After finishing his journal, a habit he had maintained since arriving in this magical world, Zuo Si gently closed the somewhat heavy notebook in his hand.
Behind him, the room was filled with an array of organs, limbs, and heads soaking in preservative fluids. Some were human, but most belonged to beasts, monsters, and other humanoid creatures. A few were even grotesquely stitched together, their appearance alone enough to shatter anyone's sanity.
Especially in the past month, in his quest to uncover the cause of the plague outbreak, Zuo Si had dissected nearly every creature in the tower that had succumbed to the plague—humans, mages' magical pets, and even beasts and monsters from the dungeons. He even conducted numerous experiments using the rats in cages, testing whether his saliva, blood, or excrement could still transmit the infection.
The air was thick with the stench of rot and blood, akin to a medieval slaughterhouse, potent enough to make any modern person vomit until they were empty. The "scraps" waiting to be dealt with in the grooves behind him would surely scare even the boldest of souls—the ones who claim they could dance on graves at midnight—into wetting their pants.
Yet, Zuo Si showed no sign of discomfort as he faced all this. His calm demeanor was that of a machine devoid of emotion.
The reason was simple.
Ever since he came to this magical world, his mentor, Asta, had forced him to perform thousands of dissections. He reassembled the body parts and organs afterward, either creating undead creatures through necromancy or crafting various fleshy constructs. At his busiest, he had to dissect a dozen or more times a day.
After so many repetitions, his brain had long since adapted to the gruesome sights and smells. Zuo Si could even, like the forensic doctors in TV shows, use one hand to remove the "parts" Asta needed from a corpse, while eating with the other.
It wasn't just corpses—he could dissect living creatures as well. The screams, curses, and pleas from his subjects in their final moments did not stir even the slightest reaction from him. His small, nimble hands would still efficiently complete his "work."
Because the Ael people, who created the brilliant magical civilization, had built a cruel, tyrannical, and inhumane slave empire. Only the spellcasters living in the floating cities were the supreme ruling class. The warriors, governors, mercenaries, merchants, and bureaucrats serving the spellcasters made up the middle management of this country. As for the farmers and craftsmen, who should have been the civilian class, they were all treated as slaves without exception.
Take Asta's necromancy faction as an example. They could kill their own slaves at will and use their bodies for necromantic experiments without any consequence. Even killing someone else's slave only required a small monetary compensation to the victim's family or owner. That was all.
In the Ael people's worldview, spellcasters naturally had the power of life and death over others. As for rebellion... sorry, even an uprising of tens of thousands would be easily crushed within a few days by the terrifying combat power of the archmages combined with the floating city.
To avoid standing out as an "outlier," Zuo Si forced himself to abandon his former moral compass and values, hardening his heart to behave like the other apprentices around him. Over time, he became what he was today.
It must be said that humans are incredibly adaptable creatures.
Casually tossing the corpse on the dissection table into a tank filled with preservative fluid, Zuo Si slowly raised his arm. From the center of his palm, a blinding light shone.
The next second, a book emitting a starry glow appeared in midair before him.
On the book's opening page was written:
"This is a legacy, and also an invaluable gift.
O unknown heir, ignite the spark and begin your journey.
You may pursue the ambitions hidden deep within your heart;
Release your boundless desires;
Enjoy the thrill of exploration;
Or immerse yourself in the sea of knowledge to gain immense power.
But always be wary of those who seek to steal your spark..."
However, Zuo Si did not linger on these words for even a second. He turned directly to the first page.
Name: Zuo Si (Soth)
Race: Human
Base Attributes:
- Strength: 6 + 2 (8)
- Agility: 11 + 4 (15)
- Constitution: 8 + 4 (12)
- Perception: 12 + 2 (14)
- Intelligence: 16 + 3 (19)
- Charisma: 11
(The numbers in parentheses represent current actual stats, boosted by permanent potions, magical enhancements, and equipment effects.)
Mana Pool: 99/100
Active Land Cards: 0
Spark Level: LV2
Professions:
- Planeswalker—LV2 (Level up requires creating a land card)
- Creator (Mimicry Effect)—LV5 (Level up requires 5000 points of universal mana or double the amount of other mana types; cap is LV15)
Current Active Spell Effects:
- Mental Library: This magic establishes a permanent, categorized abstract library in the mind for storing knowledge and important memories. It grants photographic memory, allowing the user to remember any text or language, no matter how complex, after seeing or hearing it once. However, note that the Mental Library cannot help you understand knowledge, languages, or scripts you have never studied.
- Mimicry: This spell allows you to split off a new magical core by consuming a certain amount of mana and mimic a known spellcasting profession. Upon successful casting, you automatically gain LV1 in that profession. More mana can be spent to increase the level. The maximum level depends on your knowledge of the profession. Mimicked professions and levels only work in the profession's native magical world; once the magical environment changes, the mimicked levels and abilities will disappear. To retain the profession, you must bind it to a land card created in that magical world. Each land card can only bind one profession.
Current Tasks:
- Create a land card (Reward: Two card draws)
- Reach a total of twenty cards (Reward: One card draw; Current number of cards: 12)
Special Abilities:
- Unstable Interplanar, Crystal Sphere, and Inter-Universe Teleportation: This ability, derived from the Planeswalker profession, grants the power to travel between worlds. No one, not even gods, can stop a Planeswalker from going where they desire.
- Card Creation: This ability, also from the Planeswalker profession, allows you to create permanent magic cards from spells, creatures, equipment, and items encountered during your travels. When a card is activated, it instantly releases the corresponding magic effect or summons the corresponding creature or item. The higher the Planeswalker's level, the higher the level of cards they can create and use.
- Refinement
- Shaping
- Awakening Constructs
These three abilities stem from the Creator profession. This ancient, esoteric profession focuses on mysticism, alchemy, runes, and magical rituals. In exchange for giving up casting spells, Creators receive enhanced abilities when making and using potions, magical items, equipment, and wonders.
At LV1, Creators gain the unique ability to extract materials and energy from nature. At LV3, they unlock the ability to reshape any magical or non-magical object, though its total volume and weight cannot change. At LV5, they can awaken constructs, giving intelligence to a dead object and turning it into a living being. However, before reaching LV11, Creators can only fully control one awakened construct, akin to a mage and their magical pet, but with some differences.
Because the Creator is an arcane profession like mages, they cannot wear any armor while using their abilities, as this would result in a high failure rate.