Up to the point where the forest ends and the village begins, Eren saw a few more Level 1 Slime. But his desire to level up died with the pain.
It felt like shit to be this close to death. When he was little, a truck almost hit him while he was riding his bike. But for the first time since becoming an adult, he felt the Grim Reaper's breath on his neck.
"Everything seems so simple in mangas."
Just as she was about to leave the woods, her toilet came and she took off her shorts and peed under a tree. It felt really good to pee when a cool breeze was blowing and you were happy with your life.
If it weren't for the scars in his chest, he'd be smiling.
When Eren entered the dirt road in the village, he wasn't feeling well. He hadn't realized it at the time of that fight with slimes. But now all he could feel was the pain in his chest.
Surprisingly he caught sight of an elf in the field beyond the village. Realizing Eren's plight, the old elf threw the bucket to the ground. He rushed towards him with a worried expression on his handsome face.
Eren wasn't sure he had ever met or seen this handsome elf before. But the real worry on the man's face impressed him.
"How deep are your wounds? Did slimes do this?"
Eren nodded.
"Follow me!"
This man walked to his little garden, entered a tiny hut and grabbed a few herbs. He ran back to Eren in hurry.
"The leaves of Ezin Flowers lower the pain and heal the wounds."
Without letting Eren speak, the man put the flower in his mouth and began to chew.
Really?
The elven man who kept his eyes on the wounds of the Eren seemed like a good person. And he started to rub the flower that he took out of his mouth with his hands.
A minute later, Eren's left hand and chest were completely covered. The remnants of the flower with yellow and green leaves gave a cold feeling.
"I'm starting to feel better already. Thank you, sir."
"It's nothing. Are you new in the village?"
"Yes. I just got here yesterday and I already love it here."
"Oh, our village is very good. We only have one young hunter. But other than that, we have no problems in our village."
Eren immediately focused on the subject. "Isn't the hunter doing his job properly?"
The middle-aged Elf pointed outside the village.
"Normally, there shouldn't be any weak creatures near this village. And we're used to having a few kilometers completely clear of creatures. Ancient hunters were always very strong and it was very easy for them to clear around the village.
But Emily isn't as strong as her mother yet."
"Her mother. Wasn't the former hunter her father?"
Without realizing it, Eren had started to gossip with someone from the village. Even his voice was hoarse and they began to speak in whispers.
"His father tried to do the job temporarily until Emily grew up. But despite being very good at taking care of animals, he's too low-level.
And Emily's mother and all the hunters before her...ohohoho! Words are not enough to describe them. There's still years before Emily rises to their level and clears the entire forest around the village.
If we had her mother, things wouldn't have been like this..."
Eren could have sworn that the man's eyes were shining and he looked like he was remembering his old crush. But he couldn't prove it. In fact, the man seemed to particularly like to talk about Emily's mother more than any of the other hunters.
"Emily's mother is a woman who has hunted even the strongest creatures of the forest to break the 150 level limit. She is the one who has risen to the highest level among the wood elves since the foundation of this village."
He seemed to be recounting a sweet memory filled with both pride and praise. It was clear from her eyes how much Emily loved her mother.
Maybe they lived in the same generation and he was in love with her... Interesting.
But Eren didn't stop frowning, even as the pain in his chest subsided. Because a very important detail came to his mind.
So how did Emily's mother die?
The right question is perhaps, who or what killed the legendary ex-hunter of the village?
Just before he asked that question, a sweet and worried voice was heard.
"Eren!"
A blurred figure came running through the forest towards them. Eren wouldn't have believed that a human could run so fast if he hadn't seen it out of the corner of his eye.
"Did you get hurt?"
When they explained the situation, Emily frowned and took a small herb out of her bag. "You don't need anything else for the wounds, since you've already applied Ezin flower.
Try to hold it in your mouth and suck it. It will ease the pain."
"Oh don't bite or swallow. Just suck a little and then throw it away."
Eren nodded his head.
..
