The Wizard Has A Biochip

Ruby smiled.

— Then we should go help them.

I remained silent.

She approached me.

— What’s wrong?

— We were too confident.

Ruby raised an eyebrow.

— You?

— Both of us.

I sighed.

— This is our first mission in the Underground.

— We didn’t know the environment, we didn’t know the enemies, and we didn’t know the true combat style used here.

I looked toward the tunnel.

— We should have stayed together.

Ruby became thoughtful.

— But we can still change that.

She smiled.

— Besides, you said your Golem can travel through the Underground.

— It can.

— Then we can launch a surprise attack.

She moved even closer.

— And I want to test those enemies.

A smile appeared on my face.

— You really can’t stay away from trouble, can you?

— Trouble?

Ruby placed a finger over my lips.

— I prefer to call it fun.

— So, my dear consort, if you help me capture one of those bastards...

She tilted her head.

— Maybe I’ll have a special reward waiting for you when we return to our room.

My body stiffened for a moment.

— Ruby...

She burst out laughing.

— Hahaha! That expression was wonderful!

I shook my head.

This girl really liked teasing me.

Her red eyes, however, continued to shine.

Behind that playful smile was something else.

A genuine desire to fight.

And perhaps that was exactly what made Ruby so dangerous.

— All right.

— Let’s look for our companions.

The Giant King Shark raised its head.

Elemental energy began circulating through its enormous body.

— But we’ll do it carefully.

Ruby smiled.

— As you wish, George.

Then we headed toward the origin of the explosion.

.

.

.

.

.

The surroundings suddenly seemed to disappear.

Not literally, of course.

It was as if all the sounds, all the sensations, and even the darkness itself around me had been erased.

Using my Golem’s crystal core as an intermediary, I plunged my consciousness into a completely different form of perception.

Then, I saw.

Not with my eyes.

The world around me had transformed into an enormous network formed by the glowing particles of the Earth element.

Every grain of sand, every fragment of rock, every wall, and every portion of the ground possessed a delicate connection with one another.

And I could feel it.

I remained motionless on the back of the Giant King Shark.

A small disturbance in the ground caused an almost imperceptible ripple in the Earth element.

Normally, no one would be able to perceive something so insignificant.

But I could.

A creature crawling, a stone being moved, a paw touching the ground, or a snake slowly slithering through a tunnel.

Even the movement of a small Stone Rat.

Everything produced a tiny alteration in the Earth element.

And those alterations reached me.

It was as if the Underground itself had become an extension of my senses.

[Beep!]

[Elemental connection established.]

[Current perception area: 100 meters.]

[Maximum accuracy within the area: high.]

I smiled.

One hundred meters.

On the surface, that wouldn’t mean much.

An acolyte could simply climb to a high point and observe a much greater distance.

If they could fly, the observation range would be even more impressive.

But down here...

One hundred meters was absurd.

The walls of the Underground Cave were thick.

Some were several meters thick.

In certain regions, a ten-meter-thick wall could separate two people without either of them knowing of the other’s existence.

And the deeper we went, the greater the amount of metal mixed into the rocks.

These metals interfered with magical senses and made ordinary detection techniques more difficult.

Because of this, intelligent creatures of the Underground had developed their own methods of survival.

Moving silently.

Hiding their own aura.

Controlling their body temperature.

Detecting vibrations.

All of that was essential.

Without these abilities, surviving in that place would be almost impossible.

I continued exploring my new perception.

Within one hundred meters, I could form a fairly precise mental representation of the environment.

But there was a limitation.

My mana.

One hundred meters was the limit at which I could maintain detailed perception.

Beyond that, I could only sense approximately the direction of a vibration.

I couldn’t reconstruct the scene.

Still...

It was more than enough.

— There are...

My voice came out quietly.

Ruby turned her face toward me.

— What?

I remained focused.

It was almost like speaking in my sleep.

— Two human-like creatures...

I stopped.

My perception extended further.

— One hundred meters below us. Seventeen degrees southeast.

Ruby immediately became alert.

— Humans?

— I’m not sure.

I continued analyzing.

— But I’m sensing a strong elemental aura.

My heart began beating faster.

— It’s highly likely that they’re acolytes.

Ruby remained motionless.

Her red eyes narrowed.

The origin of that enormous explosion was exactly in that direction.

And now there were two acolytes emerging from the same place.

— Can you identify who they are? — Ruby whispered.

She moved closer and placed her lips near my ear.

— And can you determine their strength?

I didn’t answer immediately.

My consciousness was completely immersed in the elemental network.

— They’re coming toward us.

My brow furrowed.

— But there’s a deviation of approximately four degrees.

I continued tracking their movements.

— Between us, there are three tunnels and two caverns.

— Ninety-three meters.

My perception changed.

— They’ve reached the first cavern.

I sensed a violent alteration.

— The cavern collapsed because of the previous explosion.

My heart beat faster.

— There is no direct tunnel to our position.

Then I sensed something different.

A ripple.

Stronger.

More concentrated.

— Wait...

I opened my eyes.

— They’re casting some kind of spell.

I concentrated even more.

— No...

My expression changed.

— They’re holding something.

That signature...

I knew it.

— It looks like they’re using an object to identify our location.

My body stiffened.

Then I understood.

— It’s a Communication Rune!

Ruby’s eyes widened.

— What?

— The Communication Rune we received before we separated!

My tone became serious.

— They’re using the Rune to track us!

I immediately controlled the Giant King Shark.

The enormous Golem began moving.

The earth around us opened as it rose toward an upper cavern.

When we finally emerged, I jumped to the ground.

My hand went directly to my bag.

I took out a fist-sized Communication Rune.

I stared at it.

That could only mean one thing.

When we arrived in the Underground, all of us had exchanged our respective personal auras through the Runes to facilitate communication.

If those enemies possessed one of them...

Then someone from our group had been captured.

Or worse.

They might be dead.

I tightened my grip on the Rune.

My expression turned cold.

I was about to throw it away when a hand grabbed my wrist.

— Wait.

I looked at her.

She had a dangerous smile on her face.

— If they can really locate us through the aura stored in this Rune...

She tilted her head.

— Why simply throw it away?

I remained silent.

Ruby continued:

— We can use this against them.

Her red eyes gleamed.

— We can let them think they’re tracking us.

She took the Rune from my hand.

— Then we set a trap.

A smile slowly appeared on my face.

— Separate them...

— Exactly.

— And eliminate the weaker one first.

Ruby nodded.

— Then the second one will be alone.

I looked at her.

The two of us understood perfectly what that meant.

Whenever the word "death" appeared in a conversation, Ruby’s eyes changed.

That murderous intent simply emerged.

This time, however, I was interested as well.

After all, those men had attacked our team.

We had no obligation to offer mercy.

— Very well.

I took the Rune again and handed it to her.

Then we climbed onto the back of the Giant King Shark once more.

The Golem began slowly sinking into the ground.

...

1302 Words

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