The students shivered. They hadn't paid any attention to those bones. Too focused on the two big tubes in the chamber.
Leon Drake looked around the cavern. Making his own calculation. He looked at the thick stone walls and the defensible entrance.
"Professors!" He said. "The students seem exhausted. And some guards also need a break. The red grassland outside is not very safe. But this place... It's defensible. And the front part should be comfortable enough. We should set up basecamp here."
Professor Enderson looked at the laboratory. Especially at the tubes. "This room is... unsettling. I don't think the students want to rest here."
"They won't need to." Leon Drake said. "The tunnel is long. We can use the front chamber for sleeping and the middle section for the supplies. This laboratory stays off-limits to everyone except the ones tasked to watch Chloe."
"That seems to be a good idea." Jack agreed. "Let's limit the number of people in this room. It's too dangerous to poke around the machinery while it's active."
The decision was quickly made. The guards began setting up the defensive system within and outside the cave.
The students were given unpacking tasks to keep them busy. They laid out bedrolls near the cave entrance and arranging some magical light sources in the tunnel. Supervised by the professors.
Jack stayed in the laboratory. Reina stayed with him.
"A scroll, Dear?" Reina asked. She spoke softly so the others couldn't hear. She knew Jack had many secrets.
"I used what was necessary." Jack replied with an enigmatic smile. Neither confirming nor denying.
Reina smiled back. Jack didn't need to explain further. Even only with those words, she had already understood what he meant. He must have used one of his 'confidential' abilities.
"And now, it seems like she will gain a primal supernatural power. What a lucky girl." She looked at Chloe in the tube and clicked her tongue in slightly envious tone.
They spent the next hour waiting...
...
The bubbling in the tubes began to slow down. The deep purple liquid in Chloe's tube started to lose its color. It turned from a vibrant phosphorous purple to a clear, pure liquid.
"It's almost over." Jack said.
Everyone gathered at the laboratory chamber. Staying behind the line Jack had drawn.
The calming-down pure liquid inside Chloe's tube suddenly began to boil violently. Not from heat, but from energy. The dark-elf girl in the opposite tube started to crumble.
Her whole body turned into sparkling light. Rapidly dissolving into nothing. Within a minute, she was gone... Only an empty tube filled with clear liquid remained.
Then, a loud crack echoed through the cavern.
The glass of both tubes shattered simultaneously. But instead of liquid spilling out and flooding the floor, the clear fluid in both tube instantly turned into a thick, white smoke. It hissed as it hit the air and then evaporated into nothingness.
Chloe fell forward.
Reina moved faster than anyone else. She blinked next to her and caught her before she hit the stone floor. She was still unconscious. But her heart was beating strong.
On the other cylinder, the dark-elf girl didn't leave any trace. Where she had been, only a few sparkles of light drifted into the air and vanished.
"Is she okay?" Allena Keener asked.
Jack observed and noticed that Chloe's clothes and hair were surprisingly dry despite being in the tube filled with liquid. And her breathing was regular. Seemingly without any problem. She should be fine.
Chloe's eyes fluttered open. They weren't their normal blue color. For a split second, they were pitch black, with no whites or pupils. Then, they shifted back to normal.
She coughed. Looking at the people around her. And then at her hands.
"How are you?" Reina, still holding her, asked.
"I... I feel heavy." Chloe whispered. Her voice was scratchy. "But I feel... full."
"Take it slow." Dr. Crafton said. "Do you know what happened?"
"I remember the shadow." Chloe said weakly. "It tried to eat my mind. It was like a cold wave. But then... something changed. Everything seemed reversed. I think... I started eating its mind instead. I saw memories. Amber-leafed forests. An orange lake. A village on top of the trees. And then darkness."
She looked at Jack. "You did something, didn't you? I heard a voice. It sounded like a wish."
Jack kept his face expressionless as he repeated his lie. "Yeah. I used the [Luck Reversal Scroll]. You're pretty lucky I had one. You didn't just survive. You consumed the shadowling queen. How do you feel physically?"
