Hehe, I knew it would work.
Ed chuckled inwardly, knowing his little trick had worked again.
Using this kind of knowledge-based statement to ignite Willow's competitive spirit is just as effective as telling Seraphina she's a pauper, only the latter might be even more effective.
With Willow joining the fray, Ed's chances of successfully rescuing Private Gray have increased even further.
If Willow hadn't chosen to join him, he had planned to replace Gray with a plant robot if possible. That might not have completely saved him, but at least it would have allowed him to say his last words before dying, which would have been a gesture of humanitarian concern.
Ed didn't say much. He waved his hand, and vines pulled the bookshelves and other furniture in the study aside, revealing the central open space to serve as an operating table. Willow, meanwhile, quietly cheered herself on.
Previously, her Imbalance were all used as a means of attack; now, suddenly switching from a butcher's knife to a scalpel undoubtedly demands a much higher level of precision in manipulation.
Willow muttered to herself the technique of releasing Psionic Energy Formula, using this habit she had cultivated since childhood to ease her inner tension.
Gray was dragged by a dozen vines and placed on the table where he could lie down. Ed glanced at the time with feigned seriousness and said in his mind, rather childishly, "The surgery is beginning."
A hollow wooden syringe protruded from Ed's wrist, containing the Paralysis Flower extract that he had processed.
This plant, which lives on the antlers of "Plum Blossom" Deer, is also a member of the "newbie killer" group. Many animal lovers or careless hunters who inhaled its breath have lost their lives in its mouth.
After extracting samples of this creature, Ed reduced some of the toxins in the flower fragrance while enhancing its paralyzing effect, all in order to develop Paralysis Bomb that he believed would be effective in combat.
As a result, the Paralysis Bomb ended up being a "wildcard for volleyball" and a "friendship-ending gadget," with sales even falling to one-tenth of that of the Vine Bandage Pack. Ed had already planned to discontinue this failed product, but unexpectedly, it came in handy at this time.
While Willow, a recent lich, may have been lacking in temperament, her observational skills were impeccable.
She keenly noticed that after Ed injected the unknown substance into Gray's body, Gray's breathing became noticeably calmer.
She quickly moved to the other side of the "operating table" and, at Ed's signal, began the procedure.
For liches, the more proficient they are at casting spells, the shorter the casting time. But this time was completely different from all the previous ones. Willow knew that if she was not careful, Gray would never come back to life. Therefore, she did not use the spell casting path she had relied on before, but instead carefully reconstructed the circuit of Psionic Energy flow.
After a few breaths, a faint blue light condensed in Willow's hand.
She looked at Ed's one eye, and he returned a serious nod.
The lich reached out and sent a blue dot of light into Gray's forehead. The merchant, who had a large beard but didn't look as old as he appeared, began to tremble.
With the help of Little Green, Ed sensed the subtle changes in the merchant's body and was momentarily surprised.
Based on the plant system, my perception of Gray deepened considerably in just a few seconds, as if some invisible barrier between us had shattered.
Ed guessed that either the last bit of the Grand Foundry Master's blessing had been used up, or Willow had enhanced Gray's Plant Compatibility, making him more compatible with her own system.
Along with this heightened perception came a series of creaking sounds.
Ed could clearly feel the metal parts inside the other person's body start to riot; without any external force, those little gadgets actually began to vibrate!
Looking at these small parts that move automatically without wind, Ed couldn't help but think of weapons in certain works that could fire indefinitely when the Machine Spirit was overjoyed.
Could there really be Warp in this world?
He had asked Seraphina, Willow, and all the other powerful figures in the Second Holy See about this question, but no one had ever heard of the word or a similar concept.
Ed took a deep breath, not caring about anything else, whether it existed or not, he just wanted to get rid of these rebellious mechanical components.
Countless vines surged in from all directions, with at least one tentacle-like vine extending from every crevice of every wall in the study.
The smooth vines with mysterious patterns overlapped and rubbed against each other as they moved forward, naturally wrapping around Willow's ankle.
These things, which usually only appear in R-rated works, played an unprecedented role for Ed. Several or a dozen of them, hardened at the tip, formed screwdriver heads, wrench heads, and various repair tools, and began to systematically dismantle the metal components inside Gray's body.
The dismantled components were immediately wrapped by other vines to form corresponding models. After the shape was strictly confirmed, Alienation trees with extremely high hardness and some lubricating oil began to grow in the cavity.
A dozen seconds later, the model's outer shell cracked open, and the brand-new wooden parts were caught by the vine tentacles and reinstalled into Gray's body.
Ed multitasked, disassembling Gray's body while simultaneously replicating each part, leaving Willow speechless and dumbfounded.
She wanted to help but found herself unable to do anything. She thought she was the surgeon's assistant, but after performing a procedure, she became useless, just like an anesthesiologist enjoying a leisurely time in the operating room.
Willow once again realized the extraordinary nature of the young man before her. If judged solely on strength, he was undoubtedly only at the Low Tier or upper-middle level.
Facing such an opponent, even someone as unskilled in combat as myself would have at least several Psionic Energy Formula that I could use as killing moves if I insisted on fighting. Combined with my almost instantaneous short-range teleportation, I would be virtually invincible.
But that was just Willow's initial thought. After confirming the nature of the opponent's Psionic Energy black hole and his exquisite manipulation of the Aberration plants, she suddenly felt that this Low Tier opponent might have even more trump cards up his sleeve.
Although she still felt that her opponent was no match for her, Willow had realized that the gap between them was not as insurmountable as she had imagined.
He was almost a hundred years old this year and only reached the Middle Tier Intermediate a few years ago. If this young man was some old guy who had revived the Tree Worship Church, that would be fine, but if he really only had the age he looked like, then that was too terrifying.