Chapter 54: The Wild Mage’s Legacy

When Hetty saw the tattered notebook, she finally understood the source of it all. “These… these belonged to that wild mage?”

“That’s right,” Gawain said, holding the notebook with a mix of awe and sadness. “A low-tier mage, shunned by the mainstream magical community, who never rose above second level. His talent far exceeded anyone’s expectations, but this era simply gave him no room to grow.” He sighed. “I’ve been going through some of his research notes these past few days. To me, this notebook alone is worth at least half a duchy.”

Hetty’s eyes went wide. “What?!”

But Gawain wasn’t exaggerating. From a technological standpoint, the legacy left behind by that unknown wild mage would only grow more valuable with time. Though all his research was still in its infancy, Gawain knew well that for many groundbreaking ideas, the earliest stages were the most precious.

He set the notebook down on the table and looked up at Hetty. “His daughter, that girl named Annie, most likely suffers from elemental assimilation syndrome of the shadow element type. It’s one of the rarest magical afflictions. As a mage, you should be familiar with it.”

“Elemental assimilation…” Hetty nodded slightly. “That’s a disease unique to the Violet Kingdom in the north. It’s rare, incurable, and when I first saw those diaries, I suspected as much.”

In this world where magic exists, there are many things utterly different from Gawain’s homeland—some good, some bad. Elemental assimilation is among the worst.

This disease, caused by magical energy corruption, is common in regions rich with magic and elemental activity. During the Gondor Empire era, it was prevalent near the Deep Blue Well in the imperial capital, and even at the empire’s height, it was nearly untreatable. Now, it’s a “specialty” of the Violet Kingdom in the northern continent.

If extraordinary power is nature’s gift to humanity here, then elemental assimilation is the malicious impurity mixed into that gift.

Elemental assimilation only appears in newborns, caused by magical radiation affecting the fetus in the womb. At first, affected children grow normally, but as they age, signs of elemental erosion and assimilation begin to show. Their flesh and blood gradually transform, becoming semi-elemental. As their biological tissues are replaced by elemental matter, they start to be rejected by the physical world—because, aside from a few special races, elemental beings cannot survive long in the material plane. This is a natural law of the world.

The process accelerates as the disease worsens and is irreversible. Once over half of a person’s body is elementalized, they are “banished” by the material world, pushed into the elemental plane corresponding to their assimilation.

They die trapped between the material and elemental worlds—the remaining biological tissue makes this process horrifying, like being torn apart.

Annie, the wild mage’s daughter, suffered from this disease—specifically, the shadow-element variant, the rarest of all.

Mages and scholars have studied the elemental planes for years, but the shadow realm remains elusive and difficult to research.

“Elemental assimilation can’t be cured, only delayed,” Hetty explained. “The most effective way to delay it is to bind the patient’s body with magic, like how elemental summoners use magical shackles to force an elemental creature to stay in the material world.” Though a low-level mage, Hetty was well-versed in the theory. “But this is harder than binding an elemental being, because the assimilation keeps progressing. It requires a constant infusion of magical energy…”

“A second-level mage, rejected by the Arcane Council, had neither the power nor the resources to maintain such an expensive treatment,” Gawain nodded. “So he came up with his own method—he built an unprecedentedly efficient self-charging magic array, breaking the rule that such arrays can only recycle energy internally. He turned it into a device to ‘charge’ his daughter. You could say he was forced into it—since all the large magical foci were already taken, and the scattered minor foci in the forest provided almost no energy. But he used his unique talent to solve the problem.”

“But that surge of magical energy destroyed his array…” Hetty suddenly realized something. “Then this self-charging array called the ‘Magic Web’ must have a huge flaw. It can’t withstand surges…”

“No, the surge didn’t damage the array’s structure. It had very thorough safety measures,” Gawain shook his head. “I saw the array’s design with my own eyes. It was intact until the end. According to the wild mage’s diary, the problem wasn’t the array, but the ‘shadow transformation’ ritual he performed. Magic binding can only delay elemental assimilation, not cure it. Annie was on the verge of losing control, so the wild mage risked a ritual he couldn’t master—resulting in the Magic Web being overwhelmed by the surge beyond his capacity.”

