The Fourth Night - Part 1 - Waning Sanity?

Renir woke up feeling fully refreshed as if he had a long good sleep.

He was confused, didn't he was just fighting against hundreds of slime without a thought of rest?

Or..... was it all a dream?

He jolted from the ground and stood up, wary of his surroundings. With his heightened senses, he could observe the whole area almost immediately.

Renir sighed, either in disappointment or relief for he found himself on the same spot from where he remembered.

The only thing that changed was the fact that there was no darn slimes to be found.

He himself was confused.

"What happened?", he asked under his breath and scratched his head.

Renir remembered his goal and looked around. He needed chylefruits.

Trees to trees, he only gathered two of them until he reached a river.

At the sight of water, Renir had mixed feelings.

When he first arrived at Gantlet, he planned what he needed to provide for himself and in the end, chylefruit was all he needed.

Even a shelter did nothing...

But he appreciated to find the river again. Because the only thing that discomforted him now was the dirt on his body.

Renir thought if he needed to wash his clothes too. The dilemma was, should he take it off or wash it along his body?

Are there even people there for him to be shy?

Speaking of people, he remembered that he was waiting for someone back at the cave. He sighed;

"So I do need to go back."

But the mountain's shadow was really disadvantageous.

However, he wasn't sure if he would meet anyone there in the first place, but just to be safe and sure, he will go back.

But that would be after he takes a nice bath!

Renir decided he would just keep his pants on, even though there should no people around, he isn't really comfortable being nude in some unfamiliar area.

That was the only time he realized his school pants were ripped all over. It became a skirt in the shape of pants.

He panicked and looked inside.

"Hayss~", he sighed relief to see his underwear still intact. Fortunately, he wore a very stretchable and durable underwear at the right time.

He then untied his "bag" around his shoulder and placed it on the riverside. He looked down and saw his shoes were so ripped and torn apart, he had been barefoot this whole time, so it was better to take it off.

Renir ignored his pants, "It was better than nothing.", he whispered before happily jumping on the flowing river.

The current of the river was just enough to wash the dirt on his body and not to wash him away.

The river water's temperature was just exact, cold never bothered him that much anymore as if he gained some resistance.

Renir scrubbed the remaining dirt in leisure and after that, sat for the time being. He found a comfortable position and inevitably, he looked at the moon directly above.

Although he was in relaxation and rest he was wishing for the last two days, there was still a feeling of uneasiness itching inside him.

Something was wrong.

"It's too quiet...", his heart throbbed faster.

Last time he was in the midst of death and life battle, and the moon was already past halfway. The moon must not have retreated so which means that was the fourth day already.

So long yet so short.

Renir shivered, not because of the cold but since in his mind were the words from the stone tablet.

"But beware of the Lunar Eclipse every fifth night for it brings the most dangerous trial...", he recited word by word exactly as it is. The words were carved in his memory.

"... and this is the fourth night.", Renir would understand and be relieved if this was the part where he could get some rest before the "most dangerous trial"

He thought hard and maybe he should go back to the cave with the hope of getting more information from the stone tablet.

Renir stood from the river, satisfied.

But before he would step out with his whole body soaked with water, the river water gleamed...

It attracted Renir to turn his head immediately towards it.

He looked confused, "The river is.... shining?"

No, that wasn't right...

It was not the river but the moon became brighter. Renir looked above and there again the stars hovering over the moon, twice as many as before with energy radiating from there.

How many miles are there between the stars and the moon, the moon and the earth?

What something could hold such immense energy that even from the lowest ground, it could be felt from there?

But whatever it could be, Renir couldn't hope to imagine it.

But that wasn't his current problem. As soon as the moon got brighter, the current of the water became faster and stronger.

Renir was alarmed and desperately jumped out from the outraging stream.

That was not all; the wind began wildly stirring, the ground was slightly shaking, and the smell of smoke entered Renir's nose.

Renir had his eyes all over the place, widened. He stood firmly on the ground, the slight shaking couldn't bother him but his knees weakening and made him fall on his back.

He held his head tightly, 'Am I finally going insane!?'

Even the slime was more realistic to him than the nature seemingly disrupted!

Is this the next challenge? Is that why the slimes vanished?

Even after gaining confidence from beating all those slimes and constantly surviving from near-death experiences, Renir had none even a tiny bit of confidence in him to go against nature itself!

Renir wanted to shout and complain, but who would he complain to? The Gods? The mysterious being that sent him here?

It is possible from the clues of torches and systematic world.

There is a powerful being at play here.

And now, it wanted to use nature to put Renir to trial.

"If that was the case, I'm more glad to fight a thousand of slimes!", he shouted at the blank space.

"It is better to be insane than these being real...", Renir clenched his tear-drenched face.

"And if only I knew this would happen I would've tried harder and improved using those slimes!", he cried loudly.

In front of nature, any human was nothing.

Renir became the person he was back when he first woke up there in Gantlet.

But looking at it, if he managed, couldn't the nature become his next stepping stone?

A jolt of realization struck Renir like a spear of lightning.

"a-..ARGHHHH!!!', Renir shouted in the midst of natural chaos as much as he could to muster back his strength.

With all his might, he found every bit of his strength!

Even he himself couldn't believe it!

But he just remembered while fighting those slimes that many times ha had given up hope but stood once more to survive and improve.

What was driving me? Renir thought.

It was rage!

He firmly attached his hand on the ground.

It was hope!

He pushed himself up with all his might.

It was elation and excitement!

Slowly, he stood up with his weakened and trembling knees.

And most of all...

Renir then finally steeled himself, "It was the fear of death!"

Nature's rage continued and did not hear Renir's words. But what does it matter? What matters was his resolve!

"...what is the difference before and now?", Renir asked silently, becoming almost inaudible in the wild stirring wind.

Him, cowering and sobbing while curled up, pathetically was not as far as just when he woke up in Gantlet.

Truly, what was the difference between now and then, when every night death was near his neck?

No, there was a difference and that was his enemy.

Unlike before, he was just fighting against the world and not himself.

Renir didn't let his tears fall and waited for what to come with his undying resolve!

But he did not wait that long before the new trial appeared before him as the nature's rage slowly stopped.

And the smell of burning increased.

In front of him was a being that has an orange tint;

It has the size of a human head;

And it was like a translucent ball but a bit flattened...

"...."

An unexplainable irritation came beating Renir's nerves and couldn't stop himself from screaming;

"YOU AGAIN?!"

It was a bigger slime... but orange...

The nature's rage was gone but Renir's own rage appeared, "I'm going beat you to a pulp!", he barked, "How dare you?!"

He was seriously hurt.

The orange slime took Renir's fist, but it only wobbled, and covered its whole body with waning fire.

"Ah..."