Beast Noblewoman, Human-Making (7)
The first to notice was her master, whose senses were exceptionally sharp. He'd thought it safe since they were in a secure zone, but anything could happen in the forest...
Thank goodness she'd sensed it before trouble struck. She focused her mana into her eyes, activating her enhanced vision. Staring intently for a long while, a vague shape emerged from the darkness. Humanoid in form. But its movements felt off—wrong. Slithering... dragging feet. Sometimes staggering like a drunkard, irregular and unsteady.
Her master spoke with utter certainty.
"It's a Night Walker."
"Huhu... this is bad."
Roni broke into a cold sweat upon hearing that. Even Ellen trembled silently, scared stiff.
Night Walker...Night Walker. He'd never faced one directly while playing Darkness and Fear. In the game, darkness usually meant death. Step into the shadows, and a horrific scream would play as the death screen popped up. It was a monster defined purely by game mechanics.
But this was reality. Just like everyone else could feel, it had to have a tangible presence.
"Ellen sister. We need to build up the campfire."
Her master spoke calmly.
"Uh... y-yeah!"
Even with her face drained of color, Ellen gathered fallen leaves and twigs at her master's command. To revive the dying flames.
(New) Fear Resistance [F]
[Grrr...]
A chilling breathing sound echoed. Impossible for human vocal cords—like scraping an ice wall, a horrifying, piercing melody.
The shape approached them. It solidified in their vision. Antennae sprouted from its eye area like grafted branches. Fleshy tendrils. Grotesque, like a bug with densely packed fingers. Its skin drooped like severe burns, oozing tar-like pus. Black, sinister, repulsive. Fear incarnate from the darkness. The monster embodying it.
They stared, and suddenly they were face-to-face.
His perception blurred. The campfire flared back to life. The Night Walker circled outside the campsite. One... no, two... a pack of three had already surrounded them.
His chest went ice-cold. An unnatural revulsion coursed through his veins.
Roni chattered her teeth, struggling to stay vigilant.
Huuh...
Only after the skill message appeared did he catch his breath. It was still disgustingly horrific, though.
Her master flattened herself and shouted,
"Oppa, watch the shadows!"
Their shadows stretched long toward the center campfire. The Night Walkers' aura began infiltrating everyone. To protect her master and Ellen, he and Roni were positioned farther out... so naturally, they felt it stronger.
Even with the resistance skill, it was a soul-licking horror.
"H-huuuh..."
Roni froze mid-confrontation, paralyzed by fear. The moment she stopped moving, a Night Walker advanced. Stepping on their elongated shadows, heading straight for them.
No sound from its squelching footsteps. Faster than he could perceive!
"Hya!"
He tackled Roni flat, slamming her down.
"Do... Dodo?"
She snapped back to her senses. Flattening their bodies shortened the shadows. The Night Walker immediately retreated. But it didn't give up, still circling the campsite's edge.
Staying low, he yelled,
"Tia! How do we beat it?!"
"Light! And heat!"
Thankfully, her master knew the strategy. An unimplemented monster, but beatable.
He slapped his cheeks to focus. Genre shifted with resistance. Horror games didn't hand out guns or swords for a reason—easy kills weren't scary. Beat the fear, and it became just another task.
Her master crawled over in prone position, handing him her backpack. Whispering beside him,
"Don't let it touch you, kiddo. Your flesh will freeze and slough off."
"Don't worry. Who'm I a disciple of?"
A faint smile crossed her lips for a moment. From the pack, she handed him an item.
"This is my hair oil."
"Ah...!"
"And take this too."
Flint and steel. The tool from lighting the campfire earlier. Their purpose was obvious.
Her master added,
"And don't stare straight at it. Night Walkers..."
"Master, trust me."
He already had a fear countermeasure. Mental interference skills leveled fast, surprisingly.
Before the fire died, time to end it. He sprang up, facing one head-on.
"Hey! You gloomy bastard!"
His shadow stretched above toward the Night Walker. A pathway luring the monster. It stepped through the shaded area, closing in.
Just before range, he uncorked the oil vial, splashing it on his blade. Struck the flint simultaneously.
Let there be light.
Fear Resistance [E+] → Fear Resistance [D-]
[Kkaddddduk!]
Blasted by light up close, it reacted violently. Scraping ice sounds as it convulsed backward.
No letting it escape. He charged after. Drew his second sword too. Friction-sparked the flaming blades against each other. Sparks flew as metal screamed. Both swords ignited.
The grotesque tendrils mimicking fingers—in place of eyes. He sliced them clean off.
[Grrrruk!!!]
It clutched the stump with its drooping arm. Sensitive sensory organs, apparently! Its chest opened up.
Both swords thrust diagonally into the heart area. Like executing a prisoner.
[...!!]
