Forbidden Alchemy

It feels strange, doesn't it?

A chapter? What is that?... This one is around 5.7K words long, good enough for a single edited chapter.

As you do remember, I have the practice of editing each chapter twice.

Once as I post it on P@treon, and after knowing the plot for several advanced chapters, I edit it again, improving the story and flow of each conversation as I add more lines and etc.

I normally write 3.5 to 4K words on the fly and then edit the rest, adding in-between 1000 to 1500 words in each edit, that is how I decided to do things and how we normally reach 6K+ words every chapter.

In the past I used to just write 6K words and then do a light edit to fix mistakes, now I do it like this and I prefer this method over the other one, even if its a bit slower in terms of plot progression.

Anyway, here we are.

Slight timeline...

Philip entered the Palace, found the throne room, found the secrete room where the reactor was, fought Latur, defeated it with the help of the Goddess, got his rewards, entered the Vault that was in fact a tomb, and then activated something by mistake.

Great, I summarized 4K words in 40...

This chapter is a rather slow one, I planned to end the arc here but ended up stretching it a bit more, you'll know when you read it.

I'll leave the rest for the notes, for now, enjoy the chapter.

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/Shuaa…/

'As Philip left the tomb of Hervex Ifera the third the last king of the Dwarven Capital of the Great Gourge, he heard the sounds of mechanisms turn and move as steam started to fill the reactor chamber at high speeds.'

"... What's happening?" He asked out loud as he started waving his hands in the air, trying to disperse the steam

I don't feel any danger and things look stable enough…

'Despite his calm look and behavior, Philip was ready to bail at any moment at the first sight of danger.'

'He didn't know what sort of mechanism he had accidentally activated, but even if it was a harmless one, due to the many decades if not centuries of lack of repair, who's to say a significant failure wouldn't happen?'

'Or a minor one that may lead to a more disastrous one, they are inside a Reactor room after all…'

/Shuaaa…/

'But it seemed he was thinking too much.'

"I can't see anything due to all of this damn steam!"

/CLAP!/

/Fwoosh!/

'Philip finally had enough of the steam, clapping his hands and creating a strong air current, revealing the source of all this cold mist.'

"Huh? This is new..."

"A black cylinder?..."

'In the middle of the lab between the reactor and the entrance to the Royal tombs now laid a tall 4M tall black cylinder atop a smooth circular machine that was very similar to the other ones in the lab, indicating that it was likely another one of Latur's creations.'

'It looked like a tall obelisk standing tall in an unassuming place, it didn't fit the simple aesthetic of this place despite everything not being that detailed either.'

'There was, however, a small hole on the side of the machine, it looked like something had burst from within and now a lot of steam was being released into the air from the hidden mechanisms inside.'

'The hole seemed new though, likely forming when he accidentally activated the machine.'

"..."

/Tonk!/

'Philip slowly approached the cylinder, knocking on its outer shell carefully.'

'It had a smooth texture akin to polished ceramic.'

Strange, it's hollow.

But this color and unique feeling… This is it.

The missing stone from the statue. It was here all along.

Those small pieces I found must've been what was left of this.

"Latur must've melted the stone and created this tube… Meaning it must be rather thin…"

Yet it looks extremely sturdy… Not like I'll test how much force it can endure…

As for the mist, it's coming from a small crack in the machine somewhere at its base.

It's cold and heavy but it doesn't look toxic, in fact, I think it's just condensed water.

"But why?... Why would he make use of the stone of a Goddess Statue for this?..."

I can tell by just a glance that the stone is special, it is pretty solid and hard and it may even contain properties that can't be discerned from a simple glance...

But it seems so... Out of the norm to do so.

Though, perhaps instead of mining more of this stone, making use of available resources seems simpler.

However, if this stone was reshaped like this through normal means, that would mean the stone isn't natural, or not even a stone at all.

'Philip thought for a little longer before dropping this topic and moving on.'

'So he turned his gaze to a small table next to the tube.'

"Next... What's that?…"

'In "front" of the tube was a small curved table built around a third of the cylinder's circumference.'

'It was made of a smooth boorish gray metal and very similar in design and texture to everything else in this lab, Latur didn't really seem like a person that cared much about interior design…'

'There was no way anyone would've remained sane if they were to live in such a room, its just a few steps above the white torture room...'

"Hum..."

More shit...

'Atop this metallic and boorish-looking table was another set of strange items very much like everything else he had seen in the lab.'

'Mostly books and scrolls together with a few strange apparatuses he couldn't really pinpoint their purpose...'

'All would go down the inventory like everything else he looted.'

/Flip…/

"Hum…"

'Before that though, he started opening the books.'

'Strangely enough, he saw not notes, but a series of complex diagrams and hand-made images of what seemed to be like organs, muscles, and other tissues.'

'And even more surprising, a series of molecular diagrams that were all rather strange yet unique…'

"How odd… It seems Latur was making some heavy studies into the nature of alloys and metals… It makes sense considering what I got."

To what one may think of the technological level of this world, the idea of molecules isn't exactly unknown, though, for the common man and woman, that isn't really a concern in their lives.

Vaccines do exist in this world.

Regardless, Latur's Unique Skills were manifested in the real world as the Necromantic Sun, Dark Light, and the Essence of 100 Metals.

If I were to assume some things, then Latur was born with a Skill that made him follow the path of Necromancy.

Another one that was likely the reflection of his Dark Magic abilities, and finally his Skill that signified his talent for metalwork.

This is a crude way of interpreting things, I'll have to leave a more in-depth analysis once I'm back, though I doubt there'll be any information about it on MT's database.

Just one more of the pile of shit I'll have to go through once I'm back there.

'Philip went through a few more of the books, but they were all similar, many diagrams of body parts in many layers of complexity.'

/Poof.../

'So as he closed the books, he turned his attention to a small set of vials on the side.'

/Grab… Shake.../

"Wait a minute… This is… Blood?" He asked with a surprised expression as he shook the contents of the vial

It's not just one... There are multiple vials of blood or whatever this reddish liquid is.

They looked a bit old and black, but they are still rather 'fresh'.

'Due to his ability to directly manipulate blood, Philip could tell what this was, though he still left some room for doubt, just in the off chance something beyond his knowledge was happening here.'

'Which wouldn't be surprising.'

Don't tell me… Is this Latur's blood?

Did he somehow preserve it for 1000 years?

"...!"

'It was then things started to fall for him.'

'Philip raised his head and stared at the cylinder, he was almost 100% sure of what it was.'

'He touched it again, cleaning off the dust from its surface.'

"... I can't really see inside, my senses are being blocked…"

"Be it Mental, Spiritual, or even Magical power, everything's being blocked by this."

"That's odd indeed." Laplabe said for the first time in a while

"There may be a hidden mechanism somewhere, though be careful, we can't hope that the next mechanism you activate by mistake won't end with just a few gears turning."

"Can't promise anything." Philip replied as he looked around

...

/Knock knock/

'Philip continued to touch the rock with a frown on his face.'

"Sigh, nothing… I just don't understand."

Although it can block most things, it can't block vibrations.

I can feel that there is some sort of liquid inside, and even more, something seems to be contained within it.

If I can feel vibrations, then it may be possible to create a rough tree-dimensional sketch of what's inside, though it may take a while if I were to try it myself.

"... This strange rock is getting on my nerves very much like all of these censored things on my Status…" He said in an annoyed tone as he opened his inventory, taking out a small rectangular dark object from within

'The moment he did so, a small light flared...'

[Attempting connection with control center…]

"No need."

[Understood, but such action will result in loss of efficiency and speed at analyzing the terrain, it's…]

"Yes, I am very much aware, I heard that a few dozen times already..."

"Now, let's get to work." Philip said as he looked at MT's remote access control tool

'Due to his constant training and Viera's studies, Philip was often unable to use MT for himself… Not that he needed or minded thanks to this little guy.'

'In his hands was something like a mini version of MT, it didn't possess all of its abilities, but it still possessed great computing capabilities, a replica storage, and a series of small sensors and tools, just enough for him to be satisfied.'

'Back on the surface, he didn't need to care about that due to the proximity to the Control Center, or MTs main body, he could use the remote to do pretty much everything he needed, which was to access the Database whenever he needed.'

'And since he went on an adventure, he hadn't planned for such a situation where he would need it to appear… So he left MT's main body with Viera who was making good use of it.'

