novelsite Chapter 96 In Vitro Systems
Chapter 96 In Vitro Systems
In the darkness, the orange-red fortress rose into the sky.
Xu Yang felt a burning sensation in his chest, and his mind went blank.
He didn't summon the furnace; it activated automatically after the spatial blockade was lifted.
But there is a problem.
It's normal that the previously used dinar was locked, since it had already been used twice.
Perhaps after activation it becomes a real-time coordinate, but the other one, which he had kept in his pocket and hadn't used yet, was a backup plan for unexpected situations, but now it had also been automatically triggered.
This doubt lingered in my mind.
However, at times like this, there's no time to think too much.
Because now, he's about to take off!
The surrounding environment has returned to normal, and the green troop transport airship is parked not far away.
Xu Yang was about to run towards it, but a special force field enveloped him, and a sudden upward pull rose up.
In an instant, he lost his balance and floated upwards.
Whoosh!
His body transformed into a stream of light, but he did not disappear into the orange-red fortress high in the sky.
But once again, the world before my eyes turned into darkness.
Before Xu Yang could react, he was already being swept away by a force, speeding through a pitch-black world.
Suddenly, he looked around.
A strange sense of déjà vu arose in my mind, and a flash of inspiration followed.
"This is... the Astral Plane!"
And at the very beginning, when the Forge of Miracles appeared, the surrounding darkness was because he had temporarily entered the astral plane.
We are now traveling through the astral plane.
The furnace that was floating high in the sky was just a phantom; it was essentially guiding itself through the astral plane.
With his thoughts racing, Xu Yang traversed the star realm rapidly, occasionally spotting other figures along the way.
However, the darkness did not last long.
Soon, the scenery before them changed in an instant, and they had already left the astral plane.
Xu Yang looked at the unfamiliar surroundings and muttered something under his breath.
"Where did I get this for?"
Before me lay a grayish-white expanse, the alien surface beneath the flames from before.
At this moment, it was right beneath Xu Yang's feet.
A two-meter-long creature, resembling a fat worm, looked up at him, its eyes displaying the calm of an intelligent being, a calmness akin to death.
The Perfectionist
Their names are no longer recorded. Billions of years have passed, oceans have changed, prosperity has turned to ashes, and the ancient cosmic overlords have entered the tombs they meticulously built.
[Note: Perfection is another form of deformity.]
……
Perfect? Overlord?
Xu Yang stared blankly at the fat worm.
The other person was ugly, sluggish and bloated, and had no emotion in his eyes.
It's like some kind of untamed wild beast.
Where is the perfection? Where is the hegemon? This is utter nonsense.
Xu Yang, speaking fluent human language, initiated a chat request with the fat worm.
"Hey bro, do you understand?"
The Perfect One lay prostrate on the ground, unresponsive, with not a trace of emotion in his eyes.
Clearly, he rejected the chat request and ignored Xu Yang.
"This local creature is so rude."
Xu Yang couldn't help but mutter a curse to himself, but he didn't press the matter further.
Who knows if this fat bug will suddenly get angry, undergo a super evolution on the spot, transform into a dragon, and lift itself up with one claw.
This is quite possible; the guide says it's the cosmic overlord, and it probably really is.
Xu Yang moved a little further away from the insect and looked around again.
Only then did he look up.
Rootless flames burn in mid-air, while the Miracle Furnace floats even higher in the sky.
According to the guide, one of the furnace masters is the very person the dinar is trading with.
Xu Yang lowered his head, pondering how to get up there.
Wow…
At the gate of the orange-red fortress, a staircase made of fiery red crystals rapidly grew downwards, spreading down step by step, passing through the raging flames and reaching Xu Yang's feet.
Clearly, this is to let him go up.
Xu Yang hesitated for a moment, then stepped onto the stairs.
Above is a raging fire.
As he walked up the steps, he inexplicably had the feeling that he was walking into an incinerator.
However, if the Lord of the Furnace really wanted to kill him, he wouldn't have gone to such great lengths.
Xu Yang lowered his head and strode into the flames in front of him.
Sure enough, they were completely unharmed.
Upon entering the flames, one feels a warm sensation throughout the body, and even one's spirits are lifted.
Xu Yang breathed a sigh of relief.
It seems that the Lord of the Furnace has no intention of settling scores.
Of course, it's also possible that they'll try diplomacy first and then resort to force.
Xu Yang quietly activated the guide's detection function and slowly stepped into the Miracle Furnace.
After passing through the black and red gate, a bright and open space suddenly appeared before me.
The hall was almost the size of a plaza, with flames burning around its edges.
