'So my name is Cale...'
Although most of his memories were still somewhat hazy, he was able to recall some of the images. The picture of Margaret and Del, in particular, had burned itself into his memory, inducing both joy and bitterness.
'I shouldn't be concentrating on my memories right now...and try to understand what the hell is going on,' Cale cursed inwardly. All the memories of his family would only make him angrier and drive him out of his stasis, which, of course, he couldn't let happen at the moment.
'So it wasn't a dream...I really am a skeleton now' Cale glanced down, trying not to make any sudden movement so as not to attract the professor's attention.
'But how is it possible that I remain conscious? I have neither a heart nor a brain...did someone use their divine powers to raise me from the dead?' Cale had so many different questions about the current situation, but unfortunately, he didn't have any ability to answer them.
'Whatever... I need to get away from this place first,' Cale thought as he poked his head through the hole that had been created after Kelton took one of the beasts away. The first thing that greeted him was a sweaty middle-aged man mercilessly dismembering a green-skinned beast into many different parts. Cale instantly pulled his skull away.
'What to do ...?' Cale couldn't think of a way to run away. He had actually woken up long ago and had listened to Katherine and Kelton's conversation for a whole hour, managing to uncover many secrets behind the current location and their power.
Cale understood that even though this professor wasn't that strong and could be easily defeated by a simple warrior, but Cale is just a fragile skeleton that doesn't even have a hint of Qi in him.
If he tried to fight Kelton, the result would be disastrous. However, the worst part is that even if he managed to escape somehow, he would still have to go through tight security that was definitely more powerful than this professor.
"Damn it! Stupid beast!" Kelton suddenly cried out and threw the small blade away in frustration. Veins popped out of his forehead and he continued to spread chaos in his own room, throwing the bloody parts of the beast wherever the eyes fell.
After a few minutes, Kelton finally calmed down as he sighed, "I need more beasts." He then went to the corner and this time took the bird-like creature.
Little did he know that the skull that emerged from under the beast was intently observing each movement he has done so far.
'This professor is quite impulsive, perhaps I can use that to my advantage' Unbeknownst to Kelton, Cale had already begun to formulate a strategy for escape.
'What a madman' Cale watched as Kelton disassembled the beast into many different parts again, filling the room with the smell of blood. It was quite disorienting to be able to detect different smells when you didn't have a nose, and right now Cale would rather not have a nose at all.
'So he really is trying to extract divine powers from beasts?' Cale thought, surfing through his own memories. After a few seconds of pondering, Cale finally found the information about divine powers as his breathing intensified.
Divine powers were various types of supernatural abilities that could be awakened by Qi cultivators or Qi beasts. It could be anything: Controlling fire, having inexplicable raw power, or maybe even shooting lasers from one's eyes.
Unfortunately, this power was deeply connected to the soul, making it impossible to get it out of the body after death. Of course, some people tried various ways to somehow obtain the divine powers from the dead, but all attempts always failed.
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Cale was no exception either. Born without any divine powers, he had tried many times to obtain one. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful.
Therefore, Cale believed that Kelton's current research was nothing more than delaying the inevitable failure. On the other hand, he was also quite interested in the process and tried to remember each step he performed. Perhaps this professor can't extract the divine power from the beasts now...but maybe sometime in the distant future?
After all, Cale is just a skeleton now, unable to cultivate Qi or force it into his 'body'. If he could obtain a divine power, it could at least serve as a form of defense, even if it is just at its initial stages.
"Failed again!!!" Kelton roared angrily and instantly took the last beast from the corner of the room, leaving Cale completely free.
'Should I make a run for it?' Cale understood that after the professor is done with this beast then it's his turn. He didn't know if he would die after having some of his bones removed, but he'd rather not risk at all.
Boom!
Suddenly, a loud tremor went through the room, shaking the ground beneath Cale. Fortunately, it stopped after a few seconds.
"HAHAHA! That's how it's supposed to be!" Kelton smiled gracefully, holding a translucent sphere that glowed bright white.
'You've got to be kidding me! Did he do this?' Cale almost jumped from the spot in shock, but managed to calm himself down after a few seconds, 'There's no way it's that simple.'
"It's almost potent enough to start the next part of the extraction!" Kelton laughed out loud as he moved towards the center of the room. Surprisingly, he simply threw the white energy ball towards the glowing stone, both of them collided and merged into one. The color barely changed, but the Qi around it agitated and even Cale felt some pressure descend on him.
"Professor Kelton! What's going on?" a guard rushed into the room after hearing the explosion.
"Don't worry, the energy was just a bit too vigorous," Kelton replied casually, "Inform Princess Katherine that I've made some significant progress on the research and will soon begin the final part of the extraction."
"Yes sir!" the guard immediately rushed from the room with a smile hidden under his dark helmet. He knew that if the research proved successful, the Romulus Kingdom would grow.
-
After only a few seconds, Katherine already appeared in the room as Cale tried to hide his presence as much as possible. The princess of Romulus Kingdom was not weak, and she would surely notice any abnormalities within a certain scope.
"Princess Katherine, there you are at last," said Kelton whose eyes were not bulging from the glowing stone, "Check this out"
"Qi has definitely increased. It seems you're doing a great job," Katherine smiled and walked towards the gemstone as well.
"Yeah, I'd need at least five more beasts to finally begin the last process of extraction" Kelton laughed out.
"Hmm...not bad. Would you mind explaining how you're going to do it?" Katherine said in a playful tone.
"?!" Kelton's face instantly contorted after hearing her words. Even if the Romulus Kingdom provided him with resources, that didn't mean he would give all the data he had researched for over ten years with such a simple request.
"Come on, Professor Kelton." Katherine tilted her head forward, letting Kelton take a better look at her body. She licked her lips and locked eyes with the professor, who blushed in response.
"Games like that don't work on me," Kelton rolled his eyes away instantly.
"Ah...just tell me what you want then?" Katherine adjusted her figure, her eyes once again filled with a casual coldness.
"After the first success of the extraction, I want twenty percent of the kingdom's resources and a lab that can fit hundreds of beasts."
"What!?" Katherine's eyes widened in disbelief as a hint of devilish aura escaped from her body, "No way!"
"I think it's a fairly decent deal. Since all the current resources in the Romulus Kingdom wouldn't even count as a quarter in other kingdoms, it's actually not that big of a sum." Kelton explained, "However after we start extracting divine powers from beasts en masse, the resources in the kingdom will increase by tens if not hundreds of times. On the other hand, without me, the state of Romulus Kingdom will only decline."
'This sly man! He's already thought everything through!' Katherin's face grew even angrier as she replied, "I can't make such a decision on my own, we'll have to wait until at least one of my brothers comes back."
"Sure," Kelton casually replied and continued to look towards the shining gem.
"Tch!" With an unpleasant sound, Katherine disappeared from the room, leaving a faint trace of white Qi in her place.
Once she was out of the room, Kelton withdrew his gaze from the glowing stone and looked at the corpse in the corner.
"Since I have some time, I can play with these bones," Kelton began to slowly reach out to Cale, who was wholeheartedly panicking at the sight of the approaching hand.