Magical Beast Transformation: Hekatonkheires, as a dog-type biological Teigu, had many traits.
The first was gigantification.
Its main body was only around forty centimeters long, but once it entered combat mode, it could transform into a massive monster more than five meters tall, possessing tremendous destructive power.
Next was regeneration.
Like other biological Teigu, as long as its core was not destroyed, it could continue regenerating, and its regeneration speed was extremely terrifying.
Because it was a dog-type Teigu, it also possessed canine abilities such as tracking by scent.
In addition, there was a compressed space inside its body, capable of storing several hundred cubic meters of objects.
Anything swallowed into that space would even lose its weight, placing no burden on Hekatonkheires's movements.
Because it had used Berserk and had been cut in half, this huge mass of monster flesh could do nothing right now aside from regenerate at an extremely slow pace.
Overall, Hekatonkheires was equivalent to a half-tank, half-support unit.
To Noah, its offensive ability was somewhat lacking.
A five-meter-tall muscular monster was nearly unbeatable for an ordinary person, but limited by its intelligence, Hekatonkheires's methods of attack only consisted of smashing things with its limbs or opening its bloody maw to tear and bite.
Its combat relied entirely on instinct.
At least, that seemed to be the case for now.
It could store weapons inside its body.
In that case, if he installed some armaments and had it carry them around, wouldn't that greatly increase its threat level?
For example, a custom-made fifteen-meter-long blade.
With Hekatonkheires's strength, the destructive power generated by swinging that kind of lethal weapon would be several times, or even dozens of times greater than fighting barehanded.
It did not necessarily need to be a sharp weapon either.
Under sufficiently terrifying brute force, a blunt weapon could unleash equally frightening destructive power.
Hekatonkheires itself did not have much of a problem executing commands. It was just that Noah's compatibility with this thing was not high.
He was merely using it through threats.
He was certain this thing was thinking about running away at every moment, but because it feared the consequences, it pretended to be obedient.
The consciousness inside a Teigu was very hazy.
It was not as easy to alter as the soul of a living creature. Otherwise, he could use Soul Corridor to "hack" into the system and reset or modify it.
"Wait..."
'I seem to have misunderstood something.'
A Teigu was inhabited by the will of a Danger Beast because the Teigu itself used a large amount of super-class Danger Beast flesh that had not truly died.
The flesh and blood turned into materials could also be considered a body that had not completely perished.
What if... he used a new consciousness to overwrite the consciousness inside the Teigu?
Noah considered the feasibility of that method.
If he cultivated a separate consciousness to replace the Danger Beast's will lodged inside the Teigu and took over all authority over the Teigu, would that affect the Teigu's own functions?
If the consciousness dwelling inside the Teigu disappeared, would the Teigu's activity vanish along with it? There had never been any record of this, so Noah had no reference.
This was a domain no one had ever set foot in, with no road already formed.
From now on, every step he took would leave behind a pioneering footprint.
Once he had some ideas, Noah almost immediately wanted to put them into practice.
Fortunately, before shutting himself away in research, he stopped himself in time.
Because he would spend quite a lot of time investing himself in this research next, and that might make his "ally" feel quite uneasy.
After all, that ally had just spent an astronomical sum on him.
If Noah disappeared just like that, the man would probably be unable to eat or sleep in peace.
More importantly, it might affect his credibility, making it harder to fool the man in the future.
So before that, he needed to first produce some "results" to reassure this ally.
...
Several days later...
Noah brought the results he had "found time" to make over the past few days and came before the Minister.
Seeing him arrive, Minister Honest immediately showed a warm expression.
"Professor Noah, you're here. Perfect timing. I just received some fine red wine from a provincial governor below me. Why don't we try it together?"
"Wine?"
"Yes. The person who offered it said this is an extremely rare local treasure."
The Minister waved his hand, and a maid at his side brought the red wine over on a tray.
