Mechanical Alchemist

"Are you awake?"

Su Lun opened his eyes, and a gentle female voice asked.

This was an alchemy workshop, quite tall, probably about seven or eight meters in height.

The room's decor was richly classical, adorned with the gleaming elegance of nobility, and it had the mysterious ambiance characteristic of an alchemy workshop.

Various classical magic lamps hung in the air, round, square, diamond-shaped... brightly illuminating the room.

One wall of the room was lined with bookshelves, packed with various alchemical tomes.

The other side was a material grid, filled with various bottles and jars and materials. Those glass jars filled with pale yellow liquid contained all sorts of biological materials: eyeballs, brains, organs... strange biological materials, mostly not human tissue.

On the alchemy workbench, test tubes filled with potions of different colors were neatly arranged. Inside the alchemy furnace, purple flames heated a beaker, containing a thick green liquid that boiled and bubbled, with a faint medicinal fragrance wafting through the air.

A woman in a white palace dress was busily working on this potion.

What stood out the most were the eight crystal-clear spider limbs on her back.

Unlike the dark golden spider limbs on Su Lun, hers gave off a sense of purity and simplicity, not at all ferocious. Yet upon closer inspection, you would find mysterious runes flowing on them that were too intense to look at directly.

The spider limbs acted like her arms, flexible and precise as they reached for various potion test tubes on the shelves, and without the need for precise measurement, she would casually drop a few drops, add a couple of spoonfuls of powder, then a few solid pieces...

Just by watching her crafting technique, Su Lun knew that she was making a very advanced potion.

In his current knowledge, a potion-making process involving the simultaneous reaction of seven or eight materials was a blind spot even for the "master-level" pharmacists in Old Lington.

Su Lun had visited the Central Prison of Dawn City eight times back and forth, but this was his first time entering this room.

However, he had seen the sophisticated woman with the octuple spider limbs before.

She was, of course, the target of Su Lun's mission, the founder of the Puppeteer profession, Sir Isaac's wife, mother to Pestroya, Lady Seraya.

.....

"Hello, Lady Seraya."

Su Lun responded.

He was awake, but found that except for his eyes, he couldn't move his body.

His body had no sensation at all.

His mind quickly recalled the previous battle, and he understood that most of his muscles and bodily tissues had already collapsed.

And with a glance, he noticed the floor where he lay shimmering with green alchemical runes.

Identification showed that this was a sixth-tier life alchemy formation.

Lady Seraya seemed to have timed it perfectly, for as he woke up, she had just placed the last ingredient into the beaker, and a miraculous reaction occurred. The thick green liquid gradually became clear, turning into a qualified potion.

She walked over to where Su Lun was lying and poured the potion into the alchemical formation.

For a moment, there was a great surge of green light.

Su Lun immediately felt a tremendous vitality drilling into his body.

Like a withered tree regaining life, his torn muscle fibers and various failing organs were restoring at an exaggerated rate.

While pouring the potion, Lady Seraya said, "Your brain development is quite good, improved by about 5%. That is indeed quite remarkable."

She paused, then added, "You have considerable talent. Truly suitable for the profession of a 'Puppeteer.'"

Su Lun felt a sense of relief and said, "It's all thanks to the secret technique you taught me, Lady..."

This increase was within his expectations.

The brain domain development of an average person is between 2% to 8%. Even the top scientists from Su Lun's past life mostly used only around 12% of their capacity.

This figure could increase slightly through certain acquired exercises and learning, but it generally would not increase by more than 2% in a lifetime.

Su Lun's was now about 16%, and while this might seem like a minor improvement, on certain levels, it's the difference between scoring 59 and 60 on an exam.

Mr. Hei, renowned for his vast knowledge, had sought out advanced materials, yet his brain development was only around 18%.

"Hmm, this Secret Technique indeed seems like it came from my own hands. After all, there should be no one else who knows it..."

Selena's face always gave off a kind and wise aura.

Like looking at Mr. Hei, it was the sort of confusion-free confidence that comes with extensive knowledge, as if there were no secrets in the world that could be kept from her.

She glanced at Su Lun, "Now, you can tell me what the letter you gave me earlier was all about. And the purpose of your visit."

Su Lun spoke directly, "Do you know that the Central Prison has become a 'cursed space' now? My name is Su Lun, and I am someone who entered here from a thousand years in the future..."

As he spoke, he succinctly explained his purpose.

When he had entered the cursed space before, he had spent some time giving this lady a letter he had written to "herself." Although Selena was on the fifth level, in reality, she had control over the entire prison.

As for the "letter," it was something he acquired after exchanging and gaining trust during his last visit.

The plan in it was for him to try out a Secret Technique personally explained by Lady Selena, which could enhance the development of his brain domain.

Su Lun dared not attempt this anywhere else—without someone to control that boundary, fully unleashing the suppressed emotions in his mind would surely kill him.

But she was likely one of the few people who had taken the research of spiritual power to the extreme among humans.

