Vera’s Experiment (Part Two)

In the afternoon, Levin and his companions arrived at Ellie's safe house on the outskirts.

It was a small cabin in the countryside, with a front yard adorned with various flowers, though they looked rather wilted and droopy.

"Ellie, do you enjoy gardening?" Levin asked as he noticed the surrounding flowers, recalling the gardening book Ellie had been reading in her sickbed.

Ellie's face flushed a deep red, uncertain whether she was embarrassed by the flowers' poor condition or something else, but she replied frankly, "Well… I'm not very good at it. I don't have much time to take care of them, so they don't thrive…"

Vera glanced around and commented, "These are all hardy species, which is good. If you were growing rare herbs, they'd have withered ten times over by now."

Ellie shot Vera a slightly annoyed look. "I know that already, you don't have to say it out loud. We're here for business, aren't we? Let's stop discussing my flowers." With that, Ellie opened the door and stepped into the cabin.

Levin and Vera exchanged glances—Levin's eyes seemed to say, "Why did you say so much?" while Vera's held a hint of confusion and innocence, as if she couldn't understand why Ellie was upset.

Seeing Vera's puzzled expression, Levin sighed helplessly and followed Ellie inside, with Vera trailing after them.

The inside of the cabin also had some flower pots, with the flowers looking slightly better than those outside, clearly having received more care. In the corner were gardening tools such as shovels, rakes, and watering cans.

Ellie approached, moved the tools aside, and revealed a hidden door.

"Down here is my safe house," Ellie said as she opened the door, revealing a deep, stone-lined basement accessible by a wooden ladder.

"Ooh! I love this dark, gloomy atmosphere," Vera nodded in approval.

"I can't say I'm a fan…" Ellie muttered as she descended the ladder.

Levin was about to follow when Vera stopped him.

"Wait, I'll go first."

"?" Levin shot her a questioning look.

"If you go first, you'll be looking up at a lady's skirt from below, won't you? Have some social decency, please," Vera scolded, giving him a sidelong glance before quickly climbing down the ladder.

You call yourself a lady? Your voice is loud enough to be heard a mile away, and you were just saying you hadn't socialized in so long… Levin grumbled inwardly but shrugged in resignation and climbed down last.

The basement was quite spacious. Ellie's mention of an "iron cage" was modest—this was more like a dungeon, with wrought-iron bars dividing the room in half.

"The cage you mentioned?" Vera pointed to the cell-like area.

"Yes," Ellie nodded.

"You know, this reminds me of some of the ancient vampires. They'd buy a huge estate in the remote countryside, decorate it like a palace, and then tell others it's their 'coffin,'" Vera teased. "How do you usually lock yourself in? Does someone come to let you out?"

Ellie pointed to a small window in the bars. "See this? It's just big enough for my hand to fit through. But after I transform into a werewolf, my claws get stuck, so I can't get out. I leave the key behind this window, which allows me to lock my werewolf self inside. Once I revert, I can retrieve the key and unlock the cage."

"That's quite an ingenious solution," Vera remarked admiringly.

"So, how are we going to conduct the experiment?" Ellie asked.

"How long does it usually take for you to exhaust your stamina through exercise?" Vera didn't answer directly but posed a question instead.

"With high-intensity training, maybe four or five hours? I'm not entirely sure," Ellie replied uncertainly. "I'm already on the stronger side among the lower-ranked extraordinaries, so it's hard to push myself to exhaustion just by training."

"Then let's fight," Vera nodded, indicating she understood. "You'll take turns battling me and Levin until you're completely exhausted, unable to even lift a sword. Then we'll carry you into the cage, and you can attempt to transform voluntarily."

"Got it… let's head outside then," Ellie agreed. Her injuries had mostly healed after drinking the healing potion Levin had given her, and with her extraordinary physique, she was fully recovered after two days of rest, making her ready for battle.

"By the way, Vera, Levin is one thing, but can you really fight?" Ellie cast a doubtful glance at Vera.

"Of course, I have my ways as an alchemist," Vera said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's just a bit expensive… so I'll stick to using my vampire abilities to fight you."

She's probably planning to throw poison, alchemical fire, or bombs… Levin imagined the scene and felt a cold sweat forming on his forehead. Better not fight like that—it wouldn't be good for the plants in the yard.

