Sorcerer… Cyborg???

Warning: The following chapter involves the MC carrying out unsafe medical procedures on his arm, do not try at home, the procedures he's carrying out are not anatomically accurate and frankly ridiculous.

If this is something that may make you uncomfortable, skip from the first dotted line to the second one .

The gleaming mana storing component sat on the rickety table of the room. Kothar had bought a horse, and had rapidly made his way to Janul, a small town near the border with Kalun, which got its name from the neighboring forest.

The set of surgical tools and detoxifying elixir he had procured previously from Lester also sat on the table. A sharp scalpel soaking in the solution.

A small flat length of Magesteel that tapered to a narrow, squared end emerged from one end of the mana storing component, this would allow for it to be fully integrated with his humerus.

Kothar downed the vial of anesthetic he had purchased from a shady looking store on the outskirts of Janul, wincing at the bitter taste.

Taking a clean piece of clothing, he wiped the greasy numbing ointment he had applied earlier from his shoulder, and prepared to begin his upgrade.

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Kothar took the razor sharp scalpel, and made a long vertical slice on the shoulder of his limp arm, carefully navigating between the disting heads of his deltoid muscle.

[Now soak up the blood then retract the two sides of the incision.] Silane instructed him, guiding him through the process.

Kothar retracted the wound, revealing the mess of tendons and ligaments that made up his shoulder joint.

He made another incision, opening up the joint capsule of his shoulder, then separated the tough ligaments from the bone.

Now that the supporting ligaments were freed, the head of Kothar's humerus moved easily, and he put away the satchel, picking up a small bone saw.

This next part of his 'upgrade' was the most time consuming as well as disturbing, and it took him almost half an hour to remove the section of bone the mana storing component was to replace.

Once he had removed the section of bone, he cleany slotted in the mana storing component, and slotted it snugly into the socket of his shoulder joint.

Taking the sharp needle and fine thread he had set out earlier, he began to suture his shoulder shut, starting with the capsule of the shoulder itself, moving outwards, before finally closing up the skin.

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[You've lost a fair amount of blood, rest a while then have the broth you had sent up earlier, send as much mana to your shoulder as you can.]

Kothar channeled his lightning mana to his shoulder, the mana storing core drunk it up the mana like a man stranded in a desert guzzling down water.

[The increased mana density in your shoulder should speed up the healing process, but it'll be out of commission for the next week at least.] SIlane continued to advise Kothar, who was now laying on the narrow bed, dripping with sweat.

[Hopefully there will be no rejection, especially since the mana storing core is so saturated with your own elemental mana.] Silane explained.

[Worst case scenario, I can always build myself a whole new arm, can't I?] Kothar joked with Silane, who's dry laugh echoed through his head.

[You'll need to manipulate the frame of the core with pure mana as well for the next few months, just so it integrates well with the bone and surrounding tissue.] Silane said as she showed Kothar a projection of how the metal would gradually enmesh itself into the bone.

Kothar drifted off as Silane continued to show him new designs that they could now integrate, each one wilder than the last.

Early the next morning, now well rested, Kothar made his way down to see the barkeep, his left arm still hanging limp by his side. He wore a heavy cloak, to hide the crippled arm from inquisitive individuals as well as opportunistic muggers.

"Did you find a caravan I can join Mister?" Kothar spoke in a slurred voice, mimicking Rudy's rural accent; he didn't want anyone to immediately identify him as being from Balin.

"I've got the perfect one for you to join, it's a small merchant company, so you'll be able to talk business with them on the way. They've also got a few hired mercenaries so you'll be safe as you can get along the borderlands. It'll be a fair bit of gold though, but I'm sure a talented young merchant like you would have no issue covering such afee." The barkeep looked at Kothar expectantly, waiting for his payment.

Kothar passed him a few silver coins, more generous than was reasonable, but he needed to maintain the appearance of a wealthy young merchant, on his way to woo new business partners.

"The name?" Kothar asked.

"Drummond and co. You'll find them at the west gate this evening." The barkeep swept up the coins with a wink at Kothar, and hummed happily, returning to polishing his chipped tumblers.

[What a great disguise Kothar, posing as a wealthy young merchant, the perfect target get fleeced by everyone and their grandmother.]

[Exactly, being such a juicy target means they spend all their time thinking about how to get more money out of me rather than why I haven't hired any guards and why my accent sounds like I burnt my tongue.]

[That's actually quite clever Kothar, I'm impressed at how crafty you've become.]

Kothar and Silane continued to banter back and forth, as they waited for evening, slowly packing up Kothar's gear, making sure to conceal his blade deep within his bundles.

"Welcome to our caravan young man! You must be the young merchant the barkeep spoke of!" A burly moustachioed man called out to Kothar from where he was sat high up on the box of a wagon.

"Greetings Sir, I am hoping to join your caravan on your journey to Kalun." Kothar slurred, trying to maintain his accent while projecting a respectful tone.

"You are most welcome! But of course, we have expenses, and I must ask you to contribute!" The moustachioed man seemed to lack the ability to alter the volume of his voice, continuing to boom away.

"Of course, that is completely reasonable." Kothar dismounted, throwing his reins over a nearby post.

The man joined Kothar on the ground, deftly hopping off from the wagon.

"I shall have to ask you for 10 gold pieces you man! We have only hired the best mercenaries!" The man twirled his moustache as he spoke.

"Alright." Kothar said, as he counted out the coins and handed them over.

THe man stared at Kothar with an eyebrow raised, as if trying to pierce through him with his sight. He counted out five coins and returned those to Kothar.

"Lesson number one young man, always haggle!" The man pounded Kothar across his back, as if to cheer him up.

"I see, I see. Kothar gave him a weak smile, keeping up his act.

"The name is Drummond!" Drummon bellowed, ushering Kothar towards one of the wagons at the rear of the caravan.

"I am Rufus. Pleased to meet you." Kothar nodded as Drummond continued to yell advice at him, it was going to be a long journey.