Chomp, chomp, chomp...

The bitter taste kept assaulting Li’s taste buds, again and again. With no tools and no way to use their powers, the only thing Li could rely on was their own mouth. Li had to be grateful they hadn’t smashed all their teeth when they fell. If they didn’t even have teeth... Li had no idea how else they could grind this stuff up.

“Damn it! Is this what life’s come to?! Fuck!”

After cursing, Li went back to Phoebe and, using the same method, slowly fed her the herbs they’d chewed up, using Pal’s power...

At this rate, there was no telling when she’d wake up.

There weren’t enough potions or materials. They couldn’t even guarantee they’d have enough food. Li could manage, but Phoebe definitely wouldn’t last long. Li had to think of something...

At this rate, she really would die here...

“No matter how many herbs you eat, they can’t compare to a single potion...”

Li knew it all too well. No matter how many herbs they ate, they couldn’t compare to one potion! But Li didn’t have a single tool at their disposal, and Pal could only use the barest fraction of their power. As Li’s body slowly began to recover, Pal was gradually recovering too. But Li had detonated their own Authority, and now they couldn’t use it. It had turned into a string of question marks...

It was like the data had been corrupted. Unless Li could repair it... But in the end, Li didn’t really understand what an Authority was, either.

And because Li had detonated their Authority, the system had temporarily fallen dormant too. The same thing had happened after its last rampage. It would probably take some time before it woke up.

Sigh...

This was hard... way too hard... The difficulty was hellish!

Should Li abandon her?

Li looked at Phoebe beside them. If they abandoned her here, they could live comfortably, without having to carry this burden. But if they abandoned her here, Li...

Since she was still alive, Li shouldn’t let her die comfortably! If they abandoned her here...

Li absolutely couldn’t let her die just like that! They’d sworn they wouldn’t! So they couldn’t—not yet!

Li couldn’t abandon Phoebe here yet. They still had to find a way to keep her alive. At least, if it came to it and they ran into monsters or something, Li could still leave her behind and save their own life.

“Ptooey~”

Li spat out the bits they couldn’t swallow, then stood back up and went to gather other herbs. The plants here were even denser than where Li had been before, and they grew thicker the farther along the path they went. There was also more and more food they could eat. It was still all the same bitter stuff that was hard to swallow, but if it was just a matter of staying alive, Li could manage...

Phew~

“Hm?”

A cool breeze brushed Li’s face. They looked around in surprise, but everything was utterly quiet. There was nothing there...

But that cool breeze...

Aside from the day they encountered the dragon, Li hadn’t felt a breeze once during their time here. What was going on?

As Li carefully examined the surroundings, they suddenly realized the wind was blowing out from the cliff face in front of them...

The leaves and grass were swaying gently.

Li narrowed their eyes, pulled out a strand of hair, and held it in front of the cliff face. The hair drifted gently along the current of air.

“This is...”

Li went over and pushed aside the vines, branches, and other plants.

Whoosh!!!

Suddenly, a breeze carrying a peculiar fragrance rushed right into Li’s face!

That scent was incredibly familiar to Li. It was the smell of medicine!

There was actually a cave hidden behind the vines!