Fear Stems From Insufficient Firepower

It had been a while since entering this Dungeon World, and Gu Mo had experienced several battles, both big and small.

Aside from the expected reward of leveling up, he had also gained some game-like items, such as Sacred Water and Arrow Protection Talismans. Of course, there were also the classic monster materials... some were quite useful, while others were not.

Among these, the Yokai's Soul Core was in the middle, difficult to classify as it seemed to bounce between useful and useless.

You could say they were useless because each Soul Core was essentially a Skill Badge, albeit limited to Yokai Skills or Sorcery, and they had to be equipped in the Guardian Spirit's skill slot to be used indirectly. But to say they were useful... emmmm, currently, Gu Mo couldn't really use those skills.

He had already collected four types of Soul Cores: Hungry Ghost, regular Yokai, Ape Fiend, and Horse-Headed Demon. Of course, many of these were duplicates, so including the current Heretic Soldier Soul Core, he now had five Soul Cores in hand.

Examining the Heretic Soldier Soul Core in his hand, Gu Mo had an idea. If it could be used, that would be best; he was really lacking useful skills right now.

As for the Horse-Headed Demon's, there was no need to mention it. It was one of the most powerful Yokai he had encountered so far, and the skill that came with the Soul Core he got by leeching was the "Great Slaughter Slash," which he coveted immensely. Just think of the Horse-Headed Demon's forty-meter-long saw-toothed greatsword, wielded by a monster of its size, reproducing a full-power, wide-ranging slash...

The range was large, it was AOE, and the damage was absolutely explosive.

Unfortunately, after equipping the Horse-Headed Demon Soul Core to his fox Guardian Spirit, Gu Mo hadn't been able to successfully reproduce this powerful Yokai attack even once. Otherwise, even if he could only use it for a short time, his output capability would have a qualitative leap.

It wasn't for any other reason; it was simply because his mana bar wasn't enough, far from reaching the standard required to unleash this attack.

The Soul Cores of the regular Yokai and Ape Fiend could be used, but their base stats and effects weren't great. Also, without special energy like Yokai Power, each use severely drained his stamina and spirit as a cost. When there were no particular advantages and it significantly depleted his energy, it was clearly not a good choice.

Only the Hungry Ghost Soul Core was temporarily usable. It summoned a hungry Hungry Ghost to attack and bite the enemy fiercely, dealing some damage while absorbing the enemy's lost Essence, restoring his own health to a certain extent...

The consumption was relatively small, but not to the point where it could be used casually. Gu Mo could only use it when he determined it was necessary; it was impossible to treat it as a regular skill.

At this moment, the black-haired girl looked around, then continued walking down the corridor.

She paid no attention to Gu Mo's actions, having long been accustomed to some of her companion's strange behaviors, such as constantly needing to wash his hands and always liking to wave his hand in the air above fallen enemy corpses. She didn't know if the bloody smell was unbearable for him...

The mansion was large and exquisite, and the surroundings were interconnected, covering an exceptionally vast area.

However, in Hidechiyo's perception, although there were some Yokai wandering inside the mansion, a more massive and complex Yokai Energy was emanating from further away, with a relatively larger number... but in her perception, that distance and direction had already exceeded the mansion's range and had entered deep into the mountain body.

So, were there actually spaces inside the mountain body? Was it hollow?

Hidechiyo thought this, but her actions weren't affected. She still followed her senses directly towards the location of the Perpetual Darkness Master, preparing to tackle the problem step by step.

She took many winding paths, knowing her target was there but unable to go in a straight line. It wasn't possible to tear down the house; this was where her old father would live in retirement later... The girl herself wasn't in a hurry; she had the patience, she just worried that a certain person wouldn't be able to keep up.

However, having three points higher in constitution than the healthiest normal person did have its benefits, and the Guardian Spirit Nine-Tails also seemed to be helping Gu Mo resist the suppression of the Perpetual Darkness. Only he could feel the warmth and heat emanating from it, blocking the invasion of the ethereal Yokai Energy and coldness of this black and white world to a certain extent.

Plus, taking a sip of Sacred Water from time to time... he lasted much longer than expected, at least not running out of stamina before finding the Perpetual Darkness Master.

Looking at the room ahead, in the ethereal and dim light, the black-haired girl's rose-red eyes were completely unaffected, clearly seeing the true form of the monster.

It had a human body, dressed in black samurai attire, but its neck was stretched thin and long, coiling like a snake, connecting to a head that seemed to float in mid-air. It sat quietly in the center of the room, meditating like a samurai, the scene appearing bizarre and inexplicable.

