He genuinely wanted to know—why would anyone put such things in that kind of place?
Did these women not feel pain?!
"Ah, it's because some people go for crotch kicks, so we have to be ready to counterattack. I'm actually one of the more normal ones. Some girls hide steel spikes inside, just to stab through an enemy's leg."
The female brawler explained with a calmness that was almost eerie.
Yeah, you're all definitely messed up.
Ryuji couldn't hold it in anymore.
"So why go this far? Wouldn't it be better to just become an adventurer?"
He really was curious. Why do these female street fighters prefer to abuse themselves like this rather than adventuring—what was the logic?
"Adventurers don't earn crap, and how many can you actually trust? Your question's weird. Don't you know adventuring's the lowest-paying job?"
The brawler scoffed at him.
"Only people with brain damage think adventurers can survive. The monsters out there and the constant danger… it's not much better than our slums."
As she said this, she subtly distanced herself from Ryuji.
"So, it's best you stop being nosy. I was just messing around earlier. Get lost."
She gave him a look, reassured herself that he was just some perverted idiot, and finally let go of the needle she'd been clutching the whole time.
"Even if you save her, she won't be grateful. She'll just cling to you. That's how we live in the filth down here. If you're looking for trouble, be my guest. But just know—if you save her, we will come asking for money."
Then she gave a wicked little smirk.
"Think it through, sugar."
Ryuji went silent. Yeah… it was a headache.
Street fighters were basically gangsters, and anyone borrowing money from them probably wasn't much better. Sure, maybe some had their reasons, but that woman lying unconscious didn't exactly scream "good person."
But the real question was—
"You said all that just to get me to save her, didn't you?"
He cut straight to the point.
The brawler froze for a second, then abruptly turned to leave.
"You're insane. I just want my money back, is all."
She left with an air of nonchalance, like she didn't care if he saw through her act. But a second later, she turned back around, snatched a few gold coins from his hand, and shoved a tiny vial at him.
"That's the antidote to my poison. Drink one mouthful. I don't want some rich bastard dying randomly because of me. That'd cause me a problem."
With that, she was gone for real.
Ryuji looked at the two-dose antidote in his hand, thought it over, and decided to find a doctor first.
Yesterday's lady doctor gave him a mirror to show what he looked like now.
"You're definitely poisoned."
Staring at his own reflection—swollen, lips dark with cyanosis—He was speechless. Just what kind of logic did that female street fighter use to justify hiding a lethal poison-laced blade inside herself?!
Did she not worry about accidentally killing herself?
As he wrestled with that thought, the doctor replaced the antidote for him.
"This one's legit too. Just drink a mouthful."
He drank it. Visibly, the swelling on his face receded, and the blackened lips regained color.
Then he looked over at the doctor.
"You interested in a consultation?"
....
"What an incredible will to live."
The doctor couldn't help but marvel at the female brawler lying on the bed.
"She's not only suffering from a serious illness, but she's also poisoned by over a dozen different toxins. Internal bleeding, damaged organs—and still alive? That's nothing short of a miracle. Unfortunately, while I can neutralize the toxins, there's nothing I can do about the rest."
She shook her head in regret.
"If it were just the poisoning or a serious illness, maybe. But she's dragged this out too long. Her will to live is strong, sure, but her body is way past its limit. She won't survive long enough for me to clean up her wounds, much less recover."
The doctor sighed, left a small bottle of gray liquid behind, and exited the room.
After paying off the debt from yesterday and today's treatment, Ryuji returned to his rented inn room.
There, he found the female brawler awake—barely. She was reaching out, hand trembling toward the antidote, her wounds bleeding afresh with each movement.
Clearly, she'd been conscious for a while.
Her messy ponytail was even more disheveled now. Just raising her arm left her gasping, her entire body screaming "death imminent," though her eyes still burned with that vicious, feral look.
And the moment she saw him, she reflexively tried to get into a defensive stance—only to cough up a mouthful of purple blood.
Yeah. She was dying.
"The doctor says your organs are wrecked. Even if the poison's gone, you'll probably die by nightfall. So is it really worth being so wary of me?"
She didn't speak—just glared at him like a cornered animal. And that glare confirmed something deep in his mind.
This kind of woman could give him a ton of energy points.
Though he was still experimenting with how the system worked, one thing was clear: the more obsessive, mentally intense, and emotionally unstable a person was, the more energy he'd gain from sleeping with them.
And this chick—stubborn even in the face of death—was exactly that kind of person.
Ryuji really wanted to test it: would sleeping with someone like her give him a huge energy boost?
If it worked...
Then his options just exploded.
After all, the world wasn't short on suffering women.
He hadn't forgotten about Lux. She'd helped him. He owed her. And if he wanted to return her home safely, he needed to stockpile energy fast.
Given his current stamina, the smartest route was finding people who could give him energy quickly.
Sure, Lux was proactive and even seemed willing. But that didn't mean she liked doing certain things.
He didn't want to force a smile out of her again just because he was clueless.
The female brawler finally let go of her guarded posture, but when he reached for the antidote, she still twitched with hostility—ready to strike if he tried to take it.
Though honestly, she wasn't in any condition to land a hit.
When he handed it to her instead, her expression flickered with surprise. She couldn't help but ask:
"…So why are you saving me?"
"Because you're hot. I want to sleep with you. Just to be clear, I have zero emotional attachment."
She blinked, then nodded.
"Alright. As long as you don't kill me, do whatever you want."
She began drinking the antidote like it didn't matter what he might do next.
"I don't have a necrophilia kink, alright? And look at you—covered in blood, filth, and still poisoned. At least clean yourself up first."
Ryuji made a face of pure disgust.
"…What?"
She stared at him, genuinely confused.
"You want to do it with my corpse? If that's the case, then why bother talking? Just wait till I die."
"…Can you not?"
What kind of logic is that?!
"What I meant is—I might be able to save you. But in exchange, for as long as I'm in Arad, you'll be my sexual outlet. Are you willing?"
The female street fighter just snorted.
"Why wouldn't I be? I'm almost dead."
"Good to hear."
Ryuji dragged the medical kit from his inventory into the action bar, then clicked "Use" while targeting the female fighter.
And then—
Something unbelievable happened.