Chapter 432: Buri and Ritz

As he scrutinized them, a deep blue gleam flashed through Rekton's eyes, his gaze piercing past the surface to see the faintly rising steam and constantly turning gears behind those two somewhat chubby cats.

Cognoscenti, and not a low sequence at that — could these be two Bomb Maniac Cats?

As the thought crossed his mind, he saw the two cats stand straight up on the railing, hands on their hips, and say:

"I'm Buri."

"I'm Ritz."

"We are mechanical experts, manufacturing masters who can create mechanical wonders and extraordinary items!"

"Buri-ritz? Can you pilot a robot?"

As Rekton spoke, an image of a giant robot firing a mechanical grappling claw forward surfaced in his mind.

The somewhat dopey-looking tuxedo cat Buri tilted his chin up slightly and said with a haughty tone:

"We are mechanical experts; we can easily operate any mechanical creation."

The orange cat Ritz, however, focused on the first half of what Rekton had just said, and said in a serious tone:

"What on earth is Buri-ritz? We are Buri and Ritz!"

Two interesting cats — let me try talking them into building a robot, and name it Buri-ritz!

As the thought crossed his mind, Rekton smiled at the two chubby cats and said:

"Buri-ritz is a powerful robot. It can fire a mechanical grappling claw to grab distant targets and pull them close, and it can also release powerful electrical currents to attack enemies. Only a true mechanical master can build it!"

The orange cat Ritz's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly:

"We are true mechanical masters!"

Beside him, the tuxedo cat Buri directly reached out a paw and smacked it on his head, saying in a calm tone:

"A robot? The kind of combat mechanical automaton that Emperor Roselle mentioned in his writings? Even if we built one, you, who don't understand machinery well enough, wouldn't be able to operate it."

Rekton gave a wry smile. He didn't rush to explain, and instead, before the orange cat beside him could react, quickly reached out and gave him a pat on the head.

Under Ritz's somewhat dazed and uncomprehending gaze, Rekton chuckled and explained:

"I don't need to pilot a robot, but as mechanical experts, don't you think a robot like that would be really cool?"

"Moreover, building such a precise and powerful robot could both help you digest your potion and significantly improve your combat ability, wouldn't it?"

"The Cognoscenti pathway has almost no direct combat ability before Sequence Five. Given the functionality and scarcity of Craftsmen, aren't you worried about being kidnapped one day?"

"Who would dare kidnap us?" the orange cat retorted dismissively.

"Ritz is right," the tuxedo cat Buri nodded in agreement.

Rekton fell silent for a moment, sighing inwardly for his otherworld Buri-ritz concept, then saw Buri nod thoughtfully again and say:

"Still, digesting the potion is quite necessary."

Ritz immediately stood up and announced loudly, "I'll make the attack system!"

Buri nodded gently and said in a solemn tone, "Then I'll be in charge of the body and power systems."

Two little cats with personality, Rekton mused inwardly. He looked down at Buri and Ritz and asked in a very sincere tone:

"Since you've adopted my suggestion, could you also use the design I provide for the robot's appearance?"

"It's not impossible, but it must be designed reasonably!"

The tuxedo cat Buri rubbed his chin with one paw, striking a pensive pose as he spoke.

"It looks like you're all getting along quite happily."

A gentle female voice sounded nearby, and only then did Rekton realize that someone had appeared beside him at some point.

He turned his head to look — it was Glen Pars, who had been lecturing in the classroom just moments ago.

Rekton's gaze passed over Glen to the classroom behind her. The students inside were all reading quietly, though every so often a few curious glances would be cast out the window.

Buri and Ritz on the railing beside them swiftly leaped down, standing on either side of her like two personal bodyguards.

Glen casually swept the hair draped over her front to behind her head, her deep eyes gazing at Rekton as she said with a kindly smile at the corner of her mouth:

"I didn't expect to meet two followers of 'Knowledge' in such a short time. It seems the time is indeed drawing near!"

"My name is Glen Pars. Ethan already introduced me to you earlier."

Rekton nodded slightly, his gaze lingering on her for a moment before he smiled and nodded:

"Al Tynes, more or less the person in charge of the Church of Knowledge's affairs on the Southern Continent."

"I didn't expect the first Morse Ascetic Society member I'd formally meet would be a Sage!"

"Haha, your eyes are sharp, but I probably shouldn't count as the first Morse Ascetic Society member you've met. You did spend nearly half a year aboard Cattleya's Future, after all~ And before getting to know me, you already knew Ethan, didn't you?"

Glen covered her mouth and chuckled softly. When she mentioned Cattleya, her tone carried a hint of amusement, but she didn't deny Rekton's words about her being a Sage.

"... A Sage?" Ethan's pupils suddenly contracted, his gaze toward Glen shifting again and again.

Ethan swallowed hard and asked somewhat nervously, "Why would you personally come to teach them?"

"Didn't you invite me? I happened to be free, so I came to experience what it feels like to be a teacher."

"Besides, I'm also quite interested in this system called the Spirit World Warlock. I feel it aligns perfectly with the Mystery Seeker pathway — it's as if this system itself represents the will of the Hidden Sage!"

