Jean impatiently opened the inventory in search of the four new items. First, the socks and a pair of waterproof boots. She put them on without delay before getting down from the rock.

“Thanks! It feels awesome to have my feet dry and warm again, but... all I lack is a lasso and a cowboy hat to look like a... Let's stop there!”

The spear and the shield didn't evoke the same sympathy. "This was made by Irum? It's nothing like what I remember from his smithy."

“[That was his »personal workshop«. The bazaar also has products made by his assistants.]”

“Assistants? Have you flushed my money down the toilet?”

“[Don't make that shit face! He...]”

“Shit face?!”

[Yes! ... He is a young blacksmith, but Irum has approved all his creations.]”

Jean sighed. The whispers had gone to great lengths to find them, it would be rude not to give them a chance.

Item: »Bone Spear (Common)«
Details: Spear entirely composed of bones magically molded with essence.
Especial: Drains 1HP per hit.
Prize: 82 white essence coins.

Jean armed herself with the new spear. It had a very dark red tone, as if it were bathed in blood. It was grotesque in appearance, with pointed protrusions at the ends and a smooth shaft. Despite being made from bones, it was surprisingly flexible. The blacksmith's craftsmanship was truly remarkable.

“[Try it! Don't be afraid!]”

She smiled and executed several one-handed thrusts, but the attacks felt sluggish. It was logical; the weapon was as tall as she was.

When combined with the shield, aiming became challenging. The shield was surprisingly heavy given its size. An amalgam of intertwined bones with the same color as the spear.

The two-handed attack was more practical, but it didn't feel like she had anticipated. She resigned herself to sticking with the bronze spear until it wore out. She stored the bone spear and the shield as long as she didn't need them. Moving while having them equipped exhausted her even faster.

Jean ventured into the narrow passage of the winding cavern. A damned labyrinth in which the water didn't abandon her for an instant. Buying the boots was the best idea she could think of.

Stealth was impossible, so she didn't worry about the splashing. Besides, the less she had to walk for the next enemy, the better.

Shortly, her wishes were heard. Distant splashes and groans.

Jean retreated to a narrower area and tried to use the well-known Leonidas strategy. She knew that many action movies were pure hype, but fighting with spear and shield without worrying about being flanked would be much easier.

Already in position, she tapped the ground several times with the handle of the spear and waited. She felt once more the corruption spreading, but this time she didn't hesitate. She had the firm conviction that she would get out of there, whatever it took. Even if she had to devour thousands of those murderers, thieves and traitors. That's what their marks said.

A small group of five infected appeared. All of them looked extremely weak except one. He walked upright and his deformities were less pronounced. His face was hidden by what was left of a hood and he was hiding one of his hands behind his back.

Jean smiled. “Perhaps you do have a magic skill for me!”

To her surprise, the hooded infected remained waiting in the rear while the others advanced without thinking. They were as stupid as all the others. They only wanted to harm her without caring about their own integrity.

After waiting for a while, the hooded infected moved, but didn't approach directly. He positioned himself right behind the last infected. Jean never lost sight of him, although she pretended to focus only on those in front of her.

Jean raised the shield to eye level and attacked the first infected that came within reach. Three thrusts were enough to bring him down. They were a little erratic. She missed one, and hit the other two; shoulder and forehead.

The spear and shield were getting heavier. Despite her efforts to be as efficient as possible, the corruption was spreading too fast. She needed to devour a corpse immediately. Should she take the risk and waste mana?

She gripped the spear with all her strength and waited for the next one. She aimed straight for the head. This time the thrust turned reddish. She missed it, but hit him in the neck. The impact was lethal. The third one fell as well, but this time she didn't miss.

The fourth infected collided with the shield. Opportunity that the hooded infected took advantage of to attack her.

Jean was already expecting it. She had already realized that he would be a damned coward like many of her coworkers. Always waiting to stab her in the back. What she didn't expect was for that attack to leave a yellow trail.

“He can still use effects?!”

She quickly lowered the shield, but he still managed to hit her. Luckily, the weapon was quite rusty and broke on impact. It slightly cut the skin on her belly. If she weren't so tough, it would have cut open her belly and emptied her intestines.

Not only was he much faster, he was also much more dexterous. The difference between him and the others was abysmal.

“Motherfucker!”

Jean didn't allow him a second attack. She charged with the shield raised and slammed him against the wall, leaving a red trail. That left him defenseless against what came next, a thrust with the same red glow. The fearsome impact exploded his skull, splattering the walls.

“In the end, he was no big deal!”

The intense feeling of exhaustion took hold of her again. Opportunity that the other infected took advantage of. He got up after being pushed by the charge and bit her shield insistently.

“You’re hungry, right? Please, don't be shy!”

