Femi lay still on the cold stone floor, eyes closed, her chest barely rising.
Gojo hovered beside her in panic.
"Hey! hey! don't you dare die now!" he shouted, spinning wildly before forcing himself to calm down.
"Right potion…!"
He struggled over to her dropped bag, nudging it open with repeated clumsy pushes. One of the green bottles rolled out. He bumped it again, rolling it toward her face inch by inch.
"Okay… okay… this is stupidly hard…"
He tilted the bottle using his blade, tapping it against her lips. Liquid spilled uselessly at first, soaking into her cheek. He adjusted, wedging the bottle against her teeth, then pressed harder until her lips parted just enough.
"Please… swallow…"
A few drops went in.
Then more.
Finally, her throat moved.
The potion emptied.
Light bloomed softly around her body, washing away blood and torn flesh. Her wounds closed, her breathing steadied but she didn't wake up.
She remained unconscious.
Gojo hovered there silently.
"She's crazy…" he muttered.
"How can a human do that…?"
He turned toward the spider's massive corpse.
"But still…" he said quietly. "We managed to win…"
His voice dropped.
"I… couldn't do much…"
Suddenly, he spun in the air.
"Ahhh! I made a woman do all the hard work and I just stole her kill!" he yelled.
"What kind of main character does that?!"
A scraping sound interrupted him.
He froze.
The spider's body twitched.
Gojo shot backward in panic. "WHAT—?!"
The corpse shuddered again.
Then stopped.
He stared for a moment before exhaling.
"…It's dead... Just residual movement."
He drifted closer, vision fixed on the body.
"This isn't like the game…" he said slowly.
"Back there, it was just attack effects and animations and hp numbers going down."
His voice softened.
"But now… it's real... Death is the end…"
He turned away from Femi briefly, then pointed his blade toward the spider's head.
"Stay down."
He let himself fall.
The blade split straight through the spider's skull, cleaving it cleanly into two.
Silence returned to the chamber.
After a moment, Femi's eyes snapped open.
She sat up instantly, breath sharp.
Her golden eyes focused.
The spider's massive body lay motionless nearby, split cleanly apart.
"Oh, you're awake!" Gojo said from her side.
She stared at the corpse for a few seconds, then exhaled.
"We won…"
Gojo spun happily in the air.
"Yeah! That was really cool! I didn't know you could be that cool!"
She pushed herself up slowly.
"How long have I been sleeping?"
"Not long," he replied. "Maybe one or two hours."
Her gaze dropped to the shattered bottle on the floor.
"You fed me the potion?"
"Of course!" Gojo said proudly.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"Thank you…" she said softly.
"Without you, I wouldn't have been able to survive… and meet my baby again."
Gojo went quiet for a moment.
"I just did what I could," he replied.
She glanced down at herself, noticing her clothes were spotless, not a single tear or stain remaining.
"I look… brand new."
"Oh, that," Gojo said. "Those clothes have auto repair. No need to worry about damage or dirt."
Her eyes widened.
"That's… really cool."
She walked over to her bag and began packing everything neatly.
"I need to return fast," she said.
"My baby is waiting at the daycare house."
She gathered the remaining items, then picked up Gojo and walked toward the spider's body.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Gojo asked nervously.
"The materials from this spider can sell for a high price," she replied calmly.
"And I need to make a scabbard for you."
"A… scabbard?"
"I can't carry you naked all the time," she added.
"I'll have one craft for you, you are my sword now aren't you."
Gojo froze.
He didn't say another word.
After a while, she finished gathering what she needed and stood up, ready to leave.
Then she stopped.
"…I don't know the way."
Gojo cleared his throat and said.
"If you go straight and then turn left, you'll find an exit door. It'll teleport you to a nearby village but before that a monster will appear."
She looked at him.
"In the game, it's a tutorial monster," he continued.
"Probably E-rank so no need to be afraid."
She rolled her shoulders, confidence returning.
"Alright," she said with a grin.
"Let's go. After all this… I'm ready to bully some monster."
She walked forward and took the turn.
Then another turn appeared ahead.
Gojo floated slightly higher. "It should be here."
Femi tightened her grip on him with both hands, bent her knees, and suddenly dashed forward, jumping into the open space.
"Show yourself," she shouted. "You are gonna die today!"
Gojo followed up instantly. "Your friendly neighborhood katana is here to kill you!"
They landed—
And froze.
In front of them was a small slime. Its body was round and translucent, wobbling softly like jelly under moonlight. Two tiny dark dots formed its eyes, trembling as it noticed them.
The moment it realized it was being stared at, it jumped in panic and bounced wildly across the room, hitting walls, sliding on the floor, trying desperately to find a place to hide.
But the room was empty.
Only a closed door stood at the far end.
"Huh…" Femi muttered.
She slowly walked toward it.
The slime stopped moving.
Its body shook in place, bracing for the end.
"Oh right…" Gojo said, uncertain. "It was either a slime or a goblin… but I don't remember seeing a slime like this. Must be the effect of real life graphics."
Femi crouched down and gently placed her hand on its surface.
It felt warm. Soft and alive.
"Should I really have to kill it?" she asked quietly.
Gojo hesitated. "No… we can just go straight and exit."
She smiled faintly.
"Let's not leave this poor thing behind."
She picked it up carefully and pressed it against her cheek.
The slime let out a tiny wobbling sound and settled there, sticking lightly to her skin.
"It's so adorable," she said. "I wanna keep it."
Gojo blinked. "What? A pet?"
"Not exactly," she replied. "But it'll look good with my baby."
The slime jiggled softly, its body turning a slightly deeper shade as it wobbled happily.
She placed it gently on her shoulder.
"Well now then!" she said cheerfully. "Let's go!"
She began walking toward the door.
As she moved, Gojo stayed silent.
Inside his mind, thoughts began to pile up.
'She is so… amazing…'
'She is so strong, yet so caring…'
'I… I haven't seen someone this incredible…'
'Someone like her should only exist in fiction… in stories…'
'But she isn't written by someone else…'
'She is… she…'
Femi reached the door and slowly pushed it open.
Light poured in from the other side, warm and bright.
She looked ahead, a gentle smile on her face.
'I think…'
'I love this woman.'