"RATTLE... RATTLE..."

"Baba..."

While the ghost and Miss Zombie were having a friendly chat, Wei’en glanced out the window.

On the streetlamp by the window, the candlelight flickered unsteadily. Bathed in the halo of the red moon, it seemed exceptionally faint, as if it could be extinguished at any moment.

He looked at the wall clock, his brow furrowed slightly. ’Is it two o’clock already?’

According to the special rules of this world, the corrupting properties of the red moon intensify after midnight, continuing until three in the morning before gradually receding.

During this period, even with the protective devices of Dawn, one had to be constantly vigilant not to be exposed to the red moon.

Wei’en walked over and drew the curtains.

He had already come into contact with the Spring of Dawn Faith. As for this red moon... it was best to endure it for now.

Just then, several strange roars echoed from the direction of the Laos District, sounding exceptionally piercing in the quiet night.

"ROAR..."

"OHHH..."

’Has someone else been corrupted and mutated?’

Wei’en shook his head. To survive in this world, one truly had to remain vigilant at all times.

However, such incidents were common. Not just him—any resident of the Caster City State could list a few things about the characteristics of the mutated.

But just like the warnings "Smoking is harmful to your health" and "Do not drink in excess," there would still be people who failed to take precautions and became crazed mutants.

’Is this the kind of wishful thinking that comes from habit?’

With this thought, Wei’en looked at the Mechanical School’s Wizard’s Manual on the table, along with the Magic Potion crafting tools he had just redeemed.

After a moment of thought, he stored the crafting tools away in his Space Ring.

According to his panel’s characteristics, a Magic Potion formula wouldn’t appear under the knowledge tree unless he personally tried to learn it.

Therefore, with only the crafting tools and no materials, he couldn’t create a Magic Potion.

Not even a failed attempt.

’Tomorrow, I need to ask Lisi and the others where I can buy the Extraordinary materials for making Magic Potions...’

Next, Wei’en opened the Wizard’s Manual, automatically skipping over Jerry Akram’s self-aggrandizing words, and began to copy the basic runes for a Mechanical Mage.

Wizards of the Mechanical School could be broadly divided into two types.

One type transforms their own bodies into mechanical or semi-mechanical forms; these are known as Modified Mechanical Wizards.

The other type specializes in Mechanical Puppets—that is, Mechanical Life—and are known as Puppet Mechanical Wizards.

And Jerry Akram was an Inheritor of the Puppet Mechanical Wizard lineage, having dedicated his life to the study of steam and runic machinery.

However, in this manual, Jerry Mage had recorded the basic runes for both types.

In his view, both the Modified and Puppet paths were supreme treasures of Mechanical Mages. Some of the mechanical theories were even universal, and by drawing from both, one could make their own knowledge base more comprehensive.

After careful consideration, Wei’en still chose to imprint the Puppet-type rune—the Mechanical Box.

Its function was to create a special space where one could not only store tools for puppet creation but also mechanical parts and complete Mechanical Puppets.

After all, a Puppet Mechanical Wizard couldn’t go out with a large number of Mechanical Puppets following him around.

Therefore, after extensive research by the Mechanical School, the Mechanical Box—a rune with infinite potential for development and enhancement—became one of a few mandatory runes for all Puppet Mechanical Wizards.

It was also the only rune that Mechanical Mage apprentices could access during their apprenticeship.

Most of the time, aside from the essential Meditation, apprentices of the Mechanical School spent their time studying various mechanical theories.

This included knowledge of mechanics such as materials science, dynamics, offense, and defense.

It also included various simple mechanical blueprints, such as the ones recorded in the manual for the Mechanical Power Arm, steam-powered two-wheelers, and so on.

Only after the apprentices had studied and researched these basic fundamentals would they be exposed to the more profound field of mechanical puppetry.

It is worth mentioning that the first step for a Modified Mechanical Wizard is to replace their own heart with a Mechanical Heart, upon which they inscribe the "Mechanical Heart" rune to provide the energy their body needs for daily functions.

The rune for the Mechanical Box wasn’t complex. Wei’en only had to copy it once before a success notification appeared on his panel.

[You have successfully drawn the Mechanical Rune. Special Reward: Survival Points +3, Spirit Level +1.]

The complete Mechanical Rune was shaped like a regular Hexagram, with some circuits only appearing at its six points.

But Wei’en didn’t yet know the function of these circuits. His understanding of this rune would only deepen after he leveled it up to the max.

1/1,

[Mechanical Rune Lv. 1 (1/1), upgrade?]

[Upgrade.]

[Congratulations, your Runic Knowledge: Mechanical Rune has been upgraded to Lv. 2. Effect: The success rate of drawing this rune is 20%.]

[Mechanical Rune Lv. 2 (1/2), upgrade?]

...

[Congratulations, your Runic Knowledge: Mechanical Rune has reached max level. Effect: The success rate of drawing this rune is 100%.]

[Congratulations on obtaining a max-level Runic Knowledge. Your Introduction to Runology progression: 3/10. Special Reward: Spirit Level +1.]

A large amount of knowledge about the Mechanical Rune flooded his mind.

"Hmm?"

As he absorbed this knowledge, Wei’en was surprised to find that the Mechanical Rune was perfect, without any flaws or room for simplification.

This was very different from the Undead Magic runes he had learned.

He had thought all these runes, passed down through the ages, were flawed.

He had even been prepared to try and analyze and simplify this newly learned Mechanical Rune, to see if he could learn another rune similar to Death God Olanir’s Origin Rune.

’Death God Olanir’s Origin Rune...’

Wei’en looked thoughtfully at the Mechanical Rune. ’Since the Death God’s Origin Rune can enhance the effect of any rune, can I combine these two runes?’

’They’re both regular Hexagram arrays. Superimposing them should be quite neat...’

No sooner said than done. Wei’en picked up a quill and, on a blank sheet of paper, began to deconstruct and recombine the two runes.

First attempt: failure. The runes didn’t overlap; the circuits didn’t connect.

Second attempt: failure. The rune had redundant nodes.

Third attempt: failure...

Fourth attempt...

A long time passed before Wei’en finally rubbed his stiff neck and looked at the newly drawn rune pattern in his hand.

’It should be a success, right?’

Just then, a notification appeared.

[You have successfully combined Death God Olanir’s Origin Rune with the Mechanical Box and drawn it. Evaluation: A genius idea! Special Reward: Survival Points +10, Introduction to Runology progression +1, Spirit Level +1, Resilience Level +1.]

[Note: By borrowing the effect of Death God Olanir’s Origin Rune, the Mechanical Rune has been enhanced. Please study the specific effects on your own.]

PS: Thanks to big bosses Feng Liu and Book Friend 20230227211435742 for their donations.

PPS: I’m really sorry, only two Chapters today.

I was going to post an extra Chapter, but I got back late. I’ll make up for the Chapter I owe today either tomorrow or the day after.

Also, the results are getting better and better. Old Pig knows this wouldn’t be possible without the support of all you big bosses.

I will continue to work hard to write every part of the plot well. I hope for the support and understanding of all my dear readers. Please, please.

Finally, the reader group number is 111085071. Anyone who likes this book is welcome to join.

Special declaration: LSPs, please don’t post lewd content.