Chapter 954: Mana Reactor
Countless spells surged together, forming a torrent of color that relentlessly crashed against the gates of the Gray Orc fortress.
One after another, the defensive metal plates on the city wall lit up. In an instant, every plate on the wall glowed, their radiance growing stronger by the second.
On the wall, hordes of Gray Orcs cast spells frantically in resistance, but it barely made a difference.
Leon hovered in midair, watching coldly. Countless runes flickered before him as a Four-Element Bomb rapidly condensed and formed. In three seconds, the bomb vanished without a trace.
All that remained in the sky was a white shockwave corridor stretching for hundreds of meters.
Boom...
With a deafening crash, the entire wall began to shake, and every defensive metal plate burst into a blinding glare.
The enormous metal gate, ten meters tall, split open with countless fine cracks. After a few seconds of relentless spell bombardment, it exploded, and the raging torrent of magic surged into the fortress.
Behind the gate, the densely packed alchemical golems couldn't even break out of the fortress. In an instant, they were swallowed by the torrent of spells...
A torrent of Bladewalker Alchemical Golems surged into the Gray Orc fortress, followed by the Mage Legion. Leon led the rest in after them.
Unexpectedly, the resistance inside was extremely weak. In less than three minutes, the chief of the Gray Orc fortress emerged.
"We surrender! We surrender, mighty human warrior. We surrender—please, stop the slaughter and destruction..."
A crowd of Gray Orcs stepped out from the Half-Golems, following behind their tribe chief, signaling their surrender.
Leon’s Alchemical Golem Army, disciplined as ever, quickly subdued all the Gray Orcs.
Those capable of controlling Half-Golems were at least alchemists. All were captured and sent to Radiance Fortress. Even the tribal leaders had to sign soul contracts with Lord Shaun before being released.
For three consecutive days, the Gray Orc tribe was completely subdued. Every alchemist was bound by a contract with Lord Shaun, and all ruling members were forced into harsh soul contracts.
Walking through the streets of the Gray Orc tribe, Dunas, the tribe chief, followed cautiously behind Leon.
Archmage Leon, up ahead is our fortress’s largest alchemical golem factory. Most parts are made here, and all final assembly and testing happen inside..."
Inside the Gray Orc tribe, there was no sign of the usual rough orc buildings. Instead, metal-scented, sturdy structures dominated, reminiscent of a modern metropolis from Leon’s previous life.
The main avenue was lined with iron tracks that crisscrossed the entire fortress, with specially crafted mechanical carts shuttling back and forth without pause.
On either side of the street, shops stood shoulder to shoulder—most of them related to alchemical golems. Some sold materials, others components, mana reactors, control systems, and then there were those selling finished alchemical golems...
The factory ahead immediately drew the eye with its three towering smokestacks, each packed with intricate machinery.
The frail bodies of the Gray Orcs made them unfit for heavy labor, so everywhere you looked, mechanical aids filled the space—cutting, polishing, and manufacturing parts were all handled by machines.
Only the crucial steps—engraving runes and inscribing alchemical arrays—were done by the Gray Orcs themselves, by hand.
Dunas was just an ordinary alchemist. As chief, he had inherited the position through the tribe’s tradition, passed down generation to generation. He was only a Second Rank titled magus, not even considered one of the tribe’s true powerhouses.
This was different from other orc tribes, where the chief was usually the strongest. The Gray Orcs were obsessed with golem alchemy and had little interest in the time-consuming business of ruling and governance.
Dunas followed behind Leon cautiously, never ceasing his explanations of everything within the factory.
As they walked, Leon suddenly stopped, his gaze locking onto an object tucked away in a corner.
It was a small sphere, barely larger than a fist, its surface covered with perfectly straight lines, each bend a sharp right angle.
In almost every alchemical array, the patterns were curved—curves ensured the smoothest flow of energy.
That’s why nearly all alchemical arrays were circular or elliptical; triangular ones were rare.
Straight-angle patterns in alchemical arrays were seldom used, let alone an array made entirely of right angles. In this era, such a thing simply didn’t exist!
Leon strode over, picked up the fist-sized sphere, brow furrowed, eyes filled with disbelief.
