The vial in her hand felt heavier than it should—a creation unlike any other, a poison without a cure. She could keep it, study it, and wield it as an unparalleled weapon.
Or she could test it now.
Luna’s fingers tightened around the glass. A poison that cannot be countered is no different from a disaster waiting to happen. If she didn’t know how to cure it, how could she ever control it?
Her decision came in a flash.
Before Lukar could react, she uncorked the vial and swallowed the entire dose.
"You reckless fool!" Lukar snarled, but it was too late.
The moment the poison hit her bloodstream, her body seized.
Agony tore through her like wildfire, her limbs locking up as she collapsed, convulsing violently.
Lukar moved instantly, catching her before she hit the floor. With a grunt, he lifted her onto the nearest table, knocking over bottles and scrolls in his urgency.
"Damn it, girl—what have you done?!" he growled, already reaching for his supplies.
Lukar had thought she would hesitate. Had thought she would weigh the risks. Instead, she had thrown herself into the abyss without a second thought.
He didn't know whether to admire her recklessness or curse her for it.
At least I have the ingredients on hand, he thought grimly, grabbing a mortar and beginning the rapid process of concocting an antidote.
The Dream of the Departed
Luna felt herself slipping.
The pain twisted and turned, no longer just physical but something far deeper.
Her health bar plummeted.
Her vision blurred, and suddenly—
She wasn’t in Lukar’s lab anymore.
She stood in an endless field of white, weightless, floating between existence and something beyond.
And before her, they were waiting.
Her mother.
Her father.
Her twin sister, Suna.
Her little brother, Jeff.
They were smiling at her, waving as if greeting an old friend.
Home.
She wanted to run to them, to let herself collapse into their arms like she had when she was a child.
But something shifted.
The smiles faded.
Their expressions changed—her parents’ faces creased with worry, their hands frantically shaking their heads.
Luna’s heart twisted. Why were they telling her no?
Don't you want me?
The thought stabbed through her, sharper than the poison burning through her veins. Why are you pushing me away?
Tears streamed down her face.
She reached out—
A hand touched her shoulder.
She turned, gasping.
Her father knelt before her, eyes brimming with unshed tears.
"Now is not the time, my child," he whispered, voice thick with emotion. "You have a bright future ahead. Live. Live fully."
Her mother nodded, her lips quivering with unspoken words.
Then, Suna's face popped up from behind them, grinning.
"You can do it, sis!" she said, flashing a toothy grin, giving Luna a thumbs-up. "Show them who’s boss!"
Her little brother, Jeff, beamed up at her. "You got this."
Luna choked back a sob.
She wanted to stay.
Just a little longer.
But the world around her began to fade.
No!
She screamed, reaching for them as darkness swallowed the white void.
"Mom! Dad! Suna! Jeff! NO!"
The Return
Luna gasped awake, screaming.
Her body arched violently, thrashing against the restraints Lukar had used to hold her still.
Her pulse hammered, her skin drenched in sweat.
Her chest heaved as she struggled for breath, vision swimming between the reality of the lab and the fading warmth of her family’s embrace.
Lukar sat beside her, his normally smug expression nowhere to be found.
For once, he looked… tired.
Drained.
Relieved.
With a groan, he let himself slump onto the ground, arms draped over his bent knees.
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He didn’t speak.
Didn’t scold her.
Didn’t sneer or berate her recklessness.
He simply exhaled.
"That," he muttered, rubbing his temples, "was far too close."
Luna turned her head slightly, still trembling, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Did I… make it?"
Lukar huffed a weak laugh.
"Barely."
---
Lukar had one final test prepared for her:
A Trial Against Herself.
The moment Luna had downed the poison, she had unknowingly set the conditions for her next challenge. Originally, he had intended to dose her with a different experimental toxin, forcing her to create an antidote before succumbing.
But after what she had just done?
He decided she didn’t need another lesson in recklessness.
Most alchemists—even the most ambitious ones—would have tested the poison on others first, cautiously studying its effects. But Luna had swallowed it without hesitation, fully prepared to face its consequences.
