Chapter 13: Poison is ineffective....wait, I lied...Ahh! It hurts!

It took a lot of begging from Kanan to go hunting once he woke up. Glena was still mad at him, but after a bit of pleading combined with a lot of kisses, she allowed it. But if she learned that he went where monsters were, she would ban him from hunting until he got his blessing.

Gearing up, Kanan left his hut and approached the village entrance to the east, where the forest was.

"Not going to fight monsters again, are we?" Erl asked

"N-No. That was just a one-time thing. Aunt Glena was mad at me."

"Bwahaha! I bet! She’s extremely fierce when she’s angry. I’m surprised she let you hunt today. Was the farm not exciting enough for you?"

"I begged...a lot."

"I bet!" Verl responded.

Kanan thought about going around the village to learn more Roles, but he wanted to get back into his normal routine for the time being. He could learn more tasks once he returned to the village later.

He didn’t plan on hunting for a long time today and would settle for smaller animals such as squirrels and rabbits. What he wanted to do today was learn more about plants and herbs.

If a deer or boar came his way, he would hunt it. But he wouldn’t be actively looking for them.

"I’ll be back in a few hours, see ya."

"Be safe, Kanan."

"Yup."

---

Thanks to the system, Kanan knew where to look when it came to locating Jade Flowers. They weren’t his goal for the day, but collecting some wouldn’t be too bad. He was sure that Healer Yala would appreciate more of these flowers.

"Ah, this looks like something new." Kanan picked up a purple plant with a yellow stigma in its center. When placing it inside his system, it pinged with new information.

[Violet Tulip - Ground and mixed with water, it creates a sleeping tonic.]

"Ohhh! That’s awesome!" Looking around some more, Kanan found another plant.

[Crimson Lilly - Grounding and mixing the plant with water, one can boil it and, once cooled, it will act as a healing ointment for burns.]

"This is so cool! What about this one?!"

[Verdant Orchid - Extracting its pollen can be used to make a poison cure tonic. Its petals have the same effect, albeit to a lesser extent.]

Placing the plant into the system, Kanan came across another plant that caught his eye.

[Golden Marigold - When its pollen and Nectar are mixed, it creates a tonic that can stimulate a person and get them excited sexually.]

"Holy! This is an afnodiseeik!"

[Aphrodisiac.]

"Yeah, that! Definitely gonna take a bunch of these, heheh!"

Once Kanan finished gathering his plants, the cry of a boar caught his attention, and he quickly turned around while taking out his long knife to defend himself.

The deep, growling grunts the boar made didn’t sound like ones of aggression or protection, but ones of weakness. It walked slowly, not limping in pain, but as if it were tired or hungry.

"What the heck?" Kanan knew that boars were group animals, unless they were a male, and judging by the size of the boar, it was definitely a female.

He slowly approached the animal, not hastening his advance even when he saw it collapse.

"How hungry do you have to be to collapse like that?" Now, next to the boar, Kanan knelt down to see what was wrong with it. He tapped the animal, and the system appeared in front of him.

[Angler Poison - A colorless and odorless, highly toxic poison that liquefies the insides of a living being. It has no effect on plants, water, or the dead.]

"What? Angler Poison? I’ve never heard of that before. And how can a poison be so potent? System, can you tell me how this poison is made and how to cure it?" Cutting open the boar’s body revealed its melted insides, which made Kanan gag slightly.

[Angler Poison is produced from the Anglerpuff fish, a highly poisonous fish monster.]

"A fish monster! No wonder this poison is so potent; its properties are enhanced by spirit energy! And for a cure?"

[Combine the Verdant Orchid pollen with the Golden Marigold’s nectar. Then boil with water and stir until sappy. Once cooled, drink.]

Kanan had no idea how that combination would work since the Golden Marigold induces sexual desire. Still, he had no reason to distrust the system since it was given to him by the gods.

He questioned how and why the system was answering him properly, as well as the convenience of the cure ingredients being in their forest, but that wasn’t important right now.

If this poison reached the village, then it would be game over for all of them.

Once Kanan finished collecting every Verdant Orchid and Golden Marigold he saw, he quickly rushed to the river to wash his hands of the potential poison that might be on them. But then, something tugged at his mind.

"Wait, the poison doesn’t affect plants, dead creatures, or water. It’s also odorless and colorless. Since the river is the main source of water for the village, w-wouldn’t it be smart to contaminate it to hurt us if this is an attack from the Typhon Tribe? System, please help!"

[Allowing the host to see the Angler Poison.]

Kanan’s vision suddenly went black for a second or two, scaring the hell out of him, but once light returned to his eyes, he noticed that there was nothing different. Well, other than the purple hue streaks that were radiating off the ground and river.

"Wait! That’s the poison!" And things were not looking good at all.

The whole river was purple. The riverbank was littered with dead fish. Bears who ate from the river had collapsed nearby. And the trail of poison continued along not only the man-made path to divert water into the village, but also into the forest where the animals would eat and share food.

"Oh no!"

Kanan ran as fast as he could toward the village, not stopping to catch his breath. It was thanks to the spirit spring that he managed to make it quickly without breaking a sweat, but he still needed to catch his breath. It wasn’t from exhaustion, but from the sheer urgency of the situation.

"VERL! ERL! IT’S AN EMERGENCY! CALL THE CHIEF NOW!"

When the two guards heard Kanan shout, Verl instantly ran to alert the chief, while Erl questioned what was going on.