Chapter 521: Research, Adjustment, Improvement (1)

“[The Vulcan Magic Engineering Expo is scheduled to open tomorrow.]”

“[This expo will feature exhibitions and submissions over three days, ultimately undergoing evaluation by both the public and experts… ]”

“[Magic Towers and research institutions from various regions are entering the city for advance booth reservations and participation applications…]”

Listening to the announcer’s voice from the radio and TV screen, Lennok opened his eyes.

“…”

He stared blankly at the sunlight filtering through the faint blinds, then slowly rose from the bed.

“[There’s a lot of speculation about the significant relaxation of participation eligibility requirements, isn’t there?]”

“[Perhaps it’s an attempt to encourage participation from diverse fields, now that the Prohibition Edict has been lifted…]”

Beep.

He manipulated mana particles to turn off the alarm and TV, then surveyed his surroundings with bleary eyes.

The messy bedroom, where the moving boxes hadn’t been fully unpacked, lay before him.

After extracting Logier’s information, Lennok immediately returned to Vulcan and focused on rest.

He had left right after his health check-up with Murphy, called away by the Eyes of Blue, and immediately after, participated in Pandemonium’s interim settlement, leaving him utterly exhausted.

While the results achieved were significant, it was only natural that he had expended a great deal of time and mental energy.

During his waking hours, he concentrated on nutritional replenishment and magical research, devoting all his remaining time to sleep.

Although the amount of sleeping pills he took had significantly decreased since consuming the Archangel’s Tear and his condition improved, he still found it difficult to fall asleep without them.

Lennok, who had attempted to sleep without relying on sleeping pills for the first time in nearly three years and ended up spending the night wide awake, stumbled towards the kitchen.

Davi trotted along and perched on Lennok’s shoulder, nagging him.

“[I told you not to underestimate it.]”

“…Underestimate what?”

“[How pathetic Master’s physical body is!]”

“…”

“[Even after taking an elixir, you heard that from the vampire doctor. Haven’t you experimented enough yet?]”

“I was just checking how long I could last without relying on medication.”

Lennok protested in a small voice.

“I haven’t had time to personally experiment since I took the Archangel’s Tear.”

“[Master is strangely foolish about his own health.]”

Davi said, nimbly catching the battery Lennok tossed him.

“[As the master of a brilliant spirit like me, you should be able to quickly judge what’s possible and what’s not!]”

“Don’t be impertinent again.”

He emptied dozens of nutrient supplement bottles, piled high on the shelf, and gulped down water. It was absurd, but he couldn’t swallow large pills whole. After repeatedly chewing pills and swallowing their contents, he picked up a liver supplement. Since taking many supplements can paradoxically harm the liver, he took an additional one for liver health.

“…”

“Why are you suddenly silent?”

Lennok, feeling a sudden pang of guilt, asked.

Davi just stared at Lennok, then shook his head.

Grabbing the plump tail of the cyber spirit, Lennok stood up, yawned, and immediately grabbed a salad box before leaving the kitchen.

The width was strikingly different from the mansion he used to live in. It was a spacious private residence, spanning two floors and a basement.

Though it was a far cry from the opulent, luxurious high-end mansions where the wealthy resided, it was effectively the first truly spacious home Lennok had ever had, as he required a considerable amount of personal space.

“Now that I think about it, I haven’t finished unpacking everything yet…”

“[You can just use common magic to sort it out, right?]”

“No, I haven’t decided how to arrange the furniture and research equipment. Moving them isn’t the problem.”

“[Should I hack a few major interior design firms and download some furniture layout blueprints for you?]”

“That’s a very opportunistic idea indeed.”

Lennok chuckled, then his face instantly hardened.

“Let’s proceed with that immediately.”

“…”

With Davi perched on his head, busy rummaging through networks, Lennok headed straight to the mansion’s basement.

As he stepped onto the stairs, the lights automatically came on, recognizing Lennok.

