Serum

Cecilia couldn't seem to move. She felt like she wanted to dive to her son, embracing him right then and there.

But then she remembered what had happened. Dirk had spent two and a half years at Asura's mountain. She had already heard of the hell he had gone through. Getting whipped every single day, His tolerance rising so much that they used the level 10 whip on him. He was constantly tormented, Asura constantly trying to break him. Asura planted hate in people's minds, using that to control them. She knew that more than anyone.

She had heard the report from the two infiltrators. She knew that Dirk resisted Asura, that he resisted the constant torture. But she didn't know Dirk's state of mind.

Did he hate her? Did he resent her for not being able to do anything for two and a half years? Had Asura twisted him into some sort of monster? Just because he fought Asura didn't mean he was still on her side.

She didn't know. For all she knew, he would attack and try to kill her as soon as he saw her. Or he would just spit at her feet and walk away, never wishing to see her again. She knew the hate Asura could fill people with. And she feared the worst. She feared that she lost her baby, the stoic child that liked her hugs but never admitted it.

But she saw his smile. She saw how much he had grown, the wounds on his body, the bearing of a strong man. His voice was calm, deeper than it was before. Most of all, it was bright. It was happy.

Dirk couldn't see his mother as he used to. He could only sense the dark mana that flowed through and around her body, along with other fine details provides by his earth mana and fire mana.

But when he faced her, he also knew. This was his mother. He couldn't see her loving eyes anymore, but that didn't matter.

He was happy.

"Hi mom."

He spoke with a wide smile. He was now taller than his mother, but he still felt like a child in front of her.

Though, he wasn't really sure what to say. So many things had happened, and he didn't really have the time to think about this moment.

So he just said what came to mind.

"It's... nice to see yo- Oof!"

"My baby!"

Dirk was interrupted as Cecilia suddenly ran forward, almost crashing into him as she wrapped him up in a hug. He smiled as he quickly hugged her back.

She cried.

"I'm so sorry! I'm... I'm so glad you're safe. I'm so sorry I couldn't find you sooner..."

Tears poured from Cecilia's eyes as she grabbed Dirk with a shocking amount of strength. Dirk activated a bit of anima to resist her powerful hug, but smiled brightly nonetheless.

"It's okay, mom. I'm back. I'm right here."

"My child is back... I'm never going to let you go again, Dirk."

"...So does that mean I can't dungeon dive?"

"Hehe... Sniff..."

Cecilia couldn't help but chuckle. The two continued to hug, Cecilia's cries dying down.

"...Do you hate your mother?"

She suddenly asked, causing Dirk to noticeably recoil. Cecilia felt his flinch and gritted her teeth a bit.

She seemed to melt at the answer though.

"I love you, mom. No amount of back scratching is going to change that."

"I love you too, my child. Your mother will always love you."

Cecilia responded with a tighter hug when Dirk strengthened his own embrace.

After another little while, they separated. Cecilia wiped her face and fixed her hair while Dirk shook out his now sore muscles.

"Ugh, I haven't cried like that in a while. You ruined my makeup, child."

"You wore makeup?"

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Cecilia huffed a bit with a bright smile. After making herself presentable, she turned back to dirk and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"Welcome back, sweetie."

"Thank... you...?"

"What's wrong?"

Cecilia tilted her head when Dirk spoke unsurely. He was frowning.

Then, Dirk suddenly bent over, falling to one knee. His mouth opened, and blood poured out like water.

"Dirk?!"

"Cough! My... stomach!"

Dirk could barely speak before coughing up more blood. Then, he saw something in his mind.

[Alert! Extreme body decomposition detected. Genetic anomalies detected. Employing Trait: Adaptable Genes.]

Dirk was a bit baffled by the notifications from Spyte. Then, he fell over, his entire body weak.

"Dirk?! I'll take you to a doctor, just hang on!"

Cecilia quickly picked up her child, dashing off across the buildings to the palace in the center of the city. As she did, she cast dark healing spells on him. It didn't seem to help though as more blood poured out. She could also feel his previously strong body become suddenly frail.

She ran as fast as she could, and before long, she found just who she needed.

..........

.......

"It's withdrawals."

Cecilia sat beside Dirk's bed. Sitting across from her was a doctor, someone with the light attribute who specialized in healing.

After bringing Dirk in, Cecilia had this doctor personally take care of him, using her name as a Marqioness and the threat of death if he didn't move. Luckily, he didn't resist and immediately got to work.

