Isabelle readied her axe, prepared to slash at the shapeshifting bed monster that had entangled Tahsi Junior in its cruel jaws.
"Tahsi Junior!" cried Shiach. "I don't want you to get hurt!" She then sent a blast of flames from her feathery left palm, engulfing the bed shapeshifter's frame in flames.
[Tahsi Junior -1 hp]
[Tahsi Junior -2 hp]
"Ow! Ow! the fire! It burns!" cried the fearful dragon-kobold.
Isabelle looked at Shiach and sighed sardonically. "How high is your int score again, Shiach?"
"It's very high, thank you for asking," said Shiach.
Now wasn't the time for jokes, Isabelle told herself. But damn, they were always hilarious when she did them.
She drew back her axe and brought it down on the bed. Her blade cut into the wooden frame easily and caused sparks to fly out from the cracks. As soon as the wood touched the floor, it exploded.
[Tahsi Junior -5 hp]
"Ow!" cried Tahsi Junior. His voice was muffled by the burning sheet. He struggled against the sheets but couldn't free himself.
"Oh no! Shiach, help him!" shouted Isabelle.
Shiach stood over Tahsi Junior and looked at the sheet that encased his friend. Without hesitation, Shiach took a deep breath and blew out a powerful gust of wind, which tore the sheets away.
"You fucking saved me!" yelled Tahsi Junior.
"Not yet she didn't," said Isabelle, pointing at the bed beast as it contorted and trembled with violent, malevolent energy. "Get ready for round two!"
Isabelle rushed forward, swinging her axe wildly. Each swing landed a solid hit, leaving small cuts in the creature's hide. The bed beast responded each time by shaking more violently until its whole body was vibrating like a tuning fork.
"I got you now!" yelled Isabelle, running toward the beast with her axe raised.
The bed beast twisted and writhed in pain, trying desperately to break free of Isabelle's grip. With each strike, Isabelle felt her strength being sapped by the creature. It seemed the bed beast had some sort of resistance to her attacks. That meant that Isabelle would need to take extra care if she wanted to keep fighting.
Just then, the bed beast began to growl. Its entire body stiffened. It reared back its head, opened its mouth wide, and let out a terrible screech.
"Ahhhhhhhhghhh!!!" Isabelle screamed, clutching her ears and dropping to her knees. A wave of dizziness washed over her and she found it hard to stay conscious.
A second later, Isabelle fell flat onto the ground. She felt paralyzed. What had the bed done to her? Why did she feel so weak all of a sudden? Had it given her poison or something? Or maybe it was just fatigue?
But wait...that doesn't make sense because...oh god, what have I become?! Isabelle thought, panicking. Is this how it feels to be a zombie? No, that can't be right. Zombies are undead. They're dead people. But I'm not dead, am I? Wait, do I even know if I'm dead? Am I a ghost?
"Fuck's sake Isabelle stop staring at Shiach's butt and help me out before this shapeshifter murders me to death!!" cried Tahsi Junior.
It was of course only at that moment that Isabelle noticed that she had indeed been staring at Shiach's butt the whole time. Was she really somewhat paralyzed, or had it just been the perky round shape of Shiach's ass that distracted her from the shapeshifter's attack? Either way, Isabelle needed to act fast.
As Isabelle watched Shiach battle the bed beast, she saw the creature begin to change form. It grew taller and wider. It transformed from an eight foot tall, bedlike humanoid structure into a monstrous ten foot tall, bipedal, green-skinned beast with a thick mane of hair flowing from its skull. It also gained a pair of horns protruding from its forehead.
"What the hell kind of monster is that?!" asked Isabelle.
Shiach answered, "That's what the shapeshifter really looks like."
The shapeshifter growled a horrible wail and threw Tahsi Junior against the side of the quartz-covered cavern wall.
Tahsi Junior grunted as he hit the rock wall and slid across it. Blood trickled down the left side of his face. Shiach stepped back and prepared herself for another attack.
"You okay?" asked Isabelle, kneeling beside Tahsi Junior.
He nodded. "Yeah, barely scratched." He coughed up some blood.
"Good job, Tahsi Junior!" said Isabelle. "Let's go!"
She grabbed the dragon-kobold by his belt and helped him stand up.
"Ooh fuck, I'm lightheaded," he said.
"Don't be a pussy," said Isabelle. "We don't have any choice but to fight our way through."
