As Selene watched Aiden work, she could not help feeling apprehensive.
Aiden had prepared five batches of the ingredients required for the potion.
After three attempts, all three had failed.
Selene watched as Aiden set the vial aside, while Thalia prepared another batch of ingredients.
They had been working for almost six hours straight at this point.
Each time, they simply cleaned their tools and started again.
It was slightly infuriating.
Not because they were doing anything wrong, but because this was not a problem Selene could help with.
The others could not help either.
Jax, Beatris, and Liora were currently working on helping Liora finish her invention thing, while Selene was sitting there, ready to take the potion when it was done.
So she could only sit and watch them try again.
It was excruciating to just wait.
But they were not sure of the potion's shelf life, so Aiden wanted Selene nearby in case the potion was supplemental and she needed to describe what happened, or if it had a short shelf life and she needed to drink it right away.
Either way, Selene could feel just how nervous he was about the whole process as he worked.
His hand occasionally shook as Thalia took ingredients, measured them, and added them in.
"I-I'm going to the bathroom," Selene lied, her words stumbling more than usual. "Be right b-back."
She quickly stood and made her way to the door.
As she stepped into the hall, she let out a sigh and sat beside the door for a moment.
Her nerves were shot.
On one hand, she felt like a kid waiting for a gift she had wanted for years.
On the other, there was a tangible fear that this might not work and they would be right back to searching endlessly.
As Selene sat there, trying to rest, she saw two figures make their way into the inn.
Both would have seemed normal, if not for the strangeness that seemed to follow them.
The one on the left was a small human girl completely engulfed in a black cloak. It was difficult to make out any further details, but at a closer glance, she seemed to have long, light-blond hair that fell in soft, slightly messy layers.
Loose strands slipped across her face and partially obscured one eye. Her eyes were a soft, pale green, framed by thin rectangular glasses that rested lightly on the bridge of her nose.
On the right was someone who appeared to be a taller lightblood scorpion beastfolk adorned with multiple piercings on his ears. His hair was curly, slightly long, and black, yet splattered with specks of white that resembled stars in the night sky.
He was not overly muscular, built more like a runner than anything. His long, segmented tail protruded from his back, tapering into a sharp yet curved barb. His clothing looked like the transition from fall into winter.
Selene watched as the two entered.
They turned back toward the door, where a large figure seemed to loom for a moment before walking away.
Then the two began making their way toward the stairs, whispering to each other.
Their conversation was hard to overhear.
However, as Selene focused her mutation into her ears, she could make it out better.
You have used skill Mutate (C).
Your condition flares up.
The flare-up was settled by the aether in your body.
You have traded Strike Muscles mutation for Acute Hearing.
As they walked, Selene heard the scorpion man speak first.
"Why a spear, of all things?" he asked, shifting his body slightly to avoid bumping into people.
"Was there anything else you wanted to get for the others or yourself while we were there?"
The girl walking with him answered.
"Because I…"
She paused.
Stopped walking.
The two stood there for a moment, the girl seeming deep in thought while the scorpion man looked more worried.
"I just… feel like you'd be the type of person to use a spear. That's why!"
She chirped the words, flashing a grin that did not quite reach her eyes.
"Now come on. The alchemist fella is that way."
Hearing that, Selene felt a pulse of cold run up her spine.
She realized exactly what they were after.
The man seemed a little surprised, but he continued walking with a confused look.
"An alchemist is selling spears?" he asked. "They must have needed to expand their production for business."
For a moment, Selene watched, hoping their intention was just to ask about the spear.
Then the girl turned to continue toward the stairs, and the scorpion man's face seemed to harden as if he realized something.
That hope died.
Normally, Selene would have already been getting ready to fight.
What held her back was the power they seemed to have.
It was unnatural.
The girl gave off a strange wrongness, like the world warped around her.
The man gave off a feeling of feral power, like he could call on animalistic strength at any moment.
What made it more concerning was how young they were.
Neither could have been older than sixteen.
But they gave off the feeling of seasoned fighters.
Not to mention the strange smell of brimstone and sulfur that clung to them, as if they had decided to make a pit stop in the hells before coming to watch the games.
The two began climbing the stairs.
Selene realized this was not a moment she could hesitate.
She ducked down, steadying herself as she drank the extra aether potion Aiden had made for emergencies.
Energy surged through her body.
She took a sprinter's stance.
She could not win.
But she could at least hold her own against them long enough for people to notice.
Selene focused her breathing as she stared ahead.
Then she began channeling as many buffing skills as she could.
You have used skill 3x Mutate (C).
Your condition flares up.
The flare-up was settled by the aether in your body.
You have traded Acute Hearing mutation for Enhanced Musculature.
You have traded Armor Plating mutation for Enhanced Musculature.
You have traded Healing Factor mutation for Enhanced Musculature.
Your Strength surges by 150 points.
You have used soul skill Chimeric Surge (C).
Your Strength will be increased by 50 for a time.
