Chapter 19: Words of Wisdom
"This man is the sacrifice because he wanted to wear the cloak I gave you… you're so sweet, Nith," Kyouka said after running away from Nith.
She hid half of her face behind her cloak and stared at him with sparkling eyes. Same as ever, she was like an open book, her body language revealing her feelings before she parted those cherry, plump lips.
She seemed more proactive, too.
Nith held the shoulder she had bitten. "Only I can enjoy those neat bonuses."
"Hehe, sure," Kyouka smirked.
Ignoring this woman, Nith scanned the dead end. The sacrifice fixed on it indicated that the hidden door should have appeared there.
With careful steps and his hand stretched out, Nith approached the wall and pressed his palm against it, opening the secret door.
He hadn't gone through it yet.
"Hey, old man. Speak to me," Nith said.
'I never expected you to be this remarkable,' the old voice resounded in Nith's mind. 'I saw you as nothing but a sacrifice until now. In my vision, I saw your woman locking horns with others, killing at least three of them and hurting the rest. You filled her shoes like a white knight.'
"I'm not interested in praises," Nith replied. "All I want to know is whether you're the owner of this danger zone."
'I am,' the old man stated.
Nith nodded. "Do you want to be conquered or not?"
'Interesting question,' the old voice paused for a minute before continuing. 'Are you trying to find a way out?'
"I like playing devil's advocate the wrong way, which means I use skills more than words. I'm itching to put your confidence to the test, so let's have another conversation at your place," Nith smirked, shutting down the conversation.
The old voice pointed a finger at him. 'Someone isn't eloquent, I see. Since I like to play fair, I'll leave you with some words of wisdom. There's a group of Third Grade Humans on the lowest floor. All of them have been locked here for a month, trying to get to me. I'll pitch you against them. Prepare well.'
A heavy silence blanketed Nith and Kyouka.
"You heard him?" he asked, to which Kyouka firmly nodded.
Whoever was behind the voice had enough power to control the entire danger zone. He clearly stated that he'd use his means to set the stage for a showdown between the foreign group and Nith and Kyouka.
That much didn't concern Nith. Each danger zone and dungeon had its own rules, and it was part of the fun to play along with them.
The Third Grade humans, however, turned their circumstances grim.
Nith said, "We're not in deep shit yet. We have time to prepare. First of all, let's check if we can concoct anything useful from the loot we've acquired so far. Set up your tent, too. We'll use its heater to warm ourselves."
"Yes," Kyouka didn't question Nith and immediately got to work.
After taking out her jewelry-like box, the duo erected the tent and hid the half-corpses inside, as they were precious sources of Nith's strength. Nith used his black venom to hide the tent, which would buy time should any monster wander by.
He could keep the black haze up as long as he had poisons at hand. Those dwelled in abundance in his inventory.
Consuming foreign monster flesh that was poisoned allowed Nith to create toxins within himself at a much faster rate than if he had mana.
And he could turn any liquid within himself into poison, so maintaining the black haze didn't hinder him at all.
"Our teamwork must be at a higher level if we want to take on the Third Grades. What restricts us the most is that you don't have an immune system against my poisons and can only rely on the minimap to fight within the Dark Haze."
"Can you see through it?"
"I can sense even the slightest movement within it and identify others based on their frames, weapons, and breathing. The Dark Haze isn't a venom meant to defeat but to obscure and stymie movements. Its side effect is that it's difficult to breathe in it, but not enough to defeat opponents on its own."
"I can do the same."
"You sure?"
"Yes, only breathing is the problem, but I can cope with it using the mask. My Eagle-Eyed title and your minimap will help me fight alongside you in your dark cloud. Believe in me."
"I'm counting on you then… Our key to defeating the Third Grades is the combination of Asphyxiation and Eclipse Venom. Theoretically speaking, I could change Eclipse Venom's properties into a cloud, similar to the Black Haze, but I'm not at the level where I can keep these two coexisting. Eclipse Venom in a gaseous form is too slow for my idea."
"Your idea is?"
"We'll steamroll through the remaining floors, keeping every monster alive. It's true that Eclipse Venom can finish off my enemies, but if I avoid their weak points, I can keep them alive for much longer. If I stack Eclipse Venom from the remaining floors, my strength will surge enough to increase our survival chances to eighty percent."
"The problem is that you can't spread it… as much as your nasty personality loves spitting at others, this is detrimental now."
"Your Prodigal Title."
"Eh?"
"I'll give you samples of my poison. You'll come up with a recipe to multiply my poison using the toxins we've looted in this danger zone. This, combined with your Prodigal Title, will create a stock of my poison."
"Come up with a recipe?! You think I can come up with something this difficult on the spot?! Are you testing me?!"
"Don't shout at me, you silly bitch. The screams you can produce can burst eardrums."
"Fuck you."
"And I am testing you, so what? It's true that I want others to adapt to me, but there's something to be said for relying on others, too. What? Chickening out? So much for—"
"Knock it off! Don't you dare look down on my resolve!"
"Anyway, I told you to enjoy this adventure, so don't stress too much. It'd be the end of the world if you actually came up with something that would reward you with the seventh title—the title related to me. I'd have to take damn responsibility… I swear, don't try so hard."
Nith gulped.
This woman clenched the edges of her cauldron so tightly it cracked, and her eyes didn't have any sparkles. Instead, she stared at Nith as if she were ready to kill him to get his poison.
As much as he hated to admit it, she looked way too sexy.