A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 370 The Evil Experiment of Frankness

"When can I start learning magic?" Hannah's face flushed with excitement.

Andrei shook his head: "Sorry, first of all, you have to participate in the internship like everyone else, otherwise it will arouse suspicion. Also, don't forget the confidentiality agreement. As for the learning time, we'll let you know later." Rorschach judged that before the magic guild intervened in the war, they had to keep a low profile. If they spread their spells on a large scale, then keeping secrets would be out of the question.

"Of course," Hannah said, somewhat disappointed.

Seeing this, Andrei handed her an alchemy manual: "However, you can learn some basic knowledge on your own. If you don't understand something, choose a time each week to come to me, or go to Master Rorschach."

Then Martin saw Hannah emerge with the sorcerer (apprentice), carrying a beautifully bound book and beaming. His face froze, and he clenched his fists.

Martin even forgot how to relax his facial muscles and said to the girl in a completely inflected tone, "Congratulations, Miss Vogel."

"You should call me Hannah. But Martin, you already know?"

"Yes, so congratulations on getting what you wanted."

"Great!" Hannah was still in a state of excitement and didn't notice the other person's strange behavior. She tried to take Martin's hand: "I just signed a confidentiality agreement and was worried about how to bring it up with you! Let's go, let's go report together."

Martin withdrew his hand: "No, Hannah, I have other things to do. You can go now."

He turned around and went to an office in a corner without looking back.

The dull knocking sound indicated the door's weight. A well-sealed steel-clad wooden door opened for him, revealing a pungent smell and a room filled with glass jars, pots, and cages. A pale, magical lamp illuminated the eerie room.

"Take another step, and there's no turning back," came Rorschach's voice from inside.

"I have thought this through carefully, you don't need to test me anymore!" Martin stepped firmly into the ominous area, the iron gate slammed shut, and then a fog enveloped him.

"Don't panic, hold your breath and count down from five." Martin felt a strong smell fill his nostrils and his eyes started to sting. He quickly followed Rorschach's instructions to stop breathing and closed his eyes.

"Sorry, we need disinfection measures. The components in the fog are harmful to all living things, but they can only kill tiny creatures much smaller than humans." After saying that, Rorschach pointed, and Martin received the [Air Filter Bubble], which made him feel much better immediately.

This is the new laboratory developed by Rorschach, and currently there is only one project—the live water microbial experiment.

Having learned from the near-ecological disaster caused by a leak on the battlefield, Rorschach was even more cautious this time. However, this was necessary, as his next move was even more dangerous: Rorschach was systematically cultivating active microorganisms from flesh and blood; a mouse, held in his [Mage Hand], had a small incision made at the base of its tail, where blood vessels were abundant, to squeeze out venous blood.

The drop of blood reacted immediately upon falling into the glass petri dish, with tiny tentacles waving around. At this point, the living aquatic organism resembled a fungus undergoing accelerated growth more than a tentacle animal.

Martin was horrified by what he saw, but what followed was even more horrifying: Rorschach put away the first culture dish and the corresponding mouse, then took out the second one and used a needle to draw up the microbial gel from the second culture dish and inject it into the mouse's forepaw.

Soon, the little mouse began to struggle violently, and then shimmering white foam came out of its mouth and eyes. Finally, it squeaked twice, as if to say: "I, the little mouse, have really died."

Then it exploded, and in Martin's dilated pupils, the fragmented experimental subject was reflected, its blood vessels pierced, and a bizarre mass of living things devoured the blood vessels, muscles, and even entangled and twisted the bones.

Before Rorschach could deal with it, a bird suddenly appeared and snatched the entire mass of the unidentified creature. It used its claws to hold down the mutated flesh of the mouse, tore it to a edible size, and swallowed it. After it was full, it threaded the remaining part onto the test tube rack.

This creature was a body that the clone had used. On the day the clone's soul returned, Rorschach watched it fly away and immediately realized that there might still be living magical microorganisms inside the bird, so he had to catch it.

Fortunately, it was exhausted, so Rorschach didn't have to exert much effort. When he fed the bird, he was surprised to find that it seemed to possess magical abilities—the grains it carried in its beak would quickly sprout and grow into small plants. However, it preferred to eat meat, including insects. Imitating its clone's past magical abilities became its hobby—forcing the grain plants to grow, inserting them among its feathers, and fluttering its wings at Rorschach, draped in green leaves.

Rorschach then took in the magical bird that lived in symbiosis with microorganisms and named it "Gestal Götz" in honor of Az. Götz did serve a purpose, however; it inspired Rorschach to research the possibility of other organisms living in symbiosis with living water, thus endowing them with magical abilities. Another responsibility was handling failed experiments.

He first determined that his own blood caused the microorganisms to transform and establish a subtle connection with him. Then he began exploring whether it could be safely transplanted into other organisms. He has tried injections and adding the mouse's own blood to increase compatibility. So far, there has been little progress.

He needed someone to help him, since in the magical world, humans and other humanoid intelligent races are special beings, with unique affinity for magic and positions in the food chain. Therefore, Rorschach decided to try to grant miracles to people who do not have the ability to cast spells.

This is dangerous research that would certainly not be allowed, but since we are seeking excitement, we must see it through to the end.

However, Rorschach hadn't figured out how to achieve symbiosis yet. After all, he wasn't the master of the 21st century from his previous life, so he couldn't do anything like genetic engineering. The approach was still the same as using mice.

"It's your turn." Rorschach's voice sounded like the Grim Reaper to Martin's ears, and he retreated repeatedly until he touched the tightly locked door.

"It's over!" His throat tightened, and he silently repeated Hannah's name, managing to squeeze out, "Will I die too? Don't let that bird eat me!"

"What are you thinking about!" Rorschach beckoned him over, took out a small reagent bottle, and separated a small amount of bacteria. To allay the researchers' concerns, Rorschach first dripped five drops of his own blood into the bottle, and the bacteria inside behaved perfectly, showing no abnormalities.

Seeing Rorschach's demonstration, Martin calmed down a bit. Following Rorschach's instructions, he also pricked his fingertip and dripped a drop of blood into it. But as soon as his blood bead touched the bacteria, the microorganisms reacted immediately. Sure enough, these tiny creatures were meek and subservient to Rorschach, but they attacked other organisms with their tiny fists.

"Now you must carry this small bottle with you at all times, and every morning at nine o'clock, drip three drops of blood into it, no more and no less."

"Too little, and it won't survive, and your hope of gaining spellcasting ability will be dashed; too much, and the little guy will become overactive and pose a threat." In short, it needs to be kept half-dead, like training a hawk to cultivate its dependence on and affinity for the blood provider.

Microorganisms can iterate very quickly; this is possible.

"Don't spill it or let it leak into the water. Contact me immediately if anything happens." Rorschach put insurance on Martin, then took out a necklace with a pendant that was a small alloy box engraved with a magical circuit, just the right size to hold the reagent bottle.

"If this box is damaged, it will immediately generate high heat that will kill the microorganisms inside. Assuming you are unfortunately burned, I guarantee I can heal you. Come to this lab to check on your condition on the first and sixth days of each ten-day period."

(End of this chapter)