Chapter 33: Wizards are amazing. Total Chad
I started with Creatures of the Magical World.
The thick cover creaked softly as I opened it.
I slowly flipped through the pages, maintaining the appearance of someone deeply absorbed in reading, but inside my mind I gave the real command.
— Biochip, begin copying!
[Beep!]
[Extracting information...]
My only effort was moving my eyes across the pages. The Biochip handled everything else.
The pages flew by before me.
[Beep!]
[Content recorded: Creatures of the Magical World]
[Total entries cataloged: 10,483]
[Database updated.]
I leaned back in my chair for a moment, taking in the magnitude of what had just happened.
More than ten thousand unique races and creatures from the Mages Continent—their descriptions, habitats, habits, weaknesses, anatomical illustrations, and threat classifications—were now permanently stored within the Biochip.
I closed the book and set it aside.
Then I pulled the next volume toward me.
The History of the Mages’ Bloodline.
The moment I opened the first page, I felt as though I were stepping into a world far deeper than simple magical theory.
Within the vast and intricate world of magic, the four great branches of mages were not merely paths to power.
They were complete philosophies on what it meant to transcend the limits of humanity.
Bloodline Mages
As I read about them, I imagined majestic figures with golden eyes, scales hidden beneath their skin, and an ancient aura that was impossible to ignore.
They sought purity through blood.
They weren’t satisfied with merely casting magic.
They wanted to carry within themselves the power of dragons, phoenixes, titans, divine gods, and creatures from higher realms.
The more I read, the more fascinating—and terrifying—it became.
They sacrificed their bodies, identities, and even their souls in pursuit of the perfect bloodline.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
If I had the chance to obtain a divine bloodline...
Of course I’d accept it.
Who would refuse the opportunity to carry the blood of a supreme being?
Body Refinement Mages
The next branch made me frown.
To them, the body was both temple and weapon.
Every muscle.
Every bone.
Every organ.
Everything had to be strengthened beyond human limits.
They used poisons.
Radiation.
Extreme pressure.
Methods that looked more like torture than training.
A chill ran down my spine.
That sounds like far too much suffering...
They could become nearly invulnerable, but the price was living constantly on the edge of agony.
I shook my head.
No.
That path definitely isn’t for me.
Knowledge Mages
When I reached this Chapter, my attention sharpened immediately.
They were the scholars.
The researchers.
Those who spent entire lifetimes in libraries, laboratories, and observatories, striving to understand the fundamental laws of the universe.
In a way, I felt an immediate connection.
Perhaps I have something in common with them...
The Biochip, my obsessive habit of studying, and my desire to understand every aspect of magic all seemed to point in that direction.
But the book also made one thing perfectly clear.
Too much knowledge could destroy a person.
There were truths that the human mind simply could not endure.
Mechanical Mages
Then I reached the final branch.
And by far the most controversial one.
The Mechanical Mages.
I read about them with a mixture of curiosity and discomfort.
They replaced flesh with metal.
Bones with enchanted alloys.
Organs with magical mechanisms.
To many mages, such practices were blasphemous.
Why abandon a human body?
But to them, the body was merely a tool.
A tool that could be improved.
Enhanced.
Made eternal.
Their creed was engraved across an entire page.
"Flesh is weak, but metal is eternal!"
I couldn’t help but admire their determination.
They were mad engineers, yet utterly devoted to learning and self-improvement.
Even so, one question immediately came to mind.
Would I replace my flesh with metal?
I thought about it for a few seconds.
Then I chuckled quietly.
No.
How would I feel a woman’s body if I were a machine?
I slowly closed the book.
Leaning back in my chair, I closed my eyes for a moment.
The four paths remained vividly clear in my mind.
Bloodline: ancient power.
Body Refinement: absolute strength.
Knowledge: understanding the laws of the universe.
Mechanical: transcendence through engineering.
The more I reflected...
The more I realized those four branches weren’t merely specializations.
Nor were they professions.
Much less schools of magic.
They were paths.
