Sui let her eyes flick between the box and the message and back a few times before dismissing the message and taking her hand away. I can’t even start the set up in five minutes because it won’t be done, and I can’t risk it getting damaged.

Sui scowled at the air as she shut the cupboard back up and heading for the living room. It was a gamble, as she didn’t know what was going to show up, but at the very least, there was nothing particularly precious that would be lost or damaged by fighting there.

Sui then went to look at her grandmother’s minimal collection of knives. It was just the one block along with a few spare but seeing it out on the counter did give her a few things to think about. Firstly she started packing away anything she could on the benches. The knife block, the ceramic salt and pepper shakers, the spice rack. Really anything that was likely to break in battle.

As Sui put away the knife block, she debated keeping on for herself. Not sure I really want a knife, though. I’m not trained in them, and I imagine there is a good chance I’d hurt myself if I have one…

On the other hand, it isn’t as though I can safely defeat everything with my fists. Sui let her eyes drift to her small but calloused hands. Her fingers were dainty enough, but they bore the marks of hands well used even at her young age.

That scar from when she had sewn her fingers together back when she was five, the thicker skin on each of her pointer fingers from the needles. Sui brushed a strand of hair out of the way as she looked closely at her hands before clenching them shut.

No knives. If I panic and drop it, or if whatever attacks me can disarm me, I’m in a much worse position. Might as well stick to punches and kicks, as I’ve been taught. Sui was starting to get a bit shaky. She wasn’t entirely prepared for a second fight. The first one had somewhat been sprung on her, and the adrenaline had carried her through.

Now she just had to sit there and wait, which was the worst part. Wait, how long do I have.

wave 2 in 0:03 minutes

Sui’s eyes nearly fell out of her head as she read the notice. Quickly backing out of the kitchen, she scanned the area carefully, trying to identify anything that might be considered hostile. I didn’t know I spent so much time cleaning the kitchen… It was time well enough spent, though. It stopped me from just worrying about the next wave.

Sui heard a crash and saw something fly through another one of her windows, but she lost track of it behind the sofa. What the heck was that? And what do these monsters have against my windows?

Sui tried to identify whatever it was that had crashed into her house but couldn’t spot anything. Searching around, she caught a flash of white behind her but as soon as she turned to face it, whatever it was, had vanished.

Sui felt her palms starting to sweat. She kept her stance, though, and tried to calm herself with some careful breathing. I dunno what this is, but I’m ready for it. I’ll defeat this as well, then I can get back to my project.

Sui heard a thunk from the kitchen and whirled to face the noise. This time though, she could see the monster in its full glory… a perfectly round white circle. Sui watched, confused as the circle starting to bounce more rapidly.

Every time it hit a surface, its speed increased. As Sui tracked the movement, she could see other streaks appearing in her peripheral vision. Clearly, she was dealing with multiples of the thing.

Taking a stance, Sui readied herself as the one she was following was headed right in front of her. Waiting for the moment, just as it entered her strike zone, she lashed out with a side kick throwing it straight into the wall.

It then hit said wall and bounced straight back towards her face. Sui panicked and threw herself backward in an attempted to dodge the ball. It flew over her head, but she’d thrown too much of her wait behind her. Sui felt her stomach sink as she started to topple over towards the ground.

She knew what she was doing, though. Turning in mid-air and keeping her arms at her side, Sui managed to land flat and absorb most of the impact as she hit the ground and had the wind knocked out of her.

Sui threw her legs forward and pulled herself back to her feet, hands, ready to fight off whatever was coming. At this point, though, the balls had really taken off. Their speed had more than doubled, and Sui was having a hard time keeping track. She wasn’t even sure if there were three of them anymore. It almost looked like five, but perhaps that was a trick of the speed.

As Sui stood her ground, waiting for one of them to come for her, she noticed something strange. Despite the fact that they got close to her, well within striking distance, never once did they line themselves up to actually make contact with her.

Well… this is weird. Sui carefully lowered her hands, as if the balls were just waiting for the moment, she lowered her guard. Having done this, she took the time to really examine what was going on.

So, balls are going crazy, check.

Two, the only thing that has been damaged are the windows.

Three, they aren’t attacking me, and I can’t seem to hurt them.

Sui was really starting to regret the fact she put away the knives now. Granted, I probably would have accidentally stabbed myself somehow. Scissors, I can handle; knives seem to hate me. Sui thought back to all those times Grandma had tried to teach her how to cook.

Sui shivered. Soo much blood. Luckily it was a clean cut, and for once, it didn’t scar, but it had not been a pretty day. Now, however, Sui was eyeing the cupboard she’d locked the knives in. So question 1. Do I need knives? Question two, can I even get the knives?

And this really was a valid concern. By this point, the ricocheting balls were just blurs as they moved around the room, and Sui had no chance at just dodging through them. Maybe they won’t actually hurt. Sui scoffed. Yeah, right, even if they are really soft, they must be traveling at insane speeds.

Then again,… Sui thought back to the rabbits and their ‘sharp’ teeth that looked ready to bite into her flesh. Those had been evil looking when they smiled and adorable any other time, but they couldn’t even injure her hand after trying with full bite force.

Hmm. Sui looked around her for something she could use to test. Like a book or whatever to hold in the path. If she held it somewhat steady, it should give her an idea of what to do.

Looking around, Sui did find her Grandma’s gardening magazine pile. She never read any of them, but they were there ‘just in case,’ though they were a bit out of reach, underneath the TV instead of within arm’s reach.

Sui looked for alternatives and realised the obvious. Reaching down to the couch by her side, she grabbed one of the cushions and held it in the path of the balls. Almost instantly, Sui felt something collide with her improvised wall.

But that was about it: just a soft collision and a pomf. Pulling the cushion close, she looked down and found the fluffballs looked a lot like the rabbits. All fluffy white fur. How did I even catch this? Softly depositing the first fluffball on the sofa, Sui got to her.

Sticking the cushion out, waiting for a fluffball to pass, placing it on the couch, repeat. It only took Sui around two minutes to gather them all, and once she did, she found there was in fact, six of them.

Staring at the six now immobile balls, Sui was somewhat at a loss. The system said they were monsters, but now that they weren’t moving, Sui was questioning that fact. Just as she started to consider the true nature of ‘monsters, a notification appeared.

Congratulations you’ve cleared the second wave.

There is no other relevant news for your notification type.

Sui nodded, glad to note that her new settings had taken effect and that she wasn’t stuck reading about all the miscellaneous things that had just happened. Dismissing the window to assess the fluffballs, Sui was shocked to find that once the window was removed, there was just nothing there.

Sui glanced around, confused, but no traces of the balls could be seen.