Serum

“Whoa. I’m getting horny already.”

“Good god…”

Dirk muttered with a baffled expression. He had barely walked through the door and Pandora was talking dirty. 

He saw her figure lounging on the couch within this apartment of hers. It was her residence after she started working at the airship facility. And only he was allowed to visit, because whenever he did so, he arrived with the utmost secrecy. Anything that could threaten the integrity of her fake identity had to be eliminated. She didn’t even call Exos with her communication orb without casting several encryption and isolation spells. 

Stifling thoughts of just walking out, Dirk sighed and closed the door behind him. He then stood before Pandora as she took a long look at him. 

Her words earlier had mainly been joking. She often said stuff like that when he came over, knowing that it was a great way to tease him. 

But after taking a minute to see his changes, her expression gradually turned excited. She bit her lip, her smile widening until she could barely hold back a laugh. 

“I see you’ve advanced. And my oh my, how I’m loving the changes…”

“So you like tall guys.”

“What girl doesn’t like a tall man to dominate her? It’s practically written into our DNA. Just like how a man’s DNA compels him to ravage his woman at any moment possible. By the way, this just happens to be one of those moments.”

“...You’re really making this difficult for me.”

Dirk’s lip twitched as he smiled weirdly. He noticed that Active Biokinesis, after raising his bodily parameters to their pinnacle, also caused his hormones to rage. It took a lot out of him to control himself, especially when he saw Pandora, not to mention with the extreme fidelity and intimacy of his new Mana Vision. 

She could hide nothing from him. Every outline and curve of her body was put on full display. Right now, as it was late at night, she was dressed in a thin nightgown, so her clothes did very little to block his Mana Vision. Only thicker clothes would be able to somewhat block his vision, but even then he could get a general outline. 

So the sight of her exquisitely voluptuous body was a tad bit stimulating. Plus, he could more clearly sense her powers of seduction. It was like this aura around her soul that drew him to her. He knew that it didn’t work on him, especially now, but if he didn’t watch himself, it was still a spiral he could fall into. 

Dirk cleared his throat before deciding to take a seat. After that, he took another glance at Pandora. 

That’s when he looked a little closer, having noticed something. 

The mana within her body was denser, having jumped a level. There was also this barrier of mana under her skin, one fluctuating with all of her elements and specializations. 

Dirk suddenly realized. Like him, she had formed her Domain and advanced to Tier 5. Only, because she was completely relaxed right now, her Domain wasn’t hiding the details of her body, allowing him to see it. 

Not only that, but her body seemed to be enhanced by mana. He could see mana flowing through her purple hair, making it glow, and her red eyes pierced his body with mysterious power. 

Her body also seemed a bit larger. When he recalled her usual proportions, he compared and realized that not only was she taller, but her bust was a bit bigger and her waist a bit slimmer. Some of her muscles also seem to have tightened, like her abs and legs. 

Dirk suddenly found himself staring, and when he noticed Pandora’s grin, he caught himself and looked away. 

“You advanced as well.”

“Yes. In the few weeks that you were gone, I decided I should really focus on pushing through the last barrier. And I was naturally successful. My advancement enhanced my body to a large degree, making me taller and more beautiful. Of course, this made me worried that I had gotten as tall or taller than you, so I was really happy when you walked in even taller than before.”

“Hmm. You do look to be about 6 foot.”

“6 foot 1 inch. And from a cursory measurement, you look to be about 6 feet 6 inches.”

Pandora’s eyes flickered as she nodded with approval. 

“Your chest is bigger, your legs are bigger, just a glance at your forearms and I know they’re bigger. Your face also seems sharper, and your hair grew out quite a bit. Not a bad look if you sweep it back, and don’t you dare cut it. I want to try you out with long hair.”

Pandora pointed with a serious but happy expression. She really was liking his changes. 

