"Think carefully and decide, my dear youngling," Bawu said. "Do you want to learn how to make Adifi poisons or Akhos poisons?"

“Only those two? There are no other choices for the upgrade?” I sighed as I waited in vain for another notification to pop up.

Quite stingy, wasn’t she? In comparison, Mehubanarath gave me three Ocadules to choose from. But whatever my choice would be, I’d get a Masterwork Ocadule, which was already a big win.

From a business standpoint, Adifi Arcane Poison Research was the better choice. Once Mardukryons escaped this dratted icy prison, I'd be the sole seller of Adifi Ocadules to the world of Hierakon.

I doubted any other Mardukryon player currently has this Ocadule. From my conversation with SpartanDonkey, it was apparent that he didn't have much information about Bawu. He probably knew everything from Luds, who had a very different questline than mine. And it’d take some time until someone else stumbled upon this path and succeed in Bawu's poison test. It wasn’t an easy challenge for boxlike thinkers.

Adifi Ocadule copies would be very marketable as most players used DPS builds. That was how the demographics of MMORPG players were, with pure tank players probably the least in number.

On top of that, I'd also make money from the poison bottles I'd make. It might even be better not to sell copies of the Ocadule so that I alone could brew Adifi poisons. I’d need to bust out spreadsheets and do market analysis on that.

Either way, I could already hear myself getting rich. Or was that the sound of Bawu's creaking bones, not imaginary clinking gold coins?

My other choice, Akhos Arcane Poison Research, was focused on debuffs instead of high DoTs. It'd contribute nicely to my plan of becoming a debuff machine with [Cloak of the Plaguespreader]. And weaker poisons would go along well with the passive of [Cleansing Flames].

The Akhos Ocadule also seemed to have a support aspect from its description. Was that similar to how snake venom was used to make an antidote? Support skills would help my role as a tank. Dealing high Damage over Time with poisons would be redundant when joining parties or a guild because everyone and their grandmothers were DPSers.

"But what about all the Artas I'd miss out on?" I turned to the Carrion Golem, asking it for investment advice. It grunted and scratched its mutated behind.

Choosing the Adifi Ocadule would be more of an investment than building my character. It wouldn't synergize with a tank, but it would certainly bring in lots of money…in the far future. In contrast, the Akhos Ocadule would help my character grow and strengthen my party for the Great Hunt.

Nonetheless, a lot of money was still…a lot of money.

"Have you made your decision, dear youngling?" Bawu approached me with clasped hands. Then she explained the two Ocadules again, reminding me of NPCs in old RPGs repeating their dialogues.

"Wait, I'm still thinking. You and your pets watching while I decide is making me self-conscious. It reminds me of restaurant servers beside my table, waiting to take my order even though I'll probably take more than five minutes to decide."

"Do you need more time to consider your choice? Ask away if questions bother your mind."

"A sample! Do you have a sample poison bottle for the Akhos Arcane Poison Research?"

Mehubanarath demonstrated what his Ocadule offering could do. If I could see what I could make with the Akhos Ocadule, I could better analyze the trade-off of the loss of potential income from the Adifi Ocadule.

"A sample, you say?" Bawu asked. "Of course, I can show you.” She retrieved a pink vial with a crystalline design from inside her robe. Holding it up as she unscrewed the cap, I noticed that it was filled with pills instead of liquid.

"I don't think Mum will be pleased if she finds out I'm taking mysterious pills from a stranger," I muttered as Bawu popped a pill from the vial. Technically, she wasn't a stranger to me. An employer? A mad scientist employer. I'm taking a pill from a mad scientist employer.

"This is made from the excretions of the vibrantly colored Spiked Cone Snaillord." She held a normal-looking white pill in between her claw-like fingernails.

[ Received: (1) Snaillord Anodyne Pill ]

"Excretions?" I hesitantly opened my hand as she placed it on my palm. "What kind of excretions?"

"This specific variant of the Snaillord produces a toxin so powerful it can instantly paralyze an adult Mardukryon—or kill if more than one of its dart-like teeth pierce the body. But it usually doesn't strike more than once because it is satisfied with immobilizing its prey before eating it."

"I see. It’s nerve poison," I said. "Somehow, I'm more agreeable to ingesting that than if it was some other...excretion."

"Worry not, dear youngling, for that is no longer dangerous. Instead of stopping muscles from working, this pill will help you endure unimaginable pain."

Snaillord Anodyne Pill | Item Level: 35

Epic | Consumable | No Requirement

Brewed from the venom of the Spiked Cone Snaillord, this anodyne can stave off tremendous pain. Endure grievous injuries after ingesting this potent pill, delaying 20% of the damage when hit by Physical or Magical attacks and taking it over 15 seconds instead. (Delayed damage ticks every 0.5 seconds)

Duration: 15 Minutes

“Only applies to hits, meaning it won’t work on DoTs,” I observed. It was similar to [Greater Pyro Shell] in that way, and it also blocked both Physical and Magical damage.

