Chapter 69: Chapter 69 Body Transformation_1
The warden’s office, Aiden stood ramrod straight in front of a floor-to-ceiling mirror, staring at his uniformed reflection.
The next second, his face eerily changed shape like a ball of kneaded clay, and when it finally settled, his features had transformed.
His face was similar to the original but more delicate, his hair grew rapidly, becoming shoulder-length, and his body thinner yet curvier.
In the mirror, he clearly looked like a woman.
"So that’s how it is, I’m gradually getting the hang of it," Aiden thought as he looked at his reflection.
This was the shapeshifting ability Avansa had traded for with a demon contract.
In the end, he hadn’t been able to find anyone willing to accept Avansa’s power and had to take on the ability himself.
Although to others it might seem somewhat self-serving, Aiden at least felt he had a clear conscience.
Judging by the Heretical Inquisition’s approval to extract this ability, it could drastically reduce the threat level the Tribunal and Inquisition perceived in her, which would be beneficial for her eventual release from prison.
After all, even within the prison walls, Avansa, known as "The Filthblood Reaper," was still a considerable risk.
Not only the mastermind behind the riot, Meiruki slave, but other underworld forces keen on exploiting her assassin talents were likely stirring.
Using this peaceful method to weaken Avansa and reduce her danger was something other law enforcement agencies were happy to see.
After gaining this ability from Avansa, Aiden had conducted some simple experiments—although he had already received some intel from both Meiruki and Avansa herself, practice indeed proved to be the truest test.
From the current situation, the so-called shapeshifting ability wasn’t really about disguising one’s face; it was more about physical transformation.
He couldn’t actually use this ability to meticulously transform into a specific person, but could change his build, height, weight, and apparent age based on his own body, with the most extreme change being a shift in gender.
He could make himself muscular without any exercise, or turn into a fat person with visible layers of flab, or a thin person with ribs clearly defined; he could revert his appearance to that of his younger self or rapidly age his body to become an old man... and then, as was the case now, transform into a female version of himself.
As his body shape changed, his facial features and contours would also adapt to some extent—such a level of "face changing" could deceive those not aware of his ability quite successfully. For instance, if he were being pursued and managed to transform into an elderly woman or a child out of the pursuer’s sight, most people would be unlikely to recognize him.
However, if his opponents were informed of his capabilities beforehand and had a keen eye for recognizing faces, identifying him despite his physical alterations wouldn’t be difficult.
In her past as an assassin, Avansa always committed her crimes masked; even a simple change in physique could cause serious interference with investigations and pursuits.
But the most convenient aspect of this physical transformation ability wasn’t in disguise but in the flexible adjustment of his own body.
Firstly, the ability could be used for emergency treatment of some simple physical injuries.
For example, he could use it to temporarily close and stop bleeding from wounds caused by knife stabs and bullets hitting vital areas. Also, straightforward cases of fractures and dislocations could be set and temporarily fixed to some extent.
Of course, this was fundamentally different from self-healing. The injuries treated by physical transformation would still exist, and without timely medical attention, once the ability was deactivated, the damage would revert to its original state.
Then, changing his body could also to some extent adjust his physical condition; for instance, if he turned into a tall and muscular man, he would enter a "tank mode," where his body’s strength and muscle power would increase, but his senses and reaction speed would dull.
On the other hand, transforming into a child or a thin person would put him into the opposite "Scout Mode," where though his strength would decrease, his vision, hearing, and reaction speed would all be enhanced.
Turning into an old person... although his physical capabilities would decline overall, his mental state would become more stable, quickly calming down during panic or mental disturbances when transformed into this state.
As for changing genders, that can quickly break the enchanted state.
Of course, this ability also has a cooldown time. A single transformation can last up to two hours at most, and once you exceed this limit, just like muscles accumulating fatigue, the body can’t transform again in a short time and needs quite a long rest before it can recover.
Overall, it’s still a pretty useful skill.
If there has to be a downside...
"It really does hurt quite a bit." Aiden touched his face.
During the transformation, the changing parts of the body would feel a stinging pain. Although it’s not unbearable, it does deter one from transforming just for fun in their spare time.
No wonder the cost of this power is the loss of the sense of pain, which in a way is a fairly matched set.
Aiden looked down and subconsciously rubbed himself.
However, touching oneself is like scratching one’s own itch—it doesn’t produce any particular sensation.
So he lost interest.
Just then, someone knocked on the office door.
"Come in," Aiden said, straightening up, the words coming out instinctively.
It wasn’t until the female voice came out that he realized something was wrong—now he had changed his appearance.
Veronica, who was standing outside to report, was also stunned upon hearing that voice, but when she heard "Come in," her hand moved before her mind did, pushing the door open out of habit.
Then, she and Aiden, who had taken on a female appearance, made eye contact.
After a two-second silent gaze, Veronica closed the door again.
Why would there be a woman who looked a bit like the warden, wearing the warden’s uniform, standing in the office?
Veronica felt conflicted and fell into deep thought.
Although she had learned that Aiden acquired Avansa’s abilities, she didn’t have much understanding of the specifics of these abilities, and it didn’t occur to her right away. She felt as though countless question marks were popping up over her head.
No, it must have been the way she opened the door that wasn’t quite right, causing her to see things...
She calmed herself, took a deep breath, and then opened the door again.
Then she saw Aiden sitting at the office desk as usual, buried in paperwork.
Aiden stopped what he was doing and slowly lifted his face, looking over as if nothing had happened: "Is that you, Veronica? Is there something you need?"
His face was calm, his eyes tranquil, as if nothing had just occurred.
Veronica, with a blank expression, raised her hand in salute: "There was a fight between inmates in the cafeteria... I’ve come to report it to you."
