Suddenly, the figure of Lazek disappeared, until the Fleshcrafter appeared right in front of the Old Grandmaster's face in a flash. Lazek's two fingers were pointed towards Ginrow's heart. Those two fingers were oozing with violent dark flames.
Ginrow felt death itself clutching at his neck, as if he would really… really die right then and there, not even being able to resist.
But the next moment, that sense of danger disappeared entirely. Lazek smiled brightly, and all pressure or other anomalies from the chamber vanished. He said with a positive tone, "Well, anyway, I'm sure something like that won't happen in the future, right, Grandmaster Ginrow?"
His sudden and complete 180-degree shift in personality filled the old man with even more terror, as he agreed instantly, like a mechanical robot, rigidly nodding his head repeatedly, in fear that the man in front of him might actually change his mind and kill him, just over the matter of his disciple being humiliated.
Lazek added with a bright smile, "Then off you go, respected Grandmaster."
The old Grandmaster Ginrow gritted his teeth and left in a hurry, greatly alarmed by the countenance of Lazek Oberon with every second that he spent here.
Lazek's expression returned to his cold, aloof state as the arrogant old Grandmaster left the room. A sneer of disgust filled his face as he scoffed, "Does this old man have a screw or two loose or something?"
"How dare he even think about picking on my disciple? Pathetic old fart…" sighed the newly advanced Fleshcraft Grandmaster with a disappointed look.
***
Right after a few minutes, when Kale exited the gathering room, Grandmaster Kraul gave him a loud slap on the back as the muscular man laughed joyfully, as he stated, "That was really, really good. I suppose my junior brother is indeed the right master for you, truly."
Then Grandmaster Oram, as usual, wearing his warm smile, patted his shoulder and said, "If you ever need any rare plants, Pills, or any other help. Just come to me; I will help you graciously."
Kale also smiled as he gave a slight bow towards both of these prominent Grandmasters for their gesture of goodwill.
Kraul coughed as he added, "Well, you can ask me for the same things as Oram said. Anyway, take care, kid… I'm still too busy."
Oram also left right after Kraul. Only their disciples, Torin and Ran, stayed by him, making small talk as they went down the stairs.
Suddenly, a few voices called out as the other disciples tried to introduce themselves: "Hello, Artificer Kale, nice to meet you."
"You truly are astonishing, Kale; how did you memorize so much?"
"Please tell us your secret; how can you be so good even as a Tamer?"
"That fleshcraft experiment seemed incredibly difficult, and yet you did it so flawlessly."
Their tones were flattering, their expressions incredibly friendly, as if the previous insults these hypocrites had uttered had never occurred.
Kale's expression turned aloof; his green eyes shimmered coldly as he gazed at each of these rotten shits. They all became silent under Kale's piercing gaze; then he turned around and said, "Let's go…"
Torin and Ran quickly followed behind him, exiting the central tower.
However, Kale did not accompany these two for long; rather, he quickly ran to the Fleshcraft tower at his master's work chamber. Lazek seemed to be already present there, busy messing with some trinkets.
Kale, uncaring of what his master was doing, spoke up, "Master, I think I am ready to advance and become an Apprentice-rank Artificer."
Lazek paused in his tracks and turned around, looking at Kale with a raised eyebrow, but there was no surprise in his eyes.
Kale added, "The experiment that I want to do is Chimera creation through implantation."
One corner of Lazek's mouth rose, and he asked, "Right now?"
Kale's expression became resolute, "Yes, right now…."
His master grinned as he nodded, and he cleared out all the trinkets he had been messing with on top of the experimentation table.
Replacing them with all the equipment necessary for the procedure.
Lazek asked, "What kind of Chimera do you want to create?"
Kale explained, as he had already thought over it with certainty, "I will implant the wings of the Bat Manticore onto a Feline Cat. Thus creating a Winged Feline Cat."
His master's eyes flickered with interest, "Not a bad idea; the Bat Manticore shares some feline ancestry, so their bloodlines should be compatible with each other to some extent."
"But the wings of the Bat Manticore are not the only thing that you have to implant within the Feline Cat. Rather, you also have to slightly modify its skeletal structure and add bones and muscles which would be fast enough to flap the wings and hold the weight of its body in midflight," added the Fleshcraft Grandmaster.
Kale nodded, already knowing that information.
Lazek did not say more as he walked towards his hidden storeroom filled with Chimera's, then he brought out two unconscious Feral-rank Beasts, and they were obviously the Bat Manticore and Feline Cat.
He wordlessly set both tied-up beasts onto the table and moved back, taking his seat on a chair as if ready to watch a show rather than watch over his disciple's one of his most important experiments.
Lazek said with a smile, "30 minutes; if you're not done by that time, you're starting over."
Kale's eyebrow twitched, observing his master's shenanigans. Ignoring the man, he focused solely on the task at hand, his eyes brimming with silent resolve as he not only had to perform this experiment to the right standard but also complete it within the given timeframe.
Picking up the small sharp knife, Kale immediately cut into the winged areas of the Bat Manticore.
With surgical movements of his hands, Kale not only removed the wings but also the muscles and bones responsible for controlling the wings with careful grace.
Eventually, he also removed the Beast Core from the Bat Manticore, as it had further uses.
Now it was time to make necessary adjustments to the Feline Cat, which was the tricky part if he were to be successful in his first attempt, as this would then be the Feral rank Chimera Beast.
First were the bone adjustments, adding a lightweight collar and breastbone extensions onto the skeleton of the Feline Cat.
Through this, Kale solved the Core support problem. This would make the wings functional for the Modified Feline Cat, and they would not remain mere showpieces.