[Acquired Movement Boost — Lv. 12]

[Acquired (Unique) Profound Toxin — Lv. 37]

[Skill evolution available. Skill available for evolution: (Unique) Profound Toxin]

[Choose one]

[(Unique) Profound Toxin — Infected Trail]

[(Unique) Profound Toxin — Accelerant]

[(Unique) Profound Toxin — Backflow]

Trying to act as inconspicuously as possible, Eik avoided revealing his plaque to Heath, Michael, and Sonja and simply wrote his choices for evolution down on a piece of paper. It wouldn’t do for them to see that Profound Toxin was marked with a (Unique) tag.

Even if they didn’t specifically know what that meant, he would basically be forced to tell them in order to warn them about keeping their mouths shut. It was safer to keep them in the dark.

He almost couldn’t believe his eyes no matter how many times he looked at the level up notification. His Profound Toxin had increased by something like twenty one levels. His power rank as well had seen a ridiculous jump, increasing from Acolyte of Toxin — I to now being Acolyte of Toxin —III.

Getting swallowed by that snake had truly been a blessing in disguise. The poison must have done a lot more damage internally than he had initially even dared hope. Nobody really understood how exactly the cosmos judged how much the level of an ability or a power rank should progress, but everything pointed at a case by case evaluation based at least loosely on overcoming hardship, solving problems, and other things related to personal progress.

It was also suspected that that was why you couldn’t get to B-rank just by staying safely at home and practicing. There were many ways to advance, but most skills needed to be supplied with “field work” in order to level up properly.

“Infected Trail pretty much does what the name suggests,” Eik said as he looked over the entry logged under the ability Toxic. For obvious reasons, Profound Toxin itself was not mentioned anywhere in the records. One downside of a Unique ability was that there was nobody to tell him what to do with it, or what any of the evolutions did. He’d have to fumble his way through the dark with his only hints being ability names.

Perhaps there was something to glean from the swamp his mind had been transported to, where he had met that stupid blue snake that he had killed and absorbed, but that was simply another mystery.

He read aloud the description for the Toxic evolution Infected Trail.

“Any monster (or person) inflicted with Toxic can be tracked at a distance, regardless of physical obstacles and line of sight. Literal drops of it is insufficient to activate the effect, but otherwise even small amounts is enough. If the toxin is cleansed for any reason or it “runs its course”, the Infected Trail also stops functioning. It feels almost like gaining another sense so you just “know” where the target is at all times. Loses efficacy with distance. Range and precision increases with level and power rank.”

“I’m not sure about this one,” Heath said, scratching his chin. “It’s a convenient ability and all that, but monsters don’t really tend to run away, do they?”

“Seems a lot better suited for people, doesn’t it?” Michael noted with a contemplative expression. When nobody answered he looked up only to see his three friends stare at him. “Ah, well, you know, given the… issues we have with Rock Fist Bart, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared.”

Eik nodded with a raised eyebrow. “That’s a good point. Plus, it would certainly be a good thing to have if we ever fought a monster that liked to turn invisible or something like that.”

“There are monsters that can do that?” Michael asked, horrified.

“I mean, there must be, right?” Eik said with a shrug. “It wouldn’t be that farfetched on top of everything we’ve seen thus far.”

Michael didn’t have a response for that.

“What’s the next one?” Heath asked. “Accelerant was it? What does that do?”

“I, uuh…” Eik mumbled as he turned page after page, lips pursed. “I don’t know what it does, actually. It doesn’t seem to be on record.”

Sonja got up to look through the entries with Eik. “It isn’t?” she asked. He pushed the book over for her to see it better.

“It doesn’t look like it, no.”

“Hm. What about the third one then? Backflow.”

After another minute of scanning the pages Eik leaned back in his seat. “That one’s not there either. I think we’ll have to guess based on the names.”

“Well, an accelerant is commonly something that accelerates, right?” Michael began, writing his thoughts down on a piece of paper. “Like accelerating a process or something. I’m pretty sure gasoline is an accelerant, for example, because it makes a fire burn more.”

