Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Marina knew that her teacher Akkad had come from the holy land of the wizards, the wizard tower. However, she didn’t know many specifics about the wizard tower itself.
Aside from Akkad’s few students, Marina had never met another wizard. For Marina’s eyes, her teacher Akkad was already the strongest and the wisest man in the world. She had never expected that her teacher had a mentor as well.
That must mean that Akkad’s teacher is already more than a hundred years old! He is older than my grandfather’s grandfather! Has he already lived for hundreds of years?
As Marina was trying to figure out Lu Zhiyu’s age, she slowly arrived at the harbor. She was dressed in a pretty orange dress and was wearing a leather watch on her pale wrist. The watch was a rare thing to behold, even in Tut City.
“Hey Ms. Marina!”
“Come shopping again?”
“I have some nice little things! Want to have a look at them?”
“I have books from the West! Ms. Marina, would you like to see?”
Marina was very popular among the merchants at the harbor, who were all shouting out to her to come and see their wares. She was a favorite shopper of those merchants. This was because, aside from the fact that she was a pretty girl, the wealth of the alchemists was common knowledge.
As Marina was Akkad’s student, this made her even more popular. Many ships from outside, as well as the merchants in the city would often give Marina items that she liked for free. They did this to build connections with the Akkad Alchemy Workshop.
“Miss Marina, you are here just in time! I was going to look for you! I caught a rare thing in the sea. Do you want to have a look?” a merchant yelled to her.
The merchant’s ship had just arrived in the harbor and was being checked and taxed by the tax officer. The ship was a bit old and its crew was busy unloading its wares.
The old merchant was standing in front of the ship, waving his arms and calling out to Marina. His face was filled with excitement.
“Old man Ganster, you wouldn’t trick me by giving me the orcs’ Sofawk stoneplate, then telling me it was some human ancient treasure, would you?” Marina crossed her arms and looked at the old man with some suspicion in her eyes.
The old man suddenly became awkward, fanning his hands around wildly. “No! That was only last time, a snafu! This time, all of my wares are actually good. Come have a look for yourself!”
Marina reluctantly followed him onto the ship. She saw Ganster holding two big buckets, which he then put in front of Marina. Marina tensed her face and asked, “What is this? Is it still alive?”
The old man smiled mysteriously at her and opened the wooden cover on the buckets. As Marina looked into the bucket, her face was suddenly struck by a jet of water that shot up from the inside!
Marina screamed. After she wiped the water off of her face, she saw a little kid inside the bucket! It was a little girl, and she looking around wondrously with her big watery eyes.
Her hair was blue, just like the sea, and her face had two blue stripes on it. The most eye-catching thing about her was her bottom half, which was a long fishtail!
She was a mermaid! She was less than a meter tall, and she looked just like a little kid.
“Oh my God! What is this?” Marina gasped.
This was a creature that humans had never discovered before. Her top half was like a human body, but her bottom half was like a fish. Also, her pretty blue eyes and hair had really caught Marina’s attention.
Ganster told Marina, “We found her on our way here. Do you like her, Marina?”
Marina paused for a moment, as she was very tempted. She looked at the cunning old man and pouted. “Alright, how much for her?”
Ganster fanned his hands and said, “You may have her for free, as you are the special Miss Marina!”
Marina hesitated. After all, she knew the cunningness of this old man.
She had been tricked by this evil old man so many times already. Also, this was a new human-like species, so she knew that the merchant could definitely sell her for a good price. Since this old man was being so generous all of a sudden, she was immediately suspicious.
“What is behind all of this kindness?” Marina asked.
Facing Marina’s suspicions, Ganster answered, “Recently, my grandson just passed the test at Akkad Alchemy College, and he will be commencing college soon. So, I want you to help him.”
He paused, then continued explaining, “Of course, this would mean just looking after him and such, not letting him get bullied or anything. My grandson is a bit wimpy, which I always worry about. Also, I will be away, as I run my business from the sea. Moreover, his health isn’t that good, and his father passed away when he was very young.So, now that he passed the test…”
As the old man continued rambling on, Marina finally understood, so she patted the old man on the shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, since we are friends, I will take care of him.”