'Still, he brought this little guy regardless as it worked as an advanced translation tool, and it would now serve its purpose by helping him understand these ancient texts!...'

'If it could of course.'

'These texts could be written in a cipher language, or worse, in a completely lost ancient language whose letters weren't recorded even in the Academy's extensive libraries.'

'In this regard, MT's usefulness only goes as far as the Academy's public knowledge goes, and until he gets access to the principals' books, he'll have to contend with the "low" quality books students can get access to.'

"It's a shot in the dark anyway, worse comes to worse I'll grab all of these books and perhaps try to break this cylinder open…"

I did get a reaction when I brought the black stone to the goddess statue, so if I bring all of the remaining pieces to it, would I receive a special reward?

Though of course, something may happen after I'm done with it… Or when I break this open.

Being a crude berserker won't resolve all problems, unfortunately.

It's not like I lack time anyway, going back up and down wouldn't take long now that I have the coordinates of this place.

Setting up a simple portal should be possible though a bit risky given the interference.

All of this is just an excuse for my laziness though... Some things can't be fixed by my Hardworking Trait...

'Without wasting any more time, Philip grabbed one of the books, the one that looked more like a diary than a study book, and pressed a button on the controller.'

/Click!/

/SHINE!/

'White light was released from the controller, illuminating the book faintly… And after a few seconds…'

[Scanning complete, displaying results]

'Giving it a small nod, Philip was quick to add:'

"Just to be clear, I need a translation of the contents of this book and particularly any sort of mentions about the purpose of this cylinder and how to open it."

If I leave MT to analyze this, it'll instead try to come up with a molecular analysis of this book, and bla bla bla...

That's not what I want.

[Processing…]

[Due to a lack of information regarding the Ancient Dwarven Language, only a partial, rough translation was possible]

[By applying a slight Mana wave onto the surface of the Incubator, its contents will be revealed]

"That simple?... Well, I'm not the most experienced when it comes to handling Mana, but I can do that much." Philip said as he put his hands on the Cylinder

I have been slowly getting myself familiarized with traditional magic, the kind Viera studies over the months.

I left the Palace with the basics of 1st Tier Magic, and I'm proud to say I made absolutely no progress.

I mean, I definitely know a lot more than I did, several times that in fact.

But at that time I was focusing intently on studying as many books as I could and adding them to my mental library, while in the past few months I've been focused on practical knowledge and in the increase and improvement of my Skills.

This is because I'll gain much more from that rather than putting all of my efforts into magic despite my current talents for it.

My study of magic has taken a swift turn after I got Command Magic as instead of going through the hurdle of studying the formulas, I just need to have a firm grasp of what is going on and... Command Magic.

There is a lot to talk about that, but it's better left for another time.

/Fuom…/

'Like magic, the entire tube changed colors from black to transparent, making Philip open his eyes a little in surprise.'

"It's like a Self-shading window, I like it."

To apply magic to change the opacity of an object... I wonder if the theory behind that is in the books...

"Are you really going to pay attention to just that?..." Laplabe asked in a helpless tone when he heard Philip's statement

"..."

What a boring guy.

'But who could blame Laplabe for going straight to the point?'

'As inside the tube laid a floating humanoid body…'

"Hum..."

'Philip stared for several minutes at the body floating in the strange bluish solution, thinking...'

"If everything connects in the way I think it is, things got quite wild…" He said as he scratched his head awkwardly

To think Latur was a girl… Though uh... It's not like I could determine that from his… Her robes.

This is, if I'm assuming things correctly, this could very well be his daughter given the bodily features of this… Being.

Though people develop in different ways, I would say she looks to be around 18 years old, but who knows, this may be how Latur looked when she was 30…

Arg… I'm going back and forth… I'm just going to assume Latur was a female for now.

"A floating body within a tube... How nostalgic, though this doesn't look like a Homunculus." Laplabe said as he stared at the floating body

"Can you elaborate?"

"I saw many throughout my life, a Humonculos, or in other words, artificial life, not the kind of life where you grab an egg, crack it open, yet still somehow manage to hatch the creature... But the kind where you fuse things together or extract them for another purpose.'

'Also because I recognized some of the runes and sigils on the books, they're old and rather outdated, but I can see similarities between them and the ones used by the principal when he still used to mess with Artificial life experiments."

