The final forty-eight hours were nearly up.
Inside Underground Laboratory Number One.
No one spoke. Only the faint hum of the operating magic arrays could be heard.
Valerius had given up sleep, and traces of a stimulant potion clung to his grizzled beard.
He circled the Breeding Pool, using his mental power to check the "life field" over and over.
Elwin and his fellow mages sat at their respective energy nodes, meditating with their eyes closed to keep their mental power stable.
The final preparations were complete.
The armor components Ola had forged were arranged by category on the open ground around the Breeding Pool, each gleaming with a dark luster.
Prefabricated magic arrays for maintaining the internal environment were stacked together, awaiting installation.
Suddenly, the Breeding Pool trembled slightly.
Everyone snapped to attention.
Here it comes!
The dense network of dark red blood vessels covering the largest flesh cocoon abruptly lit up.
Riiip-
A crack appeared at the top of the flesh cocoon.
Then a second, and a third.
The cracks rapidly spread like a spiderweb.
Boom!
A muffled boom came from beneath the surface. A tentacle more than two meters in diameter emerged from the scarlet liquid and rested on the edge of the Breeding Pool.
Its jet-black skin was keratinized. Even that light touch pressed several hairline cracks into the pool wall.
As everyone watched with bated breath, an enormous head slowly rose from the water.
Scarlet liquid slid off its smooth skin in miniature waterfalls, crashing back into the pool and throwing up great sheets of spray.
It was far larger than anyone had predicted. Its head alone, rising above the surface, occupied nearly half the Breeding Pool's length.
Valerius instinctively took a step back. The recording board in his hand clattered to the floor.
It