Eldritch Horror Theatre - Ch. 131: Disorder (Part 2)
After merely half a second of narcissism, Fu Qian inspected the items he had retrieved from the skeleton.
He didn't have much time left. Being roasted by the oil lamp, he could lose his mobility at any moment and enter a state of waiting for death.
It was a dark, circular iron piece, about the size of a watch dial, and looked quite ancient.
It was very thin overall, so the probability of something being hidden inside was low.
Playing with the iron piece in his hand, Fu Qian suddenly remembered something.
Turning around to prop up the skeleton's head once more, this time Fu Qian directly pried open its jaw and reached his hand inside.
When the skeleton had screamed earlier, he thought he had seen something in there.
After fumbling around for a bit, Fu Qian pulled something out with two fingers.
It was a heavy, spherical object.
It seemed to be something the skeleton had held in its mouth right before it died.
The search concluded. Holding one item in each hand, Fu Qian examined his discoveries.
First was the stone taken from the throat.
About the size of a thumb, its oval surface was covered with dark red textures. Amidst the winding patterns were dozens of spikes of varying lengths.
If it weren't so obviously a stone, he might have thought it was some mutated tonsil.
As for the iron piece in his right hand, one side was entirely blank. After wiping away the grime from the other side, a strange pattern outlined with crude lines was revealed.
Besides these two items, there seemed to be nothing else useful in the room.
But could they be used to lift the Achromatic State? That would be a bit of a test of imagination.
Fu Qian looked back at the skeleton, imagining its state right before death.
Judging by its posture, it looked very much like it had died with the spiked ball in its mouth, its eyes fixed on the iron piece.
But what was the use of this?
Fu Qian thought for a moment and tightened his grip on the spiked ball. The skin on his palm was directly pierced.
Illuminated by the lamp, the liquid oozing from his palm was almost transparent.
This must be the so-called loss of color?
Recalling his mission objective, Fu Qian glanced down at his own body.
His flesh and blood seemed to be slowly turning transparent, to the point where the bones beneath his skin were faintly visible.
At this rate, he figured he would soon end up exactly like the owner of the iron piece.
Meanwhile, the pain transmitting from his palm cleared Fu Qian's mind.
This thing...
Fu Qian tried scratching his arm with his fingernail.
A cut was made on his translucent skin, but he felt absolutely nothing.
Under the Achromatic State, were sensation and rationality supposed to disappear together?
And this stone could make him feel pain, thereby maintaining a certain level of rationality?
Fu Qian exhaled, having formed a rough guess about the object's function.
It seemed the deceased had been using it to stay alert.
What about the iron piece, then?
Fu Qian pondered for a moment before simply pushing the skeleton aside.
Then, he sat down directly in its original spot. Following his theory, he assumed the exact same posture.
Holding the stone in one hand, he faced the patterned side of the iron piece towards himself with the other, focusing all his attention on it.
Almost instantly, Fu Qian felt the pattern in his vision begin to move.
At the same time, something within his body seemed to awaken, and waves of silent howling flooded his consciousness.
The sensation of his life force continuously slipping away began to slowly decelerate.
For the first time since this ordeal began, he felt his own heartbeat.
After an unknown amount of time, Fu Qian slowly opened his eyes.
The feeling of his life slipping away had completely stopped.
Letting out a long breath, Fu Qian looked at the skeleton beside him.
This guy apparently knew how to fight the color loss and had even prepared a path, but unfortunately failed in the end.
[Current Mission Updated]
[Find a way to escape the prison]
At this moment, a new mission prompt appeared, confirming that his previous objective had been completed.
Find a way to escape the prison...
Fu Qian's first thought was of that Jailer. When it came in to add oil, it would undoubtedly present an excellent opportunity.
The problem was that not only was the Jailer towering in stature, but it could also lift the lampshade with one hand. Its immense strength was clearly beyond that of an ordinary person.
Taking it down in his current condition would likely be very difficult.
So, for the time that followed, Fu Qian remained almost completely still, focusing his attention entirely on the iron piece.
Soon, his skin began to slowly regain its color. He could even distinctly feel the growth of power within his body, and the eerie glow emanating from his skin gradually faded.
After an indeterminate amount of time, accompanied by a bout of itching, rings of fine, circular scales began to grow on Fu Qian's arms.
This scene was quite horrifying, but Fu Qian still had no intention of stopping.
Regardless, with every ounce of power gained, his chances of escape increased by a fraction.
A few side effects were fine.
Just like that, Fu Qian didn't stop until his body ceased to change.
Feeling the power surging within him, he almost felt like he had been completely reborn.
According to his previous standards, he was at least around the Eighth Tier.
Fu Qian silently made his assessment.
It was difficult to determine the time in an enclosed space, but it should have been less than a day.
Fu Qian was quite satisfied with this efficiency. Just as he tried to stand up, however, his body tilted and he fell over.
What's going on?
He had clearly wanted to stand up just now, but his hands moved instead?
Motor nerve disorder? Fu Qian recalled a skill called Chaos Body Dash.
Is this a side effect of that thing?
If that's really the case—
Fu Qian's mind raced as he adjusted his body, gradually getting used to the new order.
For example, using the mental command to 'look up' in order to control his legs.
However, just as he was finally starting to adapt, the feeling of chaos suddenly vanished.
The sudden contrast almost made him fall again.
Coming and going without a trace, this thing is a bit of a trap.
It wouldn't happen every little while, would it?
Fu Qian thought to himself as he waited silently.
Sure enough, not long after, the feeling of chaos struck again.
He was prepared this time and first tried to apply his previous experience.
However, reality proved that the effects of the chaos were random; his previous contingency plan was already invalid.
How troublesome!
Fu Qian sighed but unhesitatingly continued to try.
If this condition was going to persist, he had to get used to it.
Finally, after more than ten consecutive cycles, Fu Qian began to gradually adapt to the periodic chaotic impacts, reducing his recovery time for mobility to under a minute.
As long as it didn't act up right in the middle of a fight, it shouldn't be much of a problem.
Fu Qian looked at the oil lamp in the middle of the cell; there wasn't much oil left.
The Jailer should be coming in soon. With his current condition, he could give it a try.
Fu Qian silently began to adjust his body, preparing for his upcoming move.
...
Clang!
The sound of the door opening echoed. By this time, Fu Qian had already returned to the corner and sat down.
To avoid exposing his recovered state, he buried his face and tried his best to cover his exposed skin.
The tightly wrapped Jailer appeared once again, floating straight in.
It seemed completely devoid of any awareness to check on the prisoner's condition, directly lifting the lampshade and beginning to add oil.
Fu Qian slowly moved into its blind spot.
Just as he was about to strike, the nerve disorder instantly seized his body, almost making him fall once more.
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