Chapter 13: Mounting... Mechanical Armor?

Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Mounting... Mechanical Armor?

"Can I command them?"

Chen Shang’s eyes lit up. He turned to the nearest Rock Scale Race unit and said, "Lift your left leg."

The creature immediately lifted its left leg as instructed.

"Put it down," he ordered. "Spin around."

The unit followed every command to the letter. It was much more obedient than any pet!

However, it spoke up, "My Lord, perhaps you could issue some more complex and purposeful commands? No one even bothers with these simple mobility tests when Flesh Bodies are fresh out of the factory.

"We are intelligent lifeforms. I believe I have the capacity to comprehend your intentions."

Chen Shang’s face reddened. He stopped messing with the unit and instead walked along, harvesting entries.

These combat units each had their own unique characteristics and could drop quite a few entries. [Scale Armor Hardening], [Shell Hardening], [Power Burst], [Rapid Regeneration]... He collected them one by one into his inventory.

Just as he was enthusiastically harvesting, he suddenly heard a voice.

"Lord Chen Shang, it seems you are not only smart but also very lucky."

The voice gave Chen Shang a sense of familiarity. He froze for a moment, then turned around to see a Creation Species standing behind him.

This unit had a thin frame and lacked scale armor. Its skin was grayish-blue and covered in fine patterns. The shell on its chest was so thin that he could almost see the flowing energy lines inside.

"Ah, it’s you! You were... downloaded this quickly?"

Chen Shang recognized it. This was the same unit he had tossed into the decomposition furnace.

The creature smiled. "I was created specifically for the environment of this world, so my iteration speed is very fast."

Its gaze fell on the blue halo around Chen Shang’s wrist. "It looks like you are learning how to become a Wizard? Congratulations."

"Just good luck. What about you? What did you update this time?"

The creature thought for a brief moment before speaking, "I iterated [Water Element Resistance] and a dual-circulation respiratory system. There are too many aquatic creatures in this world, and my previous body couldn’t last very long underwater."

Chen Shang reached out curiously and poked its new body.

Without the scale armor, its skin felt cool and smooth to the touch, like the skin of some aquatic creature. The underlying muscles were firm but much thinner than before.

"Does this kind of iteration occur directly on the body?"

"Yes. With every iteration, the body is redesigned according to our needs. This time, I sacrificed my scale armor defense in exchange for underwater mobility and respiratory efficiency."

Confused, Chen Shang asked, "Why sacrifice defense for underwater capabilities? Can’t you have both?"

The unit shook its head. "No, because our energy origins are limited. Do you know how I obtain energy?"

Chen Shang shook his head, suddenly realizing that he had never seen these units eat.

"If I am close to the Elemental Tower, I can receive energy directly. The Elemental Tower will convert the energy into a type of wave and transmit it to my core energy origin."

The unit straightened its posture, allowing Chen Shang to see the core energy origin on its chest.

"If the distance is too far, I operate on stored energy, though I can also convert some energy through eating."

Chen Shang understood. The former was like ultra-long-distance wireless charging, while the latter relied on an internal "battery" supplemented by eating.

"I never thought you could replenish energy by eating."

The creature nodded. "Correct, but only as a supplement. The energy conversion rate from eating is very poor. Honestly, it is definitely one of the shackles limiting biological evolution.

"There are many aquatic creatures in this world, making underwater capabilities more important than defense. After all, I am just an expendable good. I don’t need to evolve flawlessly; I just need to be more adapted to this world."

Adapt... Chen Shang chewed on the word, and suddenly, a flash of spiritual light struck him.

Because this combat unit had optimized its underwater combat capabilities, it had given up a portion of its defense. What if... he could add a layer of defense for it?

It wouldn’t have to be grown on the body, just worn over it—something detachable. It could be equipped when needed and unequipped when not. It could wear lightweight gear when going underwater and heavy armor when coming ashore.

That way, it wouldn’t consume any additional energy.

He currently held unused defense entries like [Scale Armor Hardening] and [Shell Hardening]. What if he could turn these entries into some kind of... equipment? Or perhaps... attachable modules?

Detachable, modular components that could be swapped out based on different scenarios.

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. If he could achieve this, not only would he optimize the combat units, but he would also fully utilize his own entries to forge his very own Mythical Species.

It would be extremely difficult for others to accomplish this. It required design, along with continuous testing and iteration.

But he was different. His entries were ready-made materials.

Furthermore, it wasn’t just these Creation Species that could use them; he could use them himself. After all, entries like [Scale Armor Hardening] were previously useless to him.

There was also the Wizard Apprentice assessment. If he could summarize runes from his entries, passing the assessment should be a breeze.

"My Lord? What are you thinking about?"

Chen Shang snapped out of his daze. "I was thinking about how to add a layer of scale armor to you."

It blinked. "My body design does not include scale armor."

"I know, which is why I need to add it. What’s your name?"

"I don’t have a name. I am District Seventeen Aquatic Combat Type Number Three."

"Alright, then I’ll call you Number Three!"

Chen Shang turned and walked away. Returning to his small house, he opened the Round Disc and started flipping to the Chapter on the basic applications of Rune Arrays.

If he were to realize his concept, he needed to solve two problems.

First, he needed to summarize the corresponding runes from his entries.

Second, he needed to carve these runes onto a suitable medium.

The second step was easy to accomplish. He had already carved runes on the spirit level, and the Wizard World had plenty of rune equipment for him to use as references and imitate.

But the first step was difficult. How could he summarize runes from his entries?

Up until now, all the runes he had encountered were ready-made. He had absolutely no relevant experience.

He first had to figure out the true nature of the entries. Were they fragments of rules? Meanwhile, runes were the language used to express these rules.

"I have to translate the entries into runes," he mused.

Chen Shang activated the [Concentration] and [Energy Control] entries, ensuring he was in optimal condition, before activating [Power Burst].

[Power Burst] could directly act upon his body. Power gathered from all over, flowing along a fixed path before finally being released simultaneously through all his limbs and bones.

With his eyes closed, he focused entirely on tracking the trajectory of that power.

Energy flowing... gathering... releasing...

After sensing it several times, Chen Shang picked up a pen and crookedly drew three runes on a piece of paper.

"No, it’s a bit off. There’s also a compression process, otherwise the burst cannot be completed."

"And then, there has to be guidance..."

Chen Shang threw himself into tedious, repetitive attempts. However, he maintained a high level of concentration, sustained not just by the effects of the entries, but also by a surge of sheer excitement.

Because this was his first time attempting to use his own abilities to deconstruct the power brought by his Golden Finger!