At the silver-white workbench in the personal laboratory of the City of Wisdom, Merlin Avery carefully wiped his hands with a white silk handkerchief, then took a deep breath and did everything he could to calm himself.

The Blackwing Reaper Gana Enlais lay quietly on the operating table, his breathing was so light that his chest barely rose and fell. Her face was ominously gray, her lips were blue, and red rotting blood poured from the wounds on her shoulders, arms, and abdomen, which could not be concealed by several layers of linen bandages.

A slightly humanoid aggregate of light floated above Gana Enlais's body, and at first glance, it appeared to be the out-of-body soul of the Blackwing Reaper. This is the reason why after the alchemical elixir that stimulates life force fails, Cana Enlais can still hold on to his last breath. Unbeknownst to Avery, the Ray Helper in his personal lab possessed the ability to help keep the subject alive for up to eight hours.

Eight hours is enough for any alchemy experiment, but it doesn't help much for a special ritual like soul draining. Whether the ritual succeeds or fails, there is no way for a soulless body to continue to sustain life.

The potions and utensils needed to drain the soul were placed in a corner of the counter, Victor was the leader guarding the door, and Satum Apothecary stood beside Avery as an assistant, his eyes were eager, and he held a snow-white towel in his hand. The preparations are all in place, and there is no excuse for delay. Avery moved his fingers, which were a little numb from nervousness, and picked up a bottle of alchemical potion that emitted a blurry halo.

The ritual of soul extraction is actually not complicated, but the success rate is always not high, even if it is operated by a highly qualified grandmaster-level alchemist himself, the probability of success is not more than half. Merlin Avery could almost be said to have done everything perfectly, but when he saw that Gana Enlais's body suddenly twitched violently, and then lost the last shred of life, he still felt his heart sink as if a large, hard stone was blocked in his chest.

Fortunately, the feeling didn't last long. Because just half a minute later, a strange humming sound came from inside the console, and a strangely shaped hexagonal crystal pillar slowly rose from under the countertop. About a finger's tall, Gana Enlais sat at the base of the crystal pillar, wearing a tattered winged armor with a confused expression on his face.

Avery let out a long breath, the large stone in his chest falling to the ground, and he felt his whole body feel relaxed. "Captain Jana, can you hear me?"

The finger-high Blackwing Reaper immediately made a movement to look around, and then quickly reacted, "Iron Master, it's incredible, I'm a ...... now." Soul state?"

"Yes, Captain Jana, the soul-draining ritual was a great success. Avery happily replied, "There's one thing I didn't tell you beforehand, actually...... Well, this is the first time I've performed a soul-draining ritual, and both Victor and Satum are the product of an accident. ”

Gana Enlais shook his body and almost slipped, "Now I believe that you are really not that old, Iron Master, say it so frankly, aren't you afraid that I will hold a grudge?"

"Concealment will lead to resentment, Captain Jana, anyway, you have no other choice at that time. Avery smiled slyly, his expression matching his age, "My teacher once told me that when you take the test for experimental operations, you must put on a confident appearance, as if you have done this kind of experiment several times a day, and every time you will succeed. In this way, if you fail, the examiner will also give a few more credits......"

"If I were the examiner, I would just want you to repeat a grade now. Jahna Enlais rolled her eyes, then stroked her long burgundy hair, "When will my body be made?" ”

Avery nodded approvingly, "I'm going to urge it, maybe it's already been built." ”

A few minutes later, Avery walked up to the Guiding Golem with excitement on his face, "Dear Guide, I've gained the third Follower of the Immortal, how do I create a body for her?"

The Golem of the Guide was silent for a full half minute, the glowing crystal tube in its head flickering incessantly, and then the sound startled Avery by surprise.

"You didn't get a third Follower of the Immortals, Honorary Citizen Merlin Avery, you only got one Follower of the Immortals, rated as Steel, and possessed a unique piece of broken equipment that could be repaired for the cost of Citizen Points, and the Follower of the Immortal was upgraded to Mithril after repair. ”

"What, dear guide, are you mistaken?" Avery couldn't believe his ears, "Before that, I already had two Followers of the Immortals, one Victor and the other Satum, and I spent citizen points to get them permission to leave the City of Wisdom." ”

"Memory Query...... At the end of the inquiry, it was found that Merlin Avery, an honorary citizen, had no previous records of Immortal Followers, and it was found that Merlin Avery, an honorary citizen, had obtained permission from the Immortal Followers to leave the City of Wisdom, and the logic was wrong, and he applied for a full scan and inspection.

