Chapter 209: Mutual Contract

"How many disciples have you taken in? I thought the Dragon Binder—well, Masked Dragon Knight—was supposed to be a unique new class, and that I was the only one."

After all, this was a "custom-tailored" sorcerer (Demon Binder) class—how could it suddenly be mass-produced?

"Leave it all to you? Waiting for extinction?"

The snake, however, was utterly dismissive—he understood Li Ensu well: he was a quality user, but not a qualified developer.

He had neither the energy nor the motivation to push this class to its limits.

Is this class truly limited to Li En? Not necessarily.

Ultimately, the "custom-tailored" nature of this class stems from Kukudou's ability—the application of multiple thought lines, exploiting a bug in the contract between "self" and "self."

And those who inherited Kukudou's traits and abilities are not just Li En—so far, several of his disciples are far more proficient than Li En.

In reality, because these disciples' "inheritance" is incomplete, and Kukudou was never skilled at developing power for combat, this inheritance lacks any practical "class guidance" for battlefield use.

The Goddess was the only one who developed a combat application—because she herself possessed divine bloodlines, divine favor, and a priest rank (raised to fifth tier), all of which together formed her combat structure.

Or put another way, this soul ability became an even greater super-cheat within her former career system, forged into a finished product under the deity's blessing.

Others were not so fortunate—they received the "engine," but lacked the "mechanical parts."

Filling this gap is difficult for others, but poses no challenge to the snake—though this is a peculiar class restricted to "schizophrenics," he grew even more interested in its future development.

"Single Masked Knight is outdated—now we need a five-color team! We need a theatrical battle royale!" So he cheerfully went around seeking successors, even professionally matching their color schemes.

Hmm, though his motives were subtle, since this master was in a rare mood to help, Li En naturally couldn't refuse.

"Sallyman, when did you..."

"Met my ancestor? The day after arriving in Huicheng."

Such a forceful Sallyman made Li En feel slightly unfamiliar.

But before they spoke two more words, her snake tail—already close—instinctively coiled around him.

"Uh."

Li En sighed, and ultimately didn't pull away.

Just now in the parlor, a girl had risked her dignity, defending you in front of colleagues and even superiors—refusing now would make you look like less than a man.

Thus, the girl smiled sweetly, clearly pleased with her progress—far superior to that useless version of herself. And looking at the pure girl, Li En felt even more like a scumbag.

"... i En, you'll understand later—those things you're worrying about aren't even a problem. Admit defeat sooner, save yourself trouble, and come help."

The flickering snake, resisting the summons to return (accurately speaking, he was constantly sent back only to jump back again), organized the components in the room.

This was the temporary warehouse of Victoria's shop, also Ophelia's "repair shop," filled with vast quantities of metal and parts.

"I tried repairing her... but honestly, it's too hard." Victoria sighed. The Creation Clan could be considered the pinnacle of alchemy in that era, especially in metal golems and creation, reaching the realm of creation itself.

With her abilities, maintaining Ophelia was already difficult—let alone repairing her.

She still couldn't see the snake. Perhaps the snake found her too "ordinary."

"Not messing with repairs is a good thing—someone said that." Li En relayed the snake's words.

And Victoria accepted the reality that an invisible entity was pointing and directing here—she was already speechless at her colleagues' widespread schizophrenia.

Among this batch of Heroic Soul inheritors, am I the only normal Dark Elf—Victoria?

Watching Victoria, who seemed oddly proud, Li En felt even stranger.

As far as he knew, the more drunk someone was, the more they insisted they weren't drunk; the more insane someone was, the more they pretended to be normal. To seem normal among a group of schizophrenics was itself the most insane thing.

The more Victoria acted normal, the more peculiarly others looked at her.

"Snap!"

A sudden sound in the workshop drew everyone's attention.

Ophelia extended her hands; metal components around her split, reformed, and assembled—while the true controller was clearly the snake perched atop her head.

"First, let me help you build a second self."

