“Haha, I did it! I finally succeeded! Who would’ve thought that a randomly summoned soul from another world could perfectly fuse with the egg of an Iphieash?”
In a small, sealed room, the floor and walls were covered with mysterious symbols. Thin streams of light flickered and flowed across them, emanating an aura of mystery and eeriness.
At the center of the room, a tiny white egg, no larger than a fingernail, floated midair. It swayed gently up and down, as if suspended by an invisible force.
Standing nearby was a humanoid creature, no taller than 1.5 meters, dressed in a peculiar long robe. It flailed its arms and danced excitedly.
Dole was ecstatic. The Iphieash, known as the “Infinite Evolution Insect,” was a legendary creature capable of endless adaptation and transformation. As it matured, its appearance could change drastically, with almost no two individuals resembling one another. The ancient book he had found detailed only the characteristics of the egg—illustrations of the adult forms were marked as “hypothetical.”
It was said that even the Iphieash themselves might not recognize members of their own species. This unique trait severely hindered their reproduction. Rumor had it that they could only produce an egg under extremely rare circumstances, often at the end of their lifespan.
Their harsh reproductive conditions led to their extinction long ago, but this flaw couldn’t overshadow their once-mighty power. When fully grown and in energy-rich environments, they could rapidly evolve to survive even the harshest conditions. With careful nurturing, a mature Iphieash could rival the power of a Tier-5 Grand Sorcerer.
In the current era, where the strongest sorcerers on the continent were only at Tier-3 High Rank, such a being would be akin to a god, capable of unifying the entire continent.
Dole, a Tier-2 High Rank sorcerer, had reached this level three centuries ago. Back then, he was a rising star among his people, hailed as the genius most likely to achieve Tier-3 status before turning 100. During his youthful days of fame and fortune, he stumbled upon the Iphieash egg during a seemingly routine exploration of ancient ruins.
From that moment on, Dole became obsessed, devoting himself entirely to hatching the egg. He dreamed of one day unleashing a Tier-5 pet beast to sweep aside all obstacles and dominate the continent.
Unfortunately, fate seemed to mock him. After countless experiments, he furiously discovered that although the egg’s larva remained intact, its consciousness had long since dissipated over the endless passage of time.
Driven by desperation, Dole scoured ancient texts and conducted endless experiments. At first, his efforts were within reasonable bounds, but as years turned into decades, his mind grew more unhinged. His methods became increasingly extreme and cruel.
A once-brilliant sorcerer, whose cultivation had stagnated for decades, inevitably attracted attention. Investigations soon uncovered horrifying revelations.
Over the span of several decades, more than a hundred of Dole’s apprentices and servants had mysteriously disappeared. Moreover, he was implicated in numerous cases of illegal human trafficking.
Left with no choice, Dole fled with the egg, continuing his experiments while living on the run. He hoped to one day reactivate the egg and reclaim his dreams of glory.
Two hundred years passed. The once-arrogant and high-spirited youth had become a stooped old figure. His once-thick green hair had thinned to a stubborn tuft clinging to the sides of his ears.
But persistence paid off. A few years ago, during another exploration, Dole obtained a blueprint for a summoning array. After some modifications, he used the egg as the array’s core. Several trials later, today marked his first successful summoning of a soul from another dimension capable of perfectly merging with the egg.
With the soul’s infusion, the larva within the egg could finally be revived. His two centuries of effort had not been in vain. Soon, those who had driven him from his home would pay the price.
Meanwhile, outside the rocky mountain where Dole had hidden, dozens of black-robed figures stood facing each other.
“Captain, we’ve detected traces of a concealed magic array here. Upon investigation, it appears to be Dole’s handiwork. However, to avoid alerting him, we didn’t act rashly, so we can’t confirm whether he’s still inside,” one of them reported.
The captain nodded and directed his team to set up a containment array to surround the mountain. Once all preparations were complete, he raised his hand. A wand slid out from his wide sleeve, which he then gripped tightly.
Chanting an incantation under his breath, the energy around him began to boil. A beam of green light shot out from the wand’s tip, striking the mountainside.
