Evolved

Seconds passed, and the mutated skin of the comatose test subject began to gurgle with a renewed putrid odor.

A moment later, its flesh began to erupt with a tangerine-yellow discharge, and its muscles were starting to jerk violently. The steel chains keeping Alfonse's body on the table became increasingly tense, and the clanking sounds echoed throughout the dungeon.

[I'm getting a lot of readings here... Right now, it's the Giant Tree Demon's DNA that is causing this. I suggest activating the defensive formation around the surgeon table, just in case.] -Aralis informed her Master.

At this, Leylin merely smirked. He was calmly evaluating the effects his experimental formula had on the decaying body of a former level 3 acolyte, and by the looks of it, the results were well within his calculations.

The abomination was now expulsing some kind of dark green mass out of its eye sockets and half mouth. This gooey mass was adopting the form of a spiked limb, and it seemed to want to coil around the chains to break them.

[Doctor, are you seeing this?!] -Aralis was troubled over her Master's nonchalant attitude; he was just enjoying the show.

'By now, the Mankestre Snake's cells should be catalyzing the other ingredients...' -Leylin guessed, as the muscles of the abomination quickly expanded until the chains broke, without even requiring the mutated limb to destroy them.

The creature jostled awkwardly to the floor, as a shadowy aura started to envelop it with a persistent hum. The abomination wasn't even capable of standing on its two feet, so it crawled towards Leylin as it howled in something akin to pain and rage. The yellow secretion was also spreading under it as it moved, leaving behind a trail of disgusting purulence.

Witnessing such a horrific scene, anyone else would've fled the dungeon instantly, or at the very least, taken action of some kind.

But not Leylin. He just sidestepped the creature as it tried to grab his ankle with the mutated limb. Then, he brought out his holo-screen to peruse the data Aralis had collected.

'Just as I had anticipated, the Mankestre's heart was the missing piece of the puzzle... After months of running tests on hobos and slaves, it is finally complete. Every ingredient's properties are fluctuating in the arcane fusion within the small bits of Mana Energy and Spiritual Force. While it is regrettable that the Mankestre was too young to develop the full potential of its core, it has been balanced out by the Giant Tree Demon's heart. Thanks to it being refined with the emotional energy-fueled souls of the forest sprites, the number of spiritual connections it creates within the formula are above any known Reactive Elixir. How magnificent is that.'

The creature began to move faster now, as the gooey limb became larger. This time it looked like it would actually seize Leylin's leg. Nonetheless, he paid no mind to it, as his sight was glued to the holo screen.

"Effectiveness of 100 percent... I have single-handedly revised one of the most costly Reactive Elixir formulas and turned it into a celestial brew. This beauty is my second magnum opus right after the A.I. Chip!" -Leylin celebrated out loud, as he readied a miniature shining green orb on the tip of his right index finger.

In this matter, Aralis had not been directly involved. She had been limited to recording and analyzing data for Leylin, but it was him who had personally delved into the theoretical and practical challenge of altering the Elixir's formula whilst preserving the innate benefits of each ingredient.

"Congratulations, little Alfonse. You were the first meatbag in this world to experience what true ingenuity and innovation are... As for your reward for lending your half-dead body to a greater cause?" -Leylin's demeanor and voice suddenly chilled down to absolute zero, as he released the sphere of concentrated acid without even looking in the creature's direction.

The small version of the Acidic Aqua Shot grew in size one meter before impact. Henceforth, it eradicated the abomination together with the spiked limb coming out of its head, and also the operating table. Everything in that area was turned into a jet-black spatter.

Yet, Leylin did not care at all about the damage caused to his own secret room. Getting rid of the facemask, he closed the holographic interface with a mental command and turned around to go up into his lab once again.

As soon as he got upstairs, Leylin directed his stride towards the still-opened vault inside the wall. There, the remaining two larger bottles of the Reactive Elixir gleamed with a faint mystical light when the Potioneering Master approached them. Almost as if they knew the time had come.

Without saying anything else and sporting a dour expression, Leylin grabbed both vials and took them to his main work station, where a ton of alchemic devices and test tubes were organized next to a white-colored metal table.

Forthwith, he opened a cupboard under the table and took out a steampunk-looking contraption. It was a steel collar with four orifices and a tiny metal arm connected to them. In each aperture, an empty syringe was attached to the arms so that they pointed inwards.

[Doctor, are you sure you want to use this? You do know the standard way of consuming the Reactive Elixirs is via topical application. Drinking even 10 milligrams would probably kill you, let alone injecting 500 grams.] -Aralis noted.

'That is unless the mixture of ingredients and the distillment procedure have a perfect benefits/efficiency ratio. My Purified Reactive Elixir is not to be compared with those shitty homeopathic tinctures the inferior acolytes use to advance. I currently have 22,000 magic crystals worth of clinically-tested, magically-infused elixir in my hands. Even the Magi Houses backing Abyssal Bone Forest Academy would drool when presented with these masterful potions. Tell me again, how could I go wrong?' -Leylin rebutted, almost chuckling at his assistant's idea.

