Chapter 673: Fusion
Flipping through the next few pages, the result remained the same.
He repeatedly flipped through the first four pages, and every time he looked at the spell incantations, they were different.
“No wonder it's called the Spellbook of Ages. They say it contains every spell in the world, and that's no exaggeration...”
After flipping through it a few times, he saw five or six hundred completely different zero-level spell incantations—every kind of bizarre spell imaginable was there.
He happily studied the book for a while, then started pondering how to fuse the third Core Meditation Codex into it.
To fuse a Core Meditation Codex, the first step was to communicate with the Spellbook of Ages. Only after gaining its approval could he proceed.
After all, the Spellbook of Ages isn't like the Arcane Wheel—he forged the Arcane Wheel himself, so compatibility was never an issue.
Gripping the Spellbook of Ages, Leon channeled his magic to touch it, trying to communicate with its Relic Spirit. But after a long while, his magic swirled through the book several times—and still, nothing happened.
Leon was a bit stunned. What was going on?
No matter how carefully he had planned, he'd only thought about how to obtain the Spellbook of Ages. He hadn’t expected things would turn out like this after finally getting it.
The Relic Spirit of the Spellbook of Ages seemed to be in a deep sleep, hidden in the innermost part of the book. No matter how he tried to communicate or make contact, there was no response at all.
He frowned, unsure whether the Relic Spirit of the Spellbook of Ages was dead or something else was wrong. The book simply wouldn’t respond to any attempt at communication—what now?
Andefa drifted over, looking puzzled as he circled the Spellbook of Ages several times.
“Merlin, what are you going to do? The Emperor of Blazing Wrath left you the Spellbook of Ages, but if you can’t earn its approval, all your effort is for nothing...”
He pondered for a moment, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
That's right—the whole point of getting the Spellbook of Ages was to fuse the Core Meditation Codex. Why stick to tradition? Why not just fuse the Core Meditation Codex directly? If the fusion succeeds, the Spellbook of Ages won’t have any choice but to acknowledge me!
Andefa was stunned by the bold idea. By the time he snapped out of it, the process had already begun.
Damn it, Merlin—those monsters didn’t kill you, so don’t go getting yourself killed now...
Andefa looked conflicted, wanting to intervene but unable to do anything.
He could already see it: both hands grasping the Spellbook of Ages, runes and formulas streaming from his body. These symbols turned into glowing characters, weaving together like a chain that wrapped around him.
A flood of luminous runes burst from his body, gradually forming the shape of a furnace around him. A faint, all-encompassing aura radiated from this magical construct.
The Void Furnace Core Meditation Codex had been completely drawn out of his body...
The glowing furnace built from runes and formulas rotated slowly, drawing in vast amounts of magical elements from the air. As it spun, every type of magical element was converted into pure mana and absorbed back into his body.
That was the Void Furnace’s greatest strength: it could contain anything, absorb any kind of mana—truly all-encompassing. It was much like the Spellbook of Ages, which held every incantation in existence; any spell would appear within its pages.
After a few seconds, the glowing furnace broke apart, transforming into chains of light—runes and formulas encircling him as they spun.
Waves of mana surged from his body, stirring up a whirlwind around him. Everyone kept their distance.
Seth stared in shock at the glowing furnace surrounding him, unable to guess just how many core formulas his Core Meditation Codex contained.
He’d lived a long time, but had never seen—never even heard of—anyone making such a spectacle when fusing a Core Meditation Codex.
Watching every magical element in the air surge into the glowing furnace like birds returning to their nest, Seth could only stare, completely baffled. Once an eighth-level titled Archmage, now he looked on like a country bumpkin...
The first rune of the Void Furnace began to make contact with the Spellbook of Ages, slowly approaching. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary—the Spellbook of Ages remained as unresponsive as a stone.
But the instant the Void Furnace’s rune touched the Spellbook of Ages, the once-dead book suddenly erupted with light...
The previously dormant Spellbook of Ages now seemed like a hornet’s nest that had been jabbed—countless incantation runes burst forth, exploding from the book. Like angry hornets, the swarm of runes launched themselves at the Void Furnace’s rune.
