Chapter 212 The Boatman Poisons!
When Alan heard the boatman's warning, he just shrugged it off. "Sir, you must not venture to Siren's Slumber Isle—it has been overrun by demons, and it's said that even the island's lord has succumbed to their dark influence."
Alan frowned. He still needed the island's lord's pre-quest scroll to gather blessings from the ten deities of the Jinse Empire.
"I'm a demon slayer," Alan said. "See this blazing fire phoenix? I got it by taking down a demon king."
He added, "Take me to Siren's Slumber Isle, and you'll share in the glory of defeating demons."
The boatman eyed the fire phoenix, thinking it looked pretty impressive.
Alan then pulled out a handful of gold coins. "And I'll make it worth your while."
Seeing the gold, the boatman quickly agreed. "Alright, slaying demons is our duty too. Get on board, sir, and I'll take you there."
The boatman invited Alan onto the boat and took the gold coins. "Sit tight, we're setting off."
Alan sat down as the small boat swayed on the sea. "How long to Siren's Slumber Isle?"
"With good luck, three days. Longer if we hit storms," the boatman replied.
Alan frowned. It was slow, but he was used to it. On the Vast Continent, some tasks took half a month. Without a nutrition pod, he wouldn't even attempt them.
With the Tome of Life and Death boosting his health, he wasn't worried. Plus, he could use the time to understand the essence of the sea better.
Gleaning the profound essence of the sea while traversing the boundless ocean could be immensely efficient, achieving twice the results with half the effort. Based on Alan's speculation, it was estimated that intermediate mastery of gravity could be reached in approximately five days.
After half a day, the boatman brought tea and pancakes. "It's cold out here. Have some hot tea and dry food."
"Just put it on the table," Alan said, not touching it. In Ragnarok, you couldn't trust food from NPCs. He'd learned that the hard way.
Alan initially only dared to take a small bite from the Snow Corpse's footprints before continuing, solely to trigger the storyline.
Out here on the open sea, with no villages or towns in sight, if the boatman were to poison the food, there would be nowhere to escape.
The boatman insisted, "Eat the pancakes while they're hot. They won't taste good cold."
Alan smiled, took a small bite, and got a notification.
[Ding, you are poisoned and will continuously lose health.]
[-10.]
[-10.]
[-10.]
Alan smiled at the boatman. "These pancakes are good. Want some?"
The boatman shook his head. "No, I have my own."
"Alright," Alan said, continuing to eat.
[-20.]
[-20.]
[Three bites: -30.]
[Four bites: -40.]
Alan finished the pancake.
[-100.]
[-100.]
The boatman's eyes lit up. Seeing Alan's earlier display of gold, he was sure Alan had more. His poison was designed to drain health continuously, and just one pancake caused a health loss of over a thousand per second.
Even a single bite would cause a health loss of a hundred per second. Ordinary adventurers couldn't handle it. But Alan wasn't ordinary—he had a purification amulet.
The boatman didn't just rely on the pancake. Even without eating, the poison would still get Alan. Alan noticed a weird smell coming from the teapot—not foul, not fragrant, just odd.
[Ding, you are poisoned and will continuously lose health.]
[-100.]
[-100.]
This was the boatman's backup plan. Even without eating, the poison would still cause continuous health loss.
Seeing Alan eat the pancake and smell the poison, the boatman thought the outcome was inevitable.
"Boatman, I gave you so much gold, and you still poisoned me. That's not fair," Alan said.
The boatman sneered. "Sir, blame yourself for being naive. Today, you're just unlucky."
Alan smiled. "Do you think this little poison can kill me?"
"Don't pretend. You ate the pancake and smelled the poison. You must be losing two thousand health per second now," the boatman retorted.
Alan's disguise cloak hid his health status. "Alright, take me to Siren's Slumber Isle." He threw out another handful of gold coins. He didn't kill the boatman because he needed him to navigate.
"A dying man, what tricks are you trying to pull?" the boatman asked warily.
"Just row the boat. If you wait for me to die from blood loss, you'll be waiting a long time," Alan said.
The boatman looked uncertain. Alan was too calm, making him uneasy.
"Alright." The boatman continued rowing, constantly glancing at Alan, waiting for him to die so he could take his belongings.
An hour later, Alan was still fine. Two hours later, he was still fine. The boatman started to sweat. He had seen Alan eat the pancake, so he knew Alan was poisoned. But two hours had passed, and Alan was still fine.
The poison's effect had worn off, and the boatman realized he was dealing with a master. "Sir, it was my foolishness. I shouldn't have targeted you. Please, spare me." He knelt before Alan.
"If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already. Just row the boat," Alan said.
The boatman sighed in relief but then became wary again. "Sir, I know you won't kill me because you need to get to Siren's Slumber Isle. Promise not to kill me once we get there, or I'll jump into the sea and never take you."
He even made a move to jump into the sea. The boatman was clever, worried Alan would kill him after reaching the island.
"Alright, I promise. As long as you take me to Siren's Slumber Isle, I won't kill you," Alan said.
"Do you mean it?" the boatman asked.
"Of course," Alan replied.
The boatman finally nodded, relieved, and removed the pancakes and tea. He took out some dry food from his pocket. "Sir, this is not poisoned. Eat this. It will take about two more days."
"Just row the boat," Alan urged.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
