Chapter 185: Dakdemon and Little Dream (4k) [25]
After the experiment ended, Dak released the Spell Cage.
For the first time, the Imp Beast experienced the preciousness of freedom, flying out of the balcony as if escaping, and breathing deeply the air of freedom.
From this moment, a sense of compassion towards the Mana Spirits began to form in its heart.
This sentiment persisted until Dak started the炼成 “Zoo” before him.
…
However, although the Spell Cage experiment had concluded, Dak did not stop there.
He retrieved the “Magical Beast” material pack that he had saved two months ago from a drawer.
Originally, he planned to use this material pack for future repairs of 【Magical Beast: Eevee】.
Magical Beast hair was very precious and rare.
But now, with enough credits, these materials could be bought.
St. Maryan’s Traveler’s Street was a place so wondrous it felt surreal, where one could buy treasures unseen outside.
The castle’s unique credit system completely separated it from the external economic system.
Merchants on Traveler’s Street, especially those dealing with materials, were mostly responsible for purchasing from students, processing, and reselling.
In handling rare items, they strictly followed the principle of “no exit, only entry.”
Every time merchants entered or exited St. Maryan, they underwent rigorous inspections to prevent smuggling.
Having a small shop in Traveler’s Street held significance beyond just financial gain.
…
This time, Dak was preparing to refine another “Magical Beast!”
Refining a Magical Beast was now quite simple for him.
But before each refinement, a Magus would always remind themselves not to underestimate any process.
Dak focused intently for several minutes before starting the refinement of the second Magical Beast.
His initial hope was to refine another Eevee.
If he had two Eevees, his deck’s error margin would increase significantly, and his actual combat power would greatly improve.
But rationality told him that the probability of refining another Eevee was extremely low, almost zero.
The final form of a Magical Beast would be influenced by factors like materials, time, and climate during the refinement.
Even the mindset of the Magus played a role, but it wasn’t decisive.
Human thoughts could change even within a tenth of a second.
Any shift in mindset or cultivation would result in differences between two refinements.
Simply shouting that you want an Eevee doesn’t guarantee it will become one.
…
Such considerations resurfaced in Dak’s mind when the Mana Spirit Card on the experimental table transformed into a golden cocoon.
He began to anticipate what form the new Magical Beast would take.
Half a minute later, Dak stretched out his hand and gently touched the golden cocoon with three fingers, then injected mana.
Thoughts flowed along with the mana into the cocoon.
A subtle movement followed.
It seemed as if some life within the cocoon opened its eyes.
Golden light shot out through tiny cracks, spreading outward and splitting the cocoon in half.
As the light faded, a Mana Spirit Card lay quietly on the table, its surface blurred.
Around the Mana Spirit Card, golden light glimmered!
Dak extended two fingers and carefully picked it up.
The originally blurry outline on the card immediately began to change upon meeting his gaze.
As the form of the Magical Beast stabilized, Dak’s astonishment grew.
“This is…”
…
[Card Name: Magical Beast (Ditto)]
[Type: Elemental Card]
[Level: ?]
[Race: Elemental Type]
[Attribute: Normal]
[Mana: 100]
[Attack: 100]
[Defense: 100]
[Ultimate Skill: Transform, Transformed]
…
Not Eevee, but Ditto!
And in the predominantly white cards of Magical Beasts, this 【Magical Beast: Ditto】 possessed two ultimate skills!
Wait, two?
Isn’t this a gold card?
Dak repeatedly confirmed that the aura around the Mana Spirit Card was indeed golden, but he couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
For now, he could only store this confusion and continue examining.
This golden “Ditto” had only two ultimate skills.
One of them, “Transform,” clearly originated from Ditto’s hidden passive skill.
The other, “Transformed,” was Ditto’s sole ability.
[Transform: Use (Transform) without consuming mana.]
[Transformed: Transform into the opponent’s appearance, copying data up to the same tier Mana Spirit, and use identical ultimate skills.]
