Chapter 247: Alchemical Vortex
"What the hell is going on?"
"No time to explain, just go, hurry! Don't waste any more time—once Fran finishes his fit, we'll lose our chance..."
With that, he didn't bother waiting for Salomon's agreement. He pushed the Acceleration spell to its limit, his figure flickering like a phantom through the web-like assembly line, darting between workshops for cover. In no time, he'd skirted past the gleefully cackling Fran, never pausing, and headed straight for the northern end of the Alchemist Workshop.
A few minutes later, Leon appeared inside a vast warehouse.
It looked to be a scrap disposal warehouse—broken parts littered the floor, and in the corners lay dozens, maybe hundreds, of discarded Alchemical Golems. Failed magical materials were tossed carelessly everywhere. The moment the two stepped in, it felt like they'd walked into a junkyard.
Dust, rust, and garbage thickened the air. Salomon pinched his nose, his face sour, but still ended up coughing violently from the filthy air.
"Damn it, you spent all that time just to find this dump?"
"Magus Salomon, don't be so quick to judge..." Leon replied, already rummaging through the pile of junk as he spoke.
At this moment, Leon was patient and focused, digging through the alchemical trash with surprising enthusiasm. He showed no sign of impatience, even after all this time.
"Merlin, I really admire you..."
"You're too kind..." Leon curled his lip, thinking to himself that if you'd lived thirty thousand years in the future, you'd know that scavenging through alchemical trash like this is pure bliss...
"Found it!" Just as Leon was grumbling inwardly, a few glimmers of light in the alchemical trash brought a smile to his face. He rushed over, grabbed the glowing items, and eagerly wiped the dust off with his sleeve, revealing several thumb-sized metal spheres...
Each sphere was about the size of a thumb, surprisingly soft when squeezed, yet no matter how you pressed it, the moment you let go, it snapped back to its original shape—smooth and round, glowing faintly in the darkness of the junk-filled warehouse...
"Merlin, is this really what you were looking for?" Salomon took one from Leon, turning it over and over, but for the life of him couldn't figure out what these metal balls were for.
"Don't underestimate these little spheres..." Leon replied, still wiping the dust off. "Vaughn's greatest invention, in his entire life, was probably these."
"Huh?" Salomon nearly dropped the sphere in shock. "Wasn't Vaughn's greatest invention the Hexstar Array?"
"The Hexstar Array? That's nothing..." Leon scoffed. "You're no alchemist—so to you, the Hexstar Array is worthless. But these spheres could directly boost your strength by a whole tier..."
"So... what exactly are these things?"
"They're called Alchemical Vortexes." Leon held one up. "This isn't ordinary magical metal—it's Eclipse Mithril, only found below the fortieth layer of the Abyss. In all Northend, it's the best magic metal for storing mana. Vaughn spent decades crafting these six Alchemical Vortexes..."
"Alchemical Vortexes?"
"Put simply, they're alchemical items that replace Mana Vortexes. There are six Alchemical Vortexes here—if you could fuse them all, you'd gain six extra Mana Vortexes out of thin air. Just imagine what that means..."
...Salomon sucked in a sharp breath.
Six extra Mana Vortexes out of nowhere...
Even just one extra Mana Vortex would be game-changing!
A regular ninth-rank Magus would suddenly have double the mana. In a fight, you wouldn't even need to lift a finger—your enemies would be scared half to death just from the aura alone...
"Now you see how powerful they are..." With all six Alchemical Vortexes in hand, Leon couldn't help but smile. To him, these were the most precious treasures in the entire Spire. Compared to them, everything else he'd gained so far was worthless—even the Crystal Balance paled in comparison.
When combined, the Crystal Balance truly has the power of an Essence Relic, boosting both magic and alchemy. Take Fran, for example—now that he has the Crystal Balance, he's at least as strong as a Title Archmage and a Worldshaper combined...
But that kind of power doesn't really belong to Fran.
Leon came from thirty thousand years in the future, and he knew this cursed Crystal Balance set better than anyone...