"We tried turning them into stone, but when it wore off, they just treated us even more poorly," Ismena answered.

"You mean to tell me that you didn't even break off one of their arms once they were turned to stone?" Maxine asked.

"What?! How could you even think of such a thing?!" Ismena exclaimed. I see. She's a very gentle person. They both are. It's a rarity among cultivators.

"I see our upbringing is considerably different," Maxine stated, "It's obvious that you grew up in a gentle enviroment. Mine was not nearly as kind. I knew what it was like to kill before I even reached my fourteenth year. While I can understand your reluctance to harm others, it's poorly suited for a cultivator and as you've undoubtedly experienced, you will be abused because of it."

"I know that, but I still can't bring myself to hurt another person," Ismena said.

"And that's why you should work for someone that can protect you," Maxine said, "Now, how does your stony gaze work?" I know from what they told me so far that their gaze has a time limit and that they can't control it, hence the blindfolds.

"Well, our gaze has some limitations. The biggest ones are that it's most effective one weaker opponents and they actually have to drectly look at our eyes for it to work. If I were to try it on someone even a rank above me, it would only slow them down a little bit and for only a handful of seconds," Ismena explained, "To top it off, it uses up a tiny portion of our strength every time it gets triggered. I would run out of strength if it triggered more than ten times in a row." Hmm, those are some big limitations.

"I don't know why you didn't ask me," Turan complained, "That's pretty much common knowledge."

"Common knowledge or not, it's still better to hear it directly from a gorgon," Maxine said.

"There is one other thing," Ismena said softly and Maxine looked at Ismena with a curious expression, "Our ability has no effect on serpents or other gorgons." I expected other gorgons to be immune to it, but not serpents.

"That's a fascinating quirk to your abilities," Maxine said and decided to change the subject, "Regardless, it's time I explain what I expect of you two. For now, I only expect you two to run errands for me like purchasing more medicinal herbs or potion bottles and perhaps heping me clean my small house. I don't expect either of you to fight, but I do insist that you learn some disabling martial arts for self-defense purposes."

"What's a disabling martial art?" Reina asked.

"It's a martial art that focuses on dislocation and bone breaks of the limbs. It's very painful for the one on the receiving end, and is a non-lethal combat art," Maxine answered, "With that out of the way, I need to go run a few experiments." Experiments involving my piss that is. I really need to verify that it can at the very least weaken my venom enough to keep silver stage cultivators from dying. This is especially important since I havn't seen a single person under silver stage the entire time I've been here.

Maxine left without waiting for them to respond and walked into the nearest restroom. She went into a stall and retrieved a glass cup from her dimensional ring. As quickly as she could, she emptied her bladder into it and proceeded to pour her urine in a series of vials. Afterwards, she stored them into her dimensional ring since she had no intention of performing her tests in a restroom. I better finish up on this once I get back. I really do not want someone to find me 'playing' with my own piss.

She made her way towards the entrance of the medical center and found Alchemist Rhodes waiting for her. "So, you are in your transformed state," Alchemist Rhodes said before pinching the bridge of his nose, "I honestly didn't think you would walk around like that while knowing how dangerous is it for other people."

"I was only out to treat an injured patient and take a bath," Maxine responded, "I'm heading back to my quarters now."

"Fine," Alchemist Rhodes said in annoyance, "Just so you know, those two girls you humiliated happen to be the rising stars of the Tiger-Bear Mercenary Group. They are rather furious with you. I wouldn't be surprised if they don't approach you with demands."

"I don't care what their demands are. They were the ones that provoked me, not the other way around," Maxine replied as she walked past Alchemist Rhodes, "Now, if there is nothing else, I need to get back to my quarters. I really don't want to accidentally poison someone before I figure out how to at least weaken the effect of my venom."

"Good luck with that," Alchemist Rhodes said to Maxine's back. I don't blame him for not being too encouraged with my attempts. It took alchemists thousands of years before they could make a useable antidote for normal hydra venom. At least in my case, I may have a head start on them.

Maxine swiftly flew back to her small cottage next to Horatio Quay's. Once inside, she retrieved a vial of her urine and squeezed a single drop of her venom from one of her claws into it. She used her spiritual sense to watch the reaction. To her surprise, there was something that acted as a counter-agent to her venom in her urine, but it didn't neutralize her venom entirely. But it reduced the lethality by half, which was more than she had expected. She still needed to refine her urine to extract that counter agent and mix it with a few other medicinal ingredients to improve it. However she wasn't expecting more than another five percent reduction to lethality of her venom. It wasn't enough to ensure survival like a true antidote, but it definitly increased their odds considerably.

However she lacked several ingredients to get that extra five percent. While the ingredients were not common, they were not rare either and wouldn't be costly for her to acquire. Still she needed to make some potions in order to either trade for them. I guess it's time I started earning some money. I'm almost out of beast cores to trade with.

Maxine opened her cottage door and saw Horatio Quay. "The Tiger-Bear Mercenary group sent a couple peopel to talk with me. They complained about your behavior at the baths," Horatio Quay said, "They said you attacked two of their promising new members."