…
Should he call this a surprise or shock?
In any case, Dak felt his emotions were somewhat out of control.
After calming down, he immediately summoned 【Magical Beast: Ditto】!
Appearing in the light, Ditto looked soft and limp, resembling a slightly larger “Trash Slime,” with a slightly lighter purple color, two button-like eyes, and a crescent-shaped mouth.
Just as Dak reached out (づ????)づ, Ditto began transforming right away.
With the support of the “Transform” skill, Ditto didn’t consume mana when using it.
Under Dak’s watch, it gradually transformed into Dak’s appearance.
“Mangmang—”
The mini-Dark, 0.5 meters tall, reached out toward Dak, who instinctively took a step back.
Ditto seemed startled and started melting, quickly returning to its original 0.3-meter-high liquid form.
Dak hurriedly picked it up and comforted it until it regained its smile, then took out “Arrogance I” to initiate “Enlightenment”!
Dak always believed that the most remarkable aspect of the Capital Sin series Mana Spirit Cards was the “Enlightenment.”
But he didn’t know yet whether this effect was limited to Mana Spirits he personally refined.
Regardless…
As the dark golden orb entered Ditto’s body, its body shimmered, emitting a pleasant aura.
Then it wriggled and transformed again, becoming a mini-Dark, and said, “BaBa?”
Dak momentarily smiled.
Then he was startled!
Though the words were unclear, Ditto undoubtedly spoke.
“Is it because its vocal organs are modeled after humans?”
Dak patted its forehead, urging it to revert.
After all, seeing a miniature version of himself standing in front was quite awkward.
In short, this Ditto was significantly different from the real Ditto in the Pokémon world.
This was evident from the information returned by the Mana Spirit Card.
The true Ditto’s “Transform” ability actually involved immediate transformation upon meeting someone, and it had no level limit.
But Dak’s Ditto could only copy data up to the same tier Mana Spirit.
This “partial data” also mattered.
True Ditto copied all data except HP.
…
In summary, an experiment was needed.
The subject was already available.
Dak immediately recalled the Imp Beast.
Upon returning, the Imp Beast noticed a new family member and sighed in relief.
“Mangmang—”
Ditto waved at the Imp Beast, then transformed into its appearance.
Completely identical!
Height and weight were exactly the same.
This was markedly different from how it transformed into Dak.
“It seems Ditto has two modes of transformation: ordinary shape-changing and the ‘Transform’ skill, which can only be used on Mana Spirits.”
“Familiars are somewhat a special type of Mana Spirits.”
Dak picked up the “Ditto” Mana Spirit Card and injected mana.
The card’s image had changed to resemble the Imp Beast.
But the name remained unchanged.
The attack, defense, and mana values were temporarily indistinguishable since both were identical, but the skills had changed to “Small Dart.”
Dak waved at the frightened Imp Beast, signaling it could play on its own.
Then he summoned his only Three-star Mana Spirit — Huhu!
Ditto’s “Transform” skill could be deactivated at any time; if it was a regular transformation, there was no cooldown, but if it was a skill “Transform,” the cooldown was 3 minutes.
Putting away the Mana Spirit Card would also deactivate the transformation.
For Mana Spirit ultimate skills, a 3-minute cooldown was relatively long.
But for “Transform” such a skill, it seemed very short.
Three minutes later, Ditto transformed into Huhu.
Then Dak suddenly realized, “The number of juicer machines doubled!”
This was obviously good news, meaning the same amount of juice could be extracted in half the time.
He looked at the “Ditto” Mana Spirit Card again.
[Card Name: Magical Beast (Ditto)]
[Type: Elemental Card]
[Level: ?]
[Race: Insect Type]
[Attribute: Rock]
[Mana: 100]
[Attack: 0]
[Defense: 2200]
[Ultimate Skill: Solid, Power Split, Defense Split, Power Trick.]
Indeed, apart from the card name, star level, and mana, all other data had changed!