Of course, nothing had changed to a great degree. He would still be recognized by everyone he knew. It was just that everything had been enhanced. In fact, everyone who cultivated great power underwent these changes. Dirk’s Adaptable Genes only made it happen faster and boosted the effects. 

Still, for him and Pandora who came from a world where very little of that was possible, all these changes were rather novel. 

Suddenly, Pandora stood and walked over to Dirk. He sat there unmoved as she reached out her hand and extended a finger, brushing it against his cheek. 

“Hm, some scruff. Looks like you’ll grow a nice beard.”

“You like beards?”

“I don’t mind them. I think you would look better with a short and sharp cut rather than a long and bushy one.”

“Mm.”

“Now, as for this…”

She moved forward, her mouth closing in on his neck. 

But that’s when Dirk stopped her advance. He seemed conflicted. 

“...Not right now.”

“Oh? Is there any particular reason?”

“For both our sakes.”

Dirk answered vaguely. He didn’t want Pandora to get too excited, especially when she already seemed riled up by his mere appearance. If she got a taste of his blood, enhanced and richened several times over by his advancement, he really wouldn’t be able to hold her back. 

Unfortunately, his words only served to prime her as she smiled widely. 

“I can’t imagine what happened to your blood after your advancement.”

“Yeah…”

“The anticipation… My, you’re really making this difficult for me.”

She repeated his earlier words, but at the same time, lowered herself for a kiss, as if to settle for the next best thing.

Dirk didn’t reject it, the two swapping tongue for a minute or so before Pandora pulled back. 

“Hmm, you’re really not gonna let me claim you yet, huh?”

“...Not yet.”

“Shame. I can’t seem to completely surpass a childhood sweetheart. Well, I guess that stubborn heart of yours is one of your good points.”

She let out a light breath across his face before standing and going back to lounging on the couch. Her words made him sigh as she did so.

“Alright, time for business. Now that we’ve both advanced, we have the Processors, and all my bombs have been planted, this operation should commence. This means we can leave at any moment, and as soon as we do so, coming back to Horizon will be difficult in the near future. We’ve been here for 7 months now. I hope you’ve concluded everything you needed to.”

“Just about.”

Dirk gave confirmation. While he had spent most of his time training, he had also spent a lot of time honing his skills, spells, and Aura. He also spent a lot of time with his family and Alec. 

In anticipation for his leave, he also acquired tons of knowledge on the various empires of the world, like the Elven World Tree, Hybrid Unity, and even the Fairy Kingdoms. He would be more educated when he went there, which was always important. 

There was nothing keeping him from leaving at any moment, and given the urgency of their mission, he didn’t want to stick around for any longer. 

Hearing that, Pandora nodded. 

“Good. In that case, we begin our little operation in two days. In that time, we need to prepare Exos for extraction while I begin putting all our contingencies into effect. Also, I need you to go over all the information regarding the facility. I can’t be the one to bypass the security, so you’ll need to carry everything out. This means that you’ll be following me in tomorrow to familiarize yourself.”

“Alright.”

Dirk readily accepted her plans. His Stealth had taken another leap forward with his jump to Tier 5, and with his Mana Body, Mana Manipulation, and Domain, he would be surprised if even Tier 8’s could sense him. 

After that, he discussed some more details with Pandora before retiring for the night. Of course, he wasn’t allowed to leave her room for the night. They hadn’t seen each other for a while as Dirk was focused on advancing, so Pandora was hungry for a bit of intimacy. 

And Dirk had no qualms. Ever since he had let her wear down the walls of his heart and nest a place within, he no longer had any misgivings about their relationship. He was completely open to her, and the only thing he wasn’t willing to do was take that final step. 

But otherwise, he was all for it. So that night, he went to sleep rather content and with a beautiful woman in his arms. 

……

…

“Alright, let’s do this!”

Pandora cheered as they left the residence. 

Today, Dirk would follow her into the highly secure facility. It would require him to bypass several locks and alarms, utilizing both the Security Processor and his own Stealth ability. 

