Chapter 162: Unknown Mutation
2014-12-31
Author: Floating Tower
In the dark, eerie woods, Soren moved swiftly while keeping a vigilant eye on his surroundings. Although he had managed to divert the Silver Moonwalker and the High-level Druids, he had encountered a very dangerous creature the previous night—a sleek, snow-white spotted leopard, larger than an adult Northeast tiger and weighing approximately half a ton. This was a very rare Frost Blade Leopard.
It was not a primitive beast but a special magical creature, a species resulting from certain forbidden experiments. This creature primarily inhabited the outer planes and was said to be a product of experiments from the Arcane Empire era.
Its biological level was 16.
Soren did not engage with this dangerous creature. Although both had noticed each other, they merely exchanged glances from a distance of hundreds of meters. The beast possessed considerable intelligence, and upon establishing a significant distance between them, it directly disappeared into the dense forest. Magical beasts possessed an intelligence level comparable to a 9 to 14 year old child and proliferated during the Arcane Empire era. During that period, even rabbits could spout a freezing cone of ice, mainly due to the leakage of spell energy and various forms of energy radiation, which caused many animals to undergo massive mutations, seriously threatening other intelligent beings. [Note: During that period, the total number of Sorcerers doubled.]
This led to a massacre, forcing even Druids to participate in eliminating these magical beasts since they were not products of nature.
Mutated beasts would destroy the balance of nature. Wolf packs could go extinct due to a single mutated rabbit, and the ecological chain was under severe stress, on the verge of collapse at any moment.
The aftereffects of energy radiation were not limited to this. There were even more dangerous creatures.
These entities were called “abominations,” and the destruction they wrought continued for millions of years, still existing in certain places in the world today.
The deities have been unable to deal with these creatures born from energy radiation; they could only seal them together. Some of them lay deep in the desert. Soren had seen one of them.
………
Soren continued along the path.
He didn’t keep track of how far he had walked, but suddenly he seemed to sense something and unconsciously halted his steps.
Soren’s heartbeat began to accelerate, an inexplicable quickening. Without reason, it surged to the limit of a sprinting heartbeat, blood coursing through his veins, muscles began to swell, and veins visibly protruded. His pupils slightly reddened due to engorgement. This strange sensation was completely beyond his control; Soren had no idea what was happening to his body, but he felt deep down that it seemed related to Vivian. All these changes felt somehow connected to her.
This process lasted quite some time.
Soren’s temples throbbed. His brain ached from the pressure, prompting him to quicken his breath and hurry towards the nearby river. Soren felt extremely hot; his skin was slightly reddened, and his mouth was dry as if he hadn’t drunk a drop of water in three days and nights, wishing he could gulp down a whole barrel of water.
His skin turned increasingly red. His muscles felt a painful swelling.
“Ah!”
Soren couldn’t help but let out a cry of agony, stumbling and crashing onto the ground. The pain intensified, and he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to crawl forward, bit by bit, until he reached the riverbank, where he fell into the water with a splash.
Zizzizz!
A plume of steam rose, as Soren’s skin seemed to sizzle like a red-hot iron, evaporating a portion of the river water.
The rising steam grew thicker.
Soren’s pain gradually subsided, and his consciousness began to clear. When he looked down at his palm, he found a strange tattoo had appeared on his body. The tattoo crept along his arm, extending from his elbow to his collarbone, then upward along his neck until it stopped beneath his earlobe.
Soren slowly stood up.
In the reflection of the river water, he appeared much the same, but his pupils had turned a shade of crimson. He had numerous strange tattoos, resembling the magical tattoos some wizards bore, but they looked more like the innate tattoos of high-level demons from the Abyss. The earliest high-level demons bore similar tattoos that allowed them to resist various types of damage. Soren still looked mostly the same; the biggest change was the tattoos on his skin and the crimson hue of his pupils.
His heartbeat was quicker than before.
Soren’s base heart rate had increased by about 50%, and although the visible changes weren’t very pronounced, he felt a little dazed by the abrupt transformation.
His body temperature had risen significantly!
The first thing Soren noticed was the change in his body temperature. A normal human’s temperature is around 36 degrees Celsius, but his was now close to 50-60 degrees. His skin was slightly reddened, and his previously lean physique had become much more muscular, his entire body was filled with bulging muscle, and even the small muscle groups that were once inconspicuous were now prominent, straining against his clothes.