They both ran toward the shapeshifter who was still shrieking in malice. Shiach swung a massive sword made entirely of flame around
in front of her and brought it down on the creature's shoulder, severing the limb. As soon as the shapeshifter realized it was losing its arm, it turned its attention back toward Shiach. It lunged at her, knocking her backward with one of its arms. Shiach tumbled to the ground and rolled aside, narrowly avoiding being impaled by the shapeshifter's massive claws.
"Nice save, Shiach!" shouted Isabelle, helping Tahshi Junior back up to his feet.
The shapeshifter roared in anger, leapt onto the ceiling, crawled around a little bit like a spider, and then dove down towards Shiach. The shapeshifter crashed into the ground next to Shiach and slammed her down onto the floor again. Shiach kicked off the ground and stood back upright, facing the shapeshifter once more. She charged forward, swinging her flaming blade around. Her weapon connected with the shapeshifter's leg. Sparks flew everywhere as the flames burned away most of the flesh, sending it screaming into the air.
"Isabelle! Watch out!" yelled Tahsi Junior, leaping between Shiach and the shapeshifter.
The shapeshifter landed on top of Tahshi Junior and pinned him to the ground.
"No! Don't kill him!" said Isabelle, charging towards them. She grabbed Shiach by her armor and dragged her back.
"Sorry, Shiach," said Isabelle. "I'll try to get you two separated as soon as possible."
With a roar, the shapeshifter flipped off Tahshi Junior and leaped straight at Isabelle. It knocked her back down to the ground with a heavy blow to the head. Isabelle felt dizzy and disoriented. Everything seemed hazy. Before she could think about getting back up, the shapeshifter jumped back on top of her, pinning her to the ground. Isabelle struggled beneath it, trying to push it off, but she couldn't
budge the thing. It began to squeeze her tighter, and tighter. Isabelle began to feel faint. Her vision started to fade, and then--
A brilliant flash of flame lit up Isabelle's vision as Shiach sliced one of the beast's horns off with her flaming blade. The shapeshifter leaped backward and wailed in agony as blood sprayed from the gaping wound. Shiach looked at Isabelle.
"Are you alright?" she asked. Isabelle weakly nodded.
Shiach rushed over and knelt beside Isabelle. Her breasts were distractingly close to Isabelle's face. "Do you need me to heal you?"
"No... not now..." Isabelle's voice was hoarse. Her head felt like it was splitting open.
"Hey!" said Tahsi Junior. "If anyone's going to heal Isabelle, it'll be me!"
"I don't need healing..." said Isabelle. "I just have some strange debuff from this shapeshifter that's weakening me. My hp level is fine!"
"Okay, let's see if we can take this beast out ourselves, then," said Shiach. "I doubt this will work, but it might give us an opening."
As Shiach readied her sword, Isabelle heard the sound of stone grinding together behind her. The shapeshifters body was growing larger, stretching itself out like rubber. Shiach cut it down where it stood, separating it into two pieces. One piece fell to the ground and dissolved into dust. The other piece stood before Shiach and Isabelle, towering above them both. They watched in horror as the remaining half of the shapeshifter grew and contorted and quickly resized to match the severed half of the beast, so that it was if the shapeshifter had never been cut in twain at all. This time when the shapeshifter roared, there was no mistaking that it was malevolent laughter.
Tahshi Junior spat in the monster's direction. "That won't hurt it much," said Isabelle.
The shapeshifter laughed again and pointed its clawed hand at the trio. Its grip tightened, and they found themselves suddenly unable to move at all. In their minds, they saw flashes of scenes from their pasts: moments of joy or sorrow or fear. The shapeshifter held them prisoner within those memories, forcing them to relive them over and over until their souls were wrung dry. All three of them screamed and thrashed against their bonds, but to no avail. Their minds were broken. No matter how hard they tried, they could not break free from their own minds.
Suddenly, Isabelle's mind snapped free of her torment. She gasped for breath as she sat up. A wave of nausea washed through her as her stomach turned. Shiach helped her up.
"What happened?" said Shiach.
Isabelle shook her head. "It's gone."
"Gone? What do you mean?"
"My mind broke free somehow. I'm okay."
She leaned over and vomited on the floor. Shiach reached out and rubbed Isabelle's back while she heaved.
"There, there, it's okay," said Shiach as she patted Isabelle forcefully on the ass. She even stuck a finger in there for a second through Isabelle's form-fitted armor.
