Chapter 296: The First Reconstruction Surgery!
Arnold watched Old John take a series of left and right turns, passing several checkpoints guarded by soldiers, and asked curiously:
"Where are we going?"
"This doesn't seem like the way to the meeting room?"
Old John made a shushing gesture, mysteriously saying:
"Don't ask, we're almost there!"
Seeing how secretive Old John was, Arnold held back his curiosity and followed him to the entrance of a basement.
Old John placed his hand on the door, and a faint red scanning spell swept across.
Standing behind him, Arnold felt a slight chill down his spine as he looked at the steel door, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Without turning back, Old John waited quietly for the door to open, then explained:
"This is the secret base the Lord built. Only a few of his most trusted people know about it. Now you're one of them."
Arnold's heart skipped a beat. Although he didn't know the purpose of this secret base…
Being one of the Lord's most trusted people, even if his days were numbered, was definitely a good thing for his descendants who would soon arrive in the territory.
The door slowly opened, revealing a long, pitch-black corridor.
As Arnold saw the faint golden glow flicker at the door's base, he swore by his decades of teaching experience…
This seemingly ordinary steel door must contain rare adamantine.
The cost of just this door alone was considerable.
Perhaps enough to build another school!
Arnold quickly realized the absurdity of his thoughts.
But somehow, he couldn't help it!
While Arnold's mind wandered, Old John led him through the passage to a door guarded by eight Golem Sentinels.
The door slowly opened, revealing Matthew dressed in his Arcanist robe.
He waved at Arnold and Old John, turning to walk into the secret laboratory.
As soon as they stepped into the lab, they saw large glass incubation tanks.
Inside, bound were terrifying-looking trolls!
Some had horns growing from their heads.
Some had glowing red eyes.
Some were covered in dark red scales.
Some were swollen, their muscles bulging so much they seemed ready to burst.
Arnold was shocked by the grotesque sight of the trolls, but didn't feel much emotional burden.
After all, in his eyes—and in the eyes of the Bay Territory—the violent, cannibalistic trolls couldn't be considered fully intelligent beings.
But beyond the trolls, Arnold's eyes widened in disbelief when he saw the figures inside the glass tanks.
They were humans—specifically soldiers he recognized, who had been wounded in recent battles and lost limbs.
What surprised Arnold even more was that their missing arms and legs had somehow been restored.
Arnold was filled with indescribable shock!
Among the few spells he knew that could regenerate limbs, all were extraordinary and required immense power.
Just the materials for these spells could cost hundreds or thousands of gold coins.
But these soldiers' cases were clearly different.
Although their limbs had regrown, the new ones looked pale, almost like they were freshly grown.
"Freshly grown?"
Arnold suddenly realized and turned to look at the trolls with severed limbs, a look of understanding crossing his face.
So this was the work of an Arcanist?
Not only knowing the "how," but also the "why"!
It was clear the soldiers' bodies had changed, but within acceptable limits.
Moreover, when they saw Arnold approach, the soldiers smiled and greeted him.
"Old instructor, you've finally arrived!"
"Heh, you're in for a treat!"
"Haha, we've got a new recruit with us now."
"Wait a second, old instructor, you're not injured!"
"Maybe he's here for something else?"
"…"
Seeing these suddenly chatty soldiers, Arnold rolled his eyes, realizing he had worried about them for nothing.
Though he was thinking this, his mind was still full of thoughts.
"Why did the Lord bring me here? Is it for some experiment?"
"But I'm not injured, so why?"
As they reached a secluded section of the lab, Matthew turned to face Arnold and Old John, snapping his fingers.
A series of light projections appeared before them.
The first projection showed Matthew's research on troll regeneration.
Although the blood loss was significant, the scenes were surprisingly clean, without the chaos they had expected.
"As you can see, the trolls' regeneration ability is a highly practical and powerful trait."
"This ability is linked to their abundant life force. After extensive research, I've essentially mastered how this ability works."
Hearing this, Arnold and Old John exchanged glances, seeing both excitement and astonishment in each other's eyes.
Anyone who had fought trolls envied their formidable regeneration.
Just imagine—if you had that kind of regenerative power, your survival rate would skyrocket.
That alone would be incredible!
"As you just saw, those soldiers have already gained a rudimentary version of this regeneration."
"In about a week, they regrew their limbs."
Both men quickly realized that if this ability could be spread, the Bay Territory's soldiers would become far more powerful in combat.
It would be an amazing sight!
"Of course, this ability comes at a cost."
"Regeneration requires a massive amount of energy and nutrients. The soldiers had to remain in nutrient tanks to endure such heavy consumption."
Arnold thoughtfully nodded, understanding the Lord's explanation.
It was similar to how more intense training required more food for the soldiers.
Matthew pointed to the "temporarily weakened" soldiers, then opened another projection showing the internal structure of the soldiers' bodies.
"To overcome this drawback, I've conducted new experiments and achieved a promising result."
Arnold and Old John watched closely, quickly realizing that the projection showed the internal organs of a human body.
Matthew demonstrated how injuries, such as limb loss, redirected energy from other parts of the body, causing overall weakness.
As they grasped the concept, Matthew pointed to the center of the body.
There, a constant energy source radiated, compensating for the body's energy loss and reducing the side effects of regeneration.
"This is the goal of our next experiment—the first reconstruction surgery!"
"Reconstruction surgery?"
"Reconstructed into what?"
"Reconstructed into a Legendary Body!"