64 - 70

Withering Woods

Pressured by Viscount Jackson's aggressive request, very soon the other acolytes agreed too.

After all, they had been in his territory for so long, and he was also a Grand Knight, so it would be awkward if they were to decline.

However, there was an exception, the acolyte with acne, whom Leylin saw before, refused without hesitation.

Finally, the Viscount's gaze focused on Leylin, "How about you, Mister Leylin?"

Viscount Jackson had some reservation towards Leylin. This was because the timing of Leylin's arrival was a coincidence which made him guess that this acolyte was the emissary who had accepted the royal family's mission.

It was a pity that ever since Leylin had arrived, he had spent most of his time in the manor, and rarely left the place. Neither were there any magicians who came forward seeking revenge on him, so it seemed like this acolyte was truly reclusive.

If it were not for the fact that Leylin gave orders so a mission to the withering woods would go forth, Viscount Jackson would have been utterly disappointed.

"After all, it has to be done, and going in as a party is better!"

Leylin thought deep down, yet on the surface he appeared extremely hesitant, "Recently I have been researching potions, and am extremely busy. Some of my experiments have reached a crucial stage…."

"Still, I beseech Mister Leylin to take time out for this!" Viscount Jackson said suddenly, "I know that you have been buying Hove Violet Leaves en masse recently. This ingredient is rather rare, and other cities as well do not have too much of this in their reserves. However, our castle has a storehouse. If Mister Leylin agrees to go on this scouting trip, I am willing to add those in our reserves as a reward!"

"Hove Violet Leaves?" Leylin eyes flashed; this was an unexpected surprise. He estimated this offer to be Viscount Jackson's threshold. Leylin appeared to 'struggle' on the surface, before finally agreeing.

Afterwards, the acolytes made plans for a concrete time to meet, before leaving hurriedly to make preparations.

For this bunch of acolytes, who wholeheartedly wanted to retire and live like princes, Leylin did not put much stock in their actual battle prowess.

"However, when all is said and done, they are still acolytes. Their basic spells, once cast, should still be something." Leylin consoled himself.

At this moment, Murphy who just bade the others farewell walked beside Leylin with a frown on his expression, "Young man, when we reach the withering woods you have to protect me."

"Sire! You are level 3! A level 3 acolyte! While I am but a level 2 acolyte!" Leylin eyes widened.

"Sigh…I'm already too old for this. I have forgotten much of my spell repertoire. You understand, forming the spell model is meticulous work, a small miss-step, and the explosion will not even leave behind corpse!" Murphy had a helpless expression.

"You, how long has it been since you last cast a spell?" Leylin suddenly had a bad premonition.

"It seems almost 30 to 40 years! As you know, I have always regarded myself as a scholar!" Murphy said very innocently.

"F*ck!" Leylin felt rather regretful suddenly.

Two days later. In the morning, Extreme Night City's gates opened. Through those gates came a squadron of soldiers escorting a party in the middle. The group left the city's perimeter at a rapid pace.

"I never thought that Viscount Jackson would also set off with us!" Murphy seemed to be very happy. Having a Grand Knight around, left him greatly assured.

Riding beside him, Viscount Jackson wore black-coloured, steel armour with a helmet that covered his entire face.

"How are your preparations?" Leylin found a suitable time and whispered into Murphy's ears.

"I have concentrated these past 2 days, and can barely use two spell models," Murphy replied softly.

"That's good!" Their conversation before was of a joking nature. Leylin would never believe that this crafty old geezer did not have any life-preserving trump cards up his sleeves.

The Magus world is not a peaceful place. Without enough skills, Murphy would have long since died. So how could he have survived until now as a mere scholar?

"However, even the Black Iron Guards have been activated? There seem to be two small squadrons, about 20 men!"

"Of course, these are all elite troops of the city!" Murphy said. Actually, both he and Leylin knew that in the withering woods, those two squadrons served only one purpose. Cannon fodder!

Dark Night Woods wasn't that far from the city. After travelling for about half an hour, the group managed to reach the wood's outskirts.

"The danger level here is comparable to Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, despite its smaller size. At least, if a normal human were to be more alert, they can enter and leave here as they please when gathering the herbs!"

Leylin was at the centre of the party. Seeing the two squadrons paving the way at the front, his mind wandered.

Along the way, Leylin felt the life force of the Dark Night Woods reducing. Although it was spring, the woods seemed to lack vitality.

Moreover, everyone felt that their bodies were getting heavier and there was a shadow that veiled over their hearts. It felt extremely repressing.

Leylin looked around. The roots of the tree showed signs of withering. Some of the fresh sprouts have even turned pale yellow.

"The withering area has not extended to this point, but this is just a hypothesis!" Leylin gasped.

"It is indeed different here now! My family used to be hunters. In past years, there used to be animals prancing about in this area. There were many wild vegetables and fresh herbs…."

Leylin overheard the words a few soldiers whispered among themselves.

"A.I. Chip! Any change in the air around here?"

[Scanning. Comparing with the database! Conclusion: Oxygen density/levels decreased by 3.7%, Nitrogen density increased. An unknown noble gas has appeared. It currently accounts for 1.2% but its density continues to rise!]

The A.I. Chip's voice intoned.

"Could this inert noble gas be the perpetrator of this withering woods event?" Leylin stroked his chin, allowing the A.I. Chip to continue.

"Be careful! We have entered the withering domain!" Viscount Jackson roared at the forefront of the group.

Leylin patted his leather armour. Beneath it was the grey robes of Abyssal Bone Forest Academy acting as a second layer of defense. He had even purposely removed the academy's insignia earlier.

What the accompanying acolytes lacked were the ephemeral defensive constructs that the Magi layered around themselves as they went into battle. Victory often revolved solely on whether the spells cast managed to strike an opponent.

"Instantaneous spell casting, Potioneering Spells, magic artifacts were all great enhancers of an acolyte's battle strength!"

Leylin reached into his robes and took out a potion from a leather bag tied around the waist.

In Brey Canyon, he had replenished his ingredients and had made many explosive potions as his ammunition for this expedition.

As the group advanced, the environment began to change.

More and more dried withered plants and trees filled the woods. They let off an aura of death and decay.

Leylin reached out and grabbed a twig in passing. His eyes flashed, "It has already lost all its water content, and even…."

Exerting a little more force in his palm, the twig immediately turned into white dust, trickled through the gaps in his fingers and floated down towards the ground.

"Even the internal structure has been completely destroyed!" Leylin's heart felt rather heavy. A power like this already exceeded his expectations.

"Where are we supposed to go?" Viscount Jackson asked Murphy who was beside him.

"The heart of the woods! Only by reaching the center of this withering region, can my spell exert enough effect!" Murphy had an extremely solemn expression. He withdrew a spectacle-like item and hung it on his nose.

A wide withered tree lay on the ground. It had an extremely spongy feel when stepped on.

[Warning! Warning! Dangerous organism ahead!] The A.I. Chip's alarm went off suddenly and Leylin tried to think of an excuse to use so he could warn the others.

* Hu! * Suddenly brown-coloured branches and twigs flew up. A black figure came charging towards them.

This figure was extremely quick. It opened its jaw littered with snow white fangs. A red-coloured tongue flicked out.

* Su Su! * The tongue coiled around one of the guards on duty at the front and retracted its tongue. * Pa! * The guard's spear fell.

"Be careful!" At this moment, Viscount Jackson gave a warning.

"Argh!" The miserable cries sounded. The guard, trapped in the tongue's coils had already disappeared into a black hole. He was snapped into two halves. Fresh red blood and guts spilled onto the ground.

"Damn it!" Viscount Jackson shouted angrily and brandished the wide sword that hung from his waist. He immediately went and engaged the black figure.

"Sluggish Spell!" The red-haired shop owner waved his hands. A yellow-green light was shot. It turned into a circular ring that closed on the black figure. The other acolytes began reacting and started their own incantations.

* Sssii! * With the hissing of the creature, the black figure's speed finally slowed down revealing its appearance to everyone.

Its body was clay-yellow in colour. It had four legs, a tongue that was like a snake's and a small horn on its forehead.

"Wasn't it reported that this creature died already? Why is there still one?" Leylin was suspicious, but he still activated the A.I. Chip.

