I, a cultivator, have ended up in the wizarding world.

Chapter 165 The Substitute
Having completed the registration, Jemin quickly left the border and returned to Golden Garden.

As he sorted through the supplies and magical artifacts he might need to take, he envisioned various possibilities for future battles.

Just as he was immersed in pre-battle preparations, the magic network terminal suddenly lit up, and a communication request from his mentor, Clark, was prominently displayed.

Jemin answered immediately.

"Come to my office." Professor Clark's voice was as brief and calm as ever, leaving no room for argument.

Without delay, Jemin immediately activated the teleportation array and instantly arrived at Instructor Clark's private office at Norren Academy.

Mentor Clark was standing in front of an alchemy table, toying with a delicate doll no bigger than the palm of his hand.

The doll was lifelike, and its features bore a resemblance to Jemin's.

The material is like rubber, or like skin, with a surface covered in fine, flowing runes.

Upon seeing Jemin arrive, Clark handed the doll over.

“Here, this is the scapegoat doll.” Clark’s voice was devoid of any emotion.

Jemin took the doll, which was warm to the touch. Looking at the extremely complex and mysterious runes inside, he immediately knew that this was no ordinary item.

"A scapegoat doll?" Jemin repeated in confusion, a certain guess forming in his mind.

“That’s right.” Instructor Clark nodded, then extended his hand, gesturing for Jemin to cooperate. “I need your physical materials containing life information, as well as a small portion of your mental energy.”

Jemin was slightly taken aback. If it were any other wizard, they would have hesitated when faced with Clark's request.

After all, physical information and mental energy are the best materials for creating curses and launching soul attacks.

The wizard's wariness and vigilance towards such things is an instinct ingrained in their very bones.

But Jemin only paused for a moment before starting to cut hair without hesitation.

This was not only because of his trust in his mentor Clark, but also because he had the protection of the "Mysterious Red Dust Barrier".

This invisible and intangible protective treasure can ward off curses and backfire on the caster.

With this guarantee, he had no need to worry that his mentor, Clark, would harm him.

Seeing that Jemin readily cut off a small section of hair and offered his mental energy without hesitation, a faint trace of gentleness appeared in the depths of Instructor Clark's eyes.

However, this gentleness was fleeting; he quickly regained his composure and began to reprimand Jemin sternly:
“Jeming, although you trust me, such unthinking trust is very irrational! Even if I am your mentor, I must maintain reasonable suspicion and vigilance! In the future, when you venture into the dimensional sea, you will encounter all kinds of wizards and creatures. Human hearts are treacherous, and a slight mistake could lead to utter destruction.”

Listening to his mentor's teachings, Jemin did not refute them, but instead bowed and accepted the instruction: "Your teachings are correct, I will remember them."

He knew that his mentor, Clark, wasn't really blaming him, but rather using this opportunity to teach him.

This concern for the students' safety warmed Jemin's heart.

“Once you get back, as long as you use your spiritual power to imbue it, this substitute doll will be bound to your life force and soul imprint.” Instructor Clark’s tone softened again as he tucked his hair away and explained.

"Once you encounter a fatal crisis outside, or even die directly, it will be activated, giving you a chance to be resurrected in a predetermined location."

Although he had some expectations when he heard the name, hearing Clark's explanation still gave Jemin a jolt.

This is undoubtedly a life-saving treasure!
Life is only once. Even if a wizard's mental strength is strong enough to support the soul to survive alone, a fragile soul has no chance of fighting back when facing an enemy.

But the surrogate doll can reverse life and death, giving him a second chance!
“However, resurrection comes at a price.” Instructor Clark’s voice changed, becoming somewhat serious. “It is merely a guide that can lead your life essence back. But true resurrection requires an additional body to carry it—that’s why I’m asking for your physical information. With your complete body sample, I can help you create a spare body.”

Jemin understood.

The surrogate doll is the "key," while the spare body is the "door."

Without a door, even the best key cannot open a path to survival.

"But... does it really require an extra body? Only an alchemy master like Clark could perform this level of human transmutation," Jemin thought to himself.

In the wizarding world, simply creating a body is not difficult. Under normal circumstances, alchemists of level four or above can begin to get involved in human transmutation.

However, if the requirement is to completely replicate a body with a soul imprint and make it perfectly compatible with the original soul, that would be quite difficult, almost touching the realm of the laws of life.

This requires not only an ultimate understanding of alchemy, but also a comprehensive grasp of life sciences, soul sciences, and even destiny sciences.

Ordinary alchemists, even high-ranking wizards, could never do this.

