Ash took a deep, long breath.
Something that he wasn't able to do ever since finding out he was a null.
For the first time after his declaration as a null, someone finally took his hand.
He wasn't abandoned anymore.
His body felt more alive than he had ever felt. Every blood that trickled down his shoulder was a reminder of the god who saved him.
"I thank you from the bottom of my heart, god."
Ash seemingly spoke to no one, but deep down, he knew, his god, wherever he was, was listening.
Someone so gentle and loving, the only one who had answered him, he must be god.
Finished examining his body, Ash diverted his attention to the book in his hand.
Knowledge that didn't belong to him before was now in his mind. Telling him the name of the book.
"The Plague Codex…"
Ash turned the first page of the book, and more words were written in an unknown language filled its page.
But he knew what the words meant.
====================================
Wolfsprout Paralytic (Mutated Verdant Wolf Venom)
A paralytic venom derived from a plant-mutated predator. Inflicts systemic neuromuscular inhibition and localized necrosis.
+Symptoms :
-Neuroinhibitory Paralysis : Toxin inhibits motor neurons, reducing voluntary muscle activation.
-Localized Necrosis : Eventual tissue death around the bite site.
+Ability Unlocked : Plague Endurance I (Passive)
Increased overall body endurance. Strengthen muscular structure. Enables movement under severe neural suppression.
Crimson Pulse (Bloodberry Poison)
A hemotoxic compound that acts as a natural Performance enhancer. Stimulates adrenaline production and blood flow at dangerous levels, heightening aggression and reflexes while rapidly degrading vascular integrity.
+Symptoms :
-Tachyarrhythmia: Abnormally fast and irregular heartbeats, causing dizziness and bloody coughs.
-Peripheral Vasodilation: Blood vessels widen, increasing blood flow.
-Hyperfocus: Adrenaline override dampens pain signals.
+Ability Unlocked : Toxic Surge I (Passive)
Increased body capability to exert strength. Boost in focus and muscular power.
Hushcap Delirium (Black Mushroom Spores)
A Neurotoxin that induces hallucination, dissociation, sensory distortion, and sedative effects.
+Symptoms :
-Central Nervous System Depression: Neural activity inhibition. Slowed breathing, heart rate, and cloudy conscience.
-Hallucinations: Hallucination.
+Power Unlocked: Plague Calm I(Passive)
Resistance against panic, mind-affecting magic, and fear effect. Relative immunity to hallucinations and charm. Strengthen the mental strength of the owner of the skill.
====================================
The book contained a list.
They were the venom and poisons he had suffered from before.
The moments before he received the compassionate god's blessing.
And now, they weren't a suffering anymore. They were part of the god's benevolent blessing.
Though the bleeding on his shoulders didn't stop, and his clothes were soaked in blood, Ash didn't feel his vitality weakening.
Though his mouth still coughed blood, his strength didn't leak out.
The symptoms of the venom and poisons had become a part of him. They were part of his new state of being.
He didn't even feel hungry. Mana kept flowing inside his body, empowering each of his movements.
Ash read the list of venom and poisons. His eyes were glued to the ability that he had awakened from them.
'The wolf gave me a sturdy body, the berry gave me strength, and the mushroom gave me the power to keep going no matter what.
What else do I need?'
From the foreign knowledge, Ash learnt that by surviving a disease, venom, poison, curses, or anything that was related to them, ones that made his body suffer, he would get an ability from them.
Ash stared at the codex as he processed the flood of knowledge that kept pouring into his head.
If it were him before, Ash might have fallen unconscious from the assault of knowledge directly injected into his mind.
But with the mushroom's poison ability, Ash didn't even blink. His mind just became numb to the sudden increasing knowledge.
More knowledge rushed to him, and Ash couldn't keep up with them all at once.
But he brute-forced his way through the flood, and Ash just read and understood the information slowly at his own pace.
The waves of knowledge finally stopped, and a smile crept up his face.
"Oh? I can also do something like this?"
Ash thought of the wolf's venom and the berry's poison. Sending his thoughts along with a sliver of green mana into the codex.
The pages fluttered on their own, leading Ash to stare at the middle page of the book.
More new words bloomed on the rotten yellow pages.
[Splice : Wolfsprout Paralytic + Crimson Pulse]
[Please input the necessary resources.]
[Source 1 : ]
[Source 2 : ]
[Catalyst : ]
Source 1 and 2 was the source of the two effects he wanted to combine, in this case, the wolf's venom and the berry's poison.
He could get them from any other living being that carried the venom and poisons, but he couldn't take the source from himself.
That would be cheating, something that Ash would condemn back in the academy.
'Even the loving god wanted his followers to work for his blessing. Understandable.'
And because there weren't any other humans here who might have been suffering from them, Ash would need to go straight for the source.
As for the catalyst, it needed to be filled with another component, one that Ash wanted to complement the two.
If Ash wanted to enhance the venom's defense, then he needed to find a catalyst that would boost the defensive effect. And vice versa.
He didn't know what it would be yet in this fractured zone, since the knowledge didn't explain anything about the zone he was currently in.
But the knowledge told him that it needed to contain a magical property.
And in a place called the Verdant Necropolis, a place that even awakened humans avoid because of the dangers, Ash doubted that he would have any difficulty regarding that.
Ash closed the book and scanned the forest around him.
He recalled his goals for the last time.
Prove to everyone who had ousted him that he couldn't be just thrown away.
Make John pay for what he did.
And the last one, one that he had gotten from his benevolent god.
Spread the blessing of the great, loving father of plague, disease, and rot.
With those three goals cemented in the depths of his soul, Ash made his move.
His very first step in this journey, conquering the Verdant Necropolis and all the poisons and venoms that existed within it.