NOVGO.NET Chapter 441: New Harem Member?!
Chapter 441: New Harem Member?!
“R-ROAR?!”
It was the edge of the world.
At this moment a Lizardman Newborn and a battered behemoth were staring shellshocked. What the hell was this? Could it be called a statue anymore?
In front of them was a ginormous statue of a snake, but it was actually made of Lava?! It reminded Jack of those plant sculptures from his previous life.
But instead of topiary, this legit was flowing lava?! It seemed alive, the color of blood, and hotter than Hell!
Even the poor behemoth by the side couldn’t stop shaking from seeing this. Even its own fiery blood was nothing compared to this. It felt like a candle gazing at a volcano.
“R-Roarrr?!!!”
“I know, I’m shocked too…”
Jack agreed, his legs already in motion.
But he had barely taken a single step when a gigantic claw stopped his advance, a certain behemoth shaking as it gestured toward the core of it. And that’s when Jack heard it.
Thump! Thump! Thump! There was a rhythmic beating that was so faint yet overbearingly loud! And this thing alone had terrified the behemoth by his side.
One had to know that this was a HUGE deal!
This behemoth had managed to recover from a crash and from seeing countless of its brethren fall to Jack’s shenanigans, but against this thing it just couldn’t.
There was something WRONG with this. This wasn’t a power that they should face, and it didn’t even feel like Scaly’s Energy?! What was this they were even feeling?!
“Tch— So what if it’s scary? I’ll get to the bottom of it!”
Jack bypassed the gigantic paw, going forward.
He could almost see a boundary of energy that looked like a bloody mist and was right before him at that moment. He powerfully took a step and… coughed up blood?!
He was already getting affected physically? Even the edge of it was that rough?! Was reaching such a crazily deadly statue even possible?!
As for the cause of it all…
[Ding! Fiery Mana Storm Detected!]
[Warning! Now Taking Environmental Damage!]
[Proceed At Your Own Risks! This is DANGEROUS!]
It wasn’t just heat, it seemed like there was magic protecting the place? Jack raised his hand forward, trying to analyze it. His palm glowed a couple of times and then… nothing.
“How long has it been? Is this even related to the Lizardmen?!” Jack suddenly felt like he was back to being a Noob. But then he forced himself to go forward once more.
What if his body just needed to acclimate itself to this new energy? At this moment, a certain power coursed through his veins as he kept going: the power of copium!
Alas, even that great power couldn’t do anything against reality.
There weren’t any damage numbers appearing, as if the system itself wasn’t sure what this energy was either, and then his body started breaking apart!
His hands stopped working.
Then his lungs stopped working.
Finally, his heart stopped beating entirely.
That all happened in half a second, Jack instantly rushing backward, only to fall to his knees, incredible pain invading him. Every part of his skin, every muscle, all was in agony.
By the side, a certain behemoth took a few mighty steps backward, so hurriedly that Jack felt his body bounce a couple of times as if popcorn in a microwave.
It was only after an hour that he recuperated…
Sitting up, he couldn’t help but give a self-derisive smile. Wouldn’t it be funny if he just rose up, rushed in there, reached for the statue, and recorded it all?!
YOU DIED!
That would be it.
The end of the Demon King’s adventures.
He’d die, his account might actually get screwed, and countless Lizardmen would explode out of the Trial Tower and invade Infinite. Wouldn’t that be hella entertaining in a way?
He could watch it unfold from a distance. Maybe start a new character. Actually, that almost sounded fun? Chuckling, Jack rose, took position, and DASHED!
He found himself eagerly jumping toward the boundary.
He’d make sure to record it all and— WAIT, WHAT?!
And that’s when he came back to his senses.
[Noticed the Curse of the Snake!]
[Resisted Power of Original Temptation!]
[You’re Still About To Land In There! Good Luck! ^_^v]
“Motherfucker!”
As if he’d give up that easily!
He should be able to use his self-destruct ability even in this body! As long as he pushed himself properly then he could survive this for sure. He just had to— it suddenly happened.
