[Third Person’s PoV]

“Me next! My turn!” Nico exclaimed, raising his hands excitedly, his nerves calmed after seeing that nothing bad had happened to Bianca.

Bianca, meanwhile, was flexing her fingers. “I still don’t like how my next one is called ‘Stalker.'”

“It’s not what you’re thinking,” Annabeth said with a slight amused smile. “A Stalker refers to a hunter who stalks their prey in the dark. It’s about being stealthy and discreet.”

“Hmmm, I suppose you have a point. I can work with that,” Bianca nodded, finding the explanation much better than what she had originally imagined.

Nico, uninterested in the conversation, approached the cauldron eagerly. “Alright,” he began, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. “What do I need?”

“Let’s see if I remember correctly,” Lucian said, turning to his shelf of monster parts. “I’ll name them off, and you tell me if I got it right.”

Nico held his card in front of him. “Yeah, go ahead.”

“Horn of a Chimera,” Lucian said, picking a horn from the shelves and holding it up.

“Yes, it says it needs to be 15 inches exactly,” Nico confirmed.

“This one is 20 inches and from a female Chimera. Have Annabeth cut it,” Lucian said, tossing it behind him. Nico fumbled to catch it, then handed it to Annabeth with a polite “please.”

Annabeth smiled at his politeness, nodding. She grabbed her knife from her side, flipped it around her hand, and expertly sliced off exactly 5 inches without needing any measuring tools.

“Blood of a Myrmeke,” Lucian continued, holding a container labeled accordingly.

“It says 5 pints full. What are Myrmekes, exactly?” Nico asked.

“They’re metal ants,” Annabeth explained. “There’s an anthill not far from here filled with them.”

“Ah, I see. The first sequence is that of a soldier, and the blood of a Myrmeke. Makes sense,” Nico muttered in understanding.

“Fangs of a Hellhound,” Lucian said, holding a jar filled with teeth.

“It says two of them,” Nico read aloud.

“And lastly, the essence of Makhai,” Lucian said, holding a vial of milky substance, recalling a time he and Luke had fought a group of them during their journey to camp.

“That’s all,” Nico confirmed, clearly excited.

With Lucian’s guidance and what he remembered from watching Bianca, Nico began making his potion, standing on a stool to reach the cauldron.

“Kekeke!” Nico cackled like a witch. “Kekeke, it’s all coming together nicely!”

Lucian watched with amusement as Nico had fun stirring the potion, which changed color with each stir. It finally settled into a dull grey color.

“Well, that doesn’t look the least bit appetizing,” Nico scoffed as Lucian helped him transfer the potion into a vial.

As he handed it to Nico, Lucian said, “Don’t forget to toast. It’s the most important part of the process.”

“Really?” Nico asked, confused.

“No, I’m joking,” Lucian chuckled, seeing Nico ready to believe him.

“Oh…” Nico muttered, then shrugged. “As they say where I’m from… BOTTOMS UP, BITCHES!”

“NICO!” Both Bianca and Lucian exclaimed in a reprimanding tone. Lucian, who had been extremely careful about using curse words around Nico, was taken aback by Nico’s sudden outburst.

Nico, however, paid no mind and downed the potion in one strong gulp. He smacked his lips loudly, let out a satisfied sigh, and shook his head, sticking out his tongue.

“I’m blaming him turning out this way on you,” Bianca said with a straight face.

“On me?!” Lucian said, incredulous. “It’s just like you said, you’ve known me for less than a week! If he’s like that because of anyone, it’s clearly because of you. You practically raised him.”

Before Bianca could respond, Nico let out a loud scream of pain, dropping to the floor and clutching his stomach.

“Nico…” Bianca muttered worriedly, immediately turning her attention to him. Despite knowing he would be fine, seeing him in pain was still distressing.

After a few minutes of thrashing and screaming, Nico lay sprawled on the floor, arms wide, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “That… sucked!” he groaned.

Nico pushed himself up into a squat with a surprising burst of strength, looking around in astonishment. “You know… maybe it wasn’t so bad,” he grinned.

“So, what did you get?” Lucian asked curiously.

Nico followed the same process Bianca had earlier, checking his new abilities. Rubbing his hands together, he said, “Bianca never let go of gambling back in the casino. Let’s see if it was a waste that I didn’t join. Let me get lucky!”

…

Superhuman Strength: Enhanced physical power for incredible feats of strength.

Enhanced Durability: Increased resilience to physical damage, reducing harm from bullets, explosions, and melee attacks.

