It doesn’t take very long for us to find the outskirts of our destination, about sixty miles south of southwest of home. The dark, twisted branches of the trees in the area, coupled with the leaves black as night, are a stark contrast with the verdant scenes of green that surround the corrupted landscape.

Before we descend, however, we take a few moments to observe our surroundings from an angel’s-eye view. Nicholas had said there were ‘credible’ reports that this wasteland was expanding outward. It’s hard to tell, since neither Chloe nor I was paying too much attention to the exact size of the desolated area before, but I do think it is a little bigger and darker now than I remember it. It’s not growing at an appreciable rate, thankfully; no trees are wasting away before our eyes, nor is the darkness spreading upward or outward fast enough to detect.

Though, maybe it only grows in pulses, or at night.

The air cools considerably as we land. For a moment, it feels absolutely divine, in contrast with the already-hot morning sun in early July. But the chill penetrates more than skin-deep, carrying with it a foreboding sensation. This place is as dangerous as it looks upon first glance, and there is a strong presence all around us. Worse still, it seems to be affecting us on a more concrete level, and in a way particularly pernicious for the two of us.

[You are afflicted by [Curse of the Bleak Woods]. All healing effects have half effectiveness. Status-restoring spells have a 50% chance to fail.]

“That explains a lot,” Chloe says.

I turn my head to her, and she continues.

“We are constantly injuring ourselves, just by going about our daily lives. Small cuts, internal injuries and bleeding, bumps and just… the breakdown and rebuilding of muscles and other organs. It’s all ordinary biology. But if healing effects— including natural restoration of health— are halved, then those injuries will eventually outstrip a body’s diminished ability to repair itself. Resulting in… well, all of this.”

I take a look at my own [Health]. It’s still plenty high— just under 98%. And with Chloe’s magic, it should stay high. But it is dropping. Slowly, no more than a point every minute or so. Not enough to immediately panic, but enough to know that we— and our surroundings— are on a timer.

It’s quiet and even more eerie as we make our way past the threshold and into the dark forest. The grass is brown, certainly dying, perhaps already dead. The wind occasionally gusts, bringing with it a howl that further chills the already ominous land. But there’s no chirps of birds or crawling of ants, nor are any deer or squirrels chittering about.

What I do see are corpses. A completely lifeless corpse belonging to a ferret or maybe a badger is… It’s not decaying, but rather mummifying. How odd and macabre— even fungal and bacterial activity must also be suppressed by the curse on the land. These warnings do not deter us, and so we press forward.

“What do you think we’re dealing with?” Chloe asks.

“Who knows,” I respond. “Swamp dragon, lich, fey, hedge witch, dark sorcerer, maybe some sort of dark ritualist absorbing the life energy of the land to fuel some spell to do… I couldn’t imagine what.”

“In other words, you really have no idea who, what, or why,” Chloe says flatly.

“You are correct,” I respond with a flat mirth.

“I guess that means we should be prepared for anything.”

“Most likely, whatever we’re looking for is going to be near the center of the twisted area.”

“Should we go by air, then?”

“Probably not… That’s just asking to be spotted.”

“Better that than walking up and giving the target all the time in the world to prepare.”

“Assuming that that’s even the best way to go about things. For all we know, it’s like the golden manor floor in the Tower. What if we have to find and deactivate certain relics keeping the curse active, first?”

Chloe shivers. “I don’t like this place at all.”

I wrap my arm around her. “I don’t either. But we’re not turning back, are we?”

Chloe shakes her head. “Seeing what we’re dealing with, I think it has to be us.”

I nod. Where else are we going to find a powerful enough healer to cleanse all this blight? I do wish we had some backup; Alana being around to watch our backs would go a long way to stifle my lingering worry. But this isn’t the first time Chloe and I have been in a dangerous situation, just the two of us. For better and for worse, I doubt it’ll be the last.

We step forward, my [Archangel’s Gaze] keeping stock of all our surroundings. Just because we’ve seen no signs of life doesn’t mean that we won’t encounter them later. Or worse, signs of unlife, something I find not just likely, but highly probable. Nothing immediately approaches, which only heightens my guard further.

For twenty minutes we walk, neither of us making a sound beyond that of muffled footsteps in the slightly damp soil. The sky is still visible above, but it’s darkened, covered in a violet-black miasma that keeps the overall environment less like temperate woods and more like a cold marsh.

I pull a bottle of water out of my [Inventory], taking a drink and offering another to Chloe, who eagerly accepts. It thankfully tastes fine, with no signs of corruption either in the taste or as it hits my stomach. The same is true of the pouch of dried trail mix, and the sliced tomato doesn’t immediately wilt or turn to mush before I stash it back away.

The oddest part of [Inventory] is the mental categorization that the ability provides. In order to forestall the problem of trying to summon forth something that doesn’t actually exist in the [Inventory], it also keeps a detailed, nested checklist of everything that is contained within, along with what’s in each bag or box or other storage container. And it is a bit amusing to see [Bag of Trail Mix: (141 almonds, 285 peanuts, 89 raisins, 75 cashews, 76 assorted branded chocolate candies {15 red, 14 blue, 17 brown, 19 yellow, 11 green})] as one of the items I can draw upon.

I can also, with some mental effort, sort these objects into folders and subfolders, arranging them by alphabetical order or even arranging them into custom groups, such as food products, magical gear, mundane equipment, and so forth. I could probably even program a search function at some point, or the [Inventory] will develop that at a higher level.

