The Wizard Has A Biochip

— A spiritual body...

My pupils contracted immediately.

Even among Mages, spiritual bodies were one of the least understood phenomena.

Most scholars believed they were an external manifestation of the soul, but almost no one could explain exactly how they came into existence.

Some legends claimed that an ordinary peasant could die and, through an absurd chain of coincidences, become an evil spirit.

On the other hand...

Official Mages who had spent centuries cultivating their minds and mana would simply disappear after death.

There was no apparent logic.

That was precisely what made the study of souls so fascinating.

At Arcangrove Tower, this subject was considered advanced knowledge.

Ordinary acolytes were taught only the basic concepts; any truly useful research remained restricted.

I took a slow breath as I stepped back from the dissection room.

My hand remained close to my potion pouch.

— Who are you?

The translucent figure tilted its head slightly.

— My name...?

It remained silent for a few seconds.

Then it smiled.

— I forgot that a long time ago.

Its voice sounded distant, like an echo coming from an incredibly deep place.

— Countless years have passed...

— I have wandered alone through this laboratory all that time.

Its spectral eyes settled on me.

— Today, I sensed that an interesting fellow had entered my laboratory.

— So I decided to meet him.

My heart remained calm.

My laboratory...

That sentence was engraved in my mind.

I bowed politely.

It was the formal greeting used among Mages.

Every movement was executed exactly as I had learned.

— So you are the owner of this laboratory.

— Please accept my apologies for entering this place without permission.

The spirit seemed pleased.

A faint smile spread across its lips.

— I like polite young people.

It slowly raised a translucent hand.

An intense white light began condensing above its palm.

— Because of your manners...

— I shall allow you to receive a great gift from this magnificent mage.

I smiled.

I even took a small step forward.

— Really?

— Honestly...

— That would be wonderful.

I continued walking forward slowly.

I kept a cordial smile on my face.

But discreetly, my other hand had already put away all the items I had taken out earlier.

Meanwhile...

I began murmuring a spell in an extremely low voice.

When I reached the ideal distance...

My eyes turned cold.

I abruptly raised my right hand.

— Sword of Light!

A brilliant explosion of light erupted instantly.

Mana condensed into a long white sword of pure radiance.

The room’s temperature rose by several degrees.

Without giving the spirit time to react...

I leaped.

The blade traced a perfect arc.

ZZZAAAP!!

The sword passed straight through the spiritual body.

It continued on its path.

It struck the metal table directly behind it.

CRAAAAASH!!

The metal was cut cleanly in half as if it were paper.

Its edges immediately began to melt from the residual heat.

The spiritual figure...

Remained completely unharmed.

I landed back on the ground.

I frowned.

The attack had absolutely no effect.

My expression grew serious.

The spirit was still smiling.

But...

Now that smile seemed far more sinister.

— Little companion...

— Why did you attack me?

— This is the magnificent inheritance of the Great Mage Redof.

— With it...

— You will be able to become an Official Mage.

I looked directly at that light.

I smiled.

Then I started laughing.

— Hahaha...

— Old man, do you really think I’m as stupid as you?

— Are you actually trying to deceive me?

— You are not Redof.

— You’re just a resentful soul that has taken on the appearance of the laboratory’s former owner.

— I bet you were one of those unlucky acolytes who got impaled by the traps at the entrance to the laboratory.

I immediately took several steps back.

At the same time, I pulled out a small, whitish potion.

I observed the light in his hand again.

— Furthermore...

— I don’t believe for a second that this "gift" is anything good; after all, an asshole who got his anus raped by a bloody rose and some mimes really deserves to get fucked, you know? You filthy son of a bitch.

Without the slightest hesitation...

I threw the flask.

BOOOM!

The potion exploded in midair.

A thick white smoke spread rapidly.

The moment it enveloped the spirit...

That mysterious light began to fade.

For the first time...

Its true face was revealed.

It was horrifying.

Eyes completely black.

A mouth split wide open.

Features twisted by hatred and madness.

It let out a piercing scream of utter despair.

I watched closely.

Then everything finally made sense.

— You’re a vengeful spirit!

The creature merely smiled.

— Who knows... I didn’t like that you swore at my mother and claimed I was raped.

That smile made my blood run cold.

I took a deep breath.

Then I slowly pulled the Tentrix Engineering Manual from inside my robes.

I raised it in front of him.

— The real reason you appeared...

— Was this book.

