In order to become a Heroic Spirit, I had no choice but to cause trouble in history.

Chapter 684 Serim's Ambition / End of Phase One Experiment

Serlim Zolgen's Research Notes:

The weather on April 11, 1794, is unknown.

The fourth android prototype died yesterday, without a doubt...

The technique for imprinting magic circuits into living beings is relatively well-developed; the three assistants' individual abilities are sufficient, but...

It's too difficult; it's extremely difficult to complete the imprinting process while keeping the organism alive.

For life itself, this is equivalent to turning oneself into a device that can be freely controlled. Life itself seems to be resisting, and the result of this resistance is death.

Each time the experiment was completely finished, the observed result was a collapse at the cellular level, and the final result was just a pile of rotten flesh.

I need to change my approach...

......

"Hey, you three, who wants to come out for a walk with me?" Serim sat down on the stool, put down the notes in his hand, and turned to look at his three assistants.

Two months have passed since they arrived at the branch manor to conduct experiments, and the four of them have already handled four artificial humans.

The first android died in less than a week because the technology for live imprinting was too rigid. The next two also died within half a month, turning into two piles of rotten flesh.

The last android lasted a relatively long time, but it still couldn't escape its fate of dying.

During the modification of the penultimate magic circuit into a living imprint, the android's life itself underwent an unimaginable and violent collapse. In less than five minutes, it turned into a puddle of pus, with only the skeleton remaining on the test table.

Although it was disheartening to have all our previous efforts wasted, the lessons learned did not truly discourage the researchers.

Experiments are never completed overnight, especially since Serlim's idea was something that had never been heard of before.

Familiars are very common for magicians.

However, using living humans as familiars is an unprecedented path.

Familiars may be powerful, but forming a contract with them has always been a troublesome matter. Powerful familiars are never easy to obtain, and the disappearance of the mystery means that powerful familiars will not appear frequently in this world. Even if they do, the Zorgen family does not have the means to do so, so Serim has to find another way.

While conducting his research, he would also think that perhaps in the future, the Zorgen family would be most famous for their familiars, rather than for their gem magic or for being very rich.

"Aren't we going to continue the experiments, Master?" one of Serlim's assistants, Homero Zorgen, asked in confusion.

“The first phase of the experiment is over. We should reflect on the problems we encountered in the first phase before starting the second phase.” Serlim stood up from his seat, stretched, and took off his lab coat and put it aside. “So, I’m taking the day off today. Anyone want to go out with me? If not, I’ll go by myself.”

“I’ll go with you.” The assistant, named Luslan Zolgen, stood up with a slight smile on his face. “I’m feeling a bit uncomfortable after being in the lab for so long.”

“Alright, what about you two?” Serlim looked at Homero and Tver.

Jomero and Tver exchanged a glance and shook their heads.

“Alright, perhaps you could organize the information you summarized earlier.” Serim walked to the door and picked up his coat.

Leaving the manor, Serlim and Ruslan arrived at the gates of London.

"It feels like it's been a while since I've been to the city," Serim said, tidying her burgundy curly hair.

Ruslan followed silently behind Serim.

“Ruslan, I haven’t asked you before, but do you have any doubts about the Zorgen family itself?” Serim was much taller than Ruslan, and he looked down at his young assistant.

“I do have some doubts.” Luslan nodded. “The Zorgen family seems… a bit too unconventional?”

In the world of magic, the Zorgen family is indeed an extremely special existence.

Most other magicians have the same goal: to reach the Root. Although there are magicians who do not want to reach the Root, they are very few in number.

Only the Zorgen family was negative about going to the source.

"So why is that?" Luslan looked at Serim.

“Who knows? Even as the head of the family, I can’t say for sure, but… I’m just genuinely not interested. It’s not just me; it seems like every head of the Zorgen family has had this attitude. Even if you try, it won’t lead to anything.” Serim curled his lip in a wide arc, his eyebrows twitching.

“Is that so…” Luslan pondered, stroking his chin.

"But actually, I do have some clues." Serim was very talkative and easygoing, but sometimes he tended to get stuck on his own ideas.

With his hands in his coat pockets, he chatted casually with his assistant: "The first head of the Zorgen family, the father-in-law of Marchi Zorgen, is Adroson Falgao, the earliest recorded magician in our bloodline. That's why I am the twelfth head of the family, but our family's magic crest has been passed down for thirteen generations."

"Although he was the first generation of magicians, his magical skills were undoubtedly very high. Before he was even forty years old, the Clock Tower officially granted him the extremely rare 'Grand Rank' qualification, which is almost never issued, even though he was just the first generation of magicians."

"It is rumored that he was once incredibly close to the Root, but he gave up on entering the Root just before he was about to do so."

"According to him, he could have been fully committed to the root causes, but he had other things he should have done."

"There's something else we should do?" Ruslan asked, somewhat surprised. "What is it?"

“The Adroson ancestor didn’t say that he took what he encountered to his grave,” Serlim sighed with some regret. “But that will is with his bloodline, flowing in the blood of the Zorgen family, which is why we are not enthusiastic about pursuing the roots.”

"So such things happened in the history of the Zorgen family..." Luslan exclaimed in amazement, he really didn't know that so many things had happened afterward.

