Reincarnation of the Gun Swap Goddess [Volume 1]

Brookie's Loyalty

The moment Dharr and Brookie set foot on the dying grass...

"Ugh..."

"Oh my god..."

An overwhelming sense of nausea assaulted them. It wasn't anything like dizziness - though they could still see straight, their heads were swimming in a sea of discomfort.

"No, screw this. I'm not going any further."

Dharr immediately succumbed to the nausea and stumbled back onto living grass.

"Oh my god. I can't believe I took living normally for granted..."

Dharr relievedly sucked in a breath of fresh air as he lay on his back. He turned to look at his friend... who was still attempting to press forward.

"... Just come back. You're not gonna last long in there."

"Urgh... Nah. I'm gonna continue forward. Just leave me alone," Brookie adamantly said.

"... I'll wait here until you give up."

Brookie was able to slowly struggle for a couple more steps before speaking up again.

"Agh, what..."

"What is it?" Dharr asked.

"I just took damage..."

"From what?"

Both Brookie and Dharr were confused for a moment before realizing the cause.

"... Brooks. Come back."

"No, Dharr, I can keep going. It was only 1 HP of damage after all."

Though Brookie remained adamant, Dharr knew he would cave eventually. Though Brookie's willpower wasn't lacking, there were some obstacles willpower couldn't force you through.

Dharr watched as Brookie continued struggling forward.

After several minutes, Brookie still hadn't left line of sight... which was how Dharr saw him collapse.

"You alright??" Dharr shouted.

"Urgh..."

Brookie didn't give a proper response.

"This guy..."

If Brookie was only able to make it that far in several minutes, there was no way Dharr was going to endure the mental strain just to try and save him. In the worst case scenario, Brookie would just respawn at the Covan Hamlet, only losing a couple of items and half of the coins in his pouch.

Just as Dharr was about to leave, he received a direct message via the system.

*>Brookie: Yeah, I'm gonna try to make my way back. The mental strain is only getting worse as I go farther. The HP decay is really slow, though. I've only lost 3 HP. I'm not in danger of dying, so don't worry too much.*

*>Dharr: I'm not particularly worried. Hurry up, will ya?*

They both knew it was a lie, but Brookie ignored it as he crawled his way back.

Then Dharr saw something that made him doubt his eyesight.

From deep in the forest, where the world had turned purple, a figure was running straight towards them.

*>Dharr: Brooks, hurry up. Something's coming.*

Not knowing whether it was hostile, Dharr warned his comrade.

Seeing this message, Brooks turned his head back.

Indeed, there was a cloaked figure running straight at them. And it was fast. Brooks momentarily seized up in fear.