The white tiger's roar split the frosted valley in half, echoes shivering across the frozen cliffs. But despite all its bravado, it didn't pounce. The massive beast—peak Earth-grade, with fangs like sculpted ice and fur shimmering silver-white—lowered its head instead.
Not in preparation to attack.
But in fear.
Lisa blinked, confused. "Eh? Why's the big kitty trembling?"
The system sighed sharply, as if holding a teacup with its pinky raised.
Lisa raised her brows. "Oh… right. That."
She remembered clearly—the moment Rylan became truly angry and crushed that giant beast like snapping a twig. His rage had distorted the air itself.
Rylan, leaning on his blood-stained spear, smirked faintly. "Looks like this one wants to test us first."
The tiger howled again—longer, deeper—a command.
A crack of snow broke open behind them.
Dozens of white frost wolves burst out of the trees, fangs glowing like blue ice crystals as they launched toward them in a coordinated assault. Their frost-laden breath chilled the ground they stepped on.
Rylan stabbed his spear into the frozen earth. The ground trembled.
"Earth Shield."
A yellow dome of pure earth-energy erupted around them. Wolves slammed their jaws against it—clang, clang, crack—but the thick shield did not break.
Lisa didn't waste the opportunity.
She dashed forward, twisted between two wolves, and plunged her dagger into the throat of a frost wolf. Blood sprayed in a thin arc across the snow.
Her eyes glittered.
"Oh~? Then let's farm some EXP, shall we?"
She moved like a dancer—but one choreographed by a demon king. Dagger slit. Elbow smash. Knee strike. Her feet barely touched the snow as she took down wolf after wolf.
Second kill.
Third.
Fourth.
By the time she reached nine, her breath condensed into white mist, and the snow around her was dyed crimson.
The tiger howled again—this time deeper, vibrating the ice. The remaining wolves broke formation, leaping back.
Then—
"Frost beams incoming!"
Ice-blue rays shot through the air, slicing the earth shield. The dome cracked under the constant bombardment, tiny fractures splintering across its surface.
Lisa glared at the tiger.
"You stupid refrigerator cat! Fight me one-on-one instead of spamming minions!"
The system cleared its throat.
"I wasn't trying to decrease damage. I'm venting!"
She was about to unleash a volley of curses when she noticed Rylan.
His face had gone completely pale.
His energy was draining.
Lisa froze.
"…Oh. Oh sh*t."
She finally understood the plan.
The wolves were never meant to kill her.
They were meant to drain Rylan.
If Rylan fell, even from exhaustion alone, the tiger could finish him off easily. And then Lisa would be nothing but a chew toy.
Her heart tightened—then steadied. Her eyes gleamed with something cold, calculating, and delightfully wicked.
"System," she whispered. "Points. Count them."
"Good. I only need one more kill to afford the item I want."
She scanned the battlefield.
One frost wolf lagged behind the rest, sniffing a slab of frozen pig meat—its brain too cold to realize it was in the middle of a battle.
Perfect.
Lisa's lips curled slowly.
"System… bring me a survival kit."
"Normal."
A pop sounded, and a small brown kit dropped into her hand. The system whispered teasingly:
Lisa grinned. "Yes."
The system sighed.
"It is to me!"
She grabbed the frozen pig meat, wound her arm, and hurled it across the field.
The wolf halted mid-step.
"Grrr…?"
It tilted its head, confused. Food? In battle? Was this heaven? Was life finally good?
Before the wolf's peanut-sized brain could process anything—
SWISH—
A dagger shot straight through the air, embedding itself into the wolf's eye.
"GRAAAAAH—!"
The wolf staggered, shrieking, but refused to die. Its frost beam gathered again, charging to fire.
Lisa's response?
She smirked devilishly and raised her whip.
"System… ignite it."
"Yes."
She pulled the whip taut.
"Corrosive Fire—Activate."
The whip caught aflame in an instant—sickly green and burning hot, crackling like acidic lightning. Lisa swung it with all her strength, the whip striking the dagger embedded in the wolf's eye.
BOOM—FWOOOSH—!
Flames shot down the dagger like a burning fuse. The wolf never even had time to howl. Its body ignited from inside out, superheated flames exploding outward—
—and in seconds, the frost wolf turned to black ash.
Silence.
Then—
Lisa froze.
"…System."
"Why the hell am I being rewarded explosives?!"
Lisa rubbed her temples.
"I'm going to commit a system-error on you one day."
"…"
The wind blew silently across the battlefield.
Lisa slowly lifted her head.
Her grin was horrifying.
A demoness's smile.
A smile that promised cruelty.
A smile that promised she would make someone regret every decision they ever made.
Rylan's eyebrow twitched.
The white tiger crouched, its fur standing on end.
The wolves actually backed away instead of advancing.
The entire battlefield seemed to ask one unified question:
"What is this girl planning…?"
Lisa cracked her knuckles.
"System," she said sweetly. Too sweetly.
"Let's see what I can make… with chemistry, explosives, and 29,000 points."
She smiled wider.
"Exactly."
The system made a choking sound.
"No promises."
She crouched down, pulling open the survival kit.
Knives, wires, fire starters.
From the chemistry kit: acids, bases, oxidizers.
And from the RDX crates—
A ridiculous amount of explosive material.
Lisa hummed casually as she sorted them.
Rylan looked at her, uneasy. "Lisa… what are you doing?"
Her smile was pure evil.
"Just preparing."
"For what?"
"Oh," Lisa said lightly. "For the part where I make that white tiger regret being born."
The tiger took one step back.
The wolves took two.
Even Rylan swallowed.
Lisa didn't even look at them—her eyes were fixed on the tools in front of her, sparkling with unholy excitement.
Her laughter echoed across the snowy valley—slow, increasingly manic, creeping under the skin like a cold whisper.
"Fufufu… hahaha… HAHAHAHA—!"
Her dark, wicked joy made every creature on the battlefield shiver.
Even the system trembled.
Lisa's grin widened with villainous triumph.
"Oh, system…
I'm going to make something beautiful."
And with that—
She began planning.
Planning something the world would not soon forget.
Something explosive.
Something monstrous.
Something terrifying enough to make even a peak Earth-grade beast cry.
The frost wolves stared.
The tiger trembled.
Rylan held his breath.
Because whatever Lisa was about to craft…
Everyone sensed one truth:
The real battle hadn't even started yet.