Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
Green ran frantically, stumbling, constantly looking back, his face drenched in sweat mixed with fear and exhaustion. His eyes held not just panic but a tearful helplessness. Ever since he decided to bet on Ye Chui and Debbie, bizarre encounters, the kind most people never face in a lifetime, hadn’t stopped.
Friends with these two weren’t a stroke of luck, they were the unluckiest duo under the stars!
The terrifying creature, for some reason, ignored the others and fixated on him. It had grabbed his leg, dragging him to a strange stone house. He slipped away when it wasn’t looking. Who knew what that thing planned to do with him? He had to escape.
Regret consumed Green. More than regretting his alliance with Ye Chui and Debbie, he cursed himself for never honing his magic tutor skills.
As a space magic tutor, his magic was versatile, suited for attack, defence, and support. Spells like [Storage Space] for holding items, or [Space Wall] and [Space Shield] for defence, and powerful attack spells like the nearly unblockable [Space Blade]. Yet, he knew none of these crucial combat or defence spells.
All these years, he only mastered [Storage Space], using it to run gambling dens or cheat. He was truly the most useless space magic tutor.
If he escaped this, he swore to practice [Space Shield] and [Space Blade], he would…
But was there still a chance?
“Chirp! Chirp!” An angry cry sounded behind Green. Turning, he saw the creature’s stitched face right behind him!
“Don’t come near, stay away…”
Green’s leg, broken earlier, made movement difficult. In his terror, he tripped and fell with a thud, shouting as he summoned his magic book. A chaotic mess of dice, gambling tables, and cards spilled out, thrown at the creature.
It did nothing to stop her.
Bang! The creature tapped Green’s head with her fist, not hard, but enough to make him dizzy. He passed out.
In a haze, he felt himself slung over the creature’s shoulder, carried back to her stone house.
Thud!
He was tossed onto a bed.
His consciousness cleared slightly.
Rip!
The sound of fabric tearing.
His legs felt cool, and he realised his trousers were being torn off!
This woman was stripping him?
“You…” He struggled to sit up, shouting.
But the creature tapped his forehead again, and he collapsed back onto the bed with a thud.
Not fully unconscious, his mind foggy, he recalled what Ye Chui and Debbie had said.
“Maybe because you’re handsome.”
“She’s been alone here for five thousand years, probably wants a companion.”
By the Demon Emperor’s pyre, could that be true?
…
“How’s Green doing?” Ye Chui said regretfully.
Inside the dragon’s head, in the maze-like ant nest, Ye Chui, Debbie, and Gilga crept along a wide tunnel. Gilga led, not just for her strength but because her golden glow served as a perfect torch.
They couldn’t leave soon, but food and air were plentiful. Ye Chui could conjure water with magic, and Gilga’s power ensured safety. Plus, it was a great place for Ye Chui to earn points quickly.
He had just used points to download [Storage Space] and [Flame] spells, stunning Debbie and Gilga. This convinced them to support his bold plan: stay, hunt monsters for points, and wait for his map package to unlock.
But thinking of poor Green, they felt a pang of guilt.
“Taken by that creature, his fate might be grim,” Debbie said regretfully. They had discussed how the creature likely wanted their body parts, sparing Ye Chui and Debbie because they weren’t mature enough, like Debbie’s chest size.
“That creature?” Gilga clearly remembered it, “A troublesome one. She always appeared to attack whenever Miss Debbie was injured.”
“Wait!” Ye Chui caught something in Gilga’s words. If the creature chased Debbie before, her theory about wanting body parts might be wrong. He looked at Debbie, “When the creature chased you, was it always when you were injured?”
Debbie paused, exchanging a glance with Gilga, then realised, “That’s right, could it be…”
“The real difference between us and Green isn’t just his age. It’s that he was injured,” Ye Chui said gravely. Green had a fractured arm from their initial scuffle and later broke his leg falling from a tree, startled by Ye Chui’s shout.
“When she chased me, and now Green, it wasn’t for our bodies, but to…” Debbie said, incredulous, “heal our injuries?”
…
In the stone house, Green lay in a daze, his heart heavy with despair.
He thought of his yet-to-be-met lover, a romance that ended before it began, his youth lost. He pictured running under a sunset…
Wait.
Green’s eyes snapped open. He struggled to lift his head and looked down.
His trousers were gone, but the unthinkable scene he feared didn’t happen. His injured leg was wrapped in white bandages, cool, smeared with some ointment, the burning pain much reduced.
The creature stood by the bed, holding a bowl of what seemed like salve. Her uneven fingers pointed at Green’s injured arm.
“Chirp, clack,” she said.
“You, you’re treating my wounds?”
Green’s eyes widened in shock.
