Hacking the Game Didn't Go as Intended [Part One]

CHAPTER 102: Dinkidoo - Getting a Taste of His Own Medicine

In the next instant, he found himself prostrated, his fingernails peeling the wooden floor as he attempted to claw his way to freedom. But it was futile. Suddenly, his body jerked forward violently, his eyes bulging, a pained cry ripping from his lungs as his body was forcefully breached. His folds rippled as the Orc found what it sought, over and again over again.

As the man's blood-curdling screams erupted from the room, Daisuke made his way toward Reeza. Petula glanced up at him with worrisome eyes as he approached, then shifted her gaze to the motionless girl whose head she had carefully rested upon her lap. She had also covered her body with a layer of her own garment.

"Her breathing's very shallow," Petula informed dejectedly. "At this rate..."

Silently, Daisuke crouched down and effortlessly summoned a potion in his hand, the shimmering red liquid catching Petula's gaze.

"That's..."

DING!

[Medium HP Recovery Potion]

[A potion brewed by combining Celestia flowers, Vitaberries, and Bloomwhisper Herbs. Its restorative potency varies depending on the concentration grade.

Item Effect: Replenishes 1,500 health

Cooldown: 20 Seconds]

"T-That's a very expensive potion," Petula exclaimed in a hushed tone, feeling a tad guilty on Reeza's behalf. "Are you sure it's okay?"

"...There's nothing in this world that can be compared to the worth of a person's life," Daisuke murmured as he gently raised the girl's head to feed her two vials' worth of the remedy.

As the cool, rejuvenating effects of the serum quickly spread throughout her body, healing bones and skin, Reeza's eyes slowly blinked open. For a moment, her vision was blurry, which seemed to heighten the faint echoes of Daisuke's words that reverberated in her mind. In addition to no longer being in excruciating pain, she could vividly hear Casimir's muffled screams and knew that Daisuke had not only saved her from a grim fate, but had also avenged her.

But why?

Even if he held all life in such high regard, surely her own would weigh less on his scale after all the wrongs she had done him. She was grateful her life was spared, but now, whether she liked it or not, she was greatly indebted to him.

"...The potions," she said beneath her breath, keeping her gaze averted.

Daisuke frowned. "Did you say something?"

"The potions!" Reeza repeated in a higher pitch, a flush staining her cheeks as she pouted. "I'll pay you back for them."

Daisuke stood and turned away, his thoughts unsettled.

Petula smiled warmly as she observed the awkward exchange.

"...By the way," Reeza said to the woman as she gingerly pushed to her feet and properly secured the loose garment around her small frame. "Did you... happen to see my mother on your way here?"

Petula pursed her lips as the image of a particular chamber floated in her mind. "I... may have an idea."

Reeza's face lit up. For a moment, she resembled the innocent little girl who had brought Daisuke a kebab while he was struggling to make ends meet. But that was just a persona to deceive him... wasn't it?

"Take her and go," Daisuke said, a telling undercurrent saturating his words, his butterscotch eyes transitioning to gold as they veered to the side. "I'll find you once I'm done wrapping up things here."

Petula didn't need to be psychic to understand the warning behind his tone. With an urgency borne of caution, she took Reeza's hand who was still groggy on her feet from blood loss, beckoned to the other young Florian girl who was meekly observing the scene, and quickly departed through the front door.

"Why don't you go ahead and come out now," Daisuke said without a trace of hospitality. "You can hide your presence all you want, but I'd be able to pick up on that bloodlust from a mile away."

"How very perceptive of you," Ranger said by means of greeting as he entered the room from a side door. "You even cleverly used the tunnels to out-maneuver me on your way here."

DING!

[Ranger | Lvl 54 | Shinobi]

Daisuke frowned at the tall and imposing man dressed in black. He wore a stoic yet condescending expression.

"...What did you do to the man who was in this room?" asked Ranger, a silent rage simmering to a boil beneath his calm veneer.

"Let's just say he's getting a hard dose of his own medicine," Daisuke replied with the same nonchalance and condescension.