"Congratulations, sir. With this first-level Golem Transmutation, you have truly mastered the alchemical techniques of golem creation."
Upon returning, Stedson, Damo, and others all expressed their admiration and congratulated him.
"Such golems themselves are an important component of an alchemist's combat strength."
Roy nodded. After returning, he immediately shared the good news with his mentor through the Communication Crystal.
Flosf said, "In the field of golem creation, you can now be considered truly initiated. However, you must continue to strive for improvement. During the process of crafting it, you must have also noticed many shortcomings."
Roy replied, "Indeed. Gem inlaying, the engraving of enchantment Wizard Arrays, and the Pegasus Wings are not my strong suits."
Flosf reassured him, "That's alright. I'll assign you some wizard-level golem creation tasks to practice on. Golems of this level require mental coverage during the carving process and magical infusion, which is quite taxing on both the mind and energy. The labor cost will be calculated at 50,000 Magic Stones per golem. If the quality is good, it can be increased further."
At Roy's current level, it would take him over a year to craft a golem of this caliber. However, this is the time required for meticulous work. After the second and third attempts, he would gradually become more skilled, significantly reducing the time needed. This also means he will have more opportunities to accumulate wealth. In the meantime, he can also use leftover materials to create apprentice-level golems and the like.
"Thank you for your generosity."
Roy knew this was actually an opportunity given to him and quickly expressed his gratitude.
...
Soon, Flosf sent someone to deliver the materials and Wizard Coins. The order he requested was essentially a blank model equivalent to Bloodhoof Kairon. As long as the operational energy exceeds 100 degrees and the physique is equivalent to that of a newly promoted wizard's Wizard Physique, it would suffice. This was part of the Golem Legion, which Flosf referred to as the "Golem Overseer."
Such tasks cannot be completed overnight. After some planning, Roy decided to dedicate a specific time each afternoon to work on it. Outside of this, he still had many of his own matters to attend to.
Not long after, Roy returned to his residence. In the Alchemy Room inside, Celine was assisting with some simple alchemical operations. With the Wizard Arrays Roy had set up and those magical alchemy tools, even an average apprentice like her could be of great help.
Celine always worked with focus and diligence, so much so that she didn't even notice him entering. It was only after a while that she realized, "You're here."
"I've been here for a while," Roy nodded. "You've become quite skilled at preparing these solvents. Let me help you pack them up."
Common solvents in the Art of Alchemy include, but are not limited to, Aqua Alberti, Green Water, pure water, and alcohol. Most of these have simple formulas and are easy to refine, but maintaining a fresh and ample supply truly relies on capable assistants like Celine. The Wizarding World's commodity economy is underdeveloped, making it inconvenient to purchase or have others refine these materials. It's really thanks to her.
"No need, such trivial tasks are my responsibility."
Celine didn't give Roy a chance to intervene and busied herself with the work. Seeing this, Roy had no choice but to go and check on the progress of another research project nearby.
At this moment, what appeared before him were several floating black liquid globules, each about the size of a fist.
This was a test of the corrosive properties of the Blackening Potion, as ordinary containers were no longer safe.
"The improvement of the Blackening Potion is showing initial results!
Over this period, my understanding of it has deepened, finally surpassing innate talent and grasping some acquired knowledge.
Of course, this still relies on the solid foundation laid by innate talent."
Roy looked with satisfaction at the corrosion of various objects inside, made a simple assessment, and then took out his personal notebook to record the observed conditions.
The results were marked with simple numerical values.
"Flesh Chunk 100%, Bones 92%, Wood 84%, Fabric 95%, Iron 62%, Gold 5%, Glass 33%..."
Gradually, he came before another set of contrasting liquid globules.
The faint white light emitted by the Wizard Array illuminated Roy's face, and the narrow, diamond-shaped face guard of his interstellar battle armor took on a metallic sheen.
"Stone... 73%!"
His Mental Strength quickly scanned the inside, and then he recorded the measured result.
"This means, compared to the speed and overall effectiveness of corroding flesh, it also has excellent effects on wood, fabric, and stone.
This might satisfy the preliminary conditions for making artificial stone!"
Over the past year, the quarry managed by Roy had successfully extracted a considerable amount of high-quality Cloudstone.
This supported his skill in crafting Golems.
But with it came another problem: every year, he had to hand over a sufficient amount of fine stone to his teacher, and he could only keep a small portion for himself.
If ordinary sandstone and granite were used for carving, the quality would inevitably degrade significantly.
"My Mental Strength has now increased to over 20 degrees, and the 'Holy Mountain's Gift' potion I drank earlier is almost completely digested.
The 'Animation Art' performed this way is far more powerful than before.
In fact, it's possible to create some rough, low-level stone statues as temporary means of defense.
But this material basically cannot store energy in advance; it must be charged temporarily during combat, and after the battle, it's basically scrapped or loses its energy."
Enchanted Cloudstone and other high-quality materials can be understood as energy storage devices, which are essential for solving the persistence of active energy.
Of course, Magic Stones or energy cores can also be used as substitutes.
But from a cost perspective, it's absolutely not feasible.
Besides, there's the focus of the technology.
It leans heavily towards the field of mechanical creations or Puppetry.
That's not the field of Golems.
So, Roy naturally turned his attention to artificial stone.
This follows the same logic as creating artificial meat or Succubus Dolls in the past.
If successful, it would undoubtedly be a major breakthrough in his personal methods.
...
"The prerequisite is to also improve the Blackening Potion.
Only by completely melting the stone can new stone be generated through a process similar to Whitening."
Roy felt this was akin to concrete.
But in it, ordinary materials like limestone must not be mixed; instead, Flesh Chunk, Leyline Energy, and gem Dust are needed.
Roy once again reached out to his teacher, hoping to gain guidance and inspiration from him.
Flosf marveled, "You've already touched upon the essence of 'Petrification Magic,' attempting to master 'Flesh Chunk Sculpting'... Truly, you are a prodigy!"
"Petrification Magic, Flesh Chunk Sculpting?"
Roy himself hadn't expected that this matter would be connected to 'Petrification Magic,' and he quickly sought further instruction.