Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon
Zhou Wen felt exhausted as though he had been sucked dry. The color in his face instantly drained as beads of sweat oozed out of his forehead.
In-game, the Companion Egg’s red stream of light brightened after it absorbed the Primordial Energy, dyeing the entire Companion Egg red, making it look like a blood crystal.
Crack!
It cracked open and a blood-colored Vigor Ant’s light projection flashed and entered the blood-colored avatar’s body.
At this moment, Zhou Wen felt an odd force surge into his body. It was as though the force had a life of its own. Although it was indescribable, it was transmitting information to Zhou Wen in a magical manner.
“Pledge my life to follow you... Pledge my life to follow you... Pledge my life to follow you...”
As the voices sounded in Zhou Wen’s mind, the force in him gathered towards the back of his left hand. Slowly it formed a blood-colored ant symbol like a tattoo made from blood.
Zhou Wen subconsciously pulled his sleeves down and shrank his left hand in to prevent others from seeing the ant symbol on the back of it.
Companion Beasts had an extremely mystical existence. They were like parasites that live on humans, living and dying with their masters.
Zhou Wen took a look at the in-game information. Indeed, there was an additional entry of Mutated Vigor Ant at Companion Beast. Then, he took another look at the Mutated Vigor Ant’s stats.
Mutated Vigor Ant: Mortal
Strength: 9
Speed: 5
Constitution: 9
Primordial Energy: 9
Talent Skill: Vigor Divine Fist (Rank 9)
Companion Form: Boxing Glove
—
Zhou Wen was delighted seeing this. A Mutated Vigor Ant’s stats could match a top Mortal stage human and it had a Rank 9 Vigor Divine Fist. If he summoned it out, it was equivalent to having another hatchet man as strong as him. It could even be more ferocious than Zhou Wen since his Vigor Divine Fist was Rank 7 while it was at Rank 9.
Zhou Wen was eager to immediately summon the Mutated Vigor Ant to see what it looked like in real life, since all he saw in-game was a Mutated Vigor Ant drawn in a cartoon style. He had no idea what it really looked like.
However, with him being in school, Zhou Wen could only resist his desire.
A Mortal stage Companion Beast would probably attract plenty of attention if he summoned it in school. Furthermore, Zhou Wen didn’t have any good explanation for the Mutated Vigor Ant’s origins.
Tian Xiangdong couldn’t help but sneakily size up Zhou Wen. Upon seeing him, he said in a depressed tone, “Look at Zhou Wen. He’s gaming until he’s pale and breaking out into a cold sweat. He looks so frail. If I hadn’t seen his Strength and Primordial Energy Skill with my own eyes, I would really think that he was a sickly fellow.”
Little did he know that the reason for Zhou Wen’s sickly look was because he had been using his blood to revive himself in-game over the past month. Although one drop of blood each time wasn’t a lot, the numerous times he did so still caused him to lose a shocking amount of blood. This made Zhou Wen look somewhat pale and weak as though he was malnourished or suffering from anemia.
This was also one of the reasons why Yu Qiubai and the others believed that he was being decadent. That pale face was like a perfect example of someone wallowing in self-misery.
After returning home from school, Zhou Wen drew the curtains. Only then did he summon the Mutated Vigor Ant in his living room.
The symbol on the back of his hand burst out in a resplendent sanguine light. The symbol’s blood color seemed to come to life as it turned into a stream of blood that flowed over his palm and soon enveloped it within, turning it into a boxing glove that was neither gold or jade. On the back of the boxing glove was the symbol of a Vigor Ant.
Zhou Wen looked at the boxing glove on his left hand. He felt an explosive force fill his left fist as though he could blast apart a tank if he threw it out.
Indeed, it’s just like the livestreams on the Internet. Companion Beasts provide an augmentation effect in a companion state. A Vigor Ant augments Strength, right? Unable to test the augmented effects of the boxing glove at home, Zhou Wen could only put it away and switch to summoning the Mutated Vigor Ant.
As the Mutated Vigor Ant symbol on the back of his hand shimmered, a strange blood-colored projection appeared in front of him. The projection gradually materialized, turning into a blood-colored ant the size of a racehorse.
A Mutated Vigor Ant in real life was in no way as adorable as the cartoon version in-game. Its blood-red carapace appeared to be cast from metal. Its physical contours seemed to contain infinite explosive strength. Its long, slender ant legs were like saws. The feelers on its head looked like resilient steel pieces.
Ignoring being pierced by its leg, just being slammed by its body would probably result in fractures and debilitation.
It left a strong impact on him when he observed it up close. It had a dangerous beauty that looked somewhat demonic. While it left one shuddering in fear, it also prompted one to subdue it.
The game’s depiction really can’t be counted on. Such a ferocious killing machine actually looks so cute in-game. Zhou Wen swung himself onto the back of the Mutated Vigor Ant and made it circle the living room.
Unfortunately, the living room was too small, making it difficult for the Mutated Vigor Ant to turn around. He didn’t experience much of a thrill as a result.
I’ll try riding you out when I next have a chance. Unless necessary, Zhou Wen didn’t plan on letting others know of the existence of the Mutated Vigor Ant.
Although Mortal stage Companion Beasts were rare, they were much weaker than Legendary stage Companion Beasts. It was pointless showing it off.
However, the dropping of the Companion Egg made Zhou Wen more diligent. He continued striving hard with the phone, hoping to see what other drops he could get from the Ant Nest.
With the college entrance exams approaching, Zhou Wen went into school earlier, hoping to sleep in class. The moment he reached the school’s entrance, he saw Tian Xiangdong standing there with an odd expression.
Seeing Zhou Wen walk over, Tian Xiangdong hurriedly came forward, wearing an odd look on his face. He gritted his teeth and said, “Zhou Wen, I’m sorry. My friend invited me to join his team. I can’t be in the same team as you.”
With that said, Tian Xiangdong didn’t wait for him to say another word before running off.
Zhou Wen was slightly taken aback, unsure what was wrong with the fellow. The test was about to begin, yet here he was switching teams.
I wonder if Fang Ruoxi has any backup plans for Tian Xiangdong quitting the team. It’s not easy to find another teammate this late. Zhou Wen walked into the school as he thought about the matter only to find Li Zhi standing in front of him.
“Li Zhi, do you know about Tian Xiangdong quitting the team?” Zhou Wen asked.
Li Zhi was taken aback before he looked at him with an odd expression. “I’m sorry. For some reason, I can’t take the combat test with you either.”
Zhou Wen looked at Li Zhi and felt an ominous feeling rise in him.
“Why?” Zhou Wen looked at Li Zhi and asked.
“Don’t ask. It’s my bad.” Li Zhi wore a look of guilt and bowed before quickly walking away.
When Zhou Wen saw Fang Ruoxi, he could tell from the look on her face what she was about to say.
“I’m sorry, Zhou Wen. I can’t take the combat test with you.” Fang Ruoxi came in front of him and remained silent for a long while before speaking.