I stared closely at the empty vial. There was still a tiny bit of the red liquid inside — so little it barely covered the bottom, practically insignificant. Still, the fact that I had ingested sothing capable of healing nearly all my wounds so completely caught off guard. However, that surprise didn’t last long; by then, I was starting to accept that strange things were becoming part of my new reality.
I an, I’d been fighting for my life for hours now, using so bizarre system and facing monsters nearly four tis my size. At this point, unless an actual god appeared right in front of , I seriously doubted anything could truly surprise anymore. Either way, I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind, and the next mont, I bought another minor healing potion — it had almost beco an automatic reflex.
Once again, that familiar bluish glow appeared around my male body. Like before, it pulsed gently, almost hypnotic. But as soon as I reached under the glow, it suddenly faded — and in its place, a small vial dropped precisely into my palm.
The container was made of thin glass and held a thick, red liquid, the color and viscosity resembling blood. I spent a few seconds just watching the contents, slowly turning the vial in the light to see the reflection dance on the liquid’s surface. Without hesitation any longer, I broke the seal and brought the vial to my lips, drinking it all at once.
As the liquid went down my throat again, that strange taste ca back. It reminded of strawberries, but without the strong sweetness — it was milder, almost artificial. Still, it wasn’t unpleasant. Through Noa’s eyes, I could see every detail: my wounds closing one by one, as if ti itself was rewinding just for my flesh.
Also, the aches that had taken over my male body — constant muscle pressure, sharp pains in my bones, and a slight burning in my joints — vanished completely within seconds after I finished drinking.
I let out a relieved sigh realizing my body had recovered. Fatigue still weighed on my muscles, and exhaustion throbbed in my mind, but at least the worst wounds had healed — I wasn’t so vulnerable anymore that a simple cold would worry . That thought crossed my mind briefly before being cut off by the soft sound of footsteps echoing through the cave.
I imdiately turned toward the entrance. Noa and Justin were there. Instantly, their bodies stiffened, as if instinctively sensing danger. Their hands slid almost in sync down to the hilts of their daggers, touching them cautiously — not as if preparing to attack, but ready to react to the slightest threat.
But the mont I recognized the voices I had heard earlier, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was Oliver, Ethan, and Alice. Oliver and Alice were carrying Ethan, who wore a terrible expression — his face twisted in pain and utterly exhausted. Even supported by the two, it was clear that just staying upright was a battle for him. His body seed ready to give out, and his eyes barely stayed open. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on N0v3l.Fiɾe
As I silently watched them, Oliver raised an eyebrow at sothing — the wounds on my body, from the earlier fight, had completely vanished. Honestly, I expected him to demand answers or at least ask a question. But, totally against my expectations, he simply helped Ethan sit down carefully, then settled beside Alice as if nothing had happened.
For a mont, confused thoughts crossed my mind, but I pushed them away almost imdiately. Did I really need to worry about this? Even if my points were being used, I didn’t see how it could make much difference.
After all, we were still a team — and teams share resources. Besides, sothing told that among us, I was probably the one with the most points anyway. After all, I’d taken down the most human enemies, and technically, all those points ca from those kills.
The next mont, I opened the shop again and bought three dium healing potions. Three distinct lights appeared before , hovering in the air and softly lighting up the cave’s darkness. The glow didn’t go unnoticed by Oliver, Alice, and Ethan, who imdiately turned their curious eyes toward the floating lights, lined up side by side.
As before, I extended my palm just beneath them. A brief silence hung in the air before, in the blink of an eye, three vials containing vivid red liquid gently fell onto my open hand, one after the other, with a faint tinkling of glass.
Oliver, Alice, and Ethan stood still before the vials, their eyes fixed on the mysterious contents glowing in the dim light. Oliver broke the silence, furrowing his brow as he pointed at the containers: “What is this?”
His question sounded curious, almost harmless — or rather, he didn’t seem truly interested in the vials themselves, but more in the light that ca with them, as if trying to understand where that mysterious glow was coming from.
With a slight half-smile that highlighted the expression on my male face, I grabbed the vials and gently tossed them toward the three. They caught them midair, and when they turned to , their eyes reflected a mix of surprise and confusion, as if trying to figure out the aning behind that simple gesture.
“Drink this” I said, holding out the bottle firmly: “It’s gonna help heal your wounds”
The three of them looked at with a clear mix of skepticism and disbelief the mont I said those words. And honestly, I can’t bla them. If soone offered sothing that looked like just a regular strawberry soda, saying that drinking it would make my wounds vanish like magic, I’d probably think that person was totally nuts. Without hesitation, I’d back away as fast as I could, keeping my distance to avoid any possible trick or danger.
