Relentless Night

For now, we ignored the Bleeding Tree. 

After some time, that thing really did prevent all sorts of Calamity Objects from spawning on the east side of the fortress.

I didn't know the exact logic to this, especially with the predetermined knowledge that we live inside some sort of a simulation, a game world where something called 'coding' might be the reason why something might happen.

For instance, each Calamity Object might possess an area of influence.

And the coding for this whole Ordeal of the Dusk mechanic might prevent a Calamity Object from overlapping its spawning location on top of one another, in an attempt to deter an error or a bug from happening.

The Bleeding Tree's area of influence might be larger than it seemed to be thanks to its roots.

Who knows, I might be wrong, and I might be right in this.

"I find it perturbing that you prepared a very heartwarming and tasty meal for us, and proceeded to feed yourself these flavorless meatballs…" Verina commented, holding the aforementioned flavorless meatball with a body gesture of disgust.

"I'll make a delicious meal for myself when everything is over as a reward." I chucked another of the flavorless meatballs into my mouth after swallowing one. "I find this stick-and-carrot approach to make me more productive when needed."

"Ah yes, torturing yourself is productive. That reminded me of the concept called 'slavery'."

"Uuuh! What is that? Can I try it?" Lupina said as she sprinted toward us, right after she brutally murdered an incoming Calamity Object with one of my ballista. "I find it cruel that you guys started snacking without me."

Verina handed over the meatball that she was holding. "Here, have this." 

With an innocent face of excitement, Lupina devoured the meatball in one go without a second thought.

Her face immediately shifted to that of confusion and disappointment.

"Immediately wash it down with a fresh cold water," I offered a wooden canteen after I cleansed my throat with its contents. "I'll make a better thing to eat after we survive all of this."

"Yay!" Lupina exclaimed with both hands in the air like an excited toddler.

Despite the non-overwhelming frequency of the Calamity Objects, they still force us to stay wary and restless without a prolonged moment of rest between the downtime.

As the night went on, I decided to make use of excess woods and materials that I scavenged during the day.

One such material was obsidian.

Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth.

"This igneous rock is hard, brittle, and amorphous; it therefore fractures with sharp edges."

In the past, it was used to manufacture cutting and piercing tools, and it has been used experimentally as surgical scalpel blades thanks to its sharpness.

I found this rock near the river where I woke up in this world. I didn't find much of it, however, so none of my tools were made of one.

"Mmm, this will do."

In the end, I carved my sole piece of obsidian rock into a makeshift dagger.

I chiseled the blade to be sharp enough to cut a human flesh without any complication.

[Obsidian Makeshift Dagger (Masterpiece 99%) - 0.2 kg]

It was, however, still very brittle. If I were to misalign the angle of the cut by a little bit, its durability will deteriorate faster than a constipated officer searching for a public toilet.

Every strike must be perfect.

Something that these hands were very good at.

I also crafted a 5 meter wooden pike in case that I need to strike at something from mid-range. But for most of the excess time I got, which was not much—I just worked to make more bolts for the ballista to use, and then replenished the near-empty giant magazines.

"This ballista is surprisingly powerful," Verina commented. "You might want to submit your blueprint to any citadel's military for a good sum of bloodies, miss fairy."

Since midnight had yet to arrive, she had been very conservative of her lifeline usage, which led her to utilize more of the defenses around the fortress. 

"I'll make sure to do that, then."

[The Ordeal of the Midnight will be approaching in 3 hours_]

The closer and closer we were to midnight, the amount of Calamity Objects that spawn greatly increased.

From dealing with a single Calamity Object at a time to immediately finding a whole pack of them proved to be such a massive difference.

"More Bloodhounds on the north! Five of them!"

