Chapter 166: Ancestral Grounds
After Matthew Merlin left the reception room, he had someone send over some food, then immediately buried himself in the alchemy lab again. As for Leon Merlin in the lounge, Matthew quickly forgot about him...
To Matthew Merlin, someone like Leon Merlin was hardly worth worrying about. Future patriarch of the Merlin Family? Thirty-three-year-old Archmage? That meant nothing to Matthew. Now, with five Mana Harnesses and three sentient magic artifacts on his person, any mage below Tier Five would be crushed without question.
Leon Merlin was actually pretty lucky. If Matthew Merlin hadn't noticed the Blazing Staff Emblem before entering, he would've snapped Leon Merlin's neck on the spot instead of bothering to suppress his magic.
That Blazing Staff Emblem made Matthew Merlin suddenly think of a place—a place that might just let him step into the realm of Archmage...
He couldn't help it. Out of all the arcane sigils, Matthew Merlin had chosen the most complex and convoluted: the Mana Harness.
If Matthew Merlin had picked any other arcane sigil, he wouldn't be racking his brain like this. Even with the most troublesome Arcane Crucible, he already had at least three ways to guarantee a breakthrough to Archmage.
But the Mana Harness was a different beast entirely...
The Mana Harness had the most complex structure and the most intricate mechanisms of all arcane sigils. Even someone like Matthew Merlin, out of step with his era, couldn't guarantee fusing all nine Mana Harnesses and ascending to Archmage in one leap.
It wasn't that Matthew Merlin lacked ability—the Mana Harness was simply too powerful.
Honestly, ever since Matthew Merlin returned from the Prince's Crypt, he'd run the calculations countless times. No matter how he did it, he was always one step short. Unless he was willing to linger at Grand Mage for another three or five years, slowly fusing all nine Mana Harnesses with endless patience, his chance of breaking through to Archmage was no more than five percent.
Every failed attempt at breaking through to Archmage would damage his arcane sigil. Once or twice might be fine, but after three or four failures—or worse, five or six—he might lose the chance forever.
Matthew Merlin had no intention of staying a Grand Mage for the rest of his life...
But today, outside the Gilded Rose, Matthew Merlin saw that Blazing Staff Emblem again.
He'd always thought the Merlin Family name sounded familiar. When the Blazing Staff Emblem appeared, he finally remembered: a thousand years from now, a Title Archmage would rise like a comet—Doug Merlin, the Flame Sovereign, undefeated below Sky Rank.
Truth be told, the Flame Sovereign wasn't some prodigy at first. He was nearly sixty before he became an Archmage—worse than even Leon Merlin in the lounge.
But in the next thirty years, Doug Merlin surged forward, reaching the rank of Title Archmage at breakneck speed. Then he showed true dominance—undefeated below Sky Rank, sweeping aside every Title Archmage of his era.
That's right—the Flame Sovereign's arcane sigil was the Mana Harness.
Matthew Merlin remembered it vividly. By then, the Merlin Family had already vanished—a once-glorious thousand-year lineage wiped out centuries before. Doug Merlin, though he bore the name, had nothing to do with the family. He clawed his way up from the very bottom. The only time he ever had anything to do with the Merlin Family was when, in his fifties, he visited their Ancestral Grounds.
After leaving the Merlin Ancestral Grounds, Doug Merlin broke through to Archmage in just three months. Ten years later, he became the strongest Title Archmage in all of Northend.
So Matthew Merlin couldn't help but wonder...
Was there some hidden secret in the Merlin Ancestral Grounds? Maybe Doug Merlin found it there, and that's how he managed to fuse all nine Mana Harnesses and leap straight into Archmage.
Either way, once Matthew Merlin had all nine Mana Harnesses, he had to see the Merlin Ancestral Grounds for himself. Otherwise, he was left with two choices: spend years slowly fusing the Mana Harnesses, or gamble on that five percent chance and force his way into Archmage.
Compared to that, the secret of the Merlin Ancestral Grounds might actually be simpler...
But if that's the case, it's probably not wise to get too hostile with the Merlin Family.
Of course, that doesn't mean Matthew Merlin would just sit back and let the Merlin Family covet his Nether Iron Vein...
