The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

“That’s how it is…” Anna recounted the original situation.

Jessica listened thoughtfully.

After Jessica had processed the information, Viner finally spoke up: "Clay, you know this better than I do. I'd like to hear your opinion."

“If you say that Clay can forge the Armor of Calamity, then I wouldn’t be surprised. He is Professor Villefort’s prized student, and his main focus is alchemical armor.”

"But if you're saying he would deliberately craft a cursed piece of equipment to murder Sigurd, I think that's highly unlikely."

“He made half of the alchemical armor in the Black Eagles Class, so there’s no need for him to do something so detrimental to himself,” Jessica deduced.

"What if you're being used as a pawn?"

"That possibility cannot be ruled out, so I support your plan to investigate him."

“Let’s go then,” Viner decided immediately.

"Okay, don't resist."

Jessica wanted to resolve the matter quickly, so she put her hand on Vina's shoulder, and the two of them instantly left the spot.

......

The familiar workshop came into view; the workbench was arranged exactly as it had been before I left home.

"...No, can you tell me why I was teleported to my own dorm room when we were supposed to investigate Clay?"

After taking in his surroundings, Wiener couldn't help but ask a question.

"You make it sound like I like to trespass on other people's property. I've never been to Clay's dormitory, so of course I can't teleport there directly."

Jessica said matter-of-factly.

Teleportation isn't as convenient or casual as it seems.

If it's within sight or there's a clear reference point for point-to-point teleportation, it's barely feasible.

However, if a random, unfamiliar location is chosen, far from sight and one that the practitioner has never set foot in, accidents are very likely to occur.

“But I’ve never seen you walk through the main entrance of my dorm!” Venere immediately retorted.

"If you're so bothered by that, I'll just go out and knock on the door."

Jessica walked toward the workshop door.

“Wait a minute,” Venere called to Jessica, who was about to open the door, then snapped her fingers, casting a shimmering effect around Jessica. “That will do.”

Jessica felt a peculiar force covering her body, so much so that when she looked down, she could see her toes.

She glanced at the mirror on the wall and realized that she had quietly transformed into Felix's appearance.

"Is this what they call a mirage?"

Jessica muttered to herself.

Even her voice has changed.

She waved curiously, then struck several playful and cute girlish poses with Felix's face, having a great time.

This additional change has no effect on movement, and there is not even any magical fluctuation. Its precision far surpasses that of a transformation spell, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is seamless.

It's no wonder that Wiener was able to use this ability to deceive his own eyes and impersonate a teacher.

“That’s right,” Viner nodded in agreement. “If 'Jessica' were to wander around the Alchemy Institute’s dormitory area, she would definitely attract a lot of attention. But if it’s 'Felix,' there won’t be as many problems.”

He casually sent Felix a message, telling him not to go back to the dorm for the time being.

“It feels like a very convenient ability to do bad things.” Jessica winked at Vina and made a face.

Viner's lips twitched slightly.

Perhaps in Jessica's eyes, she is now 'Felix', and even if she loses face, it's because she's Felix.

Little did he know that from Wiener's perspective, it was Jessica herself letting loose in front of him.

"Ahem, that's enough." Venere coughed lightly, interrupting her playfulness. "After we go out, you just need to play the role of Felix and stay by my side."

“That’s easy.” Jessica quickly composed herself and cleared her throat.

"Hey, Vena, who are we going to chop up today?"

Jessica asked naturally, mimicking Felix's tone by about 70-80% in just one sentence.

"...Why don't you tone it down a bit?"

Wiener was so embarrassed he almost got goosebumps.

"So you're saying my imitation was pretty good?"

Jessica was completely unaware.

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

"Vina, we've arrived! This is Clay's workshop."

Jessica pointed to a workshop ahead and said excitedly.

“How about… we act normal when we’re not around? You’re putting so much pressure on me by talking to me like Felix,” Viner tried to reason with Jessica.

“...I really didn’t expect that after being here for so long, you still wouldn’t recognize all the students around your dorm. I had to ask for directions for you.” Jessica gave Vina a disdainful look.

"Then I must declare that I am a student of the Combat Academy, so it is normal that I don't recognize all the students of the Alchemy Academy."

Wiener remarked that she should take a look at who was responsible for assigning her to the fighting academy.

"Then why am I able to know him?" Jessica countered.

"The Alchemy Institute only has so few people; you could send Felix over and he would remember them just as well."

