In the blink of an eye, more than two months had passed.
At the quarry, in the carving room.
Amidst the clinking sounds of chiseling, the centaur statue in Stedson's hands gradually took shape.
Roy walked over from the Alchemy Room and, seeing this, nodded in satisfaction.
Stedson was no genius, but through sweat and effort, he had managed to grasp the basics of statue craftsmanship and could now competently complete production tasks.
By now, he had taken on several tasks from Roy and had finished the rough forms of the centaur statues.
"Lord Roy."
Stedson noticed him and quickly walked over to greet him.
"What do you think of these statues?"
"Not bad. With a few hundred or even a thousand more, my Centaur Legion will start to take shape."
Roy praised.
A few hundred or even a thousand...
Stedson's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
This was truly going to be the death of him!
"Even experienced stone carvers often need several months to complete a single statue.
If you want to add intricate details, it might take a year or even longer..."
Stedson gently reminded him.
"Actually, it doesn't need to be that detailed. A simple horse outline can be finished in a few days."
Roy offered some advice.
"Although dividing the work into different parts and using assembly line production might result in a 'soulless' product...
If you can pour your heart and spirit into the main body, simulating a soul...
it can still meet the requirements.
Of course, the more detailed it is, the more lifelike the Alchemical Lifeform will be, and it will also help improve your skills.
The balance between time, effort, and efficiency...
is something that comes with experience."
I understand the logic!
But what good does understanding do?
Stedson's mouth twitched again.
However, he soon had no time for such minor complaints.
Because Roy once again performed the "Golem Transmutation," using the Soul Extraction Magic Crystals from before to inject souls into the statues one by one.
The statues immediately came to life.
Stedson watched carefully, afraid to miss any detail.
"These are just the most ordinary Golem soldiers. Take them to the open space behind the quarry, near the mountain path..."
Roy instructed.
Stedson quickly complied.
...
After leaving the carving room, Roy returned to his own room and entered the Alchemy Room. There, he picked up some other tools and began carving once more.
This time, what he was carving...
was a pair of jade legs!
No literary embellishments, metaphors, or exaggerations.
Truly, genuinely, a pair of jade legs!
This was similar to the creation of the Half-bodied Gargoyle in the apple orchard.
The origin of this project dated back to a little over half a month ago, when the centaur craftsmen, while quarrying stones, discovered this naturally formed jade material resembling a human body among a pile of rocks.
Roy had kept it as practice material for his Golem crafting.
Now he finally understood why that Wizard had created a Gargoyle without an upper body.
Because the material was like this—scaling it down to create a complete human figure wasn't easy.
And using other stones to piece it together couldn't guarantee the smoothness of the energy circulation.
So it was simpler to just create a half-body statue, reserving it for future use in crafting a complete statue.
This is a type of soft white jade. Roy attempted to carve muscle textures on it, then used artificial meat skin to give it a lifelike appearance, making it look vivid and realistic.
"If I can acquire the 'Shatranj Chess' technology and transform it into an Automaton Golem, I can create my own personal guard unit! This would also be a boost to my strength. Of course, personal growth is indispensable. I can't rely entirely on such external tools."
Roy possessed the talent of [Multitasking], and while handling the minor task of carving, he didn't forget to strategize.
Unconsciously, another month passed.
Roy finally completed the carving of those "jade legs."
Life-sized, perfectly replicating the human form.
They adhered to the absolute golden ratio, whether in the legs and feet or the hips and waist, exquisitely beautiful and full of artistic charm.
This was even more lifelike than the Gargoyle he had encountered in the apple orchard.
The only shortcoming was that Roy hadn't endowed it with true intelligence.
So, the real challenge now was how to imbue it with combat-ready intelligence.
"But before that..."
Roy rested his chin on his hand, pondering for a while.
"Let's put some clothes on it first! Otherwise, people might think we sculptors are perverts!"
...
"Clothes on a statue? What a thought! You're deviating from tradition, disrespecting the norms!"
Once again, Old Crow came to Roy's Alchemy Room, squawking loudly.
"Centaur wear armor for battle, but what's the purpose for your Automaton Golem? Art is about being unclothed! Clothes ruin the art!"
Roy looked at it in shock, never expecting Old Crow to be like this.
After regaining his composure, he quickly changed the subject: "Any instructions from the teacher?"
Old Crow finally stopped: "It's time to pay this year's lord's tax. Ten pieces of top-quality Golem stone material, which means the finest Cloudstone rough..."
Roy then remembered that the teacher had indeed mentioned this before.
"Right, are you prepared?" Old Crow asked.
"Our great master predicts that war is approaching and wants to create more Golems in these years. By the way, here are the Wizard Array blueprints you wanted to buy, along with new Mana Crystal ore. These are all top-quality goods excavated from other worlds. Although Netherlands has a Mana Crystal Mine, its quality is far inferior. It's good for your apprentices to practice making enhancement gems and such."
"I understand," Roy replied simply, then took out several gem shards worth between ten to several dozen Magic Stones.
"Wow! Roy, you've struck it rich recently! Did you find some gem mine in the Bloodhoof Tribe and keep it a secret?" Old Crow happily accepted the gift.
Roy smiled without answering.
He wouldn't tell it that these were the results of his practice.
[Gem Transmutation] combined with [Proficient], [Artisan Skill], and most importantly, [Luck's Favor], was becoming increasingly effortless!
He planned to attempt synthesizing second-tier, and even third-tier gems! That would undoubtedly elevate his current strength to an astonishing level!
Of course, the consumption of treasures and resources would be terrifyingly staggering, so a dedicated fund would need to be accumulated first.
In addition, it would also be necessary to consider replacing the Star Iron Chain Spear with Radiant Gold material.
That would also require a significant amount of money.
...
Unconsciously, another year and more had passed.
The time had come to early September.
In the quarry, within the carving room.
A majestic and lifelike centaur statue had already taken shape.
It was entirely carved in the likeness of Chief Kairon.
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