The strange sensation remained steady for a few more seconds—then, without warning, it intensified. At that moment, Lucas noticed his field of vision begin to rise, yet nothing was lifting him off the ground. It was his own body that was growing taller. Surprisingly, the sensation wasn't painful at all.
"What...?" muttered Lucas, stunned.
Until now, Lucas hadn't paid much attention to the height difference between his original body and Alberia's. They seemed nearly identical—perhaps a couple of centimeters taller or shorter. But now he was definitely getting taller. If just moments ago his height had been around one meter seventy-five centimeters, he was now certain he had surpassed one meter and ninety centimeters. The growth stopped shortly after that—but the changes didn't.
He felt his muscles swell. In an instant, his entire body became well-defined, the musculature more pronounced than Aislyra's, yet still maintaining the curvaceous and unmistakably feminine silhouette of Alberia's body.
Lucas looked down at his arms in awe. Even without activating the Physical Enhancement spell, Alberia's body had always been a bit stronger than his original one. But this… this was something else. He felt as though he had used Physical Enhancement—even though he was sure he hadn't.
Lucas was thoroughly enjoying the first two effects of the potion. Unfortunately, it wasn't done yet.
Along with the increase in height and muscle mass, another very noticeable transformation occurred—his breasts, already massive, swelled to absurd proportions in the blink of an eye.
"Why?" Lucas muttered, despairingly.
Thankfully, the ceremonial dress created by the goddess continued to adjust seamlessly to the changes in his body, preventing any wardrobe malfunctions that might have revealed things not meant to be seen in public.
Finally, the last three changes occurred all at once. Lucas felt his ears shift and stretch, becoming longer and rounder—resembling those of a cow, though without fur. Two small, smooth white horns emerged from his head. Just above his rear, a slender tail sprouted, ending in a fluffy tuft of blond fur. Though he couldn't see these changes directly, he could definitely feel them.
As soon as those final changes were complete, the strange feeling that had flooded his body faded entirely.
"I think it's over…" Lucas murmured to himself.
He immediately reached up, touching one of the horns on his head, then gently grazed one of his now-soft ears.
'Those on my head are definitely horns,' he thought. 'And my ears… they're so soft now.'
Straining to look behind him, Lucas caught sight of the swishing white tail—undeniably attached to his body. He turned his attention back to his arms and flexed his new biceps.
"Wow…" Lucas breathed, mesmerized. Despite their feminine shape, his arms were far more muscular than he'd ever been before, even when compared to his previous body—and he hadn't exactly been scrawny to begin with.
Everything he had seen so far pointed to one conclusion: Macro's potion had transformed him into what appeared to be a minotaur girl—a fantasy creature he had encountered only rarely in anime or stories, but one he was still familiar with.
Of course, he couldn't be entirely sure that was the correct term in this world. Even in the fantasy stories he'd read, minotaurs weren't always portrayed the same way. So he decided to ask.
"Macro, this potion turned me into a…?" Lucas began, leaving the sentence unfinished, hoping the blue-haired elf would fill in the blank.
"Yes!" Macro said proudly. "The white potion you drank transforms the drinker into a member of the minotaur species. But don't worry—the effects only last for about a quarter of an hour. After that, you'll return to normal.
Also, if you'd like to see how you look and test out your minotaur strength, I've prepared my experimental room specifically for that," he added, pointing toward a door at the back of the laboratory.
"Thanks, Macro. But first…" Lucas began, his gaze shifting to the maid beside him—who appeared to be staring into the void, her expression as unreadable as ever thanks to her perpetually half-closed eyes.
"I wonder what effect that pink potion had on Katerina?" Lucas mused aloud, narrowing his eyes to inspect her. He looked closely for any physical changes—but at least for now, nothing seemed outwardly different.
Suddenly, the maid seemed to snap out of her trance and fixated on Lucas's now gargantuan breasts.
"Ohhh! Queen Albe's boobs got ultra-big!" Katerina exclaimed with "wide-eyed" wonder, her voice filled with childish curiosity. The tone was shockingly out of character—playful, almost toddler-like—completely unlike her usual calm, composed self.
"What?!" Lucas shouted, his brain freezing at the unexpected words. The person who had just spoken… could not possibly be Katerina! And—Queen Albe?!
"It's not fair, Queen Albe! Your boobs were already sooo big! Give me some toooo!" Katerina whined, before springing up and diving face-first into Lucas's massive chest.
"What are you doing, Katerina?!" Lucas yelled, his face turning beet red in sheer panic.
His first instinct was to push her away, but then he remembered: thanks to Macro's potion, he was now far stronger than usual. If he didn't control his strength carefully, he risked accidentally hurting her. So instead, he looked pleadingly at Macro, desperate for an explanation.
"The pink potion Katerina drank was originally designed to prevent lying for fifteen minutes," Macro began excitedly, his glasses sparkling with enthusiasm. "But during testing, I discovered that it had not achieved that effect. Instead, it had the effect of slightly reducing the drinker's intelligence, causing them to behave more childishly and express hidden desires that they normally suppress. I figured it could still be useful for interrogations, so I kept it."
Lucas stared at him blankly. 'That explained a lot'.
'So… she was jealous of these things?' he thought, glancing down—only to realize Katerina was no longer between the fleshy mountain range that had replaced his chest.
"Wait… where—?" Lucas began to turn around, only to feel the slight pressure of an almost flat chest pressing against his back… and then two very familiar hands closed around his breasts from behind, gently squeezing them.
"Soooft…" Katerina mumbled, utterly entranced.
"K-Katerina, please… stop…" Lucas stammered, doing his best to suppress the strange sensations flooding through his body. But he didn't succeed for long.
Just as a moan was about to escape his lips… what came out was not a moan.
"Muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh!"
