This way, Ves could still move around and work on his subsequent designs in the System Space without impacting his productivity to a significant degree!
"I can even chop up my other leg if I need extra biomass for another project!"
Ves had no qualms about cutting off parts of his body because he knew he could grow them back when he returned to reality and dealt with the unclean whale.
The biggest problem was that it would take a bit of time for the biotech experts over at the Larkinson Biotech Institute to regrow a new pair of legs.
It might take weeks or months in order to do the job properly. In the meantime, Ves would have to waste a lot of time on physical therapy and other tedious treatment sessions.
He did not look forward to losing so much time!
"It's a necessary evil." He sighed. "It's better to spend more time at a medical facility than to miss out on the opportunity to build a good divine artifact. Who knows, my new cyborg cat might even be able to play a crucial role in foiling the unclean whale's plot!"
The clues he gathered about divine artifacts painted them as extraordinary objects that were much more powerful than an ordinary totem.
Ves didn't know exactly what made them different, but he had a few ideas.
"Maybe… divine artifacts aren't as foreign to me as I think they are. It… would certainly explain a lot if Lucky is a living divine artifact. The Sacred Scrolls may also turn out to be high-end divine artifacts."
If this was the case, then that would give Ves a lot of food for thought!
The strength of a divine artifact reflected their source or principal. Lucky wasn't all that impressive, but his ability to grow and evolve by assimilating his food was impressive.
Perhaps the developer of Lucky had a similar concept to his cyborg cat in mind!
As for the Sacred Scrolls, whoever made the Metal Scroll must be having an awful time since the beginning of the Age of Mechs.
Several sources stated that damaging a divine artifact would have major consequences to the entity it was tied to, though Ves wasn't clear of the details.
It made sense to assume that the apparent fragmentation of the Metal Scroll affected the strength and condition of its principal.
Ves was also impressed that the Metal Scroll hadn't disintegrated entirely. For its fragments to be able to prevent themselves from crumbling and regaining at least a bit of functionality was a testament to the exceptional qualities of a powerful divine artifact!
"I'm not certain whether Lucky and the Metal Scroll are truly related to divine artifacts, but if this is the case… I want in. There is no way I want to be left out of this party!"
His expectations for his cyborg cat became greater. Let alone sacrificing a leg, he was willing to give up more parts of his body if he could ensure that he could still preserve what was left of himself!
The Spirit Space was not supposed to function as a hospital. While Ves could use the biotech-related lab and workshop equipment to tend to his injuries and even grow a basic cloned limb for himself, they weren't capable of keeping his head alive if he decided to chop it off his neck so that he could use the rest of his physical body as a raw ingredient for his organic design projects!
Ves shook his head. "I shouldn't get too caught up by all of this business. Let's stick to chopping off a leg and go from there. A cat can only contain so much biomatter."
He supposed he could design a chonky fellow if he really wanted to make a bigger cyborg cat, but it wasn't worth it in his eyes.
A fat cat not only attracted a lot more attention, but also lost a lot of mobility.
These consequences were antithetical to his original purpose of designing a living divine artifact that was good at camouflage and escape.
"I'll go for a slender cat then." Ves decided. "I should visit the Infinite Bazaar to see what kind of materials I can use to shape the exterior of my new pet."
He went down to the Infinite Bazaar and browsed the available items. The System offered plenty of excellent materials, though he wasn't familiar with many of them. The prices also tended to vary a lot. He had to give up on many desirable products because they fell outside his budget.
"This is going to take a while." He frowned.