In the distance, a pair of sharp eyes lurked within the swaying tall grass, staring dead ahead.

  "Are you kidding me...? Is that the monster who defeated General Shelton?"

  The Imperial scout hidden in the brush watched the boy, Lune, skipping along in the distance. He swallowed hard in disbelief. His earpiece crackled with his comrade's low voice:

  "Highly probable. You saw it just now, right? That kid didn't draw a single transmutation circle; he cast a barrier out of thin air! That's not something an ordinary person can pull off. If he isn't registered, he's a full-blown 'Dangerous Individual.' According to the World Peace Treaty signed seventeen years ago, for the peace of the Empire, he must be eliminated..."

  "Tch!" The scout spat in disgust, gripping his magic-infused rifle tighter. "The kid definitely has some skills, but... that masked guy is way creepier!"

  He shifted his gaze toward Silvan standing nearby, a trace of dread bleeding into his voice. "I once saw a classified roster of alchemists. There was a female support alchemist who served under the War God, Shumanton. The silver spiked flail and chains she used were exactly the same style as what that guy has! Plus, she disappeared alongside Shumanton in the end. You must have heard the rumors, right?"

  "Are you saying that masked guy is..."

  "Exactly! It's highly likely he's the apprentice of that legendary alchemist! This is a massive discovery that'll shock the brass!" The scout excitedly marked the coordinates on his blinking digital map and whispered into his earpiece, "Stay alert. Alchemists are not to be trifled with. We'll maintain covert surveillance for now. Once General Shelton regroups, we can launch a surprise attack immediately! When that happens, we're definitely getting a fat bounty!"

  ＊

  By high noon, a heavily drained Lune had once again fallen into a deep sleep.

  Although his awakening and the casting of the triangular barrier this morning had looked incredibly cool, his small frame clearly couldn't handle such a massive output of magic.

  Silvan gently hoisted the sleeping Lune onto his shoulder, securing him tightly to his back with straps. After all, in a forest teeming with danger, leaving a defenseless Lune lying around meant he would likely be bagged and tagged by pervasive scouts the very next second.

  He walked into a clearing in the woods where the logs he had just cleanly chopped down were piled up. On the grass, an intricate transmutation circle had already been drawn with his silver cane.

  This amount of timber... should be more than enough to transmute a carriage.

  But where am I supposed to find a horse to pull it? That guy Chris is still out cold in the hunter's cabin. What a pain. He's always the one doing the negotiating for things like buying horses... I could never shamelessly haggle with merchants the way he does.

  Even as Silvan complained in his head, his hands didn't pause for a moment.

  Like a reflex etched into his very bones, he lowered his hands. The hidden energy source within his leather gloves instantly activated the array on the ground. Magic particles in the air were violently agitated, and under the guidance of the transmutation circle, an ethereal blue light transformed into countless high-energy beams—as precise as scalpels. They forcefully deconstructed and restructured the molecules of the stacked timber.

  The light faded. In less than the blink of an eye, a brand-new, sturdy wooden carriage had been flawlessly created.

  Silvan clapped the sawdust off his hands in satisfaction, but sharply detected a new presence behind him.

  He turned around, only to see that Chris had woken up at some point and was glaring at him with that usual, perpetually-disgusted expression of his.

  "Hey, you didn't give me a single dime! How the hell am I supposed to get a working horse like this?" Chris ruffled his hair in sheer annoyance. "I just don't get it. Which of that old geezer Shumanton's screws came loose for him to take a liking to a careless, stinking wo—"

  Smack!

  Before he could even finish his sentence, Silvan mercilessly and precisely hurled a heavy coin pouch right into Chris's face.

  Then, he turned back around, acting as if nothing had happened. He manipulated the bedrock beneath them, and amidst a low rumbling, effortlessly and smoothly lowered the newly transmuted carriage onto the main road at the bottom of the hill.

  As Chris walked up behind Silvan, rubbing his stinging cheek, specks of light gathered in the air, eventually forming a floating holographic screen. Cold text appeared word by word in front of Chris:

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  [Oh, it seems your sanity has recovered decently well, Chris. However, you've clearly forgotten my teachings entirely—do not randomly take your anger out on others.]

  "Tch! You were clearly lecturing Shumanton back then! Don't drag me into it! After all, every time that old man pissed you off, I was the one who ended up getting beaten up for it!"

  As the two engaged in their daily bickering, Silvan attempted to draw on his backup energy to move the remaining bedrock. However, the light flickered a few times before dimming completely.

  It seemed today's energy consumption had truly exceeded expectations.

  [Chris, when you go to town later, remember to pick up some energy cubes while you're at it. The battle just now consumed thirty percent more mana than projected. I'm completely out of backup reserves.]

  "You're so annoying!" Chris impatiently grabbed Silvan's wrist and roughly yanked open the zipper hidden deep within the leather glove.

