Fendrel traced his finger along the glyph sequence, the charcoal lines stark against the wooden floor. A body sprawled near the window, face pressed against the floorboards. The man had dropped without a sound - the venomshroud poison on the windowsill worked faster than expected.

Blood pooled beneath the would-be intruder's nose, staining the wooden planks. However, Fendrel barely registered the corpse's presence, too absorbed in the revelations unfolding before him.

The grimoire's pages seemed to pulse with hidden meaning. What had appeared as disparate elements now wove together into a cohesive whole. The parasitic influence provided insights into the text he could never imagine to understand by himself.

"Life force stability," he muttered, comparing two diagrams side by side. "The etheric residue..."

His eyes traced the interconnected paths between symbols. The integration timer pulsed at the edge of his awareness.

Integrating the class, race and parasite. Time remaining 10 minutes.

Whatever the integration meant to do, it was going to happen soon.

Bottles from two days of experiments and countless failures cluttered his workbench, he spend most of the gold on shopping for rare ingredients instead of trying to fulfill his outstanding orders.

"This is more important." He mumbled to himself for tenth time. "It has to be."

The corpse's presence nagged at him distantly, like an itch he couldn't quite reach. He should deal with it. Instead, his attention fixed on the breakthrough crystallizing in his mind. The parasite's insight revealed how the grimoire's seemingly separate research paths intertwined.

Life force stability - the anchoring of spiritual energy within physical forms. And etheric residue manipulation - the shaping of energy traces left by magical processes. One used toxin as the means of application, while the second one manifested through the glyphs.

Fendrel's hand shook as he picked two bottles from the table and sat in the middle of the glyph circle. The parasite's influence let him perceive how the patterns linked, forming a foundation for something new. A method to capture and preserve spiritual energy, perhaps even bind it to physical vessels.

The timer continued its steady countdown. Blood from the dead man crept across the floor in a widening pool.

Fendrel held up two bottles to the dim light filtering through his grimy window. The first contained the Eclipsebane Toxin, its dark contents swirling with an inner luminescence. He'd followed the grimoire's instructions to the letter, measuring each ingredient with precision. The second bottle, filled with the Shadowroot Draught, emanated a different kind of energy - one he'd created through his own experimentation.

His eyes drifted to the complex array of glyphs he'd incorporated into the brewing process. Unlike the massive circle taking up half his floor, these smaller marks had been carefully etched onto the brewing apparatus itself. The new skills and parasite's insight into the process had shown him how to merge the magical inscriptions with the alchemical reactions.

The dead man's blood had finally stopped spreading, congealing at the edge of the floor circle. The glyphs were meant to contain whatever energy the process would generate - though he couldn't begin to guess what form that energy might take.

His hand trembled as he uncorked the Shadowroot Draught. The last time he'd sampled an unfinished product, he'd nearly died. But this felt different. The parasite's presence in his mind conveyed an understanding of the potion's purpose, even if he couldn't fully grasp the mechanisms behind it. Something about stabilizing and anchoring life force within his body.

"Container for the body," he muttered, studying the dark liquid. "Vessel for etheric energy."

The words made little sense to his conscious mind, but some deeper part of him - the part influenced by the parasite - recognized their significance. The Draught would prepare his body to contain whatever strange power the floor circle was designed to capture.

He swirled the bottle's contents, watching how the liquid caught the light.

Fendrel stared at the Draught, his fingers white-knuckled around the bottle. The liquid inside seemed to pulse with its own heartbeat. Every group that had approached him wanted something, the Ironmire, the cabal, nobles and now whoever left the grimoire expected him to believe their bullshit about helping the sick.

His jaw clenched. Even the parasite had its own agenda, forcing him to brew increasingly complex concoctions just to maintain the delicate balance keeping it in check. The creature's silence now felt meaningful, like tacit approval of what he planned.

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"At least you're honest about using me." He traced the edge of the bottle with his thumb. "Not hiding behind pretty words about greater good or duty."

The floor circle's glyphs cast strange shadows in the dim light. Class advancement. Integration.

Integrating the class, race and parasite. Time remaining 30 seconds.

Nobody ever heard about integration of race and class, yet here it was about to happen. If there was chance to escape it all, this was it.

"Fuck it."

Before doubt could take hold, he pressed the bottle to his lips and drank.

The liquid burned going down, coating his throat in ice. His stomach clenched as the potion hit, spreading tendrils of cold through his core.

[EFFECT] Your essence has been reinforced

Fendrel's hands shook as he set down the empty bottle. But short of the notification nothing seemed to change. He reached for the Eclipsebane Toxin.

