Hacking the Game Didn't Go as Intended

Sinister Granny was clearly relieved when Lumielle returned free of harm, but as her gaze shifted to Daisuke, it was evident her sentiments didn’t extend to him, as well.

“I see you’re still tethered at the hips with this miscreant,” she scoffed, briefly looking him over. “Are you sure it wouldn’t have been in your best interest to abandon him in the forest?”

Lumielle laughed awkwardly, at a complete loss for words.

“Oh, I’m sure you’d like that a lot, wouldn’t you,” Daisuke returned, his gaze just as dark and condescending.

Ignoring the unimpressive retort, the woman turned to face the princess again. “If you’re back, I assume you were successful in your search?”

“Yes, we were,” Lumielle responded.

At the query, she held out the Palismaire Flower with a hopeful smile, and the woman inspected the plant with a keenly trained eye. Without a word, she tilted her chin and swayed her fingers. At the silent command, a small bubble of stirring water—like liquid sloshing around in a transparent balloon—manifested, floated gently through the air, and enclosed the plant in question.

Lumielle sighed in astonishment as the fruit of their labor was whisked away from her fingers. With her remote control of the sphere, Sinister Granny allowed the fresh water to cleanse the plant before removing several of the petals and steeping them within her teapot.

Daisuke and Lumielle watched the magical spectacle in a combination of awe and anticipation, but when the woman daintily sat down around the table in the parlor and started partaking of the tea herself, their expressions creased into that of bewilderment.

“Ahh,” Daisuke raised a single eyebrow quizzically and glanced at Lumielle. “What exactly is she doing?” he asked in a hushed tone.

“Um. I’m confused,” the princess hesitantly spoke out, projecting her voice loud enough so that the woman could hear. “I thought the point of retrieving the flower was to brew a serum that can alter Haxks’s gender? That was the arrangement, was it not?”

“Palismaire works wonders for my arthritis,” the woman remarked, regarding her slightly deformed fingers as she lowered the teacup.

“Oh god,” Daisuke threw his hands up and rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me she was senile, too?”

“Watch your mouth,” the woman warned, glancing up ominously from the rim of her cup. “Or—”

“Or what?” Daisuke challenged, sleep-deprivation and fatigue fueling his irritation. “You’ll attempt to turn me into a snail again? Is that it?”

“Well,” the woman gestured wearily. “A toad this time would’ve been my choice, but your tone suggests that may be a bit too lenient for such an impertinent brat such as yourself.”

“Sure,” Daisuke scoffed. “Whatever floats your boat lady. You’re just weaving in and out of dementia, aren’t you? What sort of witch doesn’t have a cauldron anyway—a delusional ol’ hag who isn’t a witch, that’s who!”

The woman sighed noisily and glanced at Lumielle expectantly.

“Haxks…,” the princess raised her hand for silence. “Let’s not be rude and hear what she has to say.”

Daisuke rolled his eyes in surrender. “Fine, whatever.”

The woman took her time pouring herself another serving of tea. Then proceeded to indecisively plop sugar cubes inside the cup, trying to remember the ratio that made the previous serving so delicious. Her amble pace was enough to make even the princess’s eyebrow twitch a little in exasperation.

“Palismaire is a very delicate plant,” she finally said. “It’s fine for my arthritis even in a degenerated state, but utterly useless as an ingredient to synthesize a brew for the gender-altering elixir.”

Lumielle glanced at the flower and noted that, in addition to no longer glowing radiantly, the petals had also ceased the gentle swaying that had made them almost seem alive. But wasn’t that to be expected from a flower that had been uprooted?

“Think back to when the state of the flower changed,” Sinister Granny prompted. “Was it exposed to anything in particular after being harvested?”

Daisuke and Lumielle exchanged a pensive glance, then their eyes widened as a memory floated to the surface of their mind. Daisuke recalled the poisonous spores the Slimes had ejected into the atmosphere, while Lumielle vividly remembered the Chrysobees showering the forested battlefield with their nectar in a desperate attempt to subdue the fire.

“Unlike most of the other species in the forest,” Sinister Granny continued after noting their recollection. “Palismaire isn’t dependent upon the Chrysobees to survive; they were thriving long before the ecosystem changed. A matter-of-fact, their nectar is actually harmful toward its health.