"If I attacked them, neither would still be breathing. You know that," Maxine retorted.

"Yes, I know and I told them the same thing," Horatio Quay said with a smirk, "Those two idiots felt so insulted that they demanded that you face their leaders in the sparring arena."

"And did they hand you a letter of challenge?" Maxine asked. Well, that's one academy rule that I like. Any fights to resolve issues have to be first declared with a letter of challenge and if the other party accepts, they can fight it out in the arena. Too bad I have no intention of accepting that bullshit challenge.

"They did," Horatio Quay answered as he handed her two letters of challenge.

"And what would you do with it?" Maxine asked.

"I would throw it into a puddle of dirt infront of their faces as my way of accepting their challenges," Horatio Quay answered.

"That so?" Maxine asked as she set the challenge note aflame, "I don't intend on replying to it at all."

Horatio Quay started chuckling for a few moments before he regained his composure and asked, "Are you aware of just how insulting your lack of action is?"

"Yes, I do," Maxine replied, "They deserve as much for bullying others." In fact, it's literately the worst insult you can give a warrior that's directly challenging you. Even a coarse and mocking refusal is less insulting.

"I detest 'bullies' as well. It's a form of cowardice to use your strength against those weaker than themselves," Horatio Quay said, "They lack the courage to even face opponents that are on par with themselves. Why else would those two ladies flee so swiftly from you after you threatened to turn them into your next meal?"

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Who told you about that?" Maxine asked in slight panic.

"A young lamia called Mia told me," Horatio Quay answered, "You left quite the impression on her." Oh, thank god. I thought for a second I had some perverted old man peeking at myself and the other women when I was at the women's bathhouse.

"I must have if she risked talking to you," Maxine said, "You literately terrify most of the student body and I've gotten more than one look of sympathy for being your student."

"Of that, I have no doubt," Horatio Quay agreed, "My teaching methods are brutal by even the harshest of teachers, and I know that. Why do you think I would allow you so much free time? It's to allow you sufficient time to recover both mentally and physically."

"I just thought you were some sadistic prick that enjoyed watching your students suffer," Maxine said angrily.

Horatio Quay simply shrugged his shoulders before turning around to leave, but he paused for a moment to say, "That young man, Turan, is waiting for you at the training field. Take this old man's advice: Go have some fun with your boyfriend. Afterall, you're only young once. Just keep your clothes on. Your training will have to be put on hold on the off chance that you get pregnant." WHAT?! Does he actually think that me and Turan are dating?! And why does he think we are fucking? But that would explain why he didn't put up a fuss when Turan helped me clean last night. In his mind he was letting the two love birds have some private time.

Maxine wanted to correct Horatio Quay, but the old man had already left. She grit her teeth in frustration and walked to the training field to give herself a few moments to calm down. She had managed to calm down when she reached the training grounds.

Turan was facing away from her, and as if on cue, he turned around with a brilliant smile on his face. He really is a good looking man, but too bad for him, I'm not interested. I need to let him know that. It would be cruel to let him think he has a chance when he doesn't.

However before she could tell him, Turan asked her, "Are you ready to go get dinner? Or would you prefer to wander the academy for awhile first? Your teacher seemed quite adamant that you relax as much as possible." She glanced at the sun and realized with a start that more time had passed than she realized. I can't believe I lost track of time.

"Fine, let's go get something to eat," Maxine said, "But this isn't a date and don't you dare pretend otherwise."

"I'm well aware you only see me as a friend," Turan said without loosing his cheerful mood, "Now, let's get going. I have the perfect place in mind."

"Alright. Lead the way," Maxiine said.

Turan took flight and Maxine followed behind him. Eventually, Turan descended towards a rather popular restraunt and it was mostly populated by women. Maxine was confused as to why it was so popular until she saw various chocolate dishes being served as deserts. So, he wants to spoil me then. I guess that can be a good thing. I ran out of chocolate a couple years ago and the smell of that chocolate cake is driving me crazy. Turan chuckled at Maxine and she glared at him.

A waiter had them seated and Turan swiftly ordered a salad. However Maxine ordered enough steaks for five people and asked for a slice of german chocolate cake to go with it. Turan raised his eyebrow at Maxine, but she didn't care. She was hungry.

When the food arrived, Maxine took her time eating it. During the day, she was forced to eat quickly, but now she had the luxury to enjoy her food. It also helped that the steaks were perfectly seasoned and cooked. She was unconsciously groaning in pleasure at the wonderful taste and received a few odd looks because of how loud she was. The german chocolate cake was equally cooked to perfection. Turan had finished quite some time ago and had been watching her for quite some time.

Just as Maxine finished, a waiter came up to her with a bottle of wine and said, "A gentleman asked me to serve you some of our best wine as a gift."

Maxine really didn't want it and was suspicious about it's origin. However she accepted it nonetheless. She just wished she could enjoy it like she used to in her past life. But after experiencing what a violent drunk can do in the form of Johnathan Levings, she lost all desire to drink anything with alcohol in it. However, some small part of her wanted to at least try it. What could it hurt? It's not like I'm going to become like that bastard from one bottle of this stuff. It's not like I can get drunk with my biology, anyway.

