Perhaps creating another magic core or upgrading the mechanical arms—making a laboratory-level magic core was a more complicated manufacturing process, as the required materials were scarce. Extracting and combining the basic materials was a significant undertaking.

Unconsciously, Aresia had invested herself in assembling the mechanical arms, not in idle chatter or small talk.

Without realizing it, the atmosphere at school was becoming tense again as the final trial exams approached. Overnight, the air was filled with an air of studying.

Karina had been putting in a lot of effort during this period. While her spatial jumping spells were being memorized, her fireball spells were getting more precise. Although they didn’t meet the standard yet, they caused certain damage when launched at targets, despite Karina’s magic reserve only allowing for three fireballs at once before she exhausted herself. She found solace in a quiet spot under the trees, taking breaks between spells without any disturbance, gradually improving her magical abilities.

Because of this focused training, she often encounters the group of Jorgus, who frequently practiced on the field. Except for Jorgus, the other three members were quite talkative. Karina, being sociable, found it easy to make friends with them, and gradually, they became familiar.

Aresia, preoccupied with her laboratory experiments, didn’t often join them. However, when she had the time, she offered guidance to Karina for her practice.

The written exams concluded swiftly. Despite Aresia’s stable performance, her scores weren’t exceptional due to distraction with her laboratory experiments.

After the exams, Aresia didn’t linger and quickly packed up the mechanical arms, returning to her dorm. There was no time to waste.

Upon returning, she felt as though time had flown by.

Having spent a lot of time with Grysenna, Aresia experienced a different side of school life, feeling more relaxed and less like a doll forced into dressing up for salon parties and events by her mother’s desires.

Grysenna was indeed a caring mother, very traditional in her ways, enjoying conventional activities like banquets, dressing up, and socializing. The high society lifestyle was something she cherished, but Aresia couldn’t bear it.

Upon returning to school, Aresia achieved top marks again, securing her position as the head student.

Now having understood Jorgus’s training schedule, she arranged for a conversation outside the campus about a potential field trial during the upcoming vacation.

Outside the city, there were forests with low-level magical creatures that were regularly cleared out. Although these creatures posed little danger, there was still some risk for a few novices like them.

“These are not dangerous areas; the targets are set as second-level magical creatures on the periphery.”

While these creatures were stronger than novices, this group was mainly composed of first-tier novices. However, Jorgus was close to stepping into the third level already due to his consistent efforts. Although the other three warriors were not as strong, they were close to breaking into the second level.

Their attempt to confront a second-level magical creature as a group would be a considerable challenge. They had previously even ventured to the imperial forest to take on third-level creatures, so choosing this level ensured that even in failure, there wouldn’t be severe risks.

Jorgus wasn’t going to stay in Holy Lotean until the end of the month’s break. Upon hearing the suggestion, he immediately replied, “If we have the time, we’ll join you.”

Upon returning to school, Aresia finally wrapped up the loose ends with her mechanical arms.

After completing all the components and testing the effectiveness of the mechanical arm, it was time to start the new mechanical arm construction based on the blueprints.

This new mechanical arm wasn’t an eight-armed design like before. Aresia planned to use it on the standard mechanical assembly line for magic hoverboards. It had a single arm shape, multiple fingers, and various tool heads. These arms, integrated into the assembly line, required manual monitoring to function properly and weren’t as sophisticated as the octopus-like arms.

The blueprints were already designed, but the materials needed for the new mechanical arm required alchemical extraction by Aresia herself. Additionally, she had to construct more alchemical tables and other experimental instruments. These tasks made her even busier, leaving her with very little free time amidst her research.

While Aresia was engrossed in her research, a hurricane swept through Holy Lotean in June, disrupting the world.

The Imperial Legion and the Gryphon Legion’s beast-catching operation lasted a month. The teams sent outside brought back a significant number of live magical creatures, particularly focusing on level four and five creatures suitable for mounts. The Gryphon Legion alone retrieved six hundred creatures and a pile of creature eggs from their nests.

The Imperial Legion, with a larger deployment, garnered even greater success.

Although the captured creatures were mostly injured, some were seriously harmed, missing limbs and requiring considerable care for recovery.

During this period, adventurers brought back many creatures, some lucky ones even managing to acquire eggs of level six or seven creatures. Some chose to keep these creatures for observation rather than immediately handing them over for missions, causing quite a stir. The Empire’s aggressive creature collection had a purpose behind it.

Live creatures kept pouring into Holy Lotean City, making it impossible to keep this massive influx a secret. Teams returning with creatures were a common sight at every city gate.

Amongst the buzz and speculation, the truth about the purpose of these creatures started circulating within the elite social circles, despite the answer not being officially announced.

In the Gryphon Legion, a part of the official members were nobles. To facilitate the management of the returned creatures, and with plans to capture more, a list of contractors was being prepared. Those listed soon received contractual incantations, with instructions to memorize them quickly and not disclose their contents, though they were unaware of their purpose.

When the creatures were brought back, the knights were immediately called by their superiors to receive their creatures.

The knights signing contracts with the creatures were actually experimental subjects. The legion picked their strongest members and assigned them level four or five creatures, creatures stronger than themselves. Before the creatures were subdued, they were weakened using a potion. The entire process wasn’t easy; the knights had to defeat the creatures before the creature pact could be made.

These knights were given a choice within certain conditions for selecting their contractual creatures. Some creatures were kept in cages, and the knights could choose which to challenge. If they won, they signed the contract.

There were many details and conditions to this situation, but the knights called to sign these contracts were bewildered until the pact was successful. The attitude of the creatures changed drastically after the pact was formed, their magic circles on their foreheads and backs proving the reality of the contract.

The magic circles on the contracted creatures’ bodies were unique, easily distinguishable from those of others. This change in the creatures was hard to hide, despite efforts to keep it confidential. Those with knowledge of the situation were required to sign confidentiality agreements. However, this news quickly spread among the noble circles.

When commoners learned about this pact that didn’t require a mage to perform and where individuals controlled the incantation, followed by the bonding through a magical ore, they were astonished. This mystical magic without a mage’s intervention sparked curiosity and, once understood, led to widespread excitement.