Anyway, shaking off my thoughts, Oliver stared at the bottle for a few more seconds, like he was weighing every drop before making a move. Then, with a determined motion, he twisted the cap off and downed the whole thing at once. Alice and Ethan exchanged a brief look, full of hesitation and mutual trust, before copying the gesture.
The mont the liquid slid down their throats, I noticed, almost instinctively, their wounds starting to close — tiny cracks in the skin slowly knitting together. Their faces, which had shown a bit of discomfort and pain before, visibly softened, like a silent relief wrapped around them, bringing an unexpected calm to the room.
The next instant, their eyes widened slightly, scanning their bodies for the injuries all around. Then their gaze shifted to , to the male body standing in front of them. I just shrugged, a small confident smile playing at the corner of my lips.
“After you went to get Alice and Ethan, I found out there’s this kind of shop in the system where you can buy so items” I started, while Oliver, Ethan, and Alice listened quietly, hanging on every word: “I bought these potions for and Noa, and surprisingly, they actually work. Thought it’d be a good idea to share them with you”
They blinked almost simultaneously, like they needed to make sure they weren’t imagining things. Then they looked back at the bottles. Silence broke when Ethan spoke first, his eyebrow raised slightly, a skeptical look on his face as he muttered almost to himself: “I know, at this point, with all these powers and monsters... it sounds kinda weird to say, but... this is surprising”
Alice, who kept her eyes fixed on the shiny bottle, nodded slowly. Her voice was low and doubtful, mixing surprise and disbelief: “I totally get how you feel. Honestly, it still blows my mind that this thing actually healed all my wounds... It’s like it defies everything I knew”
While Ethan and Alice carefully checked their bodies, Oliver kept staring at the bottle a few seconds longer, like trying to decode so hidden secret inside. Then he slowly turned to , his face serious and curious. I t his gaze, feeling the weight of that expectation.
Finally, he broke the silence, frowning slightly: “This didn’t co for free, right?” he asked suspiciously: “Since it’s a shop, you probably had to pay or trade sothing for it”
Hearing Oliver’s words, I nodded calmly, confirming his suspicion: “You know those points we get every ti we defeat a monster? That’s exactly what the shop uses as currency. But don’t worry, I had enough points to buy these potions without ssing with my balance too much”
Oliver listened and stayed silent for a few seconds, his thoughts seeming to drift before his eyes focused ahead. Not exactly on , but on sothing beyond, like he was trying to access the shop. I noticed a slight narrowing of his eyes, a clear sign of concentration — he probably managed it. Ethan and Alice, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have the sa luck.
“There’s nothing like a shop just popping up out of nowhere for ... Of course, that doesn’t an I’m an expert at this stuff, far from it” Ethan said, looking away with a slight frustrated expression.
“Sa here” Alice added, frowning a little: “I can’t see any option that looks like a shop or leads to one. Maybe we haven’t unlocked that feature yet?” Her gaze slowly shifted to , the male body in front of her, full of a mix of curiosity and doubt.
“Sounds possible” I said hesitantly: “Honestly, I’m not sure... I can’t exactly rember when the shop beca available to . But from what I recall, it must have been soti before that forest eting, before Noa and I split off to enter the Dungeon”
At the sa ti, Oliver joined the conversation, frowning slightly as he thought out loud: “Maybe it’s tied to levels? Because, besides , you, Noa, Ethan, and Alice are the ones with the lowest levels among us”
Honestly, I’d never stopped to think about that, but looking back, Oliver was probably right. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly when I unlocked the shop, but I was pretty sure it was connected to leveling up. As I got lost in these swirling thoughts, trying to connect the dots, Oliver broke the silence again, calm and steady.
“Ugh...” Oliver groaned, frowning as discomfort spread across his face: “The shop’s items are insanely expensive, and the cheaper ones don’t even seem worth it. Honestly, it takes so many points that I don’t even know if it’s possible to save up enough in just three months...” He took a deep breath, like he already felt the weight of the task before even starting.
Hearing Oliver, I opened the shop ntally and started scanning it with focused eyes. Indeed, as he said, the variety of items was impressive — from simple tools to rare artifacts, everything seed within reach, at least on paper.
But to my surprise, most of the prices were so outrageous that my current points looked like play money. So items were even priced close to a million points, a number so huge it was hard to believe anyone could ever rack up that many points. It was like the shop was its own universe, where only the true masters could reach.
Of course, until that mont, I hadn’t considered the newest way I found to earn points. The idea of killing humans to get more points felt totally ironic — like, sohow, this place was pushing us to hunt each other. It’s weird to think that instead of working together, we’re being driven to tear down those around us.
I have absolutely no idea what kind of entity is behind all this nonsense, but honestly, when I find it, I’ll be sure to rember it deserves a good slap... Of course, that’s probably just gonna stay in my imagination — getting disintegrated over a slap is definitely not worth it.
Reviews
All reviews (0)