abnormal mutation

Chapter 77 Damage Amplification
Tana appeared at the door in a white dress, her expression solemn. Drake and the two wolves turned around at the same time and blocked her at the door.

“He’s fine,” Drake explained.

A few seconds later, Yulia rushed in, wrapped in a cloak, her face full of worry, but Tana grabbed her arm.

"Calm down, it's not a mutation, and he's not crazy." Tana tried to keep her tone calm.

Roland was unable to speak, but could only manage to sit up with difficulty, forcing an awkward smile as he tried to comfort Julia with his eyes.

"His abilities... are that how he acquired them?" Yulia asked in astonishment.

"Probably." Tana stared intently at Roland, lost in thought.

Roland couldn't stand Tana's gaze any longer, so he immediately sent a message to Drake, instructing him to send her away.

“Ahem, ladies, Roland is not in danger. Please go back and rest. I'll take care of things here,” Drake advised.

Tana clearly didn't want to leave and wanted to say something, but Yulia grabbed her arm and dragged her back into the room. Drake took the opportunity to close the door tightly, blocking the entrance, and turned to wink at Roland.

Roland leaned back, the cool floor making him feel much more comfortable.

'I must learn some skills that allow me to remain concealed in the future.'

He didn't know how much time had passed, but he noticed that the changes in his body gradually stopped and all the strange phenomena disappeared. He lay there for a while until his condition stabilized before slowly getting up.

'I seem to have gained weight.'

He took off his shirt and trousers, entering the bathroom in only shorts. His streamlined, muscular body was reflected in the full-length mirror, with perfect proportions. His skin gleamed with a delicate, cold light, his muscles were like liquid metal, his heart pounded powerfully, and his blood pumped like a tide.

'I'm so strong!' He had the illusion that he could smash everything with one punch.

Roland raised his hand, and an invisible and intangible spiritual force spread to his palm, on which burned a layer of almost ethereal flame. His control became more agile, and the power seemed to have increased as well.

He exerted force with his body, striking the air with his right fist, and an invisible layer of illusory fire appeared on the surface of his fist and arm.

'This is... a damage increase?!' He wasn't entirely sure, but it was certainly a new change.

Based on Drake and the silver-robed man from the Lightbringer Society, he felt he could probably beat up most low-sequence extraordinary beings now.

When he activated his spiritual senses, he could only perceive the presence of Julia and Alex; Tana remained completely out of his perception.

'The middle and high sequences have probably achieved some kind of qualitative change, so we should keep a low profile,' he silently told himself.

"Knock knock knock—" There was a knocking sound at the door, it should be Yulia and Tana.

Roland quickly put on his shirt and trousers, draped his coat over his shoulders, and opened the door himself.

"I'm fine, it's probably just a new round of bloodline awakening," he explained first.

Yulia quietly observed him, her expression complex: "He looks a bit dangerous."

“There’s no danger, I have experience,” Roland reassured her. Yulia’s temper had been exceptionally good lately, and he was still a little unaccustomed to it.

“You’re too naive; you can’t see many dangers on the surface.” Tana stepped in and placed her hand on Roland’s arm. “Let me check you out.”

"No need, no need." Roland smiled, but his eyes were wary. After sensing the force on his arm, he struggled and took a step back without making a sound.

"Alright." Noticing Roland's insistence, Tana shook her head regretfully and turned to leave.

Julia pursed her lips, gave Roland a subtle look, and then closed the door for him.

The woman was clever; she knew some secrets shouldn't be asked. Pressuring her would only push Roland further away. Everyone has secrets, and ignorance isn't a sin. Unfortunately, most White Tower scholars didn't understand this, otherwise they wouldn't have ended up like this.

Roland breathed a sigh of relief. Tana clearly lacked a sense of boundaries and was too inquisitive, which he didn't particularly like. Julia was much more understanding. He turned to look at the two wolves and saw that they had grown twice their original size, their shoulder height exceeding one meter, and were developing into giant wolves. Standing there, the room seemed extremely small.

"Are we playing strategy games again today?" Drake asked, rubbing Killy's big head with boredom.

"Play!" Roland pulled out his pocket watch. It was already two in the morning, but nothing could stop his determination to make money.

He took Drake back to the Spirit Realm chessboard, changed the scene and appearance, and then focused his mind to summon the chosen worker to enter the arena.

This time is different from the last time; the seven "stars" are gathered together, which suggests that Caius has returned to Glacier Town.

The chessboard trembled, and a force field shot out, splitting into seven streams that fell into the real world. Moments later, the seven people responded one after another, drawn by the force field into the spirit world, falling onto the chessboard and revealing seven different figures.

"Good evening, everyone, chosen ones," the fat fire dragon said in a silly manner, deliberately yawning.

"Good evening, Guide..."

The others had varying expressions, wondering why it was so late today. Then they realized there were exactly eight people today, meaning there had to be a winner among them. Thinking of this, they could no longer suppress their smiles.

"let's start."

The chessboard vibrates, the scene changes, and several chessboards of different shapes float in the air, which is cool and realistic.

Roland immediately checked everyone's attributes, especially his own.

[Roland, Health: 559/559, Spirit: 212/212, Strength: 105, Damage Amplification: 15%]

'My attributes have surpassed Drake's in every aspect!'

Health increased by 301, mental strength increased by 51, with 1 point in each likely being natural progress, strength increased by 5 points, and an additional damage amplification attribute added.

After the abnormal mutation, the body develops a strange characteristic, resembling a burning flame. The stronger the body is, the stronger the flame becomes, creating a symbiotic relationship that amplifies damage.

How well it performs can only be truly seen in battle.

Roland wasn't overly excited. He recalled Pro's words: "Only the extraordinary can contend with the extraordinary." Many extraordinary abilities are almost like rules or concepts, difficult to resist with physical strength alone; one must master the extraordinary ability.

Others' attributes remain almost unchanged; most people are already set in their ways, and even progress or aging is a relatively slow process.

Most people were exhausted yesterday, so only five simulated battles can be held today. Er Gou-Herman and Drake will take on one battle each, and Apprentice-Mengwei will take on three battles, earning a total of 90 Spiritual Glimmers.

Mengwei is an extraordinary being and recovers relatively quickly, while Drake needs to maintain his condition and cannot expend too much energy.

Today was different from before. With eight people participating, someone was bound to take first place. After five games, Drake won three times, Er Gou-Hermann once, and Spider-Wright once.

Roland kept his word and released the spiritual glimmers as promised. Er Gou and the Spider were not extraordinary beings, so they could only store the spiritual glimmers in a "medium".

When the rewards were distributed, everyone's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. They were so excited that they no longer had any doubts about the simulated battles.

Once everyone had left, Roland could no longer maintain his composure. Just moments before, in the instant the spiritual light appeared, he had felt a sudden, intense craving—a strong desire to eat, his hunger growing ever stronger.

'The so-called special materials... include spiritual glimmers.' This is probably the effect of a voracious appetite, using hunger to help him distinguish what he can eat.

He hesitated, worried that it might be addictive, but he believed in the Rune Seed more in his heart.

'A small one should be fine, let's try it.'

He took out a glimmer of spiritual light and swallowed it. It tasted like nothing at all, just like swallowing a mouthful of air.

(End of this chapter)