Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 180 True Soul Refining

After being forcibly held down by Egno and dragged into the guesthouse, Chris still leaned against the window reluctantly, pressing his face tightly against the window glass, looking at the prosthetic soldier who was cursing softly and gradually walking away.

"Mr. Medeiros, that soldier...his name is Max, right? I beg you to tell me where he lives and who provided him with that alchemical prosthetic limb."

Egno pulled him to a chair in the lobby on the first floor and patiently soothed him, "Mr. Chris, please don't worry. Now that we've signed the contract with the Lord, we'll be colleagues from now on. I'll answer all your questions in detail."

He pointed around and continued, "This guesthouse has two floors with eight rooms in total. There are just enough double rooms for you to share. There are washrooms and bathrooms upstairs and downstairs..."

"If you need to go out, remember to bring your temporary ID card. But it's best not to leave the municipal area. We... the residents here don't like outsiders. The soldier you just saw is actually an officer from the Territorial Police Department. Patrolmen like him roam the various areas day and night. If they encounter someone without proof of identification, they will be directly arrested and taken back to the police department's detention center for the night."

He explained it in detail, but noticed Chris was still mumbling in a trance. He couldn't help but sigh, "Mr. Chris, if you're truly interested in alchemical prosthetics, there's no need to rush. There are many police officers and soldiers in the territory who have experienced war and are injured and disabled. They have all undergone these types of prosthetic transplants."

Chris immediately came to his senses, stood up, and shook Egno's hands tightly, saying sincerely, "Please let me see the Lord as soon as possible! Mr. Medeiros."

At this moment, Dave came hurriedly with a personal guard and stuffed a note into Egno's hand. He glanced at it quickly and immediately smiled.

"What a coincidence, Mr. Chris! The lord has already received the news of your arrival, but..." As he said that, he handed the note to Chris.

Chris quickly took it and unfolded it, squinting his eyes to read it carefully.

"Welcome to my territory, Mr. Alchemist from Alaye."

"I heard you're very interested in the improved alchemical prosthetic limb transplant surgery. Actually, I believe the talented alchemists in the Alchemical Exploration Society must have gone through a more complex and lengthy experimental process in this research. I've only made some minor improvements and upgrades, and added a little bit of sudden inspiration... I'll be waiting to meet you at the Lord's Castle in three days to get the specific answer."

Chris clutched the note, then slumped into his chair, feeling completely drained of energy. He subconsciously glanced at the clock on the wall of the hall, muttering with a wry smile, "These will surely be the longest three days I've ever experienced in my life."

……

For the next three days, Chris did not step out of the guesthouse. He also strictly restrained the more than ten apprentices he brought with him, and they all stayed quietly in the comfortable rooms of this two-story building, without going out without permission to cause unnecessary trouble.

After calming down and thinking carefully, he also clearly understood the real meaning of Mr. Medeiros, who was responsible for receiving him, when he said that "local residents don't like outsiders."

This pioneering territory located in the northern wilderness has too many previously unknown secrets. This is why his two mentors emphasized the need to sign a confidentiality contract when arranging for him to come.

But none of this matters. After witnessing the successful alchemical transformation of a living being with his own eyes, nothing else will interest him anymore.

When Chris was finally led by several personal guards into the lord's castle of the pioneer territory and met the owner of the note, he was still a little surprised.

After patiently completing the formalities for a spellcaster meeting a noble, he couldn't wait to ask before he even settled into his chair, "My Lord, please allow me to make a rather impolite request. I would like to speak to your alchemist in person!"

"Alchemist?" Harvey laughed. "Where do alchemists come from? Until now, you're the only new alchemist in my territory." He raised his hand and asked the waiter to bring two cups of warm fruit tea. He explained gently, "It's precisely because we lack alchemists like you that I reached an agreement with the two gentlemen from the Exploration Society to introduce you here."

Chris froze in shock, holding his teacup. He quickly pulled out the wrinkled piece of paper he'd read over and over again, and stammered, "Are you saying... are you saying that the alchemical prosthetic implants mentioned on this note were all done by you?"

He then raised his head and carefully observed the thin and frail pioneer lord, who was about the same age as him. He found that he had a pale, thin, bookish face with two huge dark circles under his eyes, and his pupils were dotted with faint red bloodshot. He looked weak and tired.

"You...you're a spellcaster?" Chris asked in disbelief. "Are you a research spellcaster?"

Harvey nodded with a smile. "Yes, I am an orthodox academic spellcaster, but I am quite interested in alchemy and do have some insignificant achievements in this area..."

Chris immediately stood up and gave Harvey the ancient wizard's salute that distinguished between higher and lower-ranking spellcasters. He whispered, "If you mean by successfully completing the living alchemical transplant experiment as a trivial achievement, then a novice alchemist like me is nothing more than a pig."

The lord who hired him was also a spellcaster well versed in alchemy, which made Chris feel embarrassed. He didn't know whether he should speak up and discuss with the other party to seek the experimental details and the secret of success of the living alchemical transplantation.

Although the alchemist community is not as strongly attached to family and factional concepts as traditional spellcasters, most people are still reluctant to share such advanced high-level alchemical secrets and related knowledge with their peers.

Harvey immediately noticed his hesitation and took the initiative to speak, "You want to know how I achieved the perfect living alchemical transplantation experiment, right?"

"Since you have signed a confidentiality agreement with me and agreed to work for me for five years without compensation, I am willing to share this knowledge with you..."

He smiled and waved his hand, stopping Chris from standing up and saluting again with an ecstatic look on his face.

"Before I discuss the alchemical experiments with you in detail, I'd like you to meet my two assistants. Perhaps after seeing them in person, you'll change your mind and no longer be interested in mere prosthetic implant technology..."

As Harvey spoke, he raised his hand and pressed the alchemical call device next to the chair. After the crisp sound of the simulated copper bell rang, two heavy footsteps were heard at the door of the castle hall and the corner of the stairs leading to the second floor.

Chris looked around and suddenly saw two alchemical prosthetic bodies with a shining metallic luster and a strong mechanical beauty walking towards him quickly.

The alchemical body, its eye sockets gleaming with a deep red crystal sheen, stopped in front of Chris and abruptly spoke with a slight metallic rustle, "Welcome, young alchemist from the Southern Territory. I am Asdalen, the chief advisor to Lord Harvey..."

Another cyborg standing beside him also spoke up, "Hello, Mr. Alchemist, I am the chief administrator of Lord Harvey's territory. You can just call me Reiner."

Chris slid down from the high-back chair to the ground, kneeling on his knees with a look of extreme horror on his face. "Miracle! This... this... this is, this is a soul... a soul creation!"

Harvey hadn't expected to scare the other person so much. He quickly stood up to support him, explaining, "Yes, I just wanted to tell you that in addition to prosthetic transplants, I've actually successfully completed an important experiment to transfer the souls of intelligent creatures into alchemical creations..."

As he spoke, he pulled at the young alchemist who had slid to his knees and collapsed on the ground. He pulled hard but found that he didn't move at all. Looking down, he found that the other person's eyes had rolled back and he had fainted on the spot.

(End of this chapter)