The young low-level female mage Mary walked with heavy steps on the stairs leading to the magic laboratory. The magic crystal lamps embedded on both sides of the corridor emitted a constant bright light, but this light could not dispel her at all. The uneasiness in my heart.
During this period of time, the apprentices in the entire tower have been suffering from the same uneasiness - the old magician's mental problems seem to be developing and deteriorating in a new direction, and the eccentric and gloomy old man seems to be What stimulation did he receive during the last "connection"? He first asked his apprentices to work day and night to dismantle the mental protection circles in the tower, and then without hesitation, he dismantled one of the three magic laboratories. And installed a large number of new experimental devices that were difficult to understand. He locked himself in the new laboratory all day long, studying things that the apprentices could not understand and did not dare to inquire about. He began to learn more about it. Frequently talking to himself, mumbling, and sometimes suddenly dancing and laughing in the laboratory...
He seems to be completely crazy.
The only thing the apprentices feel lucky now is that the old mage's new madness seems to have left him no time to punish others. In so many days, no apprentice has been whipped or scolded. The old mage seems to have been completely immersed in it. In his chaotic mental world, he even forgot that he still had a group of apprentices.
So at this moment, Mary felt that she was probably the most unlucky one among all the apprentices - because the old mage Daniel actually remembered him in his madness, and sent a slave to notify her to find him in the new laboratory. ...
Is it a new crazy experiment? Or is it an inexplicable punishment? Or was it just a casual greeting from the old mage in a state of unconsciousness?
When the stairs reached the end, a slightly dimly lit corridor appeared in front of them. At the end of the corridor was the magic laboratory. A slave wearing a short black robe walked from the corridor and bent slightly in front of Mary. She said in a stiff and low voice: "Master is waiting for you."
"I understand." Mary nodded and walked forward past the slave.
The slaves in the mage tower are all slaves purchased by the old mage. Except for the old butler who is unknown how old he is and is always making secret guesses, all the slaves have undergone neuron transformation surgery and Brainwashed by spells, these stiff and emotionless "living dead" take care of the lives of the old mage and all apprentices. When necessary, they also serve as experimental materials for the old mage.
Mary used to be afraid of them and sympathized with them, but now, she is just numb to the living dead slaves, no different from the golems.
Anyway, everyone in this tower is similar.
She walked through the corridor, opened the door of the new laboratory, and saw the old mage waiting for her inside - he had his back to the door, and seemed to be staring at something on the experimental table. daze.
Mary took a breath and walked into the laboratory: "Tutor, are you looking for me?"
A few artificial nerve cords behind the old mage twitched, and then heTurning around, she stared at the female apprentice with her brown eyes: "Mary, you're here just in time, come here - close the door."
Mary walked over anxiously and took a look at the room. Freshly renovated laboratory.
The shelves holding animal samples and potions have been moved to other places, and the original stone alchemy tables are also missing. They were replaced by a large test bench in the center of the room. As well as several long tables and magic material storage cabinets on both sides of the room, the new laboratory looks completely different from the previous gloomy and terrifying place, more like a normal magic laboratory.
The young female apprentice came to the experimental table and was about to ask her instructor what his instructions were. However, she saw many drawings spread out on the experimental table, as well as many scratch papers filled with calculation formulas. .
"You, you have the best mathematical ability among all my apprentices. I chose you - come and complete the tasks assigned by the master with me!" The old mage glanced at Mary and said with an unquestionable He said, "Take these first and do these questions!"
Do the questions?
Mary was confused, but she didn't dare to disobey her instructor's order. She took the papers and began to read the contents seriously.
Her understanding was a bit difficult. Although the words on the paper were all mathematical problems that could be solved with mathematical skills, the wording and sentences were very different from the magical concepts she had encountered before, but no matter No matter what, she still had the courage to read it.
Afterwards, she began to try to use her own understanding to solve the problem of calculating the scope of the rune domain.
In the middle of solving the problem, a skinny finger suddenly stretched out from the side. Mary was startled, and then she heard the instructor's words coming from the side: "Idiot! Your square Where is the symbol?"
A cold sweat broke out on Mary's forehead, but the expected electric shock or whipping did not come. The instructor just said coldly: "Why are you still standing there? ! Do you want to get the question wrong? ”
Mary hurriedly corrected her mistake and continued.
But what she did was still very difficult - she knew mathematics and physics, but those definitions and formulas were too new and too abstract for her.
Understanding the questions added extra difficulty to her, so that she would also make mistakes in things she originally knew how to do. Soon she heard the instructor yelling in her ear: "Don't you have a brain?! The theoretical value is 277! The actual interference value has exceeded it! You are still continuing to do it!"
