Chapter 113: The Blue Potion
'Well, since I came with Ryan and the other, it didn't seem too special.'
The waitresses and waiters of the restaurant were trained professionally, and the waitress guided him to the private room with no issues or comments.
"This is the upper VIP suite booked by the young miss. Please relax yourself with the complimentary wine and appetisers."
He looked at the beautiful brunette with a long black and red dress, the uniform of the restaurant, with a sense of elegance and allure to suit customers' eyes, the male uniform just as appealing with the black and red velvet waistcoat and tailored pants to fit each worker.
'Well, she already told me that Selene and Nikita booked the table for longer than usual and that the ladies might take some time to return. It's kind of her to let me know and allow me to order some appetisers and enjoy the wine while I wait.'
Because the two women left, at first Nikolai thought he'd sit alone and be bored, but thanks to the kindness of the girls, they ordered some wine and food for him before leaving, which was already there before he reached the room.
'It's amazing what being rich and from a great family can do in this city...'
[True, back when I was younger, they would do the same for me and your father. Though some places seemed to cause issues with your dad for no reason...]
'Well, Mother must have been popular with other vampires, like Selene...'
[Fufu~ nothing will come out even if you praise me!]
'All I need is for you to smile, Mother.'
[Tsk! Don't be cheesy, but thank you, Nikolai.]
"If you need anything, Sir Nikolai, then please press the call button, and I will be here as soon as possible. If you want to order more items, then use the digital screen beside your seat. Now I wish you a wonderful evening. Take care."
The brunette gave a polite bow and left the room—Nikolai didn't remember her name, which he felt bad about until the wine in his hands popped open, and the delicious scent removed all feelings other than happiness.
'Its scent is sweet and tarty with a bit of an aftertaste of blackcurrant, maybe?' He sniffed at the liquid in the bottlefruits, but the fragrance was so complex that he felt that there were more herbs, fruits and vegetables in its creation process.
However, he noticed something else while sniffing the bottle. It wasn't human wine, but a wine for vampires and monsters that became clear when he noticed the brand that was a common one in Selene and Nikita's homes.
'It is definitely a high-quality blood-based wine...' Nikolai felt the liquid of the wine was a little thick, but he didn't mind. It meant the wine was more flavourful and aromatic.
'Is there a certain kind of blood used? No, the smell seems a bit different. Maybe this is a blood wine that mixes different types of blood? All of them are virgins, though. Let's read the bottle...'
Nikolai grabbed the bottle, and it was like a normal wine, speaking of the fruits infused with the blood, but a line made him feel a bit at ease about all the blood sourced for these wines was taken with permission and fair trade of money or other things for the humans and no harm or death occurred to procure this wine.
'The taste and texture are great. After all, this brand should be my goal, but this wine has more flavours, and the alcohol content is quite high, too.'
After a while, Nikolai took out a long-stem glass and started pouring the wine inside it, filling up the cup halfway.
The dark, thick ichor formed a beautiful red glow as he took out the blue potion and filled the rest of the glass, mixing it to form a beautiful purple liquid that carried an addictive and sweet scent.
[What made you mix the two?]
'Instinct... that black Ichor tastes horrible, and so I wanted to make sure the blue one tasted okay using this wine.'
[Well, after I attempt to analyse it, the potion should have a blueberry taste—somehow, it's strange to think such a taste could come from a ghoul, though. I couldn't figure out what it might give you, so be careful, okay?]
This was why Nikolai wished to take this potion with the wine. He swirled the liquid, and a sweet scent of blackcurrant, wine, blueberry, grape and many more he couldn't identify with his nose alone before he took a sip.
The potion, though thick, felt smooth going down his throat, giving off the feeling that it was the most luxurious thing he had ever tasted and drunk.
'It tastes amazing... it is almost a waste for it to drop rarely, but there are many things I wish to try and test.'
Immediately after he drank half the glass, he felt his three hearts starting to beat faster. A heavy and tight feeling overwhelmed him as they started pounding hard, pushing his blood through his body with more pressure and speed. For a moment, he felt lightheaded while unable to stop himself from drinking the delicious ichor.
'What's happening? I don't feel pain, but the blood is rushing so hard and fast.' His body felt a little hot but not uncomfortable.
