Merely with him and Tata, there was no way they could have made it out of the forest.

Fortunately, he still had some reliance; he picked up his just completed work—a somewhat dim crystal, wax-white in color.

In Eteliria, most people considered Non-Attribute Crystals the ugliest among all crystals because most Non-Attribute Crystals contained impurities that made them look like cracked, foggy glass, far from being pure and clear as true crystals.

Even the most flawed Non-Attribute Crystals, compared to the one in Fang Hong's hand, seemed exceptional. At least they looked like crystals, while the latter more closely resembled a wax column with pointed ends at both sides, utterly lacking aesthetic appeal.

However, this ugly crystal was, in Fang Hong's eyes, the most beautiful object in the world.

This was the α crystal, the initial form of a Type-One Crystal.

It had taken him a full four hours to create it; he could make a Non-Attribute Crystal in just ten minutes using his "Elemental Separation" skill. Moreover, the crystal he used was a finished material—a Non-Attribute Crystal he had dismantled from his gloves, although this also caused half of the numbers on his dial's Silver Rail to cease functioning.

But it was just as well; he dismantled the remaining half as well, leaving only a pair of Silver Rails.

He also dismantled the brass dial itself.

Tata knelt by, also looking at the crystal, her eyes reflecting the light, sparkling. "The impurities are still too many, containing at most only a third of the original level of Magic Power," she observed after a while.

"There's no helping it," Fang Hong turned his head and smiled bitterly, "With the tools and materials available, this is all we've got."

Tata nodded. "So, what does Mr. Knight intend to use it for?" she asked again.

"To make a Walker," Fang Hong answered, "Apart from the Clockwork Fairy, it's the only thing I can make. I actually learned this blueprint a long time ago, but I've never had the right crystal."

A Walker is a type of Combat Bearing with flexibility. As is well-known, among flexible Constructs, only the Clockwork Fairy can use a Non-Attribute Crystal—there was a hint of self-talk in Fang Hong's words. But Tata didn't mind; she kept listening quietly, as if she were the best listener.

Fang Hong activated his Artisan Skills—this was his first time crafting under the framework of the system and he was still somewhat clumsy, his movements slightly awkward. But this minor issue couldn't deter him; after all, he had once been a hardcore player without a system.

All he did was ponder for a moment, and then he projected the blueprint for the Shell, adjusting its shape bit by bit, forming a spherical silhouette in front of Tata.

"Is this the shell of the Clockwork Fairy?" Tata asked, somewhat surprised.

Fang Hong nodded.

The craftsmanship in Eteliria was not rigid—a design didn't have to result in only one form. In fact, a single design consisted of multiple parts; once an Invoker had fully deciphered the blueprint, they could choose and match parts as desired.

And Fang Hong had mastered just a few blueprints over the months, which he knew by heart.

The Walker Construct had only two key points: one was the chassis, divided into six-legged and four-legged systems, both styles determining the maximum Combat Bearing of the construct; the other was the Core Crystal, which determined the maximum Output Power of the construct.

The other components, as long as they met these two requirements, did not matter in shape.

Compared to the Clockwork Fairy, where consideration was mainly given to a lightweight shell, the Walker's defensively-oriented shell had to be much bulkier. Therefore, substituting the former for the latter posed no problem other than consideration for the Armor Value.

Then, all that was needed was an adjustment of the center of gravity.

Fang Hong methodically brought over a rock he had prepared earlier to serve as a makeshift worktable. He then placed the spherical silhouette on the center of the table, and inserted the dismantled dial into it; the brass dial immediately turned semi-transparent, its interior revealing numerous stars like a cosmos.

These small and large light points were actually the material structure of the brass, and the better the Quality, the more abundant the high-strength Structural Points. A craftsman needed to focus on connecting these points during production, and each successful connection advanced the progress of the production.

But if all Structural Points had been used up and the production progress had not yet reached one hundred percent, it indicated that the material structure was damaged and the production had correspondingly failed. Conversely, the more surplus Structural Points left upon successful production, the higher the durability of the finished product.

Because the dial itself was a finished product from a previous crafting, most of the structural points on it were dim and lacked luster, with only a few still usable. Fang Hong couldn't help but slightly frown as he looked at it.

He calculated the crafting progress.

To create the shell of the Clockwork Fairy required a total of one hundred and eighty crafting progress points, and with his current artisan skills, each successful connection would earn him between fifteen and seventeen progress points. However, the remaining structural points on the dial were fewer than thirteen, so he essentially had only one chance to fail.

Fang Hong took a deep breath quietly.

Whether he could get out of this forest depended on this gamble. If he failed, he might even die once, and as a stowaway with limited Starlight, he wouldn't have another chance to resurrect.

So, even he felt a bit nervous inside.

Tata looked at him, then at the dial, opened her mouth, but finally said nothing. She also worried about disturbing Fang Hong.

Unexpectedly, it was Fang Hong who spoke first, "Tata, can you see this system?"

"Yes," Tata nodded, "It is a system generated jointly by the Carrier Crystal and Dragon Soul, managing information."

"Managing information—," Fang Hong said as he successfully connected a structural point, seemingly nonchalant.

He then connected the third and fourth, and it wasn't until the seventh one that he failed for the first time, yet he felt relieved instead.

He realized each connection felt like a ranged attack targeting a structural point. The hit area allowed for some margin of error; it didn't require a perfect hit rate. The greater the error, the lower the accuracy of each connection.

Different designs have different minimum craftsmanship precision requirements, and clearly, the requirements for the Clockwork Fairy's shell were very low.

He felt he could easily handle it.

He immediately went straight to the eighth node and, after succeeding, continued directly to the end. When the last structural point was connected, Fang Hong finally relaxed as the dial transformed into a copper semi-spherical shell right before him, shining brightly.

Fang Hong picked up the shell and carefully examined every inch of it by the light of the campfire, feeling a sense of achievement.

In the past, when he made Clockwork Fairies, he was only responsible for the design drawings and assembly, as the shell and various internal parts, including the hinge structures, were the precise work of skilled ironworkers, not something that apprentices who had only studied Alchemy for a few months could handle.

But with the system, it was completely different.

This was the power of the Invoker.

"Mr. Knight is the most talented Alchemist I've ever seen," Tata said, having silently watched the entire process, then suddenly spoke.

Fang Hong turned around, asking her curiously, "Have you seen other Alchemists before?"

Tata nodded. "I have some memories, but I can't distinguish whether they are from books or my own experiences. Yet, in my impression, no Alchemist has ever been so stable."

"Stable?"

"The Artisan System uses Magic Power to change the internal structure of materials, based on a system of intense spatial analysis and distance judgment. Apart from the Attribute and artisan-related skills that can provide a boost, it can only be said that Mr. Knight has an extraordinary talent in this area."

Fang Hong was stunned for a moment, recalling that Sicape and Mr. Kroid had said something similar, but their comments were about his mastery over Flexible Constructs.

He couldn't help but look at his own hands, wondering if he really had a remarkable talent in this field?

...

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