In the dead of the night….
A Fox Procession suddenly emerged from the sewers!
At that moment, anyone who saw them would have been utterly petrified. Their glowing eyes and their bloodstained fur gave them a wild appearance!
Yet, those wild beasts showed great organization as they quietly reached and surrounded a single stone house, one with a sign of a Healing Potion!
"You guys have done well to find this place." Jack praised his minions. It was isolated enough for them not to be detected, but looked professional enough!
Without further ado, they powerfully knocked. It was time for a consultation!…
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.
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Lizzy had been deep asleep when…
A powerful knock echoed on her door. "Oh crap! Morning already?!" She jumped up, sending a pile of steamy novels stumbling to the ground in her confusion.
But as she checked her only window… she stilled. What the hell? It wasn't morning at all! It was the dead of the night! Who the heck would come at such a time?!
"Tch— Go away! I'm obviously closed!" She grumbled, returning to her soft bed. If she didn't show up, whoever was out there would soon give up.
— Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! —
How persistent! But so what? No way she was getting out of bed!
But as she tried returning to her slumber, something crazy happened. Whoever was outside started… scratching instead?! What kind of goddamn drunkard was out there?!
"Ah! Don't tell me?! They're destroying my sign?!"
She angrily jumped to her feet! This night visitor wanted to be a pest? She'll show them not to mess with her! She hurriedly grabbed her Strongest Nightmare Delirium Potion!
A single whiff of it would instantly send the target stumbling to the ground, repeatedly seeing visions of their deepest fear! Lizzy really was a genius Alchemist.
She'd use Mana to Mix magical ingredients together and create the perfect blend of crazy potions that oftentimes borderlined the realm of madness!
But as she angrily slammed her door open...
W-what the fuck was this?! M-Monsters?! Their fangs and claws dripped with blood as they stared at her with evil gazes. Lizzy froze as if a startled rabbit.
Fiery Foxes, tons of Fiery Foxes!
1…2…3.. More than 20?! Her hand holding the Delirium Potion shook. She only had enough of it to affect one or two foxes, as for the rest…. She was so doomed!
Only one power had that many of them…. THE Flame Mansion! As she glanced at her nearby sign, her knees turned weak. — Lizzy's Lusty Emporium!—
The Flame Lord's specialty was Fire and Charm Magic…. Had she deemed Lizzy's half-baked Aphrodisiac potions an eyesore?! Were they here to assassinate her?
Her parched throat felt like a desert, but she had to say something!
"H-Hello, w-what can this l-lowly one do for you?"
But what happened next almost had her doubt her sanity. A fox suddenly stepped forward, carrying… an injured baby?! Then, the fox pointed a claw at the nearby sign.
"Woo!" (Heal him! Make him better!)
Lizzy turned ashen. That sign?! She had gotten it on sale! Sure, it was a healing potion on it, but the words clearly said Lizzy's Lustful Em— Oh crap, could foxes even read?!
Seeing her daydreaming expression, a fox suddenly bared its teeth. "Woo!" (Focus, will you!) But to her, it felt like an ultimatum… heal him or else…
The fox even started gesturing at something exploding on the baby's arm, invading it?… a Curse?! This was what she had to deal with?!
Gulp. This was a crisis! Her bloody life was on the line!
Yet she hardened her resolve. She just had to heal that damn baby! As long as she did that, she'd be safe! At the moment, this appeared like her only way out!
"C'mon, Lizzy, you ain't called a genius for nothing!" She cheered herself up.
Even as she began grabbing ingredients from her lab, the foxes' gazes never left her, adding pressure. This was the scariest moment of her life!
Little did she know that the foxes were just curious. There were so many colorful vials and herbs and so many smells! Everything seemed so cool!
Even under such pressure, she expertly manipulated the ingredients. So what if healing wasn't her specialty? Today it bloody was! Fake it till you make it!
"Everflow Roots, Lilac Essence, Kalis' Bulbs, Leaf of Hesa", she kept naming the ingredients as she added them to her cauldron, her hand glowing a bright blue!
The more Jack watched, the more mesmerized he became.
Watching her mix was akin to witnessing a great battle between ingredients! Sometimes they'd reluctantly mix, sometimes they'd separate, and even explode!
But all the while, he could sense the Mana inside it growing larger and larger. It was akin to Cultivating a Small Sun…if that sun was brown and smelly!
Then it was finally the decisive moment! — BOOM!— The entire cauldron exploded! Out of the smoke erupted a messy Alchemist, her face completely tainted with soot.
But in her outstretched hand, she held a small black pill!
"I-I made it! This will heal him instantly!"
The foxes were doubtful, sniffing the black pill. If it was supposed to heal, why did it smell so bad? But before they could complain, Jack reached out to it and gobbled it!
He had no damn clue about alchemy, someone could have called a dung beetle a magical pill, and he would have had no way to be certain it was a joke, but he knew people.
She had given it her all and clearly knew what she was doing.
Merely seconds after eating the pill, Jack felt a soothing current traverse his body. Not only did his arm heal, but he felt his vitality increase greatly!
Then he suddenly felt whatever was inside him change! It was as if it was being harmonized with his whole body. Instead of being a parasite…it became part of him!
[Ding! The Beast Within Updated!]
[Transformation Slowed Down!]
Jack drew a cold breath. Good thing he had come here! He couldn't help but dread what would have happened otherwise! Even still, this would only buy him time…
The foxes all gazed at Jack, awaiting his verdict.
Never had Lizzy been that afraid of a baby's reaction. 'Please don't cry, please don't cry, or they'll eat me!' She kept inwardly begging. But then the latter looked at her.
In his eyes, she could see so much gratitude and…depth?! For an instant, she felt like she was looking at one of the Masters back at the Alchemy Tower?! No…it couldn't be?!
But then it suddenly dwelled on her…
Wait a freaking minute… baby, foxes, Flame Mansion…. ADSFK… her brain short-circuited as she realized whose's life she had just gambled with. The new Flame Mansion's heir?!
Had the lack of sleep turned her crazy?! What would have happened to her had she failed?! But he was already leaving before she could emotionally recover from the events.
Behind him, he left a single Ruby, which was neither big nor that pretty….yet it made her heart rock endlessly. Had she just established a link with the Flame Mansion?!
Jack's party quickly left, the foxes now worry-free. "Woo!" (Master, let's hunt in the sewers again!) They were already ready to fight some more!
"Nope! We're rushing home. Go and get your human cloaks ready. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow!" The foxes couldn't sit still. How much fun would that be?!
Meanwhile in the sewers….
[Ding! Rat King Has Awakened!]
[It Swears Revenge on All Humanity!]
"Chwick! Chwick! Chwick!" (KILL! KILL! KILL!)
There was a reason mass Monster-Hunting wasn't done halfheartedly. It was either exterminating them all… or risk creating a Leader Monster from the resentment!
Then again, Jack had no way of knowing that. As for the foxes… No comment! Thus, in the darkness, a new evil bared its fangs…