Alter-Drug

Chapter 7 - Side Effects

The way the previously-sleepy rabbit suddenly perked up puzzled Carl.

What is going on? This was supposed to be a sleeping pill of sorts, no? Why isn't the rabbit falling asleep? Or is this drug only effective on humans?

Carl frowned and was about to take a closer look when the rabbit suddenly became extremely agitated and started ramming itself against the metal cage. The bars of the metal cage were too hard for the rabbit to knock open, but the bunny did not give up and kept going.

Clang! Clang! Bam! Bam!

As the rabbit continued to ram its body into the cage, it slowly began to transform. Its previously plump body was becoming more and more solid, and Carl could even see the outline of its muscles forming.

What sort of super bunny is this rabbit turning into?

Carl was horrified and certain that something had gone wrong, so he hastily took several steps back to put some distance between himself and the berserking specimen.

BOOM!

Just then, the metal cage burst open as the rabbit made it out. It stood upright on its hind legs and all its fur was standing, as though they were steel needles. It looked absolutely terrifying.

Carl did not expect the rabbits of this universe to be able to transform like this.

He swallowed some saliva as he sensed great danger coming his way. He immediately retreated to the door, then ran out and started yelling, "Milton! Save me!"

Several figures jumped into the front yard shortly after he ran out. Milton was right in front and he held his huge sword at the ready. "Carl, what happened?"

"Did an enemy get here?" Ralph looked wary.

Before Carl could explain what had just happened, a shadow shot out from the lab behind him. A frighteningly-looking rabbit landed so hard on the ground that it made a dent in the grass.

"A magical beast?"

Milton and Ralph were really surprised. How did a magical beast make it into the manor unnoticed? Was it sent here by an enemy? Or did it enter this estate by mistake?

While they were still trying to wrap their heads around where this rabbit must have come from, the rabbit leaped into the air and headed for the wall.

"Trying to run? Not so fast!" Milton moved even faster than the rabbit as the three stars behind him began to glow faintly.

His move was not even a fancy one. He had merely bent his legs a little, and catapulted himself into the air just like that.

Pak! Milton swung his sword vertically and smacked the rabbit back down as though it were a ball.

At the same time, Ralph dashed over to where the rabbit was going to land. His long sword gleamed like a crescent moon and was ready to be stabbed through the rabbit's heart.

Carl called out anxiously, "Don't kill it! I want it alive!"

Ralph raised an eyebrow as he forcefully changed the sword's trajectory with his wrist and instead opted for a powerful kick to send the rabbit flying.

The critter soared more than a dozen meters into the air, then came back down again.

It crashed heavily onto the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust. Its head was turned to one side and its tongue was sticking out as it lay on the ground without moving at all.

Milton seemed to be able to sense that the rabbit was actually still alive, so he scoffed and walked toward it with his sword in hand. "Playing dead, huh?"

The rabbit instantly opened its eyes again and it crouched on the ground, its muscular body saving up energy to make another attempt at escaping.

All of a sudden, its body started shivering and its head swayed from side to side, as if it was drunk.

Everyone stared in shock as its needle-like fur slowly became soft again, while its extremely muscular body slowly reverted to its fat and pudgy form.

Seconds later, the rabbit looked silly and clumsy again as it lost consciousness and collapsed onto the ground. It did not pose a threat anymore.

Everyone exchanged confused glances and could not understand what just happened. They then turned to the person who had started it all.

Milton asked with a puzzled expression, "Carl, what did you do to it? It's just an ordinary rabbit!"

The knights were not the only ones who were puzzled, so was Carl. 

How did this supposed sleeping pill drive this rabbit completely insane? Or, to be more accurate, how did this gentle and harmless rabbit turn into a monster rabbit?

He suddenly recalled what Milton said earlier about magical beasts. An idea struck him and he asked, "Milton, I've got a question. Can an ordinary animal turn into a magical beast?"

Could he have created something close to the secret drug that could give one superpowers? "Surely not, right?" thought Carl.

Ralph thought about it for a while, then said, "In general, only animals with the blood of a magical beast in them can turn into magical beasts."

"So, is this a rabbit with magical beast blood?" asked Carl.

"Well…" The rest exchanged awkward glances. None of them knew how to answer his question.

This was possible in theory, but did not sound plausible. The chances of a rabbit having magical beast blood was way too low. Even if it did, the limitations of its species made it almost impossible for it to successfully turn into one.

Milton went up to check the rabbit over. "That's really strange. I had sensed magical energy in it earlier. Where did that go?"

Both the presence of magical energy and the rabbit's physical transformation stumped them all.

Ralph bent over to pick up the rabbit and shook it violently. No matter how hard he shook it, the rabbit did not regain consciousness.

So what is this drug supposed to be? Carl was really confused now. Was it meant to do something else?

He seemed to understand why his father seemed to be able to heal his patients only half the time.

Then, he suddenly remembered he still had some of this concoction leftover.

He scrambled back into the lab and everyone quickly followed suit.

A pale reddish liquid gleamed brightly in the sun as a bottle it was in stood on top of his workbench.

He was glad that the rabbit had not broken the bottle or spilled it all over the place.

After breathing a sigh of relief, he picked it up. Milton walked over and looked at the liquid curiously as he asked, "Carl, what is this?"

Carl had a cheeky look on his face as he smiled and replied, "It's a drug that's meant to help you sleep."

"Wow!" Milton blinked in wonder. "That sounds pretty good."

"Do you want to try some?" Carl waved the bottle at Milton. "You just need one or two drops and you can enjoy a good night's sleep without worrying about getting woken up in the middle of the night."

"Thanks for your concern," said Milton with a smile, "but my instinct tells me that you're up to no good."

Was it that obvious? Carl burst out laughing. He took a spoon, poured a drop of the drug into it, then offered it to the rat in the cage next to him.

The rat hid in a corner and looked at Carl suspiciously at first, but it could not overcome the temptation of food and bit down on the spoon to swallow the liquid on it.

Everyone began to get a little excited to see what would happen next.

A broken metal cage lay just beside them, after all. They could guess what must have happened to that cage.

A few seconds later, the gray rat in the cage began to go crazy. It squeaked nonstop and its body also started becoming more and more muscular. Its bean-sized eyes glowed with a sinister green color as it bared its sharp teeth and began gnawing ferociously on the metal bars of the cage.

The thin bars began to twist and bend as the rat chewed on them. One of the bars looked like it was about to snap.

"All right now, little buddy. Be good." Ralph reached a hand into the cage and held onto the gray rat firmly. His grip was so tight that the rat could not break free no matter how hard it squeaked and struggled.

After some time, the gray rat also lost consciousness and its body went limp.

This was definitely no coincidence.

Carl suddenly thought of another possibility. Could it be that the drugs were perfectly fine, just that the person who wrote the formulas down had purposely misstated the use of these drugs?

Everyone's gaze landed on Carl, their eyes filled with curiosity and amazement.

They suddenly remembered something. When Carl treated the poison in Milton's wounds, his treatment had not only helped Milton to be healed completely, but had also enabled Milton to make a breakthrough to the next stage to become a stage three Starlight Knight.

At that time, everyone thought that Carl had merely gotten lucky, but after they saw what had happened to both the rabbit and the rat, they realized that they might have underestimated what Carl was capable of after all.

These thoughts made them look at Carl with a burning desire to become stronger as well.

Milton could not resist asking, "Carl, exactly what drug is this?"

"Didn't you hear me the first time? This will help you with your sleep," said Carl as he cheekily waved the bottle in front of Milton. He offered it to Milton again, "Are you sure you don't want to try some?"