Shedding Transformation
After obtaining the Imugi’s essence and the Ars Goetia in Jeonju, I returned straight to Seoul.
The moment I stepped into the team building, Jiyoung came running with a radiant smile on her face.
“Master! I finally landed a clean hit on Karla!”
She declared, planting both hands on her hips.
She wasn’t some little kid begging her parents for praise.
Still, even if her tone sounded like one, I couldn’t dismiss what she had actually accomplished.
“How?”
“When Karla leaps, she compresses the space, right? That’s when I……”
Jiyoung chattered on for a while, her words tumbling out in excited disarray.
Her excitement made her talk more than usual, but I listened patiently until the end.
“……So Karla was knocked back.”
Impressive.
She was already applying the barrier’s amplification effect in combat.
Her growth rate was far faster than before my regression.
The technique of overlapping barriers was something I had taught her during the tutorial.
But this time she had gained the insight while sparring with Karla and realized it on her own.
This went beyond simple ‘talent.’
By creating an environment where she could grow stronger faster, Jiyoung was showing steep improvement.
“Well done.”
“Hehe, it’s all thanks to your guidance, Master.”
“You achieved enlightenment while I was gone.”
“At this rate, who knows? I might surpass the master.”
“Please, I’m begging you to do exactly that.”
I patted Jiyoung’s shoulder and offered sincere praise.
Not only was realizing a new application for the barrier impressive.
The fact that the opponent she had struck was Karla made it even more surprising.
After all, Karla’s unique ability served as a hard counter to barriers.
“Hoho, this one knew you would succeed.”
“I told you! If I say I’ll do it, I do it!”
At Nyx’s praise, the corners of Jiyoung’s lips soared all the way to the heavens.
At that moment.
“You’re back?”
A blunt voice brushed past my ears.
It was Karla.
Jiyoung, who had been unable to contain her excitement, smiled awkwardly and took a step back.
It was only natural to feel embarrassed when the very person you had been celebrating against arrived.
“Do you have something to tell me?”
“Spar.”
“Huh?”
“Please spar with me.”
Asking for a spar the moment I returned.
Nyx let out a soft hum.
“How interesting.”
She wore a mysterious smile.
……Hey, if it’s that interesting, at least give me a hint instead of enjoying it alone.
“Fine. Today’s schedule is already finished, so there’s no problem.”
Karla gave a polite bow.
A short while later.
Crash—Karla tumbled across the training ground floor.
“Can you stand?”
“I can still continue.”
I approached Karla again as she rose, using her scythe like a staff.
Activating Light West Finger.
My outstretched fingers shot forward like a sharp spear aimed at Karla’s heart.
The spinning shaft shimmered with spatial distortion.
Part of the space bulged forward like a convex lens, twisting the trajectory of my Light West Finger.
There wasn’t enough time to release internal energy and chain into the next form.
Without panicking, I activated Super Strength with my left hand.
My fist struck the front of the convex lens.
The spatial distortion shattered, and the scythe—hit at the center of its rotation—flew into the air.
Karla, unable to fully dissipate the force enhanced by Super Strength……
“Ugh.”
Once again found herself rolling across the floor.
Still, it was impressive.
To deflect a close-range Light West Finger using spear rotation and spatial distortion.
Setting the idea aside, her proficiency in handling her unique ability was improving at a remarkable speed.
Her talent was on par with Jiyoung’s.
“That’s enough for today.”
“Huff… I can still keep going.”
“You don’t even have the strength to stand properly. Don’t push yourself.”
“……”
Karla bit her lip hard.
Activating Cloud Flow Steps.
Activating Four-Head Claw.
My hand stopped just before her pale nape.
“See? You’re so exhausted you can’t even react anymore.”
I glanced at Jiyoung.
“Karla, I’ll help you.”
Jiyoung entered the training area and gently took Karla’s hand.
The two of them moved away from the training ground.
I stared after them and shook my head.
“Too much motivation can be a problem too.”
“Hehe, you seem to see through people’s hearts so easily, yet you are strangely blind in this area.”
“What do you mean?”
“That child has developed a competitive spirit toward Jiyoung.”
A competitive spirit, huh.
Suddenly I wondered whether Ellen’s falling out with Karla had stemmed from an obsession with ‘power.’
“It’s complicated.”
“Are you speaking of that child?”
“Yeah. With Ping Lei, I can see exactly what he’s thinking. But Karla……”
“Do not think too hard. She is a pure child, despite how she appears.”
“In the goddess’s eyes, perhaps. To me she’s difficult.”
“Then, how about leaving that child to this one and Jiyoung?”
“It seems like it would be troublesome for you, Goddess.”
“Hehe, you accepted her onto the team because you have some plan in mind, did you not?”
“That’s true.”
Before the regression, she was a talent Ellen often regretted losing whenever she drank.
After sparring with her, I finally understood why.
If I could bring her completely to my side……
“Leave her to me and Jiyoung.”
I nodded.
“If you insist.”
Whether it produced results or not, it was worth trying.
After the commotion in the training ground, I returned to my quarters and removed every piece of clothing.