“So what would it do for poison? Make it more poisonous?” Eik asked. The healer tilted his head in thought but didn’t answer.

“If nothing else, it sounds offensive in nature,” Sonja pointed out. “Probably not a bad choice. Backflow is the one that’s not making as much sense to me.”

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“Maybe it allows you to call your poison back,” Heath suggested.

“Nah, I can already do that. Or if it does, then I really don’t need it at least.”

“Wait, when did you learn to do that?” Sonja asked.

He let a bit of Profound Toxin flow down his fingers and onto the table. Heath looked slightly uncomfortable at the sight of the substance that had tormented him so. With a touch, Eik reabsorbed it back into his skin. “I don’t really know when, but I just kind of learned it, I guess.”

“Is that what you tried to do for Heath back during the Great Raid?”

“Yeah, but the rebellious little thing refused to listen. I’m not even sure how I got it to obey in the end.”

Sonja frowned. “That’s… an incredibly strange way to talk about an ability. Do you think it has a consciousness?” she asked, looking almost concerned.

“No, no, nothing like that!” he hurried to say. “It’s just a little difficult to control sometimes, that’s all. Anyway, I’m thinking that Heath’s point about Infected Trail is pretty valid. Although we might well clash with people as well, I think we’ll mainly be fighting monsters for the foreseeable future. We can never know, but if only one of the abilities has a conditional usefulness then that might not be worth it right now.”

“What are you gonna go with then?” Heath asked.

Eik chewed on his lip as he thought. “Probably Accelerant. That reveals something about it at least, whereas Backflow is just not making sense to me…”

“I agree,” Sonja said and Michael nodded along with her.

“Alright, then,” Eik said and scratched lines through Infected Trail and Backflow, leaving only Accelerant intact.

“Do you feel any different?” Heath asked. “Any sudden magical realizations?”

“Not that I can tell, no. But given what an accelerant is, I probably need some toxin to do it,” he said. He dangled a finger above Sonja’s empty water glass and released a few centimeters worth of Profound Toxin.

They all watched the blue liquid closely as Eik held a hand over it, focusing intensely on the mental image of acceleration. It would have been significantly easier if he knew what that was supposed to be.

“Earh!” he hollered with an abrupt movement of the hand.

The blue substance in the glass quivered slightly, almost imperceptibly as dinky ripples played across the surface, before falling still again.

They gave it a few more seconds to continue but it refused to react further. “Is that it?” Heath asked, going to touch the liquid. Sonja slapped his hand away without looking, the practiced reflex a testament to the older sister’s lifelong burden.

“There’s no way, right?” Eik muttered disbelievingly. “I mean, there’s no way it would be bad, right? My ability is U—” He was about to say Unique. Profound Toxin was, according to Atla, part of a tiny, extremely rare group of abilities referred to as Worldbreakers, on account of their insane potential. The Accelerant evolution couldn’t possibly be a dud… Could it?

“We’ll just have to test it in the field next time. Then we’ll know, so don’t worry about it,” Michael said and drained the last of his chocolate milk. He returned the book of ability records to his bag and stood up.

“Anyway, I kind of have to go, guys. I promised my mom that I’d cook her beef stew. Her favorite is with mashed potatoes!”—His smile was full of genuine love—“Beef’s become so damned expensive now though. Ever since some of the cattle Awakened the prices of meat have skyrocketed. Nobody knows if the rest will Awaken soon or never so they’re getting everything they can out of the remaining population.”

“We’re gonna have to start eating monster meat soon…” Heath said dryly.

Michael made a face. “Yeah, I might just go vegetarian if that ever happens. What are you guys going to do for the rest of the day?”

Eik groaned, massaging the bridge of his nose, frustration clear on his face.

“What?” Heath asked.

