Halli (1) – (Final Free)
Grrk, grr…
A monster with gray fur was panting heavily.
With arms that were grotesquely developed, reminiscent of a gorilla, it barely held up its body.
Its wounds were bleeding profusely, painting its entire body in crimson.
Grrraah—!
The creature let out a furious howl and straightened its back.
Though it couldn’t identify the identity of those who attacked it unexpectedly, it had established its territory in the area for a long time.
Even if its body became a rag, it would never go down easily!
But the pursuers in the darkness didn’t have the luxury to consider such a resolve.
[Be careful… Don’t damage it too much. Or we’ll be in trouble again.]
Undead that emerged from the shadows of the forest surrounded the monster.
Leading them was Malcolm, a Death Wizard under Hans.
[Binding of the Abyss.]
Sharp shards of rock erupted from the ground, binding the creature’s limbs, while the surrounding undead rushed at it all at once.
Grahh!
But the beast wasn’t going to just sit still.
With muscles bulging massively, cracks appeared in the rocks that bound its arms.
Crack—
After shattering the rocks stuck to its arms.
It slammed down against the ground, shaking off the bindings around its legs.
Despite being stabbed in several places by the attacking undead, it began to thrash wildly, enduring with its unique vitality.
And the fight dragged on longer than expected.
[Be cautious. Caution! Don’t kill it. Don’t let it become tainted. …This is tougher than I thought. It’s resisting fiercely… Binding of the Abyss.]
It was entirely due to the master’s orders.
To capture it alive, without taint, and in as decent a state as possible.
If they were just going to kill it and take the corpse, Malcolm could have finished it off long ago by himself.
If it was just about capturing it alive, they could have easily dealt with it with black magic and the undead.
But they were undead.
Born from death itself, their very essence was black magic.
To those frail ones, merely being in proximity was fatal.
To fully restrain an opponent while spreading death and curses as easily as breathing was a tougher task than expected.
Malcolm faced restrictions in using black magic, and the other undead also had to suppress their energy as much as possible.
That was particularly problematic since their target had a tenacious vitality, making it hard to even knock it out.
Grrk…
After exerting effort to use magic with minimal influence from black magic, and with the undead putting their bodies on the line…
Malcolm’s team finally managed to suppress the monster so it couldn’t resist.
A gorilla-like beast restrained on the ground, pinned under the undead.
[Success… Now we return.]
But incidents always occur when one is least cautious.
Grrr—!
Crack!
[Ah.]
At that moment of lowered defenses, the monster made a last-ditch effort, biting the ankle of a Skeleton Knight pinning it down.
Crack! Crunch! Gulp—
Not only that, but it bit off the ankle and chewed it thoroughly before swallowing it whole.
The undead rushed back to restrain the creature again, but what was swallowed was already gone and unavoidable.
With the goal of capturing it intact, they couldn’t afford to slice open its belly.
[Hmm… ]
While the damage to the undead could be easily restored with black magic, that wasn’t the main issue.
Naturally, a part of the undead’s body wasn’t precisely a good source of ingredients.
[The monster is tough, so that much should be fine… ]
Since it was known that monsters had a taste for eating anything, undead would hardly matter.
With a glimmer of hope, Malcolm transported the neatly packed monster to Hans’s laboratory, but…
Thud!
Of course, it wasn’t fine, and after repeatedly being scolded, an irritated Malcolm had to head out again for hunting.
While recovering his slightly battered head with black magic.
*
Hans was meditating with his eyes closed.
Of course, he didn’t have eyelids, so he couldn’t really close them, but he was deeply immersed in his inner world, unable to perceive the outside.
[You can do it too! Complete Chimera Engineering in 100 Days]
[Biological Alchemy through Toxins]
[Poison and Medicine are a hair’s breadth apart]
He was sifting through the endless knowledge contained within the “Forbidden Knowledge” to apply it.
Combining research data, including chimeras, with experimental information from the Buncheon Society, deriving results from directly confirmed outcomes.
As Hans returned to his senses, he looked down at Halli, lying on the operating table, deep in thought.
[Hmmm, the blood magic seems to have settled well in the body.]
Now that nearly three months of experiments had passed, the cave’s landscape had changed significantly.
Flasks containing unidentified substances, biomaterials preserved with preservation magic, and all sorts of bizarre experimental tools.
Not to mention the bizarre magic circles and magical equipment emitting a chilling light, showcasing their presence.
It was the very epitome of a mad scientist’s laboratory that lost its humanity.
Considering the blend of occult elements only added to its dreadful nature.
“It’s a bit stiff. I don’t think I’m fully adapted yet. But it’s not like I’m dying.”
[For now, I’ll give it time and observe more. The reactions are faster than expected. It seems like results are about to reveal themselves. After all, it’s this body. Hehehe… ]
The experiment was progressing smoothly.
A day later.
Hrk, something feels like it’s boiling inside…
[Hmm, a side effect? I thought it could withstand with “Adaptation,” but it might be better to reduce the intensity a bit.]
Three days later.
Hep—Cough! Hah!
[Hmm… Has it exceeded the limits of “Super Recovery”? Quite the pity. If I could have progressed a bit more, I would have achieved success right away. I’ll have to make some adjustments.]
After a week went by.
…
[…The consciousness isn’t connecting. I can’t afford to lose Halli now… Hmm, should I take a gamble? Using up all the blood magic might work.]
It was only a little over three months since Hans and Halli’s joint research had started.
Hmm?
[Finally, consciousness connected! Thank goodness the gamble paid off. I used up the blood magic, but as it’s still in Halli’s body, we can continue our research. Hehe… ]
But my body feels a bit weird…
At that moment.