  He stared at the pocket watch belonging to Shumanton nestled inside. Without a moment's hesitation, he pressed the crown with a click, scolding irritably, "Just use this endless energy source and be done with it! You always make things so difficult for yourself, woman! Shumanton's power is bottomless, it's not like you just found out today!"

  The text on the screen immediately began to flash frantically:

  [Clearly, your IQ hasn't returned to normal levels! Shumanton's power has long been tagged by the Imperial Army. Right now, any random relay detector could identify his unique mana signature. This is not a joke!]

  Despite the severe reprimand in the text, strapped by the genuinely depleted energy reserves, Silvan ultimately compromised. He carefully guided Shumanton's power, injecting it into the glove's transmutation array. The violent, overwhelming energy instantly tore through the earth, forcibly pushing the bedrock and finally settling the carriage completely in place.

  [Sigh... this was truly a last resort. That commotion was too loud; I'm deeply concerned it might attract the attention of the Imperial scouts.]

  "What are you so afraid of? If they come, we'll just wipe them all out like before, Silvan!" Chris flashed a wicked, dangerous grin. "After all, they're the ones digging their own graves by choosing to be our enemies. You can't blame us for that, right?"

  [Your logic is utterly riddled with holes. It sounds like a cheap bedtime story used to trick three-year-olds into sleeping. Shut up and get to work, Chris.]

  While the two were arguing relentlessly, Lune, who had been resting on Silvan's back all this while, seemed intensely seduced by the leaking power of Shumanton.

  Like a sleepwalker, he slowly opened his eyes. Those originally clear irises were now flashing with a heart-stopping, ethereal blue light. The boy reached out with a small, tender hand, reaching instinctively toward the ancient pocket watch.

  "Such powerful energy... It's so warm, yet... so familiar."

  The corners of Lune's lips curled into a smile. It was a smile laced with an inviolable, god-like majesty, yet it concurrently seeped with an endless exhaustion.

  Silvan froze abruptly. Chris instantly dropped his joking demeanor, watching Lune's every move with high alert.

  The very instant Lune's fingertip brushed against the metal casing of the pocket watch—

  Boom!

  Several streaks of pitch-black light, dark as the abyss, violently surged up his fingertips and straight into his mind. Those shadows frantically took root and sprouted deep within his soul. A scorching, boiling sensation—like an electric shock—shot all the way from his stomach up to his cheeks, flushing the boy's pale face with an unnatural red hue.

  These shadows... what on earth are they?

  When Lune's consciousness regained a sliver of clarity, he could distinctly feel those shadows within him acting like ferocious beasts with minds of their own, itching to swallow his consciousness whole and claim his body for themselves.

  It seems the path of a genius really isn't an easy one... Lune chuckled bitterly in his heart. But why did this power choose me, of all people? Is it just because I'm a pure, unblemished 'Empty Shell'? Or is it because my 'personality' is fractured and incomplete? No matter which explanation it is, it feels pretty awful...

  The boy let out a long sigh. Then, under the tense gazes of Silvan and Chris, he nimbly undid his bindings and hopped lightly onto the grass.

  "Uncle Chris! Don't be mad!" Lune looked up, flashing an innocent, na?ve smile. "I obtained Shumanton's power again! Right from inside that pocket watch. Even though... I'm still not entirely sure what kind of power it actually is."

  Silvan looked down at the pocket watch inside his leather glove—the second hand had stopped ticking. The flow of time had, at this very moment, halted once again.

  On the other side, Chris rubbed his temples as if fighting a splitting headache, roaring in frustration, "Heaven knows what that mad god Shumanton is going to lose this time! Last time it was his eyesight; this time it'll likely be disastrous too!"

  I see... Every time Lune receives a portion of Shumanton's energy, Shumanton's main body becomes weaker and weaker...

  Silvan couldn't help but feel a pang of melancholy, his fingers unconsciously tightening around the hem of his clothes. But he quickly tucked his emotions away, returning to his usual composed demeanor.

  The floating screen lit up once more:

  [It seems Lune truly is an incredible little genius. Shumanton's power isn't something just any random stray can handle. If you can learn to coexist peacefully with this power, it might not necessarily be a bad thing for us.]

  "Mr. Silvan, you are always so gentle! I don't even know how to thank you." Lune patted his chest and declared with brimming confidence, "Please don't worry! I'll try my best to repair those chaotic powers inside Shumanton! Who knows, maybe I can even cure those baffling psychological issues of his! Even if it sounds like I'm bragging, I'll give it my all!"

  "Hmph, what a bunch of self-righteous saps. I can't stand looking at you two!" Chris clicked his tongue. "If you're really that capable, little Lune, then actually prove it to me!"

  In the autumn afternoon, the chilling breeze carried a murderous intent.

  Under the coordinate markers set by several Imperial scouts, the exact location of Shumanton's energy release had been officially locked on by the military; simultaneously, Lune had successfully completed yet another external power reception.

  This was a turning point filled with unknown variables.

  Faced with those violent powers lurking within him like shadows—powers that could turn on him at any moment—how exactly would this boy, known as the "Empty Shell," manage to tame them?