The Apprentice of Ouroboros [Monster Evo LitRPG Adventure]

For the past three days, Neska could only think of one thing: finding this assassin.

When she wasn’t training, she was reading. When she was doing neither of those, she was either at the dorm, tinkering with more alchemical infusion candidates, or resting.

The assassin had a major grudge against Risha and everything she stood for. The why, however, eluded her. The only hint she had was his rage at a perceived rejection.

She hadn't had time to go to the archives to look up Markus. Not yet. Her training took priority, and dedicating hours to search for someone who was supposedly already dead wasn't a good use of time.

Risha made this so much more difficult. Vivi, I am all but convinced she withheld memories for me. Or partitioned them away.

But, how? And why?

My guess? The Ceruli crystal I've been carrying around, unable to unlock, is a testament to everything she did. It didn’t bother me before, but how well did I truly know Risha? Why did I implicitly trust her with my life?

You can’t judge on a few facts when entire years are missing. Don’t try to think of the lost years. Think of the last month and think of what you have accomplished, and the people you met along the way.

True. We’ve made a lot of progress. And I’m no longer…alone. It feels good to have others who have my back. Or tail, as might be the case.

Still...what did happen to Pas? She doubted a familiar would destroy his witch. Risha would have had to do something truly awful for a familiar--a creature linked by a soul--to betray her.

She'd have to solve that mystery later. What they knew so far was the assassin knew some of the witch ability suite, including disrupting various capture and observation techniques. Hopefully, her [Witch Cackle] would close the gap to pinning him down.

At present, Neska was busily trying to get her [Ember Hex] leveled up as quickly as possible in class while preparing her next effort. There were several abilities she was worried might fall behind the others, [Ember Hex] included. It was better to have options in every scenario. Her roots had versatility, and she was on the cusp of a discovery with the [Verdant Weave] ability.

The hint was there when she’d stabbed the Roc Matriarch with the arrowhead containing one of Brienne’s seeds; it had taken root. She’d been improvising at that point, but now, she had the luxury of time to evaluate why it worked and what it meant.

Her current alchemical experiment: combining every concentrated growth accelerant she could fit onto a seed the size of a kernel of corn.

Unfortunately, things were not as easy as she had planned. Since she couldn’t just wrap arrows in dirt and expect it to hold together, she’d theorized that she could create a resin or gelatin to coat the seed. Then, she would embed the coated seed in the arrowhead; on paper, it should be an effective delivery mechanism.

If it worked as intended, the arrow would pierce a creature to get the seed planted. Then, when she activated [Verdant Weave], the accelerants would help the roots grow outward and ensnare a creature from within, making it much harder for them to break free, not without ripping the roots out and causing internal damage.

Or maybe she could drive the roots inward?

Messy. But potentially very effective. The question she still had was could the creature’s blood or mana also serve as an accelerant? If that were the case, it would have some rather interesting implications for using the ability as an impromptu energy drain ability: mana, endurance, or possibly even both.

Or, she could just exsanguinate the target until they were nothing but roots and vines and essentially made into jerky. Disturbing, to put it mildly. Could she puppet the corpse with vines?

Okay, this is getting too weird, even for me. Why would I explore the concept of creating root-driven meat puppets? This is what a bad witch would do. I need to be a good witch! Someone had once told Risha that bad witches should constantly watch the skies, lest a house come crashing down on top of them. The witch had cackled and said that superstition was as outlandish as the one that witches would melt if you threw water at them.

As far as Neska knew, Risha had bathed plenty of times and never melted once. Never washing in fear of melting sounded very unhygienic.

She set aside the partially finished experiment. She still had regular class duties to attend to.

“Miss Cassia, do be careful with your heating spell. It may be tempered glass, but that does not mean heatproof, ” Sakiri said dryly. Neska snapped her focus to controlling her [Ember Hex] with delicate care to keep a constant temperature. “And…what is this other experiment?”

“An alchemical solution for accelerating seed germination? It’s…for a friend.” It was a bit of a stretch considering they were Brienne’s seeds. She’d tried it with others, but the dryad's worked far better; they likely had a trace of mana affecting their composition.

Sakiri looked on with curiosity. “I presume you have a motive behind this. Just log what materials you use.”

When she had urged Sakiri to let her run whatever experiment she wanted on the side, the professor barely blinked before saying yes a few days ago. He also affirmed Kalloway had authorized it. In line with Kalloway’s suggestion, Neska decided she needed knowledge more than anything: that meant all her alchemical work should be used to power her various abilities.

She eased her focus on her [Ember Hex], satisfied. After three days of heating things and controlling temperature, she'd gone up two skill ranks. She could already tell that heating was faster and more even; she wielded a greater level of fidelity in reaching and maintaining her target temperature. Before, she would probably either burn her toast or leave it barely warm.

