Chapter 15

"What a mess?"

Zoro carefully recalled for a moment before saying somewhat uncertainly, "It seems he mentioned the Seven-String Theorem."

It was just a casual remark, and Zoro himself hadn't taken it to heart. However, upon hearing this, Salaman, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. "You mean, when he was looking at the Van Risen Formula, he said the Seven-String Theorem was a mess?"

"It... it should be, I guess." The teacher's sudden reaction left Zoro at a loss.

"This is quite interesting..." Salaman smiled, then softly chanted a spell. His thin fingers glided through the air, gathering a massive amount of magical energy at their tips. A visible beam of light cut through the air, and the entire space seemed to tear open, revealing a white light screen.

On the light screen, a young mage was sitting by a desk, leisurely reading a book. He occasionally smiled and muttered to himself.

This was a replay of what had happened in the library earlier.

A High Mage's time rewind can even trace back to scenes over ten years old, let alone what had just happened a moment ago.

Of course, the shorter the time, the clearer the scene.

Right now, the scene on the light screen was so clear that every hair could be seen. Even from a distance, Zoro could see that the young mage was holding the Van Risen Formula. He was flipping through the pages quickly, with a strange smile on his face, as if he had seen something amusing...

What could be so amusing...

The young High Mage couldn't figure it out no matter how long he thought about it. The High Mage beside him, however, seemed to have noticed something, and a look of surprise appeared on his aged face.

When the Van Risen Formula was flipped to the twelfth page, the young mage on the light screen put the book down. His already strange smile became even stranger, and he muttered something to himself.

Salaman's face, which had only shown a hint of surprise, suddenly turned pale. His right hand, which was maintaining the time rewind, trembled violently, causing the white light screen to shake as well.

"Teacher, you..." The young High Mage was startled. In all the years he had been at the Sage Tower, this was the first time he had seen his teacher lose composure.

"It's nothing..." Salaman shook his head and waved his hand to dispel the unstable time rewind. "Alright, you can go out for a while. I need to think about something."

"Yes, teacher."

After Zoro left, the study became quiet again.

Salaman sat for a while before getting up and walking to the desk, where he began to write a letter...

This letter was addressed to Star Sage Joey, one of the three Archmages in the eastern part of the kingdom and also the teacher who had taught Salaman for twenty years. The letter detailed everything Salaman had seen during the time rewind.

Salaman hadn't told Zoro that Mafa Merlin wasn't the first mage to call the Seven-String Theorem a mess.

In Salaman's memory, at least one other mage had said the same thing.

This mage was Star Sage Joey!

For several years, the Cloud Tower had been researching the Seven-String Theorem, and the project was led by Star Sage Joey. He had once said the same thing: the Seven-String Theorem was a mess, leading many mages astray. However, the research on the Seven-String Theorem at the Cloud Tower had made little progress due to the lack of several key data points, causing the entire project to stall.

But just now, when the Van Risen Formula was flipped to the twelfth page, the young mage named Mafa Merlin muttered something to himself.

The time rewind had no sound, so Zoro hadn't heard what he said. However, Salaman had seen a segment of Nether Runes from the young mage's mouth. This segment contained four data points, four key data points that could potentially prove the Seven-String Theorem wrong.

This was the real reason for Salaman's loss of composure...

After finishing the long letter, Salaman sealed it and called Zoro back in.

"Have someone deliver this letter to the Cloud Tower and hand it to Star Sage Joey."

"Alright, I'll take care of it."

"By the way, when the Merlin mage comes tomorrow, invite him here. I have some questions for him."

"I will, teacher." As Zoro left the study again, his mind was filled with confusion and surprise.

After all, Salaman's study wasn't a place just anyone could enter.

Just look at the last time the Monty father and son came. A wealthy merchant of Stormwind and a High Mage under thirty, they came with a huge business proposal, but Salaman only invited them to the reception room on the top floor...

What was so special about the Merlin mage that a simple "mess" could make the teacher lose composure, almost causing the time rewind to fail, and now he was personally asking to invite him to the study for a talk.

