Chapter 299
Chapter 299. Beginning the Modification
Fulan rode the black horse, galloping along the road buried beneath snow. The black horse’s body temperature was extremely high, and when its hooves stepped onto the snow-covered ground, they left scorched black hoofprints behind.
At the same time, Fulan watched the scenery on both sides rapidly retreat. The cold wind struck her face without pause, and she did not dare open her mouth too widely, lest the frigid air pour inside.
After Fulan’s black horse became a First-Tier Monster, its riding comfort had dropped considerably, but its speed was far faster than before.
Previously, when Fulan had ridden the black horse at a brisk trot, the journey had taken five days. Now, running at full speed, it would only take a little over two days.
After becoming a First-Tier Monster, the black horse needed less than a day to cover that distance. One could imagine how great an improvement advancement had brought it.
But that made things miserable for Fulan, who sat on its back. Although she had not carefully measured the black horse’s current speed, it felt almost comparable to the speeds on highways in her previous life.
In her previous life, however, highways had almost no bumps, and even when there were bends, their angles were small.
The black horse was different. Fulan could feel her body rising and falling on its back, floating into the air from time to time. If she had not been gripping the black horse tightly, she would have been thrown off long ago.
When night had fallen somewhat later, Fulan rode the black horse to the foot of the Northern Society’s city wall.
Although the Northern Society’s city gate did not open at night, she was a noble mage, so naturally she would not be shut outside.
After walking through the city gate, Fulan only felt slightly nauseous. She shook her head, and the discomfort finally disappeared.
“If it is not urgent in the future, I will absolutely not let the black horse run this fast. It truly feels awful.”
Fulan secretly made up her mind.
Then Fulan did not choose to return to her dormitory and collapse into sleep. Instead, she went straight to the house where she stored her alchemical equipment.
After finishing the modification of the black horse, it was now her turn to undergo this modification.
This was the first time she would use the Modification School’s Modification Surgery on her own body.
After arriving at the house, Fulan took a deep breath.
“I do not need to open my chest or abdomen. I only need to open the place where my throat is. The rest of the modifications can all be turned into strengthening additive fluid and used that way. I do not need to replace those organs.”
Fulan started with the easier parts first. She carefully checked the contents of the Song of the Deep Sea modification sequence again.
Fulan removed her robe, then used a bottle of pale-green viscous liquid she had bought from the Spirit Realm.
She evenly smeared the sticky liquid across her whole body. This was to obtain enhanced Aquatic Skin and gain the ability for her skin to remain in contact with seawater for long periods of time.
Then Fulan took out a piece of a magical fish’s gill that had already been cut and poured it into the pale-green viscous liquid, using the Harmonization Method to fuse them together.
What finally appeared before Fulan’s eyes was a bottle of pale-green liquid. However, the liquid inside was no longer sticky.
Instead, it resembled clear water. If Fulan’s hand trembled even slightly, ripples would spread across its surface.
This was a method Fulan had specially researched to turn the organs of magical fish into liquid. Although it saved her the trouble of transplanting organs, the ability to breathe underwater that she would gain was also reduced.
For example, if this magical fish’s gills were directly installed into the body, one could breathe in the ocean for four months without any issue.
Through this method, however, one could only obtain the ability to survive beneath seawater for two months. The duration was greatly reduced. Once that time was exceeded, the lungs would gradually weaken.
Logically speaking, the ability obtained through this method absolutely did not satisfy the requirements written in the modification sequence, but Fulan’s situation was different from that of most Second-Tier mages of the Modification School.
No matter what, those Second-Tier mages of the Modification School would not have a Physique surpassing that of a First-Tier melee Professional, whereas Fulan’s current Physique was already higher than that of a First-Tier melee Professional.
And this ability to breathe underwater was affected by Physique. The mages of the Modification School had once conducted an experiment, installing the gills of a low-level magical creature into the body of a First-Tier melee Professional.
Afterward, that Professional displayed astonishing endurance when breathing underwater. The gills, which should originally have failed after three days at most, forcibly held on until the sixth day.
This was the advantage melee Professionals possessed compared to mages. They could very easily draw out the abilities of modified organs.
However, because melee Professionals lacked sufficient Mental Power, many organs could not be transplanted onto them. It could only be said that each side had its own strengths.
Fulan did not need to worry at all about the underwater breathing duration brought by these strengthening fluids.
After some time passed and she obtained the Sunflame Knight profession, her Physique would soar directly.
At that point, she estimated that even without these gills, she could stay underwater for seven days.
Once the Sunflame Knight’s Physique bonus was added, Fulan refused to believe she would fail to meet this condition.
The pale-green liquid before Fulan’s eyes gradually became tinged with a trace of blue. This was the signal that fusion was complete. Fulan did not hesitate and drank it all in one gulp.
