Dread

"We can't let it transform successfully."

Rin turned to the undead monster that was gobbling the wolf at an alarming rate and returned to the Stranger Dude.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked. Shouldn't their talk be about the stranger dude saying we should run away while we can, and Rin replying with a simple okay?

The wolves fled, overwhelmed with dread, which should be evidence enough to put the stranger into the perspective of what they were dealing with.

The Stranger dude narrowed his eyes. "You understand ranks?" he elaborated. "That thing is in the middle of advancing from common rank to copper rank. That's why it was devouring whatever it came across."

"That does seem like bad news to me," Rin agreed, watching the horrifying creature gobbling everything up. It looked like stuff that came straight out of a nightmare. "But are you sure about fighting that thing that scared away the wolves?"

"Trust me, Brother. If we leave it to its devices, it will transform and kill us." The stranger dude seemed strangely certain about this.

"Well, let's go deal with this then," Rin said, brandishing his sword.

Since the wolves all ran away, scared of the abomination, the pressure fell off their back. But looking at the huge thing with that horrifying maw devouring the flesh in huge chunks, Rin felt sick in the stomach.

"Alright, we have to behead it," Stranger Dude said as they advanced. "Don't try to block its move, dodge. It has twice as much of your attribute and regenerates limbs, though limited as it is stuck in the common rank."

"You seem like you know your stuff," Rin remarked. "Have you hunted them before?"

"A couple of times," the self-proclaimed brother with some bitterness, "but I wasn't alone at that time, with an entire squad of trained individuals. Only three of us made it."

Before they could attack the huge abomination, its minions stopped their devouring and turned to face them. It didn't take for the boss monster to command them. The minions simply stood up from their breakfast and charged at them, screeching all the way.

"On second thought," Rin halted midway, "I don't feel so good about the stench they were reeking?"

"Come on, that thing is far from a complete abomination."

The stranger dude launched at the incoming monstrosities. His arms worked with precision, going for the kill. Apparently, he was missing on a better weapon against the undead monsters, as they need the good old beheading to be put down.

Without mana, the stranger dude wasn't as effective against them as he had been with the wolves. These creatures don't feel fear or much pain either. They fight to devour, and could only be killed by beheading or blasting off the head. Of course, it would be difficult.

On that note, he was handling himself well without mana. He just needed more time to deal with the undead.

Rin didn't have time to watch the guy, as a couple of the monsters charged at him as well, coming in with their disgusting stench and screeches.

This was probably the worst thing about the game, even worse than the pain sensation. Why did he have to experience such terrible disgusting things? The horror was one thing, but the filthy book and reeking stench? Just thinking about it made his stomach churn.

Rin might even have a problem with it in the real life, if he spent more time dealing with them.

Rin swiped his sword wide at the deadman in the front. It came with its right arm as a block, but Rin manoeuvred his blade in a feint to cut its waist. Of course, he remembered he had to attack the neckline to kill it, but won't leave out other chances of weakening it either.

The deadman screeched as it rammed its hand at Rin, who ducked to dodge the move meticulously. Rin swiped his leg wide at its lower body, making it lose balance, and when it fell, Rin lunged at it, his sword going for its neck.

The blade pierced through the neck as the undead struggled, screeching horrifying in his ears. Rin stopped breathing just not to intake the disgusting reek and drew the sword back. He rammed it again in the neck, back and forth in an unrelenting spree. The process continued until stopped struggling.

[You have killed a Deadman (Common), a threat to the Avalon. You received 8 Avalon credits.]

By then the other undead was onto him, ready to bite his neck. Rin rolled on the ground to avoid its clutches. He did a backflip to stand back up, confronting the deadman.

"Don't worry about the minions," the stranger dude screamed with the three monsters surrounding him. "I'll deal with them. Go kill the boss."

Rin narrowed his eyes at the huge undead. It already finished devouring one wolf and was at a halfway point of devouring another, with a wolf limb sticking out of its mouth as it crunched the bones.

Rin drew in a deep breath. The real immersive gameplay brought a whole new level of dread into the monstrosity. Just by standing a dozen metres across from it, Rin could feel the dreadful aura it was emanating.

"Stop watching it like a fool and engage."

"Mate, you have a lot to ask for after bringing the trouble." Rin shot him an annoyed glare.

The guy wasn't shoving all the responsibility into Rin, thinking he was powerless against the huge undead creature. Well, probably not. He had reasons behind it and Rin could already feel it.

The more Rin hesitated, the more permeated with fear he would become. He wasn't sure how the developers accomplish this, but it looked like the undead monstrosity was the centre of all his fears.

It triggered the primal instinct in him, making him second-guess his intention. Rin was pretty sure it was a poor decision to engage in this challenge.

Sadly, Rin liked challenges a little more than the next guy.

"Well, here goes nothing," Rin said as he rushed at the creature. "Don't be shy about joining me."