Chapter 13: If I Fail, I’ll Offer My Head

“I need to practice too, don’t worry. As long as we follow my ideas and methods, there will be absolutely no problems!”

Ailundun casually placed his hand on Luofulei’s shoulder, brimming with a confidence that seemed to disregard the heavens and the earth.

“Three attempts. I only need three attempts. If I can’t produce it within three tries, I’ll offer my head to you!”

Luofulei didn’t respond, feeling her shoulder stiffen slightly under Ailundun’s hand.

“First, find a place to sit. I’ll start by making a simple Magic Engineering Tool to get the hang of it.”

Ailundun smiled slightly, pointing to the nearby rest area to indicate for Luofulei.

Luofulei sighed softly and went to sit on the sofa.

Bright magic instruments flickered continuously.

Many devices exuded an ancient aura, yet they weren’t old or worn.

Perhaps the Magic Workshop staff cleaned them diligently every day.

Scanning the necessary instruments and equipment on the table, Ailundun began to take inventory one by one.

Vessels, Magic Engineering liquid, Enchantment device, Mana-boosting tools, Mana-reducing tools, Appearance adjustment facilities, Mana regulation facilities, Anti-explosion facilities…

No problem.

Everything is ready.

Luofulei simply watched Ailundun’s performance quietly.

His movements weren’t exactly slow, but perhaps because he still couldn’t distinguish the functions of each instrument, Ailundun always had to read the instructions before acting, which made him seem a bit clumsy.

She admitted Ailundun had high talent in learning theory, but practical application often had the greatest gap from imagination.

Especially when she saw Ailundun add several extra layers of anti-explosion measures at the end.

She immediately understood.

This person… was a complete newbie.

After Ailundun fiddled around for a while, he finally figured some things out.

At the very least, he had recognized the function and usage method of each piece of equipment and instrument.

Just as he confidently removed the Enchantment device and began to coordinate his mana with it, wanting to add some enchantments to the armor before him…

Yes, the Magic Engineering Tools most suitable for beginners to practice with were often high-defense items like armor.

Because this could effectively reduce the injury level of novices during explosions.

Boom!

A loud explosion echoed through the Magic Workshop, though it was probably just the sound that was impressive.

The armor in front remained completely unscathed, like a brand-new item just taken from storage.

Anyone could tell what had happened.

Ailundun had successfully welcomed the first backfire of his life.

“Second attempt…”

Ailundun wasn’t in a hurry.

Still smiling, he appeared very composed in the face of his first failure.

If everything were so simple that it succeeded on the first try, then failure wouldn’t be the mother of success.

This time, he fully absorbed the lesson.

He placed the Mana regulation device for last use, ensuring he had a safety net to prevent the backfire from being too embarrassing.

Seeing Ailundun use these materials as if they were free, with each vessel having some leftover material, Luofulei couldn’t help but frown slightly with her beautiful brows.

Perhaps she had been wandering for too long.

When she used materials herself, she wished she could measure them down to the milligram.

Now, seeing Ailundun’s… profligate behavior, her heart couldn’t help but ache faintly.

She felt an inexplicable pang for the gold coins.

Soon, the results of Ailundun’s second enchantment attempt were out.

This time, there was no explosion.

On the table, the gleaming armor seemed covered in a holy light, as dazzling as gold coins, filled with the stench of money.

Due to Ailundun’s excessive and surplus use of materials, an enchanted armor full of a rich person’s bad taste was born.

Ailundun was overjoyed.

Indeed.

He still had talent.

“Hurry, use Appraisal Magic.”

Ailundun was somewhat proud, eagerly wanting to see the effects of his first finished product.

Luofulei’s brows paused, a bit hesitant.

Seeing Ailundun’s hopeful gaze fixed on her, she unnaturally shifted her eyes to the armor and used Appraisal Magic.

[Name: Young Master Armor]

[Grade: ???]

[Defense: +1]

[Effect: Perhaps lets people know you’re rich?]

[Description: A piece of crap work full of a young master’s bad taste. Do you think you’re rich and amazing? You bastard…]

Luofulei, Ailundun:

“…”

Ailundun unconsciously turned his head slightly to hide his embarrassment.

Even if it had no defense, he could understand, but this “+1” was a bit too insulting.

Fortunately, this was just an accident. The outcome was ultimately good.

He—Ailundun Ke Lan De—had completed the creation of his first Magic Engineering Tool in life!

Luofulei didn’t think too much about it.

In her view, Ailundun failing was normal.

How many beginners created legendary stories… Well, actually, there were.

She herself was one.

After this experience, Ailundun decided to quickly get to the main point.

Directly proceed to the production phase of the Cultist Sacrificial Staff!

Soon, looking at the strange props Luofulei kept bringing from outside the door, her expression was odd.

Evil dog head, staff, beast blood…

“Are you sure what you’re making is a proper Magic Engineering Tool?”

“It’s a Magic Engineering Tool certified by the Empire of Wen’erdun’s believers…”

Ailundun thought and said.

The Cultists’ certification was also a certification.

“This time, I’ll need your help, Lei Lei.”

He blurted it out familiarly, the nickname he was used to calling her in the Capable Glasses.

