The Wizard Has A Biochip

The man looked at all of us.

— It seems that all of you are here. That’s perfect. I don’t need to explain this a second time.

Then his eyes passed over the group.

They stopped on me.

He blinked.

— Wait.

A strange expression appeared on his face.

— Why is there a Level 2 acolyte here?

— All right, all right. This must be some kind of mistake...

Tose~~

— Heh...

— Since all of you are here, you’ll have to accept your fate!

— The terror that is the degenerate and brutal underground world will have a beautiful banquet!

A vicious smile appeared on his face.

A shiver ran through the room.

Even I felt it.

But no one responded.

No one seemed willing to test the sense of humor of that man who was undoubtedly an official mage.

He stared at us for a few seconds.

— All right, all right... Apparently, you are a group of boring guys. None of you dares to say otherwise.

He sighed.

— Then let’s get straight to the point.

The man crossed his arms.

— The duration of this mission will be six months.

— The ten of you will be a team. Every ten days, you will need to patrol the underground and visit five inspection sites. All of them are located in different regions.

— Therefore, if you don’t want anything bad to happen, you’d better move as a complete group of ten, following the provided route and inspecting the five locations in order.

One of the apprentices frowned.

— How long will it take?

The man smiled.

— If you’re fast, you can complete everything in five days.

Then he raised five fingers.

— And you’ll have five days to rest.

Some seemed satisfied.

But he continued.

— Of course, you can also split up the team.

— That way, you might be able to finish the inspection trip in just two days.

— But...

His voice became cold.

— If you encounter those damned degenerate and outlaw mages of the underground world, you’ll be on your own..

— Hehehe...

— Therefore, think very carefully before doing anything.

The explanation made everyone’s expressions unpleasant.

That man didn’t seem to be trying to scare us.

He was simply making it clear how things worked.

It was then that he finally introduced himself.

— My name is Pretel.

He adjusted his robe.

— You can come to my residence afterward to complete the mission and receive your rewards.

He looked at each one of us.

— And remember...

His voice became serious.

— No matter what kind of dangerous situation you encounter in the underground world, you will be on your own.

— No one will be there to save you.

— If you’re lucky enough to kill some outlaw mages, remember to bring their heads back.

A strange glint appeared in his eyes.

— You can exchange them for good rewards with me as well.

Absolute silence.

Pretel apparently had nothing else to say.

He turned around and quickly left.

The door closed.

Finally...

There was no stranger left in the room.

The ten of us had been thrown together because of that mandatory mission.

Whether we liked it or not, we would have to work together for six months.

We began sitting around a table.

No one seemed particularly happy.

Neither was I.

It was then that Lyra took the initiative.

She became the group’s main source of information.

— I spent the last two days studying the maps of the region and the mission documents.

She placed the book on the table.

The book emitted a faint glow.

A magical representation of the underground appeared above the surface.

It was a three-dimensional map.

My eyes narrowed.

That was interesting.

Lyra pointed toward the entrance.

— All five mission sites are located relatively close to the surface.

— The farthest one is approximately twenty kilometers from the entrance.

One of the men let out a sigh.

— Twenty kilometers?

Lyra nodded.

— If we were on the surface, that would be nothing.

— Maybe seven or eight minutes of travel for some of us.

I agreed mentally.

With the speed of certain acolytes, it really wouldn’t be a significant distance.

But then Lyra touched the map.

The representation of the terrain changed.

Underground mountains appeared, Tunnels, Cracks, Chasms, Mines, Narrow Passages.

The seemingly simple distance transformed into an extremely complicated network.

— In the underground world, twenty kilometers mean something completely different.

Her voice became serious.

— From the cave entrance to the last mission site, the linear distance is approximately twenty kilometers.

She pointed at the routes.

— But between these points, there are mines, tunnels, cracks, and large fissures.

Some paths became highlighted.

— There are some routes considered relatively safe.

— If we follow these routes, we should only encounter common magical creatures from the underground world.

Then she removed the markings.

The map seemed to become much darker.

— But if we follow a random direction...

Lyra remained silent for a moment.

— We might find nothing but death.

She looked at us.

— Or something worse.

No one laughed.

Neither did I.

The Biochip automatically stored the map’s information.

[Beep!]

[Mission information recorded.]

[Partial mapping of the underground world.]

I continued observing.

It was more dangerous than it seemed.

Lyra finally ended her explanation.

— The first patrol will begin in three days.

The room fell silent.

— Therefore, we need to prepare a detailed plan today.

Three days.

I frowned.

It was really not much time.

After all, we still needed to study the routes, prepare supplies, check the equipment, potions, and artifacts.

It was then that someone spoke.

— You forgot that we have a burden on the team?

I looked to the side.

It was Elias.

He was looking directly at me.

His face clearly showed his displeasure.

— A Level 2 acolyte.

Several gazes turned toward me.

I remained silent.

There was no need to argue.

— I brought him here.

Ruby’s voice cut through the room.

I looked at her.

Her green and red eyes gleamed dangerously.

— I will be responsible for his safety.

Elias let out a cold smile.

— If that’s the case, I suggest that we split up during the mission.

He pointed at Ruby.

— Let this beautiful lady bring her boyfriend.

His smile widened.

— That way, we’ll be more efficient at completing the mission and will have more free time to study and rest.

Ruby narrowed her eyes.

I knew that look.

She was irritated.

Very irritated.

But before she could respond, Lyra shook her head.

— Are you sure about that?

Elias looked at her.

— Don’t think we can simply abandon this burden.

Her voice remained calm.

— We are a team. We need to take the whole situation into consideration and plan accordingly.

She pointed at the map.

— Every time we patrol, if we lose two allies, even if they are the weakest ones, our gains will be cut in half.

Her expression became serious.

— If we lose three, we won’t receive any gains.

— If two people are assigned to a mission site, naturally, we can complete the patrol more quickly.

Lyra touched the map.

— But if a small team is too weak...

— They might simply never return.

Elias crossed his arms.

— What? Are you feeling sorry for the rookie?

Lyra stared at him.

— No.

Her answer was immediate.

— I don’t feel sorry for him.

Then she pointed at the map again.

— But if we follow your suggestion, that also means that we might have to complete a mission intended for ten people with only eight the next time.

She raised two fingers.

— Then, perhaps only six.

Her gaze became cold.

— And even if you are individually strong, in the end you could end up dead while trying to get from one mission site to another.

Elias fell silent.

I remained watching the two of them.

Lyra had really studied the mission.

It wasn’t merely a matter of protecting someone weak.

It was a matter of mathematics.

...

1309 Words

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