Novel Full Chapter 300: New Look
Almost an hour later...
Ethan and Isabella were inside Eduardo’s study. It hadn’t been long since the Princess concluded her pie lessons with Hayley.
Eduardo was by the desk, already pulling open a secured box.
If anyone here could handle something like this, it was probably her. Ethan had never performed a mana siphon before, and since it involved a divine artifact, it was doubtful Bettie would be able to pull it off.
From within the box, Eduardo brought out the Chalice of Verdona and set it carefully on the table between them.
Ethan then turned to Isabella who stared at the Chalice almost astonishingly. "I need help with siphoning off the remainder of the magic power from this item."
Isabella looked at the cup, then shook her head slightly. "I’ve never really done that before... but there must also be somewhere to put all that magic power into..."
In that moment, a feminine yet eerie voice spoke inside her head. It was from Alter-Bella, the dark entity residing within the princess.
[Isn’t that Verdona’s Chalice?]
Bella’s expression change a bit, but before she could even respond, the voice came again;
[Yes. That’s definitely it.]
Ethan noticed the weird look. "You good?" he asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Isabella frowned a bit at the fact that she was being bothered by this alternate version of herself.
After a few minutes of internal conversation with herself, she walked a little closer to Ethan and spoke in lower tones, as though not wanting Eduardo to hear. "Remember that thing I told you was inside me?"
"Yeah," he replied. "The... alter ego or something."
She nodded. "It says it can do the spell, but it wants the cup in exchange."
Ethan stared at her with a surprised look. Then at the chalice and back at her. "Did it say why?"
Isabella shook her head. "No. And it’s not telling me either."
Ethan sighed. "Okay." He thought for a moment then said, "Ask if it can lend it back to us if we ever need it."
Isabella nodded. "One moment."
[If it is something that will not take the cup away from me permanently, then yes.]
Isabella relayed it.
Ethan gave a nod. "Alright. That works."
He stepped aside slightly and gestured to Isabella as Eduardo handed the chalice over to her.
The moment it touched Isabella’s hand, darkness surged up, engulfing her palm and coiling around the chalice, swallowing it whole in an instant.
The cup vanished into the darkness as quickly as it had appeared.
—
Within her subconscious...
Alter-Bella stared at the chalice now resting in her hand.
She smiled.
—
Back in the room..
Eduardo staggered shortly after the cup vanished into the darkness. Something had begun to change.
Alter-Bella had already siphoned the magic from the artifact.
Ethan watched as Eduardo’s body began to reverse. He grew at least a full foot taller, and his frame broadened noticeably.
Ethan’s eyes widened at the sight, and he found himself whispering, "Damn."
——
A few minutes later...
Eduardo stepped down the stairs, and the room went quiet.
The figure now standing before them was a striking, matured, and distinguished gentleman in his late thirties to early forties. Eduardo’s hair, once fully gray, had turned into a clean mix of black and silver strands.
A well-groomed mustache connected neatly to a trimmed goatee.
Percival’s eyes looked as though they might fall out of their sockets. "Woaah..."
Everyone else had varying degrees of shock on their faces, well except for Ethan and Bella who had already seen this.
Francesca walked up to him, squinting like she was trying to line up what she was seeing with what she remembered.
She circled him halfway, still staring. "Is this really you, rust bucket?" she asked, unsure.
Eduardo smiled. "Yes, Hag. It’s me"
Even that voice was different. It was thicker
Francesca leaned back, still processing it. Then she smiled and took a few steps back. "Well...except your glasses, you don’t even look that different to me."
Ethan narrowed his eyes, "Now that Francesca mentions it, you don’t really look that different. I thought you’d be much younger."
He tilted his head slightly, studying Eduardo, who no longer had any need for a glass. The mustache was almost the same, only now it was more neatly aligned and well-groomed.
Eduardo said, "Maybe because I’m half wolf. Wolves still age, although slower than humans, and much slower if you are a vampire hybrid."
"But the real problem was that spell. Whatever it did, it forced my wolf-side aging forward." He shrugged lightly. "I guess this is the best my body can adjust back to."
Ethan gave a nod. "That would be the simplest way to put it."
In that moment, the system sent Ethan new reward screens
[Self-Imposed Objective Complete: Helping Eduardo Undo The Curse Of Time]
[Reward: +12,000xp]
In addition to the 6,000 experience points for coordinating the team and 7000 experience points for successfully bringing down the leaders.
That had brought his current experience points balance to [72,550]
Out of nowhere, a smirking Hayley threw out a random question. "Hey, co-pilot, who do you think is stronger? You or me?"
Ever since becoming Martial King, a part of her had actually wondered.
Eduardo smiled and shook his head, then nodded toward the door. "Maybe we step outside and find out."
Ethan’s eyes quickly moved between them both as he raised both hands in a placating gesture. "We are doing none of that"
Percival scoffed. "Aren’t you all the same?"
Eduardo turned to him with an amused expression. "No, not exactly."
Percival frowned. "How so?"
"First, there are skill differences," Eduardo said. "One person’s skill might naturally put the other at a disadvantage. Grand Casters have the best versatility in that regard."
It seemed as though everyone was watching him explain with considerable curiosity, so Eduardo continued.
"The Grand Class is an umbrella term. Anyone who has reawakened falls under it, but that doesn’t mean they’re all the same."
He tilted his head slightly. "There’s a range. And where you fall in that range depends entirely on the new talent you reawaken with."