"Mentor Lucian…" Carrie handed her redesigned alchemy blueprint to Lucian, feeling a touch of apprehension. She wasn't sure if this latest version met his standards.
"It's good," Lucian said with a smile, "quite refined, though there's still room for some improvement." Carrie watched him, bracing herself for his usual "however." But this time, the dreaded "but" never came. Carrie blinked, a bit confused.
"Already thinking of improving it further?" Lucian joked, seeing the question in her eyes.
Carrie laughed and backed away, dodging his playful attempt to tap her head.
With her design approved, Lucian reviewed the alchemy blueprint once more. After all the adjustments they'd made together, he had absorbed a wealth of alchemical knowledge. "Let's not delay, Carrie. I'll help you repair the hunting bow right away," he said, putting down the blueprint. "I'll follow your design. Since you've already grasped some alchemical techniques, I'll need you to assist."
"Yes!" Carrie's eyes shone with excitement.
Lucian didn't hesitate, gathering the materials he'd prepared in advance. However, as he looked over the components, his eyes fell on a damaged spatial pendant he had acquired from Norian. An idea struck him—his skills were now sufficient to dismantle it and retrieve any items left within.
He set the pendant on the workbench, and though Carrie looked confused, she dutifully prepared to assist him with the meticulous dismantling.
"Carrie, activate Sorcery Array Three," Lucian instructed, watching as the pendant heated from silver to a glowing red. Carrie carefully sprinkled prepared powders onto it, causing a slight reaction that began to break down the pendant's surface.
Lucian's focus sharpened as he carefully maintained the pendant's internal structure while dismantling the enchantments. After a final push, the pendant reached a critical point, teetering between stability and collapse. With quick precision, he transferred it into Array Three, cooling it down rapidly.
A sharp crack split the air as tiny fissures spread across the pendant's surface, and the internal spatial field began collapsing. "Release," Lucian whispered, seizing the moment to pull everything from the collapsing space.
At that moment, the pendant broke into several pieces, now reduced to alchemical materials. Lucian let out a small sigh of satisfaction, but Carrie's reaction was less contained—her face turned pale, and she stumbled back, unable to suppress a gag.
Among the items he retrieved was a preserved, half-dissected human head, stored in a transparent jar. Carrie recognized the face, a figure she had once aspired to surpass.
"Mentor… may I take a closer look at this specimen?" she asked, glancing nervously at Lucian.
"Oh, the head? Sure, take it if you'd like," he replied, absentmindedly. "However, if you're interested in these anatomical specimens, you'll need some foundational studies in body modification."
Carrie steadied herself and muttered under her breath before nodding. Meanwhile, Lucian was engrossed in examining Norian's collection of artifacts, unable to tear his gaze away.