CHAPTER 271: CHAPTER 269: KAKA?

In the small restaurant on the warship, the officers had gathered together, soothing their roller-coaster emotions from the past day with wine and meat.

Now, the ship was well-stocked with supplies, and the officers who had survived the disaster had the privilege to indulge themselves with a banquet akin to an aristocratic affair.

"The captain has arrived!"

"Quick, pour the captain some wine."

Sipping on the Chardonnay wine Milan had brought on board, enjoying various delicacies made from the "Shadow Lizard" meat that even a king might not have seen.

Although Chardonnay is better suited for pairing with light foods, the rarity and deliciousness of these otherworldly ingredients masked this slight shortcoming.

"To our greatest captain!"

"That’s right! Lord Aiven is indeed the greatest captain!"

"Cheers!"

While gladly accepting the officers’ tributes, Aiven was pondering about these idle individuals who only know how to shout "Captain 666" but are unreliable in crucial moments.

Should he broaden his vision and recruit some powerful subordinates from outside the navy?

Training from scratch does ensure loyalty and intimate understanding, but it simply takes too long to yield results.

Even the sailor Vid and the new recruit Fleck, whom he had high hopes for, both still have a long way to go.

Moreover, even if they eventually complete their Extraordinary Transformation, mere low-tier Official Knights couldn’t block even a sword from the current him, only marginally useful.

A full half hour later.

After wine and dine, Aiven, with a toothpick in his mouth, leisurely returned to the laboratory to inspect his "maiden work," the first Shadow Talisman.

Crunch! Crunch!...

Standing outside the door, he heard unexpected sounds coming from his laboratory.

"It seems... like the sound of someone eating biscuits?"

Aiven’s brow furrowed, wondering who on this ship dared to sneak into his laboratory to eat biscuits.

"Such audacity!"

Although most of his valuable items were carried in his magic pocket, he still stored larger or commonly used materials in the laboratory.

Sometimes, even some failed experiments with effects unknown to him were temporarily stored there, possessing little value yet being highly dangerous.

Not to mention, in the laboratory today, his first "Wild Talisman" was undergoing the activation ceremony, a crucial step for his advancement to Official Wizard, bearing great significance!

Aiven’s face turned stern, determined to teach this intruder a lesson they would never forget!

No matter who it is!

Boom—

He forcefully opened the door, inside was completely dark; all the Hanging Wind Chimes that served as light sources were extinguished.

Yet amidst the darkness, the "Crunch, crunch" chewing sound grew louder.

Clap! Clap!

Aiven snapped his fingers twice but didn’t see the Hanging Wind Chimes light up again, thinking they hadn’t been exposed to light for too long and lacked energy reserves, he didn’t mind too much.

Because although thunderstorms were raging outside, the slight flashes between lightning were enough to reveal everything in the cabin.

However, he wished he hadn’t seen it.

The sound came from the workbench where the activation ceremony was held.

A pure black lizard over 40 centimeters long with its tail included, lay there, happily nibbling on "something."

Yet the so-called "something" was merely Aiven’s own delusion; on the snow-white ceramic table, only two items were pitch black.

One was the lizard that had somehow appeared, and the other was his first "Wild Talisman" he crafted!

With one last hope in his heart, Aiven dashed forward like an arrow.

He grabbed the lizard by its long tail and shook it forcefully twice: "Ah! You damned creature, quickly spit it out!"

But what fell were merely the last bits... remnants clutched by the lizard’s paws!

An utterly unavailing angry roar, even if expelled, it was utterly unusable.

Additionally, the adjacent Hanging Wind Chimes weren’t unlit due to lack of energy but were instead tattered with bite marks, all sacrificed in battle.

Thud! Thud!...

Aiven could feel the veins on his forehead throbbing uncontrollably.

Looking down, he met the gaze of a pair of innocent, pitiful watery eyes.

"Kaka..."

Dangling upside-down with the tail in Aiven’s grip, the little lizard wiggled a bit, opened its mouth and called uncomfortably.

Aiven saw its rows of small triangular teeth, still glistening in the dark. And with such teeth, even an adult "Shadow Lizard," with its spiritual vertical scales, could be chewed up like eating biscuits.

Clearly, it was extraordinary itself.

By this point, if Aiven still couldn’t guess where this living lizard came from, he’d be totally failing his wizard’s keen senses.

The alcohol lamp had long been extinguished, and the black lizard egg in the crucible had disappeared without a trace, even the eggshells vanished completely.

No doubt, the hateful little guy that ate its own "Wild Talisman" was supposed to be my breakfast "boiled egg."