The moment his eyes met the yellowed cover...

His expression changed completely.

— Yes...

— That belongs to me.

I slowly nodded.

— You are the corpse trapped at the entrance to the laboratory.

— You broke into this place.

— You died to the Blood Rose’s and the Mimic’s traps.

— Your soul became imprisoned by the magical formation.

— As the decades passed...

— You transformed into a vengeful spirit.

The spirit slowly clapped one hand against the other.

As if applauding me.

— A clever child...

— What a pity...

— You will die here today.

WHOOSH!!

My vision caught only a flash.

I tried to dodge.

Even so...

I felt a sharp pain tear across my chest.

I looked down.

Three deep slashes had appeared across my armor.

The metal hadn’t even been able to completely block that attack.

A few drops of blood trickled down.

The spirit stared at my wound.

Its expression became utterly insane.

It slowly licked its own fingers.

— Fresh blood...

— How long...

— It’s been so long...

I gritted my teeth.

Too fast...

Not even my eyes could keep up with its movements.

At the corner of my vision...

The Biochip immediately began performing thousands of calculations.

Blue lines filled my sight.

Meanwhile...

The spirit attacked again.

— You will not escape!

— Surrender your body!

— Become another offering to the magnificent Redof!

Its nails grew.

They transformed into long spectral blades.

I watched for only an instant.

Then I sighed inwardly.

I really didn’t want to waste this...

I took out a small blue potion.

I smashed it against my own armor.

DANG!!

A luminous film immediately enveloped my entire body.

Temporary Shield Potion.

The very next moment...

The spirit struck again.

Its claws slammed directly into that membrane.

The barrier completely withstood the impact.

I smiled like a villain.

My hand shot forward.

Taking advantage of the brief instant its attack was caught against the barrier...

I grabbed its spectral arm directly.

Its eyes widened.

— Impossible!

— How...

— How can you touch me?!

Its face twisted completely.

—You’re a worm, understand? So, obviously, a totally superior alpha male like me could do things that seem impossible to you.

I squeezed his arm even harder.

—And what’s more, if you were a woman, I’d love to imprison you in the female body of some slave—just so I could rape you in revenge.

—But since you’re nothing but a useless old man whose anus was violated by bloody roses and mimics, accept the fate reserved for a failed soul: serving as a test subject for my research.

With my free hand...

I slowly took out a small crystal sphere.

It was perfectly smooth.

A Spiritual Containment Sphere.

Extremely expensive.

I had bought it intending to use it in the future to capture semi-spiritual creatures living around Arcangrove Tower.

I had never imagined I would need it here.

I slowly brought the sphere closer to the spirit.

The moment it made contact...

It shone with an intense light.

A powerful suction force appeared instantly.

The spirit began to be pulled in.

— No!!

— No!!

It screamed in desperation.

It struggled to escape.

But it was useless.

Its body became increasingly compressed.

Until it disappeared completely into the sphere.

The glow faded.

Silence.

I carefully examined the crystal.

Inside it now floated a tiny translucent figure.

It looked like an insect preserved in amber.

I carefully put the sphere away.

I was lucky...

This old man had only been a third-level acolyte who had transformed into a spirit.

If it hadn’t been for my Temporary Shield Potion...

And this Spiritual Containment Sphere...

I would probably have died here.

The strength of a spiritual body depended directly on the strength of the soul it had possessed in life.

And it seemed that the meditation practiced by Mages strengthened not only their mana and consciousness—it also appeared to increase their spiritual power.

There were ancient records of Official Mages who, upon reaching a certain level, managed to transform into spectral mages while retaining part of their ability to cast spells, thus achieving a certain degree of immortality.

(Author’s Note: Remember that spectral mages are not ordinary spiritual bodies that form by chance like the old man the MC captured. Spectral mages are literal mages without physical bodies, but with all the qualities of a mage, only now completely free from the mortal flesh.)

These beings were known as Spectral Mages.

True monsters.

If I had encountered one today...

Not even running away would have been an option.

The moment a spectral mage struck my body with a spell, I would certainly have been vaporized.

Not even my soul would have been spared.

I looked at the crystal sphere once more.

As a precaution...

I added several additional containment seals.

Each layer further reduced the possibility of escape.

Only then did I place the sphere inside a small pouch prepared specifically for spiritual isolation.

I pulled the drawstring tight.

Then I hung it from my waist.

Only then did I allow my body to relax.

...

1656 Words