However, this kind of upgrade takes an enormous amount of time—just a single component can take over a hundred years to refine. For alchemical golems, creatures as patient as undead, time is meaningless. But Leon can't afford to wait that long...
The upgrade was completed, and the results were far better than expected. Pabbet smoothly advanced to the peak of Level 46. Once he fully adapts to the new components and his power permeates and fuses with every part, he'll be able to break through to Level 47.
Leon did a quick check of Pabbet's memory system. The seal was still there, though noticeably weaker than before. It seemed the moment when the seal would be broken was fast approaching.
But the closer it got, the more Leon hesitated to forcibly break the seal. The Sage of Azure had left explicit instructions, even sealing part of Pabbet’s memory system himself. It couldn’t have been just for fun. Whatever was hidden there must be truly shocking—or at least, not something that should be carelessly revealed.
With Pabbet’s upgrade complete, the expected outcome was as predicted—no immediate breakthrough. Still, Leon wasn’t disappointed. He opened the path to the Plane of Golems, sent Pabbet inside, and, along with thousands of alchemical golems produced in various bases, let Pabbet begin the final stage of fusion within the Plane of Golems.
The Plane of Golems has its own peculiar rules—ones that greatly accelerate Pabbet’s adaptation to new components. Plus, the task of gathering Innate Runes still falls to Pabbet.
Last time Pabbet went hunting in the Plane of Golems, he gathered a fair number of Innate Runes, but it still wasn’t enough. Unfortunately, that hunt had already attracted the attention of those Sky Rank Alchemical Golems—the ones who call themselves the Cyberton Race. They’re probably still watching everything that happens in the Plane of Golems.
These beings, almost entirely unconcerned with the passage of time, have all the time in the world to pursue this matter. But the hunt for Innate Runes can’t be delayed any longer. Letting Pabbet, the alchemical golem, lead an army of golems into battle in the Plane of Golems is the best option.
Even if the Golem King personally witnesses Pabbet’s hunt, he likely won’t object. For the Sky Rank Alchemical Golems of the Plane of Golems, dying at the hands of another golem is fundamentally different from dying at the hands of another race.
The path to advancement for alchemical golems has always been about plundering components from others. For Sky Rank Alchemical Golems, the prime target is the opponent’s Innate Rune.
It’s just instinct. No matter how fierce the conflict inside the Plane of Golems, everything stays within that plane. In fact, it only makes the strongest within the Plane of Golems even stronger. The Golem King couldn’t care less about such things.
The last time Leon went on a wild rune raid, he got caught. Now, he doesn’t dare enter the Plane of Golems so casually—who knows if the Golem King is lying in wait? These metal-headed bastards could easily stake out a spot for a thousand years. Their patience puts even the undead to shame...
With Pabbet settled, Leon turned to other preparations. His understanding of the Runes of Truth could now progress further, though it was a slow, time-consuming process. He could only spare the time to comprehend one or two at a time—small gains, but they add up.
The thin mana in the Natural Semi-Plane was growing denser again, even thicker than before. In the northwest corner, the Arcanavine Forest now looked, from a distance, like a massive emerald pillar connecting heaven and earth. Dense mana condensed into clouds, shrouding the upper half of this green sky-spire.
Mana, gathered into a river, flowed down the emerald pillar into the Mana Lake below. The Mana Lake split into three branches—one heading east, one toward Sky Pillar Mountain in the southeast, and one flowing south.
The mana began forming an independent water system, separate from the Natural Semi-Plane’s original waterways. This closed circuit circulated only within the continent, letting mana flow freely and speeding up the evolution of the demi-plane.
At the very least, the evolution of the four great elements—earth, fire, water, and wind—had far outpaced Leon’s ability to comprehend them. Every branch had already developed, and they were even starting to fuse, producing all sorts of unique powers. This was a sign that the four elemental rules were about to reach perfection.
For a mage, fully mastering even one rule means reaching the peak of Sky Rank!
The evolution of spatial rules was also progressing rapidly. Various branches had begun to emerge, and the Natural Semi-Plane was already spawning several small subsidiary demi-planes. The largest was only a few hundred meters across, and each collapsed soon after forming—but more kept appearing.
The Skyfruit growing beside the Mana Lake was nearly ripe. Hughes hadn’t been wandering outside lately—he’d been camped out next to the Skyfruit, keeping watch and waiting for it to mature.