His timing, movements, mana concealment, and execution would need to be perfect. He had extensive information on all the formations and enchantments guarding the place, and they were all high end. This was especially so for everything surrounding the Sky King, which was a top secret government project. 

But this kind of stuff was exactly what he and Pandora were good at. On Earth they had been enemies working against each other. Pandora would steal all kinds of things and Dirk would need to stop her or retrieve items. 

But now, they were working together. They were an impossibly dangerous duo. Even without Exos, they would have found a way to steal the Sky King anyway. His Processors only made things easier and enabled them further. 

As Pandora walked out of her apartment, she looked to be alone. There was nobody near her and nobody that responded to her words. 

But by her side, Dirk was following closely. When it came to these kinds of matters, he was completely focused. The switch was flicked, and he was locked in. 

Like that, the two of them made their way to the facility. Dirk observed it as they got close. 

Located on the outskirts of the capital, the grounds of this facility were composed of a few warehouses, some hangars, and a large factory. It was guarded well and the premises were secured by a large wall. Atop these walls were some spiked fortifications, like barbed wire that acted as deterrent. 

And there was one gate with a checkpoint that everyone needed to go through in order to enter. All personnel had special ID plates that verified their identity. Pandora had one of these, a genuine plate created with a fake identity. 

Walking up to the gate, she was greeted enthusiastically by the guards. Despite Pandora sporting a completely different face, hair color, eye color, and general features, she still decided that she wanted to look beautiful. This combined with her amazing social skills made her extraordinarily popular. 

Entering the checkpoint building, Pandora tapped her plate against a scanner before proceeding into an open scanning chamber. She allowed it to wash her with magic for a moment before it flashed and let her through. 

Right as it flashed with confirmation though, Pandora felt her soul connection fluctuate. She could barely feel how Dirk had slipped through at the moment of verification, taking advantage of a split second vulnerability to pass through. 

She smiled while leaving the chamber, officially entering the facility. 

“Freya!”

Suddenly, there was a shout. Pandora glanced to the side, seeing a middle aged man walk over. He was dressed in luxurious clothes that surpassed the norm of all the other workers. He was clearly high up in the ranks, and Dirk sensed the power of a Tier 6. Yet, he didn’t notice anything abnormal. 

“Ah, Kendrum. Good morning.”

“Good morning to you as well. Heading to the hangars?”

“I am. I’ll be doing more work on the Sky King.”

“Ah, I see. Another day of tuning over paperwork.”

“Indeed.”

Pandora gave the man a smile, and at the same time, Dirk was evaluating him. 

He was a rather charming man, clearly older than Pandora, but in this world, age didn’t matter that much when everyone powerful lived a few hundred years. 

But although Pandora was smiling, Dirk could sense her displeasure. It seemed she really didn’t like this man, not that it would ever show on her face. She was too good at hiding her real emotions. 

“Care to join me for lunch?”

“I’m sorry, Kendrum, but I have to pass on that today. I have loads of work to do, including some stuff from yesterday.”

“Oh, then would you like some help? I have some free time.”

“No, no. I need to take care of this myself. I happen to be trying to impress my boss, so I can’t say that I was shirking my duty.”

“I understand. Then at least let me bring you some food. I insist.”

Dirk watched as Kendrum continued, getting a small glimpse of why Pandora wouldn’t like this guy. 

Eventually though, Pandora was able to shake him off. After saying their goodbyes, she continued on to the Research Basement. 

The entire time, her smile never disappeared, as if she enjoyed speaking to Kendrum and greeting all the others that passed her by. Dirk could tell that everything she was doing was fake, but it was always completely hidden. 

He suddenly felt a bit bad. She had been doing this for several months, dealing with this environment and sacrificing time to train. 

Well, it would all be worth it for what they were about to acquire. 

Following in her footsteps, Dirk watched as she approached the smallest hangar of the three. Around them were two other hangars, ones that occasionally received or released airships. 