She didn't actually eat the toast, but Juni didn't let it go to waste.

Now that she had reliable temperature control for her alchemical solutions, it was time to focus on her primary task today: making munitions with a consistent shelf life and effective against multiple target types. The current work in front of her was a sleep solution, typically used to aid those unable to rest or those suffering from chronic pain, and it also had a mild rejuvenative effect.

She, of course, had some theoretical alternate uses for it. With her imbuement, she could make [Venom Bolt] potentially knock a person out cold. Maybe. It opened up her tactical options.

Unfortunately, she knew that certain alchemical formulas degraded over time after brewing. Not all her solutions could be prepared ahead of time–some would require preparation closer to the eventual conflict or supporting her teammates.

What she needed was a mobile alchemical lab. She’d seen at least one evolution ability that might fit the requirement. Maybe. If she were willing to take the risk, there was immense potential. The particular ability had a prerequisite after her [Venom Bolt], and she would need [Dimensional Stomach] first.

Better to contemplate it later. She needed levels before she should pursue that one.

She heard a dull thump as one of the other students took a sniff of the fumes and had forgotten their respirator mask. She cast a glance at the extra one sitting on the wall; it looked like a gas mask that covered the head, with either glass or a resin forming the lenses in front of the eyes. A rubber gasket sealed it against the skin. Fortunately, the form adjusted slightly for her snout, though the masks were still uncomfortable to wear.

“Hicks passed out again,” one student muttered behind a facemask. Nobody seemed to be in a rush to pick up the poor student, and Neska heard a snoring sound, followed by Sakiri grumbling in frustration.

"Marvin, go get the sensory salts, and wake up Hicks. Please don't remove your respirators and make sure your vent hood is working. I don't want anybody to hit their fragile heads should they pass out. Safety first and all.”

Neska pondered taking off her mask. She suspected that she could probably resist the effect, given enough time. Though that might be a stretch, this one was considered a beneficial compound, and not a toxin. Her title [What Doesn’t Kill you, Makes you Wierder] only mentioned toxic or poisonous substances, and still allowed beneficial effects to pass through.

She focused on matching her potion to a perfect indigo shade with careful stirring, adding precisely measured powdered nether root exactly as described in her textbook. Furthermore, she was able to control her mana flow through her fingers, allowing the solution's energy to dissipate uniformly.

In fact, the potion turned a slight shade of lavender. Juni tapped at the flask, worried. "Professor, ours is turning an odd color. Is that bad?”

Sakiri had just given the snoozing student a perk up, who bolted to their feet, stammering that they might have missed most of the class. They hadn't, actually. It had only been about two minutes.

“Coming, coming.” Professor Sakiri examined Neska's potion, along with Juni and Syra's. Juni’s wasn't perfect; it had a slightly clouded appearance, and Syra's was slightly aqueous green rather than blue. But Neska's was clear, except the color was off. “Did you follow the standard instructions, Cassia? Because I swear that potion is at a higher tier level than what you're supposed to be brewing it at.”

“Tiers? I thought potions were fairly static. You put in the same materials, and you get the same results.” She hadn't accounted for that, and nothing in her book so far had indicated as such.

“But there are exceptions to this rule! If precisely controlled and using premium ingredients, things that have rarer magical properties, you can increase the effective Tier of a potion. This typically affects various parameters such as duration and overall intensity. They can also negate negative side effects or enhance positive effects, as applicable. Your control over mana can also play a factor.”

“Conversely, making a subpar potion can lead to more negative effects or diminished positive effects. It really depends on what ingredients you're adding. Yours seems to have gone up a Tier because of your mana control, I would say. Using the same ingredients?”

Neska pointed at her book, and then Juni pushed the regular book next to it so that she could compare the two. “Yes. However, there is one ingredient that my book lists that the other one does not. An extract from glowcap mushrooms. I was wondering why nobody else grabbed it.”

Sakiri snapped his fingers. “That must be an older formula. The mushroom extract is an additive that needs to be added with precision; keep the mix at the right temperature, and you can enhance the effect of certain potions. They can also ruin them if you're not careful. But it is an optional ingredient, in this instance.”

Neska made a note to see what other potions in Risha's textbook were non-standard.

“Question: Can my water be used for…alchemical purposes?” Syra asked, looking curious.

“It could,” Sakiri mused, finger resting on his chin. “But perhaps not for this mixture. Advanced alchemy involves component substitutions and is challenging, yet rewarding. It is also dangerous.”

Neska glanced at Syra, noting her delighted expression. Maybe there was more they could do without a full alchemist Class. Now, which monsters would be great alchemists?

Hags, maybe. I recall you reading about them, and they can prepare magical substances. That is, if you can look past their hideous looks, or their penchant for throwing nasty hexes that can cause a variety of maladies.

