KABOOM

With a swift backflip, Aegon made some distance from the explosion. Clicking his tongue, he muttered, "Just one more! I'm almost there."

His sixth sense had saved him just now, but many times he had been too engrossed to avoid the explosion in time, resulting in his current appearance.

The handsome face that made the girls of the whole Academy gush over had turned charred black after so many experiments.

One could barely discern his facial features anymore, but his golden eyes burned brightly as ever. Even his jet-black hair had caught enough dust, making him look like a ghost of the night.

He staggered forward, waving his hand to clear the dust and dirt. Fortunately, he had paid extra merit points to book this experimental room; otherwise, he wasn't sure if the other rooms could have survived these explosions.

"Just how many days has it been? Fifteen?" He muttered, scratching his head. "Yes, twenty-one."

Being stuck in this dark room for twenty-one days was enough to drive many insane, but it was the opposite for someone like Aegon, who didn't even realize the passage of time.

All of his focus was simply on his project, something he had been working on without any break for the last one year.

Finally, he was close to success.

He kicked aside a burnt piece of crimson wood, the horn of a Polar Armwolf, and many other scattered materials all over the dimly lit room to reach the center.

On a long wooden table, only a single item remained. His gaze stayed fixed on it as he recalled all the failures of the past three weeks.

'So much wastage. No wonder people can't become high-rank Alchemists or RuneMasters. Who would have so much money to waste?'

The amount he had spent in just three weeks was enough for a small city to run for months. But it was worth it. He was so close to achieving success.

"I really need to thank Xiu for creating that company," he sighed, taking a seat on the table.

Although he had a horde of gold coins given by the system, if he used them excessively, it would surely affect the economy, so he kept them for last resort usage.

The AVA company brought more than enough money for him.

"Now then," Aegon smiled, his pearl-white teeth standing out in contrast with his charred face. "Final try."

He picked up the last item, a red metal cuboid the length of his forearms. It appeared ordinary from every angle, but it had cost him an immense amount to make.

After all, it was crafted by him through expensive and rare ingredients.

"The Storage Rune Formation needs a physical medium to work properly for a long time. But not everything can sustain the Rune Formations."

That became the main reason behind his ridiculous expenses. Since he was the first to create this Reusable Mana Stone, he also had to craft the medium himself.

"Let's go!" Aegon took a deep breath, taking a few seconds to calm his mind before placing the metal box on his lap.

His eyes, burning like twin suns, snapped open as he raised his hands, invisible strands of Soul Essence leaking from his fingertips.

He skillfully used those strands to bind the World's Essence and control it like a puppet.

It was the first step to making Rune Formations.

The World's Essence behaved like a docile pet under his Soul Essence, moving exactly as he wished, even when forming complex patterns.

Through it, Aegon began weaving a complicated set of Rune Formations as layers slowly began to form from the core. Unlike Rune Spheres, which relied on one's Mana, this was created purely through the World's Essence.

'Rank 3 Rune Formation: Essence Storing Formation!'

The essence stored in Mana Stones could change depending on the environment they were found in, but most often it was pure World's Essence.

That was Aegon's goal too.

Though most people didn't realize the difference between Mana and World's Essence, it had led to Essence Stones being mistakenly termed as Mana Stones.

'One more layer!'

As a Rank 3 Rune Formation, the Essence Storing Formation had eight layers, all engraved intricately and closely relative to each other.

Since Aegon had already practiced this hundreds of times, it took him only a few minutes for completion.

'The problem starts now.'

He took another deep breath once the Rune Formation was completed, then looked down at the metal box. Slowly, he brought the glowing formation closer to it.

Rune Formations weren't rejected by the World itself, but it was different for physical materials. They needed to match a certain rhythm to assimilate properly. And since every Rune Formation had a different rhythm, different materials were required to match that resonance.

All the materials he had used until now were supposed to match that rhythm but they had failed nonetheless. It also depended on one's skill in assimilation, but Aegon had already perfected it.

The system existed for a reason.

Slowly, the Rune Formation's size shrank under his skillful control until it settled inside the box, passing through all its physical barriers.

Now, it was Aegon's turn to blend it into physical existence and complete the assimilation.

Taking a deep breath, he shook off his nervousness and began working. His fingers moved so fast he feared they might snap, but he still continued without hesitation or pause.

The process went on for over an hour. He was unfamiliar with the inner structure of the box, and every minor misstep could destroy everything.

Sweat dripped from his forehead, his fingers numb from constant movement, so he began using his Soul Essence to move them instead.

Just one more.

One more step.

The last step.

The final move.

Click

His eyes snapped shut as he almost jumped backward in fear of another explosion. But nothing came.

He slowly opened one eye, his left one, and glanced at the metal box.

There was no visible difference in its appearance, but Aegon could feel the subtle shift it brought to the world around him.

"Did it work?" he mumbled in disbelief and pure shock. Even though he had worked so hard on this for a year, part of him still couldn't believe it.

He hurriedly picked it up with trembling hands and froze. Then, inhaling deeply to calm his pounding heart, which didn't work in the slightest, he stared at it with wild, excited eyes.

"Please work!"

He sent a stream of his mana into the box, bracing himself for failure.

Then, it happened.

Something that would change the Empire...no, the entire world.

It was invented right there.

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