Chapter 27: Five Changes

Lu Mi's first reaction after waking up in the gray fog wasn't to check his physical condition, but to sit up abruptly and look at the table by the window.

The three red chestnut flowers and the glass bottle containing the poplar leaf powder were resting quietly there, catching the faint light penetrating the thick fog high above.

"She really sent the supplementary ingredients in..." Lu Mi breathed a sigh of relief, rolled out of bed, and began to move his body.

He was delighted to find that the pain in his neck and back had completely disappeared, and the discomfort in his body was gone as well.

"Sure enough, once reality is healed, the dream recovers too, although the injuries on both sides aren't proportional at all..." Lu Mi walked quickly to the wardrobe with a full-length mirror, took off his upper garment, and examined himself thoroughly.

The five blood-stained finger marks, the high-swelling blue-black bruises, and the patches of blood stasis were all nowhere to be found.

This made Lu Mi suspect that hunting the Beyonder monster last night was just a dream he had.

Fortunately, the mass of deep-red matter in the cloth bag, the wealth that had increased by a few copper coins compared to before, and the hunting rifle resting to the side all proved the reality of that experience.

Lu Mi's heart settled. Carrying the cloth bag with the deep-red matter and stuffing his pockets with a large amount of money, he left the bedroom, headed straight for the first floor, grabbed a bottle of red wine, flipped over a beer mug, and brought back a jar of basil.

Of course, he didn't forget to bring the measuring cylinder, small balance, and other teaching instruments he had purchased when his sister Aurora was teaching him lessons.

Looking at the desk filled with items, he felt a bit excited and uncontrollably nervous.

Everything was ready; only the potion concoction remained!

And the potion wasn't a beverage; it was more dangerous than alcohol. Any slight problem would lead to the drinker's death or mutation into a monster.

Lu Mi took a breath and exhaled slowly, then used the measuring cylinder to pour 80ml of red wine into the beer mug.

He added 10g of basil, 5g of poplar leaf powder, and one red chestnut flower in turn.

The whole process didn't show any anomalies; the red liquid in the beer mug just had a few more dregs and a floating fresh flower compared to before.

Immediately after, Lu Mi picked up the cloth bag at his side and watched intently as the mass of deep-red matter slid into the beer mug.

Silently, the deep-red mass seemed to dissolve rapidly, yet it also seemed as if all the surrounding liquid was sucked into its body.

Bubbles gurgled up, blood color rendered the entire cup, and the red chestnut flower had already dissolved at some point.

"This is the 'Hunter' potion?" Lu Mi swallowed his saliva and picked up the beer mug.

The supernatural power he had been bitterly pursuing was right before his eyes.

Without hesitation, Lu Mi adjusted his breathing, calmed his emotions, tilted his head slightly, and drank the potion directly.

Gulp, gulp, gulp. A pungent smell of blood seemed to drill into his nostrils, and he had a bit of auditory hallucination in his ears.

Just after finishing the potion and putting down the cup, he immediately felt a stinging pain—a stinging pain from every part of his body.

It was so intense that Lu Mi suspected he had drunk a ball of fire, and that fire was burning his esophagus, stomach, heart, lungs, small intestine, large intestine, and all his blood vessels.

At the same time, a strong metallic taste spread outward from his throat.

Remembering the lady's words, he tried his best to control his spirit, not letting himself pass out directly. If that happened, it would likely mean he had been defeated by the potion, and the result could be imagined.

In a daze, Lu Mi lowered his head and saw the blood vessels on the back of his hands all protruding, crisscrossing, dense, and vividly bright red.

The stinging pain and burning came and went quickly. After only two or three seconds, Lu Mi felt they were about to disappear.

Just then, his head buzzed, and the mysterious voice that seemed to come from infinite heights and yet seemed right beside him rang in his ears again.

This voice was like steel needles, inserting into his head and stirring forcefully.

The near-death experience struck Lu Mi again, and the burning and stinging that were about to disappear became intense again.

At this moment, Lu Mi's eyes widened, his hands clenched tightly, and he felt as if something was about to tear open his skin and crawl out from his flesh and blood.

The gray fog around him seemed to thicken a bit.

The terrifying voice, which he could never hear clearly, subsided, and the wriggling of his flesh and blood vanished like a hallucination.

The terrible stinging pain and burning, the strong metallic taste, and the smell of blood also disappeared.

Lu Mi finally breathed in the cool air again and regained control of his body.

He couldn't help but bend his back, support his hands on his knees, and pant heavily.

He understood the danger of pursuing supernatural power that his sister spoke of more deeply.

It was only a Sequence 9 potion, and it almost cost him his life!

Of course, it wouldn't have reached this level originally; it could only be said that it was indeed quite dangerous. But at the critical moment, the mysterious voice brought by the special symbols on his chest almost made him collapse directly.

