The next morning, before the morning light had even spread across the land, the Sun had just begun to peek above the horizon.
The brightly lit workshop was now filled with cables and conduits. Two bases, each as tall as a person, were situated at opposite ends of the laboratory. Duke's trench coat hung on the blackboard, while he himself had rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, holding a wrench and adjusting one of the rune bases.
"I think the position of this rune still needs to be adjusted!"
Duke straightened up and instructed Jayce and Viktor, who were working on the rune base at the other end, "Specific rune combinations can produce different effects. The effect of the rune set we've chosen has already been verified by my calculations as optimal."
"But I think it still needs adjustment."
"If you change one position, both sides must be changed simultaneously!"
Jayce wiped the sweat from his forehead and straightened his back. Working for a day and a night straight made him feel like his body was about to give out.
They hadn't rested since Duke proposed the theory yesterday morning. They built the rune bases at the fastest speed, and the assembly took several hours.
Viktor and Jayce were responsible for one, while Duke handled the other by himself.
Viktor was trembling from exhaustion; he also felt like he was about to collapse.
In contrast, Duke, the "273," remained vibrant and showed no signs of fatigue.
Is this the talent of a magic user?
How enviable!
Jayce, who was secretly shedding tears of envy, showed no emotion on the surface as he moved from his side to Duke's runic base.
Duke pointed at the rotatable rune set and said, "You're right, if one side is moved, the other side also needs to be adjusted."
"But we must aim for success on the first try; we can't waste too much time on repetitive experiments!"
"But there are too few cases of success on the first try; the success rate for student experiments in the entire academy is only three percent!"
"That's because they are not me!" Duke put the wrench into the toolbag at his waist, looking at the human-height runic base in front of him and said, "I always succeed on the first try; every experiment succeeds in no more than three attempts!"
"Alright, I'll make the adjustments; you two rest for a bit!"
Duke told Viktor and Jayce to rest. Unlike him, they were still ordinary people. Duke, having been enhanced by the Super Soldier Serum, could go three days and three nights without rest or food and be perfectly fine.
But these two couldn't. Jayce might barely manage to hold on for three days and three nights without rest, but if Viktor dared to go three days and three nights without rest, Duke might have to prepare to mourn him.
"Rest?" Viktor, with two large dark circles under his eyes, propped himself up with his cane: "I haven't finished; how can I rest?"
"You need to rest, Viktor. Your body isn't good to begin with!"
Duke picked up Viktor with one hand and placed him on a chair nearby. Jayce looked at Viktor, who was lifted by Duke with one hand, then looked at his own arm, falling into deep thought.
Perhaps, he needed to go to the gym!
"Alright."
Viktor watched Duke take his place and obediently sat on the chair. He had intended to focus intently on Duke's work, but as soon as he touched the chair, drowsiness swept over him like Water.
Viktor's head began to nod, and he quickly fell asleep. Duke glanced at the sleeping Viktor and waved to Jayce.
After Jayce walked over, Duke said to Jayce, "Find some time to take Viktor for a physical examination!"
"You know his personality; you can't persuade him." Jayce gave a bitter smile. Duke stopped his movements and very seriously said to Jayce, "Viktor and I both come from Zaun. We know better than anyone how harsh the environment is there."
"The omnipresent haze, the underground sewers full of sewage... his body is already frail, and now he's persisting with such high-intensity work. If he really collapses one day, do you think you can bear the pain of losing a friend?"
"I...."
Jayce opened his mouth but couldn't say anything. Looking at the sleeping Viktor, he recalled their conversation in his ruined laboratory.
"The more brilliant a person is, the easier it is for them to burn out their life's energy!"
"Striving for an ideal is not a bad thing, but if you're willing to sacrifice your life for an ideal, then that's foolish!"
Duke re-adjusted the rune set, bringing both sides into synchronization.
"This should do it!"
"What about you?"
Jayce looked at Duke, who was putting his tools back into the toolbag. He couldn't help but ask, "What about your thoughts?"
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