Chapter 39: Finale

Although the two had never been in contact, Solomon had started paying attention to this young Mage a few months ago. At that time, that young Mage had sent a bottle of Spectrum Potion to the Sage Tower and came out with a pass with the highest privileges. He then used it to stay in the library for about two months.

During these two months, although Solomon didn’t visit the library, Solon had brought him information about the young man every day: what kind of book Mage Merlin had read that day, notes on what Mage Merlin did the next day, what kind of opinion Mage Merlin shared the day after that…

Solomon even remembered some things that Lin Yun didn’t necessarily remember.

Because Solomon knew that this young Mage was very remarkable, far more remarkable than anyone thought.

Solon didn’t even know that that first day, when he brought Lin Yun’s opinion on the Fanrusen Formula, Solomon had returned to his study to write a letter to Star Sage Jouyi.

There were four pieces of data in this letter and it quickly led to an upsurge of discussion in the circles of mages across the kingdom. It wasn’t only Star Sage Jouyi, it wasn’t just the Cloud Tower… Many powerful mages interested in the Fanrusen Formula began participating in this discussion though letters, and even more mages started acknowledging that these four pieces of data might very well fix the errors of the Fanrusen Formula. Many had sent their congratulations to Solomon because they felt that the information he had shared constituted a major discovery that would be recorded in the annals of magic.

Reading these congratulatory messages, Solomon could only force a smile…

Only Solomon himself knew that these four pieces of data didn’t belong to him, but rather, to a young Mage that was only 20 years old…

But Solomon wasn’t sure whether that young Mage had calculated and analyzed these four pieces of data himself or if he had heard about it from someone else.

Thus, for the moment, Solomon could only urge him to stay and try to bring up the topic of magic during their idle chat, trying to probe him and see whether this young Mage’s magic knowledge was really deep enough to clearly understand the mistakes in the Fanrusen Formula.

It was hard to say for the time being, but one thing was certain: that young Mage was definitely much better acquainted with magic theory than his peers.

He was even sure that it surpassed the Great Mage realm, because in the discussion just now, Solomon felt that this young Mage was definitely holding back and not fully showing off what he knew and understood.

But even this much was frightening enough.

A 20-year-old with the knowledge of a Great Mage…

And given time, let alone his disciple Solon, even Ryan of the Monchi Family might be left in the dust.

Right now, this young Mage was frantically competing over alchemy materials, just as some incredible potions appeared.

What did this mean…

Solomon had already been having some suspicions about whether the Great Alchemist backing the young Merlin actually existed… Could the alchemist actually be Mafa Merlin himself?

Two months ago, Solomon would never have believed this. The reason was very simple: everyone knew that a good mage wasn’t necessarily a good alchemist, but a good alchemist was definitely a good mage. This might sound weird, but it was well-backed by history.

Alchemy originally came from magic, and the deeper the alchemy, the deeper the magic knowledge needed to be. Many theories, many conclusions couldn’t be understood without enough magic knowledge, and some fields of alchemy required enough mana to conduct them.

Choosing a very simple example, one of the Sage Tower’s three big shots, Thorpe. Before advancing to become a High Mage, Thorpe had been stuck at the peak of the Alchemist level for ten years. But when he became a High Mage, his alchemy suddenly advanced by leaps and bounds, and in a month, he was also a Great Alchemist.

Mafa Merlin had just become a Mage, so how could he have the level of a Great Alchemist?

But now, Solomon was really doubtful.

A Mage with the knowledge of a Great Mage… in theory, he should already have the ability to craft the Spectrum Potion.

Moreover, he was now going all-out bidding on a few alchemy materials…

Solomon was sitting in the corner of the box, bursting into a violent cough from time to time. Finally, his eyes, which had been so filled with hesitation, suddenly became resolute.

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The bidding on the Red Flame Fish Oil had already come to an end, and Lin Yun had used 1 200 000 gold to get the last material needed for his Mana Baptism.

