Chapter 54: Vitality Traces of Fear
"Do you wish to buy insurance?" The lady behind the counter asked when she notice Nedy leaving.
"No, I'll be fine." Letting out a wry smile, Nedy exited the Forex Union and travelled to the real-estate office, intending to sell her home. It was something she bought after succeeding in a large mission in the past.
The house wasn't anything special, barely occupying a land area of 400 square metres and a floor area of 380 metres, split between two floors. Its sole advantage was being located right next to a large canal, making it pretty sought after.
Nedy contacted a broker and conveyed her intentions, "I'll be heading to another city a week later. So, I need to sell the house before then."
"Ah, this plot…" The broker went through the documents pertaining to her house and smiled, "It's located in a prime location. It'll be a bit difficult, but it's possible to sell in this short timeframe. But…"
He rubbed his hands together, "Usually, I charge a two percent commission if I sell it to a buyer after a month. But since I'll be selling it in a week, I'll have to charge a three percent commission."
"Get me a good deal," Nedy smiled and left the establishment.
The broker was all smiles, for the commission he would get would be a sizeable amount. He immediately began to contact his rich connections, asking around if anyone wished to buy the house.
Nedy returned home, having purchased a lot of food. Seated in her room, she first stuffed herself to the brim with food, closing her eyes to focus.
Gurgle!
The Fear in her churned as the food in her stomach was digested, taking the same time as usual. But this time, it was directly transformed into fat globules as Nedy regulated them through her body.
She first focused the fat globules on her breasts, causing them to become twice as big. She groped around, feeling the weight, "Ugh, it's heavy. It's killing my back."
She then focused the fat globules on her butt, making it bigger, and rounder. She next thickened her thighs. Finally, she focused on her face, making it more oval while also puffing her cheeks slightly, and giving more volume to her lips.
Her hair density spiked thrice and grew, reaching her hips. Nedy tied it into a bun and stared at her reflection in the mirror, having morphed her hair and eyes to look green, with traces of gold, "I look like a completely different person."
She currently resembled a middle-aged woman brimming with vitality, maintaining a youthful skin complexion. The appearance change was satisfactory as Nedy had depleted her Fear.
It was late into the evening as Nedy got into a luxurious boat, something she had stowed away for such a purpose. This wasn't her first time doing it.
She calmly rowed it through the large canal, smiling when a young farmer saw her, mesmerised by her appearance as stood agape. Nedy stared at him, watching him flinch as she sensed his vitality, 'Great. He'll do.'
"Hey, handsome." She beckoned him with her finger, stating with a flirtatious tone, "Do you wish to gaze at the moon together?"
"It's my pleasure," The young farmer looked around, sighing in relief when there wasn't anyone in the vicinity. He then boarded the boat, falling captive to passion as the luxurious boat rocked faintly, as if it was riding the waves.
The boat had a roof and decent soundproofing as Nedy had bought it just for that purpose. Two hours later, she licked her lips in contentment, staring at the withered corpse before her, one that was sucked of all vitality.
The young farmer now resembled a tree bark that was in the process of decomposing. Nedy lifted the corpse and applied pressure on her arms, causing crunching sounds as she folded it like a cloth, rolling it into a cylindrical form.
Nedy then took out a log of wood from the back of the boat, one whose insides had been hollowed out. She inserted the rolled-out corpse within and sealed the top, setting the log of wood aside for the time being.
It wouldn't be easy searching for the Fisherman Devil's corpse; pretty much only the Sickle Deity would be aware of that. Moreover, the corpse would have been sealed to prevent any traces of it from leaking out.
Therefore, her only choice of detecting it was through a manual search. Of course, she had a plan for it, sensing the vitality she had absorbed from the young farmer.
Closing her eyes, she focused on it, sensing the quality of life he led, 'Working for seven hours on the field daily, sleeping for six hours. The remaining time is spent with family. His vitality has remained wholly consistent, so that means he has never interacted with the Fisherman Devil's Fear.'
Faith and Fear had distinct traces.
When a person became the subject of Faith, they'll turn more faithful than usual. And for every good thing, they'll praise their Faith. Originally, they would have simply taken credit for their hard work.
But once part of a Faith, even though it was still a result of their own hard work and perseverance, they would still attribute part of the success to the Faith. This was how Faith influenced them at a subconscious level.
And it was through this that the Faith was empowered. Fear too worked in the same manner.
The Fisherman Devil infamously hung people from the branches of trees, with a hook pierced through the flesh of their mouths. And when done so, just as how a fish writhed in pain and died when brought out of the water, the humans too suffered in the same manner, as if they were fish brought out of water.
It was a cruel spectacle and became etched in the hearts of the people. Therefore, every time one saw a fish, tree branch, or fishing rod, their trauma would surface, plunging them into fear.
And this fear directly correlated to the Fear that nourished the Fisherman Devil's existence. It also influenced the people that came into contact with this Fear.
As a result, even if they weren't afraid in a certain situation, they would still feel some fear. Their bravery would take a hit while their cowardice strengthened. As a result, even though they were part of the Sickle Deity's Faith, their Fear supported the growth of the Fisherman Devil.
And as long as they had come into contact with the Fisherman Devil's Fear, the traces would remain in their vitality. It was Nedy's objective.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone