Chapter 34: A Polite Invitation

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: A Polite Invitation

Luna Xiya, the supposed Apprentice of the Natural Elements Laboratory, was actually the Hallucinogenic Mushroom itself!

Thicker, denser clusters of mycelium surged from her fingertips, crawling along the hoses toward the arms of those Apprentices.

Those entangled by the fungal threads began to lose focus in their eyes. Their pupils dilated, and saliva dribbled from the corners of their mouths. They cried and laughed uncontrollably, as if dosed with a powerful hallucinogen.

Shortly after, several flashes of white light erupted as the Protective Talismans of a few Apprentices were triggered, eliminating them from the trial.

Everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly. However, in the very next moment, Luna Xiya’s smile froze.

Several individuals had somehow broken free from their restraints. They were staring at it coldly—or rather, studying it.

That calculating gaze made the creature shudder.

A short-haired girl with dark circles under her eyes gripped a teddy bear by the ear, staring unblinkingly at Luna Xiya.

"So you’re the Hallucinogenic Mushroom. I almost thought my senses were playing tricks on me!"

The man in the red robe stood on the opposite side, planted as firmly as an iron stake driven into the earth, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Heh. The Wizard assessment has been deceiving us from the very beginning. To think the Hallucinogenic Mushroom was hiding among us all along."

Beside him, the figure entirely shrouded in Black Fog stood in utter silence. They didn’t say a word, though the mist swirling around their body grew noticeably thicker.

Further away, Chen Shang shook the hose off his arm. At the same time, a lump of green organic matter fell to the ground—it was Huluwa’s vine-transformed body.

Baal dropped a metal gauntlet from his hand, cursing up a storm. "I knew this thing was up to no good! Had me on edge this entire time. Man, when did you realize something was off?"

Chen Shang didn’t answer. The trait *Plant Incarnation* had been a dead giveaway. Since when did humans possess such a biological trait? Not to mention, none of the other Elites had triggered any observable traits.

He examined Luna Xiya from head to toe, a sudden, fervent gleam in his eyes.

"Hello. May I invite you to visit my laboratory as a guest?"

Luna Xiya froze. She didn’t answer his question; it was more likely she couldn’t even comprehend it. A major battle was imminent, and they were bitter enemies. What the hell did he mean by inviting her over as a guest?

Seeing that the creature remained silent, Chen Shang pressed on. "I’ve been working on a plant growth project recently, and you would make an excellent biological sample. Would you be willing to cooperate with me on a few experiments?"

Whether it was for inscribing Huluwa’s Runes or utilizing the Doll Seed to move past rudimentary, hand-crafted Mechanical Armors, the Hallucinogenic Mushroom before him was a perfect reference specimen.

The creature still said nothing. As if remembering something crucial, Chen Shang quickly added, "Don’t worry, I strictly adhere to laboratory safety protocols. I’ll do my utmost to keep you alive. Oh, by the way, did you want to join the Pan-Wizard Alliance? Once I become a Wizard, I can put in a good word for you..."

Upon hearing this, a bizarre expression twisted Luna Xiya’s face. This provisional Apprentice in front of it... wanted to use it for experiments?

Was this human insane? A measly provisional Apprentice daring to covet a Tier Two Creature?

The man in the red robe suddenly chimed in. "Are you in the field of Biological Runes, my friend? Let’s exchange contact info. Once we take this thing down, we can collaborate. We’ll share the research results."

The short-haired girl glanced over as well. "Please count me in. I’m quite interested in it, too."

Luna Xiya glared at the Apprentices. They were casually discussing how to dissect and dispose of it, turning a life-and-death struggle into an impromptu academic symposium. Fury blazed in its heart.

Did these bastards really think they had it cornered?

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, a sliver of dread mingled with its rage—a deeply rooted fear it hadn’t consciously registered, or perhaps refused to acknowledge.

These Apprentices... they possessed the exact same aura as those Master Wizards. It was a terrifying trait that had driven countless species across the Endless Star Sea to absolute despair.

"You... you merely slipped your restraints! This is my territory! I am a Tier Two Creature, and you are nothing but lowly, provisional Apprentices! I’ll make you all—"

BANG. BANG.

Two crisp sounds cut its tirade short. Another pair of provisional Apprentices, a boy and a girl, broke free from the Round Disc.

The boy immediately cursed, "You damn bastard! To think you used the Wizard’s Will to trick us! That is unforgivable!"

The Wizard’s Will was one of the Wizards’ Concept Level Weapons, an incredibly sacred entity that even Great Wizards found difficult to tamper with. If the creature hadn’t invoked the Wizard’s Will as a guarantee, these cautious Apprentices would have never trusted it so easily.

The girl rolled her wrists to stretch them. "Don’t waste your breath on it, brother. It managed to obtain a Wizard Crystal Plate and bypass the identification protocols to send us a message. It’s obvious this monster was deliberately planted here by the proctors!"

Luna Xiya’s fury reached a boiling point. It was one thing for some of them to see through the deception from the start, but how were others forcefully breaking free from the Round Disc’s suppression?

"Fine! It seems I need to remind you exactly whose territory you’re standing in! Face the true terror of nature!"

Its body underwent a grotesque transformation, shedding any remaining semblance of humanity.

Its limbs stretched out unnaturally, joints bending at horrific, impossible angles. Its fingers dissolved into writhing tentacles, each tipped with a bulbous growth resembling an inverted mushroom.

Its hair unraveled, revealing that every individual strand was a thick fungal thread. Its skin melted into a translucent, membranous film, exposing dense, shifting clusters of spores coursing through its veins.

Then, countless tentacles twisted and braided together, lunging at the group like ravenous giant pythons.

The Apprentices reacted with blinding speed. The teddy bear leaped from the short-haired girl’s arms, rapidly expanding in midair. It morphed from a palm-sized toy into a towering, two-meter-tall behemoth, absorbing the brunt of the tentacle strike with its own body.

THUD.

A muffled impact echoed through the cavern as the giant bear was swatted away. It slammed into the rift’s stone wall with enough force to blast a crater in the rock. As it slid down to the ground, a massive dent was left caved into its chest.

The man in the red robe flared his mantle. A dark red octopus squeezed out from beneath the fabric. It was the size of a seven-year-old child, boasting eight tentacles as thick as a human arm, each lined with vicious suckers and barbs. It charged forward, colliding head-on with the frenzied fungal tendrils.

The octopus was instantly overwhelmed, battered to the brink of death upon impact. However, purely on instinct, its suckers latched firmly onto the enemy mycelium. Its barbs dug deep into the flesh and refused to let go, allowing the aquatic beast to siphon the fungal threads’ Energy and slowly knit its own body back together.

The mysterious figure shrouded in the Black Fog finally revealed themselves. It was a delicate-looking girl with blindingly pale skin.

The Black Fog aggressively coiled around the approaching mycelium. A loud SIZZLE filled the air, indicating the mist was highly corrosive.

"Ice!"

"Fire!"

Two sharp commands rang out. The boy and girl who had just broken their restraints stood shoulder to shoulder. Two diametrically opposed Elements erupted from their bodies, taking the shape of two divine avian spirits.

The Blue bird boasted a three-meter wingspan, its entire body a crystalline ice-blue. With every beat of its wings, countless tiny Ice Crystals burst into the air.

The crimson bird shared the same majestic silhouette, but its feathers were wrought of dancing Flame, its tail plumage trailing a long stream of fiery sparks.

The two birds attacked in tandem, flanking the fungal tentacles from the left and right. In terms of raw power, they stood no chance against the brute strength of the mycelium. However, through the alternating bombardment of Fire and Ice, the fungal threads were subjected to a rapid Reincarnation of extreme heat and freezing cold, forcing them to swiftly recoil.

Several stray tentacles whipped toward Chen Shang, carrying enough raw kinetic force to squash him flat. A few of the Ben Bo’Erbas threw themselves into the fray, desperately clinging to the fungal tendrils to halt their advance, but the sheer momentum dragged the struggling creatures backward.