What defines an intelligent being?

How does one awaken to self-awareness?

These were questions Sein had pondered in the past.

From the looks of it, the emergence of something like “shame” had also become a marker of a robot’s awakening to self-awareness.

The shift in Fermera’s facial expression, along with the subsequent rise in her temperature during the experiment, clearly reflected the multifaceted impact that Yuri and the Burning Flame Unit had on her after their arrival in the laboratory.

During Sein’s previous experiments on Fermera, she had never displayed such heightened sensitivity.

Fortunately, this round of experimentation did not last long, as Sein still had other research topics to complete.

Even as his body continued to be eroded by the special fluorescent law power, Sein was still able to enthusiastically engage in various studies.

This, perhaps, was the unwavering dedication mages displayed in their pursuit of truth.

***

One and a half months later...

Fully immersed in his laboratory work, Sein was suddenly disturbed by a commotion outside.

Standing before the experimental table, the handsome mage who normally carried an air of refined gentleness abruptly froze, his expression turning cold.

With his concentration broken, the body-tempering potion Sein had been meticulously preparing ended in failure.

Such was the rigor of mage experiments. Even the slightest interference or error could reduce painstaking effort to nothing.

This body-tempering potion was not some top-tier experiment. It was simply a new research project Sein had recently begun after studying the flesh and blood of a Rank Six creature.

The cultivation methods of the Grand Apocalypse World creatures were rather peculiar. They referred to the power they cultivated as “primal power”.

Moreover, every Apocalypse World creature possessed an extraordinarily concentrated form of this primal power within its body.

Even after being slain in battle, the primal power did not dissipate immediately. Instead, it lingered within their flesh and blood for an extended period.

Sein named his newly developed body-tempering potion the Apocalypse Potion, also known as the Primal Power Potion.

Just two days earlier, Kram had visited Sein. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he smoothly invited the Rank Four Klytheran warrior to remain in the laboratory and test his new body-tempering potion.

Inside the laboratory, the sudden change in Sein’s aura and mood after his experiment was interrupted left Kram as timid as a startled quail, scarcely daring to breathe.

Just like Yuri, she knew Sein well enough to detect even the slightest shift in his emotions.

At the moment, they were in the tower master’s laboratory within the Ashen Fortress. Under normal circumstances, no one would come here.

Even Marie, the academy dean who reported to him regularly, knew that this was Sein’s research time and would not interrupt him without a good reason.

So who could it be?

The fact that someone had located the tower master’s laboratory meant they were no ordinary intruder. The magic wards Sein had set up outside were not mere decorations.

Taking a deep breath, he tossed the failed potion away. After glancing at Kram, who was still lying obediently on the experimental table, Sein turned and headed for the laboratory exit.

It turned out that the one who had interrupted him was none other than his mentor, Lorianne.

Before he even reached the door, Sein activated his tower master privileges and saw Lorianne already standing outside the laboratory.

All traces of his earlier gloom and irritation vanished instantly. When he opened the door, a genuine smile spread across his face.

“Were you annoyed that I interrupted your experiment? I met Marie before coming. She mentioned you might be in the middle of one,” Lorianne said, tapping Sein on the shoulder with her staff as she approached.

There was a clear height difference between them. She had aimed for his head, but ended up tapping his shoulder instead.

Given Sein’s body-tempered physique, the two taps felt more like a tickle than anything else.

Sein smiled. “Not at all. I’m thrilled that you came to see me, Master Lorianne.”

When Sein had last left the laboratory days earlier, he had heard nothing about Lorianne arriving at this base.

Clearly, she had only just arrived and had come straight to find him upon entering this subspace.

“I guess you know what’s good for you,” Lorianne replied in satisfaction, her lips curling into a faint smile. Soon after, however, she sniffed the air and frowned slightly.

“What’s that smell in here?” Lorianne asked. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

“And your Ashen Fortress too. The moment I stepped inside, I sensed an unpleasant aura permeating the entire fortress, inside and out,” she added, furrowing her brow.

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Sein asked, sniffing the air himself too.

At first, Sein did not understand what Lorianne was referring to, but he quickly realized that the unpleasant aura his mentor had sensed must have been left behind by the Rank Six God of Decay.

Ever since striking a deal with the Rank Six God of Decay during the previous war, Sein had followed the principle of equivalent exchange, allowing it to come over and absorb the decaying power contained within the corpse of that Rank Six Apocalypse World creature.

The decaying power within a single Rank Six creature’s corpse was not something that could be absorbed all at once.

As a result, the God of Decay had visited the Ashen Fortress several times over that period.

Each visit, Sein had closely observed the God of Decay as it extracted this strange energy, marveling at the process.

The God of Decay’s influence on the surrounding environment and energy field was unmistakable.

Even with considerable restraint, it still left traces of its presence behind in Sein’s Ashen Fortress.

Half a month earlier, when Sein had stepped out of the laboratory to receive a report from Marie, she had complained about a persistent unpleasant odor permeating both the interior and exterior of the Divine Tower of Ashes.

She had even attempted to purge it using the fortress’ purification systems, but the results had been far from satisfactory.

After all, this was a unique aura emitted unconsciously by a Rank Six being. Sein’s Ashen Fortress was a specialized war fortress, yet its purification systems were not strong enough to cleanse the lingering residue of divine power left behind by such an existence.

At the time, Sein had dismissed this as a “small issue”, even when Marie mentioned that the unpleasant aura might hinder the Divine Tower of Ashes’ recruitment efforts among hedge mages.

Marie had performed exceptionally well in the recruitment task Sein had assigned her previously.

During the Clash of Civilizations, both sides suffered massive losses among their lower-tier legions, and the deaths of law-wielding beings were no longer rare.

Just two months earlier, quite a few law-wielding beings had fallen during the battle at the heart of the Steel Ruins.

As far as Sein knew, thirteen law-wielding knights and mages from Magus World alone had already perished within this subspace.

And that did not even include the allied foreign deities.

The fall of so many law-wielding mages meant that the Divine Tower of Ashes now had more opportunities to poach talents.

Sein had told Marie that their options were not limited to the Divine Tower of Dark Wind, once led by Master Chakra.

She could also approach other divine towers that had lost their leaders.