Chapter 566: Little Plan
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
It was just like the Helios’ Scepter in his hand which possessed an astonishing ability to absorb the magical elements of the world. Usually, a level-13 or level-14 mage would be able to command magic close to the Archmage level by using the scepter. Not to mention, Lin Li himself had once experienced it himself. Vidas had managed to give him a hard time just now by using Helios’ Scepter…
The top of Helios’ Scepter was encrusted with a milky white gemstone that was the size of an egg. It emitted a mellow glow, but do not be fooled by its appearance and think that it was as weak as its appeared. When Vidas whipped out Helios’ Scepter, Lin Li instantly recognized it to be the brilliant Sun Stone which contained the most vigorous solar power.
It was said that the brilliant Sun Stone was a fragment of the sun. Had it been before he came to Anril, Lin Li would have definitely disregarded the mythical backstory. However, he was now in Anril, and had no idea how the sun above him had come about. He was clueless as to whether it was a celestial body or a real deity1. Hence, it didn’t seem impossible for the Sun Stone to be a fragment of the sun. After all, its appearance indeed had something to do with the solar activity of this world.
In this world, brilliant Sun Stones were rare, and those that had been found every now and then were all pea-sized. However, every tiny gemstone contained enough power to render it comparable to level-15 magical crystals. The egg-sized Sun Stone encrusted on the top of Helios’ Scepter was by no means inferior to a Legendary magical crystal.
The brilliant Sun Stone had two magical attributes: light and fire, both of which had great strengthening effects on Light Magic and Fire Magic. Even if it were placed in the Brilliance Shrine, it would definitely be a treasure. If it were to be put up for auction, it wouldn’t be a problem for it to be sold for tens of millions of gold coins. In fact, any Legendary-mage who had obtained such a gemstone would never be willing to put it up for auction. Such a brilliant Sun Stone was definitely a rare treasure.
In addition to the branch of the Tree of Life being the body of the Helios’ Scepter, there was also a huge, brilliant Sun Stone encrusted on the top. The mageweath used by the scepter was also a highlight that couldn’t be ignored. Lin Li, who had the judgment of a Guru, felt that the mageweath of the Helios’ Scepter could be considered a rare work of art, and was definitely the masterpiece of a master.
Mageweaths of such high standards were rare in Anril. Several wars broke out at the end of the Dark Age, and although the High Elves were overthrown, the wars resulted in succession issues in various professions and industries. Although there were also masters in various professions, like Master Pharmacists and Master Blacksmiths, they were obviously inferior to those of the Dark Age. Even after thousands of years of research and improvement made by humans, Lin Li could still confidently assert that there was absolutely not a single Master who could draw the mageweath on the Helios’ Scepter.
In the eyes of Lin Li, who was a Guru, the mageweath on the Helios’ Scepter was only a masterpiece of a Master, though there were plenty of highlights about it which he could learn from. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that if a Master of inscriptions thoroughly studied the mageweath on the Helios’ Scepter, he wouldn’t be far from being promoted to a Guru.
This Master-level mageweath had closely combined the brilliant Sun Stone and the branch of the Tree of Life. It was not just a combination of gemstones, but was also the forging of the powers of the two through communication between mageweaths. The merging would mean that they were no longer individual entities, and the fused body would exert power that was far more complicated than just one plus one.
The Helios’ Scepter could be considered second to none amongst all of the magical equipment currently owned by Lin Li in terms of power. The staff that Lin Li had been using was already the best one in his inventory. However, it seemed to pale in comparison to the Helios’ Scepter, which overshadowed it immediately. Even the debris of the stars was not as powerful as the Helios’ Scepter.
While Lin Li was rejoicing, he could not help but secretly feel thankful for summoning the Lord of Nightmares in time. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to suppress Vidas who was using the powerful Helios’ Scepter that could probably only be rivaled by a Legendary-mage who was at his peak or a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm.
The Harvest Square had been ruined beyond recognition. Lin Li immediately placed the Helios’ Scepter in the Ring of Endless Storm without asking for Vidas’ opinion, after which he walked down the ruined square with Wilkinson and the other pharmacists.
Arathor looked at Vidas, who was still a little embarrassed and shocked. The outcome was not too bad, because there wasn’t a major problem, after all. Vidas’ loss of the Helios’ Scepter would be a problem between them that had nothing to do with him, since he was just a castellan. Seeing that Lin Li and the others had left, he frantically chased after them in a bid to invite them to Castellan Mansion where he could make it up to them.
