Those High Elves Again

Those High Elves Again

Amber Xiu focused on assembling his new skeleton. The fleeing man watching nearby saw human bones being pieced together by the lich into a grotesque form that made his scalp tingle. He felt dizzy and nauseous, but could only endure it desperately, terrified that he might become one of Amber Xiu's materials.

Amber Xiu steadily fitted each bone together, calmly and confidently explaining as he worked.

"The power core and control core of a skeleton are both its soul. Over two hundred bones and more than a hundred joints place an enormous burden on the soul core. Yet we have all grown used to it. No necromancer has ever precisely measured soul strength, relying only on vague classifications like low-grade, mid-grade, and high-grade souls.

"In alchemy, the proportions for potion formulas have been measured down to the milligram. Yet our necromancy has never precisely measured even the most important factor, soul strength. I find that sort of inertia unacceptable.

"Granted, soul strength fluctuates, making it extremely difficult to measure. But that is not a reason to abandon measurement. I happen to possess the technique of Simulated Soul, which can create blank souls without emotional residue. After a period of experimentation, I established a standard of my own and named the unit of soul strength 'po.' I will describe the exact measurement method in detail in my paper.

"If the editor-in-chief of Legendary Spell stops rejecting my submissions.

"Back to the point. Today's experiment only uses low-grade souls, so I will use one as an example. A low-grade soul capable of supporting a complete skeleton generally has a strength between eighty and one hundred thirty po, with a peak value no greater than one hundred fifty po. Spread across two hundred and six bones, that energy creates a worthless undead creature—clumsy, sluggish, and liable to shatter at the slightest touch.

"Just as intelligent humanoids invented tools such as pliers and differential gears, structural optimization can greatly enhance strength or speed.

"If we reduce the number of bones to twenty, we will obtain a Mutated Skeleton with a smaller body but greatly enhanced strength, agility, and durability. According to my calculations, the improvement should be at least fivefold."

As Amber Xiu set the final skull into place, a bizarre skeleton appeared on the experiment table.

Its lower body consisted of three insect-like segmented legs. Its torso was merely one-third of a spine, fitted with a skull whose lower jaw had been removed. Finally, two thick femurs were attached as arms.

Amber Xiu then embedded two metal-forged blades into the Mutated Skeleton's arms.

A small skeleton shaped like a praying mantis was complete.

Amber Xiu placed the Mutated Skeleton on the floor. The little creature immediately began scuttling about at incredible speed, even faster than a cat.

"I have named this skeletal form Kazik Type 1. Next comes the field test."

Amber Xiu waved at the pale, trembling man. "What is your name?"

The terrified man replied shakily, "Ra... Raul."

"All right, Raul. Take Kazik Type 1 and bring those fleeing Freemen back to me. As long as you bring back ten refugees, I can let your Sister live."

"Huh?"

Raul had not expected Amber Xiu to give him such a task.

What did this lich want with refugees?

Looking at the bones scattered throughout the laboratory, Raul already had an answer.

"I... I will carry out your command, Lord Lich."

Amber Xiu nodded in satisfaction and handed Raul a bone inlaid with gemstones. "Just control it with voice commands. Kazik Type 1's functions are simple: red means attack, green means follow, black means stop. You will have to figure out the rest yourself."

Looking at the three gemstones embedded in the bone, Raul suddenly felt an impulse. What if he pressed the gemstone for the attack command at the lich...

The thought circled through Raul's mind before swiftly fading away. This lich was no fool. How could he possibly hand a weapon capable of killing him to Raul?

Although Raul understood little of the lich's earlier rambling, he could hear how relaxed his tone had been. This Mutated Skeleton was probably nothing more than a toy to him.

Looking at his unconscious Sister, Raul gritted his teeth and pressed the green gemstone. The Mutated Skeleton, which had been crawling all over the place, immediately obediently followed behind him.

No sooner had Raul left the Ancient Castle than the girl, who had been unconscious moments ago, opened her eyes.

The moment she saw Amber Xiu's bone-white skull face, she almost screamed. But after letting out the faintest sound, she quickly covered her mouth with both hands.

Amber Xiu glanced at her and casually said, "Your brother Raul has gone to work for me. I told him I would release you if he brought ten people back. By the way, since you are Freemen, what is your profession?"

Freemen generally possessed some kind of skill. Most farmland in a territory belonged to the Lord, and only slaves or tenant farmers could cultivate the Lord's fields. Most other Freemen had to work in other trades to support themselves.

It took the girl a long time to calm down. She did not believe her brother would willingly work for a lich. This undead monster must have used some means to force him. She even suspected that her brother had already been killed by the lich and turned into one of the laboratory's materials.

But she had no possibility of resisting right now. She could only try not to provoke him and see whether she could find an opportunity to escape.

The girl cautiously answered, "I am an alchemy apprentice."

"An alchemy apprentice?" Amber Xiu was a little surprised. That was not a common profession.

Even though this Ancient Castle fell within Alchemy City's sphere of influence, alchemists were extremely rare. They needed not only spellcasting talent, but also sharp minds capable of remembering and understanding those complicated Magic Potion formulas.

Different materials contained different magical elements. Even materials of the same type could differ in magical element content depending on how the Raw Material had grown. To become an alchemist, one had to learn how to distinguish such differences.

Amber Xiu was not a professional alchemist. He could only purchase many higher-grade Magic Potions, as he could not make them himself. Even when he knew the formula, his attempts usually had an extremely low success rate and resulted in tremendous waste.

He had not expected the girl to be an alchemy apprentice. This was quite a fortunate find.

"No, you are an alchemy apprentice. How could a Lord possibly sell you as a slave? Who is your teacher?" Amber Xiu asked again.

In Alchemy City, alchemists naturally held high status. Even an apprentice could have their teacher step in to resolve something as minor as a Tax Increase imposed by a Lord.

The girl fell silent for a moment, then said, "My teacher went to the Silver Moon High Court two months ago to purchase potion ingredients, but there has been no word from her since. People who returned from the Silver Moon High Court said she may have met with an accident."

Without her teacher's protection, an alchemy apprentice truly had no way to oppose a Lord. Perhaps that Lord had set his sights on the girl long ago and wanted to claim her for himself. A slave with talent for alchemy was incredibly valuable.

After hearing this, Amber Xiu could not help cursing, "Those bean sprouts again? Why are they everywhere?"

He was becoming increasingly annoyed with those High Elves.

Looking at the nervous, uneasy girl, Amber Xiu asked, "Can you make Tranquility Potion?"

Tranquility Potion was a low-grade potion. It could be taken orally or sprayed like perfume. Its effect was simple: it calmed the mind and could also neutralize berserk effects. Many kinds of work required emotional stability, so there was considerable everyday demand for Tranquility Potion.

The girl did not understand why Amber Xiu had suddenly asked, but she still nodded. "I have learned how."

Amber Xiu pointed at the cabinet against the wall on the right and told her, "Then get to work. The ingredients are all inside. I need at least twelve bottles."

(End of Chapter)