Wizard: Starting with Symbiosis with Algae

A towering flame shot up from the ground, its dazzling light illuminating the entire rock face in every detail.

Under the flickering light and shadow, the iron figures and human figures in the mural are evolving in opposite directions.

Unfortunately, there's no time to appreciate these relics of civilization. This is a matter of life and death.

The fused creature showed no fear in the face of Joe's methods.

It was a veteran among the Ironmen, and it recognized that Joe's spell used insect-like elements as a medium, had a guiding effect, and was as destructive as a top-tier fourth-level apprentice spell.

There's no escaping it.

So it simply stopped hiding.

"Hehe, humans, wizards. I'm going to have a feast!"

Iron Man, bubbling and flailing his thick legs, charged forward. He was struck by the apprentices' missiles and Joe's spells.

Its body trembled as it manipulated the iron needles to fight back.

Lynn's use of the Oasis Vanguard to defend was effective.

He can also focus more of his energy on the Iron Man.

Combining the speed and weight of the monster's original form, being hit by it is no different from crashing head-on into a truck traveling at full speed.

However, Lynn noticed that Iron Man's speed was gradually decreasing amidst the flames.

Joe's attack was not entirely ineffective, but it was not enough to completely eliminate him.

So Lynn honestly took a step back.

He didn't want to be reborn like that.

"careful."

Dopa suddenly shoved aside an apprentice who was clinging to the rock face and couldn't get out of the way.

Lynn reacted quickly, sending a vine flying through the air to pull Dopa and the apprentice back together.

The danger passed without incident, and she was gently embraced. Lynn remained completely calm.

"Thank you." A hint of embarrassment flashed across Dopa's face.

She had always thought she was mature and experienced enough, but now she was being rescued like someone pulling someone out of the water.

Unfortunately, the speed at which the monsters were fused was ultimately too fast.

One apprentice was slammed against the wall, equipment and all.

The body was smashed to pieces by the force of the charge, and the cracking sound of bones breaking echoed through the cave, sending chills down one's spine.

And the Ironman's speed was finally slowed down by this resistance.

Only then did Lynn realize that most of its thighs and abdomen had already been cut away by Joe and the other apprentices' magic.

The metal and shell complex rolled up, revealing the still-wriggling artificial tissue inside.

It briefly lost the ability to move and was chewing on something.

"The first one! Be my livestock."

"Tell me how to simulate a human! Otherwise, I'll kill him!"

Lynn was stunned. The apprentice had been severely injured; his thigh had been pierced, and the magic gathering point on the inside of his calf had been torn off by the Iron Man, who put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly. The action was carried with an almost ritualistic composure.

Attrition. This was the first time Lynn had seen a second-level apprentice so weak in front of him since he transmigrated. The apprentice's face was visibly turning ashen; if no action was taken, he would soon die.

The battle continues.

"Joe, is there any more?"

"That's all."

Dopa suddenly spoke, his voice urgent.

"Use that piece of soil. The last time we encountered it, it was that piece of soil that startled it. Wait, no... it's awake now... soil can't scare it anymore."

Lynn suddenly realized that the block of soil was the very soil the little ironmen of the academy had been desperately seeking for their home. Completely unaffected by the polluted environment, there couldn't be a more suitable gift. The ironman had been stunned last time because it still craved that thing. Now, with its indifferent expression, the soil had no effect whatsoever.

Or, let's not let those little ironmen cultivate any fungi that can erode the grass of Edranor. Let the Alchemy Institute just turn them all into bombs.

He suppressed these chaotic thoughts and gave Joe an encouraging look.

……

"The effect is good."

Who is speaking?

Lynn instantly activated the Oasis Vanguard, setting up a defensive line around them.

Unfortunately, it wasn't anyone in the room who spoke.

The voice was deep and frantic.

The apprentices focused their attention:

"Iron Man... Iron Man has regained his mobility!"

The fused monster leaned against the cliff face, slowly rubbing its back. The severed tissue was regenerating at a visible speed, and the shocking cracks on its metal shell were being filled and healed by some kind of silvery liquid.

"This level of attack is not enough to defeat me."

Lynn made a quick decision.

"Get it under control."

Dopa paused for a moment, then saw that the apprentices below were also waiting for her signal, so she decisively waved her hand.

"Listen to him."

In an instant, there were slowing curses, freezing spells, and even mind control cast by an overconfident spiritual wizard.

Numerous spells were unleashed upon the giant crab.

It stood still, completely motionless.

Lynn urged the vines to entwine and cover the Iron Plague Virus on it.

It remains completely undaunted. No matter what kind of iron flu virus it is, it cannot harm it.

Unless one possesses power approaching that of a level five wizard apprentice, no virus can penetrate that crystallized outer shell. Its defense is virtually unbreakable.

