After sending off the angry Ina, who had been stirred up in his private lounge at Heblon, Luke briefly and insincerely muttered a few prayers for Justin Hammer. Then, he eagerly lay down on the bed in his lounge, ready to face his own upgrade and enhancement.
As for Justin Hammer, Luke couldn't care less whether he was alive or dead. No one could stop his urge to upgrade and strengthen himself right now.
Closing his eyes and clearing his mind, his thoughts flashed to his only current talent card attributes.
[Talent Card: Constructor Luke]
Mechanical Affinity: A- ???
{An empty mechanical throne, you are its only monarch.} Evolvable
Manufacturing Mastery: C- ???
{You possess an innate talent to turn decay into the miraculous.} Evolvable (+)
Transmutation Gift: ???
{You have the ability to convert one attribute into its opposite and can bestow this ability onto your creations.} Locked
Concept Extraction: ???
{You can extract certain conceptual rules and transform them into technology to be manifested in your mechanical creations.} Locked
Description: Constructor Luke is dead, but the technology of Heblon lives on.
Just like before, the only change was that the "Manufacturing Mastery" talent now had a plus sign after "Evolvable," indicating that it could be upgraded. Once "Manufacturing Mastery" grows from C to B, it will automatically trigger the experience points needed to unlock the conditions for the next talent, "Transmutation Gift," just as when "Mechanical Affinity" grew to B and unlocked the conditions for "Manufacturing Mastery."
Of course, the conditions for later talents might be even more demanding. After all, "Mechanical Affinity" only required the independent creation of any mechanical invention, but for "Manufacturing Mastery," it would require having a fully controlled and dominated research team of at least 100 people, along with some implicit conditions.
Luke had no complaints about this, or rather, complaining was useless. To survive in this dangerous world, the talents provided by the system were his only option. At the very least, with the "Constructor Luke" talent template, he wouldn't end up worse than Tony Stark, right?
After all, the highest praise for Tony Stark was simply, "With the body of a mortal, he stands shoulder to shoulder with gods."
But at his peak, "Constructor Luke" could be called a "true god"!
The only catch was, this god could not live forever.
His consciousness formed into a finger and tapped the plus sign behind the "Manufacturing Mastery" growth option. In the dark mental space, a flash of brilliant light passed over the talent list, and then, the content in his talent card list changed:
Mechanical Affinity: A- ???
{An empty mechanical throne, you are its only monarch.} Evolvable
Manufacturing Mastery: B- ???
{You possess an innate talent to turn decay into the miraculous.} Evolvable
Transmutation Gift: ???
{You have the ability to convert one attribute into its opposite and can bestow this ability onto your creations.} Locked (!)
Concept Extraction: ???
{You can extract certain conceptual rules and transform them into technology to be manifested in your mechanical creations.} Locked
[You have gained 30 draw chances. Your cumulative draws total 180.]
A large golden exclamation mark flashed next to the "Transmutation Gift" talent. Luke Field took a deep breath, calming himself as the massive influx of knowledge and inspiration from the upgrade settled in his mind. When his attention refocused on his consciousness, his finger once again tapped the flashing golden exclamation mark.
[Trial of the Heblon Monarch: Find the power that belongs to the Heblon Monarch.]
[Use the following device {Becky's Dimensional Locator}, and enter the trial world. Based on your overall performance in the trial, corresponding rewards will be given upon return. Time left to accept the task: 23:59:59]
Basic Rewards:
"Transmutation Gift" talent unlocked
"Luke's Faux Body · Light" manufacturing blueprint fragments
Description: The time flow rate in the trial world does not match that of the current world. The conversion rate is: one year = one day.
Suddenly, something with a cold metallic touch appeared in Luke's palm. He opened his eyes, not even caring about the cards anymore. He looked at the black metal cube in his hand, which measured 10 cm on each side. It seemed to contain some powerful energy inside. Through its complex metal shell, the object pulsed like breathing, flickering on and off. Upon closer inspection, he could see that the circuit diagram on one of the cube's sides vaguely resembled the design of a pair of goggles.
At the same time, like the items drawn from the flips, this object automatically displayed its attributes when Luke touched it.
