NOVEL NEXT Chapter 186: Oculus Extima II
"What is the next step, Master?" Ashe said.
"The next step is to inject these into your eyes." Siderius said.
He took out the hunter's knife and doused it in a high-concentrated alcohol.
"Alcohol is antibacterial. It cannot kill spores and some types of viruses but overall is a very effective disinfectant." Siderius said.
"I was wondering why you made all those liquors. Some of them even burned my tongue. It wasn't meant to be drunk at all!" Ashe said.
"Hmmm? You tasted the alcohol in the cellar?" Siderius raised an eyebrow.
Ashe twisted her fingers together, looking like a child in trouble. "I was only making sure they didn't go bad, Master..."
Siderius chopped down on her head. He wasn't using that much strength but enough to cause discomfort.
Ashe grabbed her forehead pitifully. "It hurts..."
"It should hurt. So you remember not to touch my stuff without my permission."
"I'm sorry..."
"All of the alcohol I made is suitable for drinking. But they can also be used as disinfectants."
"No way! Who is going to drink that heavy stuff?"
"We are. The heavier and more concentrated an alcohol is, the better it is as an ingredient for spirits creation.
Do you remember what I taught you?"
"Yes, Master. The spirits are alcohol-based mixtures that can assist the witch hunters in various ways. This included training, conditioning, healing, and fighting."
"At least you remember that. Now stay silent and focus on what I'm going to do.
Clean the instruments thoroughly.
Then disinfect the instruments with alcohol and then with fire will minimize the chance of you getting an infection. It is less effective than using sterilant but those are rare and hard to make.
I am well-familiar with the process so I can use this blade as a replacement. But for beginners like you, I would recommend making a surgical knife for a smoother and safer procedure.
Now, observe."
Siderius pulled the tail of his right eye further out to expose the tiny white sclera in his dark eye. With one precision cut, his eyeball was cut open, blood immediately leaking out like a water fountain.
The pain was simply indescribable.
Ashe took a huge gasp and covered her mouth. Even her felt terrified by the process.
Siderius grabbed a silver sphere and moved it to his right eye. When the sphere was closed enough, it spurred into life and went into the small incision that Siderius had made.
His right eye was covered in the silver color of Mercury. It went completely dark. Only his left eye was still visible.
A straight line of Mercury tears flowed down his right cheek.
His right side vision slowly returned. This time, it was no longer black and white. It was a vision full of slightly muted colors.
The panther seemed to be able to observe more colors than the owl, which was designed specifically because of their evolution. Black and white helped the owl to have an exceptional night vision but completely disregard its day vision.
The panther operated both night and day. It could see more colors but not as much as a human.
The silver Mercury in his right eye seeped under the eyeball, fusing his second mutation and his first mutation. Soon, all the Mercury disappeared, leaving only a streak of Mercury tear on his cheek and a slit vertical pupil.
His right iris was pure gold, shining brightly in the brightly hideout.
Ashe stared at his right eye without blinking. The golden shade of it hypnotized her.
Siderius turned toward Ashe and suddenly, the slit expanded into a deep dark eye. The transformation startled Ashe and she fell on her butt.
Siderius chuckled gently. "You are too easy to scare, my apprentice."
Ashe pouted her lips but she didn't say anything. "He really likes to poke fun at me."
She returned to the kneeling position and dusted her bottom.
"Why did your eye change, Master? It was a slit just before."
"It is an ability of a slit pupil, my apprentice. Vertical slit limited the amount of light that is able to enter my retina, avoiding overexposure to my eye.
In contrast, when it expands, the pupil becomes round, allowing more light to pass through, activating my night vision."
"Oh..." Ashe wrote down everything carefully.
Siderius continued with his left eye. He made a quick incision in the sclera of the left eye and let the mutation climb into the eyeball. The wound closed up immediately and he cried Mercury tears.
A few minutes passed.
Siderius wiped the Mercury off his face.
[WARNING]
[MERCURY STORAGE IS FULL]
[EXCESS MERCURY WILL NOT BE ABSORBED]
Siderius let the Mercury on his hand dripped to the ground, back into the remaining Mercury of the Mutation Seal.
His eyes snapped open.
Two golden eyes with black vertical slits. His eyes glared in the night like two miniature suns.
[MUTATION IS COMPLETE]
[PSYCHOSIS +137]
[HUNTER HAS EVOLVED]
[HUNTER HAS ACHIEVED A NEW RANK: OCULUS EXTIMA II]
[MAXIMUM TOXICITY +25]
[S.Y.S.T.E.M.]
[USER: Siderius 'Snow' Satterblade]
[ ATTRIBUTES ]
|Strength: 4|
|Agility: 4|
|Perception: 7|
|Stamina: 7|
|Endurance: 6|
[WITCH HUNTER RANK: OCULUS EXTIMA II]
[ALCHEMIST RANK: SILVER II]
[SIGILS SLOT: 3/3]
[SIGIL: <VERTIGO>; <PARAVE>; <DISPELLERA>]
[MERCURY EXTRACT: 200/200]
[SALT EXTRACT: 200/200]
[PSYCHOSIS LEVEL: 137/150]
[TOXICITY LEVEL: 0/125]
"Finally. I can get rid of this pair of glasses."
Siderius threw the obsidian glasses to Ashe, which she caught flawlessly.
"Master?"
"I'm not sure how you are going to design your mutation. But in case you graft a pair of nocturnal eyes like me, this pair of glasses can be useful."
Ashe nodded her head. She held the pair of glasses dearly with two hands and carefully tucked it into her pocket.
"Thank you, Master."
"Well. That is the mutation process. Any question?"
"Not right now, Master. But if I think of any question later, I will ask you right away."
"Good."
The pair closed the entrance to their hideout and spent the night.
Siderius had successfully grafted his second mutation, as expected. Kraus and his thugs were keeping an eye on Thane and the Bailiff. They weren't doing anything suspicious at the moment.
Thane was still bathing in his coins and women. The Bailiff continued to control the small inconsequential Mucktown. Siderius ordered the thugs to continue watching them without taking any action.
As for him, Siderius intended to finish some more tasks before approaching the two.
He had an ungodly amount of ghoul skins that weren't processed yet. Their durable capability was perfect to make leather armor.
Ashe was still wearing her usual farming clothes, which were not optimal for training and hunting at all.
Siderius also liked to create some tools as well. Some iron arrow heads would be great and he could also make a new projectile for the sling. To do that, he needed iron.
Without Lyara, there was nothing else in this town that could threaten Siderius. He was thinking of visiting the Rocky Pit again and checking up on Nadia.
Siderius dozed off into the night.