Theo stared at the two potions for a long moment, his eyebrows slowly rising.

’Whoa...’

Carefully, he lifted them to eye level.

The emerald and onyx liquids swirled gently inside their glass vials, shimmering under the room’s light.

He couldn’t help but gulp.

’These don’t exactly look safe...’

For a brief moment, he sat there in silence as his gaze moved back over to the system screen.

[The host must consume them within the remaining challenge time.]

[Time Remaining: 00:46:12]

’So I can’t save them after all,’ he thought, smiling bitterly. ’That’s kind of annoying.’

But knowing how much of an uproar something like these potions could cause... it might be for the best.

Finally, Theo’s eyes sharpened.

’Let’s get it over with,’ he thought, snapping back to the potions. ’The system wouldn’t screw me after all.’

Carefully, he placed the corked green vial down on the table in front of him.

His fingers slowly tightened around the black vial.

Pop!

He pulled the cork free.

Instantly, an oddly pleasant aroma drifted out, carrying the scent of mint, sweet berries, and something he couldn’t identify.

"Now isn’t that nice," he said, smiling. "Bottom’s up!"

He brought the vial to his lips and didn’t hesitate to tilt it back.

The moment the liquid touched his tongue, Theo’s smile vanished instantly.

"Ghk—!"

It tasted absolutely revolting.

A disgusting bitterness hit him first, followed by something so overwhelmingly sour that his face completely twisted.

’What the fuck!’ he screamed internally.

Somehow, it only got worse as it went down.

Even so, he didn’t hesitate to push the entire vial down to the very last drop.

"Ah!" he let out, quickly tossing the empty vial aside.

Without wasting a second, he dashed toward the kitchen, cold sweat breaking out across his forehead.

Only after downing an entire glass of water and milk did he finally collapse back onto the couch.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and glared at the empty vial lying on the floor.

"You call that a fucking potion?" he cursed. "I’ve tasted monster blood that was better than this."

His eyes drifted toward the floating system screen.

"Seriously," he grumbled, "what kind of sadist designed this thing?"

But as always, the system remained completely silent.

Theo clicked his tongue once.

"That’s what I thought."

Suddenly, a gentle warmth began spreading through the back of his skull.

His body stiffened slightly as his eyes went wide.

’What now?!’

The sensation wasn’t painful.

It was almost soothing, flowing through his mind like warm water before slowly vanishing.

For a brief moment, every random thought seemed to fade away, leaving behind an unusual sense of clarity.

"Whoa..."

DING!

[Onyx Potion successfully consumed.]

[Permanent immunity to mental control attacks has been granted.]

Theo’s eyes darted to the screen.

A smile slowly appeared on his face.

"So it’s done now," he said.

He closed his eyes immediately and focused deep inside himself.

There didn’t seem to be a surge of mana, power, or anything else.

Rather, as he reached his mind, it seemed like an invisible energy had settled deep inside it.

"Interesting..." he muttered, his eyes snapping open.

DING!

Another system window popped up in front of him.

[Note: Host is only immune to control-type attacks. Any attacks intended to destroy your mind through overwhelming force are still possible.]

Theo read through the notification before giving a small nod.

"Fair enough," he muttered. "So that still makes me kind of weak to Psychic and Curse elements."

Falling silent for a moment, his mind began churning.

Not having full mental defenses meant he still had to spend money to get himself an artifact.

’Hold on. Can’t I just find a way to defend it through a Chaos spell?’

It seemed like a decent possibility.

After a moment, he shook his head faintly.

"Enough of that," he muttered, glancing at the green vial. "You’re next."

The mere sight of the vial made his stomach churn.

As he reached for it, only a single thought went through his mind.

’Please... don’t taste the same.’

After picking it up, he popped off the cork right away.

This time, another pleasant fragrance escaped the vial, even sweeter than the first.

Theo’s eyelid twitched.

"Really?"

Without even bothering to smell it again, he pinched his nose shut and raised the potion to his lips.

"Here goes nothing."

He tilted the vial back completely.

To his surprise...

It tasted even freaking worse than the first one!

"UGH!"

He forced the liquid down with all his might while gagging.

The instant the vial emptied, he dropped it onto the floor.

His hands shot to his throat.

"Hrk...!"

The emerald liquid hadn’t gone down.

It seemed to cling to the inside of his throat, refusing to move away from his airway.

Seconds ticked by, but nothing seemed to change.

’What?!’ he screamed internally, panic flooding his mind. ’Am I really going to die because of some fucking potion?!’

He clawed at his neck, desperately trying to cough, but nothing came up. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the sensation changed.

The liquid seemed to melt into his flesh.

He could almost feel it seeping through the walls of his throat and dispersing throughout his body, flowing into every vein and every muscle.

Theo stumbled back, sucking in a huge breath of air.

"Haa... haa..."

His heart pounded wildly as he stared at the shattered vial on the floor.

"Never again," he muttered between breaths. "I’m never trusting your damned options again!"

DING!

A familiar window materialized before his eyes.

[Emerald Potion successfully consumed.]

[Permanent immunity to all poisons and toxins has been granted.]

Theo leaned back against his couch, still catching his breath.

Slowly, a gentle warmth spread throughout the rest of his body.

’Is that it, system?’ he thought, staring at the ceiling. ’Now I’m immune to poisons?’

DING!

Theo glanced back down immediately.

[Note: Host is immune to all poisons and toxins. Corrosive substances and radiation remain unaffected.]

"Huh?" he muttered, raising an eyebrow. "Did it just respond to my question?"

He couldn’t help but think back to the previous potion.

"It did so there too, huh."

Before he got any more time to think, another window popped up.

[Starting second Would You Rather now...]