Ch. 293 - An Old Friend

The mages felt a bit awkward. They were used to doing destruction missions, but this time they were on a rescue operation, so they forgot to download the language from Mage Network.

The Titans looked at the quiet mages in the sky, and fear spread among them.

The language wasn't a big problem. After connecting to the Mage Network, the mages downloaded the language package in just a few seconds.

After talking, the Titan lords decided to trust the mages and carefully brought up the two requests Adam had mentioned earlier.

The mages landed on the ground, walking in groups of two or three towards the crash sites of the floating fortresses.

They moved carefully to avoid misunderstandings, following the habits of Titans included in the language package.

When they saw the floating fortresses modified by Adam, they tried hard to hide their disdain.

These professional alchemists from the Seventh Tower were much better than Adam. To them, the modifications to the floating fortresses were full of flaws; calling them shoddy was an understatement.

Out of the Titans' earshot, the alchemists talked among themselves:

"The power core is garbage. How does this thing even fly? Look at these circuits, they conflict with each other, wasting energy during transmission."

"The energy core is similar. But that's understandable, they use very low-grade energy blocks."

"The weapon and defense systems are good. There's one key magic array that's very advanced. Hmm, I can't understand this technique."

"Really? Where? Let me see!"

The Titans were amazed by the alchemists' skills: any mage could find a damaged spot on the floating fortress, press their hand on it, and patterns would appear in the air as the damage was visibly repaired.

Some Intelligent Titans remembered their shock when Adam's magnetized smelting factory first started. But compared to what they saw now, even though they didn't understand, they could see Adam was far behind these people.

Actually, it wasn't Adam's fault. He wasn't a specialized alchemy mage. He hadn't been a real mage for long and didn't have time to expand his knowledge. He only knew a few alchemy formulas and couldn't even use real alchemy magic.

As time passed, the floating fortresses rose again. Even the crashed ones were rebuilt and pieced together into new fortresses that ascended into the sky.

The Titans were deeply moved. Seeing Adam's companions working hard for them, they slightly lowered their guard. The curious and lively Titans approached the mages and began to try to communicate.

The mages were also curious about the Titans. The Grafted Gear on the Titans, though rough in appearance, was quite functional. Some of the ideas were new to the mages and inspired them.

Unable to resist their curiosity, the mages, after getting permission, started examining and playing with the gear. They refined the design based on their own methods and returned the enhanced parts to the Titans.

For the mages, the important part was the thought process behind creating these items, not the products themselves.

The Titans, however, were very pleased. They felt the goodwill from the mages and began to believe that these strange beings, like Adam, were truly there to help them.

After repairing the floating fortresses, the mages reprogrammed their movement systems. Some mages stayed in the fortresses while others flew out to patrol the surroundings, clearing out scattered and gathering Dilus. They worked together very harmoniously.

The Royals gradually relaxed as well. They had once built civilizations across different planes and understood the importance of power dynamics in interspecies interactions. After witnessing the mages' strength, they no longer hoped for equal coexistence.

They were just reassured that, at least, the mages were not evil. They expected that their future would not be worse than the present---at least not much worse.

...

Adam was surprised to see a familiar face in Titania.

On the second day of their rest, his communication device connected, and the sender was an old friend.

"Frank, how are you here?" Adam looked at him in amazement. When Adam left the Mordo Tower, Frank was just an ordinary apprentice who had barely found his path and even had physical disabilities. Yet, in just a few decades, he had become a level-two mage and was involved in the cross-plane war.

Frank gave a mechanical smile and then took out a contract, knelt on one knee, and held it up with both hands. "As agreed, Adam, I am now your pact guardian."

Adam took the pact from his hands, read it, and then tore it up without hesitation.

Frank, still in his kneeling position, was stunned. "Sir, what are you doing?"

Adam tried to help him up, but Frank refused. So Adam said, "My help to you back then does not warrant your loyalty. You know it was nothing to me."

Frank stubbornly replied, "But a pact is a pact. What was nothing to you was everything to me."

Adam said, "I am now a level-three mage. If nothing goes wrong, I will be promoted to level four after returning to the mage Plane. You can't help me with your current power, and I am an Explorer. You can't do much for me."

Adam's words sounded harsh but were true. He didn't know how Frank had become a level-two mage in such a short time.

Seeing Frank's completely mechanical body, Adam guessed the cost was high.

Maybe Frank had achieved his life goal, but it was of no use to Adam. Frank now probably couldn't even defeat Garfield.

Frank bowed his head in silence for a while, then stood up. "Regardless of what you think, the pact was signed and should be upheld." He then stood by Adam's side, head bowed.

Adam had no choice. Frank was bound by the pact, and Adam couldn't just kill him to refuse his service. So Adam said, "Do as you wish. If you truly want to help, work hard to improve your strength. When I advance to transcendent level and establish my mage tower, you can join it." This was the only way Adam thought Frank could be useful.

Frank bowed solemnly and said, "Thank you, sir."

Frank then detailed his experiences over the years. Most of them were uneventful, but one detail caught Adam's attention.

"You said you created a new type of magic alloy and used it to construct your body, becoming a formal mage?"

Frank proudly replied, "Yes, my lord. I call it Ripple Alloy. It can perfectly bear telekinesis, giving it destructive power comparable to magic."

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