Inside a bright, spacious room.

  All the furniture and daily necessities had been cleared out, leaving the entire room completely empty, exposing even the hard concrete floor.

  Pierce crouched on the ground, focusing intently on drawing an alchemical magic array.

  After a month of effort, the optimization of the Alchemical Etchings was finally complete.

  He immediately began preparations to transform his body into an Alchemical Body.

  Deep blue flames danced continuously in his palm. Chunks of Mithril rapidly melted into liquid, dripping slowly down his fingers like silver threads, forming profound and complex array patterns on the floor.

  About ten minutes later, a complex alchemical magic array had taken shape.

  Pierce let out a long breath and took out some Arcane Dust. Pinching the powder, he sprinkled it meticulously over the array lines.

  The previously dried silver liquid instantly shimmered with a watery luster.

  And when Pierce embedded a Magic Stone into the center of the array, the silver liquid rapidly transformed into a viscous, mercury-like substance that quickly spread outward.

  In the blink of an eye, the entire alchemical array was covered by the viscous substance, looking like a pool of silver water.

  Pierce took a deep breath and plunged both hands directly into it.

  Specks of dazzling silver-white light emerged. The viscous silver liquid crept up Pierce's hands, gradually forming dense, bizarre patterns that resembled circuitry.

  As more and more patterns gradually covered Pierce's entire body, the silver viscous substance within the alchemical array rapidly diminished.

  In the end, only a tiny bit of residue remained in the array, while Pierce's entire body was covered in bizarre silver patterns, radiating a hazy glow.

  Pierce sat down cross-legged with a calm expression. He closed his eyes, connected with the Spirit Crystal deep within his mind, and slowly seeped his mental power into the silver patterns on his skin.

  After absorbing enough mental power, the silver patterns slowly bled outward, sinking into his pores and disappearing, as if his body had absorbed them.

  He didn't know how long had passed before the final silver pattern on his skin slowly vanished.

  Pierce opened his eyes, let out a long breath, and a look of joy flashed across his eyes.

  "It's done!"

  Omniscient Eye, scan my current status.

  [Mental Energy: 89.41] [Physique: 84.23]

  "Physique has increased by 4.2 levels. Not bad at all."

  Pierce nodded in satisfaction.

  Before transforming into an Alchemical Body, his Physique was only at 80.03. The sudden surge of 4.2 levels was clearly the credit of the Alchemical Body.

  Aside from making the body suitable for inscribing Alchemical Etchings, the Alchemical Body also possessed a significant Physique-enhancing effect.

  Recovering from his joy, Pierce took out various materials from his spatial ring one by one and placed them on the floor in front of him.

  Mithril, Steel Essence, Celestial Orb, Demon Fey Grass...

  These were all materials needed for the Alchemical Etchings he was about to inscribe.

  There was a vast variety of Alchemical Etchings, each possessing different characteristics.

  Some simulated the power of mighty spells. Some enhanced one's inherent physical abilities. Some provided various auxiliary abilities upon activation.

  When he first looked through them, Pierce was almost overwhelmed by the choices.

  However, he quickly made his decision: he would first inscribe an Alchemical Etching that enhanced his Physique.

  After all, his current combat capabilities were intricately linked to his Elemental Runes. The stronger his Physique, the more Elemental Runes he could bear, and naturally, the stronger his combat power would be.

  It was worth noting that the more powerful an Alchemical Etching was, the more alchemical lines it occupied upon inscription.

  An ordinary Alchemical Body typically possessed only 108 alchemical lines immediately after transformation.

  However, thanks to the Omniscient Eye's optimization, Pierce's alchemical inscription technique had been massively improved. His resulting Alchemical Body possessed a staggering 181 alchemical lines.

  Under normal circumstances, one would have to refine and perfect their Alchemical Body two or three times to increase their alchemical lines to this number.

  "Although the Alchemical Body can be continuously refined later on, each refinement not only demands extremely high Physique but also requires massive amounts of rare materials. I likely won't be able to refine it again before advancing to a Rank 2 Wizard."

  "Fortunately, 181 alchemical lines are enough for now."

  Normally, 181 alchemical lines were enough to inscribe four or five Alchemical Etchings.

  However, the one Pierce had chosen—the Body of Silver—was considered incredibly powerful even among Rank 2 Wizards. The number of alchemical lines it occupied naturally far exceeded ordinary etchings, requiring a full 83 lines.

  Reigning in his thoughts, Pierce began his preparations for inscription.

  He drew a new alchemical magic array on the freshly cleaned floor. He then pressed his hand against the edge of the array and slowly injected his mental power.

  Hum!

  The array gradually emitted a hazy glow, and bizarre fluctuations rippled outward.

