I'm The Only One With Cancer

Chapter 183: Listarte I

’Wait...!’

Zen felt some tingling on his skin as he finally noticed the green mist that erupted the moment the Flower Basilisk broke out of the ground.

On the bright side, it enabled him to break out of his surprised state.

"Ferd...!"

Zen glanced at the mana barrier surrounding the carriage and found that it seemed to have filtered most of the green mist.

Thwack— Thwack—

He hurriedly slapped the unconscious Ferd’s cheeks and received no response.

Zen quickly racked his brain as he checked for his pulse.

"Thankfully, he’s still alive..."

However, even the relief he felt was merely temporary as he felt with his senses that, although it was not by much, the butler’s pulse was gradually weakening.

Zen did not have to check Verso inside the carriage to know that his situation was even worse, considering that he was merely a child.

"Let’s treat this something like a time trial..."

He tried his best to remain optimistic, believing that his skills and abilities could back him up.

And he was not wrong.

It was just that Zen lacked experience dealing with everything in person, despite having the necessary theoretical knowledge.

Nevertheless, his ruby-red eyes shone with intelligence as he instantly leaped out of the driver’s seat.

GRRRR!?

The Flower Basilisk seemed to sense the strange creature in front of it, tilting its head slightly as if questioning why this human could resist the green mist it emitted.

Zen looked at it, trying his best to stay calm, ’I could use the Heart of Stone’s Absolute Apathy to instantly control my emotions, but that wouldn’t be fun at all...’

And so, he began walking despite the loud thumping of his heart.

Ba— Thump! Ba— Thump! Ba— Thump!

Despite the heartbeat that made it impossible for him to hear his surroundings...

Zen persisted, taking every step like it was him breaking through barriers that restricted him from experiencing ’life’.

This was one of his quirks.

The desire to indulge in experiences, no matter whether they were good or bad.

’Maybe it’s me feeling like I’ve missed out on life due to being bedridden, but...’

A smile appeared on Zen’s face, "I want to live a little more recklessly from now on."

Tap—!

As he spoke, he placed both of his hands on the Flower Basilisk’s body in front of him.

"It really is just like a flower stem."

Zen commented casually under his breath before suddenly chanting in his mind.

[Profane Transfiguration]

As one could remember, talents were special skills that could be activated without a chant.

But Zen still did so to prepare himself for what was about to come.

Ba— Thump!

He felt his deafening heartbeats suddenly stop all of a sudden.

And no, it was not because his heart stopped in the literal sense.

Instead, it was due to the sudden influx of information that suddenly rushed into his mind unceasingly.

At this moment, Zen felt like he could see, hear, smell, touch, and taste everything all at once due to the overwhelming sensation he could feel.

Of course, it was merely an illusion brought by his first real usage of his talent, excluding his spar with Arthur.

What he was really feeling was his sensing each and every fiber of the Flower Basilisk’s body.

It’s flesh, bones, organs, nerves, blood vessels, and everything that makes it up, including the innumerable cells on its body.

Zen was not the only one feeling overwhelmed.

The Flower Basilisk also could not move even a single centimeter as it felt like its own body did not belong to it at this very moment.

It was currently feeling a myriad of emotions.

However, among its emotions, the most prominent one was: Fear.

Specifically, the fear of the unknown.

Never before had it felt this helpless while facing another creature, especially since this creature was something that it judged to be harmless through its instincts.

Unfortunately, Zen did not know what it was feeling, nor would he care.

His eyes were currently closed as he focused all his attention on the analysis of the Flower Basilisk.

’I didn’t expect that using this skill would be this complex... and tiring!’

Zen could barely form thoughts as sweat trickled down his forehead.

This impasse lasted for a few minutes before he suddenly let out a sigh of relief.

On the other hand, the Flower Basilisk was still immobilized and could only let out some sounds in a passive manner.

"Haaa..."

Zen finally removed both his hands from the monster’s body and wiped the sweat on his forehead with his forearm, "You can die now."

GRRR— SPLAT!