The scenery twisted and distorted, revealing its true form—a deep, dark cave appeared where the mountain had once stood.
Inside, Dole, who had been reveling in his success, felt the sudden surge of foreign energy from outside. Just as he turned to investigate, he realized his concealment array had been breached. Years of evading pursuit had made him highly experienced in such situations. Though this lab was only a temporary setup, he had prepared multiple escape routes. As long as even one remained unblocked, he could still escape.
Quickly stowing the egg, Dole dashed into a tunnel.
Minutes later, his expression turned ashen as he returned to the lab. The surrounding space had been sealed by an unknown magic array, forming an invisible cage that trapped him. Even though a path seemed open ahead, an invisible barrier blocked the way.
From outside, the captain’s voice rang out, “Dole, did you really think we’d let you escape again without preparation? Surrender now and hand over the Iphieash. Lord Leon may still spare your life.”
Leon—once Dole’s defeated rival—had been the first to uncover his human experimentation. Now, after two centuries, their roles had reversed completely.
While Leon’s initial motivation may have been simple vengeance against the man who had overshadowed him, he had long since uncovered the truth. His purpose had shifted entirely. Justice for the victims was now little more than a hollow excuse. The Iphieash was worth any cost.
Dole scoffed at Leon’s offer of mercy. Surrendering the egg would only guarantee his silence through death.
With no way out, Dole came to a desperate decision: to overload the elemental furnace powering the summoning array. The resulting energy surge would reverse the array’s operation, teleporting him out instead.
Since the array could summon souls from another dimension, surely a mere containment array couldn’t stop it.
As for where he would end up, that was in the hands of fate. Survival was better than certain death.
Resolute, Dole began casting protective spells on himself. Multicolored lights flared around his body. As for the egg, its unhatched Iphieash larva was protected by its seemingly ordinary but impenetrable shell.
Outside, the captain remained patient. His master had assured him that Dole lacked the means to destroy the Iphieash egg. Thus, he chose a cautious strategy of containment over confrontation. After all, even a cornered old sorcerer might prove dangerous.
But the captain’s caution proved futile.
A blinding white light erupted. The captain, his team of black-robed sorcerers, and the surrounding area were instantly obliterated, leaving behind a hemispherical crater over ten kilometers in diameter.
As for Dole, he had overestimated himself. A mere Tier-2 sorcerer stood no chance against the explosion of an overloaded elemental furnace. He was vaporized in the first instant.
Only the Iphieash egg remained, vanishing in a flicker of light as the summoning array disintegrated.
When Luo Wen regained consciousness, his mind was in turmoil.
He had just been taking a quick break at work, closing his eyes for a moment to rest. Hours of staring at a computer screen had left his eyes dry and sore. But the next thing he knew, he had fallen asleep—and inexplicably woken up in this bizarre situation.
He found himself trapped in a dark, slimy prison, surrounded by sticky, disgusting liquid.
What kind of prank was this? Sleeping on the job didn’t warrant something this extreme!
Luo Wen tried to shout, but no sound came out. He attempted to move, but realized with horror that his arms and legs seemed to have multiplied.
Frozen in shock, it took him several seconds before he began thrashing wildly.
Finally, the prison couldn’t withstand his struggles and cracked open. Luo Wen scrambled out through the opening.
All around him were enormous rocks, but now that he was free, he felt an inexplicable surge of strength—far beyond what he should have. With ease, he pushed the surrounding stones aside, creating a small space for himself.
What kind of reality show was this? Had they locked him up and buried him alive?
Still groggy from whatever had happened to him, Luo Wen’s thoughts remained scattered.
But it didn’t take long for the horrifying truth to dawn on him.
Staring at his hands—if they could still be called that—Luo Wen froze.
They were smooth, pitch black, and gleamed with an almost metallic sheen. Instead of fingers, strange jointed appendages protruded from them.
Looking down at his body, he saw the same black surface. His abdomen had sprouted two pairs of segmented limbs, and his torso extended into a segmented tail.
He was no longer human.