Chapter 3: The Sword of Slaughter and the Silver Dragon Gene
***
The notification that the first-stage quest was complete caught Su Ling off guard. He instinctively glanced at the girl beside him, sure enough, this girl living in the church was the White Saintess.
The new quest came with no hints either, though the time limit had been extended considerably. The difficulty range was still wildly variable, so the key probably had something to do with the Saintess right next to him.
With that in mind, Su Ling decided to break the ice first. After all, they were complete strangers, and he was still very curious about the sword cradled in the goddess statue's arms.
"Oh right, my name's Su Ling. Thanks for the heads-up earlier, I never got your name?" Su Ling kept his voice as warm and gentle as possible, casually working his way into the conversation.
"Isha. How did you end up here?" Isha didn't dodge the question. Her eyes shimmered with something that could only be called curiosity, as if Su Ling, a living, breathing person who had wandered into the church, was the most interesting thing she'd seen in ages.
Su Ling didn't even need to think. He'd already anticipated the question. "I was just wandering around town and ended up at the door. Something drew me in, and before I knew it I'd pushed the door open and walked inside."
Isha nodded, seeming to accept that. She had seen the state Su Ling was in earlier, so she chalked the "drawn in" part up to the sword messing with his head.
Seeing that Isha had no doubts about the answer, Su Ling quietly let out a breath of relief. There was no way he could come straight out and say he'd come looking for Isha specifically. That would've been way too obvious, and the moment Isha asked why, Su Ling wouldn't have had a reasonable answer.
"It's been so long since anyone's come here. Every intruder before you was a monster. Come on, tell me what the outside world looks like right now!"
Isha was unexpectedly easy to talk to. Her enthusiasm caught Su Ling off guard for a moment, but considering she'd just said it had been ages since she'd seen anyone, Su Ling let it go.
He organized his thoughts and gave Isha a rundown of what he'd seen of this world, leaving out the eerie daytime strangeness of the town, and focusing instead on the lively, warm atmosphere of the nights.
Isha listened attentively. The flickers of longing and envy on her face gave Su Ling a rough sense of her personality. When the story wrapped up, Su Ling didn't rush to say anything else, he just waited and let Isha take it all in.
About a minute later, Isha let out a long breath. But there was no trace of wistfulness on her face. The anticipation was still burning in those violet eyes of hers, just as fierce as ever.
"In 3 more days I'll come of age. When that happens, I'm going to see the outside world for myself!" Isha looked toward the church entrance, her voice full of such certainty and longing that it actually moved Su Ling a little.
He didn't know why Isha had to wait until she came of age to leave the church, but it was clear she had grown up alone in this place from a very young age. That solitude must have gradually transformed, as the day of her coming-of-age drew closer and closer, into a blazing, almost overflowing hope.
Su Ling was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say. He simply stood beside Isha in silence, keeping his company as she sat with all that barely-contained anticipation.
The silence stretched on for a while. When it was finally broken, it wasn't Su Ling who spoke, it was Isha, with a slightly embarrassed look on her face. "Sorry, sorry, I got way too excited. I almost forgot you were still here."
Su Ling glanced at her but said nothing, just gave a small shake of his head.
"Let me walk you home. I can't leave the church, but I can at least see you to the door." Isha continued.
"..." Su Ling stayed quiet, still unsure what to say. Going outside was out of the question, not only did he have no "home" in this world, but if he did step out he'd have to make a run for it immediately. If dawn caught him, he was done for.
After a moment's thought, he decided to shelve the topic of leaving for now. Instead of responding to Isha's offer, he steered the conversation toward the old sword. "Is it really true that no one can touch this sword no matter what?"
"Not exactly." Isha followed Su Ling's lead, clearly seeing through the topic change, but she didn't mind. It had been so long since she'd had anyone to talk to, and if Su Ling wanted to stick around a little longer, that was fine by her.
"As long as you're not under a bewitched state when you touch the sword, there shouldn't be a problem. In fact, something pretty amazing might even happen~"
"How can you tell if you're bewitched or not?"
"Do you hear strange whispers in your ears, ones you can't understand at all? If not, you're not bewitched."
