Chapter 138: Wisdom Plant

Within a large room—spanning 200 metres in length and breadth, with the ceiling situated 20 metres from the ground—faint fog broiled around, forming clusters that swirled around, and making tiny twisters.

A massive machine stood in its centre, having a height of 10 metres, possessing a solid cylindrical structure. Attached to it were numerous pipes, each pumping in certain gases and liquids, their concentration and flow regulated by valves, affixed at regular intervals.

Each pipe conjoined at places and separated into their individual sections at others, mixing the substances flowing through them, creating a mixture to be transported, filtered through their difference in density, solubility, miscibility, viscosity, and chemical composition.

In the entire room, this was the only machine whirring into life, the sound it produced akin to the wails of a human. In the midsection of the cylindrical structure, a rectangular section spanning 2 metres in length and a metre in height opened, allowing a dense reddish fog to waft out, mixing in with the white fog. In a matter of seconds, the red fog was devoured by the white fog, turning its shade, looking no different from mist.

A psychic arm flashed through the rectangular section, bringing out a tiny sapling. The sapling had a thin green stem, looking fragile. It had two leaves, long and thin, trailing like a piece of rope, attached to the end of it was a pitcher each, sporting a leaf-like lid.

The lid was currently opened, showcasing the inside of the pitcher, looking red, filled with crimson blood. Thin green vines, looking no different from hair squirmed through the blood, absorbing the substance into them, turning crimson.

The level of the blood soon decreased, absorbed into the vines, turning the bottom of the pitcher a shade of red. The bottom-most part of the pitcher, the point of contact with the leaf had turned dark crimson, almost to the point of being black.

Soon, the shade of crimson coursed through its stem, circulating within it, allowing a thin stream to approach the roots. The roots were fibrous, having hundreds, if not thousands of secondary roots, wriggling in the air, absorbing the surrounding fog.

The psychic arm brought the sapling towards a drum, spanning a cross-section equivalent to its height. Filled in it was a viscous solution, looking saline. A layer of powder, looking no different from Brain Crystal impurities sedimented at the bottom.

An organ floated on its surface, beating in a steady rhythm, its actions actuated by a psychic arm seeped into its flesh. The heart was the size of a human fist, looking no different from a human heart, derived from someone young. It pumped the viscous solution, the source, and the sink being the same.

The sapling was brought to the drum, hovering a foot above the beating heart. The psychic arm holding the sapling expanded, coursing through its entirety, actuating the fibrous roots, forcing them to wrap around the beating heart.

The thumping of the heart intensified, completely wrapped around by the roots, encasing it. It was then placed on the surface of the viscous solution, leaving it to float on it. The psychic arm extricated itself, closing a lid on the drum, having porous holes. It allowed the transfer of air, giving the sapling its needs.

The drum was then placed at the end of a conveyer belt, one that moved no more than a metre per minute, heading towards an open section in the wall, proceeding somewhere else.

In the meantime, the shrill screams echoing from the 10-metre tall cylinder intensified, blood-curdling to the extent they rattled the machine, causing tremors to course through it. A figure landed on its top, sporting limbs made of psychic energy.

A beam of light descended from the figure, entering the cylinder, culling the shrill screams. The machine whirred to a pause, instilling a moment of peace in the large hall.

"Ma'am, at this rate, even if he doesn't die, he would definitely be crippled, both physically and mentally." A psychic arm appeared beside the figure, whispering in her ears, its tone filled with hesitation.

"Then, you take his place. I have a method to also make do with Sky Controllers." The lady, Atika Light said, showing no change in her expression, as if she had just ordered the other party to fetch something trivial.

"Ma'am, I will take the role now." A man walked forward, his back held straight, his demeanour brimming with confidence. "Espers are necessary to take control of the situation. It is the job of us Warriors to shoulder the grunt work."

"I hope you can last longer than this man. He couldn't hold out by the time we produced 78 saplings." Atika Light said, tapping a spot on the cylindrical machine, causing it to form numerous vertical lines that coursed its long body, becoming columns.

Soon, it expanded, bringing each curved plate outwards, revealing a large gap along the cylindrical machine, to the extent it looked like it was cut in half and laid bare. Standing within it was an 8-metre tall giant, sporting a humanoid appearance.

His once robust physique now looked a mash-up of delicate rubber, on the verge of melting. Inserted into his flesh were numerous tubes, having stopped pumping in various fluids. Attached to his mouth was a pipe, segmented into two after a foot, trailing into two pipes that proceeded towards the other ends.

Situated at the end of one pipe was a seed, held within a flower, secured without harm. The flower had five petals forming a base, with five more present overhead, forming a dome. They were a shade of magenta, their inner surface a mixture of green, yellow, and orange. The seed was shaped like a walnut, brown in colour, secured within the dome of petals.

Placed at the end of the other pipe was an arm-length creature, sporting a suction pod-like mouth, white in colour. It was held in place by a valve, barring its motion. It was the Wisdom Parasite, looking no different from the ones used in the Induction Ceremonies, the only difference being its mode of usage.

The 8-metre tall humanoid figure began to shrivel up, shrinking in size. A couple of psychic arms flashed around, removing all the connected tubes, freeing its restraints. Soon, a human figure kneeled on the floor, coughing out blood, his body shivered in increasing intensities while his face was pale, oozing out an aura of despair.

