Chapter 310: The Machine Spirit

Apparently startled by Wang Yu's sudden turn, the camera lens jerked backward with a snap, then wobbled as though trying to recover its composure.

The odd little machine, for all its strangeness, offered no response to Wang Yu's rhetorical question. Instead, it stared back for a few more seconds—then spoke with the voice of a young man.

"I was simply curious about the kind of person who'd actually pull out that book," the voice said. "Most scholars and alchemists here in Skyborne City take one look at that title and immediately assume it's nonsense—or a scam, at best.

"You're the first one I've seen who not only read the title seriously but actually intended to keep reading. Honestly? That's kind of stupid."

Wang Yu narrowed his eyes. Extending the power of the Chariot, he probed the strange "transforming flowerpot" and mapped out its internal structure. He quickly found the alchemical module connected to the external camera, then cut the feed without any hesitation.

"Ah! I can't see! What did you do to me?"

The camera flailed wildly, swiveling just like someone covering his eyes and flailing on the ground.

"I didn't say anything when you were spying on me," Wang Yu said, arms folded, "but then you start insulting me too? How much ruder can you get?"

He had only picked up the book to kill some time, but now, it seemed he'd found a better source of entertainment—a very annoying flowerpot.

"Ugh, now I'll have to fix this later. Was that really necessary?"

The pot grumbled as the lens retracted. The cracked ceramic sealed itself again as the façade of an ordinary potted plant was restored.

"Fine, I'll switch to another interface. But don't go breaking this eye too, alright?"

Wang Yu raised an eyebrow, about to ignore the odd machine and return to his reading, when the crystal lamp on the table began to speak.

Its glowing bulb extended from the base on a thin cord and began to wave, unmistakably mimicking an eye.

"Alright, seriously, who even are you?" Wang Yu muttered. "If the Council found out some rogue machine spirit was wandering around the city like this, they'd dismantle you in a heartbeat."

Despite his sarcasm, he sensed the truth of the matter. The lamp wasn't just some rogue construct. Whatever it was, it clearly had ties to Skyborne City's highest authorities.

"I am the spirit of the Central Tower," the lamp replied proudly. "I've been called many things. My creator's disciples refer to me as the Machine Spirit, but I personally prefer the name my creator gave me, Astartes."

The lamp wobbled its bulb self-importantly. So this was the spirit of the Central Tower itself. Compared to the dull-witted construct of the cursebinding spire, Astartes' intelligence was clearly on another level.

"If you're the spirit of this entire tower," Wang Yu mused. "Shouldn't you be... busy? Why waste time watching someone read a book?"

He was genuinely intrigued now. Bored as he was, chatting with a magical AI from another world didn't seem like a bad way to pass the time.

"Keeping an eye on one book doesn't take much effort," Astartes replied nonchalantly. "This conversation's using maybe one-thousandth of my processing. The rest of me's more than capable of handling tower operations.

"Besides, I used to manage everything myself. Now that my creator's disciples do all the boring work, I've got loads of free time. Can't a spirit find something amusing once in a while?"

"Fair enough." Wang Yu shrugged. "I'm not reading this to learn anything. Just bored. I wanted to know what kind of lunatic could lump all these legendary figures into the same book."

He held up the bizarrely titled book, waving it for emphasis.

"So you're calling me a lunatic, then?"

Astartes' tone turned petulant. It was clearly offended by the jab.

Wang Yu grinned. He'd suspected that Astartes was the author, and that reaction confirmed it. "Touché. But weren't you the one calling me an idiot earlier?

"Let's call it even." Wang Yu waved a hand. "Anyway, I'm going to read this. If you've got nothing better to do, try not to stare while I do it. Having a magical lamp watching me is just creepy."

"Hmph. You're lucky, you know." Astarté grumbled. "I stuffed quite a bit of useful knowledge into that book, just in case people dismissed it as fluff. Turns out, you're the lucky one who'll benefit from it."

With that, the glowing bulb withdrew into the lamp, which went still.

"We'll see." Wang Yu didn't comment further. He turned back to the book, flipped to the first page, and was immediately hooked. He quickly summoned the Endless Pages from the void and began transcribing with astonishing speed.

