Chapter 7104: The Ultimate Transformation The new artifact neared completion. As Ves put all of the parts together, a new umbrella took shape. Both he and Alexa took a moment to admire the near-finished product. The shaft no longer showed any visible wooden structure. Ves had not dared to change it considering that it anchored complex runic sequences. He merely covered it up with multiple layers of thick superdimensional alloys. The metal sheathed the shaft and provided an enormous degree of physical protection. They also contained very thin electronic components that Ves had somehow folded into the extradimensional space of some of the layers. Although this technique compromised the defensive power of the superdimensional metal in question, it effectively allowed Ves to fit in electronics without taking up any space in the material dimensions. Ves was most proud of being able to do this. He knew that he had mastered a rare combination of skills and abilities that synergized particularly well with each other. If he wanted to earn a lot of extra income, he could advertise his capabilities to high society and accept insanely lucrative commissions to supply a rich and powerful clientele with much more powerful weapons and defensive tools. However, Ves quietly rejected this course of action. It would take far too much time from him. He was a mech designer, not a weapon smith or anything. He needed to avoid this trap and go back to completing his current slate of mech designs as soon as possible. He was already looking forward to fabricating the Riot Mark III. "It looks beautiful." Alexa said. "You have preserved the feminine look of the umbrella, but also elevated its class. Any girl would be lucky to own such an exquisite ornament." Even though Ves was not a woman, he had a little more understanding than most people due to possessing a female cat avatar. Of course, Veronica did not really have many ways to show her feminine side due to being a cat and a mechanical one at that, but she still possessed a different mindset. He had spent a considerable amount of time and effort to make the shaft and handle look delicate and thin. That limited the volume of electrical components he could fold into the superdimensional layers, but he found it important not to make the shaft too thick and bulky. He also tweaked the superdimensional alloy and mixed in trace exotics until he was able to produce an alloy that possessed a bright silver exterior, especially when polished to a shine. Ves had taken the time to carve and mold the shaft into an asymmetric twisted vine structure. The deliberate asymmetry and messiness of this pattern should have caused the shaft to look sloppy and haphazard, but it had the opposite effect. Ves and Vulcan channeled all of their artistry and craftsmanship to carve a pattern that used chaos to produce a sense of organic harmony. Perhaps an isolated section of the shaft might look disorderly, but when taken as a whole, the twisted vine structure looked oddly soothing, organic and seemingly made out of plant matter. Of course, that was not actually the case. It was just an illusion as the exterior was still made of metal. However, Ves hoped that this surface pattern would continue to retain the umbrella’s strong association with the wood element. The handle at the end deserved special mention as well. Ves had shaped it into a hook to make it easy to hang it on an arm or use it to retrieve an object that was out of arm’s reach. It also looked nice. Ves tried his best to mold and carve it into the shape of a leaping cat. He had to be a little more creative with the angles and such, but he felt he did a good enough job. The handle also functioned as a subtle control panel. In order to activate the tech incorporated into the artifact, Aurelia could do so through two different methods. She could press the physical buttons that Ves had cleverly shaped into paws and other natural features. She could also send electrical signals through direct skin contact, although that required her to augment herself with cybernetic implants that she had yet to install. To be honest, it was not strictly necessary for her to manually activate the personal energy shield or any other technological system. This was a high-level artifact, which meant that the artifact spirit was already capable of activating its own functions. This autonomy was what separated low-level artifacts from high-level ones. While the shaft and handle looked refined and elegant when held by a woman, Ves was most proud of the new canopy that adorned the strengthened superdimensional ribs of the artifact. Since Ves used up so much more fabric than before, he opted to turn it into a two-sided affair. The bottom side was meant to reflect its original incarnation as the Flower Parasol. Its base color was gold, but much of its surface area was occupied by pink cherry blossoms and other pink flowers. This time, Ves had opted to eschew chaos and purposefully aimed for an orderly, symmetrical and perfectly circular visual style. Anyone who looked at it would find it difficult that it was made by the same creator who designed the shaft. One quaint little feature was that the pink petals possessed a subtle glow by default. It would be difficult to observe it in brightly lit areas, but it still produced a minute color cast that should make anyone who was holding the umbrella over the head look cuter and more feminine. Of course, Aurelia could easily strengthen or dim this pink glow if she wanted to by pressing the right buttons on the handle. The topside of the canopy looked completely different. Ves had turned the base color into black, which provided a sharp contrast to the lighter colors underneath. Naturally, Ves had tried to liven it up by adding a variety of different cats. Each of them looked realistic and almost life-like. They consisted of different breeds and featured many different coats and patterns. Each of them possessed stances that looked anything but static and boring. They instead looked playful and whimsical. He tried his best to add a different kind of harmony into this vista. He