Chapter 42: Metal Control

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Metal Control

"Skill: String Strangulation!"

On the back of Chen Qi’s left hand, the Red Heart 7 erupted in a brilliant purple light. Ten metal strings extended from Chen Qi’s ten fingers, transforming into a cold glint dancing in the air.

’What an incredible ability!’

Although he had long since grown used to it, the more he learned, the more he could feel how terrifying the [Red Heart 7] was.

This was simply not something that could be achieved by the Magic items documented in [Jomoya]’s diary.

The two weren’t even on the same level.

This made Chen Qi all the more curious about how Gutaf had created the King’s Game.

’Is this truly something a Mortal could accomplish?’

...

’Based on my deduction, the so-called Erosive nature of Red Heart 7 is more focused on the Devouring of Spirituality!’

’This thing is like a starving Monster. It’s usually forced to slumber, but the moment it encounters a tasty meal, it immediately pounces.’

’That’s why it Devoured the [Source Ore]—because the Source Ore possesses Spirituality!’

’And its Erosion of me is, in essence, also a demand for Spirituality!’

Chen Qi looked at his left hand. The purple markings, which had originally spread to his shoulder, had faded somewhat.

Evidently, Chen Qi’s Spirituality, so powerful that it was overflowing, had offset some of the Erosion.

But Chen Qi knew this was just a superficial phenomenon. He and the [Red Heart 7] had a much deeper connection; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to use its power.

’That trip to the mine allowed my Spirituality and Red Heart 7’s to briefly intersect!’

’This is a necessary path for skill advancement!’

’So if I want to advance my skills, I must proactively make contact with Red Heart 7’s Spirituality.’

Chen Qi focused his mind, carefully experiencing it, and once again sensed that profound [Existence].

Only this time, it was much clearer than before.

This was because his own Spirituality had grown stronger.

The two parallel lines intersected again, and the [Rendering] reappeared.

This time, however, Chen Qi was not completely overwhelmed; on the contrary, he handled it with ease.

While being subjected to Red Heart 7’s Erosion, he also extended his perception deep into the metal strings.

Then, Chen Qi witnessed a wondrous sight!

It was a microscopic world at the atomic level. A huge planet composed entirely of metallic elements was quietly spinning on its axis.

As the planet rotated, its far side inadvertently came into Chen Qi’s perception.

It was a ferocious, savage purple maw, biting viciously into the planet’s surface.

The maw was so enormous it had nearly Devoured half the planet.

Chen Qi immediately realized this was Red Heart 7 Devouring the Source Ore.

Although the Source Ore put up little resistance, it was not easy to digest.

Three years had passed, and the purple maw had only gnawed through half of it.

As far as the eye could see in this microscopic world, there were hundreds of millions of such metal planets being Devoured, nearly filling the entire Void.

’Since my development is primarily focused on the Puppet Threads, what I need to do is break the balance between these two and give that purple maw a hand.’

Although Chen Qi had only just begun to sense his own Spirituality and couldn’t control it precisely...

...he still knew how to open the floodgates!

As he stopped suppressing his Spirituality, the abundant, overflowing Spirituality was poured unreservedly into Red Heart 7.

Red Heart 7 suddenly froze, as if it had been choked.

’My guess was right. [Red Heart 7]’s ability to Devour is restricted by the game!’

’The King’s Game wouldn’t allow it to eat a player in one go. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so easy to reach a balance during the first Erosion.’

Chen Qi had injected too much Spirituality. It briefly exceeded [Red Heart 7]’s digestion speed, allowing his Spirituality to permeate the metal strings.

In the microscopic world, this manifested as a sky-blotting Giant of light appearing above the metal planet.

The Giant’s appearance was, shockingly, Chen Qi’s original form.

This was Chen Qi’s Consciousness, having descended into the microscopic world along with his Spirituality.

’I’m so powerful!’

Chen Qi looked down at the planet below, feeling as though he had transformed into a Divine Spirit.

He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but he felt that in this microscopic world, his Spirituality was of a higher level than the [Source Ore]’s.

As for the purple maw, it still looked like something not to be trifled with, but he wasn’t too afraid of it either.

’The answer must be in that paper, but it was probably deleted too!’

Chen Qi let out a long sigh, and the entire microscopic world trembled.

’Is this a Life Magnet Field?’

In his Divine Spirit state, Chen Qi sensed two fields constantly clashing and reorganizing.

