Chapter 121: Level 30 Aberrant
Xu Zhi first took a look at the current stats of the Little Aberrant.
[Familiar: Aberrant Lv30]
Mind: 100
Body: 10,000
Attribute: Cup
Traits: Bloodthirsty, Stealth, Agility, Strength, Pain, Evolution Lv5, Growth Lv5
Special Ability: Parasite Seed
The first thing Xu Zhi noticed was that the level indicators after the traits had disappeared. Next, the mind stat had finally reached 100, and the physical body stat had exploded to an impressive 10,000.
In addition, [Evolution] had increased by one level, and [Growth] had reached level 5.
As for the Attribute section, it still only showed [Cup] — there was no sign of [Lamp].
So, the question was: what did it mean for the trait levels to disappear?
Xu Zhi turned her attention to the system prompts that were still popping up one after another.
[Congratulations, your Aberrant has reached Level 30. Hidden risks have been eliminated. You can now let it leave your side without worrying about it getting lost.]
“…That’s pretty impressive.”
[Congratulations, your Aberrant’s Mind has surpassed 100. Its intelligence has awakened. It will gradually develop self-control and wisdom.]
She had already praised it earlier for not getting lost, but now, hearing that it would slowly grow a brain, Xu Zhi took a deep breath and sincerely praised, “That’s actually really great.”
It was definitely better than just “not getting lost.”
[Congratulations, familiar’s traits have reached Level 10. They are evolving from Ordinary Traits to Innate Traits.]
[Ordinary Traits: Traits shared by most creatures. Their effects are determined by level alone and not connected to the individual.]
[Innate Traits: Evolved from ordinary traits. Their effects are more aligned with the specific creature, linked to its unique nature and supernatural attributes, resulting in more powerful outcomes.]
[Congratulations, since your familiar’s traits have evolved into Innate Traits, the traits you gain from it will also upgrade. Furthermore, since they are now innate, they will not disappear even if the familiar dies.]
Now this was real good news!
Way better than just not getting lost—this was truly exciting.
“But… do you have a more detailed explanation for how these traits change?”
It wasn’t very intuitive just reading it like this.
[To put it simply: previously, the Strength trait would increase stats in a fixed amount per level, regardless of whether the creature was suited for it or not.]
[Now that Strength has evolved into an Innate Trait, it will restructure the creature’s body to better accommodate the trait. It also gains a Strength attribute. Physical damage dealt by the familiar will now carry slight attribute bonuses. For instance, attacks with the Cup attribute may cause enemies to become agitated or lose rationality.]
Xu Zhi’s heart skipped a beat. She remembered how [Strength] was described when she first received it — it had never sounded like just a regular trait. It had felt more like an advanced version.
And these attribute bonuses… they were definitely a qualitative leap.
But the prompts weren’t finished yet. Messages starting with “Congratulations” kept popping up.
[Congratulations, your familiar has gained a new special ability: Seed of Greed]
[Seed of Greed: Your familiar can absorb all forms of energy to grow stronger. It can also condense the absorbed energy into fruits that contain the essence of power.]
[Note: Fruit condensation is extremely difficult and requires a large amount of energy. The ability can convert other attribute energies into fruits. However, if only the Aberrant’s own energy is used, it will only produce Cup-attribute fruits and at a great cost. Use with caution.]
It had actually gained a new special ability!
“Are these fruits similar to those black fruits?” Xu Zhi asked.
[Yes — but not entirely. These are of lower quality.]
Just as she thought.
“Then, can I feed the little Aberrant low-grade cores and have it convert them into energy fruits?”
[You can, but there will be losses. Low-grade cores contain too little transcendental essence. It’s more efficient to consume them directly or use them elsewhere.]
So, no attribute conflicts. That was good.
But it also meant this ability wasn’t meant to synthesize attribute cores for her.
“What about absorbing the energy in the black mist?” Xu Zhi asked boldly.
[…You’re really daring, huh.]
[Unfortunately, it’s not possible—for now.]
For now.
Got it. Just needs a few more upgrades.
What a great ability!
Xu Zhi felt so exhilarated that her mind felt clearer. The Aberrant’s transformation at level 30 was no joke. The game wasn’t lying!
“Alright, alright!”
It finally felt like there was something to look forward to in life again.
Finally, one last system message popped up:
[Notice: Your familiar is currently in a special growth phase. What it ultimately becomes will depend entirely on what it is exposed to during this time. Please control this carefully.]
Unlike Yi or Gouzi, whose evolution paths were more defined, this little Aberrant seemed to evolve based solely on its experiences.
“Well then, go break off some tree branches for me first,” Xu Zhi said to the little Aberrant, who was staring at her with beady eyes.
The Little Aberrant immediately sent out a wave of “feeling wronged.” Xu Zhi didn’t even need to guess — she knew what it wanted.
So she waved her hand, and a pile of high-grade [Cup] attribute cores appeared on the table — at least several dozen: “Here, your reward. Now you can go do it, right?”
The Aberrant, clearly “money-eyed,” happily grew several dozen thin tree-like branches, snapped them off cleanly, and handed them to Xu Zhi. It even nuzzled her arm affectionately.
With all the materials for crafting the cloak now in hand, Xu Zhi switched to the forging interface and crafted a somewhat creepy-looking cloak.
The human skin originally used for the cloak was already an unnatural color — charred black, as if scorched. Now, combined with the black-gold branches from the Aberrant and other materials, the finished cloak looked nothing like it had been made from human skin.
The cloak was pitch-black with a wide hood. Gold runes lined the edges. It was airtight but not heavy — in fact, it felt light and airy. When Xu Zhi spread it out with a wave of her hand, it looked like it was woven from dense fog, the hemline trailing wisps of mist that gently dissipated into the air.
In short, it was unexpectedly beautiful and mysterious.
Xu Zhi felt a lot better.
The cloak was named:
[Midnight Phantom]
A fitting name, and its function was simple but powerful.
[Midnight Phantom: A ghost wandering at midnight was captured and turned into a beautiful cloak. It allows the wearer to evade all hostile surveillance and detection, as long as the observer is not more than one major rank above the wearer. Additionally, it reduces the wearer’s presence and noise. In the mist, who can tell whether someone else is standing next to them?]
[Note: The cloak functions best in heavy fog or at night.]
“One major rank? What does that mean?” Xu Zhi noticed this new term in the cloak’s description.
[As a former mortal, there is one rank difference between you and a Transcendent.]
[And between who you are now and your future, post-mortal self, there is also a rank difference.]
[More specifically, between an ordinary person and a Zealot, and between a Zealot and an Archbishop.]
“Got it.”
As long as there were no Archbishop-tier Aberrants in the city center, she’d be safe wearing this cloak.
