The “delivery” was still en route, delayed by distance.
Before it arrived, Lin Jun had another experiment.
“Cold! Burning! Just kill me!” Screams echoed in the Far North’s icy winds. Of the duo sent to assassinate Inanna, the bald human had already served his purpose. The vampire viscount Giles was finally put to use.
Green-tinted and bound to a tall pole, Giles “enjoyed” the noon sun’s pale rays in the freezing cold.
[Photosynthesis] offered little help against a vampire’s natural dread of sunlight.
Luckily, this world’s sun didn’t instantly ash vampires like in old tales, or Giles would be dust.
Still, progress was made. After a day of alternating cold and heat, plus healing to keep him alive, a new skill appeared in Giles’s panel: [Sunlight Resistance LV1].
No surprise to Lin Jun—he’d seen [Sunlight Resistance LV2] on Sigmund’s panel.
So far, it only slightly cut the sun’s burning damage, doing little for the weakness it caused.
Probably because the level was too low.
But who’d spend decades roasting themselves daily to grind this skill?
Not Lin Jun. He’d train it, though—on Giles.
The “daily training” was cheerfully assigned. A few Demonkin took on guarding and “caring” for Giles, chuckling.
Unlike Lin Jun, their joy wasn’t from Giles’s screams but from the long-awaited chance to grow their ranks.
Lin Jun had told the Demonkin to wait for his skill-stacking test. Now, it was time!
In Godwood Dungeon, the elves, after gauging [Madness]’s severity, sent their LV83 Royal Guard Captain with elite rangers and druids for a massive purge.
[Madness] wasn’t fully irreversible. Druids’ grueling purification could clear it.
Problem was, it spread faster than they could purify.
Left with no choice, the elves split efforts: saving a few valuable targets while wiping out most heavily infected creatures.
The top-down purge roared on, magic arrows and holy light flashing, accidentally nicking some innocent Puffshrooms.
No one cared about the Mycelial Network quietly coating corners.
Piles of dead creatures, dumped in the forest, became prime fuel for Lin Jun’s network.
As it broke down the bodies, skill levels climbed. Best of all, Lin Jun’s coveted [Physical Resistance] hit max level!
Time to use Galen, the empire Demonkin nurtured for months.
Galen, once burly and fierce, was a shadow of himself. Locked in a sunless cell, regularly bled by Piggy, and toyed with in dreams by Lin Jun, he was gaunt, pale, and weak.
Yet his eyes still held their old arrogance toward other Demonkin.
Brought to the “Cradle,” Galen, a Demonkin himself, knew his fate.
He didn’t fight. He just downed a steaming bowl of tasty mushroom soup in one go.
As the last sweet drop faded, he opened his eyes, scanning the Demonkin with mycelium-woven tattoos.
“Demonkin battles end with the loser’s core feeding the victor’s Cradle. Tradition, right?” His hoarse voice dripped with mockery. “But… you lot still call yourselves Demonkin, looking like that?”
“Anything else?” Shòu, in Marshal Puffshroom form, spoke flatly.
Galen spat, grinning twistedly. “Make it quick, kid!”
“Done!”
Shòu’s reply landed with a flash of steel! Too fast to follow, Galen’s head rolled onto the snowy ground.
Starfire stepped up, solemn, leading the ancient Demonkin rebirth ritual. With Lin Jun’s help, two hours later, a new Demonkin was born!
His body bore black-and-white tattoos: deep black from [Physical Resistance], laced with glowing white mycelium.
The Demonkin cheered wildly for their new kin, but Lin Jun’s mind surged with bigger waves!
Stacking two [Physical Resistance LV10] skills worked!
“Ha… hahaha!” Lin Jun’s wild laugh echoed in their minds, halting the party.
All eyes locked on Shòu’s trembling Marshal Puffshroom.
“He’s right!” Lin Jun buzzed. “You’re not ‘Demonkin’ anymore!”
“What?” Shòu didn’t follow.
“You’re beyond Demonkin limits!” Lin Jun’s voice soared. “Under me, you’ll be this continent’s mightiest race!”
The Demonkin, blind to the newborn’s panel, didn’t grasp Lin Jun’s hype.
So he showed them—hard.
Taking over an elite Puffshroom nearby, Lin Jun swung its razor whip in a lightning strike from a blind spot, aiming at the LV1 newborn in Starfire’s arms!
Too sudden. Shòu moved to block but stopped himself mid-reach.
Clang!
The Puffshroom’s full-force hit landed square.
The newborn flew, crashing into a snow pile.
Stunned silence gripped the Demonkin.
Starfire rushed over, frantic, pulling the newborn from the snow.
“No… no damage? Not a scratch?!” Starfire’s voice shook, checking the body.
[Physical Immunity]!
Lin Jun’s voice rang out, heralding a new era: “From today, you’re Mycodescendants! One day, that name will outshine ‘Demonkin’ and echo across the continent!”
(End of Chapter)
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