Chapter 47: The Nemesis of Fear

The glowing dot on the map was within a kilometer radius around Shen He. With his speed, even a round trip wouldn’t take long; the crucial factor lay in how to swiftly deal with the mutant beast once he found it.

His alloy longsword was in the car, and he only carried a military dagger on his person. If things got too troublesome, he might not be able to resolve the situation quickly.

After leaving the Northeast Restaurant, Shen He headed straight toward the glowing dot. This area resembled the outskirts of the city, quite desolate; some alleys didn’t even have streetlights, making visibility poor.

He moved through the darkness, and within minutes arrived at the location marked by the glowing dot. Shen He glanced at the regional map—the dot and his own position had overlapped.

That meant the mutant beast represented by the glowing dot was nearby.

He surveyed his surroundings. Behind the Northeast Restaurant, near a riverbank, there weren’t many streetlights—barely enough to make out the environment around him.

Looking left and right, aside from some trees and landscaped greenery, there was only the river—hardly any trace of a mutant beast.

Could it really be in the river?

Was that reasonable?

Well, perhaps it was.

If the mutant beast really was in the river, this trip would have been for nothing.

It seemed that "ancestral blessings" had not worked!

Shen He sighed inwardly and began to lower his hand from his lower back.

He was about to return to the restaurant when suddenly, out of the shadows in the corner, a dark figure leapt out, lunging straight for his throat.

By the moonlight, he saw the creature clearly.

It was a viper, thick as three fingers and over a meter long—a short-tailed pit viper.

Shen He's heart jolted; instinctively he dodged to the side and drew the dagger from his waistband.

Why was it this thing?

He had feared snakes since childhood, and that hadn’t changed. Worse still, this short-tailed pit viper was a genuine venomous snake.

Swallowing hard, Shen He fixed his gaze on the pit viper a short distance away, feeling tense.

Normally, pit vipers grew to about sixty to eighty centimeters, but this one was over a meter long—beyond anything he’d ever known.

It was most likely the third-tier beast indicated on the area map.

[Survival Guide: Oh! Buddy, by violating the rules of the Survival Guide, you’ve run into something you can’t handle—a third-tier mutant beast, the short-tailed pit viper.]

[Unfortunately, its favorite method is to poison its prey, then swallow you whole and digest you slowly.]

[But who knows, maybe the pit viper doesn’t even defecate. If that’s the case, you won’t even get the chance to contribute to soil fertility.]

[Warm tip: It can only swallow one person at a time, and for now, it’s not as fast as you. You can lure it toward other survivors, let it eat them, and then shake it off.]

[...]

[Congratulations, player, you’ve triggered a temporary mission!]

[Temporary Mission: Face Your Fears!]

[As a qualified Earth Online player, the savior of this world, you should not possess fear.]

[The great savior fears nothing, no matter the difficulty; face it with a smile. The way to overcome fear is to confront it.]

[Perseverance is victory. Good luck!]

[Mission Reward: Nemesis of Fear (Rare Achievement)]

[...]

Staring at the flashing text, Shen He steadied himself.

Though it was labeled a third-tier beast, that only applied once it survived for two years. For now, it was probably just a newly mutated creature.

As for the temporary mission...

Why did it seem so familiar?

Wasn’t it missing a few words at the end? Why wasn’t there a loud shout of “All in!”?

Cutting corners, huh?!

He took a deep breath, gripping the military dagger tightly, fixing his gaze on the pit viper, his breath growing steadier.

At this moment, he felt his blood boiling—"Fighting beyond his level" increased his stats by twenty percent.

His physical attributes soared.

All five senses sharpened.

Just then, the pit viper opened its mouth and sprayed a cloud of black mist, a foul stench beating against him.

Shen He’s expression changed; he quickly dove aside.

Wherever the black mist touched, all vegetation instantly corroded and withered.

Such potent venom.

Had its evolution allowed it to spit venom now?

What a dishonorable creature—thank goodness he could dodge.

Seeing the poison mist fail, the pit viper twisted swiftly to close the distance, aiming to approach Shen He.

As it drew near, it suddenly launched itself at his neck, mouth open to bite.

This time, Shen He was ready.

As the pit viper lunged, he sidestepped and swung his dagger forcefully.

With boosted strength and speed, he instantly severed the snake’s head.

Fetid blood splattered everywhere.

Shen He rolled aside to avoid the blood, glancing warily at the headless snake writhing on the ground.

The severed head kept opening and closing its jaws, as if still trying to bite and inject venom.

He stepped back several paces, then flung his dagger, pinning the snake’s head precisely.

As for the body, it would soon quiet down.

Meanwhile, lines of text appeared before his eyes once more.

[Free Attribute Points +3]

[...]

[Temporary Mission: Face Your Fears!]

[Completed.]

[Reward issued.]

[...]

[Survival Guide: My goodness! You, a rookie who hasn’t even reached first-tier, actually killed a third-tier short-tailed pit viper. Incredible!]

[Is this the protagonist’s aura? Now I finally understand why you’re so bold.]

[It seems you really are the savior!]

Sure enough, three free attribute points arrived.

This trip had been worthwhile.

Ignoring the Survival Guide’s text, Shen He turned his attention to the rare achievement "Nemesis of Fear."

Every achievement unlocked by the system was extremely valuable.

This one would be no exception.

[Nemesis of Fear (Rare)]

[When you face fear, this achievement reduces your fear, restores a calm mind, and allows you to taunt the object of your fear, temporarily lowering its intelligence and causing it to misjudge.]

[...]

Shen He’s eyes lit up.

This achievement was truly useful—at least, when facing snakes or unknown fears, he could keep his cool.

He could even taunt enemies to lower their intelligence—wasn’t that cheating?

The advantage was his.

He stepped forward, pulled out his dagger, wiped it clean with a leaf found by the roadside, and then walked toward the Northeast Restaurant.

As for the pit viper’s corpse, he left it there.

By tomorrow, anyone passing by would see such a large pit viper.

They’d likely report it to the authorities.

Just as Shen He reached the restaurant entrance, several cars sped out of the parking lot, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Someone shouted from behind, “Wait, I haven’t gotten in yet! I haven’t gotten in…”