Mage? Magic Engineer!-Chapter 97 - 94: An Elder Mage’s Persistence

The bluestone slab was moved aside, revealing a hole secured by a wooden frame.

"A cellar?" Once the connection was lost, the effect of the [Inquire into Nature] Magic was greatly weakened, so they had no choice but to go down themselves.

Rorschach used [Detect Magic], while Master Humboldt cast [Detect Poison]. Both shook their heads; there was no reaction from the pit.

"Let this old man go down first." Master Kuo Bo was only in a duplicate body, so he jumped right in.

A moment later, the inside of the hole lit up. Kou Bo’s voice echoed, "It’s not very big. One more young man is all we need down here."

The people on the surface looked at each other. Finally, Master Humboldt made the decision. "Since there’s no danger, the Mage from the Tower of Stars should go down and check the situation as well."

Rorschach nodded and carefully made his way down.

It turned out there was a rope ladder. The inner walls of the basement were also made of bluestone. Due to the dampness, some sort of fungus or moss was growing on the walls, and Rorschach could smell a faint, musty odor as he entered. Master Kuo Bo must have activated the pre-installed Magic Lamps, lighting the way.

Fortunately, there was no standing water. He walked forward and saw Kou Bo reading a book. It was a thread-bound volume with a rough paper interior and a cover of animal leather. Rorschach suspected the binding thread wasn’t cotton or hemp, but more likely animal sinew.

Indeed, the first room of the basement was a study. An underground environment should have been poor for preserving books, but the original owner must have maintained it regularly. That maintenance had only stopped after the village was destroyed.

"I knew it would be you who came down, little friend Rorschach." Kou Bo was sitting at the desk. Scattered documents, a quill, and an inkwell indicated the owner had left in a hurry. The room’s decor was plain and simple, preserving the natural colors of all the materials, allowing the two uninvited visitors to see at a glance that the shelves were pinewood and the desktop was stone. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"The Tower of Book Forest has most of these, but some of this material is quite interesting." As Rorschach drew closer, he realized the book in Kou Bo’s hands was a notebook—an Elf Elder’s experiment log.

"The monsters are a race created by the Elves?"

"I just glanced at it, but according to this material, yes. The idea has been proposed in the Tower of Forest before. The Elves’ key to success was a mutated strain of fungus." Kou Bo flipped through the pages at an incredible speed, making one wonder if he could even see what was written.

"Taken from around the Divine Wood..." Even without reading the material, Rorschach realized the source—a place contaminated by a warping power.

"Yes. A fungus capable of holding Magic Power, which the Elves cultivated into a Symbiote system with plants, as well as an artificial Essence."

Rorschach felt that such a long tunnel shouldn’t lead just to a study. He knocked on the stone slabs of the four walls, checking for hollow spaces. The original owner hadn’t set up any magical wards—or perhaps he had, but they would have long since failed after several decades. Upon hearing a hollow reverberation, Rorschach gave a push, and a section of the wall swung open.

"Let this old man take the lead again. This is what a duplicate is for."

The lamps lit up one by one, and a heavier musty smell wafted out. Rorschach didn’t venture further in, instead looking through the materials while waiting for word from Kou Bo.

Most of the material was a mix of Elven poetry and praises to nature. The rest was stuff Rorschach couldn’t understand. He had no foundation in the Natural System; if they were notes on Shaping Power Magic, he could have understood most of it.

Rorschach found something that looked more like a diary. The dating system was the Elf Calendar, marked by year, season, and day, with the days represented by phases of the moon.

"Spring 1, Third Day of the First Quarter Moon:

Today’s progress was a great success. The mycelium is developing very, very well. I have to admit, forbidden aberrations can sometimes bring pleasant surprises. My views are on the verge of changing...

Spring 3, Fourth Day of the Full Moon:

The artificial Essences are a failure! They are even more dim-witted than the animals of the forest; I doubt their intelligence even matches that of a wolf. The joy of creating new life quickly faded. The daily lessons and their failed attempts at mimicry are exhausting everyone’s patience, including mine... the father of these monsters...

