Chapter 209: Two-Way Contract

"How many disciples have you actually taken in? I thought the Dragon Contracter... well, the Masked Long Qishi was a new profession unique to me."

After all, it was a "custom-made" Warlock (Magic Contracter) profession; how could it suddenly be mass-produced?

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

The snake, however, was quite disdainful. He understood Li En Sudar well; he was a high-quality user, but not a qualified developer.

He lacked both the energy and the motivation to push this profession to its limits.

Was this profession truly limited to Li En? Not necessarily.

Ultimately, the "custom-made" nature of this profession was an application of Kukku's Multi-Headed Dragon (Multiple Thought Lines) ability, a bug exploit of making a contract between "oneself" and "oneself."

And those who inherited Kukku's traits and abilities were not limited to Li En alone. So far, several other disciples were far more professional than Li En.

In fact, because these disciples' "inheritance" was incomplete, and Kukku was simply not good at applying power to combat development, this inheritance lacked the "professional guidance" needed for actual combat.

The Goddess was the only one who developed practical applications, and that was because she possessed a Divine Vein, the favor of a Deity, and a Priest level (boosted to Tier 5); these elements together formed her combat composition.

Or looking at it from another angle, this Soul ability became another super cheat within her past profession system, crafted into a finished product under the Deity's grace.

Others were not so lucky; they received the "engine," but lacked the "mechanical parts."

Filling this gap was difficult for others, but for the snake, it was no trouble at all. Although this was a strange profession that restricted "schizophrenics," he was increasingly interested in its future development.

"The Masked Knight fighting solo is outdated; now we need a Five-Color Team! We need a movie-scale free-for-all!" Thus, he happily went around finding successors and digging pits, even professionally handling the color schemes.

Uh, although the motive was subtle, since this lord was rarely in the mood to help, Li En naturally could not refuse.

"Miss Shaliman, when did you..."

"Encounter the Ancestor? The second day after returning to Radiance City."

Such a domineering Miss Shaliman made Li En feel slightly unfamiliar.

But before two sentences were spoken, her snake tail, which was already close, instinctively coiled around him...

"Uh."

Li En sighed and, in the end, did not avoid it.

Just now in the living room, another girl had risked her reputation, defending you in front of so many colleagues and even superiors; pushing her away now would really not be very manly.

So, the girl who had her wish granted smiled sweetly; she seemed very satisfied with her progress, far better than that useless other self. And looking at the pure girl, Li En felt even more like scum.

"... Li En, you will know later. Those things you worry about are not even an issue. Surrender early, save trouble, and come help."

The snake, flashing back and forth, resisted the summon to return (accurately speaking, he was constantly sent back and then jumped back) while organizing the parts in the room.

This was the temporary warehouse of the Vitoria shop, also Ophelia's "repair shop," where large amounts of metal and components were stored.

"I tried to repair her... but to be honest, it's too difficult." Vitoria sighed. The Creation Clan could be seen as the pinnacle of alchemy in that era, especially in the realm of metal puppets and creations, reaching the level of creation itself.

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

She still could not see the snake. Perhaps the snake looked down on her as too "ordinary."

"It's good you didn't mess it up; someone said that." Li En relayed the snake's words.

And Vitoria accepted the reality of a certain non-existent individual pointing and directing here; she had already become speechless regarding the widespread schizophrenia among her colleagues.

Among this batch of Heroic Soul inheritors, am I, Vitoria, the only Dark Elf who is normal?

Watching the inexplicably proud Vitoria, Li En felt even stranger.

As far as he knew, the more drunk a person was, the more they claimed they weren't drunk; the more outrageous a mental patient was, the more they pretended to be normal. Appearing normal among a group of schizophrenics was originally the most outrageous thing of all.

The more Vitoria acted normal, the more subtle the looks others gave her became.

"Click!"

And the sound suddenly rising in the workshop attracted everyone's attention.

Ophelia extended her hands; those metal components split, reconstructed, and formed around her. And the true controller was obviously the snake lying on her head.