'I JUST MOOED!' Lucas screamed internally, slapping both hands over his mouth in horror. Moaning in front of others was already mortifying—but mooing? That was next-level humiliation. He wanted to curl up and disappear.
Thankfully, relief came quickly. Lucas felt Katerina's hands being pulled away from his breasts.
"Katerina, stop that. I know it's the potion, but I really don't need a second mother around," came a firm voice from behind him.
Turning, Lucas saw Aislyra holding Katerina up by the collar of her maid uniform. Her irises now glowed a bright crimson, and her pupils had become narrow and slit-like—reptilian.
"Let me go, Ais! Queen Albe's ultra-boobies are so sooooft! I wanna touch them more!" Katerina wailed, kicking and squirming in the air. But her efforts were futile; Aislyra was far too strong.
"Thank you, Aislyra," Lucas said, breathing deeply, trying to calm his racing heart.
"No problem, Your Majesty," Aislyra replied, casting an intrigued glance up and down Lucas's now towering form. "Wow… it's been over two hundred years since there's been such a big difference in height between my sister and me.
Every time I see a minotaur, their size never ceases to amaze me…"
Her gaze settled on the mountainous chest Lucas was now burdened with.
"…In more ways than one."
Lucas tried to regain composure and asked, "Aislyra, do you know what effect the red potion had on you?"
She shook her head. "I'm not sure. I don't feel any different. And I haven't noticed any changes to my body, except…"
She trailed off.
"…Except that my throat feels strangely warm, like I've swallowed sunlight—ehhh…"
Just then, Katerina's flailing hair brushed up against Aislyra's nose, tickling it. Aislyra sneezed.
"Etchoo!"
To everyone's surprise, a small fireball burst from her mouth along with the sneeze, catching Katerina's hair on fire.
"What?!" Aislyra shouted, letting go of the maid and slapping a hand over her mouth.
Before Katerina could fully process what was happening, Macro shouted, "Water Ball!"
A blue magic circle appeared above her, conjuring a sphere of water that dropped directly onto her head, instantly dousing the flames.
But now, soaking wet and still under the potion's effects, Katerina began to cry—loudly.
"Macro, what the hell did that potion do to me?!" Aislyra shouted, furious.
"I-I'm so s-sorry, Lady Aislyra!" Macro stammered, bowing deeply. "The red p-potion was supposed to allow the user to b-breathe fire on command, but it seems that s-sneezing can cause an accidental release of f-flames. I'll need to recalibrate the concentration of lesser dragon blood."
'I can breathe fire on command… How cool.' Aislyra thought, trying not to show her excitement. Instead, she crossed her arms and asked with mock irritation, "Macro, since you've prepared a room to test the white potion's effects, did you also prepare one for mine?"
"Y-Yes, over there," Macro replied nervously, pointing to a door on the right side of the lab.
"Good. I'll go try it out and see if there are any other 'surprises,'" Aislyra said, walking toward the door. As she passed by Katerina, who was still crying, she grabbed the maid by the collar of her uniform. "And you're coming with me until your potion wears off," she added, dragging her out of the room and slamming the door behind them.
Lucas stood in place for a moment, trying to mentally process what had just unfolded. Then he turned to Macro.
"Well, I guess I'll go check out the room you prepared for me."
"O-Of course, Your Majesty. Go right ahead. And if you like the effects of that p-potion, let me know. I can brew a new one with a l-longer duration," Macro offered eagerly.
"Thank you," Lucas replied, staggering slightly as he made his way to the designated room, still not entirely used to his new towering height.
The room's walls were covered in a reinforced metal that looked incredibly durable. Inside were just a few key items: a massive mirror, a gigantic battle axe mounted on the wall, and a large boulder in the center of the room that appeared equally tough.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what these were for.
But before testing his newfound strength, Lucas walked up to the mirror, his curiosity piqued by his transformed appearance.
Just as he had noticed with his arms, the potion had given him truly awe-inspiring muscles. From what Aislyra had said, it sounded like this was the norm for minotaurs.
'I hope I get to meet a real one someday,' he thought, admiring himself.
He lifted the fabric that covered his stomach and gazed at the chiseled abs beneath.
"I've always wanted abs like these…" he whispered, running his fingers over them.
Honestly, he didn't mind the transformation at all. Even the horns and tail looked kind of cool, and the increased height was an intriguing change—if not for the absurdly oversized breasts that now weighed down his chest. They had already been massive, but now they were comically enormous. Still, at least the extra height helped them look slightly more balanced.
He shook his head. No time to dwell on that now.
He wasn't sure how much longer the potion's effects would last, so he focused on the task at hand.
"Let's see what these muscles can do," Lucas said with excitement, approaching the giant axe on the wall.
To his surprise, it felt light in his hands—astonishingly so. He knew that under normal circumstances, lifting such a weapon would have required physical enhancement magic. Now, he handled it with ease.
He warmed up by swinging it with one hand, then two. Every time he moved it with some force, it generated a gust of wind that rippled across the room.
"I think that's enough warm-up," he said with a smirk.
Turning to the boulder, Lucas activated his physical enhancement spell, raised the axe overhead with both hands, and brought it down with all his strength.
The result was spectacular.
The axe cleaved through the boulder like a hot knife through butter. Cracks spread through the rock, which crumbled a moment later. The weapon continued its arc and embedded itself deep into the floor, leaving a jagged groove in the metal plating.
"Wow… I have to ask Macro for more of these potions! They'd be insanely useful!" Lucas exclaimed, exhilarated by what he had just accomplished.
As he began pulling the axe out of the floor, that familiar strange sensation returned, crawling over his skin.
And in just a few seconds, his body reverted to its usual form—back to normal height, musculature, and, unfortunately, the regular size of his enormous breasts.