"Captain, could you come over here a minute?"
Mia suddenly sought out Bellamy, looking like she had something important to discuss.
"What is it?" Bellamy was busy loading supplies onto the small boat. Hearing the cook call him, he felt a bit puzzled. There shouldn't be anything particularly urgent happening on the ship right now.
"Well... I don't know if it's good news or bad news. Just come take a look."
It seemed Mia had concocted something strange again.
After Bellamy had transcribed numerous recipes and acquired a heap of materials from the black market, Mia and Muret had spent the entire ten days of their sea voyage holed up in a small room, tinkering with something. Bellamy had asked out of curiosity, but the answer he received was that they didn't know what they were making either. Even they weren't sure what exactly they were brewing.
The ingredients for the Life Flower Elixir were far too complex; recreating it perfectly was almost impossible. The Potion they had accidentally created back on Bird Dropping Island also had a bizarre recipe, using several ingredients unique to that island and unavailable elsewhere. And as for the Witch Potions transcribed from the Book of Curses—don't even mention it. Things like the right leg of a toad, snake eyes, hair from a dead man—all sorts of nasty, disgusting components that they wouldn't even know where to find.
With incomplete ingredients, they had no choice but to improvise. Following the existing recipes, they substituted ingredients based on similar medicinal properties, tossing available herbs and various oddities into the cauldron, trying to see if they could brew any usable potions.
This particular batch had simmered for a full ten days, finally reaching completion just as Bellamy was preparing to depart. As for what this cauldron of "medicine" actually was… only the devil knew. Whatever it was, Mia wouldn't drink it if her life depended on it.
Leading the captain into the small brewing room, Bellamy was immediately greeted by the sight of a large cauldron filled with bubbling, steaming, crimson liquid.
"Alright, spill it. You two have been at this for ages and wasted more than half the materials I got you. What exactly did you manage to create?"
Muret was already waiting in the room. Hearing Bellamy's question, she explained, "We don't know."
"Based on our calculations, the finished potion should have been purple."
But the current color was clearly wrong. Not only that, but the smell was off too. The concoction actually had a faint, metallic, bloody scent, though they had no idea how that happened.
Hearing this, Bellamy turned his gaze to Mia.
Mia just shook her head at him. "Don't look at me. There's no way I'm drinking this."
Not only would she not drink it herself, but she wouldn't dare let the captain drink it either. Letting Bellamy see it was merely to show him they had been working hard during this time.
"Captain, maybe we should catch a bird and test it?"
Hearing them say this, Bellamy knew something was definitely wrong, even if he was dense. He carefully examined the cauldron of blood-red liquid for a moment. "How is one bird enough?"
"Go on, tell Ross to catch a few live fish. I'll take a spin in the sky and grab some birds. Find some insects in the corners of the ship, too. Catch a few of those."
There used to be rats on the ship, but Bellamy, seeing the two interns idle every day, had assigned them rat-catching duty. Sailing on the open sea was incredibly boring, and within a few days, they had caught every single rat. Now, ironically, when they needed something to test the potion on, they were short one type of test subject.
Bellamy gave the orders, and soon, all the test subjects were brought to the small room. By now, the Sea Shark had dropped anchor and was stationary. Everyone on board crowded around, ready for the spectacle. Bellamy didn't stop them; it wasn't a major secret. But with so many people, the room became cramped, so he simply moved the large cauldron onto the deck.
"One by one. Birds first."
Bellamy gave Ross a look, and Ross nodded in understanding. Quickly, Mani grabbed a seagull's wings and pried its beak open. Ross took a small spoon, scooped up some potion, and forcibly poured it down the bird's throat.
"Gack! Gack!"
The seagull struggled desperately for a few moments, but it was useless. As the spoonful of crimson potion went down, all eyes fixed on the bird. For a moment, a strange tension filled the air on deck.
"CAW! CAW CAW CAW!"
Under everyone's gaze, the seagull suddenly began screeching wildly. As it shrieked, its body seemed to swell slightly. Immediately after, the ordinary seabird took on a startlingly ferocious appearance. Mani, still gripping its wings, didn't notice the change at first, but the onlookers had already spotted the abnormality.
"Careful!" Mia quickly called out a warning.
But it seemed she was too late. The seagull viciously pecked Mani's hand. With a sharp cry of pain, Mani instinctively let go.
Once freed, the seagull didn't fly away. Instead, it began flapping its wings furiously right where it stood, then charged towards the people surrounding it.
Seeing this, Bellamy couldn't help but frown. Aggressive, and maybe a slight boost in attack power?
Was that all? If that was the extent of it, then this potion, brewed for ten days, was practically useless.
Casually snatching the seagull out of the air, Bellamy gestured towards the other test subjects. "Feed these ones some too."
"Give them a larger dose."
Soon, all the test subjects—fish and insects included—had been force-fed several spoonfuls of the potion. The results were starkly clear and exactly as Bellamy had surmised.
Having determined the potion's effects, a wave of disappointment washed over the crew. All that effort, just to produce this. The two women felt particularly let down; they had expended so much energy and so many materials only to create something akin to a simple stimulant.
"Ah, forget it. Might as well dump it."
Mia sighed and lifted the large cauldron, pouring the entire batch of crimson potion overboard into the sea. The test subjects were unceremoniously tossed in after it.
Just as the disappointed crew members began to turn away, the crimson liquid dissolved rapidly into the ocean water. With inexplicable speed, a faint, bloody scent instantly permeated the surrounding sea.
Deep below, unseen by Bellamy and his crew, several Sea Kings happened to be swimming nearby. They raised their massive heads, seeming to catch a whiff of the strange odor. Their considerable intelligence allowed them to sense that there was something unusual in the water.
Before they could fully process what was happening, an overwhelming, powerful urge for destruction surged through their minds.
"ROOOOAAARRR!"
With enraged bellows, the Sea Kings turned on each other, tearing into vicious combat. By the looks of it, they were locked in a brutal, life-or-death struggle.
Before long, vast quantities of blood billowed up from the depths, staining a wide patch of the sea surface crimson. The potent smell of blood immediately attracted swarms of sharks and other carnivorous fish. Among them were numerous carnivorous Sea Kings drawn to the carnage.
As soon as any creature entered this affected area of the sea, it was instantly influenced by the residual "potion," becoming extraordinarily aggressive.
Completely unbeknownst to Bellamy and his crew aboard the Sea Shark, a horrifically bloody, chaotic free-for-all had erupted in the ocean depths nearby.
_______
+50 chapters on: patreon.com/Shinobi_Scrolls