Chapter 1885: Chapter 1883: Got a Solution
Kalian’s defeat was almost a foregone conclusion.
Fang Zheng and his group didn’t even have to step in. The adventurers just rushed forward and completely took down Kalian, who had fused with the Wild God. As he fell to the ground with a grudging wail, the adventurers’ cheers erupted, while Fang Zheng and the others... well, they just stood by and watched the show.
"...That’s it?"
Watching the cheering adventurers and the silent Wild God on the ground, Alisa and the others had mixed expressions. After all, they couldn’t have imagined that something they thought would be difficult was resolved so easily... In retrospect, Kalian did have it rough.
Recalling the previous scene, even knowing Kalian’s malicious intent, they couldn’t help but feel a bit of pity for him. Despite gaining great strength from fusing with the Wild God initially, he was soon dazed by the relentless attacks from the wave of adventurers without much of a show of power.
Speaking of those adventurers, their fearless charge in the face of danger is really quite terrifying...
But... what to do now?
Looking at the lifeless Wild God Kalian on the ground and the excited adventurers around, Ryōtan Amamiya, Alisa, and Sakuya were unsure what to do, but fortunately, Fang Zheng coughed, stepping up.
"You all did well, take a rest, you’ve earned it."
"Roger that, boss."
"We’re heading out then."
"This task had quite the rewards..."
Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s words, the adventurers returned to the magic circle and soon vanished. At this point, Fang Zheng turned to the others.
"Well, that’s that. As for the Wild God... I’ll take care of it, no worries."
Such a huge piece of firewood, it’ll burn splendidly.
"Ah... alright..."
However, faced with Fang Zheng’s words, the three showed complex expressions.
"What’s wrong? Any issues?"
"No, it’s just... it seemed to end too easily."
"Indeed, Mr. Fang Zheng."
At this, Saten Reiko began to complain.
"This was supposed to be a world-shattering boss fight, wasn’t it? We should have uncovered the boss’s plot, been forced to the brink of defeat, then unleashed our power to save the world and push back the final boss! That’s the proper storyline! Why did the boss get defeated so easily?"
"Because he was weak. Overestimating his abilities and aiming to be a boss results in this."
Fang Zheng glanced at the well and truly dead Kalian and looked away.
Incidentally, some adventurers could still be seen poking at Kalian’s corpse, possibly trying to scavenge materials?
Skinning?
Better to just pretend not to see it.
"Anyway, I’ll handle things here, and you all handle the situation with Fenrir."
"Alright then..."
"And Alisa, come here for a moment."
After saying this, Fang Zheng turned and left, while the others exchanged glances, then went about their business.
As for how to handle the aftermath with Fenrir, Fang Zheng wasn’t concerned. The adventurers, satisfied with their rewards after defeating the boss, scattered to their leisure. However, Fang Zheng had a small problem to solve.
"You can’t use the Divine Machine anymore, can you?"
Returning to the camp, Fang Zheng immediately questioned Alisa, who hesitated for a moment and nodded.
"Oh? What’s going on, Alisa?"
Previously, the girls hadn’t noticed, but hearing Fang Zheng’s words, they realized Alisa didn’t have that gigantic bracelet-like device anymore.
"Yes, Mr. Fang Zheng."
Alisa nodded dejectedly. She had gone back to Fenrir to try using the Divine Machine, but she couldn’t. The reason was simple; she had lost the suppression device. Although the previous Wild God transformation had been cured, using the Divine Machine would cause the Wild God transformation within her to start corroding her again...
After hearing Alisa’s explanation, the girls turned ashen.
"How could this happen? Can’t you create another bracelet?"
"The bracelet is unique, and pairing with another is very difficult."
"But..."
"I do have an idea."
Fang Zheng cheerfully sat on a chair, glancing at Hio not far away—the girl who had saved Alisa before was sleeping soundly on the ground.
"Alisa, how’s your relationship with Hio?"
"Well... quite good, I think. Hio seems to like me a lot, and I like her too."
"Good, good."
Fang Zheng nodded, then looked back at Alisa.
"So, if Hio became your weapon, would you accept it?"
"What?!!"
However, the first to jump wasn’t Alisa, but Lei and Reiko.
"What’s this about becoming a weapon?"
"Does that mean Hio is also a Holy War Angel?"
"Hahaha."
Facing Reiko and Lei’s questioning, Fang Zheng chuckled, waving his hand.
"Hio isn’t a Holy War Angel, well... to tell the truth, she’s a Wild God."
"...Huh?"
Upon hearing this, everyone present was stunned.
The next moment, the entire crowd was in an uproar.
"Wait, wait, are you saying that child is... a Wild God?"
"Aren’t Wild Gods supposed to be creatures?"