He proceeded to remove the lids keeping the orange potions securely plugged, and carefully emptied their contents with the four needles. Then, he placed the collar around his neck. However, the needles had not yet dug into him.

Leylin's gaze reflected a type of definite focus that had not been present in his eyes until today.

Straightaway, he took off his clothes except for his undergarments, and while partially in the nude, he sat on a nearby metal chair. It had no padding of any sort, just the kind of binds found on an electric chair.

Leylin pressed a blue button on the armrest, and the bindings latched with a piercing clangor.

'Monitor my central nervous system with great detail, and don't forget to record everything.' -The Farlier Baron ordered to his A.I.

[Roger that. And good luck.] -The virtual assistant told softly.

Right after he finished issuing his mental command, the metal arms on the contraption Leylin had on his neck started to move. There was a timed mechanism on the back of the collar. Once strapped on, it would leave a small margin to begin the administration of the potions.

At that instant, Leylin's line of sight was barraged with a white flash. He frowned in mild pain, as the thick needles required to pierce a Knight's skin were extremely sharp. The feeling of the viscous liquid entering his bloodstream did not help either. Even still, he remained completely silent, and his face regained its usual unconcerned expression soon enough.

The elixir felt rather cool inside his body. A few moments later, a wave of heat gradually coursed through his veins. His heart rate went up several magnitudes. In an instant, he started to shudder and his skin turned beet red.

[The Reactive Elixir is already taking effect. Influence of medicinal properties under surveillance. Vital signs rising but still within the safe range.] -Aralis' voice intoned.

As the potion continued to be absorbed by his cells, Leylin felt as if the substance had come alive and started to worm its way through his organs all across his body.

Leylin felt as if his bones had split open and many ants came crawling out from within. An extremely burning and stinging sensation was coursing through his entire being.

On the outside, Leylin's nose was dripping blood onto the chair and floor. His eyes were shut tight, and his fingers clenched the armrests with all of his Knight strength, bending the metal inwards gradually.

'Now, I simply have to enter a deep meditative state and remodel my mind runes.' -Leylin concluded, as his expression was complicated once again. The pain he currently felt equaled to being stabbed a thousand times with tiny blades from the inside.

Due to the foreseen yet intense secondary effects the elixir was having on his body, Leylin spent a bit longer than he usually required to enter a meditative trance.

Inside the meditation, Leylin seemed to have come to a deserted gray field with an endless horizon. There were no sounds. Not even Aralis could be heard. Only his thoughts. The surroundings were more like a hallucinogen-induced blur than an actual mindscape.

Up in the air, there were many lights that seemed like stars, illuminating this place.

Leylin lifted his gaze to contemplate them. These stars were actually the 24 mysterious runes he had previously built during the time since he entered the magic academy. They glowed with fluorescent blue light, and the runes were arranged in such a manner so as to form a circle right above his head.

Although these mind runes were all constructed through various special means, each and every part of the construction required a huge amount of effort and time. When meditating, Leylin had prioritized the runes before any of the mental barriers and illusion defenses. This was because the only way to advance to level 3 acolyte was through the gathering and fortification of the arcane core.

The runes formed a magician's source of power, and were the channel through which they sensed and manipulated the Mana. Inside the runes, they accumulated the Mana Energy drawn from the environment and combined it with their own Spiritual Force.

Without the runes, one would be rendered a mortal once again. This is why Alfonse lost his cultivation when Leylin broke his mind and body with torture. His arcane core had been splintered and turned into useless fragments due to the unbearable stress.

'The mind runes of a level 2 acolyte are too primitive. A level 3 acolyte has to integrate the mind runes based on the foundation set when he was a level 2 acolyte. Moreover, there needs to be a reinforcement of the sea of consciousness.'

Leylin was extremely serious about this; he would persist till the end. His nose bled more profusely now, and blood was also starting to come out of the corners of his pursed lips. Regardless, his attention was fully directed to his mindscape.

Right now, he was in a fully 'conscious' state. And it was at this precise moment when he wanted to scan his mindscape, that a bizarre phenomenon occurred.

A prominent layer of orangish-red light slowly ascended over the horizon, expelling the blurry grayish mist. Not long after, the whole mindscape had turned into a bright crimson red.

Suddenly, three anthropomorphic shadows darted out of the edges of the disappearing gray mist and tried to pierce Leylin's chest with their basic spells.

One figure had yellow and red scales with long claws. The other was large and made out of old brown wood. The last one was green and seemed to belong to a young female. Accompanying the shadows, a supernatural wail could be heard inside the metaphysical plane. The cries would not be quelled, and the shadows seemed to be invigorated with every passing second.

At this development, Leylin just chuckled within his mindscape whilst outwardly he continued to struggle for his life.

He eyed the three shadows, as they exerted even more power in the rays of energy they were shooting at him. They were seconds away from tearing Leylin apart, but he was absolutely composed and did not even lift a finger to stop the assault.

'You are nothing but the emotional reverberations of my dead victims that survived inside the elixir's components. Therefore, I shall devour you, and claim the power that rightfully belongs to me. Bow down and submit to your Lord!'

