Chapter 23 Begins
“Microscope” was a name suggested by Byrne, and when the Count overheard it, he found it amusing and adopted the term himself. Its official designation was the Magical Element Observation Recorder.
This was, by far, the most intricate piece of laboratory equipment Byrne had ever encountered. The lavish experimental area in the mage tower amounted to little more than some petri dishes, standard beakers, and scales. The largest apparatus was the protective magical array on the alchemical table; there were no sophisticated instruments of any note. Byrne’s own modest laboratory was more fully equipped than the public workspace.
It wasn’t until Byrne toured the Count’s laboratory that he discovered advanced equipment did exist—it was simply in the hands of the “big shots.” The device itself was a magical mechanical contraption, weighing eighty kilograms and standing half as tall as a man. Its presence lent an air of grandeur to the entire underground laboratory.
This apparatus was far more advanced than any microscope Byrne had used in his previous life. One simply placed the item to be observed onto the central platform, and the display board—fitted with a crystal screen—would show the results. Manipulation was possible via two mithril-crafted magical needles.
“Calm as a still lake.”
Monks possessed a unique trait: they did not need to learn skills. “Qi” was a fusion of life energy and mental strength, unlocking human potential—much like the Buddhist practices described in novels, where powers arose naturally once enlightenment was attained.
“Calm as a still lake” was not a spell, but a manifestation of spiritual strength, resembling psionic power more than magic.
Years of practicing breathing techniques had left Byrne’s physique equal to that of a typical novice combatant. Enhanced by magic, he could stand his ground even against a draconic bloodline sorcerer adept in both magic and martial arts.
As a level three monk, Byrne could control each muscle in his body.
His hands were steady; holding the two mithril magic needles, he worked as delicately as an embroiderer, micro-carving runes inside the ruby through the crystal panel.
His concentration was absolute. Sweat trickled from the corner of his eye without affecting him.
He exhaled softly and removed the gemstone from the device.
The basic rune engraving was complete!
Holding the gem up to the light, the geometric patterns within were clearly visible, resembling the work of a master of geometric art.
After turning it several times, he tossed the gemstone into a nearby box, which already contained a dozen engraved gems.
Byrne glanced at his attribute panel:
Name: Byrne Iolum
Race: Netheril Human
Mage 7/Arcanist 3/Monk 3
Level: 9
Basic Attributes: Strength 2.7, Agility 2.5, Constitution 2.3, Intelligence 9, Perception 1.3, Charisma 8
Knowledge:
Diplomacy +16, Disguise +25 (Performance +10), Arcana +23, Architecture & Engineering +81, Dungeon +21, Geography +32, Toril History +88, Nature +23, Nobility & Royalty +29, Religion +18, Planar +31, Abyssal Inferno +24, Ironstone +70, Biology +40, Physics (Electrical & Electronic) +88, Sculpture +61, Advanced Mathematics +107
Languages: Netheril Noble Speech, Common Tongue, Elven
Martial Skills: Cross Sword Technique (Expert), Monk’s Breathing Method (Proficient)
(Rank: Novice, Proficient, Expert, Master, Grandmaster, Sage)
Special Skills: Shorthand +15 (Concentration +10), Evasion, Quick Movement, Calm as a Still Lake
Feats: Rapid Casting, Mobile Casting, Silent Spellcasting
Arcane:
Cantrips: Light Orb, Mage Hand
1st Circle: Identify (Rune), Shocking Flash
2nd Circle: Misty Step
3rd Circle: Fireball
Spells: …
No increase in engraving knowledge after repeated practice; he knew improvement would only come through relentless effort—or perhaps a sudden flash of insight.
Leveraging the knowledge from his previous life, Byrne pushed his expertise in chip-related fields to their current highest attainable level.
He held two plans in hand: one for a biological chip, the other for a mechanical chip.
But whether studying plants or animals, his biology only reached forty points! Below fifty was average; above one hundred, he estimated, would be the level of a research scholar.
He was most interested in the biological chip.
A biological chip was a microarray hybridization chip, densely fixed biological information molecules (such as gene fragments, DNA segments, peptides, proteins, sugars, tissue, etc.) arranged on a supportive medium.
Essentially, it combined electronic technology with biotechnology.
Byrne’s core plan was to use the fifth-circle spell “Creation” to shape the chip.
Creation was not conjuring life from nothing—that was the domain of the gods. The spell drew shadow matter from the Shadowfell and, within casting range, created a nonliving item. One could create an object of plant material (cloth, rope, wood, etc.) or mineral material (stone, crystal, metal, etc.). The item had to fit within a five-foot cube and its shape and material had to be something seen before.
