Chapter 1275
Lafayette lowered his head, no longer watching Leon's retreating figure. Instead, he pondered how to seize Leon's achievements for himself. Suddenly, Lafayette's eyes lit up.
That's right—once we leave here, Archmage Leon Merlin will have to transcribe the secrets he uncovered and submit them to Astral Academy.
It was agreed beforehand—this is the price for comprehending the Runes of Truth here. Handing over the transcribed secrets to Astral Academy also means receiving corresponding benefits in return...
Everyone has to do this, and Archmage Leon Merlin is no exception. Astral Academy must have already estimated how many Runes of Truth he has deciphered, so he'll transcribe all the secrets he uncovered.
After all, the more secrets he submits, the greater the rewards. Once he's finished transcribing everything... heh...
Lafayette kept his head down, and his mood suddenly improved.
A few minutes later, space shifted once again, and everyone found themselves inside that enormous alchemical apparatus.
After leaving, everyone returned to their assigned laboratories to begin transcribing the secrets they'd uncovered during this research. Leon was no exception.
As for Cyrus, after escorting everyone out, he hurriedly left using a teleportation array inside the mage tower.
In another mage tower, Cyrus sat at a round table with a wizard who appeared to be in his thirties, though his eyes brimmed with wisdom and a sense of world-weariness. On the table lay three crystal balls, each recording scenes—all of them about Leon.
"Dean Darrell, these are the records of Archmage Leon Merlin's research on the Runes of Truth. Based on our combined analysis, we estimate that he has deciphered around sixteen hundred Runes of Truth..."
Cyrus respectfully reported everything about Leon, though his tone could not conceal a trace of shock...
Dean Darrell stared at the rapidly flashing images in the crystal balls. After three minutes, even his gaze betrayed a hint of astonishment.
"No, it's definitely more than sixteen hundred. It's closer to eighteen hundred. This is a genius—a true genius. A terrifying individual. His mastery of the Alchemy Codex may have already reached the pinnacle of creation itself."
The dean spoke with absolute certainty, yet his voice betrayed his composure.
Cyrus was stunned—this time, truly shocked...
Eighteen hundred. That meant many of the secrets within those Runes of Truth were ones Astral Academy didn't possess at all. If all these secrets were transcribed and handed over, Astral Academy would have to offer at least three resource-rich planes in exchange!
You have to understand, Astral Academy doesn't have many of those resource-rich planes. Giving up three at once would be like slicing off their own flesh.
Still, compared to the secrets contained in those eighteen hundred Runes of Truth, three resource-rich planes might be acceptable. The value of the Runes of Truth is far greater—if more alchemical breakthroughs can be made, Astral Academy's burden in conquering new planes would lessen, and their chances of discovering new resource-rich planes would increase considerably...
Leon had no idea that one of Astral Academy's three deans had already been alerted. He was busy transcribing the secrets contained within eighteen hundred Runes of Truth.
Of course, transcribing these secrets into words could never perfectly capture the mysteries within the Runes of Truth—but who cared? These secrets were enough to support an entire alchemical faction, and Astral Academy certainly wouldn't mind.
Still in that initial forest, each Creator had their own building, complete with a fully-equipped alchemical laboratory. The area was quiet, undisturbed; every Creator had locked themselves away to transcribe their findings.
Leon transcribed at an astonishing pace—not with a quill, but by taking out crystal tablets and imprinting the secrets directly onto them using the power of rule sigils. This was exponentially faster and less labor-intensive.
Most importantly, only the basic rule sigils composed of sixteen runes possessed such power. Ordinary Sky Rank mages, even if they tried to transcribe onto crystal tablets, could only do so one by one, unable to imprint them directly.
For seven consecutive days, Leon worked on this task. Today, he would finally finish transcribing everything—the stack of crystal tablets beside him had grown into a sizable heap.
Just as Leon had only a hundred Runes of Truth left to transcribe, his alchemical laboratory suddenly began to tremble. An alarm crystal inside started flashing rapidly, its magical fluctuations piercing through the lab's defenses.
Seeing the crystal flash, Leon frowned. This wasn't a visitor—it was someone forcibly attacking the alchemical defenses outside. The building's outermost barrier had been breached in no time at all...
With a wave of his hand, dozens of Mage Hands flew out, sweeping all the crystal tablets into his spatial ring. The next moment, the laboratory wall bulged inward like clay, then exploded with a bang—an onslaught of violent magical energy turned into pitch-black flames, engulfing the entire lab at breakneck speed...
The alchemical apparatus inside the lab, scorched by the flames, twisted into grotesque shapes like toys mangled by a giant—then melted into droplets of molten iron...
A transparent shield enveloped Leon, repelling all magical assaults. Yet the violent magic outside surged into the laboratory as if it had found a floodgate.
Leon stared coldly at the blasted opening. His senses told him at least five Sky Rank powerhouses were waiting outside; if he tried to escape, he'd face all five at once.
