CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER 45 OFFICIAL KNIGHT

The vast and boundless Black Sea.

For the various creatures living here, she is both a home for reproduction and a battlefield of life and death.

One day, a small shark was born in this sea, opening its eyes to understand this strange and dangerous world.

It scavenged the leftover scraps of carrion from other predators, hunted small fish and shrimp, and even battled with giant sea monsters.

It roamed the warm and comfortable blue skies and seas, and also faced the turbulent waves and fierce storms with pride.

It wandered in the ancient city ruins deep at the sea bottom, forgotten by history, and witnessed how a small seaside village turned into a great city in just a few years.

From weak and fragile to strong and fearless, through countless escapes and hunts, the law of the jungle has shaped it into a top predator, ruthless and cunning!

At this moment, there is little in the Black Sea that it fears.

And Aiven, accompanied by this Blue Flag Demon Shark, spent countless years from the perspective, senses, and even thoughts of a shark. During this process, his human cognition, morality, and emotions were peeled away bit by bit until only the savage instincts of a bloodthirsty monster remained.

Whoosh—

A huge shadow flickered below the sea surface.

The cold current flowed through the demon shark’s gills but caused it no resistance. Instead, the surging eddies transformed into a driving force, propelling the streamlined fish body to rapidly advance through the water, again and again.

Snap!

With lightning speed, it opened its gaping maw and snapped a large fish, not much smaller than itself, in half.

At that moment, the sweet and fresh taste exploded in its mouth, intoxicating it immensely.

The senses of the Blue Flag Demon Shark are such, and so is Aiven.

In an instant, as if a switch had been turned on, the beast instincts inherited through millennia in Aiven’s bloodline fully awakened!

In the dark room, Aiven’s cross-legged silhouette suddenly opened slightly reddened eyes.

Before humans built their magnificent civilization, they were just another ordinary member of the beasts in the jungle and grasslands.

The process of a knight’s body becoming ferocious is to tame one’s wildness and return to the evolutionary path of civilization and reason, alone.

As Aiven understands it, a person’s composition is divided into the id, ego, and super-ego. The id governs all instinctual desires of humans and is the source of ferocity-driven power in the Extraordinary theory.

Using the rational and shrewd represented by the ego and the ideal and utmost good represented by the super-ego, to cage it and tame it into usable power—this is the knight’s Extraordinary Power.

"Huff, huff..."

Heavy breathing like a large beast resonated in the room, and the boiling hot Extraordinary Power surged continuously from deep within the body, aggressively invading every smallest tissue cell.

In an instant, it was as if a slumbering bloodthirsty beast was startled awake. Aiven’s entire skin turned into a horrifying blood-red color!

Yet deeper changes were occurring inside his body.

Every muscle, bone, organ, and even nerve was struggling and twitching in a slow rhythm, almost like independent entities with their own consciousness, grinding teeth and drinking blood, seemingly ready to leap out and attack in the next moment.

"Roar uh....."

"Hah!"

But constrained by Aiven’s strong will, his body was like an extremely sturdy prison; even with the wildest, most savage beast imprisoned within, he remained calmly cross-legged without a trace of wavering.

In reality, this is normal. If someone like Aiven, who has been rigorously trained since childhood and constantly regulates his body with the golden finger of data visualization, barely avoids death and can only succeed at the cost of vomiting up half a litre of blood, then not many of those true aboriginals from otherworlds would still be surviving.

Even in such a state, Aiven could shield himself from the influences coming from his physical body and gradually enter shallow meditation.

His mental powers, strong enough to be manifested relative to a normal Apprentice Knight, quickly entered the body under instinctual control, reclaiming every inch of bodily tissue seized by beast instincts.

This approach is unknown how many times wiser than someone relying purely on willpower to desperately hold on, contesting with their ferocious body to see who last longer.

After barely regaining partial control over his body, Aiven exited the meditative state, with his breath showing slight changes as he began using the breathing technique paired with White Sail Swordsmanship.

"Inhale—exhale, inhale—exhale..."

In the situation where even the nervous system has betrayed, the bioenergy system manifested by breath is the final reliance of every knight.

The unique qualities of different schools of breathing techniques must naturally be aligned with the knight’s specialties and Extraordinary Traits in use, otherwise, efforts would be half as effective.

The most dangerous period has passed.

Outside, the world saw sunsets and moonrises. On the meditative Aiven, the turmoil in his body had completely calmed down, regaining a rational and serene demeanor.

His body did not undergo too obvious changes, but as if something about him had become different.

As dawn broke, Aiven opened his eyes again, clarity and wisdom in his gaze, the influences of the ferociously transformed body fully dissipated.

With this, the first breakthrough step was completed.

The greatest hurdle in the knight’s advancement was over, but Aiven still wasn’t a true Extraordinary Knight.

Nothing can be accomplished overnight, just like a newly born Extraordinary Transformation.

In the coming few weeks, subtler changes within his body will continue, until a significant renewal occurs at the cellular level.

By then, his body will be stronger, agile, and intelligent, better adapting to the Extraordinary Power.

It’s as if from head to toe, he re-develops, erasing all former imperfections to become the most perfect version embedded in his genetic information.

...

"Clang——"

The first to notice Aiven’s change was naturally Gary, who was practically by his side day and night. When he got up early to fetch water for washing, seeing Aiven for the first time left him stunned, only awakening when the water basin unconsciously slipped from his hand.

If he were still that rural boy full of brute strength without more, he might not have been this surprised, or even realize anything. But now, having already embarked on the path of the Extraordinary, he immediately discovered the changes in Aiven.

"Boss, have you... become an Official Knight?"

Extraordinary is a generalized term; in the civilized world, the only overtly recognized Extraordinary Path is that of a knight. To some extent, a knight has become synonymous with the Extraordinary.

Aiven nodded with a smile.

The power of a knight is an overt power, one intertwined deeply with an individual’s status, prestige, and interests. Keeping it secret to play the underdog is truly an idle pursuit.

Aiven did not intend to hide the news of his breakthrough.

"Fantastic, boss! I knew someone as amazing as you would definitely break through successfully, hahaha, I’m going to the Silver Wings to share this great news with everyone."

Gary said, and without even washing his face, dashed out.

Having accomplished his short-term goal, Aiven too didn’t plan to push himself too hard, leisurely taking a bath in the washroom.

Donning a bathrobe, he went to the kitchen to fry a large plate of eggs and sausages, poured a glass of fresh milk just delivered by the milkman, and began enjoying his breakfast.

"Mm, my cooking is still so great!"

To complete the final transformation swiftly, Aiven’s current task is to eat well and drink well, providing his body with sufficient nutrients.

Because training must also adhere to fundamental laws, those scenarios in Western movies where someone turns into a superhero overnight due to mutation do not exist; if such a person exists, they would inevitably become a monstrous presence, not an Extraordinary!

Halfway through breakfast, Gary returned.

What surprised Aiven was that instead of the Silver Wings crew, Gary came back with Uncle Gel, who had just returned to Gabred.

Hurrying into the room and seeing Aiven leisurely enjoying breakfast, the weary-looking Uncle Gel immediately relaxed and gave him a big hug.

"Aiven, I’m proud of you!"