Eldritch Horror Theatre

In the office.

A bewildered Ji Liushuang snapped back to her senses. She hurriedly retracted her Longsword, unable to fathom why she had pointed her blade at an Academy instructor.

Fu Qian paid it no mind, merely smiling as he greeted her.

The next moment, the scene before his eyes blurred and shifted, and the familiar Warehouse appeared before him.

”Finally done!”

Fu Qian stretched his limbs. Just as he was about to catch his breath, a bizarre sensation washed over him—as though a strange, invisible force were tugging at his body.

He glanced down and realized his arms had instantly grown incredibly thick, even sprouting a layer of fine, pale-gray scales.

Before he could get a closer look, the scales vanished in the blink of an eye. In their place, Feathers bearing strange, colorful patterns pierced through his skin, while his limbs grew slender and light.

Though he couldn’t see it, Fu Qian could feel his face simultaneously morphing into a sharp, bony beak.

He tried to pluck a Feather for a closer inspection, but the moment he touched it, it melted back into his skin, leaving him grasping at empty air.His skin suddenly grew cold and slick, covered in metallic-hued patterns.

Fu Qian felt his beak melt and droop like wax, forming writhing tentacles.

Even his vision dimmed, as if countless grotesque shapes were overlapping before his eyes...

He let out a heavy breath!

Fu Qian slowly exhaled, managing to pull himself out of the chaotic sensations while trying his hardest to stabilize his condition.

After an unknown amount of time, Fu Qian felt the mutations on his body gradually subside, and the sensation that he might melt and deform at any moment finally faded.

He opened his eyes and checked his body. Everything had returned to normal, yet faintly, something felt different.

[Mission Evaluation: Heartrender]

At that moment, the mission summary finally appeared.

[The renowned Academy has recently experienced a series of malicious incidents. Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of multiple parties, the frenzied students were killed immediately, and the stolen materials were successfully recovered.

The Yuan Consortium has expressed no objections to the Academy’s handling of the situation. The group’s regional director highly praised the efforts of the Disciplinary Department.

Even so, to prevent similar events from occurring in the future, the Academy has decided to further strengthen mental health initiatives and guide students toward establishing correct values.

The annual Sword Pavilion open day has officially concluded. Regrettably, only a single student from the Sword Comprehension Institute comprehended sword intent this year, marking the lowest number of new additions in three years. At the same time, Dean Li Weixuan’s secluded meditation was interrupted, preventing him from catching a glimpse of the Demigod Realm.

Additionally, a research accident occurred in the Apocalypse Branch. Several professors were infected by Demigod remains, resulting in a foul stench that lingered for two weeks and triggered multiple complaints.]

[Kills: Ruan Shuo, Corrupted Sword Heart]

[Rewards: SAN Value +26; inspiration +5]

[Special Achievement: Ritual. Your unconventional actions unintentionally met the requirements of an advancement ritual.]

[Special Achievement Reward: Flesh Deification]

[Current SAN Value: 183; Current inspiration: 46]

[Play event recap?]

Why was the tone of this mission summary so strange?

Suppressing the urge to complain, Fu Qian thought back to the mutations he had just experienced and quickly scrolled to the special rewards section.

[Flesh Deification: You have achieved a Sublimation of your very origin, officially becoming a Mythical Creature. Because you have not solidified any traits, your condition remains unstable and is prone to attracting various gazes.]

[Find and absorb suitable traits to solidify your Demigod Form.]

Demigod?

This truly caught Fu Qian off guard.

Did that mean the earlier phenomena were the signs of advancing to a Demigod?

And judging from the description, one of his actions during the mission had just happened to satisfy the requirements for a certain advancement ritual?

He honestly didn’t know what to make of this.

The description of the ritual reminded Fu Qian of that suspicious reward from last time.

If he remembered correctly, the description for [Completed Demigod Ritual] was: ”A perfectly completed advancement ritual, advancing you into the corresponding Demigod Form.”

Taken literally, the [Completed Demigod Ritual] wouldn’t just elevate him to a Demigod—his form would be predetermined as well.

In contrast, his current Demigod Form hadn’t solidified yet. It could be understood as having reached the realm, but without a set class.

However, as long as he found the aforementioned ”traits” later on, the ritual would be considered complete.

While it wasn’t a one-step shortcut, it won out in flexibility, giving him a certain degree of choice.

His previous decision had indeed been correct. It was a good thing he hadn’t accepted the infusion of that thing.

Additionally, the line ”prone to attracting various gazes” reminded Fu Qian of the deformations his body had just undergone.

If that was truly the cause—if a mere gaze could trigger such mutations—just what kind of entities were those guys?

He would have to be more careful in future missions.

But regardless, the rewards for this mission were quite generous—even a pleasant surprise.

After some thought, Fu Qian pointed a finger, aiming at the empty void of the Warehouse.

Swish!

In the next moment, a crystal-clear blue-and-white projectile shot from his hand. It whistled through the air before slamming into the ground, scattering into countless fine crystal fragments.

Even without his Mythical Form, he could now fire Demigod Grade Air Bullets.

Of course, the Warehouse remained completely unscathed.

Highly satisfied with the result, Fu Qian inspected himself from head to toe once more. After confirming he hadn’t grown any extra body parts, he chose to leave the Warehouse.

His house was still in the exact state it had been when he finished breakfast. The rising morning sun shone through the windows and into the living room.

Outside, the elderly neighbors had already begun their leisurely yet busy day.

After taking a short nap on the sofa, Fu Qian dragged himself up and staggered into the bathroom.

The mission hadn’t been overly dangerous, but it had drained a lot of his mental energy. Just resisting the massive waves of sword intent had been mentally exhausting, and counting numbers in the Sword Prison had taken a considerable amount of effort as well.

After splashing water on his face, Fu Qian closely examined himself in the mirror.

For now, everything looked normal. There were no noticeable changes.

’It’s probably because I haven’t solidified my form yet,’ Fu Qian thought to himself.

This was for the best. It allowed for a transitional phase in between—wait, something didn’t seem right!

Resting his hands on the sink, Fu Qian peeked outside but saw nothing.

In that brief moment, he could have sworn he faintly heard someone calling his name.

’Did my brain sustain a shock during the advancement, causing hallucinations?’

That was Fu Qian’s subconscious reaction.

’Are those mysterious entities watching me calling out? That’s possible too.’

Though, by comparison, the first option was slightly more acceptable.

Fu Qian held his breath and tried to listen again. The voice just now had been too muffled to distinguish.

However, several minutes passed without another sound.

Shaking his head, Fu Qian decided to give up on trying and go out for a walk instead.

Yet, just as he finished getting dressed and was about to leave, his heart skipped a beat—the voice rang out once more.

Compared to before, it was noticeably clearer this time. He was certain it was calling his name.

Wait a minute... that voice even sounded a little familiar!