66 Journal

At this juncture, the raven construct on Leylin's shoulder had flown away to a corner of the room.

[I may not be able to scan him in-depth, but I am 100% sure that he is a spirit body.] -Aralis reported to her Master.

'Agreed. I certainly wasn't expecting Alfonse to have this kind of surprise in store for me. How interesting...' -Leylin's pupils contracted as he rescinded his various purple sigils and straightened his posture. He appeared more intimidating thanks to his tall stature and muscled physique.

Since Aralis' scanning was being hampered, Leylin was forced to use a tracking spell to manually scan the room for any possible targets. Turns out he now faced an extremely rare entity with relatively unknown powers: a spirit body. And it was not uncommon for Magi to be clueless when it came to this particular kind of Mysterious Entity.

However, to Leylin who had studied everything he could access in the academy library and beyond, he knew what he was dealing with.

It seemed that the creation of a spirit body required many specific conditions. Also, their nature could range from being a positive entity to being an outright malicious presence. It was mostly regular humans who transformed into evil spirits, but periodically, even an official Magus would turn into one after their death.

Moreover, spirit bodies were extremely rare. With regards to the research done on the subject, even if the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy had a large number of recorded sightings, they had only managed to understand the elementary points in the behavior and powers of spirit bodies.

[I always thought Alfonse revealed his secret lab to you because he assumed you would be striding into your own death. Then, you steamrolled the outer defenses and I was relieved. But now, I am not so sure that you wouldn't die from an attack if the spirit body took action...] -Remarked the A.I. assistant with a low tone.

'If this ghost was a truly dreadful Mysterious Entity, he would've made his move already. No, he wants to try his fortune with deception and cunning. This notion is supported by the fact that I have yet to encounter signs that show a great power is resting within this lab. All of the mana radiation jamming your scans has been the result of the previous Magus owner, not this random guy in front of me.' -Leylin disregarded the possibility that he was in any real danger.

[How are you going to proceed, Doctor?]

'The only way I know how, Aralis.' -Leylin sounded confident in his mind.

"Yes, that is true. Alfonse is no longer in the Poolfield Kingdom. Neither are his trusted agents Halius and Keith. It's only the two of us here." -Leylin was the first to break the silence that had overcome the dissection wing of the lab.

"Have you killed them, boy?" -The elderly man hid a threat that promised a violent death if that was the case.

Leylin merely chuckled and waved the notion dismissively with his right hand.

"Don't be ridiculous. How could I slay the leader of my most profitable association to date? That would be irresponsible and dishonorable. No, I came here on Alfonse's orders." -Leylin's expression turned serious over the course of the last sentence.

The spirit geezer looked to be pondering the matter as he brought a hand to his chin and massaged it. In a few seconds, he once again stared at Leylin directly in the eyes.

"I suppose it does make sense. There's no other plausible explanation as to why you managed to get past every trap and the sealed boulder gate. Alfonse spent months trying to decipher the puzzle code, after all." -The old robed man argued, while his stance became visibly relaxed.

Leylin just nodded.

"And given that you are his subordinate now, I take it he has succeeded in the first stage of the plan?" -The old man raised a brow. He wanted to test the ostensible ally in front of him.

"Correct. The Viscount is no more, and the Mankestre Snake has secured Dark Night Woods. Alas, you won't be here to see it." -Leylin's sudden declaration made the geezer widen his wrinkled translucent eyes in shock.

"I see... So that is how my dearest pupil will repay me for all those years of tutelage. For the infinite sea of centuries-old knowledge I had bestowed upon him... He dares to betray the Great Magus Serholm!" -The geezer's eyes turned a bright purple and he began to levitate as he bellowed in rage.

At that instant, Leylin's mask fell, as it revealed a smirking and chuckling individual with a strangely emotionless gaze.

"Thank you for revealing that final piece of intel. Now everything makes sense. You used Alfonse as your puppet and manipulated him into killing the Viscount and exploiting the mine to distract him from the fact that you were using your pathetic vine construct to gather human test subjects. Let me guess, your purpose was to come into being by possessing them and stripping them of their vitality? Then Alfonse would've laid out the legwork so you could obtain more power through the items gathered from Abyssal Bone Forest, and thereafter, you would rise from the ashes."

The geezer claiming to be the ghost of a legendary Magus seemed to be shocked by Leylin's speech and attitude. Of all the scenarios he had devised for the next time he met a living acolyte, this was not one of them.

