Chapter 10 I Should Be in the Pit Before being captured by the Mind Flayer, he was barely a somewhat accomplished wizard. If this could be considered a "powerful individual", it would make sense. Unfortunately, because he lost his spell book, he had no way to prepare spells. Before he got a new spell book and copied and prepared spells again, he, a so-called wizard, was no different from an ordinary person except for being able to perform some basic tricks. Those tricks were the result of manipulating magical energy with extremely simple techniques. Because they were very simple, they did not require tedious memorization and could be performed at any time. But because they were very simple, the effects were very weak and did not help him much in his current situation. Li Yin thought about it, pulled out a hand from under the back of his head, manipulated the shadow energy, pinched a few caltrops, and scattered them to one side of him. This is a 0-level trick of the Conjuration Department, Shadow Caltrops, which uses shadow energy to form a physical object similar to caltrops. In this way, if the enemy discovers me and chases me later, this trap may be able to stop them a little, but it can only be "a little or two". It can only be said that it is better than nothing. If he now possessed all the magical abilities, coupled with the newly acquired strong physique of the ghoul, Li Yin thought to himself that it was not impossible for him to confront the dark elf army head-on. At least, he could come and go freely instead of being forced to flee. He would not end up in such an embarrassing situation in the battle with the dark elf warrior. Although Li Yin eventually killed him, he knew very well that he had only won by luck by trickery and did not have the strength to fight him head-on. In fact, the reason why he could use trickery was because the other party was unwilling to kill him directly - as long as the other party was willing, Li Yin was sure that he could kill him in no time! When he thought of that powerful and skilled dark elf warrior, Li Yin suddenly felt that there were countless sword lights flashing before his eyes, as if he had returned to his airtight sword circle again, and the wounds on his body seemed to be aching slightly.
Li Yin frowned slightly and grinned. Just then, he suddenly froze. It really just "seems" to be a "dull" pain. In fact, he didn't feel any real, sharp pain from those wounds! When did the pain disappear? He raised the hand that had just cast the spell, and only then realized that the action was so smooth and natural, without any stiffness or trembling, and that hand should have been scratched by the dark elf warrior's sword before. Li Yin turned his arm, and through the thick darkness, his pupils, which had awakened the dark vision, could clearly see that there was not a single wound on the back of his hand. He suddenly jumped up, groped his body with his hands, and looked carefully through the holes in his clothes. Finally, he found that all the dozens of wounds on his body that had been cut by the dark elf warriors had disappeared without exception! What was going on? He was shocked. He scanned his body again, and then looked around the deep cave where there was no trace of anyone, suspecting that everything that had happened before was an illusion. However, the authenticity and freshness of the memory, as well as the holes in his clothes, made him realize that this was just an illusion. The existence of the dark elves, his encounters and battles with them, were all certain. only…… At this moment, Li Yin looked around and suddenly noticed the obvious bulge in the ground around his body. Deep in his memory, in a small corner, an almost dusty piece of knowledge emerged, and a strange idea suddenly popped up in his heart. isn't it... In astonishment and confusion, he lay back on the ground, keeping his body as close to the cold and hard rock surface as possible. This time, without the previous fear, his mind could focus more on his body. Then, he clearly felt the chill seeping into his body through contact with the rock. It was not bone-chilling cold, but a refreshing coolness that relaxed his limbs and made his already excited spirit even more refreshing. At the same time, a warm current rose from deep within his body, as if stimulated by the cool feeling coming from the outside world. Coolness and warmth, originally two completely opposite feelings, did not conflict with each other in his body, but circulated and exchanged, harmonizing with each other. He felt like he was on the bright and sunny sea surface, with the coolness of the sea water and the slight fragrance of the sun enveloping him at the same time. As the air flowed, between warm and cool, he felt an irrepressible vitality emanating from his whole body, as if his body was a new bud that had just broken through the ground in spring, struggling to grow towards a towering tree!
