Mage Adam

Among the Rex Consortium, the Mordo Academy had the most participants and the best chance of success.

In the crowd, Crystal whispered to Eliott, "Is Adam really one of the examiners this time?"

Ophelia, with her keen ears, perked up at the mention of Adam. She patted Dark Cloud\'s back a bit harder.

Although she looked mostly the same, Dark Cloud had changed a lot. His horn shone like black obsidian, and his dark wings were folded quietly. Every breath he took radiated energy.

Eliott replied, "He told me he is, but we probably won\'t see him during the trials. Asking him for help is impossible."

Crystal smiled softly---this once-resilient girl now had an unusual charm, a confidence that lit her up. "No need for help. I will definitely become a battlemage!"

Korver stepped forward, saying, "There are way more apprentices than we thought---almost thirty thousand. The teleportation seems random. Once we land, we must regroup quickly. I wish we could carry communicators."

Eliott smiled mysteriously and handed each of his friends a piece of paper. "Here, take this and keep it safe. We\'ll build this magic right after we land."

"What is this?" they asked.

"It\'s a simplified version of a communicator. Adam only gave it to me because of our past friendship. Once we build it, we can contact each other."

...

Even though Adam was one of the examiners, he couldn\'t help them much. Giving them a communication array was already bending the rules; it was the most he could do for his old friends.

He had no interest in following them to the trial site. After talking with Priscilla, he left an avatar at the command center to handle any issues that might come up, then returned to his lab.

He had chosen C and C++ as templates for his translation work, and it was mostly complete.

However, there was a tricky problem: the information content of each rune was too large after translation. Adam needed to either break down the runes or create a programming language suitable for the Mage World based on them.

The second option was the best. It was intuitive and effective, with great potential for growth.

Once rune programming matured, the Mage World might see a new wave of programmers.

Despite its dullness, programming could be very interesting and rewarding.

Adam named the programming language he wanted to create the M Programming Language, with "M" standing for magic.

He gathered most of his avatars to establish tasks, aiming to form the basic components of the language in rune form, including data types, constants, variables, arrays, pointers, strings, and operations.

This work was tedious but not too hard. Regardless of the form, a programming language was essentially mathematics---something universal across both worlds.

Adam hadn\'t found any differences yet; "1+1=2" was true on Earth and in the Mage World, showing a solid mathematical foundation that might bend but wouldn\'t break.

Days passed as Adam remained in his lab, tirelessly solving issues with avatar uploads.

After half a month, he successfully created the first version. It wasn\'t perfect and had many issues, but it was enough for some experiments.

...

"Pass your Flame," Adam said to a bewildered Garfield.

"Pass... pass the Flame? Why so suddenly?" Garfield stammered, noticing hundreds of expressionless avatars staring at him, sensing something was off.

"Sudden? Ordinary Titans start passing their Flame after reaching level four. You\'re stronger than most level four Titans; it\'s time for you," Adam replied casually.

"But I\'m still a child! I\'m not ready to be a father!" Garfield protested, desperately searching for excuses.

Adam fiddled with a special alloy made by an alchemist in Titania, infused with electromagnetic equations. "First, you\'re my test subject; I can\'t guarantee success, and you may not remain yourself afterward. Second, pass the Flame now."

Garfield realized he couldn\'t escape this. It was better for the \'child\' to be harmed than for him to perish. So he stopped arguing, painfully opening his chest to take out the Original Flames.

Passing the Flame was a process of self-division and erasure. Titans would split part of their true self and instinctively cancel the divided will. They retained only the basic inheritance, leaving out any memories, ensuring the new Titan was a new life, not a copy.

The process was agonizing, more painful than childbirth, as it came directly from the soul with no way to lessen it. On a pain scale, it exceeded level ten.

An hour later, one-third of the Original Flames began to detach. Garfield trembled violently, his solid body showing cracks. After two hours, it fully separated. He used his last bit of consciousness to erase his own will, collapsing to the ground, unable to move or even scream.

The waiting avatars started feeding his Vital Generator with high-quality ether crystals, pure energy that Adam considered compensation.

Meanwhile, Adam cradled the Flame and the electromagnetic metal, entering the closed laboratory to complete the next steps alone.

Adam transformed into his Flame form, directly intervening in the evolution of the young fire before him. He kept its data cluster shape intact but prevented any inheritance data from forming.

Then, he manipulated his Flame to send out a chain into the fire, beginning the first programming of the M Programming Language.