Chapter 214: Sylas West
Soon, in a study at the top floor of Mercury Tower, Nolan—buried in calculations—suddenly frowned, uttered a spell, and a sheet of magical paper appeared out of thin air, drifting lightly onto his desk.
"Vaughn's laboratory?" Nolan scanned the lengthy letter at a glance, his already furrowed brow deepening.
Fran probably never imagined that, by sheer luck, he’d actually guessed right this time...
Who is Nolan, after all...
He’s one of the kingdom’s three great Worldshapers—not only a pinnacle in alchemy, but far more knowledgeable about secrets buried in history than Grandmasters like Lance. Take Vaughn's Vault, for example; the information Nolan has access to is far beyond anything Lance could ever reach.
In fact, Nolan had already pieced together several clues...
Nolan could even be certain that Vaughn's Vault was most likely at sea. While sifting through various records, he discovered something intriguing: during the last twenty years of Vaughn’s life, Vaughn sailed out four times, each trip lasting at least a year. For a Worldshaper, those final twenty years are precious—what could drive Vaughn to embark on four lengthy voyages unless it was something truly important?
And then...
During that same period, the Third Dynasty’s naval fleet made unusually frequent deployments—three years of aimless armed maneuvers in the Endless Sea.
And, as luck would have it, the navy’s fleet commander at the time—Robinson—was Vaughn’s close friend. They’d both emerged from a small village, supporting each other through countless hardships: one rose to command the Imperial Navy, the other became a Worldshaper and the court’s chief alchemist. Their friendship was forged through life and death.
One suspicious detail might be a coincidence, but several together make the answer almost obvious: Vaughn’s Vault is almost certainly at sea...
That’s also why, when Lance sent word that the Alchemist Guild in Thousand Sails City had discovered Vaughn’s Vault and sought Mercury Tower’s support, Nolan only sent Fran—the real reason behind it all...
Because Fran simply didn’t believe that what lay buried in Four Seasons Gorge could possibly be Vaughn’s Vault...
But if it’s a laboratory...
Then that’s actually plausible. Before Vaughn became chief court alchemist, he lived in seclusion in many places—including Four Seasons Gorge. Given Vaughn’s habits, leaving behind a laboratory there wouldn’t be surprising.
Still, whether that Soulbound Relic is there... that’s hard to say.
It’s the treasure every alchemist dreams of. Nolan doubted Vaughn would leave it in a mere laboratory; with Vaughn’s habit of wringing every last drop from a place, he’d most likely bury the Soulbound Relic with himself in his tomb...
Still, it’s worth sending someone to check.
"Send Caron..." Nolan started to say, but suddenly remembered Caron was off suppressing a rebellion in the Senjin Plane and wouldn’t be back for two days. Nolan had to change his mind: "Send Sylas West instead."
"Yes."
A busy Grandmaster Alchemist in the study quickly bowed and left. Moments later, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in." The man who entered was tall and middle-aged. Though his temples were graying, suggesting he was around fifty, his handsome face was utterly smooth, and his dazzling golden hair and mysterious gray eyes radiated a sharp energy at odds with his age.
"Teacher, you wanted to see me?" Anyone who knew Sylas West understood—he only ever showed respect in front of Nolan.
"Mm. Take a look at this letter." Nolan nodded, and with a subtle gesture, the magic paper floated over to Sylas.
"Fran?" Sylas’s brow furrowed the moment he saw the name on the magic paper.
Nolan had five disciples in total, but the most outstanding was Caron, currently in the Senjin Plane. Over a decade ago, Caron had already become a top Grandmaster—Nolan himself once said that within ten years, Caron would surely become Mercury Tower’s second Worldshaper. As for magic, Caron was a fifth-tier Title Archmage, second only to Nolan in the entire tower.
Give Caron a few more decades and Mercury Tower would see another Nolan.
Caron was also the only one among Nolan’s disciples whom Sylas West truly respected. The others barely registered in his eyes—even Grant, both a Title Archmage and top Grandmaster, seemed to Sylas to have only gotten ahead because he’d joined earlier. Give Sylas time, and he’d catch up—and leave Grant far behind.
