NOVEL WEB chapter 180
105. New Abilities
“Alright, it’s done!”
Before the cold operating table, Teacher Meira clapped her small hands in delight, signaling the preliminary construction of the alchemical core on Mu En was complete.
Not just the alchemical core, but a total of three thousand six hundred twenty-one magical patterns had been inscribed within Mu En’s body. Although this was still extremely insignificant compared to connecting the entire Eternal Bell, it represented the first step toward her long-held wish, finally achieved.
“Eh, didn’t you say it was done? Why are you still lying there?”
Teacher Meira leaned down, puzzled, looking at Mu En, who had clearly been freed from restraints but still lay motionless like a dead fish.
Lying there and refusing to get up…
She lightly tapped her small hand, suddenly realizing:
“Could it be that my technique was so comfortable you fell asleep?”
“Comfortable? Teacher Meira, don’t you have any conscience?”
Mu En finally turned his head, his handsome face, under Teacher Meira’s skilled technique, couldn’t help but… stream with tears.
“It hurts, it hurts so much! Teacher Meira, do you know how much it hurts?”
At first, it was bearable. The surgical blades, thin as a cicada’s wings, glided over his body, feeling no more than a tickle to Mu En. Compared to what he experienced every night in the dark book, it was utterly trivial.
The problem lies in the construction of the alchemical core. When Teacher Meila infused that golden solution, concocted from the essence of ancient dragons, into my body, it was no mere solution; it felt as if molten iron was being poured inside me!
The iron burned through my flesh inch by inch, searing my very bones, a pain so profound it made me wish for death.
In truth, with my resistance to pain, I could endure it for a short while, but the issue was that this exhilarating, almost euphoric experience lasted a full day.
A day!
Twenty-four hours!
One thousand four hundred forty-four minutes!
Do you know how I managed to get through it?
Do you know how many times I fainted from the pain in between?
Yet you still think I’m comfortable; you don’t care about me at all!
You were halfway through and then got distracted to do something else, and when you came back, you had half a chicken leg stuffed in your mouth—I saw it!
“This little bit of pain, and you can’t handle it? You’re not cut out for this, kid.”
Teacher Meila curled her lip, a hint of disdain flickering in her crimson eyes:
“When I was young, I wouldn’t even let out a grunt at this level of suffering.”
“…Really?”
“Of course.”
“Then why won’t you look me in the eye, Teacher Meila?” Mu En fixed his gaze on her wandering eyes.
Don’t act all tough while looking like you’ll cry for a long time after taking a punch!
“Ahem, let’s set aside these trivial matters for now. How does your body feel? Any discomfort?” Teacher Meila cleared her throat, shifting the topic.
“Tsk…”
Mu En clicked his tongue and moved his body a bit.
“No discomfort, just a lingering heat in my back.”
“The heat is normal. Come, let’s see the results of your twenty-four-hour endurance.”
Teacher Meila produced a mirror from somewhere, gesturing for Mu En to turn around.
In the reflection, Mu En finally saw the outcome of enduring a whole day of excruciating pain.
—It was an intricate and solemn pattern, a complex design of thousands of golden lines radiating around the alchemical core, resembling a rising sun, spreading layer upon layer across his torso. The golden lines pulsed rhythmically with his breath, revealing a mysterious and profound beauty.
“This is just the first engraving, merely establishing a preliminary connection with the Eternal Clock. When your body grows stronger, I will expand upon this foundation with at least one hundred sixty thousand magical patterns and add seventeen more alchemical cores. Only then will the second phase truly be complete.”
“One hundred thousand…”
Mu En’s mouth twitched: “Can you even fit that on my back?”
“Oh? Who told you the next step would be to engrave on your back?”
Teacher Meila raised an eyebrow, her gaze sweeping over Mu En’s body, lingering on a certain area for quite a while, a meaningful curve forming at the corner of her mouth.
“Isn’t there plenty of space on other parts of you?”
“Huh?”
Mu En was taken aback, following Teacher Meila’s gaze and looking down. His forehead immediately shivered, and he covered his small belly, wailing:
“Teacher Meila, some places shouldn’t have strange patterns drawn on them!”
“Calm down, calm down. I won’t deliberately draw a pink little heart on you that you can never wash off for the rest of your life.” Teacher Meila blinked, her face a picture of innocent cuteness, like a playful old loli.
“Your words make me even more uneasy!”
“Next time, I’ll be gentle.”
“I don’t need that kind of gentleness!”
……
……
After fighting for his dignity for a long while, Mu En finally received a promise from Teacher Meila that she wouldn’t go overboard. He then spent a considerable amount of time preening in front of the mirror.
He couldn’t shake the feeling… that these golden patterns, combined with the increasingly solid contours of his back, looked somewhat handsome.
“Maybe in the future, with this handsome back of mine, I could attract the hearts of countless girls.” Mu En struck a cool bodybuilding pose, lost in his thoughts.
A perfect ghostly back, with built-in golden flashing LEDs—who could possibly resist that?
“I think the probability of attracting same-s*x perverts is even higher.”
Teacher Meila ruthlessly burst Mu En’s fantasy, her expression becoming slightly more serious.
“Alright, enough chit-chat. It’s time to test the specific effects.”
“Specific effects?”
“After all, you’ve made initial contact with the Eternal Clock. You should now be able to use a bit of its authority.”
“Even if it’s just a minuscule amount, it should be a significant enhancement for you at this stage.”
Teacher Meila took out her pink little water bottle. Just as Mu En thought she was going to habitually water the flower sea again, she suddenly threw the watering can at him.
“Infuse magic into the alchemical core,” Teacher Meila instructed.
“Understood.”
Mu En quickly reacted, channeling the magic within him toward the alchemical core on his back.
Though it was an externally crafted artificial object, at that moment, Mu En felt as if those magical patterns had completely fused with him, becoming an extension of his meridians. The magic flowed through those patterns as smoothly as it would within his own body.
In an instant, the alchemical core, infused with a large amount of magic, began to tremble slightly, as if resonating with something.
Boom.
At that moment.
Mu En seemed to hear the chime of the clock tower at midnight.
The world fell silent in an instant, but it was not a silence devoid of sound.
It was as if all the sounds around him were becoming distorted, stretching out like a tape, except for his own heartbeat and breathing.
“This…”
Mo En’s eyes widened in shock, because the watering can that Meila teacher had thrown over had suddenly hovered in mid-air.
Not hovering, but moving very slowly, as if it had been slowed down like a paused video.
Mo En could clearly see the water droplets slowly dripping from the can, opening up a cluster of delicate, suffocatingly beautiful silver flowers in mid-air.
Through these crystal-clear water flowers, Mo En saw Meila teacher still maintaining the pose of throwing the watering can, with her chubby little face looking extremely endearing in the static picture.
Time freeze?
Yellow-haired?
Little Lolita?
Mo En suddenly felt like some familiar scene had suddenly appeared before his eyes, just like some puzzle pieces had clicked into place.