Suddenly, a slight tingling sensation came from the shin of my left leg. Li Yin lifted up his left leg and observed it carefully. That was the place where the crossbow arrow had penetrated. He had already pulled out the crossbow arrow, and where there should have been two blood holes, through the blood scabs, Li Yin could see that the skin on the surface of the body had completely recovered. The tingling sensation came from deep in the calf - that was the deep part of the wound that had been penetrated and was healing rapidly! In the blink of an eye, even the slight numbness and itchiness disappeared, which meant that the most serious injury on his body had completely healed. "Sleeper" - a word flashed through Li Yin's mind. This is the academic name for a supernatural ability of a ghoul in undead biology. Just as a vampire can recover by lying in a coffin, a ghoul can also gain the ability to heal quickly under certain circumstances. And this special condition is - lying in the pit! No matter it is a rock pit, a dirt pit or a mud pit, as long as the ghoul lies in the pit, he can quickly recover from all the injuries he has suffered. The ground beneath him was not completely flat. Whether it was driven by instinct or coincidence, he was lying at the lowest point in the entire cave. The ground slowly bulged and rose on both sides of him, forming a shallow pit. Did he also gain this ability? For a moment, Li Yin didn't know whether he should be happy or sad. Not only did he strengthen his physique, he also gained innate supernatural powers. He felt that his transformation into a ghoul was too deep. If he continued like this, would he eventually become a ghoul? Would that mean that he would eventually inherit the ghoul's instinct of hunger and become a walking corpse whose sanity was devoured by hunger? Li Yin thought about it again and curled his lips slightly, feeling that he was worrying too much and was worrying too little. Why think so much? This life was originally picked up. If it weren't for the ability of the ghoul, he would have been captured by the dark elves long ago. Moreover, the Underdark is full of dangers, and he will probably encounter many dangers in the future. This ability to recover by lying in the pit is a godsend for him who has no other medical means. Even if he will eventually turn into a zombie, that will be the last thing that happens. Now, he has no other choice but to take it one step at a time. As soon as he thought of this, he felt relieved. If the wounds on his body had not completely healed, he would even think about digging a deeper pit to bury himself completely. The healing effect of a 360-degree all-round and complete coverage would definitely be better than it is now! Chapter 11 Conjecture After coming back to his senses, Li Yin continued to sort out his current situation. As for the ghoulification, he was still unclear about the specific extent of this transformation - he lacked the necessary experimental equipment and ritual magic to conduct a comprehensive and detailed examination of his body, and such an examination could only be carried out after returning to the surface world. Alas, he didn't know if he would have this opportunity again in this lifetime. The only thing Li Yin could be sure of was that he was still some distance away from being a real zombie or demon. The most obvious difference is that he pulled his other hand out from under the back of his head, reached into his collar, and placed it against his chest, feeling the slightly warm body temperature that was obviously different from the temperature of his palm, and the clear and strong heartbeat. Undead creatures cannot maintain their own body temperature, and their hearts do not beat - generally speaking. So what exactly was he now? A mutated undead creature, or a half-dead living person? Li Yin couldn't give a definite answer in his heart. Regarding this, he probably had to wait until he returned to the surface and accepted the identification of the master of the necromancy school before he could make a final conclusion. In addition, there was another fact that was certain from the beginning, which maintained his judgment and made him believe that he was not a complete zombie: that was his still clear and intact mind. Speaking of the mind, a cloud of doubt that had troubled Li Yin before suddenly resurfaced in his heart: his own personal experience told him that not only was his mind not distorted, it had even been significantly enhanced, the feeling of brain expansion, quick thinking, and refreshed spirit still lingered in his mind at this moment. He felt that his mental state couldn't be better. No - feeling the changes happening in his body all the time, his sharp mind and precise perception immediately corrected this statement - it should be said that it was getting better every moment! However, whether it is the ghoul or its advanced variant, the demon, there is no record of any brain power enhancement during their transformation. In fact, the process itself will even distort the original mind of the transformed person. Therefore, this change should have nothing to do with the zombies.