"My poor first ’Wild Talisman’! You only lived for a Chapter... ahem, a mere meal!"

Silently mourning for his "Wild Talisman," Aiven tossed the lizard he was holding onto the workbench.

"Kaka..."

The newborn little lizard agilely flipped over, landing on the sleek ceramic surface on all fours, and once again tilted its head and called out to Aiven.

By this time, Aiven knew that there was nothing he could do now.

The first "Wild Talisman" he made hadn’t even been tested before meeting its untimely end.

"However, you cannot just eat my creation and get away with it."

Aiven paced in front of the workbench, pondering how to extract the value of a "Wild Talisman" from the newly born lizard.

Since being swindled a couple of times at the Crow Market and gaining some experience, it’s always been Aiven who takes advantage of others. How could a lizard now take advantage of him?

Looking down at the "boiled egg," he found that the little lizard was not shy at all.

Following his footsteps, it paced the workbench, from left to right and back again.

Upon seeing Aiven look over, it even lifted its head and joyfully chirped "kaka...kaka..."

"Hmm? So friendly by nature?"

It was only at this point that Aiven finally calmed down completely, carefully observing the little lizard that had caused him a "major loss."

The most striking feature was its black eyes, unlike those of its kind. Compared to the red eyes of adult lizards, these black eyes were noticeably more lively and... pleasing.

Because Aiven himself has a pair of eyes of the same color.

Another feature was the little lizard’s flat body; it looked more like a gecko than a lizard, with smooth, scaleless skin and no raised spines typical of iguanas on its back.

If it weren’t lying on the conspicuous white ceramic surface, it could almost be overlooked like a shadow.

Other than that, its physical characteristics weren’t much different from other "Shadow Lizards." Sharp teeth, pointed claws, and a long tail.

It was unclear if it was due to mutation or if young Shadow Lizards naturally looked like this.

"So, is this guy the offspring of a regular Shadow Lizard or those giant lizard beasts?"

Scratching his chin, as a Wizard of the Vitalist School and half a biologist himself, he was intrigued by this biological question.

Aiven then made a rough estimate based on the size ratio of crocodile eggs to adult crocodiles. Normally, with a tail, a giant reptile about 30 meters long would lay eggs close to a meter in length.

Yet, this egg was only about the size of a volleyball before hatching. Too large for a regular two-meter Shadow Lizard, but too small for a giant lizard.

"Could it be an abandoned freak?"

Unbeknownst to Aiven, the "Black Dam" they encountered earlier was precisely the centralized nesting site for this Shadow Lizard group.

During this season, they would gather from all over the islands at this ring-shaped volcanic island for a "mating meeting" and hatch their young using the unique geographic conditions.

This explained the seemingly overwhelming number surpassing the environmental limit that Aiven had witnessed.

In fact, those giant lizards back then were hiding by the hot springs beneath the island, hatching their usual eggs amid the special conditions there.

Analyzing from Aiven’s perspective.

Most so-called "demonized creatures" were initially mutations caused by the ubiquitous Mysterious Factor of this world, forming stable breeding populations over time.

It’s not uncommon for individuals with atavistic or secondary mutations to appear in such populations.

However, the little lizard’s parents clearly didn’t think so.

Being neither large nor small and seen as a freak, the lizard egg was left outside alone. It was discovered by Milan by chance, which prompted an early detection of the island’s unusual activity!

And Aiven’s "boiled egg" incidentally provided the hatching conditions for this little abandoned creature.

"But our ’Vitalist School’ isn’t afraid of freaks!"

As an Official Wizard, one could use various "Biological Transformation Techniques," including the Bloodline Activation Ceremony, Contracted Demon, Bloodline Transplant, etc.

Even if the little lizard only reached the 30-meter length of those large lizards, like a miniature Godzilla, it would still be quite a profit!

If it hid within shadows, it would become a portable small sea monster, and even more troublesome than a sea monster!

Even if the breeding failed and its size remained around two meters, it could still serve as a "True: Ghost Lizard Shadow Thief," acting as a shadow assassin.

In any case, it shouldn’t be a loss.

Staring at the little lizard, a smile finally appeared on Aiven’s face.

Preparing to become an Official Wizard himself, he just needed such a "willing" experimental subject.

"Kaka?"

The little lizard was unaware of Aiven’s ill-intent in his eyes, likely due to Aiven being the first creature it saw upon opening its eyes, innately carrying an affection.

It tilted its head and called out to Aiven.

"Good, good. You agree too, huh? Hmm, I should give you a name.

According to the general rule of pet naming, since you’re entirely black, how about calling you... Kaka!"