Visha Morticia Tenith had retreated from the bustling chaos of the new world above, burying herself within her underground laboratory where the air was thick with mana and the sharp, metallic scent of alchemical ingredients. After acquiring the strange machine in the woods—a relic from a past era, shrouded in rust and tangled vines—she had reassembled it in this hidden space beneath the earth. The device, once reawakened by her mana-infused touch, hummed with a quiet, potent energy, a tool she soon discovered could refine materials in ways ordinary alchemical tools could not.
With the System's Evolution, her [Pestilence Harbinger] class had unlocked talents she could scarcely imagine, abilities that thrived in dark, secluded spaces and drew power from decay and transformation. In combination with her newly acquired [Alchemist] profession, she found a strange harmony, her skills blending seamlessly into a craft uniquely her own. The walls of her lab were lined with shelves of glass vials and jars containing rare herbs, enchanted ores, and remnants of the creatures she had felled in her journeys. The floors were meticulously clean, though the walls were marked by the occasional dark stain from a failed concoction or explosive miscalculation.
She spent hours bending over her workbenches, testing the effects of various ingredients on mana-imbued substances and experimenting with toxic compounds that amplified her own innate abilities. Her [Decay of Flesh] ability, which allowed her to infuse materials with rot and destruction, became a catalyst in her alchemical processes. She could use it to break down rare plants, transforming them into essential ingredients for potions, powders, and salves. Each vial that lined her shelves contained concentrated forms of poisons, toxins, or regenerative agents, all crafted with a precision and skill that only her rare combination of classes could yield.
With time, her lab evolved to house a series of custom-built workstations and enchanted tools. She had repurposed the old machine, refining it further to break down mana crystals into raw essence. The mana essence proved invaluable, providing the necessary power to supercharge her potions, giving them properties far beyond what she'd previously imagined. Her experiments ranged from volatile poisons that could dissolve steel to salves that healed even the most grievous wounds, all enriched by her pestilence-infused abilities. With Sovereign's Pestilence, she created clouds of poison that could be contained within glass capsules, each capsule designed to shatter on impact, releasing a potent mist that lingered in the air, waiting to drain the life from anything that dared to enter its reach.
But it was the [Spectral Ascension] ability that truly pushed her alchemical work beyond mortal bounds. It allowed her to harness spectral energy—a dark, shadowy force that connected her to the ethereal and decayed realms. She learned to extract spectral remnants from defeated monsters and infuse them into her creations. Spectral energy became a new ingredient, one that elevated her concoctions into objects of dread and fascination. One of her most dangerous creations, [Phantom Elixir], was the culmination of spectral energy and alchemical prowess. When imbibed, it granted its drinker a temporary spectral form, allowing them to pass through walls and remain undetected by the physical world—a terrifyingly potent ability for stealth missions, though it left the user weakened and vulnerable for hours afterward.
Her reputation began to grow quietly, whispered about among Hunters who stumbled upon her creations sold discreetly in underground markets and secret auctions. Her work became coveted by those who understood its value—elixirs, potions, and poisons that no other alchemist could replicate. Hunters would pay handsomely for her [Venomous Smoke Bombs] and [Lurker's Draught]—concoctions that heightened their senses or cloaked them in shadow for missions that required stealth and deadly precision.
Today, she was trying her hand at a new poison elixir.
Visha stood before her workbench, her gloved hands moving with precision as she measured out drops of a thick, dark-green liquid into a glass vial. The substance had a faint shimmer, as though flecks of gold swirled within it, catching the faint torchlight that lit her underground laboratory. Around her, the shelves were lined with ingredients both exotic and dangerous: vials of mana-infused herbs, crystals pulsing with faint luminescence, and powders ground from rare minerals found only in regions marked by portal gates.
The new Poison was something that had come to her during a restless night haunted by fragments of spectral energy. This poison would be her most powerful creation yet, if she could harness the combination of spectral energy and toxic mana she envisioned. She called it [Eclipse Draught]—a poison that would spread darkness through the veins of its victim, shutting down not just the physical body but the mana pathways as well, leaving even the strongest Hunters weak, drained, and vulnerable.
Carefully, she poured the dark-green liquid into the center of a wide, shallow dish etched with alchemical symbols. With a delicate touch, she added a powder of pulverized nightshade petals, the fragments dissolving and sending tiny ripples across the surface. As the components combined, the liquid darkened, taking on a rich, inky hue, as if it were drinking in the light.
Visha glanced over to a small, intricately carved vial that sat apart from the others—a container holding a few drops of pure spectral essence, collected after a particularly powerful portal raid. This would be the key ingredient, the element that would transform this elixir from a deadly poison to a soul-draining weapon. With her Spectral Ascension ability, she could coax the essence from its container and infuse it directly into the elixir without risking its destabilization.
