The Adventurer's Mission Log

Chapter 3 So I'm not going to be human anymore!

The demon abruptly stopped its pursuit, scrutinizing the monster that the human had transformed into with apprehension—a species it had seen in other universes, but which definitely did not belong to this world.

After the probing attack, it was already showing signs of retreating—who knows what this cold-blooded reptile was up to?

Is he alone, or does he have an entire army, or even an ancient god who has not yet fallen?

We need to find out the truth before taking any action.

Tenor suddenly grew at least half a meter taller, and when his gaze fell on the arm, it was no longer human flesh and blood, but a layer of rough, hard scales!

Even though he was mentally prepared, Tenor was still startled. The emotion was so strong that it broke through his indifferent mindset. His body shrank instantly, his scales fell off, and his naked human skin was revealed.

He instantly realized that this was some kind of combat state, and now was not the time to turn back into a human!

The thought flashed through his mind, and he swelled up into a monstrous form again.

As Tenor confronted the darkness on the other side, he also took stock of his current state.

It was covered in thick scales and had a tail behind it, making it look like a miniature humanoid Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Feeling the power of this body, the tension that Tenor felt when encountering the demon receded like the tide—we're not human, so who's afraid of whom?

But a new problem arose—he couldn't maintain this posture for long, after all, he was just a newly awakened half-human warrior.

The half-human warriors need to take "sublimation reagents" to continuously mutate themselves. Each mutation makes them stronger, stabilizes their alien form, and distances them further from humans, until finally they completely become the monsters that the awakening potion seeks out.

Given Tenor's current level of mutation, he can probably only maintain it for one minute, and it will take ten times longer to recover after transforming.

His body was no longer human; even without maintaining a fighting stance, it was enough to deal with ordinary thugs, but his fragile body, mixed with human characteristics, was definitely no match for a demon.

We must finish this quickly!

The previous attack had given Tenor confidence that this demon would have a hard time breaking through his defenses, so he decisively jumped back, opened his blood-red maw, and swung his fists the size of sandbags as he lunged at the darkness.

The demon hiding in the darkness vanished in a flash when it saw him fight back.

A certain special sense allowed Tenor to pinpoint its location—it moved at an extremely fast speed toward the slums, and in the blink of an eye, it had run ten steps away and disappeared from Tenor's perception.

An optional task is triggered; if it is not accepted in time, it will disappear.

[Mission: Hunt Down the Demon]

[Difficulty: High Risk]

Status: Available

Tenor knew that he was already lucky to have forced the demons back. If he continued to pursue them, not only would he not have enough time to maintain the battle, but he might also run into the demons' reinforcements and be surrounded and killed.

He reverted to human form and gave his body a cursory examination.

He became much stronger, his physique leaping from that of an ordinary person to one capable of easily defeating a professional boxer of the same weight class.

However, fine blue scales grew on his chest, back, lower body, and joints of his hands and feet, as if there were an extra layer of bone plates under his skin.

Ignoring aesthetics, Tenor was simply happy. He felt as if he were wearing a suit of armor at any time, so that he wouldn't die even if someone shot him in the back.

What kind of person are they?

As is well known, extraordinary individuals are divided into twelve ranks. The first rank is Apprentice, and thereafter every three ranks are called Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. The eleventh rank is Master, and the highest rank is called Legend.

Since the ability of superhumans to inflict damage far exceeds their defensive capabilities, it is not uncommon for high-ranking individuals to be killed by low-ranking individuals when they are careless.

Therefore, the level does not mean an absolute difference, but only a rough reference.

For example, a high-ranking human warrior who awakens through 'willpower' might have the strength to slay a dragon, but if he dares to go into battle without armor and take bullets with his neck, he will die, because he is still human at heart.

A true demon with intelligence, outside the plague realm, is at least of the fourth rank.

The species that Tenor mutated was only at the second rank, yet it could scare away demons.

It can be confirmed that the alienated races are quite special.

As long as one doesn't act like a human being, their future is limitless.

Now is not the time to dream about the future. He still has ten gold coins waiting for him. If he were to steal corpses to exchange for money now, with his strength that could make demons retreat, it would be nothing more than taking advantage of the situation.

He found a piece of cloth nearby to wrap himself up, thus avoiding the ordeal of running naked, and hurriedly ran back to the shore. There he found about ten people scattered in the warehouse and the shelters on the flood control slope, shooting at each other with crossbows.

Six corpses lay beside the charred body of the water ghost. All the mercenaries were hesitant to act, afraid to be the first to step forward.

Seeing Tenor arrive, a voice loudly suggested:

"Stop it, all of you! If this keeps going, we won't even get a single gold coin!"