Max Mana Reactor!
How could Leon not recognize this? This was a revolutionary achievement in mana reactor technology.
As the energy supply system for alchemical golems, the mana reactor was their most vital component—their heart. Only with a strong heart could the rest of the golem evolve.
If the heart was weak, no matter how powerful the other parts were, their potential couldn’t be realized. In fact, it would even limit the golem’s capabilities.
The Max Mana Reactor could provide alchemical golems with an overwhelming energy supply. For any golem below the Heaven Tier, installing this reactor would boost its overall power by at least thirty percent!
Some spellcasting golems with high energy consumption could see their combat strength increase by over fifty percent!
But that’s not the point. The point was, Leon remembered clearly—the Max Mana Reactor wasn’t supposed to appear for another one hundred and forty years!
This device was supposed to be invented in one hundred and forty years, by a creator named Max.
That creator became famous throughout the Northend world for the Max Mana Reactor, providing alchemical golems with abundant mana. She was even jokingly nicknamed 'Big-Chested Max' for her invention’s ability to 'fill' golems with mana.
Even the desolate library in the apocalypse recorded this little anecdote, which shows just how influential the Max Mana Reactor was for alchemical golems!
But this thing was supposed to appear one hundred and forty years from now. How could it exist already?
Leon’s eyes widened in shock. After all this time, aside from his own creations, it was the first truly ahead-of-its-time artifact he’d ever seen. How could he not be shaken?
He’d dismantled countless Max Mana Reactors during the apocalypse. Those signature right-angle alchemical patterns—impossible to mistake.
Holding it in his hand, Leon was even more certain—this was a Max Mana Reactor.
"Lord Merlin, this mana reactor is just a fanciful failed prototype. Every day, we produce piles of failed experiments like this. If you’re interested, I can show you more..."
Dunas managed a nervous smile. Seeing Leon lost in thought for so long, he finally spoke up, ever so cautiously...
With that, Leon let out a subtle sigh and examined it more closely, probing it with mana. He finally confirmed that this was just a half-finished prototype, completely unusable as a mana reactor.
Its appearance matched the Max Mana Reactor exactly—the hallmark right-angle alchemical patterns. The required materials were also two diametrically opposed mana crystals: one fire, one frost.
The principle was to harness the explosive power generated when fire and frost energies collided, rather than simply drawing on the crystals’ own power. That conflict produced an immense surge, and once guided through the reactor, the energy output far exceeded what the two crystals could provide alone.
Most importantly, the two opposing mana crystals could last for a very long time when installed in a golem, not only providing a stronger mana burst, but also extending operational time over tenfold compared to standard crystals.
This was a product ahead of its time!
Though it was only a prototype and couldn’t function as a proper mana reactor, all the necessary concepts and designs were present. All that remained was years—perhaps decades—of fine-tuning and experimentation.
This process could easily take decades, maybe even a century.
If nothing went wrong, this design would spread, tested by countless alchemists, and finally perfected by that creator named Max over a hundred years later.
Leon gripped the mana reactor, eyes shining. Its creator was undoubtedly a genius, far ahead of their time. No matter what alchemical title they held, nothing could diminish that fact. Their vision and achievements in golem alchemy surpassed this era by decades, maybe even a century.
Though the Max Mana Reactor would one day become a standard for low-tier alchemical golems, and even stronger reactors would be developed, in this age, nothing could match its design for efficiency and affordability.
Leon could build something even better, even using a Hydra’s heart as a perpetual mana reactor, needing neither fuel nor crystal replacement.
But that was a matter of knowledge disparity. For someone born in this era, to design such a bold prototype for the Max Mana Reactor meant their mastery of golem alchemy was truly formidable.
Clutching the mana reactor, Leon turned to Dunas.
"Who designed and built this thing?"
A faint smile appeared on Dunas’s face. He really did know who was behind it.
"Lord Merlin, we get all sorts of wild designs here every day. If you’d asked about something else, I might not know, but this one I do. It was designed by our fortress’s sole creator, Lord Krovitz. But it’s just a prototype, completely unusable as a mana reactor, and far too dangerous—if you’re not careful, it’ll explode..."