"You may not know, but many schools of magic have similar roots that date to ancient times, and some of the more well-rounded and stable philosophies that support them have been carried over the eras."

"So even if they were rather different, they still look the same, just like how some of the letters in the Ancient Dwarven language were preserved in the modern one."

"These runes in particular are used in the creation of Artificial life, but they wouldn't be employed fully, my bet is that this isn't meant to create life, but to maintain it, prolong it… Develop..."

"Renew it even."

"This could be a family member of that necromancer or even a recreation of its old body…"

"It may have been planning to regain its mortality by returning to its previous shell, there are cases where Liches did this."

"Not all Liches choose the path due to seeking power, some did as a means to prolong their lives until they had a new vessel ready or until their duty was completed."

"The Principal did once consider Lichdom as a means to achieve a longer lifespan, but he quickly cast it aside in the view of his own morals and what he wanted to do and thought of his own life."

"Though don't get me wrong, I haven't read or heard of anyone that ever succeed in such an endeavor…"

"In the first place, the study of Artificial life is illegal in the Human Kingdom due to some pretty serious problems in the past…"

"Such as?"

"You... You're awfully curious when you want to…"

'Philip shrugged, gesturing for him to continue, they didn't have all day.'

"Well... It started when a psycho Wizard managed to get his hands on the royal bloodline, using it to extract some of its unique factors for no reason other than why not?"

"Just that... This is an offense of untold levels… He essentially managed to steal their powers that make the Royal bloodline… Royal."

"There is the matter of the history of it, but if the Royal bloodline loses most of its uniqueness factor, then things would get bad really quickly as many Nobles possessing some fraction of their blood due to political marriage would start to stir."

"With the unique power of the Royals, they could technically fight for the throne claiming they had a bloodline awakening, something that is extremely rare, I'll not be going into the details of that."

"And even if they can't get the throne, it may be possible to marry one of their descendants to the main lines, immediately raising their pedigree…"

"Not to say the immense national security breach this may lead to given that the Royal bloodline possesses the blood of the Heroes of the past."

"Simply put, in the end, the Wizard was brutally gutted and his research was collected within 6 hours of when he bragged about it."

"His head was put on display and preserved to this day so everyone may understand what happens if you mess with the Royals, though I don't remember where they kept it..."

"Despite having a genius brain for causing trouble, he wasn't that intelligent when it came to minding his own business."

"He shared what he did with the wrong people, and that was the end of his story and the start of one of the most brutal censorship campaigns in the Kingdom's history, making mages all across its territory be remembered as to why the Royal bloodline is the one that rules."

"Anyway… that was that for my explanation, I hope you're happy."

"... So you just told me that the Principal used to study in an extremely illegal study of magic?"

"... I didn't… You must be mistaken."

"Where were we again?"

"..."

'Rolling his eyes, Philip crossed his arms, thinking about what he should do next.'

'He pressed a few buttons on the controller, creating a floating wall of text in front of him, reading it as to get a better understanding of what he was dealing with.'

'It was the roughly translated version of the records.'

"Hum… So it is confirmed, Latur wasn't a girl." Philip said with a reassured nod

"But this doesn't seem to be his daughter either, who might it be then?" Laplabe asked in a questioning tone as he read the text with Philip

"Can you translate anything else?" Philip asked MT

[Impossble, most of the text is written in a very particular form of the Ancient Language]

[A rough translation and study of the text indicates this lady to be some sort of partial clone]

"Partial clone?"

[Using his own blood sample as a base, an extensive and complicated ritual was conducted, resulting in this unnamed entity's body, created through the mixing of multiple bloodlines]

[Some of these include the bloodline of King Hervex Ifera and also the blood of an unnamed woman]

[A preliminary analysis of the texts indicates the project has been long completed but the finishing steps weren't properly executed with the later pages turning from an organized Scientific research diary to a simple plain diary that slowly becomes incomprehensible as you go through it, likely indicating the mental deterioration of its writer]

[There is no way to open the incubator as it was created to act as a seal until the process is over, which is mentioned multiple times throughout the diary and it eventually becomes a target of Latur's anger given the long gash on the Tube's side]

[The gash is inconsequential to the overall stability of the machine]

"I see, I haven't noticed the gash."