Whoosh…!!

The full view of the laboratory, partitioned by dozens of glass walls, came into sight.

Transparent, adjustable glass walls divided the space. Within these partitions, materials like documents and theses were organized, while the rest served as workspaces for research.

In the spacious central void of the laboratory, research equipment, still in its packaging, was piled up like a mountain.

These were all the various research instruments Lennok had ordered from the company that manufactured equipment for the Carlyle Research Institute, immediately after moving in.

He had finally received the equipment, which he couldn’t collect when he left after Lapis’s call, over a month later and had them moved into the mansion.

Each piece of equipment was easily worth hundreds of millions.

For Lennok, who had never indulged in such luxury, it was a somewhat painful expenditure, yet he had never regretted the cost of investing in magical research.

He unwrapped the equipment, arranged it around the laboratory workstations, and connected the power.

Whooooooooo…!!

With a bluish magical glow, it began to warm up, and a somewhat leisurely start-up hum reverberated. All the equipment was large-scale, requiring a certain warm-up time to operate due to their strong maximum output.

Lennok placed his hand on a record player-like device resembling a giant magnifying glass and drew out his mana.

Whirrrr!!

A single mana particle assembled in his hand was visualized on the record player, magnified thousands of times.

The screen floating above the lens began to display various parameters, rapidly converting them into numerical values.

“Synchronization rate 87.5453%. Mana sensitivity 1.9931. Restoration rate 8994.41%. Operation speed pattern analysis, limit synchronization rate adjustment, spell manifestation particle degeneration prediction…”

Lennok, reading through the various items displayed on the screen, furrowed his brow.

“The units are too arbitrary. I wonder if it will be effective.”

“[Most of the equipment used at the Carlyle Research Institute was for adjusting super-large magic-engineering facilities. Isn’t that natural?]”

Since he ordered the same facilities used in the research institute, it was natural for unusual values or units to be applied. After all, this equipment was originally designed to observe the mana flow of objects like super-large particle accelerators, not humans.

However, Lennok had a reason for choosing these specific devices and installing them in his laboratory.

“My existing workstations and facilities are increasingly struggling to handle the repercussions of the research process.”

As Lennok spoke, he slowly moved and assembled the mana he had drawn forth.

The mana, twisting and moving at a particle level, transformed into a small cube-like shape within the magnifying glass.

“Even if it’s a bit much, it’s correct to purchase reliable equipment for adjustments right now.”

The power and value displayed by a high-tier superhuman on the battlefield are more than that of a tactical weapon.

Especially in the case of wizards who directly manipulate mana or pure spell-system superhumans, they are no different from colossal, mobile artillery batteries.

Therefore, it wasn’t so strange that Lennok entrusted his mana adjustments not to ordinary spellcaster research equipment, but to the facilities of a super-large research institute.

Had not Olivera Ron Maize, the 8-level Mystic Eye user and Chairman of the Cartel, also gathered a plethora of splendid custom equipment in his private laboratory?

It was the same. The further one stepped into uncharted territory beyond the Hierarchy, the harder it became to adjust the patterns of mana and spells once they had transformed.

Consequently, the aid of equipment that could handle both delicate and immense output became necessary.

No matter how Lennok, with his transcendent talent and intuition, continuously challenged himself with self-objectification, it was a given that utilizing equipment would be more efficient.

There was no choice when traveling outside the city, but now that he had returned to his laboratory, there was no need to begrudge the investment of time or capital.

Bzzzzzt!!

As soon as the mana particle measurement was complete, countless result windows appeared on the magnifying glass screen.

“[Mana Density Pattern: 472 variations confirmed. Pattern measurement impossible.]”

“[Mana Manipulation Speed: Abnormal communication via neural network. Circuit overload detected. Measurement impossible.]”

“[Mana Sensitivity: Inconsistency between cognitive results and timeline confirmed. Measurement impossible.]”

