"Who exactly is he? On the surface, he's just a minor noble in Silver Moon City, but in secret, he commands a force that includes a Legendary powerhouse! And he seems to be extremely familiar with this place… So why did he deceive me before?"
After all, Leilin currently held her life in his hands!
The core control room was surprisingly small—only about five or six square meters in area. In the center stood a peculiar hexagonal prism, surrounded by various screens. Some had lost their glow or were filled with black-and-white static, while others were still functioning perfectly.
"Activate!"
Following Leilin's command, the outer shell of the central hexagonal prism opened, revealing a structure within that looked like blue crystal.
"This is…" Helen stared at that magnificent, crystalline blue, a faint intoxication blooming in her eyes.
"The core terminal that controls the entire demiplane laboratory, as well as the information terminal. A great deal of data can only be downloaded here…"
Leilin said flatly, paying no attention to whether Helen understood or not, and pressed his palm against the surface of the blue crystal.
[Ding! Spiritual Power data interface connected!]
In an instant, Leilin felt as though he had become the god of the entire demiplane. Everything within it was laid bare before him.
"Weapons depot! Living experiment stockpile! Data archive!"
All manner of maps and data materialized before Leilin's eyes, and only at this moment did he realize how fortunate he was to have gained control of this place.
"Energy reserves are at less than two percent. All high-yield weapons are non-functional. The magical arrays and wizard formations are extensively damaged. Even the golem legion has been mostly destroyed—only one or two defective units can be deployed…"
Leilin sighed. With his judgment, this demiplane could have kept even high-tier Legendary powerhouses at bay during its prime.
But now?
Of course, even so, seizing full control of the core was an extremely difficult task.
Whether it was a Legendary Mage, or some other thief or rogue—even a deity couldn't directly attack the laboratory's intelligent core through an information link. These were entirely different levels of existence!
But Leilin was different!
This wizard's architecture was completely familiar to him, and with the Chip, it was even more so.
That was precisely why he had been able to take the entire core without any losses.
[Ding! Laboratory energy reserves have reached critical threshold. Unable to draw energy from the Infinite Void. Demiplane collapse time: one hour, thirteen minutes!]
At this moment, the Chip displayed another piece of information before Leilin.
"So the demiplane's aging and collapse truly can't be stopped? In that case, the most valuable things here are…"
A flash of regret crossed Leilin's eyes, which then brightened.
"Chip! Copy all data from the terminal!"
The Chip mechanically executed Leilin's command.
Brilliant light blazed from the hexagonal crystal prism, projecting onto the surrounding walls and screens.
And Leilin, enveloped in that light, saw countless data streams and characters flicker through his eyes—the most important being the
A vast ocean of information was transmitted in an instant. Compared to this, the scraps Helen had risked her life to obtain were not even a fraction.
[Ding! Arcanist class system compilation complete. Partial overlap detected with the subject's existing Mage class. Overwrite?]
"Yes!" Leilin answered without hesitation.
Immediately after, his aura underwent a dramatic change. A layer of Arcane Fire ignited upon him.
Powerful energy flooded directly into his sea of consciousness, modifying and reforging the foundations of his Mage class.
An entirely new system generated itself and rapidly replaced the previous Mage template.
Very soon, Leilin saw the class designation in his attribute panel change—it now read [Arcanist]!
Crack!
A searing pain that seemed to originate from his very soul suddenly surged through him, turning Leilin's vision dark. He felt his connection to the Magic Web severed in an instant!
Fortunately, the disconnection lasted only a heartbeat before the link was re-established, though it felt slightly different now.
In that brief instant, it seemed as though a pair of golden eyes had taken notice of this place—only to be concealed by the four-layer Magic Web authority Leilin now controlled.
The Chip's notifications continued: [Ding! Subject has transitioned to Arcanist! Replaces original Mage level!]
[Ding! Subject has acquired Arcanist Feats: Arcane Energy Sense! Arcane Amplification!]
Below came the detailed feat descriptions: [Arcane Energy Sense: Arcanists can bypass the restrictions of the Magic Web and directly perceive the ambient arcane energy. They can then condense it into Arcane Power!]
[Arcane Amplification: When an Arcanist uses Arcane Power, ordinary arcane abilities are amplified by 10%–20%!]
