Chương 19: Investigating The Mine!
Leonard m sat in the room, thumbing through a magic book on sleeping spells. The gentle buzz from the alcohol seemed to sharpen his understanding of concepts that once felt impenetrable, sparking a flood of inspiration.
The spell's foundation lay in a process called anchoring. Imagine the spiritual sea as a three-dimensional space. Anchoring involves transforming mental energy into something like nails; specialized forms used to secure key points, or nodes, within this space. By linking these nodes, a spell's framework emerges, forming the structure necessary for magic to function.
However, anchoring is no easy task, especially for beginners. It's akin to mastering deep meditation in Zen Buddhism: the theory is clear, but practice demands extraordinary focus. Even seasoned practitioners take years to grasp it. The gap between knowing and doing is immense.
Fortunately, Leonard m wasn't starting from scratch. Meditation, a gateway to the spiritual sea, was something he'd already practiced, giving him a head start. Initially, he toyed with shortcuts to bypass anchoring, but quickly dismissed them. The process, after all, isn't just about securing nodes; it's about precision. A flawed framework could unravel the entire spell, much like a single faulty component can cripple a complex machine.
As an apprentice, Leonard understood his limits. Now was not the time for innovation. He needed to follow the tried-and-true methods of experienced mages. Cutting corners might yield temporary gains, but the risk to his future was far too great.
Yet, the practical challenge remained: how does one anchor in a three-dimensional space? How could he shape mental energy into nails strong enough to secure these nodes? Leonard's efforts to manipulate his spiritual sea seemed futile; until he noticed something. A faint, rotating ring hovered at the center of his spiritual sea.
This ring wasn't unfamiliar. It resembled the Earth Ring Meditation technique he'd studied. According to his teacher, mastering this meditation would eventually produce a spell called Earth Ring in the mind. If that spell didn't materialize from nothing, could this ring represent an unformed spell framework?
The realization clicked. When meditating on the Earth Ring, practitioners condense mental energy into rings. This process involves attracting fragments of soul energy, tiny remnants left in the air after death; then compressing them repeatedly until they solidify into a coherent ring.
Leonard had spent months meditating and grasped the principles behind this process. Compressing mental energy to form the Earth Ring wasn't just theoretical anymore; it was a skill he'd mastered. Soul fragments, described in the book as the residue of spiritual energy, essentially made anchoring possible. By using these fragments to condense his mental power, he could secure it at specific points in his spiritual sea.
This revelation shifted his perspective. He had been stuck trying to force his mental energy into the shape of nails, a method rooted in the book's descriptions. But now he saw that anchoring was less about rigidly following those descriptions and more about understanding the underlying principles.
With this new insight, Leonard felt ready to tackle anchoring again, not as a blind imitator, but as someone who understood the mechanics behind the magic.
The Earth Ring's simplicity was its strength. In the spiritual sea, Leonard realized that anchoring didn't require overly complex shapes. A basic circle would do, especially since he was already adept at forming rings through meditation.
He gave it a try and soon managed to create his first anchor. In his spiritual sea, a ring-like cluster of mental energy stabilized, fixed firmly in place. However, as he examined his work, Leonard couldn't help but grimace. The anchor looked clumsy, uneven, and far from elegant.
The issue was clear: his training in the Earth Ring Meditation technique only allowed him to compress mental energy into ring shapes. Still, Leonard brushed off the imperfection. "The basics are in place," he muttered to himself. "I can refine the shape later. If I can make circles, triangles, and straight lines won't be far off."
A sudden knock jolted him from his thoughts.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
Leonard opened his eyes and frowned. "Who is it?"
"It's me, Master," came David's voice from outside.
Leonard mentally activated a spell to verify the visitor's identity. Sensing no signs of deception, he walked to the door, opened it slightly, and peered outside. "Come in," he said, stepping aside. As David entered, a pungent smell wafted into the room.
"What on earth is that?" Leonard asked, his nose wrinkling as he noticed the bizarre object David held.
"Good stuff, Master," David said with a sly grin, shutting the door behind him. "Let me explain."
David recounted his experience in the mine. He had encountered strange monsters there, but creature that had been following them; a lizard-like beast, had devoured nearly every other monster before meeting its own gruesome end. What remained was now in David's hands: half of the creature's body.
