Five Changes

Upon waking in the gray fog, Lumian's first instinct was not to check his physical condition, but to sit bolt upright and look toward the desk by the window. The three red chestnut flowers and the glass bottle containing white poplar leaf powder rested quietly there, catching the faint light that filtered through the thick fog high above. "She really did send the supplementary ingredients in..." Lumian breathed a sigh of relief, rolled out of bed, and began stretching his body. To his delight, he found that the pain in his neck and back had completely vanished, as had the discomfort inside his body. *As expected, once I recovered in reality, the dream followed suit, even if the injuries on both sides weren't equivalent at all...* Lumian strode over to the wardrobe with its full-length mirror, stripped off his shirt, and thoroughly inspected himself. The five bloody finger marks, the swollen dark bruises, and the scattered contusions were all gone without a trace. This made Lumian wonder whether hunting and killing the Beyonder monster last night had merely been a dream. Fortunately, the crimson mass inside the cloth bag, the handful of extra copper coins, and the hunting rifle resting nearby all attested to the reality of the experience. With his mind at ease, Lumian took the cloth bag containing the crimson mass, pocketed a large amount of coins, left the bedroom, and headed straight downstairs to the ground floor. He retrieved a bottle of red wine, found a beer mug, and returned with a jar of basil. Naturally, he did not forget to bring along the graduated cylinder, small balance scale, and other educational instruments his sister Aurore had bought while tutoring him. Looking at the desk crowded with items, he felt a wave of excitement, tinged with an irrepressible prickle of nerves. Everything was ready. All that remained was concocting the potion! Yet a potion was no beverage; it was far more dangerous than alcohol. The slightest mistake could lead to death or monstrous mutation. Lumian drew a breath, exhaled slowly, and used the graduated cylinder to pour eighty milliliters of red wine into the beer mug. In succession, he added ten grams of basil, five grams of white poplar leaf powder, and one red chestnut flower. Nothing unusual occurred throughout the process. Compared to before, the red liquid in the mug merely had a bit of dregs and a floating flower. Next, Lumian picked up the cloth bag beside him and watched intently as the crimson mass slid into the mug. Silently, the crimson mass seemed to dissolve rapidly, yet it also appeared as though all the surrounding liquid had been drawn into its body. Bubbles gurgled up, staining the entire mug a bloody crimson. Without him realizing it, the red chestnut flower had already melted away. "Is this the 'Hunter' potion?" Lumian swallowed hard and lifted the beer mug. The supernatural power he had striven for was right before his eyes. Without hesitation, Lumian adjusted his breathing, calmed his emotions, tilted his head back slightly, and drank the potion straight down. *Gulp, gulp, gulp.* A pungent stench of blood seemed to invade his nostrils, accompanied by faint auditory hallucinations buzzing in his ears. The moment he finished the potion and set the mug down, a sharp pain struck him—a stabbing pain radiating from every part of his body. It was so intense that Lumian wondered if he had swallowed a ball of fire that was now incinerating his esophagus, stomach, heart, lungs, small intestine, large intestine, and every blood vessel. At the same time, a heavy taste of rust spread outward from his throat. Remembering the lady's words, he fought with everything he had to maintain his focus and keep from blacking out, as passing out would likely mean being overpowered by the potion—with obvious consequences. In his daze, Lumian looked down and saw the veins on the back of his hands bulging outward, densely crisscrossing in an eye-catching, vivid red. The stabbing pain and burning came fast and went just as quickly. After only two or three seconds, Lumian felt as though they were about to subside. Just then, his head buzzed, and that mysterious voice rang in his ears once more—seeming to come from an infinite height yet also feeling right beside him. The voice was like steel spikes stabbing into his brain, churning violently. The sensation of near-death assaulted Lumian once again, and the burning and stinging that had been on the verge of fading flared up with renewed fury. At that moment, Lumian's eyes went wide, his fists clenched tight. He felt as though something were about to tear through his skin and burrow out of his flesh. The gray fog around him seemed to thicken slightly. The terrifying voice, unintelligible to the end, quieted down. The squirming of the flesh inside Lumian vanished like an illusion. The excruciating pain and burning, along with the thick metallic stench of rust and blood, dissipated with it. Lumian finally drew in cool air once more, regaining control over his body. He could not help bending over, resting both hands on his knees as he panted heavily. His understanding of the dangers of pursuing supernatural power, as his sister had warned, grew far deeper. Just a Sequence 9 potion had nearly cost him his life! Of course, it would not have gone to such extremes originally; it would have been merely dangerous. But at the critical moment, the mysterious voice brought on by the special symbol on his chest had nearly driven him to total collapse. With every ragged breath, Lumian seemed to recover a portion of his strength. Before long, he felt completely restored. Lumian tried clenching his fist and threw a hard punch into empty air. *Bang!