Can't understand at all? Something clicked in Su Ling's mind. He thought back to the whispers he'd heard earlier. The language was completely foreign, nothing he'd ever heard before, but he couldn't exactly say he hadn't understood them at all either, because he'd been able to grasp, clearly and completely, what they were trying to convey.
Still, his state at the time had been just like being under some kind of control. So he probably had been bewitched.
Su Ling didn't dwell on it for long. He wasn't hearing those whispers right now, so he was clearly in a normal, unbewitched state. If anything, the urge to draw the sword had only grown stronger.
After the first-stage quest was completed, that urge had intensified even further, but it hadn't clouded his judgment. He was still clear-headed, and he could keep it in check.
"So... can I try?"
The urge wasn't coming from nowhere, and after weighing it for a moment, Su Ling decided to touch the sword and see what happened. He wanted to understand why he craved it, and he was genuinely curious about the "amazing thing" Isha had mentioned.
Besides, no bewitchment meant no danger. Nothing to lose, nothing to gain by not trying.
"Go for it. No bewitchment, no danger. Worst case, nothing happens." Isha made no move to stop him, and she wasn't lying either. She herself was someone who had touched the sword and had something "amazing" happen.
Others before her had touched it too, but without exception, nothing had happened to any of them. So she wasn't misleading Su Ling in the slightest.
With that confirmation, Su Ling stopped hesitating. He followed his instincts and reached out toward the old rusted sword cradled in the goddess statue's arms.
He stretched out his right hand and lightly touched the hilt, and in that instant, thick crimson blood burst forth from the rusted blade. The blood wove itself into a cocoon that wrapped around Su Ling completely. At the same time, the mechanical chime of the World Tree rang out inside his mind.
【Detected that reserve Contractor 'Su Ling' has touched the Sword of Slaughter.】
【Verifying authorization...】
【Verification complete. To ensure Contractor safety, Silver Dragon Gene fusion will proceed ahead of schedule.】
【Beginning to lock down Contractor's surrounding environment...】
【Lockdown complete.】
【Gene fusion commencing.】
Agony. A pain so intense he could barely breathe. It felt as if his bones were being ground to dust inch by inch, then rebuilt, then ground to dust again. A bone-deep torment radiated from every part of his body. Every cell seemed to be screaming. Every drop of blood seemed to be boiling.
Su Ling wanted to scream to take the edge off, but the moment he opened his mouth he found he had lost the ability to make a sound. His silent cries existed only in his own mind. Inside the cocoon and out, the silence was so complete you could hear a pin drop.
His skeleton seemed to be rearranging itself. His flesh seemed to be compressing. A maddening itch descended before the agony had even faded, striking him all at once. Su Ling desperately wanted to just pass out then and there, but his consciousness remained razor-sharp, as if something was forcibly holding it in place.
He lost all sense of time. Caught between the pain and the itch, he had no idea how long it lasted. But when the cocoon finally shattered, the physical torment receded like a tide, leaving behind only an indescribable lightness, and a total drain of strength.
The shattered cocoon, however, didn't disappear. It kept gathering and compressing until it condensed into a single blood droplet roughly the length of a pinky joint. The droplet floated on its own to Su Ling's chest and merged with him. In just 2 or 3 seconds, he felt his body surge with power once more.
"That really is something... I feel like I could punch through a wall right now."
Su Ling threw a couple of shadow punches on the spot, barely containing his glee. He turned to Isha with a grin, ready to share his excitement, but the look on Isha's face was a little odd. And unless it was his imagination, Isha seemed... taller.
Before, Su Ling had always looked down at Isha. He was nearly 180 cm himself, and Isha had been about half a head shorter. But now he had to tilt his chin up slightly to look at her. Which meant either Isha had suddenly grown, or...
"Are you... still Su Ling?" Isha asked hesitantly, apparently too preoccupied to notice Su Ling's enthusiasm.
"What are you talking about, of course it's me." Su Ling rolled his eyes, but the moment the words left his mouth, he knew something was off. His deep, smooth masculine voice... had become distinctly clear and bright?
With the initial excitement wearing off, Su Ling started noticing other strange things about his body. The voice was one thing, but his height seemed to have dropped by quite a bit too. His head felt slightly heavier than before. There was a faint tickle along his neck where strands of hair were brushing against the skin.
