Chapter 494: The Taste of Poison

Angie held her spear steady. All around her skittered spider-like creatures, but their bodies were a sickly green, parts of them formed from twisted plant matter.

The spiders fired webs, but they weren’t silk they were streams of thick tree sap. Charlie and Luke focused on defending while Angie surged forward. She hurled her spear into one of the creatures, then triggered [Valkyrie Charge]. With a sharp cry of [Battle Roar], she rushed the next target.

More spiders crawled down from the trees. Angie raised her wing-shield, [Winged Defense] flaring to life as she blocked the sticky projectiles while running. The moment she closed the distance, her wings shifted aside and she drove the spear straight through the creature’s face.

When the fight was over, only crushed spider corpses remained scattered across the clearing.

**The [Valkyrie] class of Angie has reached Level 23!**

“Lord Luke, those were the last of them,” she said, wiping sap from the spearhead.

“That spear of yours is getting pretty worn,” Luke replied, examining the cracks along the metal.

“These spiders made a mess of everything,” Charlie muttered, annoyed as she kicked the bodies aside.

This was their camp, and every so often, beasts from the forest wandered too close. After days of exploration, Luke had learned how to navigate the forest properly always moving toward the areas where the poisonous mist grew thicker. The more lethal the fog, the closer they were to the center. Everything there was poisonous.

“So now we know where those assassins from before were getting their toxins,” Luke said. “The Alchemists have an entire forest to experiment with.”

During all those days, Luke had eaten every plant he could find poisonous or not forcing his body to adapt. His blood felt stronger now. The burning in his eyes had faded. His resistance to poison climbed with every bite.

“Here, Luke,” Charlie said, handing him a skewer of roasted meat.

He wasn’t even hungry, but he made a point of eating anyway. Every time he burped, he could still taste the bitter aftertaste of plants, and he wanted that flavor gone more than anything.

“Thanks, Charlie. You’re practically a saint to me,” Artemis said as Luke stored the skewers in his pocket dimension.

“Here, Master Luke,” Angie added, offering him… ten more skewers.

“Ten? Wow, Angie. You really are an angel literally,” Artemis said, delighted.

“All of these are for Lord Luke,” Angie declared without hesitation.

“What? And what about our friendship?” Artemis protested.

Lulie fluttered closer, carrying a tiny skewer of her own.

“That one’s for you. Lulie helped make it,” Charlie said.

“For me?”

The little bat nodded proudly.

Luke picked it up, hesitating.

“What’s this stuff on the meat?”

“She licked the pieces for you,” Charlie answered gently.

Okay. Yeah. I am absolutely not eating this.

“Hey, Artemis,” Luke said. “Didn’t you want skewers?”

“I’m not eating that, man, don’t even try. If you’re going to put something slobbered-on in my mouth, at least put a—”

Her sentence cut off instantly as Luke pinched the collar.

“What was she going to say?” Charlie asked.

“You don’t want to know,” Luke replied.

***

A massive creature lunged from the mist, something between a carnivorous plant and a bear twisted into one grotesque shape. Charlie triggered her Berserk skill. Her body blazed with an aura of fire and ash as she charged forward with her fists raised.

“Leave it to me, Master Luke!”

Vine-like tendrils lashed toward her. She met them head-on, punching and burning through each one. Her strike landed with so much force that the monster was hurled backward.

Charlie landed atop it in flames and began pounding its face, blow after relentless blow until the skull finally gave in.

[Charlotte Vespertilio has slain a Plant Bear – Level 75]

**The [Black Ash Fighter] 2nd Class of Princess Charlie has reached Level 61! (+18 STR, +8 INT, +7 END, +6 VIT, +6 PER, +5 AGI, +5 Free Points.)**

Once the creature fell silent, they continued deeper into the region. They were far inside the forest now, where the fog had turned a deep violet. The poison here was harsher, a potent hemotoxin.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Another cave,” Charlie said.

“I’ll check if there are more mushrooms inside.”

He slipped in while she waited outside. The passage was narrow.

“If anything dangerous shows up, step back. I’ll protect you, Master Luke.”

Shouldn’t I be the one saying that?

“I’m honestly hoping there aren’t any more of those poisonous mushrooms. They taste like rotten blood.”

The interior was surprisingly bright. Glowing mushrooms clustered across the stone walls.

[Energizing Luminous Mushroom]: A mushroom widely used in medicines that relieve fatigue and exhaustion, and in potions that restore stamina.
‘Mother Freya’s Note: A wonderful ingredient for “stimulating” potions for men and women. Very popular among couples in crisis.’

Popular among couples in crisis… and stimulating?

He stared at the mushrooms, then a thought flashed through his mind.

Don’t tell me… these might let me recreate that legendary potion?

He immediately began gathering them.

“Do you need help, my lord?” Angie asked, appearing behind him.

“No. I’ve got it.”

He tossed the mushrooms into his storage item as fast as he could. I’ll only attempt to recreate that potion… for the sake of magical research. Purely scientific. Obviously.

He nearly started whistling while harvesting them.