I walked through the forest with more confidence than when I was searching for the trapdoor or even the path to the lake.

I had a vivid memory of the route I had taken under the threat of my captor's wooden spear.

"By the way, why did he have such high-quality equipment except for that old spear carved from a branch?" I wondered.

Another mystery surfaced, but it didn't particularly interest me. I pushed that question from my mind, replacing it with the prospect of finding a bag filled with shiny weapons.

His camp was secluded, deep in the forest. If he had chosen this location, it meant it was secure.

I wondered if spending the night there might be a good idea.

I walked for about an hour until I spotted the camp.

It was starting to get dark, and the sunlight was fading through the leaves.

My timing was perfect for once.

My resurrection was off to a good start.

It worried me because misfortune was never far away.

I decided to approach the camp cautiously.

I hid behind a tree and surveyed the surroundings.

There was nothing special. I saw the canvas bags still sitting there, near the tree where my captor used to sit. And there, I saw the chain that I had broken to escape.

Everything remained exactly as if these events had taken place yesterday, even though it had been a month. And I already felt like a different person.

I decided to approach slowly, keeping an eye on the surroundings.

There didn't seem to be any enemies or traps.

I was close to the camp.

I decided to crawl forward, staying low to avoid any traps.

Maybe I was being too paranoid, but everything was going too well for me, and I didn't want to spoil it.

I crept up to the first canvas bag, stood up, and crouched down to check its contents.

There were some rotten Secret Fruits at the bottom.

Obviously, it was not a good idea to eat them. So, I opened my sales screen, waited for it to load, and placed the entire bag in the selling square.

"CANVAS BAG! 3PP!" appeared.

It was disappointing, but better than nothing.

Then I moved on to the second bag. I saw that it was halfway filled with black Turcos.

I had no idea how many there were, but I grabbed one and took a bite.

I knew that eating black Turcos gave 3DP, one point more than selling them.

As soon as the dry, mushy substance entered my mouth, I quickly understood why.

It was disgusting, like eating polystyrene. But on top of that, it was nauseating.

I felt sick after the first bite.

I forced myself to eat a bit more until I saw my debt bar gain 3 points.

It wasn't worth it.

It was better to sell everything, even if it meant getting 30% fewer points.

I took the bag and placed it in the selling square.

"BLACK TURCOS x23! 23DP 23PP" and "CANVAS BAG! 3PP" were displayed.

So, by converting all my points, I had earned a total of 55DP.

My debt bar was now at 104/170. Only 66DP more, and I would level up to level 3.

I looked left and right, but I didn't see anything else of interest.

Only the long chain that had held me captive remained.

I approached it and saw the broken link.

I had put all my efforts into escaping. If only I had known at that time that I would end up in this village anyway.

I felt a bit sorry for my past self.

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As I looked at the chain, I decided to pick it up and sell it.

But as I grabbed it, I felt something, a vibration.

I realized something.

"What if my power isn't limited to just my small chain? What if I can control any chain?" I thought.

I commanded the chain to wrap around my arm, and it obeyed. It coiled up my arm like a snake, slowly. The sensation of the cold metal on my skin was exhilarating.

I couldn't move; my thoughts were racing.

This power was becoming more and more exciting.

The possibilities were growing.

I let the chain position itself diagonally between my right shoulder and left hip.

I didn't know what I would do with it, but I liked the idea of having as many options as possible.

I scanned the camp one last time before heading to the spot where the chase had taken place between me and the other player.

I walked for several minutes until I stumbled upon human bones.

I crouched down to examine them closely.

Clearly, they belonged to a person of small stature. I felt a mix of emotions.

This player was a puzzle to me.

I didn't know what to feel about him.

"I've experienced so many difficult moments because of him, but at the same time, he’s allowed me to be where I am today," I thought.

And then, at the crucial moment, he protected me and saved my life.

Now, my eyes were fixated on his white bones scattered on the ground.

He had likely been devoured by that Drifter.

Several bones were broken – clear signs of a fierce battle.

Some broken arrows were scattered around.