A crystal chair, nearly ten meters tall, stands in the center.
On the stone chair sat a giant dressed in a gray-white robe, the robe adorned with various mysterious and flowing golden patterns.
At this moment, he leaned forward, his fiery red eyes staring intently at Xu Yang.
Lord of the Forge
【……@…&！ #(@##())】
【Remark:*@*&】
……
Xu Yang was startled.
This is the second time the guide has failed to identify anything; the last time was the sun overhead.
It is obvious that the Lord of the Furnace sitting before us and the strange sun above the Earth Source are beings of the same level.
But before he could think any further...
An urgent voice came from behind.
It wasn't human language, but it conveyed the meaning precisely.
"Human! Give me, give me the dinars on your body, two of them, I saw them, I saw them!"
Give it to me quickly!
As he spoke, the Lord of the Furnace suddenly stood up, unable to suppress the desire in his heart any longer.
The massive body moved in an instant, rushing towards Xu Yang at an extremely terrifying speed.
The latter didn't even have time to react before they were about to collide.
Splash...
Suddenly, a sound rang out in the hall.
Countless golden patterns flew out from the Lord of the Furnace's robes, arranging and combining in mid-air to form chains that held him firmly in place.
Meanwhile, Xu Yang's mind was still reeling.
The Lord of the Furnace acted too quickly; he was only now realizing what was happening.
"This is a trap!"
The thought suddenly popped into my head, but I couldn't think about it any further at that moment.
While the Lord of the Furnace was being held back.
Run!
Xu Yang took a step back, and teleportation was activated at the same time.
His body transformed into a black shadow, moving rapidly backward and instantly approaching the furnace gate.
Bang.
Without warning, he bumped into a wall and looked back.
Countless golden chains formed a wall behind them, completely blocking their escape route, as if it had been planned in advance.
Xu Yang's heart sank, but he quickly calmed down.
At least the Lord of the Furnace is trapped, so it's not a life-or-death crisis yet.
But this wall...
The next moment, he raised his leg and kicked upwards.
Bang! !
The leg muscles were shattered, yet the golden wall remained completely still.
A voice, tinged with suppressed longing, rang out: "It's no use. You can only leave after the deal is complete. Give me the dinars."
He was the master of the furnace, who had now been pulled back to the stone chair by chains.
He knelt on the ground in a disheveled state, his eyes blazing with menacing fire, his face contorted as he struggled to control his urge to attack.
Give it to me!
Xu Yang's eyelids twitched.
The Lord of the Forge seems to be experiencing some mental issues, but there's no other way to address this at the moment.
Forcing him to leave is not an option, and the dinars were indeed intended for his trade, as stated in the guide.
With that in mind, Xu Yang no longer hesitated.
He pulled out a dinar from his pocket and promptly tossed it over.
The Lord of the Furnace instantly grabbed the denar, opened his palm, and began to stare at the coin with fascination.
After a long while, he finally raised his head, his expression becoming more composed, and said:
"Two active summonings of the Forge must be for a transaction amount of no less than two dinars. I know you have one left."
Xu Yang was slightly taken aback.
My previous worries were indeed correct.
It sounds like the use of the Dinardan skill was already documented by the Forge Master, so it seems that some people have actually done it.
Each use constitutes a transaction by default.
Even if it fails, a forced transaction will be initiated once the spatial blockade is lifted.
However, if you can't gather enough currency...
It probably won't end well.
'Perhaps I'll turn into one of those fat worms?'
Thinking it over, Xu Yang tossed over the last coin and was about to ask about the transaction.
Suddenly, a bizarre scene unfolded before my eyes.
Right in the hands of the Lord of the Furnace, the two dinars slowly ignited, emitting plumes of white smoke.
Countless figures seemed to be running continuously within the smoke.
At the same time, some strange noises also came from inside the hall.
The Lord of the Furnace closed his eyes, and smoke billowed into his body.
After a long while, the dinar burned out completely.
As the white smoke dissipated, the space returned to silence, and the golden chains disappeared.
"Ah, I'm alive, I'm still alive."
The Lord of the Furnace seemed to be lost in thought, but when he looked up at Xu Yang, his tone was filled with a sense of peace.
"Choose what you want."
As he spoke, he gently raised his hand.
Ding--
A special interface suddenly appeared in Xu Yang's field of vision.
Upon closer inspection, he discovered it was filled with a dazzling array of magic—
Rain of Dew, Ice Spikes, Fire Wall, Soul Call, Eye of the Omen, Sky Judgment...
Xu Yang first randomly clicked on a few.
