Watching Vega prepare for the surgery, Viktor waved his hand, and several bottles of bright red potions appeared on the cabinet beside them.
Although this was Vega's first attempt at a modification surgery, Viktor wasn't worried.
He had countless ways to ensure Vanilla's life would remain safe.
At this moment, the eyeball Viktor had just taken out floated slightly in midair, carried by black magic.
A silver blade appeared out of thin air and sliced open a slit along the edge of the eyeball's socket.
From within the crack, thin strands of black mist slowly seeped out of the eyeball.
This was the unprocessed magical power inside the [Eye of the Hidden Demon Corpse].
Once this kind of magic contaminated the body, the lightest outcome would be losing consciousness; in severe cases, one could be wrapped up by the magic and transformed into a monster.
Soon, the crow flapped its wings, as if conducting an orchestra, making an elegant, gentle motion.
A pitch-black formation gradually began to take shape beneath their feet.
Lines of patterns started spreading out of thin air, slowly climbing onto Vanilla's body and gathering at her heart.
Numerous black runes began to twitch slowly, constantly twisting as they were engraved onto the circular rings of the formation.
The black aura from the eyeball started to coil around Vega's wings.
Afterward, the entire material seemed to have all its moisture drained away, becoming shriveled. Finally, it turned into dust and gradually dispersed into the air.
That stream of black energy followed the patterns, passed through Vanilla's skin, entered her blood, and merged into her heart.
Vanilla's body seemed to be wreathed in waves of black smoke, and soon, she was completely engulfed by it.
At this moment, looking at the level displayed beneath Vanilla's health bar, due to the increase in magical power, her level naturally rose a bit.
[Lv9]
"Looks like it worked."
Viktor picked up a bottle of red potion and held it to the lips of Vanilla, whose body had just emerged from the black mist.
Next, they only needed to wait for her to wake up.
———
"Mm?"
Vanilla held her forehead and slowly sat up.
Her body felt lighter, as if all those filthy impurities had been stripped away.
Even her gaze seemed clearer. If she wanted, she could even lift her head and see through the window, clearly making out the patterns on the walls of the houses outside.
She tentatively clenched her fist, feeling the strength coming from her limbs. A warm current and the pull of her muscles traveled straight to her brain.
Just then, a voice sounded beside her.
"You're awake?"
Only then did Vanilla come back to her senses. She turned her head and looked toward the man sitting on a chair nearby.
Viktor had one leg crossed over the other, his hands clasped together, as if he had been waiting for her to wake up.
The black crow stood on Viktor's shoulder, leisurely preening its feathers.
Vanilla blinked. In the hazy confusion after waking up, she suddenly snapped fully awake and covered her small mouth in surprise.
She still remembered that before she fainted, her master had been right beside her.
Could it be that… her master had done something to her?
At this moment, Viktor stood up, hands in his pockets, and looked Vanilla up and down.
Her pupils were no longer the simple cat eyes they had been before. There now seemed to be an extra pattern deep within them. Beneath the vertical pupils, there appeared to be a small, round pupil that constantly contracted.
Being stared at by Viktor like this, Vanilla became a little shy, lowering her head awkwardly.
"How do you feel?"
Only when Viktor spoke did she respond.
"Very good! It feels like my body is really light!"
Viktor nodded.
Although this was similar to monster modification surgery, monsters were essentially beings formed from condensed magic.
Strictly speaking, using materials from monsters for modification surgery was more like absorbing a monster's magic and processing it.
The benefit was that the subject could gain part of the monster's abilities, similar to how Safilros possessed a whole set of monster skills.
After all, this technique had been stolen from Safilros herself.
The difference was that Safilros only needed to eat to assimilate a monster's abilities.
But Vanilla had to rely on the stitching technique Vega had stolen from Safilros.
And even then, the monster had to be a compatible one for the assimilation to succeed.
As for this technique, Vega said that after all, it wasn't a researcher. Being able to handle it to this extent was already quite impressive, and it even applied to Viktor for an extra meal.
Since the modification was successful, it was only natural to check the results.
Viktor snapped his fingers, and suddenly, a fierce gust of wind howled toward the window.
Vanilla couldn't help widening her eyes, feeling the magic rush toward her.
The next second, a huge blue formation instantly appeared beneath Viktor's feet.
"Come with me."
As his voice fell, streams of blue light wrapped around the two of them and the bird, turning into ripples that dissipated into the air.
———
Several blue streaks pierced through the clouds and gradually descended toward the ground.
In a forest, those blue lines slowly settled onto the lush green grass.
