Once again, Ivan measured the ingredients to make sure he wouldn't poison the new body. Adding in a few materials to enhance this new creation upon birth. With Felis he confirmed their possibility for self-improvement, just like any Demon, Beastman, or Human, Homunculi were capable of strengthening their bodies through intense training. Ivan had gotten Kouki to promise a few status plates so he was expecting their arrival in the mail in the next few days. With them, he'd be able to track their progress and affirm whether their improvements were quicker than that of any normal humans.
Though the answer seemed pretty obvious to him. What he really wanted to know is what class Felis might have, or the skills she possessed. Another thing he wanted to confirm was whether she was capable of copying skills. If that were the case then what would be its limitations? Would she only be able to copy a skill so long as she could see the person she is copying, or would Felis' have full independent access to the skill for a duration of time? Better yet, what if the skill became hers to keep…?
It was a thought that was way too ambitious. Being the least likely capability he didn't hold much hope to that theory. But it was nice to dream, or at least that's what he thought. Ivan pulled a red mana crystal from his storage ring, its size greater than a football. It belonged to that of a beast that resided deeper into the dungeon, the War Lion. A ten-meter tall lion with a golden mane and eyes that cast 'Intimidation'. Other than its red eyes, it was capable of jumping mid-air using sheer physical force. It was a magnificent creature that Ivan at first wanted as a pet.
Unfortunately, its pride refused to allow anyone to control it. In the end, the beast ended its own life while under the restraint of Ivan and Yue. Ivan admired the creature from the bottom of his heart, even after being beaten and bruised to a pulp, it still let out one last roar as if to say 'even in death you will not defeat me!' He carried its mana crystal the entire time with him since with the explicit intention to bring it back as a homunculus. Ivan had no idea whether that process would repeat, so he put all his hope into this new being.
As mentioned with Felis before the being she was and the one she is became two different entities in her mind. Besides only getting a few flashbacks to her life as a weretiger she didn't feel very moved by her past life. If that were the case then it was likely this new homunculus would carry a different disposition from the war tiger he had met. That would be beneficial in that it was unlikely to carry that same overwhelming pride it did before, the downside being that it might not possess that same overwhelming pride it did before...
"Done."
Having finished the first part of the process, Ivan released a sigh of relief. This time he wore sunglasses to ward against the blinding white light that enshrouded the genderless vessel. He theorized that the vessel would mold itself into whatever the mana crystal inhabitant was most compatible with. Unlike last time he was doing this alone, after dozens of minutes assuring the others with his newfound strength he decided it'd be best to not scare the new homunculus by surrounding it with a bunch of people.
While the crystal refinement process would be a bit more troublesome on his own he had confidence in going through with the procedure. Ivan held the mana crystal up to his chest, entering his body seamlessly like a rock being submerged in water. He closed his eyes and instantly assaulted the mana crystal with mana. Ever since the monster meat refinement act, all of his stats had gone way up, that included the capacity of mana he held. He needed complete submission, so without hesitation, he went full force against the consciousness.
Unlike with the weretiger, this time refinement was almost instantaneous. Ivan felt a little bad for the war tiger's consciousness before pushing the orb to his chest. He put his palms on the half-submerged crystal before pulling it out with an excessive amount of force. Not grunting or flinching as the blood poured from his chest. That's not to say it didn't hurt, it's just that this time the pain was nowhere near the pain he felt when digesting the monster meat.
Instead of a football-shaped mana crystal crudely formed the mana crystal had become a smooth orb of crimson red. A thick fog brewed from within, making the bright core enshrouded and cloudy. Ivan held the orb tenderly, fumbling it hand to hand before gently resting it on a nearby table. His gray tendrils sprouted from his fingers and lifted the orb into the air before directing it to the white shining vessel a few meters away from him. The white light enshrouding the vessel became a crimson red.
Even with his sunglasses, the light became a little blinding to Ivan, but still, he stared forward without blinking. His mind raced as he bent his knees and arched forward, his arms in front of him as he prepared to restrain the new member.
*PIT-PAT-PIT-PAT*
The figure's silhouette became visible, the large mounds on their chest becoming a distracting sight. Once again the figure had a tail that exited the fog before the owner, unlike Felis' it possessed a tail golden in color. The figure which Ivan assumed to be a female was more built compared to Felis' lithe and small figure. Even with the great distance between the two Ivan could tell she stood at only a few inches shorter than him, putting her at 182cm.
Like Felis this woman appeared without any clothing, revealing her curvaceous body to his eyes. However Ivan's focus was more directed to the golden lion ears that sat atop her head, followed by her golden wild hair that went down to her back, it gave a feeling of majesty. Her yellow eyes stared daggers into him, yet she showed no signs of emotion on her face. She slowly turned to look at her hands, clenching and unclenching as Ivan assumed she was familiarizing herself with the body.
