Chapter 2: Regaining Vitality

Page 1 of 3

Chapter 2: Recovery

After finishing the white bread, Xazuo leaned against the iron bars, stuffing a few more pieces of black bread into his mouth. The stark contrast in taste between the two types of bread spread from his tongue to his heart, weaving a bittersweet ache within him.

“Hey, Little Nose, are you going to eat your black bread? I want some,” he called out.

The figure lying in the cell opposite him waved a hand dismissively.

Xazuo stretched his arm as far as he could, fishing the distant pieces of bread toward himself and eating them with water.

He had to seize every opportunity to gain experience and level up as soon as possible. Only with new attribute points would his chances of survival increase.

Clang. The iron door at the end of the corridor swung open.

The Old Fiend hobbled over, cane in hand, stopping in front of the cell and holding up a ring of keys to select the right one.

“You two, out. Time for your medicine.”

He unlocked Xazuo’s cell, then turned his back to open Little Nose’s.

Xazuo narrowed his eyes, struggling to restrain the urge to strike from behind—he almost allocated his free attribute point to strength right then.

He pushed aside that reckless, gambler’s instinct and decided to observe a little longer.

“Hurry up!”

The Old Fiend, seeing Xazuo hesitate, lifted his cane and pointed it at him.

That cane, which seemed barely a meter long, extended instantly to two meters, its sharp tip jabbing into Xazuo’s shoulder.

A muffled grunt sounded in the cell.

Little Nose lowered his head, hiding his face in his hair, not daring to steal a glance at the Old Fiend’s impending wrath.

Xazuo gripped his shoulder and bowed his head to his chest. As he stepped out, anger simmered in his eyes.

Such dangerous emotions could easily be detected by the Old Fiend’s keen perception. Quickly, reason suppressed the fury, burying it deep within.

He copied Little Nose’s submissive posture—arms hanging low, eyes fixed on the floor—and followed, head down, after the Old Fiend, all the while quietly casting Appraisal on the cane.

“Extending Cane, an alchemical product. Can be used as a weapon. Pressing the button on the handle extends it to two meters.”

The three reached the end of the corridor and turned into an alchemy room.

Candlesticks burning with radiant light lined the walls, half-melted wax dripping to cover their bases.

Along the walls stood desks and alchemical workbenches cluttered with open books and glass apparatuses through which liquids flowed.

A heavy, lightless iron door loomed on the far wall, blocked by a massive desk, impossible to open from outside.

At the center of the room sat a large cauldron.

A mechanical arm tied to a spoon stirred the steaming liquid, hovering and rotating above the surface.

Inside, the potion bubbled and frothed, releasing a pungent aroma that filled the chamber.

The Old Fiend sat on the sole wooden stool, pointing at bottles on the alchemy station. “One each. Drink up,” he rasped.

Little Nose hurried forward, grabbing a bottle. As soon as he uncorked it, the smell made him cough and tear up.

Seizing the chance, Xazuo used Appraisal on the Old Fiend.

[Name] ??? (Nickname: Old Fiend)
[Occupation] Rogue Alchemist
[Health] ???
[Strength] 4
[Agility] 3
[Endurance] 4
[Vitality] 2
[Perception] 7
[Will] 5
[Spirit] 5
[Charisma] 0
[Specialties] ???

As expected, perception was his highest stat.

Xazuo eyed the bottle in Little Nose’s hand and silently invoked Appraisal.

“Unknown Potion. Drinking will cause physical injury, expected to inflict 20 health points of damage over 60 minutes. Successfully drinking the potion grants experience.”

Page 2 of 3

Twenty points? How much health do I have?

Xazuo summoned his personal status screen and froze.

[Health] 18/18 (Healthy)

Eating and sleeping had restored him from 15 to full health, cured his mild poisoning, cleared his head, and given him strength.

But he was still short by 2 points—no, 3 points—to survive the potion unscathed.

He reread the Appraisal result.

“Inflicts 20 points of damage over 60 minutes.”

So, if he ate and slept immediately after drinking, he might recover some health before the loss reached zero and survive the negative effect.

Vitality increased both his health cap and regeneration rate, making it a more reliable option than the vague Will stat.

Xazuo immediately allocated his free attribute point to Vitality.

His golden finger relayed information:

“Detected attribute allocation. Calculating health increase... Calculation complete.

“[Health] 20/18+2 → 20 (Healthy)”

There was hope!

Even in this short span, Xazuo’s palms were slick with sweat, his back drenched, heart pounding, ears filled with the rush of blood.

At the alchemy station, Little Nose pinched his nose, mustered his courage, and poured the potion down his throat, collapsing to the floor and retching violently.

“Your turn,” the Old Fiend growled at Xazuo.

Xazuo stepped forward, took a deep breath, held it, lifted the bottle with both hands, and drank the spicy liquid—leaving a small amount in the bottle to minimize the damage.

He then feigned collapse, letting the leftover potion spill onto the floor.

“Wait here for 10 minutes,” the Old Fiend said, indifferent to the trickery.

Lying on the ground, Xazuo used the shadow of the desk to hide his face, discreetly spitting out the mouthful he’d kept.