“What I’m doing now is to elevate the Zorgen family to a higher position.” Serlim said solemnly, patting Ruslan on the shoulder. “I have high hopes for you, young man.”

"If we really succeed in our research, then our names will be engraved in the family history just like those of our ancestors."

"The glory of the previous generation is there for future generations to surpass; simply looking up at it will never allow you to stand out from the crowd."

------------

Chapter 685 The Difficult Progress of the Second Phase of the Experiment

Luslan Zorgen's Diary:

April 11, 1794, cloudy and a bit cold.

I was quite happy to learn about some of Lawrence's passing, but the thought of what's to come makes me feel down again.

Regardless, I am genuinely happy that this bloodline can continue and thrive. As a descendant of Lawrence, Serim is indeed outstanding, and the starting point of this experiment was indeed good.

I met him when I founded the company in London, but we're strangers now.

That's all for today. The second phase of the experiment will begin tomorrow.

......

Serlim and Luslan strolled side by side through London.

“The residential area is just ahead.” Ruslan stopped in his tracks.

"Let's keep walking. I don't need to buy anything, I just want to relax." Serim walked straight ahead.

Ruslan sighed and chased after him.

“When I was younger, I loved to wander around London like this; it was easy to stumble upon pleasant surprises,” Serlim said as he walked. “But these days, I hardly ever come here except for official business.”

“Taking over as head of the Zorgen family is really tiring, to be honest. And, I’m the kind of head of the family, you know.” Serlim’s eyes dimmed. “If nothing unexpected happens, I’ll probably have to hand over my position as head of the family when Ivo comes of age.”

“Ah, don’t misunderstand, I just meant I have no complaints, really.” Serlim was always very talkative when alone with others; he was clearly not suited to be a listener, instead easily pouring his own thoughts out onto others and rarely listening to others. “Ivo is more talented than his father and should rightfully sit in my place, but…”

“Ivo is still too young. I need to support him for a few more years.”

“As for gem magic…” Serim looked up and sighed, “I’d like to have it too, but what’s the point of being sad all the time if I don’t have it?”

"So you initiated this experiment." Ruslan finally found a chance to interject.

Serlim nodded: "This experiment was not initiated solely for my own benefit, although I do have some selfish motives, which is unavoidable."

At this moment, the two noticed a group of children playing in an open space beside the road ahead.

The children were having a great time, and Serlim couldn't help but stop and watch.

“Ivo has never smiled like that before…” he couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Being born into a large family may bring unimaginable material conditions, or even mysterious conditions, but there are also its own sorrows.” Luslan stood beside him, his eyes slightly trembling.

Serlim didn't notice that Ruslan's gaze remained fixed on a little boy.

The little boy looked to be about eight or nine years old, with black hair and brown eyes. He was the most outstanding and handsome among the group of children, with a happy smile on his face, playing around a bucket with his friends.

“It’s wonderful that children this age can smile so easily, unlike us, whose smiles have long been stolen by time.” Serim shook his head.

“Actually, time can take away more than just smiles,” Ruslan said with a hint of deeper meaning.

"Let's go back and prepare for tomorrow's experiment." Serim turned and walked back in that direction.

Luslan's gaze lingered on the boy for a moment before he turned and followed Serim back.

谷胒

The little boy caught a glimpse of Ruslan's back and paused slightly.

"Norla, what are you looking at? Come on! Let's have another race!" his friend called out to him.

"Oh! Here it comes!"

......

“From the deaths of the four samples in the first phase, we can draw a conclusion.” Serlim stood in front of his three assistants, “It is unrealistic to completely modify the magic circuits in a person’s body. When the modification reaches a certain point, the body itself will not be able to withstand the pressure and will begin to collapse. I believe you should remember the final result.”

The three assistants had different expressions.

The sight of that beautiful woman's body decomposing into a pool of pus in just five minutes is unforgettable; even magicians rarely witness such a scene.

“Although we all know that continuing to explore that path might yield new results, we don’t have much room for trial and error.” Serlim picked up a report. “We’re consuming androids too quickly; we’ve used up four androids in just two months.”

“So instead of continuing to perform live imprinting modifications on all the magic circuits on the same person, it would be better to disassemble and reassemble them,” Serlim continued. “Take different parts from different androids, perform live imprinting modifications on their magic circuits separately, and then attach them to the bodies of other samples. Try to use this method to avoid the collapse caused by modifying a single magic circuit.”

“We currently have five androids in our possession, and the next batch of androids from the Einzbern family is expected to arrive in August. We cannot afford any more mistakes during this period.”

"Then, let the experiment begin."

Serlim and his three assistants quickly immersed themselves in the professional experiments.

The idea proposed by Serlim was to equip androids and then assemble the equipment.

This sounds simple, but in practice...

1794 6 Month 19 Day.

Serim sat on the stool, looking somewhat dejected compared to two months ago.

He held a human thigh bone in his hand and sighed.

“Still can’t do it…why?” His brows furrowed. “When they’re disassembled, they can perfectly maintain their activity, and can even be used directly as magic props. But when they’re reassembled onto a body, it causes the entire body to collapse. The experimental subject’s actual survival time is less than a second…”

"Could it be that we're going in the wrong direction?"