Can a Frankenstein's monster be an adventurer?

Chapter 109 Completing the Runes

"【Essence of Magic】, right? I think it should exist————"

Luo Lan rummaged through the pile of messy alchemy materials that she had just taken out of her storage space.

These alchemical materials come in a wide variety of types.

Glass bottles, ceramic jars, and copper-sealed tubes were crammed together, filling half a table.

The bottle had yellowed labels with neat handwriting but faded ink, and some of the labels were curled up at the corners.

There were bottles containing heavy, silvery liquid called "pure mercury," as well as "Mandragora root tincture" soaked in preservative solution and still bearing fine curls, several bottles of "Moonlight Grass Extract" emitting a faint glow, and even the extremely rare "Dragon Blood Stone Powder" —

All of these are good things.

All of these things were taken by Luo Lan from the old mage Ers's laboratory, which he had completely emptied, when he left the underground palace.

At that time, Luo Lan didn't think much about it. She just felt that she should take everything she could, because she would need it someday.

In retrospect, these alchemical materials have indeed come in very handy.

Luo Lan rummaged through the pile of bottles and jars for a while, her fingers brushing over one label after another.

"Exquisite Magic Essence — Exquisite Magic Essence —"

Finally, a slender crystal bottle was pulled out from the pile of bottles and jars.

"Oh, [Essence of Magic], I've got it!"

Luo Lan held the bottle of liquid up to her eyes and examined it.

The crystal bottle contained a viscous, semi-transparent liquid.

Compared to the bottle that the goblin merchant Griff had shown before, the one in Luo Lan's hand was noticeably more transparent, with no visible impurities deep within the liquid.

[A single bottle of [Essence of Magic] costs 10 gold coins, and there are even more rare alchemy materials here—if they were all sold, they'd be worth hundreds or even thousands of gold coins, right? Old Mage Ers is really rich.]

Luo Lan quickly made a mental calculation.

Back in the underground palace, I read the old man's research diary. Between the lines, there was no shortage of complaints and resentment about his destitution after leaving the Secret Academy. He always felt that he was penniless.

[The "poverty" of a legendary adventurer and the poverty of an ordinary adventurer are completely different concepts.]

In Luo Lan's eyes now, Ers's ability to casually fill an entire laboratory with high-level alchemical materials was simply a sign of being incredibly wealthy.

[Legendary Rank ————]

Luo Lan silently took the old mage's extraordinary level as her future goal.

They can transform an entire nest-like rift at will, turning it into their own laboratory and dwelling.

For Luo Lan now, that level of extraordinary individuals is indeed something to be fascinated by.

Luo Lan snapped out of her thoughts and handed the bottle of [Essence of Magic] to the little white cat guarding the table: "Victor, please, it would be best if you could complete the [Transformation] and [Compression] of the T-800 core."

"No problem, it's a simple matter."

Victor immediately gave an affirmative answer.

The kitten's gaze lingered on the bottle of magic essence for a few seconds, and there seemed to be a subtle stream of data rapidly flowing deep within its pupils.

"Detection: High-purity magic element sample. The purity of this sample is 92.4%, higher than the 68% of the sample held by the goblin Griff. Logical deduction: It has extremely high practical value and can save some raw material consumption."

After the analysis, the little white cat straightened up and lightly placed its two front paws on the edge of the crystal bottle.

It lowered its head slightly and used its two rows of neat little teeth to precisely bite the cork at the bottle opening.

"Laugh————."

The kitten tugged at the cork, and a faint, refreshing scent, like that of a forest after rain, was released.

The kitten turned around and gently swept its white tail. The tip of the kitten's skeletal tail, like a precise pen, accurately picked up a drop of translucent, viscous magic essence.

Victor's Precision Maneuvering skill took effect, and at this moment, every movement of the kitten carried an absolute precision that was not of any living being.

The magic liquid condensed into a tiny droplet at the tip of the tail, and then the tip gently landed on the surface of the T-800 core.

The kitten's tail swam rapidly across the T-800 core.

Luo Lan could clearly sense that subtle psionic resonances were beginning to appear in the air inside the room.

The broken, blurred rune lines on the core, under Victor's strokes, seem to have been infused with new life.

Luo Lan sat in the chair, leaning slightly forward, carefully observing the repair process.

Although Luo Lan cannot yet comprehend these complex rune energy circuits, under the assisted vision of [True Sight], the integrity of the two damaged [Transformation] and [Compression] runes is visibly fluctuating.

[45% - 72% - ——]

One stroke, two strokes, three strokes.

The cat's tail tip moved with incredible stability; the arc at the turn, the force at the straight line, and the duration of the pause at the junction were all controlled within millimeters.

Every turn and every stroke of Victor's design fits perfectly onto the core engraving, and because it is infused with a higher purity of magic essence, those lines are even brighter than the original.

A few minutes later, the kitten stopped moving.

It gracefully retracted its tail, and the last bit of translucent liquid on the tip of its tail instantly disappeared.

