“World Eater. Devouring a few materials isn't enough; it will devour even more, perhaps even an entire world.” The dragon head emphasized the word “Eater.” “Good. Let's call it World Eater.”
The flood dragon head's whiskers flicked gently. “World Eater, World Eater. Devouring worlds. It's a grand name, but it suits the potential of this Wizardry Tool.”
The snake head's vertical pupils also lit up. “World Eater rolls off the tongue nicely, sounds imposing when spoken aloud, and isn't cliché. A fine name!”
All three heads turned toward Ethan simultaneously. “Good.”
“Then World Eater it is!”
The moment those words fell, the staff suddenly vibrated.
The vibration was extremely subtle, so faint that Ethan wouldn't have noticed it if he weren't holding the shaft.
The vibration emanated from deep within the core of the staff, spreading outward along the wood fibers and stirring a very faint emerald-green ripple across the surface of the shaft.
The wood grain on the staff began to glow.
The light welled up from deep within the core of the staff, spreading outward along the wood grain.
The glow grew brighter and more solid.
The originally smooth wood fibers on the surface of the shaft began to squirm, and fine layers of wood dust peeled off the staff, turning into tiny, delicate points of light in the air.
Two Wizard runes slowly emerged on the staff.
The strokes of the characters were woven naturally by the wood fibers themselves.
Each stroke was embedded in the surface of the shaft, blending perfectly with the surrounding wood grain.
An emerald-green glow flowed along the edges of the strokes, brightening and dimming in sync with the breathing of the characters.
“World Eater.”
The Three-Headed Wizard suddenly stood up from his stone chair. He stood up so abruptly this time that the chair was knocked over onto the ground, hitting with a dull thud.
The six eyes of his three heads bulged simultaneously, the exhaustion deep within his pupils instantly swallowed by a much more intense emotion.
The snake head's tongue froze at the corner of its mouth.
The flood dragon head's whiskers stopped twitching.
The two pale gold points of light deep within the dragon head's pupils stopped flickering, freezing right in the center of its pupils.
The hall fell dead silent for several seconds.
“Oh?” The Three-Headed Wizard's voice suddenly became very soft. He reached out, his fingertips hovering just above the two characters on the shaft, not quite touching them. “The Wizardry Tool responded on its own? This is getting interesting.”
He withdrew his hand, and all three heads turned to Ethan at the same time.
There was no longer any exhaustion in his six eyes, replaced instead by a pure, unvarnished interest. It was the look of an alchemist whose creation had exceeded all expectations.
“A Wizardry Tool responding to its own name... I've only seen this kind of reaction mentioned a few times in ancient texts. It usually only happens with Wizardry Tools that are on the verge of breaking through their tier boundaries,” the flood dragon head said. Its whiskers brushed gently above the staff, each movement causing the tips of the whiskers to curl slightly. “This staff is currently only a mid-to-high-grade Third-Tier tool, but its self-awareness has already begun to sprout.”
The snake head's vertical pupils narrowed slightly. “Kid, do you know what this means?”
“Sir Three-Headed Wizard, this...”
The Three-Headed Wizard raised his right hand, his fingertips hovering directly over the words “World Eater” without touching them. “An autonomous inscription on a Wizardry Tool means its internal structure has already broken past the framework set during crafting. The wood fibers are reorganizing spontaneously, and the energy circuits are self-optimizing. To put it simply, this thing is starting to have thoughts of its own.”
The Energy-Eating Insect's compound eyes bulged. “Its own thoughts? A Third-Tier Wizardry Tool can have thoughts? Don't pull my leg, you old geezer.”
“It's not a complete consciousness,” the Three-Headed Wizard said, pulling his hand back. “It's a sprout of consciousness. Right now, it won't have the capacity to think, feel emotions, or chat with you. But it will have preferences. If you use it to cast wood-attribute spells, it will actively cooperate, boosting the spell's power by five to ten percent compared to normal casting. If you treat it like a common fire poker, it will resist, and its mana conduction efficiency will drop.”
The flood dragon head added, “An autonomously inscribed Wizardry Tool has another characteristic. It will choose its own path of growth. Ordinary Wizardry Tools rely on devouring materials to upgrade, and their upgrade path depends entirely on the crafter's skill. An autonomously inscribed Wizardry Tool is different; it will decide on its own which materials' essence to absorb and which impurities to reject. In other words, this staff knows exactly how it wants to grow in the future.”
The snake head's vertical pupils narrowed slightly. “Kid, do you know what this means?”
Ethan's fingers tightened around the staff. The two characters on the surface of the shaft were still glowing faintly, the wood grain brightening and dimming in sync with the rhythm of the light. “It means it can go much further.”
“Exactly.” The dragon head's voice carried a hint of satisfaction. “If an ordinary Third-Tier Wizardry Tool wants to upgrade to the Fourth-Tier, the cost of materials alone is enough to buy half of the Three Rings Academy, and the success rate is less than thirty percent. But for an autonomously inscribed Wizardry Tool to upgrade to the Fourth-Tier, the material consumption is halved, and the success rate doubles. That's because it is growing, not being remodeled.”
The Three-Headed Wizard leaned back in his chair again, exhaustion and satisfaction intertwining in the six eyes of his three heads. “I haven't made a Third-Tier Wizardry Tool in one hundred and twenty-three years, and the moment I do, it's an autonomously inscribed one. It was worth it. The sleep I missed was worth it, and the hair I lost was worth it too.”
The flood dragon head's whiskers drooped limply onto the table. “You didn't have any hair to begin with.”
“Shut up.” The dragon head turned and glared at the flood dragon head before looking back at Ethan. “Kid, this staff is yours now. Nurture it well, and don't let it go to waste.”
Ethan stored World Eater back into his storage ring and bowed to the Three-Headed Wizard. “Thank you, Sir.”
The Energy-Eating Insect landed back on Ethan's head, its six legs rummaging through his hair. “Old geezer, we're leaving then.”
The dragon head had already closed its eyes.
The snake head slumped to one side of his shoulder, its tongue slipping from the corner of its mouth and resting on the edge of the table.
The flood dragon head's whiskers also lay motionlessly on the table.
Only the dragon head's right hand remained raised, waving casually toward the door a couple of times, signaling them to get lost.
The Energy-Eating Insect poked half its body out from the top of Ethan's head, its compound eyes staring at the Three-Headed Wizard for a couple of seconds. “Hehehe, old geezer, sleep well. Once I strike it rich, I'll buy up all your IOUs.”
All three heads began to snore simultaneously.
Stepping out of the tower, the sunlight poured down from above, warm and pleasant.
The stone floor in front of the tower was covered with fallen leaves, rustling softly underfoot.
Nestled on his head, the Energy-Eating Insect rummaged through his hair with its six legs. “Kid, now that you've got the Wizardry Tool, what's the plan next?”
Ethan kept walking without stopping. “Go back to Blood Bone Tower.”
“Tsk, what's the rush? It wasn't easy getting to the Jade Shadow Forest Academy. Why not look around more?”
“No,” Ethan said. “I've delayed for a long time. It's time to go back and advance to an Official Wizard.”
Nestled on his head, the Energy-Eating Insect rummaged through his hair a couple of times, giving a casual reply.
On the third rummage, its six legs froze simultaneously.
The Energy-Eating Insect flew up from his head, circling around to hover right in front of Ethan's face. “Wait a minute!!! You? Advance? Official Wizard?”
Rate on N.U.