Jessica delivered another blow.

"Uh..."

There's really no way to refute that now.

Wiener walked to the door of Clay and knocked gently.

There was no response from inside the door.

Wiener had no choice but to increase the force, pounding the door with his fists until it shook violently.

There was still no sound.

Just as Venere rolled up his sleeves, ready to try again, Jessica stepped forward.

"Don't waste your time."

A slight ripple appeared in the air.

"Shh!"

The scenery before Wiener's eyes changed instantly.

This was the first time Wiener had ever visited someone else's workshop.

Various kinds of armor were arranged in an orderly manner, like a metal kingdom.

Some are already finished, gleaming with a cold metallic luster; others are still in a semi-finished state, with unwelded gaps remaining between the iron sheets.

The workbench was covered with densely packed design drawings, and even someone unfamiliar with the field could sense Clay's meticulous work ethic.

“It looks like Clay isn’t here. You’d better hurry up and investigate whatever you need to.”

Jessica urged her on, as if she were already used to trespassing on private property.

"Row."

Without hesitation, Wiener went straight to the workbench and began to examine the messy drawings.

Jessica wasn't idle either; she turned around and began inspecting the completed armor.

Judging from the handwriting, almost all the design drawings on the table were made by the same person, but a few of them seemed out of place in terms of design style.

Wiener collected these very different drawings together, and they formed a complete set.

"Udvik Armor..."

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Chapter 336 Clay Perseveres Despite Difficulties

As a blacksmith at the semi-master level, Viner only needs to glance at the blueprints to understand the power contained in the finished product.

As a craftsman specializing in armor, Clay's profound skill is evident in the exquisite quality of his hand-drawn blueprints.

However, all the armors he had meticulously designed paled in comparison to the Udvik Armor.

This is a top-tier defensive armor against humans.

Even the thief's armor, forged by Vener's own hand, is far inferior in terms of resistance to piercing, blunt force, and slashing.

"Knew it..."

Wiener placed the drawings back on the table, his tone full of emotion.

"What did you find?"

Almost the instant Vina spoke, Jessica noticed her.

“The blueprints for this Udvik armor are also inextricably linked to Arios,” Venere stated bluntly.

"...The handwriting is indeed different, but how can you be sure that this thing is definitely related to Arios?"

"That's naturally my intuition as a blacksmith."

"Mysterious."

Jessica, with her wide range of interests, was quite aware of the extraordinary nature of this blueprint.

However, in the field of forging expertise, he is still not as qualified to speak as Wiener.

"This alone is not enough to prove that the Armor of Calamity was forged by Kree."

“This doesn’t need to be proven.” Wiener shook his head. “There are only two things we need to figure out.”

"Who handed these blueprints to Clay and ordered him to build these pieces of equipment?"

"And who injected the remnants of demonic blood and soul into it after the equipment was forged?"

The blueprints before us are significantly different from the blueprints for Mimi-kiri that Tilisa gave to Venus.

What Tilisa gave to Venus was a complete parchment scroll of drawings.

On Clay's desk lay a set of simplified blueprints that had been copied.

The difference between them is like that between numbered musical notation and standard musical notation; although the scales are the same, they lack the overall structure and a sense of atmosphere.

While it's possible to create the same equipment using these blueprints, the forging difficulty is on a completely different level.

"These are the kinds of things you have to ask—"

"clatter."

Suddenly, the sound of a key turning came from the workshop door.

Jessica reacted quickly, grabbing Vina's arm and instantly teleporting them to the outside of the dormitory.

After regaining her footing, Viner peeked out from the corner of the wall and saw Clay and an alchemical golem carrying materials from a cart into the workshop.

"So they went out to replenish materials." Viner lowered her voice, having already made up her mind.

Previously, Vina had not found the finished Udvik Armor in the workshop, which suggests that Klay had failed many times during the forging process.

"Should we confront Clay directly?"

Jessica gave the choice to Vina.

“It’s not so much a confrontation,” Wiener shook his head, “it’s just a discussion and exchange between colleagues.”

"Follow me."

Wiener stepped out from behind the wall and greeted Clay, who was removing his makeup, as if it were a chance encounter. "What a coincidence, Senior Clay."

Clay put down the box he was carrying and looked in the direction of the voice. "Oh, it's Junior Viner. What brings you here?"

"I just had something I wanted to ask you, senior," Viner said with a smile.