The final curve of the symbol glowed softly before settling into a dull white. The Stealth Rune was complete.
Satisfied, Daniel stored the materials in his Inventory and went looking for Julie.
He hadn't taken ten steps before spotting Dale walking toward him.
"Daniel," Dale greeted him, forcing a smile. "I heard you've got some new products... I was wondering... would it be possible to trade my share of the water for some of them?"
"That's a shame." Daniel put on a rehearsed grimace, as if he were facing a difficult situation. "The problem is, you've already bought that water. Right now, I'm merely the guardian of your property. And I'm not even charging you for storage."
Dale's smile faltered, replaced by an expression caught somewhere between confusion and irritation.
"But don't worry." Daniel continued, driving the point home with effortless cruelty. "I've got Russian vodka, aged wine... all top quality. Not that watered-down garbage people around here call alcohol."
"I've also got genuine Swiss chocolate. I just can't say how long the stock will last."
Dale's expression soured entirely, his lips twisting with frustration and envy.
The message was crystal clear. If he wanted to get his hands on those goods, he'd have to risk venturing into the forest again.
"Oh..." He swallowed hard. "I see."
Afraid he'd lose his temper and turn the conversation into an argument, Dale simply said goodbye and walked away.
...
Daniel found Julie inside Colony House, sitting beside Fatima near the window. The two were talking quietly about something that died the moment he stepped inside. Julie was the first to look up, and her face brightened slightly when she saw him.
"Did it work?" she asked, getting to her feet almost immediately.
"Yeah." He tilted his head toward the door. "I came to get you so I could show you."
Fatima watched the exchange between them. "So what are you two plotting now? Judging by your faces, it must be something serious."
There was far more teasing than suspicion in her voice.
"Couple's secret, Fatima. Some things aren't meant to be shared." Daniel winked at her before turning back to Julie. "Where are your parents?"
"They went to try solving the electricity problem with Jade,"
Daniel made a theatrical gesture with his hand. "In that case, I'm going to borrow my girlfriend for a little while."
"Be my guest," Fatima replied with a tired smile.
The two returned to the motorhome in silence.
After they stepped inside, Daniel shut the door behind them.
"If I find a way, I'll help Fatima."
His voice was low and steady, cutting through the anxious thoughts racing through her mind.
Julie looked at him in surprise that he'd read her mood so easily.
"Thank you," she murmured, unable to hide her gratitude.
Even so, deep down she wasn't optimistic. Daniel had already told her that, in the original timeline, they never explained why Fatima became impossibly pregnant or how she eventually gave birth to something that wasn't human.
"Let's stop thinking about that for now." Daniel pulled a sheet of paper out of his Inventory. "We've got new toys to test."
Holding it by one corner, he injected a tiny spark of Spiritual Energy into it.
The sheet immediately trembled.
Its edges seemed to dissolve into the air, and in the blink of an eye, it vanished completely from his hand, leaving behind nothing but empty space.
Julie's eyes widened.
She carefully reached out and touched the air, letting out a quiet gasp when her fingers found the rough texture of the paper.
It was still there, even though it had become completely invisible.
"That's insane," she whispered, fascinated. "What are the limitations?"
"The invisibility lasts at most five minutes," Daniel explained as he cut off the flow of Spiritual Energy, causing the object to slowly reappear. "But that's because of the material. Something sturdier might last around twenty minutes."
He picked up another sheet, folded it around the first one, and activated the rune again. Both sheets disappeared together.
Next, he attached a metal paper clip to the edge before repeating the test.
The clip remained visible, floating by itself in midair. Only after he began wrapping it with the invisible paper did the entire object disappear.
"It has to be made of the same type of material or at least be partially wrapped by it."
Julie smiled, clearly excited. "So basically, you need to make Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak."
"That's an excellent idea." Daniel mentally considered the possibilities. "We'll need to buy a leather cloak that covers the entire body. That's the best material."
Three knocks interrupted his train of thought.
Daniel unlocked the door and opened it, finding Boyd and Kenny standing outside, each carrying a crate in their arms. Muffled clucking drifted from inside the crates.
Without saying a word, he stepped aside to let them in.
"Eight live chickens, just like you asked."
"Always a pleasure doing business with the law," Daniel replied with his usual dry humor.
He pretended to pull the grenade from his pocket and held it out to the sheriff.
Boyd reached for it, and the instant his fingers wrapped around the cold metal, a faint tremor ran through his wrist.
Without drawing attention to it, he transferred the grenade to his other hand in the same motion, as though he were simply adjusting his grip.
Daniel's eyes lingered on that subtle tremor. Parkinson's disease was progressing exactly as he remembered.
He raised an eyebrow but chose to keep his thoughts to himself.
"Use it wisely," was all he said as he saw Boyd out.
The sheriff muttered something that sounded like thanks before leaving, followed by Kenny. A few seconds later, the door closed softly behind them.
One by one, Daniel snapped the chickens' necks. Thick black mist enveloped each lifeless body as the familiar notifications echoed through his mind.
Julie watched everything in silence, her arms crossed, a trace of discomfort on her face. She still couldn't get used to that part.
It's for the greater good, she repeated to herself.
When the last chicken disappeared, Daniel checked his balance.
5,310 silver coins.
A satisfied sigh escaped his lips. Without hesitation, he opened the shop and purchased the lever-action Winchester.
The weapon's metallic weight instantly appeared in his hands.
It was a genuine work of lethal art. The dark wooden stock had a flawless finish, the black steel reflected the light elegantly, and small golden runes engraved along the barrel pulsed with a predatory aura.
Image.
Daniel worked the lever, savoring the crisp click of the mechanism.
"She's beautiful," he murmured, running a hand along the polished wood with unmistakable admiration.
