prevously in chapter 15
Even with just a 100% increase, Gray had not one, not two, but three of them, tripling his agility, which was why he was able to completely dominate the battlefield. Swiftly, and combined with his strength and the mist, Gray was naturally terrifying in this condition, and it was by design. After he was done, Gray gathered his things, stole a walkie-talkie from them as well as some of their guns, and walked away from the scene. The island was big, so he found a small hole where he placed his suitcase and covered it before going inside. Voila! An entire room filled with everything he had prepared. "God, I love this suitcase. I'm definitely getting the bigger version of it," he smiled to himself as he changed into cleaner clothes and took a long nap which was full of nightmares but his body was tired so he just slept through the nightmare. He woke the next day and got to work on making an invisibility potion.
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However, while working on the invisibility potion, he stopped as he saw the empty test tubes from the smoke potion, which made him think for a minute. Not a second later, he had an idea. "I mean, the smoke worked pretty great, so why not make it into a weapon?" he mused, echoing the thought of every weapons developer. So he got to work. Since the blueprint was already there, all he had to do was tweak the ingredients and adjust some properties, as well as calibrate, and it didn't take long until he had a deadlier version of the smoke burst potion.
[Name: Death Smoke Potion]
[Grade: Medium]
[Description: The Death Smoke Potion is a far more lethal version of the Smoke Burst Potion, designed to release a deadly cloud of toxic smoke upon exposure to air. This medium-grade potion provides a 200% effect and can be used as a weapon or for deadly sabotage. It is brewed with venomous doxy eggs (for toxicity), powdered bicorn horn (to enhance the potency of the fumes), salamander blood (for ignition), and dragonfly thoraxes (for increased dispersal). When the potion comes into contact with air, it vaporizes into a thick, fast-acting toxic cloud that can incapacitate or kill within minutes.]
[Deterioration-Rate: 100%,]
"And it came out perfectly too," he smiled as he ensured the lid was tight, before moving on to what he was doing: the invisibility potions. Since he was on the topic of killing, Gray grabbed some of his deadlier ingredients and made them into a potion, resulting in two new potions that would have gotten him expelled from Hogwarts and imprisoned in Azkaban but would be beloved by any shady or dark wizard, especially the followers of Voldemort.
[Name: Venomous Elixir]
[Grade: Medium]
[Description: The Venomous Elixir is a highly lethal potion designed to incapacitate or kill the consumer within minutes. This medium-grade potion offers a 200% effect, making it highly effective for assassination or combat use. Brewed with easily obtainable yet deadly components such as aconite (for a slow-acting poison), crushed billywig stings (to numb the senses), venomous doxy eggs (for paralysis), and hemlock extract (for a swift, fatal outcome), this potion can be ingested or applied to weapons. The victim will experience a swift onset of symptoms, including paralysis, followed by death.]
[Deterioration-Rate: 100%,]
[Name: Shatterbrew]
[Grade: Medium]
[Description: Shatterbrew is a dangerous potion designed to violently explode upon impact, making it ideal for sabotage or combat. This medium-grade potion provides a 200% effect and is brewed using explosive and volatile materials. Ingredients include powdered horned slugs (for instability), flobberworm mucus (to delay the reaction), bat wings (to enhance the spread of the explosion), and boomslang skin (for added concussive force). Upon striking a hard surface, the potion rapidly destabilizes, causing a powerful explosion capable of causing significant damage to structures and nearby individuals.]
[Deterioration-Rate: 100%,]
Feeling better, Gray got ready to exit the safety of his suitcase. Now armed with his potions, Gray stepped outside, just to be greeted by the distant sound of bullets being fired, which made him look into the distance for a bit before sighing. He then took an object, a secrecy detector, except he had this one modified to look for herbs. Since it was a magical item, it wouldn't trigger the trace, meaning that Gray could use it freely. He began searching for magical herbs, and it didn't take more than a couple of steps before he found one, a strange-looking dark plant. "Yeah, I'm not touching it, who knows, I might just drop dead," he thought to himself as he picked it up carefully.
As he continued, he picked up so many herbs that he got lost, but thankfully, his home was portable. His search eventually led him to a running river, where he heard a sound, like someone yelling. He looked up ahead and saw a woman being carried by the river, and to his surprise, it was Lara. "What the fuck," Gray thought, shocked. But he quickly got over it and jumped into the river to grab Lara, who was smart enough to grab his hand, allowing him to yank her out of the water easily. "Agh," Lara coughed up the water she had swallowed as she tried to catch her breath. "Nice to see you again, Lara," Gray said, as she, now breathing normally, looked at him warily.
"You got here, huh?" Gray said as he looked up. "I'm guessing you're not one of them since you helped out of the river and arent immediately attacking me," to which Gray replied, "Yeah, they found me pretty quick once I arrived on this island." Lara asked, "How did you escape?" and Gray replied, "I'm tougher than I look," making Lara chuckle for a second. "Yeah, I noticed how you yanked me out of the water," she said before shivering. Gray then removed his jacket and handed it to her. "Here, it's going to get cold," he said, and she accepted it before getting up.
"What are you here for?" she asked, and Gray showed her a wooden box where he stored the plants. "I'm a botanist," he said, which was his fake occupation, of course. This left Lara dumbfounded as she said, "Do you even know what type of island you're on?" Gray chuckled and said, "Yamatai, the tomb of the shaman queen Himiko of Japan, right?" Lara raised her voice, "And you came here to get plants?" Gray asked, "What did you come here for?" Lara looked down and said, "I… I came for my father, and now I know he's dead. And the only friend I made just sacrificed himself for me to get away," making Gray sigh in pity.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, even though he didn't have to. Lara sighed as she got up, "It's fine. All I have to do is make sure Vogel never gets into the tomb of Himiko." Gray nodded, "Yeah, he might not like what he finds in there." Suddenly, Gray snapped his head toward the woods. "What's wrong?" Lara asked. "We've got company," Gray said, making Lara immediately on guard as a man appeared from the woods. "Oh, you're an easy one to track," the man said toward Lara before noticing Gray. "You've got a friend? I'm sure Vogel would love that." Gray glanced at Lara and said, "You wanna take him?" to which she replied, "You're the man." Gray sighed as he stepped forward. The man cracked his neck, pulling out a knife, "Well, this just got interesting," as Gray continued walking forward.
Gray and the man stood several feet apart, the tension between them crackling in the air. The man held a knife, his grip steady, his stance low and ready. He moved with practiced precision, eyes sharp and trained on Gray. But Gray, with his heightened strength and speed, felt no fear. He knew he was faster—three times faster—and stronger by far. The man lunged first, a swift jab with the knife aimed at Gray's midsection. Gray sidestepped effortlessly, the blade barely grazing his clothes. He retaliated with a quick jab to the man's ribs, his fist moving like a blur. The force behind the punch made the man stagger, but he recovered, twisting on his heels to slash at Gray's side.
Gray ducked just in time, feeling the air from the blade whistle past his ear. He came up with a hook aimed at the man's jaw, but the man blocked it with his forearm, twisting his body to slash again, this time at Gray's shoulder. The knife found flesh, and blood dripped from the shallow cut, but Gray didn't falter. His healing was already at work, the wound closing even as they danced around each other. The man moved with skill, keeping his feet light, his movements sharp and deliberate. He was fast for a normal human, striking with quick, deadly precision. But Gray was faster, and stronger. He closed the distance between them in a heartbeat, launching a powerful kick at the man's stomach. The man was thrown back, but even as he stumbled, he flipped the knife in his hand and slashed upward. Gray leaned back, the tip of the blade barely missing his throat.