Chapter 6617 Checking the Gu Containers "So how much do you have in your account?" Ves asked. "419 Ascension Points. You?" "383" "Really." "Hey! I started out with less AP than you because I had to expand my storage space! I urgently had to earn more Ascension Points just to be able to stay in this marathon! By the way, this reminds me that we should check on the results of my first attempts to produce a Middle Demon." Ves or rather Veronica had spent enough AP to transfer 3 of the 5 Demon Mixers into the System Space. He had to remove a lot of phasewater and other miscellaneous goods in order to make enough room for the demimechs. For the entire duration of the marathon, Ves had simply placed the Demon Mixers in one of the expansive spaces next to the Workshop of Creation. Normally used for storing raw materials as well as finished mechs and other goods, the three Demon Mixers had remained a constant presence on this section of the System Space. In the first month, Ves visited the Demon Mixers multiple times a day. He could not get tired of approaching them and verifying whether their 'jars' remained intact. He was initially afraid that stuffing so many violent Minor Demons in a confined space would cause them to produce so much destructive activity that their collective efforts might break containment! These fears steadily abated after a time because nothing actually happened that suggested that the Demon Mixers were sustaining damage. Ves grew curious about what exactly happened inside the jars, but the principle of gu cultivation was that outside observers should never be able to track what was happening inside in real-time. Just opening up the 'lid' to take a peek inside was already enough to taint or outright break the ritualistic process! Even if this was not the case for this specific implementation, Ves did not want to take the risk of ruining all of those Minor Demons and wasting all of the time and effort to set up these experimental attempts. Therefore, Ves tried his best to rein in his curiosity and stop obsessing so much about the state of the Demon Mixers. He and Ketis kept them within the periphery of their sight, but no longer paid conscious attention to them anymore. The three Demon Mixers may as well have become a part of the background scenery over the course of their marathon. That did not mean they stopped paying attention to them entirely. They merely ceased to worry about anything going wrong. The pair made sure to craft a few monitoring units to keep the Mixers under a constant state of observation. If the demimechs generated any unusual activity, then Ves would know about it in an instant. Those monitoring units never generated any alarms since Ves placed them around the Demon Mixers. This gradually caused his concerns to fade. He adopted a more laid-back attitude towards his first gu containers. Why bother worrying about success and failure when his actions had no bearing on the outcome? The entire premise of gu cultivation was to set up the conditions to bring a lot of weak specimens together and have them fight each other to the death in an enclosed area. In other words, the setup was the most important phase of gu cultivation. Much of the work depended on acquiring the right specimens, preparing the right gu container and making sure that the ritual would proceed as intended. Once he closed the lid, Ves' only remaining responsibility was to store the active gu container in a place where it would not be disturbed. There was no other way for him to intervene in what was happening inside. Since the loss of agency was a feature rather than an error, Ves learned to accept the situation and maintain his composure. There was no point obsessing over what was taking place inside the jars as he could not meaningfully affect the fighting without spoiling the rituals. As the months passed by, Ves paid less and less attention to them to the point where entire days passed by where he never acknowledged their existence. This actually caused him to overlook the possibility that the Demon Mixers may have actually completed their tasks! As Ves and Ketis approached the three Demon Mixers, they looked up at the machines to see if any changes had occurred. "Since everything that takes place inside is supposed to be a secret, when will you actually know when the process is over?" Ketis wondered. "That is actually easy to determine. I designed the Demon Mixers so that if the battle royale has led to a single surviving demon, that entity will subsequently merge with the living mech. We should have observed very obvious signs of demonization when this occurred. Seeing that none of these Demon Mixers have grown any spikes, turned dark all of a sudden and undergone other obvious physical mutations, I believe that the gu cultivation process has yet to produce a final result in these three cases." That was disappointing. Nine whole months had passed. That was a lot of time for 40 to 80 Minor Demons to brawl against each other over the course of multiple rounds and finally determine the winners. What was taking them so long? Though Ves knew that he wouldn't be able to sense the interior of the jar from the outside, he nonetheless approached Demon Mixer 2 in order to check up on the machine. He stepped closer and was just about to touch one of the four short legs that supported the demimech before he heard a warning. "WATCH OUT, VES!" Ketis had already unsheathed the Heavensword from her back by the time Demon Mixer 2 abruptly drew out its spikes! It turned out that Demon Mixer 2 had already undergone the process of demonization, but quietly! For whatever reason, the demon that survived to the end happened to maintain just enough awareness