SWNOVELXO Chapter 268. α (17)
The Mage’s Terminal Transformation.
To develop such a cruel technique just to obtain a perfect army.
– Heh, sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Wouldn’t we just waste our budget on this?
– I heard the Beta Species is pushing in from above…
– Sigh.
– Hmm.
– Still, that guy usually has good results, after all. Let him be.
– It won’t do any good to spread rumors. Keep quiet.
– What can we do anyway, the planet’s about to be doomed…
Buzz, buzz.
A little later.
As the meeting ended, the Marine Beings who had gathered before the leader quickly left the space.
The minutes were filled with permission and positivity, but the atmosphere among these top nobles wasn’t exactly bright.
In the corridor, their murmurs revealed they had reluctantly permitted the quirk’s experimentation, coming close to despair.
Otherwise, if it weren’t for the impending extinction due to the invasion of Beta Species, they wouldn’t have allocated any budget to such absurd plans.
But indeed, life is full of unexpected twists.
These power-wielders soon found themselves fully supporting the quirky scholar’s actions.
There was a pressing reason behind why the plan simply had to succeed, and that reason hit them almost immediately.
*
The sudden cheer from the top ruling class for the quirky invention.
It’s quite simple.
Even year.
A talent had emerged on this Alphauri planet that couldn’t be surpassed over eons.
– ….
Green blood.
Long legs.
And as he grew, he would acquire three eyes—the very person.
This green man’s inherent talent in Magic Studies was so fearsome that even a Deep Sea Person with dark sight could recognize it instantly.
Compared to the spells built on pure instinct, all other magic was nothing but messy and vulgar structures akin to wild beasts in nature.
And, there were the incidents of him having pounced on the dean to ensure a spot at the Nurturing Facility.
Even achieving a personal kill tally of over hundreds of Beta Species on his very first outing; who would dare to question his talent?
– Impressive.
A genius of the century.
When the green-blooded Deep Sea Person appeared, the ruling class, who were privy to the controversial plan, immediately began to advocate for it.
– I’ve struggled to understand the phrase “terrifyingly so” until now. But this time, it’s appropriate to use that expression.
– Absolutely. I’ve seen his magic firsthand on the battlefield, and I find it hard to believe he’s really from the Deep Sea.
– The talent is too overwhelming.
– What if he later naturalizes to another country? His brain—preprocessing? Did he do that when he was young? Anyway, make that terminal transformation happen pronto! Just the existence of such a monster makes me uneasy!
Just a while back, it was obvious how it would fail, and now they’re in a tizzy.
– Everyone relax.
The leather-skin scholar waved his tentacles at the impatient powers that be.
Sure enough, these guys must have barged in while I was munching my lunch, he thought in brief annoyance, yet he didn’t express these sentiments today either.
It’s not a situation worth getting worked up about, to begin with.
– As I mentioned before, extraction isn’t possible right now.
– Why not?
– We have to wait until the organs fully grow. To be honest, my technique is like a newborn, so it inevitably has some inefficiencies. For example, around a 17% loss occurs when transferring a heart to machinery…
The scared established class was making a fuss as if they’d encountered a bolt from the blue upon seeing the emergence of a strong individual, while the quirky side saw it as a benefit for the entire planet and thus maintained a positive stance.
– Attempting to mechanize an immature individual would exponentially increase the failure rate. We must wait until he becomes an adult without fail.
Far across the cosmos, among the realms of mammalian rulers, there had been precedents.
When high-intelligence beings were mentioned, a certain renowned genius scientist who left a mark in history was often cited. He passed away one day, and people reportedly displayed his brain in a museum.
That shows just how intense the interest is in genius!
And, this scholar named ■▒ was also similarly interested enough to sell the goal of “immortality.”
He developed techniques to preserve something by encasing it in steel.
And now, a fragile-bodied monstrosity had emerged in the deep sea.
A being undoubtedly a genius, a fellow countryman.
– Suddently laughing?
Bubbles burst forth.
Today, a marine being clad in the red skin of a mammal unexpectedly burst out laughing.
– Why are you laughing?
The laughter continued for a while.
This quirky individual, possessing above-average intelligence, was already roughly predicting the events to come in Alphauri.
– First of all, I want to clarify one thing. I, at a young age, directly opened the era of healing potions.
– Of course, I know. That’s your family’s greatest achievement.
– However, even possessing such talent, my heart remains quite humble.
A sense of great humility.
Hearing those words, the blood of his fellow countrymen suddenly paled in hue.
A sign of discomfort.
– Ah haha.
However, the other party, notorious for his quirkiness, continued explaining without a care.