Anything that came within three kilometers of the Skyfruit would be hurled into the void by the furious Hughes. In the past month, two Blood Elf laborers who tried to get clever ended up who-knows-where—definitely not anywhere pleasant...
Once the Skyfruit matures, if luck holds and new seeds appear, a few more Skyfruit trees can be planted. With the evolution of demi-plane rules, the fragments of spatial rules condensed inside each Skyfruit are bound to increase—saving a lot of time.
After all, comprehending spatial rules is much harder than the four great elemental rules—earth, fire, water, and wind. It’s tough to get started, even tougher to advance, and reaching true mastery is harder still.
Anyway, the spatial rule fragments inside the Skyfruit are all from within the demi-plane, no different from what I’d comprehend myself—just saves a bit of time. When the time comes, I’ll either brew a potion with it or just eat it straight.
Most importantly, the spatial rules in the Natural Semi-Plane are still evolving. That means every time the Skyfruit ripens, the fragments of spatial rules inside will be different. The time this saves is immeasurable.
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The fusion of the Seventy-Two Pillars of Kings was already showing benefits. At the very least, the evolution of rules was noticeably faster than before. And now, each rule wasn’t evolving in isolation—they were starting to interact and blend, becoming ever more complex. This was proof the demi-plane was evolving toward a complete world.
Too many changes were happening, all at once. Leon couldn’t pin down every transformation in the Natural Semi-Plane, but overall, they were all for the better.
The foundation for darkness rules had already been laid, and their evolution was progressing rapidly—far faster than Leon could keep up with. The foundation for light rules was just being established, so Leon could finally begin to comprehend them. Unfortunately, that foundation was still thin, so any insight gained wasn’t particularly useful yet.
Leon didn’t bother trying to comprehend the rules of light—he was heading to the Undead Plane next. For powerful undead creatures, even a trace of light rules, no matter how well hidden, would be detected. Worse, nearly every being in the Undead Plane instinctively loathes the aura of light. Most undead outright hate it.
A living person, reeking of fresh blood and carrying the power of light rules, daring to appear in the Undead Plane—it’s like walking around with a permanent, supercharged taunt. Just standing there would draw undead creatures nonstop. If luck is truly rotten, you might even attract a Grand Undead Lord...
Leaving the Natural Semi-Plane, the base’s construction wasn’t finished yet, but the essential buildings were up. The Cave Goblins, finally given a real shot at building something, were working like they’d overdosed on berserk potion—completely out of their minds.
After so many years underground, these guys hadn’t just lacked materials—even when they had some, they didn’t dare build magical structures.
Inside the demi-plane, it was just about handling things and making parts—real construction, start to finish, was something most Cave Goblins had never experienced in their lives.
Letting them build this base made them perfect test subjects. One look outside and Leon was speechless.
Eight magical shields, four resonant city walls, defensive rebound devices, self-repair mechanisms...
A base ten kilometers across, built like a frontline war fortress, complete with eight smaller satellite keeps—armed to the teeth. Its defenses could withstand a Sky Rank level five powerhouse, and even a level ten earthquake spell probably couldn’t bring it down.
And with those terrifying defensive devices, anything below Sky Rank wouldn’t stand a chance—any enemy under level four who entered attack range could be instantly killed.
Was it really necessary to go this crazy for a base that could be abandoned at any moment...?
Leon shook his head and ignored the frenzied Cave Goblins. Letting them practice was fine—after all, it had been ages since they’d built anything this big or magical.
Just imagine—a bunch of guys, most not even at the rank of Titled Archmage, managing to build magical defenses that could repel a Sky Rank level five and take down a level three powerhouse. If these goblins didn’t have such major flaws, Northend World might not have any humans left by now.
In fact, every race with special talents also has unique flaws—the stronger the gift, the greater the defect.
Elves are powerful, but their need for mana is extreme. Dark Elves, Blood Elves, even Forest Elves—all have a fierce dependence on mana, and that need is a fatal flaw.
Dark Elves nearly went extinct because of mana shortages. Blood Elves, having lost the Void Blood Pool, will be weak for a long time, and some may not survive the change.
Forest Elves need the right environment—they can only thrive in places like the Endless Forest.
Ordinary humans have no special talents—born blank slates, with no particular strengths or weaknesses.
As it turns out, having no flaws is most important. You don’t need great gifts to seize victory in the end. Most humans are shockingly weak, but other races—like Orcs and Elves—each have individuals with immense power.
