Mixing poisons and ingesting even trace amounts of them was often fatal. That was especially true when one aimed for precision, taking just enough to build immunity without dying in the process. To walk that razor's edge, Quinn 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 his life on the spot.
"Wait, I can help. I'm a doctor."
Quinn 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, Quinn gestured for the boy to gently lay the goddess down on it.
Now that he 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, he examined her eyes. The goddess's 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, Quinn 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, he 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?" The girl stepped forward as directed, her ears twitching.
That verbal tic of 'nya' is… interesting. Focus. Don't get distracted.
"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 his wandering thoughts, he looked at the cat-girl.
"Nya, placing my hand of Kami-sama's chest is a bit, nya."
Seems like she to was feeling embarrassed. But then placed her hand on the goddess's chest and looked at me.
"Start." Exactly sixty seconds later, "Stop."
Quinn turned to her expectantly.
"Nya… fifty-two, nya."
Before Quinn could respond, the white-haired boy burst out, unable to contain himself any longer.
"Doctor-san, how is my Kami-sama?" the white-haired boy finally burst out, unable to contain himself any longer. "Is she alright? When will she wake up?"
"Calm down," Quinn 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!" The boy rushed off.
"Thank nyou for your help nya!" The girl thanked me and then turning towards the boy, spoke, "I'll go inform Syr-nya and tell her that Hestia-sama is fine, nya, and no need to get the healers from the Dian Cecht's clinic nya!" the cat-girl said, waving her hand as she headed toward the exit.
"Thank you, Anya-san!" the boy called after her before turning back to the counter.
Quinn was left alone.
Wow. They really believed me when I said I was a doctor… and they left their goddess here without hesitation.
'Wow… they really trusted my word that I'm a doctor,' he thought as he was left alone with the unconscious goddess. 'Are they that confident in her? Or are just incredibly air-headed?'
With the room quiet, his earlier thoughts resurfaced.
'Maybe I can test whether magic works on divine beings.' Giving in to a moment of impulsiveness, he approached the bench and extended his hand.
["Darkness: Heal."]
"Zzz… zzz…"
Dark particles shimmered from his palm and drifted down like glitter. But the instant they touched her skin, they sparked violently and evaporated into thin air.
Quinn hissed and immediately withdrew his hand.
It stung. His palm was slightly burned.
Before he 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 Quinn wince as he instinctively covered his ears.
"I'm treating you," he 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 him suspiciously.
"Maybe you can-"
"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 on her condition.
"Bell-kun! My dear Bell-kun!"
Understanding dawned on Quinn as the two of them continued talking, voices rising with every second.
So that was it. She hadn't been asking about a literal bell earlier, she was asking about the white haired boy.
Leaving them to their reunion, Quinn quietly slipped out of the café.
He had already learned what he 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.'
He examined the hand he had used to cast the spell. It was still deep red, as if freshly fried.
["Darkness: Self Heal - Advanced."]
A soft glow with a tint of black wrapped around his palm. Moments later, the burn vanished, his skin returning to normal.
...
Quinn returned to the inn he had noticed earlier from the day and booked a room for three days, including breakfast and lunch.
The receptionist, Karen Claus, handed him a key and directed him 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."
He swallowed his complaint. There were more important matters to handle.
"First: gather basic knowledge about the city of Orario from the two books from the guild."
"Second: review the list of Familias in the booklet and choose one to join."
"But before that…" He sat down on the bed and took out five magic stones from goblins, along with 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, Quinn focused and carefully drew a sliver of mana from it, feeding it into a blue magical ring spinning within his body.
The ring, constantly spinning, halted for an instant, then began rotating at a much faster pace.
"Yes… yes, yes!" he shouted, unable to contain his excitement.
The soundproofing spell held firm, his voice echoing harmlessly within the room.
"Finally… after a whole year. I can move forward."
Maintaining control, Quinn 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-star.
Raw power surged through his body. Now, he was confident, he could face the plant monster from earlier and defeat it.
The reason was simple. The ring inside him was known as The Ring of Life, and was bound directly to his 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 not only advanced his magic power to the extreme but at the same time elevated his physical strength automatically, without the need for additional training.
Having achieved his primary objective for the day, Quinn resisted the urge to test his newfound power. Instead, he retrieved the two books and the Familia booklet from the guild and began reading.
He 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, their 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.
Quinn's 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, his top priority was clear.
Gather information. As much as possible. About the city. About the world. And then, blend in with this world, completely, at least until he was strong enough.