Cain and the others didn't wait long.
Ten minutes after Airmid arrived, Lili drove the carriage into the backyard.
Ryuu and Haruhime went forward to help, and soon, cages were moved down with the help of the three.
These cages were one of Cain's gains from the Knossos not long ago. They were originally tools used by the Remnants of Evilus to imprison deep-layer Monsters. The Ikelos Familia had also used these cages to imprison Xenos. The quality was unquestionable.
At this moment, several figures were imprisoned in these cages. These people were Remnants of Evilus who had luckily survived the recent battle.
After Cain negotiated with Royman, the other party readily handed these prisoners over to him.
"Are these the so-called experimental materials?"
Although she was mentally prepared, Airmid's mood was still a bit complicated: "I didn't expect that one day I would participate in human experimentation."
"If you're uncomfortable, you can back out. I'm not forcing you," Cain replied.
The reason he waited for Airmid to come was that she had provided a lot of data during the research into the Monster constitution.
As a partner, he felt it was necessary to let her witness the outcome, which was why he waited until night.
"Since we've reached this stage, I must confirm whether it can succeed or not. Besides, my magic can provide a safety net," Airmid shook her head and did not leave.
Although it wasn't magic in the soul domain, Airmid's healing magic had a strong recovery effect on the physical body.
Under prepared circumstances, she could also influence the soul through the physical body to a certain extent, which was why she could help research the Monster constitution.
Coming to the pool in the center of the courtyard, she mobilized the mana in her body and, amidst the sound of chanting, activated her second magic [Tuired Well], summoning a large amount of spring water to fill the pool.
Unlike the comprehensive effects of her first magic [Dia Fratel], [Turied Well] didn't have strong immediate recovery properties, but it could restore the bather's physical and mental strength.
Additionally, by having the target ingest holy water, Airmid could use the holy purification effect to remove toxins or foreign objects from the target's body, assisting Cain in improving the target's physical body.
After making preparations, Airmid looked behind her.
While she was preparing the site, Cain had also selected the first experimental target.
It was a young man wearing goggles with crimson pupils. Airmid had some impression of this face, having seen it a few times before.
The captain of the Ikelos Familia, Dix Perdix.
"So he was also a member of the Evilus."
"To be precise, he was one of the owners of that Knossos, but I caught him before the final battle began."
Cain carried Dix to the edge of the pool.
After capturing Dix alive with Ottar, he had left him with the Freya Familia.
Relying on Freya's charm, Dix had spent over a month in a daze.
Until recently, he sent someone to bring Dix over to use as experimental material.
"This guy is Level 5, and his physical fitness is very strong."
"Combined with my blood evolution and your magic, he can recover even if he suffers a fatal injury."
"Level 5?" Airmid glanced at Dix with some surprise; it was the first time she had learned of this.
However, with a Level 5 physical foundation as a backup, it indeed saved a lot of unnecessary trouble.
"What do we do next? He doesn't have your ability to manipulate flesh and blood, so he won't be able to perfectly replicate the Monster constitution, right?"
"There's no need to replicate it perfectly. These experimental materials are mainly to test how far my Senjutsu can go."
Cain took out a crimson magic stone from his robes.
The essence of the Monster constitution is to integrate the magic stone with the physical body and soul, giving humans the characteristics of Monsters and allowing them to consume magic stones to grow stronger.
However, after further research, Cain found that the choice of magic stone was also very important. A good magic stone could save a lot of trouble.
It just so happened that when he broke through from Level 5 to Level 6, he chose Mystery as his Development Ability. With the help of two masters of mysticism, Fels and Asfi, he fused his own blood with a normal magic stone to create a special type of magic stone.
Because Cain's own blood was in the material, it was easier to establish a connection using this new type of magic stone as a core.
"I hope it succeeds in one go."
Sizzle!
Carrying Dix into the pool, Cain directly shoved the magic stone into his body.
