Chapter 173: "Hello! Mothefucker! We finally meet face to face!"

Chapter 173: Chapter 173: "Hello! Mothefucker! We finally meet face to face!"

Creatures poured in from every direction without end.

Alex’s vision narrowed and his knees threatened to buckle under the pressure.

’Almost there... I can feel that Adaptation is almost—’

[ Adaptation Complete! ]

[ You have gained Psychic Element! ]

Reality paused.

Every creature that had been mid-pounce, mid-strike, mid-release of another poison sphere simply stopped.

Claws froze inches from his throat.

Fangs hung open without closing.

Spheres hung motionless in the air like black ornaments.

A strange shudder rushed through Alex’s body, and it was a totally different feeling from the Shadow Element.

It settled somewhere behind his eyes and along the pathways of the Mana Heart, it had a quite and absolute weight to it.

He read the notification again.

Realization settled over him with the weight of something he had suspected, but never quite in this form.

"So it was never a closed space or anything like that..."

An understanding look dawned across his bloodied face.

"No wonder I wasn’t getting any Experience and my powers seemed to be suppressed, this was never a real thing to begin with..."

He started laughing, it was a quiet laugh at first, then his laugh became louder and it was edged with genuine self-mockery.

"HahahahAHAHA!"

The laugh rolled out of him while the frozen creatures hung in the air like a bad painting.

"I almost thought I had to take some drastic measures and I almost did something stupid."

"Who knew all of this was just—"

"—An Illusion."

Reality began to fracture around him.

The dense canopy cracked like glass under invisible pressure.

Trunks split into jagged lines of light.

The endless green-black ceiling peeled away in curling sheets.

Black blood, twitching corpses, and the entire forest floor dissolved into drifting motes that vanished before they could hit anything solid.

The poison rot on his arm and neck faded as if it had never existed.

The useless left arm straightened.

Fresh skin replaced blackened patches without a single healing potion.

Alex stood in empty air for one suspended moment, then gravity returned and he slowly started to feel some sticky white strands that felt stronger than any natural web had a right to.

"Let’s see who made me suffer so much."

"I want to give that guy a warm welcome from the deepest depths of my heart."

He said it with complete sincerity, the sweet smile already forming.

***

In the private viewing chamber inside the Winterfang capital, a few minutes had already passed on the live feed.

The massive violet-chitin spider finished draining another cocoon.

Thick silk trembled as the drained carcass was discarded.

The spider’s multiple pink compound eyes turned toward the motionless black-haired boy hanging at the center of the web.

It began to move.

Abyss section higher-ups radiated a dark, heavy aura that pressed against the air itself.

"I guess we have let the Curse Bloom Institution reign in its power too much." One man from the Abyss section spoke with a dark look that promised future consequences.

"So much so that they have crossed all the limits..." A woman muttered beside him, cold eyes locked on the screen.

Winterfang section carried troubled expressions.

The reputation of the royal family across the entire Human Empire hung in the balance of this single feed.

"It was not a good idea to let the Third Prince participate into it." A higher-up man from the Winterfang section commented, voice low.

"It is not about the idea, the Third Prince was strong enough to survive, maybe even qualify, but it’s that Curse Bloom Institution that has decided to use their authority again and this time it’s not some random noble family, it’s us directly, the Winterfang Royal family they are targeting." A woman replied from the same section and her tone was sharp with restrained anger.

Bloodworth section wore many carefully irritated looks, but the irritation was only for show. Quiet satisfaction sat underneath every neutral expression. The Third Prince’s downfall would clear the path for First Prince Valerius Bloodworth in the succession.

"The Third Prince should have waited a few more years, so none of this would have happened." A man from the Bloodworth section added to the conversation, voice pitched just loud enough to carry.

"Let’s just hope he doesn’t apply next time immediately and wait till the right age. We can’t have our kingdom’s reputation get hurt just because some child wanted to prove himself." A woman from Bloodworth added, the corner of her mouth twitching upward before she smoothed it away.

On the feed the spider reached Alex.

Its massive body settled over the sticky strands.

The mouthparts opened wide, dripping with residual silk and digestive fluid, ready to claim the new prey that had hung so quietly for so long.

Vespera’s eyes narrowed to pinpricks.

Alessio’s hand tightened on the armrest until the wood creaked.

He forced the pressure back under control an instant later, face still neutral to any casual observer.

Valeriana watched with open amusement in her eyes, the soft curve of her smile never quite leaving her face.

Across the empire, in every public square and tavern and viewing hall, the same conclusion settled over the crowds.

It was over.

***

A Curse Bloom Institution official stood hidden among the upper branches of a tree at the edge of the web, cloaked in layers of concealment that even most Ascension-rank senses would miss.

She watched the spider close in on the boy and sighed under her breath.

"I guess this is it... Sigh."

Her body was already ready so she could pull this early entrant boy out before he would be eaten alive by that creature.

"You should have not gone against the rules, especially against that woman."

"She is completely crazy." The official shuddered at the memory of Venoma’s last order regarding the Third Prince.

She prepared to move Alexander Abyss out of danger the moment that spider’s fangs descended.

Alex’s eyes snapped open.

He stared directly into the multiple pink compound eyes of the humongous spider, its mouth already half open above him.

A sweet smile spread across his face.

Mana pressure began building around his body in a controlled, rising wave that made the sticky strands beneath him vibrate.

"Hello! Motherfucker! We finally meet face to face!"

The Curse Bloom Institution official froze mid-motion, and he almost tripped himself because of the shock.

"H-How?! I-Impossible!"

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End of Chapter 173: "Hello! Mother Fucker! We finally meet face to face!"

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