"Puppet Animation, as a profound puppeteer skill that can only be fundamentally mastered by a Master-level Puppeteer, has a high learning threshold and great difficulty. To achieve a 100% success rate with Master-level Puppet Animation, Soul Powder is needed, but I don't have any Soul Powder." Chen Luo sat in the confinement room, looking at Dodoco in front of him and muttering quietly.
To perform Puppet Animation on Dodoco, he first had to sew Dodoco back together, which was very easy for Chen Luo, especially with the sewing tools kindly provided by Klee.
The problem lay in how to perform the Puppet Animation.
With Puppet Animation, if the first attempt fails, the difficulty increases with each subsequent try.
And the best auxiliary material for Puppet Animation, Soul Powder, was something Chen Luo didn't have right now. But fortunately, Chen Luo had chocolate bars.
"In a way, as darkness formed from extreme negative emotions, the chocolate bars purified by the talent panel can be considered a kind of pure spiritual substance. Although the effect might not match genuine Soul Powder, it shouldn't be far off."
In other words, chocolate bars could not only be eaten but also used as spellcasting materials.
While muttering, Chen Luo took out a chocolate bar and began shaving it with a small knife.
Not every part of the chocolate bar could be used. For instance, the outer layer that looked like chocolate couldn't be used and needed to be removed first. Actually, licking it off would be better and more convenient, but Chen Luo felt that would be a bit perverted.
Because later, that stick would be crushed to be used as Soul Powder, and the powder would be used to perform Puppet Animation. The target of the Puppet Animation was Dodoco, and Dodoco was Klee's best friend.
"Mmm, can't waste it." After shaving off all the outer layer that looked like dark chocolate, Chen Luo picked up the tissue paper underneath and poured the dark chocolate into his mouth.
"Ugh, a bit bitter." Chen Luo's expression twisted momentarily.
Eating just the chocolate without a palate cleanser tasted like this.
"Sigh, keep scraping." Chen Luo sighed and took out another chocolate bar.
The optimal ratio for performing Puppet Animation, given Dodoco's current state, was one year's worth of Soul Powder, which converted to roughly two chocolate bars.
Remove the chocolate from the surface of the chocolate bars, then crush the stick bodies into fine powder, and use magic power to restore them to their original state as spiritual energy material.
After that, he could perform the spell on Dodoco... ahem, perform the Puppet Animation.
* * *
"Sister Fu Hua, do you think Brother Chen Luo can really make Dodoco talk?" Outside the operating room—well, the confinement room—Klee looked somewhat worriedly at the Herrscher of Sentience.
"Don't worry. Although A'Luo isn't exactly omnipotent, when it comes to completing commissions, he absolutely won't be sloppy." The Herrscher of Sentience patted her chest, giving her guarantee.
Didn't the Herrscher of Sentience know Chen Luo? Whenever it was related to a commission, Chen Luo usually took it very seriously and didn't exaggerate. If he could take it, he would; if he couldn't, he'd let it be.
Of course, even for some commissions Chen Luo couldn't complete immediately, he would still accept them and wait until he could complete them.
But judging by Chen Luo's current preparations, this matter clearly wasn't among those he couldn't complete. At the very least, the Herrscher of Sentience had to have some confidence in him.
Klee and the Herrscher of Sentience were now like family members waiting outside an operating room—one was the patient's family, the other was the doctor's family, and the doctor's family member was comforting the patient's family member.
Just as the two were chatting, the sound of the door opening interrupted their conversation.
"Doctor, how is the patient?" The Herrscher of Sentience stepped forward and asked anxiously.
"..." Chen Luo, who was about to speak, was momentarily unable to respond.
You just completely threw me off.
"Fortunately, I have not failed in my mission; the patient is fine and has regained the ability to speak." Looking at Klee and the Herrscher of Sentience, Chen Luo could only play along. Then he handed the restored Dodoco to Klee.
"Dodoco!" Although Klee didn't know if Dodoco could talk yet, at least Dodoco was restored, so she was still very happy.
"Dodo..." A very faint sound arose, so soft that Klee felt it might just be her imagination.
