At dawn, I start doing stretching exercises, then I run a little, and finally I sit down to slowly drink some water.
Meanwhile, I get up to continue observing the surroundings, and we hear a distant rumbling that causes the ground to shake.
"Some group must be facing a monster in the forest," I think as I sharpen my senses and can slightly feel the fear in the distance.
"Two smaller sources of fear against a larger one. Someone must have died in that group," I think, and then I stop sharpening my senses.
The danger of this forest lies in being alone. If you stray too far from the group, the forest will cease to be silent and mysteriously activate countless illusions that will cause you to get lost. These illusions seem to be weaker the larger the group is. Anyway, only if you're fucking crazy should you enter the forest to try your luck. Of course, the shallower part of the forest is child's play for high-ranking hunters.
••••
When the safe hours are approaching, we return to the forest.
I leave marks mixed with my fear on the trees. Since yesterday's marks were fading, this time I leave deeper marks and increase the amount of fear I use.
This time, as we walk among the trees, we head to an area in the opposite direction of the goblin village we destroyed yesterday.
The safe hours arrived, and we continued walking. We could hear the river, but we didn't get too close, since we now know that there are Mud Men on the banks, and where there are Mud Men, there are also river mermaids.
"Yes, according to my memories, they are not pretty at all, so you will die ugly," I joke in my mind.
Watson stops, and then says to me.
"There must be a monster of 4 or 5 skulls nearby. My compass is starting to become unstable."
I had only kept my senses sharp to perceive our surroundings, to expend less fear, and thus be prepared for any ambush.
I close my eyes, feel the breeze, and fully activate my hunter's senses using more fear.
I can perceive the different scents in the air: humidity, fresh water, stagnant water, decay, green leaves, dry leaves, earth, and the rancid smell of multiple beings in the distance.
I swallow hard as I feel a threatening and powerful fear coming from the place where the rancid smell of the many unknown beings is coming from.
"Yes, there is a being there that is a little stronger than the smiling one I managed to kill with Scarlet Rose," I think, and then I explain to Watson what I perceived.
••••
-If what you say is true, there must be an Orc village there. They are extremely dangerous, savage and brutal warriors, but they are also lethal hunters. Their hunting grounds must be on the other side of their village, or they would already be hunting us. There must be a Great Orc there. They are monsters of rank 4 or 5. The rest of the Orcs must be 2 or 3 skulls. What do we do? -Watson explains and then asks for my opinion.
I sigh and think, "I didn't come to Rodem City to run away, I came for the opportunities, to make myself strong. I must seize every opportunity, or when real danger comes, I'll be screwed. I've always strived to create my own opportunities, even if it means pushing myself to the limit."
I place my hand on the hilt of Scarlet Rose and say to Watson:
"In this life, it's best to live successfully or die trying to be successful. The middle ground is rubbish that will only make you suffer."
Watson was about to swallow hard, but I looked at him firmly and said:
"Give me 'Ghost'."
Watson gives me the white revolver and I put in the three bullets he had used.
I hand him the revolver back.
-Use your bullets at the right moment. It's best to climb to the top of a tree when we're near the orc village. -I tell him.
Watson takes a deep breath, trying to contain his nerves, which are evident in his pale face.
We walk among the trees, the minutes pass, and we are careful not to make noise when stepping on dry leaves. We also avoid some traps with the help of my tracking skills, which allow me to see the orcs' tracks.
It's like when I was going to play an important game. It's not fear, it's tension that increases my anxiety and makes me sweat. I want to win, I want to win; I will always want to win.
I cover my body with my fear, I sheathe my fear in my swords, I see a perimeter wall made of logs, 2.5 meters high. I run.
Cut!
Cut!
Bang!
The gate in the perimeter wall falls, every sense in my body is heightened, I see some humanoid figures and jump towards them without waiting.
Cut!
Cut!
[You have killed a 2-skull monster: +0.14]
[You have killed a 2-skull monster: +0.11]
Dark blood covers my face, and two heads almost twice the size of a human's roll across the ground. Their features are still indifferent to me; if I think about it, I'll die.
I keep running, toward the next silhouettes.
Cut!
Bang!
[You killed a 2-skull monster: +0.15]
A blow from a mallet knocked me back.
"Son of a bitch, die!"
I jump towards the grotesque, hairless orc, resembling a deformed pig, who is dressed in animal leather.
The gray-skinned orc roars.
But I instill more fear in my body and jump towards him.
The mace approaches, and I dodge it at the last moment with my agility.
Cut!
I manage to completely sever one of the Orc's arms.
An arrow pierces my thigh. It hurts like hell.
I jump to dodge the other arrows and forcefully pull the arrow out cleanly. My wound is bleeding.
"System, add 5 points to health."
[Health: increased from 20 to 25]