Using a combination of nutrients derived from the soil and mana absorbed from the atmosphere, the Palismaire keeps itself sufficiently nourished while staving off the detrimental effects of the nectar.”

“Then can’t you just whip us up another one of those paper magnets so that we can search for another flower?” asked Daisuke.

The woman shook her head. “Unfortunately, only one Palismaire grows at a time and it blooms only once per month.”

Daisuke frowned. Well, that certainly explains why searching for it was such a pain in the ass.

The woman took another sip of her tea and sighed in delight. “Now do you understand my urgency to brew this tea while the flower was still fresh?”

Daisuke ignored the selfish claim and turned to Lumielle to measure her reaction to their dilemma.

“I’m so sorry, Haxks,” she apologized. “I was the one responsible for taking care of the flower while you protected us and…” she hung her head dejectedly. “Even after you’ve sacrificed so much.”

As Daisuke sympathized with the brooding princess, inexplicably, the words “flower”, “nectar”, and “nourish” swirled in his mind to trigger a rather disturbing memory of past events. But from its depths, he got an idea that just may very well turn this entire misfortune around.

Urgently, he retrieved the Goblin Shaman’s precious weapon from his inventory and offered it to Sinister Granny.

[Grimhorn Totemstaff (Bounded Item)]

[Rank: Unique

Type: Staff

Melee Attack Power: 4 | Magical Attack Power: 209~255 | Durability: 34/43 | Accuracy: 69

A relic of goblin legend, the Grimhorn Totemstaff is an ancient artifact that commands the power of transformation. At its peak, a menacing skull adorned with twisted horns gazes out with eyes ablaze, its eye sockets fitted with shimmering gems that pulsate with arcane energy.

▪︎ HP & MP Regen Speed +10%

▪︎ Unlocks the «Intrinsic Transformation» skill.

Conditions of Use: Lvl 20+ | Strength 3+ | Stamina 10+ | Intelligence 50]

[Intrinsic Transformation]

[Enables the wielder to shape-shift into various forms, from an innocent human child to a savage beast. Mastery of this ability requires a deep connection to the primordial forces of nature and the cunning intellect of the Goblin Shaman.]

“I got this a while back from a very annoying monster,” Daisuke informed. “Do you think it’s possible to modify the parameters so that I can make use of the Intrinsic Transformation skill?”

“Mmm,” the woman inspected the weapon with a keen appraisal ability, even as she made several clever deductions in her mind. “How very fascinating. I’m honestly surprised that a weapon of this caliber was crafted using Goblin technology.”

Lumielle held her breath in anticipation.

“So?” Daisuke urged.

“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make any modifications to the staff…”

Lumielle’s heart sank.

“But…,” the woman added, the calculating wheels in her mind still turning. “By extracting certain essential elements from it, I should be able to fabricate another item that produces a similar effect.”

“That’s wonderful!” Lumielle exclaimed, then both she and Daisuke celebrated excitedly.

“Well then,” the woman began. “Let’s get started right away.”

“And the fact that it’s a ‘bounded item’ won’t be a problem?” Daisuke inquired.

“No, since we won’t be using the original staff in the final product, we won’t need to worry about that.”

“Music to my ears,” Daisuke grinned.

Lumielle placed her hands together with a sigh of relief.

“Earlier,” the woman began, a more serious air radiating from her now. “You pondered the whereabouts of my cauldron, but the truth is, I don’t need one—well, not one in the conventional sense, anyway.”

Daisuke and Lumielle watched in awe as the curious letters painted on the woman’s fingernails started glowing. Then in an open space, light began refracting through a partially invisible wall of energy.

The princess’s gaze fixated on the woman’s fingers. “Are those… runes?”

“Brilliant deduction,” Sinister Granny acknowledged, then she glanced at Daisuke who was evidently confused. “Runes are characters and symbols from an ancient language. Each character is imbued with a specific meaning and ability that can be tailored to meet a vast selection of needs.

In this case,” she said, the runes yielding to a prearranged task. “I use them to create my cauldron.”