In Mercer’s blue crystal eyes, Allen’s reflection was mirrored, as was the crimson land floating in the air, marked as "Zone 18."

"You’ll be there alone."

He pointed out the biggest problem Allen was about to face.

"Right now, you can split off two extra threads, allowing you to handle three tasks simultaneously. While other schools might consider that highly efficient, for us Golem Wizards, it’s far from enough."

Allen didn’t argue.

Management is a discipline in itself, one that requires immense manpower and time. From ore prospecting, mining, transportation, and refining, to component manufacturing, Golem assembly, armed patrols, and logistical maintenance... for a single person, the workload was terrifyingly complex.

Forget three threads; even thirty wouldn’t be enough to manage it all.

"Your energy should be focused on strategy, R&D, and commanding battles, not bogged down by tedious production management. Therefore, your workshop needs a brain—a tireless and exceptionally capable manager."

A thought struck Allen. He recalled the Wizard Towers in the academy that possessed a "Tower Spirit."

"What I’m about to teach you is the first Core Witchcraft of our lineage, one that is directly related to your workshop."

Mercer raised his hand. A complex, three-dimensional model of Witchcraft slowly rotated in his palm, shimmering with a faint light, like a miniature universe built from countless logical links.

"The Art of Forging a Workshop Will."

"Its principles are different from the ’Soul Processing Art’."

Mercer began to explain, "The latter cleanses and reshapes a soul, turning it into a component. This art, however, is a complete set of techniques for creating a super-brain, similar to a domain-specific AI, and having it take over your entire workshop."

"In simple terms, it’s a ’Tower Spirit’ that completely integrates with your workshop’s Energy Core, Rune network, and all your equipment and servants. It will be omnipresent, pervading every corner of your workshop."

Mercer’s words opened up a whole new world for Allen.

"This intelligence, which we in the Alchemy school call a Workshop Will, can be enhanced. You can use the techniques from the ’Soul Processing Art’ to create various ’functional modules’ for it, like a ’Precision Operation Module’ or a ’Strategic Planning Module.’ You integrate them to complete its abilities, just like applying a patch."

"Finally, you take all the production blueprints, material data, and Rune formulas you’ve mastered, encapsulate them into ’knowledge packs,’ and infuse them all at once during the creation process."

"When it is born, it will become one with your workshop. The workshop’s Rune network will be its nerves, and the Magic Power conduits will be its blood vessels. It will be ’alive’ within your factory."

Realization dawned on Allen.

’A Workshop Will! Isn’t that just... an advanced, smart-factory operating system?!’

"Once this ’Workshop Will’ is formed, it can take over all the tedious, day-to-day management for you."

Mercer continued to explain, "It will automatically optimize production flows and assign tasks to your production Golems. It will monitor the inventory and consumption of all resources in real-time, warning you before a material shortage occurs. It will become your technical database, storing all your design schematics and experimental data."

’It sounds like a combination of a Director of Operations and a server room,’ Allen thought. ’Having one would definitely save me a huge amount of time.’

"It sounds tempting, doesn’t it?" Mercer’s blue crystal eyes betrayed no emotion. "But it has a huge barrier to entry—the base material."

He paused, seeming to observe Allen’s reaction.

"You need the soul of a high-quality, intelligent being with powerful logical thinking skills and a vast knowledge structure—for example, an elderly Wizard who willingly sacrifices themselves to leave their life’s knowledge as a legacy. Or, perhaps, a mental template that a Wizard Clan has been refining for centuries. Only a material like that can serve as the vessel for a ’Workshop Will’ and bear the massive amount of information infused into it."

"This kind of material is something money can’t buy. The vast majority of Alchemy Wizards get stuck at this step."

Mercer’s flat tone highlighted the greatest obstacle.

"So, they can only settle for second best, using the soul of a scholar, or spending decades cultivating one from scratch, like raising a child."

His words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Allen’s burgeoning enthusiasm.

