Chapter 1558
Chapter 1558: Section 1559: Left Hand? Right Hand? Chapter 1558: Section 1559: Left Hand? Right Hand? A few hours later, with a thoughtful expression, Angel left the Creation Hall.
When Angel returned to the manor, Greya was training Toby. Seeing Angel's furrowed brow, she asked curiously, “You look troubled, did something happen?”
“Let me think. Your schedule today seems to involve teaching at Ashiliye, could it be that someone questioned you during the lecture? Do you need me to bake them into pastries to cheer you up?”
Angel shook his head: “The lecture ended smoothly with no incidents. I'm not troubled, it's just that I heard a piece of news at the Research and Development Institute.”
As to what this news was, whether interesting or shocking, Angel didn't elaborate.
About matters concerning the Research and Development Institute, even though Greya was curious, it wasn't her place to inquire directly: “If it's good news, I am quite happy to listen. If it's bad news, then don't tell me.”
“For now, it doesn't seem to be bad news, but I don't think it's good news either,” Angel said while he helped Toby straighten out his feathers. “However, whether the news is good or bad, it should only impact the Alchemy Circle.”
With that said, Greya understood. This news pertained to the Alchemy Circle, and it likely had nothing to do with an outsider like her. As such, she had no interest in prying, knowing that if it were big news, she'd find out about it even if she wasn't part of the Alchemy Circle.
It was like the time when Angel, as an apprentice, created a High Order Alchemy Work. Although that was major news within the Alchemy Circle, the impact had still reached other circles.
Angel exchanged a few more pleasantries with Greya and then retreated to his room alone.
After returning, Angel sat in front of the window in contemplation for a moment, then pulled out his handbook and flipped to the pages documenting The Gate of Void.
In the notes for “Experiment Record One of The Gate of Void,” Angel drew an equals sign after the name “Alex” and wrote “Ivor Schubert.”
Previously, after listening to Nail Granny's story, Angel had speculated internally whether Alex might be the lost Ivor. But that was just a supposition. Today, however, he finally got a definite answer.
Time rewound to a bit earlier.
Antonio had told Angel that Dean Muse invited him to the Creation Hall.
Angel was somewhat surprised to learn that Dean Muse had emerged from seclusion. According to what Antonio had previously said, the Dean's retreat was meant to last several months, if not years. Yet now, not even a month had passed, and he had already come out?
When Angel arrived at the Creation Hall, he found not only the Water Pattern Witch there, but also another City Lord of Sky Mechanical City–the Mechanical Beast Emperor, “Rosen,” as well as Nail Granny.
Considering such a solemn reception, and with Nail Granny seated in the deputy position, he guessed it probably had to do with Ivor.
Indeed, what Dean Muse and the others were discussing was Ivor and the “Reincarnation Casket of the Undead.” Dean Muse had called Angel over, wanting to see the Illusionary Realm within the Cage of Shadows for himself, and to confirm some details with Angel again.
Afterward, Rosen went to consult Hydra, making a prophecy based on some details from within the Cage of Shadows.
While Hydra did not provide a definitive result, the answers he received from the “Serpent Perched on the Tree” were all corroborated by Nail Granny.
In other words, it was almost certain that Alex was either Ivor himself or Ivor's avatar.
Upon receiving this answer, the Creation Hall immediately erupted into an uproar.
Muse and Rosen began to debate, or rather argue, over several issues: Where is Ivor? How do we search for him? And how do we rescue Ivor from the shackles of the Reincarnation Casket?
As both parties held their own views firmly, the Creation Hall temporarily descended into a scene akin to a marketplace.
The Water Pattern Witch secretly told him that they had been arguing for several days now, but still, there was no unified answer, and it was expected that this situation would last for some time.
Since some of the matters they discussed involved the core interests of Sky Mechanical City, Angel did not continue to stay and listen. He left first.
