Mechanical Body

"...Adam, your application has been approved. The laboratory address remains the same, and five thousand units of Energy Stones will be allocated to your laboratory each month. As for the issue between you, resolve it yourselves." Eileen Mage spoke coldly. Watching the Little Fellows make a fuss was one thing, but if any apprentice dared to fight in front of her, that was clearly unacceptable.

No apprentice dared defy a Formal Mage's will. No matter how furious they were, they respectfully left the Approval Department.

The apprentice named Frank followed the two of them all the way out of the Tower. The moment they stepped onto academy grounds, he strode in front of James, seized him by the collar, and effortlessly lifted him off the ground. "James, why haven't you gotten the hell out of the academy yet? Wouldn't it be better for an idiot like you to obediently grow old and die?"

Those were vicious words. To mages, dying of old age was the most shameful and helpless kind of death. It meant their wisdom had reached its end, their souls rotted beyond the point of sustaining their existence.

James did not resist, letting Frank haul him up, deep apology written across his face. "Frank, I'm sorry, but..."

Frank slammed a heavy punch into James's face, sending him flying. "But? But what? Because you still dream of becoming a mage, you're going to keep deceiving people?"

James fell to the ground, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. He still showed no intention of fighting back. "No, Frank, listen to my explanation..."

"Shut up, James, you liar!"

Frank did not listen at all. He continued attacking James, but strangely, he used no magic, merely swinging his fists and feet like an Ordinary Person.

Adam frowned at the side. He did not know whether he should stop Frank. Fists and kicks could not inflict fatal injuries on an apprentice, but the scene before him was truly somewhat ridiculous.

Adam used telekinesis to pull James away and erected a barrier in front of him. Then he said calmly, "Mr. Frank, I think you should listen to what James has to say. What you're doing now serves no purpose beyond venting."

Frank ignored Adam's words and continued punching at James. His fist struck the Telekinesis Barrier squarely. With a thought from Adam, ripples spread across the barrier, racing outward before gathering again, returning every bit of the Kinetic Energy from Frank's punch.

That was only because Adam had seen that Frank had not infused the attack with magic power. Otherwise, it would not have been so simple.

Frank was sent flying backward.

That blow also calmed Frank down. He shot James a resentful glare, then said to Adam, "Kid, you must be one of this batch of Newbies, right? James is a liar. All the research in his Mental Power laboratory is nothing but a joke. If you aren't an idiot, leave him immediately, or he'll ruin your path to becoming a mage."

Adam's frown deepened. James's research direction might have been wrong, but it absolutely did not make him a fraud. He said to Frank, "Sir, I think you've misunderstood..."

To Adam's surprise, Frank did something unexpected. He yanked off his shirt, revealing an astonishing upper body—half mechanical in structure. The entire left half of his Flesh Body was tightly connected to a Mechanical Body. If he had not taken off his shirt, there would have been no visible incongruity at all.

"An alchemical body? That's incredible!" Adam's eyes lit up. Replacing the body with machinery—what an enthralling technology!

Frank said bitterly, "Back then, some companions and I believed this liar's words. We poured all our time into his laboratory, firmly believing in the future he painted for us. We hoped with all our hearts to advance through Mental Power, but decades passed and we gained nothing! In last year's Tower War, all our companions died. Mental Power was utterly helpless before magic and magic power. Other than this liar and coward, who escaped disaster, only I..." Frank viciously slapped the Mechanical Body with his flesh-and-blood arm. "I ended up like this, dragging out a miserable existence."

James shut his eyes in pain. "I'm sorry, Frank. I'm so sorry."

Adam asked curiously, "What does it feel like to have an alchemical body?"

Frank gave a miserable laugh. "What does it feel like? Pain. Unimaginable pain, day and night. And being cut off from Elemental Magic forever. Ever since I replaced my body with this, I've never been able to gain the elements' recognition again."

James kept repeating the words "I'm sorry" at the side.

Frank seemed to have composed himself and no longer showed any intent to attack. He gave James a disgusted look and said, "Shut up. I don't need your apology. It isn't worth a copper."

Adam found it strange. From the level of magitech he had seen so far, if modifications of this degree could be accomplished, there should not have been an incompatibility reaction. He voiced his doubts, and Frank replied, "Because it was cheap. I couldn't afford a better alchemical body."