———————————
Marina climbed the round tower with the bucket. It was heavy, but it was not a struggle for her. Even though she was still a wizard apprentice, she had already mastered the basics of the Body Modification Technique. This was a very complete witchcraft, which had many branches.
It included blood witchcraft and magical beast productions, as well as body modification and the awakening of bloodlines. In fact, there were many formulas that could awaken the bloodline of each wizard during the time of their apprenticeship.
As Marina carefully walked past the door of Akkad’s office, someone called out, “Is that you, Marina? Come in and close the door behind you.”
Marina was stunned. She felt just like a kid that was getting called into the principal’s office after having done something bad. She looked inside and noticed that Akkad and Lu Zhiyu were both there. They were having a discussion, but as it seemed to not be about her, she calmed down.
Marina pushed the bucket away with her leg, while she closed the door. She then put her hands behind her and walked into the room carefully. “Teacher, are you looking for me?”
“Come have a look at this,” Akkad said.
As Marina got closer to the table, she noticed that there was a palm-sized metal mechanical man on it. It looked at Marina, quickly bowed, then greeted her, “Pleased to meet you, Miss Marina.”
Marina opened her mouth wide in amazement. She had seen many strange things today. She then realized that this was the highest technique that Akkad used to tell them about, the alchemy lifeform!
“Is this an alchemy lifeform?” Marina was amazed by this metal mechanical man!
It was walking and speaking. This was unimaginable for Marina!
Akkad, who had already seen the birth of Eva, was able to be calm about this. However, Marina was really disturbed by such a vision!
Marina thought that something like this only existed in the minds of alchemists. She didn’t expect could be real!
This had already touched the realm of the creator’s secret and forbidden knowledge. Looking at this little man, she suddenly felt fear creeping into her heart.
“So, life can be created?” Marina asked.
Lu Zhiyu looked at Marina, then at Akkad. “Did you not explain about wizards to your student?”
Akkad nodded, then said to Marina, “Creation and the modification of life were always easy tasks for wizards. Even some new magical beasts were created by wizards. Wizards entered the realm of life long ago, and in the early days, Li Weisi developed experimentations that led to the creation of the chimeras. And recently, Adenos even created the undead!”
He looked at her, then continued. “I didn’t tell you about all of this because I don’t think this is the right path. But, the path in front of you now is much deeper and more complicated. The highest technique of alchemy, the alchemy lifeform, is not simply about modifying life. Instead, its purpose is to create a metallic lifeform out of thin air, which is much more difficult than giving birth.”
After Akkad finished speaking, Lu Zhiyu then told Marina, “This is only an alchemy lifeform right now. It is not a wisdom alchemy lifeform yet. As such, it only functions according to my programming. So, it’s imperfect.”
Akkad remembered Eva, emotions welling up in his heart and showing on his face. “But teacher, you already made a perfect alchemy lifeform.”
Lu Zhiyu sighed. “It lacks replicability, so that was just luck.”
Marina asked, “Is there a difference?”
Lu Zhiyu answered her seriously, “There are big differences, just like there are between a wizard and a normal person. Although they look alike from the outside, they are completely different on the inside.”
Lu Zhiyu then stood up and said to Akkad, “I will see you next time, Akkad!”
Akkad laughed sadly. “I hope that there is a next time…”
“And, young lady, this thing is for you.” Lu Zhiyu grabbed the mechanical doll and gave it to Marina.
The creation of metallic lifeforms required not only metallic cells, but also required design modifications to the life template. Aside from Lu Zhiyu, no one could do it.
Therefore, he just showed it to Akkad, since he wished for it. Even for alchemists, without first advancing to level seven or eight, there was no way that one could create an alchemy lifeform.
The mechanical doll was created impulsively by Lu Zhiyu. As such, it served no real purpose for him. So, he was gifting it to Marina.
For Marina, this was a treasured gift! She held onto the doll and looked at Lu Zhiyu, a big smile on her face.
Lu Zhiyu then disappeared. However, before he was gone, Lu Zhiyu saw the bucket outside of the room and was a bit surprised.
