Chapter 355: Full of Life
What the two were discussing now was already considered a secret of Mercury Tower. Fewer than ten people were qualified to be involved, so while speaking, they kept to a corner, not realizing that as they talked, the alchemy lab had already grown lively...
It wasn't until the two snapped out of their conversation that they suddenly noticed the change in atmosphere. For a moment, both were taken aback...
"What's going on?" Griffith's face darkened first. To this stern old man, this was clearly a sign of disorder.
But soon after, Griffith realized that all this commotion was caused by those two thin sheets of manuscript...
The two thin sheets of manuscript were being passed around among a crowd of Grandmasters and Master Alchemists. Every time someone got their hands on them, an exclamation would erupt, as if they'd seen something extraordinary...
Everyone was buzzing with discussion...
And at the center of all the chatter was, without question, the young Grandmaster who had just produced the two sheets—Matthew Merlin...
Is it really that impressive?
Although he had already heard from Sylas West that this young man named Matthew Merlin was a top-tier Grandmaster, seeing the two sheets cause such a stir among Grandmasters and Master Alchemists still left Griffith somewhat incredulous. After hesitating a moment, the old man, equal parts curious and doubtful, quietly pulled a Grandmaster aside...
"What exactly is written on those two sheets?"
"It's incredible, absolutely incredible..." The Grandmaster speaking looked to be around fifty, in his prime, and was clearly stunned by the two sheets. He wanted to answer Griffith's question, but seemed unsure where to begin...
"Enough nonsense, just get to the point!" Griffith's face instantly darkened.
"Oh, right, the point..." Like Sylas West, back when this Grandmaster was just an alchemist, he had served as an assistant in Griffith's alchemy lab. The torment he suffered then left a lasting shadow; now, even as a Grandmaster, just seeing Griffith's darkened face made him break out in a cold sweat...
"Matthew Merlin wasn't lying. The two methods he wrote on those sheets really can solve the spell solidification problem of the Dark Python Hide. And..."
"And what?"
"And, both methods are extremely unusual..."
"What do you mean?"
"The two methods—one is simple, the other complex—are completely different in style..."
The middle-aged Grandmaster trailed off, uncertain how to continue. He gestured, retrieved the two sheets from a colleague, and handed one to Griffith: "Take a look at this. Seven formulas in total, intricately linked, countless variables—the calculations required are astronomical..."
"Hmm..." Griffith looked at the manuscript in his hand and nodded. The middle-aged Grandmaster was right: the solution Matthew Merlin wrote on this sheet was complex to the extreme, built from terrifying numbers, a method constructed through sheer mathematical force.
"Now take a look at this one..."
"Hmm?" Griffith took the second sheet and his expression changed instantly: "This... this is so simple?"
"Yes, so simple it's almost frightening..." The middle-aged Grandmaster shook his head, looking somewhat forlorn. He had read this sheet at least ten times, but each time, a trace of fear crept in...
...Griffith held the sheet, unable to utter a word for a long time.
If the first method pushed complexity to the extreme, then the second method took simplicity to its limit. It was a kind of almost reckless simplicity—ignoring all conventions, finding a single entry point, and bulldozing through every problem in its path...
One complex, one simple...
Two utterly different styles, yet both found in a single alchemist.
And this alchemist was so young...
With such skill, he truly deserves a place at the Astral Academy's grand gathering...
While Griffith was pondering all this, Leon had already quietly left the alchemy lab. For Leon, handing over the two solutions was enough—the details, Mercury Tower would naturally figure out.
Leon had more important things to do...
Leon left Caron's alchemy lab and returned downstairs, to the place where he'd fought Herman before...
"Hmm?" As soon as Leon walked in, he caught a strong scent of blood...
No way, things got this intense?
Leon was startled. Did Lord Shaun really play someone to death?
Wouldn't that be a bit much?
After all, Herman was a major figure in the Black Tower. According to Sylas West, just like Mason's uncle, he was likely to enter the Black Tower Council soon.
That's the very heart of Black Tower's power. Once you join the Black Tower Council, you hold sway over the fate of countless mages. If someone like that died in Mercury Tower, I doubt Black Tower would just let it slide.
Honestly, Leon still had some apprehension about the Black Tower...
Back then, at the Order of the Arcane Hand Gathering in the Ashen Tower, that Black Tower master whom Joey called a 'walking corpse' left far too deep an impression on Leon. Ruthless in pursuit of his goals—one moment locked in deadly enmity, the next shaking hands for profit—under such a leader, the Black Tower was anything but easy to deal with...
Moreover...
In this era, no one understood better than Leon just how terrifying the Black Tower would become. To put it bluntly, in the future, the Black Tower and Cloudspire Tower would crush all the forces of the Andalusia Kingdom, truly joining the ranks of Northend World's top powers.
Unless absolutely necessary, Leon really didn't want to make an enemy of them...
Thinking this, Leon hurried a few steps and found Herman, barely alive, in a corner of the alchemy lab...
Lord Shaun truly was ruthless. Herman lay in the lab's corner, no visible wounds, but his spirit was utterly shattered. His eyes were vacant, lifeless, and unresponsive—even when Leon approached, he didn't move. If Leon hadn't noticed the faint breathing, he might've thought this key Black Tower figure was already dead...
Herman just lay there, stiff as a corpse...
His breathing was weak and labored, his whole body like a dead man. Leon called out twice, but got no response from Herman.
"I've said it before—if Lord Shaun steps in, any answer can be extracted..." At this moment, Lord Shaun's shadowy figure emerged from the darkness, looking just as shameless as ever...
"I mean, Lord Shaun, aren't you being a bit too harsh? Look at this guy—he's almost dead, and he's a key figure in the Black Tower. If he dies, that's going to be hard for me to explain..." Leon was more than a little concerned.
Herman had attacked him first, and ending up defeated was only natural—even if Heron himself came, he wouldn't turn against me over this.
But...
If he died, that would be a whole different story.
After all, he was likely to join the Black Tower Council soon...
"Relax, Lord Shaun knows what he's doing. If you're worried, I'll have him show you how lively Herman can be..." With that, Lord Shaun suddenly uttered a spell, and a force targeting the soul struck Herman instantly...
Just like that, the corpse-like Herman sprang to his feet the moment Lord Shaun finished the spell.
He really did leap up...
The scream Herman let out in that instant was so miserable that even Leon, the instigator, couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy...
"See? Lively as ever!" Lord Shaun said, full of pride.
"..." Leon was left speechless.
"By the way, the Meditation Codex you wanted—I had him copy it down for you. It's on the alchemy table, go take a look. Well, I have things to do, so I'll be off..."
With those words, Lord Shaun turned into a cloud of smoke, trying to slip inside the Soulwalker...
"Stop right there." Leon wasn't stupid—he wouldn't let him get away. Before Lord Shaun could reach the Soulwalker, Leon drew his hand, and in an instant, sparks flew as dozens of fire rays wove together, forming a cage just big enough to trap Lord Shaun inside.
"Damn it, what are you doing? Trying to bite the hand that feeds you?"
"Lord Shaun, did you forget to ask for your payment?" Leon ignored Lord Shaun's curses, just smiling at the small fire cage. "You're not usually like this. That's a level twenty-five Mana Crystal, you know..."
Lord Shaun's voice stalled, and his gaze flickered. But being Lord Shaun, he could still brazen it out: "So what? I'm in a good mood today—don't need your payment, alright?"
"Heh, Lord Shaun, you might fool someone else, but not me. Normally you wouldn't let even a level five Mana Crystal slip away, and now there's a level twenty-five one sitting there and you don't even look at it. Can you tell me what that's really about?"