Chapter 28. Medicinal Herbs (8)

The physical changes after the potion are described on the next page.

[His vision has improved.]

[His reaction speed increased dramatically.]

[His hearing became extremely sensitive.]

[When a fluorescent substance accumulated in his iris, he developed the ability to see during the night.]

The side effects did not give him any clue about the potion’s goal.

He turned the page to continue reading.

The test subjects lost all their hair, their skin looked like it had recovered from a burn, their musculature grew thicker and thicker, they grew new teeth, even their deformed ribs grew so large that they protruded from their back.

Unlike the alchemist’s calm methodology, the test subject’s body was abnormally altered. The only side effects mentioned were these.

Doesn’t… this look like a ghoul?

He turned the page forward and glanced at the text.

I found it…

He read the sentences in the first chapter that described the experimental conditions.

[…It was difficult to maintain a stable supply of experimental subjects, so I replaced the first test subjects for the potion with corpses in the process of becoming ghouls, which have a comparable reaction to the human body.]

He could not believe his eyes.

This mad alchemist tested his potion on ghouls in the center of town.

He was anxious to finish reading, but closed the research record. He couldn’t waste time now. He had to find the lab.

Ghouls hated sunlight, so he ruled out places with windows. He thought about the basement because the lab should be in an inconspicuous place.

He left the library with the research record.

He walked slowly to the end of the corridor where there was no window.

He felt his heart thumping so hard he wondered if it would create an echo.

He came to a stop before the staircase. Everything was utterly black.

He began to descend with his hand on the wall.

The staircase was so long that it seemed to span two floors.

A corridor was at the end of the stairs. It was dimly lit with Magic Stones on the ceiling. It seemed that their useful life would soon be over.

Then he held his breath because he heard a faint sound. It was as if something was being chewed. He was sure there was something there.

At the end, he could see a thick iron door that was not locked. As he approached the door, he opened it fully. Inside, there were also Magic Stones.

There were several spaces with bars, like a prison.

The ceiling had a large magic circle drawn on it, but it was not complete because the ceiling on one side collapsed. A cross-shaped metal bed was in the middle.

Beside it, a ghoul’s body was being eaten by another ghoul. It was so focused on its food, it didn’t even realize he was here.

“……”

He pulled the Stitch Sylverine had given him from his pocket. When he touched it, its hidden wings unfolded. Immediately, the Stitch flapped its wings.

When he threw it back, the Stitch immediately flew down the corridor.

It buzzed loudly with its wings, making the ghoul turn its head. The ghoul stared at him for a moment, then lifted its head to let out a roar that sounded half-human and half-tiger.

There was a momentary silence. Dust fell from the ceiling.

Immediately, his feet felt vibrations.

They felt more and more intense. Soon, ghouls began to emerge from the caves in front of him. Ghouls occupied half of the lab.

They slowly approached him. Strangely, his heart was very calm.

He stretched out his right hand in the air.

He closed his eyes to concentrate. He felt something touch his soul. He had an existence in his body that was breathing softly somewhere.

That existence’s echo grew louder than before. It resembled a fetus attempting to exit its mother’s womb. He released the existence.

When he opened his eyes, he held a sword of light in his hand.