The problem was simple.The solution was anything but.
"Live specimen required," Ethan murmured.He tapped a quill against the edge of his workbench.
The schematics before him looked wrong.They read like a madman's notes.Half were sketches of theoretical mana flow.The rest were equations that disobeyed known laws.
"Low-rank beasts act purely on instinct," he said.He spoke more to himself than anyone else."You cannot capture them alive.Even if you do, they are useless for controlled observation.High-rank ones…"His gaze slid to a faded map.A red circle marked the southern border of the Forbidden Forest."That is a death sentence."
Not to discourage you, Host, Aimi hummed in his mind.Mortality rate for first-time adventurers there is ninety-eight percent.You would most likely be devoured before seeing a beast.
"Very helpful," Ethan muttered.
I am simply providing data, she answered.But there is a third option.
Ethan frowned."Which is?"
Do not capture a beast, Aimi said.There was a short pause.Create one.
Ethan blinked."Create one?"
You did accidentally mutate Lady Lyra's elemental attribute when you were a year old, she reminded him.There is precedent.
"That was an accident," he said.
An effective accident, Host, she countered.With a controlled environment, strict safety protocols, and regulated mana exposure, we could do it again. Intentionally. With chickens.
"You are suggesting I manufacture a magical creature. A magical chicken?" Ethan asked.
I am suggesting you engineer a directed evolutionary event.Through sustained mana saturation and environmental manipulation.Technically, that is the same thing.
Ethan stared at the chaotic pages.The idea sounded absurd.Beneath the madness was a spark.A possibility that could rewrite what magic meant.
"Alright," he said finally."We try."
"Find me a reinforced containment cage and a water tank," Ethan told Butler Hans as he walked into the laboratory."Also bring as many chickens as you can find in the coop. We do have chickens, right?"
Hans did not ask questions.Decades of service had taught him better.Within the hour the lab echoed with clucks.Feathers rustled.One unfortunate chicken was secured in a wrought-iron cage.Its wings were gently restrained.A thin drip of water kept its body temperature steady.
Kael wandered in.He chewed a slice of fruit.Sparks crackled lazily across his fingertips.
"So, are we summoning demons or making dinner?" he asked.
"Neither," Ethan said."I am attempting forced mana integration through elemental field manipulation."
Kael raised a brow."Sounds complicated. I brought salt just in case."
Temari followed.Curiosity buzzed around her.A faint wind circled her feet as if drawn to her mood.
"Are we really going to make a magical creature?" she asked.
"If the theory is correct," Ethan said, "yes."
He set up the apparatus.Four mana-infused pearls glowed faintly.He mounted them around the cage.Thin copper coils wrapped their surface.They fed into a brass control terminal.He checked every connection twice.
"Voltage regulator ready," Ethan said.
"I am ready," Kael replied.Small bolts danced between his fingers.
"Do not overdo it," Ethan warned."Start low. Increase gradually. Aimi?"
Monitoring baseline variables, she said.Pressure stable. Temperature stable. Conductivity, humidity, and oxygen density nominal. Mana unreadable.
"You will have to trust me on that," Ethan said.
Everything is ready, Host, she replied.Let us proceed.
The first trial began with a faint hum.Kael's current flowed into the coils.The pearls pulsed. Light swirled inside them.
Voltage stable, Aimi said.Core temperature rising. Heart rate increasing. Oxygen absorption within range.
Ethan increased voltage slowly.The pearls glowed brighter.A faint distortion shivered through the air.
Still no anomalous signatures detected, Aimi said.Physical readings normal.
"Hold the current steady," Ethan ordered.
Moments later the chicken convulsed.Then it went still.
Smoke curled from the cage.The scent of cooked meat filled the room.
"Dinner's ready," Kael said cheerfully.
"Failure," Ethan muttered."Reset."
They tried again.And again.And again.
Ethan adjusted resistance, pearl spacing, water flow, and current density.Aimi recorded every parameter.Thousands of data points scrolled in real time.
Most results ended with overcooked poultry.A few ended with small explosions.