Saying goodbye to the Elf, whom he learned that his name was Kelion, Eren and Emily returned home. He wanted to go to the restaurant for breakfast but gave up. Because of the pain of his wounds, he lay down on the bed and tried to close his eyes.
Lying on the bed, he expected Emily to get angry with him or warn him for being careless. But Emily forcibly lifted Eren up and tucked him into her own larger bed.
The bed, permeated with the scent of flowers and a sweet woman, made Eren feel strange. He even forgot about his pain for a few seconds and took a deep breath.
But still, as Emily wasn't angry with him as he expected, he turned his head to look at the worried woman. He was surprised by what he saw. Emily's eyes looked like she was about to cry.
"What's the problem?"
"My fault..."
Ha!
"Outside the village, high-level creatures are approaching every night.
Every morning I clean them first and the low-level ones in the evening. Since I'm not very fast and I don't have strong spells, I can only do my hunting mission in this way.
If I was stronger, those slimes wouldn't be in such a close area to the village. I'm sorry Eren."
The young man lying in bed couldn't find what to think or say for a few seconds.
If the woman in front of her was living on Earth, maybe she would be beautiful enough to win the title "Miss Universe" ten times in a row. She was nice to people, smiling and apparently working with all her might.
She brought a stranger like Eren to her village and her home without question. She even shared each bedroom.
She was too good to be true.
Eren felt a strange quickening in his heart. He had been fascinated by this woman before for her beauty, but the beauty alone hadn't touched him deeply. But now, after this incident, all his thoughts about Emily... and especially his feelings started to change.
"It's not your fault. My personal opinion of slimes made me careless. Actually, when I saw you for the first time yesterday, I felt something strange about the slimes that came across. But I didn't trust my feelings and underestimated them.
It was completely my fault. You are also doing your best. This village is lucky to have you."
No matter how sweetly Eren spoke Emily couldn't believe what Eren said. She could see the scars on his naked chest.
In her mind, she saw herself as a weak and inept hunter.
..
"I'm going to get you something to eat.
If you're going to sleep, throw the plant in your mouth now. Don't swallow it." Confident that she had given enough warning, Emily approached Eren one last time and touched his forehead.
"You'd have a fever if there was an infection. You're lucky."
"Ha ha.. I'm lucky a lame Slime didn't pierce my chest all the way to my heart."
"Why do you despise Slimes so much? Slimes can be at any level just like other creatures, or they are capable of getting stronger. They also have abilities and special features.
Oh, some high-level Slimes even have godlike powers and have the ability to change their body shape to other creatures. I don't understand why you underestimate Slimes, but you need to change that mindset."
Eren wanted to tell this woman, he could never take Slimes seriously because of the cartoons and games in his world. But he couldn't find the courage because he didn't want to look like an idiot.
He just nodded his head and go on to suck the flower. He liked the taste of flower petals in his mouth.
If this herb was the pain-killer of this universe, he wanted to use it to the fullest.
Emily put a glass of water nearby and gave Eren one last worried look before leaving the room. When he heard the sound of the front door, he knew that Emily had left the house.
He turned a little to the side and felt the pain slowly subside in a minute.
Then he yawned. Within seconds, his eyes began to close beyond his control. He also swallowed the pulpy flower in his mouth.
And he fell asleep not knowing when.
..
"Eren, wake up!"
[Atrop Flower is attacking your system.]
With a trembling yell in his ears, he opened his eyes and saw a worried sexy milf. Before he could understand the message in his head, Emily rushed to his side and shrugged Eren from his shoulders.
Then she tried to forcefully remove the plant from his mouth.
"Tell me you didn't swallow the flower, please!"
"I think I ate it."
"Try to vomit quickly. Open your mouth, I'll stick my finger inside!"
Just as Eren was trying to figure out what was going on, he heard the familiar voice in his head again.
[You have fully absorbed the Atropine Poison, which causes Pain Resistance, Freezing and Sleeping Death.]
[Congratulations! You have acquired passive skill - Poison Resistance Level 1]