The foul taste spread through Magna’s whole mouth, even more unpleasant than goblin meat had been.
He swallowed it right away, not wanting to hold it in his mouth any longer than he had to, before it ruined his taste buds completely.
As the thick, nasty liquid slid down his throat, a warm feeling of energy started rising inside his body, spreading out from his stomach to fill his whole abdomen.
[New substance detected... A pitch-black medicine with a terrible odor...]
[Energy particles detected...]
[Converting nutrients into energy...]
’This is...’ Magna stared at the black liquid still left in the bowl, no longer thinking about the terrible taste, only about the incredible energy just one spoonful had given him.
It was even more than Faye’s jelly cookies.
"What is this?" He asked, looking at her funny face, nostrils still plugged with cotton.
"Medicine." She answered, already filling another spoon and bringing it to his mouth.
Magna swallowed the next spoonful eagerly this time. "What’s it made from?"
"Vegetables?" She answered, not entirely sure, pushing another spoonful.
"What kind of vegetables? They must be expensive ones, right?" Magna was certain whatever this was made from, it definitely wasn’t anything like the ordinary food he ate for breakfast or dinner.
"Hmm, yeah, I think they’re expensive. They’re rich in mana, apparently." Faye answered, giving him an actual useful answer this time.
’So mana-rich food gives more energy,’ he thought, realizing he might have just found a faster way to trigger his options.
"Do you have any more of this?" He asked, swallowing another spoonful.
There wasn’t much left in the bowl, but the energy inside him was already nearly full.
"You mean the medicine? If you eat too much of it, you’ll get sick." Faye answered, scooping up the last bit in the bowl and pushing it into his mouth.
[Energy accumulation threshold reached.]
[Please select a method to utilize the gathered energy.]
It had come down to the wire, just barely filling the gauge, as Gaia’s mechanical voice rang in his ears.
Before checking the options, Magna first tried to figure out where they kept mana-rich foods in general. "I’m not talking about the medicine. Your jelly cookies would work too. They were delicious."
Hearing the unexpected compliment, Faye’s face suddenly brightened, and she let out a delighted laugh. "Right? I made them myself, using my grandmother’s recipe."
But her energetic voice dropped with a small sigh. "But I don’t have any left. Maybe I can make more next month if my mother lets me."
At least Magna understood now that it wasn’t something he could just ask for whenever he wanted, the ingredients weren’t that easy to come by.
’So that settles what book I need to read next,’ he thought. He could learn more about mana-rich foods, which might help him find them later.
He couldn’t go straight to Celeste and ask for those rare vegetables either. That would only make her suspicious about his still mysterious, hidden system.
The energy wasn’t the only thing he had gained from the medicine either. He could feel the sensation returning quickly to his arms.
Even the dull headache in his head was already starting to fade fast.
That was good news. At least it meant his arms would heal enough to hold a book again before long.
Not wanting to waste any time, since he had no idea exactly how long the healing would take, he looked over at Faye. "Do you have anything to do? I have a favor to ask."
She asked while pulling the cotton out of her nose. "What is it?"
"I need a book about these mana-rich foods. Can you find one for me?"
After removing her own cotton, she pulled the pieces out of Magna’s nose too and tossed them into the empty bowl. "Sure."
Then, picking up the bowl, she hurried out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Left alone now, Magna finally looked at the options.
[Option 1: Expend 100% of accumulated energy to gain a status screen where you can track all your stats.]
[Option 2: Expend 100% of accumulated energy to unlock a minimap that displays presences within your own perception.]
[Option 3: Expend 100% of accumulated energy to gain a diagnostic UI to monitor your vital signs and physical condition in real time.]
"Huh?" Magna blinked, surprised to see that two of the options were the same as before.
Only Option 2 had changed. Instead of simply sensing nearby presences, it now offered a minimap that displayed them visually.
’So the same options really can come back around again.’
Understanding that actually put him at ease, since he still wanted to get that mana affinity option eventually.
It also meant the status screen option, the one he had regretted not choosing last time, was finally back on the table, and this time he could pick it without any hesitation, since the other two didn’t really appeal to him much.
For one, he had no real need for Option 3’s health and stamina bar. He could already feel his own condition well enough without it.
As for Option 2, it was really just his last choice with a visual upgrade attached, an actual active minimap, without giving him any real boost to his perception itself.
That felt unnecessary too, and honestly, having something like that constantly floating at the edge of his vision didn’t sound comfortable at all.
Compared to both, being able to track all his growth through clear, visual numbers was easily the better choice.
Before Faye could return, he quickly made his decision, figuring it was just a system upgrade that would be over fast.
[Option 1 selected. Utilizing gathered energy to gain a status screen where you can track all your stats. Prepare for sudden physical pain...]
"Fuck... WHY?" Magna shouted, a flash of anger hitting him the moment he saw the word ’pain’ again.
Still, he braced himself anyway, lying back down and resting his head against the pillow.
3...
2...
1...
Then the pain hit him, this time completely different from before.
It felt like hundreds of insects had suddenly invaded the inside of his skull, all crawling and buzzing at once in a disgusting frenzy.
It wasn’t just painful, it was an unbearable feeling on a whole different level. He started twisting from side to side on the bed.
The pain didn’t stay in his head either. It spread through his entire body the same way, as if hundreds of tiny insects were crawling under his skin, leaving an itching, prickling sensation everywhere they passed, growing more and more unbearable with every second.
He endured it purely through willpower, doing everything he could not to make a sound, painfully aware of the maid still waiting right outside his door.
Thankfully, this transformation didn’t last too long. After about fifteen seconds, the sensation slowly began to fade, until it finally stopped completely.
He lay there for a while, flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling, drenched in sweat and out of breath.
It had definitely been the worst mutation he had gone through so far. Worse still, it felt like the pain was getting a little more intense with every single option he chose.
This had only been his 8th option. If it kept going like this, what would it feel like by the 20th? Or the 100th?
Just thinking about the pain he would have to endure was enough to exhaust him mentally.
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