Oh, and eating children.

That's messed up. I wish I didn’t remember reading that part. The cruelty of the hag was bad enough before the Varadur began giving them evolution powers, and now, she could only imagine how dangerous they were.

Shortly thereafter, they began testing their samples. That meant somebody would need to volunteer and take it. Professor Sakiri examined each of them in turn. He pulled aside one or two students where he was uncertain about the effects.

Neska, on the other hand, put her fangs into the beaker once she was sure the liquid was sufficiently cool, and withdrew the material as one would sucking through a straw.

That was a dreadful mistake, as she nearly sprawled out on the floor right then and there. It took a second for her body to absorb the alchemical potency out of the liquid. Worse, she felt her glands itching along the sides of her face, and a numbing sensation under her tongue, where her spitting glands were located.

This ability really needs an upgrade to offset the grossness and possible side effects, she thought internally.

My advice? Boost your Endurance. You’ve been lucky to get as many titles as you have that increased it.

I probably should heed that advice if I want to imbue deadlier materials. This might be an inevitable Attribute investment, considering her plan included absorbing more toxic compounds to make her venom more potent.

The acidic compound that she tried yesterday nearly burned her fangs off. That one had gone better than expected afterwards…until she tried to test it by spitting it.

She needed much stronger glassware and an acid-resistant mat to try that again. On the other hand, it was a great idea against any foe encased in armor, or other things susceptible to acidic attack. She did worry that if she splashed it on herself or spilled it, she might burn a hole clear through herself. Or divines forbid, accidentally swallow it in one of her infusion attempts.

On a test, she put a single drop of the acid onto her scales, with a neutralizer agent on hand. It merely rolled off her palm and onto the table. The liquid dissolved a small chunk of wood before she put on the neutralizing agent. She was impressed at its capacity to chew through the material at a rapid rate, but not her own scales.

This was further proof she was immune to her own venom and its effects. It gave her a rather devious idea of filling a resin or gelatin-type alchemical munition with her venom in solution, then using a concussive blast to turn it into an aerosol for an area of effect, even at close-range. Maybe her arrows would be an effective delivery mechanism, given the shock impact. It could also synergize well with the rooting arrows she had planned.

She got a prompt from Vivi about her successful absorption of the sleeping compound.

Nighty night and sleepy bite.

Niska narrowed her eyes; Vivi was having fun with this. That's not the name of it, and you know it.

Come on, have a little humor. I think you're going to need it by the end of this.

Neska rolled her eyes, with Juni canting her ears in confusion. “I think I need to find an override for my interface, giving cute names to all my abilities,” she said in a low tone.

“So did it work? You nearly passed out from that.”

“Yes.” She still had five charges or ‘doses’ as displayed on her interface. It seemed that the number was constant, regardless of which alchemical solution she imbued into her venom. “Is there anyone in particular that we want to go take a nap? It's technically an alchemical solution and a venom.

“Test it on someone with a geomancy affinity,” Juni proposed.

“I don’t know if that’ll work. Is my venom classified as alchemical, or does it remain classified as a venom?”

Both. It counts as both, for other Ability purposes. I suspect your mouse will be resistant to it.

Neska smiled evilly. “Aren’t you geo-aligned? You would be an ideal candidate. And with high metabolism, the effect would be short-lived.”

Juni folded her arms, giving Neska a stink-eye. “I would very much like to avoid taking an impromptu nap, only to wake up with a giant snake looming over me, thank you. No offense.”

"None taken.” She wondered if she could get anyone to volunteer. “Professor, I was able to absorb a venom extract from this. May we test it?”

The professor grimaced, as if this was not the first time he’d heard a student say ‘I want to try something dangerous.’ “Can you describe this for me again, for safety's sake? Are you able to assimilate chemical compounds into your venoms? Does it still cause harm?”

“No. It completely replaces any venom effect, and I’ve demonstrated it with testing. That allows me to provide utility in varying scenarios. Though some of them taste a bit gross."

“I see. Does it require an injection into the body?”

“No, my spitting venom has a reduced impact with contact, as it is absorbed through the body. Injection in the vein is more direct, however.”

“I will volunteer.” The tranquil-sounding girl she'd seen before was already rolling up her sleeves, and Sakiri held on to a medical kit.

“Sarisse, right?” Neska asked, noting her long hair that draped nearly in front of her eyes.

“Yes, you remember,” she responded deadpan, her face calm. “Can you explain the exact process by which you infuse your venom?”

“It’s an Ability. I know the input and the output, but not the process in between. Trying to figure that out would require a greater understanding of the Interface. But I have been experimenting.” She took a dropper after extracting a little bit of venom into a tube, and the girl outstretched her hand while sitting down.

