Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Harley (1)
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“Grrr... grr...”
A monster with gray fur was breathing raggedly.
Its grotesquely developed arms, reminiscent of a gorilla’s, barely supported its body.
The beast had already been dyed red all over from the blood pouring out of wounds across its body.
“Kraaaargh—!”
The monster straightened its back with a roar of fury.
It didn’t know the identity of those who had suddenly ambushed it, but it was the longstanding master of this territory, having held it for many years.
Even if it meant its body being torn to shreds, it wouldn’t go down easily!
But the pursuers lurking in the darkness had no position to accommodate such resolve.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Take it down... as intact as possible. Be careful. We’ll get scolded again. The undead emerged from the shadows of the forest as if seeping out, surrounding the monster.
Leading them was Malcolm, the Death Wizard under Hans’s command.
[Binding of the Depths.]
Sharp masses of rock surged from the ground, clumping together to bind the monster’s limbs. At the same time, the encircling undead charged at it all at once.
“Kroooargh!”
But the beast wasn’t going down without a fight.
Cracks appeared in the rock masses binding its arms as its muscles swelled enormously in an instant.
Krunch—
After shattering the rocks clinging to its arms, it slammed the ground to shake off the restraints on its legs as well.
In the process, the charging undead stabbed it in various places, but the monster endured with its characteristically tough vitality and began rampaging.
And the battle dragged on longer than expected.
[Careful. Careful! Don’t kill it. Don’t corrupt it... This is tricky after all. Its resistance is fierce... Binding of the Depths.]
It was all because of their master’s orders.
Capture it alive, uncorrupted, and as intact as possible.
If they could just kill it and bring the corpse, Malcolm could have finished it alone long ago.
If merely capturing it alive was the goal, Black Magic combined with the undead would have made it easy.
But they were undead.
Beings born from death itself, their core energy was dark mana.
To frail living creatures, their mere presence spread a lethal aura.
For these entities that exhaled death and curses as naturally as breathing, capturing a foe intact was far more difficult than it sounded.
Malcolm’s use of Black Magic was restricted, and the other undead had to suppress their auras as much as possible.
The target being a monster with tenacious vitality that was hard to even knock out only made it worse.
“Grr...”
After exhaustive efforts—using magic with the least dark mana influence possible and the undead sacrificing their bodies without regard—Malcolm’s group finally succeeded in subduing the beast enough that it could no longer resist.
The gorilla-like monster writhed helplessly, limbs bound and pinned under the undead.
[Success... Now we return.]
But incidents always happen when you let your guard down.
“Kruuung—!”
Krunch!
[Ah.]
In that brief moment of relaxation, the monster began its final struggle, biting into the ankle of the Skeleton Knight pinning it down.
Crunch! Grind! Gulp—
Not only that, it chewed up the severed ankle in its mouth and swallowed it whole.
The undead rushed in again to suppress it, but what was already swallowed couldn’t be helped.
They couldn’t exactly cut open its belly when the goal was to capture it as intact as possible.
[Hmm...]
The damage to the undead could be easily repaired with Black Magic, but that wasn’t the issue.
Needless to say, parts of an undead body weren’t exactly healthy ingredients.
[Monsters are tough, so it might be fine...]
Monsters normally ate anything they found, so undead bits shouldn’t be a big deal.
With that sliver of hope, Malcolm neatly packaged the monster and transported it to Hans’s lab...
Thwack!
Of course, it wasn’t fine. After getting thoroughly chewed out by Hans, whose nerves were frayed from repeated experiments, Malcolm had to head out for another hunt.
Repairing his slightly worn occiput with dark mana after the beating.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Hans was meditating with his eyes closed.
Of course, without eyelids, he couldn’t truly close them, but sinking deeply into his inner world, unable to perceive the outside, was the same.
He was sifting through the infinite knowledge in the “Forbidden Knowledge” and seeking ways to apply it.
Combining the chimera and bio-research materials there with the Bancheon Society’s experiment data, then substituting his own observations to derive results.
Finally pulling his mind back, Hans looked down at Harley lying on the operating table, deep in thought.
[Hmm, the dragon blood seems to have settled properly in the body.]
Nearing three months since the experiments began, the cave’s interior had changed dramatically.
Flasks filled with unidentified drugs, fresh biological tissues preserved by preservation magic, bizarrely shaped experiment tools everywhere.
Not to mention the grotesque magic circles and magical devices scattered about, flickering with eerie lights to assert their presence.
A mad scientist’s lab, stripped of all humanity.
Considering the occult elements mixed in, it was even more depraved.
“Feels a bit stiff? Adaptation isn’t complete yet. But it’s not lethal.”
[Let’s observe a bit longer for now. The reaction is faster than expected. Results should come soon. As expected of this body. Keh heh heh...]
The experiments were going smoothly.
The next day.
“Ugh, feels like something’s bubbling inside...”
[Hmm, side effects? I thought “Adaptation” would handle it. Better tone it down a bit.]
Three days later.
“Kuh—cough! Hack!”
[Hmm... Exceeded “Super Recovery”’s limits. A shame. If we could push just a bit further, success would be immediate. Let’s adjust.]
A week later.
“......”
[...No mental connection. Can’t lose Harley now... Hmm, gamble time? Use up all the remaining dragon blood?]
It was just over three months since Hans and Harley’s joint research began.
