Chapter 140: The Third Generation Virus
The devil rushed into Adam's lab in a panic, crying out, "Master, there's a problem."
Adam didn't even glance his way. Using his mind power, he stuck the devil to the wall. "Quiet," he ordered, "Whatever it is, it can wait until I've finished my experiment."
The third generation of the virus wasn't a completely advanced version of the earlier one. Instead, Adam had only added a self-destruct program in it.
The virus determined the host's abilities, but only up to the strength of an average apprentice. No matter how many other infected beings one host consumes, it can't exceed this limit. So, when Adam let go of his control over the virus, they would eventually self-destruct as they all tried to eat each other.
This was what the devil saw.
Adam injected the third-generation solution into ten masses of infected blood and flesh, then let go of his control over them.
An instinct took over. After a few minutes of careful contact, the infected blood and flesh began to eat each other. During this, Adam tossed a small creature into the dish. The viruses immediately stopped fighting each other, and together tore the creature apart before resuming their feast.
"Not bad," Adam thought, "The command to attack is temporarily stronger than the urge to self-destruct."
As the blood and flesh chucks ate each other, the winner became more and more powerful. The power of the last one standing was as strong as an antimage apprentice. But this was its limit. When it had no more beings to consume, the virus cells began to die. The infected body shrunk, large chunks of flesh turned gray, and after ten minutes, it completely lost its life.
After writing down all the steps of the experiment, Adam, holding the final version of the third-generation virus, turned around and released the devil from his mind control. Before he could speak, he heard the devil's scared voice, "Master, is this the third-generation virus? My Garfield, you promised me, you won't destroy it!"
Adam walked straight out of the lab to Garfield's side. Ignoring the devil's look of fear and despair, he stuck the needle into his body, pushed it in all the way, then explained, "The third-generation virus only affects the offspring. The parent won't self-destruct. However, when all the offspring are destroyed, the parent will also lose the ability to infect, and the virus cells will become harmless."
The devil didn't understand, but he knew that Garfield would be okay. Instantly relieved, he jumped on Garfield, chattering happily.
"After you finish the tasks I've given you, you can spread the third-generation virus. Also, what did you want to tell me when you first came to see me?" Adam, looking at several small hills made of metal ore on the ground through the light screen, asked.
"I... I just..." The devil, still overjoyed from the relief of not losing Garfield, was caught off guard by Adam's question and took a moment before answering, "Yes, master, we have a problem. It seems like those apprentices have found us."
Adam's eyes narrowed slightly. He had always known that the apprentices were smart, and he knew his role as the secret puppet master would eventually be revealed. Still, he felt somewhat uneasy when that moment finally came. It wasn't that he was scared of them, but he wasn't sure how to react.
Looking at the two almost complete magic arrays, Adam thought to himself,
Those who are part of the trial are the best from the Tower over the last hundred years. If I kill all of them, will I be in trouble?
"How long before they get here?" Adam asked.
The devil thought for a moment before answering, "They are too powerful. Even if I keep sending antimages to slow them down, along with the interference from the infected, we can only delay them by three days at most."
In a hidden place in space...
"This is an analysis report on Adam's behavior and personality," the female mage placed a file on the table and continued, "Based on his past actions, if the apprentices provoke him, the railgun will change targets from the antimages to the apprentices. According to our calculations over the last few days, the full power of the magic array could wipe out all the yet-to-promote apprentices."
"Calm down, Kleti. Whatever he decides to do, as long as he follows the rules, we can't stop him. The Towers signed contracts before sending their apprentices; no one will blame us for this. Also, we have reported this to Priscilla, haven't we?"
"True, but the contract doesn't mention anything about all the apprentices dying from killing each other, does it? And if only one person from the Tower passes the trial this time, it won't look good for us."
"Don't worry, there won't be just one person. Most of those young ones in the War Alliance have enough Points already. This kind of wide-scale, destructive magic won't kill them," another mage casually stated.
Just then, an additional figure appeared in the command post. Everyone saluted respectfully as a projection of Priscilla appeared before them.
"Give out the final mission: go to the Saint's Fall to eliminate the remaining antimages. Points will be doubled during the mission," Priscilla ordered, issuing the first and final mission of this war trial.
Kleti sighed in relief. At least this way, most of the apprentices who still needed Points would avoid confronting Adam and that absurd magic of his.
Priscilla smiled slightly, "Don't worry about anything else. No one dares to break the Tower's rules. Don't forget the purpose of the trial. We need quality, the elites of them, not just quantity."
"As you wish," everyone said together.
The projection faded. Her final words were, "After the trial is over, bring Adam to the Tower to see me."
The devil was nervous, as most of the trouble this time was caused by him. If Adam were to be attacked as a result, he would be even more miserable. Therefore, his dedication to carrying out orders increased again, and the collection of resources and construction of the magic array went at a fast pace.
The devil seemed to see an opportunity today.
"Master! Master! They've split up! It looks like there's an internal conflict. Only five of them are flying towards us."
At that moment, Adam was staring at his Point bracelet in a daze. "The final battle, the Saint's Fall? The confrontation came earlier than I expected... Seems like the Tower's rules are kicking in to protect the apprentices, but I'm not sure if it's to protect me or them."
The devil, looking at the silent Adam, spoke again, "Master?"
"Stop gathering resources, start spreading the third-generation virus, activate the melting magic array. This trial is about to end."
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