Sai, the hero summoned by the Sapphire Principality, lay exhausted on his bed after his Dungeon Dive the day before. Despite his efforts, he had only managed to slay twenty Horned Dogs without the assistance of Rowana. The constant running and sword swinging within the dungeon had left him drained.

He woke up feeling groggy. His day was full of work. He had nightmarish Sour Apple to eat. He needed to continue his daily training which included his physical and Magic Art training. He also remembered needed to drink poison to build up his immunity.

Sai had a busy schedule.

He looked over to Slither, the snake was peacefully sleeping. Sai had an impulse to wake him up.

Sai used his gift and summoned three yellow apples. He stared at the incarnation of evil and came up with an idea. "Is there a way to make this edible?"

Sai grabbed the Sour Apples and raced to the kitchen.

----

Sai entered the kitchen and saw Erisenda drinking tea.

Sai was hesitant to ask Erisenda, after learning who her daughter was. Nonetheless, he knew he couldn't do it alone.

Taking a deep breath, he made his way to the kitchen where Erisenda sat. She looked up as he approached, and placed the tea on the counter before giving Sai a small bow.

"Hero welcome, what brings you to the kitchen?" she asked.

"I have some really Sour Apples. But I don't know how to cook them properly. I was wondering if you could help me?"

"Very well, I will assist. Let's see what we can do."

Together, they set to work. Erisenda showed Sai how to make apple juice using the Sour Apples. The apple juice looked innocent enough, looking a slight yellowish and orange.

With a deep breath Sai took a small sip.

Sai expressed his discontent, "Ugh! This apple juice is absolutely terrible! I'd rather drink urine than consume this. Has the apple evolved to become this repulsive? And why is it so warm?"

Sai glared at the apple juice like it attacked him.

They next made a salad with apple pieces, mixing in some herbs and spices to give it a more complex flavor. The salad had a bed of lettuce, topped with diced apples. Other ingredients included walnuts and blue cheese.

Sai took a bite of the salad, making sure to include the apple piece. "I always hated salad. This just makes it uneatable."

Sai seriously considered he was becoming Gordon Ramsey. With how much he was criticizing the food.

And finally, they made apple chips, slicing the apples thinly and seasoning them with just the right amount of salt and spice.

Sai took a bite of the apple chip. His very soul screamed. "This... this can kill someone!"

After all the effort he had put into cooking the sour apples, he was still unable to make them edible.

"I'm sorry, Erisenda," Sai said, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. "I don't think these dishes are going to work either."

"That alright, we will just throw them away," Erisenda said.

Sai laughed, tears slowly falling down his face. "No. No. That's the worst part can't you understand! I am going to force myself to eat all my shitty cooking."

"Why?" Erisenda asked.

"The Sour Apples can make me stronger," Sai admitted. "I think I hate myself."

Erisenda took a piece of Sour Apple from the salad and ate it.

Erisenda grimaced. Sai admitted it was the first time he saw Erisenda make another expression. "Hero. This kind of price is not worth the power."

Sai nodded, it was as valid as going into debt to attend a College or University. "It is a price I will need to make and one that I won't enjoy..."

---

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Sai felt terrible. The food was going to kill him. He wondered why he had to endure this hell. He finished his meal and said, "I'm a summoned hero, trapped by the princess."

"I believe your more fortunate than most people. Many individuals are willing to go to great lengths to become heroes. Even without the Enslaving Cuffs controlling you, you'll still be controlled by the Kingdom. Is it really a choice when you have limiting options to choose from. From my experience, freedom might not be as real as people tend to think," Erisenda said.

Sai thought about it. "I would rather be rich than poor. Simply because being rich means more options. That's why I'm training so hard. If I get stronger, then I can get more options. Maybe, maybe I can finally escape if I'm strong enough. I want the freedom to be happy or miserable and not let another person dictate my life."

“Good,” Erisenda said with a smile. “Here's some valuable information for you. Within the abandoned mage tower lies a unique room known as the Time Chamber. This artifact has the power to manipulate time, where one month spent inside equals one day outside. However, once you enter the room, you cannot leave until it opens again. Therefore, it's crucial to gather sufficient food and water before entering.”

