Chapter 46: Feeding the Black Demonic Hound!

Interdimensional Interlayer: Mysterious Animal Research Society

This was a closed room roughly the size of a football field.

The air circulation inside was identical to the outside world. The room was furnished with wooden walls and flooring, while the ceiling suspended thaumaturgical lamps emitting a soft glow.

"Whoa, such a massive space is all ours now," Ushas said excitedly.

Xiuxiu glanced around. Aside from a set of guest furniture and a complementary holographic projection board, the room was completely bare.

"It's a bit minimalist right now. I checked—if we want to buy equipment, we need to purchase it using credit points... Of course, we can also pay out of our own pockets," Camille explained to everyone present after reviewing the brief introduction that had suddenly popped up on her interface.

"Doesn't matter, I'll take care of it," Ushas waved her hand dismissively.

While Camille and Ushas were chatting, Xiuxiu had already casually taken a seat on the complimentary sofa. He asked Jarvis:

"Jarvis, does food delivery support this area?"

[Sir, delivery services are available in this zone!]

Splendid. That would make things much more convenient in the future.

"Camille, are there any assigned tasks available on the system yet?" Ushas asked Camille, her face brimming with excitement.

"Uh, let me check." Camille glanced at her interface and performed a series of taps.

[Ding—]

[Sir, you have unlocked the [Academy Bulletin] query function!]

Xiuxiu tapped on the [Academy Bulletin], where a series of community tasks were refreshing sequentially.

"There are this many?" Ushas stared at the endlessly refreshing content, momentarily dazzled.

"There's... there's a search function above that can filter out some of the trivial tasks," Lifen weakly reminded from the side.

"Oh, there actually is. Thanks."

"Ribbit, once our club is established, our goal should be those mysterious animals in the [House of Language]. Team Leader, you must know how to enter the [House of Language], right?" Muji the traveling frog questioned Camille.

"Mm. I've looked into that. For a club to enter the [House of Language], it needs to have at least one member holding an [Animal Communication Certificate]. And this [Animal Communication Certificate] is somewhat special—it is issued by animals," Camille replied.

"Muji, issue one to us then," Ushas suddenly said to Muji the traveling frog.

"····Ribbit, even if I wanted to issue one to you, the authoritative forces of Terra have to recognize it first," Muji said, speechless.

***

"A talking frog isn't considered a mysterious animal?!" Ushas asked in shock.

"···Ribbit, the intelligence level of our traveling frog clan generally meets the requirements of the linked lineage," Muji answered with a helpless tone.

"Is there a difference?" Ushas asked with three question marks floating over her head.

"···Ribbit, you'll have to ask the experts of Terra about that. Who knows how they classify these things," Muji shot Ushas a side-eye.

"The prerequisite for taking the [Animal Communication Certificate] exam is the ability to communicate with animals. My [Synesthesia] happens to possess this exact capability," Camille said.

"I'll take some time out of my schedule to pass the exam, and by then we'll be able to enter the [House of Language] to claim tasks."

"This way, we can avoid competing with our fellow grade-mates, and the club members will quickly earn all the credit points needed for our first year," Camille said, full of drive.

"Ribbit, plus any extra credit points we earn then can be exchanged for useful resources in the academy's repository," Muji the traveling frog added.

Right now, the future of the Mysterious Animal Research Society looked brilliantly bright.

At this moment, every club member's mind was daydreaming about what to exchange for once they had a bountiful amount of credit points.

There were so many things in the repository that they desired.

"Team Leader, I want to take on a task. It requires your approval, so please authorize it for me," a lazy voice sounded just as everyone was lost in daydreams.

Camille turned her gaze toward Xiuxiu, who was swiping through the [Academy Bulletin] interface on the sofa. A notification requiring authorization popped up in front of her, and she curiously looked at the contents.

[Feed the [Black Demon Hound]!?]

[Task Difficulty: ★★★☆☆]

[Task Requirement: Please feed the [Black Demon Hound] for one week.]

[Task Reward: 50 credit points, plus one request matching the task's difficulty.]

Note: Accepting this task requires carefully reading the "Black Demon Hound Regulations {Link+}" before acceptance.

Camille reached out and tapped the plus sign on the "Black Demon Hound Regulations {Link+}", causing the text to expand.

——————————

Black Demon Hound Regulations — {Expanded ▽}

▷ Image: {A large, sexless, long-haired black canine biological entity, with a shoulder height of 1.5 meters, a pair of bright orange-red eyes, and protruding teeth}

▷ Abilities:

***

① When an individual with a high intelligence level makes eye contact with the [Black Demon Hound], approximately one year from the moment the gaze is broken, that individual or one of their close relatives will die.

(Note 1: When both the contacted individual and their relatives are Tier 2 thaumaturgists, this effect converts into a [Jinx Halo] lasting for one month.)

(Note 2: This effect has no effect on the individual's newborn descendants or newborn relatives.)

② The [Black Demon Hound] possesses wall-breaching capabilities.

③ When the [Black Demon Hound] comes into contact with a "cross mark", it can summon black flames with a temperature of 1538 degrees Celsius.

④ The [Black Demon Hound] possesses memetic contamination—[Asphyxiating Ash]

[Asphyxiating Ash]: When an individual has been in contact with the [Black Demon Hound] for more than two minutes, they will feel as though their body is being "filled by something (Note 1)". When contact exceeds five minutes, the individual will die of asphyxiation.

(Note 1: The feeling of being filled experienced by the individual is actually a highly compressed form of 'ash', which primarily floods the individual's lungs, with the remaining parts including but not limited to any organ tissues and circulatory systems.)

(Note 2: The first two minutes of memetic contamination constitute sensory contamination {similar to a cognitive-fraud effect}. After the individual dies, the contamination distorts reality, turning illusion into reality {ash becomes real}.)

————————————

When Camille finished reading the information on the [Black Demon Hound], her face turned pale with fright. What kind of monster was this?!

Camille anxiously said to Xiuxiu:

"No way!!! We're still freshmen! Why would you take on this kind of... this kind of task that not only gets you killed, but your family as well!"

Xiuxiu pointed at himself nonchalantly, smiling as he said:

"I don't have a family. I am entirely alone in this world."

Camille froze upon hearing this. The expression in her eyes as she looked at Xiuxiu instantly shifted. Her mind flooded with the tragic backstories of male protagonists from romance novels, and her gaze toward him welled up with moisture.

She had always assumed Xiuxiu was a pampered young aristocrat; she had never imagined his background was so desolate.

"I have a feeling you're thinking about something extremely inappropriate," Xiuxiu said helplessly, looking at Camille's teary eyes.