With a little more free time, the days passed like the pages of an interesting book. The weekly team meeting came around again.
With his true appearance in front of the bathroom mirror and his torso exposed, Adryan critically analyzed his body.
Although a few days had passed since the blood moon, and he had already recovered, there was one thing that remained; the cracks had not gone away, they were still there.
After a few seconds, he let out an unfunny laugh.
'I look like a vase that's slowly breaking... Although, maybe it's better to say collapsing?' Adryan narrowed his eyes a little, thinking about what was happening to him.
'Every blood moon, my soul will try to leave my body, and Hunters' Hallow will force it to stay inside, but doing that also causes certain damage to my body... What will happen if the cracks spread until they cover me completely? Will I be a vessel glued together with the most dangerous glue in the world, or will my body explode? How do I stop that? By healing my soul?'
But was it even possible?
If not even the tunic made of the water of the River of Eternal Darkness could heal his soul, then what could?
Given the current state of his soul, would his promotion to Demigod affect anything, or would there be no change?
Once one reaches Sequence 4, their soul and body would undergo a change, making them stronger... Supposedly, that should help a little...
'Sigh... The nights have become much more dangerous for me. The Blood Moon can't be predicted when it will happen, so every night will be russian roulette for me... Is this the way the Divine Whore gets her revenge?' Fumbling around a bit, Adryan took one last look at his face.
Luckily, his beloved worm had 'offered' to keep an eye on him—it was self-imposed, but he wasn't complaining. At least sleeping with someone watching his back made it less worrying.
Nodding, the redhead activated the Faceless mode of Creeping Hunger and changed his appearance to a not interesting black-haired man.
Soon, he would have to feed the glove, but he wasn't too worried about that.
With that done, he left the bathroom while putting on a turtleneck. Grabbing the thick purple robes and putting them on, he left his room.
If he wanted to get to the warehouse on time, he had to leave now, and he left his dear worm waiting for a long time~
The worm in question looked at him with a raised eyebrow. She was wearing green robes with ribbons and a cape hiding her hair.
"I hope that in the time you made me wait you have thought of how you will convince them of this madness." She said, slightly exasperated.
Adryan smiled mysteriously and gallantly extended his hand to the woman, "Don't worry dear, I'm sure they'll accept."
Flora just rolled her eyes and took the man's hand. The next moment, the shadows covered them, and they both disappeared from the room.
On the sofa in the living room, Harvey Wayne and Abigail Rodes were playing cards...
Artiros Street, Warehouse 7...
"Sorry about the delay." Adryan, with his black hair and uninteresting face, laughed a little as he stepped out of nowhere, holding Flora's hand.
He looked around and greeted those present.
He could see Opera chatting with Sasha and Serena in their usual places. Ademisaul was standing next to them, and Jerry was watching everything from her sofa.
Xio and Fors were chatting to each other on the larger sofa. The writer sunk among the cushions while the sheriff maintained her elegance.
Surprisingly, Charlotte was talking to Sharron and Maric, showing them a basket from which several golden, dark, blood-colored charms protruded.
The woman with the pale expression turned her attention from the basket to them.
"Welcome." Wraith Sharron greeted with a slight nod, her eyes taking on a certain sparkle at the sight of them together.
Flora calmly released his hand, and her eyes focused on the young man with blue eyes next to Sasha.
Adryan also saw this figure and walked over to him with a big smile, "Nathan! Long time no see, my second favorite clown. How have you been?"
'Second? Is there another one?' Controlling his expression, the blue-eyed man smiled slightly at his boss, not recognizing him anymore but not finding it strange.
He had already met people capable of changing faces, so the fact that the man could do it now came as no surprise.
"It's good to see you again, boss; I'm glad you're well."
Smiling amusedly at the ever-respectful man, Adryan patted his shoulder with complicity and looked at the rest of the room's occupants.
"Well, I know you've already introduced yourselves a little, but let me repeat: This gentleman next to me is one of the first people I recruited, so treat him with love, eh?" Joking a little, he said, "This is our friendly clown, Nathan Ram."
Again, controlling the beating of his brow was something he hadn't missed to do. Nathan looked at those present, those he already knew, and those he didn't.
Placing a hand on his chest, he slightly bowed, "It's a pleasure to meet you all."
With one introduced, Adryan patted his shoulder a couple of times and walked over to his beloved worm, who, as always, looked at everything with disinterest.
Disinterest that quickly sharpened when she saw him arrive, and already knowing what he wanted to do, she changed the deck.
