Chapter 420 - 409: Uniqueness
Rhine’s maintenance check was still in progress.
Allen remained in the laboratory. He pulled up a document he had already read over and over.
It was the Chapter defining Level 4 Golems from *An Introduction to Dawn Star Level Golem Technology*.
Before, he had only skimmed it as a long-term goal, but the budding Will Rune in Rhine’s soul made these words feel urgent.
The combat power of a Level 4 Golem corresponded to that of a Morning Star-level Wizard.
Master Mercer had once said that Level 4 Golems were strategic-level weapons.
The data Allen had looked up in the Association’s high-clearance knowledge base also showed that throughout the entire history of the Alchemy School, the number of Level 4 Golems was pitifully small compared to the first three levels.
In the common knowledge of the Wizarding World, as long as there were enough resources, Golems from Level 1 to Level 3 could be manufactured like products on an assembly line.
But at Level 4, the Dawn Star Level, this iron-clad rule no longer applied.
The reason for this lay in the "Mechanical Realm."
That strange Plane, constructed from pure physical laws and absolute logic, hung over the heads of all Alchemy Wizards like a ghost.
The higher a Golem’s logical purity, the stronger its processing power, and the more precise its structure, the more easily it would be "noticed" by the Mechanical Realm.
Level 3 Golems were already on the verge of danger. When a Golem’s processing power, logical complexity, and energy level reached the Dawn Star Level, its Control Core would become a high-purity "Logic Aggregation."
In the vast astral sea, such an existence was like a searchlight in the dead of night, instantly drawing the attention of the Mechanical Realm.
Mass-producing Level 4 Golems?
That wouldn’t be building an army; it would be mass-producing physical vessels for the Mechanical Realm to descend into.
Once assimilated by the Mechanical Realm, these world-ending war machines would instantly turn against their creators and become the vanguard for the destruction of the Wizarding World.
This sort of thing had happened more than once.
The only solution was to grant them "uniqueness."
And the core of this uniqueness was an "artificial soul."
A soul is chaotic, illogical, and unpredictable.
It’s like a burst of static embedded in a precise logical matrix, making it impossible for the Mechanical Realm’s assimilation protocols to parse or integrate, thus barring them entry.
Therefore, every single Level 4 Golem possessed a one-of-a-kind soul.
Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 Golems, no matter how exquisitely designed, were essentially just tools. Their performance was locked in the moment they left the factory, their ceiling determined by blueprints and materials. To improve their combat power, they had to be physically modified by their creator.
A Level 4 Golem was different. It could accumulate experience in battle and even surpass the performance limits originally set by its creator.
It was no longer an inanimate object, but something close to an "individual Wizard."
An un-replicable, developing "mechanical lifeform."
Thus, artificial soul technology was the only path for a Golem to reach the Morning Star rank, and it had become one of the most core technologies of the entire Macro-Animate school.
Allen closed the document, leaned back in his chair, and stared at the ceiling.
The faint glimmer of a budding Will Rune in Rhine’s soul was his ticket into this god-like domain.
’A Level 4 Golem...’
But that wasn’t the only reason for the change in Allen’s expression.
A shadow passed through his eyes as his finger swiped through the empty air.
"DSeek, pull up the current Humanity Value monitoring report."
"Current Humanity Value: 64%. Has fallen below the Level 1 warning threshold."
As he progressed toward becoming a Second-level Wizard, his immense Magic Power was subtly reshaping his very life form.
His Sea of Spirit was expanding, and the degree of Magic Power infusion in his cells was getting higher and higher.
The direct consequence of this was that his pre-planned "humanity anchor" protocols were on the verge of failing.
Previously, when his Humanity Value dropped, DSeek would stimulate his endocrine system to secrete dopamine and adrenaline, forcefully elevating his emotions in conjunction with those stupid videos and the Memory Corridor.
But now, his gradually non-human body’s resistance to physiological hormones was increasing exponentially.
The emotional fluctuations normally caused by hormones barely created a ripple when they fell into his vast and icy Sea of Spirit.
The side effects of the [Mechanical Mind Modification Skill] were deepening as he grew stronger.
His perspective on everything was irreversibly sliding toward pure data and logic.
Rhine, Vera, Colin... these people he had tagged as friends and employees were his only remaining "anchors" capable of causing fluctuations in his base logic.
