Day 5:

  Tharick woke up feeling slightly weaker, smaller, and hungry. After himself, he found that his tentacle had regrown after a day.

  "Seems like I truly regee like an Abberanthin. However, it likely came with a cost. Likely a point?"

  As he thought that, the door opened, and Zefaris and Evile entered.

  When Tharick smelled Evile, he felt an impulse to rape her, but it was a bit less thaerday.

  "Good m, d. It seems like you recovered." Zefaris said, flig a transtion spell on Tharick.

  "Greetings, Master," Tharick replied, not daring to show a hint of disrespect or disloyalty.

  "How do you feel? You seem smaller." Zefaris noted.

  "Weak and hungry," Tharick replied.

  "Hm. You will get your food. But for now—" Zefaris took out the testing orb. "You know the drill."

  Tharick wordlessly tested himself again. And as he expected-

  S Results:Attributes:

  Physique: 30 -> 29Life Force: 30 -> 29Magic Power: 30 -> 29Mental Strength: 86 -> 87

  Affinities:

  Abjuration: 10%Charm: 2%juration: 3%Divination: 0%Evocation: 4%Illusion: 6%Neancy: 1%Transmutation: 100%

  Indeed, his three stats dropped, perhaps a representative of the proportional biomass he lost. But to his surprise, his Mental Strength improved a little.

  "Hm, it seems like your power is retive to your mass," Zefaris noted. "As for the increased Mental Strength, it is likely attributed to the pain. Or perhaps it is studying while in pain? Or enduring your instincts?"

  Zefaris idly mused but cast aside the thought as he took out a white-skinned goblin carcass that missed some parts from his spatial ring. Tharick felt an intense desire to eat it.

  "It is a 5th-level Goblin Shaman specializing in Divination. I already extracted the valuable parts, so eat." Zefaris ordered.

  "A 5th-level creature?! That is already on the level of an official wizard!" Tharick was shocked he was given something this precious, yet he wasn't surprised that his master had such a thing in his possession as a titled wizard.

  A creature's level is determined by its power retive to spells. That is to say, a junior that cast 1st-level spells is a 1st-level creature while a journeyman that cast 3rd-level spells is parable to a 3rd-level creature. The min he ate beloo a 4th-level creature specializing in brute ford body reinfort using raw magic, simir to human warriors.

  The 5th level was parable to an indepe official wizard who served nobles or ducted self-reliant researd usually had several apprehe 6th-level wizards were masters, and the 7th-level wizards were grandmasters. And then, oh level, were the titled wizards like Zefaris, deserving of owning a Wizard Tower and wielding awe-inspiring power. Only the legendary archmages topped that.

  With enough practid knowledge, Tharick's 29-ish Magic Power was enough to pce him in the 3rd-level Journeyman category. If he measured the Minotaur, it should have over 100. As for the Goblin Shaman, even the weakest would be above 300. That is to say, the Goblin Shaman was over ten times more powerful than him, and he was given this mana-rich body to eat.

  Instead of being eager to eat it, Tharick was worried. "Would it cause me to burst?"

  "Would you like to eat shit instead?" Zefaris squinted his eyes at Tharick.

  Preferring to burst from eating tha feces, Tharick stopped talking and pounced on the carcass.

  This time, Tharick had less of an issue with eating it, but he still tried to be in trol. As, his instincts took over after three bites, and his mi bnk. By the time he realized it, the corpse was in his belly.

  "I'm feeling- Zzz*" Moments ter, Tharick fell into even deeper hibernation.

  "Hm. Seems like you 't yet trol your instincts. No matter- Cough* Cough* Cough*"

  Zefaris started coughing mid-sentence. After a dozen coughs, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and turned around, no longer in the mood to chat. "Girl, follow. We have work to do."

  "Yes, Master," Evile said and followed Zefaris.

  Before leaving, she gave the now-sleeping Tharick a plicated look, as if wanting to say something. But knowing it was impossible, she held it in ahe room.

  Zefaris and Evile walked through the tower's halls, occasionally meeting the disciples in the hall. They avoided Zefaris like the pgue while giving Evile sympathetic looks.

  In other towers, being by their master's side is a blessing. However, it is the most dangerous job in this tower since Zefaris might randomly add them as an experimental subject. It is to the point that the stronger disciples threaten the weaker oo help Zefaris when duty calls.

  However, Evile was called by name, so she had to tinue aiding Zefaris until he said otherwise. There was no escape.

  Soon, they reached an experimental room, where three naked sves were strapped to experimental tables. In their society, where power reigned supreme, svery was on. Even the apprentices in this tower were chartered sves, but they were not as disposable as the three men strapped to the tables, being cheap and disposable criminal sves meant for the mines.

