Chapter 46: Aberration
As soon as Xu Zhi opened the Familiars Selection interface and saw the new options, she gasped sharply.
“What the hell is this?”
The first two options—[Bear] and [Tiger]—were impressive and tempting, both at Level 10. But the third choice, though only Level 1, was…
[Familiar: Aberration Lv1]
“No way… for real?”
So aberrations could appear as familiars too?
There was nothing more to consider. Even at Level 1, Xu Zhi decided to choose it. She had always been incredibly curious about aberrations.
When she clicked on Option 3, a new and unprecedented message popped up:
[Warning: This familiar is extremely violent and lacks rationality in early stages. Its behavior during independent hunting is unpredictable and it may go missing. Please keep it close until it gains sufficient sanity.]
“Wait… familiars can go missing?”
Suddenly, Xu Zhi recalled how all the aberrations in Cloud City inexplicably flocked to the city center. Maybe… something there was drawing them? Perhaps staying close could help resist that lure.
Regardless, she was definitely choosing this aberration. To know the enemy is to defeat them—this was the safest way to study and understand aberrations.
So Xu Zhi clicked Confirm again, and a line of text popped up:
[Selection complete. Due to the unique nature of this familiar, it will be delivered directly to your side. Please check your surroundings.]
As the words faded, a… no, an object appeared on the desk in front of her. Or more accurately, a brown, twisted, twig-like creature, like a shriveled vine or dried-up branch.
“This is the aberration? How’s it supposed to hunt?”
Strangely, Xu Zhi couldn’t sense any emotion from it—it seemed completely inert, like a dead thing.
But the “dead” thing must’ve heard her scoffing. It suddenly moved, twisting itself into a dry, spiky ball. The spikes extended and pierced through her desk with ease before retracting again.
It then “unfolded” itself. Several of its spikes morphed into leg-like appendages, and in seconds, it darted silently around the room—completely noiseless.
Once it became active, Xu Zhi finally sensed emotion from it: a faint defiance.
Its movements seemed to say, Look, I can hunt just fine.
It was only Level 1, but compared to her other familiars at that stage, this one was way overpowered.
She opened its status screen—and was even more surprised by what she saw.
[Familiar: Aberration Lv1]
Spirit: 0
Body: 100
Attribute: Cup
Traits: Bloodthirst Lv1, Stealth Lv1, Agility Lv1, Restless Lv1
Special Abilities: None
Evolution Points: 0/50]
Its starting evolution point requirement was five times that of Yi.
And that stat line—0 Spirit?!
Was it brainless or something?
But in return for its nonexistent mind, its Body stat was an astonishing 100—at Level 1! Its withered-stick look made it seem like it would snap in half, but in truth, it was bizarrely strong.
Most shocking of all: its Cup attribute.
“Are all aberrations Cup-type? Or is this one just an exception?”
Either way, her huge stockpile of Cup cores finally had a use.
But unlike her other familiars, Xu Zhi didn’t dare immediately start feeding this one cores.
There was no bond—no affection—coming from this creature like her other familiars. When still, it had virtually no emotional signature at all.
Plus, one of its traits was Restless, which was definitely not a good sign. What if feeding it too many Cup cores increased that trait’s level? That could end badly.
She needed to be cautious.
Fortunately, she hadn’t sent Zhen out hunting yet. With it here, she could afford to experiment more boldly.
Xu Zhi pulled out a few Cup attribute cores and placed one in her palm, extending it toward the aberration.
To be honest, this thing looked like a chunk of dead wood. It didn’t even have facial features. How was it going to consume a core? She was genuinely curious.
As she offered it the core, she finally sensed something—hunger.
Then, a rather sanity-draining scene unfolded.
The “dead branch” cracked open slightly, and from the seam emerged a thin, blood-vessel-like feeding appendage. It latched onto the red core and slurped it up like it was drinking blood.
The appendage hovered for a moment afterward, still radiating hunger and thirst. When she didn’t offer another core, it slowly withdrew.
“…Alright, I guess. At least it didn’t throw a tantrum or get aggressive.”
She still had more cores in her hand, but the aberration didn’t lash out or try to grab them. That was a good sign—it wasn’t disobedient.
[Evolution Points: 100/50]
[Your familiar meets the requirements to level up. Leveling up in progress…]
Just as Xu Zhi decided this thing might not be a problem child, it leveled up on its own.
“Huh? It upgrades by itself?”
That worked too—less micro-managing.
Leveling from 1 to 2 didn’t take long.
[Familiar: Aberration Lv2
Spirit: 0
Body: 150
Attribute: Cup
Traits: Bloodthirst Lv1, Stealth Lv1, Agility Lv1, Restless Lv1
Special Abilities: None
Evolution Points: 50/100]
“Still zero Spirit?”
Was it really going to remain brainless forever?
Not ideal…
Maybe she should try upgrading it once more?
But as it emerged from its level-up slumber, it began broadcasting overwhelming waves of hunger and craving again—not specifically toward her, but in a general, almost unconscious way.
Xu Zhi glanced down. Its appearance had changed—it no longer looked quite so dry and brittle, like a stick about to snap.
Then, about ten minutes after she withheld a second core, a sudden change appeared on the game screen:
[Restless Lv1] → [Restless Lv2]
“…What does that mean?”
Xu Zhi’s brow twitched. She had a bad feeling.
Just then, the narrator’s voice returned.
[Please calm your familiar’s restlessness. Higher restlessness may cause negative consequences.]
“I get it—but how do I calm it down?”
“Just keep feeding it cores? That can’t be the only solution, right?”
[You could try feeding it something else.]
“Like what?”
[Maybe… more than the cores, you are what your familiar truly desires.]
“…No way.”
Xu Zhi fell silent, then turned to look at her new familiar.
She tentatively picked up a knife, pricked her fingertip, and held out a drop of her own blood.
In an instant, that previously sluggish feeding appendage shot out with shocking speed, latching onto her finger and sucking up the drop of blood. Then, almost tenderly, it brushed the wound.
[Restless Lv2] → [Restless Lv1]
“…”
“Heh.”
Xu Zhi gave a cold, sarcastic laugh.
“So you look like a dead stick and still pull this moody emotional nonsense, huh?”
a stick full of drama?