Volume 5 Chapter 2: You Won't Die if You Don't Seek Death

"Ah!"

I suddenly woke up from a nightmare.

The nightmare was terrifying, it felt as if I fell into the deepest pits of hell, and was wandering there for near eternity...

Wait a minute? Where is this place?

I looked weirdly at my surroundings, and recalled after a long while. This was the apartment I rented near the academy.

Strange... Last I remembered I was still in the Ice Empire, why am I in my room...

And at this moment, I noticed a flashing notification at the corner of my eye. I pulled it over, and realized it's actually a notification for a new title!

Title [Hundred Herbs Tester] obtained. Current LV: 1

Possibility of being poisoned decreased by 10%.

Un? What's the meaning of this?

But the instant I noticed the word 'poisoned', a very frightening memory resurfaced in my mind!

I hurriedly got up from my bed, and rushed towards the bathroom at high speed, puking out everything that could be puked out from the depths of my stomach. Then, I immediately cast a water ball to rinse my mouth.

After calming down for a bit, I slowly returned to my bed, and collapsed onto it.

"Those girls... None of them are able to make a decent meal... And don't they know that if they don't acknowledge their mistakes, the number of mistakes will pile up? The abomination they collaborated in making was seriously horrifying..."

What was it?

What was it called again? Do I have a bad memory? Or was it so horrifying, the memories of it were automatically removed?

In any case, it's a dish that shone with a very beautiful golden luster, which looked just like Kung Pao Chicken.

From the aroma it emitted and its looks, it was basically a delicacy.

They did pretty well with its looks, and it did smell pretty good, but of course, my instincts were screaming, that dish was dangerous. Very. Very. Dangerous.

Don't ask me why. My instincts tell me, anything that looks very beautiful, are poisonous. This is the experience my ancestors passed down by sacrificing their own sweat and blood.

"Kuh..."

Then, my memories ended there. I'm not sure whether I should be happy or sad about it. Though losing my memories is regretful, it's a good thing that it allowed me to forget that horrifying taste.

I'm unsure of how long I slept as well, as I felt that my entire body was a little stiff from sleeping.

I looked at my status, and I realized I still had a 'dizziness' status on me. I hurriedly tapped on a potion that could dispel abnormal conditions. Then, once again, I got up from my bed, and left my bedroom.

"Eh? Those girls... Just what did they do to my kitchen?"

When I walked over to the living room, I realized those names and titles that were floating near me were not an illusion of mine.

Six girls were actually laid around my living room, and the entire kitchen looked as if it had been spit at by a giant dragon. The state of it was too tragic to look at.

"These... can be washed with magic, right?"

I don't really care about what these girl actually did, but my neighbours next door must have been in a state of fear, right? I'm really sorry for trouble, neighbours that I have never actually met, for emitting such a terrifying presence next door.

"Light Steps, Sneak."

I carefully walked over the six girls in my living room, and reached before the kitchen.

After inspecting the place, in the entire kitchen, only a single part of it looked rather normal. And over there, there was still a plate of what seemed to be roasted meat.

Though I don't know what meat it's made of, but in this world, as long as it's not meat from an undead, it's basically edible, so it's not really a serious matter.

And...

This dish actually looked very normal! It was not sparkling, and there wasn't an aroma that stimulated one's nerves.

......

Let's try it out...

I'm aware that the standards of the dishes they make are horrifying, but this dish... was still a fruit of their hard work.

......

But just in case, I had best prepare a Poison Dispel Potion.

After completing the preparations, I picked up a small piece of meat, and ate it.

......

"Huh, this is actually pretty good. Looks like they really did put some work into it." Un, though it can't really be compared to a delicacy, it's already at the level of

being delicious.

I have to say, they really did work hard, huh! Once they wake up, I will praise them a little... Eh?

Suddenly, my vision slanted downwards, and my entire body collapsed onto the ground.

This... This is...

Beside my name, I realized there was an icon flashing constantly. Paralyzed.

I'm not insulting anyone at all. Rather, I'm really... I was actually thrown into a state of paralysis!

Wait a minute... This...

Even though it tasted rather normal, why...

I struggled to look towards the direction of the six girls, and realized, they were looking at me with very regretful expressions. And after looking at them carefully, I realized that there were flashing 'Paralyzed' status icons beside their names as well.

It seems I simply did not notice them earlier.

Haha... I'm just going to treat this as if I'm... going back to sleep.

New Title [Deathseeker] Unlocked. Current LV: 1

Title [Whatever Goes] leveled up! Current LV: 9

Hey! [World], that's enough! Stop with these mischievous pranks!

Speaking of which, back when I used [Resistance Counter], was [World] the one who controlled my body and used the [Ghost Technique]? She even said

goodbye at the end, really...

Aaahhhhh, whatever. It's really frightening when your body isn't able to move. If you're poisoned, at the very least, you're still able to drink a potion to cure yourself. Once you're inflicted with a status like paralysis, you can't even drink potions at all. In the future, do I really have to install antidotes in my teeth, like how spies do it?

"Eh?"

Suddenly, the door to the room actually opened!

Though I was unable to turn my head to look, by hearing her voice, it should be someone I know.

"Just what the hell are you people doing lying around in the living room?" After listening to her words, I then realized it was Lanya.

Although she looked like a loli, she's actually a girl with very unbelievable alchemic abilities!

I recalled that, before leaving the academy, the number of question marks at the back of her name actually increased. I wonder what I will be able to decipher from them if I were to look at her now.

But, why did she come to my home this early in the morning? And why was the door opened immediately? Is my door there simply for decoration purposes? Or does everyone simply like to lockpick in this time and age?

Well, whatever the case, I'm unable to move. She mightily walked into my apartment, looked at us, and then walked into the kitchen.

After that, I broke out into cold sweat from her next few words. "I'm digging in~"

......

Hence, I decided to close my eyes, and continue sleeping. What a really peaceful morning...