Chapter 3: A Successful Experiment?

Watching the cloudy muffins in the dark sky, the young man began to do brood about the things that happened earlier.

"If you just keep freeloading then we won't last until the next month!"

The loud and stern warning of Nana has awoken some sense to Lon. The voice of anger is hidden as she left hurriedly. It really seemed he was a lazy bum that has nothing better to do. But for the past two weeks, to be precise, twenty days and thirty-two hours, he wasn't slacking at all.

There are unanswered questions that kept sprouting in his mind. They are like weeds in the wild. No matter how much he cut it off, new ones would surely grow in a single night. That is what he was up to this whole time. He was studying, researching, and experimenting. Of course, the traces were always erased and the notes he wrote are written in secret encryption only he knows how to decode.

If a cryptologist specialist sees it however, he may think that those texts are scribbles of a mentally ill patient. Most of the nothing has nothing coherent written on them!

Lon didn't care as long as no one could know about it. Aside from the notes pinned on a board, everything else is absolutely inconsistent.

People may call it selfish but it is actually true. Why the fuck he has to share what he has to others? Obligations like that is thrown out of the equation.

He is not so good to be a charitable person even to the poorest then what more if it is a galactic corporation that begged him.

Lon stared blankly at the ceiling as he carefully thought about his choices. With his knowledge that he gained, he at least has resolved the inquiry of his mind. It was all thanks to the one section in the black book, the 'Introduction To The World Of Mysticism'. The aura of luck is latched on him as this part clearly explains the world of the so-called world of magic.

Every being consists of three parts, the body, the mind, and the soul. The body is the house and vessel of the soul. Without it, the soul would perish in the long term. The mind is also called the subconscious. The part that controls most of the functions of the body. All three of them are essential and cannot be easily separated without any dominant external force.

Magic itself is an art. It uses the soul as the controller to redirect and manipulate the very principles of reality. The reason why mages could produce fire in their hands or move pieces of rock effortlessly. In this situation, the mind will also act as a support to help the soul achieve its desire. And the body is the place where energy is stored, replenished, and used to power the action of changing. No one could possibly create something out of nothing after all. Subvert the rules of equivalent exchange then face the consequences of existence itself.

Lon found it a little vague. There was no detailed explanation of the consequences. Is it the removal of existence or losing something important? Or how to replenish the lost energy. Do you need to do breathing exercises or kill people to steal their energy or is it automated?

Nonetheless, at least he knew why he did feel drained when he performed the reanimation weeks ago and why he would feel tired when he was specifically commanding Nana.

Besides that, his experiments so far are successful. In that short timeframe, he has learned quite a few spells he really liked.

One of them is called a corpse puppet. The same one that is located at the forefront. Unlike reanimation where you revive someone to become a zombie, this time, this undead is arduous to manufacture. Even the most basic ones needed sufficient preparations in order for them to grow.

Any corpse, preferably those of humans, will be the base ingredient. The body will be then infused with negative energy constantly for a set period of time. These negative energy can be negative emotions of humans like fear, despair, wrath, and sadness. Likewise, death and yin energy is also applicable if negative energy is insufficient or scarce in the vicinity. Along with the magic diagrams written all over its body, and around the coffin, the puppet would be then prepared to follow the orders of the caster's wishes.

The problem lies within the energy consumption. If he could not supply a minimum amount per day then the construction of the body will be greatly delayed. Worst case scenario, the final product will become defective. The puppet will be too weak because of the poor sustenance. In other terms, he would be a farmer that grows undead creatures instead of crops.

Naturally, he would be an idiot if he didn't solve the problem of the source of energy. That is why he learned 'Yin Extreme, Yang Formation' and 'Blood Harvester'. The former is a unique all-rounded energy collector that gathers energy at a single point depending on his needs. The latter however is more powerful and much harder to set up.

Its effectiveness is solely based on the kind of sacrifice he uses. The thing is, Lon used five liters of the blood of the T-rex, considered as the king of all animals eons ago. The price for a liter of the blood of these creatures is puzzlingly high. At some point when demand is high and supply is all high low, it could reach up to an astronomical price. The highest it could reach is 4.3 million Nins just for a litter.