"Stop touching me," said Isabelle between retches.
After Shiach got Isabelle settled down enough to speak normally, she explained what had happened.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
"Well, it sounds like your mental fortitude saved you, Isabelle. But it doesn't explain why he stopped hurting us after you did."
"Maybe because my mind is broken too," said Isabelle. "Or maybe because we're his prisoners, and he knows that if he kills us, he'll lose his chance to torture our souls."
"Or maybe," said Tahsi Junior, "It's only just begun."
Isabelle shuddered as she watched Tahsi Junior contort and writhe and turn into the bed beast.
"Yes," said the garbled voice of the shapeshifter. "It's only just begun!"
It was then that Isabelle blinked, and she realized she was still frozen still, as were the rest of her party members. And the shapeshifting beast was laughing, oh it was laughing at her horribly. So the experience of breaking free had been but a cruel trick of this monster.
Suddenly, Isabelle's mind snapped free of her torment. She gasped for breath as she sat up. A wave of nausea washed through her as her stomach turned. Shiach helped her up.
"What happened?" said Shiach.
Isabelle shook her head. "It's gone."
"Gone? What do you mean?"
"My mind broke free somehow. I'm okay."
She leaned over and vomited on the floor. Shiach reached out and rubbed Isabelle's back while she heaved.
"There, there, it's okay," said Shiach as she patted Isabelle forcefully on the ass. She even stuck a finger in there for a second through Isabelle's form-fitted armor.
"Stop touching me," said Isabelle between retches.
After Shiach got Isabelle settled down enough to speak normally, she explained what had happened.
"Well, it sounds like your mental fortitude saved you, Isabelle. But it doesn't explain why he stopped hurting us after you did."
"Maybe because my mind is broken too," said Isabelle. "Or maybe because we're his prisoners, and he knows that if he kills us, he'll lose his chance to torture our souls."
"Or maybe," said Tahsi Junior, "It's only just begun."
Isabelle shuddered as she watched Tahsi Junior contort and writhe and turn into the bed beast.
"Yes," said the garbled voice of the shapeshifter. "It's only just begun!"
It was then that Isabelle blinked, and she realized she was still frozen still, as were the rest of her party members. And the shapeshifting beast was laughing, oh it was laughing at her horribly. So the experience of breaking free had been but a cruel trick of this monster. It knew full well that she'd suffer twice over, once from whatever horrible thing the shapeshifter would force her to remember, and again from the terrible feeling of being helpless. Isabelle hated herself for falling for such a simple ruse, and she wanted nothing more than to escape with the others.
But she couldn't.
She couldn't move. She could barely think. And what of her system? How could it help her now? Her magic was disabled. Her movement was disabled. She had great stats, but no ability to put them to use. Isabelle's hands were tied metaphorically, and that was worse than physically. Isabelle started thinking about just how wrong everything had gone. Why in hell had she come here? Tahsi Junior had mistakenly told them they'd find help in these caverns. Help, her ass, thought Isabelle. They'd be lucky to get out of this shitty situation alive, Isabelle figured.
Maybe Isabelle could just let the shapeshifter finish torturing Tahshi Junior first, then she'd see if the beast would go easy on her. If the shapeshifter didn't kill her outright, then perhaps Isabelle might have a shot at escaping. Or perhaps, the shapeshifter would kill them all, and Isabelle could spend the next few moments contemplating her own death. At least that way, she wouldn't feel any pain.
But Isabelle's thoughts quickly shifted away from accepting death.
How in the fuck could she let this stupid fucking cavern shapeshifter murder her? After how far she'd come? Isabelle had done so much in Beaubinte and it had been, what, a few weeks since she reincarnated as a player? And she'd only been really conscious for a portion of that. So much of her time had already been spent locked in meditation with that stupid system dragon.
What was his name? Zedouchebag?
There was no way Zedouchebag was the dragon's name, but it was the dragon's name in Isabelle's mind's ear all the same.
And then, Isabelle noticed something.
The system had a message for her.
[Clarification: You may re-enable mana use by entering the system options dialogue and navigating to mana control]
Her eyes widened when she read it. Was it possible? Could she actually get access to her magic back with her system? Did she dare try? Would it work? No matter what, Isabelle was going to die eventually anyway, right? Might as well take her chances.
[Meditation disabled while in combat mode]
Fuck. So this whole notice from the system was just useless, wasn't it?