Ribs shattering thrilled through his fingertips. Tar-like fluids gushed. As he yanked the blades free, the Night Walker sagged limply.
The campfire dimmed. In the skirmish, he'd strayed from the light. Blade flames died. Coated in fluids, they needed cleaning...
His crisis was their chance. The remaining two circled in.
In thick darkness, they moved startlingly fast. Cold teeth filled mouths without lips. Seeking flesh warmth, they lunged ferociously.
As he bolted back to safety...
"Damn it..."
Sticky fluids glued his shoe soles. Each step squelched like weeds.
[Grrrruk!!]
[Gruk! Gruk!]
Chilling sounds from both sides. He kicked off his shoes, rolled across the ground.
"Roni! Help!!"
Desperate call to the still-frightened Roni.
"Kkh... Dodo!"
The monsters pressed. He dodged claw swipes in pitch black via senses alone. One sword was lost from sight after the roll.
Bone-chilling cold from grazing nails. Master was right—one hit, and flesh would freeze off! Injury breeds more, leading to being eaten alive.
Gathering even the finest tactile senses, he evaded desperately.
"Dodo! Here... catch!"
Primal fear, status aura. Roni gritted her teeth against it. Grabbed her shaking legs, hurled her spear.
It stabbed right behind him. He rolled again, snatching it.
"Come on, you monster shits!"
Even thrusting the spear tip didn't faze them. Embodiments of night, death, fear itself... The Night Walkers sought wounds to bite.
Farther from fire, they grew nimbler. Flesh-cutting cold intensified.
Still, he steeled himself. Gritted teeth, kept fighting.
Spear Mastery [C] → Spear Mastery [C+]
His mind sharpened further, spear sensations keener. Yet he was at a disadvantage. Bludgeoned relentlessly, vision limited, damn fluids dulling the blade nonstop. Flesh-cutting cold stiffened muscles. Tar slime slowed joints.
"Oppa!"
Her master struggled from afar to stoke the fire. Calmly aware intervening now wouldn't help. Unarmed child—that was Tia master's state. Doing her best to expand the safe zone.
The more she did, the more the Night Walkers dragged him into darkness.
Vile bastards...!
Breath at his throat, holding on by willpower...
"Dodo!!"
Ellen's voice. She ran over barefoot, grabbing nearly burned-out logs. Legs quaking, slowly. Fear slowed her as she neared.
"Ahh...!"
Then she slipped on sticky slime. Flying log chunks—his last hope, carrying embers.
"Hup!"
He swung the spear shaft, smashing them. Surroundings flashed bright.
[Grrrruk!!!]
The two Night Walkers flinched like eye-stung.
Light to him. Vision returned briefly.
Chance! Spear thrust into the frontal Night Walker's groin. Deep penetration. Spine-snapping handfeel exquisite.
Dropping the embedded spear, he spun to the flinching rear one.
Fail now, and he dies. Mana focused to fingertips.
"Kkugh...!"
Mana Torrent [E] → Mana Torrent [E+]
Fingertip blood, mana-charged, tore veins and sprayed. Crude blood flow control that ambushed her master before. Recalling the sensation. Crimson blood claw like talons.
Blood claw pierced the Night Walker's gut.
"Die!! You monster!!!"
[Grrrruk!! Gruk!]
Hole in belly, the Night Walker thrashed. He gripped the innards tight... and ripped sideways!
Chunks spilled. The last Walker crumbled.
Huuu... Victory.
Dazed, staggering back to the campfire. Scooping up fallen Ellen on the way.
Entering safety, her master rushed to him.
"No injuries...? Let me see your hand."
Her face ashen, speech faltering.
Fingertip rupture marks. Forcing out circulating blood—expected result. Not too painful despite the nasty wound, but her master fretted like it was hers.
Bandages and salve from the pack, wrapping tightly.
"..."
Her eyes swirled with emotions. Pride, pity. No praise—his right hand mangled.
Silently finished treatment, then hugged tight.
He turned to Ellen. Hands literally scorched. Horrible state.
"Tia, treat the lady too."
"Yes, oppa."
As her master approached, Ellen curled up. Face beet-red, fidgeting as she offered the burns.
"It'll sting."
Ellen just nodded, head down.
His Ellen reformation project... utterly wrecked by the trio of hellish monsters.
Messy campsite. But all survived without major wounds.
"Glad everyone's safe."
"Huhu... didn't help much."
Roni grinned sheepishly, nodding.
Ellen's unusual demeanor bugged him. Normally she'd brag boldly... or wail about pain.
Where else hurt? Dread chilled him. Bragged big to Sebastian—if more injuries, no excuses!
Ah...! Finally noticed her crotch area.
Um. Damp-looking.
Spotting his gaze perfectly, her face burned twice as red.
"Ah... a-ah!"
Frantic excuses.
"Th-this...! It's just spilled lemonade...!"