Inside a spacious and bright room was a full-length mirror.
The mirror was taller than a person and was ornamented along its sides with black leaves which contrasted with the white birch wood. A large variety of different colored gems were also embedded along its edges, making it look extremely extravagant.
At this moment, a youth wearing a swallow-tail coat was standing in front of this mirror. Behind him were a few maids, who were busy straightening out their master's attire.
After tidying up, the youth waved his hands, sending the maids away, leaving him alone in the room.
This youth judged his reflected figure– a medium-height build with a slim stature. He was brown haired and somewhat pale-skinned. His countenance could be described as delicate, but the shining luster in both his eyes indicated he had a very active mind.
Over a year had passed ever since Leylin returned from his previous exploration. He opened His hands revealing a strange pendant on his palm.
The pendant was strikingly similar to the silver cross. On its surface were a few red and blue diamonds, which glittered in the light, giving off a faint glow.
As Leylin stared at this pendant, a satisfied expression crossed his face.
Fallen Star Pendant — low-grade magic artifact, of the rare defensive nature. Compared to a few attack type magic artifacts, its value was naturally much higher. Even an official Magus might be interested in it.
As long as the opponent's attack power does not exceed the threshold of the Fallen Star Pendant and before it's energy was completely depleted, Leylin's defence would be like that of a sturdy turtle shell. As long as the Fallen Star Pendant was active, nothing would happen to Leylin.
After smashing and grinding most of the magic crystals he had, as well as adding all of the ingredients from the Great Mankestre Snake, he managed to create this prototype of a pendant.
"I have basically consumed all of my expendable resources. According to the Lowian Academy Teachings, this is only an incomplete product. The core of the Fallen Star Pendant has already been completed. What's left is the final step…."
Glancing at the Fallen Star Pendant in his hands he saw that the silver cross glittered and glowed with a wide range of different hues. On its surface were inscribed mysterious patterns, and altogether it seemed like a mystical art piece.
"As for the final ingredient, I have it with me already. I need to only wait for the opportune moment before I can initiate the spirit awakening for the Fallen Star Pendant!"
"A.I. Chip! Bring forth my current stats!" Leylin commanded inwardly.
[Beep! Leylin Farlier, level 3 acolyte, Grand Knight. Strength: 7.3, Agility: 4.9, Vitality: 6.1, Spiritual force: 15.2, Magic power: 15– (magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force). Status: Healthy]
In this last year, Leylin has mostly focused on becoming Grand Knight, He was able ignite his life force and gain a significant leap in all of his stats, especially his strength. One has to keep in mind that he is not even 17 yet.
He has spiritual force of 15 , which is the least requirement to breakthrough to Rank 1 magus.
'The returning order from the academy will be issued in six months time, in this time I have to go to Dylan Garden and retrieve the Inheritance,
I need to complete my Fallen Star Pendant. '
Leylin's hand turned over, revealing that silver cross.
Under the bright light, the jewels on the cross glittered resplendently.
"Once I have this low-grade defensive magic artifact, my chances will definitely increase in the secret plane!"
Leylin muttered, and came to his experiment lab beside the room, withdrawing the Confining Spirit Sphere that held Roman captive.
The originally dimmed crystal ball gradually radiated with light after Leylin undid the seal. Light reflected from it like amber, with a translucent worm-sized like human figure in it.
"Roman! Actually, I wanted to play a little more with you... " Leylin sighed regretful, He doesn't need to obtain any information from him. He only observed Roman for his Spirit research, now he has lived his usefulness.
As for the vengeful spirit, Roman, who was inside the crystal ball, he shuddered. The crazed and bloodthirsty look disappeared from his face, replaced by a pair of eyes that radiated intelligence.
Leylin placed the silver cross beside the Confining Spirit Sphere and began to draw various runes with a feather quill and other tools on the large experiment table.
The runes and characters continuously writhed and twisted, forming a strange magic rune.
Along with Leylin's incantation and tossing of ingredients, the huge magic rune let off a dim grey glow.
As for Roman who was within the Confining Spirit Sphere, he seemed to have seen something extremely dangerous, and even his voice started to quiver, "No… You can't do this…."
The final step of synthesizing the Fallen Star Pendant required a sealed spirit that was full of energy, which is the best catalyst for the activation process.
Roman, who had the strength of a level 3 Acolyte in his previous life, was the perfect ingredient for Leylin right now!
After a vengeful spirit is sealed within the Fallen Star Pendant, Roman's soul will be forever trapped within that silver cross, and suffer from never-ending torment. He could only wait for the day when the silver cross shatters, before his soul will be dissipated.
"You, who is in such a state, have you got any other bargaining chip for me?"
After finishing drawing the spell formation, and sizing up the spirit which was repeatedly begging him from within the Confining Spirit Sphere, a curious smile spread across Leylin's face.
"I… I am an outstanding alchemist and have mastered many secrets and special skills in alchemy. If only you let me go, I will hand them all over to you…."
Seeing the resolute expression on Leylin's face, Roman started to reveal everything that he knew, for a sliver of a chance to stay alive.
