Chapter 171 – Cocoon

Dark Goblins are a type of large goblin species possessing an innate spell called “Dark Mist” capable of making any ordinary person completely obedient.

Considering how few people wandered the slums at night, a single Dark Goblin’s efficiency might prove insufficient, so Punk decisively summoned five Dark Goblins at once.

For a formal mage, apprentice-level spells came as naturally as breathing. As the magic circle gradually faded, a group of short, dark-skinned creatures appeared in the basement hall.

These knee-high monsters with large ears and flat noses were the Dark Goblins. Though the five summoned goblins appeared to be grinning maliciously, this was merely due to their facial muscle structure creating a perpetual smirk-like expression. In reality, these Dark Goblins remained completely expressionless.

“Excellent! Now go, night-dwelling goblins! Roam these slums until midnight and bring back the first human you encounter!”

Punk issued the command to the five neatly aligned Dark Goblins.

The summoned goblins obeyed absolutely. Thus, in the profound darkness, one after another eerie short creature dashed out from the gate deep in the slums – they would become the nightmare of anyone wandering outside at night.

Unnoticed, a week had passed. The test subjects Punk had “collected” now filled an entire cage. These precious “materials” had all been brought into the cottage while unconscious by the Dark Goblins, then remained unconscious as Punk confined them to another room in the basement.

The Shadow Grub parasitizing Test Subject One had entered its rapid growth phase. In fact, this little black creature was growing remarkably robust and healthy. When Punk went to check, the Shadow Grub had already grown about five times longer than its initial “occupation” size, while its body seemed to have undergone certain changes.

The Shadow Grub had almost completely devoured its host’s intestines, and its form was becoming bloated. Parts of its black body had nearly fused with Test Subject One. Through “See Invisibility,” Punk could clearly observe how the Shadow Grub had developed slender “tentacles” that clung to Test Subject One’s arteries, sucking blood.

“It appears fusion time has come.”

After carefully observing the conditions of both Test Subject One and the Shadow Grub, Punk reached this conclusion. Though the timing was somewhat early, the Shadow Grub’s growth seemed to have developed irreversible mutations under the catalysis of multiple magics. Now it was becoming difficult to classify as either larva or adult.

The test subject’s condition was equally concerning. Although Punk had continuously used high-efficiency healing spells and administered substantial nutrient solutions to sustain his life, the constant consumption of bodily tissues by the Shadow Grub had pushed Test Subject One to his limit. The negative emotions he produced also seemed to have reached a critical point, as Test Subject One now appeared to have lost his reactions to pain and nausea.

“Indeed, unless one is a professional, it’s difficult to sustain prolonged parasitism by a creature with such enormous appetite. Their willpower isn’t strong enough either. Most importantly, a broken consciousness seems unable to properly perceive bodily conditions.”After a series of stimulation experiments, Punk discovered that due to Test Subject One’s consciousness collapse, the negative states caused by the body being devoured—such as pain and despair—were no longer manifesting as suffering. Instead, they had become a chaotic blend of various messy emotions. Therefore, he decided to begin the fusion experiment!

In theory, merging parasites with negative emotions shouldn’t be difficult. At least, Punk clearly remembered the description in the book: “By uniformly applying spells to a large number of test subjects, a substantial quantity of Wraith Moths can be produced within no more than seven seconds!”

But now, Punk suspected that this description was probably written by some Legendary expert, because… damn it, only a Legendary Expert could casually manage such a complex process within seven seconds.

While carefully enveloping the shadow maggot with Test Subject One’s negative emotions, Punk silently complained in his mind.

In fact, just as it had initially refused to settle down, the shadow maggot now resisted leaving and being wrapped in an aggressive energy. Using alchemical spells to accelerate the fusion process, Punk could clearly sense the shadow maggot’s rejection of this energy. The negative emotions also seemed unwilling to merge with the shadow maggot, as if they recognized Punk as the instigator. Among them, hatred-like negative emotions constantly attempted to break free from the magical control to attack Punk.

Of course, even when energized and enhanced by spells, a normal person’s negative emotions couldn’t break free from the alchemical array’s restraints, let alone harm an official mage.

But currently, both the negative emotions and the parasite were rejecting each other, refusing to merge on their own.

Finally, Punk had to grit his teeth. “Since you refuse to merge, I’ll just forcibly ‘help’ you fuse together.”

After waiting over ten hours without any signs of the shadow maggot and negative energy calming down, Punk had to admit he lacked the ability to make the two coexist peacefully. Thus, he personally began merging the shadow maggot’s body with the negative energy bit by bit.

Employing his usual “divide and conquer” strategy, Punk used his mental power to split the negative emotions into small, independent fragments, then “grafted” each fragment into the shadow maggot’s body.

After a full night of struggle, this troublesome project was finally complete!

Gazing at the slowly writhing cocoon entwined with dark energy on the Experiment Table, Punk couldn’t help but mutter to himself:

“What a damn Wraith Moth. No wonder it can’t be mass-produced. The time required is just too long. Probably only a Legendary Expert could churn them out like ants.”

By now, the Wraith Moth experiment had succeeded, though not without significant flaws—such as “average success rate, unreliable product quality, low production efficiency…” (sounding like a sketchy product, right?). But at least, Punk’s Superior Focus Potion was finally within reach.As time passed minute by minute, the cocoon at the center of the hall squirmed with increasing intensity. The growth rate of the Wraith Moth even exceeded Punk’s initial expectations. Within mere minutes, the cocoon—now more than double its original size—began to develop cracks, from which faint streams of gray-black energy and agonized wails seeped out.

Soon after, a pair of wings composed of negative emotions burst forth from the cocoon. On these palm-sized wings, distorted faces writhed and drifted, each one screaming in torment. With each echoing wail, the cocoon grew increasingly fragile.

In just a few more minutes, the entire cocoon shattered completely, revealing a plump, gray-black moth with a human-like face, now present in the Basement.

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(End of Chapter)