If Adam had not asked, and had gone straight to modifying the mechanical body—if he had, by ill luck, started analyzing the construction of this particular circuit—Mage Moder could have made a scene on that pretext, accusing Adam of prying into his knowledge and then extorting another piece of knowledge from him as compensation.
The two might not be of equal worth, but once he had that pretext, Mage Moder's demand would turn from utterly outrageous into relatively reasonable. In his thinking, he was a full-fledged Mage, after all; for the sake of a Mage's dignity, the tower would not side too strongly with Adam.
But now, because of a single question from Adam, that plan had collapsed.
Adam looked at him without expression. "Would you agree to make this piece of technology public? I'm willing to pay for it."
Mage Moder's expression shifted. Playing hard to get, he said, "Public, is it? Well, it's not that I couldn't..."
The devil sneered in Adam's mind, "This may be the stupidest Mage I've ever seen."
Adam gave him no chance to jack up the price. "If you'd rather not, Sir, I can simply route around this circuit. I only ask that you point out which unpublished knowledge in either of the two mechanical bodies belongs to you."
Mage Moder could foresee that if he neither published nor sold it, Adam's next step would be to ask him to leave the laboratory. So he could only force a smile and say, "Not willing? How could I be? This isn't profound knowledge at all. I can restore this section to its original structure."
The devil couldn't hold back a cold laugh. This fool of a Mage was still dreaming of getting something for nothing.
Adam handed him the mechanical body. The moment Mage Moder had it in hand, runes flashed, and this ingenious, one-of-a-kind circuit structure turned utterly ordinary.
Adam took it back without a care. His modification had never had much to do with neural conduction anyway; reverting it to its basic structure actually made it easier to judge how well the new energy source held together within the whole system.
Next, ignoring the second-rank Mage, whose face had turned rather gloomy, Adam asked directly how the precision instruments he had brought were used, and Mage Moder, forcibly suppressing his displeasure, explained them one by one.
Adam placed the mechanical body inside a large instrument, then walked to the control console.
The optical screen on the console split into several panels, magnifying every structure of the mechanical body. Adam fixed his eyes on the energy circuit.
It was an energy-conversion formation built from magic-conducting metal. He took out a set amount of energy stone, fed it into the formation through the instrument, and used his spiritual power to set the mechanical body running.
The formation began its complex work. The energy stone slowly broke down, and the energy inside it was converted by the formation into secondary-grade mana, which flowed slowly into the other structures. Then it began to simulate human bodily functions normally.
Mage Moder seemed to have calmed down. As if being helpful, he said from the side, "The energy circuit is the most fundamental structure of a mechanical body. Compared with the rest, it isn't especially intricate, but it is the most important of all. To replace it completely, you must understand the rune knowledge it employs."
Adam moved to the other end of the instrument, took the body out, and handed it to Mage Moder. "Would you help keep the mechanical body stable, Sir?"
Mage Moder was stunned. Is he really treating me as free labor?
He thought that, but he had no way to refuse Adam—staying in the laboratory had been his own request, after all. So he took it reluctantly and asked, "How?"
"In a moment I'll stimulate the energy formation with the electrical element and observe how it operates. If there are signs of overload during the process, please step in and stabilize it, Sir."
The study of the basic structure went on for a full week. Once Adam entered an experimental state he worked without eating or sleeping, while Mage Moder could not help but complain bitterly—yet he did not dare leave for a single step, afraid of missing some key stage.
Over those seven days Adam treated him entirely as an ordinary assistant; his orders went from requests at the start to matters of course. The resentment piling up in Mage Moder's heart grew stronger and stronger, until he wished he could blast Adam into nothingness with a single particle beam.
The life-support pod could only maintain Frank's most basic bodily functions, and his long-hollowed-out body could not remain in such a state for long. Adam decided to build a preliminary version, fit it to Frank first, and then make corrections in an advanced version.
Seven days were not enough for Adam to unravel the mysteries of the energy-conversion formation, so he chose a crude approach: build the energy circuit entirely on the physical structure of Earth technology, use a battery as the power source, and run wires throughout the mechanical body.
"Mage Moder, refine this mithril into 0.5-square-millimeter wire and guarantee its energy conductivity." Adam gave the order as naturally as could be, not even glancing at the Mage as he went on sketching the wiring layout on the optical projection.
Mithril's greatest difference from ordinary silver was its excellent conductivity for energy—not only mana, but every kind of element as well. Though Adam required a tiny cross-section, its safe current-carrying capacity was enormous, more than enough to support the mechanical body's work.
Adam laid out the wires in their specified positions on the three-dimensional projection, then loaded it into the simulator. The instrument simulated the whole system: from the battery at its center, electrical energy began traveling along the wires to every part of the mechanical body.
"Neural circuit functioning normally."
"Simulated organs functioning normally."
"Stress response normal."
"Force transmission normal."
Refining the wire was simple for Mage Moder; he finished it in an instant. Then he watched the testing intently, and could not help but marvel inwardly, This apprentice really has pulled it off. He's actually applied the energy every Mage overlooked to an alchemical product.
Still, he's too young. He looked at the instruments filling the room, secretly delighted. He had asked Adam nothing about any core knowledge, yet the instruments' automatic recording had already preserved the entire experimental process. Once he left the tower, he need only repeat the experiment once to master the method.
"...Testing complete. Assessment passed."
Adam let out a breath and put the mechanical body back into the first instrument. With the help of the mechanical arms, he deleted or replaced every magic-conducting energy circuit with wire.
Mage Moder asked, as if nothing were amiss, "Did it work?"
Adam nodded, then, under the Mage's gaze, deleted all the experimental process and conclusion data.
Snap.
Mage Moder crushed the leftover lump of mithril in his hand into nothingness.
Adam was very sensitive to energy reactions, and his guard rose to its highest level—but no unusual expression showed on his face. He merely turned his head and said, "Mage Moder, the last step is interfacing it with the flesh-and-blood body. Your strength will be needed there too."
Fury raged in the Mage's heart, but his face stayed normal. So what if you deleted it? Every step is recorded in my mind. Sly apprentice, you'll pay for your arrogance.