[Clarification: No. While many magic scripting events are effectively disabled while in combat mode, you can still access the system options dialogue by entering it through the PotencyPod prompter]
What in the fuck was that? And how did Isabelle use it?
[Clarification: Think 'Start to PP' to activate the PotencyPod prompter]
If Isabelle hadn't been frozen, she would've smirked. Start to PP? Really?
[Clarification: Yes, really.]
Fair enough. Isabelle thought, 'Start to PP.'
[Starting to PP]
[...]
[Tinkling...]
[Tinkling...]
Isabelle once again felt herself overcome with immaturity.
[Tinkling...]
[All done...]
[Error: One drop left]
[All done]
[Welcome to PotencyPod Prompter version 6.9!]
Ah, no update notices on this one? That was nice. The last time Isabelle opened a system dialogue like this she'd had to go through a whole slew of update notifications.
[That is because you can choose when to update some parts of your system. PotencyPod prompter is not one of those things. It updates when it wants to, how it wants to, where it wants to, how it wants to, why it wants to, who it wants to. You have no say, so you do not get asked.]
That... made Isabelle a little uncomfortable. Still, she had to do what she came here to do.
"So," Isabelle said aloud in her mind, "what exactly am I supposed to be doing?"
The PotencyPod prompter seemed to look up at her with its two red glowing eyes, though of course it didn't because it was just a part of her system.
[You're wondering how to activate my abilities, and therefore activate your own abilities, are you not?]
Oh yeah. Now Isabelle remembered. She had to call upon the power of the system, which she guessed was kind of like calling upon a deity, or a god, or whatever. But she wasn't sure if she wanted to invoke the powers of the gods. Or maybe it was more that Isabelle would rather be a god herself then rely on others.
[Gods made the system, the system isn't a god. It's different. Can we get back on track here?]
Isabelle sighed inwardly because she still couldn't move outwardly. This PP prompter seemed very sassy, and she really wasn't in the mood, she just wanted to get her mana use enabled and be done with the damned thing.
[Clarification: To enter system options dialogue through PP prompter, think 'PP into System Options Dialogue.']
That... seemed about right. Isabelle thought, 'PP into System Options Dialogue.'
[...]
[Tinkling...]
Here it went again with the tinkling!
[Tinkling...]
[Tinkling...]
[All done...]
[Error: One drop left]
[All done]
[57 65 6c 63 6f 6d 65 20 74 6f 20 74 68 65 20 53 79 73 74 65 6d 20 4f 70 74 69 6f 6e 73 20 6d 65 6e 75 2e 20 59 6f 75 20 6d 61 79 20 65 6c 65 63 74 20 74 6f 20 61 63 63 65 73 73 20 74 68 65 20 6d 65 6e 75 20 74 68 72 6f 75 67 68 20 68 65 78 61 64 65 63 69 6d 61 6c 20 74 68 6f 75 67 68 74 20 63 6f 6d 6d 61 6e 64 73 20 6f 72 20 74 68 72 6f 75 67 68 20 61 6e 20 69 6e 74 75 69 74 69 76 65 20 47 55 49 2e 20 42 65 20 77 61 72 6e 65 64 20 74 68 61 74 2c 20 74 68 6f 75 67 68 20 69 74 20 6d 61 79 20 73 65 65 6d 20 74 68 65 20 63 6f 6e 74 72 61 72 79 2c 20 69 74 20 69 73 20 6d 75 63 68 2c 20 6d 75 63 68 20 65 61 73 69 65 72 20 74 6f 20 75 73 65 20 68 65 78 61 64 65 63 69 6d 61 6c 20 74 68 6f 75 67 68 74 20 63 6f 6d 6d 61 6e 64 73 20 74 68 61 74 20 69 74 20 69 73 20 74 6f 20 6e 61 76 69 67 61 74 65 20 74 68 65 20 47 55 49 2c 20 69 6e 74 75 69 74 69 76 65 20 74 68 6f 75 67 68 20 69 74 20 6d 61 79 20 62 65 20 