On the topmost floor of Moldo Tower—a level Adam had never once set foot on—two people were watching the scene in the laboratory through the soul-sensing device.
One of them was Mage Victor. The other looked like a little girl, holding a huge apple in her hands and biting into it at a perfectly constant frequency, her face blank. Crunch, crunch, crunch, the sound went on without pause—and strangest of all, every time a piece went missing, the apple regrew whole the very next second.
She only looked like a little girl because of the mysterious, unfathomable aura she gave off; beneath that aura, even the presence of Mage Victor's enormous true body was diminished considerably.
"Tower Master, the final experiment is about to begin."
Crunch.
"I wonder whether the little one understood what that look of yours meant. Tower Master, if this goes the worst way—are we really not going to stop it?"
Crunch.
"That's true enough, but after all, it was you who permitted it."
Crunch.
"No, no, no, how would I dare blame you? It's just that the little one has already proven his potential, and I don't think there's any need to make him—"
It was hard to say how Mage Victor divined the will of Moldo Transdimensional from that monotonous crunching, but the two of them did hold their conversation this way—until the crunching suddenly stopped, and for the first time Moldo Transdimensional made a sound: "Shut up."
At the same moment, in Adam's laboratory, Mage Moder kept his smile fixed in place and asked, "How do we do this?"
Adam opened the life-support pod. Looking at Frank, whose half-body was barely breathing, he said, "I have to devote all my power to steadying his body and slowing its collapse, so the final mounting and connecting of the mechanical body will have to be done by you, Your Excellency."
Mage Moder took the mechanical body. Deep in his downcast eyes was boundless fury. He could no longer remember how long it had been since anyone had ordered him about like this—but this was the last step. During the installation he would be able to recall and verify the entire experimental process, and then, once he was back in Antana, the master of this achievement would become him. At the thought of the profit that would follow, he walked over to Frank, calm and composed.
Mage Moder extended his hand. With a flicker of metallic sheen, his palm broke into a fine array of mechanical arms. Once these were inserted into the mechanical body, the metal structure came alive: the tips turned liquid and spread outward, and the instant they touched living flesh, they found the optimal way to join with it.
In a Mage's hands the work was done easily and quickly. Frank stayed perfectly calm throughout, as though he felt no pain at all.
When the connection was complete, Adam solemnly produced a battery and seated it precisely in the energy core. In an instant current raced through every circuit, and the whole mechanical body sprang to life.
Mage Moder stared hard at Frank, and only when he saw Frank's muscles and nerves begin to tremble in unison did he say with satisfaction, "Ha, a fine idea. A perfect experiment. Congratulations, Adam—but it seems I can't share the joy with you. I have urgent business and must get back to Antana..."
Adam withdrew his gaze from the waking Frank. Expressionless, he raised his head and cut off Mage Moder's farewell. "My apologies, but you cannot leave just yet, Sir."
Mage Moder stared at Adam in astonishment, his expression at once turning to rage. "What did you say?"
"If you did not hear me clearly, Sir, I can say it again." Ignoring the Mage's fury, Adam said calmly, "You cannot leave until you either seal the memory of this experiment of your own will, or sign another, more complete contract."
Mage Moder's fury turned to laughter. He had never imagined Adam would dare speak to him like this. "It seems your arrogance has made you forget the consequences of provoking a full-fledged Mage. I ought to teach you, on your academy's behalf, how to show respect to your betters!"
His face was furious, but inwardly he was exultant: I never imagined Adam would do such a thing—but now even killing him has its justification! Mage Moder raised a finger, and a torrent of metal burst from its tip straight at Adam's brain, while his vast mana sealed the surrounding space so completely that Adam had no chance even to use a teleportation scroll to escape.
But Adam's expression remained calm; he even gave a mocking smile.
"Die!" they said at the same instant.
The words had barely left their mouths when an incredible scene unfolded: everything in the laboratory froze at that instant. Every instrument stopped working; the revived Frank was fixed in place; Mage Moder's magic hung motionless one meter from Adam's head—while his face still wore the expression it had a moment before.
Space had turned gray.
Adam tried to break free, and found that the mana binding which had been unbreakable a moment ago was now as flimsy as a sheet of thin paper. At the slightest movement it shattered apart.
"This one is a free Mage from a hereditary family lineage. Across the whole Mage Plane, Mages like him are neither many nor few, but almost none of them are welcome anywhere." The voice came from behind Adam—calm, indifferent, yet charged with an overwhelming will.
The instant Adam heard it, he turned and saluted. He had a vague guess as to who had come: if he was right, he was about to meet the true master of the tower.
Adam saw a vivid red—the only color in that gray space.
"They can be counted as a kind of Magefoe. On one hand they treasure their own knowledge; on the other they try every means to get their hands on everyone else's. Only, they usually don't cross the Mage Council's bottom line. But this time he tried to attack you, so he deserves to die."
Adam said respectfully, "Your will, great Moldo Transdimensional Mage."
"Lift your head," Moldo Transdimensional said to Adam.
Adam did not need to act at all; her voice itself carried power he could not resist.
Adam found Moldo Transdimensional impossible to describe in words. One second he had clearly seen her face; the next, he had forgotten it completely, and all that stayed in his memory was that big apple.
"You're clever, and now it seems you have some wisdom as well. I'm pleased that you understood Victor's meaning." Moldo Transdimensional paused, then went on as though talking to herself. "You must have heard that my tower and I are not strong. In part it's because my research has hit a bottleneck, and in part because there are far too few resources. I thought this state of things would last a long while—but I never expected an apprentice to change it."
"You praise me too highly," Adam said quietly.
Moldo Transdimensional shook her head. "No, that isn't praise, it's fact. Your meditation method has won me more territory; the crystal skeleton means the resources of an entire plane; and this," she pointed at Frank, "will bring the tower enormous renown."