Chapter 270

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Contrary to expectations, the training of the Magic Tower students did not yield significant results.

Ideally, Oliver would have used his teaching methods to yield immediate tangible results and boost the motivation of other students, but he couldn't because Kevin didn't allow it.

Of course, that didn't mean he resented Kevin.

He realized through his conversation with Kevin that it was a somewhat unique technique.

Still, it was regrettable. Especially when he saw students spending time without enthusiasm or students struggling at the same stage despite their hard efforts.

"I guess it's fortunate that at least this side is showing progress?"

Oliver muttered as he tightened the last screw on the ladder.

"First, does it look okay?"

"......Uh......."

Oliver turned around to ask, and Child-First, who was inside the Corpse doll-Bathory, responded in a dull voice.

At first, Child-First struggled to adapt to the Corpse doll-Bathory, making noises closer to crying than speaking, and couldn't control its body well.

But with continued training and the consumption of vast emotions, Life Force, and mana, it was gradually adapting.

As evidence, it successfully constructed the basic facilities for Blood Elixir production using the knowledge of Corpse doll-Bathory.

‘...Is it knowledge? Or is it memory?'

Oliver descended from the ladder and put aside his tool belt, recording his question.

In the logbook about Child and Corpse Doll.

[...Whether it's knowledge or memory is still unknown. Because it's not specifically confirmed. However, one thing is certain: when a Child enters a Corpse doll, they can obtain not only the simple gimmick of the Corpse doll but also related information or knowledge to some extent. (The extent of information and knowledge is also not confirmed yet. More observation is needed.)]

As Oliver filled in the logbook with his neat and stylish handwriting, he paused his pen to look again at Child-First, who was checking the Blood Elixir production facilities.

There were still awkward moments in its movements, but they were certainly more natural than before, and most importantly, intelligence was apparent.

‘It had some level of intelligence before, but the growth of First is even larger... I did feed him a lot, but is that all?'

Oliver considered another hypothesis about the growth of the Child.

Emotion, Life-force, mana, etc. He thought that if you feed them a lot and keep the creature for a long time, their intelligence increases, but there seemed to be another factor.

For instance, if the quality of the Corpse doll that the Child uses is good, the Child also grows.

‘It's not entirely impossible.'

Oliver was somewhat convinced. There was also a hypothesis that the Child learns the technique of the Corpse doll.

Rather, it was quite natural.

Oliver quickly recorded this fact in the Child observation diary.

Although it was not immediately verifiable, Child, especially First, was gradually becoming more fluent in speech, so it might be revealed through conversation later.

"...It's quite interesting after all."

Oliver muttered.

Knowing what he was curious about, learning new things, and working were all immensely enjoyable.

In particular, the preparation of the Blood Elixir production facilities this time was quite challenging, but it was all the more fun.

‘Attracting unnecessary attention, having to secretly order from various black markets to hide my identity, and the trouble of installing it myself.'

Especially in the last part, Oliver was shocked unexpectedly.

The fact that he had to buy production equipment parts and assemble them himself... It made sense when he thought about it, but foolishly, he only realized that he had to do it himself too late.

‘Thanks to that, I had to rummage through books in a hurry, ask around about how to use various tools, and it was chaotic, but in the end, it worked out well. I even became capable of installing production equipment by myself...'

"....Have you checked everything?"

Oliver finished his thoughts and asked Child-First again.

First, who was scrutinizing the equipment from head to toe, turned its head to answer.

"No... nothing... wrong..."

First spoke while forcibly holding back a crying sound. For some reason, it seemed to be watching Oliver's reaction.

"Hmm... First? Don't force yourself to hold back such sounds and just speak comfortably. It seems like you're watching my reactions, but you don't need to."

Oliver said, just in case.

There was no special meaning.

He just mentioned it because it seemed like First and the other Children were watching his reactions.

He had seen a few Magic Tower students studying while being conscious of the professors' and sponsors' attention, and it personally bothered him.

