Chapter 198
Chapter 198: A Cat's Repayment
Watching Weija making preparations for the operation, Viktor swept a hand through the air and several bottles of crimson potion appeared on the cabinet nearby.
Although this was Weija's first attempt at a modification surgery, Viktor had no concerns.
He had countless measures in place to guarantee Xiangyilan's life would be kept safe.
At that moment, the eyeball Viktor had just retrieved began to drift faintly upward through the air, carried by black Magic Power.
A silver blade materialized from nothing and, following the rim of the eyeball's socket, sliced open a thin fissure.
From within the crack, tendrils of black vapor seeped slowly out of the eyeball.
This was the unprocessed Magic Power still residing within the 【Soul-Lurking Undead's Eyeball】.
Once this kind of Magic Power came into contact with a person's body, the mildest outcome was loss of consciousness—at worst, the Magic Power could coil around them and trigger a Magical Creature transformation.
Then, the Crow spread its wings and gave a single elegant, unhurried sweep—like a conductor leading an orchestra.
That pitch-black Formation began to gradually take shape in the floor below.
Pattern after pattern began to spread through the air from nothing, climbing steadily up Xiangyilan's body and converging at her heart.
A multitude of black Runes began to slowly pulse, twisting without pause, engraved upon the rotating ring of the Formation.
The black miasma from the eyeball began to coil around Weija's wings.
Then the entire material seemed to have all its moisture wrung out—it shriveled, collapsed, and finally crumbled into dust, dissipating gradually into the air.
The black vapor traced along the patterns, passed through Xiangyilan's skin, entered her bloodstream, and merged into her heart.
Xiangyilan's body seemed to rise with wave after wave of black smoke, until she was completely swallowed by it.
At that moment, Viktor glanced at the Level below Xiangyilan's Health Bar.
With the boost from the Magic Power, her Level had naturally risen somewhat.
Lv9
"It seems it worked."
Viktor picked up 1 of the crimson potions and brought it to Xiangyilan's lips as she slowly emerged from the black mist.
All that was left now was to wait quietly for her to wake.
"Mm?"
Xiangyilan pressed a hand to her forehead and slowly sat up.
Her body felt somehow lighter—as though all the impurities and contamination had been drawn out of it.
Even her gaze seemed clearer than before. Whenever she wanted, she could simply lift her head and look through the window, making out the faint lines of pattern on the walls of the buildings outside.
She experimentally clenched her fist, feeling the strength that flowed in from her limbs—a warm current and a pull of muscle that transmitted all the way to her mind.
Just then, a voice sounded beside her.
"You're awake?"
Xiangyilan snapped back to herself at once and turned her head to look at the man seated in the chair beside her.
Viktor had 1 leg crossed over the other, hands folded together, as though he had been waiting for her to come around.
The black Crow stood on Viktor's shoulder, unhurriedly preening its feathers.
Xiangyilan blinked, and in the hazy disorientation of having just regained consciousness, she abruptly came fully alert—her hand flew up to cover her mouth in surprise.
She still remembered that her master had been beside her right before she went under.
Could it be......that Master had done something to her?
At that moment, Viktor rose to his feet. Hands tucked in his pockets, he looked Xiangyilan up and down.
Her pupils were different from before—no longer simply a cat's eye. There seemed to be an additional pattern at the depths of her eyes, and beneath those vertical slits, a small circular pupil contracted and expanded in a continuous rhythm.
Having Viktor's gaze on her for so long made Xiangyilan feel a little shy. She dipped her head, looking faintly bashful.
"How do you feel?"
Only when Viktor's voice came did she finally respond.
"Really good! It feels like my body is much lighter!"
Viktor gave a nod.
Although it resembled a Magical Creature modification surgery, Magical Creatures were fundamentally lifeforms composed of condensed Magic Power.
Strictly speaking, using materials from a Magical Creature's body to perform a modification surgery was closer to absorbing a Magical Creature's Magic Power and processing it for use.
The benefit was that it could grant the subject a portion of the Magical Creature's abilities—similar to Safirose, who had an entire repertoire of Magical Creature Skills built into her body.
That was, of course, because this very technique had been stolen from Safirose.
The difference was that Safirose only needed to consume a Magical Creature to assimilate its abilities.
Xiangyilan, on the other hand, had to rely on the surgical grafting technique Weija had pilfered from Safirose.
And on top of that, only compatible Magical Creatures could be successfully assimilated.
On the subject of this technique, Weija remarked that it was not a Research Mage, and that managing to work at this level was already impressive enough—and proceeded to petition Viktor for a meal upgrade.
Now that the modification was a success, naturally it was time to assess the results.
Viktor snapped his fingers. All at once, a gust of wind swept outward through the window.
Xiangyilan couldn't help but widen her eyes, feeling that surge of Magic Power rushing toward her.
The next instant, an enormous blue Formation appeared in a flash beneath Viktor's feet.
"Come with me."
His words fell, and rays of blue light wrapped around the 2 of them and the Crow, scattering into ripples that dissolved into the air.
***
Several blue patterns pierced through the clouds and descended gradually toward the earth.
In the middle of a forest, those blue patterns drifted down onto a lush, verdant stretch of grass.
Moonlight filtered through the gently swaying leaves and fell across Xiangyilan's body.