But this one wasn’t active. It was the home of the Sky King, and Dirk was finally able to see it after so long. 

After bypassing another security gate, they entered the hangar. 

Within, Dirk saw the Sky King. 

It was the culmination of decades of constant research and improvement. The Sky King was a massive ship at least 60 meters tall, 70 meters wide, and 150 meters long. It was nothing short of a flying fortress, armed with all kinds of defensive weaponry and covered in intricate armor. 

It had a rounded underside, not completely unlike a boat, which was covered in layered armor plates that glowed with runes. At its front was a pointed nose while its back carried magic propulsion systems, not unlike a rocket. 

Finally, its main body was what gave it the look of a flying fortress. With such a size, it could naturally carry and contain all manner of items and house all sorts of facilities. It had everything you would find in a mansion like living areas, kitchen areas, bathing areas, and more. Since it was built with the intention of carrying and hosting powerful people, it leaned more toward luxury. 

But it also had several military facilities like a command center, armory, weapon control center, and more. Despite being luxurious, it was still a war machine. 

And to power all of it were two magic reactors designed to provide power for long periods of time. It was similar to an aircraft carrier from Earth in that regard. But instead of a uranium nuclear reactor, the two reactors within the Sky King ran on a Tier 7 Fire Mana Crystal and Tier 8 Air Mana Crystal. 

The two reactors chained their powers together, to not only generate copious amounts of power for all kinds of facilities, but provide power to the propulsion systems. Like rockets from Earth, this ship combined the two elements with a series of combustive reactions to push it forward. But not only that, the Air Mana Crystal allowed the shift to slip through the atmosphere with zero resistance. 

Of course, the details went even deeper. For example, it had three modes of flight, each one utilizing different systems like combustion, levitation, and even spatial warping. But they all had their limitations, and Dirk didn’t know many of the specifics. 

Regardless, all of the Sky King’s facilities and its extraordinary parameters made it a behemoth in the sky. With this, not only would Dirk and Pandora secure a fast mode of transportation, but they would have a mobile base of operations. There was no reason they couldn’t live in this ship for the long term as they traveled the world. 

However, because it was such an amazing marvel of magical engineering, it was naturally heavily guarded. The place Pandora entered within the hangar didn’t even let them into the same room with the Sky King. It was merely a side room devoted to analysis and research. 

All the problematic security measures were located at the entrance to the room that held the Sky King. Even from where he was, Dirk could sense the impossibly intricate and powerful enchantments on one of the gates. Very few people went through this gate at all, let alone frequently. 

And he could tell that it wasn’t as loose as the other gates. He wouldn’t be able to slip through with Pandora. He would need to use the Security Processor to crack it before entering. 

And that was precisely his job. 

As he and Pandora discussed beforehand, there were myriads of remote controls and locks within secure rooms around the Sky King. They would need to disengage these locks and mechanisms while simultaneously activating all of Pandora’s planted hijacks within the Sky King itself. 

Dirk was responsible for operating the mechanisms and locks. And Pandora would activate the hijacks on the ship. 

But before all that, they arrived in Pandora’s small office. Within was a desk, some boards with all kinds of research material, and stacks of papers on her desk. 

After closing the door, she took a deep breath. 

“Alright. It’s time. Stick to the plan. We should be able to slip out underneath the nose of that Tier 7, but in case we don’t, be prepared to blast our way out. I’ve already prepared enough explosives to level this place, let alone cause a distraction. If chaos is necessary, then let it ensue. But until that moment, we can try being discreet.”

Saying that, she glanced over at the empty space beside her and smiled. 

“Now, let’s begin the mission.”

“It’s about damn time.”

Dirk’s voice echoed before Pandora felt her faint soul connection disappear. Just like that, Dirk had gone completely dark. 

And she moved out, magic drifting around her fingers, ready to put all of her intricate plans into motion.