"Dodoco..."
But when Klee held Dodoco in her palm, the sound came from Dodoco again, causing Klee's eyes to widen in surprise.
"Dodoco..." Perhaps sensing its owner's slightly shocked and excited mood, Dodoco's voice also became a little louder.
"Dodoco, Dodoco can really talk!" Klee jumped up instantly.
"Dodo!" Affected by its owner's mood, Dodoco's voice also carried a bit of excitement.
This time, even the Herrscher of Sentience heard it clearly.
Dodoco's voice was utterly adorable; just hearing it made one want to give it a good squeeze.
That's just how companion-type puppets are.
Companion-type puppets, being the lowest level among spiritual dolls but with a surprisingly high difficulty of creation, have a cost-performance ratio that can be considered quite low.
Companion-type puppets generally only know one to five words. But since Dodoco couldn't talk before, Chen Luo simply set only two words for it.
"Dodoco" and "Dodo."
And as a doll meant to accompany a child, having a pleasant voice and a cute appearance is mandatory.
Moreover, companion-type dolls have a certain level of intelligence; their voice pitch and intensity will change according to their owner's emotions.
And most crucially, this type of companion doll doesn't talk nonstop, which would be annoying. It only speaks when its owner needs it to.
[Ding! Task Completed]
[Obtained 150 Primogems + Special Explosives Study (Master) + 20 Klee Favorability]
If it weren't for feeling that jumping up now would be inappropriate, Chen Luo would have jumped up to share Klee's joy.
Following Chen Luo's Close Combat Grandmaster, Cold Weapons Grandmaster, and Stealth Master, he finally obtained his fourth skill at the Master level or above.
And relying on his Puppeteer skills, Chen Luo successfully maximized the reward for this commission.
Perhaps because Klee's initial Favoribility was already very high, or because the Master-level skill reward was too high-grade, the Primogem reward and affinity reward did not increase despite the commission's great success.
But the Master-level Special Explosives Study had already made Chen Luo earn an extremely ample profit.
Good grief, this was a Master-level Special Explosives Study!
But thinking about it carefully, Klee was actually the most ridiculously talented one. At such a young age, she already possessed a Master-level special skill, and it was this kind of advanced production skill.
Tsk tsk.
Then Klee's mother must be at least a Grandmaster in Special Explosives, right? Or perhaps an all-around Grandmaster?
And perhaps because this was Special Explosives Study, and it was specifically noted that it contained a small portion of alchemy knowledge, Chen Luo's alchemy actually reached the Proficiency level.
However, the alchemy knowledge contained in Special Explosives Study was only related to explosions.
It was just a pity that because alchemy was obtained this time as part of a skill, Chen Luo's Furniture Mastery didn't take effect and didn't raise alchemy to the Mastery level.
But it wasn't a big problem. Once the alchemy books promised by Acting Grand Master Jean arrived later, he could raise his alchemy to the Mastery level.
"Since Brother Chen Luo really made Dodoco talk, then Klee will fulfill her promise and teach Brother Chen Luo how to make bombs. Let's go, we're going to the library. Oh, right, before going to the library, we need to bring the necessary materials. Brother Chen Luo, you go first; I'll be there soon."
After saying this, and before Chen Luo could respond, Klee ran off in a flash. You could tell she was really excited.
"What are we going to the library for?" Only after Klee ran off did Chen Luo voice his confusion.
"Hm, probably to find Lisa. After all, Aunt Lisa has her own workshop, which happens to be suitable for borrowing to make explosives," the Herrscher of Sentience said, looking at Klee's distant figure.
"A'Luo, you're out already? I was just thinking of visiting you." Just as Chen Luo and the Herrscher of Sentience were about to head to the library, Eula came out of the Acting Grand Master's office and happened to see them.
"Released from confinement so quickly?"
"...You might not believe this, but I just wanted a quiet place to tinker with something, and then Klee recommended the confinement room. It's not that I was put in confinement," Chen Luo explained.
He thought Acting Grand Master Jean would explain for him, but it seemed she hadn't.
