We barely managed to make it.

The rest of the camp stirred awake as Kajal and I put out the fire.

Paz emerged from his blanket, swinging his heavy spear. “What’s going on? Who?”

“Not now, Paz,” I yelled. “Take cover!”

We didn’t have enough tents. I rolled under the wagon, hoping it would suffice. The rest of the team found hiding places inside the tent or within the wagon. Someone even used an ability.

Where was the div?! The last time I’d seen her, she lay curled up by the fire.

No time to worry though!

The unnatural cloud sailed over the campsite and covered it in a field of darkness. [Silhouette] went into a frenzy, stretching long tendrils in the air. The shadow monster shrieked in excitement—or at least, it would have if it possessed the faculties to do so.

Something about the eerie darkness appealed to it. And, after a few seconds of hiding with bated breath, I finally realized why.

This wasn’t a phenomenon caused by weather or any strange magic. This was the result of an affinity, one I knew all too well about.

[Fear].

A ranker had created this cloud. And, as if in confirmation, a [System] message appeared:

You have been affected by the ability, [Nightfall], due to your connection to Fear.

You have gained a boost to all five senses!

Your [Fear]-based techniques have grown 2x more potent! This potency may affect attack power or mana cost depending on the technique.

A buff that affected all [Fear] users regardless of alignment? Who could do such a thing? S-surely, not the Lord of Terror. He had no business in Dreadwood . . . unless he had come looking for someone.

Looking for me.

A strange chill seized my heart.

“Damien!”

A high-pitched scream cut through my thoughts. Not in the same voice that called me, but somewhere far off in the distance. A pair of strong hands pawed at my legs.

“Damien!”

“Kajal?” I roused from my stupor. How long had I been lying beneath the wagon? “Whazzit? What happened?”

The night had turned even darker beneath the cloud which had completely obscured the moons and the stars. Regardless of it all, Kajal’s pristine features remained visible to my eyesight . . . thanks to the buff I’d received.

She tensed up as I made my way out of hiding. One of her arms rested against the wagon to preserve her sense of direction.

“Are you alright?” she asked. “You didn’t reply when we performed a roll call earlier.”

“I’m fine.” The screams in my head intensified. “Who’s that? Who’s screaming?”

“I don’t hear a thing . . .”

“It’s the sound of battle,” a guttural voice said. It emanated from a burly figure who occupied the mound Kajal and I had earlier shared.

It cocked its reptilian head as if listening to something in the darkness. Wait . . . reptilian? Indeed, a giant lizard stood on the mound, complete with a tail wrapped around its limbs.

A Shifter, then. Medekeine?

“There are vague sounds of fighting,” Medekeine continued, “somewhere in the distance.”

They weren’t vague to me. I could hear them just fine; cries, steel, and all. Another effect of [Nightfall]?

“Elves, then,” I concluded. “We should help them.”

Medekeine growled. “Our quest takes priority, elf. We can’t allow ourselves to be derailed.”

“We. Should. Help. Them.”

“I’m with Damien,” Paz said, itching for a fight.

Kajal took a moment to consider our options. “I’m inclined to agree, but the rest of us can’t see in the dark as well as you two—”

“It’s not too bad,” Paz said.

“As well as you three, then. We need to know what we are up against, at the least. Damien, can I trust you to scout ahead? Paz and Medekeine will lead the rest of us after you.”

“That’s fine by me.” I looked around the campsite. “Wait, where’s Div?”

Everyone else was accounted for, including Logain who watched the night with sword and shield in hand.

“Back in her cage,” Medekeine hissed. “She tried to make a run for it during the chaos.”

“Well, resummon her,” Kajal said. “Someone needs to pull the wagon.” She glanced in my general direction. “You made a big fuss about the approaching darkness, Damien. But, nothing happened. What did you see?”

I licked my lips and contemplated my answer. “The darkness isn’t caused by a mysterious cloud. Someone on the enemy side shares my affinity.”

Logain cursed aloud. “Oh, great. Just what we needed, huh? A conflict between two Fear users. This is a disaster waiting to happen.”

Kajal hummed. “A spell potent enough to exert influence over the entire forest? Are you sure about this, Damien?”

“Positive,” I said.

She frowned at my reply. “It’s imperative then that we treat this matter with even more caution. Go. Return before taking action to share what you see.”

I nodded and vanished into the shadows.

With the boost from [Nightfall], [Dark Stalker] didn’t cost any MP to activate. None at all.

