Chapter 77: A Mental Transformation
Nearly a full day had passed since Bonnie had been poisoned.
Despite Heber's emergency treatment, Bonnie's condition had significantly worsened.
By the time Jeremy returned to the inn, Bonnie's lips had already turned a dark shade of black, and her breath carried a sickly sweet metallic scent.
Without a moment's hesitation, Jeremy took out a high-level antidote, intending to pour it into Bonnie's mouth.
However, Bonnie's body was stiff, and her teeth were clenched tightly, making it impossible for Jeremy to administer the antidote directly.
Left with no other option, Jeremy hesitated briefly before placing the high-level antidote in his own mouth. He then leaned down and pressed his lips against Bonnie's.
The instant their lips touched, Jeremy felt the softness and delicate fragrance of Bonnie's lips.
Almost instinctively, Jeremy's tongue moved, seeking entry into Bonnie's mouth.
Seemingly sensing something, the unconscious Bonnie suddenly relaxed her clenched teeth.
Her small, delicate tongue involuntarily extended, searching for the life-saving elixir.
In an instant, their tongues intertwined, entangling with one another.
After a while, when Bonnie's breathing began to quicken, Jeremy finally snapped back to reality.
That kiss had almost suffocated the inexperienced Bonnie!
Straightening up abruptly, Jeremy looked at Bonnie with a complicated expression.
That kiss wasn't intentional on his part. It was a complete accident, an unplanned consequence.
Although Bonnie was beautiful and had a good figure, Jeremy had always preferred more mature women.
Bonnie was entirely not his type.
Moreover, knowing Bonnie's personality, if she found out that her first kiss had been taken so haphazardly by Jeremy, she would definitely not let it go.
Feeling somewhat guilty, Jeremy subconsciously wiped the corner of his mouth.
Turning his attention back to Bonnie, he saw that the high-level antidote was indeed living up to its name.
In just a few seconds after ingestion, a faint green glow appeared on her fair skin.
As the soft green glow emerged, Bonnie's condition visibly improved.
The purplish-black hue on her face dissipated instantly, and her pale complexion began to turn rosy. The gentle green light, almost as if it had a life of its own, gathered towards her left foot.
A refreshing scent of herbs emanated from Bonnie, dispelling the previously sickly sweet odor.
Moments later, Bonnie's left leg, which had been swollen threefold, returned to normal, leaving only two teeth marks on her ankle as evidence of the poisoning she endured.
Once the high-level antidote had fully taken effect, Bonnie was no longer in danger.
However, possibly due to the potent nature of the poison, even after the antidote had worked, Bonnie remained unconscious.
After giving Bonnie some water, Jeremy exited her room.
Unbeknownst to Jeremy, just as he closed the door to Bonnie's room, her previously unconscious eyelashes fluttered slightly, and a blush crept up her cheeks.
Returning to his own room, Jeremy checked his status panel.
Unbeknownst to him, his mental attribute had nearly reached the 9500 threshold.
In just a few days, his mental attribute would be the first to break the 10,000 mark.
However, Jeremy was not inclined to wait any longer.
Taking out a Soul Fruit the size of a grown man's fist from his storage space, Jeremy opened his mouth wide and swallowed the extraordinary fruit whole.
The Eye of Omniscience had already informed Jeremy that to fully harness the power of the Soul Fruit, it needed to be swallowed whole.
As soon as the Soul Fruit reached Jeremy's stomach, a refreshing sensation spread from his lower abdomen throughout his entire body.
It felt as invigorating as taking a cold shower on a hot summer day.
At the same time, Jeremy noticed his mental attributes skyrocketing!
"9556!"
"9725!"
"9963!"
"10203!"
...
In a matter of mere seconds, Jeremy's mental attribute officially surpassed the 10,000 mark!
Moreover, even after breaking through this significant threshold, the potency of the Soul Fruit had not been entirely depleted. Jeremy's mental attribute continued to rise.
Curiously, for some inexplicable reason, once his mental attribute exceeded 10,000, the consumption of the Soul Fruit's efficacy increased dramatically.
Initially, the leap from around 9500 to 10,000 had only consumed approximately thirty percent of the fruit's potency.
The remaining 70%, based on the previous trend, should have boosted Jeremy's mental attributes by an additional 1000 points or more.
However, after surpassing 10,000, the remaining 70% only increased Jeremy's mental attributes to 10,565 before being completely exhausted.
