Dreamland: Freedom (Terror Infinity, Ultimate Evolution)

Since he only had six bullets left in his gun, Eden did not waste any of them to finish Jason, just in case there was more danger to this mission than Jason. And even if there were not, Eden would rather not waste anything.

So, instead, he grabbed a nearby woodcutting axe and, with a powerful swing, smashed it right onto Jason's head.

The hockey mask resisted the axe's blow, bouncing the blade off to the side and almost making Eden lose his balance. Thankfully, he had been expecting it, allowing him to stop himself from falling right on top of Jason. Because of course, his mask would be this absurdly solid.

Still, how dumb would it have been if, after everything he did, Eden ended up dying by stumbling and falling onto Jason? After all, if he did, Jason would no doubt have grabbed him and crushed him to death.

Now, after this first strike, Jason's mask remained unblemished, and his dead eyes focused on Eden as he stopped trying to lift the truck. Eden almost felt like Jason was daring him to strike again, though that was improbable, as he never showed any emotions, let alone taunting.

Despite his current advantage, Eden did not wish to die a stupid death, so instead of trying to swing at Jason and possibly get grabbed by Jason, he walked to the side and fired at Jason's scalp. As strong as he was, Jason's unprotected scalp exploded into a gory mess, though Eden was sure his skull was still intact.

However, more importantly, the 1911's Stopping Power worked its magic as Jason was forced into a stun even stronger than before, his body turning momentarily unresponsive.

Using this moment, Eden slashed at the strap of the hockey mask with his axe, planting it in the side of his face while the mask fell off, revealing his ugly, deformed visage. The blow also seemed to wake him up, but Eden safely dragged the mask with the axe.

[Jason's Hockey Mask]

[Rank: Uncommon]

[Defence: 10]

[Strength: +1]

[Dead Silence: Muffle the user's footsteps.]

Seeing the item's stats, Eden decided to immediately put it on. The strap, which he had just cut off, had magically been restored, allowing him to easily wear it. Instead of placing it on his face, however, he placed it on top of his head, but he suddenly felt stronger nonetheless.

Since the hockey mask was a special piece of equipment, Eden guessed the machete was one as well. It would be especially useful too since the axe was very inefficient at finishing Jason, and Eden would rather not use any more bullets.

But as he looked around for it, several sets of footsteps appeared at the door. Looking up, Eden saw Clay cautiously entering, with the Mossberg in his hands. The rifle had been one of the backup plans Eden had set for himself, which he had ended up not needing.

Upon entering, Clay looked up at Eden and the mask on top of his head before looking down at the truck and the figure trapped beneath. Jason was trapped but no longer stunned and was quietly reaching out for the truck again to lift it, since Eden was no longer in range for him to grab.

At the same time, the rest of the group quickly arrived, everyone having been woken up by the ruckus. After a moment of uncomfortable but sobering silence for them, Trent asked, "H-how is he even still alive? Did you shoot him in the head? And why the fuck do you have a mask?"

The machete being nowhere to be found, having likely fallen under the truck, Eden gripped the woodcutter axe, causing Trent to stumble back in fear. Ignoring the scare he just inflicted upon him, Eden said, "He is still alive because he is a supernatural monster, and yes, I shot him. Once in the chest, twice in the knees, and one more time in the head. It also took a 5-ton truck to pin him down, and he still lives with half his body crushed."

The group gulped, while Eden tapped the mask, adding, "This mask is precious to him, and he will attack anyone wearing it. Want it?"

Trent shut up, leading Eden to say, "I thought so. Also, don't walk in; I trapped the floor."

While the group looked down as one, noticing the faint marks on the ground, Eden once again swung his axe at Jason's unprotected head from an angle where the monster could not grab him.

The axe burrowed itself into his head but only nicked his skull. Undeterred, having received no notifications of Jason's death, Eden slashed another time, and another, and another, until Jason's skull gave out, turning his entire head into a pulp.

But even as Jason became unresponsive, Eden still did not receive any notifications, leading him to frown.

He knew that Jason was hard to kill, like any other killer from Slasher movies such as Michael Myers from Halloween, but even they had a limit. Getting their head smashed open should have breached that limit.

Still, after a moment, Eden grabbed a jerrican and covered both Jason and the truck with gasoline.

This time, despite his fear, Trent exclaimed, "Dude, stop! You're going to set my barn on fire!"

His actions not slowing down in the slightest, Eden replied, "He still lives."

"How? Did you see what you did to his head?"

Eden groaned as he poured the last few drops of gas onto Jason before shouting, "What is it that you don't understand about SUPERNATURAL MONSTER?!"

He pointed at Whitney and added, "Look at her; she has been held hostage by him for six weeks. Ask her if she doesn't want me to finish him."

Trent deflated like a popped balloon as he no longer dared to say anything; Eden looked too scary at the moment to contradict.

Eden turned to Clay and asked, "Got a lighter?"

Clay shook his head, so Eden turned to the others, and it was Chewie who nodded and threw it over. After a moment, Chewie asked, "How was it?"

Eden looked at Chewie in confusion, and only when he saw the lusty eyes of the guy did he understand what he was referring to.

