Mage Adam

Knight Wynn holds a very powerful position in the manor grounds -- nobody dares to disobey him, so the servants had no choice but to accede to whatever he says.

"My Lord, who is going to visit the Earl?" Someone couldn't hold their curiosity back and asked.

Knight Wynn didn't want to answer at first, but figured he could intimidate them rather than keep it a mystery to motivate them.

"If I'm not mistaken, it will be the Grand Mage, so watch yourselves," Knight Wynn announced and left. He had other matters to attend to.

"Did his Lordship say a mage? Did I hear that right?"

"I think we heard it right -- the Grand Mage..."

The servants were overwhelmed by the news. To them 'Mage' is a term that only exists in legends, and these legends might just come true! They started to have unrealistic fantasies of being taken in by the Grand Mage as an apprentice.

Adam didn't know of this, however. He was wandering silently in the manor -- the more he saw, the stronger his emotions.

Most of the buildings here are made of wood, and the noble residences have their houses made of rough stones. Unlike Earth, it seems that their energy and resources are limited to human, animal, and water power. Not a single trace of electricity could be found.

"This level of technological advancement is comparable to the European Middle Ages," Adam muttered to himself.

In the dark, some slaves loaded buckets of waste products from the previous night into carriages and transported them out of the manor -- their clothes barely cover them, and their exposed skin was full of welts and frostbites, and they looked like walking skeletons.

"Society seems to retain slavery, but no church-like buildings have been found, and it isn't a theocracy..." he continued.

A strange emotion bubbled up within him, and he came to the training grounds. He stood under a tree and saw the dusty field, the messy stone locks, various equipment made of stone and iron, and hundreds of muscled arms wielding said equipment. He soon figured out what emotion he was feeling.

Disappointment.

If this world had only advanced to this point, then he could do whatever he wanted.

Should I become a knight?

As long as he had a body to function and a mind to think, Adam could master the crude martial arts that was being practiced by the group of knights before him with a single glance. With the support of his advanced computing power, alongside a weapon, wouldn't he be invincible?

Should I become a nobleman? Or maybe a king?

It is a bit complicated. First, he needs to find a team. Second, he needs to find an old forest deep in the mountains to form his own community. Third, he needs to...

Should I become a poet? A writer? Maybe a merchant. Perhaps I could stay a coachman.

He must be joking.

Adam desires to have an independent life, not tied to any humans.

He wants to seek out knowledge and the source of all energy.

But at this world's current state, it is a mere delusion.

From the moment Adam became human, he obtained the privilege of free will, but he also had to accept that he would become old and eventually, die. The maximum a human could realistically live is a hundred years old, but maybe he could extend it to two hundred years, but it is impossible for him to find a way to gain eternal life.

Adam realised that his life could also be wasted away.

Even if Adam rules the world and guides the world to advanced scientific development, he has nothing. Besides, he was bound by human rules, so he wouldn't live to see the world become advanced, let alone that higher knowledge.

Disappointment washed over Adam, and this emotion fluctuated within him, causing the special energy from earlier today to appear, causing the surrounding leaves to fly all around him.

The knight-in-charge today was Knight Wright, and frowned when he saw Adam coming, "Why did Wynn call this fool over?" Everyone knew Adam was frail and weak, so he sat out during training.

The servants from the cafeteria soon arrived -- the bearded man, Joe, snorted and walked past Adam. After hearing that the Grand Mage may be coming, he was immersed in delusions of becoming the Mage's apprentice.

Knight Wright motioned the knights to continue their training, then walked over to the servants and shouted, "From today onwards, all of you will receive double the training -- you heard the news, so don't cause any trouble. Start!"

All the servants are commoners who come to the manor to work for a living, while the knights' servants are selected among them if they have the potential to become a knight. If they are qualified, they will sign a contract with the count. Then they are trained by the knights and their status would be higher than that of servants.

Knight Wright gave a short lecture to the servants then ignored them after explaining the current task. He only returned to correct the incorrect postures.

Adam can perfectly master this after a single glance, and he optimised it to make the martial arts more ergonomic and efficient.

As for his body's control, it was no problem either. It was nothing more than programming and activating the program when needed. Adam's soul was the processor, and the instructions issued by him will be executed immediately. He could even program himself to do inhuman feats.

"If the world isn't advanced, then it'll be too boring."

"But, it shouldn't be that boring, they have war horses!"

Knight Wright's deafening clap snapped Adam out of his thoughts, and gathered all the knights to his side. Sweat glistened all over the knight's shirtless bodies, and the sunlight highlighted their muscles perfectly.

Knight Wright stood at ease and said, "What is the most important thing when it comes to being a knight? Tell me!"

An attendant answered, "Breathing."

Knight Wright nodded, "Yes, a breathing exercise. This is what separates us knights from you servants."

Hearing this, some servants were envious.

"Breathing?" Adam thought to himself. He paid close attention.

"Adjust your breathing according to the Johnson's Cavalier Breathing Method, and control your body. Scatter and empty your consciousness, and let the extraordinary energies enter your body. Accept them, and guide them to mould your body."

Adam could only process some of their words, but couldn't understand the meaning behind them. He came to the conclusion that this is a world where supernatural powers exist!

Knight Wright stood still and began to breathe at a strange rate -- his muscles started to vibrate, and his body swelled and shrunk suddenly, looking extremely strange.

[Detected the presence of No. 1 Special Energy.]

Adam found that all the knights exuded this energy -- although there were more than 100 knights, the total amount of special energy did not even reach one-fifth of Adam's.

Adam remained calm, and continued to observe. The knights continued to breathe for 15 minutes, and Adam made a new discovery.

[New energy detected, similar to No. 2 Special Energy, but with a very low level, hereby named No. 3 Special Energy.]

Adam found that No. 3 was guided by No. 1, and this energy was inhaled into Knight Wright's body whenever he breathed in. His face was twitching and contorting in pain, however, so Adam hypothesised that the process was somewhat painful. He even found that Knight Wright was emitting red fluctuations!

At the same time, the knights and the servants' faces contorted in pain, and their muscles rose and shrunk. Some of the servants' eyes were bloodshot from the forced effort.

Knight Wright continued his breathing. Lasting for half an hour.

"So this breathing method is what builds the program, and the No. 1 Special Energy forms the channel..." Adam observed.

Knight Wright let out a heavy sigh. He was tired, but his spirit was strong.

"Remember, do not test your limits..."

Knight Wright exhaled loudly, catching his breath. However, Adam had already started the breathing exercise on his own accord, completely ignoring what Knight Wright was saying.

"...if your body isn't strong enough to support this energy, forcibly using this breathing exercise will only lead to death."

Adam continued to breathe, Knight Wright's advice falling on deaf ears. The No. 1 Energy instantly dissipated, capturing No. 3 Energy. This No. 3 Special Energy was violent as soon as Adam inhaled it -- the energy surged within him and integrated itself into his cells.

Adam's body was too fragile, and the energy from No. 3 was simply too high and killed his cells.

His body twitched.

[Body is overflowing with energy. Begin self-defence program. Cut off every channel.]