[Beep! Unknown organism. Strength: 5.5, Agility: 4 (6-7), Vitality: 5, Spiritual force: 3. Similarity to Blue Lizard 67.4% and to Mance Earth Snake 45.8%]

"It's a rather strong creature. Apart from its low spiritual force, it doesn't have any obvious flaws. Their numbers are also unknown; no wonder Jackson was not able to deal with them alone!"

However, as the Sluggish Spell took effect, this strange lizard's speed obviously took a hit. After a brief exchange of blows, the Viscount shouted, "Death Arc of Light!"

From within his blade, a resplendent circle of light expanded into the shape of a blade. It streaked past the lizard's neck.

"A Knight-class killing technique! It has the same properties as my Cross Slash. However, Jackson uses it with ease. He has not even used any Knight secret technique."

* Bang! * The two passed each other. The huge lizard charged forward another few steps before suddenly crashing to the ground.

* Sssii! * Clay yellow scales landed on the floor one by one. Around the lizard's neck area was a huge cut. Dark red blood spilled on the ground.

"All of you look!" An acolyte shouted suddenly.

With the death of the lizard, its body continued to cave inwards, with the scales continuously falling off and littering the ground. The blood quickly evaporated too. Within a few short minutes, there was only a white skeleton and some yellow scales left on the ground.

Deep Underground

"There's no need to look anymore. The same thing happened when I killed these creatures before."

Viscount Jackson took out a white handkerchief and wiped his blade clean, before sheathing it into the scabbard.

"There's actually a self-disintegration phenomenon when it dies!"

Leylin was somewhat surprised. This did not correspond to the laws of nature.

Looking at the skeleton that was still emitting white smoke, Leylin picked one of the bones up.

The dried white bone was littered with cracks. It felt like any slight press would cause it to crumble. Leylin exerted a little more force, and with a hissing sound, the dried bone turned into fine powder.

"En, something's off!" Leylin's eyes flashed. He discovered some fine threads of veins within the white bone powder.

[Target still exuding vital energy. Identified to be a high-level pathogen. The host is recommended to keep a distance!] At this moment, the A.I. Chip's scan appeared in Leylin's vision.

Leylin hurriedly flung off the powdery substance and began radiating internal energy particles from within his hands to cleanse them.

"What's wrong?" Murphy too discovered that something was amiss.

"Be careful of those bones, there's something inside it!" Leylin's brows furrowed and he hurriedly distanced himself from it.

* Sssii! * At that moment, more red blood veins appeared on the desiccated lizard's skeleton. The bone began to exhibit innumerable puncture holes. It seemed like the veins resided within the bones previously.

Countless more blood red veins took shape, intertwining like the branches of a tree and started transforming into a small-sized creature.

It was rather similar to the creature before, but now its body was blood red. From time to time, red veins popped out. The creature did not have eyes or a mouth. Its four legs appeared extremely sturdy, however.

* Xiu! * The creature's attack was extremely fast. Before Viscount Jackson and the other acolytes could react, it left its original position. Only a red, blurry line could be seen.

"Give chase! This creature definitely has something to do with the withering woods!" A person covered fully in grey robes whispered something to Viscount Jackson, who immediately gave the order.

"That grey-robed person has always been following Viscount Jackson ever since we left Extreme Night City. He must be a trusted aide. He also has great detection abilities."

Leylin eyes narrowed as he used the A.I. Chip to scan. "This appearance and figure, there is also the energy waves of a level 2 acolyte? Interesting!"

"Hurry! Keep up!"

Upon hearing Viscount Jackson's orders, the Black Iron Guards immediately followed suit, overtaking Viscount Jackson and keeping him in their midst. The grey-robed person followed closely behind.

The remaining acolytes looked at each other. Murphy, a little helplessly, said, "Let's follow them!"

Leylin purposely suppressed his speed and kept to Murphy's speed, "That thing earlier, do you have any guesses as to what it was?"

"It seems to be some kind of parasite! According to its strength, the mother-parent has, at least, the strength of a level 3 acolyte….Or even that of an official Magus!" Murphy smiled bitterly.

Leylin and his small group were no threat to an official Magus. Any rank 1 spell could easily obliterate their entire party.

"That shouldn't be!" Leylin shook his head. According to the A.I. Chip's calculations, that parasite's strength was not bad. The mother-parent's body should at most have the strength of a level 3 acolyte, theoretically speaking. Otherwise, Leylin would have been the first to run away.

"It is only…..just an investigative mission, I even picked it myself. That it can actually involve an organism with the strength of a level 3 acolyte, how bad can my luck be…." Leylin did not know what to think of himself anymore.

He was happy that he did not come here on his own before. Otherwise, unlike the main characters in the novels of his previous world, he was incapable of those fictional bursts of power in times of adversity. And the only outcome would be death.

"Be careful, we are venturing deeper. I can already feel the dense negative energy aura in the air!"

An acolyte howled.

Leylin had a higher perception towards negative energy. After all, his main affinities were Shadow and Dark Element particles. Just like Plant affinity and Light affinity emphasized on positive energy research, Leylin's affinities made him spend more time exposed to negative energy compared to the others.

"It's almost like the surroundings of Abyssal Bone Forest Academy. No wonder I feel like a fish back in the water."

Leylin pulled up his sleeves and covered the smile that pulled at the corners of his lips.

* Clang! * Sounded their armour as the group halted.

"It disappeared! I saw that red creature pausing at this spot for a moment, then it suddenly disappeared!" Jackson brandished his long sword, "Be on guard!"

The Black Iron Guards immediately formed a circle protecting Jackson and the acolytes within to prevent any sneak attacks.

"This should be the heart of the withering woods!" Murphy rubbed his nose.

"The scouting method I have prepared can now be used!" Murphy took a black coloured potion from his robes and poured the contents on the ground after opening the plug.

* Plop plop! *

After the black coloured potion was poured on the forest floor, it actually turned into tiny ants scampering in all directions.

After the potion was used up, Leylin estimated that there were close to ten thousand ants that appeared.

"A scout like this can be considered to have omnidirectional coverage. It will be extremely difficult for that creature to escape!" Leylin thought.

As expected, after roughly a dozen minutes, a black coloured ant appeared at Murphy's feet, crawled on his robes all the way to his ears, and appeared as if it whispered something.

"It's been found! Follow me!" Murphy followed the ant and led the group to a withered oak tree.

"Move this oak tree away!" Murphy pointed at the large tree, "According to my probing, there seems to be a secret tunnel underneath it."

"Squad 1! Go!" Jackson waved his hands.

Several Black Iron Guards went forward and stabbed their pikes at the oak tree.

The withered oak tree did not seem capable of withstanding the assault. After being pierced multiple times by the pikes, many pieces and chips of bark filled the air as if it were snowing. The ten guards hurriedly moved the completely withered oak tree away revealing a dark sinister tunnel.

"Here it is!" Murphy's eyes flashed, and he chanted an incantation.

The widely spread black ants returned from all directions and entered the hole.

Suddenly, Murphy's face turned pale, and his body fell backwards, almost fainting.

"What happened?" Leylin appeared behind Murphy and supported his waist.

"There seems to be an extremely dangerous creature inside. It destroyed all of my precious babies!" Murphy's expression appeared very unsightly.

"What should we do?" An acolyte asked, apparently wanting to leave.

"Prepare a fire!" Jackson waves his hands, "We'll have a look down there!"

"Yes!" The guards quickly carried out their lord's orders. Leylin and the other acolytes looked at each other. Having no other choice, they could only follow.

The hole was rather small. A grown man needed to crouch before they could enter. However, the tunnel became more spacious the deeper it went, until a number of guards could walk abreast, even raising the fire torches high did not touch the cave's ceiling.

"This is going to be troublesome! From the height of this cave, that 'parent's' body will definitely not be small." Leylin felt the leather sack hanging from his waist. If not for the multiple trump cards he prepared, he might have already sneaked away and left the group by now.

After all, his life was more precious than the wrath of a city's lord.

"Lord Viscount! There's a fork ahead!" A squad leader reported to Jackson.

"Let me have a look!" Jackson stepped forward.

Leylin followed behind. As expected, there seemed to be two perfectly similar tunnels ahead. Looking at the darkness of their unfathomable depths, one could not see the tunnel's end. It felt like walking into the huge mouth of a beast.

