Luna finally took a moment to check her notifications, her gaze flicking over the glowing interface.

  Quest Complete: Call of the Chosen.

  Her reward? She was now a Chosen as well.

  The names of the others flashed before her: Kyle, Jasper, Eliath, Nash, and Seraphine.

  Kyle was the only one she had known personally before this—he had commissioned her alchemy skills from the very start, requesting potions for his guild. The others were unfamiliar, but their reputations preceded them.

  Eliath, a mystery, rarely appeared in public, yet he was well-known for assisting newbie players, guiding them when no one else would.

  Jasper, on the other hand, was famous in an entirely different way—a beastmaster shrouded in secrecy. No one knew anything concrete about him. If Eliath was an enigma, Jasper was a ghost. He never interacted with other players, keeping entirely to himself.

  Even without understanding what it truly meant to be a Chosen, Luna felt a thrill of excitement. She was now part of something bigger, something unknown, and she welcomed the challenge.

  Though, considering how silent the others had been, it seemed they didn’t know what it meant either.

  Still, that didn’t dampen her mood.

  She giggled to herself, sitting in her alchemy lab, twirling a vial between her fingers.

  Nash is actually cute.

  It had been so fun being around him. She found herself wondering if he had noticed how nervous she’d been—how her hands had fidgeted, how she had struggled to keep her voice steady.

  A bright pink hue dusted her cheeks as she replayed the memory of him in battle.

  He looked so handsome fighting those Illusion Foxes. The way he moved, the way the shadowfire danced around him—it was mesmerizing.

  She hoped his quest was going well. It was, after all, the reason they had parted ways.

  Luna quickly slapped her cheeks, shaking the thoughts away. “Back to work!”

  Pushing herself up from her seat, she looked around, wondering what to do next. She needed something new to focus on.

  Her eyes drifted to the door.

  The Alchemy Guild.

  Maybe she could find something new to learn—or better yet, something new to create.

  With a renewed sense of purpose, she grabbed her satchel and headed out, her mind already buzzing with possibilities.

  ---

  Jasper was annoyed—but at least this was better than being surrounded by other players. He had never cared for the noise, the meaningless chatter.

  Outside the inn, he turned to Lazryn, his voice clipped. “Where are we going now?”

  Before Lazryn could answer, a chime echoed in Jasper’s interface.

  Quest Updated: Seek the Two

  "Your path will cross with others marked by the Rift. Together, you must uncover the truth behind the Merge and prepare for what is to come."

  Quest Completed.

  Jasper nodded absently, though the notification felt late.

  What he didn’t know was that the four NPCs were also part of the Chosen. They had chosen not to reveal that yet—it wasn’t the right time.

  Lazryn finally spoke, his tone calm yet firm. “Your quest—Beast Soother.”

  Jasper already knew it well.

  Quest: Beast Soother

  Description: As a Beastmaster and an animal empath, you are the perfect candidate to uncover the truth behind Eidolon’s changing world.

  Objective: Unite the scattered threads of Eidolon’s creatures to reveal the truth hidden within their instincts.

  Lazryn met his gaze. “Let’s continue it.”

  Jasper exhaled, adjusting his cloak before stepping forward.

  No more delays. It was time to see where this path would lead.

  ---

  Luna stepped into the Alchemy Guild, her footsteps echoing softly against the polished stone floors. Unlike the Wayfinder’s Guild, which was alive with energy and movement, the Alchemy Guild was eerily quiet, structured like a sacred hall of knowledge. Shelves lined the walls, filled with glowing vials, aged tomes, and forbidden formulas sealed behind enchanted glass.

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  She inhaled deeply, savoring the faint scent of herbs, charred minerals, and something more potent—poison.

  Her eyes scanned the quest board, her fingers brushing past standard assignments—herb collection, potion refinement, experimental testing—until something caught her attention.

  A quest unlike any other.

  It glowed black.

  Mythical Level Quest Detected

  Her pulse quickened as she read the title:

  "Research Poisons with the Poison Master, Lukar. You may be asked to become the test subject."

  The reward alone was staggering—five levels and 100,000 gold—but it wasn’t the payout that made her breath hitch. It was the name.

  Lukar.

  The Poison Master.

  He wasn’t just an alchemist. He was a legend, a figure whispered about in dark corners of alchemical circles. His research was forbidden, his methods ruthless, and his poisons so potent that even the Gods feared them.

  And now, he was inviting her.

  A second prompt flashed before her eyes.

  Quest Overview:

  Lukar agrees to share his expertise, but there is a cost:

  His poisons must be tested.

  Some on test subjects.

  Some on you.

  "You wish to understand true poison, Alchemist? Then you must let it course through your veins. You must feel its kiss, its burn, its slow descent into oblivion. Only then will you know its power."

  Luna’s fingers tightened around the edges of the quest board.

  She wasn’t afraid of poisons. She had worked with lethal substances before, but this… this wasn’t just crafting potions in the safety of a lab.

  This was survival.