"And what was that bullshit about Great Magus Serholm? Truly, what kind of idiot do you think would believe that smoking trash heap of a lie? Oh, that's right. I have an idea of who that might be." -Leylin was showing a completely nonchalant behavior as if he was not facing a possibly Magus-level creature.

"You DARE?! I am not willing to allow a peasant boy like yourself to mock me with impunity!" -The entity rushed forward with his hands extended outwards. His fingers had perilous claws as fingernails.

The old man's spirit body was incredibly fast as he was not bound to the ground. His movements were ten times as quick as the Mankestre Snake was in that cave.

Meters before the claws could impact Leylin, he continued to laugh. With every figurative breath of the old man, the brown-haired acolyte's laughter became louder and more shameless. This caused the geezer's eyebrow to twitch in annoyance. Who did this boy think he was?

In the end, the claws managed to slash Leylin's throat with a clean strike. Leylin had been decapitated without any resistance. He had not moved to cast a spell or even tried to defend himself from the attack.

At first, the spirit deemed that he had overestimated his enemy. However, something utterly outside the calculations of the old man happened, causing him to be frozen in place.

No blood spurted out of either the stump on Leylin's body or his severed head. While his sadistic grin was still in place, his body walked slowly to get the missing part and reattached it as if he were a literal zombie.

"Have you realized yet, little ectoplasmic orangutan? I am far above a mere resentful spirit entrapped inside a decaying lab. I truly hope you have spent centuries in here after you were killed by the true owner of this base. That you wasted countless years and efforts to devise a masterful scheme in order to escape. I sincerely hope I was the one to stomp on your dreams of freedom."

Leylin's grin turned even more deranged as he cracked his neck. Meanwhile, his wound sealed itself as if he had employed wordless magic.

"Th-this... can't be! The Mankestre's mitotic regeneration! How could you have it?! We attempted to harness it on a myriad of occasions; all were failed experiments! I recall how the Great Magus Serholm also complained of his lack of insight regarding this!" -The geezer fell down on the ground, broken and despairing.

His only chance to win was to get the upper hand in a melee by using his fast movements and taking his enemy by surprise.

But the magician he had come across simply could not be killed.

"Yes, and as you can see, it works like a charm. As for the last question? I can tell you my secret method... But first, you'll have to do me a favor." -Leylin's smug expression did not fade at all when his raven returned to his left shoulder with a happy caw.

The spirit was in a confused daze, and he could not even articulate a reply.

Leylin went on ignoring that fact. "When I torture you, I am gonna need you to scream with the highest pitch you can muster. It's always a delight to witness formerly arrogant and mysterious opponents crying like a bitch... You should've seen your apprentice when I played with him. I had almost forgotten he was a male by the time I was finished. Although, it was partially my fault. I shouldn't have chopped off his genitals when I was flaying him, hahaha!"

"You... you are a monster! Not even Serholm was this perverse, and his motto included something about blood paving the road of cultivation!" -The spirit body yelled, as he tried to retreat while still on the ground. His elder visage that was previously enveloped with an arcane halo was currently drenched in pure terror.

"Thank you for the compliments. Now, on to what brings us here." -Leylin told as his smirk vanished and was immediately replaced by a cold blank expression.

The hands of the acolyte in black ornate armor glowed with a golden light, and he seized the spirit by the collar of his robes the way a bully would do with a nerd in a cliched 90's movie.

Normally, physical matter could not interact directly with a spirit unless the entity willed it so. This was a great advantage to them, but there was a flaw in this perk. The Positive Energy of a Light element spell was able to neutralize the magic effect, and thus it was the natural counter against spirits and ghosts.

"You can touch me... So you can wield the Light element as well..." -The geezer was close to the edge of fully losing his sanity. He could endure an eternity in an underground prison after death, but could not deal with this crazed individual who had barged into his prison.

"I can use whatever element I damn well please. Admittedly, not with the same level of proficiency as my Darkness, but that is beyond the point. In a moment, I am going to inflict so much pain to your soul, you'll wish that Magus had eradicated you from this plane back in the day." -Leylin said ruthlessly as he prepared his left hand with a sphere of concentrated holy light.

"No, no, no! I can help you, my Lord! I have treasures, knowledge lost in the eons throughout the Magi wars!" -The spirit geezer begged.

Leylin canceled the orb of light but still kept his tight grasp on the robe collar of the spirit.

"Speak." -He ordered his victim, and the old robed man nodded fervently.