Yet in the end, it’s humans who dominate Northend World.
Leon shook his head, brushing the thoughts aside—it was time to focus on the problems ahead.
Undead can ignore almost any environment—after the Undead Plane invades, it corrupts the surroundings to suit undead life.
Aside from prepping all sorts of antidotes, the next step was to upgrade the Spellbook of Ages.
Leon took out the Spellbook of Ages. A massive gate, dozens of meters tall, opened in midair. Leon flew through it, surrounded by flames—this place was saturated with destructive power.
He kept moving downward through the world of flames, then appeared in the world of hurricanes. Going further brought him to the world of earth, where immense gravity ruled everything—the deeper he went, the stronger the pull.
The power of rules enveloped Leon’s body. From the heart of the earth world, he entered the world of water.
The moment he entered, crushing pressure came from all sides. Leon’s Fusion Shield shrank to half its size, with Rule Runes forming the strongest possible defense.
It felt like the bottom of the deep sea—pitch black, with only that deep blue-black color, and countless pools of dark water quietly lurking.
The immense pressure weighed on the Fusion Shield, draining huge amounts of mana every second. Not that mana was the real problem—Leon had plenty. The real issue was the overwhelming pressure, as if the whole world was crushing him, making movement impossible.
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After ten minutes or so of adaptation, Leon could finally move a little. By channeling the power of water rules, he slowly began to merge into this world.
Leon had expected this spell world to be filled with frost spell golems, but the place he arrived at was just ordinary water.
All the water around him was the purest kind—elemental water, conjured from water elementals. But even this completely pure water nearly crushed him to death.
Leon’s extraordinary power slowly leaked from his body, finally merging into the surrounding water under that terrifying pressure. Outside his Fusion Shield, a layer of pure rule protection formed.
Instantly, the pressure that had been so immense it immobilized him was reduced by half. With a nudge of mana, and double layers of protection, Leon began to slowly move in one direction—the farther he went, the greater the pressure.
Most importantly, this pressure wasn’t like gravity—it came from every direction. As it increased, the temperature began to drop.
After another ten minutes, everything was pitch black and the temperature had dropped enough to freeze a person solid in an instant.
Immense pressure, terrifying cold, and utter darkness without a hint of light or any sign of an end—the psychological strain was the worst part.
No spell golems—just this extreme environment. After more than an hour, the frost elements grew thicker, the seawater turned viscous, and even with extraordinary power clearing the way, progress became nearly impossible.
No sound, no light, no sense of an endpoint—Leon couldn’t help feeling restless.
Especially since there was no direction here at all—up, down, left, right, it was all the same. With no gravity, the pressure was identical from every side.
There was only one way to find direction: move toward where the pressure increased. As long as he headed into the greater pressure, he was on the right track.
After a whole day of this monotonous journey, Leon stopped. With no sense of direction, no light, and even his senses dulled by the cold, the mental strain kept mounting—he had to take a break.
He drank a bottle of energy-restoring potion, gritted his teeth, and pressed on.
Ever since entering this water world, if he failed, he’d be trapped here forever. And the only outcome of being trapped was complete assimilation.
Mana, soul—everything would be assimilated and buried in this world of water.
He kept going for who knows how long. The black water gradually turned icy blue. Frost formed on the surface of his Fusion Shield, and the terrifying cold began to seep through. Leon’s eyebrows and hair frosted over, and the flow of mana and blood slowed.
What looked like water was really frost shattered by pressure, compressed into the tiniest particles. Under immense pressure, the elements took on this form.
As the power of rules seeped in, a massive demi-plane projection appeared behind Leon. The projection of water rules formed a perfect shield, gradually erasing the invading frost.
Leon’s slowed awareness fully returned. Gazing at the frozen, icy blue water, ripples began to spread—the core of this world appeared, a cluster of ever-shifting water.
It shifted from icy blue to black and back again. Leon took a deep breath and left his mark on the cluster.
Suddenly, Leon felt the whole world change—light appeared, the water began to flow. It was a massive spherical cluster of water, and he wasn’t at the center at all, but near the edge.
After leaving his mark, Leon suddenly understood.
If he kept heading for greater pressure and colder temperatures, he’d never reach the world’s core.
This world wasn’t still as it seemed—it was in constant motion, with water flowing according to complex rules, and the core shifting with the currents.
In this vast world, without understanding those rules, he’d never get close to the core.