"Alright, I have some practice weapons here, so I'll go all out and fight you both without holding back. You don't need to take turns; come at me together. Otherwise, one person won't last long," Ellie's eyes gleamed as she picked up a wooden sword, standing in the yard with an imposing presence.

Vera and Levin exchanged glances before each grabbed a wooden sword and took up positions opposite Ellie, forming a pincer movement.

"Are you both ready? I'm coming," Ellie took an offensive stance. Despite being outnumbered, her aura was the strongest.

"Alright, bring it on," Levin flexed his wrists, twirling his sword as he and Vera launched their attack together.

…One hour later…

"Huff… huff…" Vera collapsed to the ground, drenched in sweat. "You two… are way too tough… I'm completely spent…" she gasped before shakily retrieving a potion from her pocket and drinking it, feeling slightly better afterward.

Ellie was also exhausted, barely holding herself up with her sword. "Levin… again… let's go again!"

Levin, panting heavily, lifted his sword and charged once more, his steps no longer steady, almost staggering.

With a final strike, Ellie parried, but her strength faltered, and the wooden sword slipped from her grasp.

Her sword disarmed, Ellie gave up and collapsed, gasping for breath.

"Ha... ha... You young people certainly have more stamina..." Ellie lay flat on the ground, her silver hair splayed out like a dandelion, while fine beads of sweat trickled down her forehead, leaving a glistening trail across her delicate face.

"Huff... I'm almost at my limit too... If it weren't for Vera and I teaming up, you would've defeated me long ago," Levin, the least exhausted among the three, barely managed to stay upright, leaning heavily on his sword.

"So, do you have any strength left, Sheriff Ellie?" Vera, having collected herself, stood up and asked Ellie.

"Probably... none at all," Ellie panted heavily, turning her head to look at Vera.

"To be safe, let's do another set of fifty push-ups," Vera nodded, sounding like a cold, relentless trainer.

"..."

After struggling through fifty push-ups, Ellie was completely spent, collapsing onto the ground, utterly drained.

"Come on, I'll take the head, you take the feet. Let's get Sheriff Ellie locked up," Vera said, moving forward to lift Ellie's head, signaling Levin to follow.

"Is it just me, or do you seem particularly... skilled at this?" Levin muttered as he helped carry Ellie under Vera's direction.

"Could you... please... stop... chatting while... you're carrying me?" Ellie, exhausted, managed to say between gasps.

"Sure, sure, almost there. Let's get Sheriff Ellie locked up," Vera maneuvered Ellie into the open cell, and with Levin's help, gently laid her down.

"Alright, Sheriff Ellie, you can try transforming now," Vera said, locking the door. One hand on her hip, she wiped the sweat from her brow. "This old body of mine is worn out."

"...One more thing," Ellie, lying inside the cell, turned her head towards Vera.

"What is it?" Vera asked, puzzled.

"Take off my clothes. They'll tear when I transform..."

"...Aren't you cold?"

"...Yes, but if my clothes rip, what will I wear later...?"

Vera shot a cold glance at Levin, who wisely scrambled out of the basement.

"Whew..." Imagining the scene in the basement, Levin couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.

Calm down... better focus on something important, like what to have for dinner. I didn't even have a proper lunch today...

"Awoo~!" Just as Levin was contemplating dinner, a sharp howl echoed from the basement.

Levin quickly scrambled back down, nearly stepping on Vera, who was pressed against the wall.

"Watch it!" Vera glared at him.

"Why are you so far back..." Levin asked innocently as he jumped off the ladder.

"I didn't expect your sheriff to be so full of energy after transforming—she scared me half to death," Vera clutched her chest, looking shaken.

Levin glanced into the iron cell, where the transformed silver wolf was clawing at the bars, snarling furiously as it attempted to break free and attack the two living beings... or rather, one living being and one half-dead one.

"So, what's the next step in the experiment?" Levin turned to Vera.

"The next step is to observe how long she stays like this. According to her earlier account, it should last from the full moon's rise until dawn—about half a day. If she regains consciousness before midnight, it proves that exhausting her human form's stamina was effective. If not, it means her human stamina doesn't affect the duration of her werewolf form, and we'll need to rethink our approach."

After explaining, Vera placed a bell where Ellie had previously left the key.

"Let's go back up. When she wakes, she can ring the bell to call us. That way, she won't get too excited watching us, which could skew the experiment."