But as far as the information he received was concerned, Ivor was confirmed to be Alex, and due to Ivor's undeniable importance, both Dean Muse and His Excellency Rosen had reached a consensus: the Research and Development Institute would definitely undertake a mission to rescue Ivor.
Angel did not know what kind of impact this news would cause, but once it got out, it would surely create a tremendous stir within the Alchemy Circle.
However, as Angel said to Greya, whether this news is good or bad remains unknown at present.
Because the horror of the Reincarnation Casket is something that can never be guessed by those who have not experienced it. Even Angel had not truly experienced the horror of the Reincarnation Casket, because the Gust Town where Alex was located belonged to a lightweight reincarnation scenario.
But Nail Granny is after all one of the refiners of the Reincarnation Casket, perhaps she has some special methods to deal with the Reincarnation Casket.
Everything will have to wait until the Reincarnation Casket is truly found before knowing whether this news is good or bad.
When the stars twinkled in the night sky, Angel was still vigorously writing at his desk, conducting theoretical comparisons.
After two weeks of experiments and investigation, Angel had largely perfected some details of the skin grafting for the Transforming Soft-bodied Insect, and he could actually proceed to the practice stage now.
However, Angel still had some concerns now.
Which part should he graft to?
Though after grafting, transformation can occur anywhere on the body, the skin of the Pliant Worm is only the size of a palm. To achieve full-body transformation, corresponding energy needs to be consumed.
And for partial transformation, the energy consumption will be correspondingly reduced.
Among them, the selected location for transplantation would hardly consume any energy.
Drawing from the experience of many predecessors, Angel finally excluded private areas and listed thirty-six locations. After various considerations, Angel ultimately chose the hands.
Because hands are the most frequently used part, grafting the skin of the Pliant Worm to the hands would mean that energy consumption during hand transformation could be disregarded, hence saving some energy.
But now another question arose, should he graft to the left hand or the right hand?
Angel's right hand is most commonly used, so grafting to the right hand would naturally be the best. However, the right hand is the embodiment of the Projected Bloodline, and it is also surrounded by green patterns. Angel did not know whether grafting skin to the right hand would conflict with the green patterns.
The left hand could actually work too, but Angel also worried about something: what if he unexpectedly encountered “Shava” again and the opponent fused her left hand with his own, then the skin of the Transforming Soft-bodied Insect grafted to the left hand would be in vain.
So, this was where his hesitation lay.
Left hand? Or right hand?
Unable to make a decision, Angel began to list the advantages and disadvantages of both hands, as well as the proportion of each advantage and disadvantage.
When he finally concluded, Angel noticed that grafting to the right hand had many advantages, and the merits outweighed those of the left hand, but its disadvantage was the unknown impact it might have on the green pattern, which was an unknown weight with extremely variable impact.
While grafting to the left hand, the merits were fewer compared to the right hand, and its biggest disadvantage was worrying that the skin of the Transforming Soft-bodied Insect would be grafted in vain.
This disadvantage, while it could directly lead to the loss of the Shapeshifting Technique, Angel could actually withstand it.
Because there were solutions, such as grafting new Transforming Soft-bodied Insect skin again; or, without relying on external forces, directly learning the Shapeshifting Technique. Having had the transformation experience, learning the Shapeshifting Technique would also be more effective.
Both Sanders and Nail Granny had actually advised Angel that after grafting the skin of the Transforming Soft-bodied Insect, he could try to learn the orthodox practice of the Shapeshifting Technique.
Angel himself also had this idea, after all, the orthodox practice of the Shapeshifting Technique was definitely better than reliance on external forces.
Therefore, after comparison, Angel still decided to graft to the left hand.
Having resolved this last issue, Angel was ready to enter the grafting process.
Although skin grafting was not as major a surgery as limb modification, it still required very delicate operation, and Angel did not have an assistant to help, so he had to complete the entire process by himself.
Therefore, he set aside three days for himself to practice and carry out the grafting.