The pocket watch and its clockwork began to change shape, merge with the statue, and turn the gears inside it. The eyes of these statues opened, showing the machines and gears in the statue’s eyes that rotate like clockwork. All parts of the statues began to move, creating gaps in the joints all over their bodies, revealing gears and machines resembling sturdy clockworks inside the statues. These gaps then emitted the same color of lights as the previous stone-shaped lights, forming patterns all over the statue’s body. These statues spread their wings, flapped them several times momentarily, then folded them again. These statues transformed into magical phoenix automatons and watched their masters curiously.
The defense personnel was surprised by what they saw because these Phoenix automatons moved and behaved similarly to living beings. Some defense personnel looked at their automaton with confused expressions, surprise, or curiosity, while others tried to touch it. Daganzo noticed his automaton looking at him curiously. Daganzo was slightly surprised as he thought.
“Even though this is the second time I’ve seen this automaton, it still amazes me....”
One of the wizards wearing a lab coat said.
“Okay, next we will give a brief explanation about how to control this automaton.”
The attention of the defense personnel and Daganzo turned to the wizard.
“You can give this automaton commands using magic spells with your Existence sword. You can calling it, telling it to hide, looking for a target, protecting you, etc. As long as the command is in accordance with the magic embedded in this automaton. We will immediately notify you when the preparations are complete and the hangar door is opened, you can then call this automaton at any time to accompany you on duty. Is there any question?”
These defense personnel looked at each other, and no one asked questions. The wizard, wearing a lab coat, continued speaking.
“Okay then, those are the end of our instructions, you can continue your duties.”
The defense personnel walked out of the room. Daganzo appeared to remember something; he then looked around him in confusion.
“I don’t see the Researcher Leader, where is he exactly?”
Daganzo’s’ expression turned disturbed as he thought.
“I have a bad feeling about this....”
Daganzo then walked out of the room.
Inside the library building, Furano stood before one of the open windows and watched the night sky covered by the Glass Walls magic spell and did not see any First Earth wizards patrolling. Furano’s expression turned slightly astonished.
“First Earth wizards are still nowhere to be seen....”
Furano opened the cloak hood on her head while walking towards the long sofa nearby.
Furano sat on the long sofa, placing her right elbow on the sofa’s arm while propping her chin with her right hand and looking at the window beside her, slightly lost in thought.
Not long after, Alton walked up the stairs from the first floor and arrived at the second floor. Alton walked to where Furano was sitting and saw her lost in thought. Alton carried a wolf ears headband as he walked closer to Furano. Furano didn’t realize Alton’s arrival. Alton put the wolf ears headband on Furano’s head. Furano was surprised; she touched the wolf ears headband on her head with her hand and turned to Alton with a curious expression.
“What is this, Alton?”
Furano asked because she couldn’t see the wolf ears headband on her head. Alton smiled; he then answered as he took a seat on the long sofa before Furano.
“Wolf ears headband, I bought it at the shop near the library entrance.”
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Furano was slightly surprised; she then took off the wolf’s ears, looked at it, and was slightly surprised. Furano smiled and put the wolf ears back on her head. Furano looked at Alton with a smile.
“Okay Alton, why did you buy me wolf ears?”
Alton smiled.
“You seemed a slightly gloomy before this, so I bought you that wolf ears to cheer you up.”
Alton raised his hands and imitated a wolf as he smiled gently.
“I’m happy to see you being cheerful.”
Alton lowered his hands and smiled. Furano was surprised, then looked at Alton curiously. Furano smiled.
“Okay, I also want to go for a while.”
Furano got up from her seat and walked away while still wearing the wolf ears headband on her head, then went down the stairs to the first floor. Alton watched Furano curiously.
The researcher leader, wearing a suit covered with lab coats and loafers, walked along one of the corridors on the 57th floor while carrying his Existence sword sheathed in a scabbard attached to the baldric at his waist. The researcher leader walked with a member of the Researcher Division who was wearing a suit covered with lab coats and loafers and divided his attention to reading the research documents in his hands as he walked forward. Also, a member of the factory mechanic wore a mechanic’s uniform and carried documents in his left hand. The Researcher leader’s expression turned serious.
“How is the Phoenix Leader doing?”
The wizard wearing the lab coat turned doubtful.
“Its has started to stabilize again, but the possibility that it will lose control when used was still above 50%, sir.”
The researcher leader nodded and continued walking forward without looking back.
“What about the stability of the energy source?”
The wizard wearing a mechanical suit immediately opened the document he was carrying and read it as he also divided his attention to the front.
“There’s’ no problem with that, sir. The trials from the beginning to the final even showed good results.”
The Researcher Leader’s expression turned serious.
“On the one hand, this is good because we don’t have to worry about failures in transmitting magical power sources to other automatons. But on the other hand, if we cannot reduce the possibility of it losing control, it would be too dangerous to allow it to fly around the city.”
The other two wizards nodded. The expression of the wizard wearing the lab coat turned curious.
“What should we do, sir?”
The researcher leader’s expression turned serious as he fell silent in thought momentarily; his expression then turned doubtful.
“I will personally carry out the final stage of trials. If the probability of Phoenix leader to lose control is not less than 50%, then the use of the automatons must be postponed.”
The other two wizards nodded.
Sometime later, they arrived before tall black metal double doors decorated with embossed patterns all over the surface and no handle. The researcher leader drew his sword from the scabbard.
“Is the pattern to open this door still the same as before?”
The wizard, wearing a lab coat, nodded.
“Yes, sir. Only authenticated people are allowed to enter.”
Researcher Leader nodded; he then scratched the tip of his sword on the door’s surface before him, drawing a pattern. Not long after, the embossed pattern on this door began to move flat, and the door then opened inward. The researcher leader resheathed his sword and walked into the room, followed by the two wizards.
Behind the door is a wide, dim room that resembles a control room, extending to the right and left. Before a row of metal framed window panes was a higher floor surface with railings, short stairs, and a long control desk with monitors and ergonomic chairs where several other wizards wearing lab coats sat and watched the view outside the window before them with focused expressions. Several other wizards also wore mechanical uniforms controlling tall, metal control panels. The researcher leader and the two wizards following him walked closer to the control desk. The researcher leader’s expression turned serious when he saw the view outside the window before him: a spacious room resembling a hangar that combined two building levels downwards. A metal door connected the control room and the hangar room with a ladder before it.
In the center of the room was a five meters tall metal automaton phoenix, as if it was sleeping. Throughout the automatons’ bodies were countless cables connecting to the machines merged in this hangar ceiling. In contrast to the smaller phoenix automaton, the metal on the outer body of this phoenix looks duller and rougher. On its chest, where there should be a slot for placing a pocket watch, there is a slot with a size that suits its body size, emitting a bright red light. Researcher Leader’s expression turned serious as he thought.
“Phoenix Leader can absorb any energy to stabilize his body, and the red glowing core in its chest is a source of magical energy for itself and other phoenix automatons connected to it with linking magic spell. The light resembled a stone on the pocket watch were the fragments from the magic core in this phoenix’s chest....”
The Researcher Leader turned to one of the wizards wearing a lab coat.
“I want to see the progress record of the phoenix leader.”
Every Researcher and mechanic wizards here turned towards the Researcher Leader. One of the wizards wearing a lab coat nodded.
“I’ll prepare it, sir.”
This wizard tidied up the documents on the control desk before him, then got up from his chair. The wizard handed these documents to the Researcher Leader and returned to his chair.