Moonlight filtered through gently swaying leaves, falling onto Vanilla's body.
This was the "Green Demon Forest," a monster-hunting area outside the royal capital.
A cold, gloomy breeze swept past, making Vanilla's fur stand on end. She immediately hugged Viktor tightly, clinging to him.
Both of her ears stood straight up, her fur bristling.
Like a little kitten, she looked rather scared.
"Don't be afraid. Open your eyes."
Listening to Viktor's soothing voice, Vanilla slowly opened her eyes.
Those pupils looked especially dazzling in the night. Streams of light flowed within them, spinning like stars.
She slowly climbed down from Viktor and examined the surrounding forest. No monsters appeared.
"Now, try the new magic you've learned," Viktor said calmly.
Hearing this, Vanilla was a bit confused.
New magic?
When had she learned new magic?
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind, as if something was telling her how to use it.
Her body moved on its own.
As if her eyes were driving instinct, Vanilla crouched down, and the scene before her eyes completely changed.
In her vision, the entire forest plunged into darkness, with only a few colorful spots hidden within the blackness.
She immediately recognized those colorful spots.
They were monsters lurking in the forest.
The moment she crouched down, her body suddenly began to swell and contract, slowly emitting a powerful, heavy aura.
A piercing hiss was suddenly released, carrying the force of a raging storm. It snapped countless massive trees in half at the waist, slamming them deep into the mud.
Wood chips and mud splashed everywhere, filling the air with a strong plant scent.
As the trees collapsed, several small monsters were instantly exposed to view.
They felt fear. Not daring to even glance at Vanilla, they hurriedly turned and fled.
Not even caring if they slipped, they ran for their lives.
Vanilla was a bit dumbfounded.
That level of explosive destruction in front of her, was it really something she had released?
At that moment, that was the only thought left in her mind.
Because the next second, she felt her body go into overload. Along with an intense wave of drowsiness, her body swayed uncontrollably, nearly collapsing.
Fortunately, a stream of white magic descended. Viktor released a gust of wind magic, carrying a breeze that lifted Vanilla's body.
Because she had released too much magic at once and her body hadn't yet adapted, she directly fainted.
Viktor stepped forward and held the small, unconscious catgirl in his arms.
He was quite satisfied with Vanilla's performance just now.
What Vanilla had used was the Hidden Demon Corpse's [Search] and [Shriek].
Strictly speaking, these weren't magic.
They were 'Skills'.
The power of skills was quite considerable. Even with someone like Vanilla, a magic apprentice, the damage dealt reached around the first to second tier.
The experiment finished. Holding Vanilla, Viktor's feet lit up with a glow, and the two disappeared from the spot once more.
After they had completely left, the monsters around the forest sensed that the extremely intimidating aura had vanished. Only then did they slowly emerge, constantly surveying their surroundings.
Standing atop the shattered giant trees, they howled toward the moon.
As if trying to muster their courage.
———
Viktor slowly walked out of Vanilla's room and closed the door behind him.
A cloud happened to pass in front of the moon, and the pure light fell onto his black coat.
Just as he turned around, he saw Liya standing nearby.
At this moment, she had her arms crossed under her chest, looking at Viktor with a cold expression.
Even in the night, with moonlight shining into her eyes, they appeared clear and bright.
"Viktor."
Liya's gaze was frighteningly calm as she looked straight at him and asked lightly, "Since when… have humans no longer been enough for you?"
———
"What, so that's how it is. You scared me to death."
Inside the study, Liya had one hand on her hip and the other patting her chest, as if she had finally let out a sigh of relief.
When the servants said there had been loud noises coming from Vanilla's room, Liya had been a bit confused and surprised.
And since she happened to have something to discuss with Viktor, she came over to take a look.
As it turned out, right at the door to Vanilla's room, she ran into Viktor.
Coming out of a girl's room late at night was very easy to misunderstand.
On top of that, she had said something like that to Viktor earlier in the day, so Liya couldn't help but jump to the conclusion that Viktor really had done something to Vanilla.
Even if that catgirl was incredibly pretty, she was still a demi-human.
Liya was very worried that Viktor might go down the wrong path. Fortunately, she stayed fairly calm and listened to Viktor's explanation.
He said he had been teaching Vanilla magic.
Liya felt extremely relieved and believed his explanation.
At the very least, teaching magic sounded far better than laying hands on a catgirl.
Still, even so, Liya added one more thing, "Viktor, if you really can't hold it in, you can tell me, and I'll think of a solution for you."
"But you absolutely must not do anything you shouldn't to stupid!"