Chapter One Hundred and Three: The New Violet Soul

Lando and Stirlan were both instantly on guard and leaped back.

Almost the moment they withdrew, Lando noticed the companion crystal atop the giant crystal scorpion suddenly shatter. A horrifying surge of energy spread outward, and under its influence the scenery around them began to waver, as though space itself were turning upside down.

"This is... an illusion? Damn it!"

As he retreated, Lando's warning sense flared violently. He drove his mindscape at full power and shattered a corner of the illusion. At once, reality returned before his eyes.

"Lando!"

It was Alice and Leia calling out to him.

The giant crystal scorpion had already abandoned Stirlan entirely. Its tail, wreathed in dense black light and speckled with faint, sickly green glimmers, shot toward Lando with terrifying speed.

In the briefest opening, Lando tore free of the illusion and flashed away. The instant he reappeared, he seized the upper part of his clothing, ripped it off, and hurled it away. In midair, the garment was corroded and vanished beneath countless green flecks of poison. Evidently, the scorpion's tail had touched his clothes at the very instant of his teleportation. If Lando had been even half a beat slower, he would have tasted the toxins contained in that desperate final strike.

The giant crystal scorpion was already covered in injuries. After unleashing that last blow through its shattered companion crystal, it fell utterly silent.

Seeing the ruin strewn across the ground and the exhaustion etched on everyone's faces, and realizing they had won, all of them broke into cheers almost at once.

Seeing his teammates' excitement, Stirlan immediately said, "Everyone, let's rest here for a while. Once we've fully recovered, we'll continue exploring the fifth floor!"

The suggestion was naturally met with unanimous approval.

While everyone else settled down to rest, Alice and Leia had already surrounded Lando, checking his injuries. As for Calvin, he had long since gone off to find friends he knew so he could team up with them. Being here was making him rather gloomy.

Lando was fussed over by the two senior students until they finally "confirmed" that he had not suffered any serious injuries.

Only then did he have the chance to inspect his gains.

After this round of secret growth, the companion crystal was very close to advancing to the tenth rank. Not only had he gained a number of blue souls, but the giant crystal scorpion had actually dropped another purple soul. He had slain no small number of ninth-rank crystal creatures in this world, yet this was only the second time a purple soul had dropped, and it had come from such a formidable giant crystal scorpion. Thinking of that, Lando could hardly keep from laughing aloud.

[Giant Crystal Scorpion (Purple): Crystal Body (Purple), Ancient Overlord (Purple), Toxic Harmony (Blue), Crystal-Spike Fortification (Blue)]

[Crystal Body (Purple): The body becomes as pure as crystal, increasing physical and potent elemental resistance, and greatly enhancing the storage and circulation efficiency of energy.]

[Ancient Overlord (Purple): Possesses the overlord bloodline of an ancient apex predator. Physical growth can break through the current racial limits and evolve toward a higher plane. The aura of an overlord can easily suppress those with inferior bloodlines or insufficient strength.]

[Toxic Harmony (Blue): Can nurture potent toxins and greatly increase toxin resistance.]

[Crystal-Spike Fortification (Blue): Crystal energy will generate an invisible layer of crystal-spike armor, increasing defense while also inflicting counterdamage on attackers. If the user's bodily fluids contain toxins, the reflected damage will poison the opponent as well.]

Lando had long ago discovered that no matter what race a soul came from, or what kind of talent it held, once the system transformed it into a soul armament, it could still be used by him.

For example, Crystal-Spike Fortification, which was clearly a talent that could only arise in creatures with carapaces, would, when applied to him, form an invisible layer of crystal-spike armor.

Needless to say, Crystal Body and Ancient Overlord could also function even without the corresponding physique or bloodline.

Seeing that no one was paying him any attention, Lando let the power of the mindscape circulate around him and removed his old companion, Ancient Giant Ape. Suppressing his excitement, he equipped Giant Crystal Scorpion instead. At once, a ferocious, overbearing aura began to emanate from him. If not for the barrier of the mindscape, the people nearby would likely have sensed something wrong in an instant.

Leaning aside with his eyes closed to rest for a long time, Lando finally fully mastered the changes brought by equipping Giant Crystal Scorpion. Crystal Body formed an invisible crystal network within him, and he could feel his energy circulating far more efficiently. Ancient Overlord was the same: a brutal, savage will, yet one entirely under his control, lurked deep within his blood.

By now, Lando was completely certain that Crystal Body and Ancient Overlord were not limited to the descriptions given. They still concealed far greater potential waiting to be drawn out.

As for Toxic Harmony, well, it was merely a passive poison resistance.

When Lando opened his eyes, his teammates were already enthusiastically preparing and sampling all manner of delicious food. Since he had contributed so much in the battle, no one had disturbed him while he rested. Now that they saw him awake, they all urged him to come and join the fun.

Lando naturally had no reason to refuse, and he joined them with a smile.

...

Outside the Crystal World.

If space were likened to a book, then the reality we inhabit would be its cover. Turn the pages one by one, and you would discover countless strange spaces and dimensions.

Within one such layer of space, a peculiar dimension lingered. At the center of this dimension stood a great hall, and within the hall was a colossal throne. Seated upon it was a magnificent being. His existence was like a black hole, drawing everything around him in a measured, orderly fashion: time, space, matter, and even concept itself. Thus, whenever one looked toward him, one could only ever see a blurred black silhouette.

At the entrance to the hall stood two figures. One was a tall middle-aged man with a somewhat stern face. The other was a child of about ten, with exquisite features so delicate it was impossible to tell whether he was a boy or a girl.

The child was clearly very bored, circling in place again and again. At last, unable to bear it any longer, he said, "This is so boring, Big Brother Myle. When can we leave?"

The stern expression on the middle-aged man, named Myle, could no longer hold. He said helplessly, "Soon, I think."

"Aaaah! The wager between the teacher and that rotten crystal has already dragged on for so long, and it still isn't over? Just how bored are they?!"

Myle's face darkened. "Watch your mouth, Lex. Is the teacher someone we can speak of carelessly?"

Thinking of the teacher's indulgence toward the junior disciple before him, Myle glanced at the figure on the throne, which still gave no reaction, and softened his tone slightly as he went on, "The matter of the wager should be nearing its end. Once these youngsters return this time, the results of the last experiment will be confirmed. If the outcome meets expectations, then next time the Crystal World's resource level can be raised by one grade. When the Crystal World opens again, the academy can simply send outstanding disciples to complete the harvest."

"Then what about this time? If I remember correctly, that thing should already have matured by now, right? Didn't that little guy Stirlan go in too? I remember he was pretty capable!"

"With Stirlan's strength, the chance of completing the harvest is less than ten percent."

"Huh? And here I thought I had given him a lot of inside information. So we still have to wait until next time?!"

"..."