Damn it!
That cry jolted Alice awake. The book in her eyes instantly changed from delicious, tempting food into a terrifying monster.
Alice knew very clearly that this craving did not come from her body.
She had encountered that yearning from the depths of her spirituality many times before. Past experience told her that it was an instinct for convergence.
After reclaiming the Uniqueness, that instinct had been controlled to some extent. At the very least, Mid-to-Low Sequence potions and Beyonder Characteristics no longer held much appeal for her.
But when facing a High-Sequence Beyonder Characteristic, Alice could still feel that hunger deep within her spirituality, just like with that book... Damn it, what was that thing?
Alice had no mind to listen to the other people's trades. She reached out, grabbed Dunn's arm beside her, and viciously pinched him through his clothes under his puzzled gaze.
"Dog...!" Only the first syllable of the curse escaped before Dunn swallowed it back. But based on experience, Alice believed he had wanted to say "dog shit."
Dunn turned his head. He wore the same hood and mask as Alice, which was clearly not his own choice. At such close range, Alice could see that the only part of his face exposed—his eyes—was filled with fury.
That bit of anger quickly dissipated. Dunn only felt as though he had blanked out for an instant when Alice's voice sounded in his mind:
"If I suddenly stand up or something later, remember to pull me back."
This was a technique Alice had developed while researching ways to cheat on exams—Passing Notes.
After all, if she could use divination to go online and look up answers, how could she not pass notes? Alice had even found a suitable substitute for cheat sheets—Knowledge Ink, which Edwina had