Chapter 268 - Don’t Take a Different Path

Demon Cultivation was indeed beyond his understanding, but regarding Dragonization, he currently held quite a few proprietary pieces of information and methods in his hands.If the Carrier Bug Larva could withstand the Giant Dragon’s power, that meant they could initiate Dragonization just like the Gnolls.

Once Dragonization was initiated within the Dragon Oak Mother Tree, he would be able to enslave and control them forcefully through the Soul Totem.

When dealing with these unintelligent magical insects, Gaven felt no psychological burden.

However, Gaven did not rashly have the Carrier Bug Larva ingest the Dragon Blood Potion.

Doing so might result in massive casualties, or even total extinction, as all of this was mere speculation by Gaven. They were a group of larva with relatively weak endurance, and for non-Dragon Vein creatures, dragon blood potion could be even more vicious than a toxic poison.

He only had these Carrier Bug Larva, and each death would reduce their number, so the experimentation had to be cautious.

But after that, the feeding for the Carrier Bug Larva was also adjusted.

Not only were they fed large amounts of meat, they were also fed a large amount of roots, leaves, and sap collected from the Dragon Oak Mother Tree.

The purpose was to gradually allow them to absorb a portion of the Giant Dragon related powers in preparation for later stages of Dragonization.

Unexpectedly, this process saw new changes when the state of the Dragon Oak Mother Tree was adjusted.

It’s unknown whether the prolonged feeding on the Dragon Oak Mother Tree’s roots played a role, or if the Carrier Bug itself had high compatibility with energy.

But the explosion of life force from the Dragon Oak Mother Tree seemed to catalyze them to some extent, showing signs of Dragonization.

This made Gaven feel the time was ripe to try administering the Dragon Blood Potion to them in a final test.

"Let’s begin!" Gaven waved his hand.

Two Gnoll caregivers carried half of a plump wild boar and threw it in through a narrow feeding port.

The next second, a crashing sound echoed in the cave, followed by horrific slicing, tearing, and chewing noises.

Behind the observation window, Gaven could see everything clearly.

There was a reason the Fae Race of Spring Bud Forest regarded Carrier Bugs as formidable enemies.

These magic beasts grew as quickly as insects when provided with ample food.

In just two months, they grew from thirty centimeters to two meters, more robust than a small calf.

Their cicada wings shed, and eight claws grew out. Their pincers revealed a ferocious look, and aside from being nearly ten times smaller in size, these Carrier Bug Larva bore a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to their mothers.

The largest difference, should be in the abdomen.

Compared to the bloated Legendary Carrier Worm, these juvenile Carrier Bugs’ abdomens were small, and although there were signs of a brood pouch on their back, it was small and merged together, lacking the ability to nurture larva for the time being. Naturally, they did not possess their defining abilities—ejecting larva and larva swarms.

Carrier Bug Larva

Size: Medium

Life Force: 69 (Life Dice: 8D10+24)

Attributes: Strength 18, Dexterity 12, Constitution 16, Intelligence 2, Perception 12, Charisma 6

Special Abilities: Fear (Special Ability)—A creature that witnesses a Carrier Bug tearing apart its opponent might be intimidated, resulting in panic and trembling.

Rend (Special Ability)—Being bitten by a Carrier Bug or struck by its claws might result in being torn to pieces.

Reflex Evasion (Special Ability)—Able to dodge damage through agility.

The current juvenile Carrier Bugs were like ferocious solitary hunters, and though no experiments had been conducted, judging by their form, if placed with a Ferocious Tiger, the likely outcome would be the tiger being devoured.

This was another reason for Gaven’s impatience to experiment with them. The source of this content ɪs NovᴇlFirᴇ(.)nᴇt

Fifteen growing large carnivorous creatures, their daily meat requirements were alarmingly high.

If it was already confirmed that they could become biological war machines, even if the consumption doubled, Gaven would accept that.

But as mere unknown specimens, continued investment would only increase costs,

Hou!

The previously finished and once again tranquil juvenile Carrier Bugs suddenly let out a massive roar, as if mad, crashing wildly around their prison cave.

Horrific Magic Power and vibrant Life Energy gathered around them, frantically drilling into their bodies.

During the collisions, greenish acid sprayed out from the Carrier Bug Larva’s mouth, sizzling on the ground.

The half wild boar they had just devoured had been spiked, mixed with small glass balls containing Red Copper Dragon Blood Potion.

Suddenly engulfed by the Carrier Bug Larvae in a ravenous frenzy.

The reason for choosing Red Copper Dragon Blood Potion, rather than Red Dragon Blood Potion,

First was because the Red Copper Dragon Blood Potion came from the same source as the previously fed base material from the Dragon Oak Mother Tree.

Second, compared to the Red Dragon Blood Potion, the Red Copper Dragon’s Strong Acid Corrosion had a less instant lethal effect.

Even if not successful, the experimental subjects could hold on a little longer, and more experimental data could be collected.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The other juvenile Carrier Bugs in the surrounding prison caves started to become restless as well.

Although they had grown into different individuals, they ultimately originated from the same source and maintained a certain connection.

The Strong Acid sprayed by the experimental juvenile Carrier Bugs became more abundant and frequent.

Even with chitin shells covering their bodies, it was not hard to feel the pulsation of the blood vessels within the Carrier Bug Larvae.

It was as though a monster was trying to crawl out from within them, pushing the chitinous shell up high.

It was as if an invisible hand was tugging at the young Carrier Bug, elongating its abdomen further and further, rapidly attaining more than 90% resemblance to its mother, with only the opening of the incubation chamber and the release of larvae left.

