In the entire week, Nero had only encountered one.
The ordeal with the Wretched Maiden of Despair had to have been his worst experience yet, leaving him with deep mental scars.
It... had not been pleasant in the slightest.
Even now, thinking about it made his body tremble slightly. A chill ran down his spine and he forced himself to take a slow breath.
The Maiden had nearly torn his soul apart. If not for his true name— he would have been lost.
The second ghost had been weaker than the Maiden. It had tried to possess him, but luckily, clinging to his true name had proved to be an effective technique against possession.
Nero's nose scrunched up in disgust at the memory.
He had also come to know that while normal weapons could do nothing against ghosts, Relics were a completely different story.
In any case, the ghost had been expelled violently, and Nero had cut it down with the Silver Blade before it could try again.
Still.
He didn't want to encounter another one anytime soon.
He stared at his written words for a moment.
The final observation had taken the longest to piece together.
It involved the river.
The dark, corrupted river that ran through the Purple Evergrowth forest, all the way from the lake at the edge of the town of Gor where he had come from.
Nero had noticed it days ago while tracking a wounded Abomination. The creature had fled deeper into the forest, and in his pursuit, he had stumbled upon the riverbank.
The water was black and thick, almost tar-like in consistency.
Strange shapes moved beneath the surface. Fish, perhaps, though calling them that felt delusional.
The stench alone had been rather discouraging.
But he had also noticed something else.
The river flowed in a specific direction.
And according to the map he had taken from the priest's room, that direction led straight through the center of the Purple Evergrowth forest and toward his next destination.
Malady's Garden.
Sitting in the cave now, Nero spread the yellowing parchment across the stone floor and traced the route with his finger.
If he followed the outer edge of the forest, it would take him weeks to reach the garden. Perhaps longer.
But if he followed the river...
He could cut that time in half.
Maybe more.
The problem, of course, was that the river cut directly through the heart of the forest.
The center.
Where the strongest Abominations dwelled.
Nero's jaw tightened.
He had been avoiding the deeper parts of the forest for good reason. The creatures there were not like the Corrupted Scavengers or Hollow Wretches he had been hunting.
They were ancient, powerful, and completely consumed by corruption.
The chimera with the stinger and violet fur was proof enough of that as it comes from somewhere deeper within the purple growth.
But he was running out of time.
He had eighty Seals now. He was close to his goal of one hundred.
Once he reached that threshold, he would gain access to the next tier of information from the Oracle. Perhaps even new abilities.
But more importantly, he needed to keep moving.
Staying in one place for too long was dangerous. The longer he remained at the edge of the forest, the greater the chance that something truly terrible would notice him.
And Malady's Garden, according to the map, was even more dangerous than the Purple Evergrowth.
A Category Red zone.
If he wanted any chance of surviving the journey ahead, he needed to be stronger.
He needed to reach one hundred Seals.
And he needed a plan.
Nero turned his attention to the items laid out beside him.
Three Relics.
Each one purchased over the course of the week using his daily requests to the Oracle.
The first was a leather waterskin.
It looked ordinary enough. Worn. Practical.
But according to the Oracle, it had a single unique property.
Any liquid poured into it would be purified.
Ten uses. Then it would become useless.
He had tested it once already, filling it with water from the corrupted river.
The black tar-like sludge had swirled inside the waterskin for several seconds before settling into clear, drinkable water.
It had to have been the most best tasting water he had ever consumed. The Waterskin was something truly incredible.
The second Relic was a strip of black woven fabric; the Veil of Darkness.
When worn, it would conceal him from the sight and scent of lesser Abominations for a single day.
He hadn't tested this one yet. He was saving it for when he needed it most.
The third was a small bone-carved talisman hung on a cord.
The Traveler's Charm.
It reduced fatigue and hunger during long journeys.
Fragile, though. It would break after thirty days of use.
Nero picked up the talisman and turned it over in his hand.
The bone was smooth. Polished. Etched with faint runes he didn't recognize.
It felt warm to the touch.
He slipped the cord over his neck and tucked the talisman beneath his shirt.
Immediately, he felt... lighter.
Not physically, but mentally.
The constant gnawing fatigue caused by lack of sleep that had plagued him for days seemed to dull slightly.
The exhaustion pressing down on his shoulders eased.
It was subtle, but it was there.
Nero let out a slow breath and glanced at the other two Relics.
The waterskin would keep him alive if he had to drink from the river.
The veil would let him slip past threats he couldn't fight.
And the charm would let him travel farther without needing to stop as often.
It wasn't much.
But it was something.
He also had a dozen Divine Elixirs stored in his satchel.
Healing. Emergency use only.
If he was careful... if he planned every step, he might actually survive this.
Nero folded the map and tucked it back into his satchel alongside the waterskin and veil.
Then he stood and walked to the mouth of the cave.
The sky was dark now. The soft sound of raindrops smashing into the forest floor filled his ears. A cool wind blew across his face.
The rain had begun in earnest now.
The forest stretched out before him, a sea of purple and black beneath the grey clouds.
Somewhere out there, deeper in the trees, the river flowed.
And beyond that...
Malady's Garden.
Nero's hand drifted to the hilt of the Silver Blade.
His reflection stared back at him from the polished metal.
He looked... different. Much different, compared to the start of his journey.
Whether that was a good or bad thing was still yet to be discovered. But for now, he had no need to keep up appearances. The Abominations cared nothing of what he looked like after all.
Nero turned away from his reflection and walked back into the cave.
Tomorrow, he would hunt again.
And when he reached one hundred Seals...
He would follow the river.