Chương 83: Floor 5 Rematch (3)

Damn it! Curse you past Stella! I cursed myself in my thoughts as I suffered in bed. Everything hurt. My legs felt like jelly and moving my arms or body caused a sharp pain to hit me.

"Ugh…" I groaned. Luna stood next to the bed with her arms crossed, looking down on me.

"I told you so." She said with an amused expression.

"…Do you have any way to fix this?" I asked.

"Heh," She chuckled, "Time." She simply answered, "If you had gone to the gym with me, you wouldn't be in pain this much."

"Time…Too long." I muttered, my mind quickly trying to think of a solution. Then, it was as if a light bulb went off, "…Fatigue potion!"

"…You're going to make a potion to cure your soreness?" Luna asked.

"Ah…" Then a realization hit me. I was broke!! Damn it!

"Ugh…I can't." I sadly mumbled.

"Why not? If you can create a bouncy potion, surely you can create something to ease your sore muscles. There's plenty of them out there on the exchange."

"…I'm broke." I embarrassingly replied, turning away-OW! Turned too quickly…

"…" Luna stared at me in silence, "You're broke…But, don't you have a stockpile of potions in the closet to sell? There's at least over a hundred mana potions and those other ones in there." I didn't reply for a moment. Yes, all this time that I've been complaining about my pitiful point balance, I've had this option. And I've known it. But… This is a little embarrassing to say out loud.

"I…I uh…I don't want my comeback to just be selling potions…" I mumbled.

"What…?" Luna said. I took a deep breath and started to hurriedly speak to defend myself,"I mean! Like! I've been gone for like three months now! No one knows what the Little Bomber is up to! They're all making theories online and it's kind of funny! Imagine if I just randomly came back to sell potions! My reputation would be fried! And wouldn't it be awesome if one day, out of nowhere, the Little Bomber returns, but it's with a floor 5 solo completion!?"

"…" Luna stared at me in silence. I bit my lips, my cheeks turning red.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaah." Luna let out a long, heavy, almost exaggerated—No, definitely exaggerated sigh.

"I-I mean! Wouldn't that just look lame!? The return is just selling potions!?"

"…Please, stop talking."

"Mm…" I let out a sad sound that was similar to a sad dog cry.

"Fine. Then-""No!" I immediately rejected, "I can't take your points for free…"

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah." Luna let out an even longer sigh before sitting on the bed, she tapped the top of my head, "Why're you being so difficult." She said, "Fine then, I'll loan however much you need. You must pay me back with interest when you clear this floor, deal?"

"Ow…" I went to rub the top of my head in exaggeration but felt actual pain when I lifted my arms, "Sniffle…Sniff, sniff…Okay…Thank you…"

"How much do you need?" … I slowly made my way to the kitchen, hurting with each step I took. Ugh… Can I even do alchemy like this? I wondered. Painfully, I set everything up. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Fatigue potions… They're surprisingly simple to make. Even though I could find a recipe from the gallery, I was going to create it on the spot. A little bit of pain can't stop me! Though, it definitely did stop me from writing it down in my notebook.

I'd just have to remember it later. And you know what that means? It means I'm going to freeball it, baby! I poured some sap into the pot and turned on the heat. Searching through the exchange, I looked for some affordable materials that sounded right. Ah, this one looks good. A material known as a 'Tarknut Herb' appeared in my hand. It was green, leafy, and smelt bitter. I slowly ripped it into pieces, dropping it directly into the sap.

Then, I grabbed the pot's handle and threaded mana into it to help get the herb's properties imbued into the sap. When that was done, I purchased another material from the exchange. Honey. I simply poured a quarter cup into the sap and stirred.

"Next is…Um…" Ah! Rinegloss petals! I purchased a rinegloss flower and plucked the petals dropping them into the pot. And then…Wow this is hard, there's just too many materials that I could put in. Is this a 'my steak too juicy' situation…? It wouldn't be a problem if it was the opposite, but, I just have too many options. This is why I usually write down the recipes and cut what I can.

"Ugh, fine, let's just stop it here." I poured in some strawberry concentrate and stirred before turning the heat off. Finally, I just made sure everything was in order and fine by threading my mana into it. Straining the pinkish-yellow liquid into a bottle, I checked the description. [Sweet Fatigue Potion] Grade - D Creator: Raccoon A potion that helps ease muscle soreness and washes away fatigue.

"Damn you, past me!"

"Pfft!" I nearly burst out laughing as I saw the quote at the bottom of the description. I didn't know the tower had jokes. Thinking about it, it's sitting here making jokes while I'm out there suffering!? Screw you, tower! Hehe. I internally giggled.

"Done?" Luna asked from the side. I nodded, showing her the potion's description before chugging it. A moment later, a cold feeling flowed throughout my body. It was like a wave sweeping through my body. And along with it, washed away the soreness and pain I felt. Well, not all of it—it's only a D grade potion after all—but, I immediately felt better. I felt alive! I could actually move my arms without being in pain now!

"Paaah!" I let out a deep breath, "Feels like I can run a thousand miles!"

"Right…A thousand miles." Luna sarcastically repeated, "So, are you just going to live off of these until you clear this floor?"

"Yep!" I shamelessly replied.

"How much did it cost?"

"About 8, 500. I actually had enough, though, I'd really have almost nothing after that."

"Well, you'd need the loan anyways. You could have afforded it for today, but tomorrow? Or the day after?"

