Chapter 46: Ten Thousand Poison Heart Sutra

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Ding!

[You have absorbed 10 different types of toxins, synthetizing them as part of your body.]

[Congratulations, you have unlocked the Path towards a Hidden Legacy.]

[The Legacy of the Ten Thousand Poison Heart Sutra has been revealed.]

"?!"

BA-DUM!

BA-DUM!

BA-DUM!

Riven suddenly felt his body growing hotter out of nowhere. His skin became as red as fire, and thick, purple-colored veins bulged visibly from beneath the surface.

"R-Riven?"

He quickly stepped away from Daniela, realizing that his poisons were growing stronger and assimilating even further with his body.

What’s more, his own heart continued beating like crazy, pumping pure Poison Ki through every vein and reinforcing him even further with each powerful pulse.

As the energy began to grow stronger and more unstable, Riven felt his own body breaking apart and restructuring itself at a cellular level.

"Nnnggh?!"

It felt even worse than when he had obtained his Titan Physique. His heart was beating so fast that it felt like it was about to burst like an overfilled balloon.

His body began exuding deadly poisonous energy that eroded the ground beneath him. The nearby corpses of the Myconids dissolved into black liquid in an instant from the sheer toxicity.

"Hyeee?!"

Daniela was shocked and clearly scared. Noir the Third appeared from his recent hunt, still dragging along a large reptilian monster. The little wolf panicked the moment he saw his master in such a terrible state and quickly dragged Daniela away to safety by biting onto her leg and pushing her backward.

"W-What’s happening? Riven? Riven!"

As she panicked more and more, Riven’s eyes turned completely red. Blood poured freely from them and from his mouth, yet he continued to resist with everything he had. His own black hair grew longer, gaining several distinct purple strands that shimmered with toxic light.

"This is...?"

Poisonous tattoos resembling coiling vipers appeared around both of his arms at the same time as the intense pain finally disappeared. His body suddenly felt completely rejuvenated and stronger than ever before.

"By ingesting ten different types of poisons and assimilating them completely, there was such a legacy waiting to be claimed? I had no idea!"

He was utterly shocked by the discovery. It seemed that nobody in this world had become as skilled at assimilating poisons as he had just done.

Or maybe... well, he could recall someone from the future who had become known as the Ten Thousand Poison Master, an incredible Alchemist and Assassin, and the leader of the most dangerous sect of assassins in the world, originating from China.

However, even that legendary man had only ever managed to assimilate eight deadly poisonous toxins into his body, achieving something called the "Thousand Poison Body," a powerful physique in its own right.

But what Riven had just discovered... was clearly beyond that level!

As he slowly stood up straight, he noticed a glowing purple mark on his chest. It resembled a purple viper devouring its own tail, with a single crimson eye glowing at the center.

Ding!

[You are among the first to have ever assimilated and synthetized ten different deadly toxins in the world.]

[You learned the Cultivation Method: [Ten Thousand Poison Heart Sutra – Poison Accumulation Phase: Stage 1 (10/100)]

[Consume and assimilate more poisons and other deadly toxins to grow your Cultivation Method to the next level.]

[All your Vitality, Mana, Strength, Endurance, and Agility have increased by +10,000.]

[You learned the Skill: [Ten Thousand Poison Fang: Level 1]: Imbue the power of the Ten Thousand Poison Heart Sutra into your body, channeling its Poisonous Aura to unleash devastating, poisonous attacks, increasing damage dealt by 300% and piercing up to 50% of a foe’s defenses, resistances, and immunities. The stronger this Skill and the Cultivation Method grow, the higher the bonuses to damage, defense penetration, and other effects.]

"Ten Thousand Poison Fang...?"

Riven settled down for a moment, relaxing as the purple strands of hair slowly disappeared. Even the purple tattoos across his body seemed to fade away completely, as if they had never been there at all.

"Huh... Well, this is a welcome surprise."

He had absorbed other poisonous toxins he had previously purchased, along with those that belonged to the daggers Daniela had brought with her.

That, coupled with the ones he acquired from the Myconids — three in total if he counted their equipment — meant he had truly reached the number ten already.

"There are some really dangerous Poison-type Gates out there that nobody ever dares to enter..." he thought to himself. "Maybe I can make those places into my personal playing fields from now on."

As he thought about the future possibilities, he stood back up fully and cleansed himself with water, which he had already learned how to create by warming the ice he could conjure using his own life force.

"Sorry about that," he said as he walked back toward Daniela, putting his equipment back on and growing a fresh set of Biological Armor. "It seems I have unlocked a new legacy."

"A-Are you okay? Wait, what’s that?" Daniela carefully walked back to him.

"Legacies... Not even I am completely sure what exactly they are," said Riven. "But you could think of them as special achievements inside a game. When you fulfill certain hidden conditions, these Legacies will find you and make you their vessel. Legacies can only be carried by a single person at a time, and for them to become ’free’ again, the former wielder must be taken down first..."

"I-I see... like some kind of ancient inheritance?" she wondered.

"Perhaps," nodded Riven.

The most incredible thing about Legacies, though, was that even an unawakened person could inherit them if they managed to fulfill the required conditions, becoming awakened themselves in the process.

This had only happened a couple of times throughout recorded history. However, every single time it did occur, the person involved became incredibly famous worldwide.

Now Riven could not help but wonder what sort of Authority stood behind this forgotten Legacy he had just awakened.

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