Chapter 185: The Library (Please vote for me!)
The entire subrealm was only a few kilometers across—compared to a normal plane, it was truly as insignificant as a speck of dust. It took the two of them just five minutes to search every corner of the subrealm.
Then, they found a tall tower rising out of the yellow sands...
This was the only place in the entire subrealm where magical energy could be sensed. If Rudolph had truly left any relics behind, then nine times out of ten, they would be stored here.
“Quick, quick, let’s go in and take a look!” Salomon stood before the tower, his eyes lighting up instantly. He wore an eager expression and was about to stride inside.
“Wait, don’t rush…” Leon hurriedly pulled Salomon back.
“What’s wrong?”
“Take a look here…” Leon pointed at the entrance to the tower, where a dark golden rune flickered, sometimes bright, sometimes dim. “Let’s take a guess—what kind of elemental creature would be summoned by a Sky Rank mage’s personally crafted elemental summoning?”
“Damn…” Salomon looked down, and cold sweat nearly broke out. As a top-tier Grand Mage, how could he not recognize that this was indeed a solidified elemental summoning…
An elemental summoning personally crafted by a Sky Rank mage was no joke…
If an Elemental Lord were to be summoned, neither of them would even have time to cry about it. For a Sky Rank mage, an Elemental Lord—whose strength rivals that of a Title Archmage—was nothing more than a glorified guard dog. But for a ninth-rank Grand Mage and a fifth-rank Grand Mage like themselves, it was an utterly unbeatable foe...
“Merlin, do you have any way to deal with this?”
“I’ll need a bit of time…” Leon nodded, slowly crouched down, and began turning the Mana Harness, starting a thorough analysis of the solidified elemental summoning.
Fortunately, the solidified elemental summoning left by Rudolph didn’t seem meant to guard against other mages. It was obvious—the dark golden rune on the ground, although reinforced with spell solidification and magical sigils, had no disguise at all. That meant its defensive effect against other mages was very low...
Not to mention an expert like Leon with a Mana Harness—even an ordinary Grand Mage could break it eventually if they were willing to spend enough time.
It took Leon less than ten minutes to break the solidified elemental summoning. As he softly uttered several words in Nesserian Script, the dark golden rune on the ground melted away like ice in sunlight, vanishing before their eyes.
“Let’s go.”
“Looks like that priority was well-deserved…” Earlier, when Leon was breaking the alchemical array outside, Salomon could chalk it up to his lack of alchemical skill. But this time, Salomon was genuinely impressed—the difficulty of that dark golden rune was clear to him. After all, it was a solidified elemental summoning left by a Sky Rank mage.
Even without any disguise, it wasn’t something that could be cracked in a short time. If it were him, it would have taken at least three hours.
But in the hands of this young Grand Mage, it took less than ten minutes...
For a moment, even Salomon had to admit that the privilege he’d given was truly worth it…
"Heh..." Leon gave a distracted chuckle, not bothering to say much more to Salomon.
At that moment, Leon was preoccupied with a single thought.
Why did Rudolph solidify this elemental summoning?
It definitely couldn’t be to guard against other mages…
If it was meant to prevent other mages from sneaking in, this elemental summoning wouldn’t be set up so plainly—there’s no disguise at all, which is basically the same as leaving it unguarded.
But if it’s not to guard against other mages, then what is it for?
Could it be to guard against lifeforms born within the sub-plane?
This...
Isn’t that a bit too far-sighted?
You have to realize, this sub-plane doesn’t even have the four basic elements—earth, water, fire, and wind. It’s nowhere near producing life. Solidifying an elemental summoning this early… Unless Rudolph was just incredibly bored.
"Wait a minute..." Just as the two stepped into the tower, a thought suddenly surfaced in Leon’s mind.
What if this sub-plane wasn’t created by Rudolph himself?
A naturally occurring sub-plane? The idea startled Leon himself.
In the boundless void, there are countless scattered planes. Even at the height of magical civilization, no mage ever claimed to understand all their secrets. Creating sub-planes isn’t exclusive to Sky Rank mages—among the infinite planes, some sub-planes arise naturally.