The crimson wine looked as beautiful as liquid ruby.
But Noah only used Appraisal out of habit and immediately lost his appetite.
[Famous Wine: Superior Bull's Blood]
・A base wine made using special brewing techniques. It requires at least five rounds of blending to achieve perfect balance in flavor. Even a single failure will ruin all previous effort.
・Because blood and sweat have been mixed into it, it possesses a special color.
Noah did not show anything on his face.
He shook his head, then handed the box in his hand to the other man.
"It looks like the timing isn't quite right. This isn't something that should be swallowed together with alcohol."
"What is this?"
Minister Honest accepted the box and opened it directly.
A fresh aura immediately spread from within the box, making even Minister Honest's cloudy eyes brighten slightly.
He looked at the small bottle inside the box and found that it contained three pills.
Noah did not keep him in suspense.
If he had time for that, he would rather return earlier and begin his research.
So he explained directly, "I've already verified the stability of these three pills. With your current physical condition, eating one should increase your life force by roughly the equivalent of twenty years of lifespan."
Noah said something countless emperors had once dreamed of hearing in an extremely casual tone.
Lifespan.
In truth, as long as he used the potion-making techniques of alchemy together with excellent materials, it was not difficult to create medicine that could supplement life force.
The problem was the side effects.
There was probably no material in this world more excellent than the Forest Dragon's jewel.
With the life aura left behind by the Forest Dragon, pills like this could be produced by the hundreds or thousands within a short period of time.
Minister Honest froze.
His body stiffened, but he did not dare let his hand tremble in the slightest.
Because what he held right now was equivalent to his own life!
"Professor Noah... you weren't joking just now, were you?"
The corners of Minister Honest's mouth twitched as though he wanted to laugh wildly, but was desperately holding himself back.
Twenty years?
This tiny pill, as long as he swallowed it, could increase his lifespan by twenty years?
Honestly speaking, Minister Honest found it hard to believe.
The problem was, this was Professor Noah saying it personally and taking it out with his own hands!
After experiencing the benefits of Grace elixirs, Minister Honest had been looking forward to the "possibility" Noah had spoken of.
He just had not expected results to appear in such a short time.
What Noah did not know was that Minister Honest had long since prepared himself to wait decades for results.
After all, this was immortality.
Even Teigu could not do something like that.
Otherwise, the first Emperor would not have needed to create forty-eight Teigu to stabilize the Empire's rule.
Although it was not eternal life yet, this was still twenty years!
Wouldn't three pills be sixty years?
As long as he and Noah were still alive, could this kind of pill continue to be mass-produced?
If he kept taking them, could he live forever?
In an instant, countless thoughts surged into Minister Honest's mind and filled it completely.
He held his head, a trace of madness appearing in his smile.
In front of Minister Honest, Noah took the small bottle out of the box and poured one pill from it.
"Minister, you can call someone to test it first. Although it's difficult to make, it's not something that can never be obtained again in the future."
"Me..."
Minister Honest looked at the pill in Noah's hand, and the reason in his eyes quickly faded.
He snatched the pill from Noah's hand and stuffed it into his mouth without hesitation, swallowing it without even chewing.
Seeing how impatient he was, the corner of Noah's mouth curved slightly.
After swallowing the pill, Minister Honest waited expectantly for "something" to happen.
But after several seconds passed, there was no strange reaction from his body.
He opened his tightly shut eyes with some confusion and disappointment, then looked at Noah in front of him.
Noah looked at him calmly, took out the mirror hidden beneath the box, and aimed it at the Minister.
"Congratulations, Minister. You look quite a bit younger than you did just now."
The moment Noah raised the mirror, Honest froze completely.
He stared blankly at the face in the mirror, unable to make a sound.
He touched his own face with one hand, his eyes filled with intense shock.
"This... is me?"
Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar face in the mirror, Minister Honest's face showed no clear expression for a moment, only endless emotion.
