Mind Flayer Transformation Success

"If my teacher finds out I used such high-grade materials to make something like this, he'll definitely scold me for wasting resources!"

Carefully stacking mud bricks into the shape of a furnace, Karl looked at the brick kiln that was beginning to take shape and muttered to himself with some helplessness.

But there was no other way; Karl had no decent raw materials on hand except for Mithril.

Taking out the finest lump of clay, Karl repeatedly slammed it onto a wooden board.

The lump of clay was kneaded like dough, then gradually shaped in Karl's hands into the form of a crucible.

The clay lump, now a crucible, had a smooth and glossy outer surface from the repeated pounding. Karl made six in total before stopping due to insufficient raw materials.

Returning to the brick kiln, Karl infused a bit of spirituality into each of the four Mithril alloy plates.

Instantly, an intense wave of heat emanated from the metal plates.

Although there was no flame, the four Mithril alloy plates had already begun to gradually turn orange-yellow.

Placing the excess mud bricks and the clay crucible blanks into the kiln, Karl then sealed the kiln's opening with the discarded mud.

Next, these clay blanks would face their fate of either transformation or destruction under high temperatures.

"Fortunately, this giant mushroom has completely petrified; otherwise, I wouldn't dare to fire at high temperatures on it."

Wiping the mud off his palms, Karl sighed, then went inside the house to process wood.

The brick kiln would take some time to fire.

"Ka, Karl! Is your work over there finished?"

Seeing Karl walk into the house, Hopp, who was measuring himself, hastily put down her hands and stammered.

"N, it's temporarily done. Let's go process some wood!"

Pretending not to have seen anything, Karl had Hopp turn the gears while he continued processing the wood.

If I get the chance, I should make a couple of pocket watches with those materials to check the time. My current time is roughly estimated based on the cooldown cycles of the Alchemy Jug; I don't even know how much time has actually passed.

Processing lumber with divided attention, time flowed by little by little.

When the processed wooden parts inside the house were almost piled up, Karl signaled Hopp to stop turning the gears.

"Alright, this should be just enough to build the right wing. Let's get started."

"Eh? Why the right wing first?"

"Because men are on the left and women on the right. You've always wanted your own room, right? So, we'll build yours first."

Karl's teasing made Hopp's already flushed face even redder.

Looking at Karl's genuine expression, Hopp pursed her lips, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say.

She couldn't exactly say, "My bust and hip measurements have been increasing lately, and I feel a bit embarrassed sharing a room with you, which is why I'm eager to have separate rooms."

Opening the main door, the two transported parts back and forth.

Karl had already prepared the frames for the left and right wings; all that was left was to fit the parts into place.

The first time was unfamiliar, the second time was familiar.

With the experience of hastily constructing during the rainy night, Karl was much more skilled this time when installing the mortise and tenon joints.

With Hopp's help, the right wing was quickly assembled.

Using Hopp's axe, Karl removed some of the wooden panels between the right wing and the main hall, then used the lathe to directly process a door and install it.

Just then, after completing these tasks, the spirituality in the four Mithril alloy plates had also been almost depleted.

Karl left Hopp to clean the right wing, while he himself went to open the brick kiln.

As soon as he removed the mud blocks that had been plastered on, a blast of heat forced Karl to retreat several steps.

Seeing this, Karl had no choice but to activate Mage Hand.

From a distance, a brick in the kiln was "pulled" towards him.

He directly placed the brick into the nearby water trough, and as steam rose, the brick's temperature rapidly decreased.

Thus, a green brick was completed.

Retrieving the finished product from the water, Karl bent his fingers and tapped the brick.

Clang, clang, clang.

The crisp sound was like striking Tekkai, proving that the brick's material was quite good.

Nodding in satisfaction, Karl followed the same procedure for the remaining bricks.

However, not all the bricks from this kiln turned out well. Some had already broken when taken out of the kiln, and some broke during the cooling process in water."If my teacher finds out I used such high-grade materials to make something like this, he'll definitely scold me for wasting resources!"

Carefully stacking mud bricks into the shape of a furnace, Karl looked at the brick kiln that was beginning to take shape and muttered to himself with some helplessness.

But there was no other way; Karl had no decent raw materials on hand except for Mithril.

Taking out the finest lump of clay, Karl repeatedly slammed it onto a wooden board.

The lump of clay was kneaded like dough, then gradually shaped in Karl's hands into the form of a crucible.

The clay lump, now a crucible, had a smooth and glossy outer surface from the repeated pounding. Karl made six in total before stopping due to insufficient raw materials.

Returning to the brick kiln, Karl infused a bit of spirituality into each of the four Mithril alloy plates.

Instantly, an intense wave of heat emanated from the metal plates.

Although there was no flame, the four Mithril alloy plates had already begun to gradually turn orange-yellow.

Placing the excess mud bricks and the clay crucible blanks into the kiln, Karl then sealed the kiln's opening with the discarded mud.

Next, these clay blanks would face their fate of either transformation or destruction under high temperatures.

"Fortunately, this giant mushroom has completely petrified; otherwise, I wouldn't dare to fire at high temperatures on it."

