The system panel screamed Wang Sheng's dire state, but reality was grimmer. This panel? It was after the medicine kicked in.
That brew didn't just force his vitality and spirit to flicker; it pumped him with energy, flooding his body with nutrients.
Before the dose? His Health was probably around 30, Stamina a measly 2.
"This should be enough," Wang Sheng muttered, stroking his beard. He patted the emergency pill in his pocket—just in case. A lifeline.
Months on death's edge left no time for grooming. His beard grew wild, untouched by elemental erosion, thriving like some cruel joke.
He had a theory about his body. The lack of symbiotic bacteria was screwing him over, causing all sorts of issues.
He could resist elemental erosion—barely. But his gut flora? Done for.
With a bitter chuckle, he pushed the door open, calculating. Today was the day to discuss mushroom cultivation with the village chief. This world had fungi, but nothing like what he knew.
Not long ago, he'd roped the chief into experimenting. Given mushrooms' growth speed, results should show soon—maybe today.
Leaning on his cane, Wang Sheng managed a hundred meters before needing a breather.
Luckily, the village was small. The chief's house wasn't far from the healer's.
Oh, right. This place, resembling ancient Inazuma, had landlords. For some reason, most were small-timers. Big shots existed, but not on Ritou. Rumor had it they were on Narukami Island. Didn't matter to Wang Sheng.
All he needed to know? The chief was a minor landlord with enough vacant land to test his ideas.
Fish farming and boar breeding were already wins—quick results if managed right. Mushroom cultivation was next, likely another success.
Thinking this, his heavy steps lightened a fraction.
He reached the chief's place.
A minor landlord, sure, but the chief's home sprawled over three hundred square meters. It had a vegetable garden, now converted—thanks to Wang Sheng's pitch—into a mushroom farm.
Not the sterile, modern rod-based cultivation he knew from his old world. Too impractical here. Instead, he'd gone primal: moist humus soil, nutrient-rich, perfect for mushrooms if the temperature held.
And it did. The chief's last update sounded promising.
At the chief's gate, the man spotted him and rushed to help.
"No need. I can manage," Wang Sheng said, waving off the support. "How're the mushrooms?"
"Growing great. Not just mushrooms—matsutake and Sea Ganoderma too," the chief replied, grinning, unfazed by the refusal.
"Let me see," Wang Sheng said.
The chief had no objections.
They headed to the mushroom field. Wang Sheng noticed a waterlogged patch—likely the Sea Ganoderma plot.
He'd never seen live Sea Ganoderma. His daily medicine had traces of it, a potent marine fungus, supposedly a big tonic.
The field's humus was two fingers thick, mixed with wood chips. Wang Sheng checked: the mushrooms were thriving. Matsutake looked familiar, but Sea Ganoderma? Freaky blue stuff.
"Not bad," Wang Sheng said, pleased.
"Still, there's room for improvement. Run some comparison tests to see what works best," he added, pointing out minor flaws and next steps.
As he turned to leave, he couldn't help himself. "Your Excellency, better speed things up."
"Sheng-jun? Your condition…?"
"Yeah, I'm about done," Wang Sheng sighed. "If I don't make it, you won't get my explanations. Time's running out."
It wasn't that he didn't want to write things down. Except for the healer and chief, the village was illiterate. The chief and healer could read but barely write—three hundred characters, tops.
Not enough for proper records.
Wang Sheng spoke Inazuma's language but couldn't write it. Using his old world's complex script? No one here would crack it in his lifetime.
"How about I call Tarou back?" the chief said, hesitant. His eldest son, in the shogunate's army, was literate.
"Nah, don't mess with his future," Wang Sheng said. "You'd have my head."
"No, no," the chief laughed awkwardly.
They chatted a bit more, then Wang Sheng took his leave.
On the way back, he mulled over more improvements, inching along.
He opened the healer's door—and felt it. His strength, his energy, draining fast.
"Medicine's fading that quick?" No stranger to this, Wang Sheng stayed calm. He fished out the pill bottle from his pocket, ready to pop a tablet.
These pills worked fast, restoring stamina.
Shaking hands fumbled the pill toward his mouth. Then—vision blurred. Dizziness hit. He recovered in a flash, but in that split second, the pill fell, the bottle dropped, and he collapsed.
He tried to move. Nothing.
"Guess this is it," Wang Sheng said, fear absent. Just calm, as his body sank, vision darkening.
Health: 0/200
Stamina: 0/10
[Beep—Host death detected. Ultimate Life-Crafting System discarding excess components… Ultimate Life-Crafting System detaching from host…]
[Ultimate Life-Crafting System detachment successful.]
[Ultimate Life-Crafting System exiting world.]
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