"Under the main experiment table, there's a secret passage. It leads to a vault. They have not been able to crack it in five years... Alfonse and his subordinates, I mean..." -The spirit answered with a dismayed tone.

[What's with all these passages under the passages?] -Aralis chimed in.

"I will corroborate your statement. However, if I discover this is another one of your lies..." -Leylin's attitude had not switched from his cold and calculating one.

"NO! I would not be so stupid! Go ahead and see for yourself, it is there!" -The spirit told with desperation.

He was being honest with Leylin. His unlife depended on pleasing the acolyte, so he had no thoughts of tricking him.

Aralis could also detect the man was not lying. Even if her more advanced scans did not work thanks to the high amounts of mana radiation left behind by the original proprietor of the lab, her essential functionalities were online and in good condition.

Leylin then used a basic Light element sigil to bind the spirit to the wall so that he would not escape or try anything while he investigated.

Using his enhanced Knight strength, the Farlier Baron kicked away the table where Aralis had analyzed the blood residues from. This display of power made the spirit realize just how out of his league this acolyte was from the beginning. That table weighed at least half a ton.

'Will this be the grandiose loot I came all this way for? Or will it just be another disappointment?' -Reflected Leylin.

He descended the narrow tunnel and soon found a giant silver vault. Unlike the granite boulder one, this was made out of metal and appeared to be quite expensive in its manufacture. Furthermore, the runes on its surface were lit brightly, denoting its arcane fortification was still going strong.

[Doctor, you're in luck today! The vault is rigged with the same type of puzzle code lock as the one in the forest. The code is significantly harder to break, but I am not an ordinary thief. In a minute, I'll have it ready for you.] -Aralis announced with a cheerful tone.

'Excellent.' -Leylin smiled with contentment.

The seconds passed, and the A.I. had already transferred the patterns onto Leylin's brain without his explicit order.

Stepping forward, Leylin adopted an extremely menacing posture.

'In order for this to work, my full aura will have to be released. Even then it is not guaranteed, but if I don't at least try, my expedition will have been for naught.' -Leylin decided as he started to glow with a black and red mystical energy.

He put his hands on the vault door the same as before, and he directed his aura into the weaving metal patterns. At the same time, the alchemical raven that still rested on Leylin's shoulder got incinerated by the sheer intensity of his aura.

His Transfiguration spell faltered, and his true face was unveiled. His crimson reptile eyes glowed with unbridled Mana, and he let out a deep breath.

Suddenly, a great shockwave was felt in the entire grotto, prompting a sitting Greem to stand up and turn his head in worry for his Master's wellbeing.

Within the secret tunnel, the rock walls began to collapse, and the vault's runes were invaded by the red and black aura. Soon, the aura was seemingly altering the formation itself.

[Keep going, it's almost done!]

Leylin was struggling to move the runes with his level 3 acolyte aura.

Despite his Mana Energy and Spiritual Force evolving with his body, they were still nowhere near dense enough to be compared to those of an actual official Magus. His attempt to pry open the vault depended on the management of the fluctuating Mana Energy and his skill to input the code with precision. To any regular level 3 acolyte, this would be nothing short of a pipe dream.

Nevertheless, the brown-haired man was not going to abandon this endeavor. His body was becoming increasingly strained by the exertion of power. His veins were bulging, and he was grinding his teeth with such force that blood was spilling from his mouth and nose.

"Open. The. FUCK. UP!" -Leylin exclaimed wrathfully, as the vault's runes finally dispersed and his crimson aura encompassed the whole door.

With a gasp, he pushed the door mightily. Forthwith, the tunnel crumbled on top of him.

To an acolyte with a mortal body, that would've meant their end. To Leylin, it was a minor inconvenience.

With a booming noise, a black figure jumped from the mound of debris and into the vault. Since there were many enchantments and formations to secure the contents, not one rock had made it into the safe. Instead, the pile was being supported by an invisible barrier.

'Aralis, can you do a scan?'

[No, it's even harder in here than it was in the dissection room.]

'Good. It means there's definitely something worth my while in here. I just have to rummage through this dump of old bones and dust.' -Leylin used a water/fire spell to disperse all the dirt and particles from both himself and the vault. Now it looked as if it were built today.

He also took the chance to clean himself from the blood that had come out of his mouth and nose during his ordeal.

Leylin then examined the area with an inquisitive disposition. The vault was filled with skeletons of various people. Some of them were robed, others had rusted armor.

[Even though the vault was outfitted with a hermetically-sealed door and many charms, they still decomposed to this point. Just how long have they been here?]

