Chương 48: Chapter 34 – Cooking Some Poison

The village grew more restless as the rumors spread of the scouts' demise. The new leader spent the whole night discussing plans with the strongest members of the village and the old leader, who would be leaving soon as well. On the other hand, Maximus spent his time meditating and tending to his garden, his Grow skill finally gaining a level up alongside his Seed and Sprout as well. Then, knocking awoke him.

"Max, get out here!" Oscar shouted. Maximus took a slow breath as he stood up and went to see what the fuss was about, Sprout following cheerfully on all fours.

"What is it?" he asked as he exited the house.

"The whole place is preparing to hunt the wolves. Seems like the tracking party was obliterated. Only one managed to return alive," Felix explained.

"Do you think it's smart to fight with only two days left? Why don't you two just rest and wait for the time to elapse?" Maximus asked, slightly worried about anything happening in the last few days.

"Feels rubbish hidin' away, innit. Why not lend a hand while we can?" Oscar added. Maximus shook his head in disapproval.

"If you insist on going, I will help you. I would also benefit from not having to worry about being attacked while I head for the Wildlands," Maximus said.

"So, what is the plan?" he added.

"Anyone who wants to fight is to assemble in the square by midday," Felix explained.

"Alright, here, take two more bottles each. It should do you good." Maximus summoned four bottles of potion and handed them over.

"Let's eat something before it's time, then," he said, calling forth Silex. Embi, on the other hand, had returned to the spirit realm to rest, as staying in the real world for too long was taxing on the small spirit.

Later that day.

"Everyone, as you know, I've taken the leader position from Bruno here. He leaves for the second plane in less than two days. But before that, we have a big problem we must deal with, or we will be stuck here until the first trial is over," Franko said loudly as he stood before the fifty or so participants.

"From what we have learned, something has made the Blood King and his pack move away from the Wildlands. As the hunger curse still forces them to devour anything that lives, we find ourselves in quite a situation, since the monster horde will spawn as well in two days." He explained.

"So, not only are we losing some of our friends, but we are also surrounded." Franko sighed heavily.

"I ask you all to join hands and help me fight these beasts. Let us prepare traps before they arrive. The plan is to take down as many as we can from a safe distance and then descend on the King with the full might of our little settlement!" He said loudly.

"What if they don't attack but wait for you to leave the village?" Maximus suddenly asked.

"The traps will come in handy against the horde. Either way, we don't lose anything by preparing. If they don't attack us, then we will have to bring the fight to them," Franko explained.

"Isn't that far too risky?" Maximus pressed.

"It is, but what option do we have? Wait here to be drowned in monsters?" Franko raised his tone, already annoyed by Maximus's questions.

"Alright, I will help you prepare the traps. Come to my home in the back, the one with the strong medicinal fragrance in the air. We shall talk more," Maximus said, then turned and left. Felix shook his head, amused, as Oscar chuckled, and they followed Maximus, with Silex already at his side.

"See, that's what I was on about earlier. You're proper full of yourself, Max." Oscar patted his shoulder.

"I wasn't 'full of myself'. I simply told him that I would assist them. They should be grateful to have me on their side," Maximus said plainly.

"Bloody hell, listen to him! You hearing this, Felix?" Oscar laughed.

"I mean, I can see why he would be arrogant, but I'm not so sure the leader and the others will be too happy about his tone," Felix added.

"Regardless, I don't care what they think. I will be cooking some poison, so try to avoid my place for a while, alright?" Maximus added as he entered the house, leaving the two behind him, mouths slightly open.

"Christ on a bike, did he say poison?" Oscar asked.

"And not to come close…" Felix added.

"He is making something crazy again," Felix chuckled.

"This could be a proper game-changer. Come on, let's go get sorted," Oscar urged as he left Felix behind.

"Silex buddy, if the air gets too toxic, please exit into the garden. Alright?" Maximus warned as he purchased a large cauldron for 500 tokens. [Acidweb Tarantula's Venom Sacs x2] Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. [Madcap Mushroom x 10] [Creeping Death x 3] I wonder if a simple glyph for dispersion would still work? Shame that I have no Magic Ink. Hmmm… Could I make some with what I've got here?

He thought, taking out the small pieces of spirit crystals he had left from making the puppet for Sprout. Spending 50 more tokens, he bought a small pestle and mortar and started grinding them into fine dust. Then he used a bit of the sap he had stored and mixed it all with mana water. He ended up with a thick, sticky paste. This should conduct spirit energy properly, right? Well… Hopefully. He chuckled and purchased some empty scrolls. He dipped his finger into the paste and used it to draw a glyph in Old Elven.

Using Elven should enhance the Runeword. He thought as he poured some spirit energy into the glyph, and the scroll burst into a small gust of wind.

"Hahaha, it works! Though it's much weaker than what mana would do! Oh right, mana!" He smiled crazily as he grabbed control over a sliver of ambient mana and poured it into another scroll he made. The glyph activated, but instead of creating wind, it detonated in a small green explosion.

"Oh, my stars… I could use this reaction." His eyes widened as a far more sinister idea took shape in his mind. He tied an old shirt around his mouth and nose and grabbed the venom sacs. Shame that I only have these two sacks. He shrugged and cut them open, draining the venom into the cauldron. The stench of the venom hung thick in the air, making Silex run outside with a displeased growl. Maximus only nodded and poured mana-enriched water into the cauldron, adding the shrooms and the black flowers.