Julie rolled her eyes and let out an amused snort.
"If you keep caressing her like that, I'm going to get jealous."
Daniel looked up with a mischievous grin.
"Don't worry. She may have a beautiful barrel and never complain when I pull the trigger, but you definitely have the better curves."
"Idiot," Julie shot back, tossing a couch cushion at him.
"Let's go test it outside," Daniel called after dodging the cushion.
The two headed toward the forest, but as they passed alongside Colony House, a voice stopped them.
"Daniel." Victor had appeared almost out of nowhere. "You... could you measure it again?"
Daniel pulled the measuring tape from inside his jacket. "No problem."
Julie cast Victor a conflicted glance. According to what Daniel had told her, he was the son of her mother's previous reincarnation.
So... would that make him my brother? she wondered absentmindedly.
"Julie, give me a hand."
Daniel handed her the metal end of the measuring tape. Julie held it against the marked tree trunk while he stretched the tape all the way to the house.
"Ten meters and twenty centimeters," he announced after checking the measurement twice.
Victor hurriedly wrote everything down in his notebook, his fingers trembling slightly as he scribbled.
"The same as last time..." he murmured, more to himself than to either of them.
Daniel simply waved goodbye and resumed walking alongside Julie, leaving Victor hunched over his notes.
Once they were far enough away from Colony House, Daniel waited until the crows following them settled in the trees.
Only then did he raise the Winchester, brace the stock against his right shoulder, and close one eye, lining up the iron sights with one of the birds perched on a high branch.
When he had purchased the magical weapon, he had learned that each shot required a minimum of ten points of Spiritual Energy.
Curious about the destructive power of his new toy, he poured thirty points into the chamber at once. The runes along the barrel blazed with an intense white light.
He pulled the trigger.
There was no explosion. No deafening report.
The rifle produced only the faintest recoil as a thin streak of silent white light cut through the air in a fraction of a second, obliterating the crow's head before it even realized the danger.
The decapitated body tumbled through the leaves.
Almost immediately, another crow cawed in panic about thirty meters away, beating its wings frantically as it tried to flee.
Without missing a beat, Daniel spent another thirty points of Spiritual Energy and tracked the second bird through the sights.
Another silent shot.
Another white streak slicing through the air.
The bird dropped into the bushes.
Only then did Daniel relax as the constant sensation of being watched finally disappeared.
After spending nearly half of his Spiritual Energy creating the rune and firing twice, he only had enough left for one more shot.
"Did you notice anything when I fired?" he asked curiously.
Julie frowned. "Notice you shooting? I thought the gun had malfunctioned. It didn't make any sound."
"I've fired twice, and I hit both times." He started walking toward the spot where the first crow had fallen. "Let's see if I actually killed it."
They found the bird sprawled among the dry leaves, a thin stream of dark blood trickling from its wound.
"You actually did it." Julie stepped closer, examining the body with a mixture of fascination and revulsion.
So once they're dead, their invisibility magic stops working, Daniel concluded as he noticed her reaction.
Without hesitation, the System's dark mist surged from his left arm and swallowed the corpse in a ravenous vortex.
[Reward: 1 Attribute Point. 200 Silver Coins.]
Daniel stared at the notification for several seconds in disbelief.
"Is this a joke?" he complained mentally. "This is the first supernatural creature I've ever killed, and this pathetic reward is all I get?"
[Complaint ignored. This target is not the primary organism. You merely destroyed a fragment of an external neural network, the equivalent of clipping a strand of hair and expecting to be rewarded for homicide. Your math is almost as terrible as your gratitude.]
Daniel blinked several times, processing both the insult and the important information.
So these pests are nothing but clones... or puppets controlled by something much bigger hiding in that forest.
He explained what he had learned to Julie and showed her the reward he had received.
She listened intently, her expression growing increasingly serious.
The two walked over to the second fallen crow and repeated the process.
The reward was exactly the same.
"I hope more of them show up," Daniel muttered as he stored the Winchester.
...
While Daniel turned his attention back to Julie's shooting practice, an irritated caw shattered the silence deep within the forest.
A crow, which until then had been observing everything from atop the lighthouse tower, dove through the window of an ancient castle and landed heavily on the backrest of a stone chair worn smooth by time.
At the center of the vast hall, Donovan walked with the submissive posture of a servant. In his hands, he carried a silver goblet filled with a thick, crimson liquid that steamed slightly, so dense it resembled freshly coagulated blood.
Seated upon his throne with the indifference of a king who regarded everyone around him as little more than insects was the Man in Yellow.
His suit bore the faded hue of aged ocher, while a faint smile played at the corner of his lips.
"What happened?" Donovan asked as he noticed the unusual agitation in the bird's ruffled feathers.
The crow answered with a series of irritated caws, informing him that two of its bodies had been destroyed by Daniel.
"How?" Donovan frowned, unable to hide his surprise.
Before the bird could continue, the Man in Yellow raised one hand.
It was a simple gesture, almost lazy, yet enough to plunge the entire hall into silence.
"That weapon is interesting."
His voice was low, almost bored, utterly devoid of the concern Donovan displayed.
The losses reported by his subordinate seemed meaningless to him. In fact, the more variables the boy introduced into the game, the more intriguing the final outcome promised to be.
He tilted his head slightly, turning his gaze toward the town.
"What a shame I still can't join the party," he murmured, a trace of frustration hidden behind his smile. That place had rules that not even he could break.
After draining the goblet in a single swallow, he handed it back to Donovan. The faint amusement vanished from his face, replaced by an authority so overwhelming that his subordinate instinctively bowed even lower.
"It's time to raise the stakes. The boy is growing bold, and the nighttime puppets no longer frighten him." His black eyes narrowed. "Go, Donovan. Activate the Ruins."
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