Five Changes

Lumian's first reaction upon waking in the gray fog was not to check his physical condition, but to sit bolt upright and look toward the table by the window.

The three Red Chestnut Flowers and the glass bottle containing poplar leaf powder sat quietly there, catching the faint light that pierced the dense fog high above.

"She really did send the supplementary ingredients in..." Lumian sighed in relief, climbed out of bed, and stretched.

To his delight, he found that the pain in his neck and back had completely vanished, along with the discomfort inside his body.

"Sure enough, once I recovered in reality, I recovered in the dream too, even though the injuries on the two sides were nothing alike..." Lumian hurried over to the wardrobe with its full-length mirror, stripped off his upper garments, and examined himself thoroughly.

The five bloody finger marks, the swollen black-and-blue patches, and all the bruises had vanished without a trace.

This made Lumian wonder whether hunting the Beyonder monster last night had been nothing more than a dream.

Fortunately, the crimson mass in the cloth bag, his wealth-which now included a few more copper coins-and the shotgun lying nearby all proved that the experience had been real.

Reassured, Lumian took the cloth bag containing the crimson mass, pocketed his sizable stash of coins, and left the bedroom. He headed straight downstairs, picked up a bottle of red wine, found a beer mug, and brought back a jar of basil.

Of course, he did not forget the graduated cylinder, small balance, and other teaching equipment his sister Aurora had bought for his lessons.

Looking at the desk covered in supplies, he felt excited, but could not suppress a little nervousness.

Everything was ready. All that remained was to mix the potion!

But a potion was no ordinary drink. It was more dangerous than alcohol, and the slightest problem could kill whoever drank it or mutate them into a monster.

Lumian drew a breath and slowly let it out, then used the graduated cylinder to pour 80 milliliters of red wine into the beer mug.

Next, he added 10 grams of basil, 5 grams of poplar leaf powder, and one Red Chestnut Flower, in that order.

Nothing unusual happened throughout the process. The red liquid in the beer mug merely had some sediment in it now, with a flower floating on top.

Then Lumian picked up the cloth bag beside him and watched intently as the crimson mass slid into the beer mug.

Without a sound, the crimson mass seemed to dissolve rapidly, yet it also looked as though all the surrounding liquid was being drawn into it.

Bubbles rose with a gurgle, and blood-red color suffused the entire mug. At some point, the Red Chestnut Flower had dissolved.

"So this is the Hunter potion?" Lumian swallowed and picked up the beer mug.

The supernatural power he had pursued so desperately was now within reach.

Without hesitation, Lumian regulated his breathing, steadied his emotions, tilted his head back slightly, and drank the potion.

As he gulped it down, a pungent smell of blood seemed to invade his nose, and he began hearing faint sounds that were not there.

The instant he finished the potion and set down the mug, he felt a stabbing pain coming from every part of his body.

It was so intense that Lumian wondered whether he had swallowed a mass of fire, one that was now burning his esophagus, stomach, heart, lungs, small intestine, large intestine, and every blood vessel.

At the same time, a strong taste of rust spread outward from his throat.

Keeping the lady's words firmly in mind, he struggled to hold his mind steady and stop himself from passing out. That would most likely mean the potion had defeated him, and the consequences were obvious.

In a daze, Lumian lowered his head and saw that every blood vessel on the backs of his hands had bulged out, crisscrossing in a dense, strikingly red web.

The stabbing and burning sensations faded as quickly as they had come. After only two or three seconds, Lumian felt they were about to disappear.

Just then, his head buzzed, and the mysterious voice rang in his ears again, seeming to come from infinitely far above while also sounding right beside him.

The voice drove into his head like steel spikes and stirred violently.

The sensation of near death assaulted Lumian again, and the burning and stabbing pains that had nearly disappeared surged back.

His eyes widened, and his hands clenched into fists. He felt as though something was about to split open his skin and crawl out of his flesh.

The gray fog around him seemed to thicken a little.

The terrifying voice, whose words he could never make out, subsided. The writhing of the flesh inside Lumian's body vanished like an illusion.

The dreadful stabbing and burning pains, along with the strong taste of rust and smell of blood, disappeared as well.

At last, Lumian could breathe the slightly cool air again, and he regained control of his body.

He could not help bending over, bracing his hands on his knees, and panting heavily.

He now understood more deeply the dangers his sister had described in pursuing supernatural power.

A mere Sequence 9 potion had almost killed him!

Of course, it should never have reached that point. It would only have been fairly dangerous, but at the crucial moment, the mysterious voice brought on by the special symbol on his chest had nearly caused him to collapse outright.