He had left a few shrooms and a flower aside to grow more if needed. He placed the cauldron over the flames and cooked it until it began to boil, black smoke quickly filling the room.

"Oh, ancestors help me, the chimney is not pulling the smoke properly." He frowned as weakness crept into his legs and his throat began to burn. His crude mask was all but useless. He rushed forward, snatched the cauldron off the flames with two old shirts, and stumbled outside until he could finally breathe. As he collapsed on the ground next to Silex and drank a healing potion, the system notified him.

Body Trait Poison Resistance (D) evolved into Poison Resistance (C) due to exposure to the Screaming Death poison of C rarity. Poison Resistance (C) – Raises resistance to all poisons by 35%. Can be evolved further through surviving stronger poisons. Crafted [Screaming Death (C)] Skill [Potioncraft (D) Level 10] evolved into [Alchemy (C) Level 1] Alchemy (C) Level 1 – Allows the user to craft potions, elixirs, and decoctions of all types. Raises the odds for crafting to produce an item of better quality by 35%.

The chance of crafting failure while brewing is drastically lowered.

"By the stars, why did it create such a strong toxin? This makes no sense…" He stared at the screen. Only if these plants have stronger potency than the ones back home, but still… Or did that low-level spider have such potent venom? That would be the best explanation, meaning that levels are not everything. Even a level 8 could kill any of us now if it bit us… Maximus finally understood that he had been relying too much on levels and not enough on the intrinsic strength of a being. Is that on purpose?

Does the system only take into consideration mana and bodily strength, then? He thought for a while before finally deciding to peek back into the house. As the concoction cooled off, it turned into a thick black sludge. Maximus bought small round vials, a funnel, and a large ladle, then filled each vial to the top and corked them tightly, making sure that nothing spilled, which would be catastrophic. Then he wrote the glyph onto each vial and left them dry.

"Well, this is looking good!" He said proudly and made dozens more, lining them up on the table for the glyphs to dry.

"Are you really going to do as some psycho said?" Maria complained as she and Franko walked toward the back of the village, heading for Maximus's place.

"Look, if he can help, then I cannot ignore him. Whoever he is, I need to give it a shot and see what he can do," Franko said seriously.

"I swear to God, if he's a psycho…" Maria muttered when suddenly a heavy stench caught their noses.

"What the hell is that smell? It reeks like death!" Maria gagged.

"It smells like acid and decomposing flesh. What is he even doing in there?" Franko's face darkened as he took a steady breath before knocking on the door. Maria stood behind him, pulling out a pair of shortswords just in case.

Knock. Knock.

"Who is it?" Maximus shouted.

"It's Franko, the new leader of the village," the man shouted back.

"Oh, nice of you to come see me. Come in, come in," Maximus called. The man turned to Maria and shrugged before opening the door. A heavy stench of chemicals, medicine, and something foul hit them straight in the face as they saw Maximus cleaning his cauldron with an old, torn shirt and some bubbly water.

"Hello, apologies for the mess. I was making poison bombs," Maximus said simply.

"You were doing what, now?" Franko asked, shocked.

"Look, honey, the weird man made grenades." Maria pointed toward the table full of round vials filled with a thick black liquid.

"What are you planning to do with those?" Franko asked, concerned.

"Oh, well, clear out the monster horde and kill wolves. I also hope to save a few to take with me into the Wilderness," Maximus said casually. Franko stared, scratching his head, clearly intrigued.

"Wouldn't they harm other people as well?" He asked.

"Oh, absolutely. That's why we can only use them before we jump into the fight," Maximus said seriously. He had planned two ways of using them: one where he activated the spirit and dispersed the poison with wind, and another where he poured mana into them and detonated them in an explosion of venom mixed with spirit and mana.

"I see… That is a good idea. Would you sell some to us as well?" Franko asked.

"Naturally. Two hundred tokens per vial. I am willing to sell half, so that would be fifteen if you're interested," he said casually. He wanted to help the people here, but also to recoup some of his losses and maybe earn, if only a little. He was well aware that nobody here could pay the real price of a C-Tier consumable item, and a batch of them at that.

"A bit too steep. How do I know it will work?" Franko pressed.

"Come, smell this," Maximus said simply as he brought over the cauldron. Franko leaned in and took a whiff before collapsing to the ground, his body shaking.

"What did you do to him?!" Maria shouted, raising her blades at Maximus.

"Little lady, I'd advise you not to raise your weapons so casually. Others might not be as generous as I am when it comes to forgiveness," Maximus said coldly.

"Maria! I am to blame, leave him be!" Franko shouted as he struggled to stand, legs shaking like branches in the wind. She scoffed and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

"I'm sorry. She can be a bit… Lively," Franko said with a strained smile as he finally managed to get up.

"Anyway… That thing is strong."

"And that was only from smelling the leftovers," Maximus said with a wink.

"I'll buy as much as you are willing to sell!" Franko said eagerly.

"Sold!" Maximus clapped his hands, and they exchanged the poison vials for tokens. Maximus even handed him his old satchel to carry them in.

"To activate them, pour some mana into the glyph, then toss them as fast and as far as possible," Maximus explained.

"Now then, how about we talk about traps?" Maximus said, smiling as his mood brightened from the hefty sum of tokens he had just earned. ‎