[Ding! Subject's Spiritual Power has broken through! Spirit +1! Promotion to Fifteenth-level Arcanist!]
Leilin's mind shuddered, and then his Spiritual Power directly touched the seventh layer of the Magic Web.
Viewing the Magic Web from an Arcanist's perspective gave him an entirely different sensation.
This feeling of stepping outside and observing the Magic Web dramatically accelerated the Chip's analysis speed.
Leilin's attribute data now read: [Leilin Farell — Age: 21 — Race: Human — Fifteenth-level Arcanist — Strength: 13 — Agility: 11 — Constitution: 12 — Spirit: 15 — Arcane Energy: 150 — Status: Healthy — Innate Talents: Tough, Well-Read, Basic Perfect Physique — Feats: Arcane Energy Sense, Arcane Amplification] "As expected, the greatest benefit of becoming an Arcanist is the ability to cast spells independently of the Magic Web! And Arcane Energy has replaced the original spell slots!"
Leilin nodded. Moreover, this separation was one-directional, meaning he could still prepare seventh-level spell slots and save them for casting the next day.
Of course, due to level restrictions, he currently had only one seventh-level spell slot.
"Using Arcane Power to cast arcane abilities probably costs more than using Magic Web authority to instant-cast low-level spells, but less than casting through spell slots!"
Leilin stroked his chin. With the convenience of having fully analyzed layers zero through three of the Magic Web, he could instant-cast low-level spells and even unleash a spell flood—this had always been his trump card. Of course, this was built upon his Magic Web authority, essentially undermining the Goddess of the Magic Web from within.
If he relied entirely on Arcane Power, that luxury wouldn't exist.
However, the greatest advantage of being an Arcanist was that he retained the Mage template and still had access to the Magic Web!
"So now I exist outside the system while still enjoying its benefits! I have the power without the obligations—how satisfying is that…"
Leilin sighed. "It's a shame. If there were more people like me, the Magic Web would eventually collapse…"
"You… broke through?"
Although Leilin's promotion had taken only an instant, Helen had clearly noticed the difference.
"Mm! Something like that!"
Leilin said with a smile. How could his current gains be described by mere breakthroughs?
"Transitioning to [Arcanist], and acquiring a massive number of Arcane Templates—my strength will now enter a phase of rapid growth. And with a fifteenth-level class rank, I'm already a [High-tier Mage], which puts me among the absolute elite wherever I go…"
Leilin reflected inwardly. To have reached [High-tier Mage] at the age of twenty-one—aside from divine Chosen and godborn, he was virtually at the very pinnacle of the material world.
"This place is dangerous… We need to leave immediately!"
Leilin frowned and led Helen out of the core data archive, his brow still furrowed.
Though the expedition had been relatively smooth—he had successfully obtained the [Arcanist] class data and a wealth of Arcane Templates, saving himself considerable effort in theoretical development—one crucial objective remained unfulfilled: the legacy of the Ancient Rule Wizards!
The Chip had scanned and recorded every document, yet found nothing related to Rule Wizards. This left Leilin somewhat disappointed.
If he could obtain the path and experience of those ancient beings, it would have been of tremendous benefit to him.
"Of course, not every ancient Arcanist could receive guidance from an existence like the Shadow of
Leilin consoled himself. "This haul is already more than enough. The contents of the Chip's database alone, once fully organized, will be of extraordinary value…"
"We need to hurry. The demiplane collapse is in less than…"
Leilin's steps suddenly halted. He turned around in shock, only to find that Helen had vanished without a trace.
"Impossible! I was watching behind me the entire time—I even placed a Spiritual Power marker on her, and the Chip's scans covered everything! How did I not detect anything?!"
Leilin looked around in alarm. The surrounding corridors were empty, conveying a sense of desolate isolation.
"Chip! Search the entire laboratory and find Helen!"
Leilin issued the command immediately. He had already seized the core authority here, and although most of the equipment was in a state of damage or energy depletion, a basic scan was still possible.
Very quickly, the results came back, making Leilin's expression even grimmer.
"Nothing. Not a trace of her anywhere—not even a corpse or remains… It's as if she simply vanished into thin air…"
Leilin's face was dark enough to drip ink.
This terrifying sensation of déjà vu was something he hadn't felt in a very long time.