Wizard: Start with Biological Transformation to Grind Experience
Chapter 186 - 025: Rule Legacy

Chapter 186: 025: Rule Legacy

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The process of defeating Diego went smoothly. Already severely injured on the battlefield by Grant, he was teetering on the verge of collapse due to the magic backlash caused by his failed advancement ritual.

The suddenly appearing Lynch struck him with back-to-back spells, leaving him no chance to resist, and he died on the spot.

....

Several days later, in the Shadow Land.

At the time when dusk transitions to dawn, a thin mist wound gently around, draping a veil over the entirety of the Shadow Land.

"Dong! Dong!"

A few ancient bell chimes echoed, proclaiming the arrival of a new day.

Apprentices wearing cloaks rubbed their drowsy eyes, gradually emerging from their residences, heading to the woodland to gather, to the hunting grounds to hunt, or to their classrooms to attend lectures, thus beginning a new day.

Lynch Mansion.

Inside the mansion, Lynch had risen early — more accurately, he hadn’t slept much at all.

As his spiritual power grew, the amount of sleep he required each day dwindled accordingly. Especially after advancing to High-level Apprentice, his Spirit Coefficient had already surpassed 20 points.

Spirit: 23.2.

23.2 Spirit, equivalent to 232 units of spiritual power, was sufficient for him to sustain a long period of cultivation and spell study. Combined with Knight Training, he could go days and nights without sleep.

At the moment, Lynch was busy at his desk, and the object of his attention was none other than the spoils of his recent endeavors.

[Morris’s Spiritual Handbook lv0: 328/3000]

[Morris’s Magic Handbook lv0: 186/3000]

Adding the Bloodline Refinement Handbook he had obtained from Barton to his collection, he essentially possessed the complete inheritance of the Shadow Tower. According to Richard’s diary, this was the most valuable legacy in the Shadow Swamp.

Indeed, it was impressive.

The three handbooks all explained the magic system from the foundational rules, completely different from the spell knowledge Lynch had studied before. Learning these three manuals wouldn’t just improve his grasp on Necromancy but would deepen his understanding of magic as a whole. After all, embedded within this knowledge was a brand-new system of rules.

Rules!

These were objective constructs of this world, akin to physics and chemical laws on Earth. Magic within this world was also composed of these rules. Mastering the rules meant mastering magic. Conversely, all spell learning essentially boils down to the application of these rules.

Rules were formally divided starting from Wizard Level and were closely tied to a wizard’s rank, climbing from First Ring, to Second Ring, to Third Ring.

The Shadow Tower held a Third Ring rule inheritance. Any apprentice or wizard educated locally within the Shadow Tower was trained in this Third Ring rule set, and all their meditation and magic derived from these rules.

This rule system was called: Shadow Law.

It was said that the first-generation founder of the Shadow Tower, Meiramir, had accidentally obtained it from the belly of a deep-sea giant beast. As an apprentice at the time, he encountered an unexpected disaster while at sea, getting swallowed by the beast along with his ship.

All his companions perished, yet he miraculously survived, discovering this rule inheritance within the beast’s stomach.

He remained in the great beast’s belly studying it, eventually using its power to tear apart the giant beast’s abdomen and killing it. Upon returning to land, he used this inheritance to establish the Wizard Tower, now known as the Shadow Tower.

Only Judges were permitted to view and learn the complete Shadow Law inheritance. However, since the spells and knowledge passed down through the Tower were all derivative of this rule set, it was theoretically possible to reverse-engineer the rules from the learned spells.

This, of course, was merely theoretical. Since fragments of the rules were scattered across thousands of spells and pieces of knowledge, mastering just one or two spells was akin to blind men feeling an elephant. It was impossible to perceive the full structure of the rule system.

Unless... someone managed to learn every spell in the Shadow Tower’s inheritance. Perhaps then...

Shadow Law 15.6%.

This data point on the panel emerged when Lynch had learned over 200 spells. Subsequently, each new spell he studied incrementally increased his Rule Skill Level, eventually reaching the current 15.6%.