"The negative energy in here is becoming too dense. Some of our scouting methods cannot be used here!" The city lord's aide, the grey-robed person spoke.

"Call two men to reconnoiter each path ahead!" Jackson's brows furrowed as he gave the order.

"It would be better to let me do it!" Leylin walked forward suddenly.

Since he knew that the 'parent' was extremely powerful, he did not want his side to lose too much battle strength.

"Since Mister Leylin has decided to step forward, then it's for the best!" Viscount Jackson smiled.

Leylin walked forward several steps and took out a transparent crystal from his robes.

"Gurisitong – Jiaonateyer!" Leylin chanted. A black vertical pupil suddenly appeared within the depths of the crystal.

The vertical pupil was the same size as a human's, but it did not have the white of a human eye. Looking at this pure black pupil made one feel as if it could tear their souls from their bodies.

"This is… The Negative Energy Eye!"

"Only acolytes who specialise in negative energy are able to use it!"

The acolytes behind began to whisper and their gazes contained more hostility and fear than before.

The rank 0 spells of magicians who specialises in negative energy are generally more destructive and their personalities were more bloodthirsty and savage than most other Magi. This normally meant being a Dark Magi.

The regular magicians' hostile looks were understandable.

Leylin did not have any inclinations of explaining himself to the people behind him whatsoever. His fingers exerted force and pinched the crystal to pieces.

The black pupil split into two. One floated into each tunnel.

Following the vertical pupils mentally, Leylin's closed his eyes. Viscount Jackson became rather nervous as he stared at Leylin. The group grew quiet, only the constant soft snapping noise of torches burning could be heard.

A few minutes later, Leylin opened his eyes, "On the tunnel to the left are a few mutated lizards. At its end is a large granite rock."

"As for the one on the right, I only know that it leads unknown distance downwards. My spell got smashed after I tried probing further."

"Since it's that way, let's all go down together." Jackson pointed to the tunnel on the right.

The right side of the cave got damper and more humid. Leylin touched the mud walls and found a few moss-like plants strewn all over it dripping wet, "It's moist!"

Leylin's heart lurched, but his expression remained impassive. He took out a white handkerchief from his robes and wiped his hands clean.

"I'm afraid we're nearing the nest of those strange creatures."

Rune Shackles

"Light! There's a light ahead!"

A guard walking in the vanguard shouted.

Leylin took a look. Indeed, the far end of the tunnel was radiating light.

"Enter!" Jackson gripped his large sword with both hands and was the first to rush in.

The rest followed suit.

Light! Eye-piercing light radiated downwards from above!

Leylin's eyes were stinging — tears flowed down uncontrollably. He immediately used his hand to cover his eyes.

"Argh!" "Monster!" "Be careful!"

Various shouts resounded, and weapons were brandished.

[Alert! Imminent attack ahead! Optimal response: step back and crouch!] The A.I. Chip's voice intoned and projected a faint blue screen.

On the screen, a talon the size of a palm was clawing towards Leylin.

Leylin hurriedly retreated a step and crouched to dodge the attack.

Amidst the wails all around, Jackson's faint howling could be heard.

After the A.I. Chip's scan, Leylin could see that many lizard-like creatures were making use of their familiarity with the geography to attempt a massacre of Jackson and the squad of guards around him.

The sneak attack was so quick that when Jackson and the rest finally reacted, the whole squad already suffered heavy casualties.

As Leylin swept his gaze across the scene before him and his eyes finally adjusted to the bright light. He realised that the floor was already littered with corpses. Many of them had traces of having been chewed on by these strange creatures.

At that moment, only the 2 Knight level squad leaders and the grey robed figure, who always followed behind Jackson, were all that remained of the group with Jackson.

As for the acolytes, one had fallen to the ground and another had a large wound on his abdomen that was oozing blood.

At the apex of the cave, white-coloured jellyfish-like creatures were floating. The flash from earlier had radiated from their bodies.

"The surge of light radiated from these jellyfish could actually increase instantaneously and produce an effect similar to a flashbang grenade. The coordination demonstrated by these strange creatures that caused several deaths and injuries definitely hinted at some intelligence controlling them from behind the scenes!"

After light burst from the jellyfish, they seemed to have become a little dispirited as they floated around in the air. Although there was still some light emanating from their bodies, it was not piercing to the eyes. It seemed like the flash from earlier was a one time attack.

"This is a Flash Jellyfish, a kind of subterranean creature. Their earlier attack can only be used once. They need a day of rest before emitting such an intense burst of light again!"

Murphy appeared, clutching a book to his chest.

"What we need to deal with are not these parasitic organisms, but that fellow in the middle!" Leylin pointed to the centre of the cave, and smiled bitterly.

Leylin and the rest entered a large underground cave earlier, where the ceiling was littered with stalactites and Flash Jellyfish, which allowed them a panoramic view of the interior.

At this moment, in the cave, there were many mutated, yet familiar creatures. There were lizards, brown bears, and elks, all numbering over a dozen. At the centre most of them all, there was an enormous yellow snake that seemed to be the king, as it was guarded by the other creatures.

"It's Mankestre – Great Withering Snake Mankestre!" Murphy's book fell from his hands to the floor, letting off a bang.

"A.I. Chip, scan!" Leylin instructed.

[Great Withering Snake – Mankestre (Half-adult body) Strength: 11.9, Agility: 6.5, Vitality: 14, Spiritual force: 8] [Abilities: 1 – Parasitic. A Mankestre is able to develop an extremely strong parasite in its body, and spread it to other organisms, making them its underlings.] [2 – Wither. In any areas where a Mankestre has passed by, the plants will die, and become a type of nutrient for the Mankestre. An adult Mankestre possesses the strength of an official Magus, and can transform an entire forest into withering ashes.] [Source of information: , ]

The A.I. Chip delivered the information immediately in front of Leylin.

"Half-adult body? It doesn't seem to be at its adult stage!" Leylin first heaved a breath of relief, before shouting out loud, "Murphy, don't be fooled by its appearance. This is but a non-adult Mankestre. We still have a chance!"

"Indeed!" Murphy scrutinised the brown yellow colour of the huge snake and finally recovered from his fright, "An adult Mankestre is at least 100 metres long, and this snake is obviously not of that length yet. A number of parasites that it produces is also not right!"

"This huge snake is the cause of the withering woods?" Jackson asked at the side while staring at the huge snake as his Adam's apple moved.

"That's right! A Mankestre uses the juice of plants as their food. They are rather crafty and lazy, and also hate to move about. Basically, it uses the parasites to gather food for itself!"

Murphy, who had bountiful experience and wisdom, was extremely aware of the habits of the huge Mankestre Snake.

"So then, if we kill it, the herb production in Dark Night Woods can recover again?" Jackson used his long sword and pointed at the huge yellow snake that was protected by its parasitic mutated creatures.

"In theory, it should be the case as long as you kill it or drive it away. Although its death cannot revive the withering woods, it can still allow the prey and woods to slowly recover back to what it once was!"

Murphy smiled wryly.

* Hiss! * The snake coiled in the centre of the cave hissed, and let off a low, snake-like speech.

It was a kind of sound made by the friction of rubbing two pieces rotten leather together, which was extremely unpleasant to the ears.

The creatures surrounding Leylin and the rest seemed to have received orders, and howled as they charged forward!

Leylin casually took a look, "There are too many creatures, and the parent body is not yet dealt with, I must conserve my magic power!"

"A.I. Chip! Simulate the most optimal method of attack!"

Leylin pulled out his cross blade.

[Beep! Inputting situation data, initiating build with Host's stats!] [Calculating battle simulation for the most optimal method!] The A.I. Chip continuously displayed the attack style of creatures surrounding home.

Leylin's feet moved as he dodged a brown bear's attack. The cross blade in his right hand drew a strange trajectory, and deflected the paw of the bear, and directly pierced through its skull.

* Bang! * The huge brown corpse of the bear fell to the ground, and even the Mankestre Snake had taken notice, looking at Leylin.

Leylin's scalp tingled, as he hurriedly kept his distance.

"Nicely done!" Jackson shouted in admiration. His body seemed to turn into a gust of wind, and continuously ravaged the mob of creatures, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

"It seems that Jackson has ignited the secret Knight technique! His technique should be enhancing his agility "

The few acolytes also casted their rank 0 spells that they had prepared and assisted in killing these creatures.