Sai needed to utilize the Time Chamber. The prospect of training for an entire month in just one day seemed too good to pass up. However, there was one problem: "How can I ensure that I have enough food and water to sustain me for an entire month?"

Erisenda replied. "I currently don’t have a solution for such a dilemma. I hope you find a solution."

Sai scratched his head, pondering why nothing in his life could ever be straightforward.

----

Sai sat in the bed of his room with Slither. He had been preparing himself for this moment and now, as he held the small vial of Frog Mountain Poison in his hand, he couldn't help but feel a sense of nervousness.

"You know Slither, I really don't think this is a good idea.”

Slither looked over at Sai and sighed. "Stop being a coward. You have to do this. You need natural immunity to poison if your going to use the Poison Magic Arts."

“Isn’t there another way? I can think of millions of ways this can go wrong.”

Shaking his head, Slither spoke, "The Frog Mountain Poison is considered a low-level poison. As long as you don't consume an excessive amount and remain poisoned for an extended period, you should be fine. I'll be here to ensure everything goes smoothly."

Sai hesitated as he stared at the innocent-looking Cleanse Orb sitting on his bed. He couldn't help but question whether he could trust Slither. "I have so many regrets," Sai muttered as he cautiously unscrewed the cap of the vial.

Slither watched as Sai drank the poison. To his surprise, Sai didn't even flinch as the liquid entered his mouth.

"Well, how do you feel?" asked Slither.

Sai paused for a moment and then shrugged. "It tastes really good, like a berry but more sugary. And I feel a little dizzy, but other than that, I'm fine."

Slither looked at Sai incredulously. "That's weird. The effects of the poison should be much worse. It should paralyze your body, giving you nausea and a horrible fever. I would know, I ate one of those bastards and let me tell you it was one of the worst experiences in my life."

Sai smiled. "Well, maybe I'm just built differently?"

Slither shook his head again. "I don't know about that. You should be feeling much worse than you are."

Sai didn't seem to be listening to Slither. He was too busy thinking about how tasty the poison was. He even considered drinking more.

Suddenly, 15 minutes had passed.Sai nearly forgot to use the Cleanse Orb to remove the poison from his system.

Using the Cleanse Orb, Sai uttered, "Cleanse!" The magical orb radiated a bright light as it purified his body of the poison. To Sai's immense relief, he appeared to be in good health.

"Well, that was a close one," said Slither.

Sai nodded. "Yeah, but it was worth it. Some more sessions and I’ll have natural immunity to poison."

Slither rolled his eyes. "Congratulations. I'm just glad you didn't kill yourself."

Sai put the vial away. This was only the beginning.

----

As normal both Sai and Slither were in the dungeon to level up. Sai was carrying a picnic basket.

Slither looked at Sai quizzically as he looked at the picnic basket.

"What's that for?" Slither asked, his tongue flicking in and out of his mouth.

Sai grinned, "It's for taking a break between fighting the Horned Dog. We need to recharge our energy, and what better way than a nice picnic?" He made this plan to gain more levels fighting against Horned Dog.

Slither shook his head incredulously, "You're crazy. Who brings a picnic basket into a dungeon?"

Sai shrugged, "I want to hunt down more Horned Dogs, I can’t do that if I’m tired and hungry."

Slither changed the subject, "So, how high is your durability?"

Sai paused for a moment and said, "Blessing.”

Level 7 Title Hero Agility 12 Durability 32 Mana 3 Mind 3 Strength 3 Remaining 0 Gift Sour Apples

“32 points,” Sai responded.

Slither's eyes widened, “Wow! That's greater than the durability of dark steel armor! At this rate we can conquer the dungeon!"

Sai smiled, "That's great news. But I only went as far as the second floor with Rowana, and I don't remember where the stairs to the next floor below were located..."

"Fuck. I wasn't paying attention to the direction we were going either. Looks like we'll have to find the hard way." Slither then thought for a moment, he then had an epiphany, "Wait a second. We should go to the library! It most likely has the dungeon mapped out."

Sai agreed, "I will take a look. Honestly I should have gone to the library if it was available."

Sai and Slither continue their exploration. Sai successfully hunted thirty-six Horned dogs. To his frustration he didn’t increase his level.