novelraw Chapter 325: Lin Xun’s New Vessel and Kim’s New Vessel
Chapter 325: Lin Xun’s New Vessel and Kim’s New Vessel
[Seeing that you were ready, Kim lifted the giant metal gate.]
[With a tooth-aching screech of friction, the metal gate swung wide, revealing a dark staircase leading underground. A continuous stream of miserable howls came from below.]
[An enraged shriek suddenly rang out from the independent chamber at the end of the corridor. Kim nodded to you, sped down into the depths, and its figure gradually vanished into the darkness. The metal gate closed after it.]
[The chamber door shattered into pieces, and a massive figure squeezed out.]
[It was a giant insect-person. Its body was so stocky and robust that it had burst the hard carapace that originally covered it, which now hung from its body in tatters like rags.]
[A pale mask concealed a small head that did not match the strong body. In its hand it carried a heavy bone hammer studded with spikes.]
[You discovered the Ascended Brutalist Warden.]
[The Warden pressed the pale mask on its face. A thick, solid carapace spread and grew, then wrapped its entire body.]
[The gaze the Warden cast at you brimmed with rage and madness. It raised the bone warhammer and charged you.]
[Its huge body almost filled the entire passage, leaving you no room to dodge.][Every step the Warden took made the ground tremble and rumble, as if a colossal siege wagon were barreling toward you.]
[The qi within you surged and roared. You gripped your sword hilt in your right hand and drew a deep breath.]
[You stepped forward to meet the charging giant monster and drew your blade.]
[Dazzling sword light burst forth.]
[Dragon Sword Masamune cleaved through carapace with unstoppable force, carving a massive wound across the enemy’s body. Blood sprayed like a waterfall.]
[The Warden roared in pain. Its charge did not weaken in the slightest. The bone maul whipped up a howling gale and was about to smash you into paste.]
[You tapped your toes against the ground. Your figure retreated like a wraith, evading the ferocious strike.]
[The heavy hammer crashed down with a thunderous boom that made the entire Border Prison shake.]
[You swung your sword to cut apart the shards shooting toward your face. From the dust not far ahead, a hulking figure burst forth. The Warden charged you again.]
[Blood gushed from the huge wound on its body, yet its charging momentum did not diminish at all. It was even stronger than before.]
“This boss was a meat shield with a massive health pool.”
An assassin had trouble in cramped terrain when fighting a health sponge.
Of course, that was without activating skills.
[You turned lightly, opened a pair of dim eyes, and your figure vanished without a trace.]
[The Warden could not see you while you were invisible, but it still kept charging fiercely. Its enormous body nearly filled the passage. Even if you disappeared, there was no extra space to slip by, so you could only retreat.]
[You opened a pale eye. Weak Point Insight activated.]
[You successfully perceived the enemy’s weakness. Your next attack would have a very high chance of striking the vulnerable spot.]
[Maintaining invisibility as the siege-wagon charge bore down on you, you felt no panic. The energy within you called qi surged at high speed. Your right hand clenched the sword hilt.]
[In an instant, snow-bright sword light illuminated the entire passage.]
[It was as if you stood in a grove of cherry trees. A bleak cold wind howled, and countless pale pink petals swept down.]
[The sword light was as bleakly beautiful and deadly as falling cherry blossoms, and like a final elegy offered to the dying.]
[Your short figure drifted to the ground. You sheathed the blade and exhaled.]
[The massive monster behind you continued its charge for a short distance, then its carapace shattered and it crashed to the ground. Momentum dragged it to gouge two deep furrows in the floor.]
[…]
[You defeated the Ascended Brutalist Warden. Experience rose greatly.]
[Power within the Shell began to boil. The Shell of the Fire-Worshipping Palace Master of Iya Palace leveled up. Current Shell Level: 68.]
[You obtained Large Chunk Spirit Essence of Sanctity x1.]
[Your special attribute Hive Consciousness +1 increased. Current state: Hive Consciousness +2.]
The Ninja master’s attacks from invisibility were far stronger than basic strikes. Both weapon and equipment provided post-stealth attack bonuses.
Combined with the large damage bonus from Weak Point Insight, the damage output could only be described as off the charts.
After successfully taking down the boss, the special attribute Hive Consciousness improved again.
Lin Xun had not yet discovered other effects of this special attribute. At present it only occasionally allowed him to merge into the web of consciousness and to self-repair the carapace mask.
[You turned to look at the fallen giant insect-person Shell.]