There was hope.

A trace of uncontrollable joy appeared in Gaven’s expression.

After the young Carrier Bug ingested the Red Copper Dragon Blood Potion, it didn’t calcify from within immediately, but instead experienced strong acid corrosion, indicating a half success.

The Dragon Blood Potion had a unique prerequisite, that being the Dragon Veins.

Creatures with Dragon Vein lineage that drank it would find it a potent tonic, capable of purifying their bloodline and granting them greater strength.

If one without Dragon Vein heritage were to consume it, it would act as an outright deadly poison. The vast amount of dragon attribute magic power elements drawn by it would kill the consumer from the inside out.

The Red Copper Dragon Blood Potion summoned Earth Element, not Strong Acid Element.

When a creature that takes in the Red Copper Dragon Blood Potion does not petrify but starts reacting with strong acid inside the body,

According to the Dragonization experience accumulated by Gaven and his team, the creature’s internal anatomy is adjusting under the urge of magic power elements. It will develop an organ capable of producing strong acid, thereby generating something akin to the Red Copper Dragon’s Strong Acid Breath.

As long as the young Carrier Bug survives until the organ is fully formed, the Dragonization process would be essentially complete.

But the process was far from pleasant.

The immature organs led to the synthesis of strong acid directly inside its body, constantly corroding its internals.

Even Red Copper Dragons didn’t allow strong acid to form within their bodies to store it there, waiting to be expelled upon use.

Rather, magic power elements congregated in the dragon’s basal blood vessels until they reached the throat and mouth, where they would then provoke a magic reaction, either turning into strong acid or a poisonous slow-acting gas, all at the whim of the Red Copper Dragon.

The breaths of other Giant Dragons were similar in this respect.

Of course, most Giant Dragons were immune to energy damage from elements of their own breath.

But that was not the case for other Dragon Vein creatures.

At least the young Carrier Bug didn’t fare well. As it experienced massive strong acid corrosion within its body, its vitality grew weaker and weaker, its energy as well as the magic transformation became unstable, and its abdomen no longer stretched but began to shrink.

"Mr. Atwood, the Village Head, trouble you to cast Heal Critical Wounds," Gaven had come prepared and requested from the Pikespirit Druid beside him.

Gaven feared these Carrier Bugs wouldn’t even pass the first hurdle; if so, the plan would be a total failure.

For Dragon Veins are mostly bestowed at birth.

You either have it or you don’t.

Gaven’s team tried to bestow Giant Dragon bloodline to others afterward.

There were some successes, but not many, usually the work of the followers of Dragon Queen Tiamat.

When calculated seriously, this evil Dragon Queen had already secretly begun her experiments to breed Evil Dragon Descendants in Felen.

Known as the Dragon Mother, she indeed possessed unparalleled advantages in this area—the origins of most Dragonkin, Dragon Beasts, and Dragon Veins in Felen could be traced back to her and her evil experiments.

If there’s a chance in the future, he would need to learn from her followers.

Coincidentally, Gaven knew one of the main bases where the evil Dragon Queen cultivated her Evil Dragon Descendants.

While Gaven was lost in his thoughts, the others were intensely focused on the young Carrier Bug.

Upon hearing Gaven’s request, Mr. Atwood himself took action, casting Heal Critical Wounds twice successively on the young Carrier Bug.

Calming green lights wove in and out of the Carrier Bug’s body, even drawing the green life energy from the Dragon Oak Mother Tree to join in the healing.

Priests and Druids could both use Heal Critical Wounds, and their healing effects were essentially similar.

Those who were unaware might think it was the same spell.

In reality, there was a distinction in essence between them.

Priests invoked Positive Energy, while Druids harnessed Natural Power.

There wasn’t a huge difference in terms of healing, one being relatively more aggressive and the other more gentle.

But when facing Undead creatures filled with negative energy, their differences became unmistakably clear; the healing of Heavy Wounds channeled by Priests would directly become a harmful spell, and an incredibly powerful one at that.

The Druid’s healing, while not entirely ineffective, was much less potent.

Yet within the Dragon Oak Mother Tree, the healing spells cast by a Druid had the advantage over those of a Priest.

The Life Force permeating this place would respond to such healing spells, maximizing their effects as if the Supermagic Feat: Spell Maximizing had been applied.

Take the Heal Critical Wounds cast by Mr. Atwood, a ninth-level Druid, for instance. Under normal circumstances, the healing effect should be around 21 (3d8+9).

Now, however, it turned into the extreme 3*8+9=33, instead of 3*8/2+9=21.

The painful shrieks of the young Carrier Bug lessened considerably, and its spirit visibly revived. Its gaze towards Mr. Atwood contained much less ferocity and more a plea for help.

Mr. Atwood involuntarily shuddered, his eyes revealing a hint of incredulity.

This unexpected reaction did not escape Gaven’s heightened Perception. He quickly inquired, "What’s wrong? Is there anything amiss?"

With an incredulous tone, Mr. Atwood replied, "I just received a prompt that I can sign a professional contract with this young Carrier Bug, converting it into my Animal Companion."

Turning a Carrier Bug into a Druid’s Animal Companion was unheard of in the Fairy Wilderness.

Not to mention seeing it firsthand, Mr. Atwood had never even heard of such a thing.

"Animal Companion?" upon hearing this response, even Gaven was momentarily stunned. This occurrence was completely beyond his expectations.

But the next second, his eyes shone with excitement.

Because he grasped the potential benefits it entailed.