Just like the current president of the Mage Guild, Salomon—he became an Archmage over twenty years ago, but after being injured in the Battle of the Undying Volcano, his mana vortex was damaged. This once-in-a-century genius Archmage has made no progress for over twenty years. If even Salomon is trapped like this, ordinary mages stand no chance.
If any other mage were in Leon's current situation, they'd surely think he was courting death.
But Leon seemed completely unaware, still driving his mana, still expanding his mana vortex...
Because Leon doesn't truly belong to this era...
The knowledge Leon possesses, the abilities he commands, have long surpassed this age. Mage apprentices here don’t dare use mana to assault their mana vortex, and mages must carefully nurture it. But that doesn’t mean Leon has to follow their rules.
With mana surging violently, the vortex inside Leon was expanding at a rapid pace.
It was like a balloon being inflated—bigger, and bigger, and bigger, until finally, with a sharp "pop," it burst. Freed from the vortex’s restraint, the flowing mana spun out of control, raging and chaotic, rampaging through Leon’s body, no longer gentle or soothing as before.
The vortex collapsed, mana ran wild—if it were any other mage, at this point, they’d just close their eyes and wait for death.
But for Leon, this was only the beginning...
The raging, chaotic mana rampaged through Leon’s body—the sensation was like a dozen spells detonating at once. The pain was something only those who had lived through it could understand.
Sweat dripped from Leon’s forehead, but his expression didn’t change in the slightest. At this moment, Leon was like a precision machine, completely unaffected, focusing all his formidable control on bringing every strand of mana under his command.
Once mana escapes the vortex’s restraint, it turns wild and chaotic, like storm-driven waves crashing through every corner of the body. To control it at this point is nothing short of a daydream.
But Leon managed to do it anyway...
Relying on the control honed in the apocalypse, Leon forced the rampaging mana to follow his intended path, constructing a complete mana circuit within his body purely through his own power.
Of course, this mana circuit wasn’t stable—his vortex was gone. Even with Leon’s control, all he could do was patiently grind away at it, over and over, dozens, hundreds, thousands of times, until he was nearly exhausted. Only then did the wild, chaotic mana gradually settle down within the circuit...
"Whew..." Feeling the change in his mana, Leon finally let out a long breath.
The hardest part was finally over. Next, he had to inscribe his Arcane Sigil.
Once the Arcane Sigil was complete, Leon would officially step into the ranks of Grand Mage.
This time, it wasn’t Solon who greeted him, but Salomon...
Leon was startled when he saw Salomon.
This was the master of Sage’s Spire, the strongest mage in Seaview City. For him to personally receive someone, you’d have to be at least Kadgar’s level. Leon might have a bit of a reputation, but compared to those two, he was far behind. What was Salomon playing at?
That was why Leon risked everything...
Otherwise, with Leon’s current foundation, advancing to Grand Mage would have been easy enough—no need to destroy his mana vortex and risk magical backlash for all this trouble.
Normally, whenever Leon came to Sage’s Spire, it was always Solon who greeted him. First, because Solon was one of Leon’s few friends in Seaview City, and second, because Solon was Salomon’s apprentice—his presence alone signaled a friendly attitude from Salomon.
But Salomon himself would never show up.
If Salomon showed up, it meant things had changed.
Salomon represented Sage’s Spire, the entire Mage Guild. If he personally received Leon, it could shake all of Seaview City.
Leon frowned in thought for a long time, only to realize that none of the sigils he’d originally planned were suitable...
If Salomon did the same, who knows who else would be sent into a frenzy.
So what did it mean today...?
Leon was momentarily at a loss for words, so he simply exchanged polite greetings with Salomon.
"Mage Merlin, this is the Oblivion Inferno Scroll you won at the last Blackhorn Auction. As agreed, Sage's Spire has finished its research. Now, it's yours." Salomon spoke as he pushed the scroll toward Leon.
"So soon...?"
"Heh, just as you said, Mage Merlin—I detest the Ashen Pyre Tower even more than you do. As for the scroll itself, I’m honestly not that interested. A damaged incantation doesn’t require much time to study." Salomon replied with a sardonic smile.
"Thank you, Archmage Salomon." Since Salomon had said all this, Leon naturally wouldn’t keep up the formalities. After all, now that he was preparing to enter the Bone Plane again as a Grand Mage, having such a sentient artifact in hand would greatly improve his chances of survival.
"Alright, the scroll is returned to you. I assume you came to Sage's Spire today to visit the library?"
"Yes."
"Then this old man won’t keep you."
"Huh?"
Leon nearly choked at that. Salomon had called him to the guest hall just to return the scroll—how anticlimactic. Leon had thought there’d be something more, maybe a negotiation, but apparently, this was it.
But since Salomon had already bid him farewell, even Leon couldn’t linger any longer. With a belly full of questions, he left the guest hall and slowly made his way toward the library.
All the way there, Leon kept wondering what Salomon’s real intent was...
It wasn’t until Leon reached the library, standing before rows of towering shelves, that his questions began to fade—until Solon's voice called out from behind him.
"Merlin, what book are you looking for?"
"Ah, Solon, you’re here. I’m looking for a reference on Arcane Sigil construction, and also a detailed explanation of the Maxwell Formula."
"Arcane Sigil construction?" Solon was stunned, staring at Leon for a long moment before his face lit up with surprise. "You... did you advance to Grand Mage?"
Saruman represented Sage’s Spire, the entire Mage Guild. If he personally received Leon, it could shake all of Seaview City.
It would be like the Silvermoon Mercenary Company publicly announcing a partnership with the Gilded Rose—enough to send Angelo of the Frostwolf Mercenary Company into a panic.
If Saruman did the same, who knows who else would be sent into a frenzy.
So what did it mean today...?