The path to the chocolate milk stream was rather uneventful. There were fewer bands of roaming gingerbread men that Liam managed to avoid. The naturalistic candy grass plains gave way to a hilly zone dotted with lollipop trees and plum-colored bushes. More splash of color to the already bright and vibrant candy land.

He kept to the hardtack as long as he could. It wasn’t as nauseatingly sugary as the other things in this world—but soon, ran out. It seemed the old man only had rations for three days. Meaning he tried some of the plum bush—gross sticky, and grape flavored.

Once he got free, if he never ate another dessert, he’d be content with his life. But, this place had other things in mind. He reached the chocolate milk stream that cut through the idyllic hills.

Liam crouched near it, running a hand through the muddy brown water. Everything in him told him not to try it, but his water was running low and it’d been nothing but sunshine and rainbows for days on end.

Not that he could’ve collected rain if he tried, but for the most part, he wanted to save the rest of the water he had.

He brought two fingers covered to his mouth—and gagged.

Dirty chocolate milk. As if the milk had iron and sulfur jammed in it. Barely palatable, but he’d have to survive on it for a time.

Sulfur? Liam stared at the chocolate milk river. He was headed to the Fudge Volcano range. Volcano. In his mind, he’d pictured the same Candyland bullshit as before. Defying the laws of physics and natural processes with this crap called magic. But was it possible? Could there be sulfur in this chocolate milk? If that was true, maybe there was a way to isolate and harvest it—or perhaps, a bigger sulfur deposit further in the Fudge Volcano range.

If he could get his hands on sulfur and synthesize sulfuric acid, then a wide range of possibilities opened up. Perhaps he could make phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid—the range of chemicals he could produce would expand drastically. There was a reason back on Earth sulfuric acid was considered one of the most important chemicals in the industry.

And if he’d just tasted it. Somehow sulfur was contaminating the milk.

You have gained +1 Intelligence

So, so, so, smart Liam. We can’t wait.

He groaned rubbing his eyes at the obtrusive blue box that flooded his vision. At first, the messages had been beyond creepy. And they still managed to make the hair on the back of his neck stand up. But they were also annoying. Whatever was sending those ‘love letters’ to him should’ve just got on with whatever it wanted. Not send all of these harassing messages.

Hell, it was starting to feel like an ex texting him drunk at 3 am. If that ex was a little bit psycho, and he had a restraining order against them. Liam let out a nervous chuckle.

Dismissing it like that made it easier to cope with than to consider the fact some all-seeing entity was watching him and wanted something from him. Nope! To combat the hysteria and madness, from now on he’d decided. Those creepy messages? Yeah, they were just drunk texts. That’s all. Completely it.

Once his hand stopped shaking, he stood up.

There was the matter of this being like a game. He saw his health and ‘mana’ bar in the corner of his vision. While he’d waited to test his spell, in the fear of it catching some gingerbread man’s attention, he’d have to give it a go soon. Rather he wasted some of the rock candy now figuring out how to make it work, then not be able to use it in a death-or-life scenario. Which, this place seemed to want to constantly throw him in. Everything wanted him to die.

Everything.

He eyes the plum-colored bush with a paranoid gaze—it shuddered and something retreated within it. Just some wildlife. That’s it. That it.

But maybe it was best to test the system. He’d been afraid of sparking more messages, but after the slew of information given to him about advancing his ‘intelligence,’ it’d be better to figure out what changed.

Now that he’d framed this otherworldly entity as a clingy-ex, it seemed just a bit more manageable to explore the system

“Open.” Liam said, to no one in particular.

He sighed and scratched the back of his neck. Why’d I expect that to work? That kid malevolently refused to explain anything to him. Claiming it made the game more ‘fun’ but it was more frustrating than anything else.

“Character sheet!” he screamed out, trying louder. Now that he was some ways away from the path, he wasn’t all too worried about a rogue gingerbread man hearing him and then coming to eat his face off. Again nothing.

He stomped his foot on the ground.

“Status!” Nope. Goddamn light novels. Didn’t they have worlds like this in them? They got to just say status and have so much information thrown in their faces. Didn't they get harems, overpowered abilities, and fantastic races like elves, too? Why the fuck did he get stuck in a world of sunshine and rainbows, filled with monstrous cannibal gingerbread men instead of that kind of royal treatment. Christ. If he could, he’d grab one of those spoiled brat Isekai heroes and make them taste the goddamn dirt chocolate at his feet in a fit of rage.

But they weren’t here. They weren’t real. They didn’t have some evil entity watching their every move and loving it.

He shook for a moment, counting out ten breaths. An old calming technique he learned from therapy as a kid. Anger issues could be managed, and so could stress. No matter what the circumstances were.

Please. Just let me see my ‘character sheet’ or whatever bullshit game system this place uses.

Name: Liam Holland

Race: Human

Class: Molecular Gastromancer [Level 2] [Experience 75/300]

Health: 100/100 | Mana: 150/150

Attributes:

Vigor: 10 | Strength: 9 | Dexterity: 11

Intelligence: 15 | Willpower: 12 | Ego: 8

Sin: ???

Skills:

Gastromancy rank: Beginner [3]

Spells:

Sugar Crystal Disruption rank: Beginner [1]

Liam gasped, and almost fell over as the blue box filled his vision—this one did not disappear as he reacted. He hadn’t expected the begging to work. Begging.

Oh lord, did he have to beg to see his character sheet? This place did hate him.

After letting the rage go—another ten breathes to collect himself. He read over the information presented. There’d been some advancements, maybe if he begged to see the skills, it’d show it as well. But the biggest thing was the change in his mana. It, and the intelligence, seemed to have a direct correlation, at one intelligence to ten points of mana.

Which made sense in a way, most games he’d played had a similar sort of system. Though the ‘Sin’ attribute made no goddamn sense, and those question marks bother triggered, and concerned him greatly. No one said evil existential horrors provided intuitive game—or system—design. But really? Seemed enough to go on for now. He’d make his way further to the chocolate milk river and begin the trek to the ‘Stay Away’ zone.

And if he’d died there or along this path?

Well, he’d already died once. Guess this place would get its wish and consume him. Liam gathered his pack up and began walking once more. Singing the 'Do you know the muffin man,' jingle to himself as he went.

Something about it seemed right.