After drinking it, Fulan stroked her own skin. It felt as though a layer of steel plating had been added beneath her originally soft skin, almost preventing her skin from sinking inward at all.
At the same time, Fulan could also feel that her breathing had gained another layer of sensation.
It was the discomfort produced by some organ that had not yet been activated. This feeling then faded away.
Fulan could also sense that a portion of her Mental Power had no choice but to attach itself to her skin and lungs.
This was the side effect brought by modification. A portion of her Mental Power became unusable.
This was also why mages of the Modification School generally knew very few spells. Their Mental Power was all used to maintain the operation of the organs on their bodies.
Fulan took a deep breath, then began the second-sequence modification.
She took out a Silver-Skin Fish that was still lively and jumping around, then directly extracted a white bead from its body.
After Fulan removed the bead, the Silver-Skin Fish’s movements slowed, and the silver scales on its body began to dim.
Fulan did not hesitate too much. She directly threw the fish onto the ground, pressed the bead against her head, and after expending another portion of Mental Power, Fulan gained the ability to sense ocean currents.
She could sense that far, far away, there was an ocean current passing by. It was simply too distant, so she could only faintly feel it.
After adapting slightly, Fulan began the third-sequence modification.
She took out a dead Water Arrow Fish. The reason Fulan had taken a liking to this magical creature’s material was that its modification would not excessively alter her appearance.
For example, the modification sequence had mentioned things like Sea-Vine Octopus and Deep-Sea Devourer. Merely transplanting their organs would make Fulan look no longer human.
For instance, the Sea-Vine Octopus would turn Fulan’s face dark green, while the Deep-Sea Devourer would require Fulan to transplant its fangs and claws onto her body as well...
The Water Arrow Fish did not require that. What this fish relied on to hunt large marine creatures was a spell-like ability called Water Arrow, whose power was even greater in the ocean.
Fulan peeled off the Water Arrow Fish’s broad pectoral fin. This was the main organ the Water Arrow Fish used to release Water Arrow. She soaked this organ in the same pale-green viscous liquid for a while, then took it out.
Fulan took a deep breath, and a Wind Blade cut open her left hand, exposing the tendons within.
Blood was about to flow out, but almost the instant Fulan saw this, she saw a faint light flicker over the wound.
Fulan reacted quickly. After folding the pectoral fin properly, she directly pushed it into the wound.
After a little pain and discomfort, Fulan’s wound healed under the radiance. When Fulan moved her wrist slightly, she saw a protrusion appear on the part of her wrist beneath her little finger.
This protrusion had grown together with the bones of Fulan’s hand. As long as an ordinary person did not look closely, they would not notice the difference.
Then Fulan briefly tested Water Arrow. She raised her left palm and aimed the fin inside it forward.
Then, under the urging of Fulan’s Mental Power, a mass of transparent blue liquid shot toward the wall like an arrow, smashing out a small pit.
“This is not even as good as my Wind Blade when enhanced by my current Wind Elemental Affinity... Forget it. Completing the modification sequence is enough.” Fulan was extremely dissatisfied with Water Arrow’s damage, but she had never intended to use it for combat anyway.
Fulan then began the final fourth-sequence modification. At this point, she began touching upon the true core ability of Song of the Deep Sea.
This was also the item on which Fulan had spent the most Spirit Crystals. It had cost her a total of three hundred grams of Spirit Crystals to obtain. This item was the Siren’s vocal cords.
Fulan took out a large jar. The long purple strip soaking inside it was the Siren’s vocal cords.
A Siren was originally a First-Tier Monster, and these vocal cords had come from a juvenile Siren.
According to that hunter,
“I originally saw those two Sirens, one large and one small, from quite a distance. I thought that when it saw me coming, the big one would protect the small one. Who knew the big one would directly abandon this little one and run...”
In any case, in the end, Fulan obtained the vocal cords of a juvenile Siren.
This time, Fulan did not take a deep breath. She pulled the mirror in front of her, then split open her own neck with one slash.
In an instant, Fulan saw a ray of light reflected in the mirror. Fulan ignored it and used [Form Maintenance].
She immediately used Telekinetic Hand to cut away her original vocal cords, then sent the Siren vocal cords, sprinkled with White Frost Powder, inside.
Fulan’s operation could only be described as rough. Even the trait Light Within the Blood could not completely suppress the blood vessels Fulan had cut open. Although Fulan’s movements were very fast, a little blood still splashed out.
“This seems to be the first time in this world that I have encountered a wound bleeding this much.”
Fulan looked at the pool of blood on the ground, which was still emitting a faint glow, and said with some emotion.
Fulan touched her woundless neck. The Siren vocal cords had not yet fully adapted to her body, so she could not speak for now.
After the discomfort disappeared, Fulan once again felt her Mental Power attach itself to her vocal cords.
“Hello, hello, hello...”
After testing it a little, Fulan closed her mouth, because she had never imagined that her voice would become this pleasant to hear.