Raising one hand slightly, she began to speak calmly
"Although most of you already know me, a few still don't...
"I'm Flora Jacob, the Prometheus from Sequence 6."
Having met her before, Sharron and Maric only gave a weak nod in return. On the other hand, Opera and Jerry greeted her with more enthusiasm.
'Another Sequence 6...' Nathan couldn't help but swallow.
There were a lot of strong people here...
Sasha frowned slightly. Wanting to confirm her suspicions about the last few days, she quickly asked her question: "Miss Flora, there was one thing I forgot to ask you the last time we met.
"Weren't you little Hazel's former teacher?"
Restraining the urge to click her tongue, Flora sighed slightly, "I was for a while, but that's the Princess' responsibility now."
"Ah, no wonder your name sounded familiar..." Sasha murmured slightly before laughing cheerfully.
"Hazel talked about you a lot. She said you taught her almost everything she knows about mysticism, her path, and the world.
Having attended each of those talks more like a spectator watching an opera, Flora pretended not to know anything and closed her eyes.
"It wasn't a problem," she said, uninterested.
As the conversation continued, Adryan turned and looked at the fish lying on the sofa."Miss Writer, how was your Friday?"
Understanding what he meant, Fors nodded a little nervously, "Very well, nothing happened."
Xio looked at her best friend out of the corner of her eye and could only shake her head as she sighed with a bit of exasperation.
The blood moon had come out of nowhere, and since there wasn't a full moon soon, they had been caught by surprise when it happened.
Fortunately, Fors was already used to this, and after the initial panic, she prayed to The Fool and fell into a sleep-like state where the effects of the moon no longer affected her.
Having already accompanied the woman in several of these episodes, Xio only limited herself to caring for her until the Blood Moon passed.
"Will it be like this all her life?" Xio asked calmly, but there was a certain regret in her voice.
"There's still a long way to go before this curse is lifted," Adryan sighed a little and patted the writer on the head without looking at her, "All she has to do now is focus on digesting her potion and advancing to Demigod as soon as possible."
'I'm not a cat...' Fors pressed her lips together, but as always when this happened, she did nothing about it.
Instead, she focused on the last part of his words, 'The curse will be lifted in the future?'
If she had heard this earlier this year, she was sure she would have go to celebrate by drinking and eating anything in the house. But now that she was receiving the help of a Mysterius Existence like The Fool the interest and emotion was less.
"And how are you two, Miss Casper? Mr. Zombie?" Completely ignoring the woman's obvious pout, Adryan focused on the gothic duo.
'They look good... The Temperance Faction is to be applauded...' he narrowed his eyes slightly.
The word 'good' was more like 'fine'.
He could tell that Sharron was paler than usual, much paler.Almost to the point where her body was slightly transparent.
Maric hadn't changed much, but his gaze had more malice than before, contained by an experienced will.
"We'll be fine... I'll just be weak for a few days, and I'll be back to normal..." the pale wraith murmured, her voice a spectral whisper.
The dark-haired man nodded solemnly."I'm still looking for the artifact to help with the effects of the Blood Moon. As soon as I have it, I'll give it to you."
The gothic duo just nodded in acknowledgment, saying nothing more.
"So this is the curse of the beyonders of the prisoner's path..." Sasha looked at this curiously, then nodded slightly.
From the lessons she received from her boss and her short experience as an official Beyonder, she knew a little about the peculiarity of those who took that path.
Adryan didn't delve into it; it was unnecessary. He looked at Serena, who smiled and offered a slight nod without removing her hands from her lap.
She had changed her dress a little. Her clothes now consisted of dark reds and blacks, although from the first time he had seen her, she had always dressed modestly; now, her robes were a little looser and included a hood.
If asked, Adryan would say she looked like an ancient monastery monk. Of course, her clothes weren't as baggy, but he couldn't help thinking that.
'She is embracing the lessons that the "Monarch" is giving her...' Adryan smiled to himself.
Although one of his soldiers was the one answering Serena's prayers, he could still hear them. She had been praying a lot and the information she was receiving was quite rich, so it shouldn't take long for her potion to be digested.
'Tomorrow I have to get Little Sun to get me the remains of a Forsaken... I'll also have to attend Miss L's party to ask for her blood, but that can wait...'
And now that he was thinking about potion materials... He couldn't help but think about his own promotion.
Looking at everyone present, one by one, Adryan felt proud of himself.
Including Vivian on the team, even though she was still on probation, he already had 14 members.
'I should also be able to count the Tarot Club. Not only am I giving the formulas to all of them, but I'm helping them as much as possible... With them, it would be 18...'
