Boiling Dragon Blood

"How is it?" Zhang Ruofeng asked. He had endured immense agony, and if there were no significant gains, his suffering would have been for nothing. Furthermore, something had occurred between him and the three women that left them all feeling rather awkward; even now, Zhang Ruofeng dared not face the goddess or Xin Mu.

"Hmm, the update is complete, and this..." Even the goddess gasped in surprise upon seeing the improvement in Zhang Ruofeng's abilities. While his other stats had only risen by about 0, with his Strength nearing the G rank, his Endurance had skyrocketed to B769. For an adventurer to reach B-rank Endurance, they would typically need to hone themselves in the Dungeon for three to four years. This was because, aside from passively enduring pain, there was almost no other way to increase it. Although Endurance improved the body's ability to withstand blows, most adventurers paid little attention to it and lacked effective methods to raise it, as it was often less useful than the other three basic abilities, slow and painful to improve, and could even be life-threatening. Regardless of how much potential a Level 1 adventurer had, few ever managed to push their Endurance to B or A.

"There's a new skill!" The goddess was so excited she continued reading. Having been an adventurer for less than half a month, Zhang Ruofeng already possessed two skills—something unheard of in this world. However, the goddess suspected this happened because the first skill, Knowledge of the Otherworld Adventurer, had boosted his discovery rate. Just like how Zhang Ruofeng's Magic stat remained at I0; while a normal person's other stats might rise slowly, no one's Magic would remain completely stagnant. Yet, even with his Endurance at B769, his Magic was still 0. Xin Mu wasn't much different; her Agility and Dexterity had reached H150, but her Magic was only at 5.

"The new skill is Boiling Dragon Blood." The goddess announced to the two of them, "It allows the body to begin self-repair while sustaining non-fatal injuries." As the goddess read this, Zhang Ruofeng was already astonished. The skill unlocked through dragon blood was unexpectedly powerful.

"The bad news is that it seems to have quite a few drawbacks." The goddess continued, "The drawback is that when repair begins, you will suffer double the pain of a normal wound." As soon as the goddess finished this point, Zhang Ruofeng's expression turned grim. Enduring double the pain might cause him to lose his ability to fight entirely, rendering the recovery pointless.

"Secondly, repairing wounds consumes a great deal of stamina; if stamina is insufficient, the body will cease self-repair." After the goddess finished reading, even Xin Mu began to frown. This skill had far too many negative effects. The first point was already lethal enough, and to think that healing required such a massive expenditure of stamina.

"Thirdly, the blood circulation throughout the body accelerates and the heart rate increases, but resistance to toxins decreases." The goddess paused, hesitating for a moment before stammering, "Resistance to the opposite sex is lowered, and at the same time... abilities in that area are enhanced."

"???!!!!" Zhang Ruofeng was stunned. What was that last part? Was it a joke? Or did the gods know about his inexplicable repulsion toward women and his groundless heartache, and were they now mocking him by twisting his abilities into this?

"This..." Xin Mu was also speechless. Ever since Zhang Ruofeng arrived in this world, most things had not gone according to his plans. His exploration of the Dungeon had been delayed because of her, and now, the monk-like mindset he maintained—where he could look at any beautiful woman without a second glance—was about to be shattered by his own skill. It was all due to his own mistake and the Potion Master's intentional or unintentional trap. This completely contradicted his usual calm and steady demeanor, as if someone were forcibly digging up the Zhang Ruofeng who tried so hard to bury himself, only to grind him down.

Zhang Ruofeng felt he hadn't experienced such emotional turmoil in a long time. Today, he had first been tortured by the dragon blood to the point of wanting to die, and now, between the awkwardness with Fura and Xin Mu and his newly unlocked skill, he felt utterly mortified. He could only say weakly to Xin Mu, "Can... can you give me a cigarette? I need to calm down." Xin Mu and the goddess Fura also wanted to give him space to collect himself and clear the thick, awkward atmosphere in the bathroom, so they both ran out. After Xin Mu handed him the cigarette, she retreated in silence.

"This is trouble." Zhang Ruofeng no longer knew if his new skill was a blessing or a curse. Its positive effects were powerful, though vaguely defined—perhaps even hiding further secrets—but the negative effects were terrifying. They made him want to discard the skill entirely, as it would not only affect his combat judgment but might even destroy his mental state. For the first time in a long while, he felt a sense of dread.

"Pfft!" Zhang Ruofeng was so startled by the sudden sound that he nearly dropped his cigarette, only to hear the laughter of several girls outside the bathroom. Feeling his gums ache, he lowered his head and took a deep drag, but the movement was too sharp, pulling at his muscles and causing him to wince in pain.

"Pfft, hahaha! I never expected you to end up with a skill like that." Perman didn't even wait to enter the bathroom before shouting. She charged in and began pointing at Zhang Ruofeng, laughing, "Yeah, yeah, I heard it from the beauty Xin Mu. What do you call it? Returning to secular life? A monk returning to the world? Hahahaha!" She then burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"..." Zhang Ruofeng didn't know what to say. His skill was truly infuriating. He was usually indifferent to beautiful women, but he feared that once his wounds healed, he wouldn't be able to remain so cold-hearted. Yet, his body and mind wouldn't allow him to act on it. It seemed his life of misery was just beginning.

"Hahahaha..." Perman laughed for a long time before stopping. Zhang Ruofeng thought that if she were a normal human, she would have suffocated from lack of oxygen by now. As a high-level adventurer, her physical prowess was beyond human comparison. Just like how she snatched the second cigarette he was about to light in an instant—he hadn't even been able to see her move. In the eyes of a high-level adventurer, he was still far too weak.

"The fact that you discovered this skill has a lot to do with me." Perman cleared her throat and said, "I've heard about your personality, and I never expected it to turn out like this. While I did indeed develop the hidden effects of this dragon blood to increase its value, the cost of this hidden effect is too high. It requires extreme physical and mental resilience—you have to be almost abnormal mentally to break through, otherwise, you'll go insane and die."

After Perman finished, she scratched her head in frustration, but her expression quickly softened into one of relief: "You're going to have a hard time from now on. My daughter has grown up, and I was planning to send her to Orario to become an adventurer. Although she isn't one yet, she has already learned a lot of pharmacology and medical knowledge; she's definitely a great talent! Consider this a form of compensation for you and your Familia."

"Hmm..." Zhang Ruofeng didn't react for a second: "What!!! Your child!!"