Isabelle gasped, and gasped, and gasped.

  Then again, who wouldn't gasp at having their intellect expanded by many magnitudes in a split second?

  The effects seemed instantaneous and very strong. In fact, it felt almost like she'd suddenly gained access to all knowledge within a few hundred miles around her...or rather, in this case, all knowledge within the world of Beaubinte itself. Isabelle now knew everything about everything in the entire world. She knew how far away every single building was from here, how far away each item was from where she stood...she even knew where every single monster was located within any given radius around her! How much mana they stored...

  Isabelle paused for a moment to take that in. She'd already been thinking about what types of spells she could learn more quickly than others thanks to her newfound intelligence—she could see exactly how many seconds or minutes each spell took and thus work out how long it would take to learn new spells more quickly than before— but this would allow her to also calculate how much mana each spell required! It was amazing!

  "Oh my god!" she exclaimed quietly to herself when she realized she could calculate mana costs for all of her spells now on the fly! And, even better, she felt like she finally understood how magic v2 worked, and how she could harness raw intention not only to cast spells that she'd cast in the past, but also to create brand new spells out of thin air as if by magic! There were so many things she could do with all of this newfound power! So many things she could do now!

  "My god," Isabelle said again as tears of joy sprang up in her eyes. "I'm a fucking genius!"

  However, the joy was short-lived. Isabelle didn't even have a moment to think about the original reason she'd drunk the potion, because her

  intelligence seemed to be expanding even more. Now she wasn't even thinking about her problems. She was thinking about existence itself. What the fuck was the nature of reality that she had been reincarnated into this bizarre world called Beaubinte? Why did she still have all her memories from her past life? Was there any way back home to that other world? And if so, what would she need to do? Who would help her? Would anyone even believe her if she told them about this place? And then there were all these questions about norms...norms...norms... This place seemed so alien to her in almost every conceivable sense, even after all this time and all the leveling up she'd done! The very concept of normality seemed utterly preposterous here! The concept of gravity made no goddamn sense here at all! Did anything ever really exist? Did anyone ever really exist? What is existence? What did it mean to exist, and why had she been granted the opportunity to become a giant floating brain inside of some weird dungeon full of monsters? Oh, sorry, that was just the poiton. She had the intellect of a giant floating brain, she wasn't one herself.

  And then came another realization: Wasn't this whole damn world just one big joke? Wasn't there some kind of hidden meaning behind everything that existed here? Some kind of meta-level joke being played on everyone here? Some kind of commentary on human society? On politics and humanity in general?! A lot of these thoughts came together into one large question: Wasn't everyone in this world just living out their own private delusions? Didn't they all live in their own private dream worlds where they believed whatever they liked just because they liked it?! There were no rules here, no morality, no meaning...just go with what you want and call it reality because you can't prove otherwise!

  Wasn't everyone in this world just living out their own private delusion?

  Isabelle began laughing hysterically at what cosmic tragedy all these people must be living through right now! Wasn't it funny that people were so eager to put up walls between themselves and others because they couldn't handle any kind of mental challenge or

  difficulty? That people couldn't deal with different perspectives and opinions as long as they agreed with them? That people wanted their beliefs and personal truths to be true without evidence or reason? It was such a ridiculous thing to do in a world where nothing made any sense at all! But worse than that, wasn't it hilarious that people actually believed they lived in real worlds where they had magic powers and giant floating brains existed?! How pathetic! It looked like everyone here probably thought they were still alive after death and that their lives mattered. Maybe an afterlife actually existed after all, and maybe Hell was just this strange dreamlike version of life for those who weren't special enough to get into Heaven.

  [-100 int]

  Isabelle was so glad that she wasn't like them. Oh, no, not at all like them. She knew she was important. She was the mage of shadows! Isabelle smiled at how stupid those fools were who believed in mere miracles when they had such powerful magicians like herself around to save them from their delusions. Or, well, maybe she wouldn't really be saving anyone after all.

  Isabelle gasped, suddenly realizing that she felt stupider. The potion must've worn off, and she hadn't even used any of her time to think of how to get her party out of this cavern predicament! That was, Isabelle had to admit, not a very intelligent use of the potion, and she felt a good deal of shame upon that realization. After all, even though she hadn't wasted time with these thoughts before figuring out how to get out of the cavern with some boulders thrown against the walls by the monsters below, it had been nice to think about how interesting it was to be a brain floating in air inside a dungeon filled with monsters.

  Isabelle sighed, wondering if her current level would affect her ability to even make such grandiose plans anymore or if perhaps her new levels would simply make her smarter and more insightful. A bit of hope bloomed in Isabelle's chest.

  [Notice You're ready to level up]

  Ah, yes. Isabelle could level up now! But... she still had some loot to learn about, and Isabelle didn't want to jump into anything like she had when she drank that intelligence potion. So, she focused on the next new item from Lucien's inventory, the potion of sluttiness, and thought learn more

  "Oh my god!" Isabelle cried out in surprise and happiness as she realized what that potion could do for her! She could use it on herself and become super sexy! Then again, maybe it was better to save it for strategic use. She'd definitely need a plan to use it properly first— she couldn't just drink it without thinking!

  Now it was time to learn about the next loot item! Isabelle focused on the potion of weakness and thought learn more.

  That made sense. So this potion would have to be something that Isabelle would have to con or trick someone else into drinking, not something she drank herself. That made sense. With that understood, she focused on the Horn of Horniness and thought learn more.

  Isabelle was mildly excited upon learning about the Horn of Horniness—there were so many possibilities! What would happen if you were already under influence of another potion? Would it cancel out? What would happen if you drank two potions and tried to find out? Or three? Or four? How long did you have to wait between potions before trying to find out? Did you need to destroy the horn afterwards or could you keep it? And what about when the horn had been destroyed—did that mean it was useless forever? And what about people who didn't want the horn's effects? Could they just throw it off a cliff? Would that work even if they were wearing clothes? What if they were naked? And what if someone else grabbed onto the horn before it hit the ground—would they be affected by its magic too? She could only think of so many questions and not so many answers!

  Regardless, Isabelle only had one more item to learn more about now and then she'd have learned all there was to learn about her new items courtesy of Lucien the dead dungeon core man. So, she focused on the elven anal beads and thought learn more.

  Isabelle laughed out loud at that description. That was the craziest story she'd ever heard! She'd like to meet this Phfft'urd guy sometime! The description said that he was known for being rich... maybe she could rob him.

  [Notice: You're ready to level up]

  "Hey, Isabelle, did you think of a plan yet?" asked Tahsi Junior. "It's getting really warm in this cramped cavern room, what with all the lava and everything.

  "Shit!" said Isabelle. "I mean, um, I'm still working on it."

  [Notice: You're ready to level up]

  "Isabelle!" whined Shiach. "My tummy hurts. I think I have gas." "Color me surprised," said Isabelle under her breath.

  [Notice: You're ready to level up]

  "Isabelle I keep trying to fart but it's like I can't!" Shiach continued to whine.

  Isabelle rolled her eyes. Shiach was pretty cute, but she was also annoying, and she didn't have a lot of sexual stamina either.

  [Notice: You're ready to level up]

  "Isabelle! Hello! What's the plan?" said Tahsi Junior. "I wanna get out of here!"

  "I'm..." Isabelle sighed. "I'm going to level up my int and wis. I need to level up, so I'll do that, and the I'll think of something to get us out of here."

  [Notice: You're ready to level up]

  "I hope you're right, Isabelle," said Tahsi Junior. "This lava keeps getting closer and closer to us!"

  Isabelle took a deep breath. It was finally time. She thought, 'Level up.'