"You foolish mutt, why didn't you use the ballista beside you to deal with that thing immediately!" Verina did a complete 180 degree change, as if she also didn't realize the giant artillery that was available in front of her.
"Hiikh! Why did I get unblamed and then blamed all of a sudden!"
Well, regardless of the banters, a crisis had just been averted.
If I were alone in this scenario, I would be very paranoid on whether I should pull the ballista lever or not, since the info screen of the Calamity Object wasn't as detailed as the detail screen that a recruitable NPC had.
What if I got sucked into these alternate realities? What if it could react instantly and apply the pain the moment it was attacked? What if it was immortal?
Wait, how does alternate timelines work from a gameplay perspective? Could this world simulate an entire alternate timeline just for this Calamity Object to function?
While keeping up our guards, we scoured every detail of the periphery. Numerous anomalies were sighted. Some were harmless unless provoked, and some were immediately hostile the moment it was found.
However, the frequency of the Calamity Objects weren't as overwhelming as I thought
"Urgh, I don't like dealing with Calamity Objects." Lupina heaved a weighty sigh. "Sometimes, they don't even smell or trigger my instinct, as if they exist in a completely different reality, or just straight-up non-existent in this reality. Ow!"
Verina lightly smacked Lupina's head with her musket.
"Calamity Objects aren't supposed to be this volatile in the beginning of the Ordeal of the Dusk." Verina fired the spell chambered into her musket, killing a Calamity Object faraway while using Lupina's head as a crutch. "The Hollow Star must be affecting the type of Calamity Objects to an extent."
"True." Lupina frowned as she rubbed her head from the pain. "Most of the Calamity Objects I fought before this were mostly beast-like, unlike the nightmare fuels that we're facing right now."
Two hours had passed, and we started to see patterns.
The Calamity Objects never spawned or appeared on the angle or location outside of our vision.
They always appeared inside someone's vision, whether it was me, Lupina, or Verina. Even when the Fractured was found, Lupina said that she already found it before it stumbled into the log trap.
Because of this, we purposely didn't give a single attention to the east side of our walled fortress.
"Have you experienced this kind of Ordeal before, Verina?" I asked the sole veteran in our comfy bastion.
"Not as obvious as this." Her eyes kept a great level of awareness of the surroundings as she caressed her own chin. "If somehow none of the traps on the east side of our fortress got activated, then I might need to perform a consciousness check on each of us."
"Why not do it now?
"Because it would take a huge chunk of my lifeline since it's not part of my specialty," Verina answered with the monotone voice. "If we happen to be lucky until now and that our hypothesis is disproven, then I would prefer to have some sack of my blood ready."
"If the situation comes for the worst, we can use my blood."
"... Are you saying that—you're offering your body to me, miss fairy?"
"It's amazing that you're still cracking a joke in this situation."
"A cold crack of humor is better than a cold lifeless body."
"That comparison doesn't make any sense."
Aside from the monster-like Calamity Object, we also encountered an environment-type of Calamity Object in the faraway distance, glimmering in celestial radiance, and waiting to be discovered by one of us.
Like this one, for example.
—
[The Mirrorwood]
[Description: A forest of tall, silvery trees that appear overnight, each one with bark as smooth and reflective as a mirror. The trees bend and sway without any wind, and their reflections show not the present, but possible futures. Some futures are bright, filled with prosperity, while others are dark, showing the individuals from the bastion in ruins. The reflections are hypnotic, drawing individuals closer with promises of revealing their fate]
[Hint: The Mirrorwood shows possible futures, but those who seek too deeply into its reflections risk becoming trapped in a future where they no longer exist]
—
As of now, seeing how all of the information on every Calamity Object has a 'hint' section on what they do or how to deal with them, it seemed like having a Storyteller would be very beneficial for the inhabitants of this world.
I guess that was what the game's description meant about 'guiding' as some sort of 'messiah-like' figure.
[The Ordeal of the Midnight will be approaching in 7 hours_]
With almost five hours into the night, all of us decided to check the eastside of the perimeters together in a group.
"Welp, this doesn't show us anything to prove either of our hypotheses."
—
[The Bleeding Tree]
[Description: A massive tree with bark that resembles flesh, oozing dark, red sap that smells faintly of iron. The ground around the tree is soaked with blood, and the roots twist and curl as if searching for something. The tree's branches sway gently, even in still air, and a quiet, rhythmic beating can be heard if one listens closely. The tree seems to pulse with a life of its own, and its sap is both a blessing and a curse]
[Hint: The Bleeding Tree's sap can heal or harm, depending on how it is harvested. But the tree demands a blood price for its gifts, and it will take what it is owed]
—
"Ever encountered this kind of Calamity Object before, Verina?"
"I have encountered a tree-like Calamity Object, but not this one. I don't recall this one in terms of appearance and its psionic signature."
Despite the potential for healing one of our future wounds, we already got a single Potion of Healing that Lupina carried when it comes to emergencies.
Not to mention, it would still be too risky to interact with it, just like every Calamity Object that we encountered so far.
"Well, now there is a chance that not a single Calamity Object appearing from the east side is due to this thing sprouting out of nowhere."