That should do it.

Drinking less, his health would barely suffice. Once back in the cell, he’d eat the other boys’ bread as well.

After about five minutes, the potion’s heat spread from his stomach to his limbs, finally rushing to his head, making his entire body burn as if submerged in a scalding hot spring.

The waves of heat grew stronger, forcing Xazuo and Little Nose to curl up in pain.

After ten minutes, the burning vanished instantly.

“Successfully drank the unknown potion. Gained 1.33 experience. Current progress: 1.5/10.”

“Due to the unknown potion, you have suffered physical damage and entered a state of mild poisoning. Expected to lose 18 health points over 60 minutes.”

Two notifications appeared in his mind.

Xazuo rejoiced—he’d not only gained experience but also reduced his health loss by two points. This grim experiment suddenly seemed a bit brighter.

But with the potions becoming more toxic, his joy was short-lived, and numbness returned to his face.

“Get up. Back to your rooms,” the Old Fiend ordered.

On the way past the dwarf’s cell, Xazuo quickly surveyed the inside and outside. The hunched figure hadn’t moved, and only a few pieces of black bread had disappeared from beneath the bars.

He hooked the remaining pieces into his own cell with his foot.

After the Old Fiend locked the door and left, Xazuo immediately gathered up the bread, scrubbed it in water to remove the dust, and, once softened, devoured it.

His status screen now reflected the ongoing negative effect.

[Health] 19/20 (Mild Poisoning: Lose 18 health over 60 minutes)

After eating, he rolled up in his bedding and went to sleep. In his dreams, he felt his body shivering with cold; only after enduring the blood loss did his temperature return to normal.

...

In this sunless place, time was impossible to measure.

Xazuo could only estimate by the Old Fiend’s comings and goings, marking each distribution of bread as the start of a new day.

Over the past few days, the Old Fiend had taken Xazuo and Little Nose, as well as Chubby and Shorty, to the alchemy room to test potions; in all, Xazuo had drunk six bottles.

Each time, the experience gained increased, as did the toxicity—the burning sensation in his body became harder to endure.

Today, after drinking, he was about to level up.

Page 3 of 3

[Experience] 9.98/10

Just 0.02 to go.

“Little Nose, I’m taking two of your bread slices.”

After finishing his own, Xazuo reached for Little Nose’s portion.

Little Nose was used to his cellmate’s growing appetite; cocooned in his straw mat, he squirmed in assent.

Once the two slices were down, information surged in Xazuo’s mind.

“Gained 0.02 experience. Current progress: 10/10. Leveling up…”

[Level] lv.2
[Experience] 0/15

To his disappointment, leveling up did not restore his health. So much for using level ups as a healing cheat.

Fortunately, allocating points to Vitality did increase his current health alongside the maximum—a potential lifesaver.

“Level up successful. Calculating free attribute point reward… Calculation complete. Awarded 1 free attribute point.”

The increase in health from boosting Vitality was calculated. The number of free attribute points gained per level was also calculated.

Curious, Xazuo asked silently, “What’s the rule for calculation?”

He expected no answer, but the usually indifferent golden finger responded:

“The number of free attribute points awarded per level is determined by a specific formula. The higher your level, the more points you gain per level. Further rules must be discovered on your own.”

“All right, at least there’s something to look forward to,” Xazuo thought as he moved back to bed and fell asleep.

...

Days passed. Aside from the potion tests, subtle changes occurred.

The Old Fiend grew increasingly irritable, his temper worsening. His attitude toward the boys shifted from indifference to disgust, beating them with his cane even when they’d done nothing wrong.

One day, after tossing Little Nose his white bread, the Old Fiend stomped on it furiously, venting his nameless rage on the rare treat.

Even mashed to a pulp, white bread was still better than black.

Xazuo gave half his white bread to Little Nose, trading for the soiled half—repaying him for the black bread earlier.

One day, Chubby and Shorty returned from a potion test.

The sound of shattering glass came from the alchemy room, echoing down the corridor and waking the sleeping boys.

Xazuo moved to the bars, tilting his head to peer down the corridor.

By candlelight, a twisted shadow was cast on the wall—a figure raising the cane high and smashing another bottle.

The noise woke Little Nose as well.

The two exchanged a glance across the corridor, glimpsing fear in each other’s eyes.

“What’s wrong with the old man?” Xazuo whispered.

“I don’t know,” Little Nose replied weakly between coughs. After so many days of potion tests, his body was frail—he probably wouldn’t survive the next one.

“Go lie down,” Xazuo said, concerned.

Little Nose nodded and lay down again.

The first time Xazuo drank the potion, he gained 1.33 experience. The last time, it was 1.7. Over a dozen tests, the toxicity had increased by at least twenty percent.

If he hadn’t been sneaky—dumping out some potion, eating and sleeping well—he’d have died long ago.

But next time…

Xazuo looked at the shadow on the wall, unease growing within him.

The system for randomly rolling values with dice has been changed.

New readers, please refresh the table of contents and download the updated chapters.

If you see anything that hasn’t been changed, please let me know.

(End of Chapter)