《The entity has met the conditions and is evolving. Skill “Adaptation” evolves into the special skill “Mutation”.》
《The entity has met the conditions and unlocked its potential. Acquires the special skill “Physical Transformation”.》
《The entity’s recovery power has exceeded its limits. Skill “Super Recovery” evolves into the skill “Regeneration”.》
Oh?
[Oh?]
Startling messages appeared consecutively, causing both of them to exclaim in unison.
If this continues…
[It’s a success!]
Achieving this feat in about a hundred days of Auterica’s time, which was about ten days on Earth.
Of course, it vastly differed from what they had originally desired, but nonetheless, they had achieved their purpose.
“Mutation” is a trait that evolves oneself through external genes, so in strict terms, it wasn’t too different.
‘In the process, gaining “Regeneration” was an unexpected gain.’
It must have been due to transfusing blood from monsters with excellent regeneration abilities for the experiment.
The first results obtained right after acquiring “Mutation.”
But the good news didn’t stop there.
《The unique skill has grown and unlocked its potential. The number of avatars that can be held has increased.》
Now they could create one more avatar.
‘Hmm… I really didn’t see this coming.’
Until now, the increase of avatar count could only happen through enhancements from the Karma shop.
This was the first time their natural growth had increased an avatar.
‘I had several minor growths before, but it seems like some threshold has been crossed this time.’
Well, they were at a point where growth values were accumulating, and something was bound to show up.
The fact that rapid enhancements were possible through the Karma shop implied that similar results could be attained someday through natural growth as well.
‘The fifth avatar, huh… Just when I got Halli to a usable state.’
It was time to ponder the utilization of the new avatar.
Of course, it was a delightful consideration this time compared to before.
*
On the day Heinrich completed four months as a Knight.
His current station was with the Radiant Guardian Paladin Order, guarding the interior of the Rosellia Temple.
This place required a high level of holy power, admitting only those whose faith was proven among the Knights.
Perhaps due to his potential being noted by the higher-ups, he was able to join for training.
Heinrich’s steadily growing holy power was now among the top tier even at the arch-priest level.
The one in charge of guiding him was a blue-haired female knight from the Radiant Guardians named Lyrin.
“Even though it’s internal security, it’s nothing special. As you’ve probably learned at other places, it’s all layered defenses from the outside. Moreover, this is where the knights and archbishops stay…”
There were also the Saint and Cardinals, and even the Pope deeper inside.
Though ordinarily, they wouldn’t partake directly.
‘Setting aside the saint wandering here and there.’
“But security is indeed necessary. Especially, we need to block any access to crucial strongholds even by mistake.”
“And what crucial strongholds might those be?”
They were likely to be the quarters of high-ranking officials or secret vaults, but Heinrich asked Lyrin for confirmation.
A question thrown without any particular meaning.
Yet she gazed at Heinrich, looking deep in thought.
“Hmmm… With this level of holy power, it might be fine, but… regulations are regulations. Come this way.”
Following her lead to a secluded corner of the temple, Heinrich stepped into a place he had never visited before.
A location he had never been to even while performing security duties.
To be precise, it was a place that hadn’t needed security.
Knock knock—
“I’m from the Radiant Guardians. A newcomer needs to take an oath.”
The gently knocked door slowly opened.
A man came out and quietly guided them inside.
‘An Inquisition Officer.’
Dressed in black clerical robes, a hooded covering, and a mask obscuring his face.
This was a place where members of the Holy Church Order’s Inquisition Officers worked.
Following the silent man, they passed through a mysteriously dark corridor and entered a room without windows.
“You need to sit in front of that person and read the document placed before you.”
Inside the designated area was a piece of paper on a table, and seated across was an Inquisition Officer.
Carefully taking a seat, he glanced at the document labeled “Radiant Guardians,” which contained nothing particularly special—a confidentiality oath.
A pledge to remain silent about any information he learned during his duties.
But just as he was about to read it aloud.
Swish—
The figure sitting opposite him raised a hand and touched Heinrich’s forehead.
Caught off guard, he flinched for a moment but quickly brushed it off and casually recited the document’s content.
“…Therefore, I vow to remain silent under any circumstances.”
Once the recitation of the document ended.
A flow of holy power emitted from the hand placed atop his forehead.
…
…
Then the Inquisition Officer before him quietly retracted his hand without a word.
“It’s done. Let’s go.”
Until they left with Lyrin’s guidance, they didn’t hear a single word from anyone else.
“…Was it always so silent in there?”
“Hmm, it’s better if you don’t have to hear anything in the future. The fact that it spoke means it’s a bad situation.”
There was hardly a need to ask what that bad situation entailed.
“So what was that about? A magic to prevent leaks?”
“Haha… A magic? No, it’s a blessing. A blessing of silence. It prevents leaking of specific information, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. Isn’t that impressive?”
It’s basically a gag order!
Aside from being based on holy power, it was no different from other gag orders.
‘But it’s a blessing, so surely, they wouldn’t pop someone’s head for it?’
“Haah… So why is there a need for such a ‘blessing of silence’ for that crucial stronghold?”
“Well, just wait a moment. I’m also under the gag order, so I can’t disclose anything without following the procedures. Just a moment.”
That wait, however, wasn’t just a moment.
Yet the information they eventually learned after going through those complicated protocols was more than enough to understand why they valued security so highly.
“…Because the important ritual cannot be interrupted. And the Saint’s quarters are…”
Important places of residence or secret vaults were nothing compared to that knowledge.
“…Lastly, there’s something you must know.”
Deep in the heart of the Church.
“A place that must be protected at all costs if an emergency arises.”
That ‘thing.’
“…the last fragment of the Undead King is sealed within this Rosellia Temple.”
Compared to that, they had revealed nothing of importance.
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