Sadly, while the process of imbuing the attributes of an animal into a human shared by Lady Hecate was an incredibly interesting one, I also knew I was far from capable of pulling off the feat on my own. There simply were too many variables to keep track of and too many different functions to perform at the same time. It was clearly something meant to be used by a group working in concert, leaving me with a curious mix of ambition and regret. I could marvel at the work done by those who had come before me, but, at this point in time, I couldn't use it for anything beyond inspiration.

Additionally, there were some parts I considered to be somewhat sketchy, especially on the mental side of things. While the process was designed to create loyal guardians of a location, essentially giving the clerics of Hecate in that other world where it originated an easy source of highly capable and utterly local guards, I could see multiple points where things could easily go wrong, focusing the loyalty into something different. Unless I misunderstood how the imbued mind would work, I could imagine the process resulting in something fairly similar to a werewolf, just without the contagious aspect usually associated with the condition. In essence, it might create a partially canine being with incredible strength, though one influenced by certain parts of Lady Hecate's portfolio. In the case of a classical werewolf, that part would be the phases of the moon but I could readily imagine other parts of Her portfolio becoming the influencing aspect, from crossroads to graveyards or even magic itself. The process was so delicate, and I could see so many potential failure points, I wasn't about to play around with this without a care in the world, even if I could try going at it alone.

So, at least for now, the only process I could offer others to increase their physical prowess was the one I had designed, though I did find a few areas where I could decrease the effort needed with a few small modifications, thanks to the things Lady Hecate had shared. It's not enough to make the whole thing easy for anyone involved; it's just a little easier for me and possibly for the one getting the enchantment.

And yet, despite the things Lady Hecate had shared, I couldn't find a way to get rid of the pain involved, as vexing as that was. By now, I was confident that my original assumption, that the enchantment used the state of the subject's body at the time of the enchanting to create some sort of image, thus putting them under would permanently put them under, was false. Or at least incomplete; we had seen creatures be rendered permanently comatose or entirely without pain signals, so there was some imprinting going on, but we had also seen the bestowed regeneration fix problems present at the time of the enchanting, which shouldn't be possible if it was focused on such an imprinted image. So, I was either wrong or there was more going on that I hadn't yet figured out, or it was a mixture of both. Maybe even something I hadn't yet thought of at all, making even the famous idea about eliminating the impossible until only one conclusion was left, and that being the truth, entirely irrelevant, simply because I could never be confident that the improbable conclusion I had deemed the only one left was that, there could always be things I hadn't considered in the first place.

There was only one part of the procedure we were planning for Murray, the only one of the three who had taken our offer outright, that was new. The location. Before, we had always performed the ritual in a fairly neutral location, a purposely built temporary shelter holding nothing but the bare necessities.

Now, the plan was to perform the procedure, though by now it could easily be considered a ritual in Lady Hecate's shrine, as requested by Luna. Given that the original reasons to conceal the procedure weren't really important any longer, namely the worry that we'd kill a few people, causing the rest of the region to rally against us, I had no problem with acquiescing to her request. It wasn't as if there was a real downside. If anything, there were plenty of upsides, mainly the consecrated ground within the shrine, which made it easier to perform magic. Sure, it also meant Lady Hecate would get a front-row seat to the ritual, allowing Her to closely observe whatever we were doing but given that Luna was directly channelling Her power, I doubted it made that much of a difference. To say nothing about the information I had provided Her, or that I would readily exchange knowledge with Her, simply because it was so damn worth it for me. She, by virtue of her incredible experience and divine domain, simply had a lot more to offer and while the exchange might mean my accomplishments would be replicated on different worlds, I didn't care all that much about it, not if I received benefits like that vastly more encompassing procedure she had shared.

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Another change to the usual procedure was that we had an audience. Not only were Jack and Jonas in attendance, but Daniel and Samantha were also invited. The looks on their faces when they were told the details of the procedure we were planning were quite amusing. Neither Daniel nor Sam could fully understand the procedure, but they were educated enough to get a fair idea about its complexity. That alone was enough to drive home the fact that Luna, Lia and I were vastly more capable than they were, even if they had managed to partially catch up in levels, though likely not in abilities.

Soon, Murray was lying face-down on the altar, completely devoid of his clothes and pinned down by bands of crystal and stone, immobilising him completely. Then, as Luna was working her magic, I started to carve into his flesh, noticing that it wasn't just his voice that was stoic and controlled at all times; he, himself, managed to keep his body from twitching or making sounds of pain, something none of the subjects had managed before. It was quite impressive, making it obvious that he had a strong will and composure, something I could appreciate. Allowing him to learn some of my beloved's secrets and arts wouldn't bring shame to her name or memory; if anything, doing so would enhance her image.

Lia followed up with the Crimson Ink, letting the blood-red substance mingle with Murray's blood as I slowly carved the runes into his flesh. As the ink seeped in, Luna healed the wounds, fusing the blood and the ink into the runic markings which made up the enchantment while I made sure that enough magic was infusing them so they could be absorbed into his magic. It was a delicate and infinitely fascinating process, one that I found intriguing despite the fact I had seen it multiple times before.

There was a subtle interplay between the physical body, the mind housed within the brain and even the soul that tied it all together; changes originating in one aspect of the three could readily influence the other two, even if they weren't intended for it.

A part of me wondered if I was getting a faint glimpse at the mechanisms underpinning the system as I was bestowing traits upon another human, and, for a moment, I could see how some of the deeper processes of the ritual Lady Hecate had given me would work. Whoever had designed that thing was either a true genius or it had been their life's work. I couldn't really tell, but it was an utterly fascinating thing. Sadly, I couldn't focus on those stray thoughts; instead, I had to put my focus back where it was needed, namely on the runes I was slowly carving into Murray, starting at his shoulders before trailing down his back and sides until they reached his legs.

Finally, after another quite exhausting procedure, I could finally step back, sweat beading on my face. To his credit, Murray had been able to endure the entire thing without a single sound, something I couldn't say about his companions. Amusingly, Jonas was the most vocal, followed by Daniel and Samantha, though none of them tried to intervene, though that was likely because all of them had been warned that stopping the ritual would have serious consequences.

As the bands of crystal and stone were withdrawn, Murray let out a soft groan, signifying that he actually was a human, not some golem carved from obsidian or something like that, and slowly began to push himself up. Meanwhile, I activated my special senses and made sure that the enchantment worked as intended, which it did, thus bringing a pleased smile to my face. Now, we only had to figure out what to do with Jack, and Lia needed to decide whether she wanted to continue with us or stay. Essentially, we were done in this region, and thanks to a few days of fairly dry and windy weather, the ground was no longer a muddy mess, threatening to suck in anyone stupid enough to travel.

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