Mystic Overlord: Reading Gives Strength-Chapter 519 - 516 Alya’s Ideas

No wonder "Fury’s" power hadn’t noticed anything unusual about this place...

Looking at the scene before him.

That was the first thing Ronald realized.

Right now, in the birch forest, there were only puppets moving about; not a single living person could be seen.

Moreover, these puppets were of a specially processed type.

Through special craftsmanship, the magic power within these puppets was contained within a very small area, making it difficult to detect their movements unless one observed from up close.

But beyond that, there was something even more terrifying.

The puppets in the birch forest weren’t holding the firearms Ronald had seen before, but rather tools like long saws, axes, and carving knives.

Maintaining a certain density of the trees, these magical creations worked orderly in this place, cutting down trees that other puppets immediately carried away upon falling, only to face being segmented and processed by the tools.

As for the result of the processing...

Quite simply, all were standardized puppet bodies.

Magically created puppets tirelessly carried out their work here, and although there was no guarantee in work precision, leading many pieces of wood to be discarded.

But thanks to the puppets’ tireless and continuous labor, there was still a significant output.

"What is this?"

"A magical version of a von Neumann machine?"

Simply circling overhead, Ronald’s brow twitched violently, and he couldn’t help but blurt out his criticism.

The potential of this puppet-creating magic was simply too great.

If one had to draw a comparison, they were akin to the self-replicating robots in science fiction novels, the only difference being that the puppets required Mil to perform magical modifications on them.

"A von Neumann machine?"

"What is that?"

As Ronald pondered these things, Alya, who was by his side, spoke up. Hearing Ronald’s complaint, she thought it was some grievance and simply asked out of curiosity.

This wasn’t something that needed to be kept secret.

So Ronald directly explained:

"A von Neumann machine could be understood as a type of autonomous robot that can produce other machines with the same structure as itself, and at the moment it’s just a..."

While explaining what a von Neumann machine was, Ronald made sure to use terms that someone from the Steam Era could understand. And Alya, being a high-ranking entity from the mysterious side, quickly grasped Ronald’s meaning.

However, after grasping the essence of von Neumann, Alya fell silent.

She didn’t even look at the puppets working on the ground, but instead stared at Ronald quite seriously.

"..."

"Giving me, the original keeper, knowledge of technology?"

"Are you betraying the mysterious side?"

"Pfft—"

Hearing this, Ronald almost lost control and nearly fell.

How should one describe it...

After the conclusion of their discussions at the "Book Research Society," Alya’s ability to adapt to new environments was unexpectedly strong. From Ronald’s words, she’d managed to think of such a thing!

In an effort to clear up the misunderstanding, he naturally said to Alya:

"I didn’t mean that, I was just explaining the meaning of the term."

"..."

Alya still pondered seriously for a few seconds before she continued speaking:

"Ronald, even though the esteemed Mr. Adler from the past chose to be uninvolved in worldly affairs, as his only direct descendant, your identity is very special. It’s okay for me to have heard it, but you should be more cautious in the future."

With the aid of the power of ’Fury,’ Ronald keenly sensed Alya’s emotions. The feelings behind the girl’s words were a well-meaning reminder, not the intimidating sort of warning.

Responding to Alya’s goodwill, Ronald nodded earnestly:

"Thank you for the warning, I’ll keep that in mind."

"..."

The conversation did not end with Ronald’s thanks.

After saying those words, Alya’s expression relaxed. While she began to control Magic Power to cast a Spell, she also found time to ask Ronald:

"But, joking aside, Ronald, what do you think about the future of this world? Do you support the current Caster class, or do you want to try that uncertain future known as science that no one can quite explain?"

Alya asked casually, but Ronald didn’t want to dismiss the question lightly.

He thought about Alya’s previous demeanor and then firmly voiced his true thoughts:

"I have a better opinion of science."

"Though Spells are useful, they bring too many problems to human society. The very traits they possess make me dislike them."

"You speak," Alya tilted her head and looked at Ronald with a hint of amusement in her eyes, "as if you were a common person who can’t cast Spells. But I don’t dislike your thinking."

"Spells are too harmful; it’s indeed better if they were to vanish!"

As her words fell, Alya’s Magic Power, which had been accumulating for some time, materialized in the air.

A Longsword glittering with gold light and studded with gems of various colors floated in the air in front of Alya.

What followed was the simplest and most direct form of destruction.

After the sword was summoned, it needed neither Alya’s control nor additional Magic Power support. Like a living thing with its own thoughts, it immediately pierced the air and lunged towards the ground.

Swish swish swish—

The sharp blade flashed past the dark birch forest.

Wherever the gemstone-sword went, no puppet could continue standing on the ground. Their fate was either to have their heads directly cut off by the sword or to be bisected more completely through the midsection of their bodies.

There were also puppets that reacted and attempted to fight back.

But in front of Alya’s Magic, all their struggles were in vain.

No matter what object the puppets wielded to hack and smash, they would be cleaved in two by the Dancing Longsword, imagining to stop its attack was but a delusion.

Almost as quickly as Ronald shifted his gaze,

The Longsword swiftly slaughtered all the nearby puppets and then burrowed deeper into the forest to continue clearing other puppets.

And while observing her own magical creation, Alya smiled at Ronald:

"How about that, isn’t it convenient?"

Ronald nodded in appreciation:

"Indeed, it’s very convenient. Among the Spells I’ve seen, those that can autonomously achieve their objectives like this are exceedingly rare."

Facing Ronald’s praise, Alya suddenly changed the subject.

"Convenient as it is, my Spell lacks effectiveness in surveillance and searching. How about you, Ronald?"

Ronald saw through Alya’s intentions.

"Leave the searching to me."

Smiling and shrugging his shoulders, he too began to chant and cast a Spell to search under the debris for the secrets hidden beneath:

"Its name is Styx,

The dark waters flow downward, to the dim and treacherous cliffs below..."

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