– I see how that’s your reaction. You seem surprised that I’m discussing humility while boasting about turning the era!
– Hmm.
– What I mean is, here… at least I’m aware of my limitations.
Someone waved their tentacles in the air.
– I’m only good in a narrow range of fields that I’m interested in. No matter how much someone brags, there are plenty of geniuses out there better than me.
Bang.
He hit the nearby workbench with the tip of his arm to express his feelings.
– Furthermore, the problem is that those damned geniuses are all mortal beings with finite lives.
His voice trembled.
But it wasn’t a bad sort of unease.
Amidst the conversations, the scholar felt a subtle joy utilizing the unique overlapping communication style of the Alphauri.
– Do you know?
– Speak.
– During my childhood, while reading biographies bought by my parents, I thought about how regrettable it is that all these geniuses left too early.
– What do you mean?
– If those great ones had lived to this time, the world would be so different it would seem like a heavenly paradise! Today’s magic would seem as primitive as child’s play.
– Really?
– But finally, I have a chance to fulfill my childhood dream…
The Alphauri was leading the conversation in an excited tone.
– The opportunity to preserve the genius of a singularity for eternity! So don’t panic and just wait. Please give me time.
Thus, the quirky one tirelessly awaited the brilliance of the genius to fully blossom.
… As you can see, circumstances have changed dramatically.
– Oh…
– This isn’t looking good.
– Even as a layperson in combat magic, I can tell this isn’t good.
– We can’t let this happen.
Originally, they were going to assign a servant to closely monitor the situation, but having incidentally been attached to the same institution known as the Academic Hall, the leatherworker was quickly informed of the war hero’s news.
He could hardly imagine changing out of the white leather he had put on just the day before to relay the tidings to the nobles.
It seemed they couldn’t wait any longer for the genius’s brain to mature.
– So, you all feel it’s dangerous as well?
Because they became aware of what the war hero was developing.
Golem Control Technique.
To be precise, it might not even be right to call it development.
But one thing was for certain.
If the war hero mastered that technique perfectly, we would be doomed.
After covering his brain in all kinds of drugs, he would surely face extreme embarrassment and humiliation.
The topic the green mage was focusing on was that dangerous.
The Deep Sea Person was merely aiming to insert more efficient operating commands into the golem’s head to make life easier, reducing merely the drudgery of citizens.
– Liar!
But the true potential of the Golem Control Technique appeared in military operations.
Moreover, it was frightening that the green mage’s ambitions didn’t seem absurd at all.
The genius of the century was arrogant, yes, but that was a word used only in reference to personality issues.
High intelligence beings often possess enhanced metacognitive abilities, and that green one was keenly aware of what he could do and couldn’t do.
– It’s perhaps better if he desired to wield magic over all the waters of the planet. However, considering the external design technology of the golems, the power of the magic stones used in their cores, and the theoretical ideas of inscribing sorcery into inanimate objects…
– It would be feasible to raise an unmanned army in this era.
– Provided there’s an excellent operator… that is.
The atmosphere grew chaotic.
– Surely, there are limits, right? At best, he’ll be able to manage automata that mimic a knight’s movements. Frankly, there’s no way they’d perform better than golems controlled directly by magic.
– Is it a matter of direct versus automated?
– So, the outline of that author’s research…
– I couldn’t steal it. Some rat seems to have leaked something, but these days that green one is securing himself quite tightly. Anyway, what I possess has a broader range of magic than my mechanical skills.
– Not a single word or sound could come this way.
– Here’s the proof.
– Of course. If a creator is capable of defending their research achievements at such a young age, they could probably realize their imagination. Ahhh, I can already picture him moving hundreds of golems as if they were alive, clothed in the flesh and bones of his brethren!
An eerie spread of dread.
Having experienced the tragedies of the previous generations and the Great War, they were devoid of courage left within their hearts.
They’d carelessly forgotten that they were deliberating over a wizard who wouldn’t even live for twenty years.
Even an overwhelming genius, could it be right to push a single individual into mechanization akin to a vegetative state?
That ethical discussion was never even initiated.
It hadn’t even committed sins or harmed nobility, yet…
Merely the prospect of being too overwhelming made him an overly potential rebel unworthy of mercy.
– If he rises up, there’s no stopping him.
– We have no choices…
To those weak self-interested people, a sword was soon placed in their hands.
– Let’s hurry to start before we waste more time.
Initially, they had planned to wait for the Deep Sea Person’s body to stop growing and begin to fold, but having to act in such a rush, the odds of success were at an all-time low.
So they considered the probability of that marine being dying on the operating table during surgery and planned to see as much profit as possible in the end.
