William didn't have to turn around to see the person behind them, but he did anyway so he wouldn't seem like a weirdo. The man was dressed in simple overalls and black leather boots that were caked with mud, while his face was squarish and had three distinct scars crossing vertically on his right cheek until they touched his lower eyelid.
"That's fine, I think we can manage on our own." William replied, returning his attention to his friends.
They had a Tribulation Transcendence Flame Dragon and Space Magic at their disposal, if they couldn't reach the Faction, who could?
"Really? You have a way to deal with Ascension Realm Poisonous Miasma?" the man looked surprised.
William turned to face the man again, "What do you mean? There's nothing on our map that says anything about a miasma, when did it appear?"
"Ha! That villain scammed you. The map in your possession might show all the cities and landmarks of the Continent, but it mentions nothing of the dangers!" the man replied.
William nodded in understanding. He noticed that fact, but this map was the best they could get for the time being. System, what does this man mean by miasma? Is there really a danger?
-Request requires 6550 Potential Points. Yes/No?
So much, for a question like this? It seems there really is more to what the man is saying. Confirm.
-To answer your question, I must first tell you a story. Over forty thousand years ago, a Cultivator named Duon wanted to turn the World— then unnamed— into a holy land for Cultivators by improving the quality of the land past its limits.
-To do this, Duon spent many years of his life replicating the Ascended Portal's workings, realizing that the quality of the Ascended Realms' Mana was greater than this World's. He was very close to succeeding, but suddenly gave up on his mission, much to the dismay of many others.
-A few decades later, one of Duon's Disciples discovered his notes on the project and continued the work despite dozens of warnings that Duon had written in later. The tests continued for hundreds of years, until one day the Disciple eventually opened an artificial portal that connected to the Realm above.
-Unfortunately, the portal connected to the Realm of Poison, which leaked its Mana over the entire Continent, killing the Disciple and all life within a radius of thirty thousand kilometers.
-The portal was unstable and collapsed on its own a few days later, but the damage had already been done. Millions of humans, and billions of Magical Beasts and insects died, even their souls corroded by the Poison Mana that shouldn't exist in this World.
-Time passed and life returned, but there is still much to heal before the Continent returns to normal. The native Magical Beasts of the Continent have grown incredible resistance to poison and poison-related abilities, while humans' souls became stronger and more resilient, turning this land into a Soul Cultivation holy ground for those capable of utilizing the more powerful Techniques.
"We're not leaving now?" William asked.
"I live here, and this was supposed to be my vacation time, but I can't pass up on some good customers, can I? I still have to make some preparations and inform my wife, though I'm sure she won't be happy."
William nodded. He brought his friends to the Brighnar Hotel as advised and paid for two rooms at a whopping twenty Gold Coins each per night, then they left with Grotnet in the morning.
"Here, take this. It will help with the miasma in the thickest parts, but you still shouldn't touch it, these medallions aren't cheap and will only last you a few seconds before the miasma takes over." Grotnet gave them each a special golden medallion made from a metal William's Blacksmithing Talent recognized as Aurenite, which seemed to enhance their poison resistances to a whole new level.
Even William's A-Rank Poison Resistance Talent couldn't compare to these effects, which explained the extreme cost of being escorted through the Miasma. If the Aurenite medallions couldn't protect them for more than a few seconds, his Poison Resistance wouldn't last a second.
While the Poison Affinity, Ascended Recovery, and Hard Body Talents would likely keep him alive even in the worst scenario, who knew how much damage it would cause beforehand?
System, just in case I'd like to upgrade my Poison Resistance to X-Rank. William gave the order mentally, opting not to put his life in the hands of an expensive medallion.
———
TALENT UPGRADED
Poison Resistance: (SSR --> X)
Effects: Resistance to all forms of poison and their residual effects +4800% >> +9600%
X-Rank Bonus Effects:
-Poison Body: When your body is even slightly affected by poison, increase the power of your Poison Magic by 100%.
-Poison Absorption: Bathing in poison for an hour increases your immunity to that specific poison by ten percent.
Next rank up: Requirements Locked. Ascend or upgrade the System to A-Rank to unlock the next Rank.
———