Amberser focused intently on assembling his new type of skeleton, while the man who had fled watched this scene. He witnessed human bones being composed by the Lich into a chill-inducing, bizarre form. He felt dizzy, nauseous, and wanted to vomit, but he forced himself to endure, fearing that he might become another piece of material in Amberser's hands.
Amberser's hands moved steadily as he joined each bone together, not forgetting to introduce his work in a calm and assured tone.
"The power core and control core of a skeleton are the soul. With more than two hundred bones and over a hundred joints, it's a huge burden for the soul core. But we take it for granted, and no necromancer has ever precisely measured the strength of a soul. We only have vague categories: low-level, mid-level, and high-level souls.
"In alchemy, the proportions of a magic potion are accurate to the milligram. Yet our undead magic hasn't measured the most critical aspect – the strength of the soul – precisely. I find this complacency unacceptable.
"Admittedly, because soul strength fluctuates, it's challenging to measure. But that's no excuse to abandon measurement. Luckily, I've mastered the technology of creating Pseudo-Souls, which are blank souls without emotional residues. After a period of experimentation, I've established a set of standards and named the soul strength unit '魄'. I will describe the specific measurement method in detail in my paper,
"If the editor-in-chief of "Legendary Spells" stops rejecting my submissions.
"Back to the main topic, today's experiment uses only a Primary Soul. As an example, a Primary Soul that can support a complete skeleton typically ranges from eighty to one hundred thirty '魄', with the peak value not exceeding one hundred fifty '魄'. Dispersed over two hundred and six bones, what we get is a clumsy, sluggish, brittle junk undead creature.
"Just as the intellectuals among living creatures have invented tools like pliers and differential gears, structural optimization can greatly enhance strength or speed.
"If we reduce the number of bones to twenty, we will get an Alien Skeleton that is smaller in size but with significantly increased strength, agility, and durability. According to my calculations, the degree of enhancement is at least fivefold."
As Amberser fitted the final skull into place, an oddly shaped skeleton appeared on the experiment table.
The bottom of the skeleton featured three insect-like segmented legs, the body was just a third of a spine with a jawless skull fitted on top, and finally, two robust femur bones were attached as arms.
Then, Amberser embedded two metal-made sharp blades into the arms of the Alien Skeleton.
A small skeleton resembling a praying mantis was fully assembled.
Amberser placed the Alien Skeleton on the ground, and the little fellow started moving at an extremely fast pace, even faster than a cat.
"I have named this model of skeleton Kazik Type 1. Now, let's proceed to practical combat exercises."
Amberser waved to the man whose face was pale and legs were trembling and asked, "What's your name?"
The man, terrified, stammered his reply, "Raul... Raul."
"Alright, Raul. Take the Kazik Type 1 and bring those fleeing freemen back to me. If you can bring back ten refugees, I can ensure your sister survives."
"Ah?"
Raul didn't expect Amberser to assign him this task.
What does the Lich want with the refugees?
As Raul looked at the bones scattered throughout the laboratory, he felt he already knew the answer.
"I…I will fulfill your command, Lord Lich."
Amberser nodded, pleased, and handed a bone embedded with gems to Raul. "Just use voice control. The Kazik Type 1's functions are simple, red for attack, green to follow, and black to stop. For everything else, you'll have to figure it out on your own."
Looking at the three gems embedded in the bone, Raul suddenly felt an urge. If he pressed the gem designated for attack against the Lich, would it...?
The thought made a quick turn in Raul's mind and dissipated into nothingness, the Lich was no fool, how could he possibly hand over a weapon that could kill him into his own hands.
Although Raul could barely understand what the Lich had been rambling about, he could still tell from the Lich's tone that it was speaking with ease. To the Lich, this alien skeleton before him was probably just a toy.
Looking at his sister, who was still unconscious, Raul gritted his teeth, pressed the green gemstone, and the alien skeleton that had been crawling around obediently followed Raul's steps.
Raul had just left the ancient castle when the girl, who had been unconscious, opened her eyes.
Upon seeing the pale skeletal face of Amberser, she couldn't help wanting to scream, but she covered her mouth with her hand after only a slight noise.
Amberser glanced at her and said carelessly, "Your brother Raul is doing a task for me, I told him to bring back ten people and then you'll be freed. By the way, since you are freemen, what is your occupation?"
Freemen were generally skilled, as most of the farmland in the territory belonged to the Lord, and only slaves or tenant farmers could cultivate the Lord's land—most other freemen needed to engage in different professions to support themselves.
It took a long time for the girl to calm down. She did not quite believe that her own brother would willingly work for a Lich; certainly, this undead monster must have used some means to force him. She even suspected that her brother might have been killed by the Lich and turned into one of the materials for experiments in this laboratory.
But there was no possibility of resistance at the moment, she could only try not to provoke the other party and see if there was an opportunity to escape.
The girl replied cautiously, "I am an Alchemy Apprentice."
"Alchemy Apprentice?" Amberser was a bit surprised, it was not a common occupation.
Even though this ancient castle was within the domain of Alchemy City, Alchemists were extremely rare professionals, not only requiring the gift for spellcasting but also needing a clever mind to remember and understand the complex magic potion recipes.
Different materials contain different magical elements, and even the same kind of material can vary in the containment of magical elements due to the conditions of the raw materials' growth. To become an Alchemist, one must learn to distinguish these differences.
Amberser was not a professional Alchemist. Many higher level magic potions could only be bought, as he could not mix them himself. Even knowing the formula, his attempts often resulted in a very low yield rate, causing a lot of waste.
He had not expected to find an Alchemy Apprentice—it could be considered quite a treasure.
"But wait, if you are an Alchemy Apprentice, how could you possibly be sold into slavery by the Lord? Who is your teacher?" Amberser asked again.
In Alchemy City, Alchemists naturally held high status; even Apprentices, as long as they sought the intervention of their mentors, could easily resolve minor issues like being taxed by a Lord.
The girl was silent for a moment before saying, "My teacher, she went to Silvermoon Tribunal two months ago to purchase magic potion ingredients and has not been heard from since. According to those who have returned from Silvermoon Tribunal, she might have had an accident."
Without the protection of her teacher, a mere Alchemy Apprentice indeed had no way of standing against the Lord; perhaps that Lord had had his eye on the girl for a while, desiring to take her for himself. An Alchemy-talented slave was indeed quite valuable.
After listening, Amberser couldn't help cursing, "It's those bean sprouts again, how are they everywhere?"
He was getting more and more annoyed with those High Elves.
Looking at the girl who was nervous and uneasy, Amberser asked, "Can you make Tranquility Potion?"
Tranquility Potion was a low-level magic potion; it could be taken orally or used as perfume to spray. Its effect was simple—calming one's emotions, and it also neutralized the effects of rage. Many jobs required emotional stability, so the daily demands for Tranquility Potions were quite substantial.
The girl didn't understand why Amberser would suddenly ask this, but she nodded and said, "I have learned it."
Amberser pointed to a cabinet on the right wall and told the girl, "Then start mixing it, the materials are all inside, you'll need at least twelve bottles."