Oswald quickly shut his mouth with both his hands.

He fearfully looked around the place and only sighed in relief when he noticed nothing out of place.

In the Eternal Night, there were monsters that were attracted to sounds and vibrations.

Some of those Nightmares didn’t even fear the ’Unbroken Fire’!!

Shouting in the Eternal Night could bring about one’s demise in no time.

Edgar didn’t dwell on Oswald’s mannerisms. He observed the clay-like object and asked. "Nightmare Shard?"

"Some of the Nightmare creatures mutate and give birth to objects and Shards inside of them."

Learning from his mistake, Oswald replied in a really subdued voice.

"Those objects are called Nightmare Materials and can be used to make different powerful weapons. And the Shards are a portion of a Nightmare’s condensed power."

Edgar’s eyes lit up as well, and he quickly asked. "What can it be used for?"

"You need to perform different rituals to make them mature, young master. Most of the rituals are rather exaggerated." He replied, scratching his face.

"And only an Appraiser can tell you the corresponding ritual for this Shard."

’An Appraiser, huh?’

Edgar thought grimly as he stared at the clay-like item in his hand.

He wasn’t very keen on spending stones to get it appraised.

Just then, his system stirred once again and a bunch of words appeared in front of him.

⟨Nightmare Shard: Snow White Rabbit⟩

⟨Grade: White⟩

⟨Ritual: Submerge in black grassroots with water for three days⟩

⟨Ability: Increase in speed and reaction time⟩

’...’

Edgar blankly looked at the screen that appeared in front of him.

Slowly, his lips curled up and he couldn’t help but muse. ’I really am a cheat.’

Edgar looked through the ritual and found it relatively easy.

Once again, he saw the difference between him and the natives of this world.

Knowing the exact things that he needed was much easier than going through the trial-and-error method.

Suddenly, Edgar wondered. ’If I go to Soragon Bazaar, wouldn’t I be able to find useful items that the natives of this world ignored?’

Edgar wanted to confirm his hypothesis and his urge to check the bazaar only grew bigger.

Taking in a deep breath, he put the clay-like object back in his pocket and looked at the rope.

It was shaking violently once again.

Edgar quickly pulled it back into the light and another Snow Hand Rabbit was caught in the trap.

Oswald quickly killed it but regrettably they didn’t get any Shard.

’One step at a time.’ Edgar maintained his calmness and took out the Nightmare Stone.

He drew in a deep breath and grabbed the previous stone.

Using the system, Edgar created another [Beast Trap].

He tied it with another rope and threw it into the darkness.

He waited in anticipation for more Nightmare creatures to get caught in the trap.

---

Time slowly passed as the Eternal Night gradually subsided.

The dull grey-black fog appeared in the sky once again, making the world a gloomy place.

Edgar sat close to the ’Unbroken Fire’ which was still burning.

His face was filled with tiredness and exhaustion but he still had a smile on his face.

Even though he had done a lot of heavy work that burdened his body, the reward was worth celebrating.

Last night, he had killed a total of 30 Nightmare Beasts!

Edgar used four of those stones to create two more [Beast Trap]s.

Now, he had 27 Nightmare Stones including the previous one and four [Beast Trap]s!!

It could be said that he had a decent amount of resources.

’Too bad, I will use most of them to enhance my fortress.’

Edgar let out a sigh and stood up from his seat.

He walked around the place and collected the [Beast Trap]s he had thrown out last time.

There weren’t any Nightmares in them but none of them were damaged.

When Edgar was looking around, he found a rather bizarre thing.

It was the dead body of a Snow White Rabbit but it was brutally mutilated.

Its ribs were snapped open and its internal organs were all gone.

Edgar frowned and crouched down beside the dead body.

He didn’t find any Nightmare Stone which made him even more perplexed.

’What could do such a thing?’ he wondered, standing back up. ’Another rabbit or a different type of Nightmare creature?’

He walked back towards the fire still lost in thought.

Oswald was taking some rest so he had some free time before he got back to sleep.

Edgar picked up some of the black grassroots from around the fortress.

It was something that normal beasts not tainted by the Eternal Night ate.

’The concept of normal beasts is really fascinating though.’

A normal beast was something that was kept in close proximity to the ’Unbroken Fire’ since birth.

That made them free from any toxins and they could be eaten by humans.

Though the price of raising them also made them rather expensive.

Edgar submerged the black grassroots in a container with water and mixed it thoroughly.

He put the Nightmare Shard he obtained last night inside it and closed the container.

’I will see you in three days.’

Edgar patted the container and put it aside.

He sat down close to the fire and began to wonder about the half-eaten rabbit.

Just then, Oswald walked out of his house and said to him. "I will keep watch, young master."

Edgar looked at the old man and curiously asked. "I saw a Snow Rabbit that was half eaten, do you know something about it?"

Oswald took a few seconds before his face turned ashen.

"There could only be two reasons, young master." He said deeply. "Either we have a leader of the Snow Hand Rabbits or a Humanoid Night around."

Edgar narrowed his eyes when he heard that. He instinctively thought about the description of ’Humanoid Nights.’

’They act like humans and don’t really fear the ’Unbroken Fire’....’

Edgar felt grim at the thought of such a creature. He instinctively linked it with the absence of the Nightmare Stone from the dead body.

’...Did the monster absorb it?’

Edgar wondered. If it was true then there might be a chance the Humanoid Night would attack today.

’I need to strengthen the fortress.’

He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

Edgar wanted to create an ⟨Agricultural Land⟩ first but he gave up on the idea.

Taking out 10 Nightmare Stones, he placed them in front of him.

With a single thought, Edgar began the construction of the ⟨Watch Tower⟩.