Frank had no interest in continuing the conversation. He said to Adam, "As a senior, I advise you to stay away from that liar, or you'll definitely regret it. Your aptitude is probably terrible, but don't believe in these crooked paths and heretical ways, or you'll be forever barred from the path of a mage." Frank used "or" twice in succession to express his contempt for James. After speaking, he put his shirt back on and prepared to leave.

Adam was not about to let Frank leave like that. He was intensely interested in Frank's body, and perhaps telekinesis might produce remarkable results when used by a half-mechanical being?

"I'm sorry to have stirred up your bad memories, but Mr. Frank, you truly have misunderstood..."

Frank had finished dressing. Thinking Adam was hopelessly stubborn, he sneered. "You'll regret this."

Adam felt helpless. Why was this man so rude? Did he not know that letting someone finish speaking was the most basic courtesy?

"I am the applicant and leader of the Mental Power laboratory."

Frank stopped in his tracks, unable to believe his ears. The leader was a Newbie?

"And I have already developed a workable Meditation Method."

Frank instinctively did not believe him.

"This is a contract from the Academic Department." Adam brought out his final trump card.

Frank stared at the contract and recognized at a glance that it was genuine. Of course, no one dared forge a mage's documents. Then he muttered to himself, "It's actually real. What's happened to this world? I've only been gone for three months, and Newbies are already..."

But he was only surprised for a moment before saying coldly, "I understand." He turned to leave. In his view, since it was not James, the matter had nothing to do with him. So what if the Meditation Method had succeeded? He could no longer become a mage. The Elemental Magic he loved had forever shut its doors to him.

Adam stopped him again. Before Frank could fly into a rage, Adam quickly said, "The new Meditation Method produces a special effect called telekinesis. I believe this ability can help you and allow you to regain the elements' favor." As he spoke, Adam used telekinesis to gather the air, firing a string of Wind Blades and wind bullets into the empty distance.

Frank froze. He looked at the ground shattered by the "magic," then at Adam, back and forth several times. A fierce hope appeared in his eyes as he asked Adam, "What you said... is it true?"

Adam spread his hands. "Obviously, sir."

Frank jogged over, snatched the contract from Adam's hand, and read its words with desperate intensity. His eyes flickered uncertainly. On one hand, reason told him it was impossible. On the other, emotion told him that perhaps there might be hope.

"There's actually... actually something like this. Achieving the effects of magic purely through materialized Mental Power." He selectively ignored the word "low-level," his mind entirely occupied by the word "magic."

Adam struck while the iron was hot. "Now, I invite you to join my laboratory, Mr. Frank. Will you agree?"

Frank returned the contract to Adam and said hesitantly, "I... I don't know. This is too unbelievable..."

Adam sighed inwardly. Sure enough, without Empirical Verification, it was not enough to convince someone?

The next second, Frank continued, "Adam, you—no, sir, can you give me some more time? I need to think about it."

Just when all seemed lost, a new path opened. Adam clapped his hands. "Of course, Mr. Frank. You know the original Mental Power laboratory. It belongs to me from now on. Once you've made up your mind, you can come find me at any time."

Having received Adam's assurance, Frank stumbled away in a daze. Only then did James come over, saying with a bitter smile, "I wronged him. His talent was actually quite good."

Adam looked at him. "James, I finally know why you're so unpopular."

James froze, not expecting Adam to suddenly say that. Yet he found himself unable to refute it. Indeed, among the Senior Apprentices still alive, only he had no friends.

Adam continued, "But you're overthinking it. You didn't wrong him. I believe you signed a contract back then as well. Since the contract was made, his outcome today was a choice he made himself. Since it was his own choice, he has no right to blame others. No road is a smooth highway all the way through. Every decision is a gamble, and winning or losing is perfectly normal."

James stared blankly at Adam. "Are you comforting me? I never thought..."

Adam rose into the air from the ground. "No. I only want to tell you to decide carefully. Telekinesis is a Meditation Method established by my standards. There is a strong possibility that it will not be compatible with you. The choice you make today may leave you unable even to have descendants. I don't want you to hate me one day the way Mr. Frank hates you."