Leylin only took a look and did not bother about them anymore.

* Sssii! *The corpse of the brown bear that Leylin had killed rapidly decomposed. From the bones, many veins appeared, which turned into the creature that Leylin and the rest had been chasing earlier. The creature then climbed into the Mankestre's mouth.

The Mankestre Snake opened its mouth and revealed rows of razor sharp teeth. Its tongue coiled, as it swallowed the strange red veined creature into its belly.

"Retrieving its parasite huh?" Leylin was rather shocked.

After swallowing the parasite, the Mankestre Snake finally uncoiled and looked at Leylin and the group, who were unrestrainedly slaughtering the creatures. Its crimson eyes showed signs of rage.

* Bang! * The huge body of the snake shot out, and the entire cave trembled violently.

The huge Mankestre Snake's body moved at an alarming speed, charging towards Jackson.

"It's too quick! With an agility of 6.5, I can only see its afterimage " Leylin rapidly retreated, and at the same time, he used the cross blade to block his chest.

A surge of immense force came rushing over, and the cross blade that Leylin held onto flew in the air, completely broken .

"Such a strong force, and it's only a casual swipe!" Leylin's pupils constricted.

The Mankestre Snake opened its jaws wide, and its razor sharp teeth snapped at Jackson, bringing about a fish-like smell. If Jackson were to be caught, he would definitely die without a corpse left.

"Sir!" The remaining two Knights and the grey robed person shouted.

"Hah! Good try!" At the brink of death, Jackson finally released all of his internal energy, and the sword pierced at the crown of the snake with a speed that was hard to track by eye.

The sword, however, only left a white spot on the scales of the snake. As for Jackson, he used the force to rebound, and twisted his waist, evading the snap of the snake's jaw.

"Protect our Lord!" The two Knights rushed forward. The Mankestre Snake let out a ferocious roar, and directly gobbled the two Knights into its belly.

"Secondary Fireball!"

"Acidic Aqua Shot"

At this moment, the other acolytes also cast their spells, striking the body of the huge snake.

* Bang! * A black arrow with a yellow flame exploded from the body of the huge snake, revealing two scorched holes/wounds/gashes.

The huge snake let off a roar, which carried a tinge of agony. Its scales shook, and it sent its tail flying towards the few acolytes.

"The vitality of the snake is too high, any normal rank 0 spells would not be able to affect its movement at all!"

The huge snake swatted its tail, and a few acolytes who were unable to dodge in time were turned into meat pancakes, and blood oozed from beneath the snake's body.

"No! Decker! Lancer!" Murphy cried hoarsely in anguish.

"There's no choice, we have to retreat first!" The few remaining people huddled together, when the grey robed figure behind Jackson spoke in a deep growl.

"No! This damned worm dared to kill Decker and the rest! I will definitely not let it go!" Murphy's eyes were rather bloodshot.

"I have a spell that can temporarily restrict its movements, the rest will be up to you guys."

Murphy stepped forward, placed the monocle that he always carried in his hand, and tossed it towards the huge snake.

* Bang! * The glass shattered on the huge snake, and many dark red runes suddenly surfaced.

The dark red runes multiplied, and turned into the shape of a long chain, binding the snake within it.

"What a powerful restraining spell!" Leylin's eyes flashed, "It will not be able to move for at least half a minute, so use whatever methods you guys have in that time."

Defence Potion

The fine rune shackles were the size of a strand of hair compared to the huge Mankestre snake. However, under the restraint of the shackles, the huge snake was helplessly locked to the ground, not even able to move.

"Hurry, charge!" Jackson howled, and the huge sword radiated light.

On the other side, the grey-robed person too lifted his cloak, and revealed a Half-Beast Man appearance as he hurriedly chanted an incantation.

* Roar! * The remaining creatures felt the danger that their parent was in, and rushed forward, with no thoughts for their own safety, towards Leylin and the rest.

"Go to hell!" Leylin pulled out a few fire red coloured explosive potions and decimated the remaining creatures into ashes.

"To the Mankestre snake, the eyes are their achilles heel, and is even more vulnerable than the heart.

Leylin howled, at the same time chanting.

Along with the chanting of the mysterious and ancient Byron language resounding in the cave, a hoard of congealed and thick black oily bodies appeared beside Leylin, completely surrounding him.

These black, oily figures circled around Leylin, giving off bubbles from time to time, and letting off a sound that was akin to decomposing material. While he continued to chant, the black oiled figures continuously changed shape, finally turning into a black lion head-like apparition.

"Go!" Leylin pointed.

The black lion head roared, and charged towards the crown of the huge snake which was being restrained.

* Pu! * The lion head immediately bit on both of the Mankestre snake's eyes.

* Sssii! * The huge snake writhed continuously, letting off an agonised screech. The rune shackles on its body were also emitting off red smoke.

"Hurry!" I cannot keep this up much longer!" Murphy completely diverged from his scholarly image and howled without a care.

The black lion head continuously chewed on the head of the huge snake, and finally dissolved, turning into a puddle of greasy black oil, that covering the head of the huge snake, and eventually covered both of its eyes.

"It is now!" Leylin eyes flashed and withdrew a test tube. The contents radiated a blood red light, which excreted feelings of danger.

This was an explosive potion, but was much larger in comparison had a larger blast radius was larger in circumference as in compared to the previous potions.

The muscles of Leylin's right arm bulged as he tossed the potion directly into the black oil.

* Bang! * A tremendous flame rose, completely engulfing the huge Mankestre snake, and burning it savagely.

The huge snake continuously tossed its head, which looked like a huge burning torch from, side to side.

The rune shackles around it also let off creaking noises which meant that it could not endure for much longer.

"The decomposing oil water that comes from the subterranean area, together with the A.I. Chip's modified explosive potion gives off a combined attack of at least 9 degrees!"

Blue light in continuously flashed from within Leylin's eyes, as he recorded the figures from the explosion.

"Pant! Pant! The earlier attack has already broken through most of the huge Mankestre snake's defence! Now is the time to kill it!"

Leylin panted violently, and his face was extremely pale. It was like he had completely depleted his spiritual force and magic power, and he staggered several steps behind.

From an area of his sleeve which was concealed from others, another of the modified explosive potions, which was used earlier, appeared in his hands.

Leylin would never place his hopes completely on others, especially at crucial times like this.

At this moment, the Half-Beast Man had finished chanting his spell.

"The strength of my forebearer's totem, transform now into frigid ice, and grant me the might to slay the Mankestre snake!"

The Half-Beast Man finished his spell, and touched lightly on Jackson's sword.

* Sssii! *

On the blade of Jackson's huge sword, a layer of frost began to envelop it, , and the frost grew more and more, before finally enlarging the of the blade to double of its original size, and turning it into a frost greatsword!

What the Half-Beast Man had cast was actually a kind of rarely seen spell which could enhance weapons!

"According to the scan of the A.I. Chip, at this moment, the greatsword in Jackson's hands already has the strength of a basic level magic artifact!"

Leylin eyes flashed, "It is a rather decent enchanting technique!"

Jackson had obviously teamed up with the Half-Beast Man many times before. Earlier, he had been conserving his energy, and once the greatsword had completed the layer of frost, Jackson howled and raised it above him, charging and chopping towards the neck of the Mankestre snake.

The sword, which seemed like a giant crystallised ice sculpture, directly chopped at a blackened patch of the huge snake with Jackson's strength of a Grand Knight.

* Pu-chi! *

Red hot blood flowed down continuously from a deep gash on the neck of the Mankestre snake, which seemed to be almost half a metre deep. One could even see the whites of the bones. The huge snaked roared, and headbutted with all its strength.

* Bang! * Viscount Jackson was immediately knocked away, and even the breastplate he was wearing was dented inwards.

The frost greatsword landed upright by his side, burying itself halfway into the ground.

* Ping Ping Ping! * The layer of ice continuously cracked, and finally even the sword, which was made of steel, shattered into countless fragments that landed on the floor.

"It seems like this spell isn't completely flawless either!" Leylin was still in the mood to observe leisurely.

However, at this moment, Murphy's complexion turned red, "I can't control it any longer!"

