Chapter 256: Grand Mage Realm, Perfect Fractal, Mountain

Your combat intellect is formidable; this was evident from the insights you displayed while studying alchemy with me. Therefore, I am merely providing you with a conceptual framework; how you choose to apply these concoctions in battle is something you should be able to deduce for yourself.

Moira watched Wang Yu’s actions with satisfaction. He grasped concepts quickly, and her goal was simply to broaden his perspective, ensuring he would not limit himself to mere stimulants or healing draughts. Alchemy held far more potential than that.

Let us demonstrate the remaining items back at my residence. It would be unwise to experiment out here and frighten the citizens of Liahim.

With those words, Moira led Wang Yu and Avia back to her treehouse.

Although alchemy has been cast out of the alchemical school by those purists, the truth is that many potions still bear the shadow of alchemy. Take those infused with magical components, for instance; they resemble alchemical fuels and constructs, yet they are not quite the same.

Seated at the table, Moira withdrew three small vials from her satchel and placed them before Wang Yu and Avia. Wang Yu glanced at them and realized he recognized all three, the one in the center being particularly familiar.

Beast Draught, Wail’s Breath, and Molten Blood-Blade. These three types correspond to the three major branches of alchemy: the Beast Draught, which acts upon the user; the Wail’s Breath, used directly to harm an enemy; and the Molten Blood-Blade, applied to weapons or the body to amplify your strikes.

Moira introduced them, explaining the three distinct directions of alchemical study.

Based on your previous descriptions of your alchemical usage, your mastery of body-strengthening draughts is already quite mature. You now understand how to use direct-attack potions; what you must grasp now is the effect of these adhesive, offensive ones.

As she spoke, Moira tossed the vial of Molten Blood-Blade to Wang Yu, signaling him to experiment with the slightly glowing, crimson paste inside.

Drawing his Broken Meteorite Blade, Wang Yu scooped out a portion of the rose-red ointment, spreading it evenly across the blade before stepping out of the cabin into the courtyard.

Avia and Moira followed, watching as Wang Yu gripped the hilt, preparing to test the strike. This could not be done indoors, lest the entire treehouse be set ablaze.

Hah!

A ghostly green flame ignited between Wang Yu’s palms, the intense heat instantly activating the Molten Blood-Blade paste coating the steel.

Suddenly, the entire Broken Meteorite Blade flared, emitting a brilliant rose-red radiance. The searing heat distorted the air around the edge.

Swish, swish, swish...

Wang Yu gripped the blade, muscles and battle qi surging in unison. Within a single second, he unleashed three full-force strikes into the air.

The air tore with a crisp sound, and the glowing blade left three distinct, lingering afterimages, appearing as if a scarlet claw had raked through the void.

The power has increased significantly. This will be exceptionally useful when dealing with enemies possessing strong regenerative capabilities.

Wang Yu observed the glowing blade, making a rough assessment of its potency. The combination of high heat and the Blood-Blade’s corrosive effect on biological matter would be devastating against creatures like slimes, which typically boast high resistance to physical damage.

Against a slime, he could choose to slash rapidly until it was reduced to pulp, or pierce its core to end it. But with the Molten Blood-Blade, a mere graze would suffice to kill, making the process far more convenient.

Furthermore... Wang Yu sensed the influence of his Chariot Force on the coating. After a few preparatory movements, he swung the blade with a sudden, violent motion, unleashing both his Chariot Force and battle qi.

A blood-red, flaming crescent of energy was flung from the blade, streaking through the air at high speed until it struck the metal dummy he had set up in the yard.

Clang!

Fueled by battle qi and propelled by the force of his swing, the energy blade carved into the dummy’s chest to a depth of two fingers, nearly severing it in half.

Crash!

The dummy, already hanging by a thread, finally succumbed to the blow. Even after the energy dissipated, the blood-flames continued to cling to the jagged wound, melting the remaining metal until the dummy collapsed into two pieces.

This power—it is sufficient!

As the residual potion was spent, Wang Yu returned the blade to its sheath and clenched his fist, nodding in satisfaction. This level of power would provide a massive boost to his combat capabilities.

By switching between different potions, he could unleash entirely different types of strikes, granting him a new set of quasi-magical attacks now that he had lost the Weaver’s Tome.

Though I am pleased you mastered the technique so quickly, you had best clean up your mess, or you can expect Avia to be the one teaching you tomorrow’s lessons.

Moira’s voice, tinged with annoyance, reached Wang Yu’s ears. He realized then that some of the flaming blood-spatter from the strike had ignited a patch of Moira’s garden, where she grew magical plants. The flames were already beginning to spread.

Avia—

Wang Yu instinctively reached out for the girl’s help, only to notice that Avia had already drawn her staff, though Moira had held her back.

This!?

Wang Yu paused, but reacted instantly, pulling a small vial of chilling powder from his bag and hurling it at the flames.

Bang!

The powder burst, white smoke billowed, and the fire was extinguished. Wang Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

Well done. Come inside and listen to today’s lesson.

Moira’s lips curled slightly, her satisfaction with her student reaching a new peak.

...

Time flowed swiftly during their studies. A month passed in the blink of an eye. With the false roots in the forest cleared away, the frequency of forest rampages diminished, and that twisted wood-spirit never appeared again.

A week ago, Sieg and Gavin, accompanied by several elves, had departed for the Dwarven Kingdom, intending to eradicate the source of the false roots once and for all.

In their residence in Liahim, Wang Yu looked at the girl holding half a golden apple and asked:

Are you ready? To use the power of the Golden Apple to cross the boundary from Formal Mage to Archmage?

Yes, I am ready. Relying solely on my own strength, I would not have been fully confident in completing this spell; I would have needed more time to consolidate. But after we analyzed the effects of the Golden Apple together, I am certain I can succeed right now.