"You must be joking with us. It looks like an ordinary child, no horns or tail..."
Facing the shocked girls, Fang Zheng chuckled softly.
"Is that strange? You know, high-rank Wild Gods can take on human forms, right? You’ve seen Wild Gods with human-like bodies and faces, haven’t you? Then what’s the problem with one fully transforming into a human?"
"Well, that’s true..."
The girls were dumbfounded by Fang Zheng’s response, and at this point, Hio, seemingly awakened by the girls’ screams, sat up and rubbed her eyes slowly.
"Um... does that mean Hio would... eat humans?"
Saten Reiko asked uneasily, looking at the cute girl, but Fang Zheng simply shrugged.
"You don’t need to worry about that. Hio doesn’t eat humans. After all, being a top-rank Wild God, eating humans would diminish her status. She actually eats other Wild Gods."
"Oh... eh?"
"Eat Wild Gods?"
"Exactly. If the Seed of the World were to unfold here, then Hio would have no food, right? Besides, although Hio looks human, her essence is still that of a Wild God, meaning that when the world unfolds, she too will disappear from this world."
At this point, Fang Zheng looked towards Alisa.
"Do you want her to disappear?"
"This..."
Hearing Fang Zheng’s question, Alisa looked at Hio, and the now-awake Hio noticed Alisa’s gaze and gave her a gentle smile.
"I-I don’t want that... but Mr. Fang Zheng, do you have any good solutions?"
"There is indeed a way, but I’ll need your help."
"Me...?"
"That’s right, you and Hio... help me with an experiment, will you?"
At this point, Fang Zheng gave Reiko a cheerful glance, remembering his unfinished major project in Academy City.
That was the capability enhancement plan.
While analyzing Colored Metal had led Fang Zheng to a specific plan for individuals to gain abilities via Divine Power, completing the next phase was still a problem. Now, thanks to Alisa and Hio, Fang Zheng found the missing piece—excessive penetration of Divine Power burdens the human body, but after Oracle Cell injection, human physical condition improves exponentially, enhancing resistance to Divine Power.
This means fusing Oracle Cells with Divine Power might indeed result in substances that boost abilities!
As for handling Hio’s issue, Fang Zheng made up his mind; as a Deity, he had the authority to modify informational attributes. Once everything was set, changing Hio’s classification from "Wild God" to "Holy War Angel" would solve the problem.
I chose Holy War Angel because Hio is originally a Wild God, linking her to the Oracle Cells in Alisa, making it easy for them to adapt to Holy War Angel contract modes. Fang Zheng could simply copy, paste, and adjust values, saving the effort of creating anew.
Afterwards, Fang Zheng returned to Academy City and explained his thoughts to Saten Reiko. He initially thought she would be thrilled about the experiment, but instead...
"I’m so sorry!"
"Huh? What’s wrong?"
Seeing Saten Reiko bow and apologize, Fang Zheng was taken aback, and Saten continued.
"Actually... well, Mr. Fang Zheng, I have a new idea."
"Oh? Let’s hear it."
"According to you, Mr. Fang Zheng, you plan to make me an Ability User like Classmate Misaka and Classmate Shirai, right?"
"Yes, the principle is the same... is there a problem?"
"Well... it’s like this."
Although Saten Reiko hesitated, she continued.
"Although I’ve always wanted genuine abilities, during past battles I’ve realized not all Ability Users are strong, and sometimes they’re constrained by others..."
"Hmm..."
Fang Zheng immediately recalled the incident with the AIM field interference and audio. Indeed, Misaka Mikoto is strong as LV5, but with the right methods, even a weak person could defeat her.
If the methods were correct.
"So I wondered, is having abilities a must? Classmate Misaka and Classmate Shirai are strong as Ability Users, but sometimes they can’t use their powers due to different reasons. If I become like them, won’t I face the same? Alternatively, if I’m different, maybe I could step up when their power is suppressed, right?"
While slightly frazzled, Saten made her point, and Fang understood her logic. Her reasoning was sound, but...
"Is that okay? It means you won’t have abilities like them."
"That’s alright, because you gave me that bracelet, Mr. Fang Zheng, and Lei is with me too! We all help each other, after all!"
Seeing Reiko’s bright smile, Fang Zheng nodded approvingly. Clearly, after all these adventures, Reiko had matured, and with Lei’s presence, she no longer obsessed over power.
If that’s the case...
"No problem, if that’s what you want, I have no objections."
"But, Mr. Fang Zheng, what about your experiment?"
"Hmm..."
Fang Zheng pondered Saten’s question; it was indeed an issue. Until today, Fang never thought Saten would voluntarily opt out of gaining abilities, leaving him without another experimental candidate.
Looks like I’ll need an alternative.
Who would be fitting for this role?