"So with that, then she would technically be his daughter or some sort of Female clone…"

I'm getting Deja-Vu from this…

"It doesn't really matter what she is, was, or was meant to be, what matters is what we should do now." He said as he put his hands on the table

"Regardless of it all, Latur's plans ended halfway, so this is nothing but a floating body in conserve like those disgusting things we threw in the corner."

"It'll eventually die and wither if left alone."

"So we should bring it with us, right?" Laplabe pointed out

"But I have no purpose for it… I'm not that sick in the head."

"So we could just leave it here until all texts are translated, with that in hand, a more comprehensive analysis of this problem may be achieved." Laplabe pointed out after hearing Philip speak for a while

"That's a pretty rational answer…" Philip said with a smile as he closed his eyes

/Shine.../

'When he opened his eyes, his gaze was focused above the tube where a small light shone...'

"But I have a better idea."

/SLAM!/

'Philip raised his fist, slamming it against the gash on the rock!'

""...""

'But nothing happened…'

"..."

"Really Philip? After everything we said..."

"..."

"Are you not going to say anything after this extremely disappointing display?"

"..."

"Don't try to hide it, I heard your fingers cracking, you're trying to hide the pain, aren't you? Don't try to act cool."

"... Who said I got it wrong?" Philip said as his eyelids twitched

/Crack…/

'The black cylinder started to crack…'

"Here it comes." He said with a smile as he looked up

'Despite his barbaric action, Philip had a reason to do this.'

'Laplabe may not have noticed it, but on the girl's forehead he saw something rather odd…'

'It was a runic symbol, one he wasn't quite sure what it meant, but there was one thing about it that made his head ache…'

'It was the fact the symbol resonated with his mental power in the same way the Origin Orbs did.'

'Because of this, Philip was prompted to get his hands on the girl behind the glass at any cost.'

'Fate was an odd thing, but despite his disbelief in such complex ideologies, Philip couldn't help but think he was meant to be here given everything he did so far.'

/Crack!/

'With his punch acting as a fuse, the entirety of the incubator started to shatter as if there was an invisible force cracking it open.'

'Though the truth wasn't anything mystical, it was just that the pressure inside the tube was…'

/BANG!/

'Like a bullet being fired, the entire thing burst open, dark shards flew everywhere as both Philip and Laplabe were washed clean in the strange liquid inside the machine.'

"It hasn't even been an hour, but from blood and gore to a stick and smelly substance... Great." Laplabe complained as he retreated further inside Philip's pockets

/Shuaaa…/

'As the liquid spew into the ground, Philip used his mental power to make sure no harm came to the girl's body, slowly pulling her closer as he avoided the black shards, taking this opportunity to take a closer look at her.'

"She doesn't look Human... But neither Elvish... Or Dwarven in origin."

'She was rather tall, around 170cm in height, but her hair was even longer, going beyond her feet.'

'Her skin was white and smooth, but it had several strange tattoos all around its body like the roots of a tree.'

'They looked fused with the girl and more than just simple tattoos much to Philip's wonder.'

'In key points around her body like directly above her heart, the back of her hands, these root-like tattoos gathered into small clumps.'

'Her hair looked dense, each strand of her hair was a bit thicker than normal and also colorless, given Philip the impression they were artificial despite feeling like normal wet hair.'

'However, when gathered together, her hair created a slight prismatic hue, giving the impression her hair had a weak red coloration.'

'But in truth, depending on the angle, saying her hair was pink or violet would also fit.'

'Philip rudely opened her right eye socket, and he noticed a stranger triangular pupil, making him cringe a little as he found it very odd.'

"..."

'But what attracted his attention was the small and feeble strand of light in the air.'

'It went from her chest all the way outside the room.'

'This had been one of the reasons he forced the tube open.'

'Philip knew what this was, however.'

The last reward for defeating Latur… A weird strange light flew all the way outside, it dissipated soon after but I didn't expect it to reappear.

It felt rather nostalgic... Like a Quest marker or something...

Is she related to the Goddess as well? More so than just the strange stone used to make her incubator?

'He frowned, but eventually gave up trying to come up with a solution, carefully laying the soulless body on the table, yes, he had already stored everything in it.'

"Let's clean this up and move on."

