After another day of training, Isabelle returned to her room. She wasted no time collapsing onto her bed and letting out a sigh, finally able to take it easy for the day. It also occurred to her that ‌she hadn’t talked with her mother in a while.

After relaxing her muscles, Isabelle picked up her phone and called her mom. Thankfully, the time zones were different, so she didn’t need to worry about waking up her mom.

Once Irene picked up, the two exchanged pleasantries and talked about how their days went.

“...And that’s how acting camp is going so far.” Isabelle finished telling her side of the story, kicking her legs back and forth.

“That’s great to hear!” Irene chirped. “It’s also nice to hear that you’re making friends.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? I’ve made friends before back on Ear— school.”

“Uh-huh,” Irene laughed from the other side of the phone. “Glad you’re having fun at camp, at least. It’s not often I see you doing a profession that requires you to get out of the house.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Oh, I just realized we’ve been talking for quite a while. I’m sure you want to go back to sleep and rest, considering what you’re working on.”

“Well, I do need to get up early tomorrow. I’m sure you have work, too.”

“Sure do. If it’s alright with you, I’d love to chat again when you’re free.”

“That’d be great. I miss you, mom.”

“Miss you too, sweetie. I can’t wait to see this play you’re all making when it’s finished!” Isabelle’s smile fell. “...Hello?”

“Ah, sorry, I just got lost in thought. Trust me; this play will be great.” After she finished her call, Isabelle buried her face in the pillow and clutched it tight. She never had a greater desire to scream into a pillow before. She might've done so without hesitation if she wasn’t sharing a room with someone else. What am I going to do?

.-.-.-.

Weeks went by as all the students trained in their respective classes. Little by little, everyone grew stronger and wiser with their techniques and skill power.

Eris and Scarlet cautiously watched as Benjamin prepared to conjure the latest spell his mentor had tasked him to do. Benjamin closed his eyes as his grip tightened, concentrating on the subjects before him- Chi-Chi and Harry. A soft blow emanated from the tip of his wand as a beam shot out and headed towards them. The glowing aura surrounded their furry little bodies until a flash of light covered the surrounding area.

Once the light dissipated and everyone opened their eyes, they gasped, seeing the two fused as one. Benjamin nearly dropped his wand upon seeing how badly the spell turned out. He quickly reiterated a spell to separate Harry and Chi-Chi back to their animal forms; everybody sighed in relief.

“I can’t believe this...” Benjamin groaned, colliding his hand to his face.

“Well, I’ll give it this: you’re improving‌, even if it’s a little,” Eris said.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Yeah, you almost got us to turn into one being,” Chi-Chi added.

“That wasn’t my intention, though,” Benjamin said.

“Oh. Well, at least you’re getting somewhere with this.” Harry replied. “You weren’t able to turn anything into shape before.”

“But I can still materialize things and use elemental powers somehow...” Benjamin muttered.

Eris scratched her chin, then snapped her fingers. She walked to the shelves with vials and took a few off before showing them to Benjamin. She explained how the contents could enhance one’s abilities and skills. They would allow him to experiment on what certain potions do. He accepted the offer without hesitation.

Harry and Chi-Chi joined the magician by mixing the concoctions inside the cauldron. They experimented with their own magic spells, to varying results. They ranged from growing to shrinking, getting multiple body parts, rearranging their faces, and even growing facial hair. Fortunately, the group reverted to their 'usual' selves and redid the changes made before they turned permanent.

Eris also mentioned that Benjamin could combine the spells to increase the effect, depending on what was in the vials, or risk creating a greater catastrophe.

Benjamin nodded in understanding, but something else dawned on him.

“Hold on, are you sure it’s alright for me to use ‌these?”

“It’s fine,” Eris replied. “I can restock on these, no problem. If they’ll help you out, that’s a plus as well.”

“Alright then!”

Benjamin examined each of the substances inside the vials. He didn't know what some of them could contain, but that excited him. He couldn’t sit still any longer than he needed to and wanted to try them all out. Harry and Chi-Chi offered to help test some concoctions, making Benjamin pull the vials back. The last thing he needed was to risk getting them so morphed that he couldn’t revert them to their state.

He told his familiars not to worry, or ask anyone else for help on that matter. He took one vial and drank the whole thing down to the last drop. The hamster and guinea pigs' horrified squeaks caught the attention of Eris and Scarlet, who both gasped upon witnessing what the magician had done.

Benjamin let go of the vial as a tight cord wrung around his chest. His body shook, but he couldn’t move his limbs. He wanted to scream, hurl even, but nothing would come out of his mouth. When he opened his eyes, everyone in his vision appeared taller, but he had no problem moving up to their level. Wait, how can he even get up and move if he can’t feel his legs? Looking down, Benjamin found out ‌he didn't have a body of the sort either, and floated in mid-air.

Benjamin hurried over to the nearest mirror, only to find that his appearance had worsened. His eyes widened. He transformed into one of the Pilkons.

“What? How did this happen?” He shouted. His body flinched, being taken by surprise. Despite having no mouth, he could still talk and communicate with the others perfectly fine.

“What did you do?” Eris asked, her blood boiling.

“How did I end up like this?”

“You should know how; you drank one of my rare potions! Did you not check the labels?”

“L-Labels? WHAT! You never told me there were labels hidden in these!”

“I didn’t think I needed to! I thought you were better than that. Ugh...”

How’d Master ‌get the rarer ones from up there? Harry thought, looking up at one of the higher shelves.

He figured ‌she kept them there. Did he reach it on his own using his feet or magic? Or did Eris misplace one of them on the lower level?

“Ok.” Benjamin shook his head, trying to keep things back on track. “How can you turn me back to how I was before?”

“Well...” Eris crossed her arms and sighed. “Familiars transformed is one thing, but you being transformed into a familiar? That’s another thing.”

She told him to wait as she checked her secret compartment in a nearby trunk. Eris frowned and returned, reporting that she lacked the materials needed to create the spell to turn him back.

“Well, what do we need? I can help you find what you’re after!”

It was your undoing, after all. “To get the last of the materials, we need to head out somewhere,” Eris explained the situation to them. “We need help to get there as fast as possible.”

“Well, why are we standing here? Let’s get going!” Benjamin exclaimed. “The sooner, the better! I’d hate for Isabelle or Sebastian to see me like this...”