With a bit of healing magic and potions, Dirk's body was stabilized. He remained conscious through the entire thing, even now as the doctor explained what caused this sudden change.

Cecilia frowned as the man adjusted a monocle.

"When a person uses potions constantly over long periods of time or gets their body repaired by healing magic just as often, their bodily systems become dependent on the potion or healing to function. I've seen it a lot in dungeon divers who consistently sustain wounds and then consistently get artificially healed. After a long time, their body can't function without it, and if they stop, they'll experience an adverse reaction. It usually results in being sick for a few days and weakness in the body. It also affects the weak more than the strong, so people at a certain level can ignore withdrawals outright. But not only is your son only Rank 4, but I've never seen such an extreme case of this condition. Your son would have died without intervention, and it took a shocking amount of healing potion to stabilize him."

"..."

Both Dirk and his mother frowned deeply at his words. Dirk immediately knew the situation while Cecilia could surmise it.

The doctor continued.

"He'll need to remain here for at least two weeks as we allow his body to reacclimate. He'll need a regular dose of healing potion that I'll personally adjust every day. And I'll warn you in advance, but the process will be very uncomfortable. He may not be able to even walk for a the duration. He just needs to rest until he's no longer dependent."

"I understand. Thank you doctor."

"Of course."

With a nod, the man stood and left. He closed the door to the room, giving them privacy.

"...Do you want to explain?"

Cecilia asked cautiously. She didn't want to bring up his traumatic time at the mountain, but she wanted to know how serious the situation actually was.

Dirk just sighed and spoke bluntly.

"I was beaten near death every single day for those two and a half years. Every time I was, I was given a potion through my bloodstream. Everything from broken bones to ruptured organs to shredded skin was regenerated within hours. Near the end, I could be up and walking in 2 hours. And I guess the only reason why I didn't react this way earlier was because I stole some potion and used it throughout my time in the jungle. It was only yesterday that I stop using it."

"Oh god..."

Cecilia couldn't help the few tears that went down her cheek. She quickly composed herself though.

She could imagine how strong the potion Dirk was given. Not just any potion could bring a man back from death's doorstep in mere hours. If she was being honest, she was baffled by the strength of the potion Asura used and how long he supplied it for. It spoke volumes about the depth of his organization.

Either way, Dirk was given that potion every day for around 900 days. It was no wonder his body reacted so violently when the potion suddenly stopped coming.

As Dirk had already guessed with Spyte, his body had even begun to replace food with the potion. Dirk didn't even feel hungry in the several days he was in the jungle. The potion replaced vital functions, and his body became reliant on it. It was like an addict suddenly coming off of a drug, only much worse in the backlash.

Now, he had to slowly get his body to work as it did before. Only, when Dirk remembered the notifications he saw while collapsing, he knew that something deeper inside him was changing. Even now he could feel his body going through repairs and alterations. It was odd, but Dirk didn't mention it.

Instead, he decided to change the topic. Although he was weak, he had no trouble ignoring the pain. He turned his head.

"Hey mom."

"Hm?"

"I have something I want you to see."

Dirk smiled a bit as Cecilia's interest was piqued. Then, a cat suddenly appeared.

Black fur, faint golden stripes, and deep golden eyes. Spyte appeared in its cat form, looking very real but also a little ethereal at the same time.

She was surprised by the cat that looked at her and flicked its tail around.

"...Is it a fairy familiar?"

Cecilia made a guess as she reached out her hand. Dirk tilted his head at the new concept.

"Fairy? No. This is my Stigma. I formed it while in the mountain."

"Your Stigma? This?"

She was shocked as she pet the cat, feeling its warm, soft fur.

Dirk also knew that this Stigma was definitely out of the ordinary. For one, it had two forms. It was also modified and controlled by his AI Interface skill. There was no part of this that was normal.

But he showed it anyway. He didn't feel like hiding things from his mother. He only wanted to show her something he was proud of.

Cecilia smiled a bit as the cat walked and sat on her lap.

"Your Stigma... This is amazing. I've never even heard of a Stigma like this. I've seen flying swords and a book that walks, but never an animal. Are you controlling it?"

"No."

"An independent entity... Is it a boy or girl? Or, I don't know if it's even a proper living being. Nonetheless..."

She was even more surprised.

"This is by far the most unique Stigma I've ever known of. What's it called on your profile?"

"The Black Cat of Calamity."

"Calamity..."

She mumbled that word, finding it interesting.

Thinking for a second, Dirk called back Spyte.