"Aha! Silly, Luna! You see, today's actually the day I clear this floor. So, there's no need for me to make more than one!"

"…Right." Luna rolled her eyes.

"Hehe." I giggled, "Alright! I'm gonna go get dressed and then go for a rematch!"

"No, stop." Luna grabbed my shoulder, I turned to her and tilted my head, "Breakfast first. You need to eat." She said sternly.

"Ah…Okay…" … Round eleven. Fail. Materials found: 1/3; Mossbranch vine. … Round eighteen. Fail. Materials found: 0/3. … Round twenty. Fail. Materials found: 2/3; Mossbranch vine, giant huffpall. … The next day I woke up in pain again.

"Ugh…" I groaned, sitting up. Reaching for the potion on my nightstand, I uncapped it and swallowed everything in it. The familiar cold feeling swept throughout my body.

"Paah! Nice and alive." I mumbled. Glancing over, Luna was just waking up.

"Awake…?" Luna asked.

"Mhm." I replied.

"Don't…Go yet…5 minutes…" She mumbled, her eyes nearly shutting.

"Alright, I'll make breakfast, how about that?"

"Mm…" I headed to the kitchen and decided on making some simple bacon and eggs. … Round twenty-one. Loss. Materials found: 2/3; Mossbranch vine, giant huffpall. … Round twenty-two. Loss. Materials found: 2/3; Mossbranch vine, jango mushroom. This round was a little interesting, as, I discovered a new problem. The jango shroom was poisonous; Inhaling its spores could paralyze my nervous system, and while running I do a lot of inhaling.

For this round, I was able to block it's properties with mana, preventing it from emitting its spores, but, it's not exactly easy to do that while running. So, I needed to come up with a solution. And that, I did. I simply started bringing a ziplock bag in my pouch. Oh, and I had Luna sell that jango shroom. … Round twenty-four. Loss. Materials found: 2/3; Mossbranch vine, giant huffpall. When I returned to the apartment, exhausted as usual, I flopped onto the couch,"Haah…" I yawned, "Is there a way to go faster?"

I asked, "The agility potion works well, but, I feel like I'm not fast enough to find more than two materials."

"Other than training and consistent exercise?" Luna rhetorically asked, "Well, there's one way, but I don't know if you can do it."

"Mm…?" I perked up, looking up at the girl who was sitting just above my head—if I scooted a bit closer, I'd be given a lap pillow.

"If you imbue your legs with mana while running, you can move faster. It's something they teach combat classes. The same theory applies for when punching, if you imbue your fist with mana, you punch harder."

"Imbue…My legs?" I repeated. Thinking about it, it made sense. I could imbue my vocal cords to make my voice louder. So, why wouldn't I be able to imbue my legs to make me faster? And a little past that, what if I imbue my muscles with mana? Would I get all around stronger?

"Is there a skill for it?" I asked, "Like how [Mana Voice] exists?"

"No," Luna shook her head, "No skill. It's just a general application of mana. Mana voice exists because it does more than just make your voice louder."

"I see…" I said, falling into thought, "How hard is it?" I asked.

"About as hard as using [Mana Voice]." She replied, "But, the difficultly comes with maintaining it while running. If you mess up, you'll suffer mana backlash." Ah…Mana backlash. My specialty!

"Got it!" I said excitedly, "Then, I'm gonna start trying it in future attempts."

"…" Luna stared at me for a moment before shaking her head with a sigh, "Haah…Mana backlash really hurts, you know? It's like getting shocked by electricity, your core will hurt a lot."

"Hehe, don't worry. I'm an expert."

"…Right…" Luna clearly didn't believe me. But! This time! I have actual experience! If I could do it back then! I could do it again!

"Anyways, how about we change the scenery a bit?" Luna asked.

"Mm?"

"Let's stay at my place for a few days."

"Okay~" I said, dragging out my voice. … Round twenty-five. I immediately ran towards the forest. As I ran, I started to draw mana from my core. With my current manipulation and strength, this should be a breeze! As Luna explained, I started to wrap my legs in mana-"GAH!" I coughed, tripping and eating a face full of dirt. That terrible pain, the same as when I created my [Mana Voice] skill hit my chest again.

"God…Damn it…" I muttered, pushing myself up. [4: 41] Bastard, I'll conquer you just as I'll conquer this floor. Taking a deep breath, I started to run again, drawing mana from my core into my legs. Yes! Got-"GAAH!" I stumbled, face planting into the dirt. …

"PFFT!" Luna burst out laughing as soon as I returned, "Hahahaha!" I glared at her. A little bit of dirt fell from my clothes and onto the floor. After she got her laughs in, she asked,"Are you okay? Did you suffer mana backlash?"

"…Yeah." I nodded with a sigh, "Hey, teach me how to do it properly."

"Alright." Luna simply replied. The next hour she instructed me directly, teaching me exactly how to properly imbue mana into my legs while running. She even showed me by imbuing her mana into my body and let me look at how she imbues mana into her own body. After every round, I'd learn from Luna and three rounds later, I could successfully run while imbuing mana into my legs. Mostly. Occasionally I'd still eat dirt, but! That's a low chance! I'm an expert now! … Round thirty. Loss.

Materials found: 2/3; Mossbranch vine, giant huffpall. … In the bath, I sank into the water, letting out a exhausted breath. As long as I win once…