Chapter 113: Chapter 99: Ai Lin Changes her Outfit!
Poisoned?
This indeed posed a problem. In this world, physical or magical attacks could be resisted, but poison was uniquely difficult to defend against. Not that humans lack ways to treat it. Like most life forms, humans are exceedingly fragile, and many things pose a lethal threat. In the world that Long Yi previously belonged to, he enthusiastically endorsed the saying that everything is poison, provided that the dose is large enough. That is, in sufficient quantities, anything can be toxic to the human body. It’s impossible for humans to invent a remedy that can neutralize all types of poison, hence, they can’t be specifically defended against.
Besides, this poison was clearly designed to target living creatures.
"What kind of poison is this?"
Long Yi carefully observed Ai Lin’s condition. Apart from her complexion turning somewhat dark and her breaths becoming somewhat rapid, he didn’t see many other symptoms.
"Aphrodisiac poison," Little Zi said, "Only you can help her detoxify."
"Oh! — Ah?"
Long Yi was utterly dumbfounded. Was this absurd poison seriously present here too? Was this some kind of third-rate martial arts novel?
"No no no, I’m just joking. She was injured by a phantasmal beast, so naturally, it’s crystal poison. Anyone injured by a phantasmal beast has a high chance of getting infected with crystal poison. If you don’t believe me, look, tiny crystals have already begun forming around her wound."
Little Zi chuckled as she spoke.
Only within half a second, Long Yi, who had already mentally prepared himself to make personal sacrifices, felt a flush on his face, which fortunately didn’t show thanks to his thick skin. He hastily lowered his head to examine Ai Lin’s wound closely. True enough, under the sunlight, he could faintly make out some sparkling structures.
Crystal Poison, when battling against phantasmal beasts, everyone could acquire some antidotes for it. These were uniformly distributed, and could also be exchanged for using crystal cores at mission stations throughout the Empire.
Bajie swayed over. It had also been thrown away, but fortunately, its tough and thick skin meant no harm came to its body.
"Bajie, are you okay?" Long Yi asked. Bajie shook its head, patted its own belly, and gave a wide grin, indicating that it was alright. Not only was Bajie okay, even the little Fairy Dragon sleeping on top of Bajie’s head hadn’t woken up. It was odd indeed, as if she had grown into Bajie’s head. Who knows if she might even sprout roots in a few days, flourishing abundantly.
Bajie took out a bottle of antidote from its space and passed it to Long Yi. Just as Long Yi was about to open it, Little Zi suddenly interjected, "If I were you, I wouldn’t detoxify her."
"Why?" Long Yi asked, puzzled.
"Because the crystal poison can make her stronger."
Everyone knew that the strength of the plane-deviant phantasmal beasts lay in their peaceful coexistence with the crystal poison, using it to constantly enhance their own power. After countless years of natural selection, they eventually evolved into such formidable creatures. Crystal poison has the same effect on all life forms, but the beings in this world have difficulty adapting to this explosive increase in power.
However, some powerful creatures can do it.
Take for example the beasts that everyone hunted. Being strong creatures to start with, they successfully incorporated the crystal poison with their own bodies upon infection, evolving into even more powerful mutated life forms by controlling the crystal poison through their crystal cores.
What Little Zi was implying was for Ai Lin to use the crystal cores they had just acquired to control the crystal poison and thus enhance her defenses.
In fact, after this battle, Ai Lin had come to recognize her weakness.
Her defense was too weak.
Girls are naturally fond of beauty, and Ai Lin, having recently learned some high-level fighting techniques, was in a phase of burgeoning self-confidence. There was no way she would heed Long Yi’s advice to transform herself into a dumpling. Moreover, as a Magic Fighter, there really wasn’t any suitable protective gear for her. Ordinary metal armor, which offered good defense, had a certain inhibitory effect on magic. And Mithril, a metal that was friendly to magic, was too soft to provide any defensive benefits.
But this time, Ai Lin had seen with her own eyes how Long Yi charged into the beast’s mouth, and even emerged intact from the explosion. She had also seen Bajie being flung away. The force was much stronger than when she herself was thrown, but even then, Bajie easily and cheerily wobbled its plump body and ran back.
Long Yi was human, Bajie was a dragon. But she, with her half-dragon body, wasn’t even a match for them in the slightest.
This time, Ai Lin had no objections to bolstering her defenses.
"What should I do?" she asked weakly.
Little Zi giggled, and raised her hand to Long Yi, "Have you ever heard of crystal core armament? Within an hour of extracting the crystal core, if you use a special method, you can convert it into your own weapon!"
"That’s incredible?"
"Brother Long, contribute a crystal core. As long as you place the crystal core on the wound, let it be stained with her blood, and continuously infuse it with Dragon Power. Once it has completely absorbed the Dragon Power, it will immediately integrate with you, becoming equipment that you control. As for how to use it, you’ll naturally understand."
Just now, when the monster self-destructed, its crystal cores were sent scattering everywhere. However, that couldn’t escape the eyes of the Shadow Dragon. Faced with this sort of monster that doesn’t fear physical attacks, the Shadow Dragon wasn’t much help, but it still conscientiously took on the task of searching for the remnants. Apart from the two fist-sized crystal cores from the monster’s own body, the Shadow Dragon incredibly found twenty smaller crystal cores from the surroundings!
