Early Morning - Mid Summer : Spiall, Siratha

- Liv Sigmond ~

"Nnnngh..." Slowly coming to consciousness, I sat up and noticed my bed sheets and pillows spread all around the room. -Mmm... I slept really well...-

After continuing to lay there for another moment, I finally got up, fixed the room, and got a change of clothes.

-It should have only been a day or so... I should have a couple more days to relax.- As the thought of going back to sleep crossed my mind, I looked over at the bedside table and noticed the bronze-colored elixir still sitting there with a note under it.

Moving it to the side and pulling out the note, I noticed it was an elixir from the mystic beast. -But weren't they supposed to be silver-colored?-

As that thought crossed my mind, I read the last line on the note: 'The ‘ingredient’ was added solely to yours.'

-’The ingredient’? What did they add?- Although I was a bit curious, I decided not to question it too much and popped the lid off the elixir.

*Sniff* -It smells like honey...- Without much reason to continue to hold myself back, I tilted the vial up and drank all of the contents.

"Mmmm... It was tasty, but for an elixir from that mystic beast, it feels a bit wea-" *Vwooom*

Out of nowhere, a violent wave of mana came crashing into my body, and I felt every muscle in my body rip simultaneously.

As I fell to the floor, I could do nothing but question if death would be better before finally passing out.

*GASP* Jolting awake with a gasp for air, I rolled onto my knees and vomited everywhere. *Splat*

My vomit was black and smelled worse than rotting corpses, but once I got it all out, I suddenly felt like a totally different person.

-I feel.. stronger...- Slowly standing up to my feet, I noticed I not only felt physically stronger, but I also felt a large amount of mana moving around in my abdomen. -Just what did that elixir do to me...- But as I looked down at my abdomen, I noticed that my hands looked a bit unfamiliar.

In a slight panic, I darted in front of my mirror and finally noticed that it wasn't just my hands that had changed.

My irises had turned bronze with my hair becoming a deep silver, and my facial features and skin adjusted to make me comparable to the most stunningly beautiful elves.

As I touched my face and stared at myself in the mirror, I started to question if what I saw was even real, but that was before I noticed the dirty-orange scales on the back of my neck and scattered around my ears. -I must be dreaming...-

I stood there for several minutes to try and make sense of everything, but nothing even came to mind. -What.. did I do?-

I tried to think back to before I fell asleep but I couldn't remember anything after stumbling into my room after the meeting with the Duke.

Quickly scanning the room for any possible information, I noticed a small note on my bedside table and immediately moved over and read it.

-Right... The elixir from the mystic beast.. but...- Although physical changes were not uncommon with high-end elixirs, my case was a little extreme. -Its almost like I evolved…-

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But before I could think through that possibility, my thoughts were interrupted. *knock* *knock*

The sound made my mind go blank. -HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DEAL WITH PEOPLE WHEN I LOOK LIKE THIS?!-

In a panic, I dashed over to my closet to look for clothes that would cover the scales on my neck, and jewelry to hide those on my ears.

*knock* *knock*

*rustling*

"KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Please give me a moment!" As I spoke up to let them know I was coming, I heard my voice and noticed how much smoother it sounded. -I really feel like I'm in someone else's body...-

Finally getting some clothes, putting on some gold earrings I had for banquets, and cleaning up the vomit from when I woke up, I nervously moved over to the door and partially opened it.

*creak* Looking through the crack in the door, I locked eyes with a beautiful and mature elven woman. -Who is this?-

She gave me a surprised stare for a moment before noticing the symbol on my uniform showing my rank. "Are you Commander Sigmond?"

She didn't sound too sure of herself, but I couldn't blame her. "Yes, that's me. Who are you?"

"Well, you can call me Verdandi." As she spoke, she started to ease up. "All you need to know is that I am a Low-Priest from the capital. Can I speak with you for a moment?"

Her voice was smooth and deep for a woman but was oddly satisfying to listen to. "I can, but could you give me a moment to finish preparing?"

"You may."

*creak-click* Carefully closing the door and looking back into the room, I felt my heart start beating out of my chest. -WHAT IS A PRIEST DOING HERE?!-

Taking a moment to breathe and piece together any possible reason she was here, I assumed it had to be something related to my class in the capital. -But a priest named Verdandi... Maybe she was just recently promoted.-

Trying to shrug off my suspicions, I turned back to the door, took a deep breath, and opened it up. "Hooh…” *click* “Shall we move to my office?"

Making our way down the hallway, we finally came up to a simple but skillfully carved door with a new name written on it. 'Commander Liv Sigmond'. -They changed that fast...- Although I thought that, I didn't quite realize how long I had been knocked out.

*Click* Walking inside, I noticed the office was exactly how Commander Dolph left it. -I really need to give it a makeover...- Although I wasn't sure why something about the room felt.. wrong.

*Ding* Ringing a bell for a maid to come to bring bread and drinks, I finally sat down on the couch and motioned Verdandi to the other side of the low table.

"Were you just promoted to this position?" She asked while looking around the room, likely understanding that it wasn't my style at all.

"Yes, I apologize if you find this room unpleasant. The previous Commander was killed while on a very recent expedition so I haven't had the chance to remodel this room just yet."

"What? Was he that weak?" She seemed quite shocked.

"Not at all. He was actually quite strong, it was just that the.. monster in the mountains was far out of his league." As my thoughts started to blur slightly, I tried to shake it off by thinking of other things.

"Oh, so he was killed by the being in the mountains?" Her face was quick to light up, showing that she knew something.

-Being?!- The instant she said that word, the fog I had been trying to shake out of my mind thickened.

"..Sigmond? Miss Sigmond?!" Her panicked voice was quick to bring me back to my senses.

"Hm? Oh, sorry... My mind wandered a bit..." Seeing her concerned look, I tried to brush off her worries but it didn't help.

"Are you sure that was just your mind wandering? Your face is quite pale."

"Y..yes, sorry. In any case, can we move on to the topic at hand?" Wanting to quickly change the subject, I tried to move on.

"Right, sorry." She looked a bit guilty but was quick to shift gears. "I was sent by Miss Leif Vilulf to discuss a few things with you."

-Wait… V..Vilulf?!- Hearing the name immediately sent a shiver down my spine and made my mind stutter. -What could one of The Great Apostles want with me?!- "W..what is it she wanted to discuss?"

"Well actually, it is about what happened on the last three expeditions. The ones to the mountains." She cringed slightly after bringing up the topic I just tried to avoid. "I was told to hear your first-hand account of the being you saw 'in the mountains'."

Hearing what she wanted me to talk about, I instinctually thought about what to say, but that was a grave mistake.

The fog hovering in my mind vanished, but my face immediately lost all its color.

“I… I can't-” Although I sat there, completely safe in my office, I felt death blow down my neck. I could only speak with a shaky and stuttery, fear-filled voice as tears ran down my cheeks. “I can’t.. s..ay.. a..anyt..hing.. about it…”