At the same time, Senjutsu was activated.
Cain used the power of Senjutsu to build a channel between the crimson magic stone and Dix's soul.
Seemingly suffering from some unspeakable pain, Dix's body began to tremble violently. His closed eyes suddenly snapped open, letting out series of shrill screams.
However, at that moment, the pool water beside him emitted a faint glow, soothing his spirit.
The screams continued, but Dix's soul stabilized at a certain threshold, and the pain did not continue to intensify.
On the other side, Cain continued to use Senjutsu, finally establishing a link between Dix and the magic stone.
After that, Cain took a potion from his robes for Dix to consume and injected blood evolution into his body again, using the blood evolution and the potion as a medium to change his physical structure.
Since it wasn't his own body, Cain couldn't create the perfect blueprint he had envisioned, but the general structure could still be made.
After a long time, Dix's physical body and the magic stone merged into one.
"Is this considered a success?" asked Airmid, who had been helping with fine-tuning on the side.
"One final test is needed."
Cain took out another magic stone from his robes.
This time, the magic stone wasn't the processed crimson one, but a high-quality magic stone from the deep layers.
"Eat it."
"..."
Restricted by the blood evolution, Dix could not resist Cain's command and could only take the magic stone and swallow it.
At that moment, the crimson magic stone inside Dix's body lit up with a faint red light, indirectly absorbing the mana within this magic stone through his flesh.
The mana circulated through Dix's body and entered the blood-colored magic stone for processing and refining.
After processing, this mana was divided into two parts. One part merged into the blood-colored magic stone itself, strengthening the quality of this core stone.
The other part was spat out again, merging with Dix's modified physical body to enhance his physical fitness.
In that cycle, the magic stone Dix swallowed disappeared, and his aura increased slightly.
In terms of status values, it was roughly equivalent to a +1 to all attributes; the increase in strength was very slight.
However...
"It's a success."
Cain announced the result.
"Really? It succeeded on the first try?"
Airmid's perception wasn't as detailed as Cain's, so she couldn't distinguish Dix's improvement.
Seeing this, Cain directly let Ryuu bring over a crate of magic stones prepared in advance.
After consuming over a hundred high-quality magic stones from the deep layers, although the strengthening effect gradually weakened, the cumulative total reached about +40 to all status values.
This time, Airmid finally saw the change in Dix, her face showing a look of surprise.
"It actually really succeeded."
"To be precise, it's half-successful. The internal structure still has flaws," Cain replied.
His modification of others' flesh and blood was very limited.
Even with the help of the prepared potions, he could only change part of the physical body into a Monster constitution.
But for Cain, this was enough.
As long as he used these Remnants of Evilus to verify the effects of different parts and finally spliced these structures onto himself, that would be the complete version of the Monster constitution.
Of course, before modifying the next Remnant of the Evilus, Cain had one more thing to do.
Sizzle!
Cain's palm plunged into Dix's body again, grabbing the magic stone inside and pulling it out.
In the next instant, Dix let out a shrill scream as intense pain swept through his mind.
"It didn't cause soul disintegration. Perfect."
Cain observed the scene with an expressionless face, then activated Senjutsu and pressed his hand against Dix's head.
Good, there was no problem using Senjutsu to heal the soul either.
However, full healing would take some time. If possible, he could have DXD Cain learn higher-level Senjutsu.
"Guran, it's your turn next."
After collecting Dix's data, Cain looked at the shivering bald man not far away.
This bald man named Guran was also a member of the Ikelos Familia and had run errands for him a few times before.
But since he was a Remnant of the Evilus who had committed evil Feats, Cain would not let him off.
It just so happened that the Level 5 Dix had already been tested; next, he would try the effect on the Level 4 Guran.
...
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, a night went by.
When the sun rose again, Cain and Airmid finished the last modification surgery.
"It seems Level 1 is not suitable for modification."
Cain looked at the man in front of him who had lost half of his body and summarized.