"Treat him," Atika Light commanded, allowing a psychic arm to carry the man towards a corner, passing through a door installed at the place, taken beyond the limit of observation.

Atika Light turned towards the man willing to take the spot next, "Hope you can last longer."

"Don't worry, ma'am; I will not be an embarrassment to us Transformers." The man bowed a little, emitting copious amounts of aura, emanating dense energy currents that ignited the air, turning the area into a sea of flames.

Three psychic arms appeared in the region the moment the man emitted his aura, forming a cocoon around him, preventing the machine from being affected. The cocoon soon enlarged in size, spanning 5 metres in radius.

The man experienced an increase in size, turning into a 13-metre tall giant. His entire skin was covered in scales, looking extremely tough. Tiny spikes emerged all across his body, looking sharp to the extent capable of shredding the bodies of any Shifter. The arms and legs further increased in their girth, turning into thick stumps. Another layer of armour formed on the body, forming 2 more layers over the limbs.

The entire body formed segments across its surface, with each segment spanning a centimetre wide, looking elastic. They imbued in the giant a sense of flexibility, further raising its explosive powers.

The head experienced further changes; the jaw protruded out, turning long and sharp. The teeth morphed into one similar to a shark's, shining with a deadly lustre. A pair of horns formed on the head, looking flexible like the feelers of insects, darting to and fro to sense the surroundings.

The eyes elongated, its ends turning sharp, creating an arc across the forehead. Armour covered the head section, masking the hair that resembled a forest, but one filled with spikes. It was the same with the neck, the segments formed on it even minute as compared to the rest of the body, showing greater importance for flexibility.

Tier 5 Skill—Warlord Transformation!

Depending on the size of the Warlord, a Transformer's strength could be easily deduced. Their height generally varied from 5 metres to 10 metres, with the biggest in their history spanning a whopping height of 18 metres.

The 13-metre tall giant arrived before the cylindrical dome, looking at the tiny machine, glancing at Atika Light with confusion. It opened its mouth, producing a set of words that rattled the environment, the strength concealed within its flesh apparent. "Ma'am, I won't fit inside it."

"Indeed, you are not an embarrassment to us Transformers," Atika Light let out a nonchalant smile, showing no change in expression despite seeing a giant that surpassed the norm. After all, she had given birth to a monster and witnessed his growth firsthand. There weren't many things in this world that could garner her surprise or admiration.

Ten psychic arms flashed around, quickly dismantling and reconstructing the cylindrical machine, increasing its size until it could fit the current Warlord giant. Soon, the cylindrical machine spanned a height of 15 metres, now able to encase the Warlord giant.

As the 13-metre tall giant entered the machine, the columns closed. Many psychic arms flashed, attaching the tubes to its body, making holes in necessary places in a matter of seconds. After all, the ones operating on it were Sky Controllers, possessing enough strength to damage its condensed flesh.

The machine soon whirred into life as the flower encasing a seed and the Wisdom Parasite entered the giant's mouth simultaneously, travelling through its food pipe, eventually ending up in its stomach.

The influx of the numerous fluids actuated many chain reactions, all occurring within the giant's stomach. The giant grunted, bearing the pain without making a scene, enduring it without trouble.

"Inform me should a complication arise. I'll be back before the first sapling is produced." Atika Light said, disappearing from view, exiting the hall. She arrived at another large hall, looking at the drums brought inside through a conveyer belt.

Many Ground Controllers were at work here, arranging the drums in order underneath a column that carried them through various machines. At the end were Espers from the Marble family, sporting psychic arms shimmering with flames of all colours.

Unranked Skill—Flame Refinery!

The psychic arms treated the contents in the drum, making many mystical changes according to the procedure, executing the process until the drums melted. Soon, only a sapling was left, with its roots covered by the substance that made the drums, turning them rigid.

Atika Light arrived at a rack where the completed saplings were segregated, grabbing hold of one of them. She directed a beam of light through the sapling, creating three projections overhead, a giant human, a Wisdom Parasite, and a normal plant, forming a synonymous balance, their effects harmonised into a whole.

"The production of the Wisdom Plants has finally begun. The finalised product is also an upgrade of the previous version, with their growth stunted at Tier 5. They now perceive humans as their sole ally, cooperating fully without any complains." Atika Light retracted the beam of light, placing the sapling in its prior spot, watching the projections disappear one by one.

"In times of crisis, they will voluntarily stake their lives to defend us, humans. Moreover, their wisdom has been further improved, but filled with restrictions so that they won't form thoughts of their own." Atika Light said, glancing at her right, looking at the humanoid figure that had appeared at some point in time.

"So, what are your opinions on this?" Atika Light said, looking at the magenta humanoid figure enveloped in silence. She then noticed the magenta figure heave out a sigh.

"Efficiency wise, they can now produce Frenzy Fruits at greater quantity. But, we have to expend the strength of our Transformers to produce them, cutting our battle strength short for the time being." The magenta figure shook its head, "Once we have braved through this crisis, modify the method to exclude our Transformers from it."

"I was thinking of the Children of Wisdom…" Atika Light said, watching the face of the magenta figure crumple.

"If there is a hell, we will be its VIP candidates."

"That sure we do."