“Goddess, enter your spirit form as well.”
“What if something happens to you? Should this one not stand guard?”
“That’s exactly why……”
I was no transcendent who had risen above all worldly desires.
From the beginning, my method of ‘transcendence’ was one hundred and eighty degrees removed from cultivating the Dao.
Even for me, being naked in the same room as an attractive woman was rather difficult.
But if I spoke my true feelings, Nyx would definitely tease me.
“It might affect you, Goddess. That’s why.”
“Hmm, very well. This time I shall do as you ask.”
Nyx turned into spirit form with clear reluctance.
At least in her small form it was somewhat more manageable.
I wiped the sweat from my back and looked inward.
The body I had remodeled using the Tyrannosaurus essence.
Inside my flesh, a great number of the essences I had absorbed so far were embedded.
Blood vessels, heart, blood, eyes, and dantian.
Watching the essences scattered throughout my remodeled body radiate lights of every color, it truly resembled a constellation.
Time to fill in more stars, one by one.
I summoned two essences I had not yet integrated.
The chimera was an incomplete lifeform created by artificially fusing multiple DNA strands.
The ‘Mutation’ skill that came from its essence was unpredictable because the essence itself was fundamentally flawed.
That was why I had not integrated the chimera’s essence into my body even after the previous remodeling.
But now I possessed an essence that could compensate for that incompleteness.
The hundred-year snake that repeatedly shed its skin, evolving into an imugi and eventually a transcendent dragon.
That essence could fully control the penalties of mutation.
Mutation is assimilating with your cells.
Crack—!
The instant I accepted the chimera’s essence, the cells making up my body began to wriggle, trying to abandon their original forms one by one.
It was manageable for now.
If I failed to control the chimera’s essence, I would not transcend humanity—I would degenerate into a mindless monster.
That was why I had not assimilated it during the last body modification.
Shedding is assimilating with your cells.
This time I did not designate one essence as the primary like I had with ‘Acidic Blood.’
I applied two essences to the same region simultaneously.
Rather than balancing the power of the remaining essences, I melted them into my body through a different method.
It was possible because shedding possessed the property of discarding incomplete parts of the existing structure and rebuilding the body anew.
As the hundred-year snake’s essence permeated my cells, the wriggling cells that had been trying to change form regained their stability.
Argh! Easy to say, but accepting two essences into my cells was an excruciating process.
The pain felt as if my entire body was being torn apart.
The rampaging chimera essence made me want to scream, but I held it in.
The two essences are fusing.
Shedding Transformation skill has been added.
Shedding Transformation
Grade: ★★★
Type: Active
Reconstructs the body.
When used, increases one desired stat by 1%.
Consumes a small amount of mana and stamina.
*Cooldown: 60 days
After synchronizing both essences with my body, I opened my eyes.
“Did it hurt that much?”
“What?”
“You suddenly started shedding tears.”
Nyx’s eyes curved into a smile.
Look at her. She’s delighted she found something to tease me with.
My one and only contractor had been in tear-inducing pain.
“Just wait and see.”
“I do not understand why you speak that way.”
Why don’t you wipe that smile off your face first?
I glared at Nyx and sat down in the lotus position.
The chimera’s essence had stabilized.
Now even if I used mutation, I wouldn’t suddenly grow three eyes or sprout an extra arm.
A groundbreaking effect that took only the advantages of the regeneration ability and discarded the disadvantages.
And I had gained more than that.
Shedding
All stats increased by 1%.
Rumble!
The exposed skin peeled away in a single layer.
It felt like being tightly wrapped in blankets during the middle of winter.
I did not tear off the husk enveloping my entire body. Instead, I used Shedding Transformation right there.
The stat I would strengthen was……
“Strength.”
Cells are being reconstructed by Shedding Transformation.
Strength has increased by 1%.
A skill that eliminated the weaknesses of both the chimera and the hundred-year snake while maximizing only their strengths.
The nature of every single cell changed.
Unlike simple shedding, this time black grime sloughed off in heavy chunks.
“Do you not usually wash properly?”
“It’s not like that!”
“If you are this one’s contractor, you must always maintain dignity.”
This goddess…!
I’d deal with her after I finished Shedding Transformation.
The grime that fell from my skin flowed down beneath the translucent husk.
This was exactly why I had left the husk intact.
After carefully extracting myself, I tightly wrapped the remaining shed skin and tossed it into the trash bin.
“Hehehehe.”
I had gained a great deal from clearing this gate.
Obtaining Shedding Transformation earlier than expected meant I could raise my stats even faster.
Although I couldn’t use it frequently, I had also gained ‘Mutation,’ an ability comparable to super regeneration.
Even better, the cooldowns for Shedding and Shedding Transformation did not overlap.
Since the original properties remained even after essence fusion, there was no problem using the two skills alternately.
Every two months I could increase any stat I wanted by one percent.
Right now my stats were in the hundreds, so the increase was only two or three points. But the stronger I became, the greater the effect would be.
At this rate I could pass all the way to Silver—not just Bronze—without any other spec increases.
“Can you not refrain from smiling so slyly?”
Nyx let out a sigh.