The moment Wang Lei stepped into the poisonous mist, he felt it.
The toxin surged into his body like a silent invader, and chaos erupted within. His organs began to falter, one by one, like machinery grinding to a halt.
Breathing became a struggle. Heâd inhaled too much. Each breath felt like dragging shards of glass into his lungs, sharp and suffocating.
His knees buckled, slamming into the ground.
Wang Lei collapsed, face pressed against the dirt. His limbs refused to move, his entire body was going numb.
His heart pounded wildly, erratic and out of control. Veins bulged beneath his skin, darkening to a sickly violet that spread like corruption through his flesh.
His eyes were bloodshot, wide with pain and fear. He clenched his teeth so hard blood began to spill from the corners of his mouth.
He couldnât even scream, the pain in his throat was unbearable, like it was melting from the inside out.
Damn it...! When is the skill going to activate?!
Wang Lei hadnât expected it to be this excruciating. He had barely taken a single step into the mist, and already his body was falling apart.
If he didnât do something, anything, he would die here. No question about it.
The poison was unnatural. Far too potent for anything in the natural world.
Just as Wang Lei was about to give in, his consciousness slipping beneath the poisonâs crushing weight, the floating screens heâd been desperately waiting for finally appeared.
[Harmful substance detected within the body. Skill: Poison Resistance will activate and begin purifying the substance.]
[You have consumed a poisonous metal. Skill: Ore Consumption will activate.]
Relief washed over him.
Or at least, it did in his mind. His body still wouldnât respond, limbs frozen, muscles slack. But knowing the skills had kicked inâ¦
That alone gave him something to hold onto.
Still, Wang Lei was surprised that another skill had activated, Ore Consumption. That skill had only triggered once before, when heâd eaten that lump of lead and, in doing so, unlocked Poison Resistance.
Now that I think about it... arenât toxic zones usually caused by minerals releasing poisonous gas when they react to something?
Maybe thatâs why Ore Consumption activated, because Iâm essentially consuming ore, just in a gaseous formâ¦?
It was a stretch, but it made sense. At least enough to give him hope that his skills was recognizing the threat and doing something about it.
If Poison Resistance and Ore Consumption were working together, then Wang Lei had nothing to worry about.
And just as heâd hoped, it didnât take long for the poison to be purged from his body. The pain quickly faded, so quickly it almost felt like it had been a bad dream. Slowly, feeling returned to his limbs, and he found that he could move again.
Even his breathing had returned to normal. Somehow, he was inhaling toxic gas as if it were fresh mountain air.
Strangely enough, Wang Lei felt like he was in top condition.
He glanced at his right arm, the one that had nearly been torn off by a cave antâs bite. That wound had been deep, brutal.
He slowly opened his hand, then closed it into a tight fist.
No pain. Not even a twinge.
And thatâs exactly what unsettled him.
Just moments ago, his wound had been sealed, not fully healed, but closed enough that he no longer needed cloth to stop the bleeding. He could move his arm, yes, but any sudden motion would send a jolt of pain through it.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
That was the state of his injury mere seconds ago.
But nowâ¦
It was as if nothing had ever happened to his hand at all. No wound. No scar. No trace that it had been nearly severed by an antâs bite.
âWhat the heck is happeningâ¦?â Wang Lei muttered as he swings his right arm in wonder.
âStatus.â
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[Name: Wang Lei]
[LV. 7]
[Health: 160 / 160]
[Stamina: 40 / 50]
[Mana: 60 / 60]
[Strength: 20] [Agility: 26 (20+)] [Defense: 22] [Stamina: 5] [Magic: 7] [Mana: 6]
...
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âWhat the⦠My Health is already fullâ¦?â
Wang Lei stared at the screen, unease creeping up his spine.
The cave antâs bite had nearly killed him; his health had been hanging by a thread. He had expected at least a full day of recovery, even with his bodyâs natural regeneration.
Yet here he was, completely healed in just a couple of hours.
Something wasnât adding up.
As if in response to his confusion, a floating screen appeared before him:
[Experience threshold met. Skill: >Poison Resistance LV.1Poison Resistance LV.2Poison Resistance LV.2Poison Resistance LV.3<.]
A wave of relief washed over him. The message he had been waiting for had finally arrived.
âIf I keep this up, Iâll eventually max out the skill,â Wang Lei said, satisfied.
.
â¦
â¦.
Hours passed.
Beyond the deadly, choking mist, a silhouette began to take form, at first it was faint, then gradually sharpening.
Step by step, it grew larger.
Until finally, it emerged from the haze.
A man stepped out from the mist, standing at about 5 foot 10.
He wore a white T-shirt stained with dirt and a pair of loose black pants. Though hidden beneath baggy clothes, his lean frame suggested a well-sculpted physique. One honed, not simply earned.
His messy black hair fell just above his eyes, eyes that glimmered like polished emeralds, sharp and hypnotic. Anyone who stared too long might find themselves unable to look away.
His back was slightly slouched, and his face showed no visible emotion. But if one looked closer, past the calm exterior, they might catch a trace of something deeper. Disappointment, lingering and quiet.
Of course, the man was Wang Lei, emerging from the mist after leveling up his Poison Resistance skill.
He let out a deep sigh, his breath steady for the first time in hours. Then, without a word, he grabbed his pickaxe and turned back toward the mining house.
Half an hour later, he arrived.
He pushed open the door and walked straight to the bedroom. As soon as his body hit the bed, he sank into it and within seconds, sleep took him.
His steady breathing filled the room.