He was only 12 members short of completing all the requirements for his Iron-blooded Knight ritual!
His gaze fell on his beloved worm, who was chatting a little with little Jerry.
'If I have a demigod on my team, will that count as a plus? Well... their status is suppressed, so I don't even know if that would count... Will the soldiers I take out of the Closet for the ritual count? Technically, I give them life with my spirituality, the amount I pour being how strong they will be, so it's possible... If so, the missing members could be the soldiers, although how strong I can make them without risking my promotion requires experimenting, and how many can I get out after I advance to Reaper...' Adryan let his mind dance curiously before rolling his shoulders.
Honestly, he wasn't worried about the missing 12. They would come naturally, just as the others had come.
Sighing internally and putting those thoughts aside, Adryan spoke, looking at everyone present;
"How are you doing with the digestion of your potions? Depending on how close you are, I will gather the ingredients or look for the formula for your promotions.
"Jerry and Ademisaul don't count." Quickly adding, he looked expressionless as the girl pouted and the boy looked at the floor disappointedly.
Laughing a little at the reaction of the little ones, Sasha raised a hand, "Not much change from last time, boss; my potion is close to being digested. I should be ready by mid-October."
Nathan, who had raised a hand, looked at his partner in surprise and muttered dazedly, "That fast? I'm barely halfway through..."
The giant turned and looked at him with even more disbelief;
"Two months in the circus, and you only digested half of it?! What were you doing?!"
At this point, his control over his face began to fail, and with trembling lips, Nathan defended himself, "I-I haven't found my acting rules yet, okay! It's not as easy as it sounds!"
Taking advantage of the distraction they had caused, Fors looked at her friend next to her, "How's your potion going? I'm still only halfway through..."
"I'm halfway, too," Xio replied with her arms crossed.
Fors froze; she leaned towards the blonde and whispered in disbelief, "But you barely advanced a month ago?! How did you do it?"
An eyebrow rose, and the Sheriff said matter-of-factly, "By trying hard to act, of course. You should try it."
Boom!
The Trickmaster felt as if one of her trick bombs had exploded in her stomach, her eyes glistening with pain, she muttered, "Not you too... I'm doing my best, you know!"
First, that lunatic, now her soul sister? Betrayal!
Xio closed her eyes, "I don't know what to tell you then."
"Hmmmmm. It's not fair...' Fors pouted.
Rolling her eyes slightly under her eyelids, Xio did not even open her eyes and gently tapped the writer on the forehead with her finger.
"Ouch."
Not giving her time to complain, the shorter woman opened her eyes;
"Don't be a child. It's possible that it's because of the acting in advance that Kenway told us before. I was always acting like a Sheriff in East Borough, so that must be why I'm digesting the potion faster than you."
"Oh, so that's what it was..." the Trickmaster muttered with a frown before snorting indignantly, "It's not fair."
Observing the interaction between the two expressionlessly, Flora looked at her partner on the other side of the room and moved her lips in a secret message.
"Are you sure they're not gay?" Her lips said.
"Pff-"
Not expecting the message, Adryan covered his mouth tightly, trembling slightly from the laughter that wanted to escape.
Not wanting to explode, he quickly spoke, "Let me know when you're close to digesting it, Miss. Remember that I have the ingredients for your next potion."
Narrowing her eyes at the suspicious attitude, Xio only nodded, 'I will."
"I still have a long way to go before I digest my potion, Adryan,' Opera entered the conversation with a somewhat disappointed tone.
"Don't worry. We're all different; you don't have to feel bad about what you lack. Opportunities to act as a Planter are not very easy to find," the dark-haired man shrugged.
Of all the Paths in this room, he was sure that Opera's was the second least likely to give opportunities to act.
The first one, obviously, is that of Maric and Sharron.
With that thought, he turned to look at the young man with purple eyes.
"What about you, Charlotte? You're a little quiet."
The second youngest man in the group sighed slightly. "I'm fine, Boss, but it's going a little slower than I'd like. Despite the help Miss Sasha is giving me, I still have a long way to go."
The core of the Melee Scholar was the study of anything related to melee with a certain degree of depth. It was not just about the correct movement but also about the reason for it and the philosophy behind it.
To digest the potion, Pugilist Sasha was helping him, but the process was naturally slow.
"Same as Opera, don't worry too much about it."
That said, Adryan looked at Serena, who smiled happily.
"I'm already on the verge of completely digesting my potion, Mr. Kenway! I'm sure I'll be ready to advance by the end of this week or the next."
