Chapter 227: Giant success?
Since Mark had now become a savage native at the molecular level, would the World Will still burn off his cells when they moved out of the dungeons?
If it didn't, doesn't that mean he could remove his dungeon weakness forever?
From now on—if this succeeded—he could enter a new World, study the natives at the molecular level using Dream Input, and use Alchemic Shapeshifting to turn himself into a native, too. Then, whatever world that he enters, he would not have to worry about being seen as an intruder and getting burned by the Will of the World.
Even though many others believed he could survive outside the Dungeons, that was not true. If he left the five-meter radius of a Dungeon Heart Seed bearer, he would be burned away like any other demon out there.
With a slash, he cut off his index finger and threw it out of the five-meter radius of the Dungeon that was around the hamster. The small finger trailed through the sky and went outside the dungeon zone…
Will it burn?
Mark's heart thumped in his chest. His lips curled into an unconscious smile.
The flying finger fell on the ground and its violet blood dripped out of it.
Still a bit wary by his nature, Mark cautiously spread out his wings. They were strong, lithe, and dangerous wings. But he had never been able to spread them out in all its glory—it was big enough to leave the dungeon range if he spread it out to its limits.
Flutter.
The black feathery wings expanded, easily slashing away the branches of trees that stood in its path. And in the blink of an eye, it spread proudly—multiple times bigger than his body.
A deep shadow was cast behind him.
Twenty meters. That was how big his wingspan was.
Twenty. Meters.
His wings were ten meters each.
Mark looked behind him at the giant of a pair and couldn't help the glee in his heart. On Earth, a six-story building was merely twenty meters tall. And with a slap of his wings, he could devastate most of such a mundane thing.
What was growth?
This was growth!
Alchemic Shapeshifting.
With a deep breath, Mark's own body also began to expand. The forest around him began to look smaller and smaller and before he knew it, Mark was staring down at the crowns of tall trees. He looked around, giant eyes full of wonder.
To a giant, the world was small.
But then, there must be worlds out there that would make giants feel like dwarfs.
And in the end, his body at its peak size was just about 14 meters in size.
Mark jumped up and with the momentum of his wings, flew up into the sky. The land quaked slightly.
He chuckled.
More than anything, even though most of his body was now outside any dungeon—the Will of the World didn't move at all to harm him. What did that mean?
He had successfully removed one of his biggest weaknesses!
Now, he could do a lot of things that he couldn't do some time ago. The hamster was now on his hair, a small grassy forest of grey hair in its eyes. After a few circles in the air, Mark transformed himself back to human size and landed on the crown of a tree.
With a touch, the crown became comfortable to sit on—into a good chair.
He crossed his legs and entered his World Space.
That was enough playing around.
"Childish," Reol'ran said.
"What would you know, woman?"
"Using Alchemic Shapeshifting on yourself is painful, isn't it?" she said. "And you did that just so you could fly circles in the sky for some time?"
Mark's consciousness opened its eyes inside the World Space. He was in Yuri's lab—their castle—and with a thought, he teleported to stand behind the Scientist herself.
Yuri was in her usual white lab robes. She had a cup of steaming coffee in her hand and she was leaning against a white table to look at a drop of golden blood. She had a constipated expression, as if she was in doubt; as if she was still drowsy after waking up just some minutes earlier.
Her frustrated frown made Mark smile. He moved closer to her. Since he was a soul, he wasn't supposed to be capable of touching her, but growing stronger as a demon also seemed to make his soul more tangible.
It was nearly capable of interacting with physical reality.
He gently touched her nape, his hand going into her body by a part, while some remained outside as if incapable of moving into her due to friction. Yuri shivered and sniffed, then adorably sneezed into her hand.
"What was th—" She turned and her eyes met his. She stood still, horrified at the sudden appearance. Then, she quickly calmed down and elbowed his soul's stomach.
"Oh damn you," she said, "I half died there."
Mark licked his lips at her. "What are you doing this early morning, staring at blood?"
"No, I am dancing. Why ask the obvious?" The Scientist rolled her eyes. "You said you would return in a moment after you left in the midst of our conversation—didn't know moment meant an hour for you."
"Don't be mad, babe," he rubbed his soul's nose on her nose and she blushed slightly.
"So," she asked, "any progress?"
"A lot. I learned how a Savage World human body functions at the molecular level. I don't understand how it works, but I have memorized all of its designs. So, I can turn anyone into this World's native, now."
Yuri raised her eyebrows, then sighed.
She said, "You are so unserious, babe. And here I am, completely stressed after what Reol'ran told me. In fact, I wish I could transfer some of my stress to you so you can become more serious."
Mark sighed. He could guess what Reol'ran had told her—about the Armor and about the Suffering of Man on the way, most probably.
Yuri explained her discussion with Reol'ran and then told him something that made Mark surprised. "She is going to teach me all the science—advanced science—that she knows from now on, so that's a plus, I guess."
Mark's Soul Sense expanded to most of his World Space and quickly came to surround Reol'ran. She stared up, her amethyst eyes cracking open from her meditative sitting.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"You."
Surprisingly, she didn't act like usual. "Not now. Get on with your business—using Dream Input on yourself to learn things quicker was a good idea by the way. First, make that girl a Golden Savage, she could be very useful."
Mark's heart skipped a beat. Then, he looked at Yuri and said, "I wasn't joking when I said I learned the entire molecular structure."
Yuri frowned. "What? Even you shouldn't be able to—wait. You look smug. How did you do it?"
Mark touched his face unconsciously with a grin, was he that easy to read when he was with the women?
He explained how he used Dream Input to her and Yuri was filled with awe. Soon, she was staring at him with another sort of eyes and Mark couldn't help but be a bit embarrassed. She was proud for sure.
"What is it?" he asked.
"You big dumbo," she said, her mood rising. "Reol'ran has a lot of scientific knowledge that would take me months, if not years, to completely learn. So, can't you use that Dream Input to help me and you learn at the same time?"
"Oh, I also thought of that when you said she was willing to teach you. Yeah, we can do it when you turn all her knowledge into books I can read quickly."
Yuri nodded. "So, about the molecules, can you change me into a Savage World human now?"
"Yes, but it can be quite painful. I wouldn't mind using Clown's Circus so that you won't have to be hurt, since nothing in this World can really threaten me anymore. But I say, you should suffer that pain so that you can become mentally stronger."
He himself was okay with a very high level of pain nowadays.
And that had helped him in his battle with the Armor.
The only thing that could threaten him—the Armor—had a Resistance to Clown's Circus. So, using it was fine while he was in this World. Before he leaves, he would regain another chance to use it anyway. But he preferred Yuri don't do that.
Yuri contemplated for a second, then nodded. "Let's try turning some sheep into humans, then Golden Savages, first then. If they don't explode like they did, it works and I can use it, too if my molecular structure is about the same as them."
Immediately, both of them moved and appeared in a grassy field. Many lights had appeared around the island now—Yuri had started the era of technology in the World Space. Lights, electricity, and most probably, even automobiles were going to appear here soon.
Mark transformed a sheep into a human without much time and poured a vial of golden blood down the newborn Sheep Woman's mouth. She was at first a bit stunned, then, Mark watched as she lost her face and became a Silver Savage.
Without stopping, she grew even stronger and the mask slowly retreated into her forehead.
Deep inside the forehead, Mark immediately sensed the World Will of the Savage World using his Soul Sense. It was small and silent, and it didn't explode. Clearly, it had worked. But they had to do some more testing before using it on Yuri.