## Chapter 20: A Transformation Ability With Little Practical Use


    In the spacious study, bright candlelight flickered, casting long shadows on the walls.


    Su Nan sat behind his desk, intently reading from a book titled *Extraction and Modification of the Green Chameleon’s Ability*.


    The chameleon is named so because of its ability to change its body color with the environment, adapting instantly. This physiological change is mainly aplished by regting the pigment cells in the skin through the autonomic nervous system, expanding or contracting them.


    The Green Chameleon’s color-changing ability is several levels stronger than that of ordinary chameleons, bordering on invisibility. Even standing before a normal person, it would be difficult to discern with the naked eye.


    The author of this book extracted the Green Chameleon’s color-changing ability, modified and enhanced it, and then transnted it to the human body, enabling humans to acquire simr abilities.


    This idea is undoubtedly ingenious. However, in Su Nan’s opinion, the final modified ability was not very practical.


    Firstly, the essence of this ability was essentially changing one’s external appearance ording to the environment. No matter how rapid the change, it still required time, and there would inevitably be a slightg. People with poor perception might not notice, but Wizard Apprentices would definitely detect the anomaly.


    In essence, this ability could only be used against ordinary people or knights, useless against Wizard Apprentices, and there was a significant gap between it and true invisibility. True invisibility was a Second-Ring Spell, learnable and masterable by Third-Rank Wizard Apprentices. Therefore, only those who had no hope of advancing to Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice would attempt this ability modification.


    Moreover, body modification wasn’t something to be taken lightly. The human body can be considered one of the most malleable—after all, many Wizards’ body modification experiments were conducted on humans. Once undergoing body modification, encountering better body modifications or bloodline fusionster would make it exponentially more difficult to attempt again.


    Therefore, many Wizards (Apprentices) were wary of modifying their own bodies despite not minding the process.


    Given the choice, Su Nan would never modify this color-changing ability onto himself. However, this book still held significant reference value, providing a source for future simr experiments.


    Setting aside the book, Su Nan retrieved the scroll of energy runes made from sheepskin and unrolled it t on the table. He then opened a drawer and took out a few gemstones, cing them on the table.


    The reason energy runes required Third-Rank Wizard Apprentices to cast was that they were entirelyposed of energy particles, cing stringent demands on the caster’s ability to control energy particles.


    First-Rank Wizard Apprentices, who could only sense energy particles, and Second-Rank Wizard Apprentices, who had only begun to develop control over energy particles, naturally couldn’t use them.


    However, by giving energy runes a carrier to increase their stability, even Second-Rank Wizard Apprentices with weaker energy particle control abilities could use them.


    Many yers in his previous life relied on this method to use energy runes beyond their ranks.


    There were not many suitable carriers for energy runes, and gemstones were one of them.


    “However, doing this would turn the energy runes into one-time consumables, consuming one gemstone for each use, which is quite painful.” Su Nan picked up a gemstone and examined it in the candlelight.


    Even so, it was worth spending some gemstones to learn a powerfulbat technique.


    Even the mighty Baron Storm was critically injured and nearly killed by an assassin. This world was far more dangerous than he had imagined. To ensure his own safety, he needed as manybat techniques as possible.


    “I will study and master this technique first, and immediately craft energy rune gemstones after advancing to Second-Rank Wizard Apprentice!”


    Having made his decision, Su Nan immediately banished all distractions and focused on reading the content on the scroll.


    Time flew by.


    Five dayster.


    The puppetry refining learning progress finally reached 100%. Simultaneously, a new skill appeared on Su Nan’s panel: Puppetry Refining.


    At theboratory door, Su Nan looked at theplete set of brand new puppetry refining equipment in the room and nodded silently. After returning from the ckstone Mine Area, he had copied the equipment design drawings and had the city cksmiths craft them. The equipment waspleted and delivered to theb days ago.  ?


    Having sessfully mastered the puppetry refining skill today, he could finally start experimenting with refining a ckrock Beast. N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The ckrock Beast’s body was more than 90%posed of ckstone Iron, the primary material. The other key material was the energy core.


    Su Nan chose gemstones as the energy core. After all, he didn’t possess a Soul Crystal, nor did he have the skills to create one. Even if he did, he couldn’t make one at this time.


    A Soul Crystal, as its name suggests, is a crystal formed by the soul. Its raw material is purified souls.


    To produce a single, low-grade Soul Crystal, at least a thousand ordinary human souls were required. Or, dozens of knight souls. Neither was achievable by Su Nan at this time.


    He could only settle for using gemstones to create the energy core.


    Withplete experimental records and the mastered puppetry refining skill, Su Nan sessfully refined a ckrock Beast on his first attempt.


    To his surprise, the ckrock Beast could also be put into the Synthesis Cube.


    【ckrock Beast (Puppet/Early Knight-Level), a puppet creature made of ckstone Iron, possessing the ability to stealthily move through ckstone Iron veins. It can replenish its energy and recover from injuries by consuming ckstone Iron.】


    “It seems that non-living entities can also be upgraded through the Synthesis Cube.” Su Nan nodded silently.


    With this, he could use the ckrock Beast to synthesize even more powerful puppets.


    As for the description “possessing the ability to stealthily move through ckstone Iron veins,” Su Nan had seen it in the experimental journal of Angor Maine. It had disappointed him then because he had assumed the ckrock Beast possessed a simr ability to stealthily move through rocks.


    “Right, if it had the ability to stealthily move through rocks, then it wouldn’t be a low-level puppet.”


    Shaking his head, Su Nan looked at the leftover ckstone Iron in the corner.


    “Refining a ckrock Beast requires roughly five tons of ckstone Iron. For the gemstone, cheaper types can be used, bringing the total cost to roughly thirty-eight gold coins.”


    This amount of gold could buy two or three high-quality warhorses. But considering thebat strength, the ckrock Beast was clearly more cost-effective.


    “Forget it, I’ll let my brother worry about the money. I’m only responsible for refining puppets.”


    High-level puppets could automatically absorb the free energy particles in the air to replenish their energy and recover from injuries, but the ckrock Beast clearlycked this ability and could only replenish its energy and recover through consuming ckstone Iron.


    However, at the current energy particle density of the Starlight Continent, Su Nan estimated that even if he refined a high-level puppet, it might not be able to absorb enough energy particles from the air.


    (End)