Krrrr
The array began to glow softly at first, then more brightly, its light reflecting off the polished floor beneath the volunteers. Shaddad and Jabba were already dripping with sweat, their breaths coming faster as the heat and tension of the mont pressed down on them...
Seconds after the array activated fully, sothing remarkable finally began to occur: a shimring, viscous liquid, alternately gleaming white and soft blue, started gathering beneath the volunteers' feet. Slowly, carefully, it seeped into the soles of their feet, penetrating upwards with deliberate, thodical precision.
Although the process looked extrely painful to any observer, only faint expressions of mild discomfort flickered across their faces-no one cried out, no one flinched. Their determination, trained through countless trials, prevented any outward show of suffering.
After nearly five minutes, a subtle, gentle glow began to radiate from all of their bodies, spreading from head to toe as the liquid infiltrated their cells in perfect asure.
The mont had co: it was ti to activate the pressure.
Hooom
Imdiately, every volunteer felt as though a massive, invisible mountain of tal had suddenly descended upon them, pressing down with overwhelming weight.
Even though their bodies were entirely different-so tall, so short, so heavily muscled, others thin-they all experienced the sa level of pressure, perfectly calibrated by the array. Each of them felt it individually, yet equally, as if the system read their cells and determined the exact force needed to push them to the limit.
At that precise mont, Jabba and Shaddad swallowed hard, the tension thick enough to taste.
The operation had officially begun.
...Shaddad had already managed to reduce the cost of weaponisation
dramatically even before eting Robin-sothing that had been his lifelong dream and ultimate goal.
And after Robin entrusted him with the work of the Second Heaven Chosen, he had successfully halved the cost yet again by drawing intricate absorption runes directly onto the weaponisation materials before
them into the body, optimizing absorption and maximizing the effectiveness of every single component.
Yet even with all these refinents, progress in this direction had hit a stubborn wall for a long ti.
Shaddad could not discover any thod to lower the cost further without sacrificing quality or efficiency.
At that point, Jabba had stepped in, providing an array that made the weaponisation process far more manageable-even though it did not directly reduce the cost, it significantly enhanced the reliability of absorption.
He then adjusted the array's inscriptions, redirecting its energy so that it no longer pumped into the cells directly, but instead infused the raw materials, preparing them perfectly for Shaddad's next step.
Shaddad took this further by creating the weaponisation baths individually, engraving runes on each raw material separately before rging them into a final weaponisation liquid. This liquid was low in density and nearly impossible to penetrate the body on its own-unlike the traditional weaponisation baths. It required the array to function correctly, but in return it could enter the body in precisely the required amount-no more, no less-and the runes inscribed made advancent much smoother whenever the array was active.
Theoretically, every step was logical, precise, and elegant.
In theory, success was inevitable.
But-
Shhhh
With their green eyes sharp and focused, Jabba and Shaddad observed the process with intense patience... for an hour, then two, then three.
The volunteers suffered under the imnse pressure. Their exhaustion was visible in every movent: shoulders slumped, knees bent, torsos unable to remain upright. So collapsed completely, lying flat on the ground, their chests heaving, sweat pouring down their faces.
And yet, despite all that, the only change that occurred was the faint glow of the liquid and the pressure coursing through them.
"Damn it!"
Shaddad slamd his hand onto his thigh in frustration, then turned and patted Jabba's shoulder. "Shut down the array. There's no point in torturing them further-we've failed again."
Jabba ground his teeth tightly but began disabling the pressure anyway.
Poof
"Aaah-"
Even the volunteers who had been barely maintaining their strength collapsed instantly, panting, gasping for air. One of them shouted, "Heeey... we demand
double rations today!"
"Huff... huff... I want an extra book from the library!"
"Alright, alright, we'll fulfill every one of your requests!"
Jabba motioned for them to calm down. Every few weeks, these volunteers were gathered only to have their limits tested and their bodies pushed so harshly, then sent back to their cabins. A few compensations were necessary, of
course.
Jabba let out a deep sigh and returned his gaze to Shaddad.
"...What now? Do you have any new ideas for another formula, or are we
completely stuck?"
"No. I've exhausted every thought these past weeks. But if you notice... this ti, none of their blood vessels burst, and all of them remained conscious.
