Luca stared at the two Spiritual Power Recovery Pills. The temptation to just swallow one was stronger than ever, especially after he experienced the effects of the Stamina Pill.
But he knew it wouldn't be the same. Being feeble and weak wasn't the same as being barren. And he's already cheated his way out of that when he transmigrated into this body. He was lucky this body's meridians opened ever so slightly with the resident change.
Even now, he's been working on it by increasing his spiritual water dosage, but he wasn't sure about his tolerance for a whole-ass pill.
For some reason, Luca felt he would go into cardiac arrest if he attempted to lick one. So, he planned to start by ingesting the water first.
He stared intently at his cup, that had about a spoonful of water. One might assume he was overthinking things, but that was because they hadn't experienced the sensation of their bodies burning.
To think all he did was try to wade in the water.
Luca shivered at the memory. He felt like a cat deathly afraid of taking a bath.
And for a moment, he actually had that trauma when he tried taking a regular shower. Thankfully, the desire to be hygienic trumped his fear of liquids.
With prayers as his only crutch, Luca decided to swallow the rationed spiritual water.
"Here goes nothing," Luca muttered to himself.
*Cough! Cough!*
He may have been over-eager as he swallowed the entire thing hastily. Thankfully, he only got that choking bit when he swallowed too fast.
But considering how he drank it this time, he wanted to ensure he could circulate the energy first. By doing this, he would essentially be widening the passageways.
Though, in all honesty, Luca was probably doing this because, underneath his pain concerns, there was an even bigger worry.
The pills he had were recovery pills. That would assume he had something to recover. But what if his original spiritual powers didn't transmigrate with him?
The thought bothered Luca, so he tried bolstering his new body by getting acclimated with the spiritual water.
Luca eventually got to the point where he could drink a whole glass without experiencing adverse effects. It took him about eight hours, but that seemed like time well spent.
But before he even went for the pill, he decided to snack on some fruits.
Fine, he was procrastinating. But who could blame him?
See, this is what fruits should taste like! He thought as he continued to munch on his plump apple.
Not only was it sweet and juicy, but it also helped refresh his body. Every time he munched on the fruits from his space, he felt like ingesting some kind of energy drink, but without that drained feeling once caffeine had left the body.
Unfortunately, people in this world have no access to decent fruits. Luca still remembered that apple that tasted like styrofoam, and he couldn't help but treasure his fruits more.
Hmm…What if he could do something related to that?
That was one more thing on his list, but that's for later. He's dillydallying too much, and he knows it.
Fine!
Breathe in, breathe out!
Luca prepared himself for the worst and prepared some spiritual water and fruits by his bedside.
Here goes nothing!
__
Contrary to expectations, Luca managed to skip the experience of seething through the pain that coursed his body. Because the guy straight-up passed out the moment the pill settled in his stomach.
His body practically skipped convulsions and went straight to gushing blood from his nose.
Luca woke up drenched in sweat and blood. But he was just glad he even managed to wake up.
He looked like a total mess, and the small mirror he had in his cabin showed him what looked like a murder scene in a low-budget film.
Save for the glowing golden eyes, I guess.
Luca stared at his reflection as if it would change if he blinked. His long black hair was strewn over, a testament to how much his body probably struggled. And he's got crusted blood around his lips.
Yeah, he would scare some medical professionals with his current look.
But what got him looking were the eyes that glowed as if they were lightbulbs themselves. He's seen himself in the mirror, and as much as his eyes looked great and unique, they didn't glow like this.
Was this some kind of side effect?
How was he going to go out in public with eyes that looked like traffic lights?
Then Luca figured there was a better way to check on things. He sat back down in a meditative position, hoping to assess whether his body's spiritual state had improved.
Luca felt his meridians pulsing, not as wild as when he first attempted to dip himself into the lake, but enough to see that there was leeway for the energy to circulate.
The pill seemed successful in forcefully widening his passageways, but he noticed they were primarily devoid of energy.
Luca panicked at the thought of really not having spiritual energy, so he reached for the spiritual water.
What greeted Luca as he drank a glass was the steam that came off his body. You'd think he was some steamer with how he continuously released fumes.
"What the—?"
Then he felt it.
The extreme thirst. Like his body just evaporated the water he just downed.
Luca skipped the glass, practically drinking from the bowl directly. He gulped like his life depended on it because he felt like it really did.
He was smoking like dry ice, but all he felt was the need to quench this thirst that came out of nowhere.
When he finished the bowl, he ran out towards the lake, sitting there until he felt better.
Luca fell back on the grass, panting at his repeated action of scooping and drinking. He felt so thirsty that he didn't even question how he didn't feel bloated at all.
But just as he tried to reach for more water, a ding sounded out of nowhere.
*DING!*
[SYSTEM STARTING IN 3…2…1]
[ACCESS CONDITIONS FULFILLED]
[DO YOU WANT TO FINISH INTEGRATION?]
[YES] or [NO]
Luca almost fell into the water in shock, but when he stood up in panic, his head must've hit the prompt because he ended up receiving another prompt.
[BEGINNING INTEGRATION]
"..."
[CONGRATULATIONS! INTEGRATION COMPLETE]
[DUNGEON RESTARTING IN 3…2…1]
And for the first time in his life, Luca blinked rapidly as he found himself thrown out of his own space.