[Becky's Dimensional Locator: A one-time use item. After use, it can accurately locate the coordinates of a dimensional world based on personal needs. Its energy allows for a round-trip passage.]
Luke stared at the black metal cube in his hand in a daze.
He knew the unlocking conditions might be difficult, but he never expected them to be this... unexpected!
If he understood correctly, in the next 24 hours, he would have to decide whether or not to accept this task, whether or not to participate in this trial! He wasn't sure what would happen after the time to accept the trial passed. Would he never be able to unlock those powerful talents? Would new talent cards never appear again?
What was the trial world like? Everything was a mystery.
What would happen in the trial world? Everything was unknown.
Was there danger in the trial world? It was still all a confusing blur.
But could he afford to give up?
He shook his head.
If this were the world from before his transmigration, then of course he wouldn't need to take any risks. With just his first two talents as "Constructor Luke," he could have been one of the world's top elite. But in this perilous Marvel world, with just the limited resources and knowledge he had now, he couldn't protect himself or his family for long.
Luke Field didn't know if his growth would stop entirely if he gave up on the trial, but what he did know was that he didn't want to face that potential consequence. Sure, if he did nothing, he could survive for a few years—maybe he would get lucky and survive until the universe-shaking snap from Infinity War. But that was without any choices or external help.
So, the only path before him, the only path available, was clear.
Face the challenge!
Accept the trial!
Of course, before accepting the trial, Luke still needed to handle affairs for the few days he would be away and make as many preparations as possible.
There wasn't much to arrange for his absence. Over the past year or two, he had often secluded himself for extended periods of time to absorb and digest the knowledge that surged into his mind. And all the employees at Heblon Technologies had developed a consistent understanding: when Luke Field started to go into seclusion, it meant that Heblon Technologies's technical foundation had just gotten even deeper. The longer he secluded himself, the more astonishing the technological advancements he brought out!
Why did the researchers at Heblon Technology regard Luke Field as the monarch who guided their technological path?
It was Luke Field's outstanding performance in scientific research over the past couple of years that had stunned them! They even fervently worshipped him, considering him a scientific genius on par with Tony Stark, a figure whose genius no one would question! Of course, compared to Tony Stark, who often wasted time and energy on models, stars, and fashionistas, Luke Field—who kept his personal life clean and focused entirely on his laboratory—was far more respected.
Thus, when Luke Field announced that he would be going into seclusion for possibly a month, the entire Heblon Technology department was filled with anticipation. Employees from other departments were also delighted upon hearing the news. Their company had just secured a large military order, and once their research department's monarch went into seclusion, he would likely come out with more groundbreaking technological achievements, which meant that the future of the company had become even more exciting.
After discussing with Ina and his parents, Luke made all the arrangements for the next month in this world and returned to his laboratory for seclusion, sealing it off.
"Rud." Luke Field called softly.
Shh!
With a mechanical whirr, a mechanical dog nearly two meters long, with a silver metallic sheen and smooth lines across its body, trotted over to Luke Field. It quietly crouched down before him like a living dog. This was the first mechanical creation Luke Field had ever made with his own hands. Over the past five years, Luke had upgraded it multiple times. The majority of Heblon Technologies's innovations were first assembled on it. In terms of combat power, Luke didn't think that Stark's early Mark armor could compare to Rud.
"Take control of the laboratory. Implement the highest security protocols." Luke Field patted its smooth metallic head and issued the command.
Rud's mechanical eye, which glowed with a blue ring, flickered. After Luke's intensive modifications, it had a near life-like consciousness. With the added assistance of the laboratory's AI computations, it surpassed ordinary artificial intelligences.
Luke walked into the small resting room of the lab, which was not spacious, with only a bed and a cabinet inside. After closing the door, he took the black metal cube from the cabinet and held it in his palm. He activated it and accepted the trial.
A bright, yet not glaring, light overflowed from the floating black metal cube, and a dimensional portal, resembling shattered mirror fragments, appeared in front of Luke under the powerful energy output of the cube. After he stepped through, the dimensional portal and Luke both disappeared from the room.
Grrr...?
Noticing that its master's vital signs had disappeared, Rud tilted its head outside the door. A touch of thought that only a sentient creature might express, appeared in its mechanical gaze. However, it resolutely followed the command its master had given it.