The Wizard Has A Biochip

George ran to the third floor of the Tower of Kar-Dur as soon as he finished his preparations.

I practically raced through the corridors of the tower, ignoring the curious looks of the other acolytes. My mind was completely occupied by the Biochip’s calculations, and especially by the battle that would take place later.

When I finally reached the Alchemy Experiment Room, I immediately immersed myself in work.

There was no time to rest.

.

.

.

.

Before I knew it, the night had disappeared.

The sky was beginning to brighten.

My entire body felt as though it had been crushed.

My head hurt and my eyes burned.

I practically dragged myself back to my residence.

As soon as I entered the room, I collapsed onto the bed.

I didn’t need more than a few seconds to completely pass out.

But, unfortunately...

I couldn’t sleep for even two hours.

Knock!

Knock!

Knock!

I slowly opened my eyes as someone knocked on the door.

— Huh...?

My consciousness was still trapped somewhere between dream and reality.

Knock!

Knock!

Knock!

— George! Are you awake?

I recognized the voice immediately.

Rustil.

— I’ll be right there...

I got up and walked toward the door.

When I opened it, I found Rustil standing on the other side.

He was wearing his rogue outfit again, with the two daggers fastened to his waist. This time, however, a red cloth covered part of his face, similar to the bandanas worn by outlaws.

He looked like he had come prepared for a mission.

Or, in this case, to make sure I didn’t run away.

Rustil examined me from head to toe.

I probably looked horrible.

But, strangely, my expression was completely relaxed.

Rustil frowned.

— What were you doing last night?

I blinked.

— Sleeping.

— Sleeping?!

He almost shouted.

— Don’t tell me you completely forgot that you have a very important battle today!

I rubbed my eyes.

Then I decided to come up with the first absurd excuse that popped into my head.

— Ah... that.

I sighed dramatically.

— I was super excited because of yesterday’s unexpected luck. I couldn’t sleep.

Rustil narrowed his eyes.

— Is that all?

— Well...

I put on a tired expression.

— Ruby and I were playing all night. She climbed on top of me and drained me until I almost fainted.

Silence.

Rustil stared at me.

I stared at Rustil.

He continued staring at me.

Finally, the corner of his mouth twitched.

— I don’t believe you.

— Then why did you ask?

— Because I wanted to confirm!

I shrugged.

Rustil sighed and shook his head.

— Forget it. I don’t want to know.

He entered the room and closed the door behind him.

Then he became serious.

— Are you confident about today’s battle?

I crossed my arms.

— Why?

— Because, to be honest, you caused a huge problem yesterday.

— Me?

— You.

Rustil pointed at me.

— To stop you, the boy who appeared out of nowhere and humiliated some veterans, the veterans spent the entire night working.

— They probably spent the whole night coming up with all kinds of solutions to prevent you from simply disappearing underground again.

I remained silent.

Rustil watched me carefully.

— So tell me... are you really confident about facing Luize today?

— Do you want me to win or lose?

Rustil was taken aback.

— What?

— I want to know your answer.

He scratched the back of his neck.

— That...

After a few seconds, he sighed.

— Boy, to be honest, I see a very bright future for you.

His expression became serious.

— I’ve never seen a level 2 acolyte with abilities similar to yours. If you know how to use them properly, you could do very well in the Subterranean Cave.

He crossed his arms.

— That’s exactly why I’m so interested in putting you in the elite group.

Then his expression turned bitter.

— But your debut yesterday was a little... offensive.

— A little?

— Very!

He raised his voice.

— Chief Nople only wanted you to demonstrate your abilities and be introduced to the members of the elite group. That’s all!

— And I did that.

— You defeated Werk Treuz!

— It worked, didn’t it?

Rustil put a hand over his face.

— I’ve never seen the members of the elite group unite so much because of a common enemy.

I smiled.

— Seems like I made a good impression.

— You don’t understand!

Rustil sighed deeply.

— You’d better be very careful today.

He then lowered his voice.

— I talked to Luize. I told him that if you admit defeat, he will stop immediately. He doesn’t intend to cause any permanent harm to you.

I remained silent for a few seconds.

Then I looked directly at him.

— Rustil.

— What?

— Do you trust me?

He froze.

— What does that have to do with—

— It doesn’t matter how long they spent preparing.

— I’m still confident about today’s battle.

— So...

— If you really trust me, why don’t you bet on me?

Silence.

Rustil simply stood there.

I could practically hear the thoughts running through his head.

His opponent would be Luize.

The famous Tremor Axe.

Unlike Werk Treuz, Luize didn’t have an obvious weakness.

Werk was a caster specialized in curses.

His physical body was fragile.

If his curses failed and his army of corpses was destroyed, he would practically be left without any alternatives.

Luize was different.

Very different.

His physical strength was monstrous.

He could directly confront my Giant King Shark.

His tempered body possessed terrifying physical and magical resistance.

And, most importantly...

He wasn’t someone who relied on a single trick.

If he could force me out of the underground, he could probably destroy my Golem within a few minutes.

Rustil knew this.

I knew this.

So he simply couldn’t understand my confidence.

— Why are you so confident...?

I didn’t answer.

Some time later, we were once again riding on two Wind Griffins.

The creature beneath me flapped its enormous wings as we crossed the sky.

This time, however, I was much more comfortable.

I no longer needed to desperately cling to its feathers like I had the day before.

As we flew toward the training ground, Rustil remained silent.

It didn’t take long for the training ground to appear below us.

The two Griffins began to descend.

As soon as my feet touched the ground, I heard an absurd number of voices.

I looked ahead.

There was a veritable crowd waiting.

It was as if the entire training ground had come to watch that fight.

Apparently, I had become quite popular in just one day.

Or perhaps... quite hated.

I looked at Rustil.

He seemed even more nervous than I was.

I approached him and whispered into his ear:

— Bro.

— What?

— Why do you look so down heheehehe?

Rustil glanced at me.

— You were the one who brought me to this training ground yesterday.

— That means you also ended up offending practically every one of these guys.

I discreetly pointed toward the crowd.

— So why don’t you bet on me?

Rustil swallowed hard.

— George...

— Think about it.

I patted him on the shoulder.

— If you win, what can they do to you?

He remained silent.

— Who’s going to keep all your money?

— So... why are you still hesitating?

...

1212 Words