While inside the Volcanic Fierce Ape, these Transformation Crystals were limited by the creature’s flesh-and-blood body. Their peak Magic Power output was nowhere near its true potential.

Biological structures, after all, have their limits.

But Alchemy could shatter those limits.

The "single-use high-energy amplification unit" Allen had previously designed was a perfect "transformer" for this purpose.

It could take the immense Magic Power within a High-Tier Magic Stone, give it a secondary boost through a single-use Overclock Rune Array, and then violently channel it into the firing module.

This would allow the Volcanic Fierce Ape’s Transformation Crystals to unleash power far beyond their biological limits.

For the next three days, Allen locked himself in his workshop.

Aside from the nutrient solutions delivered by Ah Fu on a set schedule, he hardly slept or rested.

With his Spiritual Power highly concentrated, his fingers were perfectly steady, not a single tremor as they moved between various precision components and the Rune Carving Knife.

It was a process of turning theory into reality—tedious and complex, yet filled with the magic of creation.

「Three days later」

When the final Rune Circuit lit up, Allen at last set down his tools.

Before him lay three brand-new Alchemy Creations.

One was a circular, washbasin-sized module covered in intricate heat-dissipation fins and Rune Circuits. At its heart, five Transformation Crystals were embedded in a base and secured by a complex Force Field Restraint, forming the core firing unit of the main cannon: "Divine Punishment."

The other two were smaller Palm Cannon modules. Their construction was relatively simple, designed for stability and sustained fire.

Allen picked up the heavy main cannon module. Just looking at it, he could feel the terrifying power it contained.

This was the lethal weapon he had prepared for the "Pacifist."

’I need to find a place to test its power.’

He glanced at the testing area in the corner of his workshop.

The defensive field there could, at best, withstand a full-powered strike from a Level 2 Golem.

A single shot from "Divine Punishment" had the theoretical destructive power to rival a First-level Wizard.

If his calculations were off and the energy overloaded...

Allen had no desire to blow himself and his expensive workshop sky-high.

He opened his personal terminal and pulled up the rental list for the academy’s public facilities.

[Advanced Testing Chamber: 200 Low-Level Magic Stones/Hour]

’What a rip-off...’

The sight made Allen’s teeth ache. The price was nearly enough to cover his living expenses for a year.

Still, he booked it without hesitation.

Safety always came first.

He carefully placed the three weapon modules into his Space Ring and walked out of the workshop.

...

When Allen emerged from the relatively remote Zone F and stepped into the academy’s central plaza, he paused, taken aback.

The plaza was packed, the noise deafening. Everywhere he looked, he saw young, unfamiliar faces filled with a mixture of apprehension and excitement.

It was only then he realized: today was the annual admissions day.

Watching the new students in their varied hometown attire, their eyes full of curiosity about everything around them, Allen suddenly felt a sense of dissociation.

He had been in this world for two years.

He had gone from a fifteen-year-old boy to a seventeen-year-old young man.

Two years ago, he had been one of them, stepping through that Teleportation Star Gate with a heart full of both longing for and fear of the unknown.

And now...

He looked down at himself.

He wore the perfectly tailored black Advanced Apprentice Robe of the Alchemy School.

In his Space Ring rested a terrifying weapon he had built with his own hands—a weapon capable of leveling an entire noble estate.

From a mortal unable to even sense Magic Power to his current status as an Advanced Apprentice of the Alchemy School—it was a path he had walked for two years.

As he stood there, lost in thought, the crowd nearby began to part, automatically clearing a path for him.

A few freshmen were staring curiously before being yanked back by the junior apprentices beside them.

"Don’t stare. That’s a bigshot from the Alchemy School."

"See his insignia? Advanced Apprentice! You’d better learn to watch yourself around here."

The whispers reached his ears, but Allen didn’t linger. He simply walked forward along the path carved out for him by awe and alienation.

By now, he was used to their stares.

