Chapter 49: Praying for Fortune

Li Rui felt like he was about to die.

He wasn't shaken to death by the earthquake, nor was he disemboweled by a stalagmite.

He had almost killed himself through his own sheer recklessness.

Although the combination of the [Colloidal Fluids] and [Fluid Control] traits had successfully saved him from cracking his skull or even having his brains splattered during the violent tremors just now, but...

Before today, he had never driven the [Fluid Control] trait to such a frantic extent.

Whenever he and Nova played in bed in the past, he only needed to use it just a little bit to make Nova feel slippery and smooth, utterly satisfied.

And now...

When the fluids inside his body were frantically extracted and turned into a gel wrapping his exterior for protection, a problem arose.

His body: Excuse me, master, are you trying to mummify yourself?

Fortunately, he had a teammate nearby who heard his thirsty, raspy moans and gave him a timely drink of water.

"Gulp—ah!"

Being startled, Millie jumped when Li Rui suddenly sat up on his own after drinking the water.

After getting up, relying on [Minor Darkvision], Li Rui spotted the waterskin in her hands and eagerly snatched it, frantically pouring it down his throat.

In the pitch-black darkness, Millie couldn't see Li Rui; she could only judge that he hadn't lost his mobility based on the continuous gulping sounds coming from right in front of her.

She hesitated and asked, "Li Rui... are you okay?"

After laboriously forcing all three liters of water from the waterskin into his stomach, Li Rui managed to reply with difficulty, "Phew, phew... I'm, I'm fine..."

At this moment, his stomach was packed full of three liters of water, and the [Fluid Control] trait was helping his digestive system quickly absorb the moisture to make up for his skin and flesh, which had just been squeezed almost dry like jerky. The dual forces of expansion and absorption worked within him, leaving his entire body feeling exhausted and weak.

At a time like this, the stamina regeneration boost provided by the [Bracers of Constitution] was no longer enough, but using the [1st-Level Cure Wounds] from the [Necklace of Recovery] would be too wasteful.

Fortunately, he had recently acquired the abilities of the Warrior class.

[Second Wind]!

The next moment, a wave of warmth spread through Li Rui's bones, diffusing like ripples from the inside out into his blood, muscles, sinews, and skin, completely driving away his fatigue.

After restoring his body to its peak condition, Li Rui couldn't help glancing at the steadily rising rock face nearby, then said to Millie, "Millie, do you have a rope in your backpack? Quickly tie us together."

"I do." Millie reached behind her with one hand, pulled out a bundle of rope, and quickly tied them together with Li Rui's assistance.

Without needing an explanation, she could figure out the reason behind Li Rui's request.

The triangular space they were currently in was cradling the two of them like a spoon, but this "spoon" itself was sliding obliquely downward, deeper into the depths of the earth.

Once they slid to the very end, and if the space beneath that end was another void... then they would likely experience a violent shock of the same magnitude as before, or perhaps an even more terrifying one.

Tying their waists and shoulders tightly back-to-back in an X-shape meant that when they suffered violent shocks again, they only needed to protect their fronts with their hands and feet, without having to worry about heavy impacts to their backs causing them to lose mobility.

If a "flesh cushion" behind his back couldn't block the violent impact, then both of them would definitely be dead already, and there would be no need to worry about anything else.

After securing the knots, Li Rui deliberated and said, "Um, Millie, actually I have a rather rare survival ability—it's the thing you felt on my body earlier."

Recalling the tactile sensation of her hands pressed against Li Rui's body, Millie wore a look of shock: "You took your internal organs out and wrapped them outside your body?"

Li Rui: "???"

Young lady, why on earth would your mind conjure up such bizarre imagery?

"Ahem, no," Li Rui shook his head, banishing the bizarre image from his mind, "It's a kind of gel. I can control it to wrap around our helmets and leather armor, so that when we take impacts later, it will at least reduce the chance of cracking our skulls or caving in our chests."

"You have an ability like that?" Millie said in astonishment, "You never told us about this."

"Uh, there's a reason for that," Li Rui gave an awkward smile in the dark. "First of all, this gel is useless in normal combat, and it can't exist detached from my contact with it. Second, if I produce it in large quantities, my body gets damaged, which is why I needed to chug all that water just now. But if the amount is too small, it doesn't provide any protection."

He tried his best to associate the function of [Colloidal Fluids] with combat to prevent Millie from associating it with other uses, such as being used as an adult toy in bed...

Sure enough, upon hearing that this ability would harm him, Millie immediately asked, "Damage? Did this ability hurt you just now? How are you holding up now?"

"Don't worry, I have [Second Wind]." Realizing that Millie hadn't made any inappropriate connections, Li Rui felt a sense of relief inside. "So, I'm going to use this gel ability now. It will slowly spread over to your body; you'll feel a bit sticky, but don't shake it off."

"Uh... alright then."

Although Millie felt some aversion to being enveloped by something sticky, thinking that it could reduce the damage inflicted on her by the likely upcoming tremors, she raised no objection to the proposal.

Thus, using [Fluid Control], Li Rui directed the colloidal fluids on his hands and feet to slowly transfer, creeping over toward Millie's head and body behind him.

When everything settled, spherical globs of gel had formed over both his and Millie's heads, while cylindrical globs of gel covered their torsos.

With this extra layer of gel protection, the two of them shouldn't be shaken to death by the violent tremors.

As long as they didn't die on the spot, even if they suffered fractures, they could recover completely thanks to the [Necklace of Recovery] Li Rui carried.

In the pitch-black darkness, the two of them felt the ground slowly sliding downward beneath their feet, quietly awaiting the judgment of fate.

At this moment, Li Rui was actually under more pressure than Millie.

Because he possessed [Minor Darkvision], he could see the outer rock face of this triangular hiding spot appearing to rise continuously as the place where they stood kept sliding downward.

He couldn't help fishing the coin engraved with the smiling face of the Goddess of Luck out of his pocket.

"Tymora preserve us," he softly chanted the true name of the Goddess of Luck, praying with unprecedented earnestness.

"If you truly favor me, please grant me luck!"

"Lady of Smiles, golden light within the spinning threads of fate!
I offer my courage as a sacrifice and step into the unknown mist.
I beg you to grant me a sign of good fortune when the dice fall, the slightest deflection of a blade, a sliver of hope in a desperate plight.
Let the wind of opportunity fill my sails, and let the shadow of misfortune dissolve in your light..."

"Rumble!"

The triangular area where they were suddenly stopped sliding.