Among all of Kukudou's disciples, Ophelia was the first chosen as a "Masked Dragon Knight."

The reason? Simply because she was blank.

"Blank is good—a empty cup is easier to fill."

Ophelia had always had low presence, because whether as an alchemist or warrior, she was far too "new." She was like a newborn soul reborn from an ancient corpse—possessing some traits and potential of the ancients, yet lacking any actual application.

Without sufficient power, naturally there was no presence—and her worsening Soul Loss Syndrome further reduced her mobility.

She had great potential, but right now, she was only potential.

"If the Lich dies, would she improve?"

That Lich's phylactery had become Ophelia's arm, containing the fragmented soul of the Lich, while the main soul remained elsewhere. The Lich's portion had grown increasingly independent, bound to the Ogre.

"It would help somewhat, but wouldn't bring critical change. Her flaws are comprehensive—combat and personality both reset to zero. Give her ten years, and she might grow again—but clearly, we don't have that time."

Two fragmented pieces, even assembled, still wouldn't form a whole.

From the start, Kukudou's plan was to use the Lich to feed Ophelia—just to complete one soul.

"Snap!"

The phylactery limb was severed and placed among a pile of steel parts.

"Transfer the second thought line there."

The snake's words made Ophelia pause, then she turned questioning eyes toward Li En—he nodded with a bitter smile.

"Transfer complete. Weakness request: link." The girl's gaze fixed on Li En—this fragile, pleading look made her seem even more human.

After stripping away this portion (the second thought core), though consumption decreased, so too was the "nutritional battery" removed.

In fact, Kukudou's original design was for Ophelia to use this phylactery as a "bottle," constantly drawing its soul fragments to complete her own soul.

But because the Lich "never returned," the bottle's supply ran insufficient, causing her Soul Loss Syndrome to rapidly worsen.

Under normal circumstances, consuming the "milk" within would have been enough to let Ophelia grow into an independent self.

"Click!"

Now visibly, under Ophelia's control, the metal components began assembling around the prosthetic limb, forming a second "her."

But this design style made Li En feel oddly familiar.

"Uh, Cybertron maid" exoskeleton armor, wheel assembly disguised as a giant bowtie on the back, inexplicable antennae on the ears, wing components resembling a maid's skirt.

The most wasteful and eye-catching feature was the hyper-detailed, non-construct-like facial assembly—the fragmented parts forming a face capable of displaying nearly a hundred different expressions, an excess of design.

Overall, the appearance resembled a female Transformer—more robust and full-bodied, with maid-like decorative edges (lace).

Power and beauty combined, mechanical aesthetics and humanoid beauty fused.

This strange, exotic metallic construct, with its unusual style, indeed matched Li En's aesthetic—and fully embodied Li Ensu's personal preferences!

"Please give orders. Please command."

After this second "Ophelia" was born, she appeared even more rigid—her exquisitely designed metal face remained as expressionless as a mask.

After splitting in two, she became even weaker—her soul deficiency was fatal.

These twin sisters each possessed a body, doubling their consumption!

"Come, Li En—make her your master, you her servant. Sign the contract with the second child. Make you her possession—then you can pour your soul into her."

"I refuse." Li En dared not sign a contract involving soul.

Demon Binders usually met bad ends—if he signed such a devilish contract, his soul might vanish in an instant.

"I haven't finished speaking. Sign this Demon Pet contract too—make her your demon pet, your possession. Once you're each other's possessions, the contract's enforcement will glitch—and you'll form a two-way soul channel."

Perhaps in exploiting glitches and manipulating soul contracts, even the Lord of Devils couldn't match the snake.

A two-way soul contract cancels mutual control, yet grants mutual soul-transmission ability.

And this allows Li En's "will" to become a weapon for this metallic body.

A bag burst open, releasing Lana's relics—vast quantities of "Solar Matter" began flowing into the new metallic body.

Becoming "Solar" isn't instantaneous—but forging a "Solar Weapon" doesn't take that long!

(End of Chapter)