'Don't know, don't care. I just need the treasures and I'm out of here.' -Leylin's patience ran thin. He just wanted to go back to his mansion and work on his next project.

It took him around 15 minutes, but he had already gotten to the last item on the vault. Other than many pouches with mid-grade magic crystals and rotten ingredients, he had not found anything that made him satisfied.

At the side of a wooden chair, there was a skeleton and a black book next to it. This sparked Leylin's interest.

He crouched down and started to inspect the body carefully until a yellow bronze ring tumbled onto the floor. A 'K' symbol was inscribed on it.

'Seems to be some kind of token for identity verification.' -Leylin fiddled with the ring, as he opened the book with his other hand. He had covered himself with his remaining Spiritual Force to protect himself in case the items were cursed.

A row of esoteric patterns and cursive handwriting emerged.

'These characters… I have no doubt they are written in the Ancient Terrestrial Elven language. I have seen these before in some of the texts you provided me.' -Leylin mentally said to his assistant. He was stunned.

'Sort this out immediately.'

Even if Aralis' general scans would not function properly, she could still access her databanks and correlate the information with what was presented in the book.

[Roger that. Task established.]

Soon enough, Aralis spoke again.

[Doctor, this is... The journal mentions an Alchemist of the Terrestrial Elves named Torozar!]

Leylin was silent but his face reflected a greedy smile, and this was Aralis' cue to elaborate.

[It was mentioned in the library's records that the Ancient Terrestrial Elves were renowned for their peerless alchemy skills, as well as their enchanting capabilities! Once I have prepared the information for brain transfer, you may begin attempting some of the things recorded in Sage Lowian's Academy Teachings.]

With the A.I.'s overpowered calculation abilities, the tome which Leylin had bought for a dime in Ellinel was already completely decrypted. And part of the data was about a method for synthesizing a magic artifact.

Of course, it was only a low-grade magic artifact. However, it was still nothing to be laughed at. A low-grade artifact from the Golden Magi Age basically equaled a high-grade device of the current era. This was a rather huge temptation.

'That bastard Serholm did know a thing or two about hoarding treasures. This was only a temporary lab and the Magus still deposited this priceless item here. If I were dumb enough to sell it, I might get up to 150,000 magic crystals in an auction. With that said, I shall naturally use it for my personal growth as a magician. This book right here is my key to even more sweet delicious power!'

With a joyful grin, Leylin stored the black leather journal in his satchel. Then, he used his dark tendrils to carve a way out.

"M-my Lord... Are you going to let me go now?" -The ghost asked when he saw Leylin climb from the tunnel 20 minutes later.

The Farlier Baron looked extremely pleased. Moreover, his face was now all different. His eyes scared the hell out of the dead old man.

"Oh, that's right. You... I have much more pressing matters to attend to. Our torturing session will have to wait for when I delve into soul research and the like." -Leylin told with an aloof voice, as he brought out a white round crystal from his satchel.

"Tha-that is a Spirit Confining Sphere!" -The old man recognized the object and got more nervous than before. He had used many of those in the past to get his nourishment. If ghosts could cry, he would be running with tears right now.

"I can't help but look forward to the valuable data you will offer me in the future. Enjoy your stay in your brand new prison." -Leylin said with a casual tone, as he activated the crystal.

A dark golden hand appeared from the wall and constricted the spirit. With a mystical swoosh and a white flash, the ethereal body of the geezer was absorbed into the crystal.

Leylin pocketed the crystal with the ghost and then nodded with approval.

Having dealt with the lab in its entirety, Leylin used his Knight speed to blitz through the staircase and back to the cottage.

On the way to the surface, he deployed a couple of instances of Acidic Aqua Shot to erase his tracks. If anyone explored the grotto they would never find the secret lab underneath.

Leylin ultimately arrived at the cabin, and a panicked slave was waiting for his return.

"Master! I heard an explosion, are you hurt?" -Greem said with a concerned frown.

"Just tell me if you found anything useful." -Leylin told with a blank stare, as he covered his armor with his cloak.

"Unfortunately, I did not. However..." -The bodyguard was interrupted when four dark tendrils stabbed his torso, forehead, and neck.

They sucked his vitality in a second, and then he dropped with a thud. He was left mummified and dried up, just like the maids in the Farlier estate.

'Ah, nothing like a refreshing beverage after a day of hard labor. I needed that after opening the vault.' -Leylin walked over Greem's remains and once again blurred out of view.