meticulously determined the sizing, positioning, angles, stances and other features to make every cat look a part of a whole. Each of them might look like separate individual creatures, but when they were depicted together like this, it became clear that they belonged to a single unified clowder of cats. The duality between cats and flowers in the visual style of the artifact reflected its past and present. This duality extended to its practical features, which relied on both ancient runes and modern tech to produce a variety of powerful effects. Old and new blended together to form a new artifact that would hopefully remain strong and useful enough to accompany Aurelia for the rest of her life. At the very least, the new umbrella possessed a lot of growth potential. Ves tried his best not to damage the artifact spirit. He instead did everything he could to nurture it, though he did not have too many means of doing so aside from feeding it exoplants and other high-quality wood materials. The Larkinsons could continue to feed the umbrella with more extraordinary plants, though it became increasingly harder to yield greater improvements. The Flower Parasol was a voracious eater that possessed an endless appetite. Ves had the feeling that it could devour all of the forests of an untamed planet yet still not undergo any qualitative transformations. Either the efficiency of this feeding mechanism was too low, or Ves was not feeding it with the right kind of organic materials. Ves suspected that the latter was the more likely answer. Despite having reworked this artifact to a drastic degree, he still lacked a lot of understanding of its nature and working principles. "We have reached the final step." Alexa broke the silence. "Yes. Please bring the case that contains the final ingredient." His assistant moved over and retrieved the floating container that kept its contents in a frozen state. "Meow." Lucky had kept guard over it and continued to watch over it with vigilance. As Ves unlocked the container, he took a deep look at the tiny human-like wood elf that was safely nestled within. The upgraded artifact shook on the worktable. It eagerly awaited this step since the first time it perceived the wondrous life form. Ves manipulated the workshop’s gravitic projectors to lift the wood elf out of its container. Cold mist continually wasted off its frozen body. He was well aware taking it outside of its frozen home would continually raise its temperature, but it would still take a lot of time to break free from its icy imprisonment. He gestured with his arms. The wood elf slowly floated over to the umbrella. "What do you think will happen, Ves?" "I have no idea, but that is what makes this so exciting." He said with a smile. "The artifact clearly wants to absorb the wood elf, so it has to be beneficial in a profound way. I am willing to put my trust in it and believe that the outcome will benefit us in the end." The time for doubts and second-guessing had passed. Ves did not pause his actions, but accelerated them instead. Soon enough, the wood elf came close to touching the umbrella. The artifact made its move. It rose from the worktable and floated in the air on its own accord. The beautiful cat-shaped handle abruptly split apart and exposed a wooden tip that was a direct extension of the original runed shaft! The tip of the shaft proceeded to stab into the frozen wood elf. The tiny creature was unable to respond or defend against this attack. Before it could wake up from its frozen state, the artifact ’swallowed’ the entire wood elf by expanding the size of its wooden tip and enveloping its helpless prey! As the artifact absorbed the wood elf, Ves and Alexa both felt as if the surrounding air had grown violent and unstable. Ves especially felt as if something inside of himself had suddenly snapped! It felt distinctly uncomfortable despite his best attempts to appear nonchalant. "What is going on?" Alexa lost her composure. "A temper tantrum from Messier 87 would be my guess. I always guessed that killing or defiling this wood elf would displease the supermassive galaxy. That it happened confirmed that this wood elf is a very important existence. To kill it while it is still in its infancy is an egregious violation of its rules, whatever they may be. I am not sure what consequences I will incur, but there is not much it can do from a distance." Ves would worry a lot more about Messier 87’s hostility if he was actually present in the supermassive galaxy. Since that was not the case, Ves believed he could endure the consequences. It was not as if his already poor relationship with Messier 87 could dip much further into negative territory. Ves focused on the upgraded artifact. It shook and convulsed while at the same time growing stronger on a spiritual level. It continued to grow in both strength and quality to the point it easily crossed the masterwork threshold as if it was a trivial affair. "The umbrella is complete! You turned it into a masterwork!" Ves confidently smiled. "That was never in question. What I am truly curious about is what the artifact is capable of once it completes this transformation." Several minutes went by as the explosive growth spurt finally ran its course. As the artifact stabilized in its new level of power and physical state, not much appeared to have changed from the outside. Then, the newly completed artifact triggered an entirely new feature that Ves had definitely not added to its original design. The entire umbrella shimmered as powerful energies wrapped around it. Soon enough, it released a bright pulse of light before completing a mysterious transformation. "Huh?!" Floating before Ves, Alexa and Lucky was a young human girl of normal proportions who wore a traditional robe that matched the topside of the artifact’s canopy! This dark-haired girl who exuded charm, elegance and cuteness in a perfect balance gradually opened her glowing golden eyes and bowed in front of her creator. "Thank you for bestowing me with the gift of true life." "...What?" "Meow?" Everyone who observed this transformation became confused!