This was the "Azurite Forest"—a monster-grinding spot outside the Royal Capital.
A cold, damp breeze swept through, raising the fur along Xiangyilan's body. She instinctively pressed herself against Viktor, clinging to him.
Both of her ears stood stiffly upright, the fur bristling.
Like a little cat, she looked rather frightened.
"Don't be scared. Open your eyes."
Hearing Viktor's soothing voice, Xiangyilan slowly opened her eyes.
Those twin pupils shone exceptionally bright in the dark of the night, light swirling in the depths of her gaze like turning stars.
She gradually released her hold on Viktor and looked around at the surrounding forest. No Magical Creatures had appeared.
"Now—try using your newly acquired magic."
Viktor said it plainly.
Hearing this, Xiangyilan was a little puzzled.
Newly acquired magic?
When had she learned any new magic?
Then, all at once, a thought flashed through her mind—as though something were simply telling her how to use it.
Her body moved of its own accord.
As though her eyes were commanding her instincts, Xiangyilan dropped to all fours, and the image before her eyes shifted completely.
In her field of vision, the entire forest fell into darkness—with only faint spots of color concealed within the black.
She recognized those colored spots immediately.
They were the Magical Creatures lurking within the forest.
The instant she dropped down, her body began to pulse in and out, slowly releasing a dense and powerful aura.
A sharp, piercing shriek burst from her—carrying the force of a raging storm, it snapped countless massive trees before her clean in half at the midsection, driving them deep into the earth.
Splinters and mud sprayed in all directions, filling the air with a thick, dense scent of vegetation.
The trees crashed and fell, and several small-framed Magical Creatures were instantly exposed to view.
They were terrified. Not one of them dared to so much as look in Xiangyilan's direction—they wheeled around immediately.
Never mind their footing on the slippery ground, they bolted.
Xiangyilan was completely dumbfounded.
That destruction—which could only be called an explosive, catastrophic display of raw power—had actually come from her?
In that moment, it was the only thought left in her mind.
Because the very next second, she felt her body go into overload. A wave of intense drowsiness washed over her, and her body swayed unsteadily, nearly crumpling to the ground.
Fortunately, a white Magic Power descended—Viktor released a wind spell, and borne on the breath of the wind, it caught and supported Xiangyilan's body.
Having released far too much Magic Power all at once, her body had yet to adapt to it, which had sent her directly into unconsciousness.
Viktor stepped forward and gathered the small, unconscious Cat-girl into his arms.
He was reasonably satisfied with Xiangyilan's performance just now.
What Xiangyilan had used moments ago were the Soul-Lurking Undead's 【Search】 and 【Piercing Shriek】.
Strictly speaking, these were not Magic.
They were Skills.
The power of Skills was considerable—even at Xiangyilan's level as a mere Magic Apprentice, the damage she had inflicted had reached roughly the 1st-Tier to 2nd-Tier range.
The experiment concluded. Viktor carried Xiangyilan in his arms. A light flared beneath his feet, and the 2 of them vanished from where they stood once more.
After they had fully departed, the Magical Creatures elsewhere in the forest sensed that the overwhelming, oppressive aura had disappeared—and only then did they slowly creep back out, looking warily around in every direction.
They stood atop the shattered, fallen trees and raised their heads toward the moon, letting out a howl.
As though to work up their own courage.
***
Viktor slowly stepped out of Xiangyilan's room and pulled the door shut behind him.
A cloud drifted past the moon just then, and the pure silver light fell across his black Coat.
He had barely turned around when he found Leah standing nearby.
She had both arms crossed under her chest, looking at Viktor with an expression of utter indifference.
Even in the dark of the night, the moonlight on her eyes made them sharp and clear.
"Viktor."
Leah's gaze was unsettlingly calm as she met Viktor's eyes and asked, in a flat tone:
"Since when......have humans stopped being enough for you?"
"What—oh, so that's what it was. You scared me half to death."
In the Study, Leah had 1 hand on her hip and was patting her chest with the other, like someone releasing a long-held breath.
When the maidservants had said they heard a loud commotion coming from Xiangyilan's room, Leah had been rather startled and confused.
She had also happened to need to find Viktor about something, so she had stopped by to take a look while she was at it.
As it turned out, she had come face to face with Viktor right at the door of Xiangyilan's room.
Coming out of a girl's bedroom in the dead of the night—it was the sort of thing that was very easily misunderstood.
On top of that, she had said those things to Viktor in broad daylight earlier, which had already primed Leah to assume the worst—that Viktor had actually done something to Xiangyilan.
Setting aside for a moment whether the other party was even of age—even if that Cat-girl was undeniably attractive...
She was still a Demi-human, after all!
Leah had been genuinely worried that Viktor was heading down the wrong path. Fortunately she had kept her head, and had listened to Viktor's explanation.
He said he had been out teaching Xiangyilan magic.
Leah felt deeply relieved, and chose to believe him.
At the very least, teaching magic was a good deal more defensible than doing something improper to a Cat-girl.
That said—all things said and done—Leah still couldn't help but add one more word:
"Viktor, if you really can't hold yourself back, you can come talk to me and I'll think of something for you."
"Just please, don't do anything you absolutely shouldn't with minors or Demi-humans!"