S-Rank?

"This is a doll, not an alchemical machine."

I gave Wang Yue a brief explanation.

To be honest, Lister used to have a hard time distinguishing between dolls and robots.

They are all anthropomorphic inanimate objects, merely imitating human life forms.

Seeing such lifelike dolls today made me realize the difference between dolls and robots.

If the Alchemy Civilization possessed such advanced puppetry technology, why did it ultimately develop into alchemical mechanical life forms?

Is it that the manufacturing conditions for dolls are more demanding? Or is it that, in terms of potential, alchemical mechanical lifeforms have a brighter future?

The alchemical puppet before them had reappeared, staring directly at the area shrouded in darkness, and closed its eyes.

Having obtained no further information, Lister and his companion decided to continue their journey.

Sure enough, the end of the fourth district is the third district, and the third district has the same factory-style buildings as the fourth district.

Logically speaking, Lister's B-level privileges only extend to the fourth zone; entering the third zone requires a new privilege assessment.

In reality, he stepped inside with ease and strolled around the factory without encountering any obstacles.

However, there are no production lines inside this factory-style building.

But starting from a certain section of the passage, transparent energy shields appeared on both sides.

At the other end of the shield was a row of alchemical puppets extending inwards.

Although the clothes they wore varied in style, they were generally of the same kind.

Furthermore, most of the clothing was predominantly red, somewhat resembling the erotic robots that Lister had seen in the Desire Experience Hall in the District of Desire.

The only difference is that the clothes worn by the erotic robots are more revealing and much more alluring.

Only when the alchemical dolls in front of me are gathered together do I truly feel the presence of humans during the Alchemy Civilization era.

"These are also dolls?"

Wang Yue couldn't help but ask a question, her brows furrowing involuntarily.

"Lister, I find these dolls a bit strange."

What's strange about it?

While responding to the call, Lister wasted no time continuing his inward exploration.

"Don't you think... these dolls are too realistic!?"

"Compared to the one from before, I can even..."

Before they could finish speaking, the two had already reached the end of the corridor, where a brightly lit hall appeared before them.

The hall, which was about a hundred square meters in size, was completely empty except for an alchemical doll with its eyes closed, which stood directly opposite.

They both have the same familiar green hair, the same height, and the same facial features.

Aside from wearing a light armor combat suit, it was almost identical to the doll in the Fourth District's breeding factory.

The two of them couldn't help but move closer. They had been standing far away in the fourth zone because of the energy shield, and could only rely on their senses to investigate.

Now we can examine the doll closely with the naked eye.

The pores are incredibly realistic; even though it's just a doll, it still breathes rhythmically, and its skin is fair and rosy.

In comparison, the green doll in front of me is more lifelike than the one in the fourth district.

Especially the right palm, the knuckles of the thumb and index finger are slightly yellow, even though there are no calluses, it still looks like he has been dealing with machines for many years.

Lister could even observe what appeared to be very little engine oil residue inside the crevices of his fingernails.

"Reconnaissance of enemy and friendly forces is underway... Reconnaissance results have been obtained..."

[Target Found: Alchemical Type S Puppet]

[Level: Lv71]

[Health Points: 190313/190313]

[Strength: 48981/48981]

[Attributes: Strength 71, Stamina 71, Intelligence 71, Agility 71]

[Skill: Alchemical Mechanical Frenzy (S-rank) LV71: Continuously releases self-destructing alchemical mini-robots, causing area-of-effect explosion damage of 10613~15382 points, and can stun enemies. (Can be boosted by Intelligence attribute) (Note: Cannot be used]]

Alchemical Mechanical Bestowal (S-Rank) LV71: Alchemical Mechanical Bestowal with new spirituality, increasing their health and stamina by 71% for a certain period of time, and also increasing the damage dealt by all alchemy machines by 71%. (Note: Cannot be used)

Alchemical Puppet Bestowal (S-Rank) LV71:... (Note: Unusable)

Master-Level Fighting Technique (Rank A) LV71: A master-level mixed martial arts technique originating from Alchemy Civilization, dealing 7105~7413 damage and causing certain negative effects such as immobilization, slowing, bleeding, and stun.

Master level

Radiance of Alchemical Life (Passive, No Grade) LV71: Greatly increases the base level and attributes of alchemical lifeforms after creation.

Mechanical Mastery (Passive, No Grade) LV71: Increases the effectiveness of mechanical skills by 355%.

Wisdom Eternal (passive,...)

Manipulation Descent (Passive, No Grade) LV71: Can withstand LV71 level energy. (Note: The overall rating of withstanding energy does not exceed S grade)

[Overall Rating: B to S]

Upon seeing the results of the system scan, Lister's expression immediately turned serious.

Even though Wang Yue, who was beside him, and Kavin, whom he met earlier, were expected to be stronger than S-rank in the future, they were not at that level at the moment.

The puppet in front of him was the first S-class monster he had truly encountered since entering the Divine Revelation World.

In the past, this would have been Overlord Tier boss that required the combined efforts of hundreds of thousands of ordinary players to barely have a chance of defeating.