Lynn used the vines to pull him back quickly. A crimson figure, burning with a dazzling light, suddenly appeared deep inside the cave.

Joe stared wide-eyed at Lynn in disbelief.

How could it be a pike? That creature was only barely manageable by a few people when it was in a weakened state. When and where did Lynn capture it?

Klein immediately perked up. A brand new, sensational news story was taking shape before his eyes.

Everyone stared in a daze at the ribbon-like creature radiating heat. They couldn't make out its shape.

But without a doubt, it is a very powerful creature.

Level three! Not just level three! This creature is at least a level four wizard apprentice!

How exactly did Lynn subdue this behemoth?

Lynn patted the pike on the back, ignoring the crowd's surprise. In the struggle for survival, there is no winner or loser. Being admired by the crowd doesn't necessarily guarantee you'll live to the end.

He precisely inserted the high-energy soil into the pike's mouth.

Seventy percent of the magic power was poured into the pike's body.

This strike will be his strongest strike.

Crimson cracks began to spread across the pike's mouth and body. The cracks extended from deep within its throat all the way to its tail fin, and a blinding red light emanated from the gaps, like the fissures on the earth's crust about to burst open before a volcanic eruption.

Lynn grinned.

Such a powerful creature is now at his disposal.

Lynn solved the problem of its most energy-consuming organ being unable to survive independently.

What is there to be afraid of?

"Iron Man, give this a try!"

The next second, a scorching wave of heat surged through the air. The pike opened its crimson mouth and tore a shockingly huge gash in the fused creature's body.

The metal shell begins to melt the moment it comes into contact with the pike's saliva, emitting a hissing sound that makes your teeth ache.

"How is this possible! A pike!"

Iron Man's head was throbbing with pain, a burning sensation, and the smell of burning flesh. But he was too preoccupied to feel the pain.

Because what appeared before him was a creature even older than the Iron Man, a creature that had long since become extinct!

"A creature that should have been extinct long before the Iron Man perished! Why... why is it here?!"

Why is the world so unfair?!

Why does the world love humanity so much?

"I...I'm not reconciled..."

Pike are offspring of some powerful creature, whose mouthparts emit light and heat, making them a target for all living things.

Iron Man was somewhat frightened; this was a creature that could truly threaten him.

The pike wriggled and swam freely inside the iron man.

It kept wriggling and wriggling, like a maggot burrowing into rotting flesh, melting away the enormous body bit by bit from the inside.

Metal and shell fragments mixed with a silvery liquid seeped from the folds of the pike's body, dripping onto the gravelly ground where they cooled and solidified.

The Iron Man's eyes lost their sparkle.

……

"Is it over?"

A brief silence fell over the cavern. The apprentices' panting, the wounded's groans, and the tumbling of rubble were amplified many times over by the sudden quiet. A few bolder apprentices peeked out, gazing at the pile of cooling metal wreckage. The silvery liquid slowly solidified among the rubble, as if truly dead.

However, everyone knows that what exists in the fused creature is only a small fraction of Iron Man's power.

Humans are barely taller than the toes of the iron figures depicted in the murals. They are not that weak.

The greater power was not concentrated in the destroyed body; it was scattered throughout the environment of the entire mine.

And there has never been a time when that strength is needed more than now.

On the rock face, the iron figure in the mural, its majestic body, was slowly seeping liquid. The silvery liquid flowed slowly along the lines of the mural. It gathered into thin streams, meandering down the texture of the stone wall, and finally dripped onto the remains of the monster on the ground.

Repairs have begun.

"Hahaha! The power of my true form is surging forth endlessly. Without a proper wizard, you will all die!"

You can choose to listen to the enemy or not, and the same goes for their provocations.

Lynn remained expressionless and urged the dogfish to move again.

The crimson figure once again pounced on the body that was rebuilding, tearing, melting, and destroying it.

The pike's sharp teeth are deeply embedded in the metal and shell composite, tearing the still-developing shell into pieces.

However, after the murals are destroyed, the liquid in them will drip back down, and the debris on the ground will reassemble.

The speed at which it is killed cannot even keep up with the speed at which it regenerates.

After repeating this several times, Lynn got tired.

The feeling of magical depletion, which I hadn't experienced in a long time, surged up again.

The Iron Man's body was so large that Guang and his few apprentices had no chance of killing him.

...

"Lynn, let's give it a try."

The apprentices shouted, trying to maintain the momentum of the attack.

Dozens of spells, along with Joe's first powerful explosion, blasted towards Iron Man.

"Invalid! How can it be invalid?"

"Again!"

Dozens more spells accompanied Joe's first powerful explosion, blasting towards the Iron Man.

It was still ineffective, and the condition of the group was getting worse.

Despair spread among the people.

Lynn and the others could defeat it once, twice, dozens of times.