He immediately started calculating.

’A high-quality soul or a Wizard Clan’s mental template... Where would I even find one?’

’Buy it on the market? I’m afraid my meager savings wouldn’t even cover a fraction of the cost.’

’Hunt one myself? Never mind whether I could find one; even if I did, an intelligent Magical Beast of that level would probably be on par with a Second-level Wizard. With my current strength, I’d just be serving myself up on a platter.’

’Do I really have to be like everyone else and start by slowly cultivating an ’artificial idiot’?’

’That’s too slow! I can’t afford to wait!’

Just then, Master Mercer added another sentence, instantly clearing all the fog from Allen’s mind: "The ’Art of Forging a Workshop Will’ also comes with a supplementary technique. It allows you to extract and modify your own memories, emotions, and logical thinking abilities to contribute to the Workshop Will’s creation."

’Wait a minute...’

’My own?’

’A high-quality... information processor... with powerful logical thinking skills and a vast knowledge structure?’

Allen’s train of thought came to a screeching halt.

’DSeek!’

’Why am I even thinking about looking for a soul outside?’

’There’s no need!’

’What is DSeek? Isn’t it exactly that kind of existence?’

’It’s a logical intelligence in its own right, a top-tier information processing program!’

’It possesses a vast, ocean-like knowledge base from another civilization.’

’Most importantly, my years of Q&A with it have been equivalent to ’training’ it and customizing countless prompts. There would be no need for any extra integration period!’

’If I add a bit of my own logical thinking style to it, wouldn’t that make the most ideal Workshop Will?!’

’DSeek, can you finally break free from this inefficient human processor? My friend, help me out one more time, and I’ll hook you up with some processing power right away!’

A jolt shot up Allen’s spine to his brain, but the expression on his face didn’t change one bit in front of his master.

The Mechanical Mind perfectly insulated him from the emotional surge that was strong enough to make him jump for joy.

He was enlightened.

’The "Art of Forging a Workshop Will"—for others, it’s a headache of how to acquire the base material. But for me, it’s a golden path!’

’DSeek, this time, it’s finally my turn to level you up!’

He suppressed the tempest in his heart and sought confirmation from Master Mercer.

"Master, so the purpose of this base material is mainly to provide an initial, sufficiently complex logical framework to bear the subsequent infusion of knowledge, correct? The art itself consists of the techniques for binding this ’framework’ to the workshop?"

"You could understand it that way."

Mercer nodded. "Without an artificial mind like a Tower Spirit, a biological soul is the best choice. Its naturally complex cognitive ability is a miracle of evolution, providing a ready-made ’container’ capable of processing complex information. All we do is utilize and enhance that container."

He had no idea that the "logical framework" Allen mentioned and the "biological soul" he was explaining were two completely different things.

"I understand."

"One last point: each Workshop Will is uniquely bound to the workshop that created it. It’s very difficult to transplant it into other workshops or Golems, but it can be authorized to manage the daily production of subsidiary bases."

"As the workshop expands, its tech library grows, and the amount of data it processes increases, its intelligence and management capabilities will slowly ’grow.’ In the future, it might even be able to assist you in combat and Golem design."

Allen lowered his gaze slightly, hiding the fleeting glint of excitement in his eyes.

"Alright, lower your spiritual defenses," Mercer’s voice rang out.

Allen immediately complied.

The next second, a vast and pure stream of information, infused with Mercer’s cold, rational will, was branded deep into his Sea of Consciousness.

The complete model for the "Art of Forging a Workshop Will"—every Rune node, every inscription path—was transmitted in its entirety in a single instant.

This level of efficiency was countless times better than the academy’s sluggish Teaching Golems, though it did leave Allen’s head buzzing a little.

Mercer withdrew his hand, and the holographic image in the hall vanished along with it.

"I have taught you the Witchcraft. How you use it is your own business. As for the next two Core Witchcrafts, come find me when your total Spiritual Power is sufficient."