Paths that, sooner or later, every mage would have to choose.
A decision that would define the rest of their existence.
Each branch possessed its own logic.
Its own philosophy.
Its own advantages.
And, naturally...
When it came to those four great branches...
The word "impossible" simply didn’t exist in this world.
Honestly...
I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if some Mechanical Mage had figured out a way to impregnate women even without possessing reproductive organs.
After all...
Their goal was to transcend flesh.
But that didn’t necessarily mean abandoning the idea of leaving descendants behind.
If there was a problem...
Some insane engineer had undoubtedly already invented a solution.
I continued reading.
My eyebrows rose.
Floating... cities?
The book claimed that some of the Mechanical Mages’ greatest creations were genuine flying cities.
Artificial continents.
Fortresses suspended in the heavens.
Powered entirely by enormous magical cores and enchanted mechanisms.
I let out a low whistle.
Not bad...
The engineering of this world was on an utterly ridiculous level.
I continued turning the pages.
It wasn’t long before I understood something even more astonishing.
Those four great paths were only the backbone.
Built upon them...
Countless branches had emerged.
Shadow Mages.
Light Mages.
Summoners.
Necromancers.
Supreme Alchemists.
Runic Archmages.
Dimensional Architects.
Arcane Engineers.
Spatial Manipulators.
It was impossible to count how many different specializations existed.
Each one had arisen from a combination of the four great foundational branches.
I took a slow breath.
This world is far larger than I ever imagined...
Magic Crystals.
The final book discussed something that completely captured my attention.
The great associations of mages.
There wasn’t just one organization.
Nor two.
There were hundreds.
Perhaps thousands.
Scattered across the countless dimensions that belonged to the Magical World.
Each association had its own rules.
Its own research.
Its own resources.
Its own economic system.
However...
They all faced exactly the same problem.
Trade.
I thought about it for a few seconds.
It made perfect sense.
Imagine a mage who specialized in fire.
Why would they accept an ice technique as payment?
Or an enchanted water stone?
They probably wouldn’t.
Likewise...
A poison researcher would hardly have any immediate interest in a flaming dragon scale.
Their needs were completely different.
Direct barter was extremely limited.
It was precisely to solve this problem that something far more important than I had imagined came into existence.
...
Magic Crystals.
I continued reading carefully.
For there was one thing all worlds had in common.
Magical energy.
It permeated absolutely everything.
Normally, that energy was distributed evenly throughout the environment.
Invisible.
Stable.
However...
On extremely rare occasions...
Or in places that were naturally extraordinary...
The concentration of magical energy reached unimaginably high levels.
When that happened...
Nearby minerals slowly began to change.
The energy seeped into their structure.
It crystallized.
Condensed.
Decades.
Centuries.
Millennia later...
A Magic Crystal was born.
I ran my fingers across the illustration in the book.
It was beautiful.
Translucent.
Filled with tiny glowing lines within its interior.
The text explained that these crystals were essentially natural mana batteries.
Any mage could rapidly absorb their energy to replenish their own reserves.
That alone gave them immense value.
But there was much more.
Since every mage, regardless of the path they had chosen, required magical energy...
Magic Crystals eventually became the only truly universal currency.
Now it makes a lot more sense...
They weren’t valuable simply because they were rare.
They were valuable because any mage, from any association, in any dimension, could make use of them.
It was a currency backed by an indispensable resource.
I continued reading.
I then discovered that the Magical World was in a constant state of expansion.
The great associations crossed dimensional portals.
Discovered new worlds.
Waged wars.
Conquered entire kingdoms.
Extracted their resources.
Claimed their knowledge.
And in many cases...
Enslaved entire civilizations to fuel their colossal engine of expansion.
I slowly closed the book.
I remained silent for several seconds.
The romantic image many people might have had of mages vanished completely.
They weren’t merely scholars.
Nor simple researchers.
They were conquerors.
Explorers.
Colonizers of dimensions.
An empire built upon magic, knowledge, and power.
So this...
Is the true Magical World...
...
1430 Words

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