[ Day 1 ]

After attacking his first Den for the day, Damian had to wander for quite a long while before he chanced upon another one. This time, it wasn’t as easy as there were five Goblins inside.

[ You have defeated a Goblin. FP +1 ]

Still, with the help of Combat Instincts and the more consistent use of Aura, Damian still managed to emerge victorious.

Unfortunately, fate wasn’t always sweet. It took less effort, but the five Goblins only yielded two Life Crystals.

The Den itself also had nothing, the only addition to Damian’s Inventory was the poor knives that were already starting to pile up.

‘It’s only a smooth curve when it’s going down.’

Although Damian couldn’t deny being disappointed, he was actually slightly grateful for the quick reality check.

Things had almost been going too well for him, and they weren’t going to stay that way forever. The less overconfident he was, the better.

Damian could always redo everything, but what if his arrogance made him pick a bad Saving Point? He couldn’t possibly lose his edge this way!

As a Chosen One, Iris’ talents were perfect for the Labyrinth. However, Damian was the one who had to make it work in this environment’s limitations.

No matter how much of a cheat Iris was, she couldn’t rise to the peak in three days. The path was shortened, but proper steps were still necessary, and the next step was…

“Do you know a bedtime story?”

Sleep!

Although Damian hadn’t brought himself to the point of blacking out, he still decided to sleep once he noticed that the time was approaching midnight.

The importance of a schedule was undeniable, and Damian was living proof of that. The only reason he could play Fate’s Guide so much was because he kept one… Most of the time.

{I do know one story…}

“Right, I forgot to ask. Don’t you also need to sleep?”

{Not really. I haven’t felt sleepy ever since I flew out of my body. I feel like I can probably sleep if I tried, though.}

Despite how calm they were about it, whether it was Iris or Damian, both of them were still pretty unfamiliar with their current state.

However, as they spent more time living that way, they were slowly starting to adapt.

“In that case, let me get ready then we can hear that story and head to sleep!”

{Sleep? Wouldn’t it be better if I stay on the lookout?}

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“Even if you don’t feel the need to sleep as a semi-ghost, you are still human deep down. You need a mental break as much as I need a physical one.”

Recovery wasn’t sleep’s only purpose, hitting pause on both mental and physical activity was also part of it. As someone who had a few emotional breakdowns, Iris definitely needed some sleep.

“Besides, it’s not necessary, I can always tell whether someone attacked me if I start over.”

{Right…}

As stressful as it was to live in a monster-infested world like this, Respawn pretty much took off most of the edge. Of course, it came with its own price, but it allowed Damian to be a bit more free with his decisions.

Although Damian still had nothing to sleep on this time. He decided to loosen or take off the parts of the armor that were still intact and keep the rest to shield him from the ground.

It took some time to prepare, but…

[ Save Point has been created. Main Save Point has been replaced. ]

{And… Sweet dreams.}

Damian barely listened to the start of Iris’ story before passing out again. It seemed like he had underestimated how drained he was because he held himself together too tightly…

[ Day 2 ]

Damian got up close to 9 AM safe and sound, Iris woke up earlier, but it looked like she managed to get some sleep this time!

Without further ado, Damian quenched his thirst and hunger before he headed out once again. The distance only seemed to grow longer, but there was no Dens in sight.

“Greee!”

[ You have defeated… ]

That being said, just when Damian started to wonder if this Labyrinth was actually abandoned, a stray Goblin ran at him. Although he quickly disposed of it, it wasn’t the only one.

‘Did I finally leave the beginner area?’

The first Den was such an Anomaly that the current sparsity of monsters felt like a joke. However, things were starting to get lively again.

Though it was over a bit of a distance, Damian had already dealt with 8 strays. Sadly, only two more of them had Life Crystals…

The Anomaly was truly a challenge, but it had its befitting reward. Now that things got easier for Damian, the rewards were starting to shrink. At least in this part, the Labyrinth did feel like it was part of a game.

As midnight grew closer, Damian took down two more empty lootboxes. Thankfully, while he didn’t find any Dens, he found a very small cave that he could crash in for the night. The short rests along the way were already risky enough.

[ Day 3 ]

The third day started calmer but ended with a boom. Worth the while it took, Damian found another five Goblin Den, and while looting them ultimately resulted in a single Life Crystal, something much better happened before that!

‘That’s why I love the Initial Growth Stage.’

[ The Possessed Subject’s Level has risen. ]

Once the Fate Points reached exactly 25, Damian experienced his second level up! Collecting FPs wasn’t an easy task, but as long as one was just starting over, stacking a few levels didn’t take too long!

The subtle effects of the level-up were still the same, no talents or skills ranked up. Still, Damian’s hope was renewed. As for…

[ You have obtained 2 Free Stat Points. ]

‘You will be saved for later.’

After spending so much time contemplating his last distribution, Damian decided to avoid doing anything about it this time.

The past few days were nothing but long walks, so he had yet to meet another stumping challenge. Damian thought that it wouldn’t be too late to consider what would be more advantageous in that situation… And that truly turned out to be the case.

[ Day 4 ]

No sooner than the start of the next day, Damian met the second obstacle of his smooth sailing journey!