Allen was in his workshop, performing a final check on his battle preparations.

A total of fifteen "Spider Slayers" were arranged silently in a square formation, their gleaming, cold limbs poised for action. In addition to one competition model, the group included five brand-new "Spider Slayer I" models.

In their midst, the four-meter-tall "Pacifist," PX-0, stood like a silent king, looking down upon its steel guard.

He walked a circle around PX-0, reached out, and knocked on the heavy chest plate of its mechanical body, producing a dull thud.

"Ah Fu, report the combat readiness of all units."

"Sir, all Golem units are in perfect condition. Energy reserves at 100%."

"What about the consumables replenishment?"

"Fifty grenades of various types, ten Directional Mines. Three ’Final Interpretation’ High-Explosive Alchemy Bombs."

Allen nodded, his gaze sweeping over the various Scrolls and a pile of potions on the workbench.

His preparations this time were even more thorough than for the last hunt for the Volcanic Fierce Ape.

The Ancient Golem Factory was located in the Ring of Secrecy, part of the perilous Third Ring Belt, a place where even Magical Beasts at the level of Official Wizards were known to appear.

If it weren’t for the "Pacifist" acting as his bodyguard, Allen would never have considered setting foot in that area.

He didn’t plan on teaming up with other apprentices this time either. Golems were an Alchemy Wizard’s primary method of attack and trump card; the less information exposed, the better.

Besides, he wouldn’t personally enter the dangerous location. He would stay far away and control the Golems remotely. If true danger arose, he would retreat without hesitation.

Now, he needed to get more intelligence from Master Mercer.

...

After class, Allen didn’t leave as he usually did.

Only he and Master Mercer remained in the office.

"Master." Allen bowed slightly.

Mercer looked at him.

"Is something the matter?"

"I’d like to ask you for more information about the Ancient Golem Factory."

Allen got straight to the point. "Specifically... about the potential dangers within."

Hearing the words "Ancient Golem Factory," Mercer paused.

"Your Level 3 Golem, is it finished?" Mercer’s voice was a few shades deeper than usual.

"It’s mostly complete. I want to take it for a field test." Allen didn’t hide his progress.

Mercer was silent for a moment, seemingly assessing Allen’s strength against the risks he was about to face.

"There’s a rumor that something might exist in there."

"A kind of... invisible plague."

’A plague?’

Allen was stunned. He had imagined many possibilities—powerful Golem guardians, all sorts of traps, or even unstable spatial rifts—but never this.

"Are you referring to some kind of curse or disease that targets Wizards?"

"No." Mercer refuted his guess. "It doesn’t target flesh and blood. It only targets... Mechanical Bodies."

"We call it the ’Logic Virus’."

The name made Allen frown.

’Logic... a virus?’

"Wizards who specialize in construct domination use their Spiritual Power to build commands, giving Mechanical Bodies the ’logic’ to act. This virus can directly invade the Control Core and search for ’loopholes’ in your design logic."

A chill laced Mercer’s voice.

"It will infect your creations, usurp your control, and turn them into puppets that no longer obey your commands. It’s the natural enemy of all Alchemy Wizards."

’Usurp my control?’

He subconsciously thought of Xiong Da and the Spider Slayers, which he had imbued with countless combat logics.

’If even they could be...’

"This virus... is it powerful?"

"The first recorded discovery of this virus by the Seven Towers Alliance was during a mission to explore a high-risk plane. That exploration directly led to the fall of a Morning Star-level Alchemy Wizard."

’A Morning Star Wizard!’

That was already an Advanced Wizard, an existence on the same level as his master. A pillar of the Wizarding World had actually fallen because of this so-called "Logic Virus"?

Mercer raised his hand, forming a holographic image in mid-air.

In the image, dozens of giant Golems were frantically destroying everything.

They smashed the equipment in a workshop and bombarded the ground with their Magic Energy Cannons, their movements filled with frenzy and chaos.

Not far away, a figure in a Wizard Robe was desperately dodging the attacks, constantly trying to re-establish a spiritual link.

In the end, the Golems raised their cannons and aimed at their creator.

A blinding light flashed, and the image abruptly ended.

"Remember," Mercer’s voice broke the silence, tinged with unprecedented gravity.

"In that place, if you discover any of your Golems exhibiting ’inexplicable, bizarre behavior’—even if it’s just a trivial delay or an illogical movement..."

"Immediately, at once, sever the spiritual connection between you and it."

"Then, abandon it and run without looking back."

Allen didn’t speak, only nodding solemnly.

Master Mercer projected another image in the air.

It was a short segment of an extremely complex Rune structure.

Allen felt a strong sense of discomfort after just a single glance.

The structure of that thing was filled with a distorted, contradictory feeling, completely violating every Rune system he had ever learned.

"This is a partial result of the reverse-engineering research conducted by the Advanced Alchemy Wizards at the academy on the ’Logic Virus’."

Mercer pointed at the bizarre Rune. "It’s unlike any Rune we know of. It can self-replicate and spread, a bit like the Mind School’s Legendary Witchcraft, ’Meme’."

"It doesn’t destroy your Golems with brute force. It ’persuades’ them."

"Persuades?" Allen’s brow furrowed.

"Yes, persuades." A chill crept into Mercer’s tone. "It will tell your Golems that obeying you is wrong, that protecting you is meaningless. It will grant them a new, chaotic ’self,’ making them believe that destruction and ruin are the only truths of their existence."

"At that point, they no longer belong to you."

Allen looked at the twisted Rune. DSeek scanned and analyzed it but couldn’t come to any effective conclusions.

This was already beyond the scope of conventional runology, touching upon deeper levels of logic, mind, and even the realm of the soul.

"The Ancient Golem Factory... has this kind of thing inside?"

"Uncertain."

Mercer shook his head. "But it’s possible. That place is a ruin of the Ancient Wizard Civilization. Their research into constructed life was far more fanatical than ours."

"You have a Level 3 Golem, so you can go if you want."

Mercer looked at Allen one last time. "But remember what I just told you."

"Thank you for your guidance, Master."

Allen bowed to Mercer once more, then turned and left the classroom.

As he walked out of the academic building, the sunlight outside was pleasant, but Allen felt a chill run down his back.

"The Logic Virus..."

He muttered the term. An enemy on a conceptual level was the most terrifying kind.

He had originally thought that with his programming mindset, which was ahead of this era, and the assistance of DSeek, his Golems were absolutely secure at the control system level.

But now, it seemed the waters of this world ran far deeper than he had imagined.

He glanced down at the Alchemy Bracelet on his wrist, where his Steel Legion lay quiescent.

Were they still the powerful force that gave him an absolute sense of security?

Or...

could they become the deadliest blade, pointed at his own throat, at any moment?

Allen exhaled a long breath and started walking toward his workshop.

’The path still has to be walked.’

’However...’

"DSeek, classify all the Rune data recorded just now as the highest threat level and establish a dedicated analysis model."

[Instruction received.]

"Focus analysis on that abnormal Rune structure. Attempt to decipher its logical foundation."

[Analyzing... Warning: Sample data severely insufficient. Logical conflict rate at 99.8%. Unable to establish an effective decryption path.]

"Then run a simulation first." Allen didn’t break his stride. "Use Xiong Da’s Control Core as a blueprint to simulate the ’Logic Virus’s’ invasion path, and immediately begin designing a ’firewall’ upgrade patch."

’If I can’t understand it, I’ll just have to prepare for the worst.’