Exploring Technology in a Wizard World
Chapter 322 - Chapter 322 Chapter 321 A Beast Called Fear is Unleashed

Chapter 322: Chapter 321 A Beast Called Fear is Unleashed! Chapter 322: Chapter 321 A Beast Called Fear is Unleashed! Richard faced Suo Men, and not too far away, Mu Konni, having only received a secondary attack from the Crystal Skull and possessing higher Spiritual Strength than Suo Men, was beginning to recover.

Her brain was still incredibly muddled, and anger incessantly provoked her reason, making casting spells difficult and ensuring the accuracy of Mana flow nearly impossible. But Mu Konni gritted her teeth and forcibly launched a spell attack at Richard–Spiritual Magic Attack: Undead Wail!

That was the limit of her current attacking capability.

The spell was cast, the air trembled, and the sounds of ghostly wails and wolf howls filled the area. The dark night seemed to surge with a gloomy energy, as if the Netherworld had descended, and a stream of black mist, sharp as a sword, pierced straight into Richard’s brain.

The spell hit!

Richard only felt as if someone had ambushed him from behind with a rock, his head spun and he nearly lost his balance, his blood roiled within him. But seeing Suo Men, who had already charged at him, he clenched his teeth and held on… and then… he withstood it.

Because of his character and reason, his will was strong enough.

Thanks to the long training with the Crystal Skull, his Spiritual Strength was sufficiently high.

Owing to his spirit and that of the world’s others, his Consciousness was special enough.

Thus, he could withstand a First Circle Middle Stage spirit magic attack.

Richard felt a “buzzing” in his ears, blood flowing from his nose and throat, and a stabbing pain in his brain, but indeed, he had resisted it.

“Snap!”

Richard took the seventh step and leaped high.

The Werewolf that Suo Men had transformed into lunged at him. As Richard jumped, his body reaching above the creature’s head, it swiped at him with its claw. Richard pressed down on its head with his hand, elevating his body further to avoid the swipe, and then, with both hands, he violently grasped its neck.

Mu Konni, having released her spell from a distance, saw Richard as if unaffected and her expression was as if she saw a ghost. But Richard, paying no attention to Mu Konni, just forcefully twisted Suo Men’s head, as if intending to wring it off.

In fact, Richard wasn’t trying to wring Suo Men’s head off but preparing to bag it in a sack called the Space Iron Ring.

Bagging Suo Men’s head wasn’t going to be easy because, first, he had to be subdued.

Putting an inanimate object into a pouch would encounter no resistance and be simple. But putting a living creature into the pouch, like a dog or a cat, would be substantially harder. Even to put just the head of a dog or a cat into a pouch would take a lot of effort.

And at this moment, Suo Men, in Werewolf form, was many times stronger than any dog or cat.

Richard gritted his teeth and exerted his full strength, his muscles contracting as hard as iron, grabbing Suo Men’s head and forcefully stuffing it into the “pouch.”

Suo Men resisted with all his might, clearly audible cracking sounds reverberating from his neck bones.

“Ahh!”

Richard cried out inwardly, his eyes widening, as the spell “Wind Force” and the potion “Divine Blood” amped up their effects, all concentrated in his upper limbs, and Suo Men resisted.

“Ahh!”

Richard shouted inwardly again, his eyes bulging, strength emanating from his shoulders, transmitting to his elbows, reaching his wrists, he kept applying force, and Suo Men’s resistance grew stronger, threatening to break free completely.

Richard became frantic, keenly aware that the only winning factor in this battle was the strategic advantage he held. If there were any deadlock or interruption during this preemptive process, all would be for naught, and he would be left with no place to be buried when dead.

This absolutely could not be allowed!

But… how to solve it?!

In an instant, Richard’s thoughts raced, and then he made a decision he didn’t really want to make.

“Ahh!”

Richard cried out in reality, with a contraction in his eyelid muscles, his eyes split open and widening. His pupils dilated–Richard forced his body into a state of fear.

Fear descended!

Fear is a survival mechanism hidden deep within the human soul, a powerful function evolved from the ancient times. It is one of the secrets that allowed upright apes to conquer all beasts in the primal ages.

When fear descends, the human sensory organs perceive an external threat, and the brain activates a series of bodily responses, compelling the body to resist or find an opportune moment to escape–this is known as the “fight-or-flight” response.

Once the “fight-or-flight” response appears, the amygdala in the brain’s temporal lobe is activated, and the brain can no longer think clearly. The brain, comprising 2% of a person’s body weight, can consume up to 20% of the body’s energy. To better unleash physical strength, the “fight-or-flight” response reduces the brain’s energy consumption to an extreme level, halting excessive thought and redirecting energy elsewhere to confront the threat.

This is a trade of rationality for power, a choice between humanity and animality.

So… do you choose humanity? Or do you choose animality?

To think better and to consider things comprehensively in normal times, Richard always intentionally suppressed his various emotions. In this state, there is no fear, no desire, and even if there is any family affection, it is extremely faint–only in this way can one remain rational.

But under the current circumstances, in order to achieve his goal, Richard had to choose to release the long-suppressed emotions and allow the strongest of them–fear–to erupt and take control of his body, instead of letting rationality continue to do so.

Richard, of course, harbored fears. He was afraid of many things, but always kept fear locked in the cage of his rationality like a beast. Only when he released this beast from its cage did he realize it was more terrifying than he had imagined!

Richard suddenly felt a tinge of regret and attempted to abandon his decision, but he found it was no longer possible. Once the beast was unleashed, it was very difficult to cage again. Once fear was released, it became difficult to suppress again.

The center of fear lies in the amygdala, while the center of rationality lies in the cerebral cortex. The signals from the fear center (amygdala) to the rational center (cerebral cortex) are far stronger than those from the rational center to the fear center. Therefore, when fear arises and suppresses rationality, it is already very difficult for rationality to suppress it back.

A beast that had been imprisoned for over a decade was now unleashed, irrevocably unleashed!

It opened its gaping maw, it bared its fierce fangs!

Richard’s body began to secrete adrenaline in large doses, which, in conjunction with the Divine Blood, amplified his physique.

Richard felt his rationality disappear, replaced by uncontrollable fear.

This fear made his soul tremble, made rationality dissipate into chaos, and put his body in a peculiar state of excitement.

Richard began to lose control, but also gained strength beyond imagination.

“Crack!”

As the sound echoed, Richard grabbed Suo Men the werewolf by the neck, not bothering to put Suo Men’s head into the Space Iron Ring or using the “Absolute Cutting of Spatial Scissors” of the Space Iron Ring to sever it, but instead twisted it off directly!

“Bang!”

Richard’s seventh step hit the ground, and the werewolf transformed by Suo Men fell to Richard’s side, shaking. A pristine head rolled several meters away, and blood spouted like a fountain from Suo Men’s neck. Some blood splashed onto Richard’s body and face, making him appear somewhat ferocious.

From a distance, Mu Konni’s eyes widened in shock–she looked at Suo Men’s body and then at Richard, her face stunned.

Too fast, it was all too fast!

The exchange between Richard and Suo Men, the start of the grappling, and the release of fear all happened in the blink of an eye.

During this process, Suo Men, who had once slaughtered a giant dragon, had his neck twisted and fell, dead.

Mu Konni was somewhat confused as she stared at Richard, remembering what he had said before.

“… In fact … I am the dragon you wish to kill!”

A dragon? Really a dragon?

Mu Konni did not know what to do, but Richard–or rather, the body occupied by fear–did.

“Slap!”

Richard stomped on the ground, charging straight at Mu Konni!