Chapter 81: Ten Ancient Poisons and Slightly Desperate
Nighttime
In his room, Leon prepared coffee at the minibar table situated at the far end of the room.
Once finished, he took the coffee and grabbed a cookie, then returned to the reading desk to set down his coffee and snack.
Afterward, he approached the door of his room, ensuring that no one was nearby, and then double-checked the lock a few times.
Satisfied that everything was in order, Leon returned to his reading desk and settled into his chair.
“Huft~ My heart is racing,” Leon exclaimed slightly, with a hint of excitement, as he took a deep breath and fixed his gaze on the book resting on his desk.
Tonight, he was determined to complete reading the book on poisons authored by Jared Crimson.
Because Fiona, always attached to him and eager to play, sought his company this afternoon, Leon could only resign himself to postponing his reading and spending the day indulging her requests.
After all, who could blame him for prioritizing the daughter he cherished most?
Leon let out a small sigh and shook his head slightly.
Regardless, he was determined to find the antidote for the poison within his body and restore his strength!
With renewed resolve, Leon slowly opened the book and turned to the first page.
“Hm? Empty?” Leon was taken aback to find the first page completely blank, devoid of any text.
Typically, forbidden books would have some information or introductory words on the opening page.
Yet, the sight of the completely blank first page of the book before him left Leon feeling somewhat surprised.
“No, could it be on the next page?” Leon pondered, turning to the following page.
Sure enough, there were descriptions and even the title of the book itself on the next page.
“Ten ancient poisons… Sure enough!” Leon exclaimed, his eyes widening slightly in surprise as he read the title.
His initial speculation about the book containing information on the ten ancient poisons created by Jared Crimson proved to be correct.
“The poison within my body, capable of suppressing and incapacitating me, the sword hero, is one of these ten ancient poisons,” Leon whispered quietly, his hands clenched tightly.
After thoroughly reading various books on poisons, including the two forbidden ones, Leon discovered something that was already known by everyone in the world: all the poisons in this world seemed ineffective against the three heroes.
Heroes are chosen and unique humans in this world, possessing a physiology immune to all poisons, even the 100 deadliest poisons in the world.
This immunity stems from the presence of three holy weapons within their bodies, which neutralize all forms of evil, including poisons classified as such by the weapons.
Furthermore, the holy mana, known as a hero power, coursing through the heroes’ mana circuits makes them even more resistant to poisons.
After a moment, Leon took a small breath and sipped his coffee.
Then, as he turned the next page, he found it still contained the introductory words.
Although eager to read, Leon’s immediate priority was to find information about the ten ancient poisons.
Therefore, he decided to skip the other contents and read them later.
After flipping through several pages, he finally arrived at the section detailing one of the ten ancient poisons.
“Nightshades Poison…” Leon murmured, narrowing his eyes as he read the title of the poison.
The name “Nightshades Poison” caught Leon’s attention for its uniqueness and distinction compared to other poison names he had read.
Then he carefully read the entire description of the poison below its name.
“[Nightshades Ancient Poison, one of the 10 ancient poisons, was the first ancient poison created by me, Jared Crimson. This poison has a powder-like form but cannot be seen with the naked eye. Its power is truly extraordinary, capable of killing anyone, even an adult dragon, in just one inhalation. However, there are some individuals in this world who have a slight resistance to this poison, namely the three heroes, protected by the three holy weapons].”
After reading the entire description, Leon couldn’t help but be shocked, taking a deep breath to calm himself down.
“The Nightshades Ancient Poison is truly deadly! Just one inhalation can kill a dragon? That’s too exaggerated, isn’t it?” Leon muttered, still wearing an expression of disbelief.
Dragons were extraordinarily powerful beings, unmatched by any other beings on the same level.
In comparison, a single adult dragon possessed strength equivalent to that of 1000 elite-level troops in the Holy Empire of Elysium, if not more.
One could only imagine the sheer terror of facing a single adult dragon.
However, according to the description, this poison could kill an adult dragon in just one inhalation!
If the author of the book discussing this poison weren’t Jared Crimson, the Lord of Poison, Leon might have assumed the author suffered from brain damage or mental problems.
Moreover, the description revealed that even the heroes had minimal resistance to this poison when inhaled, underscoring its deadly nature.
“Truly befitting of the Demon Emperor, known as the Lord of Poison,” Leon remarked with a mixture of admiration and respect.
