Chapter Nine: Wizard Realized
One week later.
Inside a dimly lit room.
A room where a faint overhead light flickered with static.
From the looks of it, it seemed to be a desolate surgery room, with only a few pieces of equipment.
A monitor to check heart rate, the usual tube for an IV drip, and a tray lined with other surgical tools.
In front of the bed stood him.
Clothed in light-blue scrubs and a white lab coat.
Goggles framed his face, accompanied by sleeked-back grey hair and a trimmed moustache.
"Mhm."
Tilting his head downward, he stared at the young man lying face down on the narrow bed stationed in the center of the room.
"You should be waking up any time now, kid."
Muttering that, his gaze slid toward the base of the man's tied-up hair, where a small chip was visible.
"To think I'd end up involved in this experiment again…"
Gradually, while murmuring, he returned his scalpel back onto the tray, producing a soft clatter.
Then, he crossed his arms, as if waiting for the figure who lay there.
"Nngh."
A sound.
A low grunt emanated from the male resting on the bed.
His body quivered as he began to awaken.
"Be careful. Although the surgery may have been successful, your body still needs time to recuperate."
With a perceptible frown, the surgeon said that.
Walking toward the left side of the room, where the light barely reached,
He took hold of a clipboard, and began reading through it.
[Information]
• [Name: Morgan Sinclair]
• [Place of Birth: United States]
• [Legal Guardian: Kunimitsu Maya]
Once more, he read through the details.
'How reckless, that young lad.'
It happened about a week ago.
When he received a message through an encrypted line from the young man.
At the very least, all data concerning those who once worked for DEM should have been wiped out.
Knowing Westcott, if he caught even a hint of deserters like him still being alive,
that man would undoubtedly go to great lengths to silence them.
Thus, it was a surprise to him.
Ultimately, it has led to this, hasn't it?
The man shook his head once again and redirected his focus back to Morgan.
"Connecting a Realizer to your neck... You know how dangerous that is, right?"
Even ordinary surgery wasn't guaranteed to succeed.
Moreover, even when it was successful, the subsequent effects often appeared in unforeseen ways.
But this child, Morgan. Damn kid came up with a terrible idea, didn't he?
What if,
Rather than implanting it in the brain, you used the spine?
That way, it would lessen the burden on the brain, but at the same time,
It would reduce its effectiveness.
Furthermore, the burden would be distributed throughout the entire body rather than being focused solely on the brain.
While that was indeed ideal,
It defeats its purpose.
Partly suicidal.
That was his scheme.
"Aaa-"
"Don't speak yet; let your nerves adjust. You will need a moment to get used to your balance."
The young male replied with a slight twitch of his finger.
Of course, this didn't pass the surgeon's gaze.
But more than that.
More than the male putting himself in this predicament.
He wanted to know.
"Child, say, was it worth it?"
With that thing connected to his spine, his weak spot was that place.
Attacking that place meant great danger.
In addition, there was a high chance that if he sustained massive damage from that spot,
then... that would be the end for him.
Everything from his brain down to the neural links bridging his spine
... would fry up.
No.
He knew the answer.
Morgan knew. He was the one who proposed the idea.
And as someone who did, he was bound to understand the risks that came with doing this.
Morgan currently wouldn't care less.
For he had made his resolutions.
"You probably already know the answer."
Just as he mused, the voice of the young male on the bed brought him back too.
Morgan was already sitting up, his right hand braced against his slightly elevated knee on the bed.
"...Nghn. You—"
"Aaa. Don't worry about it."
Morgan smiled at him before turning his gaze toward the scalpel on the tray.
His brows knitted together.
He fixed his gaze upon it.
Then, gradually, almost miraculously,
It began to levitate off the tray under the astonished stare of the old Surgeon.
"No way. He can already deploy territory? No, how is he even standing in the first place?"
With a completely bewildered expression, he saw the scalpel slowly land on the male's hand.
"So, this is territory, huh--nngh."
