'Let's do this now. Let me see what this mana core can do to me.'—Thought Grid who had just arrived at the safe location in a few minutes of journey for absorbing the Platinum Slime's Core completely.
With that, Grid sat in Lotus Position as he got ready to swallow the Platinum Slime's Core.
"Kuek...!" As he consumed the mana core, Grid's face crumpled up like a piece of paper. It was due to the foul smell & poisonous taste of the mana core, and the cold-poisonous energy that swelled from below his belly button and swirled around his entire body. He was engulfed in a cold yet burning sensation.
After Grid swallowed the mana core, it started showing its poisonous nature, and the 'hidden feature'—that could only be activated while it was in the current state—got activated...
[You have taken the 'Poisonous' Platinum Slime's Core.]
[The hidden feature of the 'Poisonous' Platinum Slime's Core is activated!]
[The mysterious magic power of the Platinum Slime's Mana Core is permeating throughout your body.]
[A large amount of mana has been released into your mana core. It isn't something a beginner can handle.]
[The excess amount of mana is attempting to expand your mana core in order to accommodate a higher amount!]
[Your mana core isn't trained at all. The expansion of the mana core is progressing very slowly.]
The unique elixir seemed like a lesser version of the mythical Dragon Pill that Grid had consumed in his previous turn.
[You have consumed something that shouldn't be eaten.]
[Due to the poisonous nature of Platinum Slime's Core, you have fallen into the abnormal state of 'Lesser Poisoning'.]
[2 health points are consumed per second until you fully absorb the mysterious magic power released from the mana core of Platinum Slime.]
[You have lost 2 health points!]
The mysterious power laced with poison wreaked havoc inside Grid's body and made him suffer an immense amount of pain.
Although the intensity of pain wasn't anywhere near when Grid had consumed the Dragon Pill in the previous turn, the amount of pain caused by the poison mixed with the mysterious power permeating throughout his body wasn't something a beginner could handle.
To Grid, the main problem wasn't the pain it caused since he could handle that optimally. With his current mental power, this amount of pain wasn't something that could shake Grid.
"Shit!"
Mainly the 2nd factor—that was the foul odor and the shitty taste, which made him feel like he had tasted someone's stool—was what made Grid resentful.
"Aaa thoo!"—Grid spat to remove the foul taste from his mouth just after swallowing the poisonous mana core.
Still, Grid had tasted something worse before. He had tasted countless poisonous dishes made by the Poison Master Idan in his previous turn, so he was able to control his expression & mind. He was prepared to go into the meditative state to get rid of the ailment of being 'Poisoned'.
...
[You have lost 2 health points!]
[You have entered the meditative state.]
[The regeneration rate of health and mana is increased by 100%.]
[The regeneration rate of stamina is increased by 60%.]
[The skill cooldown time is reduced by 20%.]
[The restraint placed on the natural health recovery because of being 'poisoned' is removed while you are in the meditative state.]
[You have recovered 4 health points.]
[You have lost 2 health points!]
...
He was able to enter the meditative state in a few seconds.
Usually, the natural health regeneration rate of beginners was 2 health points per second. However, the abnormal state of 'Lesser Poisoning' had placed a restriction on that, resulting in Grid not being able to recover his health naturally.
Since almost all the players didn't have any antidote at the beginning of the game, this kind of scenario was fatal to any beginner as they would die in a matter of few minutes at maximum due to the gradual loss of vitality (health). It was even worse if someone got 'poisoned' during a battle as it meant a certain death.
However, Grid was different. The scenario changed when he entered the meditative state. Grid's Mastered-level Meditation skill not only increased his health regeneration rate but also lifted the inhibition placed on his natural health recovery. However, even with the help of this skill, Grid wasn't able to fully overcome the abnormal state.
Although it wasn't able to make Grid come out of the abnormal state completely, it made sure he wouldn't die during the process of absorbing the mana core of Platinum Slime. With the help of Meditation skill, he would be able to overcome the 'Lesser Poisoning' gradually.
And the painful process continued...
[The excess amount of mana is attempting to expand your mana core in order to accommodate a higher amount!]
[Your mana core isn't trained at all. The expansion of the mana core is progressing very slowly.]
It progressed even gradually due to Grid's 'untrained' mana core.
...
[You have lost 2 health points!]
[You have recovered 4 health points.]
[Your Concentration has risen.]
[Your Composure has risen.]
...
During the process, as Grid required utmost concentration and composure to maintain the meditative state in such a precarious condition, the growth of related stats was also according to the effort applied.
...
[You have overcome the abnormal state of 'Lesser Poisoning'.]
[You have acquired the 'Lesser Poison Resistance' skill.]
It took around 7 minutes for Grid to get rid of being poisoned. This period was enough for any beginner to die several times.
Additionally, he also acquired the 'Lesser Poison Resistance' skill—the lowest or degraded version of the Poison Resistance skill.