After learning every Apprentice Level spell accessible in the Tower and reading almost all the books in the Silver Key Library, only this much progress could be achieved — a testament to how difficult reverse-engineering truly was.

It also demonstrated the immense power contained within a complete rule inheritance.

The Shadow Swamp’s three inherited knowledge manuals combined formed a comprehensive rule inheritance, named: Shadow Descent.

This rule system was a First Ring rule. Its exact origins — whether Morris had discovered it or inherited it — remained unclear.

Rules were objective constructs of this world’s existence, incapable of being created spontaneously. They were either discovered or inherited.

Although a First Ring rule wasn’t as powerful as the Tower’s Third Ring rule, mastering it in its entirety would yield immeasurable value. Regardless, if Lynch wished to build a Wizard Tower and govern a Witch Domain in the future, this inheritance alone would suffice.

"Wizard Tower..."

Owning a Wizard Tower was the pursuit of most wizards. With such a Tower, one could recruit apprentices, cultivate resources, plant magical materials, and develop the Witch Domain, acquiring a continuous stream of resources — essentially a treasure trove.

"Still too far off. I’ll think about it later."

Shaking his head, Lynch dismissed the scattered thoughts from his mind. These were matters to consider after advancing to Wizard Level; for now, focusing on his studies was the priority.

[Morris’s Spiritual Handbook Skill Level +3]

[Morris’s Magic Handbook Skill Level +2]

After finishing a session from both manuals, Lynch performed a round of meditation, concluding his morning’s coursework.

He then stepped into the laboratory.

On the laboratory table were several Space Pockets and a pile of chaotic materials — all spoils from his recent endeavors.

Magic Stones totaled roughly seventy to eighty thousand, partially sourced from Frey, with the rest collected from Diego.

The most valuable thing from Frey was a complete Harpy corpse — a Wizard Level demon and not just a fragment or organ but a fully intact body. Its value was enormous.

It left him curious about how Frey, merely a High-level Apprentice, had secured such a treasure. Likely, it hadn’t come easily; her Space Pocket was practically empty afterward — probably the culmination of her life’s savings. To now have had it all taken by him, she must hate him down to her very soul.

"Let her hate all she wants."

Lynch couldn’t care less. Although he had fulfilled his promise of freeing her, he had retained her Soul Contract Scroll. If they got along peacefully, fine. But should she seek revenge against him... she could join her companion Barton in whatever afterlife awaited them.

Having dealt with Frey, it was Diego’s turn.

Diego’s remaining materials were scarce, given that he invested most of his resources into preparing for the [Despair Hell] Wizard advancement ritual. On the battlefield, his Dead Spirits had been mostly wiped out. Lynch had searched afterward, salvaging only a few.

Diego’s most valuable possession was likely a Second-type Space Fragment, which contained several thousand cubic meters of space. Embedded in his Magic Wand, it had been used specifically for storing Dead Spirit constructs.

"Tsk tsk... Truly, murder and arson pave gold belts!"

The combined resources scavenged from these two High-level Apprentices totaled between one to two million Magic Stones. Lynch’s previously dry purse suddenly felt bountiful again, tempting him to tour the Black Witch Domain.

Of course, such thoughts were fleeting. Aside from breaking the rules and risking exposure — which the White Witch Domain wouldn’t condone — his current strength was insufficient. Were he to act recklessly, it would be unclear whether he’d end up predator or prey.

Side earnings were best pursued opportunistically rather than as a career plan. Relying solely on this route was unwise.

"The upcoming Blood Moon War might present an opportunity..."

This idea crossed Lynch’s mind, exciting him somewhat. Normally, restrictions prevented reckless looting, but such rules wouldn’t apply during the Blood Moon War. Didn’t that mean an excellent chance for windfall gains?

"We’ll see."

Shaking his head, Lynch refocused on the laboratory table. To one side lay a heap of peculiar materials: long mechanical arms, oddly-shaped gears, pistons, valves, and more.

These were alchemical components dismantled from Grant’s belongings.