A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 549 Bedside

Richard was unable to understand or record what ultimately happened.

The filthy, scarlet liquid suddenly changed from flowing in a concentrated stream to flowing outwards, even creating huge waves tens of meters high in front of him.

However, something even faster was spreading. Before the giant wave could engulf Richard, it was struck by a wave, vaporized, and vanished without a trace.

This was the last scene he saw and remembered; the final frame ended with an infinite white, engulfing him.

What remains is the dream.

Richard thought he had arrived in the underworld or the kingdom of a god, and involuntarily drifted to the foot of a very, very large tree, its canopy shimmering, with magnificent buildings in the distance.

His first reaction was that there really is an afterlife, and his second was a question: It's strange, he is clearly an unbeliever, which god has nothing better to do than take him in.

However, he has now woken up in bed, so what he saw before must have been a dream.

He was now in an unfamiliar hospital room, with Rorschach sitting by his bedside.

"We meet again. And once again, when I'm on the verge of death." Richard forced a smile at his friend. "It's strange, it's always you who arrives. Rorschach, why can't we see Bart?"

Because Bart is innocent, he is now content (but unwilling) to be the man behind the senator.

Rorschach smiled, but what he said was somewhat unsettling: "Wrong, it's not in the present progressive tense, it's in the present perfect tense."

"what?"

"To put it bluntly, from both a medical and mystical perspective, you've already died once, so you can't be considered near-death." Facing his friend, Rorschach decided to be honest: "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were in Oward at the time."

"You were caught in the blast, and your body, like everything else, was completely annihilated. Fortunately, I found your soul and then used special magic to help you rebuild your body."

"I'm sorry, but regardless of your own wishes, you are now a magical being. As compensation, you will be granted access to the ninth level and below of the Tree of Magic."

Richard's body is now a product of [Axiom Creation], with physical strength and magical circuitry comparable to or even stronger than other archmages, but the original one no longer exists.

"No, no, no, what are you apologizing for?" Richard realized he felt no pain at all, and his magical energy was extremely abundant. "My Rorschach! Good heavens! Look at what you're saying so casually!"

"You resurrected me from ashes, and even transformed me into a magical creature comparable to an archmage! How...how did you do that?"

"That's a long story."

After returning to the border, Rorschach was still shaken, and then something even more terrifying happened: the "soul return procedure" that the Tower Spirit had set up sent another ball of light, also from Oward.

Rorschach almost got killed as a "virus" that had infiltrated, but luckily he took a closer look and realized it was Rick!

He then investigated Oward. Although his operation had many twists and turns, it was ultimately quite efficient—all the contamination was concentrated at the core of the explosion, leaving only a clean crater.

Very good, it's estimated that Richard didn't leave behind a single piece of DNA from his original body.

"There were many coincidences that allowed me to revive you," Rorschach confessed and analyzed to Richard, feeling guilty.

"Back at Monteto Fortress, I used the Reverse Ray on you once, reconstructing it based on my own memories. This process should have been recorded by the Tree of Law."

"You have used the Tree of Law very deeply, perhaps your soul has established a sufficient connection, which is why your spirit was drawn to the tree when it lost its vessel."

"The program that guides the soul is something I pre-set, specifically for myself."

Rorschach couldn't imagine what would happen if any one of the conditions were missing. The final result was good, but whether it could be reproduced, and whether it was feasible, were questions Rorschach found difficult to investigate further.

Only a handful of individuals have conditions close to Richard's. Including Rorschach himself, only Caroline and Andrei can match Richard's use of the Tree of Law and establish connections with the borderlands. With such limited experimental material, and considering it's a destructive experiment, how can variables be controlled?

Richard chatted for a while longer, mentioning Paul and Pascal.

Rorschach was also sweating profusely when he talked about this.

As the black hole began to absorb and control the flesh blanket, the influence of the Mother Goddess began to weaken. Now, in retrospect, Rorschach realized that perhaps the Mother Goddess was beginning to concentrate her power on dealing with Rorschach and the mini black hole he created.

This gave Paul and the others a chance to escape, and they eventually established a safe teleportation channel, leaving Overward before the explosion.

If they hadn't escaped, they wouldn't have received the same treatment as Richard. In that case, Rorschach would have become the assassin of his fellow apprentices, and the greatest enemy of Cano and his group for the rest of their lives.

That was close! That was a close call. It was a complete disaster in every sense of the word.

Finally, Richard asked about the whereabouts of Hench, who shared the same name as him. Iltsov mentioned that Hench was taken away by a priest of the Earth Mother after he fell into a coma.

"I did encounter a mad monk who, instead of avoiding the black hole, actively threw himself into it. He was also carrying a burlap sack, um, bulging and full, and could very well be the person you mentioned."

"They were at the very center of the explosion, with an extremely low chance of survival. I've also confirmed that no living creatures remained in that dead zone."

As Rorschach spoke, a look of guilt crossed his face. Richard, though deeply saddened, still spoke up to stop him:

"There's no need to apologize anymore. I was just asking, but I had indeed guessed a similar outcome in my mind."

"Henry is my good friend, but Rorschach, you don't need to apologize for a stranger."

Richard survived and solved a major problem:

He was practically the only survivor of the Oward Catastrophe, the sole eyewitness to the entire event. Only Richard possessed the most complete understanding of the events, enabling him to recount the truth to the Magic Guild and the Empire.

For the guild, it would help Rorschach prove that his last resort was a necessary and unavoidable measure.

Of course, testifying to the guild is not particularly important.

Firstly, Rorschach had indeed gone too far, and he was planning to apologize to the Senate, which would also serve as a warning to himself.

Secondly, the chief of the Thirteen Magic Towers also took the time to arrive near Oward and witnessed the final "spectacle." If it is confirmed that the black hole and the subsequent super explosion were Rorschach's doing, then no one would dare to insist on pursuing this man.

It was even more important that Richard survived to explain to the Empire, and especially to the Emperor, what had happened in his territory.

From the Empire's perspective, Oward exhibited unusual behavior during the battle between the two armies, with spellcasters actively involved.

Then, an abnormal fog enveloped the entire city, and later, guild mages arrived from all directions, forcefully adding another layer of lockdown to the outer perimeter.

Wilhelm II turned a blind eye to the efforts of the guilds, such as diverting the Oder River to prevent pollution from spreading downstream and eliminating escaped monsters. All he knew was that a prosperous city with a long history and a large population of the empire was reduced to ashes after the blockade was lifted.

It is foreseeable that the relationship between the palace and the guilds will continue to deteriorate.

"I will try my best to explain, but I cannot guarantee whether Your Majesty will believe me."

"Thank you, Rick."

After saying this, the ward fell silent. The atmosphere had been low, and now it was at its lowest point. Luo Xia looked dejected.

Seeing this, Richard sighed casually, "Sigh, it's time to cut ties with Libs."

Sure enough, Rorschach perked up a bit: "Hmm? Who is Libs? Why cut off contact?"

(End of this chapter)