Monster

Lorne held the bottle containing the "Monster" Potion, his arm trembling slightly. Even setting everything else aside, the Potion's appearance alone was unsettling.

Instead of all the ingredients blending seamlessly together as he had imagined, the liquid in the bottle was murky, like soda mixed into milk tea. Just looking at it turned his stomach, and it looked nothing like the "Assassin" Potion from before.

Lorne raised the bottle to his lips, then lowered it again a few seconds later, looking hesitant.

"No, I can't keep hesitating." Considering his current predicament, Lorne decided to force himself.

Good. I didn't feel that fear from before.

Fate had not stopped him.

After giving the bottle of Potion one last look and finding nothing unusual, Lorne decided to down it.

Just like the first time his classmates had egged him on to drink beer, he closed his eyes, tried his best to ignore the strange texture and taste on his tongue, brought the bottle to his lips, and drained it in one go.

The instant the Potion entered his mouth, Lorne felt a strange texture, as though he were trying to choke down jelly. Forcing himself to ignore it, he struggled to swallow, practically "eating" the Potion.

Gulp! Gulp!

The jellylike Potion passed through his throat, slid down his esophagus, and flowed into his stomach.

"Ah."

He began to convulse uncontrollably. Everything before his eyes overlapped, and the boundary between reality and illusion blurred. Countless fragments of tangled information flooded his mind, as though they were scouring his very soul.

At that moment, Lorne was grateful that his willpower was fairly strong. Had it been any weaker, he might have been done for on the spot.

Huff... huff...

"Did it work? Have I become a 'Monster'?" Lorne's breathing gradually steadied, and his expression slowly returned to normal.

He looked at his hands and felt that nothing had changed. They had not mutated into the monstrous form he had imagined.

Still, Lorne felt dizzy. He could sense the Potion's power, but he did not seem able to control it completely yet.

A few more minutes passed, and Lorne's mind gradually cleared. At the same time, he received the mystical knowledge associated with the "Monster" Potion.

"Monster" was Sequence 9 of the "Monster" Pathway.

It granted spiritual perception far beyond that of ordinary people, allowing one to frequently hear sounds others could not hear and see things others could not see, occasionally even glimpse scenes of the future, as well as possess a keen intuitive forewarning of danger.

As Lorne absorbed this knowledge, his expression stiffened. He seemed to be waiting for something, remaining motionless for several seconds before finally reacting.

That's it? That's all?!

Those were all the effects of the "Monster" Potion?

What good was that?!

Come on, shouldn't "Monster" give me some terrifying power with claws and fangs?

I wouldn't complain if it gave me some kind of mutation or beast transformation. At least that would count as an ability that could keep me alive.

Occasional glimpses of the future... isn't that pretty much what happened to me earlier? Lorne recalled the images that had appeared in his mind not long before.

Isn't that the cheat I got when I transmigrated?

Then doesn't that make the Monster Potion even more useless? I already have that ability.

Lorne slumped into his chair, despair written all over his face.

"Meow?"

Frowning, Lorne opened one eye and saw the orange cat standing on the desk in front of him.

Somehow, Lorne thought he could see an almost human smile on the cat's face.

The smiling cat stood in stark contrast to the miserable-looking Lorne.

"Get down, get down! Leave me alone!" Irritated, Lorne reached out to shoo the cat away.

"Mrow-"

The orange cat leaped off the desk, but instead of falling immediately, it floated through the air like a feather before drifting gently to the floor.

"Huh?" Lorne gaped at the sight, dumbfounded.

Th-this...

Seriously, even the cat is stronger than me? We both took Potions, so how can the difference be this huge?

"I'm done for. I've been screwed over."

"With this 'Monster' ability, I can't even take anyone head-on!"

Lorne could hardly be blamed for thinking that. The "Monster" Potion's abilities were far too lackluster, and they even overlapped with his cheat.

Indeed, Lorne had taken the earlier images and warnings in his mind to be a cheat. After all, it was perfectly reasonable for a transmigrator to have something special about him.

"No, I can't give up. I'm a transmigrator. There has to be another way." Lorne stood and paced back and forth across the room, trying to encourage himself.

"A transmigrator can't die this easily. I still have my fate-sensing cheat. There has to be a way."

"A Beyonder gathering."

Lorne remembered that "Bottle" would be taking him to a Beyonder gathering that evening.

Perhaps he could try his luck there. He might find a way to solve his problem.

Even if he did not, he might at least gain some knowledge about Beyonders. The body's original owner had never received any formal education in mysticism.

Apart from a few mystical languages, most of his knowledge had come from hearsay or amateur books, the kind that looked unreliable at a glance. As a result, Lorne was now severely lacking in knowledge of this sort.

Of course, if nothing else worked, he could always flee.

Running might get him killed, but staying would definitely get him killed.

Lorne was not sure how far the silver-haired woman's ability to track him extended.

But fleeing would at least buy him a little more time.

"That's what I'll do!"

Lorne got up to pack his clothes. He had already decided that if he failed to find a solution at tonight's Beyonder gathering, he would head straight to the train station and escape by train.

As for where he would go, the farther away, the better.

Lorne began packing his luggage. He might not return for a long time, so he needed to take everything he could.

Clothes, gold pounds, and some remaining spirituality materials. He also opened a drawer and took out a small silver knife, a gold-inlaid pocket watch, and a gold coin bearing an unusual design.

These had been part of the original owner's collection back when he was a wealthy young master. Now, they were Lorne's emergency funds.

These little trinkets were not particularly valuable, but they were easy to sell. In a real emergency, he could readily turn them into cash.

"Right, you too." Lorne grabbed the orange cat, which had been watching him pack.

"Mrow..."

Lorne tucked the cat under his arm and stuffed it straight into his shoulder bag.

Then he dug out a large leather suitcase and crammed his clothes, spirituality materials, and various gold and silver valuables into it.

"Right, there's Mrs. Griffin too."

Lorne suddenly thought of his landlady. If the silver-haired woman came looking for him after he had left, Mrs. Griffin might get caught up in it.

"No, I should at least warn her. It would be rotten of me not to."

After some thought, Lorne decided to warn Mrs. Griffin. Although he had already realized that this tough old lady had some secrets of her own, he still could not expose her to such a great risk.