Under the continuous struggles of the Mankestre snake, the rune shackles around it finally collapsed with a rattling sound. As for the price of being able to free itself, the snake had already suffered a dozen wounds which penetrated through its scales.

As for the heavily injured Mankestre snake, its bloodshot eyes turned even more crimson. With lightning speed, it swiped and coiled its tail. Before Leylin could react, he realised that there was one less person beside him. The Half-Beast Man which originally stood there was now wrapped up in the snake's tail.

"No! Save me!" The tail continuously constricted, and the huge snake's figure almost covered the entirety of the Half-Beast Man.

At this moment, Jackson, who was not sure if he was still alive or dead, lay on the side, and could not answer his subordinate cries at all.

* Ga-cha! * With a creaking noise, the ear-piercing sounds of bones shattering resounded in the air. The Half-Beast Man's distressed cries climbed higher in pitch, until finally, it turned into dead silence.

Leylin watched the huge, moribund snake attentively, as he drew a few potions of various colours.

* Bang! *

A huge black figure attacked, and hit a yellow test tube that had left Leylin's hands. In the surrounding area, a layer of yellow light appeared, and engulfed Leylin's entire body.

The immense might crashed into Leylin and he was sent flying, crashing into a nearby granite rock. Mud flew above his head as he landed, and there was even a huge impression left on the rock behind his back.

At the same time as Leylin was sent back flying, a layer of intense red flames extended from the snake's tail, and multiple colours of light also blossomed on the snake's body, finally resulting in the cries of the Mankestre snake.

The yellow light shattered into many pieces, before finally dissipating into the air.

Leylin's body was completely unscathed, and seeing the many spots of dazzling yellow light, he grimaced.

"The weakness of acolytes is that they always have no defensive measures!"

The defensive spell models for rank 0 spells were extremely uncommon, as they were not very practical. When an acolyte is being attacked, rarely would they have time to chant those spells.

As a result, in battles between acolytes, whoever was struck first by a spell would end up defeated or killed.

This scenario would last until one reached the stage of an official Magus.

Apart from this, there was another method, which was to borrow strength from special items. For example, defensive or strange items which could instantly activate a defence spell.

However, such high leveled defensive items were even difficult to obtain for official Magus, so they rarely appeared in the hands of an acolyte.

Leylin and the other acolytes, together with the Half-Beast Man, all had no defensive items. At most, they only wore leather armour, which had absolutely no resistance against spells.

Moreover, a simple roll of the Mankestre snake would have already been able to grind them into a meat paste.

"According to the records of the academy, there are still a number of acolytes who die at the hands of Knights and Grand Knights. However, there has never been any instance of an official Magus dying at the hands of ordinary humans!"

As for this yellow potion, it was Leylin's latest experimental result – Trevor's Revolving Shield Potion!

A potion like this has already separated itself from the category of elementary potions. It was a kind of beginner's potion, and even amongst the beginner potion category it was extremely difficult to brew.

As for the effect, it would produce a one-time defensive layer of light, which would defend against any spell or physical attack of ten degrees or less!

With Leylin's amassed wealth from selling potions, together with the A.I. Chip continuous simulation, he had finally managed to make only two bottles of it.

The amount he spent for these had already exceeded over 1000 magic crystals!

"These potions are not easily affordable by others, and all official Magi attacks have an attack strength of over 10 degrees, so this Trevor's Revolving Shield Potion is best used only at the level of battles between acolytes. However, every bottle costs at least 500 magic crystals. Even direct heirs to large families would not be able to afford it!"

However, for Leylin who had the help from A.I. Chip, which could elevate his success rate, combined with his Potions Master identity, he could brew the Trevor's Revolving Shield Potion, suppressing the cost to around 200 to 300 magic crystals. Although it still remained steep in price, as it was a trump card, it was acceptable.

"Leylin!" Murphy's eyes widened, "You…Are you alright?"

"En! I've wasted an expensive defensive potion that I've acquired!" Leylin's face darkened, and seemed to be extremely saddened by the loss.

"This damned beast, I'm going to kill it!"

On the other side of the battlefield, the huge Mankestre snake lay half dead on the floor, seemingly spent, and having wounds strewn across its body.

First, it was hit with Leylin's hybrid attack, before almost having its head chopped off by Grand Knight Jackson. Afterwards, it escaped from Murphy's rune shackles through brute force, before it was finally struck again by Leylin's potions.

The snake head, which was always held high with pride, now lay helpless on the floor. Its tongue hissed, and blood continuously flowed out from its neck area.

"After having suffered from such a devastating injury, no matter how tenacious the life force of snake type creatures are, they will absolutely still perish!"

Murphy gritted his teeth, and shot a green coloured pyramid shaft, which directly lodged itself into the eyes of the huge snake.

* Pu! * The snake's eyes were finally pierced through, and a layer of creamy red and yellow liquid splashed out, which was sparkling yet translucent.

Returning to Extreme Night City

"The eyes are where the life essence of the Mankestre snake is, and it looks like this huge snake is about to die!"

Murphy looked at the huge snake, which was in its last moments, and said rather bleakly.

"Be optimistic my old friend!" Towards Murphy's bleakness, Leylin discovered that he actually could not utter any words of comfort.

After all, the casualties, this time, were too much. From a group of roughly 30 people, the Black Iron Guards were completely wiped out, and Murphy was the only acolyte that survived.

Moreover, the city lord and the Grand Knight, Viscount Jackson, was severely injured at this moment, and his life was in peril.

And the source of them all was this huge Mankestre snake!

"City lord? Right, Leylin! Hurry and look at Jackson!" Murphy slapped his forehead.

"You only thought of him now?" Leylin was rather speechless, and walked around the huge snake corpse, coming to the other side.

Viscount Jackson was lying on his back on the ground and his chest was sunken in a cavity. On the corners of his lips were traces of blood, and he was in an unconscious state.

Leylin hurriedly took a look, "3 broken ribs and the arm and leg bones are all also broken. As for the rest they are fine. With the vitality of a Grand Knight, he should be conscious in a few hours.

"That's good! This is the only good news I've heard all day today!"

Murphy walked towards that huge, lifeless snake, and said, "This seems to be a Mankestre snake which has not yet grown to its adult stage. If it was an adult withering huge snake, it could be very likely that the water content in our bodies would have been sucked dry the very moment we entered the cave!"

The huge Mankestre snake's head fell onto the floor, and a pair of eye-shaped pearls were pierced by the pyramid shaft, and dazzling fluid flowed out from within.

"Even so, the materials on this huge snake, would also be worth thousands of magic crystals!"

Murphy caressed the yellow-brown scales of the huge snake as he muttered to himself.

Suddenly, the other eye of the Mankestre snake opened! Its gaze, filled with hatred, immediately landed on Murphy. It opened its jaws, and the razor-sharp teeth was about to snap Murphy into two.

This huge snake was not completely dead!

Earlier it had feigned its death, and right now, it finally revealed its razor-sharp teeth and was about to kill this repulsive human.

Against such an attack, Murphy was completely not protected and he stood there stunned, not moving at all.

"Be careful!"

Right when the snow-white teeth was about to land on Murphy, a silver chain suddenly flew out and wrapped itself on Murphy's waist, pulling him out of danger's way.

A black arrow directly pierced the other eye of the snake, and the Mankestre snake continuously writhed and finally ceased moving.

* Huff! Huff! Huff! *

Murphy panted violently, "Ley… Leylin, thank you! I owe you my life!"

"No problem! You gave your support to me back then too, didn't you?" Leylin smiled as his gaze fixed on the huge snake, up until when the A.I. Chip's voice sounded, [Target has completely lost all signs of life] did he heave a sigh of relief.

Under the detection of the A.I. Chip, although there were no more energy movements from the huge snake earlier, there was still a thermal response.

Of course, many kinds of creatures must be dead for a while before all thermal signs completely vanish.

However, because of that, Leylin was even more vigilant. Besides, intentionally or accidentally, he led Murphy forward and finally verified whether the large snake was truly dead.

"What a pity! If this Mankestre snake were to die before, its other eye would have absolutely been valued over 1000 magic crystals, but right now, the value of the whole corpse is greatly reduced."

Leylin was somewhat helpless at he looked to Murphy, who was at his side.

"About the attack earlier- you actually did not dodge it, which makes me rather surprised!"

