Bald.

Truly bald.

Not a single hair…

Ten minutes later, Huai Shi, sitting by the lake, raised his paw to scratch his face, feeling sparks fly amidst the grating noise.

A pebble was thrown into the lake, causing ripples to spread and instantly blurring that massive reflection.

It had grown bigger again.

Now, Huai Shi's shell had once again grown a size larger. If originally it was barely comparable to a sedan, now it was as big as an ambulance.

The once graceful fur had vanished without a trace. It was replaced by a mix of cyan-grey and streaks of bright yellow hard scales and carapace. Many of his body tissues were now covered with sharp, hard chitin.

Including his claws, even his chin bore sharp angles, like a Sharp Blade, sharp enough to fatally stab someone.

Not a trace of skin was exposed anywhere on his body. And when he opened his mouth, beneath the sharp carapace, two rows of hard, sharp Teeth were revealed; sparks flew when they rubbed together.

Even if Fu Yi were to use all her strength to shoot out spikes with her Ability, she wouldn't be able to shatter Huai Shi's thick shell and scales.

Huai Shi was certain that even among the Obsidian Relic Bones, famed for their material strength, none were as hard as his own.

And that wasn't all.

Whether it was muscular strength, stamina, explosive power, or speed, all had entered the realm of monsters, no longer comparable to the Erha he once was.

Should he be called a wolf or a dragon? He was neither, yet he wasn't entirely one or the other. But he seemed to have a bit of each.

The only problem was that he still seemed to lack any flashy Skills to show off… It seemed only his defense had been boosted.

Besides that, there was the hunger.

Immense hunger.

Insatiable hunger.

He was so hungry that, while explaining his Transformation to Fu Yi, he couldn't help but bend down and pluck some weeds from the lakeside to eat. As he ate, he started to think the taste wasn't bad—sweet and delicious. He wanted more…

Thus, under Fu Yi's stupefied gaze, the giant Wolf Beast bent down. It voraciously grazed the lawn, pulling the grass up by the roots, stuffing it into its mouth, chewing twice, and swallowing.

Then he discovered… The taste of dirt wasn't so bad either. Somewhat like an Oreo.

He sniffed. The aroma was appealing. Yes, definitely edible. Then he started to heartily eat the soil. Occasionally, small stones sparked as they grated between his Teeth.

"Hey, are you alright?" Fu Yi was astonished. "Did something go wrong with the Metamorphosis?"

"Nothing's wrong, just lacking some… nutrients… Yes, nutrients…"

In the pit, Huai Shi ate soil with focused determination, panting as he answered. In just a few minutes, he had dug a gigantic hole in the ground and consumed at least a ton of soil.

Yet, his stomach didn't feel the slightest bit swollen; he hadn't even farted once.

Soon, still unsatiated, Huai Shi lifted his head from the enormous pit that nearly buried him, looking around. "Is there anything else to eat?"

Fu Yi instinctively flew a bit higher, afraid her good friend might accidentally make her part of his meal. Then she lifted her paw, pointing towards the lakeside not far away.

Huai Shi's eyes brightened. He leaped with all his might, but because he'd dug himself in too deep, he couldn't get airborne. He scrambled forward, leaving a deep trench in the ground, and plunged straight into the lake. He opened his mouth wide, searching for small fish and shrimp, and to gulp down some water. He was parched.

"Hiss, that's refreshing."

Huai Shi's sharp Teeth plunged downwards, snagging a fish as big as a table and lifting it up. He looked towards the White Weasel in the air, asking indistinctly, his mouth full, "Do you want to come down? There are so many fish down here, and it seems there's even…"

BOOM!

A massive tentacle suddenly shot up from the deepest part of the lake, breaching the surface. It swept across, grabbed one of Huai Shi's legs, and yanked fiercely.

SPLASH.

The huge Wolf Beast disappeared from the lake's surface.

In mid-air, Fu Yi was shocked speechless.

The Third Question surfaced in her mind. What the heck is this? What's going on? What should I do now… Wait, there's a Sea Monster hiding in this lake? What do I do if Huai Shi's been pulled down? I don't seem to have any aquatic combat Abilities.

She opened the map and carefully followed Huai Shi's ID downward. She noted the depth dropping all the way to the edge of the map before it stopped, then it started to fluctuate erratically.

It looked like a fierce struggle.

The intense battle at the lake's bottom stirred up roiling undercurrents, even causing ripples on the lake's surface. From above, looking through the constantly shifting dark shadow, one could faintly discern the violent skirmish.

But Fu Yi felt that Huai Shi's struggle seemed to be getting weaker and weaker.

Suffocating slowly in the deep lake water...

Until at last, a terrifying flash of bright light suddenly erupted from the dark depths of the lake. It was followed by chaotic currents rising up, breaking through the restraints of the lake surface. Along with a thunderous boom, they shot up into the sky, splashing in all directions.

Fu Yi, drenched from head to toe, froze in place.

What the heck? Is someone dynamiting fish?

