episode_0005

It’s awkward.

After committing an obscene act.

For ordinary men and women, it was natural that they would have difficulty enduring embarrassment or a subtle atmosphere.

“Hey, first of all··· shall we go back to where we first fell?”

“I wonder if I can climb up through the hole I fell into. Let’s go and see.”

It was incredibly quiet.

They quickened their pace without saying a word to each other.

But even the darkened cave could not hide Nabi’s shyness.

It was best to try to ignore it and walk away.

On the way back, a tacit agreement was being made.

I decided not to mention the embarrassing fact.

When they arrived at their destination, Nabija was the first to open her mouth, smiling awkwardly.

“As expected··· It seems like it would be impossible to go out here.”

I returned to where I started, but there was no harvest.

There was a world of difference between falling and rising.

“I kind of expected it, but I guess I’ll have to find another way.”

I don’t even know where this is.

What is certain is that it is deeper than the original exploration area.

There was a very, very high chance that more dangerous monsters would be roaming around.

“It won’t be easy···”

“Yes··· There must be strong monsters.”

“But you never know. Sometimes, right? The deeper you go in a dungeon, the safer the monsters are.”

“That··· It would be impossible to solve it with a newly acquired ability···?”

The ability I gained was to eat something and gain strength.

In other words, I needed something to eat.

“I guess it’s an ability that requires eating something···”

“It hurts to leave food behind···”

“Should I eat a stone?”

“···Will it work?”

We looked down at the floor together.

The floor was overflowing with rocks and dirt.

The question is whether eating it helps.

To be honest, I don’t think it will help much.

The nun’s hair was also thin, so I wonder if the dirt on the floor would help.

“I don’t think it will help much··· but it can’t hurt to try, right?”

“···Maybe so.”

It’s not like you’re taking a huge gamble like eating a suspicious fruit.

He just eats dirt like an idiot.

It may look a little ugly, but the damage was minimal.

“Let’s give it a try.”

I grabbed a handful of dirt with my hand.

The rough texture is nothing special, just dirt.

I know it’s a stupid thing to do.

Even though I knew it, I put the dirt in my mouth.

“읏···”

A gloomy smell and taste spreading through the mouth.

Maybe because it’s underground, there’s mold mixed in.

I wish it had no taste at all.

A momentary thought crossed my mind.

Should I spit it out or swallow it?

It wasn’t difficult to come to a conclusion.

I’ve already given up on my sense of taste.

It won’t taste any worse if you swallow it.

I tried to swallow the pile of dirt with great difficulty.

“Ugh··· Ugh··· Ugh···”

“Are you okay? I guess I’m asking too much···”

“No, I chose it. But since it’s underground, the soil doesn’t taste good. Haha···”

“But··· does it work?”

It was difficult to answer.

No changes were observed.

But when we think about the case of hair, the effect may be minimal.

“It doesn’t seem like anything has changed since before···”

“I guess it was too much. You had a hard time because of me.”

“No. I’m also in a situation where I’m escaping. Maybe I should eat more to see if it works.”

“E···? Would you like to eat more?”

To be honest, I was hesitant.

But let’s check it just one more time, just one more time.

It’s a bit unfair to think that I just dug up dirt.

[Oh no! Are you a dog? You ingested a foreign substance that is no different from trash!]

“···”

To me, this explanation was nothing but a mockery.

But it wasn’t ineffective.

[Your stomach has been trained by consuming moldy dirt. Skill acquisition rate 0.1%]

Luckily, I didn’t just turn out to be an idiot.

It has been proven that you can acquire skills by eating dirt.

The only problem is that by the time you acquire it, your belly will burst with dirt.

“ ···It does have an effect.”

“Me, really? That’s fortunate!”

“But··· I don’t think just eating dirt will do. The efficiency is too low.”

“Ah··· Is that why I said that earlier···?”

“Let’s be content with the fact that the possibilities are infinite.”

A sour liquid rose up from the bottom of my throat.

The body that was eating normal food rejects it.

I don’t feel like eating any more dirt.

I thought it would be better to find another way.

“Then even a stone won’t help.”

“···”

Dirt and stones are different.

I had a gut feeling that it would definitely be different.

Of course, it was a completely separate thing from the feeling of wanting to eat.

“Ah··· What, did I bring this up for no reason?”

If I hadn’t brought up the subject, it would have passed naturally.

But now, it hurts my pride to say I won’t eat it.

“I have to check it out.”

I wonder if they’re feeding it to me on purpose.

I took a quick look at the nun’s face.

No matter how closely I looked at it, it was a face that was purely reflective.

“Hoo··· Then··· I’ll eat.”

I picked up a small stone on purpose.

Even if you swallow a big rock, it will get stuck in your throat.

