Blue River Continent, Aethelgard Megacity, Alchemists’ Grotto.
The air in the Alchemists’ Grotto was smelly and humid. It was a maze of copper pipes and venting steam. This was where the city’s most dangerous potions were brewed and sold.
It was often tested on people who did not have enough gold to say no! David Silver adjusted his hood and held Julian’s stolen VIP pass.
He looked like a poor person wandering through a den of wolves! Every merchant had eyes that glinted with greed. They were trying to decide if they should sell him a potion or turn him into one!
"The Dragon’s Bile," David whispered. He saw the rusted iron sign hanging over a shop.
Inside the shop the air was very thick. Jars of preserved organs lined the shelves. An old man with yellow skin looked up from a bubbling pot. He had eyes that were clouded by bad sight.
"Julian’s little dog sent a messenger?" the old man asked. His voice sounded like rubbing rocks together.
David did not bother correcting him. He pulled out the heavy pouch of gold sovereigns he earned by turning Grog into a wall decoration. "Obsidian Marrow. Tier 4. I was told you have the pure strain."
The old man’s eyes widened at the sight of the gold! He reached under the counter and pulled out a vial carved from crystal. Inside was a black liquid that pulsed with a faint purple light. It looked like a piece of the night sky.
"Tier 4 Obsidian Marrow," the old man hissed. "It will clear your body of any impurity. Or it will melt your bones from the inside out! There is no middle ground with this stuff, boy. Are you sure you want to play with the big kids?"
"Just give it to me," David said. He slid the gold across the counter.
He took the vial. The glass felt very cold against his skin. As he stepped out into the humid air he felt a prickle on his neck. He was not alone! He could feel the weight of eyes on him. It was Madame Joyce! He knew she was watching him through a remote viewing spell. She wanted to see if her new monster could handle the pressure.
David did not go back to the Academy. He could not risk the Council feeling the mana flare. Instead he found a corner of an abandoned warehouse near the docks. It was a place where the sound of the crashing waves would drown out any screaming!
He sat cross legged on the cold floor and stared at the black vial.
"System," David thought. His heart was hammering a fast rhythm. "Is this stuff real?"
[Analyzing Substance...]
[Detection: Obsidian Marrow (Base Compound).]
[Warning: Foreign Contaminant Detected.]
[Classification: Void-Rot Poison (Tier 5).]
[Source: Madame Joyce’s Signature Toxin.]
David’s face turned even paler! "Void-Rot? She did not just sell me a fake. She gave me a lethal dose of poison! That snake!"
[Conclusion: Madame Joyce is testing you. She wants to know if your Wraith persona is a fluke or a true anomaly.]
David looked at the vial. He had two choices. He could walk away and lose his gold or drink it and bet his life on the 100,000x multiplier. If he walked away he would stay a Static failure forever. If he drank it and the system failed he would be dead!
"I am about to pay gold to commit suicide," he laughed. It was a bitter sound. "Great planning, David."
He did not give himself time to think. He tilted his head back and downed the liquid in a single gulp!
For three seconds nothing happened. Then the universe exploded inside his chest!
It was not just pain. It was the sensation of being erased from existence. The Void-Rot did not just attack his muscles. It attacked the very concept of his being! He felt his mana core begin to vibrate with an agonizing scream. David fell forward and clawed at the concrete. His skin began to turn a bruised grey and black veins raced up his neck like spiders. His vision blurred into a vortex of shadow.
"SYSTEM!" he roared. But the sound was choked off by a mouthful of black bile.
[Ding! Lethal Toxin: Void-Rot has entered the bloodstream.]
[Cellular Destruction: 12%... 28%... 45%...]
[Emergency Protocol Initialized.]
[Passive Multiplier Activated: 100,000x!]
[Target: Immunity & Metabolic Regulation.]
Suddenly the mechanical hum of the Aeon Catalyst surged through his body! It was a flood of white hot fire. Because the Immunity skill was being multiplied by a hundred thousand, David’s body was not just fighting the poison. It was doing a million years of evolution in a matter of seconds!
Inside his veins his cells did not just attack the Void-Rot. They consumed it! They adapted to the toxin and then rewrote it. David felt his bones vibrating so hard he thought they would shatter. But instead they gained a new resilient density.
[Proficiency: Toxin Resistance ➔ 100.00% (MAX)]
[Skill Evolution: Immunity ➔ Tier 4 Toxin Sovereign (Passive)]
[System Note: The Void-Rot has been successfully integrated into your biological makeup.]
The agony stopped as quickly as it had come. It was replaced by a cold surge of power. David gasped for air and his forehead rested against the concrete. He looked down at his hands. The black veins had not disappeared. They had settled deep beneath his skin and they glowed with a purple light.
He spat on the floor. The bile was not black anymore. It was a shimmering dark crimson. Where it hit the concrete the stone hissed and dissolved! A cloud of smoke rose into the air.
"My blood is the poison now," David whispered. His voice was deeper and more resonant.
He stood up and his movements felt lighter. He felt a strange connection to the shadows around him. It was as if the Void-Rot had opened a door in his soul that was never meant to be unlocked.
[Status Update: David Silver]
[Title Unlocked: Toxin Sovereign]
[New Ability: Miasma Touch – Your physical contact can now induce Tier 4 corrosion.]
[New Ability: Blood-Venom – Your blood is now a Tier 5 lethal toxin to others.]
[Seal Progress: 2.5% Cracked.]
David looked toward the door of the warehouse. He knew Joyce was out there. He reached out and touched a rusted iron beam. Under his fingertips the metal did not just rust. It turned into black dust in seconds!
"You wanted to see if I was an anomaly, Joyce?" David murmured. A dark smile touched his lips. "I hope you like the results!"
He walked out of the warehouse and his steps were silent. He did not feel like a Static loser anymore. He felt like a predator. He looked toward the towers of Aethelgard Academy. He was becoming a Calamity!
A few minutes later in the lavish lounge of the Below Floors, Madame Joyce dropped her silver pipe. She was staring at a magic pool on her desk. It showed the empty warehouse and the pile of dust.
"He did not just survive," she whispered. Her voice was trembling with fear. Her massive chest jiggled in the process! She was a wonderfully blessed woman and she had to rest them on the desk she was sitting behind to relieve herself. "He ate it. He ate the Void-Rot and asked for seconds!"
She looked at her own hands. "Julian was wrong. Sterling is wrong. This boy is the end of the world!"
Joyce reached for a stack of black parchment. She needed to change her plans. David Silver was no longer a test subject. He was a god in the making and she needed to make sure she was on the right side!
Meanwhile David walked through the Academy gates as the sun began to rise. He saw Sterling Greyjoy across the quad. Sterling was laughing with his usual lackeys. David felt a dark urge to walk over and shake his hand. Just one touch! That was all it would take to kill him.
’No,’ David thought. He clenched his fist. ’Not yet. I need to get to the Great Arcane Sifting. I need to show them exactly what a Static Core can do.’
He passed the Manifestation Monolith. The ancient stone hummed! It was not a dull grey fog this time but a deep thrum of recognition. The seal was cracking and David was not afraid of the explosion. He was looking forward to it.
"Ready or not," he whispered. His eyes flashed with a purple light that was not human. "Here I come!"