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

Among all of Kukku's disciples, Ophelia was the first to be chosen as the "Masked Long Qishi."

The reason was nothing else; it was simply because she was a blank slate.

"Blank is good. An empty cup is actually easier to pour water into."

Ophelia's presence had always been weak because, whether as an Alchemist or as a Warrior, she was too "new." She was like a newborn soul reincarnated from an ancient corpse, possessing some traits and potential of the Ancients, but when it came to specific application, she had nothing.

Without sufficient strength, there was naturally no presence. And the increasingly severe Soul Loss Syndrome also reduced her activity.

She had great potential, but for now, she only had potential.

"If the Lich dies, will she get better?"

That Lich's phylactery had become Ophelia's arm, containing the other's fragmented soul; the main soul's portion had still escaped. That part of the Lich, linked with the Ogre, had become increasingly independent.

"She will get a bit better, but it won't bring a critical change. Her defects are comprehensive; she has been reset to zero in both combat and personality. Give her ten years, and she should be able to grow again, but obviously, there is no time for that now."

Two fragmented shards, even if pieced together, could not take shape.

From the very beginning, Kukku's idea was to use the "Lich" to feed Ophelia, achieving nothing more than a single soul.

"Click!"

That phylactery limb was cut off and placed amidst a pile of steel parts.

"Transfer the second thought line over there."

The snake's words made Ophelia pause slightly, then she cast a questioning gaze at Li En. He nodded with a bitter smile.

"Already transferred. Requesting link due to weakness." The girl's eyes looked at Li En; this fragile look of survival actually made her appear even more human.

After stripping away this part (the second thought core), although it reduced consumption, it also stripped away the "nutrient battery."

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

But due to the Lich's "delayed return," the result was that the milk bottle's supply was insufficient, leading to her rapidly worsening Soul Loss Syndrome.

Under normal circumstances, consuming the "milk supply" within would be enough for Ophelia to grow into having an independent self.

"Crack!"

Now visibly, under "Ophelia's" control, those metal components began to assemble a second "her," using that prosthetic limb as the core.

However, this design style made Li En feel strangely familiar.

"Uh, Cybertronian maid" exoskeleton armor, wheel assemblies disguised as a giant bow on the back, meaningless antennas on the two ears, and wing components resembling a maid's dress.

The most wasteful and eye-catching part was the overly detailed, assembly-style face that didn't seem like a construct; those fragmented parts pieced together a visage capable of displaying nearly hundreds of expressions, an excessive design.

The overall appearance resembled a female Transformer; while the structure was more full and solid, it also featured maid-like edge (lace) designs.

Combining power and beauty, merging mechanical style with humanoid aesthetics.

This exotic metal construct with its strange style, compared to the Creation Clan's elegant puppet designs, indeed better suited Li En's aesthetic sense and was also filled with Li Ensu's personal preferences!

"Please give orders, please command."

Yet after this second "Ophelia" was born, she appeared even more rigid; despite the exquisitely designed metal face, it remained as stiff as a mask.

After splitting into two, she instead appeared even weaker; the insufficiency of the soul was fatal.

This pair of twins each possessing a body actually doubled the consumption!

"Come, Li En, take her as the master and you as the servant, and sign a contract with the second child. Let you become her property; this way, you can infuse your soul into her."

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

The fate of warlocks is generally not good; if I sign such a devil's contract, my soul might vanish in an instant.

"I haven't finished speaking yet. After signing this familiar contract, let her become your familiar, become your property. Once we are each other's property, the contract's forced effect will bug out, and a two-way soul channel will be formed between you."

Perhaps, in terms of exploiting bugs and manipulating soul contracts, the Lord of Devils is not as skilled as the Snake.

A two-way soul contract cancels out each other's control rights, yet grants each other the ability to infuse souls.

And this also allows Li En's "will" to become the weapon of this metal body.

A bag burst open, containing remnants from Miss Lana; a large amount of "Sun Material" began to enter this newborn metal body.

Evolving into a "Sun" is not achieved overnight, but forging a "Sun Weapon" does not take that long!

(End of this chapter)