"It's just over here mister Veyne!"
Nifily and Veyne back walk up to where she has discovered the basilisk corpse the day before. Veyne trails slightly behind to keep a watchful eye out for any potential villagers.
"Hey keep up and pay attention, I'm telling you it's huge!"
"Huh? Oh right. I'm sure it would have to be pretty large to cause corrosion on all of that soil."
"It's just around - Ah here it is."
Nifily notes the dried mud on the trees and the damp ground caused by her spell. Using the same level of effort as before, she pushed out a circle of mud spanning almost the entire length of the basilisk.
"Very well done Nif! I'm impressed. Now hold that still.
Veyne jumps into the hole and Nifily struggles to keep the spell going. He heads straight for the mouth and rips of fang after fang along the basilisks mount, being careful not to get pricked by any venom residue.
"Mister Veyne! Please hurry, I can't hold this for long!"
"Nearly don Nif, just hold on for a few more seconds."
Veyne looks at the last two fangs, the biggest ones. One seems to be in very poor condition, but the other.
"Now that's something I can use."
He promptly jumps back out of the hole and Nifily lets out her breath. Once again the hole collapses back in on itself. Being out of breath she tries to yell that him.
"Mister… Veyne… next time… just… LET ME KNOW BEFORE YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT! I wasn't ready."
"Haha sorry Nif, you did a great job though, and we finally got what we were looking for."
Veyne presents all the usable fangs he could collect, Ten normal fangs and one large fang. The rest were either rotted away and unusable or just simply not there.
"Let's take these back to the lab and finish our potion."
Hauling back the fruits of their labour, they make it back to the laboratory.
…
"So you're saying it's as simple as just adding a few fangs to the existing potion base we made, and reheating it up until it's all combined?"
"Normally yeah, this all pretty simple when it comes to making basic potions. But we'll try something a little bit different this time."
After starting the fire and reheating the cauldron, Veyne grabs the large fang, which is about the size of his forearm, and holds it over the brown liquid base.
"I only just thought of this on the walk back but I may be able to already put my affinity to good use."
Veyne winces as he holds it, like he's straining himself greatly. After a second, a green magic fog spills out from his palm and envelopes the fang.
"As you might know, people with the beast wake affinity can reawaken parts of deceased monsters and use its power as if it were their own."
Purple drops of venom drip out from the fang and into the potion. Causing puffs of smoke rise up with each droplet.
"Oh wow! So you already know how to use it?!
"Y-yeah b-but it's taking a lot out of m-me! Rah."
Veyne stops after only a few drops of venom fall and takes a knee to catch his breath. In an unexpected fit of rage he punches the ground and yells.
"Damn it! This body is so powerless, if only I could just... Damn"
Nifily smacks down on the back of his head to snap him out of it.
"Alright I've had enough of this attitude! The Veyne I know wouldn't just keep complaining about being weak. The Veyne I know would figure something out and grow stronger from it, no matter how bad of a situation he was in!"
She smacks him again.
"Now are you just going to keep kneeling there feeling bad about yourself, or are you going to get up and create something!"
Just like that, a blot of electronic inspiration shocks his body and he gets back to his feet.
"You're right Nif, thanks for snapping me out of it. I think you're right. I've just gotta keep making stuff until we're the strongest there is… and I know just where to start."
While waiting for the potion to brew, Veyne takes that large fang and goes over to the grindstone.
Hours pass by, as the progress is slow on sharpening the fang. Despite its century sleep, the bone is super dense and without a proper blacksmith set up, progress would continue to be slow.
…
Hours later, Nifily is asleep in the outside camp due to all the noise coming from the lab.
"Pisst! Nif wake up."
"Huh wah?!"
"I managed to finish it."
Veyne shows off his new basilisk fang dagger to the half asleep Nifily. It is about as long as his forearm and as sharp as can be. Its handle is made from a branch of the elder tree and is secured on tightly.
"Well that's great mister Veyne… Does that mean I can go back to sleep now, uninterrupted this time?"
"Yeah, the potion is nearly done too so we'll have a lot to discuss once you're up again."
He lets her rest her head again and hurries off back to work, just like old times. Despite making a deal with his old self, It seems no matter what body he is in or how he might be thinking at the time, one thing remains true about Veyne. He loves to spend his time on creating and experiments.
He thinks to himself. It is nice to have someone around to show our creations to. Someone that we didn't create ourselves. That girl's free will and choice to help us is probably the thing that made us change the most. Now you might think I am weak for seeking praise from others, but you know as well as I how lonely that existence was. So for now, just let us be.
The visage for Veynes' old self hovers above but chooses not to respond.