After the waiter filled their glasses and left, Turan said, "I wouldn't drink that if I were you. It could be laced with something."

"I know, but there are very few things that I can think of that would have any effect on me," Maxine answered and took a small swallow of the wine, "Regardless, I doubt that a single swallow of this stuff will effect me." I hate to admit it, but that was pretty good. It tastes like it's made from a wide collection of herbs, but a few of them were thrown in recently. Those recently added herbs taste like the ingredients for a rather potent sleeping potion. So, who wwould go to this kind of trouble to capture me and Turan? Could it be those Tiger-Bear Mercenaries? It's possible, but it could be someone else that just wants to smuggle me out of the academy discreetly. Although, whoever did this didn't do nearly enough research on me.

Turan sighed as he reached for his wine, but Maxine said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. That is unless you've been having trouble sleeping lately."

"A sleeping potion?" Turan asked.

"Yes, and a strong one at that. Too bad those things don't work on me," Maxine said as she continued to drink her wine and felt someoen's gaze on her, "Could you see who is keeping an eye on us without being noticed? I want to be sure who put this in the wine before I jump to conclusions."

"Two young elves are watching us while they eat their meal," Turan said, "It's clear they are the ones that sent the wine, but it doesn't look like they are associated with the Tiger-Bear Mercenary Group. They are not keen on inviting elves into their midsts." Elves? Why would they be after us? Maybe they just want to talk.

"Oh? There are elves here?" Maxine asked just loud enough for the two elves to hear and turned her head to see two blonde elven girls on the other side of the restraunt. Both quickly turned away and paid attention to their food. Nope, they definitely don't want to talk. Shit, what could we have done to merit being drugged over? I might as well send one of my ravens over to see what they are talking about.

Maxine ordered one of her ravens to listen into their conversation and she nearly spit out her wine when she heard them. "Did you see how beautiful that girl is?" one of them said, "And with the way he's looking at her, there's no way they are not dating."

"Damn," the other elven girl said, "That means he's probably not going to go out with me no matter how much I ask."

Maxine quickly stopped herself from listening in any further into their conversation. Damn it. Now I feel embarressed. At least, I know they are not the ones that tried to drug me. So, if it wasn't them, who drugged this wine?

Maxine mentally shrugged and decided to bait the people that drugged her. She grabbed the bottle and started drinking from it directly, which earned her a few glares for her poor manners, but she didn't care. As soon as she finished off the bottle, she actually felt slightly tipsy. Huh, I didn't know that I could still get drunk. I must've consumed it faster than my body could metabolize it. But I doubt I will stay like this for long. I can already feel it wearing off.

She used her energies to make it seem like she was blushing slightly and slowly shifted her expression to one of drunken intoxication. "Turan, could you help me get home please?" Maxine asked with a slight slur and faked a yawn, "I can't seem to remember how to get back." Turan sighed before he left a small pouch on the table and walked over to Maxine to help her to her feet. At the same moment, she spread many of her ravens into the shadows and ordered them to survey her surroundings as she moved.

She intentionally stumbled and swayed on her feet as he helped her walk out of the restraunt. However she was very careful not to scratch Turan with her claws or quills. But thankfully, she didn't have to keep up the act for long. Her ravens discovered several tigerkin and breakin following them. However they stopped for some reason when Maxine thought they were about to make their move.

"Sir, we are about to capture that woman that humiliated Tianna and Koulan," the bearkin that was in charge said.

"That's exactly why I'm calling you. You are to abort your current mission. Those two idiots gave you those orders without authorization," an man's voice said angrily, "They didn't even bother investigating that woman's background. If they had, they would've discovered that she is a gold-tier alchemist and you know how protective the association is of their members. Return to base with the others."

"Understood, sir," the bearkin in charge said before signaling the rest of his group with handsigns. Within seconds, they dispersed and Maxine let out a sigh.

"So, what just happened?" Turan asked Maxine.

"I was trying to lure out whoever drugged that wine, but they backed off at the last second," Maxine answered as she pulled herself off of Turan and stood steadily, "So, how did you figure out that I was acting?"

"While I didn't know your intentions, I wasn't fooled from your act in the least," Turan answered, "Your biology guarantees that you can't get drunk. At least, not from drinking that amount of any wine. You could probably drink a dozen dwarves under the table before you would become truely drunk."

"It figures you would know that," Maxine complained as she glanced at the rapidly darkening sky, "Well, I best head back and thanks for the dinner. It was nice."

"You are very welcome," Turan said, "Would you like me to escort you home?"

"No, thank you," Maxine replied, "I should be fine. Good night."

"Good night, Maxine," Turan said with a smile before Maxine could fly off.

As Maxine flew back, she took in the scenery and thought about the day. That bastard's the training methods are nightmarishly difficult, but they are helping me improve rather quickly. And he did say he would up the difficulty, didn't he? Now, why do I have a feeling he's going to be saying that alot in the future? Oh, well. I will try to meet up with the Guardian Mothers tomorrow and I will try to make a few potions before I go to bed. God, I do not look forward to tomorrow.