Precipitating 3 years
Potions Grandmasters were rare in the south coast, and at that time, Leylin was only a rank 1 Magus. Thus, he needed to avoid doing things that would leak his secret and lead to trouble.
But the central continent posed no such problems. Even the Ouroboros Clan alone housed a few reputable Grandmasters, not to mention the entire continent.
Furthermore, Leylin had already become a rank 3 Warlock, and his strength now was leagues ahead of what it was before. With Gilbert as his back-up, he had no cause for fear. Thus, it wasn’t much of a problem to reveal a bit of his prowess in the field.
It was still important to keep it a secret on the whole. Leylin’s Potioneering ability was honed over many years by personal tests and A.I. Chip simulations. In addition to the Chip’s assistance during the act itself, he’d reached a level of skill that bordered that of the most respected Potions Grandmasters, a mysterious and unfathomable realm.
But it was unnecessary to show his complete prowess. On top of that, through Potioneering, he could get hold of the majority of the recipes from the central continent for free. Moreover, most were exclusive, and would contribute greatly to Leylin’s database.
Leylin hoped from the bottom of his heart that, after acquiring all the information the central continent had with regards to Potioneering, he will have a breakthrough in his skill!
……
3 years later.
Leylin was in his manor in the Ouroboros Clan headquarters. Because of the many people and slaves in the region, the manor was not as empty as it once was. Once it had started functioning properly, clean-cut slaves and coquettish maids were walking about everywhere.
There were even some acolytes mixed into this sea of people.
Leylin had gathered all the gifted people in his territory and brought them here. He normally left his Warlock vassals to guide them, and only came out to teach himself when he was in a good mood.
This arrangement of Leylin wasn’t well received by the acolytes but they stayed on for the opportunity to work under him. Some of the acolytes and Magi even specially moved to his territory.
Inside the specialized living area, Leylin was conversing with Robin.
“Honestly speaking, Leylin, your Potioneering ability has greatly surprised me!” Robin was playing with the test tube in his hand. The purple liquid inside rippled and reflected a myriad of colours.
Leylin had granted himself both wealth and fame through the selling of potions and Potioneering for his clan members over the last three years.
The number of high-ranking Magi and Magi of affiliated clans seeking for Leylin’s Potioneering had been on a steady increase.
And Leylin wouldn’t reject their offers most of the time, though his success rate was a little lower than the Potion Grandmasters of the Ouroboros Clan, Leylin’s fee was much lower when compared to theirs. Besides, many Potions Grandmasters had already filled their schedules with requests and were unable to take on any more requests.
Precisely because of this, Leylin was able to come across the recipes for a large number of rare potions, which added to his Chip’s database as well as his own skill.
“I just have a slight interest in Potioneering. After all, I started my time as a Magus by becoming a Potions Master’s acolyte!” Leylin laughed weakly, his eyes and expression tinged with nostalgia.
“That itself is extraordinary! And I have to mention that it’s more than impressive for you to keep up with your meditation technique while making vast improvements in your Potioneering skills!” Robin looked closely at Leylin, “Your spiritual force is almost ready to move on to the Vapour Phase, isn’t it?”
“Indeed! I’m about to buy a Vapour Phase spell formation and plan to try and break through soon!” Leylin nodded with confidence. He had nothing to hide.
He’d earned a lot of contribution points through Potioneering. With that and his own resources, Leylin had indiscriminately bought spiritual force potions for his own use from the Ouroboros Clan. With the fourth layer of Kemoyin’s pupil as a guide, Leylin’s path had been clear of any obstacles. With a distinct aim, his spiritual force had improved significantly in this period.
The resources of the central continent could not be compared to those of Twilight Zone and the south coast. In addition to the energy-rich environment, it was much easier for Magi to break through and better themselves here than elsewhere.
“Mm! A Vapour Phase spell formation costs roughly 100,000 contribution points. With the addition of the necessary materials for it, the total will come up to about 150,000! Do you have enough? If not, I can lend you some for now!” Robin said in goodwill.
“Thank you so much!” Leylin laughed.
Although Potioneering was a very profitable business, Leylin had only been in it for a very short time. He’d even spent a huge number of contribution points to purchase spiritual force potions. Thus, he was not so well-off.
The Ouroboros Clan allowed one to exchange magic crystals for contribution points, but there were some considerations that led to Leylin not considering that path. One of them was a fixed limit on the number of crystals a Magus could trade for.