...
[The excess amount of mana is attempting to expand your mana core in order to accommodate a higher amount!]
[Your mana core isn't trained at all. The expansion of the mana core is progressing very slowly.]
Even though Grid overcame the abnormal state and the intensity of pain lessened, the painful experience continued because his untrained mana core was being expanded forcefully...
[The excess amount of mana is attempting to expand your mana core in order to accommodate a higher amount!]
[The excess mana is causing cracks in the expanding mana core!]
[Your mana core has succeeded in accumulating the excess amount of mana.]
[The mysterious magic power of the Poisonous Platinum Slime's Core has finally settled in your mana core.]
[The cracks in your mana core have been restored.]
[You have transcended the limits of your class by completely taking in the Poisonous Platinum Slime's Core. Your mana core is expanded to the first stage.]
[Your mana has permanently risen by 300.]
[The first step expansion of the mana core has enabled you with the ability to learn basic spells. Some of the restrictions placed on your mana core have been alleviated. You can now train your mana core like a magician.]
[Your mana core has completely embodied the mysterious magic power of the Poisonous Platinum Slime's Core.]
[Intelligence has risen permanently by 10 points.]
[The spell 'Poison Bullet' has been learned.]
[....!]
It took around 10 more minutes for the process to be completed.
"Kuhahahat...!!"
Grid started laughing hysterically after seeing the rewards. It was understandable since the rewards he had acquired weren't something that could be acquired just at the beginning of the game.
The rewards Grid acquired after fully consuming the mana core of Platinum Slime were so unexpected that it seemed like a dream. Yet, the system had decided to surpass that dream...
[....!]
The system was silent for a while, as shown by the notification window, which had stopped with the exclamation point, and seemingly needed more interpretation before finally delivering the information.
[It has been confirmed that you fully embodied the Poisonous Platinum Slime's Core!]
[It is a miraculous achievement for a beginner!]
[Your stubborn strength and indomitable will are commendable for enduring the pain that occurred during the process of taking the Poisonous Mana Core of Platinum Slime!]
[The special stat 'Persistence' has been opened.]
[The title 'One Who Overcomes Hardships' has been acquired.]
[The special stat 'Indomitable' has been opened.]
[The skill 'Strong Will' has been generated.]
This was the end of the constant streak of the system messages and the hidden rewards Grid acquired.
Grid's mind went numb at the thought of the amazing abilities he had just acquired at the beginning of the game.
"Hehehe..."
He was laughing with a stupid facial expression, not because he hadn't acquired such rewards in his previous turn, but because he acquired such rewards just at the beginning of the game this time. This meant the ultimate status he would achieve this time would be very different compared to his previous turn.
***
After Grid finally calmed down, he started checking his status and the descriptions of the abilities he had acquired by completely consuming the Poisonous Platinum Slime's Core...
"Status Window!"
[Name: Grid
Level: 5 (725/900)
Class: Beginner
* Can learn new skills when certain conditions are met.
Title: One Who Overcomes Hardships
Health: 285/285 | Mana: 390/390
Strength: 20 | Stamina: 15
Agility: 15 | Intelligence: 30
Composure: 9 | Concentration: 9
Persistence: 1 | Indomitable: 1
Stat Points: 0
Weight: 413.3/420
Items Worn:
1. Weapon: Beginner's Deluxe Sword (Weight: 60)
2. Armor: Beginner's Deluxe Armor (Weight: 50)
3. Boots: Beginner's Deluxe Boots. (Weight: 20)
Skills Possessed:
1. Meditation Lv. Mastered
2. Beginner Sword Mastery Lv. 3
3. Vertical Slash Lv. 2
4. Horizontal Slash Lv. 2
5. Beginner Cooking Technique Lv. 1
6. Lesser Poison Resistance Lv. 1
7. Poison Bullet Lv. 1
8. Strong Will.]
"Inventory!"
[Inventory]
[Total Items Stored: 186
Money: 5 Silver & 60 Bronze Coins (Weight: 6.5)
Mana Core:
1. Slime's Core × 55 (Weight: 5.5)
2. Elite Slime's Core × 3 (Weight: 0.3)
Meat:
1. Rabbit Meat × 21 (Weight: 42)
2. Elite Rabbit's Meat × 3 (Weight: 9)
3. Venison × 34 (Weight: 170)
4. Elite Deer Meat × 2 (Weight: 15)
5. Golden Venison × 1 (Weight: 10)
Leather: Golden Deer Leather × 1 (Weight: 15)
Equipment: Wooden Sword × 1 (Weight: 10).]
'Hmm... My Composure and Concentration stats increased by 8 points each, nice! Pretty good. I also won't have to go through the hellish scenario for obtaining the Persistence stat. Let's check their descriptions and see if everything is alright.'
With that, Grid started checking the descriptions of the abilities he had acquired...