But they’re incredibly rare…
In the long history of the Northend World, there have been no more than five mages who possessed such naturally occurring sub-planes. Each one is legendary, leaving a mark on history with their formidable presence. The advantage a naturally formed sub-plane gives is simply immense…
The clearest example Leon remembered was the Grand Astrologer, Agalon.
Agalon hailed from the Academy of Stars. Before turning forty, he’d never seriously studied magic. Up until age thirty-eight or thirty-nine, he was just a Level Five mage.
But in his thirty-ninth year, Agalon stumbled upon an entirely new planar path during an experiment.
At that time, Agalon had two choices: sell the new planar path for a fortune—back then, a new planar path was worth at least three Level Thirty mana crystals, enough to buy two Gilded Roses today—or explore it himself.
Naturally, Agalon, ever the traveler and adventurer, quickly made his decision: he’d explore the new plane himself.
When Agalon crossed the planar path, he discovered that the other end was a naturally formed sub-plane…
That choice, made purely out of interest, ended up creating a Grand Astrologer who stunned the entire Northend World!
Agalon's rise was nothing short of terrifying…
At thirty-nine, Agalon was still just a Level Five mage. By forty, he’d become a Level Nine Grand Mage. At forty-three, a Magister; at fifty, a Title Magister; and by seventy, Agalon officially reached Sky Rank.
And as soon as he reached Sky Rank, Agalon demonstrated his terrifying power to the world.
That year, Agalon fought a Sky Rank mage who had already created a sub-plane—a battle that shook the entire Northend World. Only then did people realize just how formidable a naturally formed sub-plane could be: nearly infinite mana reserves, survival like an immortal, the power of an entire world…
If Rudolph’s solidified elemental summoning was truly meant to guard against lifeforms from the sub-plane, then Leon was at least fifty percent sure—this was a naturally formed sub-plane…
But for now, it was just a guess.
So far, Leon hadn’t found any signs of life in this sub-plane. Not even the four basic elements—earth, water, fire, wind—existed. If not for the magical fluctuations from the tower, Leon might’ve thought this was a dead plane…
"Leon, look!" Just as Leon’s thoughts were running wild, Salomon’s voice called out again.
"Huh? What is it?" Leon followed Salomon’s pointing finger and saw, at the center of the tower’s hall, a massive alchemical array inscribed into the floor.
Leon involuntarily drew in a sharp breath.
"Damn, True Spirit level!"
This was the first time since coming to this era that Leon had seen a True Spirit-level alchemical array with his own eyes.
Thankfully, this True Spirit-level array seemed to be sealing something. Other than the suffocating magical fluctuations, it didn’t react to their intrusion. Still, Leon nervously warned Salomon, "Don’t get close to that array…"
"I know…" Salomon nodded, face pale. He had no idea what kind of array it was, but the suffocating magical pressure made him especially wary.
Salomon knew that if that magic erupted, ten of him wouldn’t be enough to withstand it.
The two carefully skirted the True Spirit-level array and quickly made their way up the stairs on the right side of the tower to the second floor.
Then Salomon’s eyes lit up.
Because standing before them was a vast Grand Library!
"I knew it, I just knew it…" Salomon stood at the entrance, practically drooling. This was the legacy of a Sky Rank mage. If they could move all this knowledge to Sage’s Spire, the standard of its mages would soar instantly.
But just as Salomon was about to step inside, a faint sound came from within.
"Careful!" Before Salomon could react, Leon yanked him back several steps…
A cold flash sliced past Salomon’s hair with a "swish"…
In that instant, cold sweat broke out all over Salomon.
That was a Level Thirty spell—Frost Ray…
If Leon hadn’t pulled him away, that Frost Ray would have split his head in two.
Way too dangerous…
Still shaken, Salomon peeked inside the Grand Library, trying to see what kind of trap could unleash a Level Thirty spell so silently.
What he saw were just two alchemical golems…
********
[Author’s Note: Thank you all! After the last single-chapter update, the monthly votes shot up—guess it really is about attitude…]
[Honestly, I didn’t expect so many votes before posting that update. It seems it’s not that there aren’t enough readers who like my book, but that everyone’s just as shy as I am…]
[I’m starting to get addicted to asking for votes. Watching the rankings climb, I can’t help but shout again—everyone, send a few more monthly votes! Let me climb a bit higher!]