spotted. Spies from various factions started appearing around the Gilded Rose, and even major powers sent representatives to negotiate directly with Farrow, hoping for enough supply. Some had already begun researching the Azure Mana Elixir themselves.
After all, with alchemical potions, the key is the technique. By reverse-engineering the finished product, it’s not impossible to crack the formula. The stronger the alchemist, the higher the chance of success.
But this time, Leon wasn’t worried at all. He simply ignored all of it and buried himself in the Astral Academy’s library, researching.
As his power grew, Leon realized even the records in the Desolate Archive weren’t always accurate. Aside from magical and alchemical knowledge, other accounts—biographies, information, historical events—weren’t necessarily correct. After all, these things lay buried underground for countless years, and even mad mages couldn’t always reconstruct the full story.
A tiny difference might seem insignificant after tens of thousands of years, but in this era, it can mean something entirely different—one small error could change everything.
Especially now, when searching for clues, all that’s left after millennia are scattered fragments. To find the truth, you have to look in this era.
Where did the Seventy-Third Deity reincarnate? Many recorded anomalies and clues can only be documented in this era. Forget tens of thousands of years—even a thousand years from now, these tiny traces will be completely lost.
And then there’s the construction of the Sanctuary Towers—where should they be built, where to gather the necessary materials, which rare races are still around, which planes hold the needed resources, and which factions control those planes now...
All of this has to be investigated now, solved now—it can only be done here and now. This, invisibly, accelerates the development of Northend World, meaning less time is needed for planning.
Historically, when construction of the Sanctuary Towers finally began, it was already too late. Even after exhausting all of Northend World’s strength, the towers built were only half-finished.
To build a complete Sanctuary Tower, being ten thousand years early doesn’t feel too soon to Leon. But with Northend World’s magical civilization advancing faster, doomsday will inevitably come sooner—there’s just not enough time...
So Leon didn’t bother with the Gilded Rose anymore, leaving everything to Farrow. Farrow wasn’t worried about anyone cracking or copying the Azure Mana Elixir either.
Even if some powerful alchemist managed to crack the Azure Mana Elixir’s formula, it wouldn’t matter. The potion’s production method isn’t particularly advanced—mass-produced alchemical potions never involve complex techniques.
But the Azure Mana Elixir is the exception. Unlike ordinary potions, where alchemical technique is key, with this one, it’s all about the ingredients...
Without ingredients from the Monster Plane, even a Saint Alchemist couldn’t do a thing.
The night before the Azure Mana Elixir’s release, someone had already cracked most of the potion’s alchemical secrets. Only a few techniques, personally taught by Leon, remained protected. But even with most of the formula, it was clear that the real secret lay in the ingredients—without the immense mana contained within, the Azure Mana Elixir couldn’t possibly be as powerful. At best, you’d get a tenth of its effect.
At night, the crowds in Neverwinter City thinned, but it was still bustling. Many people were preparing to sneak into the Gilded Rose to uncover the secret of the Azure Mana Elixir.
The Gilded Rose’s branches had already received shipments of the Azure Mana Elixir, ready for the official sale the next day. But that night, two branches were robbed—the newly delivered potions were all stolen, and the thieves were Sky Rank powerhouses!
With such incidents—and Sky Rank powerhouses involved—the news couldn’t be kept secret. The next day, those who’d been plotting realized: if others could succeed, why couldn’t they?
A single bottle of Azure Mana Elixir sold for 180,000 purple gold coins! It’s a consumable—once used, it’s gone. Unlike magic weapons, which are expensive but reusable.
A True Spirit Potion priced at 180,000 purple gold coins—ordinary mages couldn’t afford it. Only Title Archmages of at least Level 5 had the wealth to buy one, and even then, it was usually kept as a last-resort lifesaver.
Only mages from major factions, or top-tier Title Archmages, would dare treat such an expensive potion as a consumable.
Robbing a branch and stealing a thousand bottles of Azure Mana Elixir meant a fortune worth 180 million purple gold coins. And if sold, the price would only go up, not down. Used for expeditions into dangerous ruins, the profit could be even greater...
At dawn, Farrow got word that suspicious people were appearing near many branches—clearly up to no good.
