Chapter 48: The Breeder

Arcanist.

Renowned as the number one ranked extraordinary profession and the pinnacle of spellcasting classes, it was a power that only the Logic Clan and a microscopic handful of other races among the myriad realms could master. It was an ultra-high-grade enhancement priced at an S-rank plus 50,000 points.

It could also be considered the mage's version of orthodox cultivation. Everything a regular mage could do, an arcanist could do as well, but entirely in a PRO PLUS edition. They possessed the ability to deconstruct the origin of the world and manifest power through runes.

Simply put, arcanists could enhance their combat capabilities by deconstructing runes and optimizing original spell structures, allowing magic to unleash might far exceeding its original form. Even a zero-tier trick like Mage Hand could be optimized into something comparable to high-tier spells, or even pushed to manifest terrifying power.

Yet, despite such an immensely high-brow enhancement, it had a hilariously pathetic showing in the original plot. Ultimately, this stemmed from a series of decisions by Chu Hao that seemed utterly unwise in hindsight... because this guy only ever optimized Mage Hand?!

While the specific reasons also included Chu Hao's own terrible luck and a lack of sufficient reward points to purchase high-tier spells—not to mention having to deal with a painfully low total energy circulation volume equivalent to merely a D-rank enhancement during the early stages—the overarching blame still lay squarely on Chu Hao's astonishing lack of wisdom.

However, now that a foreknowing time-traveler like him had arrived, making those unnecessary mistakes from the original plot would truly be inexcusable.

"Have you ever heard of this enhancement?" Chu Hao observed Chen Mo's facial expression and asked.

"Ah, I've heard of it... To think this enhancement can actually be redeemed with just a B-rank side quest?"

Chen Mo put on a puzzled expression, though he continued anyway: "This enhancement is somewhat similar to orthodox cultivation, relying on the deconstruction of spells... Well, simply put, it's the extraordinary version of a scientist. They rely on deconstructing and optimizing spells to boost their own combat power. The stronger the computational capacity of the user, the more and stronger spells they can deconstruct and optimize."

"It might sound a bit hazy to you, because the true brilliance of this enhancement can only be truly appreciated by a genuine mage. If you really are able to redeem this enhancement, Haozi, I would give it my highest recommendation."

"Mm."

Chu Hao nodded. He had two B-rank side quests on hand, so redeeming a B-rank arcanist wouldn't quite drain his entire fortune. Furthermore, with Chen Mo's recommendation, he didn't hesitate. He stood up beneath the Lord God, closed his eyes, and initiated the enhancement.

Seeing this, the others stood up as well. Aside from Osas, who still looked somewhat hesitant, everyone else gathered beneath the Lord God, closed their eyes to check the entity's exchange catalog, and began their enhancements.

Several pillars of light descended, enveloping the figures. Countless points of light re-emerged from the void, streaming continuously into the bodies of Chu Hao and the others as they were drawn upward into the light pillars.

Finally, the pillars of light dissipated, and the group dropped back to the ground. Jenny's figure and appearance seemed to have undergone a subtle elevation; faint purple radiances emanated from her eyes and body, though they quickly faded away. A current of black Qi surged around Ares's body, while J appeared noticeably more robust and muscular. The only one who seemed entirely unchanged was Chu Hao, yet his expression carried a trace of excitement as he clutched his chest, as if sensing something.

Chen Mo clapped his hands and smiled.

"Congratulations. From this moment on, you are also true extraordinary beings... Care to come to my room to test things out? My personal room is quite spacious, and we can test your current strengths."

Naturally, the group readily accepted Chen Mo's proposal and followed him to his room. Chen Mo partitioned a training ground within the space, placing several large marble blocks as targets for Chu Hao and the others to test their power. He even thoughtfully prepared a graveyard for Ares, the necromantic summoning mage, along with various summoning materials such as rocks and metals.

The members of the Northern Ice Team each displayed their unique divine skills. With a loud roar, J's muscles instantly bulged, transforming him directly into a werewolf over two meters tall. A single sweep of his giant claw smashed the rock block before him into powder.

Purple light flashed across Jenny and her fingertips. At a wave of her hand, an invisible force struck a boulder dozens of meters away. The surface of the boulder exploded with a bang, sending gravel and fragments flying. Then, with a few more flicks of her finger, a series of secondary explosions rippled across the boulder until it was reduced to a pile of debris.

Ares approached the graveyard, black Qi flashing in his eyes. Immediately after, a white skeleton clutching a bone staff slowly rose from beneath the ground. Under the control of his will, a scorching fireball condensed on the staff and hurtled toward the distant boulder, exploding like an air-to-ground missile and blasting the rock into a scattered mess.

Chu Hao... tried it out, only to find that he had no way to control the arcane energy residing in his chest.

He unlocked his genetic restriction, his eyes turning glazed and vacant, yet he still remained completely powerless to control it.

"Are you playing with me?"

Chu Hao wore a aggrieved expression as he looked at Chen Mo, looking utterly out of place compared to the others who were excitedly brutalizing the stones.

"What happened to it being powerful? How come I can't even fart out a single spark right now?"

"Normal. You're a mage, aren't you? And what kind of mage is a mage without spells?"

Chen Mo replied with a completely matter-of-fact tone.

"...Fair enough."

Chu Hao turned his head away, his face covered in dark lines as he walked out of the room and headed back toward the Lord God. Chen Mo followed closely, walking side by side with him.

"Right now, your flaws as an arcanist are threefold... First, insufficient energy circulation; second, insufficient computational capacity; and third, a lack of spells. Only by compensating for these three shortcomings can this arcanist enhancement truly fulfill its function."

"That's quite a lot of side effects," Chu Hao said, his face dark as he looked at Chen Mo.

"Many indeed, yet not too many," Chen Mo shook his head, a smile crossing his face.

"Resolving them is actually quite simple. If your energy circulation is insufficient, you can supplement it by consuming corresponding heavenly treasures and earthly resources, or through physical training. If your computational capacity is lacking, you can rely on enhancements that lean toward computational bloodlines, or redeem a supercomputer to amplify your processing power. As for spells—once the first two flaws are mended, you can quickly deconstruct and learn spells by redeeming grimoires. Before that, you can also directly use reward points to buy spells, or deconstruct some trick-level low-tier magic for use."

"Don't let the number of flaws fool you. Once these deficiencies are bridged, the true power of the arcanist will finally be unleashed... Heh, Chu Hao, cherish this destiny of yours. Carry this enhancement to glory, and don't end up following in the footsteps of my clan's ancestor."

"Look at you, talking big..."

Chu Hao didn't say anything further. He walked beneath the Lord God, browsing through various related spells and enhancements, as well as all sorts of items, heavenly treasures, and earthly resources, before letting out a helpless sigh.

"Still, the resources required to patch up all these flaws are far from negligible. With my current side quests, I can't afford the enhancements and items you mentioned. Am I just going to have to wait until the next reincarnation world opens and farm enough side quests before I can buy them...?"

"No, you can redeem them right now."

Chen Mo pointed to the side. Chu Hao looked in the direction he indicated and saw that the blonde-haired young woman had emerged from the room at some point, her gaze dull and vacant.

"I certainly aren't going to kindly let someone who contributes absolutely nothing, yet continues to enjoy team resources and cares only for herself, off the hook... Heh, Chu Hao, do you know about a category of reincarnators in the Lord God's Space known as 'Cultivator Teams'? Such reincarnation teams are actually quite common."

"And now, copying them just a little bit won't hurt at all..."