Careful claws wrapped themselves around him, bringing him to safety, a certain behemoth looking at him with terror in his eyes, and yet one who had gone out of its way to save him!
“You?!” Jack couldn’t help but feel infinitely grateful. How lucky was he that the first behemoth he had ever encountered had turned out so special?!
But then he understood: it wasn’t luck at all.
The behemoth before him was weak.
It was the first because it was the weakest. And it was the weakest because it just wasn’t as belligerent nor as territorial as the others. And it was this fear that had saved it just then!
While Jack had barely resisted diving headfirst, this behemoth had been scared way too shitless to even think about it. This Temptation Power sure was one perverse ability!
That’s when Jack decisively turned tail and ran.
His modus operandi was usually to destroy every obstacle in his way, but this thing was WAY too strong for the current him. All he did was leave a few defiant words behind.
“Wait for me weird lava statue, I’ll be back!” He’d definitely come back one day and get to the bottom of it, even if he had to come back with a human army to crack it!
Chuckling, he turned toward his shaking behemoth partner.
“Anyway, thanks again for the save….. Got any name?”
Name? What kind of silly question was this? It was merely a fiery behemoth in charge of guarding the Evolution Lair. It wanted to tell the human it was called a guardian.
But that’s when the tiny lizard shook his head.
That’s not what Jack had meant, at all.
As if he’d let a creature that had just saved him remain nameless! At this moment, a certain pink girl’s face flashed across his face, knowing Bubblegum would agree.
As for the creature…
“R-ROAR?” Never had a behemoth ever been that confused.
There was definitely something wrong with this Newborn! He had in order: gone on a Newborn killing spree, slaughtered Guardians, almost killed himself, and now this?!
How could someone that crazy be smiling that brightly? And yet at this moment it suddenly felt at peace. Why did him giving it a name feel so natural? They even did a tiny ceremony.
Jack recorded it all, acting as if a monarch of old knighting a hero.
“From now on, you shall be known as…. Red Rocket!”
Red Rocket? The behemoth liked it!
But before Jack could fully explain its meaning, red for passion, and rocket for how fast it could charge, they reached the last Statue of Evolution before the Lava Snake Deathtrap.
“Welp, that’s my stop. Stay strong, Red Rocket, and let’s meet on the other side!”
Jack enthusiastically waved goodbye, as he finally did what countless Newborns had done before him. And as he touched the Statue, everything changed!
[Ding! Touched Scaly Evolution Statue!]
[Do You Wish to Enter Its Subspace? Y/N?]
[*PS: Can Only Enter Once. Stimulates Potential!]
“You know it, Baby. Stimulate me real good, I’m ready!”
A certain System really felt like protesting. Baby?! It was a godlike entity that oversaw the entirety of Infinite! It handled billions of players, and NPCs as well as—
It felt like rioting, but then it stopped itself, relenting, the more its many processes logically thought about it all. Who was it kidding?
It would use at least 5% of its entire CPU on this guy alone, it kept stalking him in fear he’d crash everything again, and it even felt itself changing ever since meeting him.
At first, it had been as objective and matter-of-fact as possible, but nowadays it found itself giving more and more custom messages oozing with personality.
Knowing all this, it actually didn’t contest the nickname anymore, its newfound playful side resurfacing as it replied to his proposal in kind.
[Successfully Gave the System a Pet Name!]
[This System is Made of Billions of Lines of Code!]
[C-Cheating?! This System Will Tell a Certain Pumpkin Girl!]
Wait… what?! Jack suddenly didn’t feel that good. What had happened to the System?! Was it becoming sassy since they weren’t in the regular Infinite World but a subspace instead?!
But before he could retort, he suddenly felt the world around him change powerfully, the teleportation magic finally registering. And he suddenly found himself in a crazy new place.
Not only was it overflowing with energy, but it got even better:
[Ding! Welcome to the Evolution Space!]
[Where Newborns Turn Into Lizards!]
[Please Select An Evolution Path!]
This was freaking amazing…