Orange melted in my arms as everything else melted away and I awoke on a cot in a tent. A hunger I hadn’t felt in a long time attacked my system. I clutched my stomach and curled up as I groaned. Shadara jolted awake from the chair she had been sleeping in next to my small cot.

She turned and fell to her knee at my side. “Rina, you’re awake. What’s wrong?”

“F…food. Need…food.” It took so much effort to say those few words. My energy read zero percent while my mana was at three thousand percent.

Shadara fumbled around the floor like she was looking for something. She then procured a small sack and from the sack a pair of green vials. “Here, drink.”

She pulled the top off one and guided it to my lips. She tilted my head back and assisted me. The cool liquid poured down my throat and tasted like an extra sugary fruit salad full of strawberries, mangos, and other fruit. Wow, that’s good. Better than any other meal potion I’ve had so far.

My nanites instantly attacked the potion and quickly turned it into energy. With energy, I grabbed the other vial from my friend’s hand and wolfed it down.

I sighed as that potion tasted like a full steak dinner with mashed potatoes and carrots. As my energy climbed up to seventeen percent, I relaxed and took a moment to stare at the ceiling.

“Better?” Shadara grabbed the empty vial while putting a hand on my shoulder. “You scared me to death. What happened to you?”

Is that all two potions will give me? They were tasty, but I can’t help but feel they weren’t as effective as before.

I turned and smiled at Shadara. “To be honest, you scared me first. During the fight with Tasha, you were unconscious and I couldn’t think of anything else I could do.”

“What did you do?”

I sat up and saw that I was wearing a simple white tank top, short brown shorts, and basic wraps for a bra. “You remember that mana battery we found?” Shadara nodded. “I blew it up in her face while holding it.”

Shadara’s ears pulled back as her eyes went wide. “And…and you survived?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. Turns out getting bit by her right before is a death sentence.” The panther-beast woman fell backwards, hyperventilating. “It’s fine. There’s a way to handle it.”

It took her a few moments to regain control of her breathing. “She bit you. That means you’re going to become a werewolf.” She shook her head and took another deep breath. “That’s right. We’ll deal with it. It won’t change who you are completely. We’ll adjust. Yeah, it’ll be fine. Fine, right?”

Shadara stood up, her eyes weren’t focused on anything as she started pacing. “I can teach you how to take care of all your fur. We’ll go hunting together constantly. We’ll need to set aside a lot of money for food. Yeah. Oh, and I can teach you how to fight with claws. Okay, maybe not that, since I was never good at it. My father could never get me to get as good as him. I’ve got the basics and everything.”

I got up and grabbed her shoulders. “Shadara, stop. You’re rambling.”

Her eyes stared past me. “Oh, and you’ll like having a tail. It’ll probably take some getting used to, but I imagine yours will be the cutest. Yeah, a cute little werewolf. That’ll be awesome. See, this will be good. Oh, and we’ll have to work through how to deal with your hormone imbalances, but I have faith you’ll remember that I’m your friend. You are my friend, right?”

Alright. She’s manic.

I slapped her as hard as I could. “Stop! That’s not going to happen. Now shut up and listen.”

Shadara placed a hand on her cheek and blinked several times. Her eyes finally regained their focus. “Thanks. I needed that. Hopefully, I didn’t say anything too embarrassing.”

I released my friend. “Hopefully I didn’t hit you too hard.”

She shrugged. “I have high toughness. But still, it stings a bit. Impressive.”

“You’ll be fine then.” I curled my fingers into fists and relaxed them several times. “So, yes. The bite is slowly transforming me into a werewolf. I’ve basically got until the end of the day to deal with it. But I have a way to deal with it today. All I need is about two hundred more of those potions.”

Shadara slowly blinked her amber eyes. “Two—two hundred?”

I nodded. “I need to eat a lot. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I’ll feel better.” My head tingled and my skin felt like something was crawling under it. “Please, where can we get more of those potions?”