Enhanced Speed: Superhuman agility and speed for quick maneuvers and rapid attacks.

Heightened Reflexes: Lightning-fast reactions, enabling precise evasion and counterattacks.

Bullet Time: The ability to perceive time in slow motion, allowing for precise actions in high-speed scenarios.

Fearlessness: Immunity to fear or intimidation, maintaining composure in terrifying situations.

…

“Not bad!” Nico nodded, clearly impressed as he listed off his new abilities.

“Nico, look at me for a second,” Lucian said, drawing Nico’s attention. His eyes turned pitch black, leaving only two glowing red pupils.

Nico stared directly into Lucian’s cursed eyes, tilting his head. “Cool eyes! Can I get a pair of my own?”

“You really don’t feel anything?” Lucian asked, a hint of surprise in his tone.

“Am I supposed to?” Nico replied, confused. “The only thing I’m feeling is jealousy. I want a pair of those eyes—they look sick.”

Lucian’s face twitched, and he shook his head in exasperation. “You might not know it, but not being able to feel fear is both cool and dangerous at the same time.”

“Why?” Nico asked, still confused.

“Fear is what keeps us alive,” Annabeth explained. “It motivates people to take action and survive.”

Nico shrugged. “Well, fear isn’t something that motivates me, so that’s not a problem. I don’t need fear to keep me alive; my will to live is perfectly fine as it is. There are many reasons to live that don’t involve fear. The only thing to fear is fear itself, and unfortunately for it, I don’t fear it.”

Nico’s words left them all speechless, not knowing how to respond.

Lucian covered his mouth as he began to laugh. “I honestly can’t argue with that. You win.”

Nico smiled proudly. Curiosity sparked within him as he thought about his new ability, Bullet Time, and decided to activate it. Instantly, everything around him slowed down. He watched as Lucian’s eyes gradually turned back to white, and his eyebrows contorted in slow confusion.

Lucian noticed Nico’s pupils dilating and tried to call out to him. “NNNNNIIIIICCCCCOOOOO?” Lucian’s voice dragged, slow and deep.

Nico tilted his head, amused, while his thoughts raced at a normal pace. ‘Heh, this is so cool.’

When Nico blinked, his pupils returned to normal, and he shook his head to orient himself. “Sorry about that. I was testing out the Bullet Time… You were moving in slow motion—it was funny.”

A look of understanding dawned on their faces. Suddenly, Thalia let out a small yawn. “Sorry,” she apologized, looking embarrassed. “Had a long day…”

Her yawn seemed contagious, as they all began yawning.

“Nice going, Thalia. Look at what you did—Yaaawwwn~,” Lucian teased, yawning.

Thalia’s cheeks flushed slightly. “I said I was sorry,” she muttered.

Lucian shook his head with a grin. “I’m messing with you. It’s pretty late anyway; we should get to sleep.”

Nico rubbed his eyes, which were watering, and Bianca placed a hand on the back of his head. “Come, let’s get you to bed.”

“But I wanted to try out my powers some more…” Nico whined as she guided him out.

“You can try them out tomorrow. I’m tired too and want to sleep. Say goodnight, Nico,” Bianca said softly.

“Awww…” Nico sighed before reluctantly saying goodnight to everyone.

The others followed suit, saying goodnight as Bianca and Nico left through the front door. Thalia, genuinely tired, kissed Lucian on the cheek and said goodnight to Annabeth before heading out.

Now, only Lucian and Annabeth remained in Lucian’s lair.

“You’re not going to bed?” Annabeth asked curiously.

“I can’t,” Lucian replied, shaking his head. His shadow stirred as he pulled out two black and purple ingots. “They’ve already decided on what weapon they want, so I better get busy.”

Annabeth nodded, grabbed a book, and sat nearby in a chair.

“You’re not heading to bed?” Lucian asked, watching her.

Annabeth pouted and blushed slightly as she opened her book. “I wanted to snuggle up with someone tonight, but it seems they’re going to be busy, so I’m going to wait until they’re done,” she muttered.

Lucian rolled his eyes and bopped her on the nose. “I’ll be sure to finish as soon as I can then.”

Annabeth didn’t say anything else, looking up at him with puckered lips and closed eyes, anticipating a kiss.

Lucian chuckled and leaned down to give her a small kiss before turning back to his work, determined to finish quickly, though not just for rest.

Annabeth looked pleased, swinging her feet as she settled into her chair, content to wait.

********************************************

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep