48 Poison (1/2)

”Swosh!”

The door to the bathroom opens slowly revealing a clean and neat Niko. Stepping out Niko felt refreshed and reborn. The dirt and grime were no longer there, and his movements felt easier to make. There was no longer a sticky feeling around his body, or the strange sliminess he would feel occasionally. Niko's hair was no longer dirty and sticky and although his looks were nothing special, he looked better than before due to the cleanliness.

Stepping out he was welcomed by Ivanic who stood near his room's door. Ivanic stood patiently as he nodded towards Niko.

Niko shakes his head and says, ”You know you don't have to stand there and wait for me right?”

”I can't disrespect the lord…” Ivanic says with a grin.

Niko gives him an angry playful look and Ivanic raises his hands jokingly saying, ”All right, all right, no more.”

”Let's go to Zheng's room then,” Nikos suggests as Ivanic nods and begins to leave the door.

As they walked Niko looked around slowly observing things, but then something came up to his mind as he noticed a large number of doors through the hall, ”How many rooms are in this castle anyway?”

”A large amount. In fact, I was able to count around fifteen, but there is more, as I was unable to check all of them, and there are parts of this castle I have yet to explore.” Ivanic replied. As his steps slowed, after approaching a wooden door.

As Ivanic opened the door, Niko was able to see Zheng on the bed being slowly revealed. As Niko approached he noticed the pale Zheng breathing roughly on the bed. Although Zheng was unconscious, Niko could see that he was in pain as the expression on his face was unpleasant. His face was pale and there were strange, thick green veins spreading through his throat and almost near his face. Seeing this Niko's heart pained, as he knew that Zheng was in this situation because of him.

Niko had huge respect for Zheng as he did trust him and almost sacrificed his life for the better of everyone else. He would try everything to make sure that Zheng stayed safe and sound. Currently, Zheng looked poisoned, and he needed to find an antidote.

Niko tried to use [Celestial Probe] on Zheng but was disappointed to find out he was unable to identify the poison, as the skill was currently still limited.

Niko shook his head as he faced Zheng, then he turned his head towards Ivanic and asked to see the loot dropped by the boss, and Ivanic nodded.

The loot had to be good, as not only was it a boss but also a dungeon boss. Niko was hoping that something useful would come out of that damned rat.

Ivanic led him out of the hallway and back to the spacious place where the battle had occurred before. There were some ratmen bodies littered here and there, but the main thing that Niko focused on was the pile of loot on top of the dead wise rat.

Niko checks the look and at his first glance, he notices the staff above it. The same staff that the wise rat was using, played there. Although the staff was taller than the staff that the wise rat man used, the staff was almost completely identical. The other loots consisted of a green knife that almost resembles a kitchen knife, a dark green robe, many blue shards, a bottle of a certain green liquid, and a strange box.

This box was wooden and quite small as Niko could most likely pick it up with both hands if he wanted to. The box was almost slightly bigger than a basketball and there were bronze outlines that surrounded the box, as well as a rectangular pattern which littered it.