I need the stone fragments and this solution may also have some value, even if just for research.

"Are we going to collect the treasures on the tombs?"

"Not… Now…" Philip replied with an annoyed expression

"Then what about those ugly things?"

"Let's... Leave them there for now, we can collect them when we're back for the treasures."

'Philip may not say it, but he was really unwilling to move those things into his inventory.''

'Speaking of that, he did try to move the girl's body to his inventory, but failed to do so for some reason.'

'Laplabe was unsure of the reason also.'

'And after a little more bickering, the two started working.'

…

/Outside…/

/FWOOOOOOOOOOSH!/

'Eventually, the strange Human and the weird Mimic left the Palace together with an extra member for the party, an even weirder Body.'

/CRACK!/

/BAM!/

"..."

"What's happening now?"

'Of course, things wouldn't be that simple.'

'Outside, the "sky" rumbled and the wind cried as a typhoon of energies ragged, sucking in the stray corruption into it, together with a few other things as well…'

"Is this my promised 'reward'?" Philip asked in an ironic tone as he saw multiple houses be uprooted from the ground violently

At this rate, this entire place is going to be turned into a flatland...

'His expression turned to his shadow magic black hole in the sky, even that seemed to have been affected as it was being distorted from a ball into the shape of an egg.'

It should be dispelling itself soon, and that's going to be a problem.

There's already a typhoon breaking everything, if the ball releases everything it gathered, there's going to be quite the firework show…

Although…

'Philip scratched his chin, having an idea.'

'He didn't really trust the Goddess as he was unaware of her intentions and ideas, but considering the system never really lied, he decided to believe that the latter would come through with its promise.'

'So he released the spell.'

/FUOM!/

'The dark ball seemed to collapse into itself for a moment before it expanded quickly, but before any of its contents could be released in a magnificent explosion, everything was sucked up into the stationary typhoon, increasing its power and speed!'

/FWOOOOOSH!/

"I don't think that was a good idea…" Laplabe mumbled as he felt the ground tremble

"..."

'Philip on the other hand remained silent, waiting to see what would happen.'

'Saying that he wasn't worried would be a lie, but saying that he was scared or fearful would be an overstatement.'

'Nevertheless, if the Typhoon was a time bomb waiting to burst, Philip is the kind of person that would certainly choose to not be near it when it did go off.'

'Though he would've preferred to fix the problem first, the problem is that he was unaware of how.'

/Tremble…/

'Yet, against their expectations, the typhoon slowly lost force, dispersing in the wind as if it was never there, to begin with…'

"How anticlimactic." Laplabe mumbled

"Just what do you want?"

"You understand what I meant..."

"Wait… The air feels quite fresh now." Philip mumbled with a surprised expression as he took a deep breath

It still smells like one of my devious farts, but a normal person should be able to walk around.

Did the typhoon clear up everything? Then…

Where did everything it sucked up go?

'To his well-pointed question, the both of them soon saw where it went…'

/Shine.../

'In the sky, two marbles, one black, one green, slowly descended into a small crater where the foot of the Typhoon once laid.'

'Rushing to know what it was, Philip soon arrived a few feet away from their position, leaving behind the girl's body on a smooth rock.'

'Staring down at them from a vantage point, he found the balls rather… Cool.'

'The Green ball looked shiny and fluorescent, it even gave him a feeling of freshness only mint toothpaste could give.'

'While the Dark ball looked like a bowling ball, it was rather unassuming but it shone in purplish light like UV light, it also gave him a gloomy feeling, the kind of feeling he would have from seeing a dear pet dead.'

'Rest in peace his first hamster Chonky…'

"This must be it then, my reward." Philip said with a smile as he saw a small threat form in the air

'So he took a step forward to see what they were.'

[DING!]

[You have acquired, Condensation of Gargantuan Vitality x1]

[You have acquired, Condensation of a Million Cursed Souls x1]

"Rather ominous…"

"Do you see anything?"

"Yes, not exactly what I expected, but still within the realm of my understanding." Philip replied as he carefully touched the green ball after dispersing the system notification from his sight

It feels warm to the touch, actually, I feel great!

'The moment Philip touched the ball, all of his previous injuries were immediately healed as he saw himself going back to peak condition and beyond!'

