Damian walked to the center of the Alchemy Workshop.
Dominating the middle of the room was a massive, circular workbench. This was the workshop's Analyzer.
He placed a handful of unrecognizable materials from his recent loot into the center of the device. Instantly, beams of light rose from the surface, completely enveloping the items.
"Analyzing material... Identified as... Purple Pine Wood... Produces highly toxic fumes when burned... Commonly found in the Winter Forest..."
"Analyzing material... Identified as... Two-Headed Buck Antler... Consuming it causes a violent surge in blood energy and drastically enhances physical stamina..."
"Analyzing material... Identified as... Void Mushroom... Consuming it causes severe hallucinations, magical core boiling, and physical mutation... Originates in the Endless Void..."
"Analyzing material... Identified as... White Fluorescent Stone... A common stone in the central region. Useless..."
Information cascaded across a translucent light screen in front of Damian, detailing the exact properties of each item.
Void Mushroom? Damian picked up the peculiar fungus he had scavenged from Viktor Hansen. Its cap was composed of dark red threads that swayed like jellyfish tentacles, and the stalk was covered in eerie, geometric patterns.
Damian heavily suspected Viktor had smuggled this out of the Gap World using the Dream Entry Ritual. Given that the Gap World was saturated with Void Power leaking from the dead Outer God, finding a Void Mushroom there made perfect sense.
Watching the Analyzer work, Damian suddenly recalled Tower Spirit Zero mentioning that the device wasn't just for raw materials and potion recipes—it could also reverse-engineer magical artifacts.
"Zero, how do I operate the Analyzer to break down an enchanted artifact?"
"To analyze a magical artifact, you must operate the instrument manually," Zero replied. "Doing so requires a foundational understanding of Alchemical theory."
Damian sighed. "So I can't just throw it in?"
"An Assistant Golem is also capable of operating the Analyzer on your behalf," Zero added quickly, having realized by now that the Tower's new master knew absolutely nothing about traditional Alchemy.
Damian stroked his chin. Forging an Assistant Golem was rapidly becoming his top priority.
Just then, he noticed a slight dip in the energy reserves displayed on the magic power core interface. "How much power does the Analyzer drain while it's running?"
"It consumes 1 Degree of magic per minute," Zero answered smoothly. Damian had previously calibrated the Tower's esoteric measurements to units of time and power he actually understood.
Damian couldn't help but click his tongue. The Analyzer was quite the energy hog.
"Zero, do you know roughly how long it takes to analyze a standard Tier 1 artifact?"
"I do not know. I never witnessed the Ancestor of Time analyze something as low as a Tier 1 artifact," Zero replied honestly.
Damian stared blankly at the glowing workbench. Right. This was the personal laboratory of Aemon, the Ancestor of Time. A legendary wizard of that caliber wouldn't have bothered reverse-engineering common street trash. Damian was probably the first person in history to use this god-tier machine to inspect basic amulets.
Curious, he asked, "What tier was the last magical artifact analyzed by this device?"
"A Tier 6 artifact. At the time, the Ancestor of Time stated he had acquired a 'novel toy' and wished to dismantle it. The structural analysis was projected to take seven days, but under the Ancestor's manual operation, it was completed in a fraction of a second."
A Tier 6 artifact was just a novel toy to him? In the modern wizarding world, Tier 6 artifacts were the stuff of myths and legends. Even a Tier 3 artifact was a priceless treasure usually guarded by elite Second-level Wizards!
It was impossible to fathom the sheer level of magical power Aemon had possessed. Damian had asked Zero about it once before, but the tower spirit's database held no records of Aemon's actual power ceiling.
"Zero, do you have the blueprints from that Tier 6 artifact saved?" Damian asked, practically salivating at the thought.
"Negative. All artifact analyses were stored directly in the data core of Tower Spirit Three. I am strictly responsible for the basic daily operations of the Wizard Tower."
Damian groaned, deeply disappointed. He wished he could fly up to the sixth floor right now and reboot the other sub-spirits.
Unfortunately, the fourth floor was entirely sealed off, blocking his ascent. Furthermore, the data core on the sixth floor was heavily corrupted; there was no telling how much data would even survive the repair process.
With nothing left to do, Damian teleported out of the Gap World.
Not long after he returned to his home in White Stone Town, Link and Anna arrived at his door.
Link looked deeply annoyed as he vented to Anna. "I can't believe they failed to guard two mercenaries who were literally bound by a sealing curse!"
Noticing Damian's questioning gaze, Link sighed and explained. "After we split up at the gates, the captains and I escorted Lady Alsha to the Security Office to report the mission intelligence. The two prisoners were taken by the Guards for detention."
"And as it turns out, the two prisoners mysteriously 'escaped' on the way!"
Damian nodded slowly. He wasn't surprised in the slightest. Those mercenaries knew too much about the tampered beast-luring powder. He was fairly certain the two men were already dead and buried in an unmarked ditch.
"The Guards escorting them... were they Lady Alsha's personal guards?" Damian hinted smoothly.
Link shook his head. "No, those Guards were just Guards from the Security Office. But as the highest-ranking Adjutant currently in White Stone Town, Lady Alsha technically has the authority to call upon the Guards."
Link paused, finally catching Damian's underlying implication. He frowned. "Are you suspecting Lady Alsha?"
He thought about it for a moment before waving a hand dismissively. "I highly doubt it. Lady Alsha is incredibly sociable and widely respected. She has no deep-seated grudge against us."
"Besides, I heard she has a very friendly relationship with Madam Jill. Madam Jill is the one who recommended our squad to Lady Alsha in the first place. There's no reason for Madam Alsha to plant someone to frame us, right?"
"Besides, those rebel Wizards were all people found by the Chamber of Commerce."
Damian stroked his chin, keeping his thoughts to himself. Lady Alsha clearly had a flawless public reputation. If Link refused to see the obvious, Damian couldn't force him—he certainly couldn't reveal that he had literally read the truth straight from Viktor Hansen's dying memories.
Link reached into his robes and pulled out an elegant, folded parchment card. "By the way, this is for you. Lady Alsha is hosting a celebratory banquet next Friday to celebrate her promotion to a Formal Wizard."
Damian raised an eyebrow in genuine surprise. "Lady Alsha has been promoted to a Formal Wizard?"
When he had faced Lady Alsha at the town gates earlier, he hadn't felt any overwhelming magical pressure radiating from her. In fact, her magic power in her body was chaotic.
Was the gap between his runic magic and standard wizards really that vast? Damian had noticed that the Third-Level Wizard Apprentices in this world possessed significantly smaller magical reserves than he did.
Perhaps it was because Wizards in this world didn't experience magic power outbursts during their childhood, stunting their early growth. Because Damian had transmigrated with a stabilized, mature mind, his starting point was naturally much higher.
Link nodded. "Madam Alsha was promoted to Formal Wizard this morning. I expect she will be transferred back to the Royal Capital soon."
Damian smiled slightly. "Link, I remember you once said that after being promoted to Formal Wizard, one needs a period of time to stabilize the chaotic magic power in the body before they can safely engrave a spell model in the sea of spirit?"
It was common knowledge. Even without practicing a High-level Meditation Technique, one could engrave a spell model in the sea of spirit after being promoted to Formal Wizard.
However, a Wizard who practiced a High-level Meditation Technique could engrave many more spell models than one who practiced a Basic Meditation Method, and the bonus to spell power and casting speed would also be much greater.
Link nodded and looked at Damian in confusion, completely unsure of why he was bringing up basic magical theory at a time like this.
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