Thane's third bite went down slower than the first two.
His throat resisted. His body trembled. His vision flickered as his stomach churned, twisting in on itself like it wanted to escape his ribs.
But he didn't throw up.
He swallowed.
And waited.
The ache pulsed through him... hot and thick and sharp. It crawled beneath his skin, behind his eyes, into the marrow of his bones. It felt like his body was screaming silently, as if something deep inside him had realized what he'd done and was trying to undo it.
But it couldn't.
Because he wasn't dead.
Not yet.
The screen flickered.
[Poison Resistance – Lv. 1](Passive)
Your body has begun adapting to low-grade toxins. • EXP: 3 / 10
He slumped back against the stone and let his body shake. Cold sweat coated his arms. His fingertips twitched. His lips were pale and dry.
But his heart still beat.
His lungs still pulled in air.
And the screen still floated in front of him.
He closed his eyes and laughed through his teeth.
The world didn't give. Not freely. Not kindly.
But it yielded, if he took enough.
The meat was vile. Tainted. Every part of his body knew it wasn't food. But his soul? His soul remembered that the fire had come after pain. And now this... this bitter mouthful of horror was bringing him something too.
Progress.
He reached out again.
Another bite.
This one came with less fight. His jaw ached. His stomach flared. But he stayed conscious. He swallowed before his mind could convince him not to.
[Poison Resistance – Lv. 1](Passive)
• EXP: 4 / 10
The number was moving.
But slower now. He could feel it. Each bite hurt more than the last, but gave less. The dungeon wasn't just testing him... it was measuring him.
Thane leaned forward, sweat dripping from his chin, and tore off another strip of meat. He didn't taste it anymore. His mouth had gone numb. His hands were shaking less now. His breathing had evened out.
He didn't feel better.
But he didn't feel worse either.
And that scared him.
He took another bite.
[Poison Resistance – Lv. 1](Passive)
• EXP: 5 / 10
He stopped.
His stomach gurgled, and for a moment, he thought he might vomit. But the feeling passed. He coughed, wiped his mouth, and sat in the silence.
The chamber around him hadn't changed. The corpse beside him had grown cold. The air still stank of rot and magic.
But he wasn't the same.
The poison wasn't killing him anymore.
Not fast enough.
He watched the status screen flicker... then vanish again, leaving only the dark.
His body sagged. He leaned back and let his head hit the wall behind him.
Not sleep. Not yet.
But a moment to breathe.
A moment to remember this truth:
He wasn't just surviving the dungeon.
He was becoming part of it.