The will of the world rewarded Val with two precious items for completing the level 2 dungeon. Maybe because it was close to upgrading to level 3 and its difficulty level was nearly twice that of a normal level 2 dungeon, he obtained two rewards for completing it.
But get this, he didn't even have a chance to give those new items a look, because he ended up stuck in this crazy thing called the Fog right after warping out of the dungeon with the help of the world.
The Fog was a paranormal phenonon similar to the Footsteps.
It's this otherworldly mist that shows up only so many tis a year. And it's pretty rare, mostly sticking to the Mountain ranges and the forests around the Northern Frontier
About 9 out of 10 people who wander into it don't make it back. The mortality rate if you find yourself trapped in the Fog is around a dreadful 90%.
'How co I am suddenly so unlucky?'
Val sighed and looked around, the fog in his surroundings wasn't white. It was a dark, dense mist that was blacker than a moonless night. In fact, it was so thick you wouldn't be able to see your hand if you placed it in front of your face.
'After obtaining the Nocturne Vision Trait, this is the first ti I can't see anything in the dark.'
Val's Nocturne Vision Passive Trait couldn't penetrate the darkness of the Fog. Trapped in the fog, his vision was subrged in darkness, and he couldn't see a thing. He realized that this trait of his was only effective in naturally dark environnt, allowimg him to see in the dark. However, this Fog was sothing else entirely, rendering the effects of his ocular trait useless.
It was in this mont of extre discomfort that would leave a weak-hearted person paralyzed with fear that Val reminded himself, 'I need to stay calm, just like I always have.'
With a stoic expression, he recalled the grim tales he had heard about the Fog back in the frontier.
It was widespread knowledge that the Fog trapped, blinded, and fed on the fear and despair of its victim to grow and beco more horrifying.
However, research by wizards, who had spent decades trying to understand this mysterious phenonon, indicated that it was a malevolent force that took the shape of a fog, and it wasn't just fear and despair that it feasted upon.
The Fog was even more insidious, drawing strength from a broad range of negative emotions experienced by its victims, which included confusion and anger.
Basically, any emotion that fell in between or the negative side of the spectrum could strengthen the Fog and make it harder for people trapped inside it to escape.
The implications were also quite clear: losing emotional control inside the Fog could make a bad situation exponentially worse. The dread and unease you felt would be like fuel to a fire, intensifying the horror of the experience of being trapped in the Fog.
So Val, who was pissed off to find himself trapped in the Fog right after completing a dungeon that he was forced into by the footsteps, aka the Naless, took deep breaths to calm down.
When he exhaled, he let go of any anger and dissatisfaction in his heart, looking more serene than a revered monk. His control over his emotions was terrifying to the point that he forced himself to calm down in the blink of an eye.
His mind raced with thoughts.
'For now, remaining calm and emotionally balanced is my best defense against the ever-threatening, emotion-hungry Fog that surrounds .'
'Yes, I just need to focus on keeping my emotions in check and I will find a way out of it.'
It also ant that succumbing to anger or feeling uncomfortable would only empower the Fog and make his situation increasingly dire.
He really couldn't think of doing evil things and he had to behave like he wasn't affected by the Fog in the slightest.
On top of all that, he had to be as rciful as Budha. Even if he was pestered by a beast, he had to be forgiving, ignore the beast courting death and move along!
This wasn't his style.
But when in ro, you have to do what the Romans do.
Since he was trapped in the fog, he had to follow the rules of survival established by the lucky few who survived the fog and shared their experiences with the rest of the world without any complaints.
'Let's recall all the things I know about it.'
Val didn't move from his spot and silently went through what he had learned about the Fog from the books he purchased from the Arcane Library.
The first thing he recalled was the Fog's unpredictable nature. Its appearance was instantaneous and it spawns randomly without warning.
And although it was a rare phenonon, its occurrence was more frequent in places like the Shadow Valley, a dark and evil location.
However, it would appear only once or twice a month in such eternally dark places.
'It feels like my luck have taken a turn for the worse.'
Encountering the Naless and getting trapped in the Fog on his very first voyage to the Shadow Valley clearly suggested that he was having an unusually unfortunate day.
'But why? Is there a reason behind it.'
Val thought of a terrifying possibility, but quickly shrugged it off. 'Surely that can't be the case.'
He racked his brain and rembered a bunch of other things about the Fog.
The size of the Fog varied!
According to what he'd read, the area it covered could be as small as 1 kiloter or as vast as the entire valley.
The randomness of the Fog's size added another layer of complexity to the situation.
After all, one of the factors its growth rate depended upon was its size. The greater its size, the larger the number of beings bubbling with fear and anxiety trapped in it, propagating its growth. And the greater its growth rate, the less the amount of ti it would need to beco more horrifying!
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