Minister Honest was already over fifty years old this year.
Although he enjoyed every kind of glory and wealth and stood at the highest peak of power on the entire continent, time was the one shackle he had no power to resist.
In the past, he too had possessed a handsome and impressive appearance.
Although, at his level, appearance was already secondary.
With his power and wealth, even if he looked like a pig, he would never lack women or anything else he desired.
Even so, he still missed the strong and vigorous version of himself from his prime.
In order to enjoy all of this for longer, he had specifically gone to Kōken Temple to cultivate the ancient fist art that allowed full control over the body.
During those years of training, his body had reached its peak.
Although his foundation still remained now, the growth of age inevitably brought the decline of blood and vitality.
He had already forgotten what kind of bearing he had possessed at thirty.
And now...
In the mirror before him, he saw it once more.
No.
He had returned to it!
Looking at his skin after the wrinkles had faded, Minister Honest murmured, "I've become younger?"
Although it was not a complete return to youth, this was undoubtedly his most vigorous period!
"Haha."
"Hahahahaha! It's real!"
Minister Honest revealed a crazed smile.
He snatched the mirror from Noah's hand and kept examining the face reflected within.
He laughed wildly and shouted, "A miracle! This is a miracle! Incredible, truly incredible! You actually did it!"
Feeling the seemingly inexhaustible vitality inside his body, Minister Honest excitedly opened his arms, wanting to hug Noah.
"Calm down, Minister."
Noah pushed away his silly smiling face with one hand and deliberately frightened him.
"You were far too impatient. I hadn't even told you what the side effects are."
Side effects.
The moment he heard those words, Minister Honest, who had been laughing loudly just now, became as if a fishbone had lodged in his throat.
He immediately shut his mouth and stared at Noah dumbfounded.
"What did you say? Side effects?"
Noah spread his hands and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "One pill can let you live twenty more years. How could something like that have no side effects at all?"
Minister Honest wanted to refute him upon hearing this.
But after opening his mouth, he had no idea what to say.
Seeing him left speechless, Noah said directly, "This medicine can restore your youth and strengthen your life force, but it does have one side effect. Look at your wrist, Minister."
Hearing this, Minister Honest hurriedly rolled up his sleeve and looked at his wrist.
He saw that the blood vessels around his wrist were actually giving off a greenish glow, clearly visible through the skin.
"Wh-what is this?"
Minister Honest's pupils shrank.
That color very easily gave people an ominous feeling, whether it appeared on the body or on the head.
"Minister Honest, human lifespans are very short. Danger Beasts, however, are different. Even low-class Danger Beasts have life force far beyond humans, and some can even survive for over five hundred years."
"This pill will gradually transform you toward a Danger Beast. But this process is not irreversible. Once these green traces fade, you can continue taking it."
Noah calmly explained the advantages and disadvantages, using that to soothe the panicked Minister Honest.
"What... ah, so that's how it is. Professor Noah, you scared me so badly I broke out in a cold sweat! Hahaha, I see. Then I'll have to preserve the remaining pills properly."
"Don't worry. As long as these pills aren't affected by outside factors like being soaked in water, they won't go bad even if they're stored in a container for a hundred years."
Of course, in his heart, Noah was laughing coldly.
'How could there be such a convenient thing?'
This pill did not alter the human body.
It altered the soul, and this was an irreversible process.
However, the Minister was still useful, and Noah did not want him to swallow several pills in one breath and directly turn into a Danger Beast.
Noah showed a smiling expression, in truth to conceal the blue glow in his eyes.
In his eyes, the Minister's soul was no longer human in shape.
Right now, his medicine was suppressing it, so the body had yet to change.
But once those green traces disappeared, the rejection reaction would appear.
Twenty years?
There was no need to wait that long.
The Minister would probably be finished far sooner.
Noah thought about his research and felt that if this experiment went smoothly, then his projection in this world should almost be ready to come to an end.
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