Autumn 3, Second Day of the Waning Moon:

I have a new idea... Damn that Wake Enst, he used this year’s reserves for brewing wine! And the cloth... we need to find a way to trade safely with humans, without letting them find us...

Spring 2, First Day of the Last Quarter Moon:

The wards in the forest are weakening. If this continues, we will be exposed. My power is fading. When will the village’s next High Priest be born? I must speed up the progress...

Summer 1, Fifth Day of the Full Moon:

I extracted the soul of the little wolf... Though it was fated to die young, this still frightens me. After that sliver of Soul combined with the Essence, the mycelium Symbiote accepted it. Yes, I succeeded, but I feel no joy. Oh, Nature, oh, ancestors, please tell me, is what I have done right?

Winter 3, Day of the New Moon:

This body can no longer maintain the wards. Sooner or later, we will be exposed to the blades of humans... I have no path of retreat left. We have no path of retreat left...

’So he failed in the end.’ Rorschach closed the notebook and placed it back on the desk. He began to focus his search on records related to the giant tree and the contamination.

"Little friend Rorschach, I think it’s safe now. Come see something interesting."

Hearing Kou Bo’s call from deep within the secret chamber, Rorschach summoned all his focus and walked further in.

"Little friend Rorschach, why so nervous?" What Kou Bo called "something interesting" was rather creepy—a wooden mannequin lay on a stone platform, covered in an irregular blanket of fungus, gray and decaying in some spots, brown in others... Mycelia also spread across the entire floor, but all of it had already withered and dried up.

’It seems this was the final work the Elder meant to complete—a new body made from mycelia capable of holding Magic Power and a Soul.’

’Was this village destroyed and burned down by some guy named "Kill You"?’

Rorschach decided not to go in any further. Even though it was completely dried out, the network of mycelia covering the floor and the fungal blanket on the mannequin made his skin crawl.

"Little friend Rorschach, you’re quite good at the [Fireball Skill], aren’t you? Now, take five steps back and get ready. This old man has a bold idea. If things go wrong, you hit this spot with one..."

’Your "bold idea" is pretty easy to guess.’ Rorschach immediately backed up ten steps as a Fireball began to coalesce in front of him.

Kou Bo first conjured some water over the fungal blanket, then cast Su Sheng...

The mycelia came to life, turning white. Then, Master Kuo Bo’s original clay duplicate was enveloped and consumed by the rapidly proliferating fungus...

The mannequin began to move. It first sat up on the stone platform, then stumbled off and stood firm. All the mycelia were absorbed into its body. Rorschach watched as a tall, slender Elf was about to appear.

Then, its facial features and joints erupted with a cyan light. Accompanied by constant twisting and contorting, and a cringe-inducing sound of creaking and grinding... it transformed into a shifty-looking, hunchbacked old man. And next to the stone platform, a pile of white clay was left behind.

’Master, I think you could have changed the appearance of your duplicate. There was no need to be so true to yourself...’

Swallowing his words, Rorschach used the [Communication Skill] to say to Kou Bo, "Great Mage, I must speak with you about Peterson..."

...

"They’ve been down there for so long. Should we send someone else down?" Peterson paced back and forth, staring at the entrance to the pit.

Just as he finished speaking, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed up.

"On your guard," Master Humboldt ordered, telling everyone not to lower their vigilance. From below, Rorschach quickly shouted, "Captain, don’t open fire! It’s me!"

He was climbing the rope ladder with one hand and cupping a handful of clay in the other, a solemn expression on his face. This sight startled the onlookers. "Rorschach Mage, in your hand is..." ’Could it be that Master Kuo Bo’s duplicate was shattered protecting Rorschach Mage? Has the investigation team lost a major asset at the final hour?’

Rorschach nodded. "It’s Master Kuo Bo..." Everyone’s hearts jumped into their throats. "...who told me I absolutely had to walk in front."

From behind him, an old man shot out of the hole without a sound. He stroked his beard. "This body is quite good, not much different from my original one! Eh? Why do you all have such long faces?"