"Not enough! Most of your things were already recorded inside that Alchemy book, and these benefits will not be able to compensate for the loss of my Fallen Star Pendant!" Leylin's face turned icy cold.
"I… I also know of a secret about magicians who advance to an official Magus! If only you swear to let me go, I will tell you! That is something that all the higher ups in the magician guilds have done their best to conceal!"
Leylin smiled, "Don't tell me you know the spell model of a rank 1 spell, or the location of some Grine Water Or maybe about Advanced Meditation technique.
"You actually know of these…." Roman put on a shocked expression.
"Or Do you want to sell the information about Zither Moon Mountain Plains, Dylan Gardens the place where Great Magus Serholm inheritance is located?"
" You.... " Roman was legitimately scared now
"Your time is over , mate "Leylin smiled and snapped his fingers.
In an instant, the spell runes on the experiment table irradiated with light, engulfing Roman within.
"No....Stop! I have many other things I can give you! Stop!!" Roman's face was in utter fear, he can fell the determination to kill in Leylin eyes.
Leylin did not bother paying attention to Roman's curses, and placed the silver cross in the centre of the runes, as he began to complete the final step for the Fallen Star Pendant.
The Fallen Star Pendant came from a derelict page in the Lowian Academy Teachings. After having been decrypted by the A.I. Chip, together with the Alchemy diary found on Roman's corpse, Leylin was able to deduce the correct procedure for synthesizing it.
After advancing to a level 3 acolyte, Leylin had dedicated most of his time and effort on synthesizing this low-grade magic artifact.
After costing Leylin a large amount of magic crystals and ingredients, the Fallen Star Pendant was almost completed, where the final step remained – spirit awakening!"
According to Leylin's deductions and the A.I. Chip's calculations, the final step, the spirit awakening, had already involved the aspect of spirit and was something that he could not resolve then.
After many years of research, Leylin could already confirm that within Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, he would be the foremost regarding the topic of soul research, and might even surpass many Magi.
After so many experiments, the spirit awakening step did not pose a problem for Leylin.
Leylin looked at the vengeful spirit, Roman, who was writhing and cursing him on the light formation.
"For a long time, I have deliberately calibrated Roman's spirit strength to be compatible with the final step. As long as I am able to complete the spirit awakening, the magic artifact that I get will definitely be perfect!"
This was the trump card that Leylin had prepared for the upcoming Adventure.
* Sssii! *
A cloud of white smoke rose from the silver necklace, and the white mist in the air transformed into a large jaw lined with razor sharp teeth, which bit at Roman directly.
* Ka-cha! *
Roman was immediately eaten by the large malevolent mouth, which it opened and closed as if enjoying the aftertaste.
Leylin stared at the large mouth, and after seeing that Roman was completely devoured, he began to chant an incantation.
The chanting voice reverberated around the area, and Leylin's spell formation that he drew on the experiment lab began to shrink to the centre, and finally, it all transferred onto the Fallen Star Pendant.
With the convergence of the runes, the patterns on the silver cross seemed more detailed and glowed with mysterious colours of light.
"Seal!"
Leylin fixed his gaze on the cross. When the runes were all accepted by the silver Fallen Star Pendant, he pointed at the huge mouth in midair.
* Pu! * A sound similar to a bubble popping sounded.
The white mouth was directly dispersed, and threads of white gaseous bodies were emitted. In the centre of them were many strands of black colour, which continuously fell onto the silver cross.
"With my name, Leylin Farlier, Fallen Star Pendant, shimmer!"
Leylin's expression was solemn, and he bit his fingers, dripping a droplet of blood onto the Fallen Star Pendant.
The red jewel in the silver cross sparkled and directly sucked Leylin's blood into it.
* Bang! * A strong suction force appeared from the Fallen Star Pendant, circling around the surface of the silver cross and forming a whirlwind. It directly sucked in all of the black and white gaseous compounds.
The thick mist enveloped the silver cross within, and it floated in midair, becoming a luminescent ball of black and white.
"Very good! The awakening phase is activated, and everything has been going smoothly without a hitch so far!"
...
[Beep! Low-grade magic artifact – Fallen Star Pendant has been successfully synthesized!] [Fallen Star Pendant – Low-grade magic artifact. Main components used for defence: Stellar Alloy, Manfayla Rock, Mankestre Bone Marrow….] [Physical Defence: 13 degrees, Magical Defence: 15 degrees. Instant activation when Host is attacked!]
The various stats shown on the A.I. Chip made Leylin extremely ecstatic.
With the Fallen Star Pendant in hand, while it still had energy, Leylin could completely ignore the attacks of level 1 and level 2 acolytes. Together with the Trevor's Revolving Shield Potion, Leylin would be able to endure a barrage of attacks even if it came from a level 3 acolyte.
One could say that with the successful synthesis of the Fallen Star Pendant, Leylin's survival chances increased.
The ice cold pendant came into direct contact with the skin, and Leylin pulled up his collar. This way, no one could tell that Leylin was wearing a pendant just by looking at the surface.