Chapter 11
NO.1 Cradle of Enchanted Human Offspring
Hain looked somewhat surprised at Lucy, who had asked the question. His gaze gradually turned dangerous, and he said coldly:
"Daring to ask such a question, are you not afraid that I might report you to Lord Karen on duty?"
Lucy smiled. "Didn’t you just say that as long as one does not violate the taboos, no one will pursue accountability? The Black Book does not prohibit hiding organ specimens from the morgue."
It only stated provisions such as "those found hoarding experimental materials will be severely punished."
But all of this was under the premise of "being discovered."
After a brief silence, the coldness on Hain’s face faded, and he returned to his sickly appearance.
However, there was now a trace of surprise and appreciation in his gaze.
It was hard to imagine that a girl who had just joined the morgue for a day and looked so delicate could, with just a single remark, spot this loophole. Many apprentices in the morgue would not dare to think of such a thing even in death.
"It seems it was no coincidence that you survived the protection period..."
"Actually, each of the four laboratories has its own methods of making money on the side, but many people take more than half a year to figure this out."
"You must have seen that flesh-and-blood construct squatting by the entrance when you came in, right? It was created by Mentor Fernando, a servant responsible for the safety and order of the West Tower. That thing has formidable combat strength and an extremely keen sense of smell and hearing, though its vision is almost nonexistent."
Pausing for a moment, Hain took a palm-sized bottle of alchemical potion from the shelf.
"Scent-masking potion, twenty magic sand per bottle. It can temporarily mask the magical energy fluctuations and scent of low-grade specimens, enough to fool those big fellows' noses, good for ten uses."
Without much hesitation, Lucy took twenty magic sand from her shriveled coin pouch and handed it over.
The transaction was completed amid Hain’s satisfied smile.
Having completed the purchase, Lucy left Morgue No. 65 but did not rush back. Instead, she headed toward another morgue that clearly had someone inside.
Several minutes later, the iron door of Morgue No. 21 was knocked upon, and a wary female voice sounded from within.
"State your purpose, newcomer."
Lucy said, "Senior, I have a few questions I would like to ask you."
After a brief silence, the iron door was opened just a crack.
"Fifteen magic sand, ten minutes..."
...
Ten minutes later.
Returning to Morgue No. 66, Lucy quickly packed up her dissection tools, made sure nothing was overlooked, picked up the jar containing the enchanted uterus, and carefully coated the outer surface of the glass jar with the scent-masking potion.
After triple-checking that everything was in order, she covered it with the hem of her cloak, then placed the pair of enchanted eyeballs and the heart on the shelf by the door.
She drew out the key to the morgue’s iron door and briskly made her way toward the entrance of the West Tower.
Having been delayed in the two morgues earlier, Lucy found the vast lower level of the West Tower largely deserted. Along the way, she encountered only two or three other apprentices.
Each of them wore a gray hood and hurried along as if being pursued by some ferocious beast.
The journey was smooth and uneventful. No one would pay special attention to a girl in an apprentice robe.
Yet as she neared the main entrance, Lucy’s heartbeat quickened involuntarily.
Although what Hain said was true that any behavior not explicitly prohibited in the Black Book was considered "legal" within the tower stealing enchanted organs from the West Tower was still something that could only be done in secret. If caught, it would inevitably cause trouble.
Lucy was uncertain whether the scent-masking potion would truly fool the flesh-and-blood construct.
However, she had already confirmed Hain’s information and the potion’s effects in other morgues. Unless the two of them had conspired to deceive a novice like her, there should not be an issue.
With this in mind, Lucy quickened her pace.
Huff~
Huff~
Huff~
The flesh-and-blood construct’s heavy, slow breathing sounded piercingly loud in the silent corridor, but even as the tense Lucy reached the entrance, the giant did not move an inch.
Confirming that she had passed safely, Lucy pushed open the door and, without a moment’s delay, left the desolate courtyard of the West Tower and returned to the central main tower.
Back in her room on the fifth floor, she closed the worn wooden door and bolted the latch.
Only then did Lucy finally exhale the breath she had been holding.
Things did not seem to be as complicated as she had imagined.
...
Enchanted specimens were generally divided into two major categories based on their activity level: biological organ specimens and non-biological specimens.
