Kale intently stared at the dozen-something Crystal Slimes that had a slightly different shine to them compared to the rest.

Since the process of creating the sample DNA was already complete, and it was mostly compatible with the crystal slimes.

At this point, it didn’t take him more than a few hours to create a few more of the DNA samples and implant those into more of the Crystal Slimes.

Then, after implantation, the system’s stimulation of the DNA sample caused it to form chromosomes within another couple of hours.

Kale grinned from ear to ear; even after 10 long minutes since the chromosomes manifested, the chromosomes did not show any signs of instability in a single one of the dozen slimes.

Now he just needed one last thing from his master.

With an unusually bright smile on his lips, he walked out of the experiment room; if one peeked inside that room where Kale was living day and night for almost three weeks straight without a moment of break, they would see nothing, because everything was on Kale, mostly in the systems Gene Lab.

Kale went on his merry way towards the Fleshcraft tower to his master’s work chamber, humming a soft melodious tune on his lips.

Due to his unnaturally joyful complexion, many Artificers walking through the busy grounds of the Association gave him weird looks, but the Cursed tamer remained unmindful of their gazes.

Not letting any outside factor destroy his mood.

Even the ones who recognized him and wished to greet him found themselves unable to do so. Almost rubbing their eyes, thinking they had seen things wrong.

After all, Kale always put on an expressionless, mostly cold face that repelled anyone from coming closer.

So, this abrupt shift had taken them aback, and as for those who did not know him, the busy Artificers thought that Kale perhaps had a few screws loose in his brain or something.

Kale entered the Fleshcraft tower without needing anyone’s permission, directly to the floor where his master was, and pushed open the doors of Lazek’s chamber.

Still wearing a beaming smile, his master seemed to be already looking at him intently, who had sensed Kale approaching the door to his chamber from long before. The man had stopped whatever he was working on.

Even Lazek was flabbergasted seeing his disciple’s face like that for the first time.

"You??" Kale’s master did not even know what to say.

With some difficulty, he still asked, his tone hesitant, "Why are you smiling like that? What happened?"

Strangely, there was anticipation contained in Lazek’s voice. Kale naturally knew what his master was meaning to ask, but did not have the gall to word that query outright; to which he chuckled, "Sorry to bother you, master, but I think I need one last thing from you?"

His master frowned, "You didn’t answer my question?"

But Kale shook his head, still wearing a positive smile, and said, "I can’t say; I will only show you the result if I succeed; if not...." he shrugged and did not state the obvious. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Lazek stared at his disciple for a long while; in the end, he sighed and gave up on questioning Kale any further, "So, what last thing you need?"

Kale said immediately, "Nothing much, just 20 female Alpha-rank Dark Octagon.... alive"

The instant Lazek heard those words, the man coughed up blood in an animated gesture; truly hurt by the severe demand made by his disciple, he scowled, "You stupid punk, I already had to sacrifice a part of my entire fortune to get you all the things that you needed till now."

"And now you’re asking for something more pricey than any of the things before? Do you truly intend to bring me to the streets before you go into the afterlife?" he spat in frustration.

But Kale merely laughed, "Perhaps, I do; besides, an Artificer of your expertise can build a mountain of wealth any time you want."

Lazek almost had the urge to cough another mouthful of blood; he hissed like an angered serpent, "You fool, money is one thing, but Dark Octagon species are already extremely rare and too hard to kill, let alone capture alive. And then the Female Dark Octagons number only 1 in 100 in their species."

"I can’t even get you one, let alone 20!!!" he almost shouted at Kale’s face.

Kale rubbed his chin thoughtfully and made a compromise, "Okay then 15 shall suffice..."

Lazek stared at Kale with a deadpan look that seemed to convey, ’Are you bullshitting me?’

But Kale added with a smile, "Please be fast, Master; I have only about 10 more days left to live..."

Lazek’s eyebrow twitched in displeasure.

After that, the Cursed Tamer left the chamber still wearing a beaming smile, and the moment Kale left, a grave look appeared on Lazek’s face.

His mind was spinning like a torpedo; the provoking thought lingered at the back of his mind, a question that dared not be said aloud.

The question was, "Had Kale truly... truly found a way to succeed?"

Lazek’s heart pumped violently, just at the mere thought of it, due to sheer excitement.

Though from a logical standpoint every bit of his common sense screamed that it was completely impossible, it was inconceivable and nothing but a pipe dream, just like his senior brother Kraul had mentioned.

The Fleshcraft Grandmaster exhaled in a tired mind; it seemed he would truly have to liquidate a part of his secret assets to get his hands on the 15-20 Alpha-rank female Dark Octagons.

Lazek went to the main tower of the Association; on the ground, in a special chamber, there was a magical device that recorded everyone’s liquid funds. The Fleshcraft Grandmaster placed his identity token as a member of the Association on top of that device.

A number displayed on the screen: [45,618 Accredit.]

Accredit was the main currency used by the society of Awakened. Each Accredit represents 100 gold coins or more, and is equivalent to 1 Apprentice-rank Mana Gem.

But an Awakened can obtain rare items through the use of Accredit much more easily than when using Mana Gems or Gold Coins.