The two runes have reached 100% completeness in [True Sight].

The [Transformation] rune glows with a soft orange light, while the [Squeeze] rune emits a pale blue, cool light; the two colors are reflected in the T-shirt.

The surface of the 800 core intertwined for a moment, then stabilized.

"alright."

The little white cat crouched back down by the table, the data in its azure pupils dissipating, and it returned to its usual calm.

Luo Lan glanced at the remaining half of the [Essence of Magic] on the table.

Take the cork that was thrown aside and press it back into place to seal it.

He then put the half-bottle of [Essence of Magic], along with the expensive alchemical materials on the table, back into his [storage space].

Luo Lan picked up the T-800 core that had just had its runes repaired from the table and weighed it in his hand.

The orange runes glowed faintly, flickering on and off in the palm of his hand.

He stood up and pressed it directly onto his chest armor.

[Condensation - Melting]

[Consumed Chaos Essence: 800]

[Current Chaotic Essence: 1188]

The object of the [Condensation] was not Luo Lan's own physical body.

Rather, it was the full set of [Holy Kingdom Standard Armor] he was currently wearing.

Ever since he took off this outfit and put it on in the underground palace and water tomb, this heavy armor has indeed helped Luo Lan block many frontal attacks.

Whether it's a goblin's bone club, a dire wolf's claws, or even a swipe of an evil slime's tentacles—when it hits, it can only leave white marks at most.

However, this thing is really troublesome to put on and take off. For Luo Lan, who occasionally needs high mobility in actual combat, the cumbersome heavy armor splicing is sometimes a hindrance.

Moreover, Luo Lan now possesses [Acid Liquid Iv.5].

If one wants to use the highly corrosive acid contained in bodily fluids as an attack, one must consciously adjust one's posture each time to avoid getting it on one's own armor and causing corrosion and damage.

As for why not simply "forge" this sturdy heavy armor directly into one's own body?

Luo Lan had also carefully considered it.

The [Steel Bones] feat, which replaced the entire skeleton within the body, has reached a bottleneck.

Without higher-level and more unique extraordinary materials as a catalyst, it is no longer possible to strengthen and forge it to upgrade the [Steel Bones] extraordinary rank, which has already reached the [Silver Rank].

From the perspective of body surface defense, this body currently possesses a high level of physical resistance due to its semi-liquid properties.

The combination of a physical body that relies primarily on cushioning and deflecting force, and heavy armor that directly withstands physical impact, is a conflicting pairing with poor compatibility. Forcing a "forging" of such an armor would only be counterproductive.

Therefore, after comprehensive consideration, Luo Lan believes that maintaining the current "Russian doll" type of defense system is more suitable for him.

That is, the outermost layer is covered by the hard [Holy Kingdom standard armor], the inner layer of which is tough [semi-liquid] flesh and skin, and within the flesh and skin is the equally sturdy [steel-metal bone] left hand—

However, since we have to continue wearing this bulky metal shell, in order to prevent it from becoming increasingly cumbersome, it needs to undergo an evolution.

Accompanied by the activation of [Condensation-Melting].

A large number of purplish-black particles surged out of the void, like a school of piranhas attracted by the smell of blood, instantly enveloping the T-800 core that Luo Lan was pressing against his chest.

The purplish-black particles tumbled and scattered under the light of the oil lamp, and Luo Lan let them spread into the cold core of the T-800.

Countless purplish-black particles penetrated the intricate metal structure of the T-800 core.

The metal shell on the core surface was rapidly disintegrated, and the [Transformation] and [Compression] runes, which Victor had just painstakingly completed stroke by stroke, were completely stripped away by this domineering force.

Orange light patterns floated above Luo Lan's palm, the intricate rune lines slowly rotating in the air, the arcane glow flickering.

"Om one"

A deep, continuous magical resonance echoed in the hotel room.

Drawn by the purplish-black particles, the two arcane runes simultaneously disappeared into the very center of Roland's breastplate.

A visible orange magic loop, centered on Roland's chest armor, spread rapidly like a spider web, gradually covering the entire heavy armor.

The hard steel armor plates rippled with a water-like pattern the moment they came into contact with the runic magic circuit.

Magical energy flowed along the seams between the armor plates, spreading to the limbs and even weaving a runic grid in the air.

Even the individual helmet components, heavy iron boots, and wrist gloves are deeply engraved with this complex grid of runes.

[Forged: Rune Core of T-800 Battle Golem]

【Name: Holy Kingdom Standard Armor → T-800 Rune Armor】

[Rank: Silver+]

[Enchantments: Polymorph, Compression]

[Transformation: Arcane runes inscribed into metal can arbitrarily change the metal's form; the maximum degree of deformation is positively correlated with the rune's rank.]

Compression: Arcane runes inscribed into inorganic materials can compress the volume of inorganic matter; the maximum degree of compression is positively correlated with the rune's rank.