  Zefaris and Evile wordlessly went to an alchemical table and tinued preparing ingredients and cog a serum. Finally, Zefaris had three syringes filled with purple liquid with different trations.

  "Ihem. Desding tration from left tht." Zefaris ordered.

  "Yes, Master." Evile emotionlessly replied, taking the syrio the three horror-struck guinea pigs.

  "MMM!!!" "MMM!!!" "Mhmhmhmh..."

  They couldn't speak since Zefaris sewed their mouths shut. As for ahetics? They would obstruct data-gathering.

  Putting on her gloves, Evile walked to a sve's her region before iing them right in the crotch. Her previous reservation was gone, repced with the indifferent demeanor of a nurse who treated many patients before.

  Iing the serum with the deepest color on the left, Evile walked to the middle test subject. After iing all three of the sves, Evile hurriedly walked back, knowing what would happe.

  Zefaris coldly cast transmutation spells ohree subjects to hasten the process. Within a mihe leftmost subject directly exploded. The sed test subject was milder, having a simir experieo Tharick with some transformation in the crotch, but soon being a purple flesh bomb that exploded. As for the third, his i was the most tragic. His limbs and eyes started melting, his tongue became a tentacle with eyes ah, and his torso exploded with several tentacles jotting out, yet alive for half a minute before dying in agony.

  Evile quietly looked at the se, having grown more aced to it.

  "Tests number 13, 14, and 15 - Fail," Zefaris muttered. "Tower Spirit, did you record it?"

  [Yes, Master.] A cold voice echoed.

  "Good. Have you deduced the reason why it isn't w?" Zefaris asked.

  [Yes, Master. Appreharick's perfect Transmutation Affinity, high Mental Strength, and low Magic Power likely enabled him to harmonize and absorb the tradig materials, fusing them with his source of life, thus achieving a miraculous and perfect transformation into an aberrant lifeform without losing his sanity. The ces of replig it without these base ditions are 0%, and even if these ditions are met, the ces of success are low.] The Tower Spirit coldly cluded.

  "In other words, he is a one-of-a-kind creature that ot be replicated through the same means? And I 't apply it to myself due to my high Magic Power?" Zefaris asked.

  [Affirmitive. Despite Master's perfect affinity to Transmutation and superb Mental Strength, Master's level as a creature is too high to ge its base structure as easily as Appreharick.] The Tower Spirit answered.

  "Then that means I must use Tharick as the breakthrough point," Zefaris mumbled.

  [Affirmitive.] The Tower Spirit said.

  Those with perfect affinity to one of the eight magic schools were rare, with about a 1 in 1,250 ce, and 100% in Transmutation is 1 in 10,000. Being born with high Mental Strength above 50 is also barely a 1 in 100 ce, and being born with a Magic Power of 1 is a 1 in 100 ce. These three ditions are indepe of one another, so, in other words, the ce of finding someone like Tharick was 1 in 100 million, virtually impossible.

  Of course, this didn't mean it was impossible to find someone simir or help artificially produeoh simir qualities, but it would require too many funds and too much time, time that Zefaris cked.

  Zefaris closed his eyes and massaged his ag head. He inally pnned oing aentacle Monster before disseg Tharick, but it seemed like Tharick was a freak that couldn't be casually duplicated. At least, not through doing the same thing again.

  "Tower Spirit, what are my options?" Zefaris asked.

  [Option 1: ing. It is possible to attempt growing a vat-grown version of a Tentacle Monster, but deterioration is iable and does not meet the requirements, and it is projected to be overly expensive.]

  [Option 2: Usiacle Monster samples to attempt making a new serum. There is a ce a serum made from Appreharick's flesh will have more stable results, but the products of such a serum are likely to be inferior to the inal.]

  [Option 3: Natural breeding. Appreharick has shown abnormal surges of lust when near Apprentice Evile, meaning it instinctively seeks human or demi-human females as mating partners. Cross-breeding potential has yet to be observed.]

  [clusion: Options 2 and 3 are advised in tandem. Option 2 is cheap and bear immediate results at the cost of human life. Option 3 should also be used as soon as possible and with several females to determine viability. Finally, it is important to raise Appreharick's importao Irrepceable until a viable rept is found.]

  "Irrepceable, hah? He might be the first appreo have this privilege." Zefaris muttered. Even his Chief Disciple was repceable in his eyes, let alohe rest.

  He then looked to Evile, who was fling back, while thoughtfully narrowing his eyes. But in the end, he decided against using her.

  "It would be annoying to instruother apprentice. I should get some female sves." Zefaris thought.