Jason stands up and claps his hand, “Welp, enough gardening! I can worry about the plants later. For now civilization and experience points call me. Now I am out of the animal goblins territory there should be critters to fight.”

The wasteland passes by when up ahead Jason is relieved to see a normal monster. With the body of a lizard and the neck of a snake the creature lazes in the sun all alone. Excited to fight after such a long time Jason advances quickly. Not exactly a stealthy approach and the monster notices right away. The snaky lizard raises its head up almost to shoulder height and hisses. Jason continues takes this as a cue and speeds up.

It shocks the snaky lizard that he doesn’t run away so in response it charges as well. While slow Jason becomes more cautious of the creature. With how it was surprised at being attacked this was likely a top predator in the area. Normally a large and slow lizard would be an easy target. However, the head and neck was not so limited. The speed the snaky lizard could move its head combined with being able to attack even things behind it would be deadly.

As they get close the snaky lizard snaps out with a bite, the neck stretching even further than seemed possible. Jason is not ready for this and the snake head lands a solid bite on his right arm.

-9 *Paralyzing Venom*

A burning pain runs up his arm as the System message alerts Jason. The snake head packs more of a punch than just bite damage. Even just moments after the attack his arm numbs at the bites location. Jason now realizes the fight is on a timer. If he can not finish before the venom paralyzes him it is lights out. Angry now that he can’t enjoy a good fight Jason jumps forward. With so much neck to target how can he not send a knee at it.

As Jason’s knee connects the near constant hiss from the snaky lizard gets choked off. Not happy with this the snaky lizard swings it around like a whip and smacks Jason’s side. Ready for a counterattack he braces himself with his arm tight to his side.

-2

Jason doesn’t even feel the damage as it hits his right arm. This time he follows up with a chop across the neck as he turns into it. The snaky lizard then tries to wrap him up, but he continues his rotation moving towards the body. With the momentum he then drops a nasty elbow onto the point the neck connects to the body and the System chimes to alert him of a critical hit.

The head and neck of the snaky lizard goes limp, but the fight is not over. In pain the monster rocks its body forward knocking Jason back. He stumbles and this is enough for the snaky lizard to recover. Another swing of the neck and it lands a glancing bite on Jason’s left shoulder.

-4 *Paralyzing Venom*

Not a good turn of events for Jason. While the damage is low, the venom will be deadly. Now steadied he pivots to swing another elbow. This time at the head. The snaky lizard avoids this but Jason expected this. The elbow was a feint and his real attack, a back kick, slams once more into the area the neck and body meets. Another chime proves this is a vital point for the snaky lizard.

The neck and head once more falls down and it tries the same trick. However, this time Jason is ready and instead of being bumped back he throws a Blast Punch powered uppercut with his left arm. While the paralysis spreading in it reduces the power some Jason still hits his target. A crunching noise and something gives in the snaky lizards neck. Continue his attack on the vital point keeps the System chimes going off in his head and the snaky lizard never recovers. By the end though Jason is limited to kicking it as both his arms have stopped moving. After confirming the kill Jason runs at full speed back towards the plains.

After he goes even further than usual Jason unable to even remove his pack, drops to the ground. Both his arms cannot move and even his neck is just about numb. Now out of danger Jason sends his senses into his body. What greets him is an odd mix. Most of his lower body and his head are just a shell with the lines. However, were the venom is flesh and blood is mixed in with the lines. The biggest problem though is the venom attacking his heart. He doesn’t have a heart, but the venom is forcing its own reality on his body. Even the lines respond and move around as if to reform the knot that had been his original cultivation.

Flooding the space with his will Jason fights back. His lines shimmer as they stop moving. With an effort the flesh and blood that infests his body recedes. Time passes and the venom has been pushed into only his arms. Left in the rest of his body is once again a void filled with lines. However, at the edges instead of flesh forming a swarm of violet-colored lines are twinning around his white lines. The effort he put in holds back the physical venom but the concept of it still lingers. Jason however grabs onto this as an important discovery. Physical matter would need to be represented inside things and more lines makes sense. Though one thing can prove this theory better than just some venom.

While until now Jason had only seen pure white lines in his body he hadn’t been looking for anything else. Now he knew what to look for and had a place to start. Right at where flesh met void. He ignores the violet lines and pushes his inner sight to view where the bone was. The sight expands and the white lines become clearer. However, there is another color of lines interspersed. An amber-colored set of lines follow a straight path through his body. Jason follows these amber lines and proves to himself what they are. The amber lines represent his skeleton, a magical item grafted into his body. While it will show up if something cuts him deep enough most of the time it is just another set of lines.

With this new knowledge Jason pushes back on the flesh and blood. Instead of an attempt to remove the venom he returns it to a void. The violet lines still infest his body but the void is a better battlefield for him. Once his body has once more returned to being his the next step starts. As the violet lines wrap around his white and amber lines Jason sends a jolt of Energy down his lines. Even just this test is enough to disintegrate some smaller clusters of the venom’s lines. Satisfied with this Jason hunkers down and rotates his cultivation base. His Energy cycles through his body and the violet lines retreat. He had heard of cultivation methods that could protect from all sorts of venoms and poisons; it seems his could do so as well. Less than an hour passes before his body is clear of the venom and he can feel his arms again. He doesn’t believe this method will work for everything that will try to intrude on his body but that doesn’t matter. Even the extra point of Toughness he gained doesn’t sway him. The System message updating his Poison Resistance skill though? That brings a smile to his face.

Akhier

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