You have used skill Chimeric Cowl (C).
Your soul skill is greatly enhanced.
Your stats soar.
As the two were almost at the top of the stairs, Selene heard the scorpion man say, "You don't plan to do what I think you are, right?"
Part of Selene wanted to hesitate.
But as her muscles coiled like taut adamant wire, she could not take that chance.
As both figures rounded the corner, Selene exploded forward.
The wood beneath her feet splintered into dust from the newfound force in her legs.
The two seemed surprised.
The girl yelled, "Mr. Fero, help!"
A strange silver liquid shot out from her cloak, coating her in metallic armor.
Selene collided with her.
The armor caught the impact, saving the two of them from any damage.
It stopped the damage.
It did not stop the momentum.
They rocketed toward the front wall and outside.
In an attempt to do some kind of damage, Selene slammed the now-armored girl and partially armored scorpion man down.
Even as they cratered into the cobblestones of the street, neither seemed harmed.
The liquid metal saved them.
Selene went flying past, skidding to a stop.
She opened her mouth to yell that they were planning a robbery.
Her voice died in her lungs as she saw two things.
The first was the system screen.
Verdena has used item #347: Ferosword (EX).
Verdena has taken zero damage.
Salvos has taken zero damage.
Your damage was unable to get past the Ferosword's innate resistance.
No damage dealt.
Your soul stirs.
An EX-rank item.
What does that mean?
And what is with the number?
Selene's eyes lifted.
A figure now stood in front of her.
He was at least twelve feet tall and almost equally wide.
Selene did not recognize what he was, but he almost seemed like a massive, overgrown crab.
His carapace was opal white, with deep amber-red pigmentation covering major portions of his body. It looked thick and sturdy, like blast-proof plating. His left extremity resembled a proportionally sized articulated arm, but his right was a titanic, wickedly brutal crab claw, its pincers tinted black with a constant coat of strange substance leaking from it.
Four other smaller crab-like extremities, less pronounced but still vicious and sharp, held close to his body.
His stern, monstrous face seemed to exist in a constant state of offended unamusement, twisted into a hateful scowl.
Throughout his carapace, small vents gushed constant jets of steam.
And within that steam, Selene could sense some essence of extreme danger.
Like he could rip out entire forests with an overzealous movement.
Selene wanted her legs to move.
She could feel the power in them.
But no matter how much force she tried to put into stepping forward, an equal force held her back.
Her body refused to move on an instinctual level.
Not impossible to break.
But not easy either.
What happened next was too fast for her to react to.
One second, he was standing almost twenty feet away.
The next, he vanished.
Selene turned, trying to look around.
Then strength left her legs.
Jeriko has used Anti-Magic Swordsmanship.
Your active skills have been disabled for three rounds.
Your passive skills have been disabled for three rounds.
Your soul stirs.
Selene turned as the mutated armor formed by Chimeric Cowl shattered off her body.
The large crab stood behind her, his massive clawed right hand covered in strange darkness.
From behind, Selene heard the trumpeting of elephants.
She saw a massive war mammoth, adorned in armor, standing next to the scorpion man.
Her legs were weak.
Whatever power she had used before to push through the fear was gone.
All Selene could do was hope the noise would draw the attention of someone strong enough to handle this.
As she waited, the girl in the cloak, who Selene now knew was named Verdena, stood and brushed herself off.
The liquid metal armor retracted back into her cloak.
"I'm okay!" Verdena said. "Not even a scratch."
She quickly shot a glance toward Selene.
"And it looks like Mr. Jeriko has it handled!"
She paused.
"But, uh… I think he may have it a bit too handled."
Verdena began walking toward where Selene stood.
As she approached, Selene tried to feel for anything she still had.
Something called back.
So she began mumbling under her breath.
The scorpion guy, who she now knew was named Salvos, had a vein bulging in his forehead as he roared, "If the situation calls for it, but unlikely if you don't attack us out of nowhere like you just did!"
He twisted his head, cracking the knot in his neck from the fall.
Then he turned to the mammoth and signaled for them to stay a little ways back and protect Verdena.
Salvos took a centering breath, as if trying to calm himself, before turning back to Selene.
"What is the problem that made you attack us out of nowhere?" he asked. "Did you lose control over yourself?"
His eyes narrowed.
"If not, then why? Why attack us?"
For a moment, doubt flashed through Selene's mind.
But as she thought back to the scene, she chuckled.
She looked down and muttered to herself.
"Lost within the mist, I resist what the world cannot see."
Selene felt the words settle.
"Molded by mutation, my shape will hold as will my will."
Both Jeriko's and Salvos's eyes widened, as if they realized what she was doing.
But it was too late.
If Selene tried to continue to the third stage, they would stop her.
So two would have to hold for now.
She roared.
"WORLD WILL!"
The air shook around her.
"MISTY WANDERER!"
You have evoked your view of the world into being, the space around you shapes itself to match your view