Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 31: The Fragile Humanity of Alchemical Life

After returning to Grizzlie Castle, Jeffrey hid in the tavern room and dared not go out.

Invades a spellcaster's personal territory and attempts to harm or even kill them, despite not engaging in the actual combat.

Even if he was only an accomplice, the crime was enough to put him in chains and thrown into a cold and damp prison for several years.

He believed that the reason why he was not arrested by the Union immediately was probably because the necromancer had not yet had time to shift his attention from the attacker who was killed on the spot to him.

Fortunately, the necromancer still abided by the relevant laws of the Federation and did not think of killing him on the spot. If it were another spellcaster, he might not be so lucky.

A spellcaster whose private territory is invaded and whose personal safety is threatened has the right to retaliate to any extent against the invader, even if the invader is an ordinary civilian.

Jeffrey paced the room anxiously, hesitating between the two options of running away immediately to hide in the countryside to seek refuge with his sister, or taking the initiative to surrender to the Federation.

The sound of knocking on the door frightened him so much that his whole body trembled and his legs went weak.

Who would knock on the door in the middle of the night?
Was it the Union that came to arrest him, or was it the Necromancer who came to lynch him and exact revenge?
Jeffrey's teeth chattered, and he tried hard to control the urge to jump out the window and escape, and walked slowly to the door.

"you are?"

The man was wearing a half-new, half-worn short hunting suit, with the hood pulled down slightly to cover his face. Under the dim light in the tavern, his specific appearance could not be seen clearly, only that his face looked pale and bloodless.

The other party didn't seem to be carrying any weapons, which made Jeffrey feel a little better.

"Lord Harvey has decided to spare your life," he whispered, "but you need to provide two testimonies."

Jeffrey was stunned for a moment, then mumbled, "What...what testimony? I...I've already told Master Harvey everything that happened."

"Union investigator Burko Conrad's testimony that he induced you to falsely accuse Lord Harvey, and that he conspired with the church's deacon, Stani Kane, to harm the spellcaster!"

The man flashed into the room, took out a crystal magic stone from his arms, and pointed it at Jeffrey who was sitting on the chair.

"This is the Magic Stone that can record images. You will need to repeat your testimony according to my instructions later..."

Jeffrey did as he was told obediently, not daring to resist at all.

"Come with me out of the city later. I'll give you some money and send you to the countryside. When winter is over, take the money and leave Saint Valen. Don't return to Jackdaw Town."

Jeffrey was delighted. He didn't expect that Master Harvey not only did not pursue his crime, but also offered him a sum of money. The only condition was that he didn't return to live in Jackdaw Town?
Although he felt a little bit unbelievable, he simply packed his luggage and followed the visitor out of the city. He turned into a rugged path on a small hill and walked forward with difficulty on the mountain road under the bright moonlight, taking one step forward and one step back.

"Sir, where are you sending me? That...that money..."

He finally couldn't help but ask questions, worried that he wouldn't get the promised "deportation fee".

"Then I'll take you here. Go straight along this mountain road and there will be a village where you can spend the night." The man in front turned around, took out a small purse from his arms and threw it into Jeffrey's hand.

Jeffrey took the purse and felt it was heavy in his hand. He suppressed his ecstasy and lowered his head to open it to count the amount.

Suddenly he felt a gust of mountain wind blowing, and before he could look up, he felt an extremely cold hand gently pinching his neck.

Click~
Jeffrey's eyes widened, a brief hoarse sound came out of his mouth, and he fell heavily to the ground face up.

The purse that was tightly held in his hand loosened, and the coins inside scattered all over the floor. It was not just gold pounds, but also a lot of silver and copper coins mixed in.

……

"You're back so soon?" Reiner stood on the ladder, carefully performing routine inspection and maintenance on "Unit Zero", while looking at the hunter Pierce who had just returned to the manor with some surprise.

The hunter stamped his feet to shake off the mud on his boots, then took a piece of cotton cloth and carefully wiped the dust off.

