High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2820: Chapter 1041: Mission Target

”Resonation warning!”

”Resonation warning!”

”Suitability resonation below sixty percent! Suitability resonation below sixty percent! Please quickly adjust mental state, maintain neural link, and avoid magic backlash!”

”Resonation warning...”

...

...

”Approved for moderate spiritual guidance!”

...

...

”Who am I?”

”You are Zheng Qing.”

”Who is Zheng Qing?”

”Zheng Qing is a wizard.”

”Who are you?”

”I am Edge Seven.”

”Who is Edge Seven?”

”Edge Seven... Edge Seven... Edge Seven is Zheng Qing!”

”Zheng Qing is Edge Seven?”

”No, Zheng Qing is Zheng Qing—Edge Seven is Zheng Qing, but Zheng Qing is not Edge Seven!”

Hearing this answer, the young wizard’s consciousness finally broke free from the earlier chaos and gradually returned to calm. He tentatively continued to inquire in his heart, ”Why am I here?”

”You are participating in a special security project assessment at the Edge Academy of the First University. The assessment method is to pilot the Edge Type One experimental entity ’Edge Seven’ and hunt a designated mission target.”

”What is Edge Type One?”

”A foundational special combat experimental entity developed under the Edge Academy of the First University with the Duzem Alchemy Laboratory and other key labs, based on the principles of magical righteous body and the projection rule, to supplement the basic combat capability of Edge Academy. Suitable candidates can gain combat power far beyond their own body by controlling the related test entity...”

...

...

”—Edge Seven’s resonation restored to the sixty percent safety line, can restart... Edge Seven’s start-up is normal, status normal, monitoring normal, magic circuit flow normal.”

”—Re-matching Edge Seven’s suitable candidate! Synchronization status update! Synchronization rate five percent, ten percent, fifteen percent... fifty-nine percent, sixty percent, sixty percent, sixty percent... resonation status stable!”

”—Suitability physical function assessment: Excellent.”

”—Suitability magic stability assessment: Excellent.”

”—Suitability mental state assessment: Mild delusion and illusion, not affecting cognition, judged qualified.”

”—Suitability neural link stable, no rejection reaction.”

The large light screen in the monitoring hall flickered with images of Edge Seven and its suitable candidate, with streams of green markers flashing through the waterfall-like data.

”Assessment conclusion, allowed release.”

”Release!”

...

...

The heavy drainage valve spun rapidly under the push of magic power.

The light green nutrient fluid surged out of the outlet at the bottom of the chamber like waste water, and the huge glass cover opened up like a blooming man-eating flower, revealing the hunchbacked giant beast standing in the center.

It stood about seven meters tall, with a slender body and an insect-like face, its mouth opening to the sides, its hind legs stout, and its front claws having four fingers, three visible and one hidden auxiliary finger at the wrist.

Its skull, elbows, hips, and other parts were covered with a hard, smooth shell, dotted with pale green, vaguely shaped variable magic runes. As it moved, flowing light flashed across those runes, showing they were not mere decorative patterns.

A long lizard-like tail trailed behind it, flexible as an arm and almost as long as its height, the tip sparkling with a chilling gleam.

On its forehead was a flame-shaped circular mark, with the character ’Seven’ engraved in seal script in the center, representing its identity.

Overall, besides having limbs and a vaguely human shape, it bore no resemblance to a normal wizard.

As the nutrient liquid level quickly dropped, the pipelines connected to the beast snapped off one by one. When the last drop of nutrient liquid disappeared at the smooth bottom of the chamber, the beast’s eyelids began to twitch violently.

However, before it could fully open its eyes.

The magic nodes of the Starburst Magic Array covering the entire experimental chamber lit up one after another, and the surging magic power poured in from all directions like seawater, instantly engulfing it.

The entire process lasted only a few seconds.

When the brilliant magic glow vanished, the monster standing in the experimental chamber had disappeared, leaving only an empty round platform with two wet paw prints in the center, recording the traces of its existence.

...

...

Boom!

Crack!

’Zheng Qing’ crouched by the pool, looking at the ugly reflection in the calm water, his mind flashed with many thoughts, some from himself, some from this body. They collided like the positive and negative poles of an electric charge, exploding a spark above his conscious sea, igniting the repressed frustration in his heart.

The tail behind him whipped unconsciously under the push of that erupting frustration, breaking the thick return soul poplar next to him.

He turned his head, looking at the broken stump, unable to hide the irritability in his heart.

It’s not that he minded having an extra tail—after all, his time as a cat wasn’t short, often running around campus with a tail. Sometimes, he felt uncomfortable without it.

The problem was that the monster reflected in the water with the long tail was so ugly that he found it hard to accept looking like this.

”—Zzz—Zzzhlala—Calling ’Edge Seven’—Command center calling ’Edge Seven’—Respond if you receive! Edge Seven, respond if you receive!”

A buzzing voice abruptly sounded in his ear, initially very faint, like an illusion of tinnitus, but soon the sound became continuous and increasingly clear.

Zheng Qing cautiously glanced around.

The Silent Forest at midnight should have been bustling, but his arrival caused everything to fall silent within miles. Not only had the hunters out at night collected their breath, but even the insects in the bushes and stone crevices went mute, maintaining absolute quiet.

Perhaps only the breeze unaware of everything continued to play happily among the treetops.

”Edge Seven, respond if you receive.”

That patient voice came again in his ear.

Zheng Qing tried replying in his heart: ”Received.”

This thought didn’t bring about any change; he could still hear the repeated call: ”—Edge Seven, respond if you receive.”

”Received!” This time, he chose to speak out loud, the harsh sound like two iron pieces rubbing together. The horizontally opening and closing mouthpiece didn’t cause him any inconvenience, as if he had been born with such a mouth.

The calling finally stopped.

A moment later, the call sounded again: ”Edge Seven mission: hunt an Ancient Leather Giant that strayed into the Horse-Man Hunting Ground. Target introduction... Target location... Security code...”