The next morning, when Allen opened his eyes, the faint sound of machinery was already humming in the dorm.

He sat up and looked toward the living room.

The Mechanical Body he had just finished assembling last night was standing by the workbench, its mechanical arm steadily sorting and arranging scattered metal parts without the slightest stutter.

Allen got out of bed, walked over, and circled it.

A gray steel shell, sharp lines, a standard five-fingered mechanical hand for its left arm, and a flat cleaning module for its right.

Its functions were fine, and it operated normally.

But he couldn’t help feeling it was missing a certain something.

Allen stopped and stared at the Mechanical Body for a few seconds.

"It’s too ugly."

He turned, went to the storage cabinet, and pulled out a can of matte black paint and a brush.

’If I’m going to use it, it can’t be this crude.’

Allen moved the Mechanical Body to an open area and activated [Craftsman’s Hand]. Two force-field hands materialized and floated on either side of him.

The force-field hand on his right picked up the brush, dipped it in the paint, and began to apply an even coat to the Mechanical Body’s shell. The left hand simultaneously handled the joints and other detailed areas.

As the black paint covered it, the gray of the steel gradually disappeared.

An hour later, the entire Mechanical Body was a solid matte black, giving it an understated, luxurious feel.

Allen put down the brush. After waiting for the paint to dry completely, he ordered a tuxedo and a top hat from the Apprentice Trading Market.

Before long, the clothes were delivered.

Allen dressed the Mechanical Body in the tuxedo, fastened the buttons, adjusted the collar, and then placed the top hat on its head.

He took a step back to admire his work.

The matte black shell, the crisp tuxedo, the top hat tilted slightly on its head.

’That’s more like it,’ Allen nodded.

It was fine if it didn’t have flashy functions, but it had to look good. Aesthetics were the number one priority.

He walked up to the Mechanical Body and reactivated it.

The background programming interface was one of the preset functions of the universal Factory Servant Control Core, originally intended for handling simple command responses and task assignments.

But Allen had spent the entire night deep-diving into the program to debug and modify it.

He modified the vocal module’s timbre, making it sound more like a well-trained steward.

He adjusted its behavioral logic to focus more on etiquette and detail when performing tasks. He had even optimized its posture, gait, and the angle of its bow.

"Activate."

The Mechanical Body’s eyes lit up with a faint blue glow.

It raised its head, looked at Allen, placed its right hand over its chest, and gave a slight bow.

"Good morning, sir."

The voice was deep, with just the right amount of deference.

Allen listened to the voice and felt quite satisfied.

"From today on, your name is ’Ah Fu’."

"Yes, sir."

"Continue cleaning the room, tidying the workbench, and sorting the materials."

"As you wish, sir."

Ah Fu turned toward the workbench and began cleaning up the parts and tools left over from last night.

Allen glanced over before returning to his bedroom.

He needed to catch up on sleep.

He’d barely slept at all last night while debugging the butler program.

Now, he could finally leave the chores to Ah Fu with peace of mind.

Allen lay back on his bed and was asleep the moment he closed his eyes.

Four hours later, there was a soft knock on the dorm room door.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

The sound was neither rushed nor slow.

Ah Fu put down the rag in its hand, walked to the door, and opened it.

Vera was standing outside.

She was holding a stack of documents and was about to speak when she took in the scene before her.

A humanoid Mechanical Body, one-point-nine meters tall, matte black, dressed in a tuxedo, and wearing a top hat, was standing in the doorway.

It bowed slightly, its right hand placed over its chest.

"Good day, madam. The master is currently in Meditation. May I prepare some black tea for you?"

Vera stood frozen, unable to process what she was seeing.

She blinked, then looked at Ah Fu again.

’Is this an Alchemy Puppet?’

’Isn’t this a steward from a noble family?!’

She had seen Factory Servants before.

They were all over the academy and the factories, responsible for cleaning, transport, and repairs. Those Mechanical Bodies all looked identical, moved stiffly, spoke with a robotic voice, and were clearly just tools.

But this one...

Vera’s mouth hung open, but no words came out.

"Please come in, madam."

Ah Fu stepped aside, clearing the doorway and gesturing for her to enter.

Vera subconsciously stepped into the living room, her eyes still fixed on Ah Fu.

"The master will be out shortly. Please wait a moment."

Ah Fu turned toward the workbench and retrieved a tea set from a small cabinet nearby.

