Ch. 97 - Separation of Man and Machine

Adam didn't need to read the contract. A contract made by a mage should contain no loopholes, anyways.

"Sign the contract?" a clear voice sounded in his mind. Adam confirmed his choice and the contract was embedded in his soul.

"The contract is established," the Dean confirmed. "Mage Morde, you are now a witness to Adam's experiment. As a reminder, everything in this experiment belongs to Adam, so you cannot claim co-ownership."

"I agree," Mage Morde bowed.

Dean Victor nodded, then glanced at Adam with a worried, but neutral face before leaving.

After the Dean left, Mage Morde sighed in relief and chuckled, ""So, when will your experiment start? Can I take a look in your experiment room?"

Adam didn't know why the Dean stared at him so intently, as if he was trying to warn him of something. After hearing Mage Morde's request, he snapped out of his thoughts and replied quickly, "Of course, follow me."

Once they entered the experiment room, Mage Morde frowned and said, "These machines are too simple. How could you possibly make a good body using these... things?"

Just as Adam was about to reply, Mage Morde waved him off, "I know, I know, but if it were me, I wouldn't be using these."

Mage Morde lifted his arm, shifting all of Adam's equipment to a corner of the room. With a snap of his finger, a lot of equipment materialised in the room, and all of the equipment was most definitely high-end compared to Adam's.

"There we go," Mage Morde smiled.

"Master," the devil whispered in Adam's mind. "I don't feel good about this guy..."

"So," Mage Morde said, hands on his hips. "How do you like my babies? Not to worry, I'll teach you how to use them. This experiment of yours will go swiftly with my help."

"I sense an evil aura from him," the devil muttered.

Adam was pondering on the devil's words, but Mage Morde thought Adam was shocked by these high-end equipment and laughed, "You must like them -- these are very valuable, so unfortunately, I can't give them to you. However, if your research is successful, then you'll be able to get equipment like mine."

"I hope so," Adam answered absentmindedly. "Let's start."

Mage Morde nodded excitedly and motioned for Adam to set up.

After walking out of the laboratory to retrieve some tools, the devil materialised beside Adam and gestured towards the lab, "Master, that mage does not have good intentions. I smell greed radiating from him."

Adam felt this way too, but he didn't know what Mage Morde's intentions were. Theoretically, he is protected under the contract, unless he has a way to bypass the contract.

...

Adam took the devil's warning to heart, and was prepared in case Mage Morde wanted to betray him. Before leading Frank into the laboratory, Adam fiddled with his Soul Perception Device, in case anything went wrong.

Mage Morde didn't realise what Adam was doing and simply asked, "Do you want to separate him from his existing mechanical body?"

Adam simply nodded, then ordered Frank to enter the life support device. The device looks like an astronaut's capsule -- alchemists developed this capsule to ensure the person within it remains alive. Adam needed this device as Frank was too fragile, and Adam needed to ensure that Frank would survive.

Frank was nervous, injecting a mysterious liquid into his arms. He was instantly paralyzed, and his nerves were sluggish. He nodded to Adam and murmured, "I'm ready."

Mage Morde simply stood by the capsule and stared at Frank intently.

As Frank fell into a state of unconsciousness, Adam started to loosen the connection between his mechanical body and his flesh. However, his mechanical body was still circulating as if they had never been separated.

"It's fascinating, isn't it?"

Adam ignored Mage Morde, conjuring a high-intensity magnetic field within the capsule. A few seconds later, five electromagnetic scalpels were suspended within the capsule under Adam's psychic control.

Originally, Adam thought he could numb Frank's pain by keeping him in control of his electromagnetic field, but found that he was unable to conjure two fields at once.

The next step is to separate every blood vessel, every nerve, and every tissue in his mechanical body.

"So, how are you going to transform it?" Mage Morde asked. "Do you need my help?"

Adam glanced at Mage Morde, turning the device off, "Mage Morde, is there any... specific things I need to look out for in this mechanical body? Perhaps something you haven't disclosed to the public?"

Adam needed to word this perfectly. Most mechanical bodies are free from any bindings, which means that anyone could disassemble or experiment on it. However, Frank bought this body from Mage Morde, so it is impossible to guarantee that it is free from this exclusivity. It is a felony to spy on others' research without a Mage's explicit permission.

Mage Morde cursed in his heart and replied begrudgingly, "There is."

He didn't expect an apprentice to be so cautious. If Adam didn't ask this question, he would be able to claim Adam's research as his own.

He took the mechanical body from Adam's hands and swiped his fingers throughout the structure, pointing out, "These nerves are constructed using runes that I developed."

"Master!" the devil shouted in Adam's mind. "This is his conspiracy!"

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