“If that’s the case… then I’m not worried,” Hetty nodded slowly, her expression complex as she looked at the wild mage’s legacy. “I really can’t imagine a down-and-out wild mage creating something like this… This large array, built from basic units, is unlike any magic array I know. It almost abandons all complicated, intricate structures and instead pushes simplicity to the extreme.”

“Call it ‘versatility,’” Gawain smiled. “As for laying down the experimental Magic Web in the smithy…”

He hesitated between Hetty and Rebecca. Laying a magic array was a technical job better suited to Hetty, but she was already handling most of the camp’s construction. Though capable, Gawain didn’t want to overload her, especially with the lab still to build. Rebecca could do it too—she only knew how to cast fireball, but laying an array isn’t the same as casting spells. As long as she could follow the blueprints, it was mostly about theoretical knowledge and calculations. Still…

Every time he looked at Rebecca, he couldn’t help but give her a dumbfounded look. Could this girl really handle it?

Sensing Gawain’s hesitation, Rebecca jumped up before Hetty could say anything. “Ancestor! Ancestor! Give it to me! I can do it!”

“Are you sure?” Gawain looked her over carefully. “This project is more important than you realize. It’s foundational—prerequisite for many of my upcoming plans. Can you handle it?”

Rebecca stopped bouncing and thought seriously for a moment, then looked at Gawain timidly. “If… if I mess it up, will you hit me?”

Gawain: “…Forget it, Hetty, you should do it…”

Before he could finish, Rebecca puffed out her chest and said loudly, “But I still want to try!”

Gawain watched her with interest. “Oh?”

“This array… it looks really interesting to me. I think many parts are… really good. Maybe I can… I can…” Rebecca stammered, struggling to finish her thought, then just blurted out, “Even though I only know fireball, my theory knowledge is good! My calculation skills are good! Besides, Aunt Hetty’s been so busy lately, and all I’ve done is survey the land and help with controlled burns. I feel like…”

Seeing Rebecca so nervous, Gawain couldn’t help but laugh and turned to Hetty. “What do you think?”

“Rebecca’s theory and calculation skills are indeed strong. If you ignore spellcasting ability, her talent surpasses mine,” Hetty said with a helpless glance at Rebecca. “If only she were a bit more steady.”

“I’m definitely steady!” Rebecca puffed her chest again, but her eyes were fixed on the blueprints on the table, which made Gawain curious.

He couldn’t help but ask, “You’re really interested in this magic array?”

“Yeah,” Rebecca scratched her head. “A long time ago, I thought it’d be great if those complicated spells could be made simpler. If casting could be easier, maybe I could cast more than just fireball… This array really inspired me!”

Gawain stared at her straight on, making the girl shiver a little.

But after a few seconds, he laughed. “Good. Then it’s yours.”

Rebecca beamed. “Really?!”

“Of course,” Gawain said, pulling out another sheet from under the table—a rough sketch of the smithy. “Build it on this scale, so the whole yard is covered by the Magic Web. Start by constructing the first batch of furnaces here. You can get the materials for the array from the mountain treasury—they have everything ready. Though the array is large, it’s a ‘basic array.’ I believe the magical metals and quartz sand brought by the Philip knights from Tansan Town will be enough.”

“This experimental Magic Web will be called Magic Web One.”

Entrusted with this important task, Rebecca left happily, while Hetty went back to directing the newly arrived serfs and commoners in setting up tents. The big tent was left with only Gawain and Amber.

“You look really happy,” the half-elf lady observed him. “When you got those documents from the old king, you weren’t this excited. Is it because teasing your great-great-great… great-granddaughter is so much fun?”

Gawain: “…Could you please just die nicely?”

(End of chapter)