Much to everyone's surprise, Sarisse remained awake, one thin eyebrow raised as she looked at her arm almost detachedly. “Interesting. It appears my physiology is resistant to it. Perhaps it is part of my alchemist class; it reduces the negative effects of alchemical products. Or perhaps my fey ancestry does."

“Fey do have some resistance to effects such as this,” Neska commented. She found it odd how she was willing to discuss that in front of her peers. Wouldn’t being related to monsters be somewhat taboo?

Neska, have you heard the phrase ‘pot calling the cauldron black’ perchance?

I am quite aware of it, Vivi. Just because I’m not human doesn’t mean I’m detached from humanity.

A fair point. Don’t mind me then. But uh…aren’t you curious about the whole ‘humanoid mixed with technically monsters’ part? I don’t recall you reading anything about that.

Because I haven’t. Only a few sections in Risha’s books even mentioned it. Plus, that might explain Hadley’s slightly longer ears.

You noticed that too? She could be part elf.

I’m not so sure. This is making Brent’s comment about ‘compatibility’ increasingly unsettling.

She cleared her throat as everyone looked on in interest. “Any change? An anesthetic like this should have had an effect.”

“Perhaps it could be aerosolized?” Sarisse suggested.

“Thought of that. Respiratory absorption is an idea, but untested,” Neska mused.

Sarisse smiled thinly. “I am glad my idea is not isolated to just me. Please, a higher dose, with your approval, Professor Sakiri.”

“I’ll allow it. Please, everyone, note that I would not sanction this were this anything even remotely dangerous,” he affirmed, folding his arms and looking more relaxed. “For those of you who do have an Alchemist class, please note that class's baked-in passives will not block beneficial effects. Only negative effects.”

Neska raised a brow at that. “Additional alchemical resistance? That would certainly come in handy.” She wondered if it was an ability she could evolve? It would be ideal to reduce the chance of accidentally hurting herself with some of these infusions, other than adding more Endurance. She had a feeling an evolution dealing with this problem would only become available once she evolved again.

I know there are lots of choices for Third tier. But they are partitioned, greyed out, and unreadable to me. I also don't know what they are until we hit the Tier. Maybe the periodicals on classes and the Awakened will give us an idea what to expect.

A second dose for Sarisse had no effect. A third dose caused her eyes to flutter, and she nearly dozed off, with Sakiri waving his hand.

“Okay, okay, that's enough, Sarisse. That many doses would have knocked someone out completely for a day or even induced respiratory distress.”

Neska noted she had 2 of 5 venom charges in the corner of her interface. Three full doses had been required to bring Sarisse to this level, demonstrating it wasn’t full immunity, but for practical purposes, very useful. “A deep enough sleep could do that, professor?”

“Yes. Debuffs and negative effects come in levels of severity. This is covered in later materials. As an example, weak acids cause burns and chemical damage. Moderate acids will reduce recovery effectiveness–throw a healing potion on it, and it’s delayed, or even outright suppressed. Severe acidic effects can even attack your Endurance Attribute, if temporarily.”

Well, that could be useful. But if I were to use that strong an infusion, it would probably kill me. Sakiri checked the remaining tables before giving them approval to clean up for the day.

“Miss Cassia? Would you like to work with me as part of our class?” Sarisse asked, bowing slightly. “You seem to have a pronounced competency in your craft. Your venom imbuement seems incredibly potent. Perhaps there is more we could learn with more experimentation?”

“I’ll take you up on that,” Neska said, with the two of them tapping their lapels together. “But uh, safety first, yeah?”

“Always.” The remainder of the clean-up was rather uneventful. Neska was proud that her sleeping solution could be imbued, and stranger still, she swore it was stronger than it should be, even with Sarisse’s resistances.

Was her venom amplifying the effects? If so, how much was it amplifying it? She needed to test that out at some point.

“Cassia, a word before you go?” Sakiri asked from his desk. Juni and Syra also stayed behind, with Sakiri smiling faintly. “That was impressive work. All this from a single evolution?”

“A very potent one,” she admitted. “But I can’t imbue just anything. I have to be able to endure it, and some alchemical materials we could create could be dangerous. The strength of the effect may be increased based on the strength of my baseline venom.”

Indeed, her [Venomous Bite] had gone up a skill rank since the beginning of the class. “Fascinating. I was skeptical of Harvine placing you in this class. I must admit my fears were for naught.”

“Perfect. We can take on a few extras, then. I need to make alchemical munitions, starting after the weekend.”

Sakiri paled at those words. “For what?”

“For bombs, obviously. Filled with weaponized venom. Corvin requested any applications of my talents. Now we can add alchemical munitions to the list.”

The professor sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yep. I saw that one coming.”

“All hail the pyro snake,” Juni sang in a chanting tone.