CHAPTER 146: | FIXING THE PROBLEMS

  ---

  [You have slain.]

  S: 1| T: 4 | Level 28 | Supperior Orcish Whale [6★]

  [You have gained.]

  [100 Million - EXP.]

  ---

  I took a quick glance at the notifications, then dismissed them since nothing interesting caught my attention. Immediately, I turned my focus inward to inspect the state of my body.

  I flicked my hand, and the incomplete mutation of 'Indomitable Cereum Carapace' progressed in the next moment, triggering a cascade along with the other five pending mutations, 'Abyssal Tendril Bastion,' 'Bloodline Suppression Gaze,' 'Continental Mass Physique,' 'Formless Sovereign Emergence,' and 'Neural Tendril Nodebirth.'

  The pain that the six mutations brought simultaneously was absolute. I clenched my teeth as I felt my eyes burning, as if they were being bleached and then pricked with thousands of heated needles. At the same time, my back cracked open.

  Squelch. Snap.

  Eighteen small tendrils broke free from my flesh, while eighteen smaller crystalline orbs formed within the tentacles. The tendrils began to grow at an alarming rate. While all of this happened, the density of my muscles and the very structure of my body began to shift. The word 'pain' didn't quite suit my situation, it was closer to total restructuring, but I merely smirked at it.

  Since when did I surrender to something this measly? So, I endured it without letting out a single sound. I stared at Samantha, who was enjoying her growth, then closed my eyes to inspect the six ongoing mutations in my body.

  I waited silently in the dark, observing the chaos for the first few seconds, then clicked my tongue in annoyance. With the help of 'Incarnate of the Fallen,' I seized control.

  I clenched my teeth, ready to bear the sensation, as I compressed and compacted the muscles of the tendrils to push the eighteen smaller cores, the Neural Tendril Nodebirth, deep into my body. I smirked, satisfied at having pushed them inside for safekeeping.

  Next, I twisted the muscles of the tendrils to shape them into eighteen separate mouths. I opened a canal connected to my stomach and hollowed it out all the way to the tips of the tendrils.

  Seeing the success, I relaxed my shoulders and let out a satisfied smile. Then came the sculpting. I shaped all eighteen tips of the tendrils to take an appearance similar to that of a sandworm’s mouth, but with a twist. I placed the teeth not as the spiky fangs of a beast, but as rows of disturbing, flat human teeth, set deeper within the mouth. I designed the skin of the tendrils to be retractable, like a foreskin, to hide these hideous teeth from sight when not in use.

  Why would I pick teeth that resembled a human’s when I could have chosen the efficient structure of a predator?

  The explanation I arrived at was simple, Horror. The sense of dread one feels finding that what tears you apart isn't the canine teeth of a beast, but the familiar, uncanny teeth of a human, it is psychologically devastating. While it is quite disturbing to have human teeth hanging from tendrils, it was exciting to imagine the enemy's reaction.

  Fixing the aesthetic problem was simple. I adjusted it so that when the tendrils are dormant, the teeth are buried within the skin, hidden deep from the base. But when it is time to feast, I can simply pull back the skin to reveal the maw, much like the mechanism of a man-eating plant revealing its trap.

  Isn't it wonderfully disgusting? It is too disturbing to think about, imagine stroking you're 'Excalibur' in hope's to pleasure yourself but only to find human teeth underneath it. Such was a horrifying sight to behold, yet intriguing to watch others fear it.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  I could wrap them with the excess skin to use as blunt weapons to pummel my enemies, or shape the skin at the tip into a sharp, pointy spear to pierce their bodies. Then, I could retract the covering to reveal the mouths and tear them apart while they are paralyzed by the disturbing appearance of my mouth-tendrils.

  It was an amazing addition. The teeth were basically indestructible at this point, formed using the Cereum Carapace. Then I used the remaining generation of the carapace to cover my entire tendrils, my limbs, torso, and head. I shaped the armor starting with the gauntlets, coloring them in gold and silver, molding them into elegant, clawed forms. The pauldrons took a sharper build that didn't impede my neck when I raised my hands.

