'Over 20 times,' Nick thought as he took a deep breath. 'A normal Shell is supposed to increase the Zephyx recovery by only about ten times!'

'Has anyone done this before?' Nick thought.

Nick thought about how he would have done it without the Elixir.

'Without the Elixir, I would have never done things like this. I would have just made a ball like everyone else. Faster Zephyx recovery is not worth spending another 20 years or so as a Peak Veteran. I simply don't have the time to do that.'

'Additionally, my goal isn't necessarily to become the most powerful person in the world. Sure, that would help me in achieving my goal, but my goal takes priority.'

Nick thought about all the poor people living in the Outer City, and he immediately felt his blood starting to boil.

Then, he thought about the governor, which didn't calm him down.

After that, Kugelblitz shot through his mind, and he imagined the Crimson Fungus bathing in the blood of the poor.

Finally, Anatomy shot through his mind.

Nick wasn't sure if the lives of normal people would improve or deteriorate if Anatomy came to power.

Sure, the lives of the Extractors would become worse, but Extractors weren't normal people.

'But that doesn't matter now,' Nick thought with narrowed eyes. 'I'm already in the same boat as Kugelblitz, and I need to uphold my side of the bargain.'

Nick took another deep breath and opened his eyes.

Aria and Vernon looked at Nick with expectation.

"Did it work?" Vernon asked.

Nick nodded. "Yes, I have my Shell."

Vernon sighed in relief.

The most dangerous part of the advancement was over.

Now, Nick only needed a new ability, and he could advance.

"Good," Vernon said before looking at Aria.

Aria looked at Nick neutrally. "What ability do you want?"

Naturally, Aria was more experienced when it came to Kugelblitz's Specters and their abilities.

Nick already knew what ability he wanted, but he stopped himself.

Then, he furrowed his brows, and Aria raised an eyebrow.

Nick fell silent and looked at the ground.

'I'm not sure if anyone has created this kind of Shell,' Nick thought.

'Everyone says that you should make a round one, but that doesn't seem to be the best way forward.'

'This means there might still be room for optimization when it comes to becoming stronger.'

'And I managed to find one of these ways. Of course, if others had access to the Elixir, they might also have managed to do this, but I haven't heard of anyone who did.'

'So, since I found one way to further optimize my path forward, isn't there a possibility that there might be another way?'

'Julian is already growing extremely quickly, and I'm certain that he will try to kill me before I become a Specialist.'

'I need every bit of extra power I can get without taking too long to get it.'

Nick took a deep breath.

'I can't believe that I'm actually about to do this. I know that I will hate myself in a couple of minutes.'

Then, he looked at Aria.

"Is there a way to rescue me if I get swallowed by the Fiend of Darkness?" Nick asked.

Vernon's eyes widened, and Aria's eyebrows rose in surprise.

Silence.

"You want to get swallowed by the Fiend of Darkness?" Aria asked in surprise.

Nick nodded.

"Why?" she asked.

"I've met the Nightmare many times in my life," Nick said, "and I believe that I can resist it for quite a while."

"I want to see if it's possible to get the Nightmare's ability via the Fiend of Darkness."

Vernon and Aria calmed down.

"Not possible," Aria said. "We already tried that."

"Let me try anyway," Nick said.

Aria looked a bit annoyed.

"If that's what he wants," Vernon said, "we have to oblige. It's part of the Death Pact."

Aria sighed and rolled her eyes.

This seemed like an unnecessary risk.

The Fiend of Darkness had killed Extractors before.

It was not easy to work with it, and getting swallowed by it was especially dangerous.

"Yes, there's a way to get you out," Aria said. "Is that what you want?"

Nick nodded.

"Fine," Aria said. "I can't stop you without killing Vernon."

Then, she took hold of Vernon's suitcase and pointed it at Nick.

"Get in. I'll get you there," she said.

Nick turned into mist and went into the suitcase without even looking at Vernon.

Vernon just sighed.

And here, he had thought that the most dangerous part of the advancement was already over.

Now, Nick wanted to get swallowed by the Fiend of Darkness.

That was ridiculous.

Aria looked at Vernon, and a small, helpless expression appeared on her face.

Vernon just shrugged.

Aria sighed silently.

Then, a serious and confident expression appeared on her face, and she walked out of her office.

Demeanor and appearance were important for a CZE.

The reason why she had put Nick in the suitcase was to keep him a secret.

It was important that no one saw Nick.

Dark Dream was one of Kugelblitz's competitors, and Nick wasn't very close to anyone from Kugelblitz.

Seeing him walking around with Aria during such a tense situation would elicit suspicion.

Aria walked past a couple of employees and went down a couple of floors.

Aria simply moved her hand over an inconspicuous part of the wall and continued walking down the hallway.

Naturally, these hallways were highly secure, and if someone didn't know what to look out for in those hallways, they would trigger an alarm.

Aria approached a door and moved her hand over a console beside it.

The door opened, and she stepped into a locker room with different uniforms and tools.

The door behind her closed, and she opened the briefcase.

Nick came out of the briefcase and returned to his normal state.

"We're here," Aria said as she went to one of the walls and grabbed something.

The thing she grabbed looked like a harpoon with a long white rope attached to it.

"Is that what we are going to use to get me out?" Nick asked.

Aria nodded.