Ron closed his eyes, trying to pinpoint the source of the strange feeling, but the sound vanished in an instant.
"strangeness."
He muttered to himself, and then, feeling somewhat uneasy, turned over and got up.
Just then, the noise from next door suddenly intensified.
That was no longer a sound a human could make; it was more like the painful howl of some wild beast, mixed with a strange metallic scraping sound.
"It seems that the thing I least wanted to happen has really happened..."
Ron muttered to himself, a strong sense of foreboding washing over him.
He quickly rolled out of bed, his movements light and swift, without making a sound.
The hunting training that his father had occasionally forced him and his brothers to participate in back in the kingdom was now proving useful.
The noises from next door became more rapid, interspersed with muffled thuds of heavy objects hitting the wall.
Something seemed to be struggling, thrashing, and howling in that small room.
Ron hesitated for a moment, quickly considering his current situation.
As Darrend's direct neighbor, he was the most vulnerable to influence.
Andrei had specifically warned him about the terrifying nature of the mutants in the Black Mist Forest.
In the early stages of mutation, most mutants can still maintain basic rationality, but as time goes by, rationality is gradually devoured, and they eventually become monsters who only know how to kill.
Even more terrifying is that once sanity is completely lost, the mutant's power will surge at an alarming rate.
By completely liberating itself from its limits and frantically consuming nutrients, it can even reach a terrifying level comparable to that of a high-level apprentice in a short period of time.
With two months until the assessment, he couldn't afford to take the risk here.
"Darend has already started to mutate. By the time the enforcement team finds out, it will be too late." Ron thought quickly, "We must leave here immediately."
After getting dressed, he grabbed the wooden sword and tucked it into his waistband, then stuffed his valuables into his bosom.
"Better to die than to die," Ron muttered to himself. "Staying alive is the priority. We'll talk about it when it's light."
He had just finished tidying up when he heard the strange noises from next door suddenly stop, replaced by an even more terrifying silence.
The silence lasted only a few seconds, followed by the cracking sounds of bones breaking and the viscous gurgling of muscles.
Ron's heart raced. He cautiously walked to the door, gently opened it a crack, and peeked out.
The corridor was deserted. Most of the prospective apprentices were either resting or still in their rooms cultivating in seclusion, completely unaware of the danger lurking among them.
He must get away from here and wait until he is in a safe place before he considers notifying the law enforcement team.
Ron took a deep breath, quietly opened the door, and prepared to leave quickly.
The moment he stepped out of the room, the wall suddenly burst open, and a twisted figure crashed through the wall like a cannonball, heading straight into the corridor.
Bricks, wood fragments, and dust flew everywhere, mixed with a monstrous howl.
Ron reacted quickly and instinctively took two steps back, thus avoiding being knocked away by the monster that had charged at him.
Damn it!
That was... the former Darend?
His eyes widened, almost unable to believe what he was seeing.
Standing before Ron was no longer the slightly overweight researcher, but a deformed monster.
Darrend's body seemed to be writhing in pain, his clothes were torn, revealing the constantly writhing muscle tissue underneath.
But the most terrifying thing was his head—the entire skull seemed to be forced open from the inside by some force, and a huge, pulsating, translucent brain emerged from it.
The surface of that deformed brain was covered with constantly writhing blood vessels, and some areas even emitted a faint blue light, as if an electric current was flowing through them.
"Ron." The monster recognized him and uttered a few words with difficulty in a voice that overlapped with two different tones: "Escape."
But this spark of humanity was fleeting; Darrend's eyes quickly became empty, his pupils dilating into complete darkness.
"Woo... Awooo!"
Its words were cut short by a wild howl, and the light emanating from its exposed brain surface became even more dazzling.
Ron felt an invisible shockwave coming toward him, and in an instant, he felt as if he had been hit in the chest by a giant hammer.
Thanks to the physical enhancements granted by his Knight Squire profession, he barely managed to withstand the attack, but he still felt as if his internal organs were being kneaded by an invisible hand, causing him excruciating pain.
If it were him in the past, he would probably have suffered internal bleeding from this force.
The mutated, gigantic brain monster no longer responded to the calls, but instead emitted a series of piercing shrieks, each sonic attack more powerful than the last.
Cracks began to appear in the wooden railings of the corridor, and several nearby doors were shaken and teetered on the verge of collapse.
Ron understood that the situation was beyond repair.
Darrend has been completely corrupted by the drug, turning into a dangerous mutant.
In the Black Mist Jungle, there is only one way to deal with this situation—eliminate the threat!
Looking at the monster's wild, muscular physique and the continuous, powerful sonic waves, he didn't think he would have a good outcome if he turned around and ran away, exposing his back to the monster.
Thinking of this, Ron's eyes turned cold and focused, and all his reluctance and fear were suppressed deep in his heart.
At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind—survival!
The mutated Darend seemed to sense the threat, letting out an angry roar before charging towards its target.
Its speed was astonishing; with a stomp of its massive, muscular legs, it covered the distance between the two people in an instant.
Ron did not rush to attack. Following the principles of the Corona Sword Technique, his breathing and movements were perfectly synchronized, and he dodged the attack at the last moment.
At the same time, he held the sword in his right hand and slashed precisely at Darend's leg.
[Perfect dodge and counterattack! Basic swordsmanship experience +2]
The sword struck its target with a muffled thud.
Darrend staggered in pain, but quickly regained his balance and turned to attack again, though at a significantly slower pace.
This time, instead of charging directly, he opened his mouth and emitted a special sonic vibration.
The energy in the air began to distort, forming semi-transparent sound wave rings that hurtled towards Ron.
Ron tried to dodge, but the sonic rings were incredibly fast and almost impossible to completely avoid.
He barely managed to dodge the first wave of attacks, but the second wave hit him squarely in the shoulder.
"ah!"
A sharp pain shot through him, and Ron felt that he had temporarily lost feeling in his right arm.
This was not just a simple physical impact, but an attack combining mental power and sound waves—the very prototype of the sonic spell that Darend had been researching.
He struggled to create some distance, but Darrend suddenly threw his head back and let out a piercing scream. More powerful sound waves spread out from his distorted brain, creating an all-around impact.
A trickle of blood escaped from the corner of his mouth. Ron knew he had to end the fight as soon as possible, or he would surely be killed by the shockwave.
Seeing that the opponent was gathering power again, preparing to unleash an even stronger sonic attack, he had a flash of inspiration and cast the zero-ring spell he had mastered.
"Slime splatter!"
With a surge of mental energy, a viscous liquid shot from his fingertips, hitting Darende's foot precisely.
The liquid solidified rapidly, firmly attaching the giant brain monster's feet to the ground.
[Precise hit! Slime splatter experience points +2]
The mutated Darend roared angrily, trying to break free of its restraints, but the slime was unusually firm.
Unable to move, he could only stand still and continue launching those sonic attacks.
The binding effect of the mucus was rapidly weakening, and in less than a few seconds, Darend had freed one leg.
If I wait until it completely breaks free, I will surely die.
Taking advantage of the moment when the target was briefly restrained, Ron dodged the sonic rings while looking for an opportunity to attack.
He soon noticed that Darend would pause after each sonic attack—the mutated brain needed rest after the attack.
"Now!"
Seizing the moment when the sonic attack ended, he quickly circled around to Darend's back.
At this distance, Ron could clearly see the pulsating blood vessels on the deformed brain.
Without further hesitation, he raised his sword and thrust it with all his might at that exposed vulnerable spot!