“No, it’s just…” Eik began. “I have to go to that stupid debrief tomorrow. Or should I say, interrogation. I think I’ll have to spend the rest of the day preparing. I've already talked to all of them but they just can't get enough.”

“Wait, that’s tomorrow?” Sonja asked with surprise. “I thought we were supposed to go to that as well.”

Eik pursed his lips. “They probably see me as the main guy in all of this. If I’m alone I’m easier to discompose, is likely what they’re thinking.”

“We’ll come with you!” Heath said, fist clenched.

Eik clapped him on the shoulder gratefully. “Thanks, but don’t bother. They’ll just bar you from entering.”

Heath grumbled but sat back in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest, a position he could only barely maintain with the cast on his arm.

His eyes shifted to the street where two women ran past in a hurry. He leaned out to look after them.

“What’s up with them?” he wondered out loud.

Seconds later a man came running past in the same direction. The four friends shared glances and started after them. As they turned the corner Sonja’s Bat’s Ears ability picked up a commotion up ahead.

“It’s coming from the Central Square!” she said and broke into a sprint.

As they neared, Eik’s ears too began to pick up the sounds of a loud argument.

“—nd I’m saying that’s not going to happen! You can talk to us if you want to talk to somebody. If not, then feel free to hop back through your cursed portal!” The voice was loud, gruff, and agitated.

A much quieter but equally stubborn voice answered. “I don’t have anything to say to you. I don’t know you. You haven’t even bothered to tell me your name, after all. I just want to talk to—”

“No! Are you deaf, bro? It’s not gonna happen! We don’t want your kind here in the first place! Never did!”

The quieter voice sounded annoyed, but the throng of onlookers surrounding the altercation blocked any view of their faces. “Look, are you sure you have the authority to deny my request? You don’t seem very—”

“He doesn’t, but I do,” a new, third voice said, much more composedly than the agitated man. “Who did you say you were looking for again, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Ah, yes, thank you. I’m looking for a man named Eik. I don’t know his family name, but he was an F-ranker. Brown hair and about this tall,” the stranger listed, whatever gesture he was making going unseen. “But either of his friends, Heath, Michael, or Sonja would also be acceptable. Would that be possible?” the quiet voice asked.

Having gotten closer and listened, Eik already knew who the speaker was and he confirmed it as he pushed through the front of the audience.

The man who appeared to be in command of the squad responsible for protecting the fracture location gave it a few seconds before he answered. "I apologize, but I have strict orders to not allow that. I’ll contact my superiors so you can talk to them instead,”

“That’s okay,” Eik said as he stepped forth and approached Mikla. “I’m already here. Isn’t that lucky?” He grinned. Judging by the expression on his face, the commander didn’t share that particular notion.

“Nonetheless, I can’t just allow this without proper supervision!” the commander said sternly. “There are protocols to be followed.”

“Mikla, what’s your power rank again?” Eik asked.

The black-haired man gave him a look of confusion. “B-rank. Why?”

Eik raised a cheeky eyebrow at the commander. The man had paled slightly. “Come on, Commander,” he tried. “We both know I’ll end up talking to him. He’s a representative of the Nidafjeld Alliance and they only share important information through me.”

Eik dropped the playful tone. “I honestly don’t mean to put you in a difficult position here, but I’m going to end up being pulled into it again anyway. I’m already stressed enough over this crap as it is and I don’t want to slog through some formal this and that just to end up right back here in seven hours.”

The commander looked terribly conflicted. He was clearly a sincere man, but in the end he took a step back. Eik took that as a signal and followed Mikla through the fracture with a wave to his friends. People with abilities like Sonja’s Bat’s Ears were not uncommon enough to risk being overheard.

Once they were through, Mikla faced Eik, his face grave. “I'll get right to it. Remember when you asked me if I could identify the civilization that has been sending monsters to Earth?”

“Yes, of course. You said you weren’t confident you’d be able to tell.”

“Well, consider me confident,” Mikla said. “I’m pretty sure I know who’s responsible.”