The Flower Basilisk was still unaware of what was happening when white spikes suddenly emerged beneath its skin, penetrating it from the inside.

"So I could do this, too, huh? Just like that one dude in Jujutsu Ka—"

THUD!

The latter part of Zen’s words was drowned by the loud sound of the Flower Basilisk’s humongous body crashing onto the ground.

"Cough— Cough—!"

He fanned the area in front of his face with his hands as dust rose, almost blinding him.

[Ding!]

[You killed a Flower Basilisk Lv. 87!]

Feeling the particles that were absorbed into his body, Zen nodded in satisfaction, "Nice..."

As soon as all the white particles were absorbed, another system notification rang in Zen’s mind.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up.]

"!!!"

Zen’s eyes widened in surprise as he felt his body becoming lighter, as if every inch of his being was being filled with strength.

"Finally!"

He felt satisfied that he was finally able to level up after everything that he had killed.

"..."

However, Zen suddenly felt like it was lacking a moment later, "Is that it?"

’I killed some forest wolves, then some bandits, then a level 87 monster, and I... leveled up once?’

The idea he had originally placed at the back of his mind suddenly resurfaced at this moment, making him facepalm.

’So that’s how it really is, huh?’

Zen could not help but let out a helpless chuckle, "Based on the race, not only would the advantages every level up be better, but the difficulty between levels also reflects it..."

"Man... why does this game have to be so balanced all of a sudden? It would’ve been better if I could just continue being overpowered~."

He complained out loud, only for a sudden feeling to rise in his chest—as if he had forgotten something.

"..."

Zen’s pupils constricted in the next instance, "That’s right, Ferd and Verso!"

Before he could question why the Flower Basilisk’s corpse did not disappear like the wolves in the first forest, he dashed towards the carriage.

Of course, he did not forget to put the monster’s corpse inside his storage artifact for the meantime.

"Ah!"

Zen felt a headache coming his way as he only noticed now that even the two horses had fallen asleep.

Thankfully, he quickly checked Ferd and Verso’s pulse and found that their condition was still stable... the horses’ conditions were also good.

***

Less than an hour later...

Tukutuk— Tukutuk— Tukutuk—

The carriage wheel’s sounds permeated the area as the group continued their travels.

"Woah, is that it?"

Zen asked with a touch of excitement.

Ferd nodded affirmatively, "Yes, Sir Deadman. That city on the horizon is Listarte."

"It’s famous for its pastries and bakeries. The surrounding villages are mostly made up of farmers, thanks to the vast wheat fields made possible by the region’s favorable climate and weather.

Furthermore, Listarte hosts the Festival of Pastries once a year. Though it’s just unfortunate that the next one isn’t for another three months..." The butler continued after a moment of pause.

However, Zen only let out a groan as he smiled in satisfaction, "Ugh, finally."

’He must be tired...’

Ferd did not take offense and merely glanced at him with appreciation.

Although Zen did not elaborate on what happened in the fourth forest, the butler knew that without him, neither he nor the young master would have made it out alive.

’I’ll talk to the young master later to discuss his additional rewards...’ Ferd thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Zen could not take his gaze off the city on the horizon.

However, the main reason for his strange behavior was not only due to its sheer size, which made it seem huge despite its still being kilometers away.

Of course, those aspects also contributed to his surprise.

But the main reason why Zen could not take his eyes off the city was because of the huge tower at its center that seemed to pierce through the clouds above.

"Is that... the magic tower?"

Ferd nodded, "Yes, Sir Deadman... and if you don’t mind me asking, was that perhaps your goal for this journey?"

"Yes. I’m planning to go to the Pendragon Empire." Zen replied without much thought.

However, the butler was clearly taken aback, "What a coincidence, we’re heading there too."

"Really? But didn’t you tell me that you escaped to the Kingdom of Light to run away from the people who caused the downfall of the Belvedere Familia?"

"Well, yes... But there’s still something else..."

A hesitant expression appeared on Ferd’s face as he sighed, "It’s not good to talk about this matter outside. Let’s discuss this over some bread, shall we?"

"Sure!" Zen replied with a smile.