Chapter 124: Ophelia

Judging by appearance alone, the Creator who fashioned this machine race must have had excellent taste.

Its streamlined metallic body is slender and elongated, utterly devoid of the bulky, rounded forms common to other golems and machines; its hyper-humanoid design makes it resemble a work of sculpture.

Its limbs are long and slender—a level of material and design that, theoretically, is extravagantly luxurious.

Most mechanical constructs are short and stout for good reason: sufficient internal volume is needed to house components, ensuring both structural rigidity and the integration of numerous subsystems.

"So beautiful, this little one," Kuku also praised the sleek humanoid design.

This excessive luxury implies the Creator's extraordinary mastery over alloy materials and mechanical engineering.

Her limbs are slender and elongated; her upper limbs resemble dancing dolls, while her lower limbs are composite blade-feet containing internal pulleys.

This mobility configuration indicates the designer achieved perfect balance, allowing her to walk normally on her blade-edges. Though time has worn most components down, even exposing wiring, it's clear that with restoration, she would become a remarkably elegant "lady."

This design was also why Kuku instantly recognized her as female at first glance.

Even now, with only half her head remaining and exposed areas sparking with stray currents, she still evokes in Li En the image of an exquisite doll.

"So, this lich is female too?"

Hard to say. She may not have been the first Contractee.

Li En and Kuku chatted idly while watching XT7718 adjust her systems.

This number is her memory's combat designation code—and her temporary name.

As expected, she had lost nearly all her memories.

Given the ravages of time on her memory modules and soul, this loss is likely irreversible.

Yet, if one reflects on her past, this lost memory might not be a bad thing.

". ugust 11th. This week's supply of synthetic steel has run out again. We won't see the next shipment for at least half a month. Food is also in crisis. Our flesh-and-blood crew is fine—the friendly mushroom folk brought us a new batch of mushrooms, and we gave them fresh alchemical formulas and potions in return. But the machine race's energy supply has been cut off. Perhaps I should consider replacing their energy system. Do I even have the resources to develop one?"

Violet Rose held a notebook and told stories to the revived machine.

The scribbles on it were gibberish to all but her—and Li En.

Even Kuku was reviewing data nearby, listening intently with a serious expression.

Most books and records had become history, but the chief operator's log, preserved as a fixed electronic display embedded in a magically reinforced workbench, had been retrieved.

". ews of the civil war has reached us again. I've done my best to suppress information. Some researchers suggested halting core energy research, claiming it's meaningless under current conditions. I replied I'd consider it—but in truth, I have no energy left for research; all of it goes to powering the machine race."

Earlier entries were mostly research data now worthless; this facility studied core energy and minerals.

But the most recent entries were the logs of the local "Director."

By then, the civil war had fully erupted, and this remote research outpost had lost contact with headquarters.

The Director, a Legendary Great Mechanist, struggled to maintain order, waiting for a possible turn of fortune—but ultimately, what she waited for

An order has come: scrap all machine races! How is that possible? They're our friends, our halves, my sisters. I—I'm going to withhold this order. I believe my sisters still have a chance.

Violet Rose sighed, ending the topic.

What ultimately happened need not be dwelled upon; all those involved now rest beneath the earth.

"According to this log, we found a massive pit filled with machine parts—all cores destroyed."

It seems the final decommissioning order was carried out—but not necessarily by the Director herself.

And this machine before us, still performing self-diagnosis, clearly was never decommissioned.

Perhaps because the Director, as her sister, protected her—or perhaps because the base still needed this clearly combat-configured "Security Captain."

From the "crime scene," it seems the Director, even at her final moment, still believed in her sister.

Was she wrong? Perhaps not.

Because Violet Rose and Kuku both said that in the later stages of the disaster, every machine's underlying program activated, turning them all into killing machines targeting their creators.

". phelia, my sister." Every page of the log ended with this elegant signature.

The mechanical synthesized voice was soft and serene; the machine revived faster than expected.

She touched her right shoulder, as if sensing the shattered soul within.

Her own name was gone; only her combat designation remained.

"Can I use this name?" The newborn machine, with no memories at all, chose to inherit this name.

Perhaps because she instinctively liked it.

"That is your own choice," Li En affirmed.

Obsession with the past is meaningless; the race itself is gone. Clinging to old grudges is foolish.

"Ophelia" nodded, then fell silent once more.

Her pupils scrolled endlessly with data streams; several cables connected to the main console still glowed.