Well, not block. I’d still receive the damage. But not instantly—part of it would be spread equally over fifteen seconds. Looking at it another way, future health regeneration could negate the damage I was taking. This would synergize well with a high regeneration build, which wasn’t too surprising given its Ocadule was a reward for a hidden achievement that needed exactly that to complete.

The fifteen seconds part…is it a considered a Damage over Time debuff?

Excitement welled up inside me once again; there was an unboxlike idea somewhere around here.

Was the delayed damage a DoT on myself? Could I reflect it with [Cloak of the Plaguespreader]? If it worked, I’d be essentially a reflect tank—a common tank variant in different RPGs—but with extra steps.

I had many other questions, like what would happen if I got attacked again? Would a new DoT be applied, or would it add to the current DoT? If it was the latter case, then I assumed the duration of the debuff would be refreshed with a recalculated damage ticking.

The quickest way to have my questions answered would be to drink this pill and see for myself.

Then I could find a Blighted monster nearby to attack me. Or maybe Bawu could order the Carrion Golem to serve me a knuckle sandwich. Hitting myself might not be enough to properly see the delayed damage mechanic at work because my damage was too low.

I tossed the pill into my mouth but only tasted the air.

“Where did it go?” I said, looking down at the floor. “Did I drop—?”

[ Notice: Insufficient level to use this item ]

[ Received: (1) Snaillord Anodyne Pill ]

"Huh, it went back into my inventory?”

"Perhaps you're not yet ready to drink it," explained Bawu.

“Why couldn't I—it's a level thirty-five item?” I chuckled with amusement. “So, that’s why.”

It was normal to have level requirements when using items in RPGs. But if MCO mechanics were applied in the real world, beer bottles would poof back to the cabinet if someone underage tried drinking them.

"Is this the reason you were injecting me with poisons earlier?

I bet most of Bawu's poison bottles had requirements above my level. I couldn't drink them myself even if I wanted to. Jabbing my arm probably counted as attacking me for debuff application.

If I coated my equipment with Nam-Go poison, I had a twelve percent chance to debuff an opponent—this probably didn't apply if I drank from the bottle itself. Interestingly, Bawu only needed one injection per poison bottle to inflict a negative status on me. I wouldn't be surprised if she had a skill that increased the chance to poison. Maybe her syringe might have something to do with it as well.

"Was the sample sufficient, dear youngling? Are you ready to choose?"

"Yes, Brewer Bawu. I choose Akhos Arcane Poison Research."

I expected the other consumable items I could make using the Akhos Ocadule to be similar to the Snaillord Pills, allowing me to explore more tanking strategies. The time would come when I could no longer make fun of Luds for being a walking pharmacy kit because I’d be one myself.

“A splendid choice!”

[ Received: Open-Compatibility Accessory Data Module (Ocadule) Full System –

Akhos Arcane Poison Research ]

[ Integration with Ocadule: Successful ]

[ Akhos Arcane Poison Research - Melded - Akashic Configuration ]

“A splendid choice, indeed,” I said. “As all choices of Herald Stone are. Now, I’ll be off, Brewer Bawu! I have a dinner to attend. I promise I’ll help clean your lab later!”

"Herald, dear," Mum said behind me. "Don't read while in a moving vehicle."

"Yes, Mum," I said, turning off my WeeCee's tiny projected screen as I looked at the rearview mirror. Sawyer was chuckling while staring out the car window. "I was just checking my emails."

Jimmy was driving the three of us to a newly opened restaurant serving Sicel cuisine. I wasn't one for fancy dining; I could neither appreciate nor understand it. And I was not too fond of truffles, which they seemed to put on anything to label it fancy. Fancy and expensive.

"I've told you plenty of times since you were a little boy to take care of your eyes," Mum said. "Thank goodness you stopped playing those computer games back then, or you'd be wearing glasses now."

I wanted to tell her that there was no scientific evidence to support her claim, but I didn't want to argue with her. "I have faith in our genes, Mum.”

"That's right," she proudly said. "Your father never wore glasses, and neither have I. Even your grandpop didn't. Just because there are those fancy machine eyeball thingamajigs nowadays doesn't mean you can throw away your perfectly good eyes."

"Bionic eyes," Sawyer pointed out.

“I’m not going to use those,” I said.

"I thought you have more free time now?" Mum asked. "Are you still busy with work that you must check your mail every hour?"

"No, I'm not that busy," I replied. And I spend my newfound free time playing games. But I didn't think Mum would like that answer even though I was in my thirties now. "I took a nap earlier and am checking if there's an important message I might've missed."

"You need to find time to relax."

"And we're relaxing, Mum. That's why we're going out to dinner."

"A dinner is more like a celebration than relaxation."

"Getting together is rare for us," I said. "It's something worth celebrating." That and my shiny new Ocadule. I didn't even check my first skill to reserve it as a surprise for later, even though I was dying to see what it was.