Its movements were fluid and elegant, practiced and natural.

Boiling water, warming the cup, adding the tea leaves, pouring the water.

Every step was executed with clean precision, without a single wasted motion.

Vera stood in the middle of the living room, watching as Ah Fu, having completed the standard reception protocol, began to wipe the windowpanes.

The cleaning module on its right arm glided lightly across the glass, leaving a clean streak in its wake. Its movements were expansive and rhythmically even, as if it were dancing a waltz.

Vera’s jaw nearly hit the floor.

’Is this really a Factory Servant?’

The Mechanical Bodies she had seen would just scrub back and forth stiffly when cleaning glass, making a harsh, scraping sound.

But Ah Fu was different.

Its movements possessed an indescribable beauty, as if it were creating a work of art.

"Vera?"

Allen came out of the bedroom and saw Vera standing dumbfounded in the living room.

Vera snapped back to reality and pointed at Ah Fu.

"Allen, what is..."

"Ah Fu," Allen said, walking to the table and sitting down. "I just finished making it last night."

"You... you made it yourself?"

"Mhm."

Vera looked at Ah Fu, then back at Allen.

"It... it can talk?"

"It’s a built-in function." Allen picked up the teacup from the table and took a sip. "I just tweaked it a little."

Vera’s mouth opened, but she didn’t know what to say.

She had seen plenty of Factory Servants, but she’d never had a conversation with one.

Let alone one like... like a nobleman’s steward.

"Did you need me for something?"

Allen put down his cup and glanced at the documents in Vera’s hand.

Vera finally remembered her reason for coming and quickly handed the documents over.

"This is the list of instructors and the compensation plan. Colin and I discussed it, and we wanted you to confirm."

Allen took the documents and flipped through them.

The list contained 20 names, with their academic records and performance detailed.

"This is fine." Allen closed the file. "I’ll make time to interview them tomorrow afternoon."

Vera breathed a sigh of relief.

As she was about to leave, her gaze fell on Ah Fu again.

It had finished cleaning the windows and was now organizing the tools on the workbench. Every tool was returned to its proper place, arranged in perfect order.

Vera couldn’t help but ask, "Allen, how many Magic Stones did it cost to make this...?"

Allen glanced at her.

"You want to know the cost?"

"Mhm," Vera nodded. "I’m just curious."

Allen was silent for a few seconds, calculating the cost in his head.

’One hundred for the Control Core, one hundred for the Middle-Tier Magic Stone, and another one hundred and five for the other materials.’

’A total of three hundred and five Low-Level Magic Stones.’

That figure wasn’t cheap for someone who had just been promoted to Advanced Apprentice.

But considering Ah Fu’s capabilities, the price was a bargain.

A standard, mass-produced Factory Servant on the market cost between two and three hundred Magic Stones.

But they could only perform simple transport and cleaning tasks. Anything more complex required special customization, which would raise the price.

Not only could it clean and organize materials, it could even prepare experiment tools in advance according to Allen’s commands.

More importantly, its energy consumption was extremely low.

A single Middle-Tier Magic Stone could power it for over a year.

On average, its energy cost was less than ten Magic Stones per month.

That was far more cost-effective than hiring an apprentice assistant.

"A little over three hundred," Allen said. "But it’ll last a long time."

Vera was secretly taken aback by the number.

Over three hundred Magic Stones was no small sum for her.

But as she looked at Ah Fu, she felt the money was well spent.

’If only the mutual aid group could have a Mechanical Body like this to handle venue maintenance and material distribution. That would be amazing.’

The thought popped into Vera’s head, but she didn’t dare say it out loud.

"Well, I should be going."

Vera clutched the documents and took her leave.

After the door closed, Allen leaned back in his chair and watched Ah Fu.

It had already completed all the cleaning chores and was now standing by the workbench, awaiting its next command.

Three hundred and five Low-Level Magic Stones for an assistant that could work around the clock, needed no rest, and would never complain.

No matter how you looked at it, it was a profitable deal.

Besides, this was only the first one.

Once he had his own Alchemy Factory, he could use modular, assembly-line production to quickly manufacture an Ah Fu Two, an Ah Fu Three, and even more Mechanical Bodies.

By then, he would no longer have to be distracted by trivial matters.

All his time and energy could be devoted to what truly mattered.

Allen stood up and walked over to Ah Fu.

"Continue your work."

"Yes, sir."