A rock the size of a tooth was pushed down my throat.

“Gulp···”

A hardness that travels down the esophagus.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was less than human.

[Oh my goodness! You’re not a chicken! But maybe the stones will help with digestion.]

[You have consumed the rolling stone! Skill acquisition rate 0.5%]

It works.

If your stomach is full of stones, won’t you acquire the skill?

I thought about pouring it all in at once, but my instincts and reason prevented me from making the choice.

“The stone··· is effective, but I don’t know how much I should take.”

“You don’t have to push yourself too hard. Let’s go around the dungeon and find the exit!”

“Yes. You won’t get any great skills by swallowing trash. For now, you should just get to the exit.”

“If you go up, there’ll be something to eat!”

A feeling of anxiety came over me.

Just going up is suicide.

No matter how lucky you are, there is a limit to what you can do.

Even the section I had just fallen from was able to be reached because Tristan was there.

Eventually, you have to move up as you get stronger.

I had to eat slowly, either stones or mold.

“Abilities··· Not all of them are good.”

I let out a deep sigh.

It was even more terrifying because there was no choice.

But as horrible as it was, it was better to be alive.

“Ah··· There’s a vine growing here···!”

It’s like feeding a puppy you’re raising.

If you say, “Eat the yellow one!”, this is what it will feel like.

“···So?”

“That, that··· I thought it might be of some help···”

Naturally, a prickly reaction came out.

I know in my head that it’s a reasonable decision. Nabija found me to help her.

But the act of just picking up and eating whatever I could find was bound to be repulsive.

“I know. It’s just··· I spoke a bit harshly because something was off. Sorry.”

“No. You eat dirt··· and even rocks and vines··· It’s natural for you to be sensitive. Rather, I’m the one who should be sorry.”

“No. To escape…you have to eat. That’s why I ate.”

I trudged towards the vines.

It’s better than moldy dirt or rocks.

At least it’s a living thing!

On the other hand, there is a possibility that it will go wrong,

Unfortunately, I am not very knowledgeable about plants or animals.

I started chewing on the vines to find other possibilities.

“This is···”

“Are you okay?”

“At least···well, well···it doesn’t seem like the kind of plant that would fall over in a few seconds.”

Of course, I can’t just say it’s delicious.

The pungent smell of grass stimulates the stomach acid.

The reason I could barely bear it was because it seemed better than rocks or dirt.

The broken vines flowed down my throat,

I was able to get the results I expected.

[You have consumed a plant containing a small amount of poison! Related skill acquisition rate 9.7%!]

“It seems to be poisonous.”

“Poison? Are you okay?”

“It’s a very small amount of poison, so it doesn’t seem to be a problem yet.”

“Ah··· Now that I think about it, I heard that most plants are slightly poisonous. The general consensus is that as long as you don’t eat a lot, there’s no problem.”

“It seems like it’s hard to find anything else to eat···I guess I’ll just eat this and see the results”

This is the food that seems to have some potential.

In fact, it can be considered the only one if you consider whether it is edible or not.

Because rocks and dirt are not considered food.

“Something seems to be happening, please wait a moment.”

“Be careful. You never know what might happen.”

“What··· There’s no other way, so I can’t help it.”

The pungent smell of grass also became increasingly familiar.

It seems that if you keep smelling an unpleasant smell, you get used to it.

He stuffed his mouth full of vines and continued eating.

They also ingested dirt and mold.

There is no choice because the means to wash or extract it are limited.

The moment the acquisition rate quickly soared to 100%, I was able to confirm the skill I had been hoping for.

[You have acquired ‘Toxic Resistance’!]

“Ah··· This skill···.”

“It seems like you’ve acquired some great skill. Was it… something like a legendary plant?”

Even if Nabija was wrong, she was seriously wrong.

I could tell just by looking at the description.

That they were just an ordinary bunch of grass.

[Toxicity Resistance: You can eat most plants. Even poisonous plants have become adaptable. However, you must be careful, as you may die before you can adapt. The more you adapt, the stronger your abilities become.]

“It seems like you’ve developed a tolerance to poison.”

“It’s not a bad ability, but···”

“It’s unclear whether this ability will be of much help right away.”

“Well, there might be something more, so don’t give up!”

Nabija moved forward vigorously.

As if trying to shake off the subtle atmosphere.

Gulp –

“Ah···”

The sound coming from the boat is not mine.

To begin with, my stomach was full of all sorts of odds and ends.

That is, the main character of the sound was Nabija.

“Hehe··· Sorry. I was tactless···”

“···I think I’ll be able to tell if I eat something poisonous, so I’ll tell you when I get something to eat.”

I guess it’s time to start evaluating food.