Chapter 172 - 172: Fixed and Evolved
Fixed and Evolved
The group watched as Osho put on his lab equipment. The enchanted lab coat, gloves, and face mask fell on him, and it was as though his entire demeanor changed to resemble that of an experienced researcher.
The others had found some desks to sit quietly as Osho explicitly told them not to disturb him during the process, and to be honest, he only let them watch because they pestered him to do so.
Even then, they couldn't approach him during the process, and Gale had stayed with them to ensure such they didn't accidentally cause a disturbance.
Osho stared at the egg in his hands for a moment. It was around the size of an ostrich egg, and the surface was very reflective, almost like a mirror, which made the Affinity easy enough to guess.
Osho observed it, and unsurprisingly, the ribbons that only he could see were also covered in stress fractures.
He gently set the egg down on one of the many work tables as he started to document his findings again, and from the corner, the group watched as he engrossed himself in his work.
"I've never seen him like this," Sam mumbled. As for why she spoke? Kurt had summoned Clyde and had the fox create a sound isolation barrier, so they could freely converse without disturbing him.
Bedrock was also there, happily munching on a piece of grey rock, which stunned the group. Something that got even worse when they saw the same grey rock starting to grow across his skin, acting like an additional layer of armor. But they thought about it and realized that they shouldn't be too surprised. If Gale has an entire personal domain, then Bedrock should have his own broken skill. It was only fair.
"Indeed. Even after we figured out his ability, I don't think I've ever seen him so... professional before." Irene concurred, watching with interest as Osho took notes on the tablet next to him.
"I've seen him sort of like this whenever he did practical exercises back in Bright Spark Academy, but I see what you mean, it's like watching a movie where some prodigious scientist does stuff no one can understand. The only thing is that Osho isn't acting." Ellie said with some pride.
They watched as Osho moved around the lab with purpose, his steps confident as he moved throughout the lab, collecting specific items none of his friends recognized, but regardless, they watched with interest as he did his thing.
Soon enough, he had gathered a plethora of different materials, and he carried the egg to a nearby tub where he began his work. He filled the tub with water.
They didn't understand what he was doing, or how he knew how much of what to add as he worked, with the tub gradually becoming murkier as he added more and more stuff to it, the egg soon becoming obscured in the water.
When this happened, Osho added the last thing, which was a small vial of clear powder.
As soon as it made contact with the water, it was like it had been flash frozen as all the water solidified within the tub.
Everyone watched with wide eyes as Osho stood there for half a minute, then he got a pair of large hooks and dug them into the 'ice' before pulling it out with the encased egg.
He set it on the table, and as soon as he did, he created a bubble of wind around it, and shortly after, the 'ice' exploded violently, its fragments shooting into the bubble and falling to the ground harmlessly.
The egg looked exactly the same without a scratch, making them wonder what Osho had done or if it had any effect, but without wasting any time, Osho began the next step of the process. Actually evolving the egg.
Osho set the now-dried egg carefully back onto the worktable and straightened up, rolling his shoulders before glancing at the floating ribbons only he could see.
"Alright," he murmured under his breath, then turned on his heel and began walking toward the far side of the lab.
The others exchanged confused glances.
"What's he doing now?" Mike whispered.
"Collecting ingredients, for the actual evolution, I'm assuming." Ellie said knowingly, though her voice was tentative.
Kurt blinked. "Ingredients for the evolution? He just did a ritual-looking ice thing, though."
Ellie shrugged. "I'm pretty sure that was just for fixing the 'issue' with the eggs, I don't think he can do both at the same time.
Osho naturally removed them from his mind, moving with deliberate, almost predatory steps as he followed the translucent ribbons only visible to him. Each ribbon shimmered faintly, bending and curling toward something within the lab's countless shelves, storage lockers, and suspended containers.
The first ribbon led him to a small, square case sitting by itself on a higher shelf. He reached up, pulled it down, and revealed a prism-shaped crystal that caught the light and split it into rainbow fragments across the room. He inspected. Osho squinted at it briefly before nodding and taking it to the table where the egg sat.
"Prismatic Core…" Osho murmured, jotting it down on his tablet with his free hand.
"Prismatic Core?" Irene repeated curiously under her breath, earning a shrug from Sam.
The next ribbon tugged him across the lab toward a set of long drawers. He opened them one by one until he found what he was looking for. Thin, metallic sheets so polished they were almost blindingly reflective. Each one gleamed like liquid silver.
He pulled three of them out carefully and took them to the table.
