Scene: 2:00 AM — Moonlit Endurance
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The night had grown thicker. The Stonebark Expanse felt alive with distant noises—twigs cracking under things that never showed their faces, the rustle of leaves stirred by creatures Oliver would rather not meet yet.
Systematic Alert had triggered a dozen times in the last hour.
> ⚠️ Wave Activity Detected — Wooden Imps (Tier II)
→ Durability: +45%
→ Speed: +10%
→ Weakness: Still vulnerable to Water Vita.
Oliver's breathing was heavier now, chest rising and falling under the silver light of the moon. Sweat dampened his brow, some of it wiped away with a dirt-stained sleeve. His stone sword, now nicked and dulled in places, sat stabbed into the mossy forest floor next to a tree root he'd made his makeshift rest against.
The count flashed above his Systematic Interface:
> ✅ 123 Wooden Imps Eliminated
🧠 Fatigue: Moderate
💧 Water Vita Levels: 64%
⚡ Energy Stamina: Recovered by Vita, Sleep Needed (8 Hours Missed)
🔄 Sleep Pressure Suppressed — Max 3 Hours Left Before Forced Collapse
A pair of glowing yellow imp eyes had just fled through the trees. Even they were tiring.
Oliver sat perched on a thick branch, legs dangling off the edge, his ears filled with nothing but the sound of night insects, the faint crackle of distant vines, and his own slow breath.
With a glance at his open palm, Vita surged quietly—a luminous, shimmering blue sphere forming like a raindrop floating in stasis. He rotated his wrist, focusing. The orb collapsed into itself and converted into liquid water, sloshing within a bubble for half a second before Oliver flung it.
> Splash — it landed uselessly on a rock far below, evaporating under the subtle Vita tension in the air.
He didn't care.
That wasn't for combat. That was for control.
> "Still got it…" he muttered, voice dry and low, barely more than a whisper.
He tilted his head upward. The moon hung high, indifferent to his struggle, casting its cold glow over the forest below.
He was alive. Barely rested. Sword at his side. A thousand steps away from true safety.
But he'd held.
> "If I can last until morning… maybe I'll find a better path."
Then, from far in the trees—a soft wail, distant and echoing.
A Wraith?
Oliver didn't move. Didn't breathe.
> Systematic Guide Update
🛑 "Strong spiritual activity detected in radius — suggest low Vita emissions."
→ [Wraith Presence Confirmed]
→ [Aggro Trigger: Vita Spikes, Light, Emotional Disturbance]
Oliver slowly dimmed his hand, hiding the glow of his metaphysical energy.
The night wasn't done yet.
Not even close.
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