8: Chapter 8: Opening a New Armored Cave!
The Green-Scaled Snake moved and flicked its tongue as if in response.
Lin Fan suddenly remembered something.
Right, what about opening the new armor aperture?
Just as he thought that, the line of text on the back of his hand suddenly changed.
[Acupoint Opening System successfully activated.]
[Current source energy: 10 points.]
[New armor aperture can be opened: Requires 100 points of source energy.]
[Methods to obtain source energy: Contract an Armor Spirit, Armor Beast evolution, victory in battle, completing specific tasks.]
Lin Fan stared at the line of text, his lips twitching.
100 points?
He only had 10 points now, 90 short.
90 points—how long would that take?
"No, is there something wrong with this System?" he said to the back of his hand.
"100 points, where am I supposed to get that?"
The words on the back of his hand didn't react.
Lin Fan waited for a few seconds, confirmed it didn't plan on responding, and sighed.
"What a cheapskate!"
Just as he was about to lie down and sleep, the back of his hand suddenly reacted.
[Detected that the host has contracted an Armor Spirit for the first time; triggering Newbie Benefits.]
[Would you like to claim the Newbie Benefits?]
Lin Fan's eyes lit up.
"I'm sorry! I spoke too loudly. Claim it, claim it quickly."
Golden light flashed.
[Newbie Benefits successfully claimed.]
[Obtained: source energy x 90 points.]
[Current source energy: 100 points.]
Lin Fan stared at the line of text, stunned for a second, then smiled.
"That's more like it."
[Detected sufficient source energy. Open a new armor aperture?]
[Notice: Opening a new armor aperture consumes 100 points of source energy. Success rate is 100%. Opening location is random.]
Without even thinking, Lin Fan said, "Open it."
As soon as he spoke, his body suddenly jolted.
A surge of heat gushed from the snake tattoo on his left wrist, racing up his arm all the way to his shoulder, then abruptly exploded.
Lin Fan let out a muffled groan, his entire body freezing in place.
How should he describe that feeling?
It was like someone was drilling a hole in his shoulder with a power drill, and also like ten thousand ants were crawling in the crevices of his bones.
It wasn't particularly painful, just numb and itchy—so 'refreshing' it made him want to curse.
He gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, but he didn't make a sound.
After about half a minute, the surge of heat finally subsided.
Lin Fan looked down and was stunned.
On his right arm, a faint green point of light emerged on his skin, like a star the size of a grain of rice, before slowly fading away.
At the same time, the line of text on the back of his hand changed.
[armor aperture successfully opened!]
[New armor aperture location: Right Arm]
[Current armor apertures: 3 (Left Eye - Uncontracted; Left Hand - Contracted Green-Scaled Snake; Right Arm - Uncontracted)]
[Remaining source energy: 0 points.]
Lin Fan stared at the line of text and slowly grinned.
He now had three armor apertures.
This Records of Ten Thousand Armor Beasts truly does not deceive.
Just as he was feeling pleased, he suddenly remembered an important matter.
His first Armorization.
The book said that Armorization is the most basic ability of an Armor Beast Master.
After contracting an Armor Spirit, one only needs to mobilize their will to make the Armor Spirit transform from its tattoo state into armor, attaching itself to the corresponding body part.
Lin Fan concentrated his attention, imagining the snake-shaped pattern on his left wrist beginning to change.
"Armorization."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a wave of warmth came from his left wrist.
He opened his eyes and was stunned.
The green snake-shaped pattern was glowing, getting brighter and hotter.
Then, the light spread from his wrist, following his fingers, the back of his hand, and his palm, covering them bit by bit.
A few seconds later, the light dissipated.
Lin Fan's left hand had completely changed its appearance.
His originally ordinary left hand was now covered in a layer of green scales.
The scales were fine and dense, shimmering with a faint cold light, and felt cool and smooth to the touch, like the skin of a snake.
On the tips of his five fingers, half-inch-long nails had grown, also green in color and as sharp as small knives.
He tried clenching his fist; it was flexible and natural, without any sense of obstruction.
"Holy crap."
Lin Fan stared at his left hand. "Isn't this too cool?"
He looked at it over and over, becoming more satisfied the more he looked.
Just then, two pieces of information suddenly surfaced in his mind.
[Armorization Skill 1: Snake Shadow Thrust]
[Thrust the left hand out at extreme speed, extending the attack range to twice that of a normal arm, capable of completing multiple thrusts in an instant.]
[Armorization Skill 2: Venomous Fang Corrosion]
[When the left hand contacts a target, it can inject toxins, causing continuous damage with corrosive and paralyzing effects. The toxin's strength increases as the Armor Beast's Rank increases.]
Lin Fan stared at these two pieces of information, stunned for three seconds.
Then he laughed.
He laughed exceptionally arrogantly.
"Two skills! And they even have toxins!"
He stood up, paced around the room twice, then suddenly stopped and looked at the old table in the corner.
Give it a try?
He walked over, extended his left hand, and lightly tapped the corner of the table.
"Venomous Fang Corrosion."
As soon as he spoke, a slight stinging pain came from his fingertips, and something seeped out from his nails.
Then, he saw the spot on the table corner he had touched begin to smoke.
The wooden surface corroded at a speed visible to the naked eye, revealing a pit the size of a fingernail with charred edges, emitting a faint burnt smell.
Lin Fan withdrew his hand, staring at the pit, his grin reaching from ear to ear.
"Awesome."
He tried Snake Shadow Thrust as well.
He lunged his left hand forward.
Swish!
He didn't even feel his arm move, but his fingertips had already touched the wall three meters away.
Lin Fan looked back at his original position, then at the spot on the wall, stunned for a full three seconds.
"This speed..."
He withdrew his hand, looking at his left hand covered in green scales, and suddenly felt it was a bit surreal.
A trash with only two armor apertures?
If that group of people who ridiculed him were standing before him now, he could take on ten of them.
Lin Fan paced around the room a few more times before finally calming down.
He looked down at the scales on his left hand and tried to retract them.
The scales slowly receded, transforming back into the green snake-shaped pattern coiled around his wrist.
Everything returned to normal.
Lin Fan let out a long breath.
He walked to the window and pushed it open.
The night wind blew in, carrying the chill of early autumn.
The corners of Lin Fan's mouth slowly curled up.
Just you wait.
I am going to rise!
He gazed at the dark night sky in the distance, a fiery light igniting in his eyes.
The Green-Scaled Snake seemed to sense his emotions, wriggling slightly on his wrist as its scales shimmered with a faint green light, as if responding to his determination.
Lin Fan dotingly stroked the Green-Scaled Snake's head and said thoughtfully.
"You are my first Armor Spirit and the beginning of my rise, so I'll call you..."
He thought for a moment, suddenly remembering the half-dead appearance this little thing had in the market.
"Back then you were curled in a ball, looking like you were dead; who knew you were just playing dead."
Lin Fan laughed. "Alright, I'll call you 'Xiao Zhuang'."
The Green-Scaled Snake raised its head, its dark green vertical pupils staring at him as it flicked its tongue.
"What? Not satisfied?"
Lin Fan raised an eyebrow. "Then how about another one? 'Unkillable'? 'Xiao Qiang'?"
The Green-Scaled Snake moved, coiling itself a bit tighter.
Lin Fan burst into laughter.
"Fine, Xiao Zhuang it is. The 'Zhuang' from 'playing dead,' not the 'Zhuang' from 'showing off.' The showing off is for your master; as for you... just play dead for now."