“Drink it,” Nicholas said as he stuck out his arms. A glass bottle was cradled in his hands. He wanted to treat it with care. This was the fruit of the team’s labor. This was what they had crafted in the hopes of developing a potion to heal Rex. The dark violet liquid was alluring to the untrained eye. If the team presented it to anyone, it would be consumed immediately under the guise of health and medicine or extremely fine wine. Unfortunately, their product was more toxic than medicinal, but that didn't mean their efforts were in vain. Nicholas saw the benefits of their mistake. This was a golden opportunity for growth. The others, however, didn't see this side of the problem.
“No,” Xander said. He was absolutely not interested in what Nicholas was proposing. Drink the poison? What sort of person would willingly do that? The answer should have been obvious. No one in their right mind would want to do that. That opinion was held by anyone who enjoyed living. If they had to test weak poisons, then maybe it was worth the risk to drink it, but this was the [Demon's Poison] that came from the combined efforts of three people. It was bound to severely damage anyone that drank it, regardless of level and resistance.
“Drink it,” Nicholas said. He took the rejection in stride and turned to the next potential guinea pig. The captivating poison swirled from his movement and looked all the more tantalizing. It looked like a fine wine in a rudimentary glass bottle. One wouldn’t think twice about taking a sip. This drink could easily dispose of an ignorant noble or greedy commoner if packaged correctly. Of course, no one present would give in to the temptations. The next person offered to drink the noxious liquid was just as unwavering as the first.
“Stop it,” Robyn said. She took several steps back to avoid the chance of an accident occurring. It was all fun and games until Genesis entered the fray. That omnipotent voice loved to join the conversation at the worst possible times. The constant horseplay and shenanigans were bound to result in someone accidentally ingesting the poison. There was little that could be done to avoid such a scenario, so Robyn aimed to prevent herself from being the person that drank it.
“Just get Eins to drink it,” Rex said. His option was the most obvious. If the team wanted to understand the full effects of the poison, it was best to feed it to the highest leveled and most resilient team member. Eins also benefited from their skill [Total Damage Resistance IV], which included resistance to poison. To make circumstances even better, Eins was a familiar. They could easily be summoned again if they met their untimely demise. Was it a bit cruel? Yes, but there was a limited supply of essentially immortal people.
“Absolutely not,” Eins said. They weren’t interested in testing their reincarnation ability. One mistake could be the end of them. They could completely cease to be. Even if Nicholas could continually summon Demon Slimes, there was no guarantee that the next familiar would be Eins. It was a paradox of sorts. Every summoned creature was a perfect copy, so did they have individuality? Eins was the first to question this system. It was one of the few things that kept them grounded in reality. Otherwise, Eins would run around the world doing whatever they wanted and have themself re-summoned in the off chance they perished.
“Yeah, this is our poison. Plus, we might get a resistance skill if we do this, so drink it” Nicholas said. His familiar was the last person that needed new skills. Eins already had [Total Damage Resistance IV], so there was no need to improve that further. Any more and they would practically be immune to all types of damage. It would have been better for The Unnamed Team to improve. Some poison resistance or improved health recovery was something everyone needed. The team’s next enemy may not take the form of a hulking brute hellbent on destroying them. A highly trained assassin could be sent instead, and the team wasn’t prepared for that kind of encounter.
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“Get that thing away from me,” Xander said. He reached out and smacked the bottle out of his friend’s hands. Thankfully, the glass was sturdy. There wasn’t even a scratch on it once it hit the ground. It rolled, as any bottle would, away from the scene. No one moved to stop it. They weren’t worried about losing the poison. In all honesty, most of them preferred to see the bottle disappear. It was one less issue to deal with. Once it was out of sight, the room’s attention shifted back to the poor injured teammate.
“Alright, that was a bit much,” Nicholas said. He was the only person to watch the bottle’s full course. It managed to slip out of the room and into the main hallway. It would be problematic for someone to grab it, but most people would probably return the item to the team or steal it. In the former scenario, The Unnamed Team could boast about their attempt at making a potion and kindly retrieve what they had lost. In the latter, the thief would likely die after drinking the poison under the assumption that it was a high-tiered potion or expensive drink.
“You’re the one trying to get everyone to drink poison,” Robyn said. She agreed with Xander’s actions. If he hadn’t done it, she would have. Anything to mitigate the risk. The Unnamed Team already walked around a populated city with a bag full of literal pipe bombs. They also traveled with a Demon Slime, and one member was in a relationship with a sin. Carrying poisons would be the last straw before someone who knew the truth accused the team of being criminals. They had enough reasons to be scrutinized. They didn’t need another.
“Guys, I don’t want to derail the conversation, but I still need a potion,” Rex said. The arrow in his leg was patiently waiting for someone to take it out. His wound was mostly bandaged at this point. Eins had been working on it in relative silence while the others were making the potion. It was why Rex had stabilized. All he required was for the foreign object to be removed and medicine to rapidly heal the injury.
“We’ll try making another one. Eins, can you run and grab more ingredients in case we make another poisoned batch?” Xander asked. If the first attempt was anything to go off of, The Unnamed Team was bound to create several poisons before finally making something helpful. They would need plenty of resources to continue the trial and error stage of production.
“Sure,” Eins said. They turned and ran out of the room. Potion ingredients weren’t rare, but they did grow in different environments and regions. Thankfully, the city they lived in was the perfect place to find everything naturally. The course Eins chose would have them running in each of the cardinal directions. This wasn’t a problem for the high-leveled Demon Slime. What was a problem was the noticeably missing item on the ground. Eins had only taken two steps out of the room before returning to deliver an important announcement, “We have a problem.”
“What’s going on?” Robyn asked. She knew something was going to happen. It always did. There had to be a sin. Or a monster. Or a massive fire. Or something else generic and terrifying that Genesis was throwing at them. Unfortunately, this was less of a problem caused by Genesis and more of one caused by The Unnamed Team’s ignorance.
“The poison that rolled outside is gone,” Eins said.