Although there is a huge gap between each level of adventurer, the jump from Level 1 to Level 2 is a breakthrough from 0 to 1.
Only a warrior who has crossed the line between life and death can collect enough Feats to break through to Level 2.
Without having gone through the trials, Level 1 adventurers do not have a firm enough will, and their soul strength is also limited.
Even with the help of blood evolution and Airmid's magic, the success rate is still only 20%.
Of course, those who fail won't die immediately; they will just lose part of their torso.
After that, Cain would promptly activate Senjutsu to pull them back from the brink of death.
Relying on the immortality brought by the blood evolution, the lost parts of their bodies would quickly regenerate.
From this perspective, as long as Cain repeatedly performed Monster-ification surgeries, even a Level 1 with limited potential would have a chance to become a Monster.
However, Cain didn't intend to waste too much time on the Remnants of Evilus; saving their lives was purely to test the effects of Senjutsu.
Now that the data collection was complete, those whose surgeries succeeded would stay behind to become petri dishes for magic stones, using their bodies to repeatedly cultivate high-quality magic stones for Cain.
As for those whose surgeries failed, Cain would find someone to send them back to the Guild. How the Guild handled them then would be none of his business; if they were lucky, they might work in a Magic Stone Processing Plant until they died.
"Airmid, do you want to undergo Monster-ification?"
Having Lili take these Remnants of Evilus to the warehouse for the time being, Cain looked at Airmid and asked.
Although Airmid's magic was very strong, her adventurer level was still too low, and her strength was limited.
But as the captain of the Dian Cecht Familia, what she lacked least was Valis and magic stones.
If she compensated for her lack of ability through Monster-ification, Airmid's direct combat power would not be inferior to anyone, and her endurance would be terrifyingly high.
Airmid understood this as well, but after thinking it over, she still shook her head.
"The Monster-ification surgery still has flaws. If you can further refine it in the future, I will consider it."
"Alright, then I'll contact you again."
Cain pulled out a Magic Stone Card and handed it over: "This is the reward we agreed on earlier. There are a total of one billion Valis inside."
"Pleasure doing business with you."
Airmid took the Magic Stone Card, and a slight smile appeared on her doll-like face for the first time.
This year's KPI has been met.
As a reward, I'll give myself a holiday.
...
After seeing off a cheerful Airmid, Cain began the final monsterization surgery.
However, the subject of this surgery was not on someone else, but himself.
The process went very smoothly.
With the experience accumulated from the Remnants of Evilus, Cain had long since mastered the knack for it.
Moreover, since he could freely control flesh and blood, fine-tuning the physical structure was even simpler.
In less than a minute, he completed the monsterization surgery and proceeded to devour three boxes of pre-prepared Magic stones.
"It doesn't look like anything has changed." Ryuu, who had been watching from the side for a while, shared her thoughts.
"His strength is too great; even Magic stones from the deep floors won't bring much of an improvement."
Filvis had more experience in this regard and saw the reason at a glance.
This wasn't a major problem; it just meant finding a way to obtain higher-quality Magic stones.
However, obtaining higher-quality Magic stones meant launching an expedition to the deeper floors.
Thinking of this, a flash of killing intent crossed Filvis's eyes, and her aura became sharp.
"Don't be in a hurry, it still needs a bit of time."
Cain saw through Filvis's thoughts and spoke up, "I've already talked to the Loki Familia. They'll be launching the next expedition soon, and the Freya Familia will also be sending people then."
"Mm, I understand." Filvis nodded, temporarily suppressing the churning killing intent in her heart.
Dungeon expeditions didn't just depend on strength; logistics were equally important, as they determined the final harvest.
Relying only on the Hestia Familia, they wouldn't be able to go very deep even if they killed the Corrupted Spirit's main body, and the materials dropped by Monsters couldn't be recovered.
Filvis was aware of the payment given to Airmid; it was all borrowed by Cain from the Guild Master and would need to be repaid later.