The girl nodded, sitting upright in the wooden chair opposite Wang Yu, her gaze fixed on the Golden Apple with confidence.

Good luck. I will watch over you; do not push yourself if something goes wrong.

Wang Yu moved his chair beside Avia’s. After a month of alchemical study, they had gained a new understanding of the Golden Apple’s properties. Now, the girl would use it to take the perfect step toward the realm of an Archmage.

Trust me, it will be absolutely fine!

Avia smiled and punched Wang Yu’s chest. Her tone, filled with certainty, told Wang Yu that she was no longer the little mage who needed to rely on him.

Good!

Wang Yu gave a thumbs-up, then used his Chariot Force to envelop the area, ensuring no accidents would occur during her breakthrough.

Avia placed the half-apple into her mouth and closed her eyes. The spiritual power distilled from her soul drifted in threads into her mental space, relaxing and adjusting her state, preparing for the construction of the spell model she had spent nearly a year perfecting.

The transition from Formal Mage to Archmage, much like that from Knight to Grand Knight, involved a crucial step: the creation of a unique fifth-tier spell.

Once this complex spell was inscribed into the magic vortex, it would become an innate ability, growing alongside the mage.

Thus, the strength of this original spell would largely dictate the future power of the Archmage.

Incidentally, one could technically cross the line from Formal Mage to Archmage by being lazy—as long as a fifth-tier spell was inscribed into the vortex, it didn't strictly matter if it was original or copied.

However, a spell perfectly suited to oneself was always far more powerful than a stolen fifth-tier technique. The spell Avia was about to construct was the original one she deemed most perfect for her.

As her calm spiritual power began to perceive special components spreading through her body, Avia knew the Golden Apple had taken effect.

To strengthen one's talent as a mage meant to enhance one's affinity for mana and the elements. This process would automatically concentrate the surrounding mana and elements.

The girl intended to utilize these mana and elements, which were spontaneously fusing with her body, to help her complete the original spell—a technique far more complex than a standard fifth-tier one.

Hoo...

She exhaled, and as she sensed the first thread of mana naturally entering her magic vortex, Avia’s spiritual tentacles grasped an illusory brush, beginning to etch the spell model into her mental space, bit by bit.

Unlike most who can only wield a single strand of psychic energy, the girl’s formidable willpower and exceptional talent allowed her to command four or five strands simultaneously for the inscription.

This was the essential prerequisite for completing that three-dimensional, immensely complex spell model, as multiple psychic tentacles were required to draw simultaneously, each finishing a different layer of the construct.

Fully focused, the spell model she had calculated time and again in her mind and on paper was etched into her memory; she wielded her phantom brush with supreme dexterity, stabilizing and rapidly sketching the model within her mental space.

Mana converged spontaneously during this process, drawn both from the vortex within her body and the influx catalyzed by the Golden Apple, all surging to fill the spell model taking shape in her mind.

She maintained perfect control over the speed of her strokes, completing the structure without a single error; as the brush traced a circuit, mana followed instantly, filling the path and igniting it with light.

As the spell model neared completion, it glowed brighter with every infusion of mana, and Wang Yu’s Chariot Force sensed the energy fluctuations radiating from the girl—a sign that her spell was taking form and beginning to resonate.

The intricate, three-dimensional structure meant that a single misstep, a stroke too fast or too slow, would cause the model to collapse from overload or misaligned mana flow, triggering a backlash that would ravage her soul.

Yet, there was none; this was the fruit of countless rehearsals, a synthesis of talent, effort, and the mathematical techniques Wang Yu had imparted, allowing her to complete this daunting task without a single hitch.

It was impossibly smooth, yet entirely logical, and as her internal mana vortex exhausted its reserves and the gathered energy was spent, the spell model in her mind was fully illuminated, marking her steady, firm stride from mage to archmage.

The glowing model slowly descended, sinking into Avia’s mana vortex to merge with the ceaseless rotation of her energy, transitioning into a state that required no further conscious effort to sustain.

"Hum, click, fizz!"

A sound akin to clockwork machinery emerged, and around Avia’s right eye, small components composed of shimmering, pure mana began to assemble.

A cross-shaped pupil ring rotated like a gear around her iris, while light and shadow flickered as pointers appeared and vanished before her eye, tracking the minute mana fluctuations of every object she gazed upon.

Fifth-Order Structural Spell: Perfect Fractal.

This was the spell she deemed most suited to her, a synthesis of the mathematical knowledge Wang Yu had shared, her own research into alchemy, and a series of analytical spell results.

The mana-composed "lens" manifesting over her right eye, resembling a piece of high-tech analytical equipment, was the physical embodiment of this spell.

It perceived the properties of matter, treating them with analytical equality to dissect, deconstruct, and ultimately, utilize them.

This spell would provide the girl with terrifying advantages in alchemy, potion-making, and the study of all other magical arts.

"Truly marvelous, though I shall need time to adapt; Perfect Fractal feeds me a deluge of useless data from things easily parsed, which gives me a headache—it is a powerful spell, but I must learn to manage it."

Having activated the spell for only a moment, the girl clutched her forehead and tapped the "lens" twice to dispel it, the sensation of all things' properties laid bare being quite surreal.

Yet, the barrage of coordinates, heights, and widths made her head throb; this spell of infinite potential, born from her talent and the convergence of knowledge from two worlds, still required time to master.

"However, I believe I noticed something just now."

A thought struck her, for during the activation of the Perfect Fractal, several terms had flickered before her eyes, and one familiar word had caught her attention.

The girl rose, walking under Wang Yu’s gaze to the source of that term: a map pinned to the wall since their arrival, where she pressed a finger lightly against a specific location.

It was a site not far from the Elven capital of Liaheim, home to a mountain range known as Solensen.