Chapter 178. Iris Vision
Iris’s heart was gone.
In its place, a shining gemstone pulsed.
“While I was asleep, her appearance completely changed…”
No one needed to explain it to me.
I instinctively knew.
That radiant, mysterious gemstone was none other than Iris’s transformed heart.
No matter how much a monster tamed by me changed its appearance, its soul’s essence remained recognizable.
【Pururu】─ㅋㅋ I watched the whole transformation from start to finish.
【Pururu】─The gemstone burst out from inside the heart.
【Mysticism】─😮
“You watched from the start? Didn’t you sleep?”
【Pururu】─ㅇㅇ It was so fascinating that I stayed up all night.
【Pururu】─I almost fell asleep a few times but kept going by drinking five cans of Monster.
【Mysticism】─😱 Why are you drinking Monster!
【Pururu】─I’m talking about energy drinks.
After replying to Mysticism’s message, Pururu explained in detail how the heart had changed.
To summarize the explanation:
While we were asleep, a faintly shining crystal-like material began to appear on Iris’s heart.
Gradually, the crystal grew and broke through the surface like it was blossoming.
As time passed, the growth of the crystal accelerated.
An hour before I woke up, the gemstone had entirely enveloped her heart, according to the chat.
“Do you know why the gemstone appeared?”
【Pururu】─Of course not.
【Pururu】─How would I know? ㅋㅅㅋ
【Mysticism】─🤭 Pururu doesn’t know anything because she’s dumb.
【Pururu】─?
After thinking for a moment, I had a rough guess.
The transformation of her heart into a gemstone was probably linked to Iris’s desired evolution.
Iris, the one at the center of this evolution, was a creature that pursued and yearned for beauty.
It wasn’t a far-fetched assumption.
When evolution happens under Melody Fox’s buff, the evolved form might align with the individual’s desires.
Sometimes, even species transformations occur.
“So, after being so obsessed with beauty, you end up evolving in this way…”
To Iris, ultimate beauty seemed to be a gemstone.
I could understand it, though.
While opinions on physical appearances vary, the pure allure of gemstones is universally acknowledged.
As these thoughts occupied my mind and I stared at the gem’s enchanting glow, the monsters sleeping around us began to awaken one by one.
They, too, were unable to hide their surprise and confusion at Iris’s transformation into a gemstone.
“Yanyan?! A huge gemstone has appeared, yanyan!”
Merino gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.
［Is this what Iris evolved into, nyaong?］
Bastet seemed to think the gemstone was Iris’s evolved form.
The other monsters reacted similarly to Merino and Bastet.
After all the monsters woke up, the assistants joined the broadcast late and observed Iris’s gem-like evolution in disbelief.
【Yumi】─Huh? What is that gemstone?
【Rizenova】─Oho, Lady Iris has evolved!
【Yumi】─Oh, that’s Iris? Now that you mention it, I don’t see her heart anymore.
【Bubble Bubble】─She evolved quickly.
【Luna-chan】─She became so beautiful!
【Hwang Mir】─I was hoping for a humanoid form, so it’s a bit disappointing.
【Pururu】─Late risers. Hi. ㅎㅇ
【Mysticism】─🌞
【Pururu】─For the record, she hasn’t evolved yet. ㅋ
【Pururu】─Think of that gemstone as an egg.
【Hwang Mir】─Oh, she hasn’t evolved yet?
【Rizenova】─I misunderstood.
【Bubble Bubble】─I had a feeling that was the case.
【Luna-chan】─Pfft.
【Mysticism】─Wait, she hasn’t evolved yet? 😮
【Pururu】─? You’re not allowed to not know that. ㅅㅂ
【Pururu】─You watched with me since dawn, and now you’re acting like you didn’t know she hasn’t evolved? I even explained it earlier.
【Mysticism】─😅
While all of us, both monsters and assistants, watched the gemstone, a sharp cracking noise suddenly pierced the air.
A fine crack appeared on the gemstone’s smooth surface, and it quickly spread like a web.
【Hwang Mir】─Huh? It’s cracking!
【Rizenova】─Oho!
【Mysticism】─😮😮😮
【Pururu】─What perfect timing.
As the gemstone shattered completely, blinding light burst forth, turning the surroundings white.
Eventually, the light faded away.
The fragments of the gemstone that had encased Iris scattered like glitter in the air before vanishing.
In the place where the gemstone once was, two humanoid monsters clad in white robes floated in midair.
［Emerging.］
［Emerging.］
The floating monsters had upper bodies shaped like human females, while their lower halves resembled intricately carved gemstones.
They had other distinct features.
Amethyst-like gems floated atop their heads like crowns, and crystals of various sizes orbited their bodies.
［Evolution complete.］
［Evolution complete.］
Apart from their facial features, the two figures looked identical.
They were like copies pasted into reality.
【Mysticism】─😱 Twins were born!
【Bubble Bubble】─Is that Iris? What happened to her eyeballs?
【Luna-chan】─Is one of them a clone or something??
【Yumi】─Wow, what an incredibly beautiful form. I wouldn’t have guessed it was Iris’s evolved appearance.