After all, isn't it best to study, research, or train at ease, even if immediate results aren't produced?

"Kr..kr...ok...kya-hya."

"Yes, please do that. I want to see you guys being comfortable and independent without minding me. I think it would be more fun that way."

Child-First stared at Oliver for a moment before nodding its head.

"Understood...kya-hya."

"Yes, thank you... I hope all of you do the same."

Ooooong.......

The sound of the machine echoed, and the contents inside gradually began to boil.

"Like this... boil... this much."

First spread out its left hand, and stood up its middle finger on the right hand.

"...Six hours?"

"Yes!"

First nodded its head.

After hearing the answer, Oliver looked over the recipe and First's work route again and thought.

‘It seems easy at first glance, borrowing the power of a machine, but all the important parts are manual.'

Oliver went over the process First had done in his head several times for practice, and in the meantime, First continued to watch the product while waiting in front of the tank.

After approximately six hours, First slightly opened a faucet that could separate the contents of the tank and checked the state of the mixture, then moved it to a pressing tank connected directly to the tank.

The thick, dark red liquid traveled through the pipe and into the elongated conical tank, where it was again subjected to pressurization and heating.

Bang-! Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!

After boiling for a while, about half a cup of the dark red liquid emerged. First showed this to Oliver.

After looking over his notebook, Oliver asked, "Are we going to use emotions to ignite a fire and simmer this liquid?"

"Uh......."

Oliver nodded. This process was the most important.

Everything was important, but the final simmering stage greatly determined the quality of the product.

Bang-!

First placed a sticky mixture of blood onto a petri dish and ignited a flame with emotions of greed and desire, heating the entire petri dish.

The incredibly sticky liquid, which seemed no longer capable of boiling, surprisingly began to boil again.

The bubbling mixture of blood, similar to molten lava, evaporated its little remaining moisture, gradually solidifying and, reacting to the emotion of greed, forming a pill-like shape.

The color was so dark that it appeared black rather than red.

First carefully picked up the completed pill with a pair of tongs and held it out to Oliver.

While examining the pill, compressed with numerous emotions, mana, and Life-force, Oliver checked his watch.

It certainly felt like they had started in the morning, but it was already night.

Half a day was spent on a single pill. The cost was high, but the amount of time and labor invested was also extraordinary.

It seemed difficult to mass produce due to the production characteristics.

"Shall we find ways to improve first?" Oliver suggested, scanning through the recipe again.

The process that most greatly affected productivity was the initial preparation. If they wanted to increase productivity, this was the part they needed to address first.

‘The issue lies more with the ingredients than the process. We can't mix the blood of multiple people; we have to use only one person's blood.'

If they could solve this issue, it would be easier to mass-produce the Blood Elixir.

"But, obtaining a large amount of blood from one person isn't easy. The freshly drawn blood is essential..."

Of course, it's not that there weren't any solutions. They could simply kill a person and drain all their blood.

"But that's a bit too much, isn't it?" Oliver contemplated if there were other options.

Another method would be to increase the number of workers and production lines, but this was also not an easy task, so he decided to postpone it.

Increasing the production line would require a large space, extensive equipment, and highly skilled labor. This would also require more capital, time, and bodies.

While he was in deep thought, the familiar sound of a communication device rang out.

It was Forrest's personal communication device.

"Mr. Forrest?"

[Yes, tell me. What are you doing?]

"I was dealing with some personal matters. What can I do for you?" Oliver asked, puzzled.

Since his last redevelopment zone protection mission, Oliver had asked Forrest for understanding, stating that he would be too busy to come out for a while.

Normally, in such cases, Forrest would not rush Oliver and would wait patiently until Oliver appeared. That is, unless something had happened.

"Did something happen?"

[Hmm....... Not yet.]

At the mysterious reply, Oliver asked again.

"Do you mean something might happen?"

[Yes....... I'm sorry, but could you come out for a bit?]

(To be Continued)

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