"Why did he come out so quickly...
Wait, did the experiment fail?"
Outside the room, Celine and Atedia stood guard.
Roy had not even informed his teacher about the body replacement, let alone other team members, including Andov.
Only his followers, Celine and Atedia, were aware of it.
However, even Atedia was somewhat clueless about what had transpired.
Only Celine realized that the "decoupling test," which aimed to allow the new body to survive independently, had failed.
"It did fail. Perhaps I was too greedy, trying to infuse too much Extraordinary Power into the body at once, which led to genetic collapse," Roy said calmly, having quickly composed himself.
Ambition is beautiful.
Reality is harsh.
Although Roy had been practical and steady, starting with emulating Sophia's brain transplantation, the modulation of the new body remained a significant challenge in the field of Bloodline Wizards.
His experience in this area was limited to the knowledge he had gained from studying the Behemoth Bloodline through "Bloodline Transmutation."
Thus, he was temporarily unable to resolve the issue.
"I should have sought gradual enhancement and the coverage of the Source of Magic.
I overestimated myself and underestimated Sophia's expertise in 'Bloodline Art,'" Roy reflected deeply and summarized.
"Actually, Senior Apprentice Sophia also experienced several failures before gradually achieving that level.
More importantly, she had guidance from her teacher and sufficient resources invested," Celine comforted after a moment of silence.
Roy shook his head slightly.
In truth, he now also had guidance from his teacher and sufficient resources.
However, the more critical reason was that he was not a genius in Bloodline Art, nor did he have a solid foundation.
Fortunately, as a formal Wizard, he was still superior to Sophia at that time.
He still had plenty of capital to continue his attempts.
...
In the following period, Roy once again immersed himself in the cultivation of the new body.
Of course, he did not neglect his daily tasks.
One of his major responsibilities now was to help his teacher create Level 1 Golems.
Since the process required infusing the stone statues with Mental Strength and magic during the carving to lay a solid foundation for the subsequent infusion of emotions and will, he did not delegate this task to others but completed it himself.
He was quite serious when it came to his teacher, avoiding any tricks like "outsourcing," "subcontracting," or "triple subcontracting" to cut corners.
Moreover, this work also helped him accumulate experience in Golem creation.
"Golem Transmutation"...
He was becoming increasingly proficient in it.
Compared to the slow progress in "Shrinking Art" and "Bloodline Art," this innate ability seemed to be his forte, allowing his experience to grow rapidly.
Inspiration and ideas continued to emerge.
Roy had Stedson carve ordinary stone statues for him. If anyone were to inspect the number of statues scattered around the quarry, they would be surprised to find that the number of low to mid-level Golems was steadily increasing.
In addition, there were various other research projects, including the new body.
Behemoth Bloodline, Blood Mercury Enhancement, Silver Battle Armor, Pegasus Wings, and more.
The number of experimental products available for himself and his subordinates was growing, and the combinations of enhancements were becoming increasingly diverse.
He also collected gem dust and shards from Yanila and various Wizards, continuously synthesizing them through "Gem Transmutation."
He continued to strive to accumulate second-level "Flawless Gems."
These efforts were akin to water dripping through stone, requiring patience and persistence.
...
December 20th.
Night, in the quarry.
Planche quietly slipped from the residential area to the outer corridor. Before long, a path paved with Animated Stone Slabs appeared ahead.
In her pupils, a pattern resembling a magical array flickered.
As it glowed faintly, an invisible light illuminated the magical feedback from the stone slabs on the ground.
Her figure darted forward, nimbly passing over the slabs imbued with Wizardry Energy, stepping only on the ordinary slabs that showed no anomalies.
When encountering sections entirely covered with Animated Stone Slabs, she leaped gracefully, avoiding them with ease.
"Pop! Pop! Pop!"
Suddenly, a group of colorful, oval-shaped objects bounced around.
They emitted a faint glow in the darkness, tirelessly wandering about.
The mysterious figure instantly tensed up.
Under the illumination of her magical vision, those objects were filled with highly concentrated energy.
Each one was a deadly weapon, created with the sole purpose of bouncing toward enemies and exploding upon contact.
"Damn Wizards, so many tricks, all designed to kill..."
Her expression turned grave, but she patiently waited in place for a long time, only moving forward after those bouncing creatures had all left.
Finally, she successfully evaded the patrol guards and arrived at a small square in a corner of the quarry, where statues were displayed.
"Several more ordinary statues have been added here, but they should all be apprentice-level Golems. If Lord Edwin and the others were to act, they could easily handle them."
The pattern in her pupils faintly glowed as she carefully assessed the situation.
"What's truly important is the first-level Golem that was recently sent from the capital of Knight!"
...
The next morning.
Over a hundred miles outside the Tata Mountains quarry, in a rural estate.
Mage Edwin sat alone in a small hall on the second floor of the villa, a circle of magical Runes resembling a halo glowing faintly above his head.
Suddenly, he interrupted his Meditation and opened his eyes abruptly.
"Sir, there's new information from Planche...
That Roy recently..."
A "Message Spell" delivered a faint voice directly into his mind.
Upon hearing this, Edwin nodded slightly.
"It seems his situation is relatively stable. As a newly promoted Wizard, he is indeed searching for his future path, but it's uncertain whether he will find anything.
No need to intervene for now..."
At that moment, he suddenly looked up.
Boom!
A thunderclap, like a bolt from the blue, violently exploded in the sky above.
Edwin's face showed a hint of surprise, which quickly turned into delight. He hurried outside in quick strides.
Several other attendants in the villa, along with another Mage wearing the same Moon White Robe, emerged.
"That sound just now...
It wasn't ordinary thunder!
It seemed to come from beyond the atmosphere!"
"Archmage Gem... has begun!"
...
Meanwhile, in the capital castle.
Flosf, draped in a white robe, reclined on his throne like an aged king of the mundane world.
Below him, a group of colorfully dressed female centaur dancers swayed gracefully to the accompaniment of seductive music.
Suddenly, his slightly narrowed eyes widened abruptly, and the leisurely and contented expression on his face vanished in an instant.
"Someone is attacking the Great Wizard's seal!"
(End of Chapter)