That snake was poisonous.

The system window flashed red before Julian’s eyes.

> [WARNING!!! You have been poisoned with Necrotic Venom: Grade A.]

> [SEEK TREATMENT IMMEDIATELY]

Julian went pale at the sight of this. He did not waste time and went to the system for immediate help.

"System," he whispered, his vision beginning to haze. "Shop. Give me an antidote. Anything." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The purple screen flickered to life, its glow sickly and mocking in the dark. He scrolled with shaking fingers, searching for a cure, only to find the options below

> [SEARCH: VENOM ANTIDOTE] [Recommended Items for your current situation:]

> [Hand-Forged Bone Saw - 40 SP]

> [Basic Amputation Kit - 75 SP]

> [Heavy-Duty Cleaver - 30 SP]

"Are you kidding me?" Julian breathed, a feverish, bitter laugh escaping his dry throat as he stared at the amputation tools the System had apparently recommended in this situation.

It was as if the system was blatantly mocking me.

"You want me to chop it off? At least pretend to care, you—"

His eyes fell on the item below the amputation tools.

> [Item: Snail-Pace potion] Effect: Slows toxin spread by 80%. Does not cure — 90 SP.

Now, this didn’t look like it would be a bad option.

"Fine. Better than nothing."

He purchased the potion right away.

> [Current SP: 15 SP]

He immediately downed the liquid, feeling a momentary chill settle over the burning in his leg. It wasn’t a cure, but it bought him time.

He just wished there was someone to save him at that time.

And then, he thought of this. Instead of waiting for someone to save him, why doesn’t he just save himself?

He looked at his leg, the stake protruding from his flesh, stained with his blood.

How could he save himself when he was injured?

Even the injured can find a way. His thoughts spoke to him, and he felt he might be able to do something... before the poison spread far and took his life.

And so, he decided he was going to climb out of the pit. He looked at the stake. The stake looked back at him. And he gulped.

He had never attempted anything so reckless in his life. This was dangerous. It was suicide, but was it suicide if he was going to wait around and die?

Slowly, he lifted his leg from the stake, biting onto his lips till they bled, and scrunching so hard at the pain, his veins climbing his neck thickly as he endured far more than he thought was possible.

Once the stake was gone, he breathed hard and pained, his heart hammering like a caged bird.

He took the first aid kit he had gotten from a maid and kept it in his inventory. It wasn’t much. It just had some antiseptics and bandage rolls.

Julian took in three deep breaths and once again bit his lips so hard as he poured the antiseptic on the wound like water. It was stinging, agonizingly so. But he couldn’t stop.

(Don’t try this at home, kids)

He huffed heavily, trembling as he wrapped his leg with the bandage to stop the bleeding.

Then, with his exhausted eyes, he looked at the slope of the pit. He just needed to climb out of there. He would manage with his wounded leg.

He lifted his body, barely, and then gripped the slope, his breath hitched and ragged. He tried to climb, but there was no footing, and the surface came apart each time he found something to grip. It was nerve-wracking, especially as the poison was spreading.

He had lost a lot of blood, too, so he was incredibly fatigued.

The potion had reduced the poison’s spreading rate, but it was still spreading. And judging by how quickly he felt it was, it meant that the snake had been a very deadly one.

If not for the potion, he’d have been dead already.

> [WARNING!]

> Health: 34% and dropping (Rapid Hemorrhage)

> Condition: [Necrotic Venom: Grade A] — Toxicity Level: 84% — spreading rate: 66%

> Mental Stability: [CRITICAL]

> SEEK TREATMENT IMMEDIATELY

Julian didn’t even bother with the system warning. It wasn’t like he could go get treatment and refused to go get it. It was that he couldn’t.

It was times like this that he cursed the medieval period for having no proper communication devices.

He breathed, jagged and uneven. He could see his own breath in the dead of the night, reflected by the rays of the moon. The more he moved, the quicker the poison spread, so he stopped trying to get out.

He sat there in the dark, the fever rising, and his mind drifting between the image of Lucius alone in the woods and the pulsing pain that was spreading over his body.

It was quiet, save for the occasional howling of wolves and the coo of owls, and of course, the occasional reminder from the system that he was going to die soon.

Julian coughed, his body slowly going rigid.

He had waited and waited, but no one came to his rescue. Now, the poison had paralyzed his leg, and his fingertips had gone dark. He had gone increasingly pale, his eyes going dark.

Then, he coughed again, spilling blood from his lungs this time.

> [CRITICAL STATUS WARNING: SEVERE SYSTEM INSTABILITY]

> Health: 12% and dropping (Rapid Hemorrhage)

> Condition: [Necrotic Venom: Grade A] — Toxicity Level: 84% — Spreading rate: 79%

> Mental Stability: [VERY CRITICAL]

> System Analysis: Blood Loss: Arterial trauma detected in the right femoral region. Volume loss has reached a lethal threshold.

> Venom Progression: Toxin is bypassing the ’Snail-Pace Potion.’ Neural degradation has begun. Cardiac arrest is estimated in [06:22] minutes.

> Directive: Seek immediate High-Tier Alchemical Treatment or Magical Purification.

Save it. If you’re not going to save me anyway, don’t remind me I’m dying every five seconds.

He stared at the thick dark blood he had coughed out, and his hand trembled.

He could feel the poison spread, settling in his nerves and every cell in his body, and then the iconic question came. Is this how I die? The question was one Julian never imagined thinking about. He had done all he could to avoid dying, not to get in trouble, but the more he tried to avoid it, the faster the trouble found him.

Now, as he felt life slowly slipping away from him, he could not help but think of the Duke.

Then, he began to hear the heavy thud of horse hooves approaching his area.