Chapter 86: The Return of Viscount Gordon

In Nether, most people believed that alchemical enchantment was even more mysterious than magic itself. Yet in Byrne’s eyes, alchemy was simply an otherworldly form of chemistry.

While every spellcaster possessed at least a rudimentary grasp of enchantment, for the vast majority, their skills amounted to nothing more than forcibly channeling magical energy, relentlessly “nurturing” objects with raw magic—pouring out copious amounts of life force, brute-forcing miracles. In essence, overwhelming power produced astonishing results.

It was a profession with a remarkably low threshold for entry but a dizzyingly high ceiling. Anyone who achieved any measure of success hid their techniques fiercely, rarely passing them to the next generation except on their deathbed—or sometimes taking them to the grave altogether.

This prevailing attitude meant that, aside from the enchantment methods gleaned from Nether scrolls and the “Ironstone” techniques of Conchinio, progress in Nether’s alchemical enchantment had stagnated. After all, not everyone had lifespans to squander. Most alchemical enchantment skills were family secrets, so magical items were scarce; even within a family, there were never enough to go around, let alone for sale to outsiders.

Thus, ordinary folk were deeply curious about alchemy; among spellcasters, alchemical enchantment was regarded as advanced knowledge. When Byrne openly allowed them to witness his work, their hearts were overwhelmed with gratitude. Though they could not comprehend the process, they recognized that Byrne was treating them as his own.

Especially the ranger, Harbwick, was so moved that he nearly wept. Byrne had not excluded him, truly accepting him as one of his own.

Byrne was unaware that a simple gesture had led them all to such emotional conclusions. He had no fear of others learning from him—unless the other party was also a transmigrator and understood the periodic table of elements; even a deity descending would not be able to decipher what Byrne inscribed!

(Deities innately comprehend languages and texts, but these are alchemical runes—not something they can grasp!)

Byrne first used the alchemy platform to synthesize several silvery metal plates. Then, under the astonished gazes of the crowd, he snapped his fingers lightly. A pale blue giant hand appeared and, under Byrne’s control, assembled the plates like building blocks into a strange, hexagonal metal slab.

“A six-pointed star magic array?”

The onlookers, though baffled by Byrne’s methods, recognized the shape of the array.

A faint white glow emanated from Byrne’s hand as he produced a homemade “engraving pen.” Like a robotic arm, his hand moved swiftly across the metal slab, leaving marks wherever the pen touched, as though an artist painting on canvas.

The crowd was transfixed. They certainly didn’t mistake it for a slab of tofu; rather, they marveled at the sharpness of Byrne’s “engraving knife.” Only Cecily, possessing intermediate strength, noticed that the knife’s edge emitted the same “energy” as Byrne himself.

Watching the subtle glow around Byrne, Cecily’s eyes flickered with ripples, lost in thought.

Those with keen observation would see pale blue magical glimmer in Byrne’s eyes. In his vision, the entire metal slab was already covered in magical runes; all he needed to do was trace the lines. With powerful mental focus and the aid of “energy,” the massive metal plate was inscribed with a magic array in less than an hour.

Looking at the densely packed, exotic runes, even the gifted Lehmann from Giles Academy could not recognize more than a tenth—let alone understand the array’s purpose.

Byrne then sat at the center of the array and began directing Lehmann and the ranger to place the necessary materials in designated spots.

What followed stunned them all. Byrne placed his hands on the array, pure magical elements surged forth, and the raw materials atop the array swiftly transformed into objects of varied shapes.

It turned out that this metallic six-pointed star alchemy array was simply a magnified version of the alchemy platform.

…

Over the next few days, Lehmann and the ranger devoted themselves to assisting Byrne, performing labor without complaint and even in high spirits.

With Byrne overseeing the operation, the construction of the inner and outer buildings progressed rapidly, attracting considerable attention to Lehmann’s trading company.

Cecily brought Blake and Lilith to visit daily. Sensitive Lilith quickly noticed many people lurking nearby, some harboring ill intentions.

Upon hearing Lilith’s report, Byrne merely chuckled, patting her head. As her bloodline awakened, Lilith’s abilities had grown; she could sense trouble within a range of nearly two hundred meters.

The next day, Lilith found that far fewer spies remained, and the unfriendly ones had vanished. She joyfully sought Byrne out, believing he had driven the troublemakers away. Unbeknownst to her, thanks to her tip-off, several more unfortunate souls had been added to Seventon’s list of the disabled!

After seven or eight days of hard work, the framework of Byrne’s private laboratory was finally complete.

Standing amidst the familiar yet foreign layout, Byrne felt a surge of emotion. The design was based on the memory of a laboratory from his past life.

Of course, beyond nostalgia, his chief aim was to recreate that laboratory in hopes of triggering memories from his previous existence.

That day, the long-awaited Viscount Gordon finally returned. Though both Gordon and the knight captain had changed into casual noble attire, Byrne could faintly detect the scent of blood on Gordon—especially the knight captain, whose aura was even stronger, though neither was human blood.

Byrne used [Arcane Eye] to inspect; the knight captain was surrounded by a faint black mist.

“This must be some kind of curse.”

With [Arcane Eye] and chip analysis, Byrne immediately identified it as a spellcaster’s death curse.

“Uncle John, here.”

Byrne handed the knight captain a bottle of holy water. “Drink this—it will lift the curse.”

The holy water from the Church of Amanata was exceptionally effective, usable both internally and externally for healing wounds and purging evil corruption. Byrne had none of the extreme attitudes of later-day arcanists; he always carried two or three dozen bottles of high-grade holy water for emergencies.

“Ha, not bad! High-grade stuff, too. This isn’t easy to come by these days.”

The knight captain instantly recognized the holy water’s quality.

Byrne smiled faintly and turned to Viscount Gordon.

The viscount was in low spirits. Byrne had already heard the news: the rural castle had been destroyed in battle.

Many lizardfolk and similar races were migrating northward. The rural castle was first overrun by goblins, then by a band of ogres. To their misfortune, the ogres included spellcasters; Gordon and the knight captain had suffered losses, losing many men and even the castle itself in the fighting.

…