“Hm?”
[Mental connection established at last! Glad the gamble paid off. Used all the dragon blood, but since it’s still in Harley’s body, research can continue. Heh heh heh...]
“...But the body feels weird...”
At that moment.
⚔ STATUS UPDATE ⚔ The entity has met the conditions and grows.
Skill 「Adaptation」 evolves into special skill 「Mutation」.
The entity has met the conditions and awakens potential.
Acquired special skill 「Flesh Transformation」.
The entity’s recovery has exceeded limits.
Skill 「Super Recovery」 evolves into skill 「Regeneration」.
⚔ STATUS UPDATE ⚔ Unique skill has grown and awakens potential.
Maximum number of Avatar entities increases.
“Oh?”
[Oh?]
They both let out exclamations at the successive messages.
“In that case...”
[Experiment success.]
A feat achieved in about a hundred days in Outerica time, or ten days on Earth.
Though it differed considerably from what they’d aimed for, they had achieved their goal nonetheless.
“Mutation” evolved oneself through external genes, so it wasn’t all that different in the strict sense.
‘And getting “Regeneration” in the process was an unexpected bonus.’
Probably from transfusing blood from monsters with superior regenerative abilities for the experiments.
The first result right after acquiring “Mutation.”
But the good news didn’t end there.
Now they could create one more Avatar.
‘Hmm... This was truly unexpected.’
Until now, increasing Avatar slots had only been possible through Karma Shop upgrades.
This was the first natural growth leading to more Avatars.
‘There were minor growths before, but this time it crossed some threshold.’
Makes sense; the growth had been accumulating, and it was about time for results.
The Karma Shop allowing rapid strengthening implied natural growth could eventually yield the same.
‘The fifth Avatar... Just got Harley usable, too.’
Time to ponder new Avatar uses.
Though, unlike before, it was a pleasant dilemma.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ It was the fourth month since Heinrich became a Holy Knight.
His current post was with the Radiant Guardians Holy Knight Order, guarding the interior of Roselia’s Grand Temple.
Only those with proven faith and high divine power among Holy Knights could join, but thanks to the higher-ups noting his potential, he entered for training purposes.
Heinrich’s steadily growing divine power was now upper-tier even among great priests.
Guiding him was Lady Lailin, a blue-haired female Holy Knight of the Radiant Guardians.
“Interior guard duty isn’t much different. You’ve done it elsewhere, so you know—multiple layers of defense outside. Plus, this is where the Knight Commanders and Archbishops stay...”
Deeper in were the Saintess, Cardinals, and Pope.
Though they rarely emerged themselves.
‘The Saintess wandering everywhere is another story.’
“Still, guard duty is essential. Especially block key points leading to important areas—no mistakes allowed.”
“Key points... like what?”
High-ranking residences or secret vaults, probably. To confirm, he asked his guide, Lailin.
A casual question.
But she just looked at Heinrich thoughtfully.
“Hmm... With that divine power, it should be fine... But rules are rules. This way.”
Following her to a remote corner of the Grand Temple, Heinrich stepped into a place he’d never been.
A sparsely populated area he’d never visited even on guard duty.
Precisely because it didn’t need guarding.
Knock knock—
“Radiant Guardians here. New recruit needs the oath.”
The door slid open smoothly to his light knock.
A man emerged from within and silently led them inside.
‘Heretic Inquisitor.’
Black priest robes, hood pulled low, mask covering his mouth.
This was where the Church of the Main God’s Heretic Inquisitors worked.
Following the silent man down a somehow ominous corridor without windows, they entered a room.
“Sit before him and read the document on the table.”
A single document lay on the table; an Inquisitor sat opposite.
He sat carefully and checked the top-marked “Radiant Guardians” paper: a standard nondisclosure oath.
Pledging silence on matters learned during duty.
The moment he began reading.
Swish—
The seated figure raised a hand to Heinrich’s forehead.
He flinched at the suddenness but ignored it, reciting nonchalantly.
“......Accordingly, I swear to maintain silence in any situation.”
Recitation ended.
Divine power emanated from the hand on his forehead.
“......”
“......?”
The Inquisitor quietly withdrew his hand and said nothing.
“Done. Let’s go.”
Even as Lailin led him out, no other voices besides theirs were heard.
“...Are they always that silent, not a word?”
“Hmm, best if you never hear them again. A voice means that bad a situation.”
No need to ask what “bad” meant.
“So, what was that? A seal against spilling secrets?”
“Haha... Seal? It’s a blessing. Blessing of Silence. Prevents leaking specific info, voluntary or not. Impressive, right?”
It’s a seal!
Just divine power-based, no different from others.
‘But as a proper “blessing,” it won’t explode heads or anything?’
“Sigh... So what key point requires even a ‘Blessing of Silence’?”
“Hmm, wait a bit. I’m bound by silence too—need procedure to speak. Won’t take long.”
The wait was far from short.
But the info revealed after the complex procedure fully justified the secrecy.
“......Important rituals can’t be disrupted. And the Saintess’s quarters...”
Residences or vaults were trivial by comparison.
“...Finally, something you must know.”
One sanctum of the Church.
“In emergencies, protect it with your life.”
That.
“The last fragment of the Immortal King...”
Sealed in Roselia’s Grand Temple.
Put everything else to shame.