After dinner, I retreated to the garden. I wanted to investigate the Unexpected Benefit pill. I have had it for a few days now, and it’s been in the back of my mind for a while. I activated Magic Sight, then used Identification on the pill, hoping Magic Sight would further expand Identification’s information. Right away, I noticed a change.

  Item: Unexpected Benefit pill

  Magic: Legendary Tier

  Magic Type: Personal Advancement

  Usage: Swallow the pill

  Results: Results vary. Changes are always beneficial to the user. However, change cannot be identified beforehand. Changes can be small or large. From adding a single status point to a complete physical/magical makeover.

  While the explanation was more complete, it didn’t really give me that much more information. At least not in what I could expect when I take it. Are four arms concerned beneficial? What about a third eye? Breaking through my barrier for my stats? Now that would be beneficial. The upside would be that I can gain more stats, but the downside is that I could start to look like a muscle-bound freak. How would that be affected by my title? So many questions.

  Eldro said if I wasn’t going to sell it to him, that I should take it. I have found him very knowledgeable about magic in general, so I take this as a good indicator. Now, flight would be an awesome power to gain, but no guarantees. My mind keeps wandering making it hard to decide.

  I hold the pill between my thumb and forefinger. Staring at it as if I can make it answer all my questions. Of course, the pill does nothing. It can’t even stare back. Then almost without thought I toss the pill into my mouth and swallow.

  OH DAMN, what did I do was my first thought. Momentary panic sets in, then passes. What’s done is done. I just need to keep in mind it will be beneficial.

  The first indication that something was happening was a gentle heat in my stomach. It quickly spread into my heart and then lungs, then continued to spread throughout my body, lastly up into my head. After completely spreading through, it suddenly disappeared. I wondered if that was it. Was it done. My musing was interrupted by a blinding pain a few seconds later.

  The pain was everywhere. From my toes to the tips of my fingers to the top of my head. Hell, even my hair hurt. It was bad, but not as bad as the soul pain I felt on the Heaven’s Path but still bad. I could feel my body changing undergoing some sort of change throughout. Oh god, not four arms, not four arms, I thought. My muscles started spasming causing me to fall. I didn’t feel myself hitting the ground because the transformation pain blocked out all other. My body continued to spasm on the ground. Then just as suddenly as it began, it stopped. The pain was gone.

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  I turned over and laid on my back, arms and legs spread wide. Taking deep breathes. I waited. Waited for some indication this was over. Or for the pain to start again. Five breaths, then ten breaths. Nothing, no notifications of change. I braced myself. I just knew it wasn’t over.

  I was right. I turned over and vomited, completely emptying my stomach onto the grass. Other bodily fluids also left my body. Then the pain came back. This time it started in my fingers and toes, then spread rapidly inward, until it met in the middle and covered everywhere. At this point, a black sludge started to exude from my skin. The smell was horrible. My skin was so sensitive, that I ripped off my clothes and cast them aside. My body was covered in black sludge. It was as if everything vile was being release through my skin via the black sludge. I tried to roll away from it, leaving black marks in the grass. The grass felt like sandpaper against my exposed skin. I lay completely naked covered in sludge. Now so tired I couldn’t even move. Still in pain, I just laid there.

  All I could do was centered myself and concentrate on my breathing. In, out, in, out. This helped me deal with the pain. My breathing became stronger and deeper as I continued to concentrate on it. There was a pause in the pain. Somehow, I knew, once again, it would return. It did. Not quite to the level as before, but still quite high. The pain slowly, so slowly receded. Day turned into night before it was gone.

  Finally, I received a slew of notifications. It was over. I would find out soon, but my immediate concern was to get this black sludge off me. It really smelled that bad, and there was so much of it.

  I had heard Gabriel come by through my pain earlier and had warned him away. Bravely, he stood at the doorway to the garden. As I shakily started to stand, he came over and helped me get up, despite the utter stench of the black sludge. I cast Cleanse, but it had little to no effect.

  “Can you help get rid of this sludge?” I asked.

  “Of course, sit down and I will get help.”

  Gabriel helped me to the chair and sat me down. He left only to return a few minutes later with a few guards and many buckets of water, with which they took a perverse amount of pleasure dumping over me. The cold water helped remove the majority of the sludge. Enough that I felt I could use Cleanse to remove the rest. I did that, but one overly enthusiastic guard still dumped another bucket of water over me anyway. I can’t blame them, because how many times do you get to dump a bucket of ice-cold water onto your boss?

  The water carried the sludge all over the garden. It didn’t disappear. It covered the grass and stuck to the plants. Along with the sludge, the smell went with it. The cleanup was going to take a large effort. Maybe, I could hire someone to take care of it for me. I would ask Gabriel. Later, right now, I just wanted to go to sleep.

  Gabriel covered me in a blanket, so I could walk through the house to my bed chamber. It was a slow walk, and the guards accompanied me, in case I needed their help.

  Sleep took me too quickly. I didn’t even read my notifications.