An unexpected flush reddened Murphy's cheeks, "After using the rune shackles, my spiritual force and magic power are greatly weakened. In this period, I am just another old geezer on the street…."

With regards to Leylin, who saved him earlier, right now it could be said that Murphy trusted him greatly and actually even shared such a secret with him.

"Alright! Let's hurry and harvest the materials of this Mankestre snake, and then return to Extreme Night City!"

Leylin sized up the chaotic scene. Leylin and the three of them had absolutely no way to move those corpses on the ground, so they could only return back to Extreme Night City and ask people to retrieve these corpses.

With the death of the huge Mankestre snake, this area should no longer pose a threat in future.

"Haha… This time Leylin, your contributions have been the most, so you should be allowed to harvest the best material!" Murphy smiled.

Concerning this matter, Leylin did not have any notions of killing Murphy and claiming all the loot for himself.

Murphy did help him earlier, and on the other hand, right now Murphy and him were the only two acolytes left, so he would definitely monopolise a large portion of the resources, thus he did not have to take a risk and kill people.

From the whole Mankestre snake, the most valuable ingredient would be its eyes, after which the remaining materials would only add up to a total of 1000 to 2000 magic crystals, which was not enough to bewitch Leylin yet.

If right now there was some rare materials worth ten thousand magic crystals, who knew if Leylin would harbour some bad intentions.

"Decent scales, combined with the snake skin, should be able to produce many sets of soft armour." Leylin went forward and unsheathed his cross blade, before dissecting the huge snake. Murphy too helped by his side.

After a moment of being busy, Leylin and Murphy had harvested some of the more valuable portions of the huge snake. As for the remaining items, they could only be transported with help from the city lord's castle.

...

* Gu Lu Lu * The axles of the carriage resounded continuously, and Viscount Jackson opened his eyes.

"I am…still alive?" What entered his vision was a sky filled with resplendent starlight, and he felt his body rising and falling in accordance with the movements of the horse carriage.

Viscount Jackson discovered that his chest was already bandaged, and a refreshing feeling dispersed the pain, which showed that the healing process was extremely professional.

"Who was it that saved me?" A doubt crossed Viscount Jackson's mind, and he tried hard to untangle his thoughts.

"City lord! You are finally awake!" A face with a white beard and white eyebrows appeared in front of Viscount Jackson.

"How is it? Do you still retain your memories?" Murphy shook his finger in front of Viscount Jackson.

"Was it you who saved me? How are the others?" Viscount Jackson struggled to speak, and his voice sounded hoarse, like a ruined bellow.

"It wasn't me, but Leylin who saved you!" Murphy pointed at Leylin who was driving, "We three are the only survivors of the whole group… After exiting the woods, it took me a while to obtain this spacious horse carriage…."

"They're all dead?" Viscount Jackson flung his head to the side and an unexplainable sorrow welled from the bottom of his heart.

"Lord Viscount! It seems like you are alright now!" Leylin turned back, and tossed a green bottled potion, "This is a healing potion, I hope it will be of use to you!"

Murphy caught it, and fed it into the mouth of Viscount Jackson.

After taking the potion, Viscount Jackson only felt a hot wave surging through his four limbs, and he finally regained some energy from it.

"Towards Leylin's generosity and grace of saving my life, I will definitely repay you when we return!"

"If possible, please give me all of the Hove Violet Leaves in the castle. That would be the greatest recompense!" Leylin raised his request without a tinge of restraint.

"Of course!" Jackson was stunned, before immediately agreeing.

With the advance of the horse carriage, the silhouette of Extreme Night City gradually appeared.

A few soldiers were still guarding the post, scrutinising the people that came and went.

...

Jackson looked at the distant scene, and his eyes quivered, and finally two streams of tears flowed….

The city lord's castle's reconnoiter group had perished completely. Even news of Viscount Jackson, as a Grand Knight, having been seriously injured had spread and immediately caused an uproar in Extreme Night City.

Even after two days, the news did not die down. Instead, it even spread throughout the area,

As the city lord of Extreme Night City, Viscount Jackson always used his status as a Grand Knight to suppress many dark factions. However, when the news of him being injured spread, it caused several ripples and undercurrents inside the city.

At this moment, the strength of the city castle was waning, even the few acolytes who were friendly towards Viscount Jackson had died. Jackson who was nurturing his grief had to face with all these, and was rather overwhelmed by all these.

Leylin who stayed in the villa outside the city heard some of the news.

However, since he had returned from the venture, he always holed himself in the experiment lab, and even refused many invitations from the city lord's castle and other factions.

Under the bright light, Leylin stared; his eyes fixated on a petri-dish.

On the surface of the glass petri-dish, a small red lump of flesh continuously swelled, and from it grew many tentacles.

Leylin picked up another pipette, and placed a drop of the yellow potion on the lump of meat.

* Sssii! * The meat dissolved, and turned into a puddle of crimson-red with yellowish blood fluid.

"I have finally managed to purify it, the primordial blood essence of the huge snake!" Leylin looked at the petri-dish, as if seeing the most precious treasure in this world.

"A.I. Chip! Scan composition!"

[Beep! Mission establishing, scanning in progress…] [The list of genes has been generated, comparing to database….]

"99.8%..."

[Beep! Similarity of the blood essence with a normal huge python: 99.8%! Determined as the blood essence of original huge pythons! After remodelling in the later stage, there were new types of genes…]

The A.I. Chip continuously reported the conclusions, and even projected the list of genes in front of Leylin's eyes.

From the multicoloured image, the blood essence of the huge Mankestre snake that Leylin saw earlier was actually the same with regular huge pythons.

"Indeed! This huge python is the result of an experiment by magicians!" Leylin nodded his head. He still remembered clearly that after the A.I. Chip had scanned the huge python, it had added the words half-adult to its name.

However, if not for the accuracy of the A.I. Chip down to the atomic level, Leylin would never unravel the secret behind it. Even other magicians would not be able to realise the difference.

"Two more days, and that area should be calm again!"

Leylin informed his subordinates that he was going to undergo a very long duration of experimentation and that they are not to bother him with any matters and then he secretly left the villa.

Vestige Traces

The night was dark, and there was tranquility. Dried up old trees littered the surroundings, and on the branches, there were ravens ruffling their feathers.

* Bang! *

The grass patch below the tree tore open, revealing a dark passage beneath it.

Leylin was draped in black robes, and his face was veiled. One would not be able to see his face.

The nearby villa was still lit with lanterns, and the patrolling mercenaries did not know that their master had already left the villa.

In Leylin's experiment lab, there was a direct passage which Leylin set up himself, with no one being the wiser.

"Since that huge Mankestre snake is an experimental body, there should be some experiment labs nearby from magicians! Moreover, that huge Mankestre snake had actually occupied Dark Night Woods for a few years, and not one magician had stepped forward to deal with it. There could only be one reason for that!"

Leylin's eyes flashed, "That experiment lab is most likely abandoned! The magician in it, due to some circumstances, could no longer look after it, or is most likely dead! That is why the huge snake could escape from it!"

For magicians, seeking ancient vestiges had always been in their best interests.

The remnants left by ancient Magi, such as official Magi experiment labs, would often contain many valuable data and ingredients, high levelled research, spells and magic artifacts with immense might. These were all items that magicians always sought after.

Rumour had it that more often than not, there were examples of acolytes who were lacking having stumbled upon ancient remnants, and beginning to wield tremendous power after that.

Of course, there were failed ventures and explorations where they finally died under the ancient mechanisms or curses from the corpses.

However, for magicians, searching for vestiges was still a very beneficial thing to do.

From an experiment lab which could create a half-adult huge Mankestre snake, any one item in it could let Leylin immediately get rich quickly, and even obtain more precious ingredients and knowledge to pave the way for him to advance into an official Magus in future.

"Since I have already found some traces, I will definitely have a look at the experiment lab!"

Leylin's gaze was determined. He was not afraid of risks, especially when the benefits strongly outweigh the risks.

For this venture, he had specially prepared many items, which were enough measures to counter against any sudden developments.

As for his subordinates? Not only were they easily susceptible to divulging news, but under the traps set up by official Magi, even Knights were only an existence slightly greater than ants. They were completely of no use, hence Leylin even kept his departure from them.

Leylin journeyed for several nights in a row. Since there were no people around, he could use many of his methods.

