Chapter 17: Snacks of the Unwise

Kaius sat on his rather uncomfortable seat in front of the hearth, enjoying the radiating warmth that slowly dried him from his earlier clean. His skill list had been growing nicely, though he still had two more components to add to his list before he could relax.

It was always impressed upon him that the first thing he should do after merging a skill was collect the requirements for his next one as fast as possible. Technically the system wouldn’t add a skill to your list without asking. However, in practice it was unfortunately possible to accept a skill that you didn’t want. Spending so much effort to not think about accepting an unwanted skill could potentially generate enough of a mental impulse for it to occur.

That was not something he was interested in letting happen. Even if it was just a folk myth, there was no reason to risk it when all it cost to avoid was a slight inconvenience.

With that in mind, once he had gone over the last of his recent gains, Kaius planned on getting Light, Medium, and Heavy Armour Mastery as soon as he could..

“Though maybe not by hunting through the centre of the glade.” He thought to himself.

He hadn’t missed that as soon as he had pressed towards the centre he had seen undead that were stronger than the others he had fought, and better equipped too. He was still a little nervous of running into something like the Butcher again, after all. Better to wait until he had all the pieces in place before he went off galavanting and taunting death directly to its face again.

A circumnavigation of the glade would be better. Open sightlines would allow him to pass by any obvious encampments, thanks to the seemingly poor senses of the undead. Running into any stray beasts wouldn’t be an issue – if anything it might help with gaining his last few remaining skills he needed.

Kaius nodded to himself, happy with his rough plan, and brought up the last of his most recent skills.

Toughened Physique:

Level 1

Rare

Sometimes you are forced to take a hit. Those of weak will, flinch, allowing the attacker to land where they may. Others lean into the blow, a heart strike skittering across hardened ribs. Flesh is given, but death is avoided.

Skill that increases the body’s resistance to injury, and increases speed and control when the user is unable to avoid injury, aiding them in receiving the injury to nonfatal locations.

Each level slightly increases the chance to divert attacks to non-fatal areas.

Each level minutely increases the effectiveness of Endurance to bodily integrity.

Kaius grinned as he read the description of the skill. This was something that would make an immediate difference, even if a small one at first. The boost to endurance was significant, but would be of little utility until he was much higher level – at which point he would have merged this skill anyway. However, the instinct to divert unavoidable blows to turn them into minor wounds was huge.

Especially because, if he was correct on the wording of the skill, it would still work while wearing armour.

Standing with a smile Kaius stood up and retrieved his pack, as well as the slightly rusted chain shirt that he had scavenged from one of the undead guards that had originally surrounded the church.

He returned to his seat, facing away from the fire to dry his still damp back. Fumbling with the buckle, he eventually opened his bag before pulling out his folded reinforced tunic and laying it out by the fire.

He was going to put it back on shortly anyway, so he wouldn’t hold himself back from small creature comforts like pleasantly warmed clothes. He then moved to the chain shirt, folding it up as best he could. It was big enough to fit over his tunic, and he needed it for Medium Armour Mastery.

He wouldn’t be able to wear it straight away. First he needed Light Armour Mastery, his jacket should be enough for that. Unfortunately the final skill he needed for Adamant Body was Heavy Armour Mastery. He’d scavenged a breast plate, but it would be too unwieldy to take with him.

There was no way in hell he was going to wear the heavy chest armour on his trip either. Taking it off would be too slow, and if he was ambushed with it on he was likely to get offered the skill and be forced to turn it down. It’d make reacquiring it difficult, the system more unforgiving when you had already rejected its gifts once.

Unfortunately, even just bringing the chainmail would be a challenge. It didn’t fold quite as easily as canvas and leather. Kaius cocked his eye at the sizable lump of metal.

“Now how am I going to make you fit.” he muttered.

The weight wasn’t much of an issue, at most it would be a stone and a half. It was his pack that was the issue. It was a big bag, large enough for him to carry all he needed for an ongoing journey. He still needed to empty it a bit first.

Kaius reached into the bag. The first thing he decided to leave behind was his bulky medical kit. While it was a vital resource, he ultimately still had his natural health regeneration. Plus, he thought that in a true bind he could always gamble on one of the potions he had gotten for defeating the Butcher. Next was a redundant waterskin. While he was definitely bringing it with him, he could always string it to his belt.

As Kaius pulled the water skin from his bag, something rolled free with a soft thunk. Peering in in curiosity Kaius spied one of the strange purple fruits he had found in the glade. Pulling it out of the bag, he tossed it in the air, appreciating its solid weight as it impacted his palm with a satisfying thwack.

“I’d forgotten about these.” He thought to himself. In all the excitement of clearing an undead encampment and slaying a champion it had completely slipped his mind. Setting the fruit down in front of him, he reached back into the bag, rummaging for its compatriots. Four more of the almost fist sized orbs joined the first one.

They certainly didn’t look dangerous. A thick, almost scaley exterior showed a virulent purple through the cracks. Kaius tore at one with his hand, a light and almost bready flesh bleeding a soft violet juice as it revealed a cluster of slimy seeds at its centre.

He sniffed.

It smelled sweet – Almost like an apple, but more floral with a strong robust earthy undercurrent.

Explorers’ Toolkit tickled at the back of his mind. Pulsing a low and lazy warning about the fruit. Kaius eyed the fruit with suspicion. Normally, at least with Herbalism, a truly dangerous fruit or berry almost screamed out at you.

The author’s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

He licked at a thin trail of juice that had rolled down his arm, an indescribable sweetness radiating across his tongue. Explorers Toolkit pulsed another warning, almost lazily.

Kaius decided to risk it.

He bit into the soft interior of the fruit, a trail of sticky juice streaming down his jaw. As the soft delicate flesh of the fruit hit his tongue his eyes widened. It was delicious. Like jellied stone fruit. Like a summer orchard in full bloom. It –

**Ding! You have been afflicted by Gladeplum Lethargy**

His jaw half distended, half way through his next bite, Kaius stopped dead. He sent his focus inwards, surveilling his inner realm.

The poison seemed to be doing … nothing?

He pulled up his resources.

Resources:

Health – 11/200 (2/min)

Stamina – 84/200 (2/min)