Every gasping breath seemed to restore a portion of Lumian's strength. Before long, he felt fully recovered.

Lumian tried clenching his fist and throwing a hard punch into the air.

Bang!

His punch had actually produced the sound of air bursting.

He had never even dared hope to possess such strength!

Growing increasingly excited, Lumian shifted his feet around the small bedroom and practiced a form of martial arts his sister had taught him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Every punch produced a sharp crack. Despite the force of his movements and the cramped surroundings, each step landed exactly where it should, without touching anything.

After finishing the routine, Lumian felt not tired, but full of energy.

He then assessed his condition:

I'm no weaker than Aurora now...

My strength, speed, reflexes, and control over my body have all improved tremendously. They're almost inhuman now...

I have both a bear's strength and a cat's agility. I'm something like a combination of the two...

Without the potion, I might never have reached this level in my entire life...

Before he finished examining himself, Lumian suddenly smelled blood.

His heart tightened, and he instinctively sniffed.

A moment later, he realized he could actually pinpoint where the smell was coming from.

It came from his own body!

Lumian lowered his head and saw that the backs of his hands were covered in red, as though they had bled in multiple places.

He returned to the full-length mirror and found his face covered in blood as well.

Lumian wiped his face with his hand, removing some of the blood, but could not find a single wound.

After some thought, he arrived at a possible explanation:

Did drinking the potion rupture all those capillaries Aurora mentioned? Then, once I finished absorbing it, the wounds healed rapidly?

Only the influence of supernatural factors could explain the situation.

Since he was not injured, Lumian stopped dwelling on the matter and focused instead on his sense of smell, which seemed to have changed significantly.

As he concentrated, the smells lingering in the air were instantly "broken down," entering his nose as distinct varieties.

"The smell of blood, lingering wine, the fragrance of flowers, the smell of dust..." Lumian identified them one by one, not missing even the faintest scents.

At the same time, he "saw" footprints on the floor that were normally invisible, "saw" the varying distribution of dust throughout the bedroom, "heard" his own heartbeat, and "heard" the gentle breeze blowing outside the house...

The second change is a dramatic improvement in my senses. My ability to pick up traces has surpassed normal human limits... No wonder that monster was so good at tracking... Lumian was quite pleased with this.

More importantly, this improvement did not interfere with his daily life. It only manifested fully when he concentrated; otherwise, it remained in a diminished state.

After repeated tests and self-examination, Lumian discovered two more changes brought about by the Hunter potion:

The third change is that, after carefully observing my surroundings, I can accurately and intuitively identify certain key points. For instance, how to bring down a wall more easily. This will let me set traps better and faster... It also works on humans, beasts, and monsters, allowing me to hunt and kill more effectively...

The fourth change is that I now have some knowledge of wild plants and animal organs in my head. This will help me survive better in the wilderness, quickly find suitable medicine to stop bleeding when I'm injured, and more easily make poisons to coat my weapons with when needed...

Having reached these preliminary conclusions, Lumian could not help feeling that something was absurd:

I actually managed to kill that shotgun monster?

I'm far, far stronger now than I was before, and it wasn't much weaker than I am now...

After carefully recalling the encounter, he summed up two key points:

Abilities matter, but brains matter just as much!

Making good use of the environment can effectively increase my strength!

After a moment's thought, Lumian added another point to himself:

Also, I must never get careless or lose patience, no matter when...

He walked to the window and looked out at the dream ruins once more.

An indescribable sense of oppression, fear, and danger immediately welled up in him. He had either never felt this before, or never this strongly.

"Uh, the fifth change is an enhancement to some kind of intuition..." Lumian nodded slightly.

He went to the washroom, cleaned his body with water, changed into another set of clothes, and lay back down on the bed with the money.

He wanted to return to reality as soon as possible and see whether the Hunter abilities he had acquired would carry over, and if so, whether they would weaken.

Cordou Village was very quiet in the middle of the night. Clouds high above concealed the crimson moon and the stars, leaving deep darkness to reign over the area.

Gazing at the night outside, Lumian felt immensely at ease.

He had become a Beyonder in reality too, and his abilities had not weakened at all compared to those in the dream!

Guided by his intuition, Lumian unbuttoned his shirt and looked down at his chest.

The black symbol resembling chains of thorns was slowly fading.

"It appeared in reality too..." Lumian felt inexplicably uneasy.

Yet the bluish-black symbol that should have lain over the thorny chains seemed to exist only in the dream.

Suddenly, Lumian sensed something and raised his head.

On an elm tree not far away, the owl from the Warlock legend was watching him silently.