Visible blasts of mana erupted where the two forces collided, sending ripples of dazzling color through the air.
His expression shifted, but this time he was prepared. He poured out even more mana—like a flood bursting through a dam—enveloping the Void Furnace and battering the Spellbook of Ages.
Slowly, his body began to float, and the Spellbook of Ages drifted out as well...
Around the Spellbook of Ages, countless incantation runes surged and spun, forming a sphere that wrapped the book at its center.
As more and more runes erupted from the Spellbook of Ages, layers of glowing barriers formed in rapid succession—each one transforming into another layer of defense.
He stared wide-eyed at the Spellbook of Ages, teeth grinding audibly. After all that time trying to communicate with it, there’d been no response—now that he tried to force a fusion, the book was acting like a hornet’s nest that had been poked.
"Damn..."
He cursed, activating his mana array and both alchemical vortexes at once. A torrent of mana, almost liquid in its density, surged from within him, crashing against the Spellbook of Ages in relentless waves.
The chains of light formed by the Void Furnace spun continuously, eventually taking the shape of a cone, with his mana clinging to every link.
Then, he unleashed his mana...
The cone began spinning wildly...
At the tip of the cone, a piercing beam of light collided furiously with the swarm of incantation runes, unleashing bolts of void lightning...
Blinding thunder raged, causing the very air to ripple and distort.
Andefa and the others turned pale, hastily retreating to the palace’s edge.
Crack—
A sharp sound rang out as the cone pierced a rune, spiderweb cracks spreading instantly across the sphere formed by the incantation runes.
Runes shattered in droves—the first layer of defense broke, and the cone immediately collided with the second.
A shrill, grating screech—like a banshee’s wail—echoed as the spinning cone tore through layer after layer of defense, driving straight for the Spellbook of Ages itself. But his face grew paler by the second...
The deeper he went, the stronger the Spellbook of Ages’ defenses became. Especially after breaching a layer—two more would instantly form. The speed at which it spewed incantation runes far outpaced his ability to break through...
After more than ten minutes, the runes protecting the Spellbook of Ages multiplied endlessly, while his face turned deathly pale.
The mana drain was enormous—this raw collision of magical power consumed several times more energy than casting spells ever would.
While fighting back, he frowned and pondered—just what was going on with the Spellbook of Ages? Its backlash against his mana was absurdly strong; the more power he poured in, the fiercer its retaliation became.
When he eased up a little, the Spellbook of Ages’ counterattack remained powerful, but didn’t intensify as he’d expected. In fact, as his mana output decreased, the backlash weakened significantly...
So, if he stopped channeling mana entirely, would the Spellbook of Ages’ backlash disappear?
But that would be incredibly risky...
The Core Meditation Codex was absolutely critical—during fusion, it had to be protected by mana.
This principle hadn’t changed since the dawn of magic, through its golden age and beyond.
The Core Meditation Codex was a mage’s magical lifeblood—it determined not only their future potential, but also their very foundation. Any loss was simply unbearable.
If the Core Meditation Codex was damaged, a mage might never advance beyond fifth-level Archmage. History held many tales of prodigies whose fusion went awry; after reaching Archmage, they could never progress again.
The highest recorded case only reached fifth-level Archmage—never able to advance again, right up to death.
He hesitated, experimenting several times—each time reducing his mana output, and each time the Spellbook of Ages’ backlash eased accordingly.
The Spellbook of Ages retaliated against mana, but the pure Core Meditation Codex contained no mana itself. There was real hope this could work.
This couldn’t go on—more than half his mana was already gone. If he kept resisting, he’d run dry before success was even possible...
Damn it, go for broke!
The Spellbook of Ages wasn’t about to give up. At this point, there was no choice but to risk everything!
He gritted his teeth, gradually reducing his mana output as the Spellbook of Ages’ backlash pressed in...
Each time he lowered his mana, a tidal wave of incantation runes surged forward, the overwhelming force making it hard to breathe.
But as the Spellbook of Ages’ backlash weakened, the tsunami of runes began to recede, just a little.