Avery hesitated, "Omnidirectional scanning...... Well, I allow the scan to be checked, but I ask you to keep the scan results confidential. ”

"Agreeing to a confidentiality request is a citizen's personal privacy. The Golem replied in a rigid tone, and then the glowing crystal tube on its head shot out a constantly changing rainbow of light, shining on the ground in front of Avery feet. "Honorary citizen Merlin Avery, please enter the scanning area, exit the area is considered a refusal to continue the inspection. ”

"It's a very human approach. Avery felt a little more relaxed, but hesitated not to step into the rainbow light immediately. No one wants to expose their entire secrets to the eyes of others, and even if the Golem of the Guide doesn't seem to have real emotions, it can be uncomfortable.

However, in contrast, the situation of Victor and Satum worries him more. Obviously, they can settle in the soul building, or they can get permission to leave the City of Wisdom, and the situation of Victor and Satum is no different from that of other Immortal followers, but there is no record in the memory bank of the Guide Golem, which can't help but make Avery suspicious.

After all, in retrospect, the appearance of Victor and Satum can be said to be completely unexpected, and the Soul Building Apothecary's Hut also stands on the territory of Avery Honorary Citizens without permission, and when you think about it, it doesn't seem to be quite consistent with the logic of the Guide Golem's every action to be declared and approved.

The full scan didn't last long, and it didn't cause anything unusual, except for the colorful light that flickered around him, making Avery feel a little sour. He closed his eyes and relaxed for a moment until the voice of the Golem of the Guide rang in his ears.

"Scanned, omit normal results, Honorary Citizen Merlin Avery, you have a Mithril curse item on you, do you want to do it?"

Avery stared at him in surprise, then rolled up his sleeve, revealing the Frost Emperor ring on the finger of his right hand, "Honorable guide, you just said that this alchemy item has a curse attached to it?"

The crystal tube on the head of the Guiding Golem flickered, "No, this item is a part of the Frost Emperor's armament of the Adamantite Combination Equipment, and it is evaluated as quasi-Mithril, not a curse item." ”

Avery hurriedly rummaged through his satchel and took out the "Fly Away from Death" cloak that was neatly folded inside. "That'...... Isn't this it?"

"No, this item is a part of the Mithril-level combination equipment, the Reaper Mischief, and is rated as steel, and is not a cursed item until all parts are collected. ”

After two consecutive guesses were wrong, Avery was dripping with fine sweat on his forehead, and he rummaged through his satchel once more, and there were no more noteworthy items other than the "Ember Head Ring" issued by the Golem of the Guide when he was granted honorary citizenship and a cluster of "Purple Soul Fire" sealed with the Followers of the Steel-level Heroic Spirit. Finally, he gritted his teeth, put the satchel on the ground, and took a half-step back.

"Dear Guide, this is all I have, please help me find that cursed item. ”

"Excuse no, the cursed item is still on you. The Golem replied without emotion.

Avery narrowed his pupils slightly, and a more ominous premonition welled up in his heart. "Dear Guide, with the help of a scan, can you find the cursed item for me and mark it?"

"The request has passed, the cursed item has been locked, now it is marked. ”

The rainbow light fell again, and before Avery could turn his mind, a loud explosion sounded around him, and a strong wave of qi suddenly rolled and spread in all directions, blowing him almost stumbling and falling.

Avery subconsciously activated the Frost Emperor Ring and the "Flying Away from Death" cloak, and looked in the direction where the explosion sound came from, under the dual protection of the light blue and lilac light.

He saw the billowing smoke rising and spreading, the surrounding area was filled with a choking smell, and the colorful light from the Golem of the Guide seemed to be obscured by the smoke, but when his vision gradually recovered, Avery saw at a glance the quaint wooden box of primary colors suppressed by the light on the ground, trembling from time to time.

Avery had a picture in his mind that he had almost forgotten. It was a gift from a bald old man who looked very kind and kind when he first met the other inhabitants of the City of Wisdom.

The gift is this wooden box.

And Avery remembers that he didn't even touch it because he was so skeptical of the gift!