Mixing poisons and ingesting even trace amounts of them was often fatal. That was especially true when aiming for precision, taking just enough to build immunity without dying in the process. To walk that razor's edge, I had to master self-healing. Otherwise, a single mistake with an extremely acute poison, one so potent that even a drop could raze an entire city, would end my life on the spot.
"Wait, I can help. I'm a doctor." I stopped the white-haired boy mid-step and instructed him to carry the unconscious goddess into a nearby café.
Fortunately, the café was empty. Dragging a bench from behind one of the tables, I gestured for him to gently lay the goddess down on it.
Now that I had a proper look at her, the so-called goddess appeared no older than a young girl at first glance. But the noticeable mass on her chest suggested otherwise.
Carefully lifting one of her closed eyelids, I examined her eyes. Her blue pupils were unfocused, but they weren't rolled back. That was a good sign.
Her long black hair was tied into twin ponytails, spilling over both sides of the bench. She wore a white mini-dress adorned with two pairs of ribbons, along with pristine white gloves on both hands.
Next, I removed the glove from her left hand and lightly held her wrist, counting silently for thirty seconds. Her pulse was irregular, slightly off-rhythm, but nothing alarming.
Finally, I turned toward the cat-girl standing quietly behind the boy.
"Excuse me, miss. I need your help. Please come here."
"Nya? Nyou need my help, nya?" She stepped forward as directed, her ears twitching.
That verbal tic of 'nya' is… interesting. No, I needed to focus on the goddess and not on the cat girl's verbal tick.
"Please place your hand on the goddess's chest and count her heartbeats from when I say 'start' until I say 'stop.' Tell me the number afterward."
I could do this myself… but who knows if divine beings are truly as helpless as they look. Better safe than sorry.
Pushing aside my wandering thoughts, I looked at the cat-girl.
"Nya, placing my hand on Kami-sama's chest is a bit, nya…" Seems like she was also feeling embarrassed too. Still, she placed her hand on the goddess's chest and looked at me.
"Start." Exactly sixty seconds later, "Stop."
I turned to her expectantly.
"Nya… fifty-two, nya."
Before I could respond, the white-haired boy burst out, unable to contain himself any longer.
"Doctor-san, how is my Kami-sama? Is she alright? When will she wake up?"
"Calm down," I replied evenly. "She's fine, just unconscious. Could you bring me a glass of salt water from the counter? I'll wake her up."
"R-right away!" He rushed off.
"Thank nyou for your help, nya!" the girl said. Then, turning toward the boy, she added, "I'll go inform Syr-nya and tell her that Hestia-sama is fine, nya, and there's no need to get the healers from the Dian Cecht clinic, nya!"
She waved as she headed toward the exit.
"Thank you, Anya-san!" the boy called after her before turning back to the counter.
I was left alone.
"Wow. They really believed me when I said I was a doctor… and they left their goddess here without hesitation."
"They really trusted my word. Are they that confident in her? Or are they just incredibly careless?"
It was only later on that I learned that the people of this world could not even think about harming a divine being under any circumstance.
With the room quiet, my earlier thoughts resurfaced. Maybe I could test whether magic works on divine beings.
Giving in to a moment of impulsiveness, I approached the bench and extended my hand.
["Darkness: Heal."]
"Zzz… zzz…"
Dark particles shimmered from my palm and drifted down like glitter. But the instant they touched the goddess's skin, they sparked violently and evaporated into thin air.
I hissed and immediately withdrew my hand.
It stung.
Looking at my palm, it was slightly burned.
Before I could react further, the goddess's eyelids fluttered, and in the very next second, she sat upright.
"WHO ARE YOU?! WHERE'S MY BELL-KUN?!" The sheer volume of her voice made me wince as I instinctively covered my ears.
"I'm treating you," I replied quickly. "You were unconscious. And as for your bell… I didn't see any bell on you when you were brought here. Maybe it fell off somewhere?"
She stared at me suspiciously.
"Maybe you can-" I spoke, only to be cut-off.
"Kami-sama! You're awake! Thank goodness!"
The white-haired boy had returned. Seeing her sitting up, he immediately rushed to her side, fussing and checking her condition.
"Bell-kun! My dear Bell-kun!"
Understanding dawned on me as the two of them continued talking, their voices rising with every second.
So she hadn't been asking about a literal bell earlier, she was asking about the white-haired boy.
Leaving them to their reunion, I quietly slipped out of the café.
I had already learned what I needed. Gods are similar to humans… but magic doesn't seem to work on them.
Or maybe it's just my magic. I'll need to test further. Still, they're clearly not just decorative figureheads. They do possess some form of power.
I examined the hand I had used to cast the spell. It was deep red now, as if freshly fried.
["Darkness: Self Heal – Advanced."]
A soft glow tinged with black wrapped around my palm. Moments later, the burn vanished, my skin returning to normal.
....
....
I returned to the inn from earlier and booked a room for three days, including breakfast and lunch.
The brown-haired reception lady, Karen Claus, handed me a key and directed me to a first-floor room before taking her leave.
Inside, the furnishings were simple: a bed in one corner, a chair in another, and a bucket of water with a cloth, likely meant for washing.
"…No one told me that 'bath included' meant a bucket of water."
I swallowed my complaint. There were more important matters to handle.
"First: gather basic knowledge about the city of Orario."
"Second: review the list of Familias in the booklet and choose one to join."
"But before that…"
I sat down on the bed and took out the remaining five magic stones from the goblins, along with the one from the plant monster.
"…The highlight of the day. Magic stones."
"…Right. That reminds me. I still need to look into that plant monster and the dark elf. But first, "
["Darkness: Silent Room."]
A wave of magic spread outward, clinging to the walls and sealing the room from the outside world.
Picking up a goblin's magic stone, I focused and carefully drew a sliver of mana from it, feeding it into the blue magical ring spinning within my body.
The ring, constantly rotating, halted for an instant, then began spinning at a much faster pace.
"Yes… yes, yes!" I couldn't contain my excitement.
The soundproofing spell held firm, my voice echoing within the room.
"Finally… after a whole year. I can move forward."
Maintaining control, I steadily absorbed mana from the stones, feeding the ring without pause.
"Ding." After consuming three more stones, the ring emitted a crisp chime and shifted from blue to yellow.
Three stars.
Raw power surged through my body. Now, I was confident, I could face the plant monster from earlier and defeat it.
The reason was simple. The ring inside me was known as the Ring of Life, bound directly to my soul. The magical, almost forbidden art that created it was known as the Road to Hell.
A single misstep could cripple or kill the practitioner. But the rewards were equally extreme.
Each level-up didn't just advance my magic power, it also elevated my physical strength automatically, without the need for additional training.
Having achieved my primary objective for the day, I resisted the urge to test my newfound power.
Instead, I retrieved the two books and the Familia booklet from the Guild and began reading.
I recalled the second rule of being an assassin.
A competent assassin wasn't defined by stealth alone. Information was everything.
Information about the target's environment, habits, strength, personality, routines, everything from A to Z mattered.
And once that information was gathered, the assassin had to blend in so perfectly that the target never suspected a thing.
My current situation wasn't much different.
Thrown into an unfamiliar world, one where gods walked openly, there was no telling what other dangers lurked in the shadows.
For now, my top priority was to gather information. As much as possible, about the city, about the world.
And then, blend into this world completely, at least until I was strong enough.