Mage Adam

For the first time, Adam saw a glimpse of real brilliance in the magic of the antimages and their ancient spells.

The Mindweaver magic was essentially a prototype of cloud computing.

Imagine if every mage could contribute their spare computational power through a chip, forming a connected network. Mages who needed more power could "rent" this shared capacity to complete their tasks, paying for the extra resources.

In such a system, Adam, as the developer, would benefit immensely, while the mages' lives would be completely transformed.

If Adam could understand the essence of the Mindweaver magic and apply it to these chips, it would greatly ease his workload. On top of that, his lab, the All-Adam Laboratory, had a huge need for this type of magic.

Localized networks had their limits---but if Adam could fuse his dispersed avatars into a single, more unified virtual "entity," the efficiency of his calculations would skyrocket.

Adam carefully marked the necromancy school on his map. Since it was part of the trial grounds, it belonged to the Tower for now, meaning he couldn't claim it immediately.

However, if the command center sent more tasks to this place or after the trials ended, Adam would be happy to offer a private deal for access to the data on this collective consciousness and its magic.

Before leaving, he asked the dazed antimage one last question: "You have such powerful magic, so why are you all still so weak?"

"Top secret. Any outsider who sees it must die."

"Ridiculous. Hoarding your treasures like this is pure foolishness."

SNAP.

The antimage's heart and brain exploded under the pressure, ending his life instantly.

...

Two days later, the ten islands had fully merged into one. A group of level-3 mages arrived to handle the final, routine tasks.

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Working together, they quickly finished the job.

Leaving one mage behind to oversee the area, Adam and five other level-4 mages returned to the Tower. They traveled using teleportation arrays across various planes under the Tower's control, selecting creatures as subjects for upcoming trials.

This was also Adam's first time seeing the true Fifth Tower.

It was an enormous, gothic structure floating within the chaotic void, so vast that Adam couldn't fully comprehend its size.

Every time he thought he'd reached the edge of his vision, he realized the space stretched even further.

The spire of the Tower pierced the sky, and he could physically see it break through multiple layers of dimensional membranes.

Around the Tower, solidified orbs of elemental energy drifted, rising and falling like weights on a cosmic scale, adjusting with every shift of the contents within.

Countless mage towers, flickering in and out of dimensional folds, orbited the Tower. Each blink of Adam's eye revealed a different configuration of these towers.

Without any clear point of reference, it was hard to describe the Tower's true scale. But when Adam saw that a creature as massive as a Cthulhu-like being appeared as nothing more than a tiny speck orbiting the Tower, he finally began to grasp what "large" really meant.

After a brief silence, one of the mages sighed and said, "Even though this isn't my first time seeing the Tower, it never fails to humble me. Every time I look at it, I'm reminded of just how small I truly am. The knowledge and power I hold barely scratch the surface, and it's hard to feel pride in it when faced with this."

The laws governing this place were completely different from the outside world. While Adam could still manipulate magical and mental energy, he quickly realized that he couldn't gather elements or manipulate space.

The nearby mage, noticing Adam's attempts, chuckled and said, "Don't waste your energy. The rules here were set by His Holiness Mayer. Without His permission, no magic works. Just wait a moment. We've already submitted the request, and soon, elemental spirits will guide us to the different planes."

...

"I like the way you SMELL," a light elemental spirit said as she floated up to Adam, extending a delicate hand.

The elemental spirits in the Tower were very different from the ones Adam had encountered near Sandy. If it weren't for their strong elemental energy, they could easily be mistaken for humans.

Adam also noticed that these spirits had much higher intelligence than the simple conjured versions he was used to.

Because Adam had control over electromagnetic waves---and light is a form of electromagnetic radiation---it made sense that the light spirit felt comfortable around him.

Although light elementals and visible light were different, they shared a fundamental connection. This likely explained her reaction.

Adam shook her hand, and in a flash of light, he found himself on the Cthulhu plane. The light elemental spirit playfully tickled his palm before leaving with a smile.

The Cthulhu plane had been turned into a massive mining site. Elemental spirits supervised radioactive creatures that were mining surface ores, while alchemical golems drilled deep below ground, working tirelessly.

There were many radioactive creatures, categorized by their levels. Adam's task was to select several volatile level-1 creatures, those on the verge of advancing, and particularly healthy and aggressive. He also needed to choose a few level-2 creatures to act as their leaders.

Following Priscilla's instructions, the exact number of creatures wasn't important, but they had to be strong enough to pose a real challenge to the apprentices.

Adam carefully picked over five thousand level-1 radioactive creatures and fifty level-2 ones before leaving the Tower and returning to the trial grounds.

Although Adam thought his selection was significant, he was surprised to find the other mages had brought even more creatures from various planes. They seemed to enjoy comparing their choices, debating how many apprentices would survive the ordeal.

Hearing their conversations, Adam couldn't help feeling some pity for the apprentices. If the mages truly followed through with their plans, only the most elite would make it out alive.

...

In Priscilla's office at the Fifth Tower...

"So, you really killed all of them?" Priscilla looked mildly exasperated as she glanced at the small cage Adam had brought back. Inside were just two or three antimages---an embarrassingly small number compared to the others.

While the other mages had been ruthless as well, they hadn't been as blunt as Adam in baiting the antimages into fatal mistakes. As a result, their cages were still packed with captured antimages.

Adam nodded, confused. "Why is the trial system still like this? Wouldn't it be more meaningful for the apprentices to fight extradimensional creatures instead of the same old antimages?"

"Because antimages are cheaper," the transdimensional mage replied. "And they serve as the Mage World's dumping ground. All criminals from the ordinary population are sent to the antimage islands, where they live out the rest of their lives. Harvesting them every so often helps maintain order. It's efficient."

She gave this official-sounding explanation before shifting her tone. "But the real reason is that the trial system was created by the Mage Council, and it was approved by Archmage Laura from the Third Tower. No one can change it without her consent."