Fierce Battle

[Void Walk]

Similar to Kasadal's phase-shifting, this ability allowed one to merge into the gap between reality and illusion. It enabled the user to pass through any object and remain immune to all damage—unless the opponent happened to toss a black hole grenade to distort space, though clearly, the technology level of this world had not reached such heights.

The ability sounded powerful, and in practice, it was indeed powerful; it was worthy of being a four-character skill!

He wondered if there would be five-character skills in the future.

But Shiraishi Wataru felt it was better if there weren't; after all, those two characters had been "blessed" too many times, and the odds were likely poor.

The only drawback was that as the host, he could only maintain it for a dozen hours or so. Not being able to use it twenty-four hours a day was a negative review!

The paranoid teenager who had just mutated and was still struggling to master it couldn't even fully enter the void; he would leave traces like faint mist in reality, and currently, he could only hold it for less than half an hour.

However, the effect of being immune to damage was perfectly inherited. It was truly worthy of being a product of paranoia.

As expected, if one wanted to mutate, one needed external stimulation. Flowers in a greenhouse would never grow tall.

The Ninth Guardian, controlled by Shiraishi Wataru, looked with kindness at the batch of animals held in captivity before him.

There were leopards, bears, crocodiles, wild boars, wolves, hyenas, lynxes, stray dogs, and stray cats.

These were the first batch of experimental animals.

If the experiment made progress, Shiraishi Wataru intended to cultivate a faction of beasts.

The possibility of such a faction cooperating was minimal; there were only three outcomes: hostile coexistence, taming for use, or encirclement and annihilation. Since Shiraishi Wataru ensured from behind the scenes that a large number of beasts would not be tamed, they would likely be locked in a life-or-death struggle with the authorities.

In this way, the voices calling for cooperation with the Holy Infant Society would grow louder, and the pressure on them would decrease. At the very least, to the authorities, the Holy Infant was still considered something one could communicate with. But the beasts? Were they going to compare baring teeth?

The large warehouse where he was currently located had undergone special modifications. More than half of the space had been converted into a sunken arena—in plain terms, a giant pit—which would be the place where the beasts fought to the death.

Twenty mice that had been symbiotically infected but could not adapt to any abilities were the first to be released into the arena.

The gladiatorial pit contained grass, a few sparsely transplanted trees, and a small pond.

As soon as the mice entered, they scurried everywhere, trying to find places to hide.

Then, Shiraishi Wataru released the snakes and stray cats.

They cautiously familiarized themselves with the environment at first, but soon encountered one another, testing the waters, and then devouring.

The stray cats and snakes simultaneously set their sights on the plump mice, launching hunts and ambushes.

In less than a few hours, more than half of the mice were lost.

The parasites from the devoured mice followed the food chain, symbiotically bonding with the snakes and stray cats.

Some animals were already able to adapt to abilities, but Shiraishi Wataru had only unlocked [Steel Body]. For the other animals, this was practically equivalent to turning on an invincibility cheat.

Unless a higher-level predator joined the battlefield.

Shiraishi Wataru did not make them wait long.

Stray dogs, hyenas, wolves, and crocodiles joined the fray simultaneously.

The scene began to grow increasingly chaotic.

Chaos is a ladder!

For the mice, this was actually a benefit.

Their situation couldn't get any worse anyway, and these larger animals didn't necessarily have their eyes on a snack as small as a mouse for the time being.

Biting, hunting, and slaughtering—the weeds greedily absorbed the blood, and even the only small pond was stained half-red with blood.

Finally, there were the leopards, wild boars, and bears, their eyes almost reddened with hunger!

Under the madness of natural selection, the first ability to mutate in this experiment was born.

[Conceal]

An ability that could lower one's own presence.

The mutant was a mouse—a mouse that had managed to survive until the second half of the battle. It was clear that its will to survive was truly strong.

It was just that this ability was a bit weak.