As soon as he got tired of the shield and went for her, a direct red-lit knee awaited him. The impact crushed his ribs and snapped his spine. When he fell to the ground, Jean gifted him with a thrust to the head. A gift she gave to the second infected too. He was still moving a little.

"Calm down, I'm not like my mother! Always giving her three daughters different things so that jealousy ended up separating us."

Jean remembered Earth for a brief moment. “What's going on there now? Does Mom miss me or doesn't she even care about my disappearance? They live in a small town hundreds of kilometers away... I don't think the light reached that far, but what if it did?

“[They are not here.]”

Jean put her hand to her chest, but it was neither the time nor the place to cry. She couldn't even remember the last time she had spoken to her mother.

The dizzy feeling returned. She was growing accustomed to traveling through her memories.

There were 10 minutes left before the alarm sounded. She turned it off, jumped out of bed... well, almost... and went to the kitchen to prepare her special breakfast. The Trinity. Delicious, low in calories and easy to prepare.

She sat at the table, ready to enjoy it, when suddenly her cell phone rang. The screen read Mom, but her mother hadn't called her since their last argument. She held her breath and took the call, expecting the worst.

“Jean? ... JEAN?!”

She felt relieved, but also a bit embarrassed. Her mother appeared to be more composed than she had anticipated. Very typical of her, acting like they'd never quarreled.

"Mom... I have to go to work. Could we talk in the afternoon?"

"No! Wait! It'll just be a sec! I heard you're doing really well with your diet, so I wanted to know if you bought the dress yet!"

Three months had passed since her last call and she had already stepped on two mines. She didn't know if her mother had a gift for screwing up or if she didn't know how to apologize. But that wasn't the point right now. How did her mother know she was on a diet? She had only told her older sister, and she knew perfectly well how to keep a secret. Something was fishy.

The phone abruptly changed hands. "I'll handle this, Mom! Please, talk to the caterer! They pay more attention to you than to me!"

Jean took a bite of her breakfast, but the sound of her little sister's voice made it taste like bile. Their relationship had been strained from the beginning, and had turned entirely toxic over the past 15 years.

"Sorry, Mom! I can't hear her! Must be the network. I'll go out for a minute!"

"I thought it was weird that Mom called me, but… This is your doing, you lying bitch!"

"Don't waste my time! What do you want?"

Speaking rapidly, with no desire to waste valuable time conversing with her. "I don't want you at my wedding, you fucking freak! Do you hear me?! I don't want your disgusting presence ruining my wedding!"

Her heart sank, but only for a moment. It was true that she was not at her best weight, was a bit of a freak and could be unsociable at times, so avoiding the wedding was good news. However, discovering that she was persona non grata was on another level. She was aware that most of the family considered her the black sheep, but they had never said it to her directly. If someone had ever told her that she was adopted, she would have believed it.

"What did Mom say?"

"Text mom and tell her you don't want to go to the wedding because I'm not inviting any of your weird friends, because you're pathetic, or whatever nonsense your amoeba brain comes up with. Are we clear?"

Rage took over Jean. "Really?! Then I'll go dressed like a goth and appear in every photo to screw up your day, bitch!"

Her sister's voice was one of genuine terror. "Don't you dare, goddamn fatso..."

Jean hung up. She wasn't going to dress like a goth at a wedding. It wasn't her thing, and she didn't want to embarrass herself like that. But one thing was clear; that bitch would live in fear until the last moment.

Jean closed her eyes tightly to hold back the tears. Had that been the last time she had spoken to them? She couldn't believe that hatred had driven them so far apart.

The unpleasant taste of accumulating mucus brought her back to her senses. New footsteps nearby. Without losing sight of the end of the cavern, she stored two corpses in the inventory and transmuted them into essence coins.

A new group of infected made their appearance. Eight this time.

If at some point she found herself experiencing difficulty to move, the most effective response there would be to shout. The food would come to her.

Between hunger, fatigue and the shit that fucked her up, Jean had no respite. She took a big risk getting close to the infected to store the subsequent corpses, but the risk was worth it. The process of devouring them took a while, but finished just in time.

“[You’ve discovered and learned »Guardian Whisper«.]”

[Guardian Whisper] (Basic): Unique skill. Allows whispers to warn you when an attack may be deadly, but not where it is headed. Additionally, grants +1 to Perception when you are being attacked within a 4 meters radius.

“[Furthermore, you’ve discovered some properties of the corruption that afflicts you. You need more genetic material to develop the skill to combat it.]”

Jean smiled wickedly. None of them had anything to do against her now. Not even another hooded infected who also carried a rusty dagger. This time she wasn't going to let herself be caught off guard. A couple of simple thrusts and they all ended up with a new eye in their foreheads.

Jean was starting to get used to combat. If she kept up this pace, she would only have to rely on effects when weakness overcame her. Their effectiveness was undeniable.