“Uh.” The poor beast woman’s head had to be spinning. “Are you sure everything’s fine? I was told you were in something like a coma. Now you’re up and ready to eat the army out of food for the week.”

“Sorry, this is just as jarring for me. But I guess I’ve got practice just accepting the ridiculous.” I put my hand to my head and didn’t feel any hair. “What?” I rubbed my bald head. “What happened to my hair?” Shouldn’t it be longer than Rapunzel’s?

Shadara flinched at my screech. “I didn’t want to say anything, but when I found you lying over Tasha’s body, you were naked and had no hair anywhere on you.”

Oh great, and my clothes were completely destroyed too. Wait! “The bag. Did it survive?”

Shadara pointed over to a table near the entry. “Surprisingly, yeah. Your gun is in there too.”

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

I ran over, scooped it up, and held it close to my chest. Thank goodness.

Shadara placed a hand on my shoulder. “Do you want a minute to get into some actual clothes? I’ll go ask where to get such an absurd amount of food.”

“Thanks.”

As Shadara leaves, I rummage through the bag of holding for some clothes. I found a set of clothes that looked surprisingly stylish. I wore a sleek, dark blue leather jacket with intricate silver patterns adorning the sleeves and complemented it with a pair of comfortable black pants and a burgundy shirt. There was even a pair of sturdy black boots. Killa’s choice of clothes could always bring a smile to my face.

Slipping into the outfit, I marveled at how well it fit without any tailoring. The jacket felt lightweight yet warm, and the pants were flexible. My toes wiggled in the boots that were exceptionally soft on the inside. It was an unexpected win in the face of so many recent losses.

Comfortable shoes can never be understated.

I walked out into a military camp. The sun would’ve blinded anyone else with how bright it was, but my eyes shifted instantly. Everything around me bustled with activity. Did that tent really silence everything outside of it? The cacophony of commotion and chatter was almost overwhelming. I only assumed it was a military camp because almost everyone was in very similar armor and colors.

I couldn’t help but feel a bit self-conscious, with my bald head exposed to the world. The last time I had too much mana, my hair grew uncontrollably. Why isn’t it growing now?

The shadow corruption is consuming your hair as fast as it is growing. A small fortunate boon at this moment. You will need all the mana you have.

Way to find the silver lining, Orange.

Shadara waved me down from one of the rows of tents. I headed over and looked at all the soldiers. The men and women were all different creatures—humanoid, at least. Some had reptilian features, such as scales and sharp, angular features, while others had mammalian fur, feathers, or insectoid exoskeletons.

And just as varied as their species were their builds. Some were tall and imposing, while others were more small and agile. They were dressed in various levels of armor made from sleek black steel. Underneath their armor was some padding in white and red.

Shadara ushered me into the building she was standing in front of. It wasn’t a tent like those surrounding us; it was a shack made out of wood. The inside looked like a small corner store. Shelves and stands of various goods lined the walls.

A grizzly bear man looked up as we approached. “Can I help you two?”

Shadara stepped forward. “We need a couple hundred of your meal potions. We’re in a bit of a hurry.”

The bear man raised an eyebrow. “Couple hundred?” He laughed. “Okay, that’s a good one. Now, what do you really want?”

I pursed my lips. “That wasn’t a joke. I need two hundred meal potions.”

He leaned on the counter. “Even if I had that many, why would I sell that many to one person? You’ll need to talk to my supplier. He’ll be your best bet.”

Shadara crossed her arms. “And where would we be going?”

The owner waved his hand at the door. “The north-eastern section of this base. Look for Gale.”

I turned to leave. “Thanks.”

As I opened the door, the bear-man called out, “What? You’re not going to buy anything? Rude.”

Shadara snorted. “You earned it.”

We left and headed to the north-east, at least under Shadara’s guidance. As we walked, I couldn’t help but feel people sneaking glances at my head. And Killa doesn’t have any hats. We will be able to fix my hair situation after this, right, Orange?

Follicle production will resume after the corruption is cleansed.