…

They attempted to quantify it, but every single evaluation item ultimately stretched into an outlier. By now, it was no longer surprising.

“[Highest-grade mana flow judgment. Pattern Lambda.]”

“[Beginning analysis, assuming adjustment of city-scale large particle accelerator.]”

“[Measuring target’s area and volume, customizing values…] The loading screen with turning gears appeared on the device, and only then did Lennok withdraw his hand.

“I was planning to confirm and adjust the life reactions and mana pattern transformation processes, but it seems it will take some time.”

He needed to adjust the mana patterns and reactive aura that had strangely transformed after directly encountering the Outer Sea, making them more manageable.

To do this, he intended to adjust his mana sensitivity first and begin the alteration, but it seemed measurement would take longer than expected.

“[There’s not much time left until the expo, is there?]”

“It’s fine if I only participate on the last day of the three-day schedule.”

Lennok checked the calendar thrown on one wall of the lab and immediately activated other equipment in succession.

“My second thesis is almost complete, but there’s a research project I want to start first. I should take care of that.”

With Davi’s help, he stabilized the equipment’s output and optimized its specifications to find the most suitable conditions for Lennok’s use.

Click, Whoosh!!!

Zzzzzzt!!

Strange vibrations, metallic friction sounds, and mechanical noises reverberated throughout the lab.

The equipment surrounding the workstation rotated around Lennok, analyzing and adjusting all mana-related parameters in real-time.

Surrounded by countless numerical evaluation items and holograms appearing all around him, he drew forth mana in the center of the laboratory.

He inflated his inner Mind Imprint with a concentration far greater than when he lightly manipulated mana before.

Maintaining the bloated image as if it might burst, he lightly cut his palm with a sharp knife taken from the workstation and let blood drip.

Kiiiiiiing!!!

As Lennok’s mana and blood dropped and mixed on the floor of the void, golden light and crimson blood instantly erupted from that spot.

The two lights intertwined in a double helix, transforming before Lennok’s eyes into the shape of a serpent swallowing its own tail.

This was Ouroboros, the magic system he had finally obtained in the battle against Madrich Onnion, an 8-level Commander Wizard.

A symbol of yearning that constantly strives for completion, taking imperfection itself as its essence.

An perpetual engine that deconstructs and interprets all existing mental landscapes and ultimate arts, making them its own.

The moment the Ouroboros magic system was manifested according to Lennok’s will, the spacetime of the laboratory itself began to distort and crumble.

The power of the double helix, trying to absorb and revert all mana and matter, was disrupting the entire air of the laboratory.

Instantly, red warning lights flashed among the research equipment, and the holographic windows that appeared everywhere turned crimson.

“[Warning: System output error. Analysis and quantification failed.]”

“[Mana synchronization flow collapse. Cannot identify the mana system of the detected entity.]”

“[Judgment: Out-of-spec dangerous variable detected.]”

“[Special-grade spell disaster occurred. Evacuation recommended immediately-]”

Pshhh!!

Davi, who had been listening to the incessant alert messages, swished his tail once, and all noise vanished.

The cyber spirit cleared away even the warning lights and holograms with his ability, then sequentially observed only the equipment capable of interpretation and analysis, thereby observing the magic system.

Davi, having instantly removed the obstructive elements, asked,

“[Wait, was this strange snake what you meant by ‘adjustment’?]”

“To be precise, it’s the manifestation of my desired ideal magic system, borrowing the concept of a ‘Sphere of Influence’.”

Lennok said.

“Domain is the power to project one’s mental landscape, but a Sphere of Influence is the power to manifest the ideal one desires. Though its conceptual scope may be smaller than a Domain, it can be adjusted in any desired direction.”

Olivera Ron Maize’s research lab, Madrich Onnion’s ghost ship, and Gapseon Dreyfus’s Immovable Barrier were all results created by borrowing the power of a Sphere of Influence.

