End of the Magic Era - Chapter 1224

Chapter 1224: Key and Design

Lin Yun sealed the eight Heaven Puppets and put them away. These Heaven Puppets were the best research subjects, and with the ones he had collected before, figuring out Bill George’s method to transfer ability runes would become a lot easier.

When the time came, these puppets would also be dismantled and their ability runes would be collected. If nothing went wrong, a few Heaven Puppets could be manufactured. As to whether they could awaken wisdom or not, it would be a matter of luck.

And after obtaining so many components, the patched puppet would regain its Heaven Rank strength. But it was still unknown whether the wisdom of the patched puppet could be recovered. The patched puppet definitely knew some terrifying secrets. The sentence it had uttered when Lin Yun obtained it had made his blood run cold. He could still remember it perfectly.

After the battle, Lin Yun didn’t immediately enter the mage tower. He instead moved towards Laibo and took out three bottles of Health Potions that he had personally compounded.

Laibo’s vitality was greatly damaged, and even if he had Health Potions, he could only partly replenish it. This was because the vitality had just been consumed. It was like half of the water within a bottle had suddenly disappeared. If it was immediately replenished, there would be higher chances of refilling it.

And everyone’s vitality was like a continuously shrinking bottle. If vitality kept being used, the bottle’s capacity would keep shrinking until it couldn’t support the lifeforce anymore.

But even if it could be refilled, Laibo would need to rest for a long period of time to recuperate.

After taking three bottles, a part of Laibo’s white hair was restored, and his low lifeforce was somewhat bolstered. At least he was no longer in that powerless state.

After helping Laibo recover, Lin Yun immediately left for that mage tower. A strange array was still set up on the door, and without an oral command, Lin Yun could only crack it by force.

But that difficulty was meaningless to the current Lin Yun. It took him less than two minutes to crack the door’s array and enter the tower.

Unexpectedly, the inside of the mage tower was far bigger than what it looked like from the outside, but it was completely deserted.

Lin Yun walked forward but didn’t even see a single array blocking his path. There was nothing in the first nine floors. All buildings were deserted, and not even a simple alchemy device could be seen.

The tenth floor was just a wide, spacious zone spreading over a few kilometers with a crystal table at its very center. A barrier could be seen around the table covering two items.

After approaching, a few law runes floated at the tip of Lin Yun’s finger and easily split open the barrier of light. That barrier had no defensive power. It was only there to prevent the items it contained from decaying due to the passage of time.

A palm-sized object similar to an elaborate mechanical key was on the crystal table. It looked like it had been crafted exquisitely, and a faint wisp of mana flowed on the key’s surface. There was even a cavity in its very center, which should be there for an embedded magic gem. But it was so small that even the best magic gem wouldn’t be able to offer much power.

It was impossible to tell what exactly it was from a cursory glance, but one thing was certain: This was some sort of alchemy device in the shape of a key. It might be a key used to open a specific door.

But there was no trace of the Reedpush Plate. Lin Yun frowned, his mind filled with doubt.

‘Could it be that the letter received by the Merlin Family was wrong? Impossible! The paper came from the 3rd Dynasty, and the symbol and patterns should have also come from the 3rd Dynasty.

‘Aside from the Reedpush Plate, could there be another thing worthy enough to make Bill George so cautious that he set up so many defenses? An ordinary alchemist would be unable to catch the power of the Reedpush Place, but a top-tier alchemist like Bill George was considered the best of the era. He definitely wouldn’t underestimate the Reedpush Plate.

‘And what about that key? Could it be an alchemical device?’

Lin Yun put down the mechanical key before looking at the other thing on the table. It was a notebook with a cover made out of the hide of a beast in order to protect it against external damage.

The notebook’s pages were made out of a kind of special paper from the 3rd Dynasty. This kind of paper could no longer be produced because its raw materials had already gone extinct.

That kind of paper could last ten thousand years without rotting. As for the ink, it came from an unusual magic beast of the Endless Sea. Unless it was destroyed by external damage, it could last a few dozen millennia without the ink fading.

Many research processes were recorded inside this notebook. The designs for the energy systems and battle systems of the puppets were written there, as well as the reasoning behind the designs.

Even the method to transplant Heaven Puppets’ ability runes was recorded by Bill George in the notebook. According to the notes, Bill got rid of at least a hundred Heaven Puppets before he managed to find a path that produced some results. He couldn’t count how many Heaven Puppets were destroyed by the time he completed the method.

And most importantly, the role of that key device and how to use it could be found in the notebook.

