Chapter 200: Suyass

At that moment, Nolan, who was in the middle of doing data calculations in a study room at the top floor of the Mercury Tower, suddenly frowned before chanting a spell. A piece of paper appeared out of nowhere and softly fell on his desk.

'Vaughn's laboratory?' Nolan quickly read through the magic letter, and his frown deepened.

Fran would have never expected that the random excuse he had found would actually be the truth. He was just trying to trick his teacher and hadn't really thought things through.

But who was Nolan?

He was one of the three Artisans of the kingdom. Not only had he reached the peak in alchemy, but he was also far more knowledgeable than Master Alchemist Lys when it came to understanding the hidden history of alchemists. The Vaughn Treasury was a good example. Nolan had many sources that Lys couldn't possibly have access to.

In fact, Nolan already had some clues...

He was certain that the true Vaughn Treasury was most likely at sea, because when going through historical materials, he found out a very interesting piece of information. In Vaughn's last twenty years of life, he went out to sea four times, and every time he didn't return for an entire year. How precious would the last twenty years of life be for an Artisan? If not for some crucial matter, how could Vaughn take four long trips to sea?

Moreover...

The naval fleet of the 3rd Dynasty had been mobilized intensively during that time, advancing without an apparent goal in the endless sea to do some military exercises.

Coincidentally, Robinson, the commanding officer of the naval fleet, was a close friend of Vaughn's. The two of them walked out from a small village and kept helping each other through countless dangers before one of them gained command over the naval fleet while the other became an Artisan and the court's Chief Alchemist. Their friendship could be described as deep enough to trust each other with their lives.

A single doubtful point could be said to be a coincidence, but a few doubts together would point out a path. The Vaughn Treasury was most likely in the sea...

This was why Nolan sent only Fran after being contacted by Lys for help about the Vaughn Treasury.

Because Nolan didn't believe that Vaughn Treasury was buried in the Four Seasons Canyon.

But what if it was a laboratory?

That was quite possible. In those days, Vaughn had lived in seclusion in many places before he became the court's Chief Alchemist. The Four Seasons Canyon was one of these places. With Vaughn's habits, it wouldn't be strange for him to leave a laboratory there.

But whether it would contain Spiritual Magic Tools was uncertain...

Those were treasures that every alchemist yearned for. Nolan doubted that the short-tempered Vaughn, the mage that would casually blow up a whole region, wouldn't bury that Spiritual Magic Tool with himself.

But it was still necessary to dispatch someone to check.

"Tell Karon..." Nolan originally wanted to send Karon, but he just remembered that Karon had left for the Golden Forest Plane to suppress a rebellion. It would take another two days for him to come back, so Nolan had no choice but to change his words, "Tell Suyass to come."

"Yes."

A Great Alchemist who was attending to him in the study promptly bowed and left. It didn't take long before a knock resounded on the door.

"Come in." A tall middle-aged man entered. It could be seen from the trace of graying hair at his temples that he was in his fifties, yet there was not a single wrinkle on his handsome face. His dazzling blonde hair and mysterious grey irises gave him a dashing appearance that didn't fit well with his age.

"Teacher, you looked for me?" Those who knew Suyass knew that he would only show such a respectful attitude in front of Nolan.

"Yes, read this letter first." Nolan nodded and the letter slowly flew out to the middle-aged man.

"Fran?" After reading that letter, Suyass frowned.

Of Solan's five disciples, the most outstanding one was undoubtedly Karon, who had been sent to quell the rebellion in the Golden Forest Plane. A dozen years ago, Karon had already entered the peak Master Alchemist realm. Nolan himself predicted that within ten years, Karon would inevitably become the 2nd Artisan of the Mercury Tower. On the magic side, Karon was already a 5th Rank Archmage, and in the entire Mercury Tower, his strength was only inferior to Nolan's.

It could be said that within a few decades, there would almost certainly be a 2nd Nolan-level figure in the Mercury Tower.

At the same time, Karon was the only fellow disciple that Suyass respected. Apart from Karon, Suyass didn't pay any attention to the other disciples under Nolan. Not even Grant, who also held the title of peak Master Alchemist and Archmage. From Suyass' point of view, Grant's achievements were only due to him being Nolan's disciple for a longer time. With time, Suyass wholeheartedly believed that he would sooner or later overtake Grant, even leaving him far behind.