...

In the end, Lin Yun didn't go the next day.

The next day was the reopening of the Gilded Rose. With the 30,000 gold coins from the auction of the Polychromatic Potion, the old butler's financial situation improved significantly. Not only did he easily settle Fario's debt, but he also began planning the revival of the Flashing Gold Guild.

Lin Yun didn't want to rush things. 30,000 gold coins wasn't a huge sum; it would be spent quickly on magic materials and daily expenses. Reviving the Flashing Gold Guild... well, wasn't that a bit too ambitious?

But the old butler couldn't wait...

No matter how many times Lin Yun tried to persuade him, the old butler kept complaining, saying he was old and didn't know how many more years he had left. If he suddenly passed away, how could he face the master in heaven? Could he tell the master that after so many years, the Flashing Gold Guild was still barely alive?

In the end, Lin Yun had no choice but to make some concessions. He wouldn't talk about reviving the Flashing Gold Guild, but the Gilded Rose could reopen.

So, the more than 20,000 gold coins were taken out for renovation, hiring staff, and purchasing materials. After all the work, there was hardly any gold left.

Then, the old butler was at a loss...

What to do? The money was all spent, but what about the alchemists? An alchemy shop without an alchemist was like a restaurant without a chef.

The old man's white hair increased as he struggled. Alchemists were expensive, and even 20,000 gold coins would only cover a top alchemist's salary for two months. With only a few hundred gold coins left, could he hire apprentices to fill in?

This would ruin the reputation...

In the end, Lin Yun had no choice but to take action himself.

After leaving the Sage Tower yesterday, Lin Yun didn't go home but dove into the Gilded Rose's alchemy lab. After a whole night of hard work, he managed to create a dozen alchemical potions and a few enchanted armors and weapons. As for magical artifacts, he was a bit stretched. The materials were limited, and even with his advanced knowledge, he couldn't create something out of nothing.

As for the opening ceremony, Lin Yun didn't need to worry about it. The old butler took care of everything. Lin Yun just handed over the results of his night's work and found a room in the Gilded Rose to sleep.

No one could endure a whole night of intense work, not even the most energetic alchemist. Lin Yun, with his powerful magic vortex and advanced alchemy knowledge, was an exception, but even he was exhausted. He managed to walk to a room and lie down on the bed.

He slept until the afternoon, just as the sun was setting, when he was woken by a commotion.

"Trying to kill me, are you?" Lin Yun muttered in a half-asleep state, then turned over to try to sleep a bit more.

However, the people outside seemed to be deliberately against him. Before he could turn over, he heard a loud thud, either the door or the counter had fallen...

"Is this ever going to end!" Lin Yun couldn't hold back any longer. He gritted his teeth, got out of bed, put on his robe, and walked out to see who was so lacking in public morals...

As soon as he entered the hall, he saw a group of people gathered, shelves knocked over, the counter smashed, and the newly renovated hall in ruins. The newly hired staff had already retreated to the side, and only the old butler was arguing with them, his voice hoarse. Among the group, a young mage was particularly agitated and conspicuous.

"Smash it up! Selling fakes to me, Mason! If I don't teach you a lesson, you'll think I'm easy to bully. Old man, if you don't bring Merlin to give me an explanation today, I'll not only smash your black shop but also report it to the Guild Alliance, so everyone in Thousand Sails City can see how shameless the Flashing Gold Guild is!"

"Get out! You're not welcome here!" The old butler, who had served Rog Merlin for twenty years and valued the Flashing Gold Guild's reputation more than his life, was enraged by Mason's insults. He didn't care about customers and tried to push Mason out.

A normal person, even if he were twenty years younger, couldn't threaten a mage. But Mason was too agitated, waving his hands and spitting out words, completely ignoring the old butler. As a result, the push actually made Mason stumble...

"Old man, you dare to lay a hand on me?" Mason's face turned red with embarrassment...

A respected mage, almost pushed to the ground by a sixty-year-old man. If this got out, how could he show his face?

...