That thing was the key to the Puppet Plane’s entrance. It could open a Planar Path to the Puppet Plane anywhere and anytime. Bill George relied on that thing to frequently enter and exit the Puppet Plane to capture Heaven Puppets.

What was written in the notebook was completely in accordance with Bill George’s nature. Strict to the point of being ice-cold. Everything pertained to alchemy, and there was no nonsense, no personal emotions.

The further back he looked, the more the writings within the notebook detailed the battles with the Cybertan race within the Puppet Plane. Heaven Puppets that awakened wisdom were completely different from puppets that had yet to reach the Heaven Rank.

Bill George was convinced that even if the Heaven Puppets saw him dismantle all puppets below the Heaven Rank, they still wouldn’t react. But if he had any designs on a Heaven Puppet, he would have to fight the entire race.

According to the notebook, in order to capture Heaven Puppets for experiments, Bill George even fought with a Peak Heaven Puppet. The war between the two puppet armies continued for half a year, and the number of puppets that turned into scrap iron reached several million.

And this was just a cold hard number in Bill George’s notebooks.

Lin Yun frowned as he slowly flipped through the notebook until he discovered the real reason that Bill George established those ruins at the end. It wasn’t in order to experiment on puppets, but rather to test some experiments in order to complete an alchemical device.

Lin Yun was even more confused when he looked through the last three pages. There were all kinds of components recorded, and the designs of every component, material, material ratios, and processing methods were all written down with a lot of details, but it didn’t say why these components were made like that.

There were only scattered components and detailed crafting processes on the first two pages, but a detailed design covered the last page.

Lin Yun’s hands shook as he saw that design, and he nearly dropped the notebook. He couldn’t help letting out a shocked exclamation.

“Reedpush Plate!”

His mana surged and caught the falling notebook before he grabbed it once again, still overwhelmed with shock.

“Damn, this is the Reedpush Plate’s design! Sh*t, how could there be such a thing!? Was that thing designed by Bill George?

“No, no, there must be something wrong!”

Facing this thing, Lin Yun couldn’t remain calm. The Reedpush Plate was a finished product that would appear in the future. But because it was too complicated, dismantling it hadn’t been an option, as it could result in the complete destruction of the Reedpush Plate.

And results couldn’t be guaranteed with that option. It wasn’t certain that one could be made again, and thus, the Reedpush Plate was directly used as a core component of the Shelter Tower.

There had been no design of the Reedpush Plate or its components by the time Noscent was destroyed.

But he could now see the Reedpush Plate’s detailed designs, even the ratios of the most important and most complicated materials. He could also see detailed notes of various materials.

Lin Yun put the notebook down on the crystal table with a trembling hand and took a deep breath with closed eyes. His chaotic mind slowly calmed down.

This might have not been designed by Bill George… He might have cooperated with another alchemist to research the Reedpush Plate. It was definitely not a simple design.

There had to be other secrets. Reedpush was the name carved on it when it was found in the future. In a dialect of the 3rd Dynasty, it translated into Salvation.

The Plate of Salvation represented the biggest effect of the Reedpush Plate, and it also had a special implication.

These ruins, this puppet research, everything was just incidentally done on the side.

The puppets’ ability runes didn’t need to be transplanted into other puppets; rather, they needed to be transplanted into the Reedpush Plate.

Every component of the Reedpush Plate represented an ability rune, and the ability rune needed for each component was stable and different.

This was the complete crafting method of the Reedpush Plate: using puppets’ ability runes to replace runes, and even law runes, to make the power reach an incredible degree.

This was daring, whimsical, and it came straight out of a madman’s imagination…

Moreover, the Reedpush Plate obtained in the future absolutely wasn’t complete. Not only was the Shelter Tower’s construction not completed, but even the core component was incomplete.

As he thought of this, Lin Yun’s hands couldn’t help shaking once again. ‘If that’s the case, just how strong is the complete Shelter Tower going to be?

‘An incomplete Shelter Tower built with incomplete parts protected Noscent for a few dozen millennia… With a complete Shelter Tower, Noscent’s mana definitely wouldn’t be exhausted. No, not only would it not be exhausted, it would become stronger!

‘I originally wanted to find the Reedpush Plate, but I hadn’t expected to find even more good things. The design of the Reedpush Plate, this is just unimaginable…’

Lin Yun calmed himself before starting to study the design attentively when he suddenly noticed a small block of text written in that 3rd Dynasty’s dialect.

[As I’m writing down this design, I can feel a pair of ethereal eyes watching me attentively through time and space, but I’ll still finish it. Even if I die, I hope this design can spread and that someone can craft it.]