Every breath seemed to help Lu Mi regain a portion of his strength. Not long after, he felt he had completely recovered.

Lu Mi tried to clench his fist, aimed at the air, and swung it forcefully.

Bang!

He actually produced the sound of an airflow bursting open.

He had never dared to hope for such power before!

Lu Mi became even more excited. In the small bedroom, he shifted his steps and practiced a certain combat technique his sister had taught him.

Bang, bang, bang!

Every punch he threw brought out a crisp sound, and in such a cramped environment with such a big commotion, every step he took was perfectly placed, not touching anything.

After finishing the set, Lu Mi not only didn't feel tired but felt spirited.

He then evaluated his own state:

"Not worse than Aurora...

"Whether it's strength, speed, reaction, or control over the body, all have been greatly enhanced. It has a bit of an inhuman flavor...

"It has both the strength of a bear and the agility of a cat, roughly equal to a combination of the two...

"Without the potion, I might never have reached this level in my life..."

Before he finished examining himself, Lu Mi suddenly smelled a scent of blood.

He couldn't help but feel a tightness in his heart and instinctively sniffed.

The next second, he discovered he could actually distinguish where the source of the blood scent was.

It came from his own body!

Lu Mi lowered his head and saw his hands were covered in bright red, as if there were multiple bleeding points.

He went to the full-length mirror again and found his face was also covered in blood stains.

Lu Mi reached out to wipe his face, wiping away some of the blood, but didn't see a single wound.

After thinking for a while, he had a certain guess:

"Did drinking the potion just now cause all the capillaries Aurora mentioned to burst? And after absorbing the potion, the wounds healed rapidly?"

Only the influence of supernatural factors could explain the current situation.

Since there were no wounds, Lu Mi stopped focusing on this matter and placed his focus on his sense of smell, which seemed to have changed significantly.

As he concentrated, the scents permeating the air were instantly "decomposed" and drilled into his nose in different forms.

"Blood scent, residual alcohol, floral fragrance, the smell of dust..." Lu Mi distinguished them one by one, not even letting go of the very subtle ones.

At the same time, he "saw" the footprints on the ground that were normally invisible, "saw" the different distribution of dust in the bedroom, "heard" the beating of his own heart, and "heard" the breeze blowing outside the house...

"The second change is that sensory ability has improved linearly, and the grasp of traces has surpassed the level of a normal human... No wonder that monster was so good at tracking..." Lu Mi was quite delighted by this.

Moreover, more importantly, this improvement didn't affect his daily life; it only appeared when he concentrated, and usually, it only existed in a weakened version.

After repeated tests and self-examination, Lu Mi found two other changes brought by the "Hunter" potion:

"The third change is that under the premise of detailed observation of the environment, I can accurately and intuitively find certain key points. For example, how to collapse a wall more easily. This allows me to set traps better and faster... This can also be applied to humans, wild beasts, and monsters, allowing me to complete hunts more effectively..."

"The fourth change is that I have more knowledge about wild plants and animal organs in my head. This helps me survive better in the wild, find qualified 'hemostatic medicine' quickly after being injured, and make poisons to apply to weapons when needed..."

Having confirmed this much, Lu Mi couldn't help but feel a bit absurd:

"I actually managed to kill that hunting rifle monster?

"The current me is much, much stronger than the previous me, and it wasn't much weaker than the current me..."

After thinking back seriously for a while, he summarized two key points:

"Ability is important, but the mind is equally important!

"Making good use of the environment can effectively enhance one's own strength!"

After thinking about it, Lu Mi added a sentence in his heart:

"Also, never be careless or lose patience at any time..."

He walked to the window and looked at the dream ruin again.

An indescribable sense of oppression, fear, and danger surged into his heart. This hadn't appeared before, or at least hadn't been this intense.

"Uh, the fifth change is that some kind of intuition has been enhanced..." Lu Mi nodded gently.

He went to the washroom, washed his body clean with clear water, changed into another set of clothes, took the money, and lay back on the bed.

He wanted to return to reality quickly to see if the "Hunter" abilities he had obtained had been brought out, and if so, whether they had decayed.

Cordu village in the middle of the night was very quiet. The high-altitude clouds covered the red moon and the stars, making the deep darkness the ruler of this area.

Lu Mi looked at such a night view, feeling extremely comfortable.

In reality, he had also become a Beyonder, and compared to the dream, his abilities hadn't weakened at all!

Guided by intuition, Lu Mi unbuttoned his shirt and looked down at his chest.

The black symbol that looked like a thorn chain was slowly fading.

"It appeared in reality too..." Lu Mi felt inexplicably uneasy.

And the blue-black symbol that should have been pressing on the thorn chain seemed to only exist in the dream.

Suddenly, Lu Mi's heart stirred, and he raised his head.

On the elm tree not far away, the owl from the wizard's legend was quietly watching him.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 28 =====