Life science is relatively easy to understand, but the study of the soul is a discipline that relies heavily on talent, and the study of destiny is even more difficult.

Now that he's here, Jemin instinctively activates his all-seeing eye and carefully examines the scapegoat doll in his hand.

Even with his head throbbing, he still couldn't understand the specific structure of the substitute doll, but he could roughly understand that its operation relied on knowledge of fate. "This thing... is probably a technology developed by Professor Clark himself."

Thinking of this, Jemin bowed respectfully to Clark and thanked him, saying, "Thank you, mentor."

Clark saw through his thoughts and shook his head: "Don't thank me, my current level of fate studies is not enough to make such a prop. This was given to you by my mentor."

“Uh…Grandmaster?” Jemin was taken aback, not expecting that his grandmaster was involved in this.

“Yes.” Clark looked at Jemin with a half-smile. “Your grandmaster was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to continue supplying the Red Dust Potion after you died, so he created this thing. Don’t worry, it’s very cheap. Just provide ten more vials of Red Dust Potion.”

"Ah...hahahaha..." Jemin smiled awkwardly upon hearing this, unsure how to respond.

He now understands that his little schemes have been seen through by his mentor and all his grandmasters.

They probably all realized by now that the main purpose of their expedition was to find raw materials for the Red Dust Elixir.

The fact that no one has exposed themselves yet, and that they've even given themselves a scapegoat, suggests that everyone is maintaining a tacit understanding.

As long as I can obtain enough worldly energy to make worldly potions during this expedition, they will probably recognize my potential and act as if nothing happened.

Mentor Clark didn't say anything more, just waved his hand: "Go, prepare for battle. I will let you know once your spare body is ready."

Jemin bid a grateful farewell to his mentor and returned to the Golden Garden, where he began making final preparations for the upcoming interdimensional war.

However, just the next day, Clark's mentor contacted him again.

"Your spare body has been manufactured. Come and receive it." Instructor Clark's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible weariness.

After all, creating such a high-level alchemical artifact in such a hurry would tire even an alchemy master of his caliber.

Jemin was surprised that his mentor was so concerned about this matter, and immediately set off for Clark's private laboratory.

When he stepped into the laboratory, he immediately saw a huge transparent glass incubator placed in the center.

The incubator was filled with a light green nutrient solution, and in this liquid was a body that looked exactly like Jemin!

The body had its eyes closed, and its skin color and muscle texture were exactly the same as Jemin's original body, except that it had no hair.

It floated quietly in the culture medium, like a perfect, sleeping replica. If it weren't for the absence of any signs of life, it would be almost impossible to tell the difference between the real and the fake.

The bottom of the incubator is connected to a complex array of energy pipes and runes, and together with the nutrient solution inside, it is enough to maintain the body's vitality for a long time.

"This is your spare body. Take it with you and install it somewhere you deem safe." Instructor Clark pointed to the incubation device, a hint of barely perceptible ease in his tone. "I never expected you to have such good physical attributes; you're really missing out!"

Jemin smiled and walked to the incubator to carefully observe this perfect substitute.

Upon hearing Clark's words, he pondered the matter and several alternative plans for the "safe zone" came to mind.

Deep within his own golden garden?
But that's where he spends his days, and if something happens, he might be implicated.

The Sulfur Dimension of Purgatory?

Although it was a secluded place, it was ultimately not an absolutely safe place for him to begin making modifications.

Finally, a bold idea came to Jemin's mind.

He turned to look at his mentor, Clark: "Mentor, after much thought, I believe the safest place is none other than your private laboratory."

Upon hearing this, a clear look of disdain immediately appeared on Clark's face.

His usually impassive expression twitched slightly: "You brat, is my private dimension a place for you to store things like this?"

However, he ultimately did not refuse.

"Hmph." Instructor Clark let out a dissatisfied snort, but still waved his hand helplessly. "Fine, leave it here. However, you'll have to pay a management fee every day... oh right, and a fee for energy loss as well."

He quoted a price that was almost negligible for Jemin.

Jemin was overjoyed; he knew that his mentor, Clark, had given his permission.

Placing one's body in the private dimension of a level six wizard is undoubtedly the safest option at this stage.

"Mentor, I'll pay the management fee for one hundred years first!"

"You're pushing your luck! I'll only help you save it this once!" Clark finally snapped, kicking Jemin in the backside in anger.
Despite his words, Instructor Clark still directed his servants to take the body, which was soaking in the culture medium, back to a secluded cubicle in the corner of the laboratory and reinforce it with several layers of protection.

(End of this chapter)