"Roar--"
Anger, roar.
The two Calamity Beasts were locked in a frenzied struggle above the corridor.
Blood splattered everywhere, and hair fell from the sky.
Shen Heng stood on the ground, silently watching the battle above.
The sound came from beside my ear.
"I mean, this place is a bit weird, isn't it? How many days has it been? And Stone has turned into this!" Liya Nolandir muttered, watching the battle above.
"... Ordinary people can't walk this path either," Shen Heng replied solemnly, looking up.
"Even so, it's still pretty OP!!" Liya Nolandir looked over. "Look, this Stone guy's race was originally only rated B-Class by you guys, but now, after eating some Calamity Beast corpses, it's become like this, unable to even defeat a regular A-Class Calamity Beast of the same level! This is..."
While listening to Sister Liya's words in her mind, Qin Yu silently looked up.
Despite its fierce resistance, the slightly larger one was still at an uncontrollable disadvantage.
Darkflame Tiger, B-Class Calamity Beast rated by headquarters.
Although it was only B-Class, under the influence of the Distortion, its strength had reached the level of A-Class.
And its opponent...
Qin Yu shifted her gaze to the figure that was no longer recognizable as any kind of Calamity Beast.
Two wings, strong armor, a majestic body, and a long tail.
If she hadn't been watching closely, she would never have realized that this guy was Stone...
"... Xiaoyu, tell me, isn't this abnormal?"
A sound suddenly came.
Qin Yu was taken aback for a moment, then realized that Sister Liya was referring to the issue of whether the rules here were abnormal.
She paused for a moment, then said...
"It's a bit... special."
"Look, look, see!" Liya Nolandir looked at Shen Heng with some delight in Qin Yu's mind.
She wasn't the only one who thought the rules here were abnormal!
"..."
Shen Heng nodded somewhat helplessly.
He actually acknowledged that the rules here were absurd, but only in terms of their effectiveness.
The truly complete set of rules is actually not that bad.
After all, due to the inherent dangers of Distortion, it is virtually impossible for ordinary organisms to exploit these rules to become far stronger than before!
They might be able to do it with a single, isolated Distortion.
However, to achieve a real breakthrough, we still need to accumulate multiple Distortions!
But don't say it too many times.
Even a single instance of improper control could cause the consciousness of a creature attempting to gain strength by exploiting the rules here to collapse, let alone multiple times!
The reason the Stone was able to attempt so many Distortions was because Shen Heng discovered that he could use the mark on his forehead to absorb the remaining Distortion power within the Stone.
Otherwise, the Stone would have been unable to continue attempting Distortion long ago.
But even so...
Judging from the situation described by the Stone last time, it probably won't last much longer!
After all.
Shen Heng was indeed able to use the mark on his forehead to absorb the remaining Distortion power within his body after the Stone had undergone its Distortion.
But the effects caused by those forces cannot be removed.
These effects need to be worn away by the Stone itself, little by little, over time!
Therefore, this rule isn't actually that abnormal in theory!
After all, ordinary living beings cannot escape the influence of those forces!
The inability to avoid it means that they either have to give up halfway;
Alternatively, one can only continue to take risks and try until one day, consciousness can no longer hold on and succumbs to the Distortion!
Once consciousness Distortion, it's no different from being dead.
Therefore, theoretically speaking, this rule isn't actually that abnormal!
The opportunities available to become stronger are far too few, far too few!
Certainly...
Shen Heng looked at the Stone above, which clearly held the advantage.
These past few days, at the suggestion of him, Qin Yu, and that Night Spirit Liya, Stone has eaten quite a few Calamity Beasts.
Then, as expected, many targeted plants grew.
Features such as wings, an extra layer of Scalearmor beneath the plate armor, a more slender body, and a horn on the head that resembles a cluster of crystals.
Of course, not everything is as they think, at least...
My gaze shifted and settled on the lower half of the Stone.
There, a single, trailing, long tail swayed rapidly as the Stones moved.
Shen Heng looked over there.
Previously, considering that the Stone had strong defense but poor agility, they had given Stone some snake carcasses to eat.
Originally, I was thinking of using snake-like Calamity Beast as food.
A thinner body would slightly improve agility, or even a thicker body would indirectly enhance defense; both are acceptable.
As for the tail, at most it will just grow a few more, and maybe in the end it can even become Nine-Tails Stone-Armored Beast or something.
Result.
Their bodies did indeed become thinner and longer, just as they had imagined.
But the tail didn't work out; instead of growing a new tail, it damaged the hind legs that were already there.
That's all...
Shen Heng stared expressionlessly at the Stone whose lower body consisted of only a tail.
For the time being, the loss of the hind limbs does not seem to have had any adverse effects on the Stone.
Once you reach a higher rank, combat will primarily involve flying, so your hind legs won't be as important, and you can use your tail for attacks.
Furthermore, because its originally bulky body became more slender, and even its hind limbs were abandoned, its agility was greatly enhanced.
Combined with other changes.
Wings, new Scalearmor beneath the stone armor, and forelimbs that were shorter and thicker but more powerful...
It's safe to say that Stone is now among the strongest A-Class Calamity Beasts!
Along with this change came an elevation in rank.
Fifth Tier, Initial Stage!
Early Fifth Tier, strong A-Class, a few days.
If the rules here can be exploited indefinitely, it really is a bit twisted...
That is...
Shen Heng paused, then glanced once more at the Stone's lower half, specifically its tail.
He always felt that the Stone looked... strange.
"How about we find some myriapod Calamity Beast to eat later? See if our legs can grow back?"
Shen Heng's thoughts wandered aimlessly.
Suddenly, he paused, his gaze returning to the battle.
The battle above was clearly drawing to a close.
The Darkflame Tiger struggled frantically, but it was completely unable to reverse the situation that had already put it at a significant disadvantage.
A long, mournful roar, and blood splattered everywhere.
Finally, with the final blow, the Darkflame Tiger, which was already at a complete disadvantage, plummeted straight down.
"Bang--"
A heavy object fell to the ground.
Then, another figure fell as well, was pulled up, and flew over.
"Lord Shen Heng!" Stone called out, his face beaming with excitement.
Shen Heng nodded and asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Yes, very good!" Stone nodded vigorously, panting. "I feel that even against Calamity Beast slightly stronger than the Darkflame Tiger, I can still win!"