"What's the current situation? Why has Lord Roy suddenly gone silent?"
"Perhaps the battle is too intense for him to spare any attention for us right now."
"Damn it, are we really just going to hide here and wait?"
"Don't act on your own—this is Lord Roy's order.
A battle involving official Wizards and above isn't something we can interfere with..."
"Exactly. Not causing trouble is already a contribution!"
Inside the bunker's hidden chamber, Olinda and the others rested and tended to their wounds, anxiously awaiting the outcome.
Outside, the thunderous roar of explosions echoed, as if the enemy was launching a fierce assault somewhere.
At one point, they debated whether to band together and fight their way out.
But in the end, they abandoned the idea.
Winter, dragging his severely wounded body to one side, listened carefully for a long time before confirming, "It's coming from Lord Roy's residence—the Alchemy Room!"
At the very least, this meant he was still holding on.
The group's spirits lifted slightly, but soon, worry gripped them again.
Andov's expression shifted between dark and uncertain, revealing hesitation and inner turmoil.
He wiped the blood from his face—a wound from flying debris during the earlier battle.
He hadn't had time to treat it, and now it wouldn't stop bleeding.
"Andov, you're bleeding! Here, clean it up."
Sam tossed him a jar of healing ointment along with some clean medical tape.
Andov treated the wound hastily but didn't join the others' conversation, instead lowering his head in deep thought.
The current situation had once again made him and the rest of the team painfully aware of their own weakness.
Yet reason told him that doing nothing now was the wisest course.
At the very least, they had to wait until the leaders on both sides determined the victor before they could be of any use.
"Damn it, not again!
I can't do anything!
I can't do a damn thing!"
His expression twisted with anguish and frustration.
...
Meanwhile, in front of the Alchemy Room.
Edwin and his team had gathered.
Several powerful Golems had also followed them here.
Bloodhoof Kairon, Kassad, Marcel…
Each bore signs of damage—gaps and scars from violent explosions or fierce axe and sword strikes.
Yet they remained fully combat-ready.
Especially Bloodhoof Kairon, meticulously crafted by Roy—unlike another first-tier Golem that had already been disabled outside by concentrated fire from warriors and apprentices.
At the same time, a large number of crudely sculpted, roughly shaped centaur statues followed behind.
"How does he have so many Golems under his command?"
"Some were requisitioned in advance from the capital of Knight, while others were created using spells like Mud to Stone!"
"He's even mastered that kind of crafting method…
Fortunately, the cores aren't too strong. Send a few people to deal with them—the rest, focus all your attacks on this building!"
After a brief inquiry, Edwin pointed his staff toward the Alchemy Room.
Wary of the Humanoid Angel that had effortlessly withstood an Exploding Fireball without a scratch, he dared not approach recklessly.
Instead, he cleverly summoned his subordinates to assist in the assault.
Sure enough, as the number of targets increased, the Humanoid Angel—
or rather, Roy, who was controlling it from behind—began to struggle to keep up.
The Star Iron Chain Spear lashed out like a serpent, intercepting one Flame Arrow and Ice Cone after another.
It was doing its best to minimize the durability loss of the Alchemy Room's barrier in this manner.
Yet, two fists could hardly fend off four hands.
More and more attacks slipped through, and Roy could do nothing about it.
...
Inside the Alchemy Room, on the operating table.
The young man lay on his back, face up.
Roy, meanwhile, was on another operating table.
Under the watchful eyes of Celine and Atedia, his skull was opened, and through telekinetic manipulation, he extracted his own—
Or, to be precise, his former body's brain!
In that instant, Roy's vision, hearing, touch—
All the sensory perceptions that ordinary humans relied on were abruptly severed.
What remained was the mental strength emanating from within the brain.
He could distinctly feel something slipping away from him.
For instance, the formidable physique granted by Blood Mercury and the Life Energy Crystal.
The advanced knight body, achieved through consuming the Blood Persimmon Potion and the Neanderthal Bloodline Potion, had also become utterly useless.
But the mental strength and Mana from the Source of Magic, the soul sublimation from the Wizard's Maxim, and the knowledge and abilities bestowed by Alchemy Talent—
All of it remained!
In a daze, Roy truly grasped what it meant for "extraordinary power to reside within oneself."
He finally understood what it meant to wield power that was truly his own.
"So... this is what it feels like to be on the brink of death..."
A sudden thought occurred to him.
What if, at this very moment, something went wrong with his plan?
What if the barrier was suddenly shattered?
What if his mental strength was insufficient, his vitality waning?
If his brain were to die abruptly, leaving him without a physical vessel—
Could he still sustain his life, preserving the consciousness and memories of his soul?
But before he could fully immerse himself in the cold, desolate sensation of losing his body, the light returned.
Guided by an arcane force, delicate black threads of light emerged, writhing like strands of hair.
At the same time, a radiant white glow appeared, draping the brain in a shimmering, illusory veil.
Various forces from the mental and spiritual realms also swirled into existence within the Alchemy Room.
These were the powers of the Hair Demon Physique and Narcissus Love!
They were, by nature, forces of law, existing through the mind and soul.
Compared to the Source of Magic and the Wizard's Maxim, these were acquired abilities—yet they had fused deeply with the soul.
Their law-like properties were extracted, following the gleaming brain as it hovered above the new body.
Then, the prepared skull of the young host split open like the petals of a Man-eating Flower.
The brain slowly descended into it.
The skull sealed shut, as if a pilot had entered the cockpit of a colossal machine, and Wizardry began its forging process.
What followed was invisible to the naked eye—nerves rapidly reconnecting, tissues rebuilding.
Soon after, the young body's eyes snapped open.
The hair on his back, infused with active energy, grew wildly.
In mere moments, what had once been a completely bald head was now covered in thick, lustrous locks.
A face unlike any from his former body—one that had never before appeared in this world—was revealed.
Black hair, black eyes, as exquisitely carved as jade.
No one but Roy himself knew—this was his own true face.
The projection of psychology and soul consciousness...
"Narcissus Love" beauty and skincare...
A face enhanced by beauty.
Finally, completely free from the appearance of the "former self"...
Truly, utterly...
Restored to the original visage!