to prepare a nefarious ambush for its creator. This was not supposed to happen! Demons were irrational beings that were too consumed by the need to destroy to form any coherent thoughts! They shouldn't be capable of planning and executing a quiet takeover and waiting for weeks if not months for Ves to stray close and get taken by surprise! There was no time for him to consider his mistaken assumptions and blame him for failing to account for this possibility. "There's two of them!" Ketis gasped as she already raised her Heavensword in preparation to put down the Demon Mixers by force. "Avoid the attack on your right!" The state of Demon Mixer 5 was remarkably similar to that of Demon Mixer 2! Both demimechs had been taken over in an identical fashion and both of them decided to prepare this ambush together! While Demon Mixer 5 was placed a little too far away, Demon Mixer 2 was already poised to impale Ves' body with a long and thick spike that radiated murderous intentions! Yet before the demimech could land a killing blow onto its creator, Ves rapidly unfolded his true body! His smart clothing automatically responded to his dramatic increase in size by stretching out its surface fabrics and making sure he maintained his dignity. While it took too long for Ves to reach a size that allowed him to tower over a typical mech, he had nonetheless unlocked just enough of his body as a phase lord to look down on the demimechs! This also happened to unlock enough of his prodigious muscle power to exert a strong push at the top side of the rogue demimech! Despite the fact that the Demon Mixer was being supported by four short but fairly stable legs, the demimech also happened to be fairly narrow and slender in order to minimize their overall volume. All of this meant that it was remarkably easy for Ves to tip the Demon Mixer over! Crash! Demonized or not, the overall shape of the Demon Mixer 2 still resembled its original state, which meant that it still suffered from most of its design shortcomings! The Demon Mixer design was never meant to possess any combat capabilities. That resulted in an outcome where the demon had no way to fight against a phase lord aside from growing longer spikes! Once Ves got over his shock and potential fear, he actually grew amused at this development. "These Demon Mixers probably have no idea I am not as weak and fragile as other mech designers. They should have known better since I am their creator." Demon Mixer 5 proved to be almost just as easy to solve. It became completely surprised by Ves' partial transformation and sought to create more distance between itself and its makers. However, the four demonized legs may have lengthened to an extent, but they were hardly racing limbs. The phase lord had more than enough time to turn around and topple the second threatening machine onto its back! Its four mutated legs helplessly scrabbled in the air or against the hardened stone floor. Their configuration made it impossible for the Demon Mixer to push itself upright again! "Demon Mixer 5 is down." Ves said while holding up a palm to prevent Ketis from retaliating with the help of a grand work that she could not fully control. "Calm down. I am in control. The spike launching in my direction wouldn't have been a threat as my super-class personal shield generator would have blocked the damage. It's a waste of a shield charge, though, so I thought it was best to take matters in my own hands." Though Ketis did not dare to let down her guard at the moment, she was willing to obey Ves and refrain from taking action. She eyed Ves vigilantly and confirmed that he had not been poked by an errent spike. The poised swordmaster then shifted her attention to the failed assassins. If Ves happened to be a typical nerdy mech designer with no inherent combat capabilities, then the attempt on his life may have actually succeeded! Perhaps his shield generator may have protected him to an extent, but the demonized demimechs happened to have channeled dark and dangerous energies to amplify their strike at the last second! Who knew what might happen, especially if he was a more ordinary mech designer who failed to receive free gear from the Red Three! account "I am so glad that I designed the Demon Mix with this possibility sighed. "They look stupid and completely ineffectual by design. A Minor Demon or Middle Demon should never have enough power to turn these silly demimechs into serious threats. There is only so much they can do with these handicapped mech frames. It is like attempting to transform a fragile sheet of paper into a sword that can cut through alloys. It can't be done." Ketis frowned and used her Heavensword to gesture to Ves to back away. "Are you sure this is the time for you to gloat over your far-sighted design choices? The Demon Mixers may be squirming on the ground at the moment, but who knows whether they will undergo another mutation that causes them to pose an actual threat?" It was wise to remain cautious. Neither of the two understood what exactly happened to the Demon Mixers and how they managed to circumvent all of the layers of security that Ves had set up beforehand! However, if this was the extent of what the demonized machines could do, then the threats had already been neutralized. "Let's use the workshop tools to restrain the machines and prevent them from going wild." Ves suggested. "Sure. By the way, make sure to check up on Demon Mixer 3. I don't trust this machine. It may have finished its process as well and decided to remain in hiding after seeing what happened to its two unfortunate brothers." "Good call, Ketis. I don't think it has completed its job, though. I will try to confirm this just to be certain."