It remained unmoved, waiting until the men were exhausted before killing them all.

Everything they did was in vain.

Even resistance seems childish?

The Iron Man sneered.

"No matter how many times it's destroyed, if I want, the sap in the mural will drip again, and I will reassemble it. You are all doomed."

The Iron Man possessing the Oasis Vanguard is not the true form. It is merely a tentacle of a larger being, a fingernail that can be repeatedly severed but will never die.

A towering flame rose from the ground once more, its dazzling light illuminating the rock face clearly. In the flickering light and shadow, the shapes of the iron man and the human were evolving in opposite directions.

The ancient figures on the murals are like a mirror, reflecting a possibility that has been forgotten.

One gets bigger, and the other gets smaller.

Iron Man shouted again, "Tell me how to simulate humans! Otherwise, I'll kill you all!"

..

Simulating humans?

Get smaller?

As Lynn thought about Iron Man's request, a sudden realization dawned on him.

Professor Egad once told him that after obtaining the "Iron Heart," he could grow larger by using advanced meditation techniques.

From the same perspective, is it possible for an Ironman to shrink by using meditation?

He turned and beckoned to Dopa's team.

"You guys keep it under control. Let me try the fastest method."

Frustration and despair quietly spread among the crowd just before the Iron Man was about to be reborn.

Everyone's magic was being depleted, everyone's physical strength was being drained, and each time the monster stood up, it was more complete than the last time.

Everyone desires victory, but not everyone can persevere until victory arrives.

However, even in darkness, there is always someone who holds onto hope.

Blue and red lights flickered and shimmered. Those lights were reflected deep within the apprentices' weary pupils, like flames that refused to be extinguished.

At the beginning of his journey, memories of the wilderness flooded Lynn's mind.

He gradually drew closer to the Iron Man.

"Lynn!"

"Lynn, what is he going to do?"

"Lynn, are you crazy! Get away from it! We still have a chance! If once isn't enough, try ten times; if ten times isn't enough, try a hundred times!"

Although some people didn't say it aloud, in their hearts, they had instantly lowered Lynn's image by several notches.

To rashly approach the enemy in a desperate situation is not courage, but foolishness. And foolishness can kill everyone.

It turns out that fervent supporters and fervent opponents are often the same kind of people.

Only objective and calm analysts can maintain that unbiased trust.

Joe and Klein crossed their arms.

They had a feeling, deep down.

Lynn is on the right track.

After silently praying for Lynn in their hearts, they shouted.

"Lynn, it's up to you now."

Lynn stepped alone onto the iron body that was slowly regenerating, which was resting on the oasis spider.

Fragments of the metal casing lay scattered at his feet, and silver liquid seeped through the soles of his boots.

He reached out, looked at the name on the mural, and pressed down on the Iron Man's head.

"Leon. Is that your name?"

"It's me, it's me, it's definitely me!"

"What if you willingly die?"

"Why should you..."

Lynn abruptly interrupted Leon.

"Thank me. I have given you the way to shrink into a human."

The Iron Man in the mud suddenly widened his pupils. His crazed expression became incredibly clear at that moment.

"Give it all to me! Give it all to me!"

"I only want it, give it all to me!"

Its voice was urgent, and its desperate longing was more unsettling than any of its previous madness.

"As you wish."

Lynn murmured:

"Leon, the working principle of the Basic Meditation Method or the Human Meditation Method is to first pretend that you are not human, and then imagine that you are human, and perceive the flow of magic in your body in a human way."

He repeated what Ruby had said. What had seemed like mere introductory guidance then now felt like a reunion across time.

He had wondered why basic meditation required imagining oneself as a human being.

Looking back now, everything is clear.

This method of meditation may never have been designed for humankind from the very beginning.

It is an echo of the era of giant iron men, the most brilliant and final dance of the iron man civilization.

Those giants, long since extinct, hid the ultimate secret of their existence within a basic spell accessible to any human apprentice.

Everyone was shocked.

Lynn's effective and imaginative approach.

A brilliant idea.

Lynn continued to mutter to herself.

"There is a fundamental difference between humans without magic and humans with magic... If we were to use a worm with multiple hearts as an analogy, the human calf would be the second heart. The spine controls the lower body, and the calf muscles assist in blood circulation. There is a perceptible energy channel between the entire lower body's circulatory system and the heart. The first step in meditation is to find this channel, then follow it to the heart, and from the heart, extend outwards to the limbs..."

"Leon. Feel my magic. Be with me and imagine yourself as a human being."

Lynn focused intently as he slowly infused a wisp of the simplest and purest magic belonging to humankind into Leon's skull.

The Iron Man's body began to tremble; he had accepted Lynn's magic.

In my mind, the image of a human gradually materialized.

This is real.

"Thank you, Lynn."

Sweet dreams, Leon.