Chapter 262: Little Sister
Chapter 262: Little Sister (Please Subscribe, Favorite, and Vote)
In the underground laboratory of Rogen Manor, Liam stood before a massive silver-white alchemy table. The table was cluttered with beakers, crucibles, test tubes, wooden stands, and a host of other equipment. At the center of the alchemy table, the most eye-catching item was a black alchemical array embedded with silver threads.
This setup was far more advanced than the one Liam had cobbled together. After practicing with a few small items, Liam began his work.
First, he inspected the raw materials and recalled the entire process. Then, he took a deep breath and activated the alchemical array. At the same time, he channeled his magic power into the array, where it merged with the array's own magic, forming a blood-red alchemy flame.
As everyone knew, when creating high-level alchemy products, the first step was to control the power with transcendent properties to handle mystical materials. The blood-red alchemy flame in front of him was the best choice for this task.
Once the blood-red flame stabilized across the alchemical array, Liam, without hesitation, tossed a branch with emerald-like, translucent leaves into the array. This branch was a new material Liam had obtained from the Plants vs. Zombies world. Dave had spent a great deal of effort cultivating this False Tree of Life using the method of Nature Magic that Liam had taught him. Unfortunately, out of many attempts, only one tree survived.
"Swish—swish—" As the hourglass next to him finished its smallest measurement, the branch began to melt into a white liquid that glowed green. The green leaves withered and slowly turned yellow, eventually becoming a small pool of amber-like translucent liquid.
At this moment, Liam focused intently on the changes in the liquid. In his perception, the liquid shimmered with different colors. As he stirred, the liquids quickly merged into a spherical mass. Soon, under the catalysis of the alchemy flame, the energy in the liquid formed a perfect cycle and began to pulse with life.
Liam quickly added the prepared auxiliary materials one by one in the correct order until the pulsing stabilized.
"Step one, building the mana circulation and activation, is complete. Now, on to step two... shaping!"
Time ticked by, and Liam periodically added more materials to the alchemical array. When his magic power was nearly depleted, the entire process finally concluded.
On the alchemy table, there was now a football-sized, grayish-brown sphere. This sphere was actually composed of the impurities from the materials. Liam waved his wand, and the sphere split in half, revealing a puppet's head with pale silver hair and amber eyes.
"An excellent creation", Rogen commented after examining it. "You've been busy all day. Now, you should go upstairs, have a meal, take a bath, and get a good night's sleep. Making a puppet is a major project, and you can't rush it. It's best to rest well and face tomorrow's challenges with a clear mind."
Liam, still feeling the thrill of his work, placed the newly created puppet parts on the alchemy table and then returned to the manor to rest.
Over the next week, Liam was busy manufacturing the parts for the puppet. Fortunately, he had thoroughly understood the Puppet Making Manual through the System, which allowed him to avoid major errors in the parts' production. Any minor mistakes were corrected by Rogen, ensuring the quality of the final product.
After completing the manufacturing of all the components, Liam took a well-deserved day of rest before diving into the most crucial step: Ensoulment. This step was essential for generating a soul within the Puppet. Due to Liam's limited capabilities, he couldn't perform this step alone and required direct assistance from Teacher Rogen to complete this final and most important phase.
Once they had both steadied their emotions, they stood before the Alchemy Table. The Puppet, now fully assembled, lay on the table in a simple white robe, looking as if it were asleep.
Liam then retrieved the emotions he had collected from other worlds and, following Rogen's instructions, injected them into a red gem the size of a peanut that Rogen handed him.
"This is the Rose Madonna, right? It's so valuable", Liam remarked, holding the red gem after infusing it with energy.
"More accurately, it's a Rose Madonna Fragment. After finding it difficult to create a complete Rose Madonna, I combined your provided information and materials to make these fragments. They are much easier to produce and less complex than the complete version. However, only after infusing a soul can it be called a Rose Madonna Fragment. Before that, it's just an expensive artificial gem. Additionally, a Puppet created this way must be powered by a binder to function at full capacity, rather than acting completely independently. So, it's not as valuable as you might think. If you feel indebted, just bring me some new and interesting knowledge and materials in the future", Rogen said gently.
With everything prepared, the Ensoulment ritual began. This ceremony required Liam to offer a fragment of his own soul to the Puppet, serving as the seed for the Puppet's soul. Unlike previous non-intelligent puppets, creating a Puppet required taking a small piece of one's own soul rather than using reconstituted soul fragments. While the soul fragment was small and could recover, the process was still complex and dangerous, which was why Liam needed Rogen's help.
A large Alchemical Array had already been drawn on the ground. When Liam stepped onto it, the array activated, forming a perfect loop with the one on the Alchemy Table.
"Alright, now follow the method I told you to separate your soul", Rogen called out as he saw both arrays operating at the desired level.
Liam quickly entered a meditative state and saw his soul flame burning brightly. He urged the soul flame to spin rapidly, finally managing to separate a tiny fragment. As soon as the soul fragment was separated, Liam felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. Despite this, he pushed through the feeling, merging the soul fragment with the Rose Madonna and installing it into the Puppet's body.
After injecting a stream of magic power to activate the Puppet, the creation was finally complete. Liam only managed to say, "I'm so tired", before collapsing onto the ground and falling into a deep sleep.
This dreamless sleep lasted for an unknown duration before Liam slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a Puppet sitting on the edge of the bedside table, her long silver hair flowing down her back as she turned to look at him. Upon seeing him awake, the small Puppet jumped off the table and ran out the door, shouting, "Big Brother is awake!"
Liam then noticed that his guest room was quickly filling with people. Rogen looked at him and said, "You're finally awake. I was about to try to wake you up."
"How long did I sleep?" Liam asked, sitting up and leaning against the headboard.
"Three days, exactly three days", Rogen replied solemnly. "Your strength needs to improve. I noticed you were struggling at the end. But I was worried about ruining the process, so I didn't stop you. Fortunately, you managed to hold on until the end."
Rogen glanced at Liam and continued, "Now that you're awake, let's get you up and have some food." With that, he led everyone out of the room, closing the door behind them.
(End of Chapter)
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