74 6f 20 61 20 70 6f 69 6e 74 20 69 74 20 63 61 6e 6e 6f 74 20 73 75 63 63 69 6e 63 74 6c 79 20 61 6e 64 20 73 69 6d 70 6c 79 20 63 6f 6d 6d 61 6e 64 20 74 68 65 20 53 79 73 74 65 6d 20 4f 70 74 69 6f 6e 73 20 74 6f 20 62 65 6e 64 20 74 6f 20 79 6f 75 72 20 77 69 6c 6c 20 69 6e 20 74 68 65 20 73 61 6d 65 20 77 61 79 20 74 68 61 74 20 74 68 65 20 68 65 78 61 64 65 63 69 6d 61 6c 20 74 68 6f 75 67 68 74 20 63 6f 6d 6d 61 6e 64 73 20 63 61 6e 2e 20 54 68 61 74 20 73 61 69 64 2c 20 69 66 20 79 6f 75 20 64 6f 6e e2 80 99 74 20 6b 6e 6f 77 20 68 65 78 61 64 65 63 69 6d 61 6c 2c 20 79 6f 75 20 70 72 6f 62 61 62 6c 79 20 77 6f 6e e2 80 99 74 20 72 65 61 6c 69 7a 65 20 74 68 69 73 2c 20 77 69 6c 6c 20 79 6f 75 3f 20 4e 6f 2c 20 6e 6f 20 79 6f 75 20 77 6f 6e e2 80 99 74 2c 20 62 65 63 61 75 73 65 20 74 68 69 73 20 77 68 6f 6c 65 20 74 68 69 6e 67 20 69 73 20 77 72 69 74 74 65 6e 20 69 6e 20 68 65 78 61 64 65 63 69 6d 61 6c 2c 20 61 6e 64 20 74 68 65 72 65 e2 80 99 73 20 61 62 73 6f 6c 75 74 65 6c 79 20 6e 6f 20 77 61 79 20 66 6f 72 20 79 6f 75 20 74 6f 20 63 6f 6e 76 65 72 74 20 74 68 61 74 20 74 6f 20 6e 6f 72 6d 61 6c 20 74 65 78 74 20 69 6e 20 79 6f 75 72 20 73 79 73 74 65 6d 20 75 6e 6c 65 73 73 20 79 6f 75 20 69 6e 73 74 61 6c 6c 20 e2 80 98 68 65 78 2e 74 6f 2e 74 65 78 74 2e 70 6a e2 80 99 20 69 6e 20 79 6f 75 72 20 73 79 73 74 65 6d 2c 20 77 68 69 63 68 2c 20 61 6e 64 20 49 20 6a 75 73 74 20 63 68 65 63 6b 65 64 2c 20 79 6f 75 20 68 61 76 65 6e e2 80 99 74 2e 20 53 6f 20 69 74 20 6c 6f 6f 6b 73 20 6c 69 6b 65 20 79 6f 75 e2 80 99 6c 6c 20 62 65 20 75 73 69 6e 67 20 74 68 65 20 47 55 49 2e 20 48 61 76 65 20 66 75 6e 2c 20 70 6c 61 79 65 72 2e 0d 0a]
Wow. Isabelle had no idea what to do about the meaningless string of numbers she was staring at from her system. How was she supposed to go about enabling her mana use when this System Options thing was so completely unintelligible?
No, wait. She knew. Isabelle had to figure out a way to make the system want to enable her mana use.
Right. Because it was her system.
She could ask for it directly, couldn't she?
[Clarification: No.]
But she could offer something else instead, right? Something useful.
Yes, yes she could.
[Clarification: No.]
Wasn't there anything else she could offer the system? What if she offered to pay it?
[Clarification: Hell no.]
Isabelle was at a loss. What the fuck could she do?
[Enable System Options GUI?]
Isabelle had no idea what the hell that meant, but she thought yes anyway.
Isabelle had no idea what the hell that meant, but she thought yes anyway.
[Enabling...]
Isabelle gasped inwardly as her vision of the scene before her, that scene being the shapeshifter looming malevolently over her and her party members, dissolved into nothing as if she'd suddenly entered a meditative state. Isabelle watched her own skin smooth out, and start glowing. Then, she saw a whole world build out before her eyes, though it looked exceptionally foggy the further she glanced towards the horizon. She watched as sloppy-looking trees and bushes popped into existence choppily from nothingness. It was strange and bizarre.
Isabelle was standing before the entrance of what seemed to be a large, dense labyrinth of hedges. A stone sign to her right read: WELCOME TO THE SYSTEM OPTIONS GUI. ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Isabelle swallowed air. She kind of a bad feeling about this, but she also knew that she had to go in.