"Have you ever seen a magic circle with unpaired runes? Are you going to put the starting rune into your own head?"
"Quartz sand is negative! Do you think it is mithril and fine gold? If you go and design a magic circle, you will blow yourself up sooner or later!”
The instructor’s scolding and roaring sounded almost every once in a while, making Mary tremble every time, butSlowly, she discovered something - the instructor was actually teaching her something.
This is the first time since the mentor became completely obsessed with performing the "Connection" ritual a few years ago that he is teaching the apprentice the actual content again!
As soon as I was stunned, the instructor's voice rang out again: "What are you still doing? You still have two big questions to write! You are not allowed to eat until you finish the paper!"
Mary quickly lowered her head and started to answer the last two questions seriously, but a strange feeling emerged from her heart: Could it be that...the tutor has not been completely crazy recently, but is really studying magic? There has been a huge breakthrough in research, so are you completely immersed in research?
She knew that the original reason for the old magician's mental problems was that he encountered some huge and desperate problems during his magic research. He could not break through them for decades. This originally powerful, wise, and promising genius mage became gloomy, eccentric, cold and twisted - the weird and terrifying "connection" ritual only amplified his mental problems.
Ten minutes later, Mary pushed the manuscript paper towards Daniel: "Tutor, I'm done..."
The old magician glanced at her: "Have you checked it?"
"I... checked."
"Let me see."
The old magician snatched the paper from Mary's hand. Then read it carefully from beginning to end.
At that moment, whether it was an illusion or not, Mary seemed to see a trace of a smile on her mentor's always gloomy face.
"Hmm...so-so," the old magician's expression changed fleetingly, and the next second he had already straightened his face again, "It's far worse than when I did it, it took twice as much time. time.”
But Mary heard something else from this sentence: Didn’t the instructor come up with these questions himself? Did he do it again when he came up with the questions?
Obviously, the old mage couldn’t explain what he said, and Mary didn’t have the guts to ask for such details. She just lowered her head and listened, listening to the old mage continue: “Although it took you a long time, it’s almost the same. Passed. Take these materials back, read them carefully, learn them all, and then teach them to those losers and idiots hiding at the bottom of the tower - tell them that I will test them in three days, and those who can't learn it will wait for me. Become a living dead."
Mary shrank her neck and finally couldn't help but ask: "Teacher, what are these things for?"
" This is great knowledge!" The old mage opened his hands and said excitedly. It was obvious that he was in a good mood at the moment and was patiently explaining to his apprentice, "This is the knowledge given by my great master! When you learn it, I will teach you how to set up the magic network and how to simplify the magic circle - this is your great honor. It is your great honor to serve the master!"
Mary hurriedly lit it! Head, she began to doubt her optimistic estimate just now - her mentor, I'm afraidStill crazy.
After he came into contact with a terrifying existence and made a deal with it, he really went completely crazy.
At this time, the old mage suddenly frowned, and then waved his hand impatiently: "Go out, that's all I can teach you today. My master is calling me, and I must respond immediately."< /p>
Mary knew that the "master" mentioned by the old mage was a terrifying mythical creature, or a similar mysterious existence, so she did not dare to stay for a moment longer, and quickly nodded and retreated.
Before leaving the laboratory, she heard the old mage shouting from a distance: "If you behave well, you can eat meat tonight!"
Mary bowed: " Thank you, mentor."
After the young female apprentice left, the old mage muttered some vague words, and then stood in a panic on a magic circle in the corner of the laboratory. After activating the surrounding warning and protection runes, his spirit quickly emptied, and the nerve cord began to help him establish a connection with the surrounding runes.
The next second, he saw the environment around him turned upside down, and the space with the high blue sky, endless water, and a large number of metal platforms appeared in front of him again.
Sure enough, as long as he is connected to the spiritual network, he will inevitably be taken to this place - the control of the extraterrestrial wanderers is absolute, and there are no loopholes to exploit.
The old mage had already given up resistance. He bowed respectfully to the blond figure in front of him and said, "Master, what are your orders?"
"Do something first. "Take the paper," Gawain randomly created two sets of questions, "Let me see how well you have mastered it."
The old mage: "...I will obey your order."
< p>After a moment, Gawain's scolding began to sound:"Where is your brain? Have you forgotten the basic definition of address mapping?!"
"Who told you that opening a port is not allowed? It can be disguised!"
"Don't you understand what the only valid encoding means? It must always match the mental frequency! If you are asked to design an IP index, you will burn your brain sooner or later!"
p>......
"Finally...have you checked it?!"