Spending time with Pumpkin Girl felt like a dream. Sadly, it was mercilessly shattered by Moon Moon's panicked howl.

  "Woo!!" (Alarmed!)

  Jack instantly understood that something was very wrong. The courageous wolf's voice was shaking! As soon as he left the farmhouse, he had the shock of his life.

  They were fucking everywhere! EVERYWHERE!

  No matter where he looked, there were rats, more rats, and even more rats!! Moon Moon's yelp was justified. Hundreds of monsters surrounded them!

  On a scale of 1 to screwed, they were fucked!!!

  But, the more screwed they were, the more he had to keep his calm instead. He gently kicked Moon Moon, reprimanding it.

  "What are you shivering for? It's just a few rats." He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

  It took him a few seconds of scanning the area to notice his target. There it was! He had finally found the rats' leader!

  The creature was half-hidden, but the light of intelligence in its onyx eyes was unmistakable. It had obviously been leading its brethren.

  Macabre Rats doing a perfect circle by themselves? It was about as likely as Pumpkin Girl being a dude! No fucking way!

  In fact, this army was even more massive than the one that had cornered an entire town. They had gotten reinforcements all night long and were now ready for war!

  Then again, so what if Jack had zero chance to win against them?! The rat leader didn't seem 100% sure of its victory just yet as it glanced his way warily.

  It most definitely still remembered the many times the man had completely annihilated them.

  "You came all the way over here, and you won't even say hello?" Jack playfully uttered.

  Without waiting, he relaxedly walked toward the rat leader. It was as if he couldn't see the countless enemies eager to devour him.

  The rat wasn't alive anymore, but Jack could still somewhat feel its mood and guess its thoughts.

  1. In theory, they had enough troops to kill the human.

  2. But why was he approaching so confidently?

  3. Did he have a trump card?

  4. Should they go all-in right now?!

  5. What would be the outcome?!

  The newly awakened rat was overthinking this: the result of inexperience. It just needed a little push. Jack suddenly started cackling like a madman as fiery flames appeared in his hands.

  "Hehehehe, let's play, shall we? We'll have lots of…fun?! Hey, come back!!!!" The creatures were already rushing away as quickly as their tiny legs could carry them!

  "Woo!" (Rejoicing!)

  "As expected of the one I chose!" He felt Pumpkin Girl sneak behind him and embrace his back, her love quite heavy. But he knew that the two were celebrating way too fast!

  "It's not over. We have to evacuate to the town ASAP and—"

  "No! I can't!" She promptly refused.

  "The creatures will come back at night, even more numerous. This time they won't hesitate to attack. We won't be able to resist." Jack reminded.

  "I'll protect the farm! I'll protect you, I'll protect Moon Moon, and I'll protect everyone! I'll make the plants grow and—"

  "It won't work. Sure it will block a few waves, but eventually, you'll run out of energy. We have to evacuate, NOW!" Jack shouted.

  She wanted to refute but suddenly realized that he was right.

  She could only give a despairing glance at her pumpkin farm. Soon the creatures would utterly destroy it, their demonic energy poisoning the soil forever.

  "Sorry, dad. I wasn't able to protect it in the end." She mumbled softly under her breath.

  That's when he remembered. Losing such a great field was harsh, but she didn't care for she was hardworking. No, what she dreaded was losing her father's legacy, this she couldn't stomach.

  Her whole body shook, small tears streamed at the corner of her eyes, but she quickly gathered her resolve. She wouldn't risk their lives for his memory, no matter how precious.

  "Let's go! I'll pack as many things as possible!" She quickly disappeared inside the farmhouse.

  "Woo…." (Lamenting!)

  Moon Moon was downright sobbing. This was so sad! Not only would they lose the delicious pumpkins but also the farm she loved so much! It gave its master a begging gaze.

  Jack followed her inside, thinking faster than ever.

  What would he have to sacrifice for this? Too much for it to be logical…but so what?! He wouldn't be him if he feared a few hardships! Her smile was much more important right now!