  Pierce cast an instantaneous Mage Hand, picked up the materials beside him one by one, and tossed them into the array.

  The moment the materials touched the light of the array, they melted rapidly like butter on a hot pan.

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  Once all the materials had been thrown in, a layer of silver-white liquid had formed within the array. It looked like mercury, yet emitted a faint glow.

  Following that, under Pierce's control, silver needles flew up out of thin air, rapidly inscribing runes onto his skin.

  The runes appeared minuscule, but they were profoundly intricate.

  A single rune the size of a fingernail contained over three hundred interwoven lines.

  There was absolutely no room for error during this process. If he were lucky, a mistake would merely render the etching useless, turning it into an ordinary tattoo. If he were unlucky, it would explode with a bang.

  This was why inscribing Alchemical Etchings placed such harsh demands on one's Physique—it was to ensure that, at the very least, the body wouldn't suffer catastrophic trauma if the inscription failed.

  Fortunately, guided by the Omniscient Eye with molecular-level precision, Pierce completed the inscription smoothly.

  The moment the final stroke fell, his entire upper torso had practically turned silver-white. Eighty-three silver-white lines coiled around his chest and back like winding serpents.

  The mysterious runes emitted a faint glow, looking bizarre yet full of aesthetic beauty, like the ultimate work of art.

  And in times of crisis, a single thought was all it took to instantly activate them, granting the inscriber immense power.

  Pierce tossed aside the silver needles and inspected the Alchemical Etchings on his body with satisfaction.

  With a thought, the silver-white lines rapidly dimmed and faded away, only to reappear with another thought.

  As for the Blink and Thunderburst Magic Tattoos that had previously occupied his chest and back, Pierce had long since erased them.

  Alchemical Etchings and Magic Tattoos could not coexist. Forced to choose between the two, he naturally chose the former without hesitation.

  Centering himself, Pierce immediately activated the Alchemical Etching, preparing to test the power of the Body of Silver.

  In an instant, the alchemical lines on his body seemed to come alive, rapidly writhing and spreading across his entire form, quickly dyeing his body a metallic silver-white.

  He suddenly took on a heavy, indestructible texture, as if forged from solid metal.

  Pierce clenched his fists and struck his chest, producing a crisp sound like clashing steel.

  He could clearly feel that it wasn't just his muscles and skin; his internal organs and bones had been fortified as well.

  It was as if his entire being had been transmuted into refined steel!

  "What a potent effect!"

  A look of awe flashed across Pierce's face. He then began buffing himself with Lightning Runes.

  It wasn't until he had applied seventy-eight Lightning Runes that his body finally transmitted an unbearable sense of saturation.

  Pierce was overjoyed. Without another word, he fused with Silver Star and continued applying Lightning Runes.

  Soon, the number of Lightning Runes broke past one hundred.

  Pierce didn't stop, pushing it all the way to 103 before finally halting.

  "My normal state limit is 103, and my absolute limit is 108."

  "Incredible! This is a notch stronger than even Overcharging the Fortitude Magic Tattoo!"

  An immensely joyful smile appeared on Pierce's face.

  Overcharging the Fortitude Magic Tattoo came at a steep price, consuming the equivalent of five or six thousand Magic Stones with every use.

  But Alchemical Etchings didn't need to be Overcharged; their normal state already surpassed the power of the former.

  It truly lived up to being a higher-tier enchantment pattern than Magic Tattoos.

  "If Alchemical Etchings could be Overcharged like Magic Tattoos..."

  A spark of inspiration suddenly struck Pierce. He decisively chanted inwardly:

  Omniscient Eye, referencing the Overcharge characteristic of Magic Tattoos, optimize Alchemical Etchings to acquire a similar trait.

  [Task Created: Begin optimization of Alchemical Etchings. Estimated requirement: 4281 Mental Energy Levels.]

  "That much?!"

  Pierce clicked his tongue inwardly.

  But on second thought, if even Magic Tattoos possessed such terrifying power when Overcharged, an Overcharged Alchemical Etching would undeniably be apocalyptic. It wasn't surprising that the energy consumption was so high.

  "It'll only take forty days or so."

  Pierce's brow smoothed out, and he deactivated the Alchemical Etching.

  Looking at the empty floor, he couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

  While the effects of the Body of Silver were indeed powerful, the required materials were staggeringly expensive, consuming over 3,000 Merit Points.

  Converted to Magic Stones, that was nearly 40,000.

  "I still have 98 alchemical lines left. What should I inscribe?"

  Pierce looked at the alchemical lines on his body and fell into deep thought.

  The Body of Silver was an enhancement-type Alchemical Etching. To be safe, he should probably inscribe a defensive one, an offensive one, and an auxiliary one.

  Pierce rapidly searched through his mind and soon settled on his targets.