"I feel…"

Like when I was younger, running around the beach under the clear sunny sky without any responsibilities…

It's a very refreshing feeling, it feels me with endless energy even though my constitution is immeasurably different from before as if it didn't care about that.

Like that feeling of nostalgia everyone always seeks… When I grabbed my PS3 controller for the first time and when I...

"Sigh..."

It's rather addictive.

'Feeling the wondrous powers of the green marble, he turned his face to the other one.'

"If this makes me feel like that… Then I don't want to touch this other ball."

"What now?"

"We should only have a single stop left in this journey… The Church." Philip said as he got up from the ground

Though I can't touch it, I won't leave it behind either.

'Using his mental power, he easily lifted the ball after some careful probing.'

No problems from extensive contact with, though just in case, I'll cut off this strand once I'm done carrying it around.

'He turned around, carrying the balls to where he had left the nameless girl's body.'

/Thud.../

'Philip slowly landed next to her, and at that moment, he seemingly had a moment of realization...'

Just when did I start to fly around?

'Smiling slightly at his own changes, he focused on the girl.'

"By your gaze, I imagine you have something in mind."

"And you would be correct." Philip replied as he kneeled next to her

/Crunk…/

'From within her chest, multiple roots made of light formed, becoming something akin to a bird next.'

"Is it reacting?... Ha!"

"That makes things 10 times more obvious, but I'm not that stupid okay… I understood it already."

By the looks of things, the Goddess planned to have me finish Latur's little project from the beginning.

But this is strange, given he was the one that defamed her statue to make the incubator, how come she now wants me to finish what he couldn't accomplish?

Is she perhaps trying to make up for everything she lost due to his interference? Though, how does all of this connect to me in the end?

Am I supposed to choose which one of the two to use and keep the other?

"Hum… I have the impression I would benefit greatly if I were to try and figure out a way to consume both of these things."

Yes... I could just blatantly ignore the Goddess' request and absorb both... Though the second orb will have to be left for later after I find a way to remove the "Cursed" word from its description.

"That's likely the case, the Orb in your hands contains Great Pure Vitality, if you can find a way to integrate it into your body, your bodily strength would reach immeasurable heights."

"Of course, such a process is foreign to me, you could try just being barbaric but such an approach would leave much to be desired in terms of efficiency."

"That I am aware, but I have no intentions of doing so."

"So you're going to use it on the girl? I don't think it'll do anything though..."

"Life cannot be created just like that, at most, she may attain intelligence, even sapience, but she'll remain Soulless."

"Soul manipulation has always been a rather convoluted topic, no matter where you're from." Philip said with a slight smile as he raised his right hand

/Plop…/

'Philip carefully dropped the ball atop the translucent roots.'

'And in one time at all, the rots covered the entire ball, dragging it into the girl's chest.'

/Badum…/

'And her heart started to beat.'

…

.

.

.

Notes

Honestly, I wanted to end this Arc in this chapter, but I ended up writing more than I intended.

We'll have it done by the next chapter, that I can guarantee you, despite my recent record of promising things and not delivering on them.

Now, for the question everyone is definitely throwing at me... No, she is not a romantic character.

The reason I made her a girl and not a boy would go into some plot reasons despite my unwillingness in adding another girl into his immediate group...

Despite the fact he only has one girl following him around...

Anyway, I am satisfied with this chapter, it was a bit slow, but we're getting there.

Next chapter should be out soon, but likely not today.

After this chapter I'll be editing my two chapters of Azimuth, you should go check it by the way.

Then I'll post Danmachi's chapter.

Then I'll update ScribbleHub and finally!

I'll update P@treon.

After all of this is done I'll be allowed to start editing the next chapter.

With all of that done, I'll be able to start planning the next few chapters.

Once again, I would like to say sorry for the delay and the fact this is a single edited chapter, as we may have lost some of the charms this Novel has.

It's usually in the double edit that I can pull this Novel up in quality by adding many details as I have a better idea of what I'll write next.

On that note, I'll still do that advanced reader thing, it was just due to recent troubles (exams) that I had to postpone it due to some problems, hopefully, I'll do it soon.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Opinions? Suggestions? You know the drill.

Drop that power stone if you haven't already, and if you have more than one, why not go to my other ones?

Anyway, peace to you all.