Chapter 125: The Grand Mage Redof Reneu Darof
That spell had been carefully chosen by me.
From the very beginning, my objective had never been to destroy that structure.
If I had used an explosion, I would probably have reduced the entire laboratory to rubble.
That was why I had developed an alchemical compound capable of specifically corroding the outer layer of the magical formation, destabilizing its structure without compromising the building itself.
It was a far more elegant solution.
And far more profitable.
All that remained was to explore.
I slowly approached the entrance.
Then I struck the old wooden door with my hand.
CRAAASH!
The wood, weakened by more than a century of abandonment, simply shattered apart.
Hundreds of fragments fell to the floor.
I looked into the dark interior.
I need to hurry...
The longer that house remained unstable, the greater the chances of some unexpected collapse occurring.
I immediately stepped inside.
The air was extremely dry.
Without wasting any time, I gave another order.
— Biochip! Analyze the entire main structure of the house.
[Beep!]
[Analyzing...]
Previously, the Biochip had been unable to scan that building.
The magical formation spread throughout the walls created an extremely effective barrier against any kind of detection.
But now...
It had disappeared.
A three-dimensional blue projection began to appear before my eyes.
The walls became transparent.
Beams.
Hidden pipes.
Secret compartments.
Everything began to appear before my eyes.
A few seconds later, the map was complete.
I examined it carefully.
Two floors.
The second floor has a bedroom and a bathroom.
Then I looked at the ground floor.
The first floor appears to be nothing more than a living area...
Then my eyes found something much more interesting.
A small cavity hidden behind a massive wardrobe.
I zoomed in once more.
A long underground corridor appeared directly beneath the house.
It was much larger than I had imagined.
The entrance is hidden behind the wardrobe.
But before heading into that tunnel, I decided to take another path first.
Let’s check the bedroom.
I quickly climbed the wooden staircase.
It creaked beneath my feet, but it still remained sturdy.
I arrived in front of the main door.
I grasped the old bronze doorknob.
It was cold.
I slowly turned it.
Creeeak...
The moment the door opened...
A huge cloud of dust flew straight toward my face.
Before it could reach me...
I circulated my mana, and it covered my entire body, creating a thin white membrane that enveloped my entire suit of armor.
The dust simply slid around my body.
I stepped inside.
I carefully examined the room.
Everything remained extremely well organized.
As if the owner had simply left.
There was only a bed, a table, a chair, and a wardrobe.
Nothing else.
I walked over to the wardrobe.
I slowly opened its doors.
Empty.
I ran my hand across the shelves.
Not even a single piece of clothing remained.
So he really had planned to abandon this place.
That made sense.
If he had fled in a hurry...
He would probably have left various belongings scattered around.
But everything was far too clean.
I began searching every corner.
The desk drawers.
Under the bed.
Behind the chair.
Nothing.
Only...
A few completely blank pieces of parchment scattered in one corner.
I slowly approached.
I crouched down.
I picked one up.
I examined its surface.
The remains of a diary...
Or perhaps a record book.
What a shame...
It seemed completely blank.
I spent a few seconds staring at that ancient piece of parchment.
Then...
An idea came to me.
My eyes lit up.
If it really was part of a diary, I might be able to obtain something important.
I carefully held the parchment.
Even though it appeared blank to the naked eye...
That didn’t mean it was truly blank.
— Biochip... scan every trace present on its surface.
[Beep!]
Instantly...
A thin layer of blue light swept across the entire parchment.
Thousands of glowing points began highlighting tiny microscopic differences among the plant fibers.
Then...
Slowly...
Reddish strokes began to appear.
Extremely faint marks.
Almost invisible.
My heart began to race.
Just as I thought...
The ink had vanished.
But...
The pressure left by the writing was still imprinted in the parchment’s fibers.
Mages usually protect their documents with concealment spells.
But this one... had probably been written in haste.
Or it was simply considered unimportant.
There wasn’t any magical protection.
The Biochip immediately began reconstructing those marks.
Millions of linguistic comparisons took place simultaneously.
The sentences slowly appeared across my retina.
[TEXT RECOVERY REPORT — BIOCHIP]
[Document Status: Severely deteriorated.]
[Estimated Integrity: 14.8%.]
[Method Used: Reconstruction through microscopic deformation of the plant fibers.]
[Recovered Record No. 01]
[Partially Preserved Date: January 1]
[I am living in the City of Distant Wind.]
[It is an extremely peaceful city.]
[I finally hope to carry out my experiments in peace, without all that chaos involving the mages who stole Luk’s potion.]
.
.
.
.
[Recovered Record No. 02]
[Partially Preserved Date: December 10]
[It’s dark...]
[Damn.]
[The experiment failed again.]
[As expected.]
[The difficulty of synthesizing bloodlines far exceeded my expectations.]
I remained completely silent. That mage had been trying to create and modify bloodlines. Impressive.
.
.
.
.
.
[SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT]
[Partial reconstruction initiated...]
[Recovered Passage]
[After studying Bruce’s parchment...]
[I conducted new experiments.]
[I have to admit...]
[He was right.]
[I followed the wrong path all this time.]
.
.
.
[The experimental subject failed completely.]
[The remaining eggs may still be able to hatch.]
[But... my plan has failed.]
[Oh... my heavens...]
[There is nothing of value left here.]
[Perhaps I should visit Reneu Darof’s Garden.]
[Bruce wrote that his experiments have finally achieved success.]
[This is excellent news for all of us.]
The projection slowly disappeared.
I crossed my arms.
So that was it.
Failures.
More failures.
Decades of research...
Ending with the laboratory being completely abandoned.
Aside from a researcher named Bruce and the garden of someone named Reneu Darof...
I had practically discovered nothing else.
Until...
Something caught my attention.
In the lower corner of the parchment, there was a small signature.
Extremely faded.
Almost invisible.
I immediately leaned closer.
The Biochip magnified it hundreds of times.
The fibers slowly reconstructed the letters.
I read in a low voice.
— ...Redof...
My breathing stopped.
— Reneu Darof...
My eyes widened completely.
My heart pounded.
— Redof...
I stood frozen.
— Grand Mage Redof?!
The Grand Mage Redof Reneu Darof.
A true legend of the Southern Coast.
His name appeared in virtually every book on the continent’s magical history.
He wasn’t merely a powerful Mage.
He was an extraordinary researcher.
A scholar.
A strategist.
It was he who led the alliance of the Southern Coast’s Mages against invasions by degenerate mages, criminal organizations, and even creatures from other worlds.
His legacy had endured through generations.
Every apprentice of magic knew his name.
I immediately remembered the magical market from before.
A dishonest merchant had tried to sell me old pages, claiming they were Redof’s manuscripts.
At the time...
I immediately realized they were pages written by Karn.
Unfortunately... everything had been removed before the place was abandoned.
A figure of such greatness...
His true legacy certainly wouldn’t have been left lying around in a bedroom.
Even so...
I permanently recorded every word from that parchment into the Biochip’s memory.
I would never waste information of such importance.
I took one last look around the old bedroom.
Then I gently blew on the parchment.
The fragile fibers finally came apart.
They turned to dust.
...
1306 Words