The moment the spell sigil appeared, Leon nearly lost his grip again, almost dropping the stone tablet for a second time...
He barely managed to steady the tablet in his hands. Leon's entire expression changed as he stared at the fingernail-sized spell sigil, his mind going utterly blank.
The Sage's Chapter. This is the Sage's Chapter...
The fourth chapter of the extraordinary Death Tome—the Sage's Chapter!
Legend has it that this arcane module can elevate any spell into a Limit Spell!
For mages, the existence of Limit Spells is a secret rivaling that of arcane runes. Every mage has a handful of spells they excel at, spells they spend years—decades—studying and perfecting. Their understanding of these spells runs deeper than any other mage, and in their hands, the power unleashed is utterly unimaginable.
These spells are Limit Spells.
But the creation of a Limit Spell itself is a process built on countless years. Even in the golden age of magic, few powerful mages possessed more than one Limit Spell—no one had the time or the energy.
Of course, there are always exceptions...
Bain, the Heavenly-ranked mage from the Ivory Tower, was that exception...
During the Twilight War, Bain unleashed thirteen Limit Spells in total, nearly single-handedly crushing the entire High Sanctuary. That battle shattered every mage's understanding of magic. Even two thousand years after Bain vanished into the Endless Planes, mages still speak of that fight, still obsessed with unraveling the truth behind those thirteen Limit Spells.
In the end, this secret only came to light after the Ivory Tower fell apart...
Bain's thirteen Limit Spells weren't born of his own mastery, but from a module within the Death Tome—the fourth chapter, the Sage's Chapter!
No wonder... Leon finally understood. No wonder the power of this tablet felt so uncanny. Analysis and calculation are essential for Limit Spells—only by endlessly dissecting and computing, mastering every detail, can a Limit Spell achieve such unbelievable might.
And as fate would have it, the Mana Harness he possessed—a rune infamous for its complexity—was also heavily dependent on analysis and calculation. For Leon, the Sage's Chapter might mean even more than it did for Bain.
Originally, Leon had already mapped out a plan for his own Limit Spell.
Limit Spells demand too much time; few mages ever master more than one in a lifetime. So Leon had decided long ago: until he reached the rank of Title Archmage, he wouldn't pursue a Limit Spell. Only after becoming a Title Archmage and perfecting the Mana Harness would he focus on attaining the Elemental Avatar.
That's right—the Elemental Avatar...
Only Leon, who came from thirty thousand years in the future, knew how mages truly fought at their peak. Compared to that, the mages Leon met now—Larry, Ryan, even Salomon—could only be described as inept in battle. Even the likes of Salomon and Kadgar, when Leon spoke with them, it was clear their combat skills were far from mature.
In truth, mages today simply manipulate magical power. But in the golden age, battle was instinct. Almost without exception, those mages chose Elemental Avatar as their Limit Spell—terrifying speed, bodies of pure elemental force, absolute dominion over combat.
You have to understand, in a low-level plane like the Bone Plane, a mage above the fifth rank during the golden age could clear out the entire place in a matter of days—including that bone dragon.
But now...
Even if ten archmages teamed up, they'd just be fodder for the bone dragon.
The truth is, mages of this era haven't been tempered by real battle. They've yet to grasp the true power of Elemental Avatar. Only when the Plane Colonization Era arrives and mages are thrown into the life-or-death wars between planes will they understand how formidable Elemental Avatar truly is.
But when Leon realized the tablet in his hands was none other than the Sage's Chapter, he couldn't help but revise his original plan...
It means too many possibilities. Think about it—Bain, the Heavenly Mage, used thirteen Limit Spells in a single battle!
"What’s going on?" Just as Leon was pondering his future path, the spell sigil on the tablet began to dim, almost imperceptibly.
Leon was startled, to say the least...
Without thinking, Leon channeled his mana and unleashed a Hand of Flame. Instantly, blinding fire filled his vision—the heat that erupted in that moment was far beyond a mere Hand of Flame. Conservatively, it was at least on par with a Fireball.
But Leon's expression suddenly darkened...
Not enough. The power isn't enough...
Leon wasn't unfamiliar with true Limit Spells.
No exaggeration—even a first-tier spell like Hand of Flame, once elevated to a Limit Spell, would pack at least fourth-tier power.
Everyone knows that a mage's combat strength leaps every five ranks. Aside from factors like mana vortexes and arcane sigils, there's also the fact that every five ranks unlocks new spells. Spells below rank five are called first-tier, those between rank five and ten are second-tier.
So a fourth-tier spell is power only a fifth-rank Grand Mage can wield.
But the Hand of Flame I just cast, while impressive, still wasn't a Limit Spell. It barely reached third-tier power, let alone fourth.
"What's causing this?" Leon set the tablet down and sat at the alchemy table, deep in thought.
The weakening spell power was one thing, but why had the sigil on the tablet dimmed so suddenly? Could it be that the Limit Spell granted by the Sage's Chapter loses its potency over time?
But if it's a matter of time, wasn't that period a bit too short?
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(Author's note: Just got back from the hospital, rushed to update a chapter. Working on the second one now. What a mess... pure bad luck. My elderly relative had just finished IV treatment at the hospital, then got hit by a motorcycle and had to go back again. So, everyone, drive carefully and watch your step out there.)