The blond lady was called Elara, and she was the leader of that particular temple of the Salvation Church. She explained everything to the ten girls, sharing the details about their world and how the dimensional gates were bringing powerful individuals to their world.

At first, the idea of having to fight against enemies startled the girls, who were regular students moments ago and were now soldiers in training! But the rewards were equally powerful.

"We will offer you training, as your progress to the peak of this world will take many, many years. The rewards will be plenty, that is. You can expect to have the power to fly, have the money to live in mansions, and spend some time on the beach. And, the most important thing for beautiful ladies like ourselves, you can look forever young!"

That last reward was the thing that made all the ten girls say 'fuck this shit, I am in' and accept their fate. Anyone would want to stop aging and look youthful for centuries.

Rick was there, listening to the same thing as them, but there was not a single reward for him. In fact, the situation looked quite daunting.

"Excuse me, Elara," Rick said, as he raised his hand, "And what about me?"

Elara stared at him, her deep blue eyes looking at his soul. She coldly said, "The ritual was supposed to summon women only, as magic is the true power of this world. Men cannot use magic. You should be grateful for being alive, as I thought about killing you to summon one more woman to aid us."

It was like a cold bath to him. Rick looked at the girls from his classroom. They weren't close friends, but they knew each other, so he was hoping they might say something to help him, but no. After listening to what Elara said, and how men were much inferior to them, they did not want to look at Rick or talk to him.

"But I won't be so insensitive. I will grant you a few gold coins, so you won't starve and will have enough money to at least buy a tiny house to live. My guards will accompany you out."

Elara then threw a leather sack with some gold coins and did not even glance at Rick again. She returned to talking with the ten girls from his class, who were happily listening to what Elara had to say.

Rick could not believe what was happening to him. Two ladies came toward him, demanding, "Move, or we will kick you out."

"Lana? Say something, please? I thought we were friends!"

Lana was one of the girls from Rick's classroom, and among all of them, she was the one closer to him.

"I-I, I am sorry, Rick. I just hope we can meet in the future in better terms."

The scene unfolding before his eyes was one he could not believe. Anger erupted within Rick.

"All of you," he said, pointing not only at the girls from his classroom but also at the girls from the Salvation Church, "You will regret this, and when I am the king of this world, there is no asking for forgiveness."

Elara laughed at it, "King of this world? Boy, only women can get such high positions, so this is only a dream of yours. Get the fuck out of here!"

Rick looked at her and said nothing. He grabbed the leather sack with the precious gold coins and left the temple. Rick was expecting to find a city after leaving the temple, but the reality was much harder.

"There's nothing here… FUCK THIS SHIT!!!!!"

The temple of the Salvation Church was a secluded place on the top of a mountain, and the only thing there was a staircase down leading to a dangerous forest.

Rick turned around, thinking of returning to the temple or at least getting some type of weapon to protect himself, but the doors were already closed, and the guards were ready to toss spells on him if he tried anything.

How could he, someone who did not know how to fight or could use spells, survive in a forest which presumably had magical creatures in it, predators that wanted to rip his body into pieces?

He was not dumb. The survival rate was really, really low, and Elara probably knew about that.

'She wants to kill me using other methods. Killing me there would scare the girls…'

It was obvious that Rick's situation was shit, but there was nothing for him to do but to walk down the staircase and face the dangers of the forest, trying his best not to die.

Each step made Rick feel closer to dying. Horrific howls echoed through the forest, reaching his ears, sending a shiver down his spine. That forest was not a place for the weak.

A weak human like him could not last long in that place. Not without proper knowledge, fighting skills, and more importantly, supplies!

"What will I do with this when in the middle of nowhere?" Rick said as he stared at his leather sack.

The only thing on his side was the daylight — if it was nighttime, then Rick was almost certain he would perish in a matter of minutes. But was he capable of finding a safe place before nightfall?

No matter where Rick looked, the forest remained the same. The temple he just left was his reference point, the only thing that guaranteed him that he was actually moving, and not trapped in an endless maze.

Thick vegetation made it hard for him to breathe. The suffocated feeling of the forest only aggravated when Rick saw a few paw marks near a river.

Rick crouched near the marks, using his hands to touch them. "The paw marks are huge… a wolf, maybe?"

As he was analyzing the marks, all the hairs of his body stood up. Rick turned around, staring at a group of wolves. The wolves were massive, their furs of a bluish color, and their sharp teeth ready to tear Rick's flesh.

*

3 more chapters available on Patreon, as well as images in the future! Check it out!