CHAPTER 140: CHAPTER 140: CHAIN REACTION

William sat on the floor of his laboratory, his back against the black stone wall, surrounded by parchments and empty flasks. He had prepared everything to ascend, having already taken the mental stabilizer to avoid repercussions.

"What are you doing?" he sent a message through his collar, and the reply was swift.

"I’m in the alchemy lab with Nere. We’re studying the healing potion... all good for now."

William smiled softly. For the past six months, Lia and Nere had grown closer, especially when he wasn’t available. Still, every time William appeared, Nere usually ran off with poorly constructed excuses, as if trying to avoid him at all costs. At first, he didn’t pay attention, but then he couldn’t help but ask Lia if he had done something to offend her. Lia replied that her family strictly forbade her from getting close to him, so she couldn’t allow rumors. This answer left William feeling bittersweet, as he knew the reputation he had but could do nothing to avoid it.

"Alright. I’m going to run an experiment. I won’t contact you for a while. See you at the announcement in the main square."

He sent the message. He put away the communicator. Then, he sighed... and sat in a meditation posture.

Around him, the magical lights dimmed. He closed his eyes and began to recite, in a low but firm voice, the three spells he had so precisely etched into his mind: Abyss Spear, Void Wall, Shadow Echo Step.

He had studied how magical integration worked. His theoretical and practical classes had taught him the exact steps to engrave spells into the magical cortex of the brain. The process flowed with surprising naturalness, as if his body had been waiting for this moment all along.

Then it happened: from his heart, a wave of gray energy shot out, enveloping each spell. At the same time, his brain mana reacted to defend itself from the "intruder." But instead of blocking it... they began to fuse.

The synergy was brutal, but an indescribable pain pierced him as soon as that new energy touched the symbols etched in his brain. It was as if burning needles were driven into his skull, as if his brain were burning from within, marked by an invisible iron.

William didn’t scream. He didn’t writhe. He just clenched his teeth. He was stronger than that.

He didn’t know how much time passed, but when he opened his eyes... the world felt different. Everything was clearer. As if before, he had been seeing through murky water.

He stood up, taking a deep breath, and raised a hand. "Abyss Spear."

The spell was three times larger than before. The dark spear pierced the reinforced mannequin and pulverized it in a single blow. The most impressive thing was that there was no casting time; as soon as he thought of the ability, it materialized. When he tried again, there was no reaction, so he sat down to meditate and could observe in his mind how the spell was "recharging." According to the books, the spell would automatically refill and could be used up to twice a day instantly. Happy about this, William continued using spells to test his new power, realizing it had become much more powerful.

William laughed. Excited, he unleashed his arsenal. Spell after spell, invocation after invocation, until, in the midst of his ecstasy, he called his sword:

"Sword of Chaos. Void Cut."

For the first time... it worked.

The dark cut not only unleashed itself... it split the entire laboratory in two.

The defensive runes didn’t last a second.

"Shit...!"

He put away the sword in desperation. But it was too late.

The explosions began.

Unstable runes, collapsing magical circuits, bursting flasks. William ran out. Just as he crossed the door, a final explosion threw him through the air like a rag doll.

He could have avoided it. He could have vanished, protected himself, absorbed the damage.

But he didn’t.

He had to appear weak.

He hit the ground, and the first thing he saw was a tower of fire and smoke rising over the campus. The tremor shook the earth. The emergency alarm blared throughout Black Rock.

Within minutes, hundreds of mages and knights surrounded the area. Swords in hand. Magical shields activated.

William slowly got up, blood on his lips.

"What happened here?!" Agis exclaimed, approaching with a firm stride.

"I don’t know," William replied, his voice still tense. "I was doing minor tests... and suddenly everything started to fail. I barely managed to get out after the first explosion."

Agis looked at him with sharp eyes.

"Withdraw for now. We’ll inform you after the investigation. And you’d better be telling the truth... or we’ll have problems."

William nodded, his face neutral, said nothing more, and left towards the nearest portal.

Agis observed the ruins with a worried expression. Two masked mages approached him.

"Were you able to see anything?"

One of them shook his head. The other, without speaking, led both to a third mage who was holding rocks perfectly split in half. The mage began to recite:

"Revelum iteria recticia enum..."

Before their eyes, the laboratory visually reconstructed itself as a magical projection. Only the chain explosions were visible.

"What am I seeing?" Agis asked.

"A partial reconstruction," the mage replied. "The defensive runes failed... and caused a catastrophic reaction. William survived by pure luck. Not even a Level 2 mage would have made it out alive from that massacre."

Agis frowned.

"What caused it?"

"Most likely, William did something. We can’t confirm it, but if it was him... then he’s at least a Level 3 mage. Or even a Level 4."

"Can you verify it?"

"No," the third said. "The internal runes block all past observation. We could only see this because the protection failed precisely in that section. It’s the trigger. But we can’t see what he actually did."

Agis remained silent for a few seconds... and then murmured to himself: "No matter how powerful he is, it’s impossible for him to be stronger than my master, so it can’t be that. But if he didn’t do it by force, did he invent a spell that can destroy our defensive runes...? That would be a damned problem... I must inform the master as soon as possible!"

After muttering that, he vanished abruptly.