【Rizenova】─Her species seems to have completely changed…
【Hwang Mir】─One has no eyes, and the other lacks a nose and mouth. Yet, they’re still beautiful.
【Pururu】─It’s the power of gemstones.
【Pururu】─Honestly, I thought she’d evolve into a gem-eyed monster, but she ended up in a humanoid form. Was it because of Geon’s influence?
【Hwang Mir】─That seems likely. Iris probably had a desire to become a species similar to Geon.
Hmm.
Well, her appearance had certainly undergone a massive upgrade.
That was a blessing for Iris.
But, honestly, it didn’t matter much to me.
What mattered now was one thing.
Whether Iris’s original abilities, especially the power to share senses and vision, were still intact.
“Iris-yan, you’ve become truly beautiful now, yanyan!”
［Now? Truly?］
［Now? Truly?］
“Yanyan?! I-I meant you were already beautiful, but now you’ve become even more stunning, yanyan!”
［Confirmed.］
［Confirmed.］
I approached Iris and her new form.
First, I decided to check her abilities.
***
As a result of the verification:
Fortunately, all the abilities she had before her evolution remained intact.
Although her appearance had changed with the evolution, her previous abilities were largely preserved, and they had even been upgraded.
［This gemstone enables sensory sharing.］
［This gemstone enables sensory sharing.］
The crystals orbiting around Iris.
Each one was essentially an extension of her eyes.
Not only could she share her vision, but she could also share other senses.
She could even project the user’s image as a hologram onto other gemstones.
In other words:
The gemstones were like countless miniature versions of Iris, transformed and reduced in size.
They retained all the abilities of her original form while also incorporating attack functions.
Of course:
Each gemstone wasn’t an independent entity with its own consciousness or soul.
They were synchronized materials considered part of the evolved Iris’s body.
［Crystals can be generated infinitely. No limit to the number.］
［Crystals can be generated infinitely. No limit to the number.］
【Pururu】─Say it with just one of them.
There was apparently no restriction on the creation of these gemstones.
Similar to how Jafan could endlessly produce liquid, Iris could infinitely create sensory-sharing crystals.
Oh, and her danger level was rated as SS.
【Pururu】─Geon, but which one is the main body?
【Mysticism】─🧐
【Hwang Mir】─Aren’t they different entities? It seems like she evolved into two bodies. Considering she was a monster born from the union of countless Iris individuals, it’s not impossible.
I asked that question too.
Which one of the two forms was her main body?
In response, Iris replied like this:
［Both are my body and my main form. Consciousness is unified.］
［Both are my body and my main form. Consciousness is unified.］
I thought I understood what she meant.
It was like one soul inhabiting two separate bodies.
They were essentially the same being.
To make it easier to distinguish between them, I decided to give each body a different name.
The one without eyes retained the name “Iris.”
The one with glowing, pristine white eyes was named “Vision.”
Anyway:
After learning more about each body in detail, I found out that:
The two bodies could exist in separate dimensions.
As long as both bodies weren’t destroyed simultaneously, Iris was practically immortal.
Additionally, there were differences between the two bodies.
Iris’s body was specialized for combat.
It didn’t have unique abilities outside of its offensive capabilities, instead borrowing the abilities of the connected body.
For example, the ability to generate crystals was borrowed from Vision.
Vision’s body was specialized for information processing.
Its observational capabilities had been greatly enhanced, allowing it to read detailed information about targets.
While it wasn’t completely incapable of combat, its pure physical strength was roughly at the S-rank level.
Honestly:
Even though the two bodies were specialized for different functions, their capabilities were entirely shared.
Iris could borrow all of Vision’s specialized abilities, and Vision could borrow Iris’s combat prowess.
Thus, distinguishing between the two was meaningless unless one wanted to pinpoint the source of their powers.
【Pururu】─Feels like she’s become a cheat-tier character.
【Hwang Mir】─Definitely a cheat character. They said she’s an immortal who can’t die as long as the two bodies are apart.
【Luna-chan】─SS ranks are always cheats, you know!
【Mysticism】─😮
【Yumi】─From what I’ve heard, her death doesn’t seem synchronized. To kill Iris, both bodies must be destroyed simultaneously.
【Bubble Bubble】─It’s amazing that her soul is singular.
【Bubble Bubble】─Would an ability that interferes with all connected entities work on her?
【Luna-chan】─Not likely. She’s SS-rank, after all.
【Rizenova】─In any case, sensory-sharing exploration can continue moving forward.
Vision’s body kept staring at Iris.
It seemed to be slowly admiring its own form.
［…I like it. Satisfied.］
［…I like it. Satisfied.］
She seemed immensely pleased with her newly evolved form.
During this moment:
［Explorer, I’ve completed the Monster Encyclopedia update. Hehe.］
Artpega Unibicorn came over to show me the finished Monster Encyclopedia.
Both Iris and Vision were featured in the guide.
■ Iris / Vision
─ Actual Danger Level: SS-rank.
─ Current (Nerfed) Danger Level: A-rank.
─ Abilities: Sense sharing, synchronization, observation, crystal creation.