Lem’s simulated self was walking ever closer to the pond.

The spiritual water lily was only a few meters away from the shore, where the harvest tree stood conspicuously beside it.

He walked forward. The lily was twenty meters away.

Fifteen meters.

A dozen meters.

Lem was sure that the branch would approach in only a few seconds.

No matter how harmless Lem’s simulated self appeared, there was no chance that the harvest tree would allow him to get close to the water lily.

And then his simulated self stopped.

His body was flooded with sensations of horror and fright.

Lem breathed an internal sigh of relief. The simulation would continue.

He began taking slow steps backwards.

He glanced to make sure there was a clear path behind him.

It would be the worst moment to trip over a root, or stumble into a branch.

There was no longer any temptation.

Even with the influence of the ambient spiritual energy, once noticed, it was impossible to ignore a presence like the harvest tree.

Stolen story; please report.

His only confliction was whether he should run away as fast as he could, or slowly, to avoid alerting the tree.

He was flirting with death every second he remained in place.

The gnarled branches appeared poised to launch outward.

Slowly, Lem’s simulated self moved away from the harvest tree, until it was no longer visible, obscured behind tree coverage.

He still did not feel comfortable, however, so he continued to move backwards.

[Unfortunately, you notice a tree near the pond. You recognize it as a harvest tree, one of the most dangerous carnivorous plants in the forest. You carefully walk away, not daring to take any chances…

You avoid the pond and the harvest tree, and you continue traveling north. Very quickly, you notice that the comfortable feeling of spiritual energy disappears…

As night falls, you get a strange sensation from your environment.]

Lem was puzzled.

His body was transmitting an unrest that it could not place.

Even though he could still hear the normal sounds of the forest, it seemed oddly still.

He could tell that there was nothing frightening about his surroundings, but somehow they felt off.

[You eat from your rations and fall asleep…]

As Lem was forced to endure the hours of pure darkness, he contemplated what the sensation had meant.

Clearly, it was not a sign of immediate danger.

After all, he was still alive.

It was not his mind that was being affected, because Lem did not have access to his simulated self’s mind.

Lem was insulated from such attacks by the presence of the simulator.

He wondered…

If spiritual energy made him feel comfortable, did this feeling come from the lack of spiritual energy?

Or could it be a random phenomenon?

Or an aura that was unconsciously cast by a beast?

He continued to think up possibilities long into the hours of the night.