The Wizard Has A Biochip

The Subterranean World had been a complete mess recently.

That was the first piece of information I received from Rustil when he came to visit me.

Naturally, Rustil had not crossed part of the Kar-dur Tower just to deliver such a vague message. He had brought someone else with him: the chief officer, Merchant Kang, who was stationed in that region.

The purpose of the visit was quite simple. The six Imperil Hearts that Ruby and I had received at Mine Number Seven.

The Imperil Hearts were special magical materials. They could be used in the creation of certain unique magical items and apparently possessed properties that could hardly be replaced by ordinary materials. However, after comparing their properties with the projects I had in mind, I discovered that they had no immediate use for the type of Golem I intended to build.

Therefore, I did not hesitate for long.

I handed the six Imperil Hearts to Merchant Kang’s chief officer and let him handle the sale.

—I don’t want magical crystals.

The man looked at me in surprise.

—Then what does Young Master George wish to receive?

—Pseudo-Mage-level Spiritual Cores.

For a few seconds, he remained silent.

Then his face broke into a smile.

A smile so wide that I could almost see the calculations taking place behind his eyes.

For him, that transaction was practically perfect.

By managing to purchase and negotiate the six Imperil Hearts, he would be able to complete his half-yearly quota for acquiring magical materials.

At the same time, since I did not wish to receive magical crystals and was willing to exchange the profits directly for Spiritual Cores belonging to Merchant Kang, he would be able to carry out two transactions practically at once.

I handed over a valuable resource.

He found a buyer.

Then he used part of the profits to provide me with the Spiritual Cores.

Everyone left satisfied.

Especially him.

The real reason why I accepted the transaction so quickly, however, was related to something else.

I had discovered that this Merchant Kang had a direct connection with Official Mage Probel.

And Rustil and Probel belonged to the same family.

The Nark Family.

I had already maintained a relationship with Probel for some time and had no reason to create unnecessary problems.

A gesture of goodwill cost little when it could lead to a better relationship with an Official Mage.

And, in that world, a good relationship with someone powerful was rarely useless.

Rustil seemed to understand my intention.

Before leaving, he became considerably warmer toward me.

He accompanied the chief officer to the door and, before leaving, approached close enough to speak in a low voice.

—George, if you encounter any problems in the future that you cannot solve on your own, you can seek out Official Mage Probel.

—Whether it is to purchase knowledge or exchange resources, I am sure he will be able to offer better conditions than those you would normally receive.

I nodded.

—I will remember that.

Rustil seemed satisfied.

Shortly afterward, they left.

Less than half a day later, the resources I had requested were delivered.

I held the four cores in front of me while the biochip performed a detailed scan.

[Scan complete.]

[Spiritual Core: Earth Element.]

[Spiritual Core: Water Element ×2.]

[Spiritual Core: Wind Element.]

[Energy level: Pseudo-Mage.]

A small smile appeared on my face.

Besides the cores, Merchant Kang had also given me something quite valuable.

A map. Or, to be more precise, a three-dimensional representation of all known regions of the Subterranean World near the entrance to Kar-Dur Tower.

Naturally, it was not a perfect map.

It would be impossible to produce something like that.

The Subterranean World was constantly changing.

Even so, for someone who intended to explore the Subterranean World frequently, it was an extremely valuable resource.

I placed the crystal ball in front of me.

I activated the mechanism.

And transferred the data to the biochip.

And, while analyzing that information, a conclusion began to become increasingly evident.

My greatest advantage in future battles would be having many golems.

I would not need to lift a finger.

And, in the next instant, dozens...

Perhaps hundreds of Golems would advance.

Burying the enemy beneath a tide of magical constructs.

Of course, that was still only a fantasy.

Besides, a Wind Golem could provide me with something I had wanted for some time.

Aerial mobility.

If I were capable of building a sufficiently stable flying magical creature, I would no longer need to rely exclusively on land routes.

Long distances could be crossed much more easily.

—Biochip, analyze the four Spiritual Cores. Begin developing suitable designs for Golems compatible with their elemental properties.

[Initiating analysis.]

[Creating preliminary structures.]

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While the biochip began its work, I continued observing the map.

That was when a piece of information caught my attention.

Or, rather...

Its absence.

There was no indication whatsoever of the ancient city of Darkgem.

—Raticati.

A short while later, the little rat appeared.

—Yes, Master?

I pointed at the projection.

—Show me the exact location of the ruin you mentioned.

Raticati climbed onto a chair.

His eyes scanned the map.

And then his expression became serious.

We spent almost half a day studying that projection.