Lin Li actually didn’t hold anything against Arathor. After all, he was the greatest winner of the battle, and had not only gained precious combat experience, but also attained the Helios’ Scepter. He even joked about having to thank Arathor, the middle-man…
However, he did not accept William’s invitation to the auction with the intention to go on a holiday. He could not afford to waste any time at all, and he felt like he was racing against time every single day.
After turning down Arathor’s invitation, Lin Li, Wilkinson, and the other pharmacists got inside a luxurious carriage prepared long ago for them, and followed William to the Time Consignment Store.
The auction had already ended, and Lin Li was the ultimate winner. However, William made plenty of gains as well. Putting aside the total amount that he had earned from the auction, the record-breaking sale of the potion and the tree branch which were each sold for millions of gold coins gave the Time Consignment Store and William a boost in reputation. That alone was a massive gain.
Actually, William ought to be happy about making such gains. However, at this moment, he felt more disturbed and anxious than ever. He thought that he had already overestimated Lin Li, but it seemed now that he had actually underestimated him. Hence, he had behaved inappropriately, and probably offended Lin Li earlier on.
“Master Felic, you should know how precious those potion recipes are. Hence, I didn’t bring all of them along previously,” William explained conscientiously to Lin Li while seated in the carriage.
The last time William visited the Tower of Dusk, he was there mainly with the intention of getting Lin Li to take a look at the pharmaceutical formulas that had been passed down from the Dark Age, in addition to inviting Lin Li and others to participate in the auction. Of course, at that time, William had had no idea that Lin Li was so learned in pharmaceutics, and he simply thought that the Tower of Dusk had merely gained the support of a team of pharmacists.
Due to the fact that William had been requesting help from Lin Li at that time, he’d felt pressured and obligated to give the formula to Lin Li. As he explained just now, the formulae were way too precious, and it was naturally impossible to bring them all with him. After all, he’d merely wanted to verify the feasibility of the formula. The problem was that he’d originally thought about sending those formulas to Lin Li and just forgetting about it since he had plenty of other items that he could offer in exchange for a deal. However, after he returned and looked at those formulas, he discovered a half-formula based on the nuances of the texture of the paper. In other words, he had only given half a formula to Lin Li.
In fact, William ought not to be blamed. After all, he was not a real pharmacist, and his understanding of the formulae of potions was only limited to the names of herbs. According to logical reasoning of most ordinary people, a formula would usually be written on both sides of the paper. However, he had no idea that one of the formulas he had bought was very likely to help a Pharmaceutics Guru to become promoted to a Divine Smith. It was a formula that was known to be the one for the Divine Potion, and could not be written on a simple piece of paper.
The formulae of potions included more than just the types, amounts, and proportions of herbs required. There were also instructions on the processing and extractions of required essences of herbs, the method of preparation, and the special issues that required further attention. In fact, it also included a list of necessary equipment, some of which had to be exclusively customized. The design sketches of the equipment were also part of the pharmaceutical formulas.
Ordinary pharmaceutical formulas naturally did not require so many trivial things and details, because the processing of herbs could be universal, and standard equipment was used most of the time. However, the Divine Potion had the ability to promote a pharmacist to a Divine Smith.
Lin Li had obtained two pieces of paper, on which the formula of the potion was written. However, there were six other pieces of paper in William’s vault, which included formulae and the sketches of the necessary equipment.
Originally, William had thought that this matter was not important, and he was even a little thrilled about the fact that he was not to be blamed. He only managed to deduce from the texture of the paper that they perhaps belonged to the same set. He believed that Lin Li wouldn’t hold it against him once he explained himself clearly. However, he had never once expected that Lin Li would create a potion that ended up being sold for millions of gold coins, and even be followed by a daunting Legendary battle. Lin Li had even managed to defeat the elven Legendary-mage Vidas.
Either of the two titles, Master of Pharmacy and Legendary-mage, signified an extremely honorable status, yet the young 20-year-old Lin Li actually possessed both. Even a fool wouldn’t believe that the President of the Breezy Plains Guild of Magic had a normal relationship with the Supreme Council. The more noble people were, the more they bothered about their pride. Hence, William was now worried that he might have mistakenly offended Lin Li.