Mage Adam

Adam had equipped the Electromagnetic Robot with several advanced types of visual magic for its eyes: radar, thermal imaging, enhanced motion tracking, energy detection, magnification, and wide-area sight.

Within the robot's scanning range, nothing could hide from it unless it was on a higher level than the robot.

The robot targeted the largest cluster of bloodseekers. These creatures used the smell of blood to sense their enemies. And they were completely unaware of the robot's presence.

The robot's logic was simple: there were only two kinds of targets---those that needed rescuing and those that needed to be destroyed. After scanning the area and finding no one who needed saving, it immediately started its destruction mission.

The robot's Vital Generator kicked into high gear, converting ether crystals into magic power that surged through energy circuits embedded in its frame.

In a flash, the robot transformed, growing to a towering height of ten meters. Cold gun barrels emerged from its body, radiating intense heat.

It unleashed blazing plasma shots, each one calculated with precision to minimize waste. The bloodseekers were eliminated with zero collateral damage to the surrounding environment.

After the first attack, the bloodseekers were completely wiped out. The robot's cooling system then activated, using liquid nitrogen to quickly drop the temperature of its overheated body back to normal.

At -196°C, the robot cooled rapidly and was ready for more action.

Without needing rest, the robot continued its mission, eliminating more groups of bloodseekers and rescuing a few trapped apprentices along the way. Before long, it arrived at the area where Eliott and the others were hiding.

...

"Damn it! More bloodseekers keep showing up!" Eliott muttered anxiously. He was inside a small space they had carved out with earth magic in the cracks of a mountain.

The Weakening Potion wasn't a boosting potion---it was actually toxic. If the poison wasn't neutralized in time, it would cause rapid aging and drain the user's vitality.

Even now, the situation was grim for the group. These apprentices, already physically weak, had aged years in just a short time. Their hair had turned white, their skin wrinkled, and their heartbeats were faint.

If things kept going this way, they might die from the poison before the bloodseekers even reached them.

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But they had no choice but to hold on. The bloodseekers were tracking them, and their numbers were growing. If anyone took the antidote or broke the seal to use their magic power, it would be a death sentence. There were thousands of monsters outside, and they had no chance against them.

Crystal, a pure elemental mage, had already collapsed. She curled up into a ball, shivering from a deep, soul-crushing cold. Watching herself age so quickly terrified her.

"Just hold on a little longer," she rasped to Eliott, her voice dry and strained. "Maybe we've got half an hour left. If no one saves us by then, we'll have no choice but to go down fighting."

Of the group, only Ophelia was still unaffected. She leaned against the resting Dark Cloud, with every nerve in her body twitching slightly.

She used this to replace her heartbeat, keeping herself alive. In this heightened state, her mind stayed sharp, and her senses stretched far beyond their usual limits.

Suddenly, Ophelia sensed a surge of powerful energy heading their way, along with the unmistakable scent of blood from dozens of nearby people.

She immediately stood up, dropping her concealment spells. To her shocked companions, she announced, "Take the antidote now! Support from the mages has arrived!"

Eliott, struggling to down the potion, quickly moved to help his companions drink theirs as well.

Once done, he ripped off his activation seal crystal and crushed it in his hand. "I've had enough of this!" he growled. "I'm going to teach those monsters a lesson myself!"

As soon as they took the antidote, their bodies grew younger and regained strength.

Together, they shattered their seals, and five beams of ether light shot down from the sky.

The group of apprentices were transformed into full-fledged mages in an instant.

Ophelia's lance curved dramatically before snapping back, shattering a large chunk of the mountain. She charged out first.

"Wait... is that Adam's magic?!" Eliott exclaimed in shock.

When they emerged from the cave, the first sight was an overwhelming storm of iron sand swords raining down from the sky.

Bloodseekers hit by the swords were instantly turned into bloody mist.

Then, the entire area was enveloped by a magnetic field, and terrifying illusions flooded the minds of the confused bloodseekers. They began attacking one another, unable to tell friend from foe.

Eliott recognized the signature spells immediately. He had seen Adam use it countless times at the academy. There was no mistaking it.

"Adam! Adam!" Eliott shouted as he flew into the air. Poisonous gases seeped from his body, forming monstrous shapes that attacked the bloodseekers. He felt a sense of relief---if Adam was here, everything would be fine.

But despite his calls, there was no response. One of the apprentices, looking slightly exhausted, flew down and said, "That mage hasn't spoken to anyone. Do you know him? Don't bother---just wait quietly."

Eliott landed in disbelief. Looking carefully at the sky, he realized it wasn't Adam himself. Feeling a bit disappointed, he muttered to Crystal, "Looks like it's just one of his avatars. I thought it was his true form."

"Just an avatar... and it's THIS powerful?" Crystal replied, amazed.

...

Meanwhile, Adam monitored the scene remotely. He recognized his old acquaintances but had no intention of reaching out.

By now, half of the bloodseekers had been wiped out. A new order came from the command center: stop killing regular bloodseekers and focus on eliminating the higher-level, level-three ones.

After adjusting the mission, Adam turned his attention to the valuable data collected from the battle.

The robot still had trouble distinguishing between friendly and enemy forces, something that needed improvement. Its rigid, logical thinking also made its combat style too predictable and left it vulnerable to unnecessary risks.

Adam thought about adding an emotional simulation module to make its decision-making more flexible.

The Electromagnetic Robot project had great potential. With better logic processing and energy recovery systems, its power could exceed that of traditional elemental summons of the same level.

Additionally, he envisioned programming it with extra functions---like environmental analysis, data collection, and sample extraction---so it could act as a top-tier scout.

He carefully noted all these ideas, ready to implement them after the mission.

Just then, his communicator flashed. Someone from Mordo was requesting a connection.

"About the new communicator," the voice said. "If you're available, we hope you can come to the consortium for negotiations in person."

I have this feeling that the robot will eventually become an AI.