In the middle of the Deinopi’s hideous face lay 2 large black spheres, with 4 smaller spheres lined up in a row below them. Without any pupils or whites, its 6 eyes were rather unsettling, staring soullessly back at me.

  The 2 “main” eyes were far too big to fit in my eye socket, but the 4 smaller ones looked like they could fit with some pushing and prodding.

  Right as I began to reach out to its head, I suddenly felt as if I was lifting a mountain, and I immediately collapsed to the ground, struggling to breathe.

  Ah right, the Potion of Invigoration’s penalty.

  I became completely immobile, as both my strength and agility stat had dropped to 0, and I was only able to lay there, staring at the ceiling. These aftereffects were incredibly dangerous; I was at the complete mercy of anything that passed by. Crap, I really have to scratch my nose right now.

  Fortunately, the Deinopi lived alone in this cave, so I was able to pass the 3-hour penalty period uneventfully.

  I passed the time by reviewing the battle and considering what I could have done better.

  First, I shouldn’t have stabbed it in the abdomen while it was confused; I should have gone for its head or neck.

  I also should have brought a stronger light with me, both to cover my own weakness but also because I could have potentially used it to disable the Deinopi. Living in the darkness its whole life, it probably wasn’t used to strong light.

  Most importantly, I should have never let my guard down no matter what, even if it was completely dead. Who knew what other enemies might be lying in wait in the shadows?

  I got lucky this time, but I might not get away with just losing an eye the next. I had to remain vigilant.

  Once the 3-hour penalty had passed, I shakily stood up and stretched. I was still in rough shape, with my entire body aching from the impact earlier, but I didn’t appear to have any major injuries or fractures.

  I took a small sip of the Medium Potion as a pick-me-up, and once again reached towards the gaping wound in the Deinopi’s head.

  With a squelch, the Nanoblade slid out of its head, dripping with brain matter and cerebral fluid. A putrid stench arose from the blade, but to me it was the sweet smell of victory.

  After I wiped off most of the gunk, I used the blade to carefully remove one of the eyes, trying to preserve as much of the optic nerve as possible.

  Once finished, I gingerly held in my hand a slightly slimy, squishy black ball with a long strand of fibrous nerves trailing behind it. I shuddered a bit at the thought that this would be entering my head, but figured I’d have to get used to it. After all, there’ll probably be parts that I use in the future that make this one look cute in comparison.

  Firmly pressing the eyeball to my empty socket, I waited for to trigger.

  With a splash of Medium Potion, the eye immediately began to connect itself to me, causing a piercing pain as the optic nerves burrowed through the freshly healed skin.

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  I moaned in agony as they slowly dug, until finally they reached my brain. Thankfully, the pain abated once it established a connection, but I could still feel the nerves wriggling, rewriting portions of my skull soup.

  Soon, I saw a blurry image on the left side of my vision, that gradually became clearer and clearer. But something was strange; the cave, once obscured by darkness and only visible by the sputtering light of my orb, could now be seen as clear as day. The light orb, once a comforting companion in the perpetual darkness of the Canopy, now seemed almost blinding. With my right eye however, the cave remained as imperceptible as ever.

  It was quite the peculiar sensation, being able to both see and not see at the same time from 2 different sets of eyes. I quickly felt a headache coming on and hurriedly shut my right eye, exploring the newfound world my left eye provided me.

  This was a massive upgrade; only being able to see in the limited range the orb provided me had been an extreme detriment to me in my battle with the Deinopi, and overall as well.

  If I’d been able to see where it was coming from, I wouldn’t have struggled nearly as much and could have slain it without using the Potion of Invigoration.

  But now, we’d fight on an even playing field. No longer would it be able to toy with me as it had.

  Taking a deep breath, and gritting my teeth, I made an executive decision. Grabbing the jar of anesthetic plant extract, I emptied the entire contents into my mouth. As I chewed, I extracted another eye from the Deinopi and once again held it in my hand.

  Then, I grabbed the Nanoblade and mercilessly cut out my right eye as well.

  Another stream of blood began gushing out of my freshly empty eye socket as I barely suppressed the scream that threatened to tear its way out of my throat.

  Hands shaking and trembling, I accidentally dropped the second Deinopi eye on the floor, causing it to roll several meters away.

  With shuddering breaths and sobs, I crawled over to the eye, holding my hand to my empty eye as I left behind a trail of sticky, crimson blood.

  Lips bone white, I brought the second eye to my face and activated once more, pouring the remainder of the Medium Potion over it.

  Again, the eye burrowed into my skull as I lay there, completely drenched in cold sweat.

  As I waited for the process to finish, the thought of having to go through this abject torture every time I grafted new parts filled me with despair. Doubts and insecurities began to plague my mind, wondering whether I could really make it.

  I wasn’t some battle-hardened war veteran; I was in fact the complete opposite. I’d experienced more physical pain in the last week than my entire previous life combined.

  But the thought of the faceless spectators above, jeering and laughing as they watched my world turn to ash, stoked the flame within me anew.

  Think I’ll collapse here? That I’ll break?

  I won’t. Whatever agony I experience, whatever suffering you give me, I promise I’ll return it 10-fold.

  ---------

  Once I’d sufficiently recovered, I stood up and prepared to leave. Looking around with my enhanced vision, I now saw that the cave had been much more spacious than I originally thought.

  I’d already finished dismantling the Deinopi and stored it in the Inventory. As I began to walk away, the Deinopi eggs in the corner of my eyes caught my attention.

  I strode over, intending to crush them, but then, hesitated.

  Indeed, the Deinopi had tried to kill me and I, it, but it had simply been the natural cycle of life. I wanted to kill it for its points, and it had wanted to kill me for sustenance.

  We were 2 kindred souls, both desperately struggling to survive in this harsh, unforgiving world. I had just happened to be the one that was able to walk away.

  I’d already smashed one of its eggs, but in a life and death battle anything went. But to slaughter its young, after it had already passed away, was crossing a line.

  Although I was gradually taking on the appearance of a monster, with my bulging alien eyes and grotesque lupine arm, I wanted to at my core, remain human.

  If I didn’t, then what difference was there between me and the monsters who had sent me here, all for the sake of their little game?

  I wasn’t some paragon of virtue, nor did I consider myself to be a particularly good person. But as I stared at the eggs, I swore to myself, that no matter what happened here, I’d never compromise on my principles.

  And when all of this was over, I’d return to my world with my head held high, no matter what kind of abomination I looked like, knowing I’d succeeded as a human.