In good time, we cut ourselves another path to a small clearing and then prepared the ground for tomorrow, scaring and intimidating the local wildlife. Kidu dug simple pitfalls in places, lining the bottom with sharpened stakes. I was constantly scanning the undergrowth for potential enemies, as my nerves were strung tight. Elwin was drafted to assist Kidu, constantly complaining that he would prefer to be on watch. With military precision, my companions set up camp for the night, almost silent in their preparations, only exchanging words when absolutely necessary. Feeling a little useless, I patrolled a good distance around our chosen campsite, my hand on the haft of my weapon, as twilight stole over the forest.

I returned once they had set up a good-sized fire, its blaze providing true warmth and light as night proper claimed the forest. In time, the daytime calls and songs were replaced by the evening sounds of the forest. We gathered around the fire to confirm and discuss our plans for the next day. Our rallying point was to be a large tree, perhaps two hundred yards from the bank of the river, with easily-climbable branches. It would be easy to notice, as we had made a great many slashes about its trunk. The trees and undergrowth leading up to it, too, were slashed with our weapons, to be our guideposts in case of an ignominious retreat.

Once again, I volunteered for the first two watches, as I wanted to be alone with my thoughts. To be honest, I really wanted the chance to experiment. My mind turned to the ridiculous situation that I found myself in. I had returned to the city where I had been enslaved, only to join a guild of Adventurers to get a measure of protection. Now I sought to earn a living by completing difficult and dangerous requests. A powerful noblewoman of the city was also somewhere out there, planning my demise, as was the way of the rich and the powerful. Looking at my predicament somewhat objectively, I had to fight from laughing in hysteria.

The old me would have simply lacked the imagination to come up with such a ridiculous scenario, which was a far cry from my comfortable and safe old life. What surprised me was my own reserve of mental strength that came from overcoming adversity. The me of yesterday would have been wallowing in self-pity and ineffectually railing against the injustices of the world. In this rough and visceral world, I had to play the hand which I had been dealt. Perhaps it was this element of true struggle that had been missing from modern life - the razor path at the edge of the abyss that made everything more precious. I found that my life here, despite all the dangers and pain, was growing more real to me than the world I had left behind.

These thoughts of the past spurred me to try and enter the meditative state that I had gained during my initial incarceration in Ansan. I was shocked as I found that memories of my past life, my past world, had grown distant. Details that were once so clear were still present, somewhere, but for the moment they were out of reach of my questing mind. Something smothered the shock of the discovery, a state of forgetfulness akin to acceptance. That world was a faraway place across the infinite reach of space and time. I would find no further gains in power from the memories of my previous life.

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My mind was brought jarringly to the present and I noticed that our campfire had dimmed a little. I quickly added some more fuel to the fire before settling down again to my watch.

I experimented with the Drain spell against what I thought of as a ‘normal’ tree, but the mana gained from the unsuspecting flora was a mere pittance against the cost of the spell, so I quickly ended it. Like a faithful and eager hound, Entropic Aura came to the fore of my mind, begging to be used and unleashed, but I fought against the temptation. With nothing to do, and unsure of the passage of time, I patrolled around the clearing, making sure to stay in the range of the fire’s light.

I nearly panicked when a moth-like creature landed on my face, its ghost-white wings fluttering as I swiped at my helm, hands clanking against the visor. The creature settled on a nearby tree, its milky form contrasting with the darkness. In a flash of pettiness and annoyance, I threw two knives, using the Double-Throw skill, much more deftly than anticipated. One silvery blade missed, thudding into the tree, while the other sliced the creature across its thorax before embedding in the wood.

You have slain ??? 1 experience gained.

Barely worth the effort, I thought to myself, in great annoyance, as I retrieved my knives and checked the blades before placing them once more into their sheathes. Only a few more of those blighters to go before I reached my next level, I thought grimly, as I completed my circuit and returned to the camp proper.

I sat at the fire before our donkey wandered over to my chosen spot and nuzzled my face, her equine eyes filled with affection. She settled down next to me, her body a barrier against the forest. Going through our general supplies, I found a sharpening stone and began the slow process of sharpening my knives. I found the uniform, steady motions relaxing, as the built-up stress of my many adventures were dealt with, one stroke at a time, to reach a razor finish.

In due course, the looming figure of Kidu gruffly relieved me of my watch, sending me off, back to my bedroll. Eager to restore my lost Mana, Health, and Stamina, I fell into a troubled sleep filled with dark skittering things and a world that was once mine.