To fill this gap, the upcoming expedition was crucial. Even with Filvis's thirst for revenge, she couldn't afford to be too hasty.
"Cain, Wallenstein is here."
Hestia pushed open the backyard gate and walked in.
Because the process was too boring and the scene was a bit bloody, she had watched for a while last night before going back to her room to sleep, unlike Ryuu and the others who had stayed to watch the whole time.
"Good morning."
Ais followed Hestia into the backyard.
She had been learning Sage Arts recently and would come to the Hestia Familia every morning to find Cain.
But unlike usual, many people were standing in the backyard today, and even the rarely seen Filvis was present.
Looking at Cain, who for some reason was frantically eating Magic stones, a look of hesitation appeared on her face.
"Do I need to step away?"
"No need to step away, the main business is already done."
Cain tossed the last Magic stone into his mouth.
The increase wasn't very large.
But this was also within expectations.
When he had formulated the plan to replicate the monsterized constitution, DXD Cain hadn't arrived in the Mist Space yet.
Later, after obtaining DXD Cain's power, his basic attributes skyrocketed, so the strengthening effect of Magic stones naturally wouldn't be as good as originally envisioned.
Of course, that's not to say monsterization was useless.
Besides having another path for improvement, more importantly, he had gained a Feat.
The universal monsterization surgery and the Monster trait of gaining power by eating Magic stones.
Even with certain side effects, this was still a technology capable of changing the world's power structure.
By creating such technology, Cain would naturally gain a massive amount of Feats.
Thinking of this, Cain looked at his loli goddess, "Hestia, help me level up."
"Alright." Hestia nodded.
She had already anticipated this situation, so she wasn't too surprised.
But Ais, standing nearby, was different.
Hearing Cain's sudden announcement, she was stunned for a moment, then her eyes widened sharply.
"Level up?"
"Mm, my Feats are about enough."
Cain took out a silver needle and handed it to Hestia.
Lili and the others nearby consciously stepped away.
When Ryuu and Filvis left, they each took one of Ais's arms and dragged her to an open space ten meters away.
Only then did Ais snap out of it, looking somewhat dazed at the two Elf Girls beside her.
"Don't look at me, I don't know where he went to grind his stats either, though I have some clues regarding the Feats," Ryuu replied.
"Give up, that's not something you can learn." Filvis hesitated for a few seconds before also offering a word of advice.
"But..."
Ais started to speak but stopped, then tried to speak again.
Although she had long known Cain had secrets, this was just too inexplicable.
Lately, she had been running to find Cain every morning, and when he went to the hotel to work part-time as a head chef, she would follow along to help out nearby.
They were together for 12 out of 24 hours a day; Cain simply had no time to go to the Dungeon or anywhere else.
Given the limited time, where did his Feats and stats come from? Did they just blow in with the wind?
...
"Wallenstein's expression is so interesting."
Glimpsing Ais not far away, the corners of Hestia's mouth couldn't stop turning up.
Yes, it was exactly this kind of expression.
This was the expression she wanted to see.
Incredulity mixed with the necessity of accepting reality, it was identical to her own expression in the past when helping Cain update his Falna.
"Cain, when do you plan to announce the news of your breakthrough to Level 7? I can't wait to use a recording stone to capture the changes in the other gods' expressions."
"...Hestia, has your character persona changed?"
"What persona? I just want to share this joy with the other gods. You wouldn't understand."
Hestia replied righteously, her gaze sweeping over Cain's newly updated Falna.
[Cain—LV6]
[Strength: SSS1641 → SSS2154]
[Endurance: SSS1870 → SSS2201]
[Dexterity: SSS1735 → SSS2310]
[Agility: SSS1766 → SSS2201]
[Magic: SSS1899 → SSS2610]
[Developmental Abilities: Swordsman E, Magic E, Fist Fighting E, Lightning Burst H, Mystery H]
[Magic: Sage Arts, Current Propulsion, Spirit Devouring Barrier...]