Leonard studied the bizarre remains. The creature's head gleamed with a metallic sheen, as though encased in a smooth layer of artificial armor. Its back was fleshy and pink, segmented with faint golden rings. The lower half of the body had been savagely torn apart, exposing tender, pale flesh. Sticky, translucent liquid oozed from the wound instead of blood, an unsettling sight.
"This… this isn't natural," Leonard murmured, examining the metallic head. "It looks like something man-made. But why?"
The creature exuded an eerie, almost unnatural energy that sent a shiver down Leonard's spine. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this monster than met the eye.
"Were you seen by anyone on your way here?" Leonard asked, turning to David.
"No, I made sure to avoid everyone," David replied. "I can't risk anyone seeing me in my current form. Humans would panic, and I don't have the invisibility skills of that lizard."
Leonard nodded, then refocused on the strange carcass. Despite its grotesque appearance, he felt a growing curiosity. Recently, his teacher's lab notes had sparked a fascination with the unknown, and this creature seemed like the perfect subject for study.
As he leaned closer, Leonard noticed how the creature's insides were laid bare. The bite marks revealed soft, white tissue beneath the surface. Strangely, there was no blood, only a sticky, transparent liquid that oozed from its wounds.
"This thing is unnatural," Leonard thought, his mind racing with possibilities. *What kind of creature is it? What secrets does it hold?*
The room was silent save for the faint dripping of the creature's ichor, but Leonard's mind was alive with questions, and an undeniable urge to uncover the truth.
Leonard carefully extracted a small sample of the strange liquid oozing from the creature and ran a quick test. To his relief, it wasn't corrosive. Satisfied, he turned his attention to the monster's head, tapping it lightly. The sound it made was indistinguishable from metal.
As he examined further, he discovered a daisy-shaped mouthpart at the top of its head that could open wide. Inside were rows of silvery-white, razor-sharp teeth; harder than iron. Leonard tested them by pressing a button against the teeth, only to watch it pierce effortlessly. A chill ran down his spine as he realized the sheer strength of the monster's natural weapons.
David, crouched beside him, watched Leonard with awe. The precision and focus with which Leonard inspected the creature filled David with admiration.
"This… this is what a real wizard does," David thought. It marveled at how Leonard was extracting every bit of value from the monster's remains. "Good thing I didn't eat it mindlessly like that lizard."
"Master," David began, pointing at the monster's fearsome teeth, "I saw it crawl out of the ground and eat half a person in a single bite."
Leonard's eyebrows arched. "You're saying it moves quickly through the soil?"
David nodded vigorously.
Leonard rubbed his chin, lost in thought. Could it be a natural adaptation? Or was there something more, an enchantment on its skin, perhaps? He likened it to the giant lizard's ability to turn invisible, a quality likely granted by some magical trait.
His curiosity deepened as he continued to study the corpse. The more he inspected it, the stranger it seemed. The smooth, metallic sheen of the head and the seamless design of its anatomy gave him the unsettling impression that this creature wasn't entirely natural. It bore the hallmarks of artificial creation; something akin to alchemy.
Leonard's mind wandered to the alchemy notes he'd read in his teacher's lab. Stories of wizards using alchemy to modify monsters or create magical constructs surfaced. Alchemical golems were a known defense for wizard towers, preventing theft or interruption during sensitive experiments. Some wizards even established labs near valuable mineral deposits, transforming raw materials into endless streams of alchemical creations.
Could this mine be connected to such an experiment? Leonard recalled that there was an iron mine near the town. The idea of a wizard using an iron mine for alchemical work seemed plausible, though odd. Iron was a humble resource; hardly ideal for grand experiments.
Still, there was another possibility. Perhaps the monsters had always lived in the mine, their nest accidentally unearthed by workers. But that wouldn't explain the artificial, human-like elements in their design. Was it possible the creatures had been sealed away, only to be inadvertently released?
Leonard's eyes gleamed with intrigue as the pieces of the puzzle refused to fit neatly together.
"Do you remember where that mine is?" Leonard asked, breaking his silence.
David nodded. "I remember."
"Good. Take me there," Leonard said, then paused. "But let's find the lizard first. It might be dangerous to go with just the two of us."
The lizard, despite its terrifying appetite, would significantly improve their chances of survival. Leonard wasn't sure of its exact strength, but he was confident it far outmatched both him and David combined.
David hesitated for a moment before adding, "Master… the lizard… it's female."
Leonard blinked. "Noted," he said with a faint smile. "All the more reason to convince her to help us."
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