The former included animals, plants, microorganisms, elemental creatures, and energy creatures.
The latter mainly referred to minerals and fossils.
The human organs Lucy had brought back from the morgue clearly belonged to the former category.
As for Anatomy School witchcraft, its essence lay in understanding the flow of magical energy and the structural textures within a specimen through dissection, and then using mental strength to trace magical veins corresponding to these textures, thereby creating one's own witchcraft.
Simply put, the process was: capture enchanted entity → create specimen → construct model → complete witchcraft.
This was the origin of Anatomy School witchcraft.
Therefore, strictly speaking, extracting enchanted organs from a corpse was not true anatomy. One had to break down the enchanted organ, compile anatomical notes, and then create a magical vein model.
Recalling the Black Book’s records about Anatomy, Lucy forced down her discomfort and retrieved the enchanted uterus from the viscous organ-preserving solution.
The contamination value of a single enchanted organ separated from the body was far lower than before, but Lucy could still feel an increase in the room’s contamination value.
At the same time, the enchanted uterus, once removed from the solution, suddenly writhed in her hands. The incision made by the scalpel abruptly widened, and a mass of writhing maggots was squeezed out from within. Along with the maggots, a blood-soaked dead infant was also expelled.
The dead infant was covered in foul-smelling, murky amniotic fluid. Thick, greasy liquid kept dripping from it. From its eyeless black sockets surged greed and despair, and an indescribable aura spread throughout the room.
The essence of Anatomy School was the desecration of life forms to steal forbidden knowledge.
What unfolded before her was precisely the backlash of desecrating life. Not only in anatomy every school of magic had its corresponding negative effects.
When these negative effects reached a certain level, they would manifest as the anomalies described in the Black Book.
Taking up her quill, Lucy resisted her unease and wrote at the top of a pristine new notebook:
Number: NO.1
Scientific Name: Cradle of Enchanted Human Offspring
Dissection Time: Afternoon of May 12, Year 3040 of the Wizard Calendar... 6:20
Organ Source: First unnamed female corpse from Morgue No. 66
Anomalous Reaction: Emergence of maggots and eyeless ghost infant drenched in amniotic fluid, no actual attack detected
Description: A blood-red, gourd-shaped human organ structure used to nurture new life...
At this point, Lucy carefully set the quill down on the bound parchment notebook, avoiding any ink from the nib staining the yellowed parchment pages.
She then picked up the silver scalpel lying nearby. Ignoring the eyeless ghost infant clinging to the "cradle" and the writhing maggots on the table, she gently sliced along the organ’s muscle fibers.
Immediately, still-liquid clotted blood dripped from the sharp blade onto the experiment table.
As she gently cut through layer after layer of muscle structure, a mysterious and complex network of magical energy was gradually revealed. Lucy’s sense of revulsion and guilt faded, replaced by a hunger for the unknown and for knowledge.
This was not cold-bloodedness, but an instinct rooted in the wizard bloodline within her a thirst for unknown knowledge.
It was unclear how much time passed.
After several failed attempts, Lucy finally placed her first-ever complete slice of an enchanted organ specimen into a preservation solution.
On the slice, the intricate muscle structures and traces of magical energy were clearly visible.
She removed her bloodstained gloves, picked up her pen, and began sketching a complex "magical vein diagram" resembling plant roots in her notebook. Upon close inspection, one would see that this diagram’s patterns almost perfectly mirrored the traces of magical energy in the organ slice.
She then continued writing:
Core Magical Vein: Root-like magical veins entwine the cervix, capable of storing large amounts of magical energy and nurturing unknown life forms...
Application Directions: 1. Model as an energy-storage witchcraft. 2. Use as an incubator for flesh-and-blood constructs.
With the final stroke, a complete and well-structured set of anatomical notes for an enchanted organ was finished.
Though Lucy’s current academic level meant the notes were far from perfect and the organ she had named "Cradle of Enchanted Human Offspring" had yet to reach its full potential for a newcomer to Anatomy, this dissection could certainly be rated as "excellent."
Just then, familiar blue characters floated before Lucy’s eyes.
[NO.1: Cradle of Enchanted Human Offspring]
[Comment: An ordinary dissection experiment]
[Academic Points Earned: 5 points]