This change did not last long.
Just as Soren was about to investigate why this sudden transformation had occurred, his accelerated heartbeat gradually slowed and returned to its normal level. The muscles that had expanded with blood slowly returned to normal, his crimson pupils reverted to their original state, and the tattoos on his arms faded gradually. If not for the lingering steam in the air, he might have thought that everything was merely an illusion, that he had fallen under some illusion and perceived this strange vision.
“What is happening?!”
Soren opened his palm to examine himself; he found no signs of abnormalities, his pupils returned to normal, the tattoos completely vanished, and there was no trace left of the changes.
A line of data suddenly appeared:
“Unknown mutation occurred!…”
“Activating divine power!… Temporarily transformed into Slayer Form!… Slayer template activated!…”
“Mutation has disappeared.”
“Restoring original state!… Slayer template canceled!…”
………
“Vivian?!”
Soren’s expression changed slightly, and he almost immediately emerged from the water, then sprinted forward. Although he wasn’t quite sure what had caused this change, he was certain it was connected to Vivian. The divine power of the Demon Son of Fear had already been absorbed by Soren, but the divine power had shifted to Vivian; the two should still be linked. Even though Soren no longer bore the divine power of fear, its essence resided within him.
The change in Soren’s body could potentially have been triggered by Vivian’s use of divine power.
If Vivian invoked the divine power of fear, it could indeed awaken the divine essence of fear within him. The powers of divinity could alter bloodlines, and in the end, it could even transform him into a semi-energetic Saint form. This peculiar transformation left Soren with no clue, and he could only discern the truth once he found Vivian. He quickened his pace toward the location of the Gloria Wizard Tower, instinctively believing something had surely happened there involving Vivian!
………
In the Frozen Kingdom.
Arendelle was filled with a festive atmosphere, as it was the day Princess was crowned as Queen.
The royal court had prepared a multitude of celebratory events and even invited a circus from the southern seaside. The people of Arendelle were enjoying the joy of the festivities, with merriment and laughter audible everywhere as people drank and celebrated. The celebratory fireworks had already started, with bards occasionally performing delightful tricks, eliciting bursts of astonishment from the crowd. The highest attendance was at the central Phantom Circus, where the goblin clowns elicited waves of applause, and the animal trainers conducted impressive performances with wild beasts, showcasing dozens of new tricks.
The celebrations, which had been postponed for some reason, were finally taking place once again.
The Princess stood atop the castle of Arendelle, looking over the city before her, watching everything as if she were a high and mighty queen.
“Sister.”
Behind her, gentle footsteps approached; Princess Anna’s slightly gaunt face appeared. She looked much more haggard than before, her once naive and lively demeanor replaced by a more serene and composed presence, akin to a small white flower in a gentle breeze.
People always grow up.
The girl was progressively maturing; her aura began to change subtly, becoming reminiscent of the Princess before her. Ever since that day when her actions had shocked the entire palace, Princess Anna had locked herself in her room for three days and nights. When she emerged, she had become much quieter and started trying to help the Princess manage the kingdom’s affairs, treating the officials and guards with kindness and gentleness, occasionally sitting on the balcony in the afternoon, pondering while playing with trinkets in her hands.
“Anna…”
A flicker of affection appeared in the eyes of the Princess, who opened her arms and embraced Anna tenderly, gently asking, “Are you okay?”
Princess Anna nodded lightly, then said, “I want to start learning spells.”
“As a Princess of Arendelle, I can’t always rely on others for protection. Maybe I should also try to learn to protect myself.”
The Princess pondered for a moment and then nodded gently.
She took Anna’s little hand, guiding her towards the high platform at the top of the castle. Nearby, the court ladies made a gesture, and suddenly, a series of fireworks soared into the sky. The dazzling fireworks burst open in the air, illuminating Arendelle.
The people outside the castle looked over; not only did they marvel at the beauty of the fireworks, but they also spotted the two Princesses at the top of the castle.
A thunderous cheer erupted.
The Princess was crowned as Queen, and Anna became Arendelle’s first in line to the throne.
…… (To be continued ~^~)