In just over ten seconds, he had already copied an entire page.

As he flipped to the next, a thought struck him. Extending the power of the Chariot once more, he swept it across the surrounding lounge to probe the objects nearby.

Just as he suspected, he found more surprises. The chandelier overhead, the water dispenser behind him, a trash bin beside the desk, even a large, scholarly tome on the bookshelf—all of them were stuffed with intricate internal machinery, just like the flowerpot and the lamp.

And sure enough, as he looked up, a slit opened in the chandelier. A glowing "eye" peeked out, staring right at him.

With a sigh, Wang Yu calmly traced the circuitry for each device, then cut the feed for each of them with a precise flick of his finger.

"Damn it," muttered the chandelier above him.

"An interesting tower spirit," Wang Yu murmured to himself. "But this level of surveillance is incredible. If there are this many ‘eyes' here alone, just how much of Skyborne City is being watched at any given moment?"

He clicked his tongue and returned to his book.

Just as Astartes had claimed, it turned out to contain plenty of valuable information: biographies of famous figures, many of whom Wang Yu had never heard of. In particular, the legend of Merlin, the greatest alchemist, captivated him.

Of course, books here couldn't be taken outside the tower. And while Wang Yu didn't have a photographic memory, he did have unnaturally nimble hands and the Endless Pages. Copying the entire book for later was no trouble at all.

Roughly two hours later, he finished transcribing the last page and slid the book back into the shelf.

But before he could step away, the shape-shifting flowerpot from before sprang to life again. It grew four stubby legs, scampered over to the bookshelf, and yanked the book back out. With surprising agility, it leapt down and scurried into the depths of the lounge as it vanished from sight.

"What, hiding it now so no one else can read it?" Wang Yu muttered.

He didn't dwell on it. Pulling out the Endless Pages, he began to carefully reread what he'd copied, starting with Merlin's alchemical school and the revolutionary paths he had charted.

An hour later, Wang Yu's identity card vibrated with a message: the academic trials were complete. Sieg had successfully been granted the status of a Scholar status, while Avia, having passed the written portion with flawless marks, was now required to complete a simulated combat trial. This was standard protocol for those applying as spellcasters.

Wang Yu left the lounge to meet them. Together, the three of them took a teleportation array to the seventeenth floor of the Tower of the Scholar, where the arena for combat examinations was located.

On the way, Wang Yu recounted his strange encounter with Astartes.

"The tower spirit, Astares?" Sieg mused with growing interest as he listened. "That name, and the title of Machine Spirit... you realize that's not just a fancy nickname, right? Do you know what a Machine Spirit actually is?"

Wang Yu shook his head. "Not really. I figured it was something like an artificial intelligence."

Sieg chuckled softly. "Not quite. A Machine Spirit is one of the highest achievements of alchemy. It requires bequeathing a true soul to a mechanical creation.

"Not just intelligence," he continued, "which even the simplest tower spirits can simulate. No, a Machine Spirit is a real, sentient soul, one born from pure machinery."

At that, Wang Yu realized Astartes' existence was far more extraordinary than he'd first assumed—assuming, of course, that the tower spirit had spoken truthfully.

Avia chimed in. "There are only two people in recorded history known to have successfully created a Machine Spirit: the alchemist Merlin, and one of his disciples, Malfurion. If Astartes really is one of their creations... Wang Yu, you may be luckier than you think."

She smiled as she spoke, her tone half in admiration, half in awe. An expert in alchemy herself, Avia clearly understood the weight behind the title of Machine Spirit more deeply than Wang Yu ever could.

Wang Yu nodded thoughtfully. "Fair enough. Anyway, how are you feeling about the upcoming combat trial?"

By now, they had reached the arena on the seventeenth floor, a vast, open hall reinforced with a powerful mana suppression array. Any spells cast within its bounds would have their potency greatly reduced, minimizing the risk of injury during the test.

Each test-taker would be equipped with a double-layered mana shield. If the outer shield broke, the trial would be considered over.

"Of course I'm ready," Avia said with a confident smile. From beneath her mage's robes, she drew a staff of solid metal: gleaming, heavy, and undeniably sturdy.