* He had actually produced the sound of bursting air. Power like this was something he had never dared dream of possessing! Growing even more excited, Lumian shifted his footwork in the modest bedroom and began practicing a form of martial arts his sister had taught him. *Bang! Bang! Bang!* Every punch brought a crisp crack, yet amid such explosive movements within so cramped a space, every step landed with precision, brushing against nothing. After finishing a full routine, Lumian felt no exhaustion at all; on the contrary, he was brimming with energy. He promptly assessed his condition: *I'm no worse than Aurore now...* *Whether in strength, speed, reflexes, or physical control, everything has been vastly enhanced. It's starting to feel somewhat inhuman...* *The strength of a bear combined with the agility of a cat—roughly an amalgamation of the two...* *Without the potion, I might never have reached this level in my entire life...* Before he could finish examining himself, Lumian suddenly caught the smell of blood. His heart tightened involuntarily, and he sniffled by instinct. The next second, he realized he could pinpoint the source of the smell. It came from his own body! Lumian looked down and saw that the backs of his hands were covered in bloody crimson, as though multiple spots had bled out. Returning to the full-length mirror, he found his face smeared with bloody grime as well. Lumian wiped a hand across his face, clearing away some of the blood, yet he could not find a single wound. After pondering for a moment, he formed a conjecture: *Did taking the potion just now rupture all those capillaries Aurore talked about? And once the potion was absorbed, did the wounds quickly heal up?* Only supernatural influences could explain the current situation. Since there were no injuries, Lumian put the matter aside and turned his attention to his sense of smell, which seemed to have changed noticeably. As he concentrated, the scents permeating the air were instantly "broken down," entering his nose in distinct, classified categories. "The smell of blood, lingering wine, floral fragrance, dust..." Lumian distinguished them one by one, not missing even the subtlest trace. At the same time, he "saw" the normally invisible footprints on the floor, "saw" the varying distribution of dust in the bedroom, "heard" the beating of his own heart, and "heard" the gentle breeze sweeping past outside the house... *The second change is that my sensory abilities have skyrocketed. My grasp of tracks and traces has surpassed normal human limits... No wonder that monster was so adept at tracking...* Lumian was quite pleased by this. What was more, this enhancement did not interfere with his daily life; it only manifested when he concentrated, existing as a subdued version during normal moments. Through repeated tests and self-examination, Lumian discovered two other changes brought by the Hunter potion: *The third change is that, on the premise of closely observing the surroundings, I can accurately and intuitively spot key points—for example, how to collapse a wall more easily. This allows me to set traps better and faster... It also applies to humans, beasts, and monsters, letting me carry out hunts more efficiently...* *The fourth change is that my mind now holds knowledge of wild plants and animal organs. This will help me survive better in the wilderness, find suitable 'hemostatic medicine' quickly when injured, and craft poison to coat weapons more easily when needed...* Having confirmed this much, Lumian could not help feeling a sense of absurdity: *I actually managed to kill that shotgun monster?* *My current self is far, far stronger than before, and that monster wasn't much weaker than I am now...* Reflecting carefully for a moment, he summarized two key points: *Abilities are important, but so is one's brain!* *Making good use of the environment can effectively enhance one's strength!* After some thought, Lumian added another line to himself: *And never, at any moment, become careless or lose patience...* He walked to the window and looked once more toward the dream ruins. An indescribable sense of oppression, dread, and danger immediately welled up in his heart—feelings that had never surfaced before, or at least had never been so intense. *Uh, the fifth change is an enhanced intuition...* Lumian nodded slightly. He went to the washroom, cleaned himself off with water, changed into another set of clothes, and lay back down in bed with the money. He wanted to return to reality quickly to see whether the Hunter abilities he had gained carried over, and if so, whether they had degraded. ... Midnight in Cordu Village was exceedingly quiet. Clouds high above obscured the crimson moon and the stars, leaving deep darkness the ruler of the land. Looking out at this night view, Lumian felt immensely refreshed. In reality, he was now a Beyonder as well, and compared to the dream, his abilities hadn't diminished in the slightest! Guided by intuition, Lumian unbuttoned his shirt and looked down at his chest. The black symbol resembling chains of thorns was slowly fading. *It appeared in reality as well...* Lumian felt an inexplicable trace of unease. Meanwhile, the dark bluish-black symbol that should have pressed down upon the chains of thorns seemed to exist only in the dream. Suddenly, Lumian's heart gave a stir, and he raised his head. On an elm tree not far away, the owl from the sorcerer legend was quietly watching him.