So - almost instantly, Li Yin thought of another major influence that had recently befallen him - the Mind Flayer? When he thought of these three words, Li Yin immediately felt a chill in his heart, and his hair stood on end. The tall, dark purple, smooth, slimy body of the Mind Flayer and the octopus head with dancing tentacles suddenly appeared before his eyes. The inference he had made when he just woke up, the thoughts that were interrupted by the dark elf, resurfaced in his mind along with fear. Calm down, he quickly comforted himself. His skin was still white, and he still had five fingers - at this point he quickly stretched out his hand and counted again to make sure it was five, and there were no tentacles growing on his chin. Although mind flayers grow by living in the heads of other humanoid creatures, when they take over the bodies of their victims, they always transform those bodies into the image of their own race. Therefore, physically speaking, he has not yet turned into a mind flayer anyway. But what happens next? He did not forget that there was still a mind flayer larva in his head. But, strangely enough, shouldn't it be gnawing at its own brain at this moment? Why did the pain, burning and dizziness that penetrated deep into his brain disappear, and he even felt that the condition of his head was better than ever? In an instant, based on his existing knowledge, Li Yin made two inferences. First, the larvae of the mind flayer had died, or were dying, and could no longer cause trouble. This conjecture was based on the fact that his body had become a ghoul. The mind flayer only gnawed on the brains of living creatures and was extremely repulsive to undead creatures. His own ghoulification might have caused the larvae of the mind flayer to be unable to continue eating, and eventually starved to death. Secondly, this conjecture is a bit scary - the larva of the mind flayer has grown up. Although it has not completely devoured its own brain, the larva has awakened its ability due to its growth - that is, the psychic power unique to the mind flayer race. Through psychic power, it interferes with itself and paralyzes itself, thereby reducing its subjective resistance. It makes itself unable to feel pain, and even produces hallucinations of excitement, active nerves, and open brain areas. These are all illusions, all illusions deliberately created for itself! Even... Li Yin's thoughts followed this path, and a horrifying guess suddenly emerged in his mind: All of this was an illusion. The awakening, the encounter with the dark elves, the deep and dark cave he was in, the act of lying here, the ghouls, the unexpected disaster that caused the destruction of the mind flayer's lair... all of this was an illusion. He did not escape, his real body was still bound in the mind flayer's parasitic pod, while his mind was wandering in the endless dream, while he was "thinking", his head was still being gnawed by the mind flayer larvae bit by bit... stop! Li Yin forced himself to stop guessing. He didn't dare to think about it any further. The more he thought about it, the more horrible it became, and it was meaningless. If this was true, he was powerless and couldn't find a way to solve it. If there is a dilemma that cannot be solved, just pretend it doesn’t exist for the time being. Escaping won’t solve the current problem—but it may solve another one. So, Li Yin returned to the first conjecture. This conjecture could explain why he no longer felt a headache, but it could not explain another question: why did his brain power increase? This was obviously not an effect that could be produced by simply killing the Mind Flayer larvae. It was more like... Li Yin suddenly had a bold idea in his mind: Swallow... Devour? The idea really surprised him. Did he...eat the mind flayer larva? Not only did he starve it to death, but he also ate it, thus gaining some of its power and enhancing his brain power? That shouldn't be the case. Although ghouls eat living things, they should use their mouths to eat them. Can the brain also be "eaten"? Moreover, this kind of "devouring" that can enhance the mind should be "devouring" on the spiritual level, right? Ghouls are not mind flayers. They are just low-level undead creatures that devour flesh and blood. How can they have the ability to absorb spirits? The more he thought about it, the more puzzled he became. His brain was working rapidly, and his thoughts kept jumping and shuttling between one clue and one piece of knowledge after another, but he was unable to come up with even a definite result. Instead, the mysteries in his mind increased. In the end, he still didn't know what caused the changes in his brain. The only thing he was sure of was that this factor occurred after he was scratched by the ghoul and fell into a coma. Before that, his head was dizzy all the way, accompanied by bursts of burning and throbbing pain. What exactly happened during my coma?
Chapter 12 Lucid Dreams He thought back subconsciously - this was of course an absurd action. How could a person have any memory of what happened during his coma? But suddenly, a strange tingling sensation emerged from the depths of his rapidly working brain. The tingling sensation was not violent, nor did it last long. It was just a momentary pulsation, like a needle piercing a lampshade, or a hand pushing open a window. The tingling sensation was fleeting, and then a clear and bright feeling emerged in Li Yin's mind. Along with the clear feeling, some messy, tumbling fragments of memory emerged - that was his dream. Suddenly, Li Yin recalled that the boundless darkness he fell into when he was unconscious was not absolutely dead silent, and his consciousness had also wandered in dreams. It is not quite appropriate to call it a dream. Li Yin recalled it carefully. There was no sound, no light, no scene, and no real object in the entire memory. It was still pure and boundless darkness. What was churning were only some fragments of emotions and feelings, all illusory. The first was the biting cold, numbness, and stiffness—exactly the same feeling he had had when he was attacked by the ghoul toxin before he fell into a coma, only more intense and more profound. Then he shrank