"That stuff is Mirror Alloy," Ellie whispered as though she'd just recognized it. "Hyper-conductive and stupid expensive. They use it in high-tier spell arrays because it reflects and refracts mana with almost no loss."
"Expensive?" Lurt asked, looking at the sheets with renewed respect.
Ellie nodded. "Yeah, like, don't-touch-it-if-you-can't-pay-for-it expensive."
"Of course you know about it." Sam jabbed, and Ellie just rolled her eyes.
Osho either didn't hear her or didn't care as he moved to the next ribbon. It directed him toward a sealed cabinet. He pressed his palm against the biometric scanner, and the door hissed open with a rush of cool, sterile air. Inside were rows of delicate vials, each containing different powdered substances.
The ribbon pointed toward one that shimmered faintly like ground glass under moonlight. He plucked it out and put it into his breast pocket before carefully resealing the cabinet.
Sam leaned closer, squinting. "That… almost looks like powdered obsidian."
"Moon Obsidian," Ellie corrected. "It's a really rare reagent. Enhances clarity and Mana absorption. It's used in high-level Mana potions a lot."
"And expensive?" Kurt asked.
"Yup."
"Thought so."
Osho kept moving, following each ribbon without hesitation. One directed him to a bin of reflective liquid stored in small bials. Another led him to a set of needles tipped with tiny shards of pure crystal. He collected them all with the same keen precision, his tablet automatically logging and cross-referencing every selection.
When he finally circled back to the table, the containment orb was nearly full of assorted glinting materials. There were powders, crystals, metal sheets, and even a small cluster of hollow, polished beads that seemed to hum faintly.
"Okay… that's a lot of shiny stuff," Irene said quietly.
"I'm assuming that's the point. Mirrors are refkectuve, after all." Kurt said, though she sounded just as awed as the others.
Osho rolled his sleeves up and exhaled once, focusing. With all the materials gathered, his ability was already feeding him the necessary information he needed to cplete the process.
"Let's get started."
He first laid out the Mirror Alloy sheets, arranging them into a triangular formation around the egg. Then he placed the prismatic crystal above it, suspending it with a thin lattice of wind mana so that light from the lab refracted directly over the shell.
The powders came next. He poured the Moon Obsidian into a shallow bowl of water and stirred it until the entire solution shimmered darkly. Then, with calm precision, he flicked droplets onto the egg's surface, each one glinting faintly before sinking into the shell.
The air grew still. Even through Clyde's sound barrier, the group stopped talking, all eyes fixed on Osho as the atmosphere grew heavier.
The final step was the liquid. Osho unsealed the vial of reflective solution and let a single drop fall onto the center of the egg. The moment it touched, the entire setup lit up with a sudden flash, and the lab's overhead lights dimmed as though all illumination had been pulled toward the egg.
The Mirror Alloy sheets vibrated, their surfaces glowing with faint lines of mana as they resonated with the energy being drawn into the process. The prismatic crystal above refracted the light again, scattering it across the room in dozens of rainbow-colored beams.
"Whoa…" Kurt breathed, unable to stop himself.
Inside the egg, something stirred. The mirror-like surface shimmered and warped as though it were suddenly liquid. For an instant, the group could swear they saw their own reflections looking back at them, except slightly… wrong. Not threatening, but uncanny, as if whatever was inside the egg was studying them in return.
Osho didn't flinch. He simply pressed his palm against the shell and channeled a steady flow of mana into it. The reflective surface rippled once more before settling, the glow gradually fading until the egg returned to its normal state.
Then, with a small sigh, Osho withdrew his hand and stepped back.
"Finally done." Osho mumbled as he immediately deactivated his ability, a killer headache immediately striking him.
He turned to the group and beckoned them over, to which they swiftly obeyed as Clyde dispersed his barrier.
"It's over?" Ellie asked and grabbed the egg with Osho's permission.
"Yeah." He nodded as he massaged his temples. "You can hatch it if you want." He said simply.
Bedrock chittered approvingly as he finished his latest snack, apparently impressed by the procedure, while Gale let out a sharp, almost proud screech as if to say 'As expected."
"I'm sure some prominent scientists would pay an arm and a leg to watch this procedure. You make it seem so simple." She said as she held the egg with fascination written all over her face.
"It's not easy," Osho replied evenly, his gaze still on the egg. "But I don't need to do it again if I do it right."
The others exchanged glances, then fell silent, respecting the weight of the moment as Osho finally relaxed and set his equipment aside.