Nikolai finished drinking the glass and started to calm down. Then, before his very eyes, he gasped, "Argh!"
His whole body began to shake, and his muscles began to spasm as his claws started to lengthen and turn sharper than usual, constantly growing and shrinking, his eyes changing from blue to red and then silver and black.
Nikolai began entering both of his hybrid states rapidly, causing immense pain in his eyes. Nikolai felt like his nerves, muscles, and flesh were trying to tear themselves from his body.
The pain forced him to grip the sofa and groan out loud. His muscles bulged, and he could feel his teeth aching, the pain deep in his gums, as several of them fell out.
There was no decay or issues; something just pushed them out as an immense pain filled his jaw and gums, with new teeth growing shinier, whiter and more pristine, becoming more fang-like.
"Ugh!" His claws dug deep into the leather of the sofa, making the frame creak loudly and bend under his strength as he felt his muscle mass and height grow bigger and larger before returning to normal size, though more toned.
The feeling of growing and shrinking repeatedly was uncomfortable and hurt like he had just been crushed by something and then stretched to a breaking point. His muscles were hot and sensitive to even the feeling of the trench coat that made him want to claw at his skin.
However, Nikolai forced himself to bite down and held his hands together to avoid damaging anything else.
He felt as if his body was changing from the inside, and his bones, muscles, blood vessels and nerves all ached as he felt the amount of Celestial Aura in his body increasing greatly.
The aura affected his physical prowess and appearance mostly, which caused his muscles and bones to ache and hurt so much, his heartbeats to grow heavier, and his breathing to grow more laboured, but his body seemed to take in more oxygen than usual.
The changes to his muscles and bones are like that of a teen growing from 5 foot 7 inches to 7 feet. Only to be condensed back to 6 foot 5 inches.
'Stop! I can't breathe...' He thought, his breathing becoming difficult, and his lungs felt like they were being squeezed tightly and inflated, causing a painful pressure that felt as if he was drowning on land.
[Calm down... Nikolai! It's just your Celestial Aura going berserk after increasing significantly! Take control of it!]
His Mother cried out, trying to calm him down. Her voice calmed him enough that he could take back a small amount of control of his body and aura.
However, the changes that were forced to stop were already taking place. His body changed again, his bones cracking loudly as he tried to control it. Ten minutes passed, twenty... after half an hour of pain, he was covered in thick sweat, and his body ached like he just fought for two days straight.
"Haa....ha ha... what was that?" Nikolai felt his heart pounding in his chest, and the changes were slowly vanishing, but the effects remained. He looked down and saw that his body had changed slightly.
It wasn't like he grew taller or became more muscular but from his chest to his legs felt tighter, the muscles stronger and more durable than before...
That's when he tested his Celestial Aura. He was roughly around twenty percent awakened before taking the potion... but now it was over thirty percent!
[Oh my... it seems that blue ichor was pure Celestial Aura in the form of liquid. How? I am sure that dungeons only dropped the black Ichor during my time visiting there.]
His mother wasn't lying, and her voice sounded confused while Nikolai clenched his fists. She never came across blue ichors, nor did she ever see them in her family library, so the discovery of a potion that would allow him to grow stronger in the blink of an eye was beyond shocking to them.
'That pain... it was like it was coming from within me, and nothing I did could soothe it. Wouldn't a normal person die or tear themselves apart drinking that stuff...'
He only knew that his body became stronger thanks to that potion. However, a slight fear of the pain remained; it was something that made tears come to his eyes, and he almost gave up and wished to die.
[Are you alright?]
His Mother's worried voice helped calm him, but Nikolai couldn't shake the feeling that if a regular werewolf or vampire had drunk that potion, their body might not be able to withstand such changes.
However, his body was powerful and anything but normal. But it didn't mean he could drink this stuff repeatedly.
"Yeah... I need another glass of wine to take the sting from this headache." He muttered while pouring another glass of wine, and without mixing anything, he drank the red liquid. The blood of several virgins, mixed with a few herbs and fruits, felt refreshing.
'It is good... but that blue potion was much better.' He couldn't help comparing it with the blue ichor potion mixed.