That was either sheer stupidity—or something far rarer.
Admiration flickered in Lukar’s eyes.
Ding!
A notification chimed in Luna’s interface.
She blinked, checking her quest log.
[Mythical Quest: Lessons in Lethality]
Completed.
Lukar exhaled heavily, pushing himself to his feet. Without a word, he strode toward a shadowed alcove, disappearing briefly before returning with several items in his grasp.
He handed them to her—a skill scroll, a tome, and a sealed recipe.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she took them, still feeling the lingering echoes of her near-death experience. She had survived. And she had earned this.
New Legendary Skill – "Vile Concoction" (Legendary Poison Skill)
Type: Active
Description: A multi-effect poison that adapts to its target, exploiting their biological weaknesses in real-time. Unlike standard poisons, this one mutates mid-battle.
Effects:
Venomous Mutation – If an enemy has poison resistance, the toxin shifts into a neurotoxin, weakening reflexes.
Parasitic Toxin – If the target is vulnerable, the poison lingers, spreading to nearby foes.
Hemotoxin Burst – If the target is heavily armored, the poison thins their blood, making them more susceptible to physical attacks.
Alchemist’s Mastery – Luna can modify the poison’s secondary effects mid-battle, tailoring it to the fight.
This skill surpasses all conventional poisons—one of the deadliest tools in existence.
Mythical Item – "The Venomist’s Grimoire" (Mythical Alchemy Tome)
Type: Artifact (Alchemy / Poison Mastery)
Description: A tome of forbidden alchemical knowledge, rumored to be penned by a poison deity who perished by their own craft. The pages shift and rewrite themselves, revealing new secrets to only the worthy.
Effects:
Toxic Mastery – Enhances all poisons Luna creates, increasing potency and duration by 30%.
Forbidden Formulas – Grants access to three exclusive poison recipes, including one that cannot be countered by normal antidotes.
Living Ink – The grimoire holds a sentient alchemical formula capable of assisting in potion-making—or turning against its user if abused.
This tome cements Luna as one of the most dangerous alchemists in existence, rivaling even Lukar himself.
Recipe: "Phantom’s Elixir"
A poison so potent, it doesn’t just kill—it makes its victim believe they already have.
Effect: Triggers a psychological death response, inducing full-body paralysis as the target’s mind accepts their demise.
Luna stared at the rewards in her hands.
This wasn’t just another step in her alchemical journey.
This was a shift—a turning point.
She was no longer just an Alchemist.
She was becoming something else entirely.
Luna swallowed hard, her grip tightening around the items.
Power. Knowledge. Mastery.
She had risked everything—and survived.
A final notification appeared.
+5 Levels Gained
+100,000 Gold Acquired
Luna exhaled slowly, letting the weight of her transformation settle over her.
She wasn’t just some alchemist experimenting in a lab anymore.
She was becoming a legend.
---
Eliath moved with purpose through the towering halls of the Wayfinder’s Guild, his steps silent despite the polished stone beneath his feet. The two Luminara city guards flanked him, their heavy boots echoing in contrast to his soundless movements.
Before him, the quest board gleamed with requests of all kinds—escort missions, artifact recoveries, monster cullings—but one in particular caught his eye.
Culling the Abyssborn Quest Type: Combat / Corruption Containment Recommended Party Size: Solo or 2-3 for safety (Anti-Corruption Magic Recommended) Difficulty: Moderate to High (Depending on Enemy Growth Rate)
Quest Summary: Beneath Luminara’s lower quarters, dark fissures have torn through the stone tunnels, bleeding an unnatural energy into the city’s underground. Abyssborn creatures—twisted horrors spawned from the Rift—are emerging, spreading corruption and madness.
Objectives:
- Eliminate the Abyssborn before they reach the surface.
- Locate the source of the fissures.
- Determine if this is a natural event or sabotage.
Eliath accepted the quest with a single press, his interface confirming the assignment. He turned on his heel, nodding to the guards. “We head for the lower tunnels.”