He splashed a green potion onto the ground, bringing about a ball of green coloured wind particles, which wrapped Leylin's body within them. His whole body seemed to turn into a breeze, and disappeared into the night.

What Leylin used was a hastening potion which he had formulated throughout the years.

As an outstanding Potions Master, no matter if it was using potions to journey or fight, he was entirely in his element.

In the original passage, where Leylin and the others had battled the huge Mankestre snake.

People had already been sent from the city lord's castle to retrieve the mutilated corpses and largely dissected huge Mankestre snake. What remained were many impressions on the ground, as well as traces of flames and frost, which spoke of the intense fight that had occurred previously.

"The scenario from earlier has already been recorded down by the crystal ball given by the academy. To use that to signify the completion of mission is absolutely acceptable."

From the battle previously, Leylin had used the crystal ball to record only most of the exploration mission, especially the corpse of the huge Mankestre snake at the end.

With some ingredients from the corpse, as well as the record from the crystal ball, it could be said that Leylin's mission in Extreme Night City was finally completed.

However, he had no plans whatsoever to leave at all.

Not mentioning whether the mess of a war that Abyssal Bone Forest Academy was entangled in at the moment already had a victor, Leylin did not want to go back during this period.

He had just managed to formulate a modified formula for the Azure Potion. Now would be the best time to break through into a level 3 acolyte, so why would he risk going back to the academy and expose himself in the process?

As for Extreme Night City, Leylin did not even see an official Magus, which put him at ease to carry out his experiments and breakthrough.

Leylin would wait for a buffer of three years after the dust settled for the war of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy. Although his advancement to a level 3 acolyte would still be fast that way, it would not be as eye catching!

At that time, he could figure out an excuse, and cover his tracks easily.

As for the corpses of the acolytes on the floor, naturally, they had already been inspected by Leylin. Back then, he had kept all the valuable items for himself before bringing the heavily injured Jackson and Murphy to leave the place.

"However, that group of acolytes were all paupers, and not a single one of them had more than 10 magic crystals! Only on that Half-Beast Man acolyte, there was still a frost smelted gold rune which can be considered to be rather good!"

Leylin grumbled in his mind, as he came to the centremost area of the cave.

Under the light radiated by the Flash Jellyfish, the whole cave was extremely bright. Leylin could see that on the ground at the centre, traces of where the huge Mankestre snake was coiled were still apparent.

"It actually managed to make such a deep impression, they are indeed of the same nature narrated by compendiums: an extremely lazy being.

Leylin crouched and felt the earth that was sunken in.

"A.I. Chip! Record composition!"

[Recording completed, comparing to normal earth data in the databank. The target has 0.0005% of compound remnants, and is tentatively determined to contain Maike alloy!]

The A.I. Chip's voice intoned.

Maike alloy was a type of artificial metal, made by spells of magicians, that was extensively used to construct incubation pools in experiment labs.

"This is right!" Leylin eyes flashed with glee.

"A.I. Chip, is it possible to follow the tracks of the snake and find its original breeding area?

[Scanning in progress! The target's data has been heavily covered by other creatures and is lacking in important information. Mission failed!] The A.I. Chip's voice intoned.

Leylin scanned the surroundings. The ground was littered with claw marks from various creatures. Such was the devastation left by the parasitic abilities of the huge Mankestre snake.

"What a pity…." Leylin shook his head.

"However, according to the habits of the huge Mankestre snake and the clues left by the other traces, that experiment lab should not be far off from here!"

Leylin commanded the A.I. Chip, "A.I. Chip, scan every item in the surroundings!"

[Missions establishing, beginning imaging!]

Along with the A.I. Chip intonation, the image of a blue coloured map was projected in front of Leylin's eyes.

In the centre was a huge cave, with many small tunnels in the near vicinity. Leylin even found a few parasitic bodies that had survived through sheer luck. However, it was unknown how much longer they could live for when the parent was dead.

The map expanded until it finally reached the limit of its range.

Leylin's brows furrowed, " A.I. Chip, restart scan! Lower the precision to the lowest, and search in an extended perimeter! Begin running through a checklist of radioactive density!"

With the command, the map in Leylin's eyes turned more out of focus. However, the perimeter extended, almost encompassing the nearby geography of the cave too.

"Maintain this area and precision!"

Leylin walked out of the cave and began running towards a direction. Following his movement, the edge of the map also continuously expanded….

A few hours later, Leylin walked towards a large black granite boulder.

"The surrounding areas have already been inspected. Although the radioactive densities are higher, this should be where the shedding of the huge Mankestre snake took place previously!"

"As for the only place with no radiation, but not within the scope of the A.I. Chip's scanning perimeter, this is the only place!"

Leylin looked at the large black granite boulder in front of him. This boulder was of the height of several humans, almost the size of a small mountain.

In the map that the A.I. Chip scanned, this huge boulder had absolutely no traces of radiation. Even standing before it now, the A.I. Chip still did not detect anything.

"This kind of scenario has happened several times back at the academy. It is due to the spell formations set by official Magi, which are interfering with the detection of the A.I. Chip!"

Leylin stroked the surface of the large black granite boulder. It was ice cold, damp, and had algae growing on it.

"However….What I must do to enter?"

Leylin exerted strength in his right arm and grabbed some of the rock powder.

"A.I. Chip! Analyse composition!"

[Beep! Mission establishing, in the process of gathering data….] The A.I. Chip's voice continuously intoned, and a screen appeared in front of Leylin that was densely packed with the various data of the granite rock.

"It seems like there are no differences between this and a normal granite rock!" Leylin drew the data of normal granite rock and made a comparison. However, he finally had to acknowledge that the magician defended his secrets very well. Leylin had absolutely no way of finding the entrance to the experiment lab.

"However, since that huge Mankestre snake was able to come out, it means that the defense in the spell formation has some sort of problem. I just require more time to inspect…."

Leylin stroked his chin and began setting up a tent beside the granite rock.

He decided to stay here for a long time in order to continuously detect any loopholes or weakness in the spell formation, hoping to find a way to enter.

After all, there won't be anyone coming to the vicinity of the withering woods anymore, especially when the city lord's castle has sent people to retrieve the corpses of the acolytes, troops and the huge snake.

After chewing on several biscuits that he brought along with him, Leylin began to analyse the spell formation on the large black granite boulder.

Of course, he only dared do this as he was sure that the owner of the lab was already dead through his observations and conjectures. Who knew if that unknown magician had long since died a natural death.

"After having been here for so long, yet with no magicians coming out, the accuracy of this conjecture has yet been raised by 30%.

Leylin stared at the large black granite boulder before him with a zealous expression contained within.

"If I manage to dispel the spell formation, the items in there are all mine!"

For Leylin, who was a level 2 acolyte, an experiment lab belonging to an official Magus was a huge treasure trove!

"Only that… The traps set by official Magus are extremely dangerous. I must absolutely not be blinded by greed and fall into a trap!"

Gnawing Slate

Time passed by. In the blink of an eye, Leylin had tarried beside the large black granite boulder for 5 days.

In those five days, Leylin tried every method he knew on the large black granite boulder. He finally found a few loopholes he could exploit.

Leylin already confirmed that the granite boulder had a spell formation set up within. But it was in a damaged state.

According to the wear and tear, this formation had already been in effect for over a hundred years.

The cause of this extensive damage might very well have had something to do with the huge Mankestre snake's escape earlier.

"Some portion of the magic spell formation has already been damaged by that snake. That's why there are detectable traces leaking out. Without those leaks, even with the A.I. Chip's assistance, finding this place would not have been easy."

Glee spread across Leylin's face.

Due to his experiments these past few days, he managed to assemble a set of spells that gave him a 70- 80% chance of opening the entrance to this experiment lab.

The cyclical timing inherent to this spell formation meant that the damaged parts only appeared at certain times. Leylin needed to wait for this window of opportunity.

The sun gradually set and the surrounding area became shrouded in darkness.

Owing to the death of the huge Mankestre snake, the withering woods would eventually recover its former vitality. Unfortunately, this would require at least a hundred years. Right now, there was only that deathly suffocating silence permeating the withering woods, which would insidously choke anyone who dared enter.

Leylin did not care a whit. Oblivious to the heavy atmosphere, he sought out a level rock and started brewing potions on it.