His previously well-fitted clothes now hung loose on him, especially the trousers, which felt like they were one second away from sliding off. And his skin seemed to...
Su Ling held both hands out and stared at them. Soft, slender fingers. Skin like porcelain. Dewy and almost translucent, like it would bead with moisture if you pinched it. There was absolutely no way these were the hands of a grown man, and yet here they were, undeniably his.
As if something clicked, Su Ling's eyes snapped wide. He jammed his hand down his pants.
Gone!!!
Su Ling stared down blankly. That faithful companion of 20 years. Gone!!
The blow hit her like a lightning strike. Not rage, but something closer to grief. She wasn't ready to accept reality just yet. Her heart was halfway through composing a mourning ballad for her dear fallen comrade when something else caught her eye, her reflection in the mirror.
A cascade of silver hair fell down her back, the tips tinged blood-red, adding a touch of sultry mystery to an otherwise pure, ethereal look. Her height, once nearly 180 cm, had dropped to around 155 cm, right in that sweet spot between loli and young girl.
She was wearing a regular long-sleeved top that, while oversized, still draped loosely enough to hint at the modest but undeniable curve of her chest. Her features were so delicately crafted they rivaled even Isha's, cute as a doll, almost impossibly so.
But those golden eyes carried a weight that words couldn't capture. An authority that seemed to warn any onlooker: mistake this appearance for weakness, and you will pay dearly for it.
"Damn, I'm cute." The funeral for her little buddy was temporarily shelved. Su Ling admired her reflection for a moment. Undeniably gorgeous, no argument there, but any other kind of reaction? Nope, none of that.
It wasn't like she was some guy who'd gone 20 years without ever seeing a girl. She wasn't about to lose her head over a pretty face. If that were the case, she would've been tongue-tied the moment she laid eyes on Isha.
As for becoming a girl herself... honestly, Su Ling found it easier to accept than she'd expected. The new body was extremely good-looking, and she'd always been something of an appearance snob. As long as you're attractive, nothing else really matters.
Handsome guy or beautiful girl, she could work with either. What she couldn't work with was turning into something hideous that offended both gods and mortals alike.
And in terms of preferences, those naturally didn't change just because her body did. Whether it ended up being girls or staying single, she could handle both. As for marriage, absolutely not happening. She wasn't into guys.
More importantly though, her new body wasn't just easy on the eyes, it was flat-out terrifying in terms of raw power. Comparing the stats on her panel now to what they were before, it was like night and day.
【Reserve Contractor: Su Ling】
【Gender: Female】
【Race: Silver Dragon (Unique)】
【Innate Ability: Spirit Eye】
【Strength: 31】
【Agility: 31】
【Stamina: 20】
【Intelligence: 29】
【Charisma: 30】
【Blood Blade (Active) Lv1: Channel the power of blood to coat a weapon. Each damaging hit inflicts bleeding damage equal to 0.1% of the target's max HP and temporarily increases the weapon's sharpness.】
【Sword Mastery Lv1: Proficient with all sword-type weapons. Damage dealt with sword-type weapons increased by 70%.】
【Blood Butterfly (Active) Lv1: Conditions not met. Locked.】
Strength and Agility had nearly multiplied by 10. Stamina was a little low, but still leagues beyond where she'd been before. And the most immediately noticeable effect of the Intelligence boost was that Su Ling's memory had become frighteningly sharp, she could now recall specific details of things that happened long ago.
Compared to her old self, she was on a completely different level. Not to be full of herself, but if her past self walked through that door right now, she could take on 20 of her without breaking a sweat.
She didn't know what that locked active skill was yet, but even without it, she had at minimum a solid foundation to protect herself. No more dying while walking down the street, completely clueless about what even hit her.
Strong and gorgeous, only a saint could feel bad about that. Then again, Su Ling probably adapted this quickly partly because she'd never planned on getting married to begin with.
Single before, single now. Guy or girl, it didn't make much difference to her. And those two free-spirit parents of hers who were always off traveling together couldn't care less about her love life. As the saying goes: the parents are the real romance, the kid was just an accident. That about summed up her family situation.
"Damn, I'm good."