Wizard: Starting from Escaping Another World to Pioneering

"what?"

Matthew stared blankly at the illusory panel that had appeared out of nowhere.

His mind, which had been somewhat groggy, suddenly cleared up.

"This is... a cheat code!"

He rubbed his eyes and was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't a hallucination.

He used his mind to pull down the panel, and when he saw the last column, he discovered an important piece of information.

[Can be refined to treat crystals, toxin crystals, and impurities]

"Is my cheat ability just for refining items?"

After a moment's thought, Matthew chose to refine the potion.

Instantly, the liquid in the potion disappeared.

Instead, a white crystal, a small dark brown pellet, and some tiny particles appeared on his hand.

The healing crystals felt cool to the touch, but other than that, Matthew couldn't see anything particularly special about them.

"The treatment crystals should be much more effective after removing toxins and impurities."

"Never mind, let's try anything, even if it's a dead end."

Without hesitation, Matthew swallowed the crystal in one gulp.

A refreshing sensation spread through his mouth, similar to the taste of mint.

Before long, he felt the cool sensation turn into a warm current flowing from his abdomen throughout his body.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that the pain in his body had lessened a bit.

At the same time, a wave of drowsiness washed over me.

Matthew's eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and before he knew it, he slowly drifted off to sleep.

……

The next day, early in the morning.

It snowed all night, and the indoor and outdoor temperatures dropped to freezing.

A cold wind slipped in through the crack in the door, making a "whooshing" sound.

Matthew shivered and was jolted awake by the cold.

Looking at the unfamiliar ceiling, he immediately sat up and looked around.

After a moment of confusion, he remembered that he had traveled through time.

Matthew rubbed his head. "I slept really soundly yesterday..."

He touched his body and was surprised to find that the excruciating pain from yesterday had disappeared.

My body, which used to have some difficulty breathing, can now move freely.

The treatment for the crystals was much more effective than he had hoped.

"Gurgle, gurgle..."

At that moment, he felt a churning sensation in his stomach.

"I'm so hungry!"

Matthew's gaze swept across the table and found only half a piece of blackwood bread that the original owner had left uneaten.

But at that moment he didn't care about anything else, and started tearing at it after wetting it a little.

The edges of the bread were cracked, and it was mixed with sawdust, making it crunchy and hard to chew.

"Oh, right, the cheat code!"

Matthew focused his mind on the blackwood bread to activate the system.

【Name: Kuroki Bread】

[Ingredients: Rye, beer sediment, sawdust, sand, etc.]

[Note: This product is made by roasting a mixture of rye and sawdust, and then air-drying and dehydrating it for a long time until it becomes as hard as iron, but also more durable for storage.]

[Can be refined from: grain crystals and impurities]

"Damn it!"

"Adding wood is one thing, but adding sand and gravel is unacceptable."

"System, refine!"

The black bread vanished instantly, transforming into a round energy block.

The grain crystals melt in your mouth, and upon closer tasting, they have a slightly sweet flavor.

Although the energy block is small, as it is quickly absorbed, the churning stomach finally calms down, and even a slight feeling of fullness arises.

Immediately afterwards, Matthew gulped down several large mouthfuls of cold water, making his stomach bloated.

"It seems that the product's effectiveness has been significantly improved after refining."

After eating, Matthew stretched his body, but still felt weak all over.

He looked down at the thin, bony body and was surprised to find that it was completely different from the strong and muscular Matthew he remembered.

"How did this body become so weak!"

He carefully examined his body and noticed something was wrong.

In addition to being extremely weak, the body also had severely dried-out skin.

The body below the head was a sickly pale white, covered with wrinkles, like the bark of an old tree.

Matthew was lost in memories, and the scene of him lying on the lab table reappeared in his mind.

In the shadows, a woman with her hands wrapped in bandages watched silently as he drank the sleeping potion.

And coiled at her feet was a sinister and terrifying giant python.

"It must be a side effect of that experiment..."

"What exactly is that?"

Matthew fell into deep thought.

"If only I could refine myself and extract the toxins."

"Wait, refine yourself?"

Without hesitation, Matthew immediately focused his mind on himself and then summoned the system.

Name: Matthew Claire

Age: 18

[Physical Fitness: 0.6]

【Mental Power: 10】

[Ingredients: 70% water, 9% protein, 7% fat, carbohydrates...]

[Unrefinable: The item possesses its own consciousness.]

Seeing the system's prompt, Matthew abandoned his idea of ​​refining himself.

"A constitution rating of only 0.6?"

"No wonder you're so weak, there's no 1."

Just then, another notification popped up on the virtual panel.

[Warning: Target function is permanently limited, basal metabolic rate decreases by 30%, cell activity decreases (cell regeneration efficiency decreases by 40%), and inflammation risk increases (tissue repair efficiency decreases by 15%)...]

Looking at the series of messages in the warning bar, Matthew's heart sank to the bottom.

"Target's functions are permanently restricted..."

"In other words, this weakness is irreversible and requires external assistance; otherwise, it cannot be recovered."

"That advanced apprentice should return to the wizarding world."

"If I could go back... maybe paying a sufficient price would get her to take action and resolve the issue."

"It still won't work. If she finds out about my condition, she'll probably want to use me as a research subject even more."

Moreover, returning to the main world is easier said than done, unless one can survive the thirty-year pioneering period.

Of course, there are exceptions. So far, two apprentices have completed their pioneering assignments ahead of schedule and returned to the main world.

During an exploration, an apprentice accidentally discovered traces of a false god from elsewhere spreading his faith in the Winter Realm. He made a significant contribution and was exempted from the pioneering assignment ahead of schedule.

Another apprentice completed his assessment during the pioneering period, proving his wisdom, and was therefore recalled by the school.

Matthew walked to the table and took a research report from the drawer.

Although the original owner was "exiled" to the Winter Realm, he never gave up on his assessment task.

For this reason, he used almost all of his monthly pioneering wages to buy experimental materials.

His assessment task was to cultivate a hybrid elemental spirit.

The report recorded a series of experimental procedures in messy handwriting.

The above lists various cultivation methods, but the original owner marked them all with conspicuous red crosses.

The closest possible solution failed due to a calculation error in the final step of mixing the two elements.

Matthew shook his head as he looked at the report in his hand.

Must one stay in the Winter Realm for a full thirty years?

"..."

"No, we have to get out of this awful place."

Matthew made up his mind at that moment.

Now that we have this cheat code, we must make good use of its value.

and also……

Matthew looked down at his withered body again.

We also need to find a way to deal with the aftereffects of this body.

He walked up to the mirror.

Because the original owner had been busy with odd jobs for a while, he hadn't taken care of his appearance for a long time.

This was, in fact, the first time he had seriously examined his own face since he transmigrated.

His cheeks were somewhat thin, and his bangs hung down, covering his eyes, but his features revealed that he had a handsome face.

Although he was very tall, his thin body made his clothes look loose and baggy.

If he appeared in the field right now, he would probably be mistaken for a scarecrow, because he is so thin that he is just a skeleton.

Matthew quickly combed his hair and then tied it back.

He rummaged through the closet and pulled out a few useless old clothes, then tore them into pieces.

Although wizards are a group of rational madmen, they often conduct strange experiments on themselves in order to become stronger.

However, in order to prevent others from noticing his weakness, he deliberately tucked the strips of cloth into his wide robe to make himself look much stronger.

After doing all that, he pushed open the door and went out.