The slightly monotonous hue that colored the world whenever I cloaked myself in shadows seemed sharper than ever. Even [Silhouette] approved of the changes as it mimicked my movements. Something about the spell in the sky made the both of us stronger. And, it scared me in a way I didn’t want to admit.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Hey, it seems you are afraid!

+1 has been added to all stats.

Well, thank you for that.

[Scaredy-cat]’s timely activation did little to alleviate the dryness in my mouth. Fear was my thing: The one feature that distinguished me from other rankers in Vizhima.

Learning that someone else shared my affinity triggered a childish tantrum within me that I hadn’t felt in years. And, to make matters worse, the other person seemed better at using Fear than me!

If a single ability of theirs could affect the entire forest, what other techniques did they have in their possession?

The sounds of fighting drew closer, cutting through my musing. Multiple flashes of light glinted through the gaps in the trees. I upped my speed, relying on [Stealth] to move noiselessly through the underbrush. Hopefully, the other Fear user was somewhere in the vicinity, so that I could thank them for casting a spell to my benefit.

A strong outline moved in the direction of the battlefield with enough force to send vibrations running up my feet. Loud roars cut through the forest: the sound of a wounded beast . . . or an enraged one.

With only about two hundred meters left to go, I would be better served retreating after a peek. Whatever waited beyond those trees was probably above my pay grade—

Oh, hell no.

The outline I’d spotted earlier had just gotten clearer. It moved through the forest like a whirlwind, felling numerous trees in its wake. A small group of humanoids—about five in number—strived against that beast. A separate but larger group fled for the trees.

That group—numbering upward of thirty humanoids—seemed composed entirely of regulars. They ran in a panic for places of hiding, without heed of the battle around them.

The whirling outline had already killed a good chunk of rankers and regulars alike. It swung two great chains in a wide arc and struck down one of the defenders. The chains tore deep grooves in the ground and cut through flesh like it was butter.

A second enemy, which I’d initially missed, picked up the slain humanoid and devoured its flesh. It pounded its chest with gusto and roared into the heavens.

I’d suffered nightmares after my last encounter with only one of these monsters. Two of them now stood before me.

Primal Dread Monkeys, both at level 35.

[Silhouette] shivered at the sight.

You feel that too, buddy?

I had already accomplished Kajal’s mission. There was no need to stick around and die in the slaughter. The humanoid rankers—Wood Elves if their almond eyes and ochre skin were anything to go by—put up a valiant defense against the Primal Dread Monkeys. But, I knew how that story ended.

The monsters would crush all four rankers, and then they’d go on to butcher the rest of the group. Regulars were people who didn’t get the chance to specialize, stuck at level 10. The caste also included children and teenagers below that level, still in the process of climbing to the threshold.

Indeed, the regulars that fled the battle now included elf children, alongside adults and a small number of the elderly. The Primal Dread Monkeys would kill them all.

That alone was enough reason to disobey Kajal’s orders. But, who was I kidding? These were Primal Dread Monkeys—the strongest enemies I had faced in Vizhima. I had always wondered how the current me would fare against these guys. I couldn’t relinquish the chance.

Steeling myself, I pulled The Blackreach Dagger out of my inventory . . . then another dagger . . . and then, the Chains of the Combat Ape.

The [System] description was clear:

Chains of the Combat Ape [Greater].

A melee-type weapon with specialties in short and medium-ranged combat. Each length of chain can be attached to a blade to unlock new properties and increase its damage.

Requirement: Greater Strength or Dexterity.

The addition of daggers to the chains formed the aptly named Chain Nails which allowed me to meld the blades to other objects they touched. The boon from [Nightfall] remained active. Time to see what it could do.

The nearest monster was a wicked specimen of an ape with ragged, silver fur, strong arms, and a long, prehensile tail. The elves had whittled its health to just over fifty percent. It seemed capable of killing them before they could finish the job. The monkey dashed aside to avoid a rain of arrows.

I met it as it landed with [Sneak Attack] procced on both of my blades. The resulting damage shaved a thin slice off the monkey’s health—not enough!

The Primal Dread Monkey responded with a backhand which sailed over my head.

At Grand Dexterity, I was more than its match in speed. However, the next few blows stretched my reflexes to the limit, only for me to be blindsided by a vicious tail swipe.

Defend.

[Silhouette] leaped at the order. A mass of shadows rose to intercept the monkey’s tail only to shatter a second after it connected. That second was all I needed to [Stealth]-roll to the monkey’s undefended flank and strike its kidney.