In other words, aside from the initial two creatures that this monster devoured, it also consumed twenty additional smaller creatures!
Long Yi saw the wounds on Ai Lin’s arms, and directly picked out the two largest crystal cores from the pile to give her.
"Brother Long! This is too much! These two crystal cores are at least at the eighth level if not the ninth, it’s too wasteful to use them on me...I...I have only been a hindrance to you, a total idiot, no! An absolute fool! I don’t deserve such good crystal cores! You could’ve just given me the smallest one...No no! I might as well drink an antidote. I’m not qualified to use this."
Looking at the young girl who was at a loss for words, Long Yi merely chuckled and said, "Silverlight, hold her."
Immediately, a transparent silver dragon flew out from behind Ai Lin, and upon the dragon’s light call, Ai Lin became immobile right away. Half-dragon and half-human, Silverlight may not have control over this body, but it could forcefully take control if Ai Lin was in danger.
Just like now, Ai Lin was held in place, unable to move or even speak, simply watching as Long Yi lightly pressed the two fist-sized crystal cores on the wounds of her arm.
As soon as the crystal cores touched the wound, they began to absorb the blood from the wound. Upon Long Yi releasing his grip, they clung there on their own, showing no signs of falling off. The minute crystal formations around the injury immediately dissolved and disappeared, and the overall crystal gradually turned a vivid red.
The wounds slowly began to heal right before their eyes, even faster than Long Yi’s own giant-infused rate of healing. In the blink of an eye, Ai Lin’s arm shone as though it had never been injured.
Along with this, Ai Lin regained her strength. She rose to stand, and moved about her body. Even her abdomen was no longer in pain. Ai Lin raised her hands and immediately felt the two crystal cores on her arms. They felt as natural as her own body, causing no discomfort whatsoever.
Upon thoughts racing in her mind, a layer of black matter flowed out from the two crystal cores, enclosing Ai Lin thoroughly in place. In an instant, the surface of the gel-like substance hardened into a tough crystal layer, making Ai Lin appear as though she was bundled up in several layers of padded coats.
"Pu hahaha—"
Little Zi couldn’t help laughing out loud.
Indeed, it took a few more attempts, but Ai Lin couldn’t seem to get it right. If the layer was too thin, it wouldn’t offer any protection. If it was too thick, it would hinder her movement.
"Actually, you don’t need to create a full set of heavy armor," Long Yi said.
Ai Lin looked up and a spark of expectation flashed in her eyes. She now trusted Long Yi unconditionally, his words were almost as divine as a royal decree."
"Your vital combat skills primarily rely on agile attacks with your fists and feet. If you wear heavy armor, it might obstruct the agility you need in battle. Even though it could improve your defense, it might also result in unnecessary injuries. So, you can choose some vital areas to protect, such as your arms, which consistently interact with opponents during combat and are usually the most exposed to their attacks. As long as you protect these positions, you shouldn’t have too many issues in battle. Plus, you don’t have to generate crystal armor directly. When you encounter battles, you should be able to summon a protective crystal layer in time," said Long Yi.
Ai Lin’s face brightened with joy. Brother Long truly deserved his reputation, only he could come up with such a great solution!
Ai Lin closed her eyes, thought it through carefully and then had an idea.
The black gel-like substance slowly spread over Ai Lin’s arms first and then her shoulders, stopping after that. As steam rose, the substance hardened, and sturdy crystals emerged on the exterior of her arms and back of her hands, transforming into solidly protective arm guards. The two large, blood-red crystal cores settled onto the outside of the armguards, constantly supplying power throughout Ai Lin’s body. These crystal cores became a part of Ai Lin’s body, meaning as Ai Lin’s power advanced, the crystal cores would become stronger. This was the impressive aspect of the crystal cores.
Ai Lin moved her arm, and did not feel the slightest discomfort, as if no extra weight had been added at all.
Then, she bent over to remove her boots, cleaned them carefully, and put them back into her own space. She pressed her hands on her thighs. The gel creeped up her legs, gradually wrapping them completely and shaping the bottom into boots. Steam rose again, and the substance hardened into shape. Crystals even formed on the outside of her feet and the outer part of her shinbones, morphing into solid leg guards.
Having done this, Ai Lin moved around, performed a routine set of box punches, and excitedly ran towards Long Yi, spinning around in front of him.
"Brother Long! Do you think this is okay?"
"Good! It’s more than good!"
What else could he have said! This little girl’s outfit was irresistibly tempting! The black arm guard, and the black thigh-high boots nearly drew all attention to her body! Not to mention that her slightly less ample bosom or her slender waist, those thigh-high boots only accentuated her full and firm hips!
What a temptation!
As a girl, Ai Lin undoubtedly noticed Long Yi’s gaze sweeping over her body, lingering on certain spots. But Ai Lin wasn’t bothered in the least, there was even a twinkle of pleasure in her eye.
"Even if it’s Elsa herself, I definitely won’t lose!"
Ai Lin said to herself.