Thankfully, the current Demon Emperor, Liliana, wasn’t as fearsome as her ancestor; in fact, she seemed relatively gentle.
If Liliana possessed the same level of terror as her ancestor, Leon was certain he would have a much tougher time dealing with her.
Quickly, Leon refocused his gaze on the other descriptions below.
“[The Nightshades poison has no antidote at all because it acts so swiftly that no antidote can neutralize it.]”
Leon tapped the table with his fingertips after reading this description.
“There’s no antidote… Absolutely deadly,” he whispered, shaking his head.
A poison with no antidote was truly horrifying, and Leon couldn’t help but feel that the top 100 deadliest poisons in the world were nothing compared to this Nightshades poison.
After confirming once again that there were no other descriptive notes, Leon quickly turned to the next page.
Although the Nightshades poison was impressive, it was clear that it wasn’t the poison flowing in his body.
“Hm? Deep Sea Poison?” Leon raised an eyebrow as he read about the forbidden poison on the next page.
Without hesitation, he carefully read the description underneath.
“[Deep Sea Poison is the second ancient poison I have created. Named after the deep seas of the Horizon Ocean next to the continent, this poison takes on a blue liquid form resembling seawater. Its effect is instantaneous death for anyone who ingests it. Furthermore, the soul of the victim is condemned to a dark abyss as terrifying as the depths of the ocean. No matter how powerful the individual may be, even the three heroes cannot escape the lethal and soul-tormenting effects of this poison.]”
After carefully reading the description, Leon abruptly stood up from his chair, his face contorted in horror.
“Damn it! This poison is even more terrifying than nightshades! Jared Crimson, you truly are a psychopath!” Leon cursed loudly, staring in disbelief at the description of the Deep Sea Poison.
Plunging the body into death and condemning the soul to an abyss of endless darkness was a level of poison that transcended mere horror.
While there was a poison among the 100 deadliest known as the Black Feather Poison, which had somewhat similar effects to the Deep Sea Poison, the disparity between the two was like haven and earth.
Furthermore, the Deep Sea Poison could target anyone, including the heroes!
“Darn! I can’t even begin to fathom what it was like to live in that era,” Leon remarked with a somewhat frightened expression, sinking back into his seat.
“It’s no wonder the heroes of Jared Crimson’s time were overwhelmed, and humanity was teetering on the brink of defeat,” he continued, his tone tinged with bitterness as he sighed deeply.
Confronting a formidable adversary is challenging enough, but facing one who is both powerful, a genius, and unpredictable is even more daunting.
After a while, Leon composed himself and shifted his attention to the description of the antidote.
“[Deep Sea Poison, while incredibly lethal, does have an antidote: a single leaf from the world tree in the forest of the elves. However, administering the antidote must be done within twenty seconds, or it will be ineffective.]”
Upon reading this description, Leon couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth in disbelief.
A single leaf from the world tree as an antidote with a strict time limit of 20 seconds after exposure? What nonsense!
Victims of this poison may have transmigrated to the underworld even before comprehending the existence of the antidote.
Leon let out a small sigh and shook his head helplessly.
Quickly, he turned another page and found another ancient poison, then read the entire description.
Shortly after, Leon once again sighed due to the horrifying effects described by the ancient poison.
He then proceeded to read through each of the ancient poisons listed in the book, one by one.
Each description filled him with horror, visibly altering his expression.
Unbeknownst to him, he had reached the page describing the ninth ancient poison and had finished reading the description.
“Eternal Curse Poison… It truly lives up to its name,” Leon murmured solemnly.
As Leon realized he had already read through the ninth of the ten ancient poisons, a frown creased his brow.
“Despite the horror of these poisons, why doesn’t any of them seem related to the one inside my body?” Leon asked, feeling both distressed and confused.
He reclined against the back of the chair, closed his eyes, and began to ponder deeply.
“Could it be that the poison within my body isn’t one of the ten ancient poisons?” Leon questioned, rubbing his temples in uncertainty.
However, after some time passed without finding an answer, he began to feel despondent.
His enthusiasm was slowly beginning to wane as a result.
“There’s still one ancient poison I haven’t read about. Perhaps this is the key to the answer I’m seeking,” he said, mustering his remaining resolve.
He then turned to the next page and read the name of the final remaining ancient poison.
“The Devouring Poison?”
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