It was different from the projection of a mental landscape that a spellcaster fundamentally holds, yet it had essential similarities.

“[Hmm… So this is a part of Master’s ideal concept, you mean.]”

“Do you want to try it too, Davi?”

Lennok said, picking up Davi who was sitting on his shoulder.

“It would be difficult with just your power, but with my help, you could visualize what kind of power or concept you ideally imagine.”

“[Manifestation of an ideal concept, I like it.]”

Davi elegantly leaped from Lennok’s fingertip, then slowly stood before the rising double helix ring.

“[Do I just need to walk inside here?]”

“Yes. I’ll take care of adjusting the image projection, so the screen should appear quickly inside the ring…”

As he spoke, Lennok stopped mid-sentence at the sight reflected inside the ring.

The scene that appeared as Davi walked in was incomparable to any landscape Lennok had imagined.

A bustling downtown street, similar to the mega-city of Vulcan.

But the buildings surrounding that street were, absurdly enough, shaped like gigantic foxes.

“…”

Fox statues adorned every corner of the street, fox paintings and posters hung on the walls.

Cars shaped like foxes and trains with fox heads roamed the roads.

And even the sight of highly suspicious devotees endlessly praising fox spirits while marching down the middle of the road.

At the center of a procession of what seemed like thousands of devotees, a gigantic throne slowly moved.

A colossal fox with nine tails and blue fur sat on the throne, purring with laughter.

“[Doh-ho-ho-hot.]”

Next to the throne, snacks resembling batteries were piled up like a mountain, and the fox let out a peculiar laugh, swishing its nine tails.

People ceaselessly praised and complimented the fox, who was patting its plump belly with a contented expression.

The fox spirit, praised and revered by the entire city, wore a satisfied look.

And in front of that fox, someone in a coat was being kneaded like a cherished doll between its front paws.

Unlike most people whose faces were barely visible, this person’s face was strikingly distinct and familiar.

Just as Lennok subconsciously leaned in to confirm the identity of the person in the coat.

“[Woobababababababaat!!!]”

Davi, leaping out from inside the ring, wildly flailed his front and hind paws, completely erasing the image of that scene.

Not stopping there, he consumed the mana that had flowed out, completely devouring the image itself.

“[Nom nom nom nom.]”

Leaving Lennok speechless, Davi, having perfectly erased the recently displayed image, coughed loudly.

“[Ahem, ahem.]”

“…”

Lennok narrowed his eyes at Davi and quietly asked,

“That person in the coat just now… looked incredibly familiar. Was I mistaken?”

“[Ahem, I know nothing about it.]”

Davi subtly climbed onto Lennok’s shoulder and rubbed against him, averting his gaze.

“[It seems there was an error and a strange hallucination appeared. It looks like the Ouroboros magic system needs to be re-adjusted quickly.]”

“…”

“[Let’s start right away. I’ll support you with all my might.]”

How similar must his thoughts usually be for such an absurd image to pop up instantly? It was a transparent excuse, but Lennok decided to postpone scolding Davi for his fanciful dreams for now.

Once the Ouroboros magic system was deployed, extreme mana consumption was unavoidable. And since the research equipment handling the mana output also wore down its lifespan to some extent, he had to take care of what needed to be done first.

“…The Ouroboros magic system is the most complex and sophisticated spell among the creation-type magics I have developed.”

Lennok said, crossing his arms and looking at it.

“Similar to the Kaleidoscope Domain, I aimed to grasp the potential of incompletion itself rather than choosing one specific path, and I’ve certainly achieved some results…”

Lennok muttered, looking at the massive double helix ring rotating before him.

“But it’s still not enough.”

The battle with Amrita, the Pandemonium settlement, the chase with Evelyn.

Many things had happened, and the knowledge and achievements he gained were significant.

Lennok intended to infuse his Mind Imprint with a completely different method of use before the expo began.