It cried out in pain.

I rolled beneath a retaliatory attack and swung my daggers with even more lethality. Backward I went again, to dodge a vicious three-hit combo that nearly took my head.

[Silhouette] protected me with a mass of sharp, black tendrils. But, the monkey powered through the pain and launched its chains right through the tendrils. The first chain tore a strip off the shoulder of my Night Scout Armor. The second—

Ye-ouch!

I caught it squarely on a barrier formed out of my dual Chain Nails. The force punted me clean across the battlefield and into the path of the second Primal Dread Monkey. Two of the elves occupied this monster, struggling in vain against its thick hide.

My health meter flashed. The blow I’d just taken would hurt tomorrow despite the protection of health armor. No time to think though. I rolled out of the way, as one of the elves—a Skirmisher—charged at the monkey.

Blood showered the ground the next instant as her head exploded beneath the monkey’s palm. Thanks to the boon granted by [Nightfall], [Dark Stalker] returned from cooldown. The second monkey slammed the spot I had occupied one second before I escaped into the shadows.

It roared in anger, baring yellow teeth. This monkey retained over eighty percent of its health, making it my priority. I’d done all I could to the first one. The elves could take it from there.

They did just that. On the opposite flank, the surviving rankers charged the first monkey, inspired by the battle cry of a leader whose paunch wobbled visibly beneath his leather armor.

The Primal Dread Monkeys tried to close in on us. Not on my watch.

Attack.

Silhy trembled in delight at the command. It exploded in a surge of tendrils, cutting off the path of my enemy. The monster did well to avoid the strike, and the next one after that, which I’d staggered. It ended up beside a tree. Talk about a chance.

I spun out of [Dark Stalker] and slammed a Chain Nail into its foot. [Silhouette] provided an aerial platform that enabled me to vault cleanly over the monkey’s strike. I caught its passing fist in the second Chain Nail but lost out in a contest of strength before I could pin it to the tree.

The monkey darted aside, or tried to anyway before finding its foot merged with the ground. I completed a loop around its arm, binding that limb to its restricted leg. The primal beast strained against the chains with enough force that they actually cracked. And then, with its free arm, it reached for its foot.

[Fear Aura].

My signature technique flooded the battlefield, picking only the targets I chose. With the potency from [Nightfall], it achieved instant effect. The Primal Dread Monkey froze with its hand around my Chain Nail, losing two points in each stat to [Dismay]. Any attribute that sat at a perfect multiple of ten had just dropped to a lower tier.

[Silhouette] rushed forward in a crazed frenzy. Shadow tendrils punched the monkey’s face and neck, choosing areas that promised maximum damage to HP. I didn’t give the mental order to stagger the attack, but [Silhouette] did so all the same. Three waves of tendrils crashed into the monkey with the ferocity of siege weapons, bringing its HP down to half in an instant.

The enraged monkey returned to its senses and tugged the Chain Nail from its foot. It crashed through [Silhouette], shattering the tendrils with the force of its passing. I had already used [Dark Stalker] twice tonight, but the monkeys could see through [Stealth] if they focused hard enough.

I once again entered the shadows to avoid the chains swung at my head. It consigned [Dark Stalker] to another brief cooldown. Gotta be careful now. [Silhouette] reformed beneath me, itching to get back in the fight.

On the other side, the first Primal Dread Monkey endured a beating from the elves, following the onset of [Fear Aura]. It regained its bearings soon enough and returned to its feet.

The monkey in my corner threw a tantrum at my disappearance. All three of the chain weapons in its possession scythed the air and shattered entire trees. The Primal Dread Monkey upped its assault by hurling a rock in my general direction. It missed by a mile.

I threw my Chain Nail into the flying rock and activated the [Meld] perk. Then, banking on its momentum, I redirected it in a wide arc into the face of the other dread monkey.

The rock hit home, spraying the elves with blood.

Huzzah! You have participated in the killing of Primal Dread Monkey LVL 35. An appropriate amount of XP has been allocated per your contribution.

The sudden death changed the dynamics on the battlefield. It left three nearly-dead Wood Elves staring stunned at a corpse and one monster driven to the point of rage. The last attack dumped me out of [Dark Stalker], and with nothing left between us, the Primal Dread Monkey charged.

I stood my ground to meet it—when it suddenly stopped and threw my Chain Nail across the gap.

Right into my head.