"Is that so?" This possibility honestly hadn't occurred to Eula.
In a way, the confinement room was indeed a very quiet place where no one would disturb you. As long as Klee didn't mess up, basically no one would go there.
"Eula, what did you and Acting Grand Master Jean talk about? You talked for quite a long time?" Chen Luo's process of animating Dodoco—including sewing, material preparation, and the official start—had taken nearly a full hour.
Discussing matters for an entire hour was indeed intense.
"It wasn't completely discussing matters. We also had some tea together, and I persuaded her to rest for a bit. The main topic was the rewards related to the Stormterror incident. Speaking of which, I have to thank you for that. This time, I really got to thoroughly take revenge on the whole of Mondstadt."
When she said this, Eula looked somewhat proud but also a little lonely. The one thing missing was the satisfaction that should come after revenge.
After all, Eula's whole 'taking revenge on Mondstadt' was more of an excuse.
Of course, revenge that needs to be taken should still be taken.
And grudges that need to be remembered should still be remembered.
"It's just that since the Stormterror incident was resolved only recently, this matter hasn't been publicly announced yet. It needs to be explained to the citizens in a more gentle way," Eula added.
"Then we should look forward to the expressions those people will make when they hear you saved Mondstadt. I'm really looking forward to it. I hope this matter can change your treatment within Mondstadt City and change the ingrained impressions those Mondstadters have of you." Chen Luo nodded.
"Thank you. The fact that I, who did nothing in this incident, was still recorded as having secondary merit feels somewhat awkward."
Stealing credit was utterly unnecessary for Eula. And this kind of merit given between friends felt both impossible to refuse and very awkward.
"Ah, don't feel guilty about that. Think about it carefully: Venti, Diluc, Jean, and aunt Lisa—none of them really did anything either, right? You weren't the only one slacking off. Don't you feel much better now? In the entire incident, only I was carrying the team. Oh, and Fu Hua."
That was the truth. Throughout the entire incident, it really had been just Chen Luo carrying everything.
Everyone else could be said to have slacked off and contributed nothing.
"...If Lisa heard you say that, she'd get angry again," Eula sighed.
Although she and Lisa weren't particularly close, Eula at least knew Lisa didn't want to hear Chen Luo call her "Aunt."
"Oh, right, you wanted a set of basic alchemy equipment, right?" Eula suddenly remembered.
"Yeah, why?"
"I've already spoken with the Knights' alchemist and purchased a full set from her. It's not very expensive; I hope you don't mind," Eula said.
"The Knights' alchemist? You mean Sucrose?"
"Mhm, that's her. You know her too?"
"Originally, Acting Grand Master Jean wanted me to learn alchemy from her, but later I chose a better teacher. As for alchemy equipment, some cheap ones are fine. I don't need anything too good." Chen Luo shook his head.
He wasn't someone who wanted to delve deeply into alchemy. Or rather, he was far more interested in Klee's explosives than in alchemy.
After all, art is an explosion.
"But Eula, for claiming the merit reward this time, do you intend to use your own name or your family's name?" Chen Luo asked with concern.
Eula was a good girl—that much Chen Luo could confirm. But her family was indeed not a good family.
Stubborn, rigid, always thinking about making a comeback… and not by doing meritorious deeds or earning forgiveness through effort, but through underhanded methods.
One could say the family was Eula's greatest burden.
"Of course it's under my personal name. If it were under the family name, who knows what my uncle might stir up riding on this favorable wind." Eula let out a deep sigh.
"Brother Chen Luo!" While Chen Luo and Eula were discussing, Klee arrived, carrying a large backpack.
"It's Klee. You go to the library first; I'll be there soon," Chen Luo said to her.
"Then I'll go ahead too," the Herrscher of Sentience added.
"A'Luo, this is for you." After the Herrscher of Sentience and little Klee had entered the library, Eula reached out and handed Chen Luo something that looked like solid ice.
"Ah, thank you! This is…?" Chen Luo asked, feeling the icy object in his hand.
"This is a symbol of friendship—Crystalline Bloom." Eula stared intently into Chen Luo's eyes as she said it softly.