  The trial would push her beyond conventional alchemy, forcing her to withstand poisons that should kill—and create antidotes no one else could.

  Her mind raced as she scrolled through the challenges ahead.

  ---

  Luna stared at the quest prompt for a long moment, her pulse quickening with a mix of excitement and unease.

  This was a Mythical-Level Quest—something only the most elite players ever encountered. And yet, here it was, offered to her.

  Her fingers trembled slightly, but she wasn’t afraid.

  She was ready.

  With a deep breath, she accepted the quest.

  A notification flashed across her interface.

  Quest Accepted.

  Objective: Learn the forbidden art of poisons under Lukar, the Poison Master.

  A map appeared in the corner of her vision, marking Lukar’s residence—a small, isolated cabin deep within the Spooky Forest, just outside Valeville.

  Luna straightened, adjusting the satchel at her hip.

  Time to meet the Poison Master.

  The Spooky Forest was aptly named.

  Luna had traveled through many eerie landscapes before, but this place felt different—wrong.

  The trees loomed unnaturally high, their gnarled branches twisting together like skeletal fingers blocking out the sky. A dense mist curled along the ground, thick and sluggish, as if it were alive. Faint whispers carried through the air, though there was no wind to stir them.

  Luna’s steps were cautious as she followed the worn path toward Lukar’s cabin.

  The deeper she went, the colder the air became—not with the bite of winter, but with something damp, clinging, suffocating. The scent of decay and bitter herbs filled her nostrils, a mix of rotting foliage and alchemical residue.

  Finally, she saw it.

  Lukar’s home stood in a small clearing, a twisted, crooked cabin that looked as if it had been built on top of something long dead. The wood was charred black, pulsing with faint green veins of alchemical residue. Glass lanterns hung from the eaves, filled with glowing blue liquid that cast eerie shadows across the moss-covered ground.

  Thick iron chains wrapped around the structure, etched with runes that shimmered in and out of sight. A small garden surrounded the house, but instead of bright flowers, it was filled with withered vines, thorny stalks, and plants that oozed dark liquid.

  A single wooden sign was nailed to the door, scratched with deep gouges.

  ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK.

  Luna smirked. Classic.

  With a steadying breath, she knocked.

  For a long moment, nothing.

  Then—the door creaked open on its own.

  A voice, smooth and amused, drifted from within.

  “Come in, little Alchemist. Let’s see what you’re made of.”

  Luna stepped inside and was immediately hit with a wall of scents—burnt herbs, acrid fumes, and something thick and metallic. The room was cluttered with beakers, flasks, and suspended animal carcasses, their blood drained into vials. Strange creatures in preserved jars lined the shelves, their lifeless eyes staring.

  And in the center of it all stood Lukar.

  He was tall and lean, his sharp features framed by dark hair that cascaded in messy waves. His robes were a deep green, embroidered with golden poison sigils that pulsed like a heartbeat. His amber eyes gleamed with amusement as he studied her.

  “Brave enough to accept my invitation, are you?” he mused, swirling a vial of thick, emerald liquid between his fingers.

  Luna lifted her chin. “I’m here to learn.”

  Lukar grinned. “Then let’s begin.”

  With a single flick of his wrist, he tossed the vial at her.

  She barely caught it. The liquid inside glowed ominously, pulsing as if it had a mind of its own.

  “Drink,” Lukar said simply.

  Luna stared at him. “You want me to drink something I haven’t even analyzed?”

  His smirk widened. “Did you think learning poison would be safe?”

  She glanced at the liquid again. If she hesitated, he would see her as weak.

  With a deep breath, she downed the poison.

  It was instant.

  Fire erupted in her veins, a searing heat that shot through her body like molten lava. Her vision blurred, her breath coming in sharp, ragged gasps.

  Her muscles spasmed, her stomach twisted, and a sickly black web spread beneath her skin. The poison was mutating inside her, adapting, shifting—learning her weaknesses.

  “Good,” Lukar murmured. “Now, survive.”

  Her hands shook as she scrambled to craft a countermeasure, her mind fighting through the haze.

  The poison wasn’t stable—it was alive, twisting into something new every second.

  Luna’s fingers worked furiously, crushing herbs, mixing solvents, her heart hammering as she fought against time, against death itself.

  The room tilted, her vision darkening at the edges—

  No. Not yet.

  With the last of her strength, she drank the antidote.

  For a terrifying second, nothing happened.

  Then—cold relief flooded her system.

  The black tendrils beneath her skin receded, her heartbeat slowing, the burning agony fading.

  She gasped, collapsing onto one knee.

  Lukar’s slow applause filled the silence.

  “Well done,” he said, eyes glinting with approval. “You didn’t die.”

  Luna glared at him. “You could have warned me.”

  He only laughed. “And ruin the fun?”

  Luna wiped sweat from her brow, her limbs still trembling. She had barely survived that. And yet—her hands itched for more.

  This was only the beginning.

  Lukar turned, striding deeper into his lair.

  “Come, Alchemist. The next lesson awaits.”