Unfortunately for Alice, reality was often crueler than dreams. One's actions were also often the cause of one's demise.
Alice had previously removed the fallen leaves and branches in the area to avoid creating a forest fire. She had even tossed away all nearby stones to ensure she had a comfortable time sitting and sleeping. Hence, apart from the burning pile of leaves and branches, there was nothing else available in the clearing. There was also no way Alice could grab any of those burning things with her bare hands and use them as weapons. So, in a sense, Alice was indeed in a desperate situation right now.
What should I do…
Alice was panicking a little. For someone who had lived her entire life in modern society, she was incapable of thinking calmly in this life-threatening situation. It was already impressive that she could restrain her fear and suppress the urge to run away immediately.
Out of desperation, Alice tried hugging the big tree beside her. She wanted to see if the "system" in her brain would show compassion, deem the towering giant as a weapon, and provide her with a boost of combat power. Unfortunately, the tree was something Alice couldn't even pick up with her hands, so the system naturally wouldn't recognize it as a weapon. Alice also couldn't control the system and have it recognize anything as a weapon. Hence, she was truly out of options right now.
Left with no better options, Alice began preparing to escape as she looked at the approaching black wolves. She had no intentions of trying her luck in a brawl against five black wolves. So long as she fled out of their encirclement, she would be able to pick something up and use it as a weapon. If she got lucky, she might pick up a godly weapon like a "Tree Branch Dyed With a Dragon's Spit" and kill these wolves in one fell swoop. While the likelihood of something like that happening was minuscule, it was better than standing here and waiting for death to claim her.
After thinking up to this point, Alice stopped hesitating. Immediately, she turned around and fled. Meanwhile, not having expected their prey to suddenly run away, the five black wolves were momentarily stunned. Then, they snapped out of their daze and promptly began giving chase.
The black wolves were swift, and they looked like mini motorcycles as they chased after Alice. In merely the blink of an eye, the black wolves had already caught up to Alice. When Alice turned around and saw the wolves right on her back, she was given quite the huge fright. Then, she hurriedly bent down and picked up a tree branch.
[Weapon: Poplar Branch That Can Be Found Anywhere]
[Quality: Garbage]
[Effect: Speed +1]
[Additional Effect: None]
To some extent, it could also be seen that Alice's original parameters were awful. Even a measly +1 to Speed had allowed her to run much faster than normal. From the difference, Alice guessed that her Speed did not exceed three points.
Unfortunately, despite the increase in her running speed, the black wolves were still gaining on her. It was evident that the +1 Speed was insufficient. With no better options, Alice had no choice but to continue zigzagging around the forest while repeatedly replacing the tree branch in her right hand.
Through numerous testings, Alice found that this strange ability of hers only triggered when she was holding a weapon in her right hand. It also wasn't possible to simultaneously activate the effects of multiple items. Unless the items could be judged as a whole, then only one of them would be regarded as a weapon. Hence, it was meaningless to hold onto a bunch of branches.
At this point, Alice could only hope to pick up an extraordinary tree branch. Unfortunately, it would seem that her luck had run out. Even though she had already switched through numerous branches by now, all of them were identified as Poplar Branches That can be Found Anywhere, and none of them could help her escape from the black wolves behind her.
Alas, it was tough for humans to win a race against wolves. Not to mention, Alice's body was that of a little girl's, whereas wolves were creatures capable of running at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour for 20 kilometers consecutively. Moreover, as this was an alien world, there was no saying whether these black wolves could run for how long.
In no time at all, Alice slipped and fell to the ground due to running out of stamina. The five black wolves also surrounded Alice once more. Moreover, this time, the black wolves stood very close to Alice, leaving her with almost no gaps to escape from.
It's over…
Alice felt that her doom had arrived as she looked at the five approaching wolves. Soon, the largest of the five wolves pounced on Alice, and Alice subconsciously rolled on the ground and barely avoided its ferocious maw. Even so, the wolf still tore through Alice's dress with its claws, leaving behind three bloody gashes that extended from Alice's thigh up to her waist. The wolf's claws also cut through the strap of Alice's panties, causing it to fall to the ground.
"Sss… It hurts."
Alice clenched her teeth. Although she found it embarrassing to have her skirt and underwear torn, there were only five wolves who were utterly ignorant of human culture present. Hence, she naturally did not need to care about her dignity. Hurriedly, Alice reached down to the ground and began fumbling for a tree branch. Even if it was a long shot, she wanted to put up a final struggle using that one-point increase to Speed.
However, as the surrounding area was quite dark and Alice's hand was trembling, she didn't manage to grab onto a tree branch that could normally be found anywhere on the ground. Instead, her right hand picked up her torn panties.
This was an incredibly embarrassing situation. Even though Alice knew she was in a perilous situation right now, she still couldn't help but blush. However, before Alice could replace her underwear with a tree branch, something unexpected happened.
At that moment, Alice saw a dazzling white light radiating from her right hand. As if her entire arm had transformed into a flashbang, it instantly illuminated the surrounding area, making it look as bright as day.
The dazzling light also gave the surrounding wolves a scare, causing them to back away a few steps. However, Alice was in no mood to care about the wolves. After all, she could sense a terrifying energy filling her body. Not only could she feel a massive increase in her physical strength, but her body had also become much lighter. In addition, Alice could also feel an inexplicable energy flowing within her body, and this energy drastically improved the clarity of her five senses.
Subsequently, Alice quickly understood the origin of this power. This was because the message the "system" conveyed had finally appeared in her mind.
[Weapon: Soft White Underwear]
[Quality: Artifact]
[Effect: Strength +5000, Constitution +5000, Speed +5000, Mind +5000, Control +5000, Mana +5000]
[Additional Effect:
Mental Abnormality (Passive Skill. You will not be affected by mind magic);
Absolute Defense (Passive Skill. You will not be hurt by physical attacks);
Purification Blade (Active Skill. Upon use, releases a blade of light that permanently liberates the target's soul)]
Alice was dumbfounded.