At this moment, however, Jeremy paid no heed to this anomaly.
The instant his mental attribute soared past the 10,000-point threshold, it felt as though he had been struck by a bolt of lightning, causing his entire body to tremble uncontrollably.
Jeremy was undergoing a profound transformation in his mental transformation!
Even with his eyes tightly shut at this very moment, Jeremy could still perceive everything around him with an astonishing degree of clarity.
Moreover, this heightened sense of awareness was exceptionally vivid and precise.
The subtle creaking of the bedframe under his weight, the gentle rustling of butterflies fluttering outside the window, the soft sound of leaves slowly drifting from trees and landing on the shoulders of passersby on the neighboring street...
All of these sensations imprinted themselves vividly in Jeremy's mind.
It was as if he had been observing the world through an opaque lens all his life, and now, that veil had finally been lifted!
Moreover, Jeremy's perceptual range had expanded tenfold, from the original ten meters to a staggering hundred meters!
As Jeremy gradually withdrew his consciousness from this kaleidoscopic new world, he suddenly sensed a faint, almost imperceptible, mental connection calling out to him.
This mental link was familiar. It was the connection between him and the Substitute Puppet.
Previously, Jeremy hadn't noticed this connection due to his lower mental transformation.
But now, after his mental transformation, he finally sensed its presence.
After a brief hesitation, Jeremy focused his mind and engaged with the mental link.
Meanwhile, in The Prison of All Souls, Janna was gritting her teeth, using the last of her divine power to heal her injuries.
Unfortunately, the damage inflicted by the Fool penetrated deep into the soul. Even the remnants of divine power that Janna retained were of no avail.
"Damn the Fool! Damn the Magician! Don't let me get out of here! If I do, you'll regret it!" she exclaimed in a fit of anger, her voice laced with frustration.
After venting her rage, Janna's gaze shifted towards Jeremy's Substitute Puppet, which was not far away.
The humiliation of being toyed with by a mere mortal surged within her once more, causing her breathing to become erratic. The rapid rise and fall of her chest accentuated the agitation, making her bosom heave with each breath.
Through the tattered parts of Janna's divine robe, her pink nipples occasionally peeked through.
"It all started with that Jeremy! He's the true culprit behind my imprisonment in this wretched place!"
As Janna continued to curse, Jeremy's Substitute Puppet suddenly trembled violently as if struck by lightning.
In the next moment, the puppet, which had its eyes tightly shut, suddenly opened them!
With a sharp, alert gaze, Jeremy scanned his surroundings before swiftly rising to take in every detail of The Prison of All Souls. Only then did his attention shift to the class-change goddess, Janna, lying not far from him.
At that instant, Janna realized that Jeremy had once again taken control of the Substitute Puppet!
The sheer magnitude of this realization was beyond Janna's comprehension!
This was The Prison of All Souls, a place where ancient gods, and even "that one," were confined.
How could a mere mortal enter at will?
Moreover, The Prison of All Souls resided in the void spiritual realm, separated from Jeremy's world by the membrane of existence itself. How had Jeremy's mental power managed to traverse such a distance?
For a moment, Janna felt utterly bewildered.
Meanwhile, Jeremy's wariness surged to its peak the instant he saw Janna.
This was, after all, a goddess!
Although he had slapped her idol ninety-nine times before, it was merely an idol. The real Janna was right in front of him!
Without hesitation, Jeremy controlled the Substitute Puppet to flee.
Despite possessing only half of Jeremy's strength, the puppet's speed was still lightning-fast.
In just a blink of an eye, Jeremy had already covered dozens of meters.
Ahead lay an expanse of tangible, roiling darkness. Below, Janna's divine light flickered intermittently, and it seemed that if Jeremy could just enter that ink-like darkness, he would escape entirely.
However, Jeremy frowned deeply.
His newly heightened mental perception was screaming warnings at him: "Danger, danger, danger! Do not proceed!"
Just as he was about to take the final step, Jeremy halted.
Simultaneously, Janna, still lying on the ground, spoke in an exasperated tone, "Jeremy, if you seek death, don't blame me."
Jeremy stood there for a moment, staring at the ominous darkness just within reach, before turning and walking back toward Janna.
After all this time, Janna remained motionless on the ground, clearly indicating she currently lacked the ability to kill him.