Weighing every word Alice had just said, I felt my mind spinning at full speed, desperately searching for the best way out of this situation. What was the right move from here?
Should I take out the weaker enemies first, clearing them quickly, or go straight for the beetle, even with that grotesque shell protecting every inch of its body? Was there some weak point I hadn’t noticed yet?
Frustration tightened in my chest as I realized I had no special skill to deal with this kind of enemy. To make things worse, it wasn’t just my life on the line—I also had to make sure Alice got out of here unharmed.
I spent a few seconds analyzing the situation, carefully tracking the chaotic movement of the monsters. Their heavy steps and guttural sounds echoed around us, creating an almost hypnotic rhythm. It didn’t take long for me to conclude that leaving the smaller ones for later would only make things worse.
In the end, as they say, the best defense is a good offense. I took a deep breath and spoke, keeping my eyes locked on the biggest one: “Alice, can you paralyze all the small ones at once?” I asked, my tone sharper than usual: “I think we’ll need enough room to move when it’s time to face the big guy”
When my voice finally reached Alice, she didn’t answer right away. Instead, her gaze shifted to the grasshoppers and flies scattered around us. The creatures weren’t moving chaotically at all—there was an unsettling synchronicity to them, as if each one knew exactly where it was supposed to be.
They seemed to be slowly positioning themselves, just waiting for the perfect moment to strike—and honestly, nothing about that felt promising. Maybe that’s why I decided to take out the small ones first, an attempt to control what I could before things got out of hand.
I don’t know why, but even with that entire army at its disposal, the damn beetle still hadn’t attacked. Was it waiting for the right chance? For an opening? Part of me doubted a creature like that had that kind of intelligence... but considering everything we had seen so far—the system, the tutorial, and all those weird rules—underestimating anything felt like pure stupidity.
Better to be ready for the worst than get caught off guard. Still, one thing was clear: if they all rushed us at once, before Alice and I could get into position, we’d be completely screwed.
My thoughts dragged on, almost as if time had slowed to a crawl, until Alice’s voice finally broke the silence beside me, pulling me back to reality.
“There are a lot of them” she said, her tone firm but heavy with tension: “I think I can handle them all... but you’d better stay sharp. I might miss one or two”
I nodded at her words, taking a deep breath before moving forward. In the next instant, I took full control of my male body and lowered my gaze to my own hand: (I haven’t tested this method yet... but honestly, I don’t have time to hesitate. Hope it works)
I focused intensely on a mana potion. I’d never bought one before, so I had no idea what it looked like exactly. Still, using the healing potion I already knew as a reference, I pictured something similar—the same elegant bottle shape, but this time with a bright blue liquid instead of the usual red.
It was a quicker, more practical way to get items from the shop, and this would be my first test. When I finalized the mental image, the air in front of me rippled slightly, like a stone had been tossed into a still pond.
A bottle appeared out of nowhere and gently dropped into the palm of my hand, as if guided by an invisible force. The glass was cold to the touch, and the bluish glow of the liquid pulsed faintly, almost as if it were alive.
A faint, involuntary smirk tugged at the corner of my lips as a triumphant whisper echoed through my thoughts: (Success)
Without hesitation, I bought two more using the same method. Again, the space in front of me wavered as if made of water, and two more translucent bottles with the same bright-blue liquid appeared, landing perfectly in my hand. The faint warmth of the glass made me grip them tighter before turning to Alice and holding them out.
“Take these” I said, my voice firm but low: “They’re lesser mana potions. I’m not sure how much mana they’ll restore, but it’s better than nothing”
Alice blinked once, almost hesitantly, before accepting the bottles. Her expression still held a hint of confusion, as if her mind was trying to catch up to what had just happened. Then, as if a lightbulb had gone off, she suddenly looked up at me, her eyes filled with a mix of surprise and worry.
“Wait...” she said, her voice slightly unsteady: “Wouldn’t it be better if you used them yourself? Besides, I could’ve bought my own. You didn’t have to spend your points on me...”
I thought about Alice’s words for a moment, but all I could do was shake my head. That was so like her—always careful, always worried about details I’d already decided to ignore.
“It’s fine, Alice” I said, my voice calmer than I expected: “Trust me—you don’t need to worry about that”
I shot her a faint, crooked smile, as if trying to lighten the weight of the situation with a bit of humor.
“Besides, if we don’t make it out of here alive, I’ll regret not spending all my points anyway” I added with a half-joking tone.
Alice still looked conflicted, as if fighting some internal battle. But as her eyes swept over the environment again, the hesitation vanished from her face. She took a deep breath, as though bracing herself, then nodded—this time with a serious, resolute expression. Original content can be found at N()velFire.net
“I promise I’ll pay you back for these later” she said, her voice unusually earnest. Still, I couldn’t help thinking that, honestly, those bottles had barely made a dent in my points.
Either way, I shifted my attention back to my female body. Just like before, the air rippled hypnotically in front of me before releasing three more glowing blue bottles.
They dropped softly into the female body’s hand, still warm as if freshly created. Without wasting a second, I wrapped my fingers around them and quickly stuffed them into my pocket, hearing the faint clink of glass as they touched.
Still controlling my male body near Alice, I turned my head slightly toward her. My gaze rested on her for a brief moment before I asked, my voice low but firm: “You ready?”
Alice held my gaze for a brief moment, her eyes steady, almost defiant, before she gave a silent nod. A second later, her gaze slowly traveled down my female body, as if trying to confirm something or size me up, before carefully tucking the bluish vials into her clothes.
The next instant, a voice sounded beside me, tinged with uncertainty: “Will paralysis even do anything?” she asked, her tone slightly tense: “Even if I manage to immobilize the small ones, I seriously doubt it’ll work that well against that giant beetle”
Hearing Alice’s words, I simply shrugged, not showing much concern: “I’ll focus on the little ones first” I said casually, as if it were obvious: “Your paralysis will just help speed things up. In the end, I’d rather figure out how to take down that damn beetle without the smaller bugs getting on my nerves the whole time”