Good.

I let Shadara do the talking as we looked for another building where Gale could be making potions. Our little stroll through the camp finally led to another set of buildings and a white stone wall that circled the camp.

We knocked on the first building, and a bird man greeted us. His plumage looked like a tropical bird’s, with bright colors under his loose-fitting blue robes. He looked sickeningly scrawny, and his voice held a hollow reverberation to it.

“Well, new clients, how marvelous!” He bowed. “My name’s Gale. What miracle-curing concoction can Conflagration’s Caress provide for you?”

Shadara and I exchanged looks of bewilderment. I shrugged. “We’ve come this far.” I turned to Gale. “Hi, can you, uh, give me two hundred vials of meal potions? Oh, I’ll pay, of course.”

A semitransparent film slid sideways across his eyes. “That’s a large order. Where’s your shop?”

Shadara held out a hand. “Can we take this inside? It’s kind of loud out here.”

Gale clicked his beak. “I don’t see a reason to say no.” He opened the door further and waved. “Please, make yourselves comfortable.”

As we stepped inside, the air nearly floored me with the fragrance of exotic herbs and something burning. The room was dimly lit by glowing orbs suspended from the ceiling, casting a warm glow.

The far side of the room looked like a workshop area. It was cluttered with various alchemical instruments and tools. I could only guess that each piece was meticulously organized in its own chaotic artistic fashion. Or not. Shelves lined with glass bottles of different shapes and sizes displayed an array of colorful liquids and powders. In one corner, a massive bubbling cauldron full of green liquid emitted gentle white wisps.

Gale’s living quarters were adjacent to the workshop area, separated by a colorful silk curtain. A cozy bed with embroidered cushions stood in one corner. There was a small space that looked like a kitchen space too.

Gale waved to the cauldron that would’ve fit all three of us comfortably inside. “I’ve been brewing a new batch. Your timing is either fortunate or suspicious.”

“Is that going to be enough?” I arched an eyebrow. “I’m not exactly the best at estimating volume.”

Gale hummed and tapped a feathered finger on his beak. “It isn’t done. It still needs a day or two more to boil down. But I would probably get a bit more than two hundred.”

“I don’t have two days.” I tapped my foot. “My situation is complicated. How much do you usually charge for a potion?”

“You’re not vendors looking for a supplier?” Gale crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. “I usually provide my meal potions for a thousand—each. Can you really pay for two hundred of them?”

Before I answered, Shadara cleared her throat. “I’m sure such a large order and unfinished product would give us a discount. A hundred thousand for the contents of that cauldron.” She turned and whispered to me, “I’ll help pay if you need it.”

Gale scoffed. “You’re joking. That’s an insulting amount. If you offered a hundred and sixty thousand, then we’d be talking.”

“Done!” I created a shard and threw it at him. That’s a good deal, and I really don’t have time for all this bartering. We don’t need to bankrupt the poor guy. He’s running a business. “I would’ve paid the original price, but since you’re marking it down, I’ll go with that price.”

Gale squawked as he juggled the shard for a few seconds before finally catching it. He absorbed it, and his eyes went even wider. “You’re serious?”

I walked over and picked up an empty jar before heading to the cauldron.

Gale ran over and held his arms up, keeping me away from the liquid. “You have to wait. This really needs to sit for at least a day. It could make you sick.”

I shook my head. “I’ll be fine.”

Gale slumped forward. “How do you plan on carrying all that out of here then?”

I smirked. “Who said I’m leaving with it? I’m going to drink it all right now.”

Gale’s eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fainted.

Shadara pinched the bridge of her nose. “You really are something else.” She waved her hand and groaned. “Well, you paid for it. Do you have anything left, or did you spend everything you had? I was hoping to get you some armor here before we leave.”

I smiled. “I’ve still got over six hundred thousand left.”

She shook her head and giggled as she walked over to sit in a chair. I scooped up the first jar full and drank it. “Hm, blueberries.”