....

Lady Selena's level of wisdom was very high.

If Su Lun were to say such things in any other cursed spaces, the NPCs would definitely choose to ignore him selectively.

It's like someone traveled through time and space, holding a note in your handwriting, telling you, "This was written by you in a parallel world; you must believe me."

For any normal person, that would be very hard to accept.

But this Selena came to understand it quite easily and accepted reality.

Just like the previous few times.

She murmured to herself, "So I am already dead..."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun felt a strange sensation arise in his heart again, as if the person before him was truly alive.

For an NPC to realize that they are already dead, especially as a cursed space NPC, is simply impossible.

Su Lun had previously thought she was like Pestoya, a kind of special existence.

But she said she was not.

She was still a remnant NPC of the cursed space.

As before, Su Lun asked again, "Can you acknowledge your own death?"

He wanted to hear if he could find out anything different this time.

Lady Selena, realizing she was dead, didn't show any abnormal emotions, "It's not hard to understand. When you're alive and you've predicted the death that fate has destined for you, a lot of things become clear. Your coming here means that disaster has already happened."

Su Lun listened and fell into contemplation.

The same words, he had heard three times before.

But he still couldn't quite understand them.

Selena found it easy to believe Su Lun, smiled, and got to the point, "You must have something you need from me today. Something like, a token to give to me? Something you need me to craft?"

"Yes, that's right."

During this conversation, Su Lun found that he was able to use his body again.

He opened his storage space and took out a golden card and a sealed box.

Seeing this ability, Selena raised her eyebrow, "Spatial Ability? That really is quite suitable for a Puppeteer. However, your understanding of the rules is too shallow, and against higher-level professionals, your space can easily be targeted by the methods of the laws."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun's expression turned slightly odd.

In his heart, he wanted to say that this was no longer the Dawn City that had demigods a thousand years ago.

In modern Old Lington, the strongest open professionals were only of the third order, the same level as the former chief prison guard of this prison.

Su Lun hadn't yet encountered the "high-level" she mentioned.

Selina took out the golden card and looked at it, seemingly using some special encryption method to read the content on the card, her eyes growing complex.

It was as if the sight of the object induced nostalgia, as the look in her eyes softened with tenderness and melancholy upon seeing the card.

After mulling over it for a good while, she finally murmured to herself, "So that's how it is..."

As she spoke, Selina formed a mystical hand gesture and exclaimed, "Unlock!"

The runes engraved on the rune casket suddenly lit up, followed by the activation of layer upon layer of golden sealed formations. They wrapped around the casket like chains, which only started to unravel layer by layer after the unlocking spell was initiated.

....

Su Lun had taken out this casket several times before upon entering.

But he never opened it.

Selina had mentioned that once opened, this cursed space would cease to exist.

Now, both prominent families had been trapped and killed, and that "forensic doctor," Servis Gerard, had also died.

With Su Lun's brain development completed and his goals achieved,

it was naturally time for the last step.

He had previously identified the runes on the casket as "superior-grade," and knew they were at least of the sixth order or higher.

Now, upon closer inspection, it was indeed the case.

But upon closer examination, it was not quite the same.

The runes he recognized were two-dimensional, whereas the runes illuminating the casket were three-dimensional and part of a complex structure.

Seeing that Selina appeared relaxed, he thought there wouldn't be any harm in asking.

He directly inquired, "Madam, what are these runes, and why do they seem different from ordinary ones?"

Selina casually explained, "These are 'Runic Runes,' also known as Alchemic Magical Sigils. They roughly correspond to the 'Secret Techniques' in spells. These runes were created by alchemists during the mythological era and have been perfected by countless alchemists since, forming a vast system of knowledge. It's not just a system; it's more of a way of thinking. It abandons the rigid templates of traditional runes, exploring variations and extensions of runes. Very complex, the difficulty of study will also double. But once fully mastered, its power is several times that of equivalent spells, and it has some unexpected effects..."

Her explanation was detailed, and Su Lun understood.

It's like the difference between advanced mathematics and ordinary math problems.

They are problems for the same grade, but the level of difficulty can't even be compared.

The key isn't the runes themselves but that way of divergent thinking.

Envious, Su Lun asked another question, "Madam, what are the requirements to learn Runic Runes?"

Such powerful runes, and after harvesting so many shards, he had never even heard of them.

Truly mastering them, the effect of a third-order Runic Rune could possibly match a common fourth-order one, which would prove highly useful!

Puppets, weapons, armor... the power of a third-order with the effect of a fourth-order, wouldn't that be sky-high?

This truly exemplifies the meaning of "knowledge is power."

Selina seemed to guess what he was thinking and smiled gently, "This is advanced rune knowledge that's usually accessible to those with extremely high aptitude in their field. On the third shelf, there are a few introductory volumes. If you are interested, you can take a look. With the level of brain development you have, understanding that level of knowledge would be much easier for you than for others."

