CHAPTER 142: | RECUPERATING
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I closed my eyes with delight. It had been several days since Samantha discovered me in the Pagoda of Worship, laying motionlessly on the stainless steel table in that pitiful state. I still couldn't believe it, even to this day, that I shed tears for the first time in my life. Not because I pretended to, but because of the overwhelming sense of emotion that consumed my reasoning.
Though it was a great addition for me to feel a hint of emotions about the complexity of love, I knew it wasn't enough to completely understand it. But I was still grateful that I could faintly feel it.
I smiled, then opened my eyes. I glanced at the notifications from the actions I took when I voraciously devoured the rotting carcasses of the Overseers. The moment I regained my strength, though the stench was disgusting, and the texture and taste were even worse, I didn't want to pass on the skills they could provide. I had torn through their flesh without hesitation.
After finishing them, I comforted the sobbing Samantha. Now, here we are, me soundly lazing in bed with Samantha nursing me, while I casually opened my mouth for her to feed me as I glanced at the system notifications with interest.
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[You have successfully devoured.]
? [Cecilia 7★]
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[Due to only successfully devouring Cecilia's Carapace you have obtained it.]
? Indomitable Cereum Carapace [Passive | Ascension | V | ??]
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[You have successfully devoured]
? [Aquilmaris 7★]
? [Erevan 7★]
? [Gralmund 7★]
? [Nethrathul 7★]
? [Zypher 7★]
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[You may devour one of the following.]
? Stats
? Select a Skill
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[You have chosen to select a skill.]
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Aquilmaris – Lesser Sea Dragon
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[Demonic Core]
? Tideborn Sovereign Core [Ascension IV]
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[Passive Skills]
? Abyssal Lightning Affinity
? Lightning Mana Circulation
? Dragonwake Lightning Veins
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[Active Skills]
? Abyss Thunder Cannon
? Storm Serpent Spiral
? Thunder Invocation
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[Ascension Skills]
? Abyssal Bloodline Judgment [Ascension II]
? Dragonlord Thunder Dominion [Ascension II]
? Eternal Thunderstorm Transfiguration [Ascension I]
? Thunder sovereign Manifestation [Ascension II]
? Bloodline Suppression [Ascension I]
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Erevan – Nature Sprite
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[Demonic Core]
? Null-Sequence Core [Ascension V]
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[Passive Skills]
? Shadow of Forgotten Bloodlines
? Undefined Gene-Lattice
? Veiled Potential Matrix
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[Active Skills]
? Fate-Fragment Distortion
? Null-Thread Invocation
? Undefined Manifestation
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[Ascension Skills]
? Empty Throne Ascendance [Ascension II]
? Eternum Paradox Apotheosis [Ascension I]
? Formless Sovereign Emergence [Ascension III]
? Primordial Identity Unveiling [Ascension I]
? Paradox Rift Echo [Ascension III]
? Paradox Resonance Field [Ascension I]
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Gralmund – Lesser Leviathan
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[Demonic Core]
? Abyss-Titan Heart Core [Ascension III]
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[Passive Skills]
? Abyssal Skin Layering
? Immovable Deep-Colossus Frame
? Titanbone Bulk Reinforcement
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[Active Skills]
? Abyssquake Roar
? Titanic Pressure Crush
? World-Rend Body Slam
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[Ascension Skills]
? Abyssal Colossus Rebirth [Ascension I]
? Endless Deep-Titan Emergence [Ascension III]
? Grand Leviathan Cataclysm Form [Ascension I]
? Ocean-Crushing Monarch Shell [Ascension I]
? Continental Mass Physique [Ascension IV]
? Leviathan’s Burrowing Surge [Ascension V]
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Nethrathul – Kraken
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[Demonic Core]
? Mind-Thread Nexus Core [Ascension VI]
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[Passive Skills]
