They continued forward for about three hundred meters.
Leon suddenly raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.
“There is an unusual alchemical golem ahead.”
The moment Leon's voice fell, everyone behind him instantly became alert, preparing themselves for battle.
Then, they heard it.
From the far end of the passage ahead, a faint jingling sound echoed, drawing closer and closer, as if someone were continuously ringing a bell as they approached.
Under the watchful eyes of the group, an alchemical golem emerged from the darkness ahead.
Unlike the others they had encountered, this alchemical golem had a slender frame and walked with an exceptionally graceful posture.
Her face was incredibly lifelike, as delicate and beautiful as that of a young human woman.
Stepping with steady, measured paces, the alchemical golem stopped a short distance in front of Leon.
She then took a slight step back with her mechanical right leg, bending her left leg to support herself as she swept her right hand across her front in an elegant bow. Her voice, though distinctly mechanical, carried a polite tone:
“Hello, travelers from afar. I am Evelyn No. 5, and I have been ordered to receive you.”
What?
Leon stared at the highly feminine alchemical golem before him, slightly taken aback.
Was this a cyberpunk revival? An alchemical golem... actually possessing its own consciousness?!
Not to mention Leon, even Scott, the alchemist, stared in absolute disbelief when he heard the golem speak.
“How is this possible... No, wait, is it a long-distance voice transmission device? Or is it...”
“Honored guest, it is not a voice transmission device,” Evelyn No. 5 replied upon hearing Scott's doubt.
“Just as you see, ever since I was created by my master, I have possessed consciousness...”
“But how can an alchemical golem have consciousness?! That makes no sense at all!” Scott blurted out, interrupting Evelyn No. 5.
His face was filled with utter disbelief. Creating a sentient being was a feat reserved solely for the domain of the Creator!
Even in the rapidly advancing field of modern alchemy, the prevailing consensus was that it was impossible for an alchemist to create a self-aware alchemical golem out of nothing.
To make an alchemical golem approach the level of consciousness and intelligence of a living being, one had to constantly iterate on the alchemical framework, using pre-programmed routines within the system to elevate the golem's intelligence.
Yet, even then, its intelligence would only mimic a living being; it could never truly attain genuine sentience!
Scott's refutation brought a trace of sorrow to Evelyn No. 5's delicate mechanical face.
In her mechanical voice, Evelyn No. 5 said, “Your words, honored guest, make No. 5 very sad...”
This sight made Scott feel as if he had just seen a ghost!
“Alright, that's enough.”
Leon raised his hand, ignoring Scott's disbelief.
He raised his priest's scepter and stared at Evelyn No. 5. “You said you were ordered to receive us. In that case, lead the way.”
Whether this alchemical golem was human or ghost didn't matter. In Leon's perception, her strength was only at the early Silver rank.
She posed absolutely no threat to him.
Since that was the case, he couldn't care less whether she was truly intelligent. If anything went wrong, he would simply smash her with his Hammer of Sacred Light.
“Understood, honored guest.”
Interrupted by Leon, Evelyn No. 5 did not press the matter. She turned around and began leading them forward.
Keeping his perception field fully expanded, Leon followed Evelyn No. 5 through the twisting and turning ruins.
A moment later, they arrived at a room constructed from a mix of moonrock and black stone.
The room was small, roughly the size of a bedroom. Inside was a metal bed, upon which lay another humanoid alchemical golem.
“No. 2, No. 2! The people you asked me to bring are here,” Evelyn No. 5 said cheerfully to Evelyn No. 2 on the metal bed, leading Leon's group inside.
Hearing this, Evelyn No. 2 used both hands to slide open the metal shutters covering her eyes, revealing a pair of glowing blue eyes.
She raised her hand, and No. 5 immediately leaned her head into No. 2's palm. No. 2 gently patted and stroked No. 5's head, praising her: “You did a wonderful job, No. 5...”
Seeing this, Leon's brow twitched involuntarily.
Did alchemical creations even have a sense of touch?
If they didn't, what was the point of head-patting?
Once No. 5 had been patted to her heart's content, wearing a bright mechanical smile, she finally left the room, leaving No. 2 alone to speak with Leon and the others.
Inside the room constructed from a mixture of black and white bricks,
Evelyn No. 2 stared at Leon with her alchemical eyes, which seemed to flicker with genuine emotion. “Welcome, travelers from afar. We have alchemical engine oil. Would you like a drink?”
“...No, thank you. We humans only eat meat and vegetables. We don't drink engine oil,” Leon politely declined.
“What a pity.” Evelyn No. 2 took a sip of engine oil and looked at Leon. “You must be their Unit-01, correct?”
Leon opened his mouth, then replied, “...You could say that.”
In his perception, this Evelyn No. 2 only possessed strength at the peak Silver rank, far from being a match for him.
Furthermore, her tone was calm, and his "Alicia-brand detector" beside him had not triggered any alarms.
Thus, Leon decided he might as well converse with Evelyn No. 2.
After all, the world wasn't just about fighting and killing. Besides, he was quite interested in these self-aware alchemical golems.
“Since you are the Unit-01, I would like to make a deal with you,” Evelyn No. 2 said, getting straight to the point.
She stood up from the metal bed, and her mechanical arm quickly shifted and reconfigured, transforming into a magic staff embedded with a magic crystal.
Evelyn No. 2 waved the staff, and a magical screen immediately materialized in the air.
On the screen, an alchemical golem very similar in appearance to Evelyn No. 2 and No. 5 appeared.
“This is the prototype model, Evelyn No. 1,” Evelyn No. 2 explained.
“Twenty-three days ago, the mana focus was contaminated. No. 1 absorbed the contaminated mana, which eroded her alchemical soul and drove her into a frenzy.”
“In her madness, she destroyed No. 3 and broke into the Creator's Sanctuary.”
“Inside the sanctuary, No. 4, who is also contaminated, lies in a deep slumber. However, her alchemical soul has not yet been eroded, and she can still be repaired.”
“No. 4 possesses the knowledge to repair the purification device. I hope you can enter the Creator's Sanctuary, destroy No. 1, and bring No. 4 out intact.”
“In return, on behalf of Evelyn Alchemy Technology, I am willing to present you with an alchemical core, the Deep Diver, and backup files of all our alchemical technology.”
Rate on N.U.
