Chapter 131 [Bonus ]Becoming A Great Settlement (2)

"What is this?"

The liquid seemed magical, he hadn't expected it to come out this way.

"I have no clue. Ever since that tree started glowing, most of the plants here began reacting to it. Yesterday when Hannibal and I were trying to refine the concoction, it began glowing," Asclepius explained as she handed the sack over to Lucius.

"It absorbed the solar energy," Lucius murmured, seeing how the liquid was glowing brighter at regular intervals, almost as if it had a pulse.

"You said the plants started reacting, what do you mean?" he asked after inspecting it for a bit.

"Those purple plants are three times larger than they were yesterday morning. I have no idea how fast they usually grow, but I'm sure it's not supposed to be that fast," Hannibal answered.

"Some of the other herbs have increased in size as well, even though nothing has been done to them," Asclepius added.

~So it's affecting everything then?~ Lucius realized.

"Try planting all of them. Right under the tree, you can mix in the soil you guys created," Lucius ordered.

"And have you tried taking sap samples from the tree? Maybe leaves as well," he added, realizing that direct contact may increase the changes.

"That may increase the changes," Hannibal whispered right after, he began murmuring to himself, before shaking his head.

"I can't believe I didn't try that," he said after.

"Also... you have to radiant index right?" Lucius asked, to which Hannibal nodded his head. "Try running radiant energy through them, perhaps they will react differently since it's absorbing solar energy right now," he said.

"Again," Hannibal whispered, his tone filled with disappointment.

"So, have you tried the concoction yet?" Lucius asked, turning to Asclepius.

"I took a sample," she explained. "It's too potent," she said after a moment.

"Too potent?" Lucius asked, looking at it.

"My body couldn't handle even a sip of it. Of course, my poison has increased by leaps and bounds, but if it wasn't for Pagan's healing, I probably would've been out for a while," she explained.

"Hmm," Lucius whispered, before taking a few sips of the concoction.

Cold.

That was what it felt like, an ice-cold chill rolling down his throat, freezing everything it touched. He could feel it spreading throughout his body, but funny enough, the feeling was intoxicating.

He took a few more sips, then gulps, until there was nothing left.

[+400 points added to 『Poison Resistance』]

[+400 points added to 『Poison Secretion』]

[『Poison Secretion』 upgraded to 『Poison Projection』]

"Interesting," Lucius whispered to himself. The information pertaining to his new skill was being fed into his brain, and it was indeed interesting.

It allowed him to create and control clouds of poison gas, already the covert applications of such a skill were running through his mind.

"How much more do you have?" he asked after he was done.

"Three more sacks," she said, snapping out of her daze. She was flabbergasted by how Lucius had just downed something that was intoxicating even for a naturally poisonous creature.

"Leave one for yourself, and one for further refining if that's possible. The other one I'll be giving to someone else," Lucius said.

"Who?" Hannibal asked.

"Confidential," Lucius replied immediately, before making a quick sweep of the room with his eyes.

"Have you picked out any helpers yet?" he asked after.

"I have pillars three, four, and five to help with herb and plant retrieval," she replied.

"I'm not talking about plant retrieval. I'm talking about help with research, maybe someone to run through some experiments while you work on others," Lucius said.

"No, none. The others from the commune are still evolving, and I thought you would not trust the others of my kind," she replied.

"You're right. Ask for some of the children under Pagan, they could be of some use. But only allow them to do menial tasks, make sure not to expose anything about the concoctions or any other important information," Lucius said after a moment of thought,

"You guys did well here," he added.

"Then may I ask something," Asclepius said after a moment.

"What is it?"

"Arachnids, I need- we need more. Now that you mentioned the tree sap, I was wondering what effect using it instead of the spring's water would have," she said.

Both Hannibal and Lucius looked at each other at this, realizing how brilliant that was. The potential was unfathomable.

"We'll go hunting for a few today," Lucius answered after a moment.

Asclepius continued to fill Lucius in on all the progress she had made, which mainly amounted to her understanding of what different herbs and plants could be used for.

As for their agriculture, it seemed it was still mainly guesswork, as all their knowledge was limited to how to plant them, and not what they required during the growth stages.

After his talk with Asclepius, Hannibal spoke with him in private. His talk was mainly about the changes to the camp, and what his views were on certain things.

For one, Hannibal did not like the amount of influence Pagan had over the shrooms. Something that Lucius had noticed himself and was going to address sooner rather than later.

Another thing Hannibal was concerned with was the indexes. From what he learned during his day with the index, it was difficult. The instructions fed to him were vague, and even with an understanding as fast as his, he hadn't yet managed to properly perform radiant healing.

Of course, Lucius already had a solution for this. He was going to implement a school-type system to teach the others, however, he had been unconscious when they had woken up so up til now their growth had been kept to a minimum.

"Hmm, what do you think about Asclepius?" Lucius asked as they walked back to the camp.

"She seems trustworthy," Hannibal said, before pausing for a moment. "At least from what she has shown me," he added.

"What is she driven by? What is she after? Judging someone's trustworthiness based on what they show you are ultimately useless. Anyone can fake that. But if we find out what exactly is that drives her, we can use that to buy her loyalty, at least as much as necessary," Lucius explained.

This was something he had learned as a human, nobody could be trusted completely. But if your goals were aligned, you could depend on them.

"Hmm, she seems convinced that you are some chosen one. I've heard her whisper to the shrooms sometimes during runs. They seem convinced as well, so as far as what drives her... she wants to come off as indisposable," Hannibal said after some thought.