Chapter 26: Physical Modification Experiment
The Month of Books (August), in the legends of the Starlight Continent, was the month of knowledge and wisdom.
As time entered the Month of Books, Sunan became busy, immersing himself in learning and self-improvement.
First on his agenda was learning new spells.
He currently only had two first-ring spells: Charm Human and Shield Technique.
The effect of the former was obvious from its name.
The latter could create an invisible, tower shield-sized barrier that floated and rotated around the caster, providing 360-degree protection against attacks.
Since Shield Technique was essentially a force field effect, it could even block incorporeal attacks like mental assaults and soul damage.
Prioritizing his safety, Sunan naturally chose to learn Shield Technique first.
[Reading "Shield Technique Spell Model", Shield Technique learning progress +0.02%]
First-ring spells were far more complex than zero-ring spells.
Sunan estimated that even with the aid of the Activity Potion, it would take him about forty days to master Shield Technique.
Mastering Charm Human would likely take a similar amount of time.
The second item on his agenda was creating rune gems.
For his first attempt, Sunan chose the relatively stable earth energy particles.
He also selected black opal, a gem compatible with force field protection properties.
"It's a pity that star-colored sapphire is too expensive, costing over a thousand gold coins per gem. Otherwise, using it would yield better results," Sunan thought with regret.
Using star-colored sapphire as a medium would at least double the power of the final product.
However, that would be an extravagant use of funds, and he couldn't afford it at the moment, so he had to settle for black opal.
Black opal was a green opal with black spots and golden particles, possessing a unique beauty.
As Sunan infused the condensed earth-yellow energy rune into the gem, it emitted a hazy glow.
The glow lasted only four or five seconds before quickly dissipating.
The black opal seemed unchanged, but upon closer inspection, one could see that it was now etched with mystical patterns.
[Successfully created a rune gem, Magic Item Creation learning progress +0.5%]
"Huh?"
Sunan was surprised.
Why did this trigger the Magic Item Creation skill?
But after a moment of thought, he understood.
Energy Runes were a branch of enchantment, and the item created by combining Energy Runes with a gem could technically be considered a magic item. Triggering the Magic Item Creation skill wasn't surprising.
"I initially thought I needed to find relevant books to trigger this skill, but I unexpectedly triggered it in advance."
Sunan looked at the rune gem in his hand.
The tiny gem contained a concentrated amount of earth energy particles.
Activating the energy within would instantly create an earthen protective layer around him.
Compared to spells that required casting time, rune gems, which could be activated instantly, were undoubtedly more practical in combat.
Their only drawback was the cost.
Since he already had the defensive spell Shield Technique, Sunan only created two Earth Rune gems before moving on to create offensive ones.
After all, the offensive spells he had mastered were all zero-ring, lagging behind his current level. Rune gems could compensate for this deficiency in his attack methods.
Lightning, flame, frost, shadow.
Except for the Flame Rune, which used red zircon, the gem most compatible with fire, the other three offensive energy runes used ruby, suitable for shaping spells.
Sunan created three of each type of rune gem for backup.
In addition, he also created two plant-based rune gems for healing injuries.
Including the ones that were damaged due to errors, Sunan ultimately consumed eighteen gems, worth over three hundred gold coins.
"Rune gems are quite the money sink," he sighed inwardly.
It was fortunate that he had the support of Blackrock City. Otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to afford collecting wizard books, let alone creating rune gems.
Creating the rune gems took a lot of time. When he finally finished, it was already late at night.
Sunan cleaned himself using energy particles and returned to the meditation room, intending to meditate instead of sleeping and recover the spiritual power he had expended.
Even after his advancement, Sunan still maintained his daily limit of four hours of meditation.
However, as his spiritual power increased, its growth rate slowed.
Now, he could only increase his spiritual power by 0.01 to 0.02 points per day on average.
And this was with the aid of the Activity Potion.
"To advance to a level 3 wizard apprentice, I need to construct nine star rings and have my spiritual power reach over 30 points."
"At this rate, it will take at least ten years, or even longer, to advance."
Ten years to advance from level 2 to level 3 was considered incredibly fast in the current Starlight Continent.
But Sunan wasn't satisfied.
He was already considering whether to synthesize higher-level potions to aid his meditation.
However, that would mean spending even more gold coins each month.
Even with a mine at his disposal, he couldn't afford such extravagant expenses.
"Unless I retake Flashing Territory and increase the territory's income," Sunan mused, his eyes narrowing.
After a moment, he shook his head, putting those thoughts aside and focusing on his meditation.
The next day.
Sunan went to the room where the monitor lizard was held captive.
Confined in a cramped cage, subjected to daily blood draws and energy drainage, the monitor lizard had suffered greatly over the past month.
Seeing Sunan enter, it merely lifted its eyelids before lying motionless on the ground, looking utterly dejected.
Sunan opened the metal cage, used Mage Hand to lift the monitor lizard, and then brought it to the spacious laboratory, placing it on the experimental table.
To accommodate the lizard's massive size, he had specially ordered a table over ten meters long.
Although he had decided to transform the monitor lizard into a magical pet, Sunan didn't act immediately.
Any creature, after being transformed into a magical pet, would awaken at least one spell-like ability.
The type of ability awakened mainly depended on the creature's own abilities.
For example, felines usually awakened illusion or shadow stealth abilities.
Snakes typically awakened poison-related abilities.
As for this mutant with Dragon Lizard bloodline, Sunan guessed that it would most likely awaken a physical enhancement ability.
For a wizard apprentice, this type of ability was undoubtedly the least desirable.
Wizard apprentices had plenty of ways to enhance their physique; there was no need to waste a precious awakening opportunity on it.
Therefore, before officially forming the contract, Sunan planned to perform a physical modification on the monitor lizard, granting it an additional ability. This might allow it to awaken something other than a physical enhancement ability during the transformation.
As for the direction of the modification, the book Extraction and Modification of the Green Chameleon's Abilities would come in handy.
"Although you're not a chameleon, you're both lizards, so your compatibility with the camouflage ability shouldn't be low."
Sunan beckoned with his hand, and a cage on the table behind him floated over, landing in his palm.
Inside the cage was a Green Chameleon.
Although this creature wasn't quite a magical creature, it was still relatively rare.
He had to ask Mu Zhuo of the Fire Fox Trading Company to find enough for his experiments.
Swish!
Sunan beckoned again, and a sharp scalpel landed in his hand.
The monitor lizard finally sensed danger and began to struggle frantically, but its weakened body couldn't break free from Mage Hand's grasp.
It whimpered, its vertical pupils filled with pleading.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine. After the experiment, you'll become even stronger."
Sunan cast a Sleep Curse. The monitor lizard's eyelids fluttered, and it quickly fell asleep, its struggles ceasing.
The sound of a blad
e cutting through flesh echoed through the laboratory.
Ps:Kyi will be Kei from now on