However, he found out his current money is not enough and begged Nana, saying it is urgent and promising he would return it a month later with five percent interest.

Yet somehow, she found out the money is used to buy blood. What use he could have for blood? Drinking it? Selling it? The market for such things at the current times is saturated that no one would bother buying such things. If she knew, she would have not given it in the first place. Hence the resentment of Nana is understandable. It is even questionable where will Lon get the money to repay her.

One litter per magic diagram and the effects surprised him because it has a wide radius. These things prioritize slowly collecting the blood of any dead creature and the negative emotions of humans in a given area. The reason it is slow is that the magic diagram will destroy itself by hastening such a complicated process. Also, the reason it is considered a low-grade basic efficient collector. It was so useful because all he had to do is place the corpse in a special box he designed above the formation and wait until it was complete. By the time it was done, he would have warriors that would do his biddings.

The cause for doing such unethical and questionable practice is simple. Instead of working his ass all day long, why don't he rob the robbers using his puppets? Not only he would gain the money to pay Nana and he could also use it to buy more expensive ingredients and do more experiments.

Lon's hesitation about it was now completely dispelled. He wanted to gain power because it will be a huge waste if he didn't utilize properly the knowledge bestowed upon him. Wasting such precious information is the same as throwing the ticket to board a plane that will fly to a new and previously undiscovered continent.

At this time, Lon looked outside and saw the dark clouds gathering in the skyline. The cold breeze somehow bypassed the windows as he felt cold. This is a strange phenomenon in the 12,172nd-star system and the other surrounding systems. Particularly, the behavior of storms.

The winds during such times are unusually cold and it could pass any obstacle. Even the thickest, isolating walls were used, it wouldn't be able to stop the wind from entering and leaving inside a building.

"What a nice day to pick it up."

It was all set up two weeks ago and he wanted to already use it despite the recommendation of saturation time of one to three months. After hearing the pitter and patter of the heavy rain that abruptly gushed down, Lon began to prepare to head outside. His mind is calm yet excited about his harvest. As the saying goes, 'you reap what you sow'.

...

The Galactic Calendar is a special one clearly used by most human civilizations. A minute still consists of 60 seconds but an hour consists of 100 minutes. A day is divided in day and night, each phase having twenty hours for a total of forty hours per day and a week consists of ten days. One month consists of five weeks and a single year is composed of 13 months. It is weird at first and rejected by everyone but as time passed, culture changed and the thinking thought and belief of the masses shifted. In the end, it became the universal standard time for humans.

The Natilian empire follows an odd custom. Every region of their vast territory is adjusted to be synchronous to the Galactic Calendar. If not, all people living in that specific place can be charged with treason for just disobeying this simple policy. The implementation of such a rule is strictly abided by everyone. Some foreign nations also do this kind of systemic justice of theirs.

Talk about a swift change of heart.

....

The flashing colorful lights and loud popular music kept ringing in her ears. Nana boringly stared at the people dancing and shouting at the dance floor. The Four Sea-Sons is a luxury restaurant with a rating of seven Galactic stars. From the most basic dishes to the most exotic gourmet to be served to influential people. Their rating is no joke as they have a lot of entertainment services provided.

One of those is this bar. The one where young people dance, shout, and drink alcohol. This place reeked the scent of youthfulness.

In normal times, Nana wouldn't be here. This place is not included in her job description but due to being understaffed at the moment, a one-time offer is made to the people in other departments. They will work overtime here and will be paid accordingly right after.

She is however bored. The people here are youngsters that didn't need to bother about their future as it is already set in stone. Unlike hers and her younger sister, it is uncertain if both of them will have a happy ending. Especially that there is another person she has to support now. It was irritating to her whenever that pig comes to her mind. If not for him, the expenses here wouldn't double and she could send more money to her sister.

However, she is still a little grateful to Lon. If that day he inexplicably changed his mind, no one would support Nila anymore because she would be nothing but a cold corpse right now.

Time ticked by and her shift will soon end.

Her destiny however is plunged with misfortune because, at this time, a young man came over near her. This person is Diza, the son of a rich family. Usually, he would be partying with his friends in this place but today is a little different. A woman entered his radar and it attracted his attention. That is an understatement because he was exactly charmed by her beauty.