With thirty-eight Gilded Rose branches, facing shameless Sky Rank powerhouses, there was no way to defend. Once the first thief succeeded, others lost their scruples. With so many involved, even if the Gilded Rose knew who was responsible, they couldn’t afford to offend that many Sky Rank powerhouses at once.
Before Farrow could decide how to respond, more news arrived—a renowned Sky Rank Sword Saint had both hands severed in the city where a branch had been robbed. The wounds were inflicted with a special power, impossible to heal, and the bleeding wouldn’t stop.
The stolen Azure Mana Elixir reappeared in the branches, completely intact. The staff had no idea how the potions got back...
In the other city where a branch was robbed, a Title Archmage also had both hands severed. His fate was even worse—he was hit with a Silence Curse, and this curse was unlike any other; it couldn’t be lifted.
A mage who lost both hands, couldn’t heal, and could no longer chant spells was basically crippled...
As for the stolen Azure Mana Elixir, nobody knew who returned it either.
The two unlucky Sky Rank mages who lost their hands were wanderers. Breaking through to Sky Rank is no small feat, but without backing from a major faction, resources, or good spells, their foundations were weak. Their futures were basically ruined, so they took a desperate gamble—trying to steal a stash of Azure Mana Elixir to explore ruins they couldn’t reach before, hoping for a miracle.
(This chapter isn’t over yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading!)
But before they could leave the city, someone caught them. They barely put up a fight before their hands were severed—they never even saw what their attacker looked like...
The two unlucky men didn’t admit to robbing the Gilded Rose—just claimed they’d been attacked. Nobody saw who did it, and they were crippled before they could resist...
At the same time, all Gilded Rose shops began selling Azure Mana Elixir. The two branches rumored to have been robbed still had plenty of stock, as if the theft was just a rumor...
But any faction with decent intelligence could tell: it was those two unlucky Sky Rank mages who robbed the Gilded Rose’s branches. They didn’t even get a chance to escape before being crippled—no one knows who did it...
With these two as a warning, everyone who’d had ideas got honest. The Gilded Rose never reported any theft of Azure Mana Elixir, but the two thieves suffered miserably.
One wound kept bleeding—the Sky Rank Sword Saint was nearly dead from blood loss, and even a Holy Light Mage couldn’t help much. The other’s bleeding stopped, but his hands were ruined. Even Level 9 Regeneration Magic failed, and the Silence Curse was unbreakable—he was basically crippled.
Everyone knew the Gilded Rose was behind it, but nobody said anything—they all pretended not to know. Any bad intentions were dispelled, and even those who tried to investigate found nothing, and didn’t dare dig further.
A force that could cripple Sky Rank powerhouses without resistance, without even showing their face—and not just one, but two. With no personal grudges, nobody wanted to provoke such a threat.
The Azure Mana Elixir’s launch was a huge success. In some branches, all stock sold out in ten minutes; the slowest took just fifteen.
Neverwinter City’s main store had the most Azure Mana Elixir, but even there, it sold out in half an hour—and that was just retail. Major factions negotiated for bulk orders, usually starting at ten thousand bottles.
This was what the Gilded Rose needed most. With the Azure Mana Elixir, they could trade for resources—many of which were never available on the market, but held by major factions, especially rare materials not found in Northend World.
Only the most precious things could be traded—barter was the norm. Purple gold coins were almost useless; you couldn’t buy what you wanted, no matter how much you had.
Now, with the Azure Mana Elixir, negotiations could continue. No faction felt they didn’t need it.
The Azure Mana Elixir’s release went smoothly, but Farrow was left baffled—he might as well have had a giant question mark above his head.
Inside the Gilded Rose, many believed it was their own people who’d crippled the thieves. But Farrow knew it wasn’t anyone from the Gilded Rose—it was someone else who nearly destroyed those two Sky Rank powerhouses.
Damn it, who did this? Shuban? No, if Shuban had acted, those idiots would’ve been smashed to a pulp.
Reina? No, that special Silence Curse and the endless bleeding aren’t her abilities. So who was it?
Pabette? No, Pabette is strong, but knows nothing about curses—he’s just an alchemical puppet.
Lord Merlin is a possibility, but he wouldn’t bother with such things, and certainly wouldn’t act personally. Clearly, it was two powerhouses who struck.
Could Lord Merlin have other powerful subordinates? No, it definitely wasn’t anyone from the Gilded Rose. So who was it?