Chapter 16 (2/2)
“...”
Can I trust him? There were six meatballs on the plate. I smiled a bit at the thought of eating six of them. I put the nearest meatball in my mouth with a nervous expression. “Sigh... I’ll eat well.”
Chew chew.
The first taste was hot but I could bear it. Moreover, the resulting aftertaste was deeply permeated with the flavor of meat, giving it a distinct smoky aroma. Um, what? It was delicious...
“Oof!”
My chest was hot. It felt like someone had set fire to my chest. It felt like I was dancing on top of oil. I felt a burning sensation.
“Kuaaaaaack!”
Unbeknownst to me, fire emerged from my mouth.
...Crazy. Didn’t he say I wouldn’t be burned?
[You have eaten a Meatball of the Sun.]
[You can feel a burning pain from your chest.]
[You have suffered 50 damage.]
[Remaining Meatballs of the Sun 5/6]
I literally knelt on the floor and held my chest. I couldn’t wake up from the extremely hot taste. The extremities of my body were trembling and fear permeated.
“K...Kuock...”
“Elder! Are you okay? Jackson!”
”S-Slow Heal!”
Masis was shaking me but I couldn’t hear his voice. My spirit had already flown away. Even Slow Heal was useless.
[Slow Heal doesn't work. The Meatball of the Sun is too powerful.]
“U-Unbelievable!” Kim Sujeong had an expression like she couldn’t believe it.
Five minutes passed before I felt a bit better and looked up at Zalmergus. He was sitting in his seat with closed eyes. I hurriedly took a potion out of my inventory and drank it.
[You have taken a low grade health potion.]
[The potion has no effect.]
[The Meatball of the Sun is too powerful.]
The heals and the potions didn’t get through.
“Shit!” I struck the floor with my fist. I sat down with difficulty and looked at Zalmergus. He still didn’t want to open his eyes.
...This old man. Obviously, I didn’t get any burns. I just suffered damage.
“Hah.”
For a moment, I really wanted to smoke a cigarette but I had made a promise I couldn’t break. My chest was hot again as I inserted a fork into the second meatball.
“Father, are you okay?”
“Yes, don’t worry. I’m fine.”
It was nonsense. My tongue was still tingling. It felt paralyzed...
[The apostle ‘Fire Thief Looking Ahead’ is praying for you.]
You rotten bastard, it suddenly felt dirty.
Then the second meatball went straight into my mouth.
“Kuaaaaak!”
I could see the fire from my mouth burning the ceiling. I saw it and realized. Damn, this was why the ceiling was black...!
It felt like I went to Heaven for a bit. There, I felt like I glimpsed my wife’s face and wanted to high-five an angel.
[You have eaten a Meatball of the Sun.]
[You can feel a burning pain from your chest.]
[You have suffered 50 damage.]
[Remaining Meatballs of the Sun 4/6]
“Kuooock... ugh!”
“Jackson! Are you okay? Wake up?”
How could I be okay? I wanted to tell this to the voice calling out to me. However...
“Wa...te...r...”
Masis grabbed water from the kitchen and handed it to me. Kim Sujeong kept watching me with a worried expression.
[You have drank water.]
[The water has no effect.]
[The Meatball of the Sun is too powerful.]
[Your heart can’t calm down.]
...Shit. I didn’t know why my luck was so fierce today. I felt good when I saw the heart that Mido drew and now it was the opposite. It would scare anyone who listened to my daily life.
“...Let’s see who will win.”
I checked my health gauge. My total health was 300 points and I had now suffered 100 damage. I was sorry that the fire dealt 50 damage. There were four meatballs left. Each one dealt 50 damage but I only had 200 health left. I would die if I ate all of them. However... I wouldn’t really die. Perhaps I could distribute points into my Fitness stat.
[A quest is in progress. You can’t distribute your stat points.]
“Shit.”
It seemed this game didn’t want me to eat them. It was the same when I tried to choose a job and still the same now. I thought that perhaps it wanted me dead. I sat back in the chair with determination.
All or nothing! Die or live!
Zalmergus still had his eyes closed and didn’t move. I could see small tear marks on his face. Maybe he was fighting as well. It was natural to have complicated feelings about serving this type of dish for his benefactor! There was no doubt that he was fighting against himself. Thus, I wanted to cheer him on.
“Zalmergus... delicious... cough!”
[The apostle ‘Fire Thief Looking Ahead’ is touched by your camaraderie.]
Zalmergus’ eyes were twitching violently. There were still four flames on the plate and I shook my head as I looked at it. Eventually, Zalmergus couldn’t stand it and got up. “Jackson!”
I looked into his eyes and thought that perhaps I couldn’t avoid death. Then... a decision had to be made. I ate the four meatballs in front of me at the same time.
“No!”
“Elder!”
“Father!”
“Kuaaaaaaaaah!!!!!”
Flames shot from my mouth. Tonight, I was a hot guy.