"Is that really what you decided to focus on? Seriously?"

Chewie sheepishly grinned, so Eden proceeded to ignore him as he lit up the trail of gas.

Jason was lit afire, and Eden walked out of the barn with the others, keeping his sight squared on Jason, just to make sure he would not get away. But even as the truck on top of him started melting from the high heat, and the barn itself caught on fire, Jason still did not move. He truly was being burned to charcoal, yet Eden did not get any notifications.

Had he been wrong in thinking killing Jason was a side quest? After all, he did not expect having sex with the two girls would be one, so maybe he held some misconceptions about what the system considered to be side missions.

… Or, was Jason somehow still not dead? It ought to be impossible, but what if? After all, a common trope in horror movies was for the killer to somehow be resurrected after being finally put down, something that happened to Jason himself in the franchise if Eden remembered well.

But he had considered this during his planning, as fire was supposed to be a good solution against such means since a somewhat intact body was needed for most resurrections, but Eden could not be sure anymore.

Still, with the barn on fire, staying behind would only be dangerous for Eden and the group, so he led them back to the house, where he said, "We should bring Whitney to a police station, but she should get a shower first. She probably won't have much time to clean herself after we get to the police."

Whitney, who was standing behind Clay, suddenly approached Eden and crushed him into a hug, sobbing, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Eden smiled down softly at the girl while patting her back, "Only doing my duty."

Everyone looked up in surprise as Clay asked, "Are you with the police?"

Laurence argued, "You can't be; you go to university with us!"

Eden shook his head and replied within the spur of the moment, "Monster hunter. Now go, and hurry up. I don't think anyone wants to stay here any longer."

Whitney nodded and followed her brother and Jenna upstairs to get cleaned, with Clay leaving the hunting rifle behind. Eden, meanwhile, approached Trent and showed him the SW1911 as he said, "That's a good gun. Your dad's?"

Trent nodded, immediately offering, "You can have it if you want."

"Any idea if he has more ammo? If Jason somehow is not dead yet, I fear three bullets will not be enough."

That was a lie; he had five left, although he did really doubt that even five would be enough to stop Jason if he somehow came back. Trent hesitated, but he was too scared by the prospect of Jason actually coming back after everything Eden did to him, so he nodded and said, "Follow me."

Eden followed Trent upstairs to the master bedroom. Seeing Eden's clothes on the ground, as well as the stains on the bed, Trent's face scrunched up, but remembering the barn, he wisely kept his mouth shut.

While Eden dressed up, as he was still only in his boxers, Trent pushed a painting aside, revealing a safe. He put in the code and opened the safe, revealing three magazines, a box of .45 ACP, and a holster.

Eden happily strapped the holster to his hip, as well as the three mags. He also used the box to fill up the magazine he had half-emptied into Jason before putting the box in his bag as he said, "Jason might not be dead, so we better get out of here as soon as possible. Tell everyone to grab only the necessary, and we'll set off as soon as Whitney is finished cleaning up."

Trent never liked being given orders, but the scene inside the barn had been engraved into his mind, and along with Eden's status as a 'monster hunter', he decided to follow the orders instead of arguing. Moreover, a part of him could not help but feel excited as he suddenly felt like he was part of something bigger, a secret mission.

He was not wrong, in a sense.

Left alone, Eden picked up the knives he had hidden around the house, putting them in his bag as well. He had ended up not using them, but he did not regret placing them around. He would much rather not have to use them than not prepare for anything and be taken by surprise.

His bag now filled with weapons and ammunition, Eden sent a curious glance at his Status before getting to the entrance hall.

[Name: Eden Fraser]

[Title: STD Free]

[Talent: Locked]

[HP: 70/70]

[MP: 0/0]

[Strength: 4 (5)]

[Agility: 6 (7)]

[Physique: 7]

[Intelligence: Locked]

[Wisdom: Locked]

[Skills: N/A]

[Currency: 2000 Dream Points]

A new entry had been added to his status, and that was Currency. Moreover, his Physique had changed, although Eden quickly realized things did not add up.

When he first entered this world, his Physique was at 4. He earned 2 more points in Physique by completing his side mission, but that only added up to 6, yet his Physique was somehow at 7.

When he entered this world, Eden had a Physique of 4, and he got 2 Points in Physique thanks to his side mission, but that only added up to 6.

Yet he was at 7, meaning he had gotten an additional point in Physique, but he did not know where it came from.

After a moment, the only thing he could come up with was that stats could be enhanced through effort and that his effort in the bedroom, followed by the fight with Jason, had trained his Physique by a point. If he was right, then this was good news, as it meant there was another way to increase attributes.

His Title though… Eden supposed it was better to have one than not, but STD Free was not exactly awe-inspiring. Its effects were not anything surprising either.

[STD Free: Immunity to any debuff transmitted through genitals.]

It wasn't the best title in the world, but at least it meant safe sex for Eden. That was better than nothing. Well, that's excluding the possibility of having children, but whether he could have children with inhabitants of Dreamland was another subject altogether, one he had no clue about. Nor did he want to think about it.