However, it counted as a good start, proving that such experiments could indeed promote mutation!

The battlefield gradually entered a rest period. Most of the animals were full now; at this moment, they could even drink water from the same pond harmoniously without attacking each other.

Except for the stray cats.

Shiraishi Wataru was not in a hurry; the second batch of animals would take a few days to prepare anyway.

This was an extremely unbalanced ecosystem. The bottom-tier creatures were simply not enough for the top-tier predators to eat, and once they fell into hunger again, they would have no choice but to set their sights on creatures of the same or even higher levels.

"Woof! Woof!"

"Awoo—"

As time passed, a wolf and a dog became locked in a fight for some unknown reason. The dog was not much of a match for the wolf to begin with, and this wolf had also adapted the [Steel Body] ability. Within a few strikes, it bit through the stray dog's throat. With its muzzle soaked in blood, it began to feast upon the soft belly.

Repeatedly consuming parasites had no other effect, so the excess parasites either waited for other animals to come and eat the leftovers, or waited for Shiraishi Wataru to reclaim them.

The wolf's feast did not last long before an uninvited guest approached from not far away.

A brown bear.

It attempted to draw a little closer.

The wolf let out a low, warning growl.

The bear did not pay it much mind; it had killed an enemy just like this one not long ago. As an empiricist, it felt the opponent posed little threat.

And so, it launched a charge!

"Awoo!"

The wolf naturally refused to abandon its prey, quickly circling to the bear's side to lunge and bite.

The strength of a bear!

The brown bear swatted the wolf away with a single paw.

But this was a wolf adapted with Steel Body; to it, that level of force was no different from a lover's playful punches against one's chest.

If a technician delivered a blow like that, they would be fired.

And so, the scene began to grow increasingly intense.

A slap from one, a pounce and bite from the other.

The bear could not hurt the wolf, and the wolf could not bite through the bear.

The situation fell into a delicate balance.

Meanwhile, the number of ill-intentioned onlookers gathering around continued to grow.

"Ka—ku!"

Accompanied by a strange howl, large lumps appeared on the wolf's shoulders, waist, and abdomen. Immediately after, its limbs twisted violently, the flesh beneath the lumps began to surge, and its skin constantly tore and repaired itself. Within a few short seconds, the ordinary-sized wolf transformed into the size of a bison. Its disproportionately massive wolf head was filled with dense, sharp teeth, and a pungent stench filled the air.

[Alienation]

Using imagination as a blueprint and flesh as fuel to transform into a monster? Could it be used directly to transform into other people as a disguise?

Shiraishi Wataru felt out this new mutation ability.

However, this ability required [Steel Body] or [Offense-Defense Integration] as a prerequisite, otherwise, the body would not be able to withstand the physical remodeling caused by [Alienation].

If one possessed [Regeneration], the effect would be even better; without it, one would need to burn more flesh to accelerate wound healing.

As for using flesh as fuel, it did not mean one could use it immediately upon consumption. Rather, it consumed the user's stored fat, muscle, and nutrients. Once overused, the user would inevitably suffer from drastic weight loss after the effect ended.

Conversely, even when not activated, this ability acted like a mini Taotie, allowing the user to accelerate energy storage through binge eating.

A rather excellent ability.

With the wolf's outburst, the battle quickly lost all suspense.

The terrifying giant-headed wolf could pierce the brown bear's prideful hide in a single bite, tearing away large chunks of flesh. At this moment, the bear was as fragile as a birthday cake waiting to be sliced.

After swallowing the brown bear's body in a few bites, the giant wolf twisted and shrank, eventually becoming even smaller than its original size. There was no telling which dimensional stomach the bear it had just swallowed had gone to.

The wolf scanned its surroundings with a ferocious gaze, causing the onlookers to flee in fear.

It raised its head, glanced at the figure standing above in the distance observing the scene, and then lowered its head to gnaw on the carcass of the wild dog it had killed earlier.