Her tail curled around her waist like a belt, and her slender human hands started sprouting tufts of golden hair. Slowly but surely her hands turned into that of a lion's. Claws adorned her newfound hands as she retracted and shot them back out again. Ivan's eyes trailed down to her rippling abs, her body seemed as though it held explosive power but not in a grotesque way. Instead, it seemed as though she had all her strength compacted to fit her frame, which made her look like she didn't possess a single ounce of fat.
She turned her eyes back to Ivan, her paws presented toward him as she bent her knees. Ivan refocused as he furrowed his brows in preparation for her assault. And then, the ground beneath her cracked--
BANG!!!
Ivan lifted his bracer to meet the claws, sparks flew as the sound of metal hitting metal resounded throughout the room. Neither party refused to take a step back, Ivan staring into her emotionless face as the force behind her attack grew with each passing second. But then, the tail that had been wrapped around her waist swung open to collide with Ivan's abdomen. The momentum pushed him a few inches before the homunculus used that half a second to launch a flurry of attacks.
Rather than making her submit, what Ivan intended to do with this confrontation was gauge her abilities. He didn't know if it was because the mana crystal she was born from came from a stronger monster but she adapted to her body much quicker than Felis. The force between each attack grew with every swipe, Ivan only deflected them with his bracers before sending an attack back every now and then to push his way out of the corner she was forcing him into.
If it had been a normal human, that first lunge would've been enough to crush the bones of whoever tried to guard themselves against it. As time went on, not only her power but her speed grew as well. The speed at which she was improving was starting to seem suspicious to Ivan. While the monster she originated from was stronger than Felis' weretiger and resided on another floor, the disparity between the two should not have been this large with just that. It seemed more to him that something was up rather than her just adapting to the body very quickly.
Ivan's eyes glimmered as he pulled out a basic steel shield from the storage ring, each punch and scratch either bisected the thing or left prints embedded into the metal. Her biceps grew by a minuscule amount with each hit, at least that's what Ivan determined under his observation. The proverbial light bulb shone from that point, he dropped the shield and grabbed the arm that went flying towards it.
He pulled her towards him and locked her in a hug before she had time to react from the shift in balance. But rather than a comforting hug what he intended to do may as well be considered crude. He locked his fingers together after wrapping his hands around her waist and flipping her away from him.
Ivan's gauntlets tanked the scratches and punches she let out as a sign of resistance, his grip increasing as he threatened to crush her beneath his hold. Seconds turned to minutes, then minutes to an hour, and finally, after an hour and a half, the resistance grew weak. It's not that she ever stopped her resistance, it's just that her punches and scratches carried significantly less strength as compared to earlier in the fight.
Ivan wasn't completely sure, but he pinned the unusual talent she displayed in physical prowess, and the acceleration at which she grew strength to be the byproduct of her specialized magic. Her magic likely being related to momentum or at least the more she punched the stronger the force there will be on the next punch. And like all things, there seemed to be a limitation. After a duration of time the strength she accumulated disappeared. Which meant the magic was likely to be time-based, after an hour and a half her strikes became weaker.
While he wanted to see the rest of the limitations, there were more pressing matters at hand. The attacks she's letting out within his arms were nothing to him, but nonetheless capable of shattering rocks. As long as her mana crystal held juice then she wouldn't be out of energy any time soon.
Another thought sprouted in his mind, if she gained strength with each successive strike then why now when she beat the bracers wrapped around her waist did she still lose strength? Beforehand all she had struck was his bracers, there was that gut shot with her tail but that was only once. He concluded that another limitation might be that she needed to always be on the move to keep up the momentum.
Ivan let go of one hand and swiftly pressed it against the nape of her neck, the sun-shaped tattoo shone a gold light before her movements became weak. This was the safety measure he left on her in case she went on a rampage. Ivan was not exactly keen on having a Frankenstein situation on his hands
"Canis…" He muttered. Her ears twitched as he called out her name. Ivan sighed before laying her body gently on the ground. Now that it was all over he needed to call Felis to meet her new sister. An interaction he was a bit interested in seeing.
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Hey hey, sorry folks but I did that thing I said I should never do again! I wrote a tiny part in the morning and the rest mid day, where my thoughts are distracted and head muddled. In fact, I can barely think right now. I don't know why, it all just seems to be a bit weird. So I hope you'll forgive me for this chapter.
Anyways, thanks as always for reading today's chapter! It was pretty fun I suppose but I've reached a roadblock in my personal life, but I won't bother you with that. Have a great evening, and I'll see ya soon~!
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