Chapter 691: Mana Armament

After noting down the location of Fire Mountain and remembering the captive knight's name and identity, Liszt successfully received the reward from the Smoke Mission, planning to explore Fire Mountain when he had time in the future.

To find the possible existence of a phoenix.

Whether it was to kill it for meat or tame it as a mount, both held immense value.

As for the phoenix being within the territory of the Kingdom of the Eagle, that wasn’t an issue. As a Dragon Rider with the help of an Archmage, Liszt felt there was nowhere in the world he couldn’t go. After all, Dragon Riders weren’t common, and by the time he hunted the phoenix and left, even a hundred Dragon Riders wouldn’t be able to catch up.

After resting for a night at Long Yam Castle,

Liszt bid his farewell: "Grandfather, my territory affairs are busy, and I don’t have much time to accompany you. During the winter festival, I’ll bring the fully renovated *Sunset*—its interior is extremely luxurious, and it won’t even sway in a storm. I’ll take you to Black Horse Island for the New Year’s festival, where you can stay in my Thorn Castle."

"Good, I’ll make sure to live until the New Year’s festival."

"Your health will surely recover."

"No need to comfort me. I see things more clearly than you youngsters. You have much to do, so hurry back." Though aged, Marquis Merlin still carried a bold and straightforward demeanor. After Liszt bid farewell, he didn’t try to keep him but directly urged him to return, as carefree as in his youth.

After saying goodbye to his uncle’s family and arranging a hunting trip with Meopo at Oxtail Territory, he boarded the royal fast-sailing ship named *Crab* and set off for Coral Island.

The *Crab* was sold to Liszt for 3,000 gold coins for research purposes.

The skilled sailors and captain on board were also directly sold to Liszt—one had to admit, the Long Yam family was always generous.

Two days later,

as November arrived and the weather grew cooler, Liszt returned to Flower Town harbor—handing over the *Crab* to the territory officials to take to New Port shipyard for study.

He then took the *Rubber Bug Triplets* to Black Horse Island to channel the *Three Phase Power*.

Acher wasn’t in Flower Town, and *Rainbow Whale Rosi* was nowhere to be found either, so he could only ride Loki across the sea—Loki possessed the wind magic *lightweight* and *levitation*, making its body nearly weightless and allowing it to glide freely across the ocean’s surface at impressive speed.

Moreover, the feeling of skimming over the water was exhilarating.

The only downside was the high risk factor—if he slipped and fell into the water or encountered a sea monster, it would be troublesome. But the risks were within controllable limits—if Loki fell into the water, he could summon *Fire Drake Leo* to ride while carrying Loki back to shore.

In short,

riding this giant bird, he swiftly raced across the sea.

After about an hour and a half, he arrived at Black Horse Harbor and headed straight to the rubber plantation. Taking out the *Rubber Bug Triplets*, he activated the *Three Phase Power*, with flashes of magic aura continuously appearing as the once-harvested rubber trees regained their health.

"Continue the harvest," Liszt ordered the plantation manager after storing the *Rubber Bug Triplets*.

"Lord, won’t this harm the rubber trees or your Rubber Bugs?"

"No."

"Understood, Lord. I’ll arrange for the serfs to harvest the rubber immediately."

Leaving the rubber plantation, Liszt observed the exhausted *Rubber Bug Triplets*, sensing their emotions. Apart from fatigue, he detected nothing else. The Smoke Mission described them as becoming addicted to releasing the *Three Phase Power*, but Liszt truly couldn’t see it.

Regardless, once the *Rubber Bug Triplets* recovered slightly, he would immediately activate it again.

After nearly one hundred and thirty-six Smoke Missions, he had come to fully trust them. Before, he had occasionally challenged them, wondering why he couldn’t go against their guidance. But now, understanding their operational principles, he realized following their guidance brought the greatest benefits.

Amid countless twists of fate, the Smoke Missions likely presented the most favorable path, guiding him toward the clearest route.

Before long, he arrived at the Mage Tower.

There was no doubt that Acheronides was not in Bloomsbury but conducting experiments in the mage tower. Indeed, not only was she found there, but she also brought good news.

"Brother, through joint research between Acheronides and Mary, we've cracked the clothing-storage spell."

"Tell me more."

"This is a type of magic dealing with the transformation between material and arcane energy. It stores material in magical form, and through reversal spellwork, the magic reverts to its original material state. However, the material must meet certain requirements—it must inherently contain arcane energy."

"That sounds quite interesting. So, apart from magic, can mana also be used to release it?" Liszt had a strong interest in this method of instant outfit changes.

Acheronides smiled. "Yes, the mechanism is simple. Given your mana mastery, you'll learn it easily."

At this point, Mary Dawnbreaker interjected, "My lord, Lady Acheronides hasn't named this magic yet. Perhaps you could give it a name."

"Mm-hmm, brother is very good at naming things," Acheronides nodded earnestly, fully agreeing.

Liszt stroked his chin and didn't refuse. "Which school does this magic belong to?"

Mary replied, "The magic used is chaotic-type, similar to druidic natural magic. In the classification of mages, ancient records mention 'Equilibrium Magic.' Cris and the other Archmages have held discussions, and we refer to these as Equilibrium Magic."

"Equilibrium Magic? Not bad."

Liszt immediately showcased his creativity. "Although it involves item storage and falls under the highly practical category of Equilibrium Magic, the original purpose of designing this magic was for the convenience of changing clothes. How about calling it 'Arcane Attire' when using magic power, and 'Aura Attire' when using mana?"

Arcane Attire, Aura Attire.

After the naming, both Acheronides and Mary cheered—it was indeed a vivid and fitting name.

Soon after, Acheronides began explaining the technical application of Aura Attire to Liszt, along with the details involved. Aura Attire wasn't just a simple mana technique but a systematic mana system, including equipment material selection, mana erosion of materials, methods of storing and releasing materials, and more.

"Monster materials are the most suitable for Arcane Attire and Aura Attire. Clothing made from monsters inherently contains arcane energy, making it easy to fuse with magic or mana, thus completing Aura Attire. Other materials take much longer to fuse and risk disrupting their integrity."

"So, my Frostbite Dragon Slayer Sword can't be stored using Aura Armament?"

"Brother, the material of the Frostbite Dragon Slayer Sword is too unique. Aura Armament can't fuse it with mana without damaging the material."

"Then gemstone items can't be fused either?"

"It would disrupt the gem's integrity." Acheronides had carefully considered Liszt’s equipment. "The items on you that can use Aura Attire are the mithril armor, the vermilion-black cloak with gold edging, and the serpent-scale gambeson. Their materials are either simple or inherently contain arcane energy."

"I see. Then let’s start practicing with the serpent-scale gambeson first!" Liszt suddenly remembered something. "By the way, Acheronides, I don’t think I’ve crafted you any sets of monster clothing. We’ll craft some sets together. That way, we won’t need to fear soaked clothes when diving into the sea."

Acheronides was delighted. "Yes!"