These were the new boots Lord Harvey had given him. They were hand-sewn from reindeer leather and were said to have come from the Alchemy Guild of Daeus in the Mage Kingdom. They were waterproof and wear-resistant, and were a fine item that only noble lords could afford.

"Of course, I don't want to travel during the day. The nasty sunlight will burn my skin." Pierce, who had undergone a blood transfusion operation, is now essentially a hybrid. Although his thirst for blood is not as intense as that of a purebred vampire, his aversion to sunlight is instinctive.

He could run as fast as a horse with just his legs, so he volunteered to help Reiner with the trip. The round trip would only take him half a night.

He didn't need to sleep at night anyway.

Reiner put down his tools and was silent for a while before mumbling, "Have you delivered the money?"

Pierce closed the door of the experimental workshop and replied casually in a low voice, "It was delivered, but Reiner, to be honest, I think you are being a little unfair to the adults by doing this."

"Don't forget, our lives were saved by the Master," he reminded with a frown. "Especially you. Think about the suffering you endured when you contracted the cold plague. And now? The Master not only saved you, but also allowed you to learn to read and learn magic from Mr. Asdalen."

"I can't even imagine this kind of treatment." After the hunter finished maintaining his boots, he threw away the cotton cloth in his hand and looked at Reiner with a hint of resentment.

Reiner was stunned for a moment, and he tried to argue weakly: "I know, I know this is a bit unfair to you, sir."

"But, but that's my son! Pierce."

He pulled a charging line into his body and slowly sat down leaning against the alchemical instrument.

"Since the adults were relentless and let him go, and never mentioned it to me afterwards, and didn't blame me at all... I just hope he can live a peaceful and law-abiding life in the future."

"That, that money, is all from making little gadgets in my free time using the discarded parts of adults. I sell them to the merchants who deliver goods to the manor every week. That's all I saved..."

Poor parents in the world...

"I've already sent him away. I'll keep it a secret for you this time, but it won't happen again."

Pierce sighed, but silently said in his heart: "I'm sorry, my friend, I must carry out Master Harvey's mission..."

……

Harvey and Asdalen walked side by side, along the wall outside the manor, strolling and chatting in the orchard.

"Is this what you call the...humanity of alchemical life?" Asdalen was a little confused. He didn't quite understand Harvey's intention.

Wizards are different from ordinary people. They have obtained power, knowledge, and lifespan that ordinary people cannot obtain. From the perspective of life level, they should strictly speaking be considered extraordinary people.

The things that wizards create using knowledge and magic, whether they are puppets, zombies, or alchemical servants, are essentially vassals and tools, and they will not pay too much attention to them.

But Harvey is obviously different. He is not keen on transforming zombies or creating corpse puppets. Instead, he has a special liking for those sophisticated and complex alchemical instruments.

If the cellar had not been filled with the corpses of evil orcs, he would have mistaken the other party's true identity as a talented alchemist.

He also paid special attention to his experimental creation - the alchemical creature named Reiner. He neither treated it as a servant nor used it as a weapon. The two of them communicated in daily life like an employer and subordinate, as well as a teacher and student.

"You don't understand, Asdalen. I do this for two reasons." Harvey seemed to anticipate the other party's confusion and explained patiently.

"Reiner is my first successful alchemical life form, but he is more than just an experimental creation."

"Any object that carries a human soul, I believe, should be treated as a real person."

"Only in this way can I solidify my cognition, maintain my humanity, and prevent myself from being lost in those extraordinary knowledge and powers."

Asdalen nodded, not quite understanding. He had indeed heard in the past that many high-level wizards and even legendary spellcasters had suffered backlash because they were too obsessed with the endless knowledge and extraordinary power brought by magic.

But you're just a junior mage! Do you really need to start thinking about these issues so early?
Asdalen could only secretly complain about these words in his heart.

(End of this chapter)