If one day he came to see even these anchors as useless, redundant data, then he would no longer be Allen Wesren, but a machine in human skin.
He himself might even be identified as a "high-purity logical body" by the Mechanical Realm and be assimilated.
"Artificial soul..." Allen muttered, mulling over the words.
This technology researched how to make genuine emotion and self-awareness "emerge" from cold logic.
This was the very antidote he desperately needed.
If he could just completely analyze the process of Rhine’s soul being reverse-engineered and master artificial soul technology, he could adapt its principles for himself.
He could artificially construct a "humanity generator" within his own absolutely rational Sea of Spirit, one that wasn’t restricted by physical hormones.
’Use Witchcraft to analyze intelligence and complete the soul.’
More importantly, this technology perfectly aligned with his concept for his third Core Witchcraft as a Second-level Wizard.
The concept was so insane that, once realized, it would grant him eternal life, making him immune to all conventional attacks forever...
"Data collection complete. Maintenance check complete."
Allen put away his thoughts and disconnected the probe.
The mechanical arms around the platform silently retracted, and the silver Runes on its surface gradually dimmed.
Rhine opened his eyes. In their warm brown depths, a stream of data flickered for a moment before they returned to clarity.
"Boss," Rhine said as he sat up and stretched. A faint hydraulic hiss came from his joints. "The maintenance seemed to take a little longer this time."
"That’s because your wear and tear exceeded the standard limit," Allen said flatly, pushing a new protocol in front of him. "Sign it."
Rhine glanced at it, his brow furrowing slightly. "A shift in work focus? Prohibited from entering any high-risk zones rated B-class or higher? Boss, the market for New Western teaching aids has just opened up in the new Plane, and I just got that pot-bellied merchant under my thumb..."
"I’ll have someone else take over," Allen interrupted.
"Then what will I be doing?" Rhine asked, confused.
"You’ll stay in Hub City, or at the Cybertron Workshop," Allen said, looking at him. "I’m initiating a deep upgrade plan for you. The estimated time is five years. The goal is to give your body a portion of the combat power of a Second-level Wizard."
Rhine was stunned.
He knew exactly what a Puppet with the combat power of a Second-level Wizard meant, even if it was only a portion of that power.
It meant an astronomical amount of Magic Stones.
He looked at Allen’s expressionless face, trying to read something in it, but finally sighed. "Boss, you being this generous all of a sudden makes me think you’re planning to sell me for a good price."
"With your current residual value, I wouldn’t even break even if I disassembled you and sold you for scrap."
Allen said coldly, the face of a capitalist showing no cracks, "You are currently my most expensive asset. I cannot tolerate my core asset being scrapped in some low-level Plane due to a ridiculous accident."
Rhine twitched the corner of his mouth into a helpless smile.
"Alright, Boss. You’re paying, so you call the shots. As long as Ella’s education fund gets transferred on time, you can have me tightening screws in the workshop all day."
Rhine stood up, straightened the hem of his clothes, and turned to walk toward the laboratory door.
He paused at the doorway.
"Boss," Rhine said without turning back. "Thanks."
No matter what Allen said, Rhine knew that forbidding him from going to high-risk Planes was a way of protecting him.
The laboratory door slid open, then closed again.
Allen stared at the empty doorway, his eyes showing no flicker of emotion.
He didn’t tell Rhine that the real reason he was forbidden from going out was because of the Will Rune gestating in his soul.
If Rhine were to encounter a powerful enemy in a high-risk area, the intense fluctuations in his soul could very likely attract uncontrollable variables, or even the attention of the Mechanical Realm.
Rhine wasn’t just his employee; he was the key to his path into that god-like domain, and his most important test subject.
Failure was not an option.
Allen turned and connected to the terminal.
A screen of light lit up, and Lina’s capable figure appeared.
"Boss," Lina said, bowing her head slightly.
"Rhine Hart. Starting today, assign ten Peacekeepers to him as a personal escort. All of his field assignments must be reported in advance."
Lina’s expression turned grim.
"No matter where he is, ensure his absolute safety."
Allen’s eyes were serious. "If necessary, you can use the munitions in the armory. If you detect any attempt to probe him on a spiritual level, eliminate the source directly."
"Understood," Lina replied without asking further questions. "Is there intelligence about an assassination attempt against him?"
"No. You just need to know that he is very important to me."
"I understand. I’ll make the arrangements."