The forest was silent, save for the distant hooting of a Spirit Owl.
Jin Ryeong sat at the base of a twisted pine tree, his eyes fixed on the patch of moss between his boots. The cocoon sat there, pulsing with a faint, rhythmic heat.
It wasn't a soft, silky cocoon. It looked like a ball of spun steel wire.
[System Notification]
[Metamorphosis Progress: 99%...]
[Genetic Integration: Success.]
[Traits Combined:]
- Base: Corpse-Eating Beetle (Scavenger).
- Diet 1: Spirit Blood Leech (Fluid mechanics/Poison storage).
- Diet 2: Meteorite Iron (Density/Conductivity).
"Come on," Jin Ryeong whispered. "Don't disappoint me."
CRACK.
A sound like snapping metal echoed in the clearing. The steel cocoon split open.
Something crawled out.
It was no longer a larva. It was a beetle, about the size of a child's fist. Its shell wasn't golden anymore; it was a matte, gunmetal black that absorbed the moonlight. Its legs were serrated blades. Its mandibles looked less like insect jaws and more like hydraulic pincers.
But the most disturbing part was its wings. When it buzzed, it didn't sound like a bug. It sounded like a high-speed drill.
[System: Pet Evolved.]
[Species: Iron-Vein Scarab (Variant).]
[Grade: Rare (Growth Type).]
[New Ability: 'Metal-Eater'. Can consume and digest common metals.]
[New Ability: 'Venom Conduit'. Can store and inject poison without harming itself.]
Jin Ryeong extended his hand. "Up."
The scarab didn't crawl. It vanished in a blur of black motion and appeared on his palm. Its legs pricked his skin, heavy and cold.
"Heavy," Jin Ryeong muttered. "Good."
He needed to test it.
He looked around. Ten paces away stood a young oak tree, about as thick as a man's thigh.
"Target," Jin Ryeong pointed. "Cut."
Zzzzt.
The Scarab launched itself. It didn't fly like a butterfly; it flew like a bullet. It slammed into the tree bark.
There was no explosion. Just the sound of a buzzsaw meeting wood.
RRRRRR-CHUNK.
Sawdust sprayed into the air. The Scarab tore through the tree trunk in a circular arc, its metal jaws shredding the wood fibers instantly. It exited the other side in three seconds.
CREAK... BOOM.
The young oak tree groaned, tilted, and collapsed into the underbrush.
Jin Ryeong's eyes widened. "It's not a pet," he smiled, a cold, satisfied expression crossing his face. "It's a flying drill."
The Scarab returned to him, hovering with that menacing mechanical hum.
"I'll call you... Drilling machin of doom."
The Scarab looked menacingly at Jin as if saying "Are you serious?"
"Okey, Okey let's see... I'll call you Scalpel."
This time the scarab looked pleased with it's name.
It fit. It was precise, cold, and designed to cut.
[XP Gained: +50 (Pet Evolution).]
[XP Gained: +50 (First Command).]
[Current XP: 800/800.]
[LEVEL UP!]
A warm rush of energy flooded Jin Ryeong's body. The fatigue from the day—the furnace, the beating, the escape—washed away.
[Name: Jin Ryeong]
[Level: 3 -> 4]
[Points Available: 5]
Jin Ryeong checked his stats immediately.
Constitution: 13
Agility: 9
Strength: 3
Qi: 0/2 (Max 2).
He needed Qi. The Thousand Venom Hand cost 2 Qi per use.
Currently, he could only fire one shot before running empty. If he wanted to use Scalpel effectively (who might eventually need Qi commands), he needed a bigger tank.
"System. Put 3 points into Qi. 2 points into Agility."
[Processing...]
Qi: 2 -> 5
Agility: 9 -> 11.
His senses sharpened. The forest seemed a little brighter. The wind felt a little slower.
"Time to go home," he said. "Before the Blue Dragon wakes up."
The Blue Dragon Sect - Outer Wall...
Infiltration was easier now. With Agility 11, climbing the mossy stone wall near the waste chutes was child's play.
Jin Ryeong slipped back into the sect grounds just as the first rays of dawn began to bleed purple into the sky. He moved like a shadow, avoiding the sleepy patrols of the Outer Disciples.
He reached the Medicine Hall's backyard. His destination: The Woodshed.
But as he approached, he saw something that made him freeze.
The door to his shed was open. And there was light inside.
Jin Ryeong pressed himself against the wall of the main building. Han? Did he come back with reinforcements?
Jin Ryeong activated his Diagnosis Eye.
He peered through a crack in the wooden slats.
Inside the shed, sitting on his straw mat, was a figure. Not Han. It was Elder Baek.
The Elder was sitting calmly, reading the Thousand Venom Hand manual that Jin Ryeong had hidden under his pillow.
Jin Ryeong's blood ran cold.
Possessing a Demonic Art manual was a death sentence. Theft was a death sentence.
Extorting a disciple (Mei) was a death sentence.
He had three death sentences sitting in the hands of a maniac alchemist.
Jin Ryeong touched his pocket. Scalpel vibrated.
Can I kill an Elder? No. Elder Baek was at least Level 40.
Scalpel would bounce off his skin.
There was only one way. The Truth. Or a version of it.
Jin Ryeong took a breath, adjusted his robes, and walked into the shed.
"Elder," Jin Ryeong bowed deeply. "You grace my humble quarters."
Elder Baek didn't look up. He flipped a page.
"Interesting reading material you have here, boy. 'The Thousand Venom Hand'. A technique banned by the Orthodoxy eighty years ago."
Baek closed the book and looked at Jin Ryeong. His eyes were sharp, devoid of the madness usually present when he was brewing pills.
"Disciple Mei came to me an hour ago," Baek said softly.
"She was crying. Said a 'demon' in the basement healed her arm and stole her manual."
Jin Ryeong remained bowed.
"She was dying, Elder. I treated the patient. The manual was payment."
"You extorted an Inner Disciple."
"I engaged in fair trade."
Baek stared at him. The silence stretched for ten heartbeats.
The air pressure in the room rose, heavy with Qi.
Then, Baek laughed. "Hah! Fair trade!"
Baek stood up and tossed the manual back to Jin Ryeong.
"She was weak. She deserved to lose it. And you..." Baek stepped closer, sniffing the air. "You smell like Star Steel and dried blood. And you fixed my furnace."
Baek leaned in, his face inches from Jin Ryeong's.
"I don't care about the rules, boy. I care about results.
You have hands that don't shake.
You have a stomach for poison."
Baek reached into his sleeve and pulled out a scroll, It was sealed with heavy red wax.
"The Surgery begins tomorrow," Baek whispered, a maniac grin returning to his face.
"I am going to attempt the Chimera Grafting on a live subject.
The Sect Leader approved it in secret."
Baek shoved the scroll into Jin Ryeong's chest.
"I need an assistant who isn't afraid of blood or curses.
Han is a coward. You... you are a vulture."
Baek walked to the door.
"Report to the underground lab at noon. If you vomit, I kill you.
If you succeed... I will teach you how to refine actual poison, not this trash manual you found."
Baek left.
Jin Ryeong stood alone in the shed. He clutched the manual in one hand and the sealed scroll in the other.
[System Notification]
[Quest Updated: The Chimera Surgeon.]
[Role:] Surgical Assistant.
[Objective:] Keep the test subject alive during the grafting.
[Reward:] Access to Elder Baek's Secret Library.