? Multi-Lobed Will Network
? Neural Restraint Flow
? Sub-Cerebral Threading
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[Active Skills]
? Neural Penumbra Chains
? Synaptic Restrainment Surge
? Void-Latch Tentacles
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[Ascension Skills]
? Astral Synapse Overmind[Ascension II]
? Dominion of the Thousand Brains[Ascension III]
? Mind-Rooted Restraint Domain[Ascension I]
? Neural Tendril Nodebirth [Ascension II]
? Soul-Bind Constriction Realm[Ascension I]
? Cognitive Bindfield [Ascension II]
? Thousand-Mind Grip [Ascension I]
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Zypher – Kraken
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[Demonic Core]
? Abyssal Bastion Core [Ascension II]
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[Passive Skills]
? Abyss-Hardened Flesh
? Iron-Bulk Convergence
? Leviathan Density Weave
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[Active Skills]
? Abyssal Impact Drive
? Continental Shock Pulse
? Titanic Flesh Hardening
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[Ascension Skills]
? Abyssal Tendril Bastion [Ascension III]
? Abyssal Titan Form [Ascension V]
? Colossal Bulwark Rebirth [Ascension II]
? Eternal Bastion Transmutation [Ascension I]
? Mountain-Breaker Exoshell [Ascension I]
? Adamantine Surge [Ascension III]
? Pressure-Forged Carapace [Ascension I]
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Huhuhu, it seems there's a lot of thinking involved today.
I sighed at the revelation, taking a closer look at the scroll-like notifications dawning on me. It was a pity that I wasn't allowed to read the skill descriptions for more clarity. Well, I couldn't blame it, since my authority is still sealed right now.
But looking at my body drawing out nutrients, the only resource remaining in my system, I couldn't help but unknowingly yawn at the fatigue slowly consuming my mind. Though I could resist the drowsiness from the lack of nutrients, I still hated this feeling. I hated it because it meant I was still too weak to control my own state, let alone dream of manipulating the entire world to do my bidding.
I sighed again, glancing at the resplendent yet dull plates protruding from my skin. I yawned yet again. I guess this will delay my return longer than I had expected. I turned my head and glanced at Samantha, who was right by my side, tenderly feeding me an Abyssal Squid she had hunted. Her eyes perked up as she noticed I had been staring at her for quite a while.
Samantha smiled at me gently, then whispered as she fed me another piece. "Don't stare too intensely, because I fear your stare would drill a hole in my beautiful face."
I chuckled at her words and placed my hand on her cheek, which she gladly received with affection. She stared at me with a smile, gently caressing my hand with both of hers as she muttered softly. "I can't let you indulge in your perverted fantasy right now since you're still but a patient, too weak to even move. So lay down and rest. Maybe if you behave like a good child, this big sister will give you a kiss."
I smiled at her words, then pressed my thumb to her lips as I whispered teasingly. "What made you think that I am having some perverted thoughts right now, Samantha? Are you perhaps a mind reader? Well, of course not, since when did my foolish little girl have the capabilities to read me?"
Samantha lifted a brow, then bit my thumb as she sneered. "Are you explicitly telling me that I am dumb? Me, Samantha, is dumb? How dare you act haughty before me when you're this sickly!"
I didn't expect Samantha to get this heated up as to pounce at the pitiful me without thinking. I smiled, then burst into laughter as she too burst into laughter without a care for her so-called etiquette. "Huhuhu, I didn't think the fearsome Iron Lady of Etiquette would act so unladylike. Truly a sight to behold, huhuhu..."
Realizing what she had done, Samantha’s ears turned red. She burrowed her face into my collar and whispered meekly.
"I am a living being too! So forgive this Iron Lady for making a mistake, you womanizer!"
Huhuhu, I didn't expect she would mention me being a womanizer when she didn't even see me flirting with any other woman all this time. I sighed, then whispered right into her ear in a deep voice. "Huuu? I didn't think that the lovely Samantha I've known for year's would accuse me of being a womanizer when I have yet to flirt with any other woman?"
Samantha was flustered by being called a liar explicitly, but held her anger in as she pouted. "Then shut up, you dirty liar!"