  He gently embraced her from behind, landing a kiss on her slender neck.

  "Wait. Pack your things just in case, but I'll solve this. If I'm not back before the night, rush to the town directly."

  "No way that I—" A heated kiss muffled her protests.

  "Don't worry. I'll be careful." He decisively left. "C'mon Moon Moon. We got work to do!"

  "Woo!" (Relieved!)

  Could he defeat a thousand rats alone? Impossible!

  What about finding help?

  Players —> Too weak and not reliable

  NPCs —> Powerful and could be tricked to help.

  Those Church of Light guys were probably already on their way but likely wouldn't arrive any time soon. They wouldn't take a swarm of level 10 rats seriously.

  No, if he wanted those bastards to really rush here, he'd have to motivate them. He had to show them a greater and more menacing evil.

  Jack could be very menacing and very evil. As long as he did this, they'd easily defeat the rat swarms, and she'd get to keep her farm.

  As for what would happen afterward, he shivered, just thinking about how annoying it would be. The Church of Light was far from kind to Demonic Players…


  But he'd need a helper to make it convincing. He tried messaging the guy, but he had his damn notifications turned off!

  The duo quickly rushed toward the very wet lake.

  It wasn't just the lake that was wet, but the air that was damp too. A strong breeze splashed water droplets all over, creating a cold mist and giving them the "wet" debuff.

  "Careful, the monsters here are a pain to kill. Don't aggro them and watch out for the slight purple protrusions in the soil."

  "Woo!" (Roger!)

  The more they progressed and the more annoying wildlife they encountered:

  The elementals looked quite harmless as they weren't that big. Still, they were immune to physical attacks and would happily put their hands in their target's mouth till they drowned!

  This one too was slim, but also really long. They'd hide in the soil to suddenly grab and squeeze everything out of their prey until it died of dehydration. Their immunity to magic didn't help.

  Those bastards were resistant to everything except when targeting their weak spots. Luckily that's pretty much all they had going for them.

  The three types of monsters were everywhere and would stand still in the mist, near invisible.

  "Woo…" (Scary!)

  "Let me show you a trick," Jack whispered as he took out one of the pumpkins they had previously worked on.

  How very fitting!

  It was time to light it up! He inserted his fiery fire deep inside the pumpkin, transforming it into a lantern that would soon glow as brightly as the…well sun!

  He quickly threw it away as it drew an arc in the air. A second later, the entire pumpkin was ablaze!

  — WWWOOOSSSSHHHH—


  "That's our cue to get far away. This will attract them." Jack whispered.

  Welcome to How to survive the Lake Area 101!

  Lots of distractions! Lots and lots of flaming pumpkins!

  Jack threw them one after the other like a gorilla threw barrels.

  – ( ?° ?? ?°)

  – Devil Carving

  – Some Steve Guy

  – 5466 1601 2645 5789

  – Howling Moon Moon

  – Pumpkin Carving (Pumpkinception)

  – …..

  [ Acquired Pumpkin Throwing F! ]

  That's how they managed to survive the mist as the creatures kept chasing decoys. He had even thrown enough of them to get a goddamn skill!

  It took a lot of effort, but they eventually found their target.

  — A Wild Masochistic Naked Monk Appeared!—


  He was almost as naked as usual, the water vapor making his skin glisten. He seemed to be taking a break as he sat on the wet ground.

  As he saw the duo suddenly appear, he questioned his sanity. After all, it had taken him days to learn to navigate this place! But Jack didn't waste any time at all.

  "Yes, I'm real. I need your help. Let's go!" He instructed, ready to leave. But that's when a soft voice somehow "thundered" in his ears.

  "Where do you think you're taking my student?" The voice was calm yet authoritative.

  Along with the loud whisper, a mighty aura spread. Even Jack couldn't help but jump in surprise. Was this who he thought this was?! He glanced at the monk by the side.

  Holy shit! How?!

  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━


  [A/N] Hype! Feb Mass Release Time! ??

  Day 17: Do you guys wanna know what else is wet? My coffee! ??