A few hours later, inside Arnold's domain...

It was the day... A day for humanity to remember, that is if they knew about the things that were going on inside Arnold's domain. Talos coupled with Devon's knowledge made the impossible, possible. The hidden potential of the beast crystals was finally unlocked. Arnold's long-awaited mission could now finally come to an end.

"Maybe I was too harsh towards Talos back then... I think I should apologise to him first." Arnold mumble as he walked towards the lab he had, had set up for Devon and Talos to work in.

Back when Nina had been attacked, Arnold's mind got clouded with rage. After making sure that Nina was fine, the only thing he could think about was to rip everyone and anyone to shreds.

Sadly, in that rage, he failed to acknowledge Talos' efforts in saving Nina. Even though Talos couldn't do much, Arnold was sure that Talos would've given it his all to protect Nina. Back then Arnold was a bit disappointed by Talos and maybe that disappointment was what pushed Talos to complete the task he was assigned by Arnold. Talos just wanted to make amends for his catastrophic failure and now he had done it. Thanks to his efforts, Arnold could now evolve his summons beyond the limits placed upon them.

They finally had the knowledge, but the task wasn't completed yet.

__

• A BOON OR A CURSE:

[ INTRODUCTION ]: You've discovered a corpse that shows the signs of forced mutations due to the consumption of beast crystals. However, it doesn't necessarily mean that the beast crystals cannot be used to evolve a being beyond the limitations placed upon them by the nature.

[ TASK ]: Study the effects that consuming beast crystals can have on humans along with monsters and find whether it is possible to evolve a being using the beast crystals.

[ PROGRESS ] :

0/10 attempts to evolve a being.

0/5 monsters successfully evolved.

0/1 humans successfully evolved.

COMPLETION REWARDS :

• Intelligence (INT): +100

• Mystic (MYS): +100

• A hidden reward.

___

Now was the time to evolve his summons... and himself. But before that, he had to know more about the procedure and assess whether it was safe enough to go through with it or not. 

As soon as Arnold entered the laboratory, the first thing he saw was the ogres. about a dozen ogres were standing in neat rows. While Talos was busy collecting their blood samples in his Ogre form, Devon was working on a device Arnold hadn't seen before.

The device looked more like a surgeon table. A dozen or so needles hung over the table to which an ogre was bound. As a precaution, Grock and Asterios were also present there to control the ogres in case they went out of control. 

His summons quickly noticed their master and greeted him. Arnold simply nodded to acknowledge them before heading straight towards Talos. Unlike before, Talos kept his gaze locked at Arnold's feet. He didn't know what to expect next but one thing was clear... the guilt of not protecting his mistress had overwhelmed him.

Arnold knew exactly what was going inside the automaton's head. Not because he was the one who made him, but because both of them understood each other better than anyone else present inside the domain.

"T, look at me." Arnold mumbled as he placed his bionic arm on Talos' shoulder, "Thank you for your efforts."

"No need to thank me, master, I just did what I was told to. After all, using the beast crystals for power was your idea-"

"Thank you for giving it your all to protect Nina." Arnold rephrased his words with a smile, "And my apologies, for the way I behaved with you. I hope you can find it in you to forgive me."

"Master, no!" Talos grabbed Arnold by his shoulders to stop his master from bowing before a servant.

"I've been unreasonable but still you guys never fail me. So, I wanted to thank you all." Arnold gave a nod to everyone to express his gratitude, "Now, with that out of the way, what you got for me eh?"

"Sure, master." With Talos' approval, Devon proceeded to activate the machine. The next moment all the needles simultaneously stabbed through the ogre's hardened skin and began injecting it with a variety of different coloured fluids. 

The ogre was tied to the table with thick rope made from lizardmen leather, but that didn't stop it from struggling. An ear-splitting scream followed the ogre's desperate struggle as its skin started to turn from Sacramento green to Denim blue. As time passed, the shade turned darker and the ogre's struggle also stopped. Instead, the ogre was now panting heavily while its vitals stabilised.

Arnold quickly checked the mission tab, and sure enough, the experiment was a success. 

__

[ PROGRESS ] :

1/10 attempts to evolve a being.

1/5 monsters successfully evolved.

0/1 humans successfully evolved.

__

Talos quickly went to check on the ogre one last time, while Arnold used Probe on the ogre to see its stats.

___

CLASS: Ogre (Mutant)

NAME: Ascended Ogre

LEVEL: 109

RANK: S+

ROLE: Brawler

AFFINITY/ABILITIES :

• Silent Kill (Active skill)

• Eternal Rage (Passive skill)

• Hardening (Passive skill)

• Chieftain (Active skill)

[Expand to view 2 more]

HP: 19000/19000

STRENGTH (STR) : 138

DEFENSE (DEF) : 95

STAMINA (STA) : 78

INTELLIGENCE (INT) : 75

AGILITY (AGI) : 98

ACCURACY (ACC) : 79

EVADE (EVD) : 88

CHARISMA (CHA) : 34

Damage Resistances: Ice damage and Ranged damage

Condition Immunities: Exhaustion, Frightened, Frozen, Poisoned, Blunt attacks.

Weak Against: Fire-based attacks.

THREAT LEVEL: Negligible.

REMARK: Thanks to the newly developed technology to enhance mortal beings, the natural limits placed upon the creatures by the gods, is no longer absolute. With the help of secret techniques, even the low-ranking beings can now feel what having absolute strength feels like. This Ogre is an example of one such technique and has been pushed to its limits to unlock its hidden potential.

___

"The ogre went from B rank to S+..." Arnold uttered in shock, "Is that even possible?"

"Everything is possible in the world of science, my friend." Devon smiled before taking off his safety glasses, "Allow me to explain. The crystals one obtains from the monsters is the source of their strength. Thus it can be said that these crystals are what define the capabilities of a monster. A similar core can be found in humans as well, though, unlike the beast crystals, that core disintegrates once the human completely manifests their first ability. And in monsters, even when the core/crystal is still present, it lays in a dormant state after they've crossed adolescence."

Devon continued, "However, the beast crystals from other beasts can be used to forcefully activate the dormant crystal and hence we can forcefully evolve the beast to what I call their 'True form'."

"Interesting..." Arnold murmured, "But if the 'core' dissipates inside a human, how can the same process be used to activate the human's 'true form'?"

"I was hoping you'd ask that. After all, that's where the interesting stuff happens." Devon replied with a sinister smile on his face, "I had been researching on humans and how to improve their abilities and unlock their true potential for about a decade now. And I daresay, I'm an expert in this field."