Finally, Raticati raised a small paw.

—Here.

I looked at the indicated location.

And my expression became serious.

He had pointed at an enormous red stain.

—Are you sure?

—Yes, Master.

The more intense the color, the greater the danger.

And that region was classified at a level where even a Pseudo-Mage could encounter difficulties.

A dead zone.

In the Subterranean World, there were several regions like this.

Areas where no outsider would want to enter.

Some possessed natural environments so hostile that an ordinary acolyte would die before even reaching the center.

Others were territories occupied by creatures so powerful that even entire groups avoided passing nearby.

Regardless of the reason, entering one of these regions required extreme caution.

Therefore, strangely enough, that only increased my confidence that there really was an intact laboratory in that place.

Since ancient times, Mages had liked to build laboratories in remote and hidden locations.

Especially those involved in forbidden research.

And, according to Raticati’s description, the former rogue Level 2 Official Mage was an expert in biological modification.

That meant mutants and modified creatures.

If the laboratory had been abandoned, there was a high possibility that all that energy had contaminated the region over the years.

If a powerful experiment had survived for all that time, any acolyte who entered that region could end up facing a creature with strength close to that of an Official Mage.

Even if Raticati knew some of the magical passwords used in the laboratory, that did not eliminate the risk.

I remained silent, thinking.

That was when Raticati spoke again.

—Master... there is something else.

I looked at him.

—What?

—In that laboratory... there is a secret chamber.

My eyes narrowed.

—And?

—Inside it, there is a Staff of the Brightest Light.

The environment fell silent, and my heart leaped in my chest.

My hesitation partially disappeared.

For a mage without an affinity for Light, that staff would merely be an ordinary mage-level magical weapon.

But, for someone with an affinity for Light, that staff was something capable of summoning three Pseudo-Mage-level Light Spirits per day, and besides that, I could fully utilize the staff’s other properties.

And one of the possibilities that immediately came to my mind was the construction of a Teleportation Portal.

A portal capable of establishing a connection with the Elemental World of Light.

My heart beat a little faster.

If I could really establish a stable connection with that world...

I would have access to a practically inexhaustible source of Light-element materials.

And, if my strength one day reached a sufficiently high level...

Perhaps I could even conquer a territory in that world.

Build my own tower.

And follow a path that, for many Light Mages, was considered the pinnacle.

Become a true Angel of Light.

The multiverse was vast.

Incalculably vast.

And I knew that the World of Mages was only a small part of that reality.

Countless worlds existed in the great ocean of energy.

They could be imagined as islands.

Each plane was an isolated island.

And, between them, there existed a vast ocean formed by different types of energy.

Each world possessed its own characteristics.

When a world was born, the energies that participated in its formation were not necessarily balanced.

Some worlds possessed a higher concentration of certain forces.

Others were completely dominated by a single energy.

The World of Mages, in its origin, apparently had been a material world relatively suitable for the survival of various forms of life.

However, with the emergence and rise of Mages, the fate of this world changed.

Magical energy became one of the main characteristics of that world.

The Elemental Planes, however, were different.

They were born in regions where a certain elemental energy was concentrated in absurd proportions.

As time passed, that energy shaped everything.

An entire world could be formed around a single element.

In ordinary material worlds, elemental distribution was more balanced.

Earth formed mountains, plains, and hills, Water gathered into rivers, lakes, and oceans, Wind influenced clouds, storms, and atmospheric currents, and so on.

In the elemental world, although it could also possess mountains, hills, oceans, and skies, all of those things would be fundamentally formed by particles and energy of the Light element.

Even the ground would emit light.

For ordinary life forms, an environment like that could be completely unsuitable.

However, the plane would have given rise to its own creatures.

If I truly wished to achieve great accomplishments on the path of the Light element, I knew that, sooner or later, I would have to visit that world.

After all, Mages loved exploring new worlds.

It was practically their second nature.

Whenever they discovered a new Material World in the vast ocean of planes, Mages would seek a way to establish a connection and, later, incorporate it into their growing collection of territories.

However, the Elemental Worlds were different.

Even the most ambitious Mages avoided thinking about conquering them.

The reason was simple.

They were too powerful.

If the World of Mages opened a broad and stable connection with an Elemental Plane, there was no guarantee whatsoever that the Mages would be the conquerors.

Perhaps they would be the conquered.

After all, a portal did not say which side was the invader.

And a poorly managed connection could allow powerful elemental creatures to cross into the World of Mages.

This would create a catastrophe, which would initiate a war between worlds.

Therefore, all Mages who dealt with Teleportation Portals had to act with extreme caution.

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