Aberration

Xu Zhi clicked open the Familiar selection screen, and the moment she saw the new options, she sucked in a sharp breath.

"What is this?"

The first two, [Bear] and [Tiger], were both incredibly tempting, and both were Level 10. But the third option, though it was only Level 1...

[Familiar: Aberration Lv1]

"Seriously?"

Aberrations could show up among the Familiars too?

Then there was nothing more to say. Even if it was only Level 1, Xu Zhi intended to choose it. After all, she was simply too curious about creatures like Aberrations.

When she clicked Option 3, a prompt she had never seen before suddenly appeared on the screen.

[Please note: This Familiar is extremely brutal and has low sanity in its early stages. Its behavior will be uncontrollable when hunting on its own, and it is highly likely to get lost. Please ensure that it remains by your side until it possesses sufficient sanity.]

"What does that mean? Familiars can get lost?"

But Xu Zhi suddenly recalled how all the Aberrations in Cloud City had inexplicably headed toward the city center. Perhaps something there was drawing those Aberrations in, and only by keeping it beside her could it resist that pull?

Still, no matter what, she was definitely choosing this Aberration.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. This was the safest way to come into contact with and understand Aberrations.

So Xu Zhi clicked confirm again, and a line of text popped up on the screen.

[Selection complete. Due to this Familiar's special nature, it will be sent to your side. Please receive it.]

The words gradually faded away, but something suddenly appeared on the desk before Xu Zhi. No, not something—a stick? That did not seem right either. More accurately, it was a brown, long, strip-shaped creature that resembled thorny deadwood.

"This thing is an Aberration? How is it supposed to hunt?"

Moreover, Xu Zhi could not sense any emotion from it at all, as though it were an inanimate object.

Yet the inanimate object had clearly heard her jab. It suddenly "came alive," twisting itself into an eerie pose as it rolled itself into a ball of deadwood. Then the thorns on its body abruptly lengthened, easily piercing through Xu Zhi's desk before retracting.

Next, it "unfolded" itself. Several thorns seemed to turn into legs, and in only a few seconds, it ran a full lap around the room. Most importantly, it did not make the slightest sound.

And once it came alive, Xu Zhi finally sensed an emotion from it—a subtle kind of defiance.

Its actions now seemed more like it was showing off that its hunting ability was not bad at all.

It was only Level 1, yet its abilities were probably already far stronger than those of the other Familiars at Level 1.

Xu Zhi opened its status screen, and something even more surprising appeared.

[Familiar: Aberration Lv1

Sanity: 0

Body: 100

Attribute: Cup

Traits: Bloodlust Lv1, Stealth Lv1, Agility Lv1, Restlessness Lv1

Special Ability: None]

[Evolution Points: 0/50]

Its starting Evolution Points were five times Little One's.

And both its Sanity and Body values were ridiculous. How could something have 0 Sanity?!

Did that mean it literally had no brain?

In exchange for having no brain, it had an absurdly overpowered Body value—100 points, and it was only Level 1! Its appearance was like deadwood too, making her worry that it would snap at the slightest touch. Yet it was unexpectedly powerful?

But the most important thing was that [Cup] attribute.

Xu Zhi's first thought was: Were all Aberrations Cup attribute, or only this one?

Either way, the large number of [Cup] Attribute Cores in her inventory finally had a use.

But unlike with the other Familiars, Xu Zhi did not quite dare feed this Familiar cores directly to raise its level.

That was because she could not sense the closeness and attachment she felt from her other three Familiars. When this Aberration Familiar was still, it produced almost no emotion at all.

What was more, it had the [Restlessness] trait. That was not a good thing. Who knew what would happen if it ate too many [Cup] Attribute Cores and its [Restlessness] level rose?

She needed to be cautious.

Fortunately, she had not sent Xiao Zhen out hunting after it finished leveling up. With Xiao Zhen here, she could afford to try something bolder.

Xu Zhi took several [Cup] Attribute Cores from her inventory. First, she placed one in her palm and held it out before the Aberration.

Honestly, this thing looked exactly like a piece of deadwood. It did not even have facial features. Xu Zhi was rather curious how it was supposed to eat a core.

As she offered the core, Xu Zhi sensed its emotions again. It seemed to be yearning for it.

Then, a slightly sanity-draining scene unfolded.

The "deadwood" body split open slightly, and a tiny, vein-like "mouthpart" emerged from the crack. The mouthpart attached itself to the bright red core and, as if sucking blood, gulped the core down in one swallow. Then it swayed twice in the air, still radiating hunger and longing.

Only when Xu Zhi did not offer it another core did it slowly withdraw the mouthpart back into its body.

"...Not bad. At least it didn't snatch it or throw a tantrum."

Even though she still had several cores in her hand that she had not taken out, it did not rebel. It seemed this was not some disloyal brat.

[Evolution Points: 100/50]

[Your Familiar has met the conditions for leveling up. Leveling up.]

Just as Xu Zhi was thinking it probably was not a disloyal brat, she saw this.

"Hm? It levels up on its own?"

That was fine. She had a lot of Familiars now, so clicking through them one by one was rather troublesome.

Going from Level 1 to Level 2 did not take much time, and it was completed quickly.

[Familiar: Aberration Lv2

Sanity: 0

Body: 150

Attribute: Cup

Traits: Bloodlust Lv1, Stealth Lv1, Agility Lv1, Restlessness Lv1

Special Ability: None]

[Evolution Points: 50/100]

"Why is it still 0?"

Was this thing never going to have a brain?

Please, not that!

Should she try raising it another level?

However, after it awoke from its leveling slumber, it began endlessly releasing emotions of [Hunger] and [Longing]. They were not directed at Xu Zhi, more like they were unconsciously spilling out.

Xu Zhi lowered her head to inspect its appearance. It no longer seemed quite as dry and brittle as a branch that had been snapped off and left to dry for a long time.

Around the tenth minute after Xu Zhi failed to feed it a second core, its data on the Game Console suddenly changed.

[Restlessness Lv1] → [Restlessness Lv2]

"What does that mean?"

Xu Zhi's brow twitched, and she had a bad feeling.

Narrator appeared at that moment.

[Please soothe your Familiar's restlessness as soon as possible. Restlessness will bring adverse consequences.]

"I know, I know, but how am I supposed to soothe it?"

"Do I just keep feeding it cores? That doesn't seem like a good solution."

[You can try feeding it something else.]

Xu Zhi was puzzled. "What else can I feed it?"

[Perhaps compared to cores, you are what your Familiar desires most.]

"...No way?"

Xu Zhi fell silent for a moment. Looking at her fourth Familiar, she cautiously picked up a knife, pricked open her fingertip, squeezed out a drop of blood, and held her finger before it.

Then Xu Zhi watched as the mouthpart, which had been so sluggish when eating the core, shot out at incredible speed and landed on her fingertip. After sucking away the drop of blood, it reluctantly rubbed against her wound.

[Restlessness Lv2] → [Restlessness Lv1]

"..."

"Heh heh."

Xu Zhi gave a cold laugh. It looked like a piece of wood, yet it was pulling this emotional manipulation nonsense?!