Mithridates strongly suspected that his mother, or other enemies in the royal court, would try to eliminate him with poison like his father. So, while he traveled through the remotest parts of the kingdom with his close friends, Mithridates began to take in minor doses of the poisons and toxins he found in order to build up his immunity to them as much as possible.

Among the poisonous plants and animals that Mithridates gained experience in handling were nightshade, hellebore, hemlock, and monkshood, as well as venoms and toxins from snakes, scorpions, spiders, slugs, and birds. He also experimented with poisonous minerals, such as arsenic, mercury, and sulfur. Gradually, Mithridates was becoming the Poison King of legend.

On his journey across the countryside, Mithridates did not just build up his poison resilience, but the young ruler was also building up support among his people. To them, Mithridates was exiled by a vile, corrupt court and deserved his rightful place on the throne. With the people on his side, it was around 116 B.C. that Mithridates returned to the palace, deposed his mother, and threw her into prison, says World History Encyclopedia. He then purged from the court anyone else who may have been involved in his father's assassination.

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