  Energy Forcefield: A defensive Alchemical Etching. Upon activation, it granted a temporary shield of pure energy that could block incoming damage from all directions, including but not limited to physical attacks, elemental damage, mental attacks, and psychic assaults.

  This Alchemical Etching required 55 alchemical lines.

  Dimensional Blink: An auxiliary Alchemical Etching. Upon activation, it allowed for instantaneous teleportation to any location within a five-kilometer radius, unhindered by Dimensional Anchor (though ineffective against higher-tier dimensional restriction spells). A single full charge allowed for up to five uses.

  This Alchemical Etching required 41 alchemical lines.

  Combined, the two Alchemical Etchings occupied exactly 96 alchemical lines.

  The remaining two lines weren't enough to inscribe any other Alchemical Etching, forcing Pierce to regretfully abandon the idea of an offensive one.

  "Once I inscribe these Alchemical Etchings, I'll have to erase all my remaining Magic Tattoos."

  Pierce looked down at his body, feeling slightly regretful.

  "Oh well. Out with the old, in with the new."

  He stood up and left the room, preparing to go buy the materials needed for the Energy Forcefield and Dimensional Blink.

  But as soon as he stepped out of the stone house, he saw Payne walking toward him, leading two people.

  When his gaze fell upon one of them, a look of surprise appeared on Pierce's face.

  "Gwendolyn."

  But when he looked at the person beside her, his pupils suddenly contracted.

  What a beautiful woman!

  However, that wasn't the reason for his shock. It was because when he subconsciously used the Omniscient Eye to scan her, the feedback indicated she could not be analyzed.

  He had only ever encountered a similar situation with Master Morven.

  And perhaps it was just his imagination, but this stunning beauty gave him a feeling of being even more unfathomable than Master Morven. She felt like a bottomless abyss, utterly impossible to see through.

  "Pierce, it's been a while."

  Gwendolyn smiled and raised a hand in greeting.

  "It has been a while," Pierce suppressed his shock, withdrew his gaze, and looked at Gwendolyn. "I heard you were in White Ice City earlier, and I was worried something might have happened to you. I'm relieved to see you're alright."

  Gwendolyn curled her lip. "Save the sweet talk. White Ice City fell over a month ago. If you were really worried about me, you would have looked for me a long time ago."

  Pierce let out a slightly awkward cough, clearly having been called out.

  He quickly changed the subject, glancing at Enevia, and asked, "And who might this be?"

  Gwendolyn instantly looked hesitant. She thought for a few seconds before saying, "This is Enevia. She's my... savior. She's a Vampire... Wizard."

  Gwendolyn forced the introduction out with great difficulty.

  Pierce, however, froze in place upon hearing it.

  A Vampire? A Wizard? What kind of combination is that?

  Looking back at Enevia, Pierce finally noticed that her eyes were indeed blood-red, perfectly matching the rumors of Vampire traits.

  Vampires were already high-tier Undead. Combined with being a Wizard, it was no wonder she exuded such an intensely oppressive aura!

  Pierce suddenly understood. He placed his right hand over his chest and bowed slightly, offering Enevia a respectful salute.

  "It is an honor to meet you, Lady Enevia."

  Pierce always maintained necessary respect for those stronger than himself—enemies excluded.

  "I'm not fond of all these formalities. You can just call me Enevia."

  Enevia's eyes roamed over Pierce with keen interest.

  "Gwendolyn has been mentioning you constantly, saying how incredibly powerful you are. Now that I see you in person, I realize she was actually being conservative."

  The moment these words fell, both Pierce and Gwendolyn froze.

  Enevia continued staring intently at Pierce, unfazed.

  "An Alchemical Body, and it seems to have been refined at that. A Rank 1 Wizard possessing an Alchemical Body of this caliber is exceedingly rare."

  "You carry a very dense aura of Lightning-attribute energy particles... Ah, I see. I smell the blood of a Thunderbeast. It seems you possess a very sophisticated magical creature bloodline enhancement technique."

  "And a very impressive mental fluctuation. At least for someone your age, it is outstanding. Gwendolyn isn't even fit to carry your shoes. If I'm not mistaken, you should be on the verge of advancing to a Rank 2 Wizard."

  Hearing the last part, Gwendolyn didn't even care about Enevia's jab at her. She stared wide-eyed at Pierce, her face filled with sheer disbelief.

  An Alchemical Body? A magical creature bloodline enhancement technique? What were all these things?! They sounded incredibly powerful.

  Just what exactly had Pierce been through recently?!

  But what shocked her the most was Enevia's final sentence.

  Pierce was on the verge of advancing to a Rank 2 Wizard?!

  How was that even possible?!

  This guy hadn't even been a formal Wizard for a year!