One of the Mud Men stands up and walks toward me.
"You're very slow," I think as I watch him.
Perhaps for swordsmen, warriors, or heroes of the same rank, the Mud Man represents a challenge, but against a powerful pistol, he becomes nothing more than easy prey.
Bang!
Bang!
The sixth Mud Man stands up.
I would say he is a little over two meters tall, and the mud on the Mud Man's body drips from time to time.
I grip my sword.
I left the others in my backpack.
The blade of my sword is cracked, I cover it with my fear, and the blade of the sword turns black, with some purple traces.
The Mud Man walks towards me.
I run towards the Mud Man, wielding my sword with both hands.
Cut!
I manage to completely cut off the Mud Man's right leg, but my sword breaks shortly after.
I exhale, the other nine Mud Men try to surround me.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Two Mud Men fell after their heads exploded, and Watson's last bullet missed.
"I'm glad Watson's stray bullet wasn't aimed at me," I think as I see the sword Watson threw at me in the air.
"A damn reliable ally," I think as I take the sword, instilling my fear into my body and my sword.
Cut!
Cut!
Cut!...
I make ten precise cuts, severing the heads of the Mud Men.
Watson puts on gloves and takes out his dagger to extract the cores of the Mud Men. Even so, I cover my hands with my fear and use my sword to open the chests of the six Mud Men with three skulls.
When I open the chest of the first Mud Man, inside there is a greenish substance full of worms. I ignore the disgusting image and extract the Mud Man's core.
[You have killed a 3-skull monster: 0.44]
Then I approach the next Mud Man and extract its core as well.
[You have killed a 3-skull monster: 0.51]
...
••••
"Let's go," I said to Watson once we had finished extracting the cores, as I sensed fluctuations of fear in the distance.
We moved away, heading back out of the forest. Watson's idea resulted in a large gain of black tokens. I would say that this forest is more productive and less dangerous than Area 4, but I prefer not to underestimate the forest, as while we were leaving I could see how the marks I had made on the trees were already disappearing, even though I had infused them with my fear. Furthermore, the compass Watson uses is only useful during safe hours.
"Yes, in the end, being overly ambitious will only cause me problems. Because if, by bad luck, we encountered a 4-skull monster or if a group of 3-skull monsters had been attracted by the noise we made, we wouldn't have been able to get out of the forest in time, so we would have had to camp until the next safe hours, since moving around in this forest without compasses or tracks would only make us go deeper into it due to the mysterious power that extends throughout the forest," I think to myself as I leave the forest.
I take a towel out of my backpack, wipe my face and hands, then put the towel in my pants pocket and sit down on the ground.
"Dan? Aren't we going back?" Watson asks.
I just shake my head, rest my head on my backpack, and bring my left hand to my face. "I'm not going back for two loads that are surely already dead," I think, and then I signal to Watson:
"Wake me up if there's danger."
••••
Night has fallen, and there is a campfire nearby. I get up and tell Watson to sleep.
I load two bullets into Scarlet Rose.
"System, how many points do I have available?"
[Fear points available: 6.52]
"I accumulate points very slowly. Still, it's not bad. We made a good profit," I think as I look around.
I take a packet of cookies out of my backpack and eat slowly.
A cold breeze blows, so I start stoking the fire and every few minutes I throw some dry branches into the flames to keep them going.
As the terrifying hours approach, I check the condition of the four swords, then set them aside next to my backpack so I'm ready to kill anything that attacks me, or at least I'll try.
Watson wakes up and looks in the direction where the baits were left.
Then he hands me a piece of bread and a bottle of water.
As the terrifying hours pass, we hear several howls coming from the forest.
"Abyssal wolves or werewolves. Most likely abyssal wolves, because in this world werewolves are so ferocious, territorial, and bloodthirsty that they usually live alone," I think as I load another bullet into Scarlet Rose.
When the terrifying hours pass, I lie down and rest my head on my backpack.
"System, I want to collect the two Terrifying Rewards. Give me the two Mystery Cards," I indicate in my mind.
Five cards appear before me, all with the same symbol. Again, I choose the first card I saw, the one on the left.
[Congratulations, host: You have obtained a Terrifying Item]
[Smoker's Lighter: Its flame will burn without limits (unlimited use)]
I reach into my pants pocket and pull out a square silver lighter with a sinister eye in the center.
Click!
The fire ignites.
I close the silver lid and the flame goes out.
Click!
The flame ignites.
"It's not a bad item, but it's not something to celebrate in a world where you need resources," I think as I put the lighter back in my pocket.
There's no time to feel sorry for myself. I felt cheated, but it doesn't matter. I'll use the second Mystery Card, I decided in my mind.
Five cards appeared before me, and I chose the one in the middle.
[Congratulations, host: You have earned 15 fear points.]
"Since I could earn 10 fear points for each terrifying reward, I feel like that silver lighter cost me 5 fear points, but let's not think about it. Maybe it will be useful in the future." After rambling a bit, I close my eyes to get some sleep.