I smiled and caressed her, because it seemed she still held some grudge from when I revealed she's not the only woman I’ll be loving. I whispered in a meek voice, almost too embarrassed to ask for a favor. "Ummm... Samantha? How many carcasses do you have left?"
Samantha noticed the bumps on my body and what they indicated. She clenched her teeth, checking her inventory, and spoke with seriousness. "I have a thousand carcasses, but is this enough for you?"
I nodded my head. A thousand carcasses of Stage 1 monsters should be enough to form the initial carapace. Without me noticing Samantha clenched her teeth with guilt, sincr she now knew how painful a mutation was and how energy-consuming it would be. But I comforted her with a hug, shaking my head gently while I endured the relentless hunger clawing at my stomach and the hellish pain the mutation brought.
I hissed. "This can't be helped, so don't blame yourself..."
Samantha bit her lip as she noticed me wincing in pain, feeling me tremble from extreme hunger. She waved her hand, and hundreds of carcasses from a variety of aquatic creatures she had hunted while I was asleep were laid bare in the room. Then Samantha grabbed a mutated mackerel with a hole in its head, and stuffed it into my mouth, then grabbed another one to feed me. And I the ever obedient toy boy of hers, happily obliged. Even though the nutritional value these fish gave me was nonexistent at this point, it was better than starving to death.
Samantha noticed her stacks diminishing with every passing second. She felt like she was feeding an endless void. She stood from her chair, grabbing her revolvers with the resolve to hunt again, pouting as she walked out of the room. "Haaa... I hope... yeah, I hope I'll find a better prey today..."
I sighed at her concern. As I coated the remaining carcasses with mana before lifting them and stuffing them into my mouth one by one. I couldn't help but sigh at this situation. I hoped Solia would return right at this moment with an overseer or two to feed me so I could continue my mutation. Sadly, she was too far away to hear my voice.
I guess I could only rely on Samantha hunting the remaining demonic beasts in the forest. If she's lucky, maybe she'll encounter a Stage 1 Overlord. If not, then a Lord or a King, maybe. So I guess being stuck here for quite a while waiting for her, isn't so bad. While waiting, I made my decisions on which skills to attain and which to dismiss.
Hours passed with no sign of Samantha entering my field of perception, which had spread tens of miles away from this place. Samantha was taking too long, and I had already decided which skills I was going to get.
I squinted my eyes, then confirmed 'Yes' as I looked at the new system notifications dawning on me. There, I saw the skill descriptions, and I smiled as I pressed the prompt.
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[You're skill: Grotesque Physique, had successfully devoured six skills.]
Abyssal Tendril Bastion [Ascension III]
Generates thickened abyss-forged tendrils reinforced by layered pressure-density, making them extremely durable, heavy, and resistant to tearing or cutting. Each tendril acts as an extension of Zypher's hardened body, capable of binding, blocking, or smashing through incoming threats.
Bloodline Suppression Gaze [Ascension I]
A concentrated ocular authority that forces weaker beings to kneel, silencing their bloodline talents and fracturing their instincts.
Continental Mass Physique [Ascension IV]
Gralmund's body becomes as heavy and enduring as a drifting landmass, nullifying forced movement and amplifying impact power.
Formless Sovereign Emergence [Ascension III]
The body becomes a mutable vessel of raw possibility, shifting attributes and strengths according to necessity rather than biology
Indomitable Cereum Carapace [Ascension V]
A dense, impact-absorbing shell that nullifies mostly of the physical and magical force, protecting Cecilia’s body from internal damage. Its layered structure disperses penetration attempts, preventing spears or blades from breaching unless the incoming attack exceeds the carapace’s maximum threshold.
Neural Tendril Nodebirth [Ascension II]
Allows Nethrathul to grow compact sub-brains inside selected tendrils. These nodes grant localized decision-making, enabling each tendril to think, react, and act independently with heightened precision and restraint power.
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[Initiate mutations]
[Yes] / [No]
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