"Miss Serena, are you already a Beyonder? What pathway?" Jerry looked the woman up and down, curiosity shining in her gray eyes.
She had noticed that she was happier than usual, but she didn't think that was why.
The older woman smiled a little, clasping her hands under her stomach and interlocking her fingers; she closed her eyes and said peacefully, "I'm sorry, but that's a secret~"
The little one tilted her head to one side.
"Jerry, don't bother Serena. No one is obliged to say which pathway they are." Adryan sighed, "Come here, you too, Ademisaul."
"Why?" Jerry asked with a little smile as Ademisaul was already moving.
Adryan looked at her flatly, "Don't make me go for you."
"Yes, sir."
...
Bowing their heads, the girl and the boy stood before the man, both looking up at him.
Ignoring the cute sight, the dark-haired man said with one hand on his hip, "Who will go first? Choose quickly."
"Me!" Jumping with excitement, Jerry raised her hand and waved it happily.
Ademisaul opened his mouth a second too late and could only sigh.
"You'll have better luck next time." Adryan patted the young man on the head, who closed his eyes.
At this, Jerry's pout returned.
'Children.' Rolling his eyes in amusement, he took his hand away from the boy's head and calmly walked to the free table at the back of the room.
The little Spectator followed him closely, already knowing what was coming.
Taking various ingredients from his robe, Adryan prepared the sacrificial ritual to pray to the Scarlet Monarch...
'So the Boss really is the follower of a Hidden God...' Nathan watched what the man was doing with slightly pursed lips.
Even though Sasha had already told him this and there was no problem, he couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable...
Noticing his discomfort, the giant only laughed a little and wrapped an arm around the Clown's shoulder.
...
Grabbing the ingredients for the Telepathist potion and putting away the Robot ingredients, Adryan watched as the little girl prepared her potion...
Although excited about advancing to Sequence 8, Jerry did not let her emotions affect her actions. Having let her emotions take control had almost caused her to die in East Borough many times, so she knew how to control herself.
Calmly, she first put together the secondary ingredients for the Telepathist potion.
The 100 ml of purified water went in first. Followed by the 5 grams of Chestnut Spore, 8 grams of Dragon Tooth Grass Powder, and the 3 Pure White Elf Flowers petals.
Once those were poured in, the main ingredients were added: the complete pituitary gland of the rainbow salamander and 10 milliliters of the spinal fluid of a Farsman Rabbit.
Before she knew it, all the ingredients had melted. Only a bluish-black liquid remained in the bowl, with glimmers that seemed to shine from the depths of its heart.
Without changing her expression, she turned and looked expectantly at her boss.
Taking his trusty mirror from his clothes and performing a short divination even though he already knew the result, Adryan nodded to the girl.
"Good work.
"When you're ready, you can drink it."
Restraining the corners of her lips from rising, Jerry returned her attention to the potion.
Closing her eyes, she went into Cogitation to be in the best possible state to drink it.
Twenty seconds later, she opened them and filled one of the two cups that were there. She didn't hesitate and raised it to her lips.
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
Keeping his thoughts to himself and having already experienced the ravings once, Jerry focused on waiting...
After a few minutes, the girl opened her eyes. Slowly, the corners of her lips rose, and her crystalline gray eyes looked at her hero.
"I am a Telepathist now."
Adryan nodded and patted her head in praise, "Yes, you are. Now go and sit down to deal with the overflowing spirituality; once Ademisaul advances, I have an announcement to everyone."
With her new eyes and improved sight, Jerry saw many things. Now, she could read the superficial thoughts of others and, to a certain degree, simulate the trajectory of such thoughts.
Thanks to these enhancements, she could see that the man was excited about whatever he was about to say.
'This will be fun.' Laughing innocently, she nodded and ran over to Opera's side, who greeted her with a smile.
Monster Ademisaul approached the man, his black eyes looking at the materials where the ingredients for his potion were.
Adryan had taken them out this morning to let them breathe, so he wasn't worried that the City of Calamities' aura would affect them. Since the boy showed no reaction, everything worked as it should.
With that said, he grabbed the ingredients for the Robot potion.
The formula quickly passed through his mind...
Main Ingredients: Southern Varano's brains and 15 ml of Oiled Rusk's venom.
Supplementary Ingredients: 50 milliliters of purified water, 10 grams of oxidized iron, 10 drops of old oil, 3 grams of sulfur powder, and three seeds of the Bitter Apple.
Adryan grabbed another clean cup with the revised formula and placed it on the table.
