One Hundred and One Ulcer Poison was a potent substance capable of creating internal and external wounds to its target's body.
It deformed the appearance and endangered the lives of its victims in such a cruel way that even when fatal, the suffering lasted for hours.
Knowing this, as he watched that guy manipulating the ingredients needed for the substance with a smile on his face, Lothur felt contempt for his opponent.
It was one thing to try to defeat someone using a poison that could kill, but it was another to use something that would guarantee a torturous death, which would also affect the victim's psychology due to the visual effects.
So, upon noticing how vicious his opponent was, Lothur soon made up his mind on how to act in this battle of poison masters.
'Let's see what you do when you taste your own poison...' He began to prepare something similar to what Rudolf was doing.
And his movements did not go unnoticed by the various poison masters in the surrounding area, many of them already frowning because of this.
"He's preparing the same poison as his opponent? A coincidence?"
"Impossible!"
"How would someone do that without having the intent to do so? Of the dozens of poisons for 1-star poison masters, this is one of the most difficult!"
"Then, there's no way!"
"So Lothur is doing it on purpose?" A young competitor in the surrounding area noticed the conversations of the old men watching the competition and asked.
"If so, he must be an excellent poison master! It's not easy to notice what kind of substance a poison master is preparing just by the ingredients..."
Another person then said. "Not only that. This poison is not easy to produce, so his skills would have to be above Rudolf's for him to perform well in this match..."
People in the surrounding area began to discuss whether or not Lothur was a talented poison master or if he was trying to imitate his opponent by not having any skills.
Many had doubts about his participation in this test after his impressive results in the competition for formations masters.
But at the same time, others there, who were keeping an eye on how Lothur would perform in this test, could not help but feel a little apprehensive at this moment.
Some began to remember Lothur's above-average performance in the morning test, fearing that he would have similar results here.
'No, it can't be that he is a talented poison master...' One of Kai's accomplices, who was there to observe Lothur, thought about this while feeling nervous.
They, along with the insiders in the Frost family and the traitors in that organization, had planned to take two competitors from that family out of the Province Conference to force Lothur to perform.
So if this fellow were to win several battles, would not that be like them shooting themselves in the foot?
Those two young men who were absent at most would win a total of 4 trials on this first day, but if Lothur were a good poison master, he would already achieve such a thing by himself after just two competitions!
But he still had three more competitions this day!
,m So that fellow was trembling in anticipation as the time marker slowly came close to its end.
The match referee saw this, but he was more interested in what Lothur was doing since, unlike others there, he could sense this young man's skills.
'This competitor is not copying his opponent!' He exclaimed in his mind. 'This poison he's making has something a little different from the traditional Hundred and One Ulcer Poison formula!'
Meanwhile, Rudolf had finally finished his poison when the initial 3 minutes were about to end.
He saw that his opponent was still busy, something he had expected since 3 minutes was too little for even talented 1-star poison masters to produce their poisons.
Hence, he was even more pleased to see that he would have the chance to defeat his opponent just by attacking, without having to defend himself against whatever Lothur was doing.
"Time is up. You can now act against each other!" The match referee said, allowing Rudolf to act against Lothur as he watched that silver-haired young man in doubt of what would happen.
'His poison seems to be pretty strong, but will he withstand the action of his opponent?' He wondered as Rudolf quickly cast a purple powder over the area Lothur was in.
'Die, you lucky bastard!' He exclaimed in his mind, eager to see the result of his creation.
At the same time, everyone in the area fell silent as they watched Rudolf's relentless attack, curious to know how Lothur would fare in this situation.
Some there did not know exactly how potent the poison released by Rudolf was. But judging from the experts' comments in the surroundings, even those ignorant of this profession felt it would not be easy for the handsome silver-haired young man.
And even knowing Lothur's unusual abilities, Annaliese felt a tightening in her heart as she watched the moment her man was attacked.
Rebecca also felt a little tense, as an attack of this kind could not compare to the regular training of poison masters. Therefore, she could only clench her hands in anticipation of Lothur's reaction!
[Poisonous substance detected...]
The system issued its formal warning, alerting Lothur that the substance produced by the enemy had already entered his body and started acting against him.
But even knowing the effects of the poison, Lothur was not the least concerned and just continued with what he was doing.
His constitution was already at the level of someone at the beginning of the 2nd stage, while this was only a poison used by 1-star poison masters.
That way, he was sure that even if his resistance to poisons did not handle such a thing, his body would not be harmed at all by the action of this substance.
And when he felt a slight sensation of heat in various parts of his body, the system again brought him the good news!
[The poison was neutralized.]
[Resistance to Iron-grade poisons.]
[Progress: 85%]
Seeing this, Lothur smiled in satisfaction, 'grateful' to Rudolf for helping him gain such a considerable advance in resistance.
But not only that, but when he least expected it, the system showed his status.
[Name: Lothur Ritter]
[Physique: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger]
[Bloodline: Life Devourer]
[Cultivation: level 8]
[STR: 24.5] [CON: 52.3] [DEX: 20.9] [AGI: 29]
[INT: 68.8]
[PER: 68.8 -> 69.1]
[WIL: 72.3 -> 72.5]
[EVF: 247]
'Oh?' He opened his mouth, noting these improvements in mental attributes.
Noticing the smile on Lothur's face, Rudolf felt that there was something wrong in all this, as his opponent was not exhibiting the classic reactions expected after coming into contact with such a substance.
'What's going on here?'
Not only was he surprised, but all the people in the surrounding area noticed how calm Lothur was, even considering that he was supposed to be agonizing right now.
Gulp!
"It can't be!" Kai's subordinate said in a low voice, sensing that the worst was about to happen!
...