Chapter 26: Void Mutation

If it were a normal body of flesh and blood, with his attributes being less than level two, the explosion from the alchemy bomb just now would have been enough to leave him on the brink of death. In such a state, let alone moving freely, even maintaining a single breath would be considered incredibly tough.

But Kana was different; he possessed a semi-digitized body. Furthermore, he had already raised his shield when the explosion occurred, which mitigated the force, though the remaining impact still struck him. This kind of impact was essentially a blunt force trauma, resulting in a final damage value of 6 points. Even a week ago, with his cowardly physique, he would have only lost half his health. Now that he was digitized, even losing more than half his health wouldn't stop him from moving freely, as his HP hadn't hit zero.

Thus, while Kana looked somewhat disheveled and dusty on the surface, in essence, it was as if he hadn't been injured much at all. Facing Aliris's worried gaze, Kana said directly, "Don't worry about me. Kill him."

Aliris charged forward immediately, the crimson light in her eyes intensifying.

"Don't worry about the blood being drawn out; let it flow on its own."

Hearing Kana's reminder, Aliris let go. Having just awakened "Blood Magic," she didn't yet know how to use it for direct attacks; at a time like this, rupturing the wound to guide the blood to flow out wildly was the best method. It was simple, direct, and highly effective.

A massive amount of blood gushed from the ratman's wound, splashing onto the grass, flowing out of the wound as rapidly as a hemorrhage. With such a massive loss of blood, even a rat that had mastered magic could not hold on. He collapsed to the ground instantly. The two sinister humans he had encountered today had completely drained his will to fight. The cowardice deep within the rat's heart was fully ignited at this moment. He suddenly regretted coming to this godforsaken place, to this wilderness where mana was extremely thin.

Cowardice drove him toward madness.

"No, no! I need power! I need power!"

Dark purple pathways began to manifest from the wound, emitting a dark purple glow. Seeing this light, Kana roared immediately, "Stop, Aliris! Get back!"

Though she didn't know what was happening, Aliris obeyed the command without hesitation, planting her feet and retreating quickly.

"You two, close your eyes! Don't look!" Kana shouted toward the direction of the cage.

The little girl in the cage already had a faint purple tint in her eyes, whereas the white-haired rat seemed relatively unaffected. Seeing the girl beside him, the ratman rushed over to cover her eyes with his hands while closing his own eyes. He gritted his teeth, enduring the sight as he stared at the rat enveloped in purple light.

A negative status had appeared in his attribute panel

[Status: Void Flash] [Void Flash: You have gazed upon the light of void power; your will will gradually be weakened until you succumb to the void.]

Was the crisis of Version 4.0 already beginning to manifest?

Kana didn't have time to worry about that and said directly, "Aliris, the moment the light dissipates, charge straight in. Coat your sword in my blood and thrust it into his wound. That is an order, hurry!"

Aliris gritted her teeth, nodded, and reached out her left hand toward Kana's wound from a distance. The blood flowed out like silk threads, winding around the knight's sword in her right hand, slowly coating it in a thin layer. Checking his HP, he shouted loudly, "Draw more! Don't be afraid!"

Even more blood flowed out.

"What is this?" On the other side, Blake, who had returned at some unknown point, stared blankly at the purple light. A hint of purple even began to spread into his pupils.

However, the light was now beginning to fade.

"Go!"

Aliris lunged forward with a sword step. The blade thrust ruthlessly toward the wound. However, the area around the wound was filled with purple, spiderweb-like vascular pathways. As soon as the tip entered, she felt immense resistance.

"Haaaaah!"

Aliris screamed, the crimson light in her eyes flickering with red streaks. She desperately forced the tip inward; the stuck blade began to move, slowly sinking deeper.

"Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!"

The rat's screams were exceptionally piercing, and the sound clearly carried a strange vibration. He seemed to have lost the ability to speak. Kana clutched his head and fell to one knee, his entire brain feeling heavy and dizzy.

By now, the purple pathways spreading from the ratman's wound had already covered his entire body. Purple crystalline structures even appeared near his teeth and claws to reinforce them. Bone spikes protruded from his back, and his tail was covered in sharp purple crystals.

Regaining his senses, the ratman raised his hands, preparing to strike at Aliris, but a blade pierced through his chest. Blake had appeared behind him at some unknown moment, his face contorted and teeth clenched as if he were enduring something immense. He had driven the knight's sword directly through the ratman's chest from behind.

Meanwhile, Aliris had finally struck a vital spot. With a final scream, the ratman—whose body had grown to nearly two meters—lost all life, and the purple energy pathways flowing through him suddenly lost their luster.

Aliris, pale-faced, released the blade that was fully embedded in the rat's body. Blake slumped to the ground, his face covered in sweat, gasping for air. Having not yet obtained special powers, Blake's ability to resist mental interference was weak; he had relied entirely on his willpower to rush in. The mental shock within the rat's piercing screams did not affect Aliris as much.

Kana recovered quickly and approached the rat's corpse with his sword. Holding the sword, he suddenly stabbed directly into a specific part of the corpse.

"Squeak!"

The rat's corpse let out two sudden squeaks. These two sounds startled Aliris and Blake so much that they jumped to their feet.

"Don't worry, it's fine," Kana said, looking at the corpse.

Following the two cries, the rat's corpse began to turn into ash, dissipating into the air. In less than three seconds, not a single trace remained. Even the blood he had just spilled around it vanished. Where the corpse had been, only a small, transparent stone remained, containing a turbid white gas inside.

"Hmm?"

Kana looked at the stone and quickly picked it up.

An Experience Stone?

No, why would this thing exist?

Without hesitation, he used mana to digitize the small stone.

[Inscription Stone] [Material—Crystal—Legendary] [Evaluation: An object left behind by an invader from beyond the world. Condensed by the world as a reward.]

It really was an Experience Stone. This was something that wouldn't appear until later versions, obtainable only by killing specific monsters. Players usually collected these to use for rapid leveling on alt characters, or to participate in mini-games in later versions, or to exchange for rewards.

The problem was, he didn't even have an experience bar right now. How was he supposed to use an Experience Stone?

Wait...

He only had a small fragment of the Genesis Stone in his body. He wanted a digitized body, digitized equipment, and an experience bar to level up. Things weren't supposed to be that easy.

Looking at the stone, Kana already had ideas on how to add new functions later.