Chapter 955: Top-Tier Worldshaper
A look of realization appeared on Leon's face. So he really is a Worldshaper. To be able to design this prototype Max Mana Reactor—his mastery of alchemical golems is absolutely top-tier. Now that I see it, it all makes sense.
"Take me to see Lord Krovitz."
A trace of hesitation appeared on Dunas's face, and he carefully offered a reminder.
"Archmage Leon, Lord Krovitz... well, his temper isn't very good. Most of the time, he ignores everyone in the tribe and just runs his own alchemical golem parts shop. Even though he's the fortress's only Worldshaper, very few alchemists here actually want to deal with him..."
Leon waved it off, unconcerned. Others might not see how powerful Krovitz truly was—they probably thought he was just an ordinary Worldshaper.
But how could Leon not see it? Only a top-tier Worldshaper with extraordinary mastery over alchemical golems could design a prototype Max Mana Reactor like this. An ordinary Worldshaper—even one specialized in alchemical golems—would never be able to pull it off.
Because the combined design here is at least a century ahead of its time.
You have to understand, in alchemy, the foundational formulas and theories matter most. Progress might be slow, but the things built upon those foundations can change rapidly—sometimes, the top design can fall from its throne in just a year.
It's not so different from my previous life. The basic theories stayed the same for centuries—Newton's three laws—but the applications built on them changed every year, growing stronger and more advanced, with massive leaps. But to design something decades ahead of its time, based on foundational laws—that's downright terrifying.
This Max Mana Reactor before me isn’t just a simple achievement—it proposes a new foundational law!
Those all-right-angle alchemical glyphs are a masterpiece that challenges the current foundational laws. Even if it looks crude, in Leon’s eyes, the glyphwork is basically at the level of a future alchemy apprentice.
But in this era, it’s a work that’s completely ahead of its time!
Seeing Leon so enthusiastic, Dunas couldn’t bring himself to say anything more. He could only nervously lead Leon to Krovitz’s alchemy shop.
Before they arrived, Dunas even secretly sent someone to notify Krovitz, terrified that Krovitz might anger Leon and bring disaster to the Gray Orcs.
Leon commands a vast army of alchemical golems—and most importantly, aside from the labor and support golems, every combat alchemical golem is level 30 or above!
Just this alchemical golem army alone could wipe out the Gray Orcs three times over in a single day...
Standing in front of the shop, Leon was surprised. This place was seriously tucked away, nowhere near the main roads of the Gray Orc fortress. The shop itself was tiny, and the walls outside were covered in mottled marks.
A pitch-black beast hide curtain hung over the entrance, stained with who-knows-what—oil or something else. It was obvious it hadn’t been cleaned in at least seven or eight years.
Is this really a Worldshaper’s shop?
Dunas gave an awkward smile and quietly explained.
"Well, Lord Krovitz is a bit eccentric. Aside from alchemy, he doesn’t care about anything else..."
Leon said nothing, waving for Dunas to wait outside. He lifted the filthy curtain himself and stepped into the dilapidated alchemy shop.
Inside, a dozen or so lighting spells were fixed in place. Except for a central walkway, the shop was packed with alchemical golems and every kind of golem part—large and small—crammed onto every single shelf.
At the back of the shop, a frail old Gray Orc sat behind a desk. He wore a five-layer magnifying lens over his left eye, and with tweezers in one hand and a tiny pen-tip in the other, he was engraving runes onto a fingernail-sized component.
Leon quietly approached. With a single glance, he knew this was Krovitz—the fortress’s only Worldshaper.
Only a Worldshaper skilled in alchemy could make a micro control core like this. No mere master craftsman could pull it off.
Leon waited silently. He could tell that the micro control core was down to its final, crucial step: engraving the key runes and command sequence.
Half an hour later, Krovitz set down his tools, tossed the precious micro control core into a box at his side, his face showing obvious dissatisfaction.
Only then did Leon step forward.
"Lord Krovitz, let me introduce myself. I am Leon Merlin, the new leader of the Gray Orc tribe and a Worldshaper myself. I’ve come here hoping you’ll join my team of alchemists. We have the best technology, the newest and most refined techniques, and even some things that surpass this era. I promise you won’t be disappointed..."
Facing a top-tier Worldshaper, Leon gave him the respect he deserved.