But of all his fellow disciples, the one Sylas looked down on most was Fran...
That was genuine contempt...
Fran joined before Sylas West, but after all these years, he’s still stuck at the level of an ordinary Grandmaster. His magic? Pathetic—a mere fifth-tier mage. Even if Fran mastered Mercury Tower’s strongest sigil, Hand of Time, Sylas thought he’d still be no match.
Plus, Sylas absolutely despised Fran’s character—greedy, selfish, narrow-minded. It was this pitiful personality that kept Fran stagnant for over a decade; neither his magic nor his alchemy ever improved beyond mediocrity.
Day to day, Sylas never bothered to hide his disdain for Fran, scolding him at every turn—and Fran just took it. Sylas was never this blunt with Caron, but with Fran, it was like a cat to a mouse: if Fran spotted Sylas from two or three hundred meters away, he’d turn and flee, terrified his junior would embarrass him with a few words...
When Sylas saw the letter, his first thought was that Fran had gotten himself into trouble again and needed their teacher to clean up his mess...
But after reading a bit further, Sylas’s expression softened—just a little.
"Teacher, do you mean...?" After finishing the letter, Sylas put away the magic paper and respectfully sought Nolan’s instructions.
"Fran’s discovery shouldn’t be a problem. There’s a real chance Vaughn’s alchemy lab is in Four Seasons Gorge. If that’s the case, Fran alone might not be enough—after all, those alchemy arrays Vaughn left behind are beyond Fran’s abilities." Nolan paused briefly. "So I want you to go and support Lance’s joint exploration team. As for the final spoils, just split them as agreed. But if you find clues to the Soulbound Relic, you can negotiate with Lance’s group—Mercury Tower is willing to trade for it by other means."
"Alright, Teacher. I’ll get right on it." Sylas wasted no time—he left Nolan’s study and immediately flew off toward Four Seasons Gorge...
After Sylas left, Nolan buried himself back in his calculations...
It took Nolan nearly an hour to finish his calculations. Only when dusk began to fall did he finally lift his head from the mountain of paper.
"Wait—Thousand Sails City..." After resting with his eyes closed for a while, Nolan suddenly remembered: at the last Order of the Arcane Hand Gathering, the dazzling young Archmage who stole the spotlight was from Thousand Sails City, wasn’t he?
This realization made Nolan frown all over again...
The Ashen Tower’s Order of the Arcane Hand Gathering had left a deep impression on Nolan. The young Archmage’s performance was so astonishing, even Nolan found him inscrutable. Unfortunately, Nolan had acted too late—Star Sage Joey had discovered the talent first. Now all Nolan could do was maintain good relations...
That’s why, during the auction for the last set of Meditation Codex, Nolan had bid as a shill—just to make the young Archmage owe him a favor. Who knows when that favor might come in handy...
"Trouble..." Nolan shook his head regretfully. Age was catching up with him—if he’d remembered sooner that the young Archmage was from Thousand Sails City, he’d never have sent Fran and Sylas West...
He knew his two disciples far too well...
Fran—greedy, selfish, narrow-minded—and years ago, he’d had a run-in with the Merlin Family. If Fran found out the young Archmage was also a Merlin, conflict would be inevitable...
Sylas West wasn’t like Fran, but his personality was another issue—too proud, too blunt. If Fran didn’t clash with the young Archmage, it’d be fine; but if they did, things could get out of hand...
Sylas West always looked down on Fran, but to protect Mercury Tower’s reputation, he’d defend Fran without hesitation. And if that happened...
At that thought, Nolan couldn’t sit still...
This was no joke—Nolan had seen firsthand how much Star Sage Joey valued the young Archmage. Joey nearly fell out with the whole Order of the Arcane Hand over him. If Sylas West hurt Mafa Merlin—or worse, killed him—the consequences would be unimaginable...
"Go, have Caron return immediately. Grant can handle the Senjin Plane rebellion."