—

[Bloodhound]

[Description: A pack of feral, wolf-like creatures with glowing red eyes and a thirst for blood. Bloodhounds hunt in groups, coordinating their attacks to bring down their prey quickly. Their howls can disorient colonists, making them easier targets]

[Hint: Bloodhounds are dangerous in numbers, overwhelming bastioneer with rapid, coordinated strikes. They are weaker individually, so focusing on thinning their numbers quickly is essential]

—

Some of them could easily leap the tall walls that I erected for this fortress, and their confrontation was rather dangerous since we were forced to stay within the perimeters of the walls to prevent an unwanted ambush from a different instance of Calamity Object.

My obsidian dagger was swung and swung again, slicing and dicing at the vicious Bloodhounds.

However, sometimes it was needed for us to fight outside of the gate to prevent the destruction of the wall.

"One of the fleshy big boys is coming from the distance!"

Since the Calamity Object that spawned at this time could be powerful enough to strike down the wall with ease, and they might be resilient enough that it would need several ballista bolts and a direct confrontation by Lupina and me to be taken down.

—

[The Crawling Husk]

[Description: A grotesque amalgamation of decaying limbs and twisted flesh, the Crawling Husk drags itself across the ground with unnerving persistence. Its body is a mass of writhing, exposed muscle and bone, constantly shifting and reforming as it moves. The Husk's head is a featureless, fleshy mass, save for a single, gaping wound where its mouth should be. It emits a low, gurgling moan as it crawls, leaving a trail of dark, viscous fluid in its wake]

[Hint: The Crawling Husk exudes an aura of decay, causing plants to wither and food to spoil in its presence. Any Individual who encounter it feel an overwhelming sense of revulsion and dread, and the Husk's touch can cause rapid onset of necrosis in living tissue]

—

As the Crawling Husk winded its arm for a strike, I thrusted my pike directly at its ugly face. Followed by a quick sidestep, I twisted my whole pike and dragged its head down to the ground to offset its attack. all while minding of every liquid that was spilled from its horrid vessel.

Verina then finished the turn with a powerful heat-spell projectile to cripple this horrifying fleshy husk into ashes.

"Back to the wall!"

It was a relentless pursuit of survival, where a single mistake would cost us everything.

And with my access to the information screen of the Calamity Objects, I would always try to ensure that both Verina and Lupina were informed at all times.

"Everyone, duck!"

"Gyaaah!" Lupina screamed in panic as she lunged her body to the surface of the platform of the wall.

"A Calamity Object that is capable of ranged attack, huh. What does that one do, miss fairy?" Verina asked, maintaining a prone position.

—

[Shardfiend]

[Description: A crystalline entity that moves with terrifying speed, its body made of sharp, glittering shards. The Shardfiend attacks by launching these shards at high velocity, piercing through armor and flesh alike. It can regenerate its shards over time, making it a persistent threat]

[Hint: Shardfiends excel at ranged attacks, dealing heavy damage from a distance. Individuals need to close the gap quickly or use cover to avoid its shard volleys]

—

"It is a Shardfiend, a crystalline entity that moves crazy fast. We need one person outside of the wall to take aggro, while the other attempts to snipe it with the ballista."

"I'll be the one-!"

I cut-off Lupina's speech before she could finish it.

"No, you aren't fast enough to avoid. I'll be the one who engages it at close range."

I immediately jumped down from the platform of the wall and headed to the gate with my pike in hand.

While this body might not be the most athletic, my reflex and instinct was much more reliable than Lupina's.

Not to mention, Lupina was not informed of the different Calamity Object that she would need to face when she exited the platform of the wall.

—

[Sandstalker]

[Description: A large, burrowing creature that moves swiftly beneath the sand. The Sandstalker emerges suddenly to attack with razor-sharp claws, before quickly retreating underground. It uses hit-and-run tactics to wear down its prey, striking when least expected]

[Hint: Sandstalkers are difficult to hit due to their ability to burrow and reposition rapidly. Individuals need to be vigilant and use area attacks to force them out of hiding, or expect them to ambush at any moment of notice]

—

It would be very detrimental to me if any of those two were to be taken down before midnight started.

"This is why the phrase 'do it yourself'' is my favorite."

I grinned with desperate endeavor to the horrifying battlefield.