"Although you saw how Jerry made the potion, you haven't yet received the proper lesson for that, so this time, I will prepare your potion and show you how it's done.
"If you have any questions, ask. This is the time for that. Understood?"
"Yes." Ademisaul nodded deeply. His eyes did not move from what he was doing.
Taking his time so that the boy would not get lost, Adryan explained the correct way to make a potion and how to tell if it was right, although, in the boy's case, he explained that it was better for him to be guided by his intuition for that.
Once the class was over, he poured all the contents into the last clean cup.
The Robot's potion was a metallic copper. Its texture and appearance resembled a high-quality engine oil.
"Well?" He held out the cup to the young man.
Ademisual's eyes did not leave the cup and darkened a little.
Listening to his intuition, he took it from his hands, "It's okay..."
Closing his eyes, Ademisaul raised it and began to take long sips.
Gulp... gulp...
...
With the boy's promotion over and with him sitting next to Jerry, both eating a chocolate cookie that Opera had given them, Adryan stood up in front of everyone.
But, before he could say anything, the Planter stopped him and went to Charlotte's office.
After a moment, she returned carrying a large cake with several lit candles.
Clap Clap Clap
"Happy Birthday to you..." Opera began to sing with a smile, followed by everyone else as they began to clap.
'Oh, Monarch...' With a blush quickly forming on his cheeks, Adryan could only stand there, frozen.
If there was one thing he didn't know how to deal with, it was being sung to!
"Happy Birthday to you!" Flora joined in, too, with an extremely pleased smile and shining eyes.
Her hands even seemed to collide with the same mischief as she clapped.
'Not you too!'
Oh, he knew that now she knew that he didn't like this!
'Please let it end already!!!'
Stopping before him, Opera smiled and held the cake toward his face.
From what he could smell, it was chocolate. In the center, it said "Happy Birthday" in big red letters. Twenty-three candles surrounded it.
"Sorry, boss, We didn't know how old you were, so we put on the ones we thought were right." She apologized a little sheepishly.
"I said you were 25!" Sasha raised a hand.
Faced with the situation's ridiculousness and still feeling extremely embarrassed, Adryan couldn't help but laugh a little.
"I'm 21. Hey, you guys got it close, at least." He joked, looking at the cake.
"Thank you, really," he smiled warmly.
"You guys didn't have to do this. You know that, right?"
"You've helped us a lot and even saved our lives, some of us several times. It's the least we could do." Opera smiled back.
"Go on, make a wish, boss." Nathan clapped
"You guys, seriously..." Closing his eyes and shaking his head, the redhead sighed with false exasperation and grabbed his left glove.
"Well, if I have to make a wish, I'd better do it with my face, right?" With that, he took off Creeping Hunger.
After a short transformation and growing a few centimeters, the red-haired Adryan Kenway stood before everyone.
Letting his hair down, he bent down a little and blew. All the candles went out.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Laughing a little more, Adryan shook his head, amused, "That was stupid, but I really appreciate the gesture.
"Thank you very much, seriously."
"We're glad to hear that." He reached under the cake and smiled, "Would you like a piece?"
"Do you really need to ask?"
...
With a small plate and fork in hand, Adryan crossed one leg from his chair and began to eat.
"I knew you made cookies, but I wasn't aware that you also baked. When did you learn that?"
The chocolate cake tasted great, this couldn't be learned overnight.
"During my time at the Earth Mother Church, the Father taught me several recipes for cooking. This cake is one of them, along with the cookies I usually make." Opera remembered those days fondly.
Although he looked terrifying, it was only on the outside. Father Utravsky was very kind.
"Many of the world's most famous bakeries are believers of the Earth Mother," Flora remarked as she ate her cake sitting next to him, "How come you don't know that?"
The redhead shrugged, taking another piece to his mouth, "I didn't get out of the orphanage much. Besides, I've always been more into the occult."
"You're weird,"
"Thanks."
"Kenway, although I know we're having a good time chatting," Xio joined the conversation, her own plate in hand, "What was that you wanted to say before?"
It had been a month since her crazy friend had given an announcement. If he had one now, it couldn't be good or simple. With that in mind, she refused to let it pass like that.
"Oh, right. Well, once they started singing, I didn't want to ruin the atmosphere, so I decided to wait a while." Adryan looked at his fork and cake with interest, "But now that we're quiet, it's a good time..."
Sigh. Flora shook her head. Eating her cake in silence.
Looking at everyone present, the redhead smiled happily.
"I hope you enjoyed your month off. Because soon we're going to hunt a demigod."