"There's also something else. It has another form."

"Another?"

Cecilia's eyes widened as the cat suddenly disappeared. In Dirk's weakly raised hand, the pistol appeared.

He explained as she observed it.

"It's a magic tool that helps with my spellcasting. With it, I don't have to form magic circles. I can directly shoot the magic with this. While I still need to be proficient with the spells, it helps my magic abilities greatly."

Dirk pointed the gun as he spoke. The golden circuits suddenly lit up, and runes appeared all around them.

Cecilia was a bit mesmerized. More than that though, she was surprised by the detail of the weapon.

"Dirk, you were definitely weakened for a period after forming the Stigma. How long was that period?"

"Not any more than a few days. Why?"

"A few days... Usually when someone forms their Stigma, they're weakened for weeks, months, or even years depending on the person's strength. I couldn't fight for three weeks after I formed my Stigma. The soul just takes that long to heal. Not only that, but Stigmata takes time to form. It could take months for the Stigma to turn from a crude, unusable object to an actual tool. After forming my saber, I had to wait for two months before using it. Other people may have to wait years for theirs to form. How long did you wait?"

"...Maybe those few days? I didn't really have to wait. It was just finished by the time I woke up from recovery."

"I see..."

Cecilia nodded in thought. She then looked back at her son who was admiring his Stigma. Her eyes widened when she saw his face though.

"You're bleeding."

"Hm?"

Dirk was confused as his mother reached over and wiped his lip. There was blood streaming out of his nose.

"I'll get the doctor."

"It's okay, mom. If anything, I need to go to sleep."

Dirk mumbled and sighed. When his arm dropped, the pistol in his hand transformed back into the cat. Spyte laid on his lap, curling up.

Seeing how haggard her son looked, she once again realized how much he had recently gone through. Not just at the mountain either. He had fought through that jungle to get to this city, and she knew how hostile it was. It was a miracle that he made it back alive.

"...Of course, sweetie. Rest as long as you need."

She planted a kiss on his forehead, stroking his cheek before covering him in blankets. She then left the room, Spyte watching her close the door.

[...You really should go to sleep. Otherwise you might experience more pain than you want to right now.]

"Yes, yes. And I'm basically numb to pain now, so it doesn't matter either way. Before I knock out though, tell me what's going on with my guts."

Dirk settled into the bed as he spoke.

Spyte had actually been urging Dirk to sleep for a while, thus the reason he told his mother he wanted to rest. The reason was because of the potion withdrawals, or the reactions his body was having to the withdrawals.

Spyte rested itself in a crouching position.

[When the potion in your body ran out and ceased to provide its effects to your biological systems, your body began to both eat itself and decompose. It was like your organs just fell apart while your muscles decreased in mass. Even your skin corroded. There were very few parts of you that didn't immediately fall apart without the support of the potion.]

"So what was with the activation of my Trait?"

[Your body wants to adapt. It wants to fill in the gap that the potion left by itself. Nearly every system in your body is attempting to restructure itself in order to provide the same effects as that potion, only constantly and without external supply. It's doing this in two ways. It wants to use the mana in your blood to mimic the magical effects of the potion, and your cellular genes want to achieve something like regeneration. Of course, naturally generating such significant changes isn't easy, so your nanites are operating under my directive to assist.]

"...Alright. So my body is changing."

Dirk mumbled in summary.

[In short, yes. Still, it's amazing how malleable your genes became after that Trait activated. Right now you have hundreds of clusters of cells that are constantly mutating in order to achieve regeneration. Many of those cell clusters are forms of cancer.]

"Cancer?"

[Don't worry. Even if you did get cancer I could easily cure you.]

"...I'll take your word for it."

Dirk frowned a bit unsurely. It was amazing the changes that were going on in his body without him knowing.

"So will I actually get regeneration? Like, grow back chopped off limbs type stuff?"

[No, at least not right now. It'll likely be mild, just enough to cover the effects of the potion. You'll still enjoy the effects though.]

"Assuming I don't get cancer instead."

[We'll see how the dice roll. Anyway, go to sleep. It'll be easier to work when your body is more vulnerable and defenseless.]

"That's not comforting."

Dirk rolled his eyes inwardly before sinking back into his bed. After that, it only took him several seconds to fall asleep. He was really fatigued despite his lively conversation. His body was quick to urge him into recovery mode.

With that, Spyte focused on working, carrying out biological experiments within the malleable vessel that was Dirk's body.