Rokurokubi.

A type of Yokai whose neck can extend and retract freely. Some people associate them with Flying Heads, but they are actually two different monsters.

These monsters are somewhat special because when their necks are not extended, and they protrude their heads like snakes, they look no different from ordinary people. Not only can ordinary people not tell, but sometimes even they themselves don't realize they are Rokurokubi, truly believing they are living like humans.

There are various theories about the origin of this type of Yokai. Some say they are people mutated due to karma, while others say they are transformed from tragically corrupted corpses after being strangled. It is said that if you always have strange out-of-body experiences at night, it might be a sign of transforming into a Rokurokubi.

Signaling to Gu Mo with her eyes, Hidechiyo drew her sword and walked forward.

Gu Mo wisely retreated two steps, slightly increasing the distance, mainly to show that he was very sensible and wouldn't rush forward rashly... A freeloader should have the awareness of a freeloader. Leeching experience and picking up equipment was good enough; there was no need to steal kills and interfere with the expert's performance.

Hidechiyo's movements were silent, but just as she approached the room and before she even entered the door, the Rokurokubi suddenly erupted and attacked.

Its long neck rotated like lightning, and its head bit towards her in an instant, like a coiled cobra that had finally waited for its prey to enter its attack range, launching its offense without hesitation!

The black-haired girl, however, was expressionless, her eyes, clear and cold as autumn water, were completely calm. This was Perpetual Darkness, the opponent's domain. It was already difficult to approach this Yokai quietly and launch a surprise attack undetected. To be honest, from the moment the two of them stepped into the Perpetual Darkness, the other party must have already noticed.

She raised her sword to block, and the human head bit directly onto her sword, making a crunching sound, seemingly even sparking.

At the same time, the girl's other hand also drew the short blade from her waist with a backhand motion, slashing at the long neck like lightning. Everything was as fluid and natural as if it had been rehearsed beforehand. Without needing to think too much, she could always instantly grasp the best tactics against Yokai!

Bang!

With a loud crash, a flash of fire, and the pungent smell of gunpowder filled the air.

Shaking the matchlock rifle in his hand and looking at the wailing Lesser Hungry Ghost ahead, its belly exploded, intestines spilling onto the bloody ground, the faint golden yellow Essence quickly turning into gas, then diluting and evaporating into the air, Gu Mo twitched the corner of his mouth, stepped forward, and decisively cut off its head with a single slash.

While Axiu went to deal with the Perpetual Darkness Master, he naturally wasn't just standing by and watching. Instead, he started clearing the small fry Yokai on the periphery of the battlefield. He was now adept at bullying Lesser Hungry Ghosts and no longer found them difficult to handle, just like now.

As for enemies like regular Yokai, in a one-on-one situation with preparation, he could also resolve them relatively smoothly without having to fight desperately.

After all, he had Talismans in hand, his weapon was enchanted, and the counter attributes were maximized...

As long as the Yokai didn't spawn right next to him, leaving him no distance or time, he could naturally deal with short-ranged enemies easily with his long reach.

Looking at it this way, although he felt his growth wasn't significant, it was actually quite good. An ordinary person could only fight Lesser Hungry Ghosts a month ago, and they could only fight Lesser Hungry Ghosts a month later. Their progress was definitely not that fast – just the physical changes brought about by the few points he added were something that others would need more than half a year of diligent muscle training and physical enhancement to achieve, even in the most ideal circumstances.

The blade glowed faintly, unstained by any blood, but he still habitually swung it and then examined the matchlock rifle held in his other hand.

Its power was just so-so. Regardless of the range or killing power, this could be seen from the low effectiveness of the black powder of this era and the not-so-large recoil. His 12 points of strength allowed him to fire it with one hand... Of course, at this range, hitting a vital point could still kill a Lesser Hungry Ghost.

Even if he hadn't finished it off just now, this little thing would have died quickly anyway; it was just the difference between being killed directly and dying from a bleeding dot.

However, the drawbacks were too obvious, Gu Mo shook his head, somewhat nostalgic for the firearms in games that could fire continuously without reloading... This feel was really too poor. While lamenting, he took out the shot and reloaded.

Looking around, he didn't find any other targets. Just as he was about to turn back, the large fox beside him suddenly reacted.

He raised his eyebrows, gripped the sword and gun in his hands, checked his remaining Talismans, and then approached that direction slightly. Soon, he heard some movement; it was in the room at the end of the corridor ahead, where faint, low sobbing sounds were coming from.