Enter the Lower Tunnels
The descent was suffocating.
Luminara’s ancient sewers sprawled beneath the city like a forgotten labyrinth, the air thick with damp rot and something far worse—an unnatural, acrid scent that burned his nostrils. The deeper they went, the more Eliath felt reality stretching around him.
Shadows slithered where there were no moving bodies. The torchlight flickered unnaturally, stretching in ways it shouldn’t. The stone walls bore the first signs of the Abyssborn’s presence—faint, jagged veins of black pulsing like a malignant heartbeat.
Eliath exhaled, focusing. He activated Echo Trace, sending a ripple of energy outward. A faint shimmer traced along the walls, revealing disturbances in the air itself—distorted echoes of something wrong.
“The fissures are close,” he murmured, pressing forward.
Track the Abyssborn Manifestations
A guttural whisper brushed past his ear.
He pivoted sharply, blades drawn, but nothing stood there—just the lingering distortion of space where something had been. One of the guards shuddered. “Sir… I don’t like this.”
“Neither do I,” Eliath admitted. His grip tightened on his weapon.
The walls rippled. Moved.
The first Abyssborn emerged from the distortion.
It was wrong. Its form twisted between humanoid and amorphous, its limbs elongated but shifting, struggling to maintain a shape. Its eyes—if they could be called that—glowed with a void-like hunger.
Eliath Shadow Stepped, vanishing in a blur as its claw-like appendages lashed forward. His afterimage flickered, drawing its attack while he reappeared behind it.
Umbral Slash.
His blade carved through its flesh—or what passed for it—leaving behind a searing wound of pure shadow. The creature screeched, its form convulsing as dark ichor bubbled from the gash.
The guards attacked as well, blades cleaving into its shifting body. But the Abyssborn did not fall—it adapted.
The wound closed.
Then it grinned.
Abyssborn Evolution
Eliath cursed under his breath. He had read the warnings—these creatures learned. If they weren’t felled fast enough, they would grow resistant.
Time to end this.
He activated Phantom Strikes, his movements a blur as he struck twice in succession. Each attack left a shadowy imprint, amplifying the damage.
The Abyssborn writhed, its body struggling to maintain form against the onslaught. Then, its body split—doubled.
Eliath barely evaded the second monstrosity’s attack, rolling back.
“This is bad,” one of the guards muttered.
Eliath didn’t respond. His mind raced. A frontal attack wouldn’t work—the longer these creatures were engaged, the more dangerous they became. He needed a new approach.
Then he saw it.
The Rift fissure.
A crack in reality itself, pulsing with dark energy. This was the source.
Find the Rift Fissures & Destroy the Largest Threats
“Hold them off,” Eliath commanded. He activated Cloak of Shadows, vanishing into darkness.
With silent steps, he closed in on the fissure. Time distorted around it, warping his vision. He felt himself being pulled inward, his own mind slipping. Whispers called to him—join us, become more—
No.
Gritting his teeth, he activated Shadow Bind, sending tendrils of dark energy wrapping around the fissure’s core. It fought back, pulses of energy lashing at him, but he held firm.
Then—
Stasis Lock.
The entire area froze. The Rift’s pulse stilled, locked in place for precious seconds.
It was enough.
Eliath drove his blade into the fissure’s heart, channeling everything into one final Umbral Slash.
The Rift shattered.
The Abyssborn screeched, their bodies convulsing—breaking apart. Without the corruption feeding them, they collapsed into shrieking nothingness.
Silence.
Then a single chime echoed in his interface.
Quest Completed: Culling the Abyssborn
Eliath straightened, breathing hard. His gaze swept over the now-empty tunnel.
No more whispers.
The corruption had been contained.
But deep in his bones, he knew this was only the beginning.
Something—someone—had started this. And whoever they were, they weren’t done yet.
Rewards: 12,200 Gold
Abyss-Touched Trinket (Grants resistance to mild corruption but may have unknown effects)
Rift Affinity Unlock (Chance to gain a skill related to Rift Manipulation)
1 Level Gained