into a ball. In such a biting cold, he couldn't help but want to shrink into a ball. There was nothing in the endless darkness, and he couldn't feel his body, but he couldn't help but want to shrink into a ball. The final result was that even his consciousness seemed to shrink into a ball. However, even if he tightened his muscles, it was useless. He still felt the cold, numbness, and stiffness getting worse and worse... His already sinking consciousness became even weaker and more hazy. Then, after an unknown amount of time, at a certain moment, he suddenly felt a very, very subtle warmth, like a small flame, or like the sun behind a thick layer of clouds in the dead of winter. Instinctively, he tried to move closer to the weak source of warmth. The closer he got, the more warmth he felt. The source seemed to be a sun that could emit light and heat, resisting the severe cold that kept invading the endless darkness around him... Finally, he really reached the "sun". He felt that his weak self was close to the source of light and heat. And, somehow, he suddenly realized that it was not the real "sun", or rather, the "sun" had a certain similarity with himself - it seemed to have its own consciousness, able to think and act. Because Li Yin felt that as he kept getting closer to it, it was also trying to stick close to him. The two sides were like two travelers in the ice and snow, hugging each other for warmth. At the same time, a sense of uneasiness gradually surged in his heart, because he keenly felt that the surrounding cold was getting worse, and the warmth of the "sun" was gradually weakening. The "sun" seemed to sense this, so it clung to him more and more, just as he clung to it more and more. The two sides seemed to be embedding into each other... But despite this, Li Yin still felt that the heat of the "sun" was inevitably losing... Then, something unexpected happened - the "sun" squeezed hard, and for a moment, it seemed to have really broken through Li Yin's body, and continued to drill in. A huge pain instantly enveloped Li Yin, and he instinctively wanted to stop it, but as soon as the thought of pushing and refusing was transmitted, an extremely cruel, evil, twisted, and cold thought instantly came from the "sun". Instantly, the pain made Li Yin touch a deeper truth, just like tearing through a superficial disguise. He was surprised to find that the source of the warmth was not the "sun", but a burning beast! The beast roared and growled ferociously, opened its huge mouth full of fangs, bit him fiercely, and tore him madly! In astonishment, he had only one thought - he must stop the "Sun", no, stop the monster. So, he also opened his "huge mouth" and stretched out his "sharp claws". He grabbed the monster's body and tore, bit, and devoured it like it frantically... He tried his best to find a way to completely destroy it before it destroyed him. He even used all means to further tighten his body, trying to use pressure to flatten and crush the part of the monster that had already invaded his body... Strangely enough, the monster was not as powerful as he had imagined. When he decided to fight it, he didn't spend much effort and quickly destroyed it. Its body was either torn apart, swallowed, or crushed into powder. In short, it became a part of him. In a mysterious way, Li Yin felt that this was the only way to completely destroy it, just like what the monster tried to do to him. As he bit and gnawed, Li Yin felt that his consciousness, which was originally blurred by the cold, numbness and stiffness, gradually became full and strong - the feeling was quite similar to the clarity he felt after waking up. At the same time, fragmented and scattered information continued to emerge in his mind as he "chewed". He bit off a piece of the monster, but what emerged in his mind was the feeling and picture of the monster biting himself - suddenly, he realized that it was the monster's thoughts and memories, which became a part of himself through biting... Similar information kept emerging, until a certain moment, a brand new piece of information made Li Yin suddenly realize: it was a piece of knowledge, a skill and the experience of its application - how to "burn" oneself to resist the severe cold - he got the method for the monster to transform into the "sun"! So, instinctively, he began to "burn" himself according to that method, emitting heat to fight against the coldness that enveloped his body. He didn't know how long that kind of resistance lasted, but he knew that the cold seemed to be as endless and boundless as the darkness around him. In the long, seemingly endless resistance, his consciousness became weak again because of "burning", but he still persisted until "burning" became an instinct, until all his thoughts except the concept of "burning" itself were burned out, and his consciousness fell into darkness again... Until he was awakened by a drop of cold water from the top of the cave. Li Yin opened his eyes and woke up from the endless darkness again. The messy fragments of memory faded away like the tide. He stared at the top of the dark cave, and his thoughts returned to reality. Chapter 13 Devour He quickly sorted out the memories that had just emerged and got some new clues. First of all, the identity of the "sun" can be confirmed, it is the mind flayer larva. It tried to devour itself, but ended up being devoured by itself. Secondly, the coldness in the dream should be the coldness his body feels in reality, which is a manifestation of the invasion of ghoul toxins. His previous judgment was not wrong. Because the larvae of the mind flayer were connected to his body, they were also attacked by the ghoul toxins. That was why in the dream, they would actively glow and heat to resist the cold...
In fact, at this point, it is no longer appropriate to call these memories "dreams". Li Yin has realized that they should all be things that really happened at the conscious level. The "glowing and heating" of the mind flayer larvae means that it has some means to resist the invasion of the ghoul toxins, instead of passively enduring like him, helplessly waiting for the process of being completely transformed into a ghoul. Li Yin was not surprised by this.