Apparently, sensing that Leon hadn't rushed out, the Sky Rank powerhouses outside didn't charge in either. Instead, they intensified their spellcasting. In less than three seconds, the raging magic and surging flames pushed the lab to its absolute limit.
Cracks split the surrounding walls, and with a thunderous boom, the entire building exploded. Flames and debris shot skyward, only to be halted a hundred meters up by a barrier.
Leon, shield fused and face expressionless, walked out of the inferno and glanced at the sky. The space around him—five hundred meters wide and a hundred meters high—had been sealed off, as if he and the five Sky Rank powerhouses were trapped inside a dark red rectangular box.
At each corner of the rectangle, at least forty Ninth Rank Title Archmages were stationed, locked in place. They maintained the Phantom Barrier, and neither inside nor outside could break it until they willingly dispelled it.
In the distant sky, a group of griffin riders flew past, seemingly oblivious to the anomaly here. That was the effect of the Phantom Barrier—from the outside, everything looked perfectly normal, and the magical fluctuations couldn't escape.
"Sacrificing three Essence Relics at once to create a Phantom Barrier—quite the investment. But I wonder if you've accounted for the loss of five Sky Rank powerhouses."
Leon stared coldly at the five Sky Rank mages in black robes, their faces concealed. One was Sky Rank Level Two, the rest were Level One. Add in the forty Ninth Rank Title Archmages, and yes—they'd paid dearly for this.
The four Sky Rank Level One powerhouses hovered at the corners, each holding a differently colored chain. Each chain radiated the aura of earth, fire, water, or wind. The four mages, too, each mastered one element. The Sky Rank Level Two mage was shrouded in black smoke, exuding dense dark magical energy.
Before Leon appeared, the four Sky Rank Level One powerhouses had already shaken their chains. The four colored chains extended wildly, coiling around Leon, their patterns forming an alchemical array. In just a second, a complex three-dimensional alchemical array was constructed.
Neither Leon's magical energy nor the raging flames around him had any effect on the four colored chains. The chains formed a massive three-dimensional alchemical array, over a hundred meters across and dozens of meters high. The glow of earth, fire, water, and wind flickered constantly, as if stabilizing a semi-plane of pure elements.
The entire space pressed down on Leon. Chains encircled his fused shield, pinning him in place.
Leon narrowed his eyes at the chains forming the alchemical array. As the array solidified, most of the chains vanished, leaving only those immediately around him visible.
Red, blue, yellow, and green—each chain was forged from materials found only in pure elemental planes. Their power was absolute, like the essence of the elements themselves: flawless, featureless, and pure.
Yet this featureless purity became its greatest strength. Chains forged from pure earth, fire, water, and wind constructed the strongest element-sealing arrays below Sky Rank. With enough resources, such an array could even reach Sky Rank sealing strength.
At Northend's peak, many fearsome criminals were either exiled into the void or imprisoned. The prison's alchemical arrays were element-sealing arrays, balancing earth, fire, water, and wind to suppress all spellcasting—prisoners couldn't even lift a finger.
Many extremely dangerous inmates were suppressed in isolated spaces using these pure element-sealing arrays...
Seeing Leon seemingly immobilized, the dark mage produced a finger bone radiating evil power and began a low chant.
Whispers full of temptation, malice, and coercion echoed through the space—like a devil with only its eyes exposed, staring Leon down, murmuring deadly, dangerous enticements in the language of demons.
The devil's whispers seeped into every crevice, swirling around Leon, endlessly searching for a way to invade his body.
The dark mage chanted for three minutes straight before abruptly stopping. He stared at Leon, who stood expressionless, then removed his oversized hood, revealing a pale, bloodless face marked with tattoos inscribed in the language of demons.
Staring at Leon's figure, the dark mage gave a cruel smile.
"Archmage Leon Merlin, don't blame anyone but yourself—you're simply too weak. What right does a backwater Andalusian like you have to possess such precious things? Whether it's the territory in the Blazing Fury Plane or the secrets of the Runes of Truth, you were never meant to own them.
You should be grateful for our mercy—we didn't kill you. This curse will only turn you into an idiot. Oh, but I doubt you can even understand me now. Pathetic.
Now then, I command you—hand over the secrets you transcribed from those Runes of Truth."
The dark mage hovered in midair, grinning monstrously. The four Sky Rank mages wielding the chains—controlling the element-sealing array—also removed their hoods, their faces relaxed in victory.
"Sir, you were far too cautious. This guy is just a Ninth Rank Title Archmage. No matter how strong a Title Archmage is, he can't possess transcendent power, right?"
"Exactly. Not just him—even a Sky Rank Level Two would be sealed and suppressed by the element-sealing array. Letting us handle this is overkill."
"Hey, let's grab those things and get out of here. If Astral Academy finds out, we'll pay dearly. Those powerhouses aren't to be trifled with."