The Imperial dilemma was not his to solve.
Felix Mavis sat cross-legged in the stillness of the Sanctum's meditation chamber. And yet, despite everything he had discovered, he felt detached from the Empire's rising panic.
"They have the army, the sects, even the Imperial Seal talisman hidden in the capital, and a rumored expert rank artisan talisman hidden, a powerful one," Felix muttered, his voice calm. "Let them handle the storm. I've already done more than most would dare."
He wasn't being selfish. He was being realistic. The truth was clear now—this talisman, this key to the dimensional realm, was far beyond his ability to replicate or master. He had danced at the edge of its secrets and survived, but he could go no further. Even his genius, enhanced by the Breath of the Mystic Vessel, reached its limit here.
He smiled.
A tired grin—but a true, ear-to-ear smile of satisfaction. The kind of expression only seen on someone who had tasted something impossible.
"Studying that thing..." he whispered, eyes still fixed on the notes. "It's a treasure in itself."
Indeed, deciphering the layers of the epic-tier talisman had reshaped his understanding of talisman craft entirely. Rare-tier talismans were like puzzles. Complex but solvable with logic, intuition, and experience. Epic-tier talismans? They were like orchestras—layer upon layer, movement upon movement.
Only through his cultivation method had he even glimpsed their structure. Each layer harmonized with the next, sometimes in contradiction, sometimes in unity. No one else in the region, possibly on the continent, had his precise advantage: he could see the sequences clearly.
No talisman library in the Empire could have taught this. No elder or grandmaster could have explained it. He had reached this height through his effort and risk.
Felix stood and walked to his desk. Upon it sat a fresh scroll, inked with notes upon notes—rune fragments, dimensional harmonics, theoretical layering schemes that danced just below his full comprehension.
He tapped the scroll with one finger. "Even if others get their hands on that epic tier key talisman, they won't be able to access it like I can. Not without the powerful cultivation method, or maybe they can."
The realization was exhilarating.
Not power-hungry and greedy.
Purely... liberating.
He didn't have to chase the Empire's wars or fight beasts from forgotten dimensions. He just had to keep walking his path.
In the days that followed, the Mystic Well Sanctum continued to flourish.
More than just soldiers and cultivators have visited now. Imperial scholars. Sect emissaries. Wealthy merchants. All sought Felix's talismans or knowledge. And with Rin organizing requests and Seris commanding the elite guards, Felix was free to remain in the background.
He published a limited copy of a scroll titled On the Complexity of Multi-Layered Frameworks in Epic-Tier Constructs Theory. It circulated quietly among the guild's Adept and maybe Journeyman ranks, igniting rumors and discussions.
No one believed it was based on a real talisman.
"This is theoretical," some said. "No one's touched an epic-tier talisman; it's a foundation of an empire."
He just smiled.
He spent the next month refining new lines of talismans using his expanded understanding. Some weren't even combat tools anymore—like the Phase-Ward Anchors that let temporary structures resist spatial distortions. Or the Whisper-Silk Seals, which amplified spiritual voice transmissions without draining core Qi.
Each design was a leap ahead of his previous work. Each one sold out within days.
But the real treasure was hidden.
The Qi Condensation Crystal Talisman.
A low-level rare-tier talisman, but one with terrifying implications. It allowed the conversion of ambient energy into condensed spirit qi—clean, pure, and four times more potent than standard pills. Even better, it carried no harmful byproducts, no accumulation of spiritual toxins that cultivators often feared.
It used something Felix called an "Improved Rebirth Shell Layer"—a concept he stumbled upon while studying the epic-tier talisman's layering. Instead of adding vitality to a talisman, the shell transformed the inner energy structure, essentially giving the talisman a life cycle.
Creating it was no easy feat. The material costs were heavy. low spirit ore, silversand ink, violet-sealed firegold thread, and void water crystals—each rare, each expensive. Even with his talent, the success rate hovered at 5 out of every 10.
Felix told no one. Not even Rin.
If word of this talisman reached the wrong ears, warlords, sect masters, and even the Empire itself might attempt to seize him. He knew the danger. He didn't fear it. But he prepared.
To begin mass production of the talisman, Felix tapped into the full extent of his influence. Instead of approaching merchants directly, he leveraged his newfound reputation among the artisan circles and Imperial contacts. Word reached the Goldscale Consortium—the Empire's largest known supplier of rare materials.
Their Sunmere trade chamber, located in the western district, responded within the day. Felix was offered a private meeting with one of their senior procurement masters. He arrived cloaked and concealed, letting his presence speak before his name did.
"Master Felix, you'll be needing enough material for at least two hundred units a month?" the merchant asked, eyes wide after seeing Felix's specifications.
Felix nodded calmly. "Double it. I'll pay a premium. No questions asked. Deliver everything to the Mystic Well Sanctum by the end of each moon."
The merchant hesitated. "Some of these are restricted..."
Felix merely handed over a sealed recommendation from the Sunmere Artisan Guild and a stamped authorization talisman bearing the mark of Knight August himself.
"My talismans have protected Imperial blood," Felix said, voice cold.
The merchant broke into a cold sweat.
Felix then produced a mid-tier spiritual contract talisman and activated it.
"Sign it," he said. "Your guild gets full profit."
By the time they left, the contract was sealed. And within the week, supply caravans began arriving.
Felix didn't stop there. To ensure his sanctuary remained strong, he turned attention to his guard force. Seris, the high-elf warrior, had begun molding the young warriors into a disciplined core. But they lacked high-grade training.
Felix took a trip to Greyveil City, a major talisman artisan hub and trade center. At the guild hall, he met with Adept instructors and purchased cultivation manuals focused on body tempering, durability, and combat footwork. Nothing too flashy—just solid, foundational techniques perfect for mortal soldiers aspiring to the early stage Awakening Realm.
He also acquired supplementary talisman arrays to attach to the Sanctum's outer walls—defensive measures, alarm triggers, and fire ward nets in case of beast tide assaults or ambush.
His investments totaled thousands of gold coins, but the results paid off quickly.
The guards trained with a clearer purpose. Recovery times improved. Their movements became sharper. Seris even noted how two of them began showing signs of spiritual awakening.
Felix remained in the background, watching from afar.
He did seek titles, but most of it is his passion for his creation.
The Mystic Well Sanctum had become a small force of its own.