Adam walked through a storm in space and entered the world of Cthulhu. He remembered Priscilla's words from when he became a real mage. She had said, "Many beings want to know more and become stronger, not understanding that this can be their downfall." These words never felt as real as they did now.
Cthulhu was a cruel place.
This world didn't have crystal barriers like others. Instead, it had strange, colorful radioactive energy. This energy stopped the space storms but also spread harmful substances, making the already cruel world a harsh place.
The land was bare, with no plants, dry and cracked. Sometimes, terrifying rays shot out from places that seemed safe. These rays were of transcendent level. In such an environment, no normal races could survive.
The wind, filled with harmful substances and scary rays, blew against Adam's maga armor. It was like being hit by weak magic spells all the time.
Water was rare. After a long walk, Adam found a small, oddly colored pond. Around this pond, more than ten transcendent monsters were fighting for the polluted water.
According to what an envoy from the Dragon Slayer Guild had said, Cthulhu used to be a beautiful world where races lived in harmony with nature. But now, it had turned into this scary place because the people there wanted more energy and studied forbidden knowledge they couldn't control.
The monsters noticed Adam and attacked without hesitation. They probably couldn't believe their luck to find fresh flesh, but they weren't strong enough to defeat him.
Leaving one monster alive, Adam went to the pond and used his magic to lift some water. The devil, scared, backed away, shaking his head.
"Master, please, I don't want to drink that! I'll go question the monster!" he said, and quickly left Adam.
Adam scoffed. He took a dragon's body from his bag and poured the polluted water on it. The body of the frost dragon, still white and perfect even in death, changed colors and decayed the moment the water touched it. It moved a bit, as if it was still alive.
Dragon bodies are strong. If this dragon hadn't been dead, it might have turned into a monster just from this water.
"What a horrifying world," Adam said to himself.
He felt many eyes watching him. Dozens of monsters locked their gaze on him and slowly moved closer. Adam couldn't tell what species they were. The creatures of Cthulhu had mutated more than those left in the Dragon Plane. Their genes were so twisted that their appearances had completely changed. They were all radiation species.
"Master, these monsters can't communicate. They have souls, but they're dirtier than anything I've seen. I feel like I'm getting infected. Even the mixed breeds from the abyss are cleaner than them," the devil said, throwing the captured monster aside and returning to Adam's side. "There's no way to make a pact with them. Just forget about making them slaves."
Adam turned his body, which the monsters took as a signal to attack. They shot dozens of energy beams at him, a talent they gained from mutation. All creatures here, big and small, could use this power.
Adam's electromagnetic barrier shielded him from all the energy beams. Then, with a light point of his finger, he launched several elemental missiles that accurately hit the monsters. The magnetic field contained the explosion within a small area. After the shockwave dissipated, the monsters were gone, leaving behind a deep crater.
"Master, I think you've made trouble. Many monsters are coming this way," the devil said, turning into a magic wand and returning to Adam's hand. "Should we run?"
Adam shook his head and walked towards the explosion site. Priscilla had said that magic is an irresistible temptation for ignorant races. In other worlds, natives might plan slowly, but here, the monsters would attack Adam frantically. As long as Adam used magic, this was inevitable.
After dealing with the nearby monsters, Adam used his magnetic field to neutralize his energy fluctuations, somewhat hiding himself. Higher-level creatures might still easily spot him, but ordinary monsters would have to rely on basic vision to find him.
As Adam walked, swords made of iron sand rose from the ground, crackling with blue-purple electricity. They spun continuously around him, slicing any attacking monsters into pieces.
Adam then flew into the crater. The soil was divided into two layers: the topsoil was fragile and dry, while the inner layer was colorful and beautiful, but this beauty was deadly.
"Almost all are natural radioactive minerals," Adam said, struggling to resist the urge to touch and mine these valuable ores. "If this isn't just a coincidence, if the entire underground of Cthulhu is like this, then the value of this world is immeasurable!"
Adam believed that the Tower would also be very interested. He wasn't sure if anyone in the mage world had researched nuclear reactions, but he felt that with the wisdom of high-level mages and the coordination of the Mage Network, similar knowledge would quickly emerge once they got these minerals. Cthulhu could potentially cause a huge stir in the mage world.
"Master, if you don't act soon, you'll be surrounded by a storm of monsters. The more noise here, the more monsters it attracts. These things are everywhere on this planet, so you don't need to start studying them right now!" The devil shuddered as it looked at the dense swarm of monsters. "Just wait two years, when the Mage Legion arrives, all this will be yours. If we keep this up and attract the attention of transcendent monsters, we're done for!"
Suddenly, chaos erupted among the monster group. A path was made straight to Adam, with mutated limbs and disgusting blood flying everywhere. A powerful monster was rushing through, reaching Adam in just a few seconds.
The creature was covered in grotesque tissues, and its eye-like structures were filled with greed. It spoke an incomprehensible language: "Lockyawchanonge!"
Adam, standing on a sword of iron sand, flew into the air. The other iron swords stopped spinning, their tips pointing at the monster. "Are you intelligent? Can we communicate?" he asked.
"Kawartsa!"
The monster didn't answer but roared in rage, speaking words Adam couldn't understand, and charged at him along with all the other monsters."