I had a fleeting urge, an idea of selling the bones.

I shook my head to dismiss that unhealthy thought.

I stood up and found a patch of soft soil. I began digging a hole with my hands.

Once the hole was deep enough, I gently laid the bones inside and began to cover them with earth.

"At least he deserves this," I thought, not really knowing the significance of burying those remains.

Then I went to collect all the arrows I could find to sell them.

The broken arrows earned me less than the complete ones.

In total, I earned 120PP from the arrows.

I decided not to use them right away; the healing potential of leveling up could save my life if a Drifter showed up.

Now, I was searching for two items: the spear and, most importantly, the bow.

The bow couldn't be far from here.

I searched the ground as I moved forward.

I had to be quick; staying in the forest at night was dangerous.

As I walked further, I noticed something moving near me.

I turned around and saw roots coming towards me.

The trees were aggressive, but why?

« They weren't like this before when I was being chased. » I pondered.

I decided to run, not towards the camp, but towards where I thought the spear might be.

The roots were a bit slower than me as long as I kept running, so I wasn't in immediate danger.

"No! I've already thought like that too much. I need to stay focused!" I thought.

I couldn't underestimate this enemy.

I ran forward, looking at the ground.

I didn't have much hope of finding the spear.

My speed made everything blurry, and the spear blended in with the surroundings.

After a few minutes, I gave up on finding my captor’s weapons.

I needed to get out of the forest and find a safe place.

In a matter of minutes, I had gone from a perfect situation to a life-threatening one.

All because I had foolishly believed I was out of danger. But Hell was too unpredictable to feel comfortable there.

After about ten minutes of running, I was completely out of breath and had no idea how deep the forest was.

"I should have gone back where I came from!" I thought.

Every tree I passed began to awaken, projecting its roots.

I saw no solution for defending myself.

My chains were too slow and weak to stop the powerful roots from reaching me.

I had 4 talent points to allocate, but it didn't seem like it would make a difference. And I definitely didn't want to start using those points just to get out of a dangerous situation.

Making emergency decisions like that only wasted points.

"I need to be strategic. How do I escape from these roots?" I thought.

I looked around as I ran, but there was nothing but trees. Trees, trees, and more trees.

"If I had fire, I could do something," I thought, imagining myself as a human torch once again.

I instinctively looked up, reminded of the time I had miraculously found the blue berries.

Some trees were tall enough.

"If there's one place they can't reach me..." I thought.

I headed towards the tallest tree I could find. Its roots were rising and getting ready to grab me.

I dodged them, running as fast as I could, maneuvering around them while grabbing the chain I had wrapped around me.

I threw it into the air while holding onto one end.

The chain wrapped around a branch, and I visualized it pulling me upward.

I suddenly felt as if my body had exhausted itself.

The chain seemed to communicate its own limitations to my body—it wasn't strong enough for this task.

I seized the chain with both hands and started climbing it, as if the devil were chasing me.

I climbed hand over hand.

The cold metal burned my hands, which slipped slightly every time I leaned on it.

Once I reached the first branch, I saw the roots were still closing in below.

I wasn't high enough.

Determined to go further, I hurled the chain toward another branch, but as soon as I put my weight on it, the branch snapped.

Without a second thought, before panic could overwhelm me, I looped the chain around the trunk and secured it at the base of my back.

With a renewed surge of strength, I pulled myself up in jerking motions, ascending towards the treetop. The roots pursued relentlessly, and the metallic taste of blood in my mouth coupled with the urge to vomit signaled the limits of my endurance.

I didn't need to check my profile to know that my EP was at or near zero.

I had no choice. "I convert all my PP into DP!" I declared.

A surge of energy coursed through my body, propelling me to climb rapidly to another branch.

Looking down, I saw that the roots had stopped following me.

I was now perched about fifteen Yards above the ground.

The branch was thick enough for me to sit comfortably.

If my theory was correct, I could leave again at daybreak, otherwise... I didn't want to think about it.

I settled in, prepared to spend the night in the forest where I had narrowly escaped death several times.