[Shell of the Ascended Brutalist Warden: the warden who ruled the Border Prison, possessing extremely powerful strength and an even more robust vitality. Only with such power could one suppress the many criminals who had taken part in the front-line war. Compatibility: 75% (+55%).]
If Lin Xun had not obtained the parasitism ability, he could only stare when he saw an insect-person Shell with insufficient Compatibility, just like with that Dragon Knight on the border of the Divine Kingdom.
Now that he had the Shell of the Full-Adaptation Parasite, he could take this Shell for himself.
[You possessed the Shell of the Ascended Full-Adaptation Parasite.]
[The Shell of the Ascended Brutalist Warden had died not long ago and still retained vitality. Will you parasitize it?]
[Special skill Perfect Parasite activated.]
[You merged into this dead giant Shell and linked all of its internal ganglia.]
[…]
[Parasitism succeeded. You perfectly controlled the vessel.]
[Your Shell of the Ascended Full-Adaptation Parasite was temporarily replaced by the Ascended Brutalist Warden.]
[If you wished to return to the state of the Ascended Full-Adaptation Parasite, please use the special skill Perfect Molting.]
Lin Xun opened the panel to check attributes.
[Shell – Ascended Brutalist Warden]
[True Name: Heavy Hammer]
[Compatibility: 137% (20%).]
[Shell Quality: Epic+]
[Shell Level: 68 (+3)]
[Shell Equipment: Warden’s Bone Warhammer (Epic weapon): …]
[Shell Equipment: Brutalist Exoskeleton Mask (Epic+ equipment): … When wearing this equipment, upon entering combat state a carapace would self-generate to cover the entire body.]
[When the enemy inflicts physical damage on you, a check would be made. If the enemy’s attack quality (weapon or skill quality) is lower than this equipment’s quality, there is a considerable chance to nullify that instance of physical damage. For physical damage of higher quality, a partial reduction will still apply.]
[This equipment is currently in a damaged state and needs repair before it can be used.]
[Shell Skill: Heavy Armor Charge (Epic+ skill): launch an unstoppable charge against the enemy. The higher the Strength and Vitality attributes, the greater the damage dealt.]
The Warden’s panel was very strong. It was a powerfully robust frontline fighter.
Brutalist Exoskeleton Mask was undoubtedly a big surprise. Even if he did not use it himself, selling it would fetch a handsome amount of Spirit Essence.
As for the damaged state, Hive Consciousness could be used to activate the residual vitality in the equipment to self-repair it.
“Huh.”
Lin Xun suddenly frowned.
The Compatibility entry for the vessel Shell was not 137% (+55%) but 137% (20%).
One hundred thirty-seven percent was the Full-Adaptation Parasite’s Compatibility value, and 20 percent was the vessel’s own Compatibility value. That was easy enough to understand.
But the familiar words Compatibility exceeded the critical point, Shell Quality improved did not appear.
This meant that without a Compatibility boost, the Warden vessel already possessed Epic+ Shell Quality.
After some thought, Lin Xun roughly understood the parasitism mechanics.
Parasitism was like a pilot operating a Gundam. Exceeding the critical point boosted the pilot, that was, the Full-Adaptation Parasite’s Shell Quality, but it could not improve the Warden’s frame performance.
Unless his Compatibility rose dramatically so that even by possessing the Warden as a wandering soul the Compatibility would exceed the critical value, then no matter how high the Parasite’s Compatibility went, it could not be transmitted to the vessel.
“Parasitism is still far worse than Thousand Faces, Ten Thousand Forms.”
“If my soul talent rose one more level, I could possess the Warden directly. If it rises several more levels, I could raise the Warden’s quality to Legendary and make it one of my mainline Shells.”
He could not help looking forward to the future.
[Would you open the metal gate and head to the underground detention area.]
He had ended the fight too fast, and he guessed that Kim was still battling guards in the underground prison.
Lin Xun was a man who aimed to complete full-map exploration, so he naturally refused to stand here like a fool waiting for Kim to return.
[You lifted the giant metal gate in one motion. The heavy gate was like a small plank before you.]
[The miserable howls from the underground detention area had ceased at some point. The stairway leading into the depths was dark and silent.]
[Controlling the parasitized vessel known as the Ascended Brutalist Warden, you headed below.]
[The spacious underground passage seemed cramped and narrow before your body. You had to hunch over to squeeze through.]
[You followed the steps down.]
