Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 235: Goodwill and Promise

This… is this an alchemical prosthetic limb? Transplanted onto the living being before me… an alchemical prosthetic limb!
Jin rushed to Yurio's side with a somewhat inappropriate step, and pulled up his sleeves that were only rolled up to his wrists, revealing his entire brass-colored mechanical arm.

Yurio pursed his lips and remained silent, allowing the young man to pull his sleeve all the way to the grafted joint at his elbow.

"It's actually a prosthetic limb transplant! The secret lies in the mystery! Melissa, look! The repaired limb hasn't shown any signs of erosion or necrosis at all! How did they do that? Which master alchemist performed this surgery for you?"

Melissa sighed softly at her best friend's incoherent speech and gave Yurio an apologetic look. "Mr. Yurio, I wonder if you could share the details of the prosthetic transplant surgery. It's very important to us."

Yurio nodded and, following Harvey's instructions, spoke slowly and solemnly, "My arm was accidentally disabled over a year ago. It's been about half a year since the surgery. Aside from some initial discomfort, my daily activities are no different from those of an average person with healthy limbs. It's just that the mechanical arm is more powerful..."

He paused, then continued, "If you're wondering how this was accomplished, I apologize, as I don't know myself. The transplant operation required the cooperation of Mr. Kel'Thuzad and several other spellcasters, including an acquaintance proficient in healing techniques."

Jin held Yurio's mechanical arm and turned to Melissa. "This gentleman isn't a spellcaster, just an ordinary experimental recipient. He has no way of knowing the specific details of the transplant experiment, but I can guarantee that Mr. Kel'Thuzad must have obtained this extraordinary technology from the forum!"

He composed himself, barely controlling his excitement, and politely said to Yurio, "Please forgive my rudeness just now, Mr. Yurio. Could you please demonstrate to us how you control your prosthetic limbs..."

Yurio nodded, raised his mechanical arm, flexed and extended it back and forth to demonstrate, then flexibly performed repeated movements of clenching and opening his fist. Finally, he grasped the heavy three-seater sofa in the hotel living room with one hand and lifted and lowered it easily.

"What kind of side effects will there be after the operation? Will the body experience any discomfort or rejection reactions?" Melissa asked cautiously.

Yurio shook his head and answered honestly, following Harvey's instructions. "There weren't any side effects... well, except for the fact that I couldn't control my strength properly at first, and I accidentally broke a colleague's shoulder blade... But with more practice, I'll get used to it soon..."

"Melissa, the teacher's injury is cured!" Jin sighed excitedly, "I really want to fly back immediately, bring the teacher here, and let Mr. Kel'Thuzad perform a prosthetic transplant on him immediately..."

Melissa reached out and patted his shoulder, using her eyes to signal him to control his emotions. Then she turned to Yurio and said, "So, what price will we have to pay for Mr. Kel'Thuzad to complete this transplant operation?"

"A price? The master didn't ask for anything in that regard. He just wanted me to tell you two that this is a small token of goodwill and reward for your help in the coming period... You don't need to pay anything."

Melissa and Jin glanced at each other quickly, and an idea flashed through their minds almost at the same time.

Unprovoked kindness and help are the most difficult debts to repay...

I watched Yurio pick up the box containing the metal prosthesis again and slowly leave the Winter Frost Flower Hotel.

Jin smiled bitterly at Melissa and said, "Now, we're going to have to stay in this border town for a long, long time..."

"Isn't his purpose to keep us here for a while longer?" Melissa sighed softly. "In any case, let's inform Benoit of the news first. Once the teacher's injuries and health have recovered a little, we can consider bringing him here..."

"So what should we do for the next few days? We can't just stay in the hotel every day and stare at the magic brain device, right? Now when I see the literature in the magic encyclopedia, my head feels dizzy! I never thought that learning and absorbing knowledge could be such a painful thing..."

Melissa rolled her eyes and grumbled, "That's because you've had too little exposure to profound knowledge before. A traveler who's been walking in the desert for a long time will naturally be thirsty for a glass of water, but if you throw him into an ocean of knowledge, he'll probably choke and drown after a few struggles."

"These days, many nobles and wealthy businessmen come to Jackdaw Town for hunting and recreation. We should play this role well and try not to arouse the suspicion of the Federation and the Church in town."

……

Chris took off the metal mask on his head and wiped the sweat-stained crystal lens with his sleeve. He turned to the alchemy apprentices busy in the laboratory and shouted, "Alright! Today's work is over. Everyone can rest now!"