Before Leylin could say anything else, the crimson light immediately rushed up into the sky, as if it wanted to dye the 24 mind runes in the same color.

The mind runes let off a glow and accepted the red light. It was then, that the shadows attacking Leylin had their powers vanish out of nowhere. The energies they directed at him were also sucked in by the mind runes, leaving behind three dilapidated carcasses on their knees. A wind blew, and they turned to dust.

Leylin smirked, as he extended his hands upwards. As if on cue, a myriad of enigmatic patterns appeared on the surface of the mind runes.

These patterns continuously grew and intertwined, extending to the point where they had wholly covered the surface of all the runes.

The original 24 blue mind runes finally joined together, constituting an even greater crimson rune.

In Leylin's sea of consciousness, many patterns also materialized. Subsequently, the mindscape turned even more resplendent and the air became clear as if it were being filtered.

Once Leylin was done reinforcing his mindscape, and as if it were listening to his every command, the red light hurriedly retreated into the sea of consciousness, vanishing totally.

When everything appeared to have quieted down, the large mysterious rune let off a blinding glow, and Leylin's consciousness was nearly pushed out from the mindscape in one go.

'I have not come this far just to be sabotaged by a petty inconvenience. Stabilize!' -Leylin declared firmly at his sea of consciousness.

He abused every particle of Spiritual Force he could get his hands on. He used every fiber of his being solely to hold on to the mindscape. If he let go, it would mean his utter demise.

Meanwhile, inside the lab, Aralis was desperately using the ESP Matrix to try and contain the damage produced by the Reactive Elixir. Leylin's vitals were now critical. He suffered from multiple instances of organ failure, his Spiritual Energy was spiking erratically, and his body convulsed savagely. He had also fractured most of his bones in the process.

There was a pool of his own blood encompassing the chair and the floor of the lab. The metal bindings were starting to creak with more frequency. The collar with the syringes burst out of his neck, as its structure was compromised by the sheer force with which Leylin thrashed unwittingly.

It was at this moment, that Leylin recovered his awareness of reality. His eyes remained closed and he could not move at all from both the pain and the spasms, but he was back into the real world. And Aralis noticed this immediately.

[Doctor! My scans have picked up that your Spiritual Force is out of control! Forget the breakthrough, under these circumstances, you will not be able to save your life! Given the alarming state of your body, death will ensue in less than 2 minutes!]

Hearing this news, Leylin was not shocked at all. Earlier when he was watching Alfonse's body mutate, he had finished calculating the probabilities of a situation like this happening.

'Transfer all of my Mana Energy to my brain. Get rid of the unnecessary functions.' -Leylin thought with an aloof tone.

[Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?!] -The A.I. queried incredulously.

'That was not a suggestion, that was an order. And yes, I meant it. Cut off my brain from the rest of my body, and do it now!' -Leylin felt his patience running short, as his assistant wasted no more time to carry on her duty.

[Commencing transfer of Mana Energy. Non-essential bodily functions... offline... ESP Matrix disengaged...]

At this exact point, Leylin's convulsing and thrashing came to an abrupt stop. In an instant, he had gone completely limp. His head fell onto the backrest of the chair, and his mouth opened, allowing all of the blood from the internal hemorrhages to stream down freely.

To any onlooker, it would resemble as if the Farlier Baron had died right then and there. He had ostensibly fallen victim to his greed and had paid the ultimate price for it.

Nevertheless, this was not just any acolyte. Despite how common it was for level 2 acolytes who lacked the support of a faction or peerless backgrounds as geniuses to die in an attempt to reach the next level of cultivation, Leylin had taken the necessary precautions and done extensive research so as to not share their fate.

Time went by, as the blood dribbled all over Leylin and his lab eventually dried out. His skin turned deadly pale, and his muscles had stiffened.

The birds were chirping outside the windows. It was already 10 o'clock in the morning.

It took him hours, but at last, the middle finger in Leylin's left hand twitched slightly. His skin color was not ghostly anymore either.

[Doctor? How are you feeling?] -Aralis was a tad apprehensive in knowing the answer to her question.

Suddenly, Leylin brought his entire body up and jumped to his feet, nearly disintegrating the metal binds in the chair.

A lot of cracking noises sounded out as if he were internally adjusting every piece of himself to its correct position.

He extended his right hand and put it under the sunlight that penetrated the stained glass of his laboratory, as his eyelids opened.

They revealed a significant change in him. Leylin's pupils had morphed into reptile-like black slits. His irises had turned crimson red, but the sclerae were still white.

"So this is what evolving feels like...?"

Leylin then walked to his armory whilst still half-naked and covered in ungodly amounts of acidic perspiration and blood. He did not care about that now.

Grabbing one of the daggers, he stabbed his own leg with no concern for his well-being.

Forthwith, he took the dagger out without any pain. No blood came out this time, and the wound closed itself swiftly.

Leylin's mask slipped, and his cold expression became twisted with a satisfied yet monstrous grin.