Fang Yue was a little dazed.
The Pill Toxin had come and gone like a tornado. Could it really just appear and vanish like that?
Once he'd recovered, Fang Yue realized that Night's Breath had treated the Pill Toxin as an injury and healed it.
Fang Yue was stunned!
If Night's Breath could suppress and cure the Pill Toxin, didn't that mean... I could take pills without limit?
The thought startled him.
In a game where no player could take pills as much as they wanted, what would it mean to be able to do so?
There were two words for people like that: pill fiend!
What anomalies? What captains? What Lord Han?
I could down 170,000 bottles of pills, and you still couldn't kill me!
If you could, I'd eat this Pill Toxin right here!
Woohoo, I'm taking off!
Fang Yue was both excited and smug.
For some reason, the song "How Lonely It Is to Be Invincible" started playing on loop in his head.
I, Fang Yue, take pills and become invincible. Got it?
He even imagined what he'd do the next time he ran into an enemy.
While downing pills like crazy right in front of them, he'd have to say one thing first.
"Sorry, I'm a pill-popping dog, and I'm proud of it! I said it, and not even the Pill Toxin can stop me!"
After killing the enemy, he'd dance on their corpse and deliver the classic closing line.
"I didn't have a choice before, but now I want to be a pill-popping dog!"
Cultivation is suffering; take pills and ascend!
Fang Yue remembered Lord Han saying that there were all kinds of pills, including some specifically made to aid cultivation.
Other people took one pill a day. He could eat them like candy, popping one whenever he felt like it. Wouldn't that send him soaring?
Caught up in his excitement, Fang Yue had completely forgotten that just a minute ago, he'd been cursing the Pill Toxin for stealing his Lifespan.
Night's Breath could only cure the Pill Toxin, and there was no guarantee it could cure all of it.
After all, Pill Toxin depended on a pill's ingredients. It could take countless forms and have all kinds of effects; they were simply all called Pill Toxin.
And without Analysis Pupil, Fang Yue could only stare helplessly at the Pill Toxin. He wouldn't even know what it did.
Besides, Night's Breath took time to treat Pill Toxin. While the treatment was underway, the toxin would keep taking effect.
Ordinary Pill Toxin was one thing. But if he took too many pills and got hit with something unusual, Fang Yue could die in an instant.
Fortunately, Fang Yue was only talking big.
Once his excitement wore off and he'd calmed down, he thought it through and grew a little dejected. He'd clearly realized there were difficulties, and that the pill-popping life wouldn't be so simple.
After all, who could guarantee that the next dose of Pill Toxin wouldn't kill him?
Still, the fact that Night's Breath could treat Pill Toxin did give him some room to experiment.
Quite a few ideas came to mind, and he planned to try them out when he had the time.
For now...
Fang Yue looked at the second status in his status panel.
"Name: Exhausted."
"Effect: Weakness throughout the body."
"Description: The aftereffects of completely depleting your stamina. Get some rest."
"Remark: Lame!"
That one was simple enough to understand.
He'd run out of stamina and needed to rest.
All he had to do was lie down.
Surely the villagers wouldn't ignore him after he'd just killed the anomaly that nearly wiped out their entire village?
At that thought, Fang Yue looked around at the villagers.
They were cheering all around him, shouting his name. For a moment, Fang Yue was the center of attention.
Lin Ling's eyes burned with jealousy.
If you thought about it, he and Hua Wuye had been the main damage dealers.
Without him and Hua Wuye weakening the Force-Driving Anomaly and reducing its strength, how could Fang Yue have beaten it?
When it came to contributions, he and Hua Wuye should have been at the top!
Unfortunately, everyone had only seen Fang Yue's impressive final performance. They'd forgotten that before that, his first dozen punches hadn't even dealt as much damage as a single hit from either Lin Ling or Hua Wuye.
His jealousy got the better of him, and his injuries flared up. He coughed a few times.
Furious, he could only force himself to stop thinking about it. Otherwise, he'd be putting his life at risk.
The anomaly was dead, and the question of who would inherit Lord Han's position—once again pointing toward him and Fang Yue—was back on the table. Lin Ling's eyes filled with hostility. Then he noticed the Force-Driving Anomaly beside Fang Yue slowly turning into a pile of Black Embers. He froze for a moment, then brightened.
"Black Embers! And so many grains! Such a rich color—this is incredible quality!"
Without a second thought, Lin Ling dragged his badly injured body toward the Black Embers beside Fang Yue.
Fang Yue jolted in alarm.
Damn! He's trying to steal my spoils!
Somehow finding a burst of strength, he sprang to his feet and reached straight for the Black Embers on the ground.
The next instant, two notifications sounded almost simultaneously.
"System notification: The Exhausted status has been removed."
"System notification: Congratulations, you obtained Black Embers × 10g."
People's constitutions couldn't be lumped together. Once, when I was extremely anxious, I managed to remove the Exhausted status on the spot!
Watching Captain Lin freeze mid-stride, his face twisted with surprise, conflict, frustration, and resentment, Fang Yue couldn't help smirking.
Trying to beat me in a contest of speed? You're twenty years short of my singlehood!
Including what he'd already obtained, Fang Yue now had [16g] of Black Embers.
He still had no idea what Black Embers were for, but judging by how eager Captain Lin had been to get them, they had to be valuable.
He put them away carefully. They were his spoils, so he had to keep them safe.
The people around them hadn't noticed any of this.
After Fang Yue killed the Force-Driving Anomaly, they'd been celebrating their victory in the battle to defend the village.
They couldn't praise Fang Yue enough and were full of admiration for him.
Perhaps before today, many of the villagers in Ancient Moon Village hadn't even known who Fang Yue was.
But after today, his good name would spread throughout the whole village.
Yet Fang Yue barely felt any of it.
So when he heard the system notification, he was a little dazed.
"System notification: Congratulations, you have earned the villagers' affection. [Ancient Moon Village] favorability +15."
"Current [Ancient Moon Village] favorability: 12 points."
"System notification: The villagers have become friendlier toward you. Some are willing to talk to you, and some are willing to help you... Please explore the game further."
Huh? What was the point of that?
Fang Yue's first thought was that it was useless. But he quickly realized this might be a prerequisite for accepting quests from the villagers.
A bunch of ungrateful people who needed me to risk my life fighting anomalies just to survive, and they wouldn't even give me something directly? I still have to do quests for them? That's ridiculous!
Fang Yue pursed his lips, feeling utterly pathetic. He'd become a hero, yet still had to beg the villagers for quests.
Forget this quest!
"Little Ye, I want the Black Embers in your hand. I'm willing to trade ten days of Lifespan for them!"
Ding!
"System notification: Congratulations, you have triggered Captain Lin's personal quest, [Request Black Embers]. Accept?"
Fang Yue: !!
Now that's what I'm talking about!!!
Before you continue