Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 277 Research on Modification

"Don't be silly, what I summoned wasn't a drow elf at all. Her intelligence isn't even as high as yours. Do you see how she reacts to you?"

"Wow, it really is!"

After calming down and observing the other party carefully, Talinda found that it was indeed the case. The ranger in the dark blue robes looked at her and the surroundings without any of the brutality and greed of the drow that had been rumored. In particular, he showed no emotion other than curiosity towards her, an elf.

There aren't that many Drizzts in this world; the hatred between those ground rats and their distant surface relatives can't be summed up in a single sentence.

As the fear subsided, curiosity began to run rampant within the little white-haired boy. Seeing that he was about to lose control, the mage simply let go, allowing the restless little white-haired boy to jump to the side of the drow ranger and circle around him.

"Take a close look and see if there's anything different about your body."

The female elf, who had just secretly poked the dark purple skin of the chess piece with her finger, was startled by this shout, thinking she had been caught red-handed. After realizing what had happened, she calmed down and began to feel the changes within herself.

"It is a little different, but I can't quite explain it."

Talinda wrinkled her nose, looking incredibly cute.

“Go to the yard and test your archery skills,” Zhang Yuan suggested.

Subsequent events confirmed his suspicions: the Drow Ranger's Archer Aura also worked on Talinda!
Both the speed of archery and the intuition when aiming have improved. This subtle feeling is hard to quantify and is not something that a bunch of roughnecks or laymen can perceive.

The skills of chess pieces can affect others, including passive buffs such as auras and spirits.

Previously, the Archer Aura's power was not apparent because the level 1 Drow Ranger's aura effect was weak, and there were no proper ranged archers, so it went unnoticed. Now, however, it is beginning to show its strength.

Leaving aside the somewhat delighted Little White Hair, the mage seemed a bit thoughtful, realizing that Little Black wasn't the only archer among the chess pieces.

Perhaps I can...

The following days were a busy yet fulfilling time for the mage. With two research topics and subjects in hand, he plunged headfirst into the deep pit of magical research.

As for gang affairs, he left them entirely to his teammates, since he wasn't an expert in that area anyway. He would summon a few pieces each day to assist him and then run back to his laboratory.

Zhang Yuan's current reserves of materials for the experiment were still insufficient. Fortunately, his teammates, especially Lawrence and Kegan, two seasoned veterans, had a good understanding of the ways of local shops and even the black market. They managed to gather all sorts of odds and ends for their captain, no matter how hard they tried.

Time flowed by steadily yet subtly, day after day. Kegan was engrossed in playing the role of a gang leader, walking the market district upholding the rules and enjoying the fawning and respectful gazes of the vendors; Lawrence enjoyed the process of checking, calculating, and allocating funds in his hands; Tylinda practiced her archery skills under the halo of Little Black; Münster, Bud, Rick, and Morty faithfully fulfilled their duties; and Nancy quietly passed by in a situation where she was handling affairs while vaguely feeling anxious.

Nearly a month later, Master Zhang finally finished his research.

Ping! Bang! Boom!
As dusk fell, the short sword and dagger reflected a golden-red light under the setting sun, their interplay of light and shadow producing a metallic clang.

"Alright, that's enough." The female thief, who had the upper hand, stopped fighting and stomped her toes in frustration.

"Hey, what's Chanem up to? Is he really planning to settle down here and become a gang leader?"

This was the Canaan squad's routine training time, once in the morning and once in the evening. Diligent training brought strength. They didn't have some overpowered system, and the consequences of long-term slackness were not as simple as just standing still.

Nancy is currently sparring with Talinda to improve the little white-haired girl's close-combat self-defense skills, but the female thief lost interest halfway through the training. "The boss has his own things to do, there's no need to rush, and besides, isn't the current situation pretty good?"

While busy fighting with his cousin, Kagan managed to squeeze in a rebuttal, but the price he paid was that Bard took the opportunity to flank him and knock his shield aside, and then a wooden axe was pressed against his throat.

"Damn it, you ambushed me, that doesn't count!"

Bud refused to listen, and the two brothers started fighting again, continuing their candid way of communicating.

"Of course you're having a good time," Nancy thought to herself, but seeing this scene, she could only mutter to herself.

"Everyone is in high spirits."

But it was Master Zhang, in an extremely good mood, who strode over with an arrogant and domineering air.

He couldn't help but be happy. In this hectic month, both of his planned research objectives had been achieved, and in some aspects, even exceeded his expectations.

Some things are difficult to explain to those who are not in the legal profession, but there are also tangible results.

Two gargoyles rushed out of the gate behind them, flew up to the roof ridge, and transformed back into stone sculptures, sitting there once more.

"Hey, you've finally finished messing around with all that nonsense and are finally willing to come out?"

"Boss, you've fixed those two gargoyles."

Seeing the mage captain excitedly end his seclusion, looking as if he had mastered his skills, the other teammates temporarily stopped training and turned their attention to him.

But the smile gradually disappeared from Zhang Yuan's face. It was one thing for Nancy to speak so bluntly, after all, he was almost used to it, but was Lawrence's judgment really that bad?

What does it mean to say it's fixed?
How could such understated words possibly describe his efforts and achievements during this period?
It was really not easy to disassemble, study, analyze, repair, and even further improve and perfect two complete gargoyles!
This whole process would take other mid-level mages half a year to complete, but it was summed up with a simple "it's fixed." However, the teammates weren't spellcasters, so they couldn't explain it clearly, which was very frustrating.

"It's been repaired, and it's much better than before."

After holding his breath for a few moments, Zhang Yuan uttered these words in a muffled voice.

Actions speak louder than words.

Now it was the two gargoyles' turn to show off and support their new master.

The gargoyle leaped from the rooftop and swooped down, its target clearly the training dolls erected in the backyard, which had been converted into a training ground.

The burly men who had just been practicing their slashing techniques quickly stepped aside to make room. In their view, the gargoyle was probably trying to use the momentum of its dive to increase its impact damage.

Unexpectedly, the two gargoyles suddenly stopped, and then a beam of clear light shot out from their mouths, hitting the puppet target directly. With a few soft popping sounds, two obvious dents appeared on the surface of the puppet, and the power was similar to that of an ordinary arrow.

Thank you, Dongzhijun, for your monthly pass!

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(End of this chapter)