However, among the few fellow disciples, Fran was the one that Suyass despised the most.

He completely looked down on him...

Fran had become a disciple before Suyass, but he had remained a mid-level Master Alchemist for years, and when it came to magic, he was a pitiful 5th Rank High Mage. Even if Fran controlled the most powerful Magic Conducting Rune of the Mercury Tower, the Time Hand, he would still collapse in a single blow in front of Suyass.

Moreover, Suyass despised Fran's behavior. Greedy, selfish, narrow-minded... It was because of that deplorable attitude that Fran's progression had halted for a decade. Whether it was magic or alchemy, they both remained unchanged at a lamentable level.

Suyass never hid his disgust for Fran. He would frequently berate him and Fran would endure. Fran wasn't that polite with Karon, but when facing Suyass, he was like a mouse seeing a cat, immediately running two or three hundred meters away after seeing him, afraid that the words of his junior brother would put him in an awkward situation.

As he read that letter, Suyass' first reaction was, 'Fran got in trouble and is trying to make his teacher clean up the mess.'

But after reading a bit more, Suyass' expression eased up.

"Teacher, you mean..." After reading the whole letter, Suyass folded the letter and respectfully asked Nolan for instructions.

"There shouldn't be many problems with Fran's discovery. There might exist one of Vaughn's laboratories in the Four Seasons Canyon. If that is the case, Fran might not be able to handle it on his own. After all, it's Vaughn we are talking about. The arrays inside far exceed Fran's level..." Nolan paused there. "Thus I want you to give some help to Lys' exploration. As for the final harvest, distribute it according to the previous agreement. But if you really find some clues about Vaughn's Spiritual Magic Tool, you can discuss it with Lys. The Mercury Tower is willing to use other ways to trade for it..."

"Understood, Teacher, I'll go immediately." After Suyass answered, he left the study right away and used Flight to rush towards the Four Seasons Canyon...

After Suyass' departure, Nolan once again returned to his calculations...

The sky had darkened while Nolan spent an hour computing. It was only then that Nolan suddenly raised his head.

'Wait, Thousand Sails City...' After closing his eyes to rest them a bit, Nolan suddenly remembered that young Great Mage that stole the spotlight in the Magic Hand's gathering. 'Wasn't he from Thousand Sails City?'

This discovery caused Nolan to frown.

This gathering of the Magic Hand had left such a deep impression on Nolan. The shocking performance of that young mage even made Nolan unable to assess the potential of that young mage. Unfortunately, he had made his move too late, letting Jouyi discover him first. Now, all he could do was to try to maintain a good relationship as best as he could.

Therefore, in the auction over the last Meditation Law Set, he made that young Great Mage owe him. This favor might lead to something...

'Damn...' Thinking about it, Nolan regretfully shook his head. 'I'm getting too old, my memory isn't what it used to be... Had I recalled earlier that that young Great Mage was from Thousand Sails City, I wouldn't have sent Fran or Suyass...'

He was very clear about the personalities of these two disciples...

Fran was a greedy, selfish and narrow-minded person, and he had some grudges against the Merlin Family. If he learned that that young Great Mage was a Merlin, a conflict would inevitably happen.

Suyass wasn't like Fran, but his character was also problematic. He was too prideful and too straightforward. If Fran hadn't fallen in conflict with the young Great Mage, nothing would happen, but if something did happen between the two, then it would definitely blow up...

Although Suyass always looked down on Fran, to defend the reputation of the Mercury Tower, Suyass would unhesitantly help Fran out of his predicament...

As he thought about this, Nolan was unable to sit still...

This would end badly. Nolan could clearly see how important that young Great Mage was to Jouyi. Just for his sake, Jouyi had been close to falling out with the Magic Hand. If Suyass injured Mafa Merlin, or worse, killed him... the consequences would be unthinkable.

"Go, go get Karon to come back immediately. Tell Grant that he is to take over quelling the Golden Forest Plane's rebellion."