– Coincidentally, various agents placed in the neighboring Magic Tower have matured just right. I’ll use them to stir up the internal mood. Anyway, those less than elegant creatures have been in a frenzy for not expanding their waters since before the Great War. If we loosen our weaknesses, they’ll bite the bait right away.
.
.
.
So, well…
“Please be careful from now on. I’ve gathered enough intel to give you this warning.”
To summarize, the Orange Wealthy Person had inadvertently shunned the quirky one.
“Do so.”
The ruler had acted too nonchalantly during the negotiations regarding the treasure hoarding.
The magical hunting of the Magic Tower.
It just so happened that this transpired while the gigantic orange compatriot was visiting his family for the holidays.
So on and so forth.
In truth, upon learning the truth, it became clear that everything that felt a bit off or appeared to be proceeding too smoothly had a backdrop of such circumstances at play.
Leather-skin.
Quirky one.
And the leaders he was known by.
[Such madness.]
Observing this green compatriot from the age of roughly two, they had focused on his intelligence throughout their entire lives.
Moreover, the green genius was entirely unaware that his main organs had been tampered with long before leaving the Nurturing Facility.
Completely unsuspecting.
He excelled in most fields but suffered from just two lacking traits.
Age and Malice.
These were exceedingly deficient compared to beings from other planets.
In the far future, the reincarnated one remarked that a series of catastrophes unfolded as a consequence of arrogance.
But was it solely due to his carelessness or negligence?
At a time when he was still young and impressionable, unversed in magic and medicine, the highest arts of the planet were etched into him; he truly had no coping methods at that point.
Despite the Alphauri revealing their brutal nature as needed, the brilliance that came with being born a genius would always invoke fear.
[Hah, hah hah…].
Just now, the gaps in his memory began to fill in.
A few centuries after the Middle Ages ended.
The green one realized now why he was merely doing menial tasks and using honorifics.
It was because that damned researcher’s device plan had been successful.
[■▒…! ■▒…!! A brat who isn’t even worth being used as bait!]
In the past, those rulers had ambushed a Deep Sea Archmage returning from the conquest of their enemies.
And they had achieved their desired outcome.
Extracting the genius’s brain, heart, and additionally, some proteins from his spine, they managed to assemble this person’s production factory pretty nicely into a machine.
They had attributed titles like “Mage Commander” to these created machines, terms originally reserved solely for high-level Alphauri.
The First Mage Commander!
How ironic that what was once viewed with pride was actually a derogatory title.
Yet this green mage, the focal point of this event, would even take pride in that status even after reincarnation.
After all, at the time, there had been living (not counting those who had been mechanized) Mage Commanders among the Alphauri too.
Even if he hadn’t gotten tangled in this absurd incident, he would have surely naturally assumed that position.
[Yes. I remember everything now. Today’s Mage Commanders are akin to a Great Mage in terms of status. How could this be, then what year is it now…?!]
Initially, the engineers were merely keeping the genius protected as a simple apparatus that would respond when spoken to.
But as time progressed, technology in the world advanced and now they even utilized the genius inside the container as a golem pilot.
[You’d think they’d be thankful? It feels like my blood is boiling! Those wretched beings!]
Of course, this too was the result of stealing from the genius’s research findings straight from his brain.
No wonder he felt his life’s journey had been lacking in twists.
The arrogant one had thought the reason he had no adversaries in his life was simply because he was too strong and capable.
Yet later on, he realized it was simply the result of the planetary rulers having done their utmost to ensure their own preservation.
Shocking.
[Ugh.]
Even the most deranged mage wouldn’t ever think of exposing their own head.
He had no chance to notice the cunning preprocessing going on in his body, resembling a manipulation of his magic.
[My tentacles… that once glistened, are now all tough machinery…].
Thus, he became a victim of the scummy plot without a single moment to counter it.
Wait, hold on, let’s correct that.
Upon reflection, the top ruler of the nation has now changed to ■▒.
Based on that information, the Great Mage began to recover memories of things he had done in the past.
[Hmm.]
It must have been around the time he was nearly robbed of his genius within those deep sea territories.
At that time, he had engaged in various resistance against the mages who had come in a disoriented state, but he felt he ended up casting a decisive spell upon learning that the ruler had sanctioned this madness.
[…Come to think of it, how many great mountain ranges were there in that sea? Was there originally such a deep trench in the northern hemisphere?]
It was at that moment, as the mechanized Great Mage mumbled such strange stories.
-There wasn’t!
Suddenly, a reply echoed from somewhere.
Though the appearance was entirely different, with that old-fashioned familiar tone, it was instantly recognizable.
The leader of the leather-skin, who had set everything in motion, was approaching.