"So, will these be enough?" Amelia asked as she held two clear bags of bluish-tinted liquid in her hand.

"Hmm, I think so. The post said two bags should do it."

The bags of liquid in question were Vitalis. It was similar to IV fluid but refined with mana.

Players used them when they were about to enter the world of Vesperia for an extended period.

When hooked up to this fluid, it causes your body to undergo something similar to hibernation. The fluid slows down your heart rate to a near-death state, which in turn limited other bodily functions.

It also supplied your body with all the nutrients you’d need while you are in the game-like world.

Some players had secure capsules where they would stay when they were logged in to Vesperia.

These capsules offered protection and allowed you to stay for more than a year without any significant changes to your body.

These fluids, on the other hand, were of a cheaper variety and only allowed you to stay for a week at most.

As expected, these fluids were very expensive, and I had yet to receive payment for the items I gave to Alfred, but luckily Amelia offered to cover for me.

"Thanks again for purchasing these."

"I’d rather you thank me when you get back," she quickly countered.

"Will you really be fine with me gone for a week?"

As if offended by the very question, Amelia puffed out her chest and folded her arms.

"Of course I will."

Seeing this, I smiled and patted her on the head.

"Just be careful, okay. If something happens and you’re not back in time, then maybe I can contact my family for help."

"Don’t worry, I’ll be back, and when I am, we’ll finally go for that doctor’s visit," I promised her.

Hopefully by then, I would’ve gotten paid. Amelia’s face glowed bright red as she lowered her eyes and turned away.

"Dummy, fine then. I won’t go without you."

With everything settled, I lay in bed as Amelia attached the needles to my arm, allowing the Vitalis fluid to flow directly into my veins.

Slowly, it felt as if energy was draining from my body as my eyes were the first to shut.

It felt as if my mind was drifting through hyperspace, and soon I was back in the game-like world of Vesperia.

I was in a makeshift safe space I had created inside the dungeons. I had dug a hole in the ceiling, then used sticky goo to cover the surrounding area.

It was a shame that none of the adventurers from before had any spatial rings that transported your body somewhere safe when you logged out.

This further showed how much of an amateur they were. They had most likely spent the money they got on expensive armor and weapons.

Sighing to myself, I crawled out of the hole and prepared myself for the dungeon exploration ahead.

I only had one week to clear this dungeon. So far, it seemed I had wiped out all the dungeon rats, so it would take a while for them to respawn.

For now, my next goal was to make it down to the next floor. This dungeon had many paths. Some led to dead ends, while others led you around in circles.

And, of course, there were paths that led you in the correct direction. After taking the wrong path several times, I finally found the correct path that led downward further into the dungeon.

As I moved, I picked up on several tracks. Some of them belonged to the monsters that inhabited this dungeon, while others, I was certain, belonged to adventurers.

I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more adventurers in this dungeon. With the way things were, I had to be careful of players, since if I went through with the bloodline evolution, I would gain a monster core, which meant I’d be actively hunted by other players.

Hence, I had to be careful of both players and monsters alike.

As I moved further into the dungeon, I began to notice several changes. For one, there were more tunnels in the area. Some in the ceiling and others leading deep into the ground.

Waving my antennae in the air, I tried to analyze the particles in the air as much as possible.

I could also feel strong vibrations in the air coming from every tunnel. The variations in the air were similar to wings vibrating, which led to one conclusion: the creatures that inhabited this part of the dungeon must have been capable of flying.

With that realization, a frightening discovery began to unfold in front of me. This place seemed familiar to me.

The tunnels, the very way the tunnels were set up. It all reminded me of a beehive.

BZZZ!!

Just as that realization began to settle in, stronger vibrations began to assault my antennae.

Something was coming, and in a matter of seconds, I would be face-to-face with whatever it was, so I was left with only one choice: I had to ambush it.

I lay on the wall above the tunnel where the creature was about to exit. My entire body froze as I waited for the prey to enter my line of sight, and in just a few seconds, something finally emerged from the tunnel. Shockingly, it was a giant hornet.

The giant monster had two large wings and bright orange armor that shone like steel, covering its entire body.

It had a sharp stinger on its rear that I reckoned could pierce through steel or concrete. My exoskeleton would shatter like glass against it.

The monster seemed cautious as it stopped at the entrance of the room, as if sensing something. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

At any moment, I would be discovered.

Every joint in my body tensed as I prepared to launch a surprise attack at the monster from above, but just then, a notification popped up in my vision.

It was a message on the forum directed at me.

[GoddessOfLust: @ApexHunter101 It’s worse than I first thought. Your life is in danger.]