A few minutes later, the final product emerged.
After reading its effects, Cambela nodded to herself. "As I thought, this is the real deal."
---
Elixir of Control v2
Anyone who drinks this elixir must obey the commands of the one who administered it.
The effects are permanent for anyone below Rank EX.
---
Cambela wasted no time. She ordered the production of more of these potions, then headed into another room, with Aliken following closely behind.
Inside were prisoners who had yet to be turned into puppets.
She picked one at random and made him drink the Elixir of Control v2.
The man's reaction was more intense than usual. His eyes first turned gold, then reverted to normal—but the light inside them had vanished, as if his soul was gone.
"Good," Cambela spoke in a solemn tone. "From now on, you will become my loyal servant. But you will not lose your thoughts or your mind. You will not be just a puppet. You will have your own life. You only need to obey my orders. Act normally."
With that, a spark of light returned to the man's eyes.
"I, Fred Marches, will become your servant, Master."
The human's voice—Fred's voice—sounded almost identical to before, when he had been screaming and insulting Cambela.
Now, it was simply more controlled, with a mild and calm tone.
"Fantastic. I can't wait to upgrade all my puppets to this better version."
Cambela's eyes sparkled, and her fists tightened in excitement. Finally, she would have her own loyal faction—made of living beings, not mere marionettes.
However, she couldn't administer the new version of the Elixir to those who had already ingested the old one.
She would need to wait until the previous effect wore off, which meant an entire week.
"With this settled, we can head to the capital." Cambela said with a satisfied smile. "Let's see what Jeremy is up to…"
---
"This is the last one, finally. I can't take it anymore, it's painfully boring. Now I understand why Cambela has her 'researchers.'"
Jeremy was administering the Genetic Essence to the final skeleton.
The potion had turned almost entirely black—only a sliver of the original blue remained.
This was the hundredth skeleton he had sacrificed for this cause, including the Shaman Orc.
He had high expectations for the potion's effects. His plan was to give it to one of his Flamehoofs first, to test the results.
After all, he didn't know much about the other monsters he had summoned. To him, they were just cannon fodder.
But fate worked in mysterious ways.
The last skeleton Jeremy summoned turned out to be a goblin—a weak monster that barely reached Rank C.
Of course, its skeletal version was inherently stronger, but it had no special abilities like a Flamehoof.
After forcing the goblin to drink the potion, it didn't react like the other skeletons had.
Some of the others had also been goblins, so the cause of this unique reaction couldn't be its race.
"?!"
Jeremy stared in disbelief. He hadn't expected a reaction at the hundredth absorption—but at the hundred and first.
After drinking the potion, the goblin suddenly jumped to its feet.
Its bones creaked. Its form shifted. Its appearance changed.
Everything about it was transforming.
"Is it evolving?" Jeremy waited anxiously for the result.
It wasn't what he had planned, but that didn't matter. Whether it was the first or last to evolve made no difference.
After several minutes, a new figure stood before Jeremy.
It could no longer be considered a simple goblin—but something much larger and far more dangerous.
Its skeletal body could no longer be called that.
It had become, for all intents and purposes, a being of flesh.
More or less...
The little flesh remaining on its frame was stretched tight over protruding bones, enhancing its grotesque look.
It looked like a corpse animated by hunger—gaunt to the point of horror.
Not that it wasn't a corpse to begin with.
"M...as...t..er..."
"Huh?"
Jeremy looked around. He had heard something, but wasn't sure what.
"Was that the wind?"
He paused, then realized how ridiculous that was. He was in a room with no windows.
Then he heard another sound—clearer this time.
"Ma...st...er..."
Jeremy instantly understood.
His eyes locked on the goblin's mouth.
"You spoke?" Jeremy asked, stunned. Could his undead really talk?
"Y...es."
"Incredible, this evolution is a complete success."
Jeremy jumped with excitement. He looked like a child with a new toy.
"You're my first summon that can speak. I'll definitely give you a name—a beautiful one!"
The goblin genuinely looked pleased. His smile said it all.
Well, it was a creepy smile...
Aside from the corpse-like appearance, a few other things had changed.
His greenish skin, the real eyes in his sockets, and his slightly taller stature caught Jeremy's attention.
"Let's see what's changed..."
---
NAME: /
RANK: S
LEVEL: 150
RACE: Undead Goblin Skinwalker
CLASS: /
POTENTIAL: ASCENDANT
LAW: Undead
Main Skills:
[Fear Aura], [Quickstep]
---
[Fear Aura]
The Goblin Skinwalker emits an aura that terrifies creatures with weak hearts.
---
[Quickstep]
The Goblin Skinwalker's speed is enhanced.
Able to traverse all terrain silently and swiftly.
---
"Hmm." Jeremy nodded to himself.
He expected a few things. First of all, like the other skeletons, it had no Class.
But what surprised him was the presence of a Law.
Before this evolution, skeletons—even those at Rank S—lacked a Law to evolve their powers.
But now, they had one.
"Undead Law, huh? That's new. I wonder if it's standard for all evolved undead that come from low-tier monsters."
"They also retain my same Potential, which makes them pretty strong... even if the skills are just... average." Jeremy murmured, just before receiving a vision.
Hundreds, maybe thousands of Goblin Skinwalkers, all with Fear Aura.
The result would be devastating. No doubt about it.
Jeremy wasn't even concerned about the listed skills.
The panel never showed all of a creature's abilities—especially not at Rank S or higher.
Main Skills were just the key abilities that defined a creature—not the only ones it could use.
Power, after all, came from the Law.
"Excellent. I can't wait to evolve my Bone Legion." Jeremy muttered, casting one last glance at the goblin before preparing to store it away.
"Master!"
Just then, a voice interrupted him.
Turning around, Jeremy saw Cambela.
He returned her greeting with a nod.
"Finished your business?" Jeremy's tone was no longer casual like it had been with his undead. It was cold and distant.
"Yes, Master," Cambela replied, locking eyes with the boy. Then, glancing at the creature in the room, she smiled.
"Looks like the Genetic Essence worked. Your undead won't be mere skeletons anymore."
Jeremy didn't respond right away. He was still thinking about the death of Shaman Orc.
But he couldn't afford to be petty. The conceptual power he'd gained was truly valuable.
"Yes, definitely. All thanks to you.
But the process was excruciatingly dull.
Don't you have any spare researchers?"
Cambela ignored Jeremy's cold stare and gave a small bow.
"I thought you'd ask. Before you arrived, I was planning to go to Velrath to create new and powerful… researchers."
She changed the final word on purpose.
Jeremy always appeared detached and indifferent—almost uninterested in the lives of others—but Cambela didn't dare test it.
She couldn't just say she planned to form a faction of loyal slaves.
"Good. I like the idea. Let's go get some labor."
A grin spread across Jeremy's face.
He clearly had no intention of paying for it.
"Perfect," Cambela smiled brightly.
"I've developed the advanced version of the Elixir of Control. All that's left is to use it."
A small vial flew from her hands and landed right in front of Jeremy, who gave a simple nod.
"Alright, then it's all set. Take Aliken. Let's go.
We don't need anything else—just the three of us."
And with that, the trio set out on a new adventure.
Their destination: Velrath, the imperial capital of the human world.