Created items were not permanent; they existed for a limited time.
The most famous application was “Create Food”—tasteless, lasting only a day before spoiling completely.
Byrne was inspired by an anecdote in a miscellany about a case of antique forgery.
A group of thieves learned that a noble possessed a statue of the Elven Queen of Everandar, said to be carved by a master from the Maeleth era.
One thief happened to be a spellcaster who had seen the statue firsthand. They conspired to use “Creation” to “duplicate” the statue, matching the material to the original, and enchanted the shadow matter to mimic the authentic substance, making the forgery more convincing.
But a fake was still a fake; it was eventually discovered. Yet, surprisingly, the counterfeit did not vanish.
It turned out shadow matter could create objects out of nothing and alter their shape; as long as the item’s basic attributes remained unchanged, it would not revert.
The story was recorded as a curiosity, and Byrne happened upon it by chance.
Thus, the concept of a system chip began to take shape in his mind!
The idea was wildly audacious.
His breakthroughs with portable sub-brains and soul crystal golem technology made it seem feasible; with the manufacturing process for Ironstone, he estimated a sixty percent success rate!
This year, Byrne was in his fifth year.
Level eleven was a threshold; few advanced mages reached it.
On average, only one in ten intermediates broke through, and each subsequent level became exponentially more difficult.
Byrne had awakened his memory and knew that Netheril would flourish for thousands of years—alongside countless calamities.
Goblins, orcs, felvine abominations, the collapse of the magic web, and perhaps soon the Year of Unrest.
Even archmages would be hard-pressed to cope, let alone mere legends!
To play it safe, Byrne decided to make the mechanical chip, which had a higher success rate.
A brain-mimicking chip—the core of artificial intelligence!
He ensured everything was ready, resting for twelve hours beforehand.
That night, Byrne activated all protective measures, approached the central alchemical table, and pressed a raised point.
A mechanical rumble sounded; the table slid aside, revealing an opening. Byrne leapt down.
The mechanism closed again, sealing the entrance—plunging the underground laboratory into silence.
He landed in darkness.
With a snap of his fingers, several light orbs dispelled the gloom.
This was Byrne’s most secret sanctuary, four to five hundred meters below ground, beneath the sea.
The chamber was small, a hundred meters or so, filled with all manner of machines, beakers, pipes, and cups containing liquids of various hues.
He laid out the materials.
Byrne drew a deep breath.
“It begins.”
‘Calm as a still lake’—activated!
Emotion faded; he opened the box and poured out its sand.
This was carefully selected sand from the mage tower’s elemental pool, saturated over time with high-density magic.
The chip’s main component was silicon, capable of acting as a semiconductor.
He activated the “Creation” scroll.
Instantly, his consciousness entered a cold and shadowy world. Before he could react, a transparent black mass appeared in his hand.
Shadow matter!
Byrne immediately recognized it and knew how to use it.
He brought the shadow matter close to the sand, recalling the shape and structure of the chip.
A brain-like architecture, modeled after the neural network of the human mind—where neurons served as both control and storage systems.
CPU, memory, bus, northbridge, southbridge—all integrated into a vast brain-like chip array.
As Byrne remembered, the internal structures of the chip appeared one by one.
The sand melted and flowed, changing with his thoughts. A golden chip, the size of a fingertip, slowly took shape.
He took out a carved orange rhomboid gem.
He activated the “Animate” scroll.
The orange gemstone came to life, swallowing the newly formed chip whole.
Inside the gem, the chip sent out countless tiny tendrils, rooting and spreading like a seed, crawling slowly within.
They traced the carved grooves, forming bizarre symbols.
Under the influence of ‘Calm as a still lake,’ Byrne’s face was expressionless. A trickle of bright red blood seeped from his nostril, and when the “tendrils” had filled the gem entirely—
Byrne quickly took up a magical engraver and etched his personal wizard’s sigil onto the gem’s surface.
The magic ended, ‘Calm as a still lake’ disengaged, and darkness overtook him as he lost consciousness completely…
Just before he blacked out, Byrne heard a sound he had heard countless times on Earth, so familiar it was almost instinctive.
“Beep!!”
...
(P.S.: Many people don’t understand or even feel that making a chip by hand is unscientific, even toxic. If you carefully read the [Creation] spell description, you’ll see it allows the caster to ‘duplicate’ any item they’ve seen. Since the protagonist had seen chips in his previous life, he could use magic to ‘mirror’ and replicate them—quite logical! Later on, there’ll be even more unscientific spells like [Wish], tower spirits, and intelligent magic, etc.)