“I’m still a little jealous about that,” Chloe mutters.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be. Just means I have to keep working hard so I can gain that ability too. You said you think everyone gets it at level 50, right?”

“Yeah. I definitely had one in my past life, and Madison did too. And, though I don’t have any memories of others in my past life, I can’t help but believe that they all did as well.”

Chloe goes silent, drawing her wand and looking around. I begin scanning the area as well for any signs that we’ve been detected. My eyes briefly glow as I observe the flow of Ether in the area. And it’s definitely off in some way, though nothing that immediately suggests a certain local nexus of corruption that we can destroy.

With nothing obvious to go off, we continue deeper into these wretched woods. The light grows dimmer, the miasma denser. The air is thick and cold, causing even me to start to shiver. It is getting more difficult to breathe as we continue our descent into the heart of darkness.

And worse of all, the [Ether] and miasma are starting to flicker into some twisted facsimile of life. The ground rumbles, and a skeletal hand rises out of the ground in what has got to be the most cliche manner imaginable. A rusted sword carried by a gray arm follows, and as pieces of the ground crack and break open, the two of us prepare to face the undead horde rising all around us. At least five hundred shambling creatures burst forth from within the depths of the earth. Some zombies, some skeletons, and a few translucent, incorporeal beings as well. Not sure if ghouls, ghasts, specters, maybe banshees or even wraiths. Not sure it matters much, since our plan of attack doesn’t change in either case.

I grit my teeth, assessing the situation but Chloe is angry, her hands already filled with overflowing Light energy. The last time she encountered undead spirits, back in the Tower, she channeled a massive burst of healing magic to cure the wailing specters haunting the castle grounds back to death. But now, in this desecrated land where healing magic is suppressed, she seems content to simply scour the undead menace clean.

We’ll need to have a conversation about this later, but for now, we attack. Chloe’s [Scouring Light] carves a path through the encroaching hordes. Her attack doesn’t seem to care much whether the targets are tangible or not, eviscerating both in equal measure. My attacks, on the other hand, are not so indiscriminate in their cleansing of the undead. Skeletons crumple, and zombies are pulverized into ash and dust. But my [Ether Bullets] seem to sometimes phase through the incorporeal undead, especially the smaller, faster ones.

Chloe notices straight away, even before I can form the thought and send it to her. She’s gone back to her weaker but faster [Piercing Beam] spell, launching them in quick succession to burn the spectral forms while I spin around, firing concussive [Ether Bullets] with sniper precision. Just as expected from the System notification from yesterday afternoon, each blast is stronger, faster, and more destructive than before, and my [Ether] is hardly dropping at all as I fire bullet after bullet into the mayhem.

Unfortunately for us, the hordes of the living dead continue to rise from the depths of the profane land. Chloe fires her beams and I blast their numbers down. By all accounts, we should be whittling their numbers down. And yet, after starting with five hundred living dead around us and receiving well over six hundred System notifications regarding returning the undead to rest, there are at least four hundred still remaining, and yet more limbs and other appendages rising out of the dirt.

“Chloe! Aim your strongest attack at the ground! I think there’s a monster generator down there!”

She gives a nod and a grunt of approval. Shining wings which pierce through the miasma sprout from her back as she leaps into the air. I fall back, covering her from what monsters I can and shooting apart the arrows and blades and spears they throw at my girlfriend. Once that starts to fail, I charge up a simple [Light] glyph and Manifest it into the barrel of my [Bonded Mechanical Arm Cannon].

And it works. I wasn’t sure if I could imbue my [Ether Bullets] with glyphs in this manner. When I first tried to do so, it was before I had [Intermediate Glyph Manifestation], or had bonded my weapon to me. I had dismissed it as impossible, and so focused on enchanting my weapon instead. Now, I realize it was only impossible for me at the time, and what was once impossible is now all too easy.

I suppress the System notification and continue firing [Light]-elemental [Ether Bullet Barrages] that each tear through the enemies, regardless of their physicality. As I do, Chloe’s body glows brighter than brighter, outshining the sun and nearly forcing me to avert my eyes. At once, all of the luminous energy which filled my love is released downward, piercing through the cracks in the ground and purging the miasmatic smoke rising from the depths. A shrill shriek cries out, rustling the handful of dead, desiccated leaves still on the nearby trees. And then the world goes silent once more.

[You have purged 1,290 Assorted Undead (Levels from 39 to 42). You have gained a boosted 12,900 Experience.]

[You have destroyed a Necromantic Core (Level 46). You have gained a boosted 56,525 Experience.]

[Your [Intermediate Glyph Manifestation (Rank VI) has upgraded to [Intermediate Glyph Manifestation (Rank VII)].]

[Your [Ether Bullet Barrage (Rank XIII) has synchronized with [Intermediate Glyph Manifestation (Rank VII)] and has evolved to [Elemental Bullet Barrage (Rank V)].]

[[Elemental Bullet Barrage]: As [Ether Bullet Barrage], except the [Mechanical Angel] can also imbue her bullets with the basic elemental glyphs, causing them to deal damage of the respective elemental affinity. Bullets imbued this way also deal magical damage, ignoring resistances to nonmagical attacks.]

[Level: 50; Experience: 2,258,525; To Next: 26,370]

[Current Stats: [Health]: 6,841 / 7,476; [Ether]: 4,656 / 5,493]

[Current Stats: [Strength]: 136 (Base: 70); [Speed]: 130 (Base: 67); [Vitality]: 196 (Base: 101); [Mind]: 283 (Base: 146)]