Wizard Lord:I can Extract Anything

Upon hearing the Serpent King's news, Richard showed no concern for the command center issue. Instead, he asked, "Serpent King, what exactly is this 'Master Control' you mentioned? Is it the tower spirit of this fortress?"

"Tower spirit?"

The Serpent King seemed confused.

The term "tower spirit" was a word specifically coined by Wizards for the spirits of Wizard Towers, and no such term existed in the Dragon Language.

He explained to Richard, "The Fortress Master Control is a mechanical intelligence created by The Supreme to enhance the fortress's operational efficiency. You can think of it as a machine simulating a biological brain.

All kinds of information within the Astral Fortress can be accessed through the Master Control."

The Serpent King's description was clear, and Richard immediately understood what the Fortress Master Control was—artificial intelligence, nothing particularly rare.

However, Richard hadn't expected the Precursors to use artificial intelligence to improve their fortress management efficiency.

He had assumed the Master Control would be something more "fantastical."

"Alright, sounds similar to a tower spirit, except tower spirits aren't simulated by machines—they're directly crafted from souls."

"Crafted from souls?" The Serpent King was startled. "That sounds incredibly unreliable. How could souls ever be as dependable as machinery?"

Richard shrugged. "Tower spirits are meant to be stewards, not soldiers. Reliability is far less important than cost-effectiveness."

A Level 1 creature's soul, once processed, was enough to manage a small Wizard Tower. But building an artificial intelligence with the same capabilities would cost several times more, if not more.

When it came to managing more complex machinery, although processing souls became more expensive and had its limits, an Alchemist Wizard could serve as a substitute by then.

The soul of a Great Wizard specializing in Alchemy Machines was the finest tower spirit one could have.

If a Great Wizard who studied Alchemy Machines were to see this fortress before them, they might even offer an entire world in exchange.

...

The passages within the fortress were all made of crystal. Under the Master Control's guidance, the crystal path leading to the command center glowed faintly, making navigation effortless.

On the way to the command center, Richard took the opportunity to ask some questions about the Precursors—as a Dragon King recognized by the Fortress Master Control, he naturally had the authority to inquire.

But the answers he received were chilling.

In the Master Control's permission hierarchy, the highest-level permissions—even several high-level ones—were completely empty.

The civilization that had fought the Precursors had even managed to interfere with the Master Control's artificial intelligence.

Though this revelation was unsettling, the outcome was undeniably favorable for Richard.

The absence of the highest-level permissions had caused the Fortress Master Control to develop logical errors, nearly driving it to collapse.

Fortunately, the Precursors' technology was advanced enough. After the logical errors emerged, the Master Control quickly modified itself.

Now, the highest permissions had defaulted to the dragons whose information hadn't been erased.

In other words, Hogg was currently the highest-ranking being in the Master Control's permission hierarchy.

As a descendant of the Dragon King, she had originally ranked third in the original permission hierarchy. With the Precursors gone, she had directly taken their place, becoming the fortress's highest authority.

Every corner of the Astral Fortress was now open to her.

As a dragon king seed who had absorbed Hogg's blood, Richard held authority second only to Hogg himself, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with subspecies dragons like the Serpent King.

Passing through the dimly glowing obsidian passageway, Richard's group soon arrived before a severed section.

This ancient Astral Fortress had suffered severe damage, with its upper portion nearly blown apart. The massive injury had even damaged the fortress's Power Furnace.

The enormous radiation emitted by the Power Furnace coursed through the fortress fissures, glowing emerald green like an aurora.

"This radiation intensity..."

Richard rubbed his temples in frustration as he observed the aurora-like radiation.

By conservative estimates, the energy radiation had reached eight thousand energy levels. Exposure to radiation of this intensity would overwhelm even a Third Circle Wizard quickly.

Yet according to the fortress control system, the command center was located precisely in such an environment.

"I'll tough it out and go in," Ulysses suddenly spoke up, eyeing the radiant aurora. "Your capabilities aren't sufficient—entering would be suicide."

"This energy radiation poses little threat to my soul. Even if my body is destroyed, I can return safely."

While Ulysses' proposal seemed the most viable option currently, Richard wasn't entirely willing to accept it.

Creating a vessel for a third-level being wasn't easy, especially one as high-quality as Ulysses' near-perfect third-level form.

If his body were destroyed, he'd likely have to remain in the Secret Realm for the duration of this Plane War.

First or second-level combat capabilities would be essentially useless to Richard.

Suddenly, Richard addressed the wall: "Control system, what are the protocols for spatial manipulation within the fortress?"

[For spatial manipulation within the fortress, application must be made to the Fortress Master. After approval, the purpose and potential consequences of spatial manipulation must be registered before proceeding]

Hearing this response from the control system, Richard felt reassured and declared:

"I wish to apply for spatial manipulation."

