The boy ran as quickly as he could to his shack. It was a small, makeshift hideout built from tree branches and leaves. It stayed far from any Plague Trees and was located under a large crevice inside Rottin Wood.
Witches influence had not spread here. That made it a perfect hiding spot for the nameless boy.
He jumped inside the hideout and quickly covered the entrance. The roof was sealed by tree resins, so it had a mild soundproof capability.
It was for precaution. He couldn't be too sure that no one would hear the owl shrieking.
On the cold, hard floor of the hideout was an owl as white as snow. Its wings were broken and bent backward in a gruesome manner. Its mouth was sealed shut by black tar while its legs were chained to the floor.
The owl jumped up and down frantically when it saw the nameless boy. Its black eye showed anger and hatred toward the boy. It couldn't imagine how a mere slave had dared to kidnap and imprison it. He had always been so obedient.
The nameless boy smirked. He was not a mere naive Ashen slave. He was a ruthless soul that had taken control of this body.
He was Master Witch Hunter, Grand Alchemy Professor, and Knight of the Holy Order, Sir Siderius Satterblade.
And he had been in this world for nearly two months, getting used to his new life and learning about this new world. But most importantly, he had been preparing for the assimilation.
"Calm down, you ugly bird. Your suffering will end soon." Siderius said.
The owl tried to make some noise. It hoped that some loyal subjects out there would hear it and come to its rescue. But Siderius had made sure to pick a good spot.
Lyara had given the owl the task to monitor the nameless boy. The frequency of this had increased significantly the closer her coming-of-age ritual was. Siderius had acted ignorant for a long time, pretending that he had no idea about the existence of the owl.
But today was different. He couldn't allow it to spy on him. So he had captured it, broken its wings, sealed its mouth, and chained it here.
Siderius ignored the owl and sat down on the floor with crossed legs.
The soulless voice from before rang again:
"Assimilation Rate: 99.99%
Estimated time of Arrival: 30 seconds.
Countdown begins. 29, 28, 27, 26, 25..."
Siderius raised his left hand up high while his right hand took out a pouch of materials. Inside was a mixture of sulfur, animal blood, iron dust, and a small amount of other components. The journey to acquire these materials was hellish. A nameless slave with no wealth attached to him could only manage so much.
But he did it in the end. He dipped his finger inside the mixture and then drew a circle on the ground.
Siderius painted a complex maze of symbols and runes. This was the way to create the most basic and simple Seal, an alchemical circle that could conduct alchemy reactions.
The voice inside Sidrius's ears kept counting: "15, 14, 13, 12..."
His hand was quick and nimble. The Seal took shape in a couple of seconds. He had done this millions of times. If he didn't do it quickly, he was not worthy of his Grand Professor title in Alchemy.
"I summon you. My weapon. My faithful ally. My greatest creation."
Siderius held his hand higher, stretching all the fingers and tendons to prepare for what would be coming. And then he relaxed.
"...3, 2, 1."
The Alchemy Seal on the ground lit up. The sulfur caught fire and burned aggressively. Other materials reacted, scorched by the sulfur as the price for this exchange. Its fire reached up and formed a sphere right in front of Siderius's face. The air inside was distorted, and the light was bent.
Suddenly, a shockwave swept throughout the hideout. The owl was pushed back to the wall. It watched everything in horror.
A small steel wristwatch appeared inside the flaming sphere with sharp, pointy teeth running along its band.
The watch flipped over and latched itself onto Siderius's left wrist.
The voice spoke again:
"Assimilation is complete!
S.Y.S.T.E.M. is connected with the user!
Starting integration... 5%... 10%... 30%..."
The silver wristwatch sank deep into Siderius's skin and slowly disappeared under it. It was fusing with Siderius's new body to become his most dangerous tool.
This process was much quicker than the assimilation process. Within a minute, the system dissolved completely into Siderius and became a part of him.
Siderius closed his eyes, letting the device finish its work.
"Integration completes! Starting Extraction…
Adding Visual Modification! Deciphering Codex! Collecting Data from Host! Measuring Host! Implementing New Data!
Extraction Complete! Welcome back, Sir Siderius Satterblade!"
Then he opened his eyes again. A familiar floating window was now visible in front of him. Something that only he could see. A gift and weapon from the old world.
[Synaptic Yielding Synthesize Transceiver Embedded Module INSTALLED]
[S.Y.S.T.E.M. ONLINE]
[USER: Siderius Satterblade]
[ ATTRIBUTES ]
|Strength: 3|
|Agility: 4|
|Perception: 2|
|Stamina: 5|
|Endurance: 6|
[WITCH HUNTER RANK: NONE]
[ALCHEMIST RANK: NONE]
[MERCURY EXTRACT: 100/100]
[PSYCHOSIS LEVEL: 0/100]
Siderius grinned deviously. For the first time since he had set foot on this world, he was truly exhilarated.
He came from a world devoid of magic users. Their entire existence defiled the very ideal the Holy Order stood for. That every man was equal on the battlefield.
Magic corrupts. Magic is unnatural. Magic is narcissism. The only good magic user in Siderius's eyes was a dead one.
Imagine how he felt when he had come to this world. A world ruled by witches and worshipped witches. The locals called them 'High Ladies,' women born with magic and capabilities of doing wonders.
But Siderius saw through all that. THEY ARE WITCHES, AND THEY MUST BE BURNED.
No compromise. No exceptions. The only good witches are dead witches.
The witch hunter took a deep breath and stood up. He approached the owl slowly.
The bird scattered to the corner of the wall. Its eyes were full of dread. It witnessed everything that just had happened. It finally understood.
The nameless boy was dangerous beyond its imagination.
The owl tried its best to howl, shriek, and make noises. But its mouth was sealed shut. All the sound from its throat barely penetrated its skin.
Siderius grabbed its neck.
"In the next life. Be a free little bird. Don't become a familiar for a witch." Siderius wholeheartedly gave advice. And then he snapped its neck in two, killing the bird in the blink of an eye.
Its soul left its body, and the owl fell flat to the floor. Siderius took out a makeshift knife from the back of his waist. It was a small, obsidian knife that had been intricately carved.
The knife was made by Siderius himself. It had the precision of a proper surgery knife. By using it, Siderius could make sure to extract the organ without damaging any nerves.
He took out the eyes of the owl.
[Analyzing potential mutation…]
[Detecting unknown species…]
[The species share genetic traits similar to an owl]
[New Strix Oculus Extima is recognized]
[Strix Ocula No. 47 is registered!]
[Grafting Strix Ocula No. 47?]
[YES/NO]