Pale white skin, the one he never has seen before, smooth long black hair that reached until her upper biceps that tickle his nerves because he wanted to grab it, and the air of a cold queen, so cold that he felt chill travel across his back.

It is common knowledge that zombies would always rot in the end. However, Lon alone toppled this misconception as he did a few experiments with Nana. The resulting effect caused her skin to have the same appearance and texture while she was still a human, her hair being somewhat special, body temperature going up to match a human, and her five senses further enhanced.

'This is it!'

Dazi majestically walked towards her. He wanted his existence to be noticed and that the woman notices his charming appeal. What he was doing is similar to some animals trying to attract the attention of the opposite sex for propagation.

"Hey, beauty, what's up?", he said in a deep masculine voice. His eyebrows moved like a real macho man. His circle of friends chuckled at the scene. They always thought those two manly lines are paid actors because of how magically it could attract those women.

"I am sorry sir but I am not interested." Every pronunciation of her sent swords that stabbed him in the heart. It was an outright rejection which is totally unexpected for him. This method always captures the heart of those beautiful maidens in the past.

"Would you think about it?" Dazi tried to sound convincing so that he could sway this person on answering her. Instead, Nana only shook her head and looked at her wristwatch. It precisely showed her that the time has come. She politely bowed to this customer then went away. As a table waitress at the lowest level, she was only assigned to wait and serve drinks anyone that comes near her designated counter. Even the manager of this area told everyone to only serve drinks, not to entertain the whims of these brats.

Now, not only it miserably failed, his ego was somewhat damaged because of the response. One of his friends came patted his back as he consoled Dazi.

"Man, I feel sorry for you. This is the first time you have been rejected right?" The tone of little ridicule is mixed in his voice.

"Yeaaahh." The other three including the one that asked were surprised. The rejection apparently dug deeper wounds to his friend. With just one interaction, his pride was somewhat smashed by an unknown girl.

"Mann, if you are like this with one simple waitress, how could you get those arrogant girls, huh.", one of the three said and he was meet with a fierce and passionate expression of Dazi.

"You folks wouldn't understand. She was like the queen of the goddesses. Distant and cold. Flawless and unrivaled. She is the epitome of perfection!"

Each one of them looked at each other. Disbelieve was clearly written in their faces. Could it be, Dazi, the womanizer of the northern sector, has fallen in love at first sight?

"Brother, are you damn serious right now?", the shortest of the trio asked as he tremblingly asked.

"Of course, who wouldn't with such divinity!", he vigorously nodded and a handsome smile erupted as he said.

"Then bro how would you pursue her?" At the mention of this, his smile was filled with obscene as all four looked at each other knowingly. They knew this man wouldn't just go nuts and be love-stricken.

Causing a commotion in a galactic rated establishment is never good but if the target is already outside and walking alone in the dark, it will be a whole other talk. With their money and the background of their family, one more missing person on this planet wouldn't even cause a commotion. Even if that person is an employee of the lowest rung of a galactic rated, as long as they are careful, no one will know of the deed.

...

The heavy downpour of rain looked like it won't stop anytime soon. Thankful for herself, Nana couldn't have possibly left without an umbrella. The chilly winds howled as it caressed her skins but she could only feel a ticklish sensation all over her body. This is one of the side effects of Lon's experimentation. She has regained the factor that perceives external stimuli in her body. Although it is minuscule, she was still grateful for that.

Who would want to never taste food again? Who would want to never feel objects again? She was not such a person to reject this blessing.

After becoming a zombie, she was stronger than the average adult, feel less lethargic because of her increasing stamina after a day of work, and her perception sharper for some odd reason. Even if she chose the same shortcut route, she was confident enough to trash anyone that has ideas about her.

That night was a lesson for her. No one would save her from any predicaments. She could only depend on herself. Not accounting her sister that studies in the neighboring star system.

There were no heroes that rose in prominence in the past until the present day. Would there be one in the future generations to come then? The answer to her is obviously no. There will be none due to how this world is.

Crack!

The rumble of thunder and the illumination of the lighting came at the same time. A pair of cold hands suddenly grabbed Nana and dragged her to the darkness. This short moment resembled another repetition of the events that transpired twenty days ago.