Moonlight fell. Very soon the woods was enveloped in a layer of silver sheen. The full moon today was exceptionally bright. Curiously, there was a tinge of saffron tinting the moon.

Leylin snapped open the pocket watch he brought with him, "It's almost midnight!"

He rose and sauntered to the side of the large black granite boulder. As moonlight from the full moon shone on the surface of the granite rock, its black stone skin suddenly came off and revealed a network of blood vessels coalescing into a silvery archway. They pulsated continuously as if absorbing the moonlight.

"This is it!" Leylin's eyes flashed. He quickly emptied the contents of the potions he just brewed onto the surface of the granite rock.

* Sssii! * A large amount of white mist rose and corroded the surface of the rock, leaving the network of blood vessels in chaos.

"Karamanda…." Leylin chanted the incantation softly. His voice sounded extremely depressed like the muttering of a jilted woman.

In time with the chanting noises, the silvery network of veins settled and continued to combine, then finally turned into a circular passage.

Seeing this, Leylin was elated. His chanting voice became more frenzied as he repeatedly tossed the few ingredients in his hands into the passageway.

* Bang! * Along with Leylin's final chant, the large black granite boulder completed its shape change. Close to Leylin, the silvery archway earlier disappeared. Instead, the entrance to a dark tunnel materialized.

"A fake passageway actually got conjured!" Leylin shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

At that instant, the eyes of the black raven perched on his shoulders, glinted with human intelligence.

"By harnessing some of this spell's effect, I should be able to use this raven to break into the experiment lab in a short timeframe. Everything it sees would then be relayed into my right eye like a holographic projection!"

As Leylin shut his right eye, the raven cocked its head lightly before giving a cry. Then, it directly flew into the dark tunnel.

Many scenes flashed past Leylin's closed right eye.

He felt like he was flying. The scenery below him were all relayed into his mind's eye.

The passage was extremely short. In moments, the raven reached the other end.

Leylin saw a small-sized villa appear in front of him. Its walls shimmered with spell light.

Green coloured vines crawled and filled the wall. On it were some sort of red-coloured flowers with what looked like bone petals.

"This is…." Astonishment surfaced from the depths of the raven's eyes, "Devil Vines? Bone Eating Flowers? I originally thought they were all extinct, but there are actually some in here!"

On the villa's entrance was a jagged circular hole the size of Leylin's palm. Leylin surmised that this could be the spot the Mankestre snake broke through during its escape–way back when it was but a youngling.

Near the hole, a white skeleton draped in black robes lay on a grey-coloured stone platform!

"According to the way the skeleton is positioned, it was obviously an acolyte like me who accidentally stumbled upon this place. He tried to break into the villa and perished in this sorry state!"

Leylin's steeled his heart. He telepathically maneuvered the raven to alight beside the bones and let the bird pluck on it with its black claws.

A crash resounded, a heap of items fell from the robes.

A book, several yellow parchment paper, a heap of bottles, and a yellow bronze ring tumbled onto the floor. A 'K' symbol was inscribed on it.

"Seems to be some kind of identity verification!" Leylin casually had the bird fiddle with the ring and peep at the book.

After using the raven's feathers to clear the dust, a row of esoteric patterns and cursive handwriting emerged.

"These characters…? They seemed to be in Ancient Terrestrial Elven language! I have seen these before in the library!"

Leylin was stunned. He immediately began to decrypt the words, "Terrestrials… Terrestrial Elves! Alchemist of the Terrestrial Elves, Torozar!"

"It is actually information pertaining to alchemy!"

Leylin was in ecstasy, "It was mentioned in the library's records that the Ancient Terrestrial Elves were renowned for their exquisite alchemy, as well as their enchanting capabilities! If I were to obtain these information, I may begin attempting some of the things recorded in the Lowian Academy Teachings…."

With the A.I. Chip's overpowered calculation abilities, the Lowian Academy Teachings, which Leylin bought earlier, was already completely decrypted. Part of data was about a method for synthesizing a magic artifact.

Of course, it was only a low-grade magic artifact. However, in Leylin's current state, this was a rather huge temptation.

He, alas, spent most of his time on Potioneering and Magic studies, so he had next to no inkling whatsoever concerning Alchemy and Enchantment. Moreover, such high level information was always kept under rigorous control. Regular acolytes did not have the clearance to access them.

Even if Leylin had a way to synthesize a magic artifact, it would still be extremely difficult.

Luckily, with the Alchemy information material here and the simulation capability of his A.I. Chip, Leylin completely believed that he would be able to synthesize this magic artifact once he became a level 3 acolyte.

"Bring this book out!" Leylin was already thinking of retreating.

To him, just knowing that within the granite walls was an abandoned experiment lab with degraded defenses made today's probe an extremely fruitful one. Obtaining advanced information on Alchemy was an unexpected bonus.

The raven grabbed the book with its claws with much effort. As it turned around, it lightly brushed the parchment paper. With a hissing sound, the ancient piece of paper disintegrated

Leylin was stunned, "Has it already eroded to this state?"

* Hehe! Haha! *

Just as Leylin's raven was about to fly off with the book, the surrounding area reverberated with a child's ominous laughter.

"The defence formation activated! Damn it, I only have two more minutes!"

The black raven flapped its wings, preparing to rise and fly away.

*Ka-cha! * The grey coloured platform split open, revealing a huge jaw serrated with razor sharp white teeth.

In one ferocious snap, the raven was torn to pieces.

* Pu! * On the surface of the giant black stone, Leylin crouched down and grabbed at his right eye with his hands.

A wave of searing pain hit him. It felt like someone was digging out his eyeball directly from its socket.

* Huff Huff Huff * panting heavily, Leylin slowly recovered a good while later.

The muscles of his handsome face contorted and red veins could be seen filling the white of his right eye. A blood vessel burst and drops of blood fell to the ground.

"Magic spell backlash!" Leylin sucked in a lungful of cold air and withdrew a red potion from his sack. He unplugged it and began drinking its contents.

Several moments later, Leylin stood up, feeling much better.

"Careless! I never thought that apart from the Devil Vines and Bone Eating Flower, there was even a Gnawing Slate."

Leylin looked at the original position of the tunnel entrance. The surface of the huge black granite boulder remained smooth. The entrance seen earlier seemed to be merely an illusion.

"Devil Vines, Bone Eating Flower, Gnawing Slate, and other mechanisms. I cannot infiltrate in this place right now, what a pity…."

Leylin deduced this from the spells he had in his possession and the ingredients he owned.

"I'm afraid that only after I advance into level 3 acolyte, will I be able to enter this experiment lab!"

Leylin concluded, "Anyway, I now known the true location and its access protocols. Moreover, I have visually confirmed the presence of precious informative material regarding Alchemy inside. So this venture was not a complete waste of effort!"

Right now, the experiment lab was too dangerous for Leylin. He was not someone who got easily dazzled by greed. He decided to leave exploring this place to a later date and returned to the villa to cultivate.

Leylin calmed down as he focused on resting and recuperating from the damage done to him by the spell earlier.

He then went towards the tent area where stowed his things. He then erased all traces and tracks left by his recent activities.

"This defence spell formation has lasted over a hundred years. There were almost no loopholes a random passerby could exploit. I only need to erase my tracks. Adding more defensive measures or illusory spells would be superfluous."

Having finished arranging everything, Leylin took a last glance at the black rock. Then, without the slightest bit of hesitation, he left.

"I have warned them before about the laboratory in the manor, so Anna and the others would not dare enter it. If I can return undetected to my laboratory, I can keep what happened here a secret."

"Concerning Extreme Night City, Jackson only suffered some superficial injuries. He should be mostly have recovered by now after following my treatment. He is most likely pretending to be seriously injured to lure any turncoat and renegade from their snake holes!"

"Whatever the case may be, matters regarding the city lord's castle are not my concern. I need not understand them. When I get the promised Hove Violet Leaves, I will immediately begin brewing the potions needed to breakthrough into level 3."

To Leylin, increasing his own power was all-consuming. Otherworldly influences and the sort were considered a waste of energy. Since he did not care about such things, he was also disinclined to paying attention to these matters.

But if anyone dared to entertain the idea of harming him, he would kill them!

As far as magicians were concerned, eradicating a few worldly powers or factions required almost no effort.