  I shaped my torso to have a more slender build, reminiscent of a tapered waist, focusing my strength into my arms, back, chest, shoulders, and neck. My legs took a more bulky form to allow for explosive dashing speed. Finally, I shaped my head into a menacing visage, the face of a true demon with a spiked crown, and two elongated horns resembling a ram settling on the forehead.

  I smiled behind the mask. I flicked my claws, took a step, and vanished. In the next second, I appeared outside the dome. I lifted my claws and pointed them at a whale a mile away. I smirked, gathering and compressing my mana. Mercy, who I had shaped into a ring hovering behind me like a constellation, dissolved into dust and imbued itself into my claw.

  I slashed the empty water. The air contorted, then distorted. A violent wave of heat clawed through the empty space, phasing through the distance in an instant.

  Riiiip.

  The whale, a mile away, was clawed apart in the next instance.

  I sighed at the range, then dismissed Mercy, who dramatically reformed into a ring at my back, floating gently. I took a step and appeared inside the dome again, pondering the name of this transformation.

  I decided to call it the 'Second Form,' inspired by the concepts of Ascendance I had been agonizing over. After experiencing life as a being made of sand, and witnessing Lumicor's transformation, from his base form, to his 'Starlight Advent,' and finally into the 'God of Starlight,' I couldn't help but ponder the possibilities. The clue to the theory of Ascendance was right beside me.

  I was right about it. I had discovered something intriguing: the influence of 'Incarnate of the Fallen' on my body. It was an absolute skill that instinctively put all mutation-type skills into its sphere of influence, allowing me to tweak their appearance to my liking.

  Upon this realization, I came to a conclusion, I should create multiple forms that get stronger the more I transform. I am not a person who relies on artifacts, with [Mercy] being the special case, since it is a skill-bound artifact that grows with me. 'Though, the skill remaining inactive when the artifact isn't around is a disadvantage. But who would be impressive enough to seize my artifact? That question will likely remain unanswered as long as I live.'

  "Well, forget it," I whispered to myself. "Let’s call this..."

  "THE THIRD ZEN OF DISTORTION: FORM OF ASCENDANCE: STATE OF THE FALLEN LORD."

  I smirked, then cackled at the genius of it. I stared at Samantha, who looked at my form with awe. Suddenly, she grabbed her revolvers, pointed their muzzles at me, poured her mana into them, and pulled the trigger.

  Bang!

  The walnut-sized bullets struck my armor. But to her dismay, they did nothing, not even a dent. Samantha was impressed at the defensive capabilities, though I was quite shocked at her sudden approach. I uttered with distressed. "H-hey! What was that?!?!?!"

  Samantha chuckled, then tapped the armor with curiosity as she whispered softly. "Hehehe, I was just testing to see if this form of yours would live up to its reputation."

  I smiled at her words, then dismissed the form with a thought.

  The armor was pushed back into my skin, merging into my bones in an efficient manner. The tendrils that broke free from my back were reabsorbed, turning into sludge and breaking into thousands of threads that rooted themselves into my body like secondary veins where mana could be distributed when needed. I smirked with satisfaction at my accomplishments. Then I walked toward Samantha, and spread my arms.

  Samantha looked down at my lower half, blushed then turned her head. As she pointed at my groin, mumbling shyly. "Ummm, cou-could you at least... no-not retract your lower armor?"

  I smirked. Instead of answering, I pressed myself against her.

  Samantha was flustered by the situation; she wasn't ready yet. She bit her lip and tried to reject the advance by pushing him away, but Alister was one step ahead. He grabbed her hips, then lifted her chin with his unoccupied hand.

  He stopped, staring at Samantha, who was blushing shyly, and then at her lips that gleamed with allure. He pressed his lips against hers.

  Samantha didn't reject him. She kissed back even harder, yearning for this moment, the moment when they would become one in this heated debacle.

  Samantha broke free for a breath, then whispered, her face red from ecstasy. "Y-you're surprisingly good at this, Alister..."