The Gamer's POV Chapter 40: Aziz’s Beautiful Garden [8]

Chapter 40: Aziz’s Beautiful Garden [8]

[04:27 a.m.]

My gaze moved from the screen displaying the ti to Dion, who was lying just a few feet from

and muttering nonsense in his drunken stupor.

In all this ti, he had managed to drink only four bottles of alcohol out of the ten I gave to him. Yet, he was as drunk as drunk could be.

’So annoying...’

The way he lay, with bottles scattered around, cradling two, hiccuping, and singing nonsense really made

want to kick him.

Feeling my gaze, Dion turned to , scrambled closer, and leaned in until he was breathing right next to my ear. He laughed and slurred drunkenly, "You look like what would happen if a man and a woman had a baby."

I scowled, gritted my teeth in irritation, and shoved him away with all the energy I could muster. "I hate to break this to you, but that’s exactly what happened."

He fell back onto the floor, crying out as he struggled to stop himself from throwing up, then burst into drunken laughter whenever he succeeded.

anwhile...

I looked back to the screen displaying the ti:

[04:30 a.m.]

Then I exhaled hard, and tried to shake the tension away from my nerves.

It was ti.

My injuries had now healed enough for

to move without pain, and Dion was now drunk enough to use his bonded ability.

During the past few hours, Dion had told

a bit about his bonded ability. Although it wasn’t an ability that could outright kill or even injure enemies, it was certainly an ability that could help us get past the ghouls guarding the cave entrance.

We decided that once he was drunk enough, and I was ready to leave, we’d burn the vines, which would inevitably draw the ghouls to us. When they arrived, with the help of his ability, we’d sohow try to defeat or escape them.

It was a risky plan that could fail and end with us being injured or dying, but we had no other way.

I looked back to Dion, then said, "Oi, Oi, get your drunken ass off the floor and get ready, it’s ti."

"Oh?" Dion sat upright and chugged down even more wine.

I reached into the inventory and pulled out an oil lamp and matchsticks. I lit the lamp and crawled over to Dion. Since he was too drunk to manage it himself, I carefully burned off the vines binding his hands. Then, I quickly burned off the ones binding mine.

As I finished freeing my wrists, I turned to burn off the vines securing the door. But out of the corner of my eye, I caught Celeste and Evelyn looking at

with desperate, pleading eyes.

I sighed.

Regardless of the grudge I might hold against soone, I was still a human being. And in this horrible world, everyone, regardless of their feelings, needed to work together to survive.

Besides, it would leave a bad taste in my mouth if I just freed myself and left them bound.

Since Celeste was closest, I quickly went over and crouched in front of her.

She flinched and leaned back against the wall nervously, avoiding my gaze.

"Give

your hands."

At first, I expected her to tell

to leave her alone, or perhaps even push

away, but she didn’t. Instead, she slowly brought her arms toward .

I was a bit surprised, but with no ti to dwell on it, I quickly began to carefully burn off her vines.

Then, right at that mont, sothing I never expected happened.

[You have acquired 50 Karma points.]

[Available Karma points: N 2,355 / P 50]

’What?!’

Upon reading the notification that had suddenly appeared, I was left completely stunned.

...However, before I could even focus on that, Celeste began coughing. The smoke from the burning vines had rapidly filled the cell, and the plu now billowed out through the bamboo walls. This imdiate and highly visible signal ant that those ghouls guarding the entrance would be alard at any mont.

’I’ll think about that later.’

Since it took a while to burn the thick vines off, I couldn’t afford to also free Evelyn myself. While Celeste was rubbing her wrists, I dropped the oil lamp beside her, then urgently nodded toward Evelyn.

"Could you please burn off her vines?"

Before Celeste could even answer, I turned away and moved to the door. I pulled out a second oil lamp from my inventory, lit it up, and imdiately began burning the vines binding the door.

I was still working on the thick vines when I suddenly began to hear the unmistakable voices of the ghouls.

’Crap! They are coming...’

My heart began to thrum faster, and my hand shook slightly on the lamp.

I could hear Evelyn already whimpering, while Celeste folded her knees up and began shivering while also scratching her arm.

’Co on, burn, burn, burn...’

Due to the thickness and number of the vines, and the small lazy fla from the oil lamp, it was taking a frustratingly long amount of ti to burn them all off.

I swallowed and forced my hand steady, and soon, I severed the final vine. The door sprang inward with a creak, and I shoved it wider.

But just then, the guttural voices of the ghouls snapped my attention to the long path where I could see three of them, rushing straight towards us.

I imdiately turned to Dion, and my eyes widened in horror as I saw the drunk guy with his back to us and nodding his head on the prison wall.

’Shit! Did I make a mistake to rely on this guy?’

"Dion!" I scread in panic, backing away from the door as the ghouls crashed toward the threshold.

But right at that mont, Dion jolted and spun around, still swaying heavily, and his red-rimd eyes locked onto the three ghouls now thrashing wildly in the doorway.

He grinned a very wide grin and spread out his arms wide like soone giving an invitation, then said in a drunken voice. "Welco, sons of bitches, to my symposium."