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The great inventor Heimerdinger belonged to the mysterious land of Valoran.
He was the greatest scientist among the Yordles, one of the most famous scientists of his era, and a pioneer behind many new scientific achievements. His field of expertise was the fusion of technology and magic, which he continued to explore relentlessly.
But Leo didn't know any of this. At the moment, he was still unconscious.
"Hiss…"
He felt the lingering ache at his temple and drew a sharp breath. Seeing the sky already beginning to brighten, Leo pushed himself up from the cold floor, muttering, "I was out for an entire night!"
Shaking his still-swollen head, he remembered the system's message from the night before, about acquiring the knowledge and invention experience of some "great inventor Heimerdinger."
His eyes lit up at that thought, and he began searching through his mind.
"I don't know who this Heimerdinger is, but he's obviously a total genius!" As he looked through the designs in his head, technological missiles, storm grenades, all kinds of weapons, and even schematics for robots, Leo's jaw dropped.
"Even though I'm no scientist, I still understand some basic principles. But these things… magic runes, magic arrays, magic elements can that really work?" His expression turned strange as he read on.
"Guess I'll have to try!" he decided.
Just then, there was a knock at his door.
Opening it, he saw Emma standing there in a white blouse and light blue jeans that perfectly showed off her curves. Leo's eyes lit up. "Morning, Emma! You look beautiful today."
Perhaps it was because she'd finally shaken off the shadows of the experiments, or maybe because they'd grown closer over time, but Emma no longer seemed so shy around Leo.
If it had been before, she would have blushed bright red at such a compliment. Now, however, she simply reached out a slender finger, lifted his chin lightly, and teased with a smile: "Really?"
Gulp.
'She is getting Bold'
Leo swallowed hard, embarrassed by the playful seduction radiating from her.
"Breakfast's ready!" Emma giggled triumphantly and walked off.
"She's acting more and more like a little succubus," Leo muttered, following after her.
Breakfast passed in near silence, Leo distracted by thoughts of those marvelous inventions. Eventually, Paul and Lynn exchanged a look, and Paul asked gently, "Leo, is something troubling you?"
"Huh? No, no, nothing!" Leo quickly denied.
"If anything's wrong, you have to tell us. We'll always support you," Aunt Lynn said firmly, setting down her glass.
Looking at their worried faces, Leo felt warmth in his chest. He smiled. "Really, it's nothing. I was just thinking about some unusual inventions."
"Inventions?" Paul and Lynn blinked.
"What inventions?" Emma's curious voice echoed in his mind.
"You'll see soon enough," Leo answered mentally. "But I need a lot of materials to experiment with. That's the real problem."
"If it's materials you need," Emma's lips curved into a mischievous smile, "I might have a solution."
"What kind of solution?"
"You'll find out soon," she said, playfully evasive.
—
An hour later, New York City. Stark Industries' largest research facility.
"This is actually a pretty good solution…" Leo muttered, uneasy as he glanced at the busy researchers hurrying past.
"Don't worry. I tweaked their memories a little. They'll only see you as one of the lab's distinguished researchers," Emma explained with a smile, seeing through his nervousness.
Sure enough, passing scientists greeted him warmly, and Leo's tension eased. "Got it, Emma."
"I'm off—I still have class." She waved, leaving under the guidance of Montgomery Hall, the facility supervisor.
After a few steps, Emma noticed a young female researcher chatting to Leo with starry eyes. Emma's brow furrowed. A flicker of psychic power slipped into the woman's mind, and the researcher immediately turned cold, walking away without another word. Satisfied, Emma smiled and left.
Watching the way Supervisor Hall treated Emma like his superior, Leo couldn't help marveling at the usefulness of her powers.
No wonder so many people feared mutants. Still… why had that woman suddenly called him a "shameless bastard"? They'd just been chatting pleasantly a moment ago.
'Women are hard to understand...'
"Mr. Leo, this is your laboratory." With a broad smile, the balding, heavyset supervisor Hall led him into a private lab.
"Thank you, Hall," Leo said sincerely.
When Hall left, Leo's eyes gleamed at the sight of the metal stockpiles and instruments filling the room. He practically pounced on them.
—
Days in the lab flew by. After burying himself in research for a full month, Leo had compared countless samples with the materials in Heimerdinger's memories.
The results were encouraging: aside from a few rare metals, most matched perfectly. Using formulas stored in his mind, he successfully synthesized a small lump of silvery-gray metal, gelatinous in texture. He named it Material No. 1.
"Is this the stuff for inscribing magic runes? From today on, you'll be 'No. 1 Arcane Alloy.'" Leo pressed the fist-sized metal experimentally. It was soft yet springy, pleasant to touch.
"Next step: carving runes into a working array."
Splitting off a smaller portion, he placed it on the workbench and began carefully shaping a rune circle.
Three hours later, just as he was about to finish, his hand trembled. Sparks flickered across the half-completed array, and in a flash, the silvery pattern burned away.
"Failed?" Leo froze. With Heimerdinger's experience guiding him, how could he fail?
A moment's reflection gave him the answer: after hours of hyper-focus, his hands had simply grown unstable. That tiny shake had ruined the delicate pattern.
"Stability, huh…" He thought for a while, then slapped his forehead.
"Of course, Telekinesis!"
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