Most of the spells were marked with different levels, from LV1 to LV5, and the cost of each level in denars was also different.
The voice of the Forge Master rang out once more:
"Two dinars. All the items you can buy are in the LV1 range. Choose carefully. You can come here to upgrade your rank when you have more dinars in the future."
"upgrade?"
Xu Yang was taken aback at first, but then quickly accepted the fact.
Since there are levels, you can upgrade, but you can only upgrade using the Miracle Forge, which costs denars.
Thinking about it, Xu Yang glanced again at the serene-looking Master of the Furnace.
Since absorbing the denar, the other party has become exceptionally gentle, as if the previous hysterical and crazy state was just an illusion.
The dinar is a bit strange.
Moreover, he had never heard of any way to obtain the dinar; it seemed to be purely a matter of luck.
In other words, does the improvement of the magic system depend on luck?
"Then this kind of system is meaningless."
Xu Yang frowned, but seeing the Furnace Master's calm expression, he took the initiative to ask:
"Um... senior, do you mean magic can only be enhanced through denars?"
The Lord of the Furnace shook his head slightly: "Your human rank evolution system can also raise your abilities to LV5, but using a denar is more convenient and faster."
"How do you increase your magic level within the human system?"
"Each advancement brings an improvement."
Xu Yang frowned slightly: "Does that mean that without advancing to the next level, it's impossible to level up at all?"
Having spent so much time with Ma Yue, he was familiar with some basic knowledge about evolution and mutation.
For example, the Federation's four-tier ranking system means that there are only four opportunities to upgrade magic.
In reality, it's difficult to even reach the first rank in the rank system, let alone the fourth rank.
Therefore, most people never have the chance to upgrade their magic.
That doesn't make sense.
Just as I was thinking this, the voice of the Lord of the Furnace came.
"Don't even think about it. The human system is fundamentally different from 'magic,' and you even call it 'magic.'"
He paused for a moment, then continued to explain, "There are no gods in this world, so where does magic come from?"
So-called magic is just another evolutionary system, essentially the construction of an external organ that cannot be observed or interfered with.
The advantage is that these organs cannot be fundamentally destroyed; the only limitation on their use is their own mental power.
If we're going to explain this using mutation, it should be called an in vitro mutation, while what you humans use is an in vivo mutation.
Those that aren't on the same path won't be a perfect match; being able to advance and improve is already good enough. Otherwise, just use a denar.
What's the difference between in vivo and in vitro?
Xu Yang's expression changed, and he immediately realized what was going on.
In the human system, the variant characteristics are essentially special internal body structures. Once this structure is damaged, the characteristics cannot be used.
The organs that produce magic cannot be observed or destroyed.
From this perspective, the magic system does indeed have certain advantages.
However, the downside is also obvious: the difference in physical strength gives humans an advantage in this aspect of the hierarchy system.
But... we can learn from each other's strengths and make up for our weaknesses.
Moreover, he simply wanted to find a way to reliably increase his magic level.
In this way, all thirty dinars can be exchanged for LV1, and then slowly upgraded into powerful skills, which maximizes long-term benefits.
Besides, no one has ever said that you can't practice multiple systems simultaneously.
Since true skill and genetic memory can be activated simultaneously, the system might be able to as well.
I need to learn magic.
Upon realizing this, Xu Yang solemnly said, "Senior, I can try the external organ system."
The Lord of the Furnace was taken aback at first, then shook his head.
A hint of sadness flashed in his eyes.
"Aside from evolving these external organs myself through the dinar, there is no other way to cultivate independently. The technology upon which this system relies has completely disappeared with civilization."
Right down there, in those ashes, there's nothing left. Do you see those guys lying on the ground?
Xu Yang nodded subconsciously.
Suddenly, he realized something.
The Perfect One, the Overlord of the Universe, the New Evolutionary System.
Could this external organ have been created by those worms?
Wait a minute, if the external organs were created by those fat worms, then what is the Furnace Master, who is now the only one capable of evolving external organs?
The one who destroyed that civilization, or the descendant who inherited its legacy?
Before Xu Yang could figure it out...
Ta-da.
Footsteps sounded from the entrance to the Miracle Furnace.
Xu Yang turned his head to look.
A woman entered the room at some point, holding three dinars in her hand.
Beside him, the Lord of the Furnace also saw the white currency in the woman's hand, and his previously sentimental expression instantly turned into excitement.
Xu Yang remained silent, but slowly took a few steps back.
However, he didn't get to see the Lord of the Furnace unleash his beastly nature.
The woman, as if she had come beforehand, threw out the dinar with remarkable speed.