Demon Feast

"Is this the T-Class Cataclysm Source?"

Ji Xun looked at the card in his hand. It had previously shown two lines of text, but now it displayed the image of a comical clown wearing a conical hat.

Although it was a two-dimensional image, the clown on the card seemed like a three-dimensional being that had been reduced in dimension, incredibly real. Its gaze was filled with mockery of the world and ridicule of death. It grinned widely, the playful smile at the corners of its mouth raised high as if possessed by a demon, giving off a chilling and terrifying feeling.

Just looking at it, a strong sense of mystery and evil washed over him, making his heart palpably race.

However, Ji Xun felt no discomfort.

He felt... as if he were looking in a mirror.

He saw his own reflection on the card, familiar yet with a certain inexplicable connection.

The clown's appearance gradually shifted to resemble his own.

And as the black card displayed the clown's image, it seemed to activate some kind of ritual. The entire card melted away, transforming into clusters of black light that swirled around Ji Xun's body, gradually merging into him.

This was not a card whose true form everyone could see.

At least, Chu Jiu, standing beside him, didn't see the clown image on the card.

But she only glanced at it and didn't look further.

She didn't see what kind of Source Card it was, nor did she intend to find out.

Ji Xun didn't know the value of this card, but Chu Jiu knew it all too well.

A Black Iron Quality Demon Mark found in the Underground City's Black Market was already considered a rare card accessible to ordinary people.

Silver was even rarer, a treasure that was sought after but hard to come by.

Gold Cards, on the other hand, were strategic resources almost monopolized by the upper echelon.

As for Legendary Cards, for ordinary people, they existed only in legends, treasures they might never see in their lifetime.

Of course, above Legendary, there was another type of card in this world that very few people had truly seen.

That was the "Fifty-Two Epic Source Cards" that were etched in history.

The Fifty-Two Epic Source Cards corresponded to the legendary fifty-two powerful Demon Gods, and they would bestow the purest demonic power upon a Spell Card Master. These were ancient relics from before the Cataclysm, rumored to be the work of ancient Deities.

The appearance of even one would inevitably spark conflict.

But Chu Jiu had no intention of trying to claim it for herself.

She knew very well that treasures chose their masters. Only those with a sufficiently high compatibility could fully perceive the demonic power on the Fifty-Two Epic Source Cards and thus fuse with them.

Otherwise, the Mutation Probability was very high.

Just like this Alternate Dimension, the [Anomaly 407 Containment Facility]. The archives indicated that this place was once a secret bunker for researching this very Source Card. But without exception, all the Test Subjects mutated, and they still hadn't figured out what kind of card it was.

This card had been preserved here for thousands of years.

Chu Jiu looked at her teammate, who was currently fusing with the card and awakening, with a complex gaze. She didn't say anything.

She looked at the distorted light portal that appeared before her, knowing she could leave.

The fusion would take some more time, and Chu Jiu decided to go out first to assess the situation, so she walked towards it without hesitation.

But as she approached the distorted light portal and saw the settlement rewards, a rare smile appeared on her face: "Oh?"

An Alternate Dimension of such difficulty offered rewards that were equally beyond imagination!

After an unknown amount of time, Ji Xun snapped out of that peculiar sensation.

The Black Card, [Gray Joker], was gone from his hand.

"Am I a Transcendent now?"

Ji Xun understood what had happened.

This was a world of Spell Card Masters.

Based on the information he had gathered so far, the "Demon Mark" was the key to unlocking the ultimate mysteries of the human body. After awakening, it allowed one to gain Extraordinary Power that surpassed human limits from a Demon God indicated by a card.

At this moment, a new door to the world opened.

He glanced at his status panel again, but immediately grumbled, "Ah, Strength, Physique, Agility, and the like, none of them increased at all."

This seemingly powerful card, at least on the surface, provided no increase to the attributes that bolstered the physical body.

The basic attributes on the panel remained unchanged. Elemental Resistance, Comprehension, and so on were hidden attributes.

But the feeling of "Extraordinary" he experienced was very real.

As if reborn, he felt that the world before his eyes was different.

He could clearly perceive the tiny particles in the air – the fundamental elemental particles of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire.

"What a magical sensory world..."

Ji Xun reveled in the feeling of his senses being infinitely amplified, seeing the entire world with newfound clarity.

Trickster, Gambler of Misfortune, Wild Card, and Feast Devour.

The four descriptive terms for its abilities were incredibly exaggerated.

He didn't know much about this world and couldn't fully grasp what the benefits of [Gray Joker] truly meant yet.

But the most intuitive thing was that a new active skill appeared on the panel—[Demon Feast Lv0 (1/500)].

Can it absorb extraordinary traits from corpses?

He turned his head to look at the other two iron cages nearby; the bodies of the old servant and the mercenary were still warm.

"Why not give it a try?"

As the thought arose, Ji Xun walked over without hesitation.

At this moment, this corpse, whose blood had not yet dried, looked completely different in his eyes.

Wisps of faint smoke emanated from its surface.

This was uncontrolled curse power and extraordinary traits.

What was originally an invisible mysterious substance was now materialized in Ji Xun's eyes, a very peculiar experience.

He tried using the Feast skill. A layer of gray mist also emerged within his body, and then he touched the blue smoke.

It was like a giant whale opening its mouth and swallowing a large amount of seawater.

"You used Feast Devour, Physique +0.001"

"You used Feast Devour, Strength +0.001"

"You used Feast Devour, Toughness +0.0007"

"You used Feast Devour, Fire Element Affinity +0.04"

"."

The corpse had just died, and the extraordinary traits were overflowing intensely. Even with large gulps, more continuously poured out.

His stats had increased!

They were continuously increasing!

Not only stats, but even elemental affinity could be absorbed.

Ji Xun looked at the constantly changing numbers on his panel, his spirits high. "Directly absorbing to increase my own stats?"

Although it was minor, it was genuinely increasing.

The Feast skill turned the extraordinary traits from the corpse into his own.

A new world had opened up!

"Although the absorption is a bit slow, this [Feast] is simply a god-tier skill for the late game..."

Ji Xun looked at his continuously changing basic stats and sighed inwardly.

The stronger he got, the stronger it would become.

He didn't know how long it would take to absorb all the extraordinary traits from the two corpses, but he estimated that it would take at least six hours to increase his Strength by 0.1.

This was clearly related to his lack of proficiency with the skill.

After Lv0 leveling up, the absorption efficiency should have significant room for improvement.

But it was clearly not a good time to absorb now.

Although the Alternate Dimension had been cleared, other potential crises were not small.

He had obtained the final reward from this Alternate Dimension, and not everyone would be as envious as his teammates.

At least the Fourth Young Master Cao from before would definitely not agree.

Moreover, he still didn't know what the outside world was like.

Given that a single Alternate Dimension could result in dozens of deaths, this world was likely very brutal.

However, Ji Xun felt that he was starting to like it more and more.

He didn't delay and walked towards the distorted light portal, intending to leave.

At this moment, Enlightenment appeared, and he let out a slightly surprised "Oh? There are still settlement rewards..."

Not only were there rewards, but they were also very generous.