Chloe stood up by herself. Removing herself from Reina's hold. She was a bit shaky at first. But she stabilized quickly. She looked at the shadows cast by the magical torches and the [Self-illuminating Orb] the others had used to light the room. She reached out a hand toward a dark corner of the room.
"I feel like... the light is too loud." She said.
Suddenly, her body blurred. It wasn't a physical movement. It was as if her whole body turned into a black silhouette. Before anyone could gasp, she vanished. Melding into the shadows.
"Chloe?" Dr. Crafton shouted.
"I'm here." Her voice came from the opposite side of the room.
She stepped out of the shadow of a large stone pillar. She looked amazed. "I didn't exactly walk there. I just... flowed within the shadows."
Dr. Crafton's eyes were wide. "Shadow power? You've gained a shadowling's supernatural ability?"
Jack observed her with his [Eyes of Judgement]. Targeting on specific details he wanted to know.
[Name: Chloe Chase]
[Status: Human]
[New Supernatural Ability: Shadow Walk... able to merge with any non-magical shadow and move instantaneously between connected dark areas.]
[New Supernatural Ability: Shadow Armor... able to turn shadow into protective armor.]
[New Passive Trait: Shadow Princess... all attributes double under shadows.]
[Soul Status: The soul of the Shadowling Queen has been completely digested. No risk of possession remains.]
"Lucky girl..." Jack sighed and said. "You seem to gain a powerful gift. You should be a Primal Sorcerer now in addition to your Mystic Scholar Apprentice class."
He chuckled and continued. "And it doesn't seem to come with a great price. You'll probably find yourself sensitive to bright light from now on. But that's it. Gaining a primal power for such low price, truly a lucky girl."
Chloe looked at her hands again. For a few moments, she looked lost. But she grinned widely afterward. In this world, power was safety. She had been kidnapped and nearly erased. Now, she had a way to make sure that never happened again.
"Thank you, Mr. Night!" She said. Bowing deeply. "I know you used a very precious thing to save me. I'll repay it one day."
"What the heck was with that Mr. Night thing? I've told you to call me Jack." Jack said. "Don't worry too much about repayment. Seeing your luck, I won't be surprised if you find incredible treasures in the future. Just share some with me if you do."
Professor Enderson cleared his throat. "I've said that I'll make sure the Academy compensate you, Mr. Night."
Jack grinned. "So? Receiving double payment for a single job is the dream of every mercenary. And I am a good mercenary."
The tension in the cave broke. The guard laughed. The students cheered. The girls ran and hugged Chloe. The horror of the afternoon was replaced by the excitement of a peer gaining a supernatural ability.
...
A day passed... Not that the sky showed any indication of it. There were no nights and days in the realm. The sky was always purple. With bright emerald streak on it. It wasn't exactly static, but there was no sun, moon, or stars to indicate the passing of the day.
Jack sat on a stone outcropping. Watching the students collecting samples of plant specimens at the edge of the grassland.
Rune hovered by his shoulder. Her light was a steady, comforting teal.
Reina was nearby. Also observing the students and the surrounding with great vigilance. An attitude shared by the other guards spread around the activity perimeter.
"They're soft, Love." Jack said with a sigh.
Reina looked at him. Pushing a strand of raven hair behind her ear. "They're students, Dear. Young ones. You can't expect them to have calluses on their souls yet."
"If they don't get some soon, the Purplesky Realm will eat them." Jack replied. "I guess it's time to teach them some survival skills. I won't let any of them die on my watch."
He looked at Professor Enderson nearby. "You don't mind me giving them some instructions, do you, Professor?"
The professor smiled. "Go ahead, Mr. Night. The teaching staff members in the Academy aren't that proficient with survival skills. These children do seem too... inexperienced."
Jack nodded. He stood up and whistled. A sharp, piercing sound that made the twenty students jump. "Form up, Kids!" He shouted.
The students scrambled. Harold Mason, Nick Glaiver, Allena Keener, Chloe Chase, and the other students quickly abandoned what they were doing and moved to Jack's position. Probably thinking they would face another danger and crisis.
"Listen up, you lot!" Jack announced. "It's time for a lesson."