As soon as he said it, he regretted it a little. Would this armor he just made be put to use immediately?

Lei Lei?

Luofulei was slightly taken aback, her brows pausing, momentarily unsure what to say, so she pretended to shift her gaze.

Indeed, this time, with Luofulei’s help, everything went much more smoothly.

Ailundun, following his memory, “reasonably and naturally” recited a series of production methods.

When Luofulei and Ailundun were halfway through and she realized everything was off, Luofulei regretted it.

She knew she had fallen into a trap.

Unfortunately… once the arrow is shot, it cannot be recalled.

After Ailundun agreed to pay extra gold coins as production compensation, Luofulei found she wasn’t someone with exceptionally high moral standards either.

Hmm… Ailundun must have his reasons for doing this.

Luofulei, hailed as a once-in-a-century genius, lived up to her reputation.

Her comprehension was excellent; she understood with just a hint.

After only one failure, while Ailundun was still standing there dazed, Luofulei had already figured out the mistake.

By their second attempt, this Magic Engineering Tool, destined to be recorded on the kingdom’s pillar of shame, was produced.

They looked at the small bird-head staff on the table, brimming with demonic aura and clearly not a good thing, exchanged a glance, and fell into silence.

[Name: Cultist Sacrificial Staff]

[Grade: Purple Rare]

[Effect: Can make sacrifices to the Mother Goddess, may receive the Mother Goddess’s gifts or blessings. The higher the quality of the sacrificial offering, the more it pleases the Mother Goddess, and the better the reward received…]

[Description: Loyal believer, offer your first sacrifice to the Mother Goddess!]

“Purple Rare…”

Even Luofulei couldn’t help but glance at it.

Generally speaking, for Magic Engineering Institute students of their age who hadn’t even entered school yet, creating a blue-grade Magic Engineering Tool was considered quite remarkable.

Actually, for her, even Purple Rare wasn’t something particularly rare.

After all, she had better cards up her sleeve.

But this was also her first step into the Magic Engineer career. Previously, she had only made some mana-enhancing potions, which involved a different field…

For her, it still held some challenge.

The reason she could produce a staff of this grade was entirely due to Ailundun having a clear production path, familiar as if carved in his mind.

Of course, Ailundun thought the same—all thanks to Luofulei’s hands-on operation while he just slacked off on the side.

In any case, the Sacrificial Staff was successfully made.

“…”

Luofulei couldn’t help but shift her gaze from the staff a bit.

She saw Ailundun’s eyes were incredibly clear and pure, as if there were no evil thoughts in the depths of his gaze.

“Finally succeeded…”

Ailundun gently picked up the staff and let out a sigh of relief.

Ailundun showed a gratified smile.

Finally, he could finally enroll.

“Are you sure you want to use this staff on your classmates?”

A trace of hesitation appeared on Luofulei’s beautiful face.

She opened her mouth several times before finally unable to resist asking.

“? Do I look like that kind of person?”

Ailundun couldn’t help but feel annoyed by Luofulei’s misunderstanding.

“All of this is for the assessment! Once we’re in the Secret Realm! I’ll only use it on those evil magical creatures!”

Even so, Ailundun clearly also knew that showcasing this Sacrificial Staff in front of the many Proctors would likely have a negative impact.

He might even be mistaken for a Cultist by some Paladins.

By then, the assessment might not even start before he died under the beating of a group of Paladins.

So… he decided to adopt some methods to make the staff appear less evil.

“Ahem, by the way, Lei Lei, is there any way to make this staff look a bit more… approachable?”

Ailundun tilted his head and asked.

“?”

You really want to use this staff, don’t you?

The corner of Luofulei’s mouth stiffened slightly, but after thinking, she still said:

“Even if you use some appearance-altering magic, as long as the staff’s inherent evil aura remains, it will still be detected. So, we can only start with methods to suppress the aura.”

“Can you be more specific?”

Ailundun’s eyes lit up.

“I know of a type of tape that can suppress auras. If we can get the materials, I might be able to try making it.”

“Thank you, Lei Lei. I’ll pay you the gold coins I promised, every last one.”

Soon, Ailundun brought in many more materials from the staff.

After the tape was made, he wrapped the staff in a layer of white tape.

The first layer worked well.

The staff’s evil aura was indeed suppressed a lot, leaving only a faint, dim aura surrounding it.

For safety’s sake, he wrapped two more layers.

“By the way, Lei Lei, can you help me apply a few layers of appearance-altering magic to make it look like an ordinary little stick?”

Ailundun thought about it and still felt it wasn’t reassuring enough.

The corner of Luofulei’s mouth twitched slightly, but she still cast the appearance-altering magic.

The final product was this seemingly utterly ordinary, bandage-wrapped “rolling pin” before them.

“With this, it’s finally complete.”

Ailundun let out a sigh of relief and smiled contentedly.

“Hmm…”

Luofulei nodded lightly.

Just as she thought the matter was finally done and it was time to head back, Ailundun smiled slightly and whispered like a demon:

“So, let’s start making the second Magic Engineering Tool.”

Luofulei:

“?”

This gold was really not easy to earn.

“…”