Once he got hold of the Red Flame Fish Oil, the auction was already over for Lin Yun. But to many people, it had just begun.

Because the last item would be the grand finale.

This was a tradition of the Black Horn Auction. The most precious and shocking items would be auctioned at the end, both as a way to increase the suspense, and a way to express respect. It was like how in a story, the most important character would always appear last to save the day.

“The next lot is the finale of the auction,” Cadgar said while lifting the silk cloth that was on the pedestal, exposing a red potion and a black potion. “I introduce to everyone, the Volcano Potion and the Ghost Potion.”

“Oh my god…”

“Is that really a Volcano Potion and a Ghost Potion?”

“How could these appear in Thousand Sails City!”

Cadgar had yet to finish when the entire venue broke into a commotion. If one could say that the auction of the Hell Destroyer incantation and the Red Flame Fish Oil had created a stir, then what these two potions brought was an explosive shock.

Most of the people who attended the Black Horn Auction were very knowledgeable, so how could they not know of the famous Volcano Potion and Ghost Potion?

In fact, this wasn’t as simple as hearing about it…

These two potions approaching the Master Alchemist Level had already become legendary existences in the hearts of these people. Able to make mana burst like a volcano, the Volcano Potion that could let a Great Mage instantaneously reach the High Mage realm… Able to turn the body into nothingness, the Ghost Potion that made one immune to injuries… These two potions could be said to be at the peak of the Great Alchemist realm. Any Great Alchemist that mastered these two potions would be able to tread on the path to become a Master Alchemist.

Moreover, a Great Alchemist that reached this level wouldn’t compound these potions rashly, firstly because the materials were prohibitively expensive, preventing many Great Alchemists from being able to afford it, and secondly because these two potions required a lot of time and effort to create. It would usually take somewhere from a dozen days to a month to compound one. If anything went wrong, the time and money invested would be wasted.

The appearance of either of these two potions would attract countless forces, and they wouldn’t hesitate to empty their coffers to obtain them.

And now, the two potions appeared at the same time.

Could there suddenly be two Great Alchemists with the potential to become Master Alchemists that appeared at the same time in Thousand Sails City? Or was it the same person?

“I think that everyone must feel strange… Since there are two potions, why are they being auctioned together?” Cadgar said this before shamelessly stopping there to build suspense. He waited for everyone to be on the edge of their seat before he unhurriedly said, “The reason is simply that these two potions were compounded by the same person.”

The same person!

The shock caused by this answer was no less than the initial shock of seeing the two potions themselves. Compounding one such potion was already a very formidable feat, and yet someone had actually compounded both of them together? What was that? Was this person just deliberately trying to shock people?

“But I can let everyone know that this future Master is very very young, a lot younger than you imagine…”

Cadgar explained up to this point before stopping. No matter how much people asked, he wouldn’t agree to leak another word about it. An old fox like Cadgar knew what he should say and what he shouldn’t.

Saying that the same person made both potions was fine, and teasing their young age was fine too. It was only to raise the price of the potions, giving them a certain flavor. He would run into issues if he said any more. He managed to get closer to Mage Merlin before the Sage Tower with great difficulty, but before he established a solid relationship, Cadgar wouldn’t put this future Master Alchemist in the limelight. That would be counterproductive…

Cadgar’s flashy and merciless introduction piqued everyone’s interest…

Two potions infinitely close to the Master Alchemist realm and compounded by the same person, Cadgar had actually come up with such a fierce finale for this auction!

Cadgar himself was a Great Alchemist brimming with talent. He was only 40 years old when he stepped into the Great Alchemist realm, and now, Cadgar even used the words “younger than you imagine” to describe the mysterious alchemist… Just how young was the alchemist who compounded these potions?

35 years old? Maybe even 30 years old? Younger still?

Just thinking that this might be the case made everyone in the venue feel numb.

All these people sitting in the auction room weren’t simple characters. There was no lack of leaders from major forces here. They had many alchemists themselves, so how could they not know how hard it was to nurture a talented alchemist?