A foul, chemical-like stench rose from the cup, sharp enough to make Nicolas wrinkle his nose. Small bubbles formed on the surface as the liquid began to lightly corrode the inside of the cup.
Nicolas stared, eyes wide.
"…It worked," he said quietly.
He leaned closer, careful not to touch it.
"So it doesn't just poison the water," he muttered. "It actually turns it into poison."
A slow grin spread across his face.
"If this works on a cup…" he said, thoughts racing,
"then weapons, armor—maybe even full suits—are all possible."
[The cup is now a magical artifact that can turn anything poured into it into poison.]
[The Host can also control it. Simply hold the cup and the Host will understand.]
Nicolas nodded and carefully held the cup. Information immediately flowed into his mind. He understood that he could turn the poison effect on or off at will.
He tried turning it off, but the liquid inside was already poisoned.
[The artifact can only create poison and cannot reverse it.]
[However, the effect is now disabled. If the Host pours another liquid into it, it will not be transformed.]
Nicolas nodded in understanding.
He poured the poisonous liquid into the toilet and flushed it away. Then he poured fresh water into the cup.
This time, the water remained clear.
"It works," he said with a grin.
Still, after a moment of thought, his expression turned serious.
"This thing is way too dangerous to leave lying around," he muttered.
He poured out the water, then took a lighter and burned the paper cup, watching it turn to ash. Only after making sure it was completely destroyed did he relax.
Nicolas leaned back, exhaling slowly.
"So this power is not that useless," he said quietly. "And it's stronger than I thought."
He looked at his hands again, a sharp glint in his eyes.
"If even a paper cup can become something this dangerous…"
"…then I need to be very careful with what I create next."
[The size of the symbol also determines the strength of the ability the Host intends to grant to an object or another individual.]
Nicolas paused.
"So the bigger the symbol, the stronger the effect?" he asked.
[Correct.]
[Larger, more detailed symbols consume more energy and produce stronger effects.]
[Smaller symbols result in weaker, more limited abilities.]
Nicolas nodded slowly.
"That makes sense," he said. "So I can control the power level just by controlling the size and complexity."
[Correct.]
"Okay," Nicolas nodded as he started thinking about what he could make next for his own protection.
"Hm… I can draw powers onto gloves," he said, clapping his hands once as the idea came to him.
He went to his wardrobe and soon found a pair of white half-gloves. Taking them out, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Yeah… this should work," he murmured.
Picking up the right-hand glove, he thought for a moment.
"Hmm, I should draw a gun on it."
He searched for gun images on the internet, scrolling through them carefully. Eventually, his eyes stopped.
"This one…" he muttered.
It wasn't a normal gun.
It was the Gravity Gun from Half-Life 2.
Since the game already existed in this world, he decided it was safer to use something familiar rather than inventing something completely unknown.
Carefully, Nicolas began drawing the symbol on the glove. His hand moved steadily, each line precise and deliberate. When he finished, the symbol looked clean, clear, and complete.
He put the glove on.
At first, nothing happened.
Then—
Information flowed into his mind.
Nicolas's eyes widened slightly.
"So… I can adjust the force," he said quietly. "Pull, push… and even control the speed."
He focused on the room around him.
Anything not bolted down responded.
A pen slid across the table toward his palm. A chair scraped a few inches closer. Even loose coins trembled, lifting slightly before dropping back down.
Nicolas raised his hand and pushed.
The pen shot forward at high speed, slamming into the wall with a sharp thud.
He stared at it, stunned.
"This is like telekinesis—well, not complete telekinesis, but more like picking things up, pushing or pulling them, with control over their speed," he nodded to himself.
He focused again.
The pen embedded in the wall jerked free and flew back toward him, stopping midair and hovering quietly in front of his face. Nicolas moved his hand slightly, and the pen followed his motion smoothly, responding with ease.
"…This is easy," he said softly.
He waved his hand left and right, watching the pen mirror every movement.
"It would be even better if it were Telekinesis," he thought.
He shook his head.
"Even if I went for psychic powers, it would still be a limited form of telekinesis," he muttered. "But with these gravity gloves, I can grab almost anything—as long as it's not bolted down."
A system notification suddenly appeared.
[Correction.]
[The Host may manipulate objects up to a maximum weight of ten tons.]
The message snapped Nicolas out of his imagination.
He blinked, then laughed.
"Ten tons… yeah, okay," he said. "I wasn't just picturing myself laughing like a villain and tossing buildings around."
He shook his head again, the thought clearly ridiculous.
"That was just my stupid imagination," he muttered. "I'm not doing anything like that."
He put the pen down and turned his attention to the left-hand glove, wondering what else he should draw on it.
"Hmm… I have a way to fight now," he mumbled. "So I should make something that can heal me."
He paused, thinking carefully.
"…And maybe something defensive too," he added. "Like a shield."
Nicolas looked at the glove, ideas slowly forming in his mind as he began planning his next symbol.
"For healing…" he said quietly, "Dhanvantari."
Dhanvantari—the Hindu god of healing and medicine. His symbol was the Elixir Pot, said to hold medicine capable of curing anything.
"That should work," Nicolas nodded.
He carefully drew the Elixir Pot symbol on the palm of the left-hand glove, making sure every line was precise. Then, turning the glove over, he drew a shield symbol on the back of the hand for defense.