Inside the Forbidden Forest, Aurelius reclined on a shimmering cloud, with a golden flask also floating before him.
Suddenly, Leo's figure emerged from the flask's opening. He held a transparent container in his hands, with a gray-brown solid suspended in the center—at first glance it looked like dried earth.
"Finally, the Belated Truth is complete. Fortunately, no accidents."
Using magic to stabilize it in the container's center, avoiding any wall contact that could trigger an explosion during movement, Leonardo decided to test the effect first.
Leo used his wand to separate a fragment only the size of a pinky fingernail from the gray-brown solid.
"According to the book's description, this amount's explosive effect should be..."
After calculating the distance, Leonardo flung the small fragment over twenty meters away. The fragment landed lightly on the ground without any change, like an ordinary clod of earth.
That gray-brown piece bounced slightly, then landed again. The fragment suddenly expanded, instantly ballooning into a sphere two meters in diameter.
BOOM!
A violent explosion tore through the Forbidden Forest, startling various birds and beasts into panicked cries. Only after silence returned did Leo approach with Aurelius.
A deep crater with a radius of five or six meters had appeared in the ground. The effect was impressive.
Leonardo noticed the crater's surface was still covered with strange gray-brown liquid, continuously eroding the soil. Was this due to the Erumpent explosive fluid's properties? This explosion was more like dissolution than simple force—not just blasting objects into pieces, but directly melting them.
For thick protective barriers, the penetration speed should be much faster.
"Aurelius, keep watch for me again."
After instructing the little Qilin, Leo re-entered the golden flask—a container specifically designed for alchemy experiments.
This time he didn't make Aurelius wait long. Having already completed the most important part, Leonardo only needed to load the Belated Truth into special casings.
The slightly tricky parts were preventing accidental triggers and ensuring proper activation after firing, but Leo had already worked through the design. Moreover, magic made everything easier—he could create the exact structure he needed.
When he emerged again, Leonardo held a box of gray-yellow bullets. His other hand pulled out the transformation pocket watch.
As magical power surged through it, the pointer stopped on a revolver pattern. The pocket watch instantly transformed into a brass-colored revolver.
Experimentally loading a bullet, he aimed at a large tree in the distance.
Bang!
The moment the gunshot rang out, the trunk swelled grotesquely. Immediately after, part of the trunk simply vanished.
Perfect.
Amid the sound of the tree toppling, Leo looked at the bullets in his hand with satisfaction.
"Let's call them Truth Bullets."
Putting away the ammunition and the reverted watch, Leonardo patted Aurelius's neck. "Let's go, one more trip to that Mooncalf burrow from last time."
"Alright, Master. I have something I want to tell you."
"What is it?"
Aurelius suddenly seemed bashful. "Um, I think I'm about to shed my scales!"
Leo turned to look at the little Qilin, his eyes somewhat confused. "You said shedding scales?"
At the same time, Leonardo immediately communicated with the system. "System, do Qilins need to shed scales?"
[Yes, especially Qilins in their growth period shed scales more frequently, about once a month.]
[Each shedding is proof of physical growth.]
Hearing the system's explanation, Leo felt relieved. So it was a normal physiological phenomenon. He wondered what shed Qilin scales would be like...
Qilin scales—magical creature body parts. Leonardo thought of something and suddenly pulled out a relatively thin book from his pocket with a gilded "P" on the cover.
Based on memory, he quickly flipped to a specific page. Right—using magical creature body parts as the main component, magnifying and utilizing their characteristics. This was a type of alchemy recorded in the Potter family grimoire.
Could he use the scales shed by Aurelius to create some special alchemical artifacts? After all, what was shed would be wasted otherwise. Moreover, Qilin scales had certain magical resistance.
Making them into protective gear should be quite practical. Or try to see if they could be fused into the transformation pocket watch to add some new effects?
Just as Leo was pondering, Aurelius's voice sounded in his mind again. "Oh right, Master, I think I also need to shed my horn!"
Shed horn?
"System, Qilin horn shedding..."
However, before Leonardo could finish asking, a short branched horn clattered to the ground.
Leo instinctively looked at that short horn—smooth as jade, with rounded tips. Looking at Aurelius again, only one lonely short horn remained on its forehead.
"Master, my head feels kind of itchy!"
Why is this like a deer? Leonardo couldn't help thinking of antler-shedding deer he'd seen before. Often there were those with single-sided antlers, and some deer even became unbalanced from overgrown racks.
Fortunately, Aurelius's horn wasn't very large, except for looking a bit lopsided. The awkward phase, perhaps?
"Aurelius, one of your horns fell off."
"Oh. Okay."
Leo shook his head helplessly and waved his wand to summon the horn on the ground. A wand flick, but the Qilin horn remained completely still, not moving at all.
"Hmm?"
Was the spell malfunctioning? No, the magical power flow felt normal. Could it be like the Qilin scales—the horn also had magical resistance?
Leonardo tried again, but the Qilin horn still didn't budge. "Interesting."
Leo bent down to pick up the white jade-like Qilin horn. Though already fallen, it still had a warm touch, almost alive.
Placing this short horn on a boulder, he waved his wand again. Various spells came one after another—wind and fire swirled, lightning crackled wildly.
When the magical aftermath dissipated, only the base of the boulder remained, but the Qilin horn lying in the center was completely intact. Not a single mark was left on the white jade-like surface.
"The magical resistance is even stronger than the scales."
At least some magic could still leave traces on Qilin scales. Leonardo suddenly had an idea.
Waving his wand, he cast a Shield Charm around himself. A transparent magical barrier protected Leo's entire body—this was a common protective spell that could deflect or dissipate objects or spells, protecting the caster and a certain range around them.
Leonardo's palm, covered by the Shield Charm, reached toward the Qilin horn.
Crack!
As the caster, Leo sensed an invisible shattering sound ripple through his magic.