Then, amidst the surfacing scent of blood, a Wolf Beast emerged from the water, as smug as an Erha. Holding a large chunk of tentacle in its mouth, it returned to shore, shook its body, and flung off the water droplets.

Almost forgot, I have Skills too.

Licking the char marks from the Alchemy Bomb on his shell, Huai Shi bowed his head and gleefully devoured his hard-earned prize.

Actually, the taste was quite good, and the texture was excellent.

He was alright thanks to his thick shell, but that giant octopus at the bottom of the lake probably wasn't so lucky; if it wasn't blown to death on the spot, it likely wouldn't last much longer.

Just now, in a stroke of inspiration, he finally remembered he could use his Soul Ability. With a spark of ingenuity, he created a super-sized Alchemy Bomb. He realized that as his shell grew, the total amount of Source Substance also increased dramatically. It was far beyond anything he had experienced before, and even the explosive yield of the Alchemy Bomb was much more exaggerated.

He stuffed the bomb into the creature's mouth. The explosion was instantaneously fragrant, both inside and out; the delicious, charred scent was irresistible.

When Huai Shi finished off that tentacle and was still licking between his Teeth, feeling unsatisfied, he saw the giant octopus in the lake behind him slowly surface as well.

Its mantle was ruptured and completely charred; it was obviously dead.

But Huai Shi didn't see any change in his experience progression bar. In fact, after his Metamorphosis, he noticed... the experience bar was gone?

After asking Fu Yi, he discovered she was in the same situation.

It was as if the novice period of the Cruel Game was over.

From now on, Explorers would have to find their own way...

Huai Shi wasn't concerned. He thought there was no rush, dog-paddled into the lake, dragged back the remaining bulk of the giant octopus, and continued to eat ravenously.

Too bad there's no cumin, or the kids next door would be crying with envy.

Eating away, he absentmindedly looked up at the sky and said, "Come eat, Fu Yi, aren't you hungry?"

"...No need, you eat by yourself."

The White Weasel's ears twitched, and she drew back a little further. Just when Huai Shi was about to be half-full, her protective shield suddenly activated on its own, and the system plug-ins began frantically displaying warnings.

A bizarre filter suddenly popped up and began to load.

After it finished loading, she looked at Huai Shi again. She glimpsed the massive and terrifyingly fierce skeleton beneath the enormous carapace. Then, the analyzer interface popped up, telling her that as Huai Shi frantically ingested soil, the metal content in his bones was rising sharply.

And soon, beneath that layer of bones, roughly where the stomach would be, a ghastly green light, invisible to the naked eye, began to glow.

Even from tens of meters away, it still produced an illusory burning sensation.

Fu Yi didn't understand the other jumbled data and terms, but she felt she had seen the word "radiation" somewhere before.

Fu Yi could feel her own cells undergoing a change. Right after that, she ignored the faintly strange light. It was like crystal, allowing it to pass through her body without causing any further effect.

Regardless of what it was, she was certain: whatever Huai Shi emitted while eating was definitely not a good thing…

"The taste is quite nice. You're missing out," Huai Shi shook his head, clicking his tongue in regret twice, and continued to eat. While eating, he recalled, "Speaking of which, I make a pretty good squid dish. I even won a prize for it in a professional culinary competition! How about I make it for you next time?"

"No thanks..." Fu Yi refused curtly. She knew in her gut—or rather, her tail—that Huai Shi couldn't possibly cook anything good.

In the end, Huai Shi actually consumed the entire giant octopus, which was even larger than himself.

It took a full two hours.

The hunger he'd felt since his Metamorphosis finally abated, at least temporarily. He yawned, feeling the itch and drowsiness seeping out of his marrow. He opened his mouth to the sky, preparing to say something, but unexpectedly let out a burp. It was a blast of gas from his stomach that even carried wisps of sparks.

Scared, he quickly shut his mouth.

Eating made him sleepy.

After giving Fu Yi a heads-up, he simply lay down on the ground. He curled up into a ball and fell asleep, the friction of his scales sending out a dazzling shower of sparks.

After a long while, the strange green light on his body finally dissipated. Only then did Fu Yi descend cautiously from the sky. Out of habit, she returned to her designated spot on Huai Shi. Before she even sat down, she jumped up again as if she had sat on a furnace.

Huai Shi's head was so hot it was almost glowing red. The skin beneath his scales was faintly crimson, as if coursing with molten lava.

Even in Deep Sleep, Huai Shi's body began to grow again. The muscle fibers beneath his scales pulsated chaotically, becoming even more robust, while more growth concentrated in his bones. Accompanied by a sound like scraping metal, two sharp, antler-like, bifurcated bony protrusions with distinct edges emerged from his forehead.

Moonlight shone on them, casting a cold, steely gleam...

Only in the latter half of the night did the fever gradually subside. Fu Yi cocked her head, examining the two horns that now occupied her usual sleeping spot. Growing increasingly annoyed, she angrily kicked the base of the horns twice.

Then she stood up, paced on Huai Shi's body, and after finding a flat spot near his neck, lay down, curled up, and fell into a Deep Sleep.

In the long night, a faint singing could be heard in the distance.