After obtaining more essence coins, she took another short snack.

So far she had transmuted the corpses, including their clothing, but this time she kept the clothes of the two hooded infected. She got a top, a pair of pants and a hood. The clothes were in tatters, but they were free.

“[»Guardian Whisper« has been upgraded.]”

[Guardian Whisper] (Advanced): Unique skill. Allows whispers to warn you when an attack may be deadly and where it is headed. Additionally, grants +2 to Perception when you are being attacked within a 6 meters radius.

That was becoming more and more like a real video game, especially the ones she enjoyed the most. Survival and RPG.

“I hope I don't run out of candy!”

She was exhilarated, but it was not the time for celebrations. The fight attracted the attention of a last infected different from all the previous ones. It reminded her of a soldier; taller and better equipped.

He wore what had once been a full suit of metal armor. Now it was so deteriorated that only a few pieces of leather were left attached to the rusty metal armor. However, that was not the most worrying part. He also carried a large rotten wooden shield that could easily block her attacks, and a rusty spear as big as he was.

“Perhaps the cavern leads to the ruins of a prison that had been infected. Otherwise, why else are there so many thugs?”

Creature: »Infected«
Level: ???
Name: Mar-Huk.
Marks: [Killer], [Thief].
Details: The decline in your attributes left you at the same level as this player.

“Thief? Nah! He can't be a guard.”

“Perhaps it was a bandits' hideout. Or perhaps only the worst scum appears in this world… I hope I'm not included in that group!”

Jean retreated to a wider area. She needed to be able to perform wide attacks. Attacking him head-on would lead to a long fight that would simply wear her down.

“I need a quick purchase! Don't spend it all!”

“[Got it! We know what you're planning!]”

She stored the shield and equipped the other spear. One in each hand. She didn't close the inventory yet.

As soon as the purchase appeared in her inventory, she calmly aimed at his head and threw the bone spear. Jean didn't stop there, she also threw the bronze one. The soldier easily blocked the bone spear; Jean already expected that. But the bronze spear one took him by surprise. He blocked it at the last moment.

The soldier didn't lower the shield, he held it up, believing that she would throw something again. An opportunity Jean didn't waste. She used the blind spot in his vision and ran toward him.

A splash revealed her approach, but by the time the soldier reacted, Jean was already charging with the shield up, leaving a red trail in her path.

Both shields impacted, but only the soldier's shield shattered into pieces. Jean immediately switched to the new two-handed bone hammer, and performed a sweep at his feet. The soldier fell to the ground unprotected.

Counterattacking with the spear in that position would be difficult for him, so Jean raised the hammer above her head and imbued it with the red aura. It descended repeatedly straight to his legs.

Sparks from the metal boots against the hammer jumped out accompanied by red bone fragments.

Like the previous two, the hammer was another bargain from the same blacksmith. Bone base molded with essence to give it that dark red tone and grotesque look.

Breaking his legs was more or less easy. The problem came when she went for his arms. The soldier attacked her without caring about the creaking of his arms tearing from the awkward position.

The wounds were not severe. The spear wasn't exactly at its peak. However, upon being wounded in the arms and legs, she had no choice but to step back momentarily.

Jean let her frustration get the better of her and attacked in a frenzy, crushing his hips and abdominal area. Fatigue hit her suddenly. The fight was lasting far too long.

She trudged forward, struggling to lift the hammer above her head. It was an all-or-nothing gamble.

Jean patiently waited for the opportune moment to deflect the spear with a kick. The spear was finally out of the picture.

The hammer descended straight for his head until the soldier sacrificed one of his arms. He then grabbed the handle of the hammer with his free arm.

She pulled the hammer hard, but to no avail. Not even after a stomp on the head did he let it go.

She released the hammer and went for the bronze spear. It was lying barely a step away, but she was so exhausted that she stumbled several times until she reached it.

After finally retrieving it, she turned and stabbed him with all the strength she had left. The spear entered his mouth and hit the top of his helmet. The impact dulled the point of the spear slightly. It wouldn't last much longer.

Jean inspected her surroundings, but since there were no more applicants to dance, she transmuted some of his items and then devoured him.

“[You’ve discovered and learned »Efficient«.]”

[Efficient] (Basic): You consume 5% less mana and stamina.

“[You’ve discovered more properties of the corruption that afflicts you. Progress towards the new skill, 38%.]”

“[You are ready to »Level Up«.]”

It was strange that the whispers appeared so soon. Devouring these three strong infected brought her much more experience than the others? That didn't matter right now. The key to survive was devouring more corpses and upgrading the Trader; she hoped to find a potion that could cure her. Besides, if she fell asleep again, she wouldn't have the strength to get back up. She needed backup corpses for when she woke up. Leveling up would have to wait a little longer.