A dignified Worldshaper, and yet all he had was this shabby little alchemy shop. Besides, Krovitz’s power was only at Fifth-Rank Title Archmage.
It looked like he’d been stuck at Fifth-Rank for a long time. Leon didn’t even have to guess; all of Krovitz’s energy had clearly gone into golem alchemy.
Even though the Gray Orcs’ spellcasting talent comes from runic magic, once you reach Fifth-Rank Title Archmage, you still have to comprehend laws and lay your own foundation to break through to the sixth rank.
Comprehending laws takes a lot of time and energy. Almost every mage spends far too little on it—or rather, no mage ever thinks they’ve spent enough time on it.
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Neither profit nor rank holds any appeal for Krovitz. Only golem alchemy can attract a top-tier Worldshaper like him.
Leon went into detail about his team of alchemists—even told Krovitz about the underground alchemical golem base.
But Krovitz didn’t even look up. He just grabbed another micro control core, tweezers in one hand and a tiny pen-tip in the other, and started engraving runes and alchemical glyphs onto the part.
Leon’s brow furrowed slightly. He’d expected Krovitz to be difficult, but he hadn’t thought the man would ignore him completely—as if he wasn’t even there, just carrying on with his work.
Thinking it over, Leon started talking about advanced golem alchemy—concepts far beyond the current era.
Only then did Krovitz look up, glancing at Leon out of the corner of his eye, his face openly contemptuous.
After that one look, Krovitz went right back to his work, treating Leon as if he were invisible.
Leon thought for a moment, then couldn’t help but laugh.
Knowledge about alchemical golems isn’t like potion alchemy or artifact alchemy—especially potion alchemy, where every ingredient’s ratio, temperature, extraction degree, order, and method all have strict, precise data. If you state the numbers, you can judge whether it’s real or not.
But with golem alchemy, aside from some key components, most data isn’t standardized. Each alchemical golem is unique—even the same part might exist in hundreds or thousands of different forms, and they can all be correct.
Just talking about it, Krovitz probably dismissed those things as futuristic speculation.
Or maybe those things could be built, but the cost would be way too high. There’s no way to mass-produce them—maybe with a tenth of the cost, you could use other materials to get the same effect, possibly even better.
There are too many speculative ideas in alchemy—most aren’t worth researching, and even if they can be built, they’re not practical.
Take the mana reactor, for example: one built on a futuristic concept might require a whole Soul Magic Crystal, while the current version achieves the same effect with only half a Soul Magic Crystal.
Even if that advanced concept has research value, it’s got no practical use...
Leon was a Worldshaper himself—skilled in potions, artifacts, arrays, and golems—so he understood this perfectly.
Seeing Krovitz completely absorbed in his work and ignoring him, Leon simply turned and left.
After Leon left, Krovitz finished engraving his piece and finally looked up, his face still disgruntled.
He knew the Gray Orc fortress had been conquered, but so what? The human hadn’t gone on a killing spree, hadn’t wiped out the Gray Orcs, and hadn’t interfered with his alchemy research—so whatever.
If Dunas hadn’t warned him ahead of time, Krovitz wouldn’t have let Leon through the door at all. The only reason he pretended not to see him was because the Gray Orc fortress had just been taken, and Krovitz figured it was best not to provoke Leon—for the sake of the other Gray Orcs, even if they were all a bunch of idiots he couldn’t communicate with...
Leon knew he couldn’t recruit Krovitz now. Someone who cared only about golem alchemy and not even his own rank wouldn’t respond to anything but genuine interest—threatening him with the fortress wouldn’t work at all...
Leon had Dunas find an alchemical golem laboratory—fully equipped with tools and devices. Dunas didn’t dare ask questions, just hurried off to locate the best one in the fortress.
Leon took the prototype Max Mana Reactor Krovitz had made and spent a whole day in the alchemical golem laboratory, not coming out once.
Once inside, Leon frowned at the prototype mana reactor.
Krovitz’s reactor had the right shape and concept, but those stiff, all-right-angle alchemical glyphs were a mess. The mana runes’ engraving and placement were way off compared to a perfect Max Mana Reactor—fixing it would be more trouble than just making a new one from scratch.
Building a new Max Mana Reactor only required a sample—not even a high-grade one. Leon could finish it in an hour.
But fixing this prototype still took a whole day...