Salute to the Legendary King of Durability Modifications!

Ansu, who had originally intended to discuss a few matters with Cecilia, found himself overcome with curiosity by her sudden burst of excitement.

"So, what is this new research?"

"It's exactly what I told you about the other day!" Cecilia said eagerly. "That incredibly forbidden and miraculous flesh magic!"

"Oh..." Ansu suddenly recalled the eerie sight from not long ago, where Freya's severed head had sprouted tentacles and crawled about...

It was practically a form of mental pollution.

This twisted magic was undoubtedly what she referred to as her "new research"...

"I think I'll pass on seeing it, then. By the way, the reason I came over today..."

"No way!" Cecilia gripped Ansu's wrist and dragged him deep into the room.

"I can't find anyone else to share such an interesting new magic with! You have to see it with me!"

Ansu looked at the radiant Cecilia with a sense of helplessness, feeling that she truly loved researching magic.

Cecilia's room was indeed massive, filled to the brim with bookshelves and various magical materials. Ansu was pulled to the innermost row of shelves, where Cecilia stepped forward and softly chanted a spell.

Following that, the bookshelf slowly swung open like "Open Sesame," and a wave of cold air rushed out to meet them, revealing a gloomy, ominous passage directly ahead.

"Follow me~"

Led by Cecilia, Ansu stepped into the darkness, and the magical lights on both sides of the secret passage instantly flickered to life.

It was a downward-sloping tunnel. After walking inside with Cecilia for two minutes, the space suddenly opened up, revealing a circular altar engraved with dense, twisted symbols.

"This is...?"

Ansu's attention was drawn to the object atop the altar, and his eyes widened in shock.

Under the flickering, ghostly blue firelight, a bloated, deformed monster was secured to the altar with iron chains and spikes. The creature had been grafted with four pairs of hairy, long legs resembling those of a Magic Spider, while its head was crowned with numerous writhing, thick tentacles, giving it an indescribably evil presence...

And what was most eye-catching, or rather, most unsettling, was...

A fat, bloated human face was squeezed between several tumors, currently emitting a low, beast-like hiss...

Although the face was twisted and deformed, Ansu subconsciously recognized its owner.

"Professor Mary?"

"That's right!" Cecilia nodded. "I happened to be short on experimental materials that day, and this damn traitor just happened to show up at my door! Naturally, I couldn't let such an opportunity pass~"

"Tsk..." Ansu watched Cecilia admiring her own work and felt the witch's twisted sense of humor.

"Why are you making that face?" Cecilia blinked. "Isn't it interesting?"

"Interesting, quite interesting..." Ansu nodded silently.

He remembered that in the late game, players would indeed encounter the "Grafted" monsters under the command of the Witch of World Destruction. These monsters had high stats and came with inherent pollution; he hadn't expected her to have started researching this so early.

Cecilia began excitedly explaining the "excellence" of her test subject to Ansu.

The current Mary possessed a certain degree of physical and magical resistance, and had integrated the advantages of various magical beasts, making her fast, agile, and capable of both tanking and launching surprise attacks...

"The Witch's new magic is indeed impressive..." Ansu studied Mary, who had long since lost her human sanity, thinking to himself that Professor Mary was truly the "Queen of Modification Resistance"...

A salute to the legendary Queen of Modification Resistance, Professor Mary.

"However, I feel the overall creativity is still lacking a bit." Ansu stroked his chin and shook his head. "Your work lacks a bit of soul."

"Soul?" Cecilia's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"You've mastered such powerful flesh magic, but the end result is still just the same old routine of rushing forward and biting, isn't it?" Ansu questioned Cecilia's scientific spirit.

"I feel like it's no different from ordinary beasts or monsters, and there's still plenty of room for optimization."

Cecilia hadn't expected Ansu to offer such advice, so she excitedly pressed him for more: "Then what do you think? How do you think it should be modified?"

"Well, obviously..." Ansu chuckled.

Flesh is weak.

Mechanical Ascension!

"Look, since you don't have to worry about rejection reactions anymore, why not install one of those steam turbines used in factories? For energy, use the magic crystals developed by the academy! And then..."

Ansu let his imagination run wild; after all, technology was the primary productive force.

"I remember some magitech scholars developed long-range weapons powered by mana. You should modify those weapons into a turret, have it carry it on its back, and transplant the tentacles to the underside. That way, you'd have an all-weather, all-terrain, mobile magitech field artillery."

After he finished speaking in a continuous stream, Cecilia's expression went blank.

"This..."

"This is too cool!"

Cecilia's eyes widened, her amethyst-like pupils seemingly sparkling. "Everything you said is completely feasible, Ansu! You're a genius!!"

"Not at all, not at all..." Ansu said modestly.

In truth, it wasn't entirely his own idea; after all, the thing he described was called a "tank" in another world.

Cecilia suddenly felt a joy akin to a meeting of minds. She looked at Ansu, thinking that he was truly worthy of being the person she had chosen; they were simply cut from the same cloth!

Thinking of this, she even felt a lingering fear. It was fortunate... that she had forcibly bound Ansu to her side back then.

If such an exceptional talent had been lost, it would have been an immense tragedy. If he had fallen into the hands of The Empire or The Church, the consequences would have been unimaginable...

"I need a design blueprint. I am going to forge a brand-new magic rune structure!"

Ansu watched silently as Cecilia, brimming with excitement, continued to scribble and sketch on her desk according to her own ideas.

He thought to himself...

At this rate, was he single-handedly accelerating the World-Ending Crisis?

May the world be safe (presses palms together).

After staying in the gloomy basement for a long time, the two of them finally returned upstairs.

Ansu watched Cecilia, who was already immersed in her "Grand Overhaul Plan," and spoke up to remind her:

"I came over early today because there is something I want to report to you."

"Hmm?" Cecilia looked up. "What is it?"

Ansu told her the truth: "I met Freya, the Saintess of The Church, today."

Cecilia frowned, her good mood suddenly vanishing.

"Oh? And what did she say to you?"

"She discovered that I was the one who wrote that note, so she met with me privately." Ansu naturally wouldn't reveal the entire truth, but he felt she needed to know about the meeting.

This was called reporting in advance.

Communicating with people from The Church behind Cecilia's back, especially the Saintess Freya, was a major taboo.

But if he confessed proactively, based on his understanding of Cecilia... even if she felt dissatisfied, she would likely only complain a little, or at most lock him up so he couldn't go out; there wouldn't be any more severe consequences.

After all, betrayal was what she cared about most.

"You should know..." Cecilia's entire face darkened, "that I don't want you to have contact with people from The Church, especially meeting her, right?"

"I know." Ansu nodded and said calmly:

"But since it has already happened, there is nothing I can change. Once that note was sent out, it meant that subsequent developments would be uncontrollable. Even if it wasn't today, it could have been tomorrow."

"Your mouth is truly sharp!" Cecilia let out a cold snort. "Fine! I know you couldn't help it, but let this be the last time. Now, tell me the content of your conversation."

Ansu was somewhat surprised; she hadn't resorted to Hypnosis this time?

It seemed that in her Scum Witch form, she was indeed easier to talk to than in her Mad Witch form...

And she trusted him more as well.