Chapter 03 – The taste of poison itself

Pericles carefully searches the wagon for items, but there is nothing to use as a weapon.

Could he try to fight Giovani? Probably not.

Giovani may appear weak due to being short and fat, but he is likely to be of a higher level than Pericles, as well as possibly possessing a subclass or titles that could make him even stronger.

The class system is one of the game features that seem to be present in this world.

In the game, a person who turned 14 would have to go through a coming-of-age ceremony, which took place in the large temple in the region.

The person would receive a Blessing that would grant them their unalterable main class.

In reality, the class was already determined during character creation, so what happened in the temple only made it possible to see its information window.

"So in this world, a person's class is likely to be determined at birth."

This blessing was the explanation for the Information Interface in the game, where it shows the personal information, the class with level, subclass, stats, titles, and skills, in this window you also have the freedom to change your subclass whenever you want.

Péricles passou por esta cerimônia no templo de Remille há cerca de um ano.

With a slight thought, a window appeared.

The initial stats were randomly set during the "birth" of any character, be it the protagonist, allies, or enemies, the innate value was random with each match started. But the number of points acquired and the distribution that occurs at each level-up is similar for every one of the same class, and only the luck stat will not naturally increase.

Therefore, the initial statistics of the people of this world must also be determined at birth, as well as the class.

Each class also has its Abilities and a level that naturally goes from 1 to 100. And titles and a subclass can grant a percentage bonus to stats in addition to some skills. But there are certain requirements to unlock them, as well as some that are unique to a class.

A title's effects usually remain active after acquiring it, while the subclass will only take effect when equipped, so unlike titles, only one can be active at a time.

Getting back to the important point, Giovani is a Villager just like Pericles, but probably at a higher level, giving him higher stats, and it's still possible that he has some subclass and/or title, even if unrelated to combat, will be enough to subdue Pericles.

*Sigh*

"I cannot attack Giovani directly, I was already forgetting that this world is also ruled by 'penalties'."

After thinking for a while, Pericles remembered a very important rule that he had created in the game, one of the laws of the game also present in this world. Unlocking subclasses and titles often occur by performing some action or reaching some achievement that increases your strength and implies respect. But in addition to these, certain titles are unlocked as a penalty for committing a crime.

In the game, the player was not free to commit them, so only NPCs could own them, usually antagonists and baddies in certain quests. This type of title causes certain stat penalties, in addition, some certain items and abilities show if a person has a criminal title, so being tagged with one may not even allow you to enter a city.

It would be lucky if they didn't try to arrest you or even execute you on the spot.

So, for example, if you kill, to be more precise if you were the one who removed the last life point of an ordinary person, you will receive the Murderer title, which applies a series of penalties in the stats, in addition to serving to "mark him " as a criminal.

Killing a person with some criminal title does not count towards receiving that title.

"But I'm not sure if the title is penalized if someone 'ordinary' attacks me first, and I end up killing him while defending myself."

As in the game it was the wolves who dealt the last blow to Pericles, Giovani was exempt from any crime when he was investigated, as he did not have the title.

"Then I'd better refrain from making impulsive moves. I also have to be aware that even if the wolves finish him off, and I don't get the title, they might still see me as a suspect."

Because unlike the game, where the characters followed a script, nothing guarantees that investigators will have blind faith that the lack of a Murderer title makes someone less suspicious.

Also, if you think about it, this kind of tactic of using another to deliver the final blow could have been used before, and those who hold such a title do not represent all those who committed such a crime, but only those unable to avoid it.

They might also judge Pericles for the cowardice of fleeing and abandoning his employer when he was attacked by wolves, or they might accuse him of plotting to take over the late chief's possessions.

"I am a poor commoner. I will have a lot of problems if an accident happens to Giovani, and there is no one to absolve me of the blame."

The common methods would not be the most suitable. So Pericles had to think outside the box, luckily he had already found a safe way to do that, and it was something that Giovani himself had already used in the game.

There is an item with a supernatural effect capable of completely "immobilizing" a person.

"But its effect is only proven in the game, I'll need to test that later."

This item was Giovani's main means of conspiracy to achieve great wealth in such a short time. He used it to eliminate "obstacles".

One of his moves was to use this item while a person was over water.

This "frozen" the victim, who ended up sinking as if he were an inanimate object, the water entered his body, and after they pulled him out of the water, no common method they used, worked to save him.

