Chapter 33: Victor’s Plan

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Victor’s Plan

The logic behind that argument was solid, even if it was nothing more than speculation. But if Victor turned out to be right, they were looking at one of the most significant changes in the scenario’s difficulty.

At first, he had thought this scenario was designed to kill its participants without giving them a chance to defend themselves. That was why Brika had been so resigned to dying, and he had considered the same possibility himself.

Now, he could see that Brika was genuinely beginning to think about what he had said.

"This is our chance, and I have a plan for it," Victor said. Along with his stubborn determination, a faint smile remained on his face as the ideas began to take shape. "All we need to do is work together to make it happen."

The goblin girl sighed and spoke in a tired voice.

"I’m listening."

Victor silently celebrated Brika’s "enthusiasm" for his plan. He could more or less understand that as long as something seemed like it might work, she was willing to consider her options. He now understood why she had introduced herself as a warrior. She really was one.

Besides, Brika no longer had any reason to remain so pessimistic. They had advantages, and that was everything at this point.

"Listen. I need you to spend more of those points in your System to get more flashbangs. We’re going to use them to make those monsters tangible. I think you can already guess where I’m going with this."

"You’re planning to blow a grenade up in their faces and then shoot them?"

"Exactly," Victor said, snapping his fingers.

He got out of bed, walked over to the table, and sat down across from Brika.

"But doing that head-on would be stupid because we know they’re fast and agile, not to mention that they can pass through walls. What we need is to gather them all in one place by making them think they’ve found an easy prey to kill."

It was a classic trick, but that didn’t make it any less effective. Use bait, lure the dumb ghosts in, blow a grenade up in their faces, and fill them with lead until it comes out of their ears. If everything went well, they would eliminate one of the scenario’s greatest threats.

Meanwhile, Brika adopted an analytical posture. She was probably thinking about how the plan might work if they had to carry it out immediately. How did the two of them fit into this plan, and how would they get the specters to follow them?

Victor had answers to those questions, but first, he took out the silver bell he had obtained near the beginning of his journey and dropped it onto the table with a clatter. Brika looked at the silver object, then at Victor.

"A bell?"

"Yeah, a bell. At first, I was a little disappointed because I thought this thing would be useless. I mean, it’s really noisy, and making that kind of noise in a place where something dangerous might hear you would be stupid. But then I thought, are the specters deaf?"

"They aren’t," Brika replied immediately.

"Eureka. Let’s use this bell as the foundation of our future victory."

"You put too much faith in your own words, human. Overconfidence leads to death."

Victor let out a short, amused laugh.

"You know what? I’m sure that’s how I ended up here in the first place. If I don’t believe what I’m about to do will work, I’ll just stay stuck and fall back into the same hole as before. And what if I fail? Then I’ll try again until it works!"

Of course, even if he failed, he couldn’t afford to die, because that would be the end of everything. Even if he failed, as long as he managed to escape and get into position, he could try again. That was how humanity had continued to improve over thousands of years.

It was time to apply his own species’ methods to this madness.

Brika looked noticeably surprised by those words. Her expression softened, as if she were watching a child declare that he was going to become the king of the world.

"Those who give up die," Victor said. "You know that, don’t you?"

Brika sighed again and stood up.

"Those who give up die," she repeated. "Let’s do this and get out of this scenario."

Victor smiled. Then, as if a sudden idea had just occurred to him, he headed for his bag and pulled out the rope.

"By the way, we’re going to need ropes too. If you have any, we’ll use them. Let’s not waste any time. Let’s get started."

Excited, Victor began running around the house like a headless chicken, gathering anything he could find that might prove useful for his plan.

Brika stopped watching him and focused on her System window instead. She closed her eyes to think, then reached into the screen. A second later, she pulled out two flashbangs and a long rope.

After that, a message appeared in large letters on Brika’s System window. Even Victor could see it, since he had stopped dead in his tracks to sneak a look at the goblin’s information.

[You have run out of points.]

’I don’t know how she gets points for her System, but if she can somehow gather more, we’ll be fine for the rest of our journey through this scenario.’

Now, they would have to reunite with some old friends...

△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽

An hour passed, and Victor was crouched behind the corner of a house. He sat on the ground, staring into space and waiting patiently. He held his walking stick, which had been scorched from being used as a torch, and seemed to be holding something in his other hand.

The assault rifle rested against the wall, loaded and ready to use.

Curious about what Brika was doing, hidden a few yards behind the corner of another house, Victor sensed every scent that entered his range.

He could smell the dust lying on the ground, the wax from candles, and the dried meat hidden in some corners of the houses. But more than anything else, focusing as hard as he could, he wanted to detect the distortion in the area’s scents so he would know if any of those monsters appeared.

A second later, something entered the range of his sense of smell.

It was far away, but it was slowly approaching.

[1 Summon Available]

[Cost: Free]

[Perform Summon?]

[ Yes ] [ No ]

’The item’s rarity will determine the outcome of this plan.’

It was like flipping a coin.