Wiping the mud off his palms, Karl sighed, then went inside the house to process wood.

The brick kiln would take some time to fire.

"Ka, Karl! Is your work over there finished?"

Seeing Karl walk into the house, Hopp, who was measuring herself, hastily put down her hands and stammered.

"N, it's temporarily done. Let's go process some wood!"

Pretending not to have seen anything, Karl had Hopp turn the gears while he continued processing the wood.

If I get the chance, I should make a couple of pocket watches with those materials to check the time. My current time is roughly estimated based on the cooldown cycles of the Alchemy Jug; I don't even know how much time has actually passed.

Processing lumber with divided attention, time flowed by little by little.

When the processed wooden parts inside the house were almost piled up, Karl signaled Hopp to stop turning the gears.

"Alright, this should be just enough to build the right wing. Let's get started."

"Eh? Why the right wing first?"

"Because men are on the left and women on the right. You've always wanted your own room, right? So, we'll build yours first."

Karl's teasing made Hopp's already flushed face even redder.

Looking at Karl's genuine expression, Hopp pursed her lips, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say.

She couldn't exactly say, "My bust and hip measurements have been increasing lately, and I feel a bit embarrassed sharing a room with you, which is why I'm eager to have separate rooms."

Opening the main door, the two transported parts back and forth.

Karl had already prepared the frames for the left and right wings; all that was left was to fit the parts into place.

The first time was unfamiliar, the second time was familiar.

With the experience of hastily constructing during the rainy night, Karl was much more skilled this time when installing the mortise and tenon joints.

With Hopp's help, the right wing was quickly assembled.

Using Hopp's axe, Karl removed some of the wooden panels between the right wing and the main hall, then used the lathe to directly process a door and install it.

Just then, after completing these tasks, the spirituality in the four Mithril alloy plates had also been almost depleted.

Karl left Hopp to clean the right wing, while he himself went to open the brick kiln.

As soon as he removed the mud blocks that had been plastered on, a blast of heat forced Karl to retreat several steps.

Seeing this, Karl had no choice but to activate Mage Hand.

From a distance, a brick in the kiln was "pulled" towards him.

He directly placed the brick into the nearby water trough, and as steam rose, the brick's temperature rapidly decreased.

Thus, a green brick was completed.

Retrieving the finished product from the water, Karl bent his fingers and tapped the brick.

Clang, clang, clang.

The crisp sound was like striking Tekkai, proving that the brick's material was quite good.

Nodding in satisfaction, Karl followed the same procedure for the remaining bricks.

However, not all the bricks from this kiln turned out well. Some had already broken when taken out of the kiln, and some broke during the cooling process in water.

All in all, only about a 40% success rate.

Only two crucibles were successful, but any success was good because it meant Karl could smelt metal.

Recalling the positions of the broken bricks in the kiln when they were taken out, Karl felt that he should consider the impact of the distance between the mud bricks and the rune plates on the success rate when firing bricks next time.

Using Mage Hand to retrieve four rune plates, Karl built a smelting furnace with the intact green bricks that conformed to textbook standards.

Infusing spirituality into the rune plates again, scorching heat rose.

Karl tossed the broken parts of the goblin weapons and wood shavings into the crucible. He controlled his Mage Hand, placing the crucible into the smelting furnace.

Under the constant searing heat, the wood shavings turned to carbon powder and began reacting with the rusted metal parts.

Before long, the solid metal started to melt, turning into a pot of molten iron emitting a bright orange-yellow glow.

Seeing this, Karl finally smiled with relief.

"Gurgle gurgle~"

It was another good day for hunting. From their base deep within the forest, a group of Brain Eaters left to search the woods for fresh brains.

However, in the deepest part of the base, several Brain Eaters were gathered in front of a conversion pod, conversing telepathically.

"It's coming out, it's coming out soon! After half a year, we've finally successfully converted a Mind Flayer!"

Inside the chitinous conversion pod, a Mind Flayer, still bearing traces of its Hobgoblin features, slept with its eyes closed.

The tentacles on its chin twitched slightly, as if reacting to the experiences in its dreams.

"The old master hasn't contacted us in two weeks. It seems something unexpected happened. We must have the newborn Mind Flayer develop more of its own kind, strive to cultivate a master brain as soon as possible, and revive the old master's consciousness within it!"

Directly opposite the conversion pod, a brain floating in an orange solution bobbed up and down.

This was the consciousness backup left by the Mind Flayer that had captured Karl and implanted the Mind Flayer Tadpole.

According to its plan, even if it died outside, as long as the base here developed normally, its consciousness would be reborn in the master brain here!

The Brain Eaters discussed excitedly. Inside the conversion pod, the Mind Flayer, having fully absorbed the memories of its time as a Hobgoblin, opened its eyes.

A surge of psionic energy emanated from its body. The conversion pod's door opened, and the Brain Eaters prostrated themselves on the ground, as if welcoming the birth of a new king.

"I'm hungry~"

His gaze drifted towards the direction of his former tribe. The Mind Flayer narrowed its eyes and slowly floated up.