Before the lady could do anything, Noah's hands reached out for the string. Even though he was fearful, he didn't want to continue repeating the previous instances. So he had to do as the system said despite the dangers. This could at least ensure that they were dealing with this pipa monster through and through.
Just as he touched the black strings that seemed to have been leaking out a dark aura, his skin started burning to the point that he wanted to take his hand back, but he couldn't. He was stunned in place, not moving, and not even knowing what to do anymore.
In his mind, he was cursing his system like heck.
'This f*cking system! I'll kill him for suggesting this to me!'
'It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts!'
'Noo! Please, someone help me. I don't want to do this!'
'Damn this system! He should come out and do this instead!'
Shane, who was being forced to read his host's thoughts, rubbed his forehead in irritation as his heart grew even more frustrated. He didn't want to hear the innermost thoughts of this person at all!
He glanced at the tool section and confirmed that the reset time wasn't over yet. It had only been a few minutes ever since he had taken control over the body the previous time.
He couldn't continue to forcefully take control of this body by paying Crana, could he? If he did, he might as well waste all the money in his hands at this moment!
After hearing that Noah's thoughts became more and more poisonous in the split of a millisecond, Shane spoke harshly, "Why are you complaining? I don't think you want to live. There are many cruel systems who let the hosts die without caring about them."
Of course, that was true, but Shane lied shamelessly, "So you better buckle up and do everything yourself. Otherwise, I'll take my exit, leaving you all alone!"
Noah seemed to have suffered a blow after being scolded like this. He felt like this system always treated him like a kid. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
Since he was angry, he didn't care about what was happening around him. If he had acted instantly, he might have had a chance to pluck up the strings, but at this point, the old lady grinned and kicked the host back, sending him to the starting point once again.
Shane looked at the entire scene without changing the expression on his face and said through his gritted teeth, "I had told you this would happen, hadn't I?"
Noah was stunned. A moment ago, he was still holding the strings, but now, he was again at the place that had tried to kill him twice! Just then, the beautiful lady appeared in front of him as a sweet and melodious tune played in the background without stopping.
"Don't look at her this time! Pluck the strings now!" Shane's voice echoed with a touch of anxiety this time. He had determined that if his host continued to be useless, he might as well purchase the tool and do it himself!
Noah swallowed and reached out for the strings once again. This time, the woman had grown agile as she dodged gracefully while dancing at the same time. She smiled sweetly at him as if she were just a little girl who was at her lover.
This time, her expressions made Noah frightened. His face grew pale. It was such an expression that had made him hypnotized last time! No, he couldn't continue to make mistakes, but before he could think about it, he was already in a daze, staring at the woman with an admiring look on his face.
Veins popped on Shane's forehead. He just knew this would happen! He took a deep breath and silently purchased the tool before the woman could reach out to him within the host's mind. He instantly grabbed the string and plucked it without hesitation.
The music stopped as the entire floor trembled, but Shane didn't pause as he stepped and froze to watch the scene. He could see that things around him changed once again to darkness as the tentacles started to grow more and more.
He had a bad premonition in his heart. He turned to see the old lady throwing the pipa to the ground as her body became more and more deformed. A giant mouth appeared on her neck. She had more arms than Shane could count as the monster growled.
The color of its skin had turned muddy green at this time as she growled at Shane once more. The tentacles flew towards Shane at once. He cursed under his breath and paid five hundred Crana once again.
He knew everything would be a mess if he gave the control back to his host. So he pulled out his ice sword and struck it into the ground. This sword's attribute was ice, and since he wasn't sharing the attribute, he couldn't use it for more than a few minutes.
Still, he didn't have to be pressured to use it because of its low level. It froze all its targets instantly for a few seconds. He just had to focus on the targets in his mind while directing his energy into the weapon.
After that, the entire place turned into ice sculptures as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. This time he didn't run back as usual. He ran forward, toward the lady monster and raised his sword.
He transferred all his energy into that hit so as to destroy the sculpture in one go. So when the sword finally hit the surface, a crack developed first. It expanded slowly in all directions as the monster's ice sculpture was destroyed.
He glanced at the tentacles and ignored them while heading toward the exit. He sweated as he ran toward that area to the South.
'Damn it, I wasted too much energy,' he thought as he wiped the corners of his mouth. The control was gradually transferred to Noah who was stunned, but he still continued to run with all his strength.
The ice also melted away, and for some reason, the tentacles weren't affected despite how their master had been killed just now. They rose from the ground and rushed toward Noah's direction.
The latter was already sweating while rushing at all his speed, but as those tentacles closed in on him, his face went pale. He had never thought that the tentacles that would seem harmless and even enjoyable in several anime he watched in the past would actually be so horrific in reality.
It was true when they said how experiencing certain stuff would make you realize how devastating it actually was!
Just as the tentacles with giant mouths were about to bite off his head, he had reached the stairs and fell to the ground only after climbing three steps. He stared at the horrific scene in front of him as big mouths of tentacles with pointed teeth hit an invisible wall.
He shivered after seeing that scene in front of his eyes.