It sounded like a woman quietly sobbing, trying to suppress her fear or something else, not daring to make too much noise. But no matter what, she couldn't completely hold it back. It was soft and weak, and the voice itself was so gentle and pleasant to listen to that it instantly stirred a desire to protect her.

Gu Mo was stunned for a moment, then stared intently at the room.

The damaged paper sliding door had collapsed, leaving the inside pitch black. The light was too dim to see anything clearly... The sobbing came from within, and it was extremely low, not overtly feigned. If it were someone who hadn't seen much of the world, they might easily be fooled.

However, Gu Mo, having been influenced by various horror films from later generations, was too experienced with this. Even though the memories of those old movies were from a long time ago, they had at least instilled in him some strange trivia about the survival rules of horror scenarios.

He stared in that direction, slowly raising the newly loaded matchlock aiming, and was about to have the big fox light the match, but after thinking about it, he put it down again.

The room was so dark, and he couldn't see inside. He could only hear the sound and couldn't see the actual situation. The power of the firearm wasn't reliable, and it was a point-to-point attack. Not to mention missing the vital points, the possibility of missing entirely was higher... His shooting skills weren't great; Minamoto no Raikou had even mocked him during training.

Although there was an "Aim Assist" option in the "Settings," because the game settings couldn't be changed during a mission, he could only watch and yearn.

So, it was better not to gamble on being a hidden marksman right now.

He took out the Gunpowder Bomb, thought for a moment, then took out a Burning Oil Jar that had dropped not long ago. Then, holding the Gunpowder Bomb, he brought it to the big fox. Guardian Spirits always understood their host's intentions. The tip of a large, fluffy, reddish-orange tail that looked like burning flames lightly touched the fuse on the Gunpowder Bomb.

A slight consumption of Spirituality, and illusory fire-attribute power seeped out from the Spirit World.

A point of reddish-orange firelight appeared in reality, concentrated in a single spot, precisely igniting the fuse.

Gu Mo raised his hand and threw the pitch-black Sengoku period hand grenade. This item, concocted from black powder and a clay pot, flew across the not-so-short corridor under his strength, directly smashing into the pitch-black room... The soft, weak sobbing suddenly stopped. It seemed the owner of the voice was also caught off guard and interrupted.

In the pitch-black room, a woman in a splendid kimono with long hair covering her face, who had been emitting pitiful cries, widened her eyes. She watched the pitch-black object fly in, roll a few times on the floor, its fuse having burned to the end.

The next second, a huge bang echoed. The screens and paper doors nearby were instantly torn to shreds!

The black powder, formulated with ninja secret techniques, unleashed a more terrifying explosive force than ordinary counterparts. Sharp ceramic fragments also scattered in the explosion, delivering a second wave of damage... The woman shrieked with hatred and pain, covering her face with her hands. Her kimono was damaged in multiple places, and a spray of blood mist erupted!

But the explosion at this distance only caused minor superficial injuries.

Of course, that wasn't the end of it. The next moment, another pitch-black object flew in almost right after the explosion. The woman looked up venomously, and using some trick, she blew the object apart in mid-air.

A sticky black oil splattered everywhere... This wasn't a Gunpowder Bomb.

A sudden burst of flames instantly lit up the room, dispelling the previous pitch-black darkness. Gu Mo watched as a large snake with a woman's upper body, at least five or six meters long, struggled wildly in the sea of fire, emitting sharp, hateful screams. The Fire Bullet Talisman clutched in her hand was ready to be released at any moment.

This was originally intended to ignite the oil jar. If the blast from the Gunpowder Bomb hadn't immediately ignited the oil jar afterwards, he would have instantly thrown a Talisman over to detonate it.

Now, it could also supplement the damage...

Watching the large snake crash out of the room, burst through the flames, and charge towards him, burning and filled with venomous madness, Gu Mo cursed inwardly and decisively fired the Fire Bullet Talisman.

Because it was a Talisman he had created with his own energy and focus, aimed mentally and guided by thought, it was like having "Aim Assist" turned on. So the fireball accurately struck the Snake Woman's head, but it couldn't stop the large snake, driven mad by pain.

Gu Mo took a deep breath, having expected this, and directly pointed his hand—

"I choose you! Pika... Nine-Tails!"

It was as if a hurricane suddenly swept through the narrow, enclosed corridor space. Flames surged within the fierce wind, accompanied by the rapid loss of his stamina, mental energy, etc., as if a dam had been opened. The reddish-orange fire fox also appeared beside him.

In a state visible to everyone, Spirituality manifested in the human world. The Nine-Tails Guardian Spirit, with cold, sharp eyes, stood in front of Gu Mo.