That alone counts as progress, doesn't it?"
Shaddad paused, evaluating the scene, then asked cautiously, "...Did anything arrive from Sky Opening City?"
Jabba had sent copies of their ideas to Sky Opening City two years ago, after facing repeated and often frustrating difficulties. Over that ti, they had tried multiple approaches, each one bringing its own setbacks, until finally they decided to escalate the matter. Sky Opening City had assigned an entire team of specialists-experts in arrays, energy flows, and ink inscriptions-to examine the proposals and attempt any possible adjustnts. After careful study and intense deliberation, the team sent back three different recomndations, each with its own unique contribution. Each one added sothing aningful to the project, nudging it slightly forward, offering a small glimr of hope amidst the repeated setbacks.
Of course, despite all these efforts, the overall system was still far from perfect. Failures still occurred, and the process was slow and painful. Yet even so, the fact that any progress had been made at all was undeniable, a tiny but significant sign that they were on the right track.
"No," Jabba shook his head slowly, his expression serious but calm. "But today is
the day of the soul borrowings' delivery. If Sky Opening City sent anything at all, Harper should bring it today without fail."
"Let's hope he has sothing useful with him then," Shaddad muttered, his
voice heavy with exhaustion as he sank into a large, padded chair. He leaned back, rubbing his temples. "Because without any new ideas, we'll have to reconsider everything from scratch, rethink the entire process, and that would set us back even further."
He then gestured broadly toward the volunteers, who were still recovering from the previous experint. "If no response arrives from Sky Opening City today, then we'll have no choice but to compensate these young people for their ti and effort-and dismiss them. We've already stalled their progress long enough; it's unfair to keep them waiting any longer."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Holak waved his hands emphatically, bouncing slightly on his feet. "Dismiss who? I'm counting on you here! Why would you even consider disappointing like that?" He turned sharply toward Jabba, eyes blazing with both humor and intensity. "Say sothing, you race traitor! Snap him out of it and let him think straight again!"
"Heh~ I really want to say sothing helpful here, but we are really-" Jabba
began, letting out a long sigh, his shoulders relaxing for a mont as if about to continue. But suddenly his face tensed, eyes widening. "Wait... Who is a race
traitor?!"
"Oh, now we're talking about side issues?" Holak spun back to Shaddad, gesturing dramatically. "Hey, I ca here to help! Didn't you request my presence? Didn't you ask for the attendance of this vertically challenged fellow as well? And didn't I allow you to study my perfectly sculpted body, with these
radiant, glowing eyes of mine, for hours on end? Don't tell all of that effort, all that ti and attention, was wasted!"
"You truly are exceptional," Shaddad said, shaking his head with a mixture of
admiration and frustration. "Your body shouldn't even exist-it's beyond what's normal. Your talent is far rarer than any ordinary human gifted with a Fundantal law. Examining your body had a profound impact on my mindset, expanding my thoughts and understanding. Working with you should have been a thousand tis easier than working with anyone else-but..." He paused, his voice softening slightly. "...I've not found a way to fully exploit your talent to advance the general body cultivation path. Unfortunately, you're simply too exceptional-an outlier, beyond the system's capacity to integrate efficiently." "What does that an? Are we just going to stop everything now?" Holak asked, turning between Shaddad and Jabba, brows knitted in disbelief. His tone was both energetic and motivating, filled with urgency, but beneath it, a flicker of doubt crossed his mind. Perhaps he should return to the main training base in the desert, or maybe retreat sowhere with a more pleasant environnt, sowhere that wouldn't constantly pressure him like this.
Shaddad's gaze shifted toward the main barn gate, voice low but firm. "If Harper doesn't enter through that gate right now, carrying the proposals from Sky Opening City, everything will fall apart today... for at least half a century. Every effort, every preparation, every experint-it could all unravel in an instant." He leaned forward, resting both hands on his knees, voice dropping into a serious, almost grim tone. "And frankly... I don't believe they-" "Hello~" At that exact mont, Robin appeared in the middle of the gate, a
broad, cheerful smile on his face. The sunlight caught the edges of his cloak, giving him an almost radiant presence. "I heard there are experints happening here. How's everything going?...Why are you all staring at like
that?"
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