Chapter 42: The Strange Perfume

"You have never forgotten at all, Ennessa. Not once, not ever."

Delaney answered.

"I also would not believe that a Vorath could pass through our organization’s Vorath-sensing protocols so many times without being detected, or that I could perform a cybertransfusion on one without sensing the difference between its body and a human’s after examining three holographs of every dimensional part of him," Delaney replied.

"But I know what I saw, Ness. Those particles are Mana. That is the only explanation for the speed at which his DNA recovered."

She spoke, but Ennessa was far from convinced.

"I will simply say this. Take this with you."

Delaney placed a small perfume bottle on the table.

"This perfume, which seems ordinary, is mixed with Nivruti12."

"Any Vorath that smells it would immediately erupt into a coughing fit or, if strong enough to suppress that reaction, would find the smell deeply uncomfortable."

"The perfume is also mixed with Nivruti12, the most pleasant-smelling chemical ingredient known to mankind."

"Any human who smells it would be immediately intoxicated by the scent."

She spoke, and Ennessa’s brows furrowed as she understood where Delaney was going with this.

"Whether you use it or not is in your hands..."

Delaney spoke as Ennessa took the glass bottle into her hands.

"And that is what I came to see you for. If you do not mind, I will be leaving now. Please be safe, Ennessa..."

Delaney stood from her seat, giving Ennessa one last look before walking out of the bar with her bag hanging at her side, until she slowly disappeared from Ennessa’s view.

Once more, Ennessa was left alone with her thoughts, and quietly, she removed the perfume’s cover and took a single sniff.

And just as Delaney had said, the smell was unlike anything Ennessa had ever encountered.

"Arlo... It cannot be... or can it?"

___________________

Two days later...

"Huuuuuu..."

The sound of a long exhale filled the room.

It came from the figure kneeling on the ground, tightly covered in gooey black matter that caused a foul odor to spread throughout the space.

[You have spent exactly two days cultivating nonstop while remaining in a half-awake state. Not bad at all.]

The system notification blinked before his eyes as Arlo raised his hands to his face.

Even beneath the layer of goo covering him, it felt as though he had shed his skin.

The mere brushing of his fingers together created a crackling sound in the air as he felt a massive improvement in his physical strength.

"I finally formed the vessels, did I not?" Arlo asked as he directed his consciousness toward his brain and heart.

He could now see two mysterious spheres within them, the one in his head glowing black and the one in his heart painted astral gold.

[Congratulations. Hidden Quest Completed.]

[Reach the Magic Apprentice Realm.]

[Rewards:

1.) +2 Level Up Cards,

2.) +3 Ability Upgrade Cards.]

The notification panel appeared, causing a sweet smile to bloom on Arlo’s face.

"The Magic Apprentice Realm, the first stage on the path of a mage..."

Arlo said to himself with a satisfied expression.

At least now, he was officially a magic cultivator, unlike before.

[Now that you have reached the Magic Apprentice Realm, your Mana reserves have tripled, and you can also properly use your abilities.]

[There are also quite a few benefits you ought to check out. But before that, I would advise you to prepare yourself, as today is the day you embark on the mission.]

"Good point..."

Arlo replied as he quickly began cleaning up the room.

It was strange that Captain Ennessa had not knocked on his door throughout the previous day, but he was not one to complain about not being disturbed.

"Time to get ready!"

_________

KNOCK

KNOCK

KNOCK

The sound of knocking came from the door, which soon opened to reveal Captain Ennessa standing outside with a beaming smile that quickly froze.

"Arlo?"

Captain Ennessa called out, her eyebrows knitting together as she looked at him in shock.

She reached out and touched his face before pulling back, confusion written across her features.

"What?"

"You look a little... different," Captain Ennessa said.

"Did you shed your skin overnight and grow taller too? I remember you being shorter than this."

Arlo finally understood what she meant and shook his head before slightly puffing out his chest.

"So, the flirting style is what we are going with today, huh, Ennessa? I gotta say, I am not much impressed."

"Anyway, is today not the day of the mission? We do not have all day, Ennessa!"

Arlo barked coolly before scurrying down the stairs.

"You! You dumbass!"

Captain Ennessa yelled as she slammed the door closed and rapidly chased after Arlo, who still had both hands buried in his pockets and his chin held high, even though his legs were quietly forming afterimages in the air from how fast he was running away.

_________________

"So, the mission is a luring mission, huh?"

"We dress like ordinary civilians and hope the Vorath will try to kidnap one of us like they’ve been doing."

