Chapter 36- To Fight A Monster...

Arthur looked down at the vials arrayed before him and quickly used Identify one last time. If he was going to go through with this, he needed to properly understand the effects these liquids would have on him.

Stimulant of Speed (Common) - Raises agility by 25% when ingested for a 3-hour duration. Can only be used whilst below level 95. May cause stomach cramps if the host has low vitality.

Stimulant of Vitality (common)- Raises vitality by 25% when ingested for a 3-hour duration. Can only be used whilst below level 95. May cause Irritable Bowel Syndrome, gas and bloating.

Stimulant of Constitution (Uncommon) - Raises constitution by 60% when ingested for a 4-hour duration. Can only be used whilst below level 105. Will cause extreme tiredness after its effects wear off and reduce health regeneration by 50% for 12 hours.

It looked like the side effects were pretty manageable if annoying. Sure IBS would be a punch in the gut, but it would be no worse than a chipotle food spree.

Hopefully.

The stimulant of constitution was a little more worrying. A 50% decrease in health regeneration would leave him vulnerable and it was for no short period of time either. Following a deadly fight that would surely see him injured meant that it went from a mere annoyance to potentially life-threatening. It meant placing his trust in Mira.

Fuck it, she already knows so much about me. I need to stop being so paranoid and loosen up a bit.

Just as Arthur settled on a course of action, a system prompt suddenly appeared in front of his vision. It wasn't in the usual blue, instead a scrawl of read text that flashed for his attention. Arthur quickly read through it, apprehension clawing at his gut.

He couldn't help but laugh.

Automated System prompt

Identify has been used to analyse unknown drugs rated class C. Ingestion of these substances is ill-advised unless host possesses a firm understanding of identified stimulants.

Warning: The sale of these substances without a license will immediately result in a tier 0 offence. You have been warned.

"Hey, hey. Why are you laughing so much?" Mira indignantly asked, poking him on the arm.

Her confused expression just made him laugh harder.

"The system just told me to avoid drugs, darling." Arthur chuckled, wiping at his eyes.

It wasn't really all that funny, but the tense situation made the bad joke hilarious. Mira. A drug-dealer? Fuck, now I can't get the image out of my head. The woman in question was looking at him in annoyed amusement, trying and failing to battle the smirk on her face.

Arthur breathed deeply, centring himself. He’d decided to start with the stimulant of vitality, hoping the increase it would give him in the stat would help him deal with the side effects the others would cause.

Contrary to what he had expected, it didn't taste disgusting. In fact, it was actually quite nice, an apple-flavoured sour drink that was a little acidic. The surprise must have shown on his face and Mira smirked in amusement.

“Of course, I use artificial flavourings. Do you think I’m a savage or something? It'd taste like literal shit otherwise and I don't hate you that much.”

Arthur was once again surprised that Mira was being so accommodating. Unless it actually tasted so bad that the extra ingredients were a necessary addition.

Wasting no time, he quickly downed the other two potions and waited to see if anything would happen. When nothing did, he turned around and looked inquisitively at Mira, an eyebrow raised in question.

“Don't worry, It’ll take some time,” she sighed in exasperation.

Nothing seemed to be happening though, and even Mira was starting to worry that her creations were defective when all of a sudden, the temperature in the car shot downwards. The small shadows present within the vehicle appeared to be growing longer and she was suddenly unable to draw breath. The air itself felt thicker, like liquid fear that seeped into her very bones.

“What the fuck is going on!” She managed to groan, her voice sounding strange and distorted in her own ears.

Just as soon as the pressure had arrived; it left, but Mira turned around wearily to look at the source of the earlier disturbance.

He really wasn't human, was he? Did he even know or had he lied to her? The man in question looked no different, still the same handsome man, hair a little too long falling over his forehead. He looked normal.

He was anything but.

Arthur seemed to be exerting a sort of quiet pressure on his surroundings now as if his existence itself was more real and defined than anything around him.

Arthur placed a hand on his chest feeling the powerful beat of his heart. It felt like a drum in his chest, an engine pumping energy through his body like he was running on high-octane fuel instead of oxygen.

He felt strong like he could take on everything in the world, an illusion he knew was generated due to his sudden spike in power but still couldn’t ignore.

He felt ready.

“Let's go. I don't think the effects will last anywhere near as long as the description stated.''

Mira just nodded her head dumbly, unsure of what to say.

She began to drive.

~Long-claw-sharp-tooth~

The lizard approached the meat resting outside its cave and sniffed it. It smelt strange, but Long-claw-sharp-tooth, as he had been aptly named by his prey, was not one to turn away a free meal.

Weeks of going hungry in the before had taught him that his pride was nothing in the face of starvation.

Still, looking at the tiny morsel, he thought that the free meal could have at least been a little bigger. Maybe that's how free meals always were. He wouldn't know any better. This was the first time he had received one after all.

In one quick bite, he gobbled it all up.

~Arthur Ward~

Arthur watched the lizard, his eyes wide open in revulsion as it started writhing around on the ground, its leathery skin cracking in places, leaking streams of foul-smelling blood and pus all over the place. Its skin rapidly dried and flaked off, its claws pushed out of their rightful place, as they were replaced by sharper daggers that seemed to almost radiate a sense of danger.

The monster roared in agony, as its bones began to rapidly grow. It was a sickening sight and Arthur couldn't keep watching anymore. He turned to look at Mira, who looked almost bloodless with how pale her skin had become at the grotesque scene that played out before her.

She’d already vomited the contents of her stomach onto the grass beside her, but it looked like her body wasn’t done with regurgitating food.

Only when three eternally long minutes had finally passed and the sounds of rapid evolution were silent, did Arthur look back at the lizard.

He didn't recognise the monster in front of him.

It had completely changed, now standing on two feet instead of its previous four. The monster clenched and unclenched its new hands and looked at the intruders that had encroached on its territory with its now enhanced visual prowess. Arthur felt something inside him wake up, and despite his internal screaming, he began to walk forwards.

The former lizard bared its teeth and growled,  preparing to crush the prey that had come before it. But something was wrong. The strange two-legged creature wasn't trembling in fear as it had expected.

No, the creature was walking towards him, each stride confident and calm.

When it stepped into range, the lizard could feel the aura the beast released, weaker than its own but no less potent. It seemed like a challenger had come for its territory, as many had before.

As the prey, no predator approached, the lizard prepared itself to fight.