I stood over the remains of the female Husk, my chest heaving as I dismissed New Sword. She was defeated, as was the water drinker, as according to the Checklist. Surprisingly, I didn’t have any new listings related to these Husks. Maybe it was on a delay?

  I glanced at the dry riverbed, the cracked earth a grim reminder of the changes that had taken place here.

  “Did I do that?”

  I couldn’t help but think of the power I took from the statue. And then the water drinker–I had pissed it off by taking its glorious water.

  “Sorry, sir,” I said, looking off to the forest. “My glaive was glorious water too, right?”

  I made my way to the riverbed, my boots cracking the dried ground further. It was deeper in spots than I expected. A person could totally drown in here, even.

  The absence of water was unsettling. It felt wrong standing here, like water could come flooding in at any moment and wash me away.

  I crouched down, running my fingers over the cracked earth. It was still damp in places, the mud clinging to my fingers as I dug through it.

  “I wonder if they had fish here… Would there be any sign of them now? Maybe some newts?”

  I looked around and then tilted my head. There was a strange shadow on the side of the riverbank. I wandered closer, trudging through the mud, and realized that it wasn’t some odd shadow–it was the mouth of a cave, partially obscured by rocks and debris.

  I stood at its opening and peered inside, my eyes widening with every passing second. It was just one thing after another. There was a silver door in there, inscribed with glowing runes.

  Immediately, I thought of my Checklist, and as if reacting to me, the Checklist dinged.

  ***

  ? Discover a Hidden Passage between settlements.

  +1 Level.

  ***

  “Re-Really?” I shook my head, not wanting to get ahead of myself, and smirked. “Oh, so this counts as a settlement now?” I asked, still irritated over not getting the “foreign settlement” check. “But still,” I said, looking at the door. “What are the odds that it’ll take me home?”

  I sighed and turned away from the door. “This isn’t a place for hope.”

  I now knew where I could go next. Before that, I would explore a little more, find what I could, and then rest for the day to get back all of my powers and weapons. My mind could use the break, too.

  I resumed my survey of the riverbed. It was novel. I had never done anything like this, in this life or the last. My survey was rewarded when I came across something even more novel than a suddenly dry riverbed–an old chest half-buried in the mud.

  I crouched down and dug it out, the wood splintered and warped but still intact. Prying it open, I discovered a dark garment.

  “A cloak?”

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  It was a bit tattered at the edges, but it was kind of cool! Definitely better than the standard wear of a villager. I threw it on, and the moment I did, I got something new popping up in my vision.

  ***

  God Vestment

  Level 7

  Durability: 30/30

  ***

  “Wait, is this thing as magic as the God Arm?” I asked, giving myself a once-over.

  I checked my stats, thinking that I could maybe see something new. Good thing too. I found something.

  ***

  HP: 14/19

  SP: 12/19

  Set | Level 9

  Strength: 3 (+9)

  Endurance: 2 (+9)

  Agility: 2 (+9)(+2)

  Dexterity: 2 (+9)

  Perception: 3 (+9)

  Intelligence: 2 (+9)

  Willpower: B

  ***

  “My agility increased,” I mumbled, still inspecting my stats. “But that sort of increase… That’s like a secondary bonus… Why can’t I see my Attack and Defense stats?”

  I went on my way, completing my survey of the riverbank while also lamenting that I couldn’t see every single property of my gear. I also noted that my “God Arm” and “God Vestment” definitely weren’t the names of my pieces. Those were just labels for the type of equipment. Which also meant that my screens weren’t telling me their proper names. It was pretty bare bones, in that sense.

  Anyway, there wasn’t anything else hiding in the riverbank. Just old, rotted through barrels and wood. It was sort of lucky that I had found that chest at all.

  My next stop was the village. I needed supplies—food, tools, anything that could help me survive when my HP hit zero and regen stopped working. I made my way back to the houses, my steps the only sound in the empty streets. I was on guard, constantly expecting some Husk to burst out of nowhere and attack. If there was one thing I liked about them, it was that they just couldn’t shut up. So, chances were I would have a nice warning.

  I started with one of the bigger, untouched houses, pushing open the door and stepping inside. My thought was that if it was a big house, it was either someone who was big in the village, or a storage hut. The air was thick with dust, the floor covered in cave weeds and shrooms that had found a way when everyone left. I moved through the room, my eyes scanning for anything useful. There wasn’t much—a few broken pots, a rusted tool, and a pile of moldy fabric. But in the corner, I found a small stash of dried fruit, still sealed in a clay jar.

  “I always did like raisins,” I said, tucking the jar into my bag. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.

  I moved on to the next house, and the next, my bag slowly filling with supplies. A rusted shovel I strapped to the side, a length of rope, a few more jars of dried berries–it was hard to believe I had made it this far without it.

  Then again, I’ve only been out here for more than a day. Guess I could say I had lived more in two days than most villagers had lived in two decades.

  I kept searching, with diminishing returns. I added an old, rusty hunting knife to my arsenal, and picked up what looked like some ore as a souvenir. I also picked up some books for light reading later. Maybe there was something interesting about the place’s history in here.

  No Husks jumped me during my time searching. It was odd, really–the thought that I had fought all the Husks in the area. I guess, if I really wanted to, I could head back into the forest but, I picked a fight with the female and the blacksmith because the environment was to my advantage. The big mouths, in particular, were more suited to fighting in the woods. I didn’t want to get cocky and shoot myself in the foot.

  I hunkered down for the day in one of the more defensible homes. It was astonishing. Remove the Husks, and this place was as safe as a village. As I lay there, slowly drifting to sleep, I wondered if everyone had disappeared while asleep. Oh boy, if that was the case…

  “Guess I’ll find out.”