"Then, booyah! We reveal our true selves, capture them, and send them to jail."

"Pretty sleek plan, if I may say..."

Arlo said, his eyes lighting up at what he considered a brilliant idea.

"Still, it would be dangerous nonetheless. What if one of us encounters a Vorath beyond our capabilities? Won’t we be kidnapped for real then?" Arlo asked.

Captain Ennessa shook her head.

"No matter how powerful the Vorath is, you should be able to crush an object in your palm before it can seize you."

"Once you crush it, everyone in the area will be alerted and will instantly storm toward your location."

"It should be fine, and the Vorath will not even know what happened. You are only buying time until they arrive," Captain Ennessa replied.

Arlo nodded.

"Have you ever thought you were strange, Arlo?"

Captain Ennessa suddenly asked as Arlo struggled to swallow everything he had greedily stuffed into his mouth.

"Like, have you ever felt weird about how... different you are?"

"Am I strange?"

Arlo wondered, something truly bizarre for a human being to wonder.

"You know, I suppose I am."

"Oh, really?"

"I mean, what kind of boy argues with the captain and tells her she is not qualified for her post on the first day of a mission?"

"Then he has her fuming, gets himself taken to the hospital, and somehow uses his invincible, godly physique to charm her into practically begging him to become her personal intern, just so she can take care of him."

"Now he has also fused with a Forbidden-grade Cybertech and taken someone’s entire life’s work in the form of a Core, all without paying a single dime."

"What part of that is not abnormal?"

Captain Ennessa scrunched up her face before it quickly returned to normal, and she exhaled loudly.

"It is amazing how easily you make me want to punch you in the face right now," she replied.

Arlo giggled before quickly wrapping up everything on the table as fast as he could.

He had not eaten throughout the entire previous day, so he was no doubt as hungry as hell.

For the next few minutes, silence reigned as Arlo hungrily devoured as much as he could.

Still, he could feel Captain Ennessa’s piercing gaze boring into him with every movement, and whenever he naturally raised his head to look at her, he found her eyes focused elsewhere, as if she did not want him to know she had been watching him.

[She is acting strange. Be careful,] the system’s voice rang in his head as Arlo continued eating.

’I know she is.’

’Captain Ennessa barely spares me a glance when I am not looking at her, but now she is asking strange questions and quickly averting her eyes.’

’This... this is not the normal Captain Ennessa I know.’

Ten minutes passed.

Finally, Arlo dropped his fork and spoon, having successfully conquered the plate of food.

He could not help shifting his belt slightly as he felt the sudden tightness around his waist.

"Done."

"Good. Let us get going," she replied, dropping her own spoon as well, having barely taken a bite of anything.

She got down from her seat, followed by Arlo, and they both headed toward the exit of the house.

_____________

VROOOOOOOOOOM

VROOOOOOOOOOOOOM

The car’s engine vibrated intensely as the door opened for Arlo, who jumped in before watching it close by itself.

He adjusted his seatbelt and secured it properly before Captain Ennessa drove out of the large gate and joined the main road.

"So, we are going directly to Sector F?" Arlo asked.

Captain Ennessa shook her head.

"No. We are going to my base. We need to gather with the rest of the crew before moving on to Sector F."

"Besides, it is a pretty faraway place. We won’t be able to get there with just a car."

She explained before suddenly dipping her hand into her pocket and bringing out a strange glass bottle, which she placed just behind the wheel.

"Hmm, and what is that?"

Arlo noticed it instantly as he stretched out his hand and picked up the small glass bottle, examining its exquisite design.

"Oh, that? Just a perfume," Captain Ennessa said with a shrug, though if only Arlo knew how madly her heart was pounding in her chest.

"Welp, I am not a fan of perfumes," Arlo retorted before placing it back down.

"Really? This one’s got a good smell, though."

She said as she opened the glass bottle before also opening the car windows.

Immediately, the scent began diffusing through the air inside the car.

[WARNING!]

[WARNING!]

[A Strange Substance Has Been Released into the User’s Airspace.]

[Scanning Properties...]

[Substance Is Very Complicated. More Time Is Required to Decipher Its Properties.]

[WARNING!]

[The Substance Has Been Discovered Attempting to Infiltrate the Host’s System.]

[Congratulations. The Substance Is Useless in the Face of the Host’s Lesser Arcana Human Genome.]

[Substance Has No Effect on the Host!]

A flurry of notifications assaulted Arlo’s vision, causing him to turn his attention toward Captain Ennessa, who also happened to be looking right at him.