Chapter 18: Spell Extraction

"Remy, help me take care of it. After Mage Mason is finished with his meal, don't forget to remind him to compensate our workshop for the losses," Lin Yun explained while yawning. He was truly too tired. His output from that whole night of work was equivalent to what many alchemists would need a month for, and he would need to sleep well for a few days to recover.

Unfortunately, his idea to go back to sleep was instantly destroyed.

Lin Yun had barely turned to leave when a commotion could be heard outside the Gilded Rose, followed by a young mage pushing the door open.

This young mage was not yet thirty, but surprisingly, the cuffs of his gown had a silver lining. His identity as a Great Mage was clearly visible. Many onlookers recognized him when he entered. There was only one Great Mage this young in the entire Thousand Sails City, Monchi's eldest son, Ryan.

It was said that Ryan had displayed shocking magic gifts when he was young and that Monchi had originally planned to send him to Okland Magic School, but when he was 15, a powerful master from the kingdom paid them a visit and then left with Ryan shortly after.

That was ten years ago, and fairly recently, Ryan, who had already become a Great Mage, returned to Thousand Sails City. Soon, everyone in Thousand Sails City was shocked. A Great Mage that had yet to reach his thirties, what kind of idea was that? This was a genius that might not even appear in a hundred years! He would most likely be able to set foot into the High Mage realm, and at that time, he might become an existence that could walk shoulder to shoulder with those three of the Sage Tower.

This sounded especially plausible after the news spread that Monchi and Ryan paid a visit to the Sage Tower and that Solomon, one of the big three, had personally seen them off. Ryan's reputation in Thousand Sails City became even more resounding.

Who was Solomon? He was an existence that was close to being a living legend. For so many years, countless people had visited the Sage Tower, but how many had been personally sent off by Solomon? Those could be counted on the fingers of just one hand...

Ryan's name spread throughout Thousand Sails City so quickly that it even surpassed that of his father, Monchi, the president of the Twin Moons chamber of commerce. Even those young magic apprentices who had just broken through and become mages already viewed him as their idol. The higher-ups of every major power were very courteous to Ryan. Especially after they heard that Ryan still had yet to marry and wasn't engaged either. Some families with daughters had begun visiting Monchi to make overtures.

Nothing could be done about all this attention. Becoming a Great Mage before even turning thirty was too dazzling, even an idiot could understand that. As long as he didn't run into some incredible obstacle, Ryan's prospects would inevitably be bright. Sooner or later, he would become a grand figure comparable to the top three of Sage Tower, or maybe even surpass them... Eventually standing alone at the peak of Thousand Sails City didn't seem impossible.

And now, this young Great Mage with a shockingly impressive reputation was standing at the doorway of the Gilded Rose, dressed in a simple black gown, and besides the silver line on his cuffs, there was nothing extraordinary about him. When he saw Mason with pieces of glass in his mouth, his face didn't even display the slightest hint of anger, as if this person wasn't his younger brother, but a random passerby.

"Take him back."

With Ryan's words, the hoodlums that Mason had brought with him felt as if they were granted amnesty and they quickly helped Mason out.

This time, Lin Yun only stood there, sizing up that young Mage with a curious look.

"The Twin Moons chamber of commerce will compensate for the damage Mason caused you. Tell me the amount and I'll send someone to deliver it to you tomorrow." After Ryan entered, he only glanced at Lin Yun and didn't ask what happened or who was right or wrong. He just directly issued this statement instead.

Ryan didn't care what this fledgling mage was thinking.

As the widely lauded Great Mage, how could he care about what a newly advanced mage was thinking?

"As for you, you used the Blood Vine Spell. That Blood Vine Spell will be extracted."

Ryan's words immediately changed the atmosphere.

Spell Extraction referred to the process of a mage transferring a spell onto an item at the cost of completely forgetting about it. That item could be a magic scroll, a piece of magic equipment, a magic gem, anything could do as long as it could hold mana. After transferring it, that item would obtain powerful magic ability and might completely inherit that spell ability. In Noscent's history, there had been several powerful magic tools that had been created that way.

But the extraction process was extremely painful to a mage because this was equivalent to pulling the spell out from a mage's soul while still alive.

To a mage, this kind of torture for the soul was far more terrible than any magical backlash.

In history, those mages who voluntarily had their spells extracted had already reached their limits and had wanted to leave some heritage to their disciples or the later generations. With shocking willpower and endurance, they extracted the spells they were the proudest of from their souls.

The number of mages who had done this of their own will, from the 3rd Dynasty until now, might not even amount to 10.

Ryan talked about it as if it was nothing and asked Lin Yun to have his spell extracted.

"Ryan, you are going too far!" The old butler stood out with a face red from anger, shielding Lin Yun behind him.

Ryan stood there looking at Lin Yun as if the old butler wasn't there. "Mason was the one in the wrong, but the prestige of the Monchi family cannot be provoked. Mafa Merlin, you should know that if I make a move, you'll feel even more pain."

"Mage Ryan, you said so much, but there is something I still haven't understood..." Lin Yun gently nudged the old butler aside and then smilingly walked towards Ryan.

"What's the problem?" Ryan frowned slightly. He didn't like that young mage's attitude.

Lin Yun stood in front of Ryan, and after scrutinizing him closely, he asked him, "Are you awake?"

"Hmm?" Ryan didn't react at first, but he then was hardly able to keep his anger suppressed. 'A little mage dares to ridicule me?'

"You brought this upon yourself!"

Ryan fiercely raised his magic staff, and shocking mana fluctuations immediately filled the atmosphere before a vivid red spread through the entire lobby. Amidst cracking sounds, countless blood vines crawled up from the ground. Their growth was quick and violent as they covered the lobby in a bloody color.

The same Blood Vine Spell in Ryan's hands and in Lin Yun's hands seemed completely different. This wasn't because Lin Yun's casting ability was inferior to Ryan's, it was the gap between a normal mage and a Great Mage being too huge. After a Great Mage got rid of the bindings of the mana whirlpool, their strength reached a whole new level, a completely different world. A mage that had yet to step on that path couldn't imagine how frightening the power of a Great Mage was.

This kind of gap almost couldn't be breached. Regardless of how impressive one was at conducting mana, regardless of how skilled one was with metamagic or the process of casting spells, when faced with that immeasurably huge gap, these could all only be considered funny tricks.

The earth-shattering vines instantly flooded the entire lobby. Everyone was enveloped by the frightening vines, and as long as Ryan sent out a bit of mana, the entire lobby would truly be covered in blood.

In the eyes of this Great Mage, those below him weren't even worth mentioning.

At that moment, startled shouts and cries for help echoed throughout the lobby. And even the old butler who always refused to admit defeat was now exposing an expression of fear.

But Lin Yun, who stood in front of Ryan, had a smile on his face.

The Blood Vines were spreading over from the center of the room, and despite the menacing bloody shadows, the smile on his face didn't change at all. All he did was flick his fingers, and a small flame came out of his fingertips.

Among these overwhelming blood vines, that weak flame seemed like a rock thrown into an ocean, and it drifted to the ground while giving the feeling that it would stop burning anytime.

But then, a loud "Bang" echoed.

Just as the flame fell on the ground, a raging blaze flared up, as if someone had covered the ground in something inflammable. The faint flame turned into overflowing, raging fires as they burnt away the blood vines, and only those. In a short time, those large blood vines had all turned to ashes.

This had all happened too fast to the point that no one was able to react.

Shock was plastered on the faces of all the employees, and Ryan, who had just cast his Blood Vines spell, still had his arm outstretched as if trying to channel mana into his recently extinguished spell.