Supreme Magus

Chapter 3879: Wrong Era (Part 2)

Raum’s body was immortal, but his mind wasn’t immune to the ravages of time.

Without his magical discoveries fueling his ego, the weight of his actions slowly drove him insane. After the 30,000th year, most entries were unreadable. After the 35,000th year, there were no entries.

Just the scribbling of a madman who slammed and dragged a quill across the pages, believing that somehow it would record his feelings and thoughts.

Things changed with the advent of King Valeron the first.

"Year 39,093 Day 258

"I have no idea what illness drove my hand as I wrote my journals before this day, and I’m too happy to care about such trifling matters. Today I found the solution to all my problems, and not through my endless toils and readings.

"It was served to me on a silver platter.

"Today, I discovered the existence of something called a power core. It is so simple in its ingenuity that I can only blame myself and my madness for not inventing it on my own. A single power core can contain dozens of pseudo cores, reducing the space they take and their energy consumption.

"There is no telling how powerful I would be today if I had come up with power cores millennia ago instead of wasting my time and energy with pseudo cores. Countless lives could have been spared if only I were as brilliant as I believed.

"Yet there’s no point complaining. I now have my answer, and my studies can progress again. Destroying the pseudo cores and replacing them with power cores will be a slow and agonizing process, but I did it to myself.

"I deserve it, like I deserve everything that comes my way."

"Year 39,094 Day 25 supplementary notes

"Once again, I stand corrected. Waiting for so long wasn’t a waste of time or effort. I had the right idea and the proper tools. I was simply born in the wrong era. Luckily, my research kept me alive, and more importantly, it kept me sane.

"All the pain and suffering I endured for almost 40,000 years was for this day. For this moment. The moment when I followed the man called Valeron and noticed that his Saefel Armor can produce Life Maelstrom.

"Valeron is indeed king among kings because he blessed me twice in the span of a man’s single lifetime. He taught me about power cores, and now he has shown me that Forgemastering artificial mana organs is possible.

"If his armor can produce Life Maelstrom, then I can regain my Dragon Eyes, my Origin Flames, everything! I can wield the powers of the strongest living beings without suffering the illusion of the flesh again.

"But one thing at a time. First, I need to replace my pseudo cores with power cores. Otherwise, I’ll lack the power to capture and contain the Divine Beasts necessary for my future experiments.

"Alas, too long has passed since my death, and too long have I been mad. I remember nothing of my mana organs and have no clue how they’ll interact with my Chaos form.

"On top of that, power cores are made to bond with inanimate objects, whereas mana organs need a precise structure of life force to produce their effects. Mogar bound them to the illusion of the flesh, and freeing them will be the hardest thing I’ve ever done."

"Year 39,097 Day 182

"Today I’ve met the greatest disappointment since I became an Abomination. I met another one like me. While I chased Valeron to study his armor unnoticed, I met another Dragon turned Eldritch.

"Her name is Xenagrosh. I was tempted to introduce myself as her older brother and share my research with her, but I preferred to put her character to the test first. She turned out to be nothing like me.

"She is full of anger, resentment, and craves to return to a living form. She even developed some sort of childish attachment to Valeron. We bonded over our common interest in Valeron’s military feats, and what I learned disgusts me.

"Xenagrosh admires Valeron and protects him. She actually cares about someone who’d kill us the moment he discovers our presence and who is wasting his time nurturing insects.

"She’s a lost cause, but in the name of our common father, I’ll spare her life."

’Dammit, this explains everything.’ Leegaain frowned at that note, moving on to the next section to continue reading.

"Year 39,389 Day 196

"I’ve done it. I replaced most of my pseudo cores with power cores, but I can’t help but feel foolish about it. Four so-called Rulers of the Flames popped out one after the other.

"Magic progresses so quickly that by the time I implant a new power core, it’s almost obsolete. Still, I looked for the little white-cored bastard for a rematch, and I discovered he took his own life.

"Pity. There’s much I could have learned from his body and tower, and now they are both lost. Our rivalry ended, but I never managed to defeat him. He defeated himself. The worst kind of victory, but one I have to accept."

"Year 39,589 Day 128

"I think Mogar hates me. That dolt of Xenagrosh has become an Eldritch and somehow regained her Dragon blood. My Empowered associates saw her spew Origin Flames and assume the form of a Shadow Dragon without even trying.

"I, on the other hand, have spent over five hundred years trying to do the same and got nothing to show for it. I have sacrificed every Lesser and Divine Beast I could get my hands on, but they die too quickly.

"Without a breathing technique to study their mana flow, I was forced to develop diagnostic tools that put an enormous stress on my test subjects and inflict unspeakable agony on them.

"Or rather, that’s what I believe since they all die screaming on my slab while bleeding like gutted game the moment I touch them with my tools. I can’t reproduce a mana organ I can’t study, and I can’t study something that dies so fast.

"I wish I could capture and examine Xenagrosh, but that’s not possible. She would feed on the light magic of my diagnostic spells without even trying, and there are no restrictions that can imprison someone made of pure energy.

"Mogar offered me a solution I can’t touch. This is an act of deliberate mockery that I refuse to consider a mere coincidence. Nonetheless, there’s a silver lining even in such a black cloud.

"Xenagrosh’s very existence proves that an Eldritch can regain his original form. It’s up to me to find out how."

"Year 39,971 Day 57

"I have heard of someone called the Master. He’s recruiting Eldritches like Tezka and Orulm. All the more reason to stay away from whoever the Master is. Orulm almost killed me back when I thought a few pseudo cores made me invincible.

"One strike of his Break Eldritch skill undid centuries of hard work and left me weaker than the day I became a mere Empowered Abomination. As for Tezka, he’s too dangerous. We fought only once, but I still carry the fear from that day.

"He won effortlessly, yet I’m sure he was just toying with me. I’ve avoided Orulm and Tezka ever since."