Closing her eyes, she reached out with her hand, her mana reaching for the spectral essence. She felt it respond to her touch, a shadowy tendril that seemed to pulse with a life of its own. With slow, practiced movements, she guided it into the dish, where it swirled and merged with the other components, transforming the liquid until it appeared almost alive, as though a dark star was pulsing within it.
Visha smiled faintly, satisfaction settling in her chest. The elixir was almost complete, but there was one final step, a twist she had considered to give it an edge unlike any poison she'd crafted before. She reached for a tiny vial of [Frost Bloom Essence], a rare extract from a mana-charged flower that could only grow in the freezing wastelands formed after a mana storm. The essence would give the elixir a paralyzing effect, rendering the victim helpless as the poison spread.
Carefully, she added a single drop, watching as it seeped into the liquid, sending tendrils of frost through the dark mixture before fading, leaving the draught eerily calm.
Holding the completed vial up to the dim light, Visha felt a thrill of anticipation. [Eclipse Draught] was a masterpiece, a poison that combined decay, paralysis, and spectral corruption. It was not only lethal but utterly unique, a blend that could weaken even the highest-ranked Hunters and leave them vulnerable to the dark arts she wielded.
She could feel the potency radiating from it, not merely sensed through smell or sight but through the unique, visceral sensation her [Sovereign's Poison] skill afforded her. This skill allowed her to feel the essence of any poison nearby, a strange, intimate connection that stirred like a subtle, tingling burn beneath her skin.
It was an odd sensation, a slow, pulsing awareness of the poison's potential, as if it flowed not within the vial but through her very blood. Most might find it unbearable, this constant reminder of venom lingering just beneath the surface, but for Visha, it was a comfort, a reminder of her bond with her craft. The sensation was like a faint, heated itch, a whisper of the poison's bite held at bay, waiting to be unleashed. The stronger the poison, the more intense the burn, and this particular elixir was potent indeed.
In her hands was a dark masterpiece capable of delivering a slow, excruciating death, shutting down mana pathways and severing the connection between body and soul. The potency left her blood humming, alive with a current of energy she could feel spreading throughout her body, as though every nerve were tuned to this creation's lethal edge. For a fleeting moment, she allowed herself to revel in the sensation, the way it stoked the thrill of danger, of control, a satisfaction unique to the Pestilence Harbinger and her art.
Visha placed the vial carefully among her other finished products, her mind already turning to the next experiment, the next creation. But even as she considered her next steps, that faint burn beneath her skin reminded her that her supplies were low.
Visha scanned the shelves with a critical eye, her gaze settling on the half-empty jars and nearly depleted vials with a growing sense of resolve. Her recent work had consumed much of her stock, especially the rarer, high-potency ingredients that could only be found in the most treacherous of environments. Her stores of [Grimroot] were nearly gone, the twisted, dark plant vital for any elixir with toxic properties. Then there was [Breath of a Death Phoenix], an elusive substance with transformative properties that could add power to her spectral poisons. And finally, the [Bones of a Wraith Wyvern]—a material that amplified decay magic and gave her potions the lasting, ghostly effect that had come to define her creations.
A faint smirk tugged at her lips as she closed the mana-sealed refrigerators and straightened, the familiar thrill of the hunt already stirring in her veins. These ingredients weren't simply bought from traders or foragers; they demanded a personal approach, a risk worthy of their rewards. Each one existed in dangerous, haunted places or could only be harvested from creatures of myth, each a test of a Hunter's skill and endurance. And for a Pestilence Harbinger like her, the challenge of hunting her own ingredients added a satisfaction that even alchemy itself could not provide.
"Looks like I will need to go hunting again," she murmured to herself, the words laced with a dark excitement.
She walked to a rack by the wall and selected her leather coat, infused with reinforced mana threads that made it resistant to most elemental attacks. She strapped a belt of vials, each filled with an experimental poison or spectral draught, around her waist. They jingled softly with her movements, each elixir she carried a silent promise of lethality, prepared for any encounter she might face on this journey. Her eyes glinted that familiar pestilence green as she strapped a compact satchel over her shoulder, ready to collect whatever samples and trophies her hunts would yield.
Pulling on her gloves, she activated her [Spectral Ascension] ability to sharpen her senses. In the shadows of the lab, her outline blurred slightly, her body pulsing faintly with a ghostly shimmer that would grant her both protection and agility when she faced the creatures that guarded the ingredients she sought.
With a final glance around the lab to ensure she had everything she needed, Visha ascended the hidden stone staircase, her footsteps echoing softly in the silence of her underground sanctuary. She pushed open the concealed door that led into the dense forest above, the familiar scent of damp earth and mana-rich air filling her lungs. Around her, the world was steeped in mist, the trees casting dark, elongated shadows in the early twilight.