Chapter 156: Artifice Beast Moon Wheel
After getting them settled, Moira Lynch took a moment to check on her Spiritual Body, only to find it had gotten even chubbier.
It hadn’t grown bigger, it had just gotten fatter. From a distance, it now looked like a tiny furball.
The shameless little furball was sprawled across a massive green crystal—an Isle Turtle’s dropping—and was gorging itself, having the time of its life.
Moira Lynch had initially wanted to stop it. It wasn’t that she was worried about how much it ate, but what if it ate itself sick?
However, Patience informed Moira Lynch that Spiritual Bodies couldn’t get sick from eating. After all, they weren’t truly living creatures, just the physical manifestation of one’s spirit.
In a way, this little fox, now as round as a ball, was another version of Moira Lynch herself.
Besides, a Spiritual Body’s voracious appetite was a result of the immense energy required for its growth.
The fact that Moira Lynch had awakened her talent so quickly proved she was highly gifted. Even without a precise test, she had been certified by the system.
The higher one’s talent, the higher the level of the Spiritual Body they could form, and a higher-level Spiritual Body required a correspondingly larger amount of energy.
Once she knew there wouldn’t be any issues, Moira Lynch left. The Artifact Beast Egg was due to hatch in a few hours, and she needed to rest and conserve her strength.
What she didn’t know was that shortly after she left, a winged lion appeared, striding with unhurried, elegant steps. In one swift motion, it snatched up Snowy, who was still hugging the green crystal and gnawing on it.
Snowy, who had been struggling at first, immediately stopped when it recognized the familiar figure. It curled up its paws and allowed itself to be carried off.
「The next day」
An hour before the Artifact Beast Egg was set to hatch, Moira Lynch entered the space early.
Looking at the Artifact Beast Egg in its container, she saw that the nutrient liquid inside had been completely absorbed.
Moira Lynch opened the container, cradled the egg in her arms, and released her spiritual power.
Although it hadn’t yet broken through the shell, the Artifice Beast inside was already conscious. Releasing her spiritual power would allow it to familiarize itself with her ahead of time.
About fifty minutes later, Patience reminded her that the Artifact Beast Egg would hatch in ten minutes.
Just then, the Artifact Beast Egg stirred in Moira Lynch’s arms. Immediately after, a crack appeared on its smooth surface.
Seeing this, Moira Lynch held her breath in excitement. As the seconds ticked by, more and more cracks spread across the eggshell’s surface.
With a loud CRACK, a piece of the eggshell caved in.
Following that, more and more pieces of the shell began to fall away.
Yet, Moira Lynch still couldn’t see any sign of the Artifice Beast.
Not until only half the eggshell remained did a constantly spinning wheel appear within it.
The moment it saw Moira Lynch, the wheel-like Artifice Beast flew out excitedly. It circled around her, making happy noises.
Moira Lynch could clearly feel her own spiritual power fluctuating in sync with the Artifice Beast’s movements.
She opened her palm, and the wheel-like Artifice Beast immediately stopped, floating just above it.
Although it was just a wheel, with no facial features and certainly no expression, Moira Lynch somehow got a sense of obedience from it.
Now, she could finally see the wheel’s full appearance. It didn’t have a metallic sheen; rather, it looked like gold inlaid with jade, giving it a regal and elegant air.
Jade made up about two-thirds of its structure, with silver and dark gold metal accents in the center, all adorned with mysterious runes.
It looked majestic and imposing, it’s just...
"Isn’t it a bit on the small side?"
"Patience, what do Artifice Beasts need to grow?"
’It’s not by devouring various machines, is it?’
[An Artifice Beast’s growth depends on its master. Different masters lead to different methods of growth.]
’So there’s no standard answer, is there.’
Moira Lynch reached out and poked the wheel in her hand, asking tentatively, "Are you hungry? What do you want to eat?"
Hearing her voice, the wheel bobbed up and down before shooting toward Moira Lynch.
Moira Lynch was startled by its movement. Just as she was about to raise her hand to block it, she realized the wheel was only circling her.
At least, that’s what it looked like on the surface. In reality, Moira Lynch could feel her spiritual power being drained at an insane rate.
"Patience, it’s eating my spiritual power! What’s going on?"
[Spiritual System Artifice Beast. Grows by devouring spiritual power. Its demand for spiritual power is astonishingly high and it is extremely dangerous. Do not let it go hungry, or it will devour the spiritual power of all surrounding creatures.
A Spiritual System Artifice Beast will not harm its master when devouring spiritual power.]
’It won’t harm its master, but as for others... that’s another story.’
Hearing that it wouldn’t harm her, Moira Lynch breathed a sigh of relief. That was all that mattered.
The wheel finally stopped, seemingly unsatisfied, only after draining two-thirds of Moira Lynch’s spiritual power.
By this point, the wheel had undergone a dramatic transformation.
The original single layer had become four, and its color had shifted from brilliant gold-inlaid jade to a black and white that exuded nobility and mystery.
The two outermost layers were formed by two crescent-shaped half-wheels, one black and one white. The third layer was shaped like a flower with petals that faded from black to white. The innermost layer was a black and white ring, with two intertwined black and white flames at its very center.
[An Artifice Beast’s appearance will change as it grows.]
"From now on, I’ll call you Moon Wheel."
Watching the constantly spinning wheel, Moira Lynch was suddenly reminded of the moon.
The Artifice Beast had successfully hatched and bonded with its master. The next step was to test Moon Wheel’s abilities.
Normally, there were specialized devices for testing an Artifice Beast, but Moira Lynch’s current situation was limited, so she had no choice but to have Moon Wheel demonstrate its abilities for her one by one.
Normally, a newborn Artifice Beast would only have two or three abilities.
To Moira Lynch’s surprise, Moon Wheel had four abilities—two for support and two for attack, a very even distribution.
[Breaking Sky: Tear through the void to reach any visible location.]
[Spirit Devouring: Devour an enemy’s spiritual power, inflicting irreversible spiritual damage.]
[Nightfall: Plunges a designated area into darkness, causing all light sources to fail and blinding all targets within.]
[Light: Heals the injuries of allies within a certain range.]
After learning the details of these four abilities, Moira Lynch wanted to scoop up Moon Wheel and give it a big kiss.
She had been a little put off by Moon Wheel’s massive appetite—devouring two-thirds of her spiritual power in one go—but now? ’What’s a little spiritual power between us? If my baby wants to eat, it can eat all it wants!’
After settling matters with Moon Wheel, Moira Lynch recovered a bit of her spiritual power and then took out the Awakening Stone.
She had already broken through to the third level and was now qualified for her second awakening.