[Before you stretched a deep corridor. Many corpses of Ascended Elite Guards lay along it, with severed limbs everywhere. Some still carried glimmering Spirit Essence.]
[On both sides of the corridor were thick metal bars. You could see many Ascended criminals imprisoned within, but they were covered in wounds and near death.]
[Seeing you arrive, they shrank into corners, their eyes full of fear.]
[Suddenly an Ascended mustered its courage, crawled to the bars, and whispered to you, Lord Warden, that demon who dared to intrude into the prison killed many guards and ran to the depths of the prison.]
[You nodded to show you understood. The Ascended criminal looked delighted, as if waiting for your praise to win remission from punishment.]
[A bone warhammer crashed down. It not only smashed through the bars but also crushed the Ascended criminal into pulp.]
[You took out the Refined Copper Sand Maraca and shook it. The Battle Angel – Valkyrie beat her refined copper wings and stepped across the air to arrive.]
[You issued an attack order, commanding her to exterminate every last criminal.]
Lin Xun ignored the various death prompts and experience-gained and Spirit Essence texts from the Hellish game and continued toward the depths of the prison.
He explored deeper while picking up Spirit Essence from the guards’ corpses along the way.
With Kim clearing the way ahead and the Valkyrie sweeping behind, all he needed to do was gather Spirit Essence and items.
When he found Kim and returned, he would just collect the spoils that the Valkyrie had swept up.
“Tsk. I’ve turned the Hellish game into an idle auto-battler.”
[…]
[You hurried forward, ignoring the criminals imprisoned on both sides of the corridor, and soon arrived at the next detention area.]
[Here the many criminals were no longer caged together behind a single set of bars. Instead, there were individual sealed cells.]
[Through the long narrow window in each cell door, you could see Ascended criminals within. Their status and strength seemed far higher than those before.]
[You possessed the Shell of the Fire-Worshipping Palace Master of Iya Palace.]
[You swung the purification wand in your hand and summoned the shikigami Nine-Tailed Fox.]
[A barefoot woman wrapped in thunder and violet lightning answered your summons and stepped across the air to arrive.]
[You gave the Nine-Tailed Fox an attack order, commanding her to exterminate every last criminal here.]
[Very soon you had left the surging, raging violet lightning behind and continued deeper into the detention area.]
[…]
[You reached the deepest part of the underground prison. The candlelight was dim, the air silent and grim.]
[Your gaze passed over a dozen corpses of elite guards on the ground and looked toward the very end.]
[At the very end was a large cell. The lock on the metal door had been violently broken and fallen to the ground. The door was slightly ajar, and no sound came from within.]
[Would you enter the final cell.]
“Did something happen to Kim.”
Lin Xun frowned slightly, switched to the Warden’s Shell, and stepped in without hesitation.
[You strode forward and were about to kick the door open when it was pulled from the other side.]
[A slender female insect-person walked out at an easy pace. She wore Kim’s familiar pitch-black robe and a carapace mask of the same color. In her hand was a sharp barbed stinger shaped like a western smallsword.]
[You noticed a pair of streamlined transparent membrane wings on her back.]
[Aberrated Missionary Kim saw you arrive and, without hesitation, raised the stinger and launched an attack.]
[When it moved, the membrane wings on its back vibrated. Its speed was as swift as a shooting star. Before you could react, the sharp stinger was already before you.]
[The stinger drove fully into your body, then ripped back out with a flick of blood.]
[Missionary Kim thrust again and again, leaving one blood hole after another in you.]
[An angry female voice came from beneath the mask. Damn Warden, had you killed its companion.]
Lin Xun’s mouth twitched, his face black.
“Damn, the war general was a female insect-person.”
He only zoned out for a moment, and the Hellish game already prompted ‘You had been seriously injured.’
[You hurriedly shouted to explain your identity to Kim, but Kim looked at you as if you were an idiot and continued its relentless assault.]
[You possessed the Shell of the Desire-Bearing Greedy Wolf Star Lord.]
[As the razor tip of the stinger loomed large before your eyes and you had just raised your sword to block, Kim suddenly stopped. The point hovered less than a fist from the center of your brow.]
[Kim stared at you in disbelief. Its whole body went stiff. It snapped the weapon back, clapped a hand over the mask on its face, and shot past you without looking back.]
[As it flew, it shouted that it would go to the Sacred Nest Center and fight the Wet Nurse to the death, which was better than staying here and continuing to lose face.]
Lin Xun felt that the scene seemed a little familiar.