Fendrel lifted the Eclipsebane Toxin to his lips. The liquid slid down his throat, sweeter than he expected. His vision blurred, colors intensifying until the dim room blazed with impossible hues. A rush of euphoria swept through him, lifting him beyond the confines of his flesh.

The high crashed into him like a tidal wave. His body hummed with energy while his thoughts scattered like leaves in a storm. The wooden floor beneath his feet darkened, grain lines withering as the boards aged decades in seconds. Mold sprouted and died along the walls, leaving behind nothing but ash.

[STATUS] You have been drugged.

[EFFECT] Etheric energy absorption in progress.

The circle of glyphs pulsed, each symbol igniting with deep purple light. Terror clawed at his mind even as his body sang with power. The corpse by the window crumbled into dust. Flesh dissolved into nothing, bones following moments later until only a dark stain remained on the floorboards.

[STATUS] Integration commences.

[AREA EFFECT] Ambient life essence eradicated in 200 meter radius.

The very air seemed to grow thin and lifeless. Energy poured into him, filling spaces he hadn't known existed within his being.

[NEW ATTRIBUTE UNLOCKED]: Etheric energy

His triumph turned to horror as pain lanced through his arms. The flesh began to rot, skin sloughing off in wet chunks to reveal blackened muscle beneath. His throat constricted, choking off his attempts to scream.

[STATUS] Host insufficient capacity, disintegrating the host

Fendrel's jaw worked soundlessly as he watched decay spread up his arms. Tendons separated from bone, muscle turning to slurry. The purple light from the glyphs grew brighter, searing his eyes as power continued to pour into his failing body.

[STATUS] Epic class integrating: Mirebane

[STATUS] Irregular species integrating: Human Bogwraith

[STATUS] Rare parasite integrating: Xytril Nematode

Oversaturation of etheric energy…

Reinforced vessel…

Advanced Glyph formation available…

[STATUS] Glyph-Melded Form

Fendrel's scream died in his throat as something twisted inside him. His bones cracked and shifted, grinding against each other like stones in a mill. Muscles tore and reformed, weaving new patterns beneath his skin. The sensation wasn't pain - it was worse, a fundamental wrongness that defied description.

Black symbols bubbled up through his dissolving flesh, each glyph burning with cold fire as it emerged. The marks spread across his arms and legs in intricate patterns, fighting back the decay that threatened to consume him. Where the glyphs touched, dead tissue knit itself back together, though the new skin held an ashen pallor.

His back arched as another wave of transformation wracked his body. The parasite writhed within him, its presence expanding until he could feel it in every cell. Their boundaries blurred - host and parasite becoming something new, something other.

The circle's purple light flickered and died, leaving Fendrel gasping on the floor. His chest heaved as he drew in ragged breaths, each one tasting of grave soil and decay.

[EFFECT] Necrosis Infection - Permanent

[EFFECT] Runic Enhancement - Permanent

Glowing text appeared in his vision, announcing his transformation in stark, clinical terms.

Congratulations. You have evolved Glyph-Melded Form.

You have finished your advancement. Necrotic Etherbane Engraver

The parasite has fully integrated with your form.

[STATUS]

NAME: Fendrel Solinar

CLASS: Necrotic Etherbane Engraver LEVEL: 1

RACE: Human Bogwraith

FORM: Glyph-Melded

INTEGRATION: Xytril Nematode LEVEL: 10

Your skills have been updated.

Your codex has been updated.

The parasite's familiar presence disappeared, no longer the subtle pressure in his chest, but more of a presence in the back of his mind.

Fendrel stared at his transformed arms, watching the glyphs shift and pulse beneath his grey-tinged skin, before settling in black patterns.

Fendrel ran his fingers over the glyphs etched into his skin. "I'm really fucked this time." His voice came out as a rasp, dry and hollow.

The laboratory looked like a tomb. Where vials of reagents and ingredients had stood, only empty glass remained. His wooden workbench had crumbled to dust, leaving behind just the metal fittings and stone base. Even the leather of his journal had dissolved, the metal clasp falling to the floor with a clank.

He stumbled to the window, legs still unsteady. The street below was empty - thank whatever gods might be listening.

"How in the hells am I supposed to explain this?" His grey-tinged fingers left smudges on the windowpane. The Blackthorns would want answers about the place. And someone must have noticed the purple light or energy radiating from this place.

A sharp pain lanced through his chest, followed by text floating across his vision:

[FORM STATUS]: Form's required substance: Reinforced Gravebloom Tincture: Dose required in 9 hours.

"Perfect. I don't get a break with this part." He kicked at a pile of dust that had once been his chair. The notification hung in his sight like a death sentence. Without his supplies or equipment, he had no way to brew the tincture. And based on the burning sensation already building in his veins, he didn't want to find out what would happen when that timer hit zero.