The notebook in Hobart's hand bore its former owner's signature: Valentine Victor.
Rather than notes, it was more like a collection of poorly written ghost stories.
Hobart found the stories quite interesting, such as one that had taken place deep in the mountains of Sivellas County in the Loen Kingdom.
There was a hunter in the mountains who was very skilled at setting traps. Then, starting one day, the prey he caught in his traps was always found gnawed on by some beast.
Yet strangely, this experienced hunter could not tell from the bite marks what kind of beast had gnawed on his prey.
A few days later, when the hunter went to inspect his traps again, he found that his prey had only recently been gnawed on. Following the blood trail, he quickly locked onto the culprit's tracks.
After chasing for roughly one or two hours, the hunter reached the edge of a forest. By then, the sky was gradually darkening.
In the deep mountains, the sun set quickly. Once it sank below the mountaintop, the surroundings seemed to be draped in a veil of black gauze.
The hunter had no intention of letting the culprit go and pursued it into the forest.
The moment he stepped into the woods, the hunter felt that the mountain wind inside was exceptionally cold, as though countless pairs of eyes were watching him.
Just as the hunter was preparing to turn back, he spotted a towering tree. Its branches stretched wide, and its canopy covered a vast area.
Corpses hung all over the tree. Without exception, they had all been hanged. When the mountain wind blew, the bodies swayed with it.
The hunter was so frightened that he collapsed onto the ground. At that moment, the corpses on the tree began to