One-Eyed Monster
Chapter 54 - 51.5 Formation Arrangement (Supplement)

Chapter 54: Chapter 51.5 Formation Arrangement (Supplement)

Contract Beasts are constrained by time, but Exchange Beasts are different. They are solely controlled by Alchemists (after all, they cannot be considered Living Entities, simply fabricated imitations). As long as the Alchemy Equation allows, Exchange Beasts can be "summoned" without restriction. However, controlling the Exchange Beast after summoning and making it part of oneself is what distinguishes the abilities of Alchemists.

Like most professions, the strength of one’s Spirit Power determines an Alchemist’s capability. Those with powerful Spirit Power can imbue their manufactured Exchange Beasts with their own Spirit Power, making them their eyes, their ears, and ultimately, their doubles.

For Alchemists with weak Spirit Power, however, the Exchange Beasts they create can only serve as decorations. Dead Objects lacking Spirit Power are merely ornaments.

The alchemical technique of transforming Exchange Beasts into one’s own doubles is called Master Controlling Exchange Beasts. This technique demands considerable Spirit Power. Alchemists who master it, sometimes known as Master Controllers, need an intimate understanding of the habits of the Exchange Beasts they create. For instance, if a bat Exchange Beast, after being imbued with the master controller’s Spirit Power, still attempts to observe its surroundings with eyes like a human, then that Alchemist has merely wasted their Spirit Power. Not only would they observe nothing, but they would also lose that bat Exchange Beast. Therefore, every Alchemist who masters the skill of Master Controlling Exchange Beasts has their own specific type of Exchange Beast, as simultaneously mastering and flexibly applying the life habits of two different organisms is quite challenging.

Master Controlling Exchange Beasts is a High Rank skill for Alchemists. This skill is even one of the marks distinguishing if an Alchemist is a general Alchemist or a high-ranking Alchemist. On the Yowein Continent, both Alchemists and Wizards have complex Level Divisions, unlike Hunters and Fighters who are broadly classified into High Rank and ordinary based on actual combat strength. The Level Division system for Alchemists and Wizards employs a mature assessment system.

This mature assessment system is primarily due to the powerful support these two professions receive. For instance, Alchemists have the sponsorship of the Imperial Royal Family to establish the Alchemy Workshop. The Alchemy Workshop serves the Empire, even becoming an integral part of it. During the defensive wars of the Kayne Empire, the Alchemy Workshop contributed significantly to defending the territories. Today, every young person cultivating Alchemy strives to enter the Alchemy Workshop.

Those who cultivate Alchemy can be called Alchemists. Alchemists are further divided into Alchemy Apprentices and Alchemy Servants. Alchemy Servants are merely beginners in Alchemy, having only elevated their perception of Spirit Power to the Alchemist-specific "Discernment Stage." This means they have only progressed in their perception of Spirit Power without mastering any specific alchemical techniques. Alchemy Apprentices are a level higher than Alchemy Servants. Apprentices have completely mastered the "Discernment Stage" skill of perceiving Spirit Power and have begun to engage with the fundamentals of Alchemy: the Alchemy Equation. Any Alchemist who reaches the level of an Alchemy Apprentice can already use simple Alchemy Equations to exchange simple objects of equal quality.

Stepping beyond the level of Alchemy Apprentice signifies entry into the High Rank of Alchemists—the rank of Alchemist. The Alchemy mastered by these high-ranking Alchemists is not as simple as exchanging objects of equal quality; they master more complex Alchemy Equations. Compared to Alchemy Apprentices, Wizards can not only use Alchemy Equations to exchange equivalent items anytime and anywhere but can also create their own exchange equations. The ability to create exchange equations is the threshold for an Alchemist to advance to become a high-ranking Alchemist.

The Alchemy Workshop classifies these high-ranking Alchemists by seats. The Golden Twelve Seats represent the highest level within the Alchemy Workshop, with each seat corresponding to one of the Stars. In addition to the Golden Twelve Seats, there are also the North Sky Twenty-nine Seats and the South Sky Forty-seven Seats. Alchemists ranked beyond these eighty-eight seats in the Alchemy Workshop are designated by numbers greater than eighty-eight. All Alchemists in the Kayne Empire strive to attain a seat in the Alchemy Workshop, and the competition for these limited eighty-eight seats is incredibly fierce.

Those fortunate elders who retire from the Golden Twelve Seats are promoted to become elders of the Alchemy Workshop. People show great respect to Alchemists who create astonishing Alchemy Equations. If not for their advancing age, these Alchemists could still wield considerable influence within the Empire. These elders pass on their skills and manage the Alchemy Workshop based on their vast experience. They are the guiding minds of the Alchemy Workshop, directing all its operations.

This time, Kuyi Tulan, despite being the Chief of the Golden Twelve Seats in the Alchemy Workshop, disregarded the opposition of the workshop’s elders and deployed seven high-ranking Alchemists, including himself.

Any one of these seven Alchemists, if their presence were known anywhere in the Kayne Empire, would be revered...

Yet, these seven esteemed Alchemists had come to the Empire’s border together. Although this frontier was known for the legendary White Cloud Fruit, that reason alone was insufficient to explain the simultaneous appearance of seven members of the Golden Seats.

If Kuyi Tulan had not maintained a low profile, he would likely have amassed several entourages of voluntary followers along the journey...

"Sir, the shared viewpoint is ready. Can we activate the Heaven and Earth Bind now?" The speaker was a youth with chestnut hair, short but incredibly lean.

"Wait a little longer, Hector, until the Exchange Beasts are fully deployed on the peak. The ants and field mice are slower," Milo responded to the chestnut-haired youth. This Hector was the last of the Golden Twelve Seats, corresponding to the constellation of Dual Fish in the sky.

Milo had chosen a secluded corner to set up his formation. He was cautious, not wanting the activity of setting up the formation to attract unwanted attention. This frontier land, though disdained by all the Imperial Capitals, also attracted many Treasure Hunters. While this group of Treasure Hunters appeared to be a motley crew, no one could guarantee there were no hidden threats among them.

The Alchemy Array was a new skill recently developed by the Alchemy Workshop. It utilized Exchange Beasts and Alchemy Equations to create traps, barriers, and offensive formations within a localized area. These constructs often bewildered opponents, much like a labyrinthine maze filled with intricate mechanisms.

The Alchemy Array was a long-range technique of high-ranking Alchemists. Its emergence directly elevated the status of Alchemists once again, instantly overshadowing the long-range Spellcraft that Wizards had once prided themselves on.

The mountain clearing Milo had arranged a few days prior was merely preparation for the formation. Within a single day, Exchange Beasts had placed the Alchemists’ special Markers in specific corners of Dawn Peak. Through Spirit Sensing, Milo and the others could clearly perceive each location. They then placed corresponding Markers on the ground, arranging them in a circle. As these Markers were secured, the pattern of a hexagram gradually materialized. Once the hexagram pattern was complete, the first step of the array setup—the Formation Diagram—was finished.

Milo chose a hidden corner to establish the Formation Diagram, the foundation of the entire Alchemy Array. It was crucial that the Formation Diagram remain undisturbed, even if an accident occurred. Once the Spirit Power within the Formation Diagram stabilized, Milo and the others could leave their Exchange Beast doubles behind and depart to handle other tasks.

Of course, only those Alchemists who held positions within the Golden Twelve Seats were capable of such a profound display of Spirit Power.