[Skills: Dragonification, Devilization, Fallen Angelization, Magic Stone Constitution...]
[Dragonification: Activates the Dragon Bloodline within the body, moderately increasing all stats.]
[Devilization: Activates the Devil Bloodline within the body, slightly increasing all stats.]
[Fallen Angelization: Activates the fallen angel bloodline within the body, slightly increasing all stats.]
[Magic Stone Constitution: Can recover from injuries and increase stats by devouring. The higher the quality of the Magic stone, the stronger the effect.]
"The strange skills are increasing."
Hestia commented with a calm face.
Gaining four skills at once, three of which were related to bloodlines, was clearly an abnormal situation.
But she was already a mature goddess and wouldn't be shaken by such things anymore.
Handing the transcribed Falna to Cain, Hestia squeezed out another drop of divine blood and let it fall.
Just as Cain had thought.
After creating the monsterization surgery, he had gained enough Feats to level up.
"Are there any developmental abilities you want to choose?"
Glancing at the list of over 20 options, Hestia skipped the part where she would read them all out and asked directly.
"Choose Mixing."
Cain, who was well-prepared, gave his answer.
With the growth of DXD Cain, the boost from combat-type developmental abilities was no longer as significant as before.
When they had met in the Mist Plaza earlier, he had discussed this with the other Cains, and the final conclusion was to transition.
The task of increasing strength was left to One-Punch Cain and DXD Cain; as for him, he would switch to a support role.
Just as Chef Cain specialized in cooking, he was going to max out the support technology tree next.
Mystery had already been chosen during the last level-up.
Besides Mystery, the most cost-effective developmental abilities left were [Mixing] and [Blacksmith].
The former could assist Cain in making potions, and the latter could assist him in forging weapons; both were versatile.
However, compared to [Blacksmith] for forging equipment, Cain favored [Mixing].
The reason was simple: for the second stage of the physical modification in his monsterization surgery, he needed Magic potions for assistance.
The previous potions were all made by asking others for help.
To optimize the monsterization surgery in the future, even more powerful Magic potions had to be prepared.
It was better to rely on himself than on others, so Cain planned to be self-sufficient and chose [Mixing].
As for [Blacksmith], it wouldn't be too late to choose it after breaking through to LV8; it wouldn't take much time anyway.
"It's chosen."
On the other side, having received Cain's reply, Hestia selected [Mixing] as the developmental ability.
The Divine Script on the surface of the Falna fluctuated, and the four-digit stats returned to zero once again.
Having done all this, Hestia showed a smile and offered her congratulations as usual.
"Congratulations, Cain."
"You are now LV7."
...
Breaking through to LV7 did not disrupt the rhythm of Cain's life.
After adapting to the power in his body, Cain returned to his daily routine as if nothing had happened.
Perhaps because the shock this time was too great, Ais remained in a state of mental daze, her breathing rhythm erratic.
After knocking the girl's head all morning, Cain finally knocked her unconscious and ended the Sage Arts class.
Leaving Ais in Ryuu's care, Cain returned to his room, his consciousness sinking into the Mist Plaza.
However, just as he was about to manifest a sofa and sit down to wait for the other Cains as usual, something unexpected happened.
With DanMachi Cain's position as the center, the Mist floating in the air formed a vortex, surrounding him.
"This is..."
A look of astonishment appeared on DanMachi Cain's face.
He was no stranger to this scene.
Not long ago, when DXD Cain first brought the boosted gear to the Mist Plaza, the same phenomenon had occurred.
Sure enough, the moment the vortex formed, an inquiry came from the Mist.
[Do you wish to modify the Magic Stone?]
Note: Big ah chapter guys...
...
Re@d adv@nce ch@pters on p@t
guilt_free_daoist
Jo!n d!sc0rd I!nk in synops!s.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.