Just as it landed, he winced, instinctively clutching his head with his left hand.
"Hey, I told you to take some rest. Listen to me."
Pain.
It was sharp, searing, numbing, and excruciating.
While territory allowed him to bend the laws of physics, his brain required that constant calculation.
A typical human brain was incapable of managing it.
...at the same time.
To complicate matters, the Realizer he had implanted was an outdated model.
"Seriously, what do you even find in 'that piece of junk'? Good thing I was the one who helped you, else, it'd be worse than this."
Placing a round device around his head, he settled Morgan back onto the bed gently.
Meanwhile as the man talked, Morgan only stared at the ceiling.
"…Really, I need to know. What are you planning to do with all this? What do you wish for?"
He asked, standing in front with narrow eyes. But, Morgan's answer, however,...
Said male stared at the flickering lights, right above.
Then, slowly, after myriads of expressions.
Finally, he said the reason.
"I don't want to lose against this world. I want to overcome this one… and move on to the next."
...he knew it.
In the end, he couldn't just sit by.
Naturally, he had zero business with the Spirits themselves.
Rather than that, he had business with the ones on top.
And to do that, he first needed to get stronger.
Parallel worlds were confirmed after Mio's death; if that were the case, what about worlds beyond this?
Morgan wanted to know.
… to add: What if, off the top, he manages to find a way back to his previous world?
Was it possible?
He also wanted to know.
If that weren't possible, then he'll move on. Even if it were, that doesn't change anything.
Or so he thought.
"Aa."
The man stared, clearly taken aback by the answer.
What was it? Those words.
It was like hearing himself back then.
When he first began the project with the leaders of DEM.
That same spark. That same revolutionary drive.
Spirits.
Back then, everything seemed possible.
Science lacked answers for those supernatural existences—but at what cost had they sought them?
Ruining the futures of those young girls?
Terrible.
But now…
The man stood there in silence, teeth gritted, fists clenched, staring at Morgan for a long moment.
Without another word, he turned, walked toward his drawer, then returned holding something.
"Attach this to the side of your head."
It was a device with smooth, flat grey surfaces, with black plating.
…Its shape, however, curved slightly upward like a pair of horns.
And when Morgan looked closely, it resembled a cross between a crown and a horned circlet.
"This device is one of my latest creations. It was originally intended to act as a supportive AI."
Morgan's first thought upon seeing it was 'Animusphere'.
That suspicion was confirmed the moment the device slipped over his head.
"This will solve the constant calculation problem, but don't rely on this too much."
"If you want to stand at the top of the world, then you need to work harder."
Why was he doing this?
He had no idea.
One thing was for sure: He was starting to look forward to the growth of this boy.
"Well then, have a little more rest. You still have one free day."
"Mhm. I'll do so. Thank you, Sensei."
Morgan mouthed that, as his eyes slowly closed, drifting off to sleep.
How did it get to this?
Last week.
Yes, it began last week.
After parting with Tonomachi and the rest, he began his research.
From there,
It got to a point.
Unlike what he assumed, he couldn't find any data on Realizers, even on the Dark Web.
Just when all hope seemed to be lost,
A brilliant idea came to mind.
Using everything at his disposal, he gathered bits of data he could find,
One that connected to DEM and potentially the government.
It took three whole days.
Dr. Elric Vale.
Another variable in this world.
One originally working as a scientist for a subsidiary, he along with some others left DEM.
However...
No way in hell Westcott was going to let them go free.
And then, whether it was luck or a fluke, or perhaps destiny at work,
… he got in contact with him after another day of research into underground info of DEM.
At first, the man wasn't willing.
But after bargaining with him, eventually, this meeting was possible.
Well, bargaining might have not been the word, more like Morgan coerced him.
The man wanted to avoid Westcott right?
All he had to do then was simple.
It was a good thing it didn't come to that as the man eventually agreed.
… right now.
A huge hurdle had been crossed. This was just the first step.