[Day 27: You feel significantly weaker due to the evil power consuming your vitality…

You finally reach the end of the ravine, and can put it behind you…]

Lem’s simulated self stopped, planting the butt of his spear into a patch of grass. He looked back across the ravine at the distant smudges on the other side.

He judged that he had arrived at the approximate location opposite where he had started.

Lem’s simulated self looked down into the ravine one last time, but all he could see was darkness.

He turned back around, and continued walking towards the west.

It quickly began to feel a bit strange to be separated from the ravine.

It had been a fixture in the environment for more than two weeks.

Now, it was gone, leaving only the monotonous sight of the thick forest in its place.

Trees, trees, and more trees.

The day passed uneventfully.

As it was growing late in the afternoon, with the sun low on the horizon, Lem’s simulated self began to hear faint noises coming from an area ahead of him.

When he paused to listen, he could not recognize the sounds.

They were bizarre and chaotic.

His simulated self did not know whether to go forward.

Watching from his detached perspective, Lem had a feeling that he would eventually succumb to his curiosity.

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After all, it could be an opportunity.

His rations were running low again, and he could feel the evil power growing stronger within him day by day.

He was not in dire straits yet, but he also wasn’t far from it.

Even if it was dangerous, he had to venture forward if there was even the slightest chance of a reward.

A few moments later, as Lem had expected, his simulated self began to walk forward.

Clearly, he had the intent to take a quick look at what was causing the noises before deciding whether to approach or flee.

As he drew closer, the sounds began to resemble a cacophony of ripping sounds.

It was unlike anything he had ever heard before.

The closest thing he could think of was the sound of rain.

Lem’s simulated self was confused but he continued forward.

His view continuously changed as he walked. The trees ahead of him slowly shifted in position.

The sounds grew louder.

Suddenly, he was able to see past a few trees that had been blocking his sight, giving him a clear gaze at what was ahead.

He stopped, filled with horror.

Lem could hardly believe what he was seeing.

What an astonishing sight!

A massive tyrant sloth lay there, dead. With its corpse sprawled out, it resembled a hill. At some places, its body rose to the height of some of the nearby trees.

This was not the frightening thing!

A corpse could hardly kill Lem, no matter how huge it was.

What was far more disturbing were the innumerable dust cats that were eating from every part of the dead sloth. Together, they resembled flies on a carcass, only much, much larger.

The sound came from the chorus of biting, ripping, chewing, hissing, and purring that emerged from countless interactions between the dust cats.

Some of them were as large as a mature deathbear, sprawling several meters in length. A few were as small as rabbits with hairless pink skin and indistinct features, clearly newborns from a recent litter.

Most were roughly the size of a wolf or slightly bigger.

As Lem’s simulated self watched, one of the smaller dust cats turned from the crevice it had carved into the arm of the sloth, its face covered in blood, as it looked directly at him.

His heart nearly stopped from fear.