The Wizard's Biological Chip Can Process Everything-Chapter 85: I hate sharks! Those damn things like to spit acid.
I examined the scrolls spread across the mission board, analyzing each one carefully.
This was my first mission outside the tower, so I needed to choose something simple to test my armor and adapt to the outside world.
Most missions involved hunting creatures, protecting scouting acolytes, or exploring ruins, all with high levels of danger.
That wasn’t what I was looking for right now.
Then a specific scroll caught my attention.
["Mission"]
["Ingredient Collection for an Alchemist"]
["Moderate Reward: 5 magic crystals."]
["Description: Collect the specific ingredients listed on the scroll and return."]
["Classification: Common."]
I picked up the scroll and quickly compared it with the other missions around it.
The difference was absurd.
Even simple hunting missions offered at least 40 magic crystals.
Five crystals just to leave the tower and risk my life in the middle of the forest?
Definitely not worth it.
But... I wasn’t here to get rich.
I was here to gain experience.
With a sigh, I took the scroll and walked to the mission registration counter.
Behind the counter was an ethereal creature, a ghostly being floating gently above the stone surface.
Its eyes were glowing blue orbs, and its body flickered like a flame in the wind.
The creature reminded me of the spectral attendant in the miners’ cave inside the tower.
I placed the scroll in front of it.
The specter did not hesitate for even a second.
It simply glided across the counter, took the scroll, and without expression, spoke in a cold, echoing voice.
—Mission registered.
A moment later, a new scroll appeared in its translucent hands, and it handed it to me.
—This contains detailed information about the required ingredients.
I took the scroll and quickly stored it away.
But before I could step back, the specter spoke again.
—The password to enter when you return is Argon Vermillion.
I nodded.
It was important to remember that.
The tower had defensive statues at the entrance that attacked anyone who tried to enter without the correct password.
If I returned without it, I might be annihilated before I could even explain the situation.
Taking a deep breath, I looked toward the tower’s exit and began to walk.
As I moved through the corridors illuminated by the tower’s magical light, I raised the yellowed scroll before my eyes.
The letters engraved on its surface, along with the images, were firm and precise, listing the ingredients I needed to find.
But memorizing everything would be a waste of time.
I inhaled deeply and issued a mental command.
—Virtual Laboratory. Register the information and activate the scanning field. Notify me if anything with more than 80% similarity is detected.
["Beep!"]
The familiar sound echoed in my mind and, immediately, an invisible wave expanded around me.
The search mode was successfully activated, creating a 360-degree sensory field around my body.
This system would allow any ingredient similar to those listed on the scroll to be automatically identified as soon as it entered the scanning radius.
["Search mode successfully activated."]
Now, I no longer needed to worry about recognizing each plant or reagent on my own.
I continued walking toward the tower’s main exit.
The enormous central door stood before me, opening slowly with a creaking sound as its internal mechanisms were activated.
As soon as I stepped outside, the heat of the sun struck my body.
The change in environment was immediate and intense.
Inside the tower, the atmosphere was always warm and artificial, maintained by ancient spells.
But out here, the heat was alive, real, pulsing.
My eyes adjusted quickly.
Before me, a vast white staircase stretched downward, cutting through the mountain toward the dense green forest surrounding the base of the tower.
The breeze carried the scent of earth, leaves, and moisture, a stark contrast to the controlled environment I had just left.
Without overthinking it, I continued.
As soon as I descended the stairs, I realized.
The rocky trail stretched ahead, winding and treacherous, leading me deeper into the heart of the magical forest.
Life was everywhere, but it wasn’t the kind of life that gave me a sense of safety.
Vines hung from the branches, brushing against the top of my helmet as I passed.
But none of it fooled me.
Every plant, every shadow, could be a deadly trap.
I already knew the stories.
Acolytes who dared step off the path were swallowed by living vegetation and never seen again.
Those short, simple-looking trees, for example, were lethal.
If someone got close enough, the branches would expand in an instant, like mechanical arms, grabbing anything nearby.
And then...
The blood rattans would come into play.
Those hanging vines would coil around the victim’s body, embedding thorns that pierced the skin with ease.
Blood would begin to drain, drop by drop, while the prey struggled in vain.
Once the flesh and bones were completely drained, the remains would become fertilizer, feeding the reddish soil beneath those demonic trees.
If anyone were brave enough to dig into that soil, they would find piles of skeletons —human and animal— intertwined in the earth as if still being devoured even in death.
The reason these murderous trees were kept around the tower was simple: natural defense and magical material collection.
The roots of those trees, if properly extracted, were valuable ingredients, while the blood sacs inside the rattans could be turned into fortifying tonics for acolytes with weak constitutions.
But harvesting them was a suicidal mission for anyone who didn’t know what they were doing.
So I continued walking along the trail without taking a single step off it.
That was when I felt it.
The forest seemed to come alive around me.
Branches twisted, rattans swayed subtly, and roots slid beneath the soil, slowly creeping toward the path.
It was the scent.
The scent of my flesh and blood.
To those plants, I was a walking banquet.
But instead of reacting, I simply pretended not to notice.
There was no need to panic.
Even without the biochip’s analysis, I could sense their movements.
They were slow.
At least, until their prey got close enough — then they would be anything but harmless.
The real question was... was there something faster than them watching me as well?
I moved forward, keeping my senses sharp.
After several more cautious minutes along the trail, I veered off the main path toward a smooth rock positioned above a small waterfall.
The sound of running water echoed softly through the area, while shimmering droplets reflected the sunlight.
As I approached, my vision automatically adjusted.
["Beep!"]
The biochip interface appeared, highlighting something near the base of the waterfall.
["Ingredient detected"]
["Blue Water Flower"]
["Condition: Excellent."]
I smiled at the notification.
First mission item found.
Taking a few more steps forward, I approached, the servomechanisms of my armor adjusting with each movement.
But the moment I extended my hand, a new notification flashed in red.
["BEEP! DANGER!"]
["Jump to the side."]
Without hesitation, I executed the maneuver instantly.
"VROOOM!"
The engine in my chest roared to life, powering the gears and activating the hydraulic springs in my robotic legs.
My joints tensed, and then I shot sideways like lightning, leaping with astonishing speed.
"SCHHHH!"
A jet of acidic spit struck the spot where I had been a second earlier, melting the rock and releasing a cloud of smoke instantly.
I cursed under my breath, a grin forming on my face.
—Son of a bitch...
I turned toward the direction of the attack, and the biochip’s sensors quickly identified the threat.
There it was.
A venomous land shark.
The creature was an unusual predator, with a long, robust body covered in dark, damp scales.
Its eyes were small and sunken, but its teeth... those serrated teeth were a nightmare given their shape.
But strangely, it didn’t attack immediately.
Its eyes studied my armor, as if trying to determine whether I was easy prey or not.
The bastard had been intimidated by my speed and reflexes.
A deep growl echoed from its throat.
"ROARR~~"
The shark began to move around me, sliding slowly over the rocky ground, circling me like a predator testing its target.
It was studying my reaction.
I simply smiled like a demon, the visor of my helmet reflecting the light of the waterfall.
Looks like I’m eating shark meat today.
My hand rose, the mechanisms of the MG-Tyrant 001 machine gun preparing to fire.
Let’s see who the real predator is here.
...
1414 Words
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