"Attempt seventy-eight," Aimi reported."I admire your persistence, Host. It has been five hours."
"For science! Let's keep going," Ethan replied.
With each attempt, the chicken survived longer under mana flow.Ethan's method improved.So did his efficiency.
But humans tire.Even Kael started fidgeting.
Temari peeked into the lab, eyes wide."Young master, there are only ten chickens left."
"Ten?" Ethan blinked.
"Nine," Kael said, nudging a roasted carcass."And a snack."
"Shit," Ethan groaned.
He did not want to give up.He had come so close.His eyes were bloodshot.His voice was hoarse.
Exhaustion weighed on his shoulders.His focus sharpened.
"Attempt one hundred forty-eight," Aimi said."Baseline stable."
"Kael, on my mark."
"Ready."
"Now."
Electric arcs surged through the coils.The pearls flared with deep light.Ethan felt it.Mana was moving. Not static. Not random.
Voltage at 17.3, Aimi reported.Heat load stable. Subject No. 148's temperature steady. Circulatory activity normal.
"Water flow?"
"Optimal."
The chicken convulsed.The air grew heavy.It smelled electric.
Ethan felt something shift.He felt laws tremble at the edges.
Temperature climbing, Aimi shouted.111.2 degrees and rising!
"Hold the current!"
Subject 148's blood pressure thirty percent above baseline, Host!
"Hold on, chicken."
Sweat trickled down Ethan's temple.Kael's gaze stayed fixed on the cage.The pearls pulsed with the creature's heartbeat.
Then everything went still.
Convulsions stopped.The light dimmed.
The thing in the cage was no longer a chicken.
Subject-148.
It stood unsteady on clawed feet.
Its feathers shimmered like oil on water.
Twin black horns curved from its skull.
Its eyes glowed with alien awareness.
The cage bars groaned and split.The creature stepped through.
Kael let out a low whistle."That is definitely not dinner."
Ethan's voice was barely a whisper."We did it."
"Wait," Aimi said."There is more."
Her readouts changed for the first time since awakening.
Mass increased eighty-four percent.Skeletal density tripled.Muscle fiber compaction up one hundred forty-six percent.Neural complexity increased five-fold.Thermal equilibrium stable despite metabolic surge.And… there is a field. Structured. Layered. Dynamic.
"Mana?" Ethan breathed.
"Yes," Aimi replied."I can quantify it now. Output approximately 0.43 quanta per second. Weak but measurable."
Ethan laughed.He could not help it.
"You could not read it before because you lacked a baseline," Aimi said."But now..."
"I can extrapolate," she finished."Magic and science can finally speak the same language. At least for mana output."
The creature clucked softly.It tilted its head like it was curious.
Mana swirled in faint eddies around it.Invisible patterns made it respond.
"Congratulations," Aimi whispered."Subject-148 is the first artificially created magical beast in known history."
The creature sneezed.Rainbow sparks fizzled harmlessly against the far wall.
"Containment protocols, Host," Aimi ordered.
"Agreed," Ethan said.
Kael grinned."Pet dragon-chicken?"
"It is not a dragon," Ethan said.
"It is not a chicken either," Aimi added."It is proof."
Ethan crouched.He met the creature's luminous gaze.
"I think I will call it Subject Genesis," he said.
Overly dramatic, Host, Aimi teased.But fitting.
The line between nature and design blurred.Ethan stood at its center.
The impossible was no longer theory.It was alive.It was measurable.It was real.
And this was only the beginning.
If mana could be shaped into life, it could be shaped into power.
The next step was clear.Ethan would integrate this knowledge into a new energy source.One that could sustain an exoskeleton.
Then he would not need beasts or cages.He would carry evolution on his own back.
Far beyond House Vale, two figures watched from a distant ridge.
Moonlight hid their faces.Their words chilled the air.
"Are you certain this is the one?" the taller asked.
"There is no doubt," the other replied."The seed of the last epoch has taken root here. The threads of destiny are shifting."
"And the order?"
"Unchanged. We take him before the bloom."
The wind swallowed their voices.They melted back into the dark.