Listen, I swear by the sword of the Winter God!

"Let's team up and first chop those scoundrels who're trying to take advantage into mincemeat. After it's done, the shipping officer's bonus will be split equally!"

With their companions already dead, ten gold coins wouldn't amount to much among so many people. Someone was about to object when they saw the newcomer head straight for the water ghost's corpse and immediately draw his bow and shoot an arrow.

"Whoosh!"

Seven or eight arrows were shot at Tenor. Although the humanoid form was weaker in combat and perception, that was relative to the alien form.

He is weak in human form when facing demons, but what is he to ordinary people?

Tenor first vaguely sensed a sense of danger, then lowered his head and the sense of danger disappeared; the crossbow bolt that was supposed to hit his eye missed its mark.

Other arrows whizzed past and struck him, turning him into a pincushion. He only felt slight pain; they were all superficial wounds.

He swaggered over to the charred corpse of the water ghost, picked it up, and carried it on his shoulder. The corpse was still warm and sparks were still visible, but Tenor ignored it completely.

He ran off into the distance in front of everyone.

"Stop that bastard who's walking his bird! Stop him now! Fire!" The mercenaries behind were jumping up and down in a panic. The swordsmen and shieldmen tried to block Tenor, but Tenor, carrying a corpse, was faster than them.

The archers fired sporadically for a while, but their shots either missed, were blocked by the water ghost's corpse, or hit but had no effect.

In just a short while, Tenor disappeared into the night, leaving behind only the mercenaries who could only sigh in despair.

Around 10 p.m., Tenor returned to Baishui Street with a smile. He had exchanged his change for a large gray robe, and there were ten more gold coins in his pocket.

He didn't come back to pay off Gaius's debts, but to pack his bags and prepare to move to a nice house in the inner city.

Debt? He's already morally upright for not robbing Gaius, why would he need to pay back a bully?

From afar, a faint smell of blood wafted into Tenor's nostrils. This was a common occurrence in the slums, where gang fights and home invasions were frequent.

But the smell of blood was coming from Ternor's house.

The body of a thug leaned against the door, his eyeballs missing, leaving only bloody holes.

Tenor became alert and entered the room, which was in a mess, as someone had ransacked it.

A strange mark, a mixture of male and female symbols, was drawn in blood on the open ground, and Gaius was naked and nailed to the mark.

His eyeballs had been gouged out, but his face showed a morbid obsession and pleasure. His entire chest and abdomen had been cut open, leaving them empty.

His male characteristics were cut off, and blood kept spilling from his mouth.

Blood gushed out, blurring the mark.

The manner of death resembled some kind of pagan ritual, and Tenor couldn't help but recall the demon from before, which had indeed fled towards the slums.

Tenor surmised that the demon must have been summoned by the demon cult, which was hiding in the slums, raising water ghosts at the docks, and secretly plotting something.

The demon had met Tenor and was clearly surprised by his mutated state.

It's possible that right after the demon escaped, it sent or led its followers into Tenor's house to investigate him, and they happened to run into Gaius and his group who were guarding the area...

But how could the demon pinpoint his house so precisely? Was it through divination? Or some other method?

It seems he can't shake off the trouble; these thugs have their eyes on him.

As Tenor thought of this, three tasks were triggered simultaneously. They were mutually exclusive, and only one could be accepted at a time.

[Mission: Repel the Night Raid by the Demon Slayers]

[Difficulty: High Risk]

Status: Available

Staying here to repel the demon cult's attack is no different from chasing demons before, and Tenor won't be foolish.

[Mission: Seize the opportunity to escape the city and evade the pursuit of the demon worshippers]

[Difficulty: Dangerous]

Status: Available

Well, Tenor did consider escaping the city, but there seemed to be unknown risks involved.

[Mission: Move to the inner city and escape the pursuit of the demon worshippers]

Difficulty: Low

Status: Available

The inner city is the part of the city excluding the East District, which is a slum and also the outer city.

In the Orodlin Highlands northwest of Ragetia, the High Kingdom of the Elves and the Empire have been at war for many years, and have repeatedly raided Ragetia by sailing down the upper reaches of the River Golden.

The citizens of Laghetti built an inner city wall with a gate called the "theft gate" to keep the country bumpkins in the east from potential danger.

Residents of the East District call it "Customs House" because the inside and outside of this door are like two different countries.

Comparing the difficulty of the missions, you should know where to hide to escape, right?

The situation had changed; the demon cultists could arrive at any moment. Without even bothering to pack his luggage, Tenor rushed towards the customs office.