Glen calmly answered Ethan's questions, but when she spoke the last sentence, she looked at Rekton with deep, unfathomable eyes, as if awaiting an answer.

"A system centered on knowledge — how could it surpass knowledge itself?"

Rekton responded with a sigh-like remark. He had expected her to follow up by asking why the Hidden Sage hadn't spread this system to the Morse Ascetic Society, but to his surprise, Glen skipped right over that topic.

"Since it's a system promoted by the Church of Knowledge, you should understand it better. You'll teach their afternoon class."

"It works out perfectly — I also need time to explore this new system."

Glen spoke in a placid tone, yet it left one with an unmistakable sense of authority.

Rekton nodded nonchalantly. After chatting with Glen for a while, he continued touring Pas Valley First Technical University with Ethan, and after agreeing to come teach here in his free time, Rekton followed Buri and Ritz to their home.

The two cats ran wildly through alleys and across rooftops with an agility completely at odds with their builds, easily clearing walls and squeezing through narrow openings.

Rekton casually produced an illusory hat from the void, placed it on his head to conceal his figure, and his silhouette flickered from time to time as he kept pace steadily behind them.

Within ten minutes, he followed Bu Li and Li Ci to the back door of a watch shop, watching the two cats skillfully climb the wall and jump into the second-floor room.

Lei Ke Dun's figure instantly turned invisible and disappeared; when it reappeared, he was already inside the second-floor room.

This room is spacious, as if several rooms had been knocked together and remodeled, with various machines and parts piled haphazardly around.

Bu Li and Li Ci moved lightly through the cluttered room, clearing off a small table that could barely be called clean, and filled its surface with assorted small biscuits.

Li Ci carried a pale yellow cup over to a strange machine resembling a kettle, set the cup down, and lightly tapped the red button beside it.

A humming of mechanical operation sounded, and shortly thereafter, dark brown coffee still steaming flowed into the cup.

Li Ci held the coffee cup with both paws, placed it on the small table laden with various biscuits, and greeted Lei Ke Dun enthusiastically:

"We only have a coffee maker here, so just make do with drinking it. I and Bu Li originally planned to invent a juicer, but Ge Lan likes coffee, so we turned it into a coffee maker!"

Lei Ke Dun watched the two cats busily fiddling with the blueprints, casually picked up a biscuit and tossed it into his mouth, and amid the crisp crackling sounds, he asked curiously:

"Do you directly call her by her name?"

"Yes, we are partners."

"Ge Lan took us in; in return, we will make her some machinery to improve her life, and occasionally help her craft miraculous items."

"But she has no use for those things at all—she takes them all to sell for money and then buys alcohol."

"Some of it is also used to buy magical medicine materials for us, and we owe her a lot of money."

"We still have to work for her for two hundred years to pay it off."

Bu Li and Li Ci spoke, one cat after another, yet their hands did not stop moving.

There are too many flaws; I don't even know where to start complaining. Lei Ke Dun couldn't help but mutter to himself, then he picked up the coffee on the table and took a sip to hide his expression.

"Mmm, this coffee is pretty good!"

"Do you sell your coffee makers?"

Savoring the coffee's taste, Lei Ke Dun's eyes lit up—this machine even adds honeyed milk to the coffee, and the texture is perfectly balanced. As expected of a machinery expert, it makes me want to buy a cat to keep.

Bu Li and Li Ci exchanged a glance, then spoke in unison:

"Sure, but we have to wait until we make the robot Bu Li Ci."

"No problem." Lei Ke Dun nodded lightly, then walked over to them, took two blank sheets of paper, and spread them flat on the ground.

He habitually carries spell materials on his person, so he casually pulled out a handful of colored powder from the hidden pocket of his brown long coat, evenly scattered the powder on the paper, and these powders spontaneously formed a vivid colored scroll.

Above is a full-color diagram of the robot from various angles; it has a somewhat round and chubby body, on the left a fist equipped with a missile launcher, on the right a giant claw almost as large as the torso, connected by a retractable conduit, each with a cockpit.

Bu Li and Li Ci also came over at this time, the two cats gazing solemnly at Lei Ke Dun's robot image recreated from memory, occasionally shaking their heads, nodding, and glancing at each other.

"This claw is too big; without a separate power system it simply couldn't operate, and its shape is also strange—many aspects don't conform to dynamics."

"But the exterior design is not bad, though it's merely superficial."

"Energy is a major issue; sustaining this machine's operation requires a lot of energy, yet it can't carry much on its own."

"That's right—unless we use extraordinary characteristics as power, but that would inevitably cause side effects."

Listening to Bu Li and Li Ci's discussion, Lei Ke Dun rubbed his forehead. Indeed, once it involves his own specialty, even a generalist has a tendency to lecture—no wonder many members of the Steam Church work at universities.

He sighed inwardly, lowered his gaze to the already-heatedly debating Bu Li and Li Ci, tapped his fingers on the small table before him, and after drawing their attention, Lei Ke Dun chuckled and said:

"Regarding the energy issue, I have an idea."

"Do you know about the Purification Cannon?"

(End of chapter)