One was purple, the other black, belonging to the purple maw and the Source Ore, respectively.

The divinized Chen Qi himself also radiated a Life Magnet Field.

Externally, this manifested as a multicolored band of Energy encircling the immense light Giant.

Compared to the black light of the Source Ore and the purple light of the maw, Chen Qi felt he was far more brilliant.

’Not much time left!’

Although Chen Qi really wanted to experience this profound state for longer, his [Intuition] already sensed a threat.

In the macroscopic world, in 0.005 seconds at most, the Spirituality he had poured in would be completely consumed by Red Heart 7.

If he couldn’t withdraw his [Consciousness] before then, Chen Qi would definitely be in for a world of hurt. It wasn’t impossible that he’d end up in a vegetative state.

’Let me test whether that feeling from before was an illusion!’

’If my Spirituality is truly a higher level than the Source Ore’s, I can definitely shatter it!’

The light Giant brought a palm down. A sky-blotting giant hand, wreathed in vast, radiant light, descended upon the planet.

He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but Chen Qi felt that the moment he struck, the purple maw trembled.

Too bad it wasn’t his target!

BOOM!

In the Void, the metal planet was directly shattered by the palm strike. The Life Magnet Field that had originally enveloped it instantly disintegrated.

However, the shattered fragments of the planet had no chance to escape and were immediately captured by the purple maw’s Life Magnet Field.

The next instant, the giant maw opened wide and swallowed all the fragments whole.

Chen Qi’s attack triggered a chain reaction among the celestial bodies.

The hundreds of millions of metal planets in the Void all shattered abruptly and were Devoured completely by the purple maw.

Unfortunately, Chen Qi didn’t see this scene. The moment he struck, his Consciousness had already fled the microscopic world.

In the real world, Chen Qi abruptly severed his Spiritual Sensing with Red Heart 7. The two Spiritualities once again became two parallel lines that would never intersect.

CRACKLE! SPARK!

A series of purple sparks suddenly erupted from the metal strings that glinted with a cold light.

They suddenly "came alive," transforming into ten giant metal pythons covered in purple lightning patterns.

The next instant, the ten pythons lunged at the seven Biological Radars. As if they were true Metal Life, they began to feed.

In the blink of an eye, the Biological Radars melted into puddles of liquid metal, completely Devoured.

After they finished feeding, the ten giant purple pythons reverted back into metal strings, but now they bore exquisite purple patterns and would occasionally flash with sparks of electricity.

...

’Did I succeed?’

With a thought from Chen Qi, his game data appeared.

Player: Jomoya Chris {Chen Qi}

Life Level: 5-6

Equipment: [Red Heart 7]

Skills: [Body Control] L2, [Metal Control] LV2 (Effective Range: 30 meters)

[Spiritual Energy Points]: 60

[String Strangulation] had disappeared, or rather, it had been integrated into [Metal Control].

Chen Qi tested it out briefly and confirmed the abilities of [Metal Control].

[Metal Control] primarily had two major abilities. First, it could form ten incredibly sharp metal strings, a trait inherited from String Strangulation.

Second, the metal strings could enter an "activated state" to invade and Devour various electronic devices, simulating their functions.

The previous transformation of the metal strings into giant purple pythons to Devour the [Biological Radars] was a demonstration of this ability.

It was a pity the purple maw hadn’t completely digested the Source Ore yet. Otherwise, the metal strings would have dissipated and been replaced by a [Magnetic Light String].

At that point, Chen Qi’s ability would no longer be [Metal Control], but [Magnetic Field Manipulation].

However, to realize this vision, he would need to reach at least LV3, and there were still many problems to solve along the way.

’No rush, no rush. I should be content with what I have. In any case, I’ve perfectly achieved my goal this time!’

’And my Spiritual Energy Points even doubled! This is great news!’

After the skill upgrade, the consumption of Spiritual Energy Points had also doubled. The previous 30 points were starting to feel a bit tight.

With his Spiritual Energy Points now at 60, Chen Qi guessed this was the standard amount for upgrading to LV2; he had just been stuck before due to his special circumstances.

’Next is to push forward in one fell swoop and become an [Awakened]!’

Chen Qi, currently in high spirits, had already calculated the specific time for his Awakening.

Completing the two readings would take at least two days. 12:00 PM three days from now was definitely an auspicious time.

However, his wonderful plan was interrupted by an urgent piece of intelligence from Taruno.

"What? Cloze Jic is dead?"