Hearing this, Su Lun felt elated.

In a sense, "learning aptitude" is synonymous with the degree of brain development.

As they were discussing, Selina suddenly seemed to remember something, and added, "Speaking of which, these runes have some connection with your All-knowing Eye talent."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun's gaze intensified: connected to his own talent?

Selina continued, "Are you curious why, after awakening the All-knowing Eye, you could understand items that you previously didn't know? Where does the necessary knowledge for cognition come from?"

Su Lun didn't think he could keep his dual talents hidden from her.

And indeed, this was something that puzzled him.

This wasn't a game world, but the real world—where is the "database" from?

Before he could ponder further, Selina explained, "'Rune' in Old Norse originally means secret or mystery, representing 'the secrets of the universe.' The All-knowing Eye had another name in the ancient mythological era, 'Akashic Records.' The term might be unfamiliar to you, but in the alchemic academic world, it is known to everyone as 'Primal Matter.' It's the initial substance from which the universe was created. It contains all the secrets of the world, past, present, future... and everything else."

All the secrets of the cosmos?

Su Lun knitted his brows lightly upon hearing this.

He suddenly realized that he seemed to have encountered some high-end knowledge.

If it had been before, he felt certain he wouldn't have understood.

But now, after the development of his brain, he faintly felt he had touched upon something.

Sereya gave Su Lun a glance and said, "Have you come across something you cannot comprehend? Like what's inside this box?"

With that, she took out the contents of the runic casket, a heart enclosed in a glass jar.

A heart of black and gold that was still beating!

Su Lun wasn't surprised to see this thing, having had his suspicions earlier.

To extract "X serum," it had to be a biological limb or some kind of organ.

Although he hadn't expected that this isolated heart was still alive.

He identified it and saw the expected label: heart of an abyssal creature ***.

He asked, "Why is that?"

Sereya said, "The All-knowing Eye can see through all the secrets in the world. You can't see them now because your talent awakening is still too superficial. Some things you cannot see, and some you might see, but you cannot understand. The second reason... is because it is protecting you."

After a pause, she pointed at the heart in the glass jar and asked, "Do you know whose heart this is?"

Su Lun had his suspicions and ventured a guess, "Of the legendary 'Divine-level' beings?"

"Mm."
Enjoy more content from empire

Sereya nodded, confirming his guess, "This is the heart of a demigod. The information of a 'deity' is not just a few words, but contains laws that are indescribable to humans. The laws of gods are filled with the world's primal essence and are ultimately complex, not something that lower-level beings can covet. Your All-knowing Eye saw directly into those laws, but because your level of understanding is too low, it protected you. If it forcibly poured that level of high understanding into your brain, your spirit would collapse instantly."

She revealed a wise smile and added, "What if I say this heart is the heart of a 'Fallen Angel,' and you look again?"

Su Lun looked again, indeed, the identification now showed the words [Heart of a Fallen Angel].

Sereya's words, "defined" that incomprehensible law for him, presenting it in a way he could understand.

But at the same time, Su Lun was shocked.

Angels?

Divine-level beings with wings?

Beings from myth and legend?

No wonder "X serum" injections made people more attractive; it turned out the genes came from angels.

Su Lun thought of something and asked, "Madam, does the source of talent awakening lie in bloodlines?"

"Yes, but not entirely. There's a legend circulating in the market that humans are descendants of various gods, and that bloodline inheritance is passing down a part of ancient gods' law powers, like the elemental talents of earth, wind, water, fire... But this is not an accurate statement."

Sereya slightly arched her eyebrows, correcting this statement, "Bloodline is just one of the carriers. Like your [Reaper of Death] talent, its carrier is the soul. In fact, the essence of talent lies in the 'Primal Entities of the Universe'..."

"..."

Indeed, she knew he had dual talents.

Since they were on the topic, Su Lun simply asked all the questions he had, "Is there a difference between S-grade talents and other talents?"

Sereya responded, "S-grade talents represent several of the universe's supreme laws. Your [Reaper of Death] represents the 'Law of Death,' and the All-knowing Eye represents the 'Law of Wisdom'..."

Her tone became very serious as she spoke, "The essence of Alchemy is to understand and decipher the ultimate truth of this world. We Magicians spend our entire lives in pursuit of this truth, from the structure of matter to understanding the laws at the fundamental level, from simple to complex. You can only truly create equivalent exchange Alchemy as you wish when you master it. Therefore, a Magician must be learned. You already have the qualifications to become a top-level Alchemist and to peer into the ultimate secrets of this world..."

At this point, Sereya suddenly changed the subject and said calmly, "Although I am already dead, I would like to take you as my disciple."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun, enduring the pain, got up.

He bowed deeply and said solemnly, "Teacher."

PS. The updates will not be frequent and might be irregular recently. I've also noticed that I've fallen into some writing pitfalls, and need to think things through. Writing more is meaningless if the quality collapses.