[How long till this host dies completely?] Moss asked Lichen as soon as he boarded the mushroom.

 

Lichen paused a bit as he marveled at Moss’s new appearance before stating. [It hasn’t been an hour since the giant…the human took us. I’d give a few more hours of durability at best.]

 

[Okay, I recall that they’re using these hosts for dinner tonight. I think for a cooked meal and a salad.] Moss nodded.

 

[Cooked meal? Salad? What are those?] Lichen asked in confusion.

 

Moss, remembering that Lichen was a virus and had never experienced human things before, pondered a while before explaining the terms. [Cooked meal and salad are two different ways of food preparation. Um…just think of it like this. A cooked meal involves burning at high heat for a long period of time. Unless you have high heat resistance, you would surely perish. As for salad, that’s the option we should aim for as nothing will be done unto us.]

 

[Is that so? Alright, I’ll aim for the salad. Please direct us when the time comes.] Lichen saluted before leaving to prepare.

 

[Will do.] Moss nodded as he directed Stein to follow after Lichen.

 

Moss peered out of the mushroom host at the gigantic figures chatting and pacing about. It was time for the next phase of his plan…human conquest. He knew that he couldn’t infect the Farmer Hero just yet as a hero would have several defenses against illnesses, particularly the Farmer Hero who was the apostle to the God of Agriculture.

 

The three humans – Dale, Harvey, and Sofia – paced around in the kitchen room as they prepared for the evening meal. Meanwhile, the Farmer Hero relaxed in the living room. Soon, the parents of the three siblings returned home. Dale walked out of the kitchen and introduced Bart to his parents.

 

Dale, his father, and the Farmer Hero continued sitting in the living room and discussed the events that plagued the kingdom. Meanwhile, Dale’s mother moved into the kitchen to help his younger siblings out.

 

Soon, Sofia came out of the kitchen with a big bowl of mushroom and lettuce salad. Naturally, before she had finished preparing the salad, Moss and his subordinates had already forcefully transferred to the mushrooms used. Sofia sat the bowl on the dining table and started setting up plates, bowls, cups, and eating utensils.

 

Harvey brought out the pot of creamy mushroom soup while his mother brought out a pot of chicken stew. Sofia went into the kitchen before returning with a basket of fresh bread, a bottle of grape wine, and a jug of iced water.

 

Bart stood up to give a helping hand, but when the two accidentally touched hands, their cheeks slightly warmed as a spark of interest developed with the two of them. Sofia’s mother naturally saw this and smiled to herself. However, the three men of the family paid no heed to it. Bart helped Sofia carry the jug of iced water to the table while Sofia sat the basket next to the stew and handed the bottle of wine to her father.

 

The Farmer Hero and the family of five gave thanks to the God of Agriculture before digging in. Bart, Dale, and the father didn’t bother with the salad and went straight to the chicken stew. Meanwhile, Harvey sampled a bit of the salad but focused mainly on the soup and the stew. Only Sofia and her mother ate the salad with gusto.

 

Anyone who ate from the mushroom salad was infected by either Lichen or Stein. Lichen and his minions have mostly entered Sofia and her mother, whereas the host Stein was in was eaten by Harvey. Moss had to stay behind with his troops since Dale, Bart, and the elder man never touched the salad. He needed to find some other way to enter their systems.

 

But as he waited and waited, the three men never touched the salad and soon, the meal came to an end. The Farmer Hero stood up and excused himself from the table. Since he had things to do with his party, he bid his farewells to the family and left. Moss had missed the chance to infect someone, especially the hero!

 

Just as he was about to fret, Lady Luck showered him with her kindness. The head of the family of five had just pulled out a small pipe and stuffed the end with tobacco. Moss saw his opportunity in the dried tobacco. Though he would have to resist the extreme heat, the virus still took the risk.

 

Before the old man lit his pipe, Moss had already transferred himself and his agents into the tobacco. As the tobacco at the top would be affected by the fire the most, Moss dove deep into the pipe. The virus had a crazy idea.

 

Moss decided not to risk his life trying to release himself along with the smoke at the moment the elder puffed the pipe. Instead, Moss decided to wait for the fire to burn through his host and allow him to travel with the smoke easier.

 

In order to prepare for the worst, Moss activated <<Devour>> and consumed as much DNA as he can from the dried host. This helped boost his capabilities by a smidgen…but as people say, every last thing counted.

 

Soon, the heat came. Moss tried to resist as much as he could with his heat resistance; however, in just a few seconds, he could not take it anymore. Gritting through the pain of denaturalization, Moss activated <<Heat Wave>>.

 

Though doing so seemed to be counterproductive, by raising the temperature around him, Moss also raised the temperature within him. The heat from outside and the heat from inside provided a sense of temporary balance and relief. But that only lasted a few milliseconds at best. The rest of the time seemed like an eternity in hell.

 

But Moss had experienced hell once. The torture on his body could not be compared with the torture on his soul. Moss closed off all senses except one – his sense of touch. He focused on the pain. And then, after what seemed like forever, it happened.

 

DING!

 

MALICE IS CURIOUS OF YOUR MASOCHISTIC ACTIONS!

 

I’m not masochistic, you’re masochistic! Your whole family is masochistic! Moss disgruntledly thought.

 

MALICE IS UNHAPPY WITH YOUR THOUGHTS!

 

MALICE DESTROYS THE GIFT SHE HAS PREPARED FOR YOU!

 

AGONY IS HAPPY WITH YOUR THOUGHTS!

 

AGONY HAS SENT YOU A GIFT!

 

LOADING NEW SKILL…LOADING COMPLETE

 

SKILL <<REDEMPTION>> ACQUIRED

[It’s here! Thank you Agony!] Moss praised as he felt his suffering lessened and an unknown power began to rise within him.

 

Soon, the elder man took a puff of smoke. Moss traveled along with the smoke and entered the human’s body via his lungs. There, Moss took up residence within a lung cell, preparing for the next phase of his attack.

 

Operation Human Conquest had started!