The assistant handed him a cold face towel and whispered, "Instructor, someone from the machine repair center came this afternoon to remind you that the maintenance period for your prosthetic limb is due. When will you be there..."

Chris wiped his face with a towel and frowned unhappily, saying, "Mechanical repair center? I'm an alchemist myself, why do I need them to maintain my prosthesis? Isn't this an insult to me?" He flipped through the work log handed to him by his assistant and found that it had indeed been a month since Mr. Reiner personally maintained and adjusted his prosthesis for him.

"No wonder my legs have felt so much heavier these past couple of days. I thought it was because I've been working too hard lately..."

Chris manipulated his two silver mechanical prosthetic legs to walk to the sofa and sat down. He raised his hand to signal the experimental assistant to bring the tool box to him, and then he removed the two heavy metal lower limbs with ease.

The alchemy apprentices gathered around and began to watch Chris dismantle his artificial leg while listening to some key points he casually mentioned. These were all invaluable knowledge.

"Did you see that? The connection between the severed limb and the machine—this is the key to completing the prosthetic transplant. It requires soul suturing technology! The recipient's main soul and the secondary soul transformed from the alchemical creation are fused together in a special way. This is true soul refining! Absolutely cutting-edge alchemical technology!"

Chris took a metal syringe and extracted a small amount of liquid magic energy into the reservoir at the knee of the prosthetic leg. He closed the hatch and tightened the screws. "The alchemical prosthesis not only needs constant adjustment and maintenance of the physical mechanical parts, but the soul core contained within it also needs to be nourished and protected with rich liquid magic energy. Otherwise, it will gradually dry up over time, and the prosthesis will become a dead object, no longer able to be controlled."

The alchemy apprentices were stunned by what they heard. Although they couldn't understand it at all, no one dared to interrupt Chris's impromptu lesson.

Chris was very satisfied with the performance of his apprentices. Although Harvey considered him a novice in the technical learning of life alchemy and soul transfer, at least he could still pretend to be a master in front of other alchemy apprentices.

"My prosthetic legs were designed by Mr. Reiner, the Territory's Chief Administrative Officer. Well... the Lord provided some support, but honestly, I think there are still quite a few flaws, such as..."

He pointed proudly at the metal casting on the sole of his prosthetic foot. "The shape of the arch is clearly not in line with... the human body's streamlines. I've observed other people who've had leg prosthetics transplanted, and their feet are slightly different from normal people's. This can cause... "

While Chris was explaining incessantly, he enthusiastically disassembled his entire prosthetic leg, asked his assistant to help him arrange the parts neatly on the laboratory table, and commented on the design flaws and casting process one by one.

"All in all, the design concept of this prosthetic limb is still too conservative. Although it can be seen everywhere that it strives to simulate the form and function of the real body, I think it is completely unnecessary..."

Chris has always believed that the flesh and blood bodies of humans, such highly intelligent creatures, have not evolved very well, and apart from their smart brains, they are almost useless.

Since we possess soul technology that is comparable to the authority of creation by gods, why can't we be bolder and absorb the advantageous characteristics of other races to improve our own weak physical structure?
The sky-covering wings of an ancient dragon, the powerful body of a frost giant, the magical eyes of a high-level demon, the sturdy tentacles of the abyssal sea creatures...

If the souls of all these creatures could be transformed into alchemical prosthetic limbs and then transplanted into the human body, then that would truly be the achievement of the "artificial god" that countless alchemists have been longing to achieve for hundreds of years.

What a pity, what a pity... Chris smacked his lips and woke up from his unrealistic fantasy.

"Master Harvey keeps harping on about scientific ethics... experimental guidelines... He seems to be disgusted by my suggestions and ideas. He even refuses to install the octopus of the Wolf Spider Beast on me. Sigh..."

Forget it. It's not bad to have two alchemical prosthetic limbs made with soul refining technology and a customized mechanical arm. As for the transformation of other body parts, I'll wait until I perform well for a while and then find a way to slowly put them together.

Chris waved his hand, signaling his assistant to restore the prosthetic leg parts he had just disassembled and put them back on his leg.

Half an hour later...

"Uh...Teacher, why is the two-way gear at the right knee missing?"

"Huh? Huh? Why is there a toe missing from your left foot... I clearly saw it on the table just now..."

The apprentices were busy like headless flies, lying on the ground looking for parts that they had lost at some point.

Chris slumped down on the sofa, covering his face with his hands, and said with despair, "Bring the stretcher and take me to the machine repair center..."

(End of this chapter)