The paralyzing effect, even though it was most responsible for the death, didn't count towards the title.

"Then I will need a sinkable location, plus a crowd to testify to my 'innocence'. And if my memory is not wrong, there is a lake that surrounds the entrance of the village that we will pass tomorrow, there will also be my last escape point, if I cannot finish him by tomorrow, I will find some way to stay in this village."

Pericles returns to the front of the wagon and sits next to a man while apologizing.

- I'm sorry boss, something had gotten into my eyes and I didn't think it was safe to stay in control of the horses.

Pericles presented himself as pathetic and humble as possible, subservience skills acquired from years of working in the modern world.

- What? – Giovani didn't seem to believe much but gave up arguing. - Whatever, but it will come out of your salary, don't do it anymore.

Giovani decided to remain in control of the horses for the rest of the trip, so they went on their way without further conversation.

Meanwhile, Pericles observed the nature around him, the trees, the plants, especially the small dark plants next to the trees, which appeared from time to time.

The leaves of this plant were black and strange and gave off a morbid and sordid feeling.

This plant is part of the characteristic flora of this region, and at least in the game, it could not be found anywhere else in the world.

In the game, it was possible to interact with it, but it was not a Gathering Material, so it was not consumable and not even used by any production class, so it was not possible to store it in the Item Box.

In other words, it was a useless item, and in this world, it's no different, at least in the general sense, it has no use.

Not only humans, but other species also do not interact with it.

Such a plant doesn't even serve to line the stomach, and the juice it expels still numbs the mouth, giving a bad feeling in the body.

"I know this very well, for biting the leaf of this plant is a silly game of recognition that children often play in my village."

The existence of this plant only served one purpose in the game, an investigation item from the game's questline where Lucia ends up running into Giovani again.

During the years she hadn't seen him, he'd secured a monopoly on several businesses in Remille, while his competitors and business partners would die through unexplained accidents.

After various missions, this plant gains some relevance during an investigation carried out by the protagonist's group.

And upon completing his final mission, which leads to Giovani's arrest, as well as the revelation of all his crimes and his main means of conspiracy. Lucia finds a diary, which contains all of this degenerate man's transgressions, and which also sheds light on her brother's death.

Amidst the information in the diary, a day ago, shortly after Pericles' death, it portrays that after the pursuit of a business rival, Giovani discovered the recipe for a powerful poison.

The plot is still clear to Pericles, as it was one of the stories he had to revise several times.

A few weeks after Pericles died, Giovani was beaten by one of his rivals, which led him to flee desperately aimlessly into the forest.

Having nothing to eat while muttering about the starlight, he took this plant and just squeezed its juice to line his stomach, already hoping that the taste would not be pleasant, he used a cheap item that he carried with him, the sweetener, he threw them both into a heated pan.

While the "soup" boiled, he rubbed Alzar oil on the bruises.

Amid despair and complaints, Giovani ended up dropping the oil in the pan, and soon an intoxicating smell took over the air, this mixture darkened forming a black paste, which made him want to vomit.

But his situation wouldn't allow him to choose what to eat, he could only curse at his reality. While he helped himself he let some of that liquid smack his skin, he soon cleaned up the dirt, but a few seconds before putting the spoon in his mouth, his body froze.

Something made him feel that his death was imminent, he didn't seem to feel his limbs anymore, and it looked like his organs were going to fail at any moment.

He then passed out and did not wake up until the next day.

After waking up, the terrifying feeling that had passed away disappeared as if it was nothing but a nightmare.

And the strangest thing is that to his perception the moment he blacked out and woke up didn't seem different from blinking his eyes.

After that, he realized the danger he experienced, if any monster had found him, he would have been eaten alive.

There were many monsters with poisonous and paralyzing abilities in the world, but none of them had such a powerful and frightening potency.

He was curious about the effects of this liquid capable of 'erasing' someone just by skin contact if they were ingested.

After what happened, he noticed that his body had created some immunity to such liquid, contact with the skin would no longer have any effect on his body.

After that, Giovani did several experiments and the conclusion was that the liquid in contact with the blood or being ingested would result in a longer and more immediate effect.

Giovani came to use this liquid to get everything he wanted.

And those who stood in their way died, under strange circumstances as if they weren't trying to survive.

As it was unexplained, rumors defined these events as a curse to all those who stood against him.

"Then Giovani, I'll let you taste your poison."