Chapter 20: A Transformation Ability of Limited Use
Chapter 20: A Transformation Ability of Limited Use
In the spacious study, the bright candlelight flickered, casting long shadows on the walls.
Su Nan sat behind his desk, engrossed in reading The Extraction and Transformation of the Green Chameleon's Abilities.
The green chameleon, as its name suggests, is known for its ability to change its body color to match its surroundings. This physiological change is primarily controlled by the autonomic nervous system, which expands or contracts the pigment cells in the skin.
The green chameleon's color-changing ability is several levels above that of ordinary chameleons, nearly making it invisible. Even when standing in front of a regular person, it would be hard to spot with the naked eye.
The author of the book had extracted the green chameleon's color-changing ability, transformed and enhanced it, and then transplanted it into a human body, granting humans a similar ability.
It was indeed a brilliant and imaginative idea. However, from Su Nan's perspective, the final transformed ability was of limited practical use.
Firstly, this ability essentially involves changing one's external appearance to match the environment. No matter how quick the transformation process is, it still requires time, leading to a slight delay.
People with dull senses might not notice, but a wizard's apprentice would certainly detect something amiss. Ultimately, this ability is only effective against ordinary people or knights, offering no advantage against wizard apprentices. It falls far short of true invisibility.
True invisibility is a second-level spell that a third-level wizard apprentice can learn and master. Therefore, only those who have no hope of advancing to a third-level wizard apprentice would consider undergoing this transformation.
Moreover, physical transformations are not something to be undertaken lightly. The human body is one of the most malleable, and many wizards use it as a model for their physical transformation experiments. Once a physical transformation has been performed, future attempts at better transformations or bloodline fusions become significantly more difficult.
Thus, many wizards and apprentices, while not averse to altering their bodies, do so with great caution.
If Su Nan had the choice, he would not transform himself to have this color-changing ability. However, the book still had considerable reference value and could be useful for similar experiments in the future.
Putting the book away, Su Nan took out a parchment scroll with an energy rune and laid it flat on the desk. After a moment, he opened a drawer and placed a few gems on the table.
The reason energy runes require a third-level wizard apprentice to cast is that they are entirely composed of energy particles, demanding a high level of control over these particles. First-level wizard apprentices, who can only sense energy particles, and second-level apprentices, who have only a basic ability to manipulate them, cannot use energy runes.
However, if the energy rune is given a stable medium, even a second-level wizard apprentice with poor particle manipulation skills can use it.
Many players in his previous life used this method to cast energy runes beyond their level.
Gems are among the few suitable mediums for energy runes.
"But this means the energy rune becomes a one-time-use consumable. Each use will require a gem, which is quite painful."
Su Nan picked up a gem and examined it in the candlelight.
Despite this, if it provided a powerful combat ability, the cost of a few gems would be worth it. Even the mighty Storm Earl was severely injured by an assassin, showing that this world was far more dangerous than he had anticipated.
To ensure his own safety, the more combat skills he had, the better.
"First, I'll master this technique by reading the scroll. Once I advance to a second-level wizard apprentice, I'll immediately create an energy rune gem!"
With his decision made, Su Nan immediately focused, putting aside his distracting thoughts and concentrating on the content of the scroll.
Time passed quickly.
Five days later.
The progress of learning puppet crafting finally reached 100%.
At the same time, a new skill, Puppet Crafting, appeared on Su Nan's player interface.
Standing at the laboratory door, Su Nan nodded to himself as he looked at the brand-new puppet crafting equipment inside.
After returning from the Blackstone Mine, he had copied the design plans and had the city's blacksmiths help him forge the equipment.
The equipment had been completed and delivered to the laboratory a few days ago.
Now that he had successfully mastered the puppet crafting skill, he could start trying to craft the Black Rock Leopard.
The main body of the Black Rock Leopard was over 90% Blackstone Iron, which was also its primary material.
Another key material was the energy core.
For this, Su Nan chose a gem as the energy core.
After all, he didn't have any soul crystals, nor did he know how to create them.
Even if he did know, he couldn't make them at his current level.
A soul crystal, as the name suggests, is a crystallized form of a soul.
The raw material is a purified soul.
To create the lowest-grade soul crystal, at least a thousand ordinary human souls or several dozen knight souls are required.
Su Nan didn't have the means to achieve either.
So, he had to settle for using a gem as the energy core.
With complete experimental records and the newly mastered puppet crafting skill, Su Nan successfully crafted his first Black Rock Leopard on his first try.
To his surprise, the Black Rock Leopard could also be placed into the synthesis cube.
Black Rock Leopard (Puppet/Junior Knight Level): A puppet construct crafted from Blackstone Iron, possessing the unique ability to move stealthily within Blackstone Iron veins. It can restore energy and repair itself by consuming Blackstone Iron, making it a formidable and self-sustaining creation.
"It seems any non-living objects can be synthesized and upgraded using the cube."
Su Nan nodded to himself.
This meant he could use the Black Rock Leopard to synthesize even more powerful puppets.
As for the 'ability to stealth within Blackstone Iron veins,' Su Nan had read about it in Ang MacLean's experimental diary.
At first, it had disappointed him, as he had always assumed the Black Rock Leopard had a similar rock-stepping ability.
"True, if it had a rock-stepping ability, it wouldn't be a low-tier puppet."
Shaking his head, Su Nan looked at the leftover Blackstone Iron in the corner.
"Crafting a Black Rock Leopard requires about five tons of Blackstone Iron. For the gem, I can use a cheaper type, so the total cost is roughly thirty-eight gold coins."
That amount of gold could buy two or three high-quality warhorses.
But considering the combat value, the Black Rock Leopard was clearly the better investment.
"Let my brother worry about the money. I'll just focus on crafting puppets."
High-tier puppets can automatically absorb stray energy particles from the air to replenish energy and heal injuries, but the Black Rock Leopard clearly lacked this ability. Therefore, it could only achieve the same effect by consuming Blackstone Iron.
However, given the current concentration of energy particles on the Starlight Continent, Su Nan estimated that even if he crafted a high-tier puppet, it would likely not be able to absorb enough energy particles from the air.
(End of Chapter)
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