She was linking to the main console, extracting as much knowledge and intelligence as possible.

"Let's rest here tonight." It was likely already dusk outside.

Li En glanced at his companions—Kuku flipping through books—and knew they wouldn't be leaving today.

Violet Rose was busy too; these "veterans" wouldn't leave until they'd stripped this place bare.

He also saw the physically frail Salliman, gazing at him with pleading eyes.

Clearly, she was utterly exhausted—and truly didn't want to leave.

"Fine. If it's just a day or two, the Dark Elf city won't have problems."

Li En opened his book. He too was tired; the day's travel and battle had been taxing.

Tonight's dinner would have to be rations.

Or later, if time allowed, he could fire up his portable grill and use the meat seasoning Suel had taught him—paired with dragon and snake meat—it should taste excellent.

"Kuku, can you explain this spell to me?" Now that they were idle, Li En began studying.

"Ha! Find someone else! I'm busy! How about tonight? I'll teach you with a clone." Kuku, of course, refused to abandon his research materials and immediately passed the request on.

Li En considered: during tonight's Hall of Spirits, everyone else would be learning high-tier spells. He'd better preserve some senior dignity and not ask about first-tier magic.

Violet Rose didn't intervene because her magical system was entirely incompatible with traditional arcane methods—there was no need for her to learn.

Li En suspected even the Magic Girl couldn't learn it.

In casual conversation, Li En learned that Magic Girls, though capable of taking up transcendent vocations, typically pursued paths like Sorcerer, Warlock, or Cleric—magic users who draw power from external sources.

Their internal magical system likely conflicted with many Beast races' power structures.

Notably, Magic Girls lack soul abilities—but they neither care nor need them.

"We don't lack power. In fact, being too powerful is a burden." This didn't sound like bragging.

The Beast transcendent system requires restraint; if a car's engine is too powerful, one press of the accelerator and you're gone.

"What are you learning? I'll help you." The only one willing to step forward was Salliman.

Though she was only a first-tier mage, she was Li En's senior.

She had ample time to carefully study first-tier spells.

"This one—Magic Missile."

"Classic model? I know this well."

Li En's second first-tier spell to learn was the most classic: Magic Missile—summoning several force-projectiles to strike opponents, delivering noble, pure force damage.

Clearly, he aimed to compensate for his near-total lack of ranged capability, gaining at least some ranged harassment potential.

Had he been learning a first-tier offensive spell based on his Red Dragon bloodline, he should have prioritized fire magic for greater power—but the first-tier fire spell is Burning Hands.

"Slinging a wave of flame to burn your opponent… uh, do we even need to learn this?"

Li En could already do this himself; his dragonfire was surely stronger than a first-tier spell.

He still needed to learn it—low-tier spell knowledge forms the foundation for high-tier spells. Skipping them later requires catching up, but they needn't be prioritized.

Magic Missile would suffice for his needs.

As the most common ranged attack spell, though it lacks area damage, its range is considerable.

For Li En, because its model is so mature, countless variants exist to suit various needs—some say Evocation mages even transform it into Elemental Missiles.

Due to its extreme maturity, veterans can simplify it to a single "casting motion," enabling near-instantaneous release.

The mage Li En faced that day cast it instantly under pressure—meaning that with sufficient practice, one can cast even while armored (though failure still occurs).

Almost no mage doesn't know this spell; Salliman had mastered it thoroughly.

The difficulties Li En encountered as a novice, she had faced too—and explained them smoothly.

But the more she explained, the more confused Salliman became.

It wasn't that Li En performed exceptionally well; his talent seemed average. Some questions she'd never even stumbled over herself.

Average talent wasn't unusual—but it clashed with his absurdly rapid progress.

Yet Salliman glanced at Kuku and remembered the Spirit Hero beside him—why bother overthinking?

Li En asked several questions and was surprised by Salliman's deep knowledge; she had truly devoted herself to the mage path.

This was Li En's first outdoor camp, and he felt a slight thrill. Though most of the day was spent studying, at night he fired up his grill and let his companions sample his cooking.

Finally, night deepened. No one stayed up; everyone returned to sleep.

After all, this meant the second night in the Hall of Spirits was beginning.

"Only one day passed. Nothing should've changed," Li En thought, embracing a mindset of slacking off, and peacefully drifted into sleep, arriving at the glorious hall.

But soon, he realized he'd been far too naive.

(End of Chapter)