...

The Advanced Testing Chamber was located within the public practice grounds.

Allen paid the fee for one hour—two hundred Magic Stones. The expense made him wince.

But as he stepped into the chamber, he realized it was money well spent.

It was a pure white cubic space, unsettlingly vast, with sides over five kilometers long. It had clearly been spatially expanded.

One wall was a massive, one-way observation window, while the rest of the space served as the testing area.

Allen walked to the console beside the observation window and pulled up the scene generation menu.

[Scene Simulation Engaged. Please Select Test Environment.]

He generated a massive Magic Power target three thousand meters away.

In the white expanse, an enormous target shimmering with a faint blue light materialized out of thin air.

Allen took out the "Divine Punishment" module, supporting it with his Craftsman’s Hand.

The main cannon module hovered in mid-air three meters in front of him, its muzzle aimed at the distant target.

The High-Tier Magic Stone activated. Runes across its surface lit up one by one as immense Magic Power flooded into the single-use amplification unit.

WHIRRR—

A piercing hum filled the air.

A searing, shockingly thick beam of high-energy tore through the air, instantly striking the target three thousand meters away.

A massive hole was blasted straight through the center of the virtual Magic Power target.

[Target Hit. Peak Magic Power Output: 1180. Potency Meets Design Specifications.]

The data from DSeek was projected onto his Insight Glasses.

The result was about what he had expected.

But in the end, it was just data. It couldn’t provide a visceral sense of the weapon’s destructive power.

He needed a more realistic reference point.

After replacing the single-use amplification unit, Allen returned to the console. His fingers flew across the light screen, pulling up the scene customization function.

He closed his eyes, retrieving a long-buried memory. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

The map of the Rhine Kingdom... a fiefdom on the coast... and the castle that stood upon its cliffs—the castle that belonged to him, Allen Wesren.

—Black Reef Castle.

If he had not chosen to become a Wizard, that place was meant to be his home for the rest of his life as a Prince.

[Generating Scene...]

The pure white space before him began to twist and change.

Beneath his feet, the ground became hard, black rock. In the distance, gray waves crashed against the cliffs.

A fortress of massive granite blocks, stark and imposing in style, rose from the ground.

The watchtowers, the ramparts, the main keep... everything was exactly as he remembered it.

As Allen stepped into the testing area, he could even feel the sea breeze rustling his robes, carrying the salty, damp scent of the ocean. It was impossible to tell if it was virtual or real.

He had thought he’d long since cast aside this part of his mortal past.

But seeing the castle appear before him, so breathtakingly real, a complex, indescribable emotion welled up inside him.

"Goodbye."

Allen murmured to himself.

The "Divine Punishment" main cannon charged once more. The entire module began to vibrate faintly, radiating an incredible amount of heat.

BOOM!

A thick, dazzling beam of searing light shot forth!

The beam pierced straight through the most fortified section of Black Reef Castle—the main keep.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then, a blinding point of light ignited within the keep and violently expanded!

A massive explosion!

The shockwave shredded the sturdy ramparts. The towering watchtowers crumbled and disintegrated in the light. At the epicenter, the temperature was so extreme that the very rock melted into flowing lava.

The main structure of the castle, the massive edifice that symbolized his former identity, was utterly obliterated from the testing grounds before his very eyes.

The scene vanished, and the testing chamber returned to its pure white state.

Allen slowly lowered his arm.

After firing, the single-use amplification unit automatically detached from the main cannon, was ejected, and fell to the floor, now a piece of red-hot, steaming scrap metal. Immediately, the next unit was automatically loaded.

Two shots, and a thousand Magic Stones were gone just like that.

But Allen felt a sense of clarity he had never experienced before.

Destroying the past with his own hands was the best way to welcome the future.

He looked at the still-cooling main cannon module, a slight smile playing on his lips.

’All those Magic Stones, just to hear a big bang.’

’Worth it!’