Fortunately, the opponent was just a puppet, and a large number of its S-rank skills were unusable, so its strength should only be at the B-rank for the time being.

This reassured Lister somewhat. Seeing the passive effect of the opponent's Radiance of Alchemical Life, Lister couldn't help but have some guesses.

Since this person is located at the heart of the hall and can create alchemical life forms, could he be the alchemical genius Hoffman?

Just as the two were about to examine it more closely, the doll in front of them suddenly opened its eyes, its green pupils looking at them.

"Click~ Click~"

The doll twisted its neck back and forth, and its muscles and bones, which had not been used for a long time, began to make strange noises.

The next moment, the doll looked directly at Lister, a strange smile on its face.

A strong premonition of Killing Intent Wave suddenly appeared, Lister immediately reached for the hilt of his sword with his right hand.

Sure enough, the alchemical puppet came straight at him, but fortunately it wasn't too fast.

With the boost of Killing Intent Wave and his agility far exceeding that of his opponent, Lister reacted quickly, unleashing a swift, Iai Slash.

Sensing Lister's Iai Slash at close range, the sharpness and slight stinging sensation from the blade's edge made Wang Yue instinctively take a step back.

The alchemical puppet reacted quickly, immediately raising its arms to block its chest.

An incredibly sharp silver light swiftly swept across its chest, as if absorbed by the dark arm armor on its hands.

The remaining silver light struck the energy shield behind it, causing shattered crystals to form on the shield, which were then completely repaired in the next moment.

Attack: Deals 0 damage, ignores 0 defense damage, and inflicts 26009 true damage.

As expected, this S-rank puppet is different, even though Lister is certain that the other party is currently only B-rank in strength.

However, his alchemical equipment was still luxurious enough that even his Iai Slash could be absorbed by the arm armor on his hands.

Even the damage from Sharp Blade that ignores defense couldn't outweigh the damage dealt by the opponent's arm armor.

Fortunately, the Yellow Court Saber Art Visualization Method is real damage, which the opponent cannot dodge.

His charge was abruptly Iai Slash, drawn sword strike.

Seeing this, Lister stepped forward, preparing to fight him hand-to-hand with his knife.

The moment they got close, the opponent launched an elbow strike.

After he easily twisted it, the alchemical puppet quickly changed tactics and delivered a Knee Strike.

It's exactly the same Alchemy Civilization fighting technique; they like to use this move.

Lister decided to go all out and try another Knee Strike.

He might lose a few hundred or a thousand points of health, but once he kicks the alchemical puppet away, death awaits it.

"Boom!"

A familiar tingling sensation came from my right knee, but I didn't feel the stiffness I had when fighting the combat robot.

"Attacked: Received 1003 damage and suffered Bleeding status (Note: This effect is Grade A; the Resolute Heart Visualization Method provides 50% immunity to the effect, but cannot completely negate it.)"

Attack: Deals 744 damage and triggers a knockback effect.

To be honest, although this Knee Strike is only an E-rank skill, it feels more comfortable to use than even a D-rank fighting technique.

It's very simple and practical.

Once the knockback effect is triggered, Lister will not give the opponent a chance to get back up.

With a swift movement, he anticipated the landing point of the alchemical puppet after it was kicked away and delivered a diagonal upward slash.

The blade sliced directly across the back of the opponent's breastplate, leaving a long, narrow gash deeply imprinted on the armor.

Attack: Deals 1910 damage, 15536 defense-ignoring damage, and inflicts 25849 true damage.

This strike landed squarely on the opponent, not absorbed by their arm armor, and the damage was still dealt regardless of their defense.

After striking the target with a single blow, Lister flicked his wrist, executing a magnificent flourish.

He then reversed his grip on the knife and slashed it directly at the alchemical doll's neck.

The sharp blade sliced into it without any resistance, and the system's damage assessment was immediately processed.

Critical Strike: Deals 9910 damage, 35536 defense-ignoring damage, and an additional 59226 true damage.

A critical hit dealing nearly 100,000 damage instantly killed the alchemical puppet.

What puzzled Lister was that there was no system notification for the kill, nor was there any notification of increased experience points.

Even the blade in his hand seemed unable to cut all the way through.

The next moment, a powerful surge of energy erupted from beneath his blade.

The alchemical puppet, which should have been killed, suddenly gripped the blade with both hands.

At the same time, his drooping head turned towards Lister, his green pupils staring directly at him, and a look of unbelievable surprise even flashed in his eyes.

Faced with this bizarre situation, Lister prepared to retreat, but he was unable to pull the blade out of his hand.

Despite having a strength attribute several dozen points higher than his opponent, he was completely unable to gain the upper hand and was at a disadvantage.

This set off alarm bells in Lister's mind, making him worry that his opponent might unleash a second phase of attack.

"Bang!"

A crisp sound of a blade snapping rang out.

Lister felt his grip loosen and immediately stepped back to create distance, now holding only the hilt of a knife.

The alchemical puppet actually stood up again, supporting its drooping head with both hands, and looked at Lister with considerable satisfaction.

Lister's expression turned more serious than ever before as he rescanned the other party with the system.