“This is similar to the real Ditto, with identical skills.”
“A defense of 2200 is more than enough for an early sacrifice.”
“But each of Huhu’s ultimate skills consumes 100 mana points, while Ditto only has 100.”
“Just like 【Magical Beast: Eevee】’s ultimate skill Mimic, once used, the user disappears.”
“To use ultimate skills while ensuring survival, you need recharge cards like Energy Potions.”
“This isn’t significant in actual battles.”
“But in duels, it becomes cumbersome.”
Dak seriously considered the versatility of “Ditto,” then took out “Arrogance II” and “Bliss III.”
The Mana Spirit Cards of the Arrogance series and Bliss series had proven ineffective against “Trash Slime,” “Huhu,” and “Big Milk Jar.”
But Dak believed that Ditto, as a Magical Beast, offered different possibilities compared to “Trash Slime” and “Huhu.”
So before the experiment began, he had high hopes.
First, he used “Arrogance II.”
Ditto’s personality suddenly changed, becoming less clingy.
But checking the Mana Spirit Card revealed only the mana value had increased to 200.
“No, it’s still in the transformation state!”
Dak suddenly understood and ordered it to stop transforming.
Afterward, Ditto’s data indeed underwent a comprehensive change!
[Card Name: Magical Beast (Ditto)]
[Type: Elemental Card]
[Level: ??]
[Race: Elemental Type]
[Attribute: Normal]
[Mana: 200]
[Attack: 200]
[Defense: 200]
[Ultimate Skill: Transform, Transformed]
“Like Eevee, under the influence of ‘Arrogance II,’ Ditto became a Two-star, with all three stats—mana, attack, and defense—increasing to 200!”
For a Two-star Mana Spirit, a 200-point waistline was striking, but compared to Ditto’s initial data, it was double.
This meant that after transforming into “Huhu,” it could release at least one ultimate skill!
The change in star level also sparked a possibility in Dak!
“Could it be…”
He suddenly felt excited.
…
To avoid “Arrogance II” affecting his observation of “Bliss III,” Dak waited until the effects of “Arrogance II” disappeared.
Then he immediately activated “Bliss III”!
Under the pink light, the emblem of “Bliss” appeared on Ditto’s abdomen, and its panel data began to rise visibly!
[Card Name: Magical Beast (Ditto)]
[Type: Elemental Card]
[Level: ???]
[Race: Elemental Type]
[Attribute: Normal]
[Mana: 400]
[Attack: 400]
[Defense: 400]
[Ultimate Skill: Transform, Transformed]
“Four-star, 400 mana!”
Of course, this wasn’t the focus.
Dak immediately injected a bit of mana and received feedback on the ultimate skill information.
“As expected, the target range of the ‘Transform’ skill remains limited to the same tier Mana Spirits! This means that after using ‘Bliss III,’ Ditto can transform into Four to Six-star Mana Spirits!”
“And though 400 mana might seem modest, it’s sufficient to use multiple skills!”
Immediately afterward, Dak summoned “Fairy Eevee” to test, confirming it worked as expected!
Amidst his excitement, he felt a tinge of regret.
If he had used “Bliss III Moon” earlier, he could have enjoyed the experience of “Fairy Eevee” x3.
…
In summary:
【Magical Beast: Ditto】 was the third gold card in Dak’s possession. Despite potential flaws, it lived up to its gold card status with the aid of the Capital Sin series Mana Spirit Cards.
The gains were substantial!
Unfortunately, both 【Magical Beast: Ditto】 and “Imp Beast” were First-tier Mana Spirit Cards, both One-star. Though their potential was great, their inherent attributes weren’t ideal, sometimes falling short of Two-star or Three-star Mana Spirit Cards.
Dak still lacked the necessary Two-star and Three-star Mana Spirits for direct combat.
How could he refine the required Two-star or Three-star Mana Spirits?
Dak fell into deep thought.