[Application submitted to Fortress Master. Please wait]

Simultaneously, Hogg standing beside Richard heard the control system's voice in her ear.

[As the Fortress Master has fallen in battle, according to wartime authority succession protocols, you are now temporarily appointed as Fortress Master of World Tree Astral Fortress Three]

[Dragon King Seed Richard has applied for spatial manipulation. Please review]

Hearing this, Hogg looked at Richard in confusion. Seeing her expression, Richard smiled and nodded:

"Just as I thought—after the Fortress Master's death, control defaults to the person with highest authority within the fortress."

"Don't just stand there. Approve my application quickly."

"Yes!" Hogg responded somewhat flustered.

[Application approved. Please proceed with registration]

Hearing the system's response, Richard continued: "The purpose is cross-dimensional coordination to access the command center. Potential consequence is the appearance of one or more World Tree-type lifeform appendages."

[Registration complete. You now have spatial manipulation authority]

With permission secured, Richard relaxed slightly and grinned at Ulysses:

"Alright, no need for your suicide mission."

Ulysses feigned disappointment: "Ah, my vacation's canceled."

"Get out of here."

Richard laughed off the remark, then worked with Ulysses to open a Mystic Realm Rift, allowing the World Mushroom's mycelial tentacles to extend from the Secret Realm.

"Master, what do you need me to do?"

Richard pointed at the Radiant Aurora in the distance.

"Can you handle those Radiant Auroras?"

The Mycelial Tentacle emitted an energy wave, and soon Richard heard the confident voice of the World Mushroom.

"Master, before this, I could only endure those Radiant Auroras. But after devouring those World Tree Sub-bodies, I've evolved. These energy radiations are now excellent nourishment for me."

Richard nodded in satisfaction. Feeding it so many World Tree Sub-bodies had finally paid off.

"Good. Then you'll escort us from now on."

"Yes."

...

With the protection of the World Mushroom's tentacles, Richard's group progressed much more smoothly.

The World Mushroom acted like bandages, sealing all the Fissures they encountered along the way so tightly that not a trace of energy radiation could penetrate.

Soon, they arrived at the command center.

The command center was located in the upper-middle section of the fortress, with the Power Furnace directly beneath it. Though this design seemed dangerous, the Power Furnace was the fortress's core and the most heavily guarded area. If it malfunctioned, the command center's location wouldn't matter.

Through the World Mushroom's energy barrier, Richard could see the entire command center enveloped in a layer of Radiant Aurora.

Seeing these conditions, Richard could only pray that the Precursors' technology was durable enough to withstand such intense radiation for tens or even millions of years... Well, that might be too optimistic.

The World Mushroom used its Mycelial Tentacles to seal the Fissures in the command center, but prolonged radiation had fundamentally altered the properties of the objects inside. They were now emitting energy radiation themselves.

Fortunately, the radiation wasn't too strong, and everyone present—except Hogg—could easily withstand it.

The command center was in disarray, with numerous crystalline objects glowing faintly. Even Hogg and the Serpent King couldn't identify what these things were.

So Richard resorted to a crude method—touching each one.

If the Miracle Furnace reacted, it was a win.

The group watched as Richard started with the crystal fragments on the floor and worked his way up to the few large crystalline objects in the room.

"What is the master doing?" the Serpent King asked, puzzled.

Ulysses, who knew about the Miracle Furnace, replied calmly, "Don't mind him. This is his special way of finding things. We can't replicate it."

Suddenly, Richard let out an exclamation.

"Found it!"

Everyone turned to see Richard excitedly holding a human head-sized polyhedron. Even as the cells in his hands began to break down, he refused to let go.

[Material: Damaged Star Chart]

[Extractable Information: Fragmentary Star Chart of The Supreme]

[Extraction Cost: 20 Mental Energy]

Reading the Miracle Furnace's information, Richard cheered inwardly.

It wasn't completely broken!

Precursor craftsmanship truly lived up to its reputation!

"Is this the star chart?" the Serpent King asked skeptically. "But it looks broken."

Indeed, the polyhedron's glow was intense enough to cause Richard's cells to deteriorate—clear evidence of prolonged radiation exposure.

If this thing still works, its quality can only be described as terrifying.

"Don't worry, if he says it's useful, then it's absolutely useful," Ulysses replied calmly.

Richard took two metal ingots from his pocket and fashioned a box for the damaged star chart. He then pocketed it and continued searching.

Since the star chart was still functional, there might be other things that could still work as well.

But just as he was searching, Hogg suddenly spoke up:

"Master, the main control system informs me that someone in the inner world is trying to contact us."