“Oh and here is the information I plan to handover to the clan! Help me do an appraisal!” Leylin chuckled as he handed a folder to Robin.
After skimming through, Robin lifted his brows and looked back at Leylin, straightening his back in astonishment. “You… You actually want to bestow your high-grade potion of tranquility to the clan?”
The high-grade potion of tranquility was an improved version of the one Leylin acquired from the great Magus Serholm, which helped to suppress the emotional instability of Warlocks. Of course, what he offered the guild was the rudimentary version that was not based primarily on the Icy Scorpion’s Breath. But it still proved relatively impressive in repressing the emotions of high-rank Warlocks
The emotional instability of high-rank Warlocks was quite obvious. Although there were some methods and potions to control them circulated inside the Ouroboros Clan, the Magi could never have enough.
As long as the root of this problem was not dealt with, such medicine would always be in high demand. In the past three years, Leylin had refined and manufactured vast quantities of high-grade potions of tranquility, turning them into one of his biggest sources of income. That he was willing to sell the formula left Robin extremely surprised.
“Of course!” Leylin laughed as he shook his head. He did not have the time to concoct and sell potions of tranquility for money. Furthermore, this was an advanced potion! Normal Potions Masters would not be able to achieve a high success rate at concocting it. It would still be easy for him to return to the business to earn contribution points if he wished.
“Just this alone is worth around 25,000 contribution points. Looking at you now, it doesn’t seem like you lack points!” Robin laughed bitterly.
“I wish! Honestly, I was thinking of borrowing some from you, senior! I still have a shortage of them!” Even as he said this, Leylin slyly lifted the corners of his mouth, making Robin feel a little closer to him.
At times, the bond between two people can be improved through the act of mutual support.
“Oh! You won’t be able to support your Magus Tower’s construction much longer, will you?” Robin’s expression changed into one of understanding, and Leylin just chuckled bitterly.
The construction of Leylin’s tower was more or less done over the part three years and now it was mostly down to the detailing and decoration of each floor.
And Leylin’s expectations were exceptionally high. The materials selected were practically the most premium ones and the resources exhausted were comparable to a chain of mountains.
To be honest, Leylin’s weath was enough to sustain the following add-ons to his tower but he didn’t want to be completely transparent. So the facade of a poverty-stricken individual was absolutely necessary.
“Ah… Leylin, I told you so! Why did you not set your standards lower back then during the planning process, or build it here at the headquarters directly? It wouldn’t have resulted in this situation then!” Robin consoled.
“No!” Leylin shook his head with a resolute tone.
“The Magus Tower is a reflection of the rank of its Magus. If I were to build one, I will do it with the best of my abilities! Moreover, I have to think about the future. The Tower being in my territory will act as a deterrent to the surrounding forces.”
“Makes sense. But it is still unwise to use up all your resources for it! I almost prostituted myself when I was building my mine, even with my family and the clan’s resource….” Robin pummeled his chest, fear lingering in his voice.
Leylin could only roll his eyes at the near-promiscuous flashback as Robin moved on to the main concern, “Anyway, how much were you thinking of borrowing?”
“I’d like to ask, how much are you able to lend, senior?” Leylin asked as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth…
In a short while, Leylin arrived at the trading hall of the Ouroboros Clan with a large number of contribution points in hand.
After spending the past 3 years here, Leylin was already familiar with the place and headed straight to his destination upon arrival.
‘A.I Chip, Report my current status!’ Leyin silently said in his head.
[Leylin Farlier, Rank 3 Warlock. Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent Strength: 23.6, Agility: 20.1, Vitality: 39.1, Spiritual Force: 240.5, Magic Power: 240 (Magic Power synchronized with spiritual force)]
The A.I Chip faithfully processed and sent the information.
As a Magus, spiritual force and magic power were the most important numbers. Vitality was the foundation upon which spiritual force was built and sustained, and had to be strong enough; otherwise, the Magus’ body would collapse.
When his strength and agility reached their maximum, Leylin temporarily took his focus away from them and raided for potions and alchemist spell formation in the clan that can boost his Vitality resulting in his terrifying increase to nearly 40.
Looking at these numbers, Leylin felt that his own body terribly surpassed many high-energy beings. Not only was his rate of recovery alarmingly fast, he was able to take on any Magi below rank 2 unarmed!
His bulky physique made cultivating his spiritual force a piece of cake, and he was already prepared to break through the bottleneck that was the Vapour Phase.
“A.I Chip! Simulate my current shape and compute the conditions needed for me to move on to the Vapour Phase!”