So after a brief hesitation, Matthew Merlin used the Mana Shackles—a favorite tool of high-level mages crushing their lesser peers. When a powerful mage overwhelms a weaker one, they can use Mana Shackles to completely bind the other's magic. There's only one way to break it: find the key to the shackles.
That key is the rune spoken when the shackles are cast...
And the rune Matthew Merlin left behind was one of the seven from the Death Tome. In all of Northend, only Matthew could break it.
This was Matthew Merlin's way of telling the Merlin Family: if you want the Nether Iron Vein, be ready to pay the price.
Matthew Merlin knew that a family like the Merlins was greedy and cunning by nature.
If they could get the Nether Iron Vein without lifting a finger, they wouldn't hesitate just because Matthew Merlin was one of their own.
But once they realized this family member wasn't so easy to mess with, they'd cool off and start weighing if it was worth it...
Especially if this family member wielded powers they couldn't even comprehend. Then they'd get even more cautious, maybe try a softer approach—negotiation, alliance, whatever maximized their benefit. For the Merlin Family, profit was everything; the method depended on what got them the most.
That Mana Shackles on Leon Merlin should keep the Merlin Family quiet for a while.
Now, all Matthew Merlin needed was to get his hands on all nine Mana Harnesses.
Then he could head to Auckland and pay the Merlin Ancestral Grounds a visit.
But to get all nine Mana Harnesses, he'd have to visit Vaughn's alchemy lab. Matthew Merlin remembered clearly—Vaughn owned the Crystal Balance Set. Each piece was only soulbound grade, but together they rivaled true magic relics. More importantly, the Crystal Balance had a unique Artifact Spirit, supposedly an alchemical soul Vaughn created, that could push its user's calculation ability to terrifying heights.
Matthew Merlin had agreed to explore with Lance and the big powers of Thousand Sails City for one reason: the Crystal Balance.
Once Matthew Merlin got the Crystal Balance and combined it with eight runes from the Death Tome, his Mana Harness inscription speed would be at least ten times faster!
After returning to the alchemy lab, Matthew Merlin spread out his old draft paper again and resumed the calculations he'd left unfinished...
Meanwhile, Leon Merlin still hadn't left the Gilded Rose's lounge...
This future head of the Merlin Family stared blankly at William Merlin.
"Didn't you say he was just a Fifth-Tier Grand Mage?"
"That's right, a Fifth-Tier Grand Mage..." William Merlin glanced at the crestfallen prodigy, unable to help but shake his head.
Why do you put yourself through this? I've told you several times—our cousin's temper isn't great. You thought acting like the future family head and flaunting your Archmage status would make him yield?
Did you think he'd never seen an Archmage before?
You wouldn't believe it, but just a few days ago, in this same lounge, one Archmage was sent flying and another was groveling for favor. Ask around in Auckland—one was Allen Watson, and the other was Hogarth.
And now, an Archmage has become a regular person. Let's see how you explain that when you get back...
"A Fifth-Tier Grand Mage, how is that possible..." Leon Merlin couldn't accept that a mere Fifth-Tier Grand Mage could use Mana Shackles against him.
"Enough with what's possible or not..." William Merlin, seeing his state, couldn't be bothered to argue further. He offered a word of advice: "You'd better hurry back and figure out how to break those Mana Shackles. Otherwise, when Aubrey gets back from Mercury Tower, you're in for big trouble..."
With that, William Merlin left the lounge, leaving Leon Merlin standing there alone, his face twisted in a bitter smile.
Hurry back? Easier said than done...
How was he supposed to go back like this? He'd snuck to Thousand Sails City after hearing that Matthew Merlin controlled not just the Nether Iron Vein, but also the Gilded Rose—a source of immense wealth. That's why he'd wanted to recruit him.
He'd figured that, with his Archmage power and future family head status, as long as he promised to help Matthew Merlin rejoin the family, Matthew would happily join his camp. Then, not only would he control the Nether Iron Vein, but he'd have access to the Gilded Rose's wealth. With all that, he'd have a great shot at beating Aubrey for the family head position.
It all seemed perfectly reasonable...
So how did it end up like this?