After reading that, Lin Yun couldn’t help thinking of Noscent’s destruction. He wanted to know what kind of secrets were hidden behind it. The most important reason that the Shelter Tower was able to delay Noscent’s destruction for a few dozen millennia was the existence of the Reedpush Plate.

It was because of that thing that the Shelter Tower was able to protect Noscent even though Noscent’s mana was already exhausted.

After carefully memorizing the contents of the notebook in his mind, Lin Yun collected the notebook and picked up the alchemy device key. When he needed to use it, he would only need to pour mana into the key to open a Planar Path to the Puppet Plane.

Now that he’d advanced to the Heaven Rank, he had the power to go to the Puppet Plane. At the very least, he would be able to escape when encountering a powerful puppet and wouldn’t be killed instantly.

The boundless components within the Puppet Plane were the best raw materials to build an army. Especially now that he had the Reedpush Plate’s design, gathering the ability runes on the way was a necessary process.

If he wanted to craft the Reedpush Plate, he had to complete it. An incomplete core component would result in an incomplete Shelter Tower. This had already been proved once.

Compared to the Reedpush Plate’s design, the key to the Puppet Plane didn’t seem that precious.

After receiving these things, Lin Yun spat two law runes towards the crystal table, and in an instant, numerous patterns appeared on the table and spread to the entire mage tower.

At that moment, the radiance scattering from the top of the mage tower dissipated, and with no energy being supplied, the wide barrier also dissipated.

Laibo and the others were already waiting outside the mage tower.

“Sir Mafa, have you already finished?”

Laibo was still very pale, and half of his hair was still of mixed color. The lifeforce he had used would take at least a year to be replenished. Precious medicine might slightly reduce the time, but even if he drank potions every single day, it would take at least four to five months before he recovered.

Lin Yun nodded.

“The matter is over. I found what I was looking for, so we can leave this place now.

“These are Health Potions I personally compounded. They contain a huge amount of lifeforce. Take them and drink one each week. This should help you recover sooner.”

Lin Yun took out a dozen large bottles of Health Potions and gave them to Laibo. He then immediately led them to the location of the exit.

He opened the exit to send Laibo and his junior apprentice brothers and sister out of the ruins, but as Lin Yun stopped at the entrance of the ruins, Laibo approached him.

“Sir Mafa, this is our Secret Monastery’s token of protection. If you have the time, you must visit our Secret Monastery.”

Laibo gave Lin Yun a Secret Monastery token before rapidly leaving. His strength had greatly decreased, and he was leading the most talented youths of the Secret Monastery. It would be a huge loss if an accident happened. They had just survived so many dangers, it would really be a shame if something happened in the end.

As the Secret Monastery’s group left, Lin Yun remained outside the ruins to sort out his harvest. More importantly, he had just advanced to the Heaven Rank and needed to stabilize himself properly.

He opened his Natural Demiplane and instantly disappeared.

Shocking changes had once again taken place in the Demiplane due to Lin Yun’s advancement to the Heaven Rank. The space became even more stable while the Demiplane’s limits doubled once again. The earth became thicker and the sky higher.

The God Fire Ember orbiting in the sky looked like a scorching sun, its light illuminating the entire Demiplane. New kinds of plants grew, and new kinds of lifeforms were nurtured. Even the smallest insects evolved into some relatively bigger insects. Butterflies, bees, and other kinds of winged insects could be seen fluttering within the forests.

On the edge of the Demiplane, Mana Vines formed a thick, greenish tall wall that rose up from the earth and spread into the void, continuously tearing mana from the void apart and supplementing the Demiplane.

A layer of mist was sliding down from the sky before condensing into the Mana Lake under the Mana Vines. But this lake of pure mana had become even bigger.

The slow growth of the Natural Demiplane required far less mana than the Mana Vines could extract from the void, and the mana within that Mana Lake was enough for the Natural Demiplane’s rapid transformation.

Lin Yun floated in the air and sensed the Natural Demiplane with closed eyes. His control over the Natural Demiplane had been increased once again, and according to that trend, it wouldn’t take long before he could thoroughly control the entire Demiplane.

He extended a hand and Extraordinary Power transformed into four lights that floated in his hands. After calmly sensing it, Lin Yun suddenly opened his eyes.

In the end, Extraordinary Power was Law Power. It was just that it was Law Power belonging to the mage. Unlike mana, Extraordinary Power fully relied on the comprehension of laws. The deeper the comprehension, the stronger the Extraordinary Power.

That was a power that surpassed mortal power and wasn’t something an ordinary person could control. But Lin Yun could instinctively control Extraordinary Power. He automatically knew how to use it when he left the Gate of Rebirth.