Through a dense forest during the day, a certain white-looking cloud could be seen floating in one direction. 

It resembled a human boy who was recently summoned to another world as a ghost. And despite being limited in his status, he had continued to level up on his own in order to find the one who summoned him and perhaps figure out a way back home.

The forest where Hiroki was located right now was a place without any paths or any leads, which is why he was left with the option of heading in a straight line.

On his way, however, many other monsters with different appearances looked at Hiroki as any other target that they would try to kill. 

The sizes between them vary from as small as a bunny to as big as a massive two meters. 

But despite how dangerous those monsters were, this didn't really matter to Hiroki. He continued moving forward while either earning points or trying out different tactics based on the given status and skills he had.

The fact that the monsters in this forest still sensed and attacked Hiroki actually gave him the advantage of possessing and trying out the new skills he got from the Litch. 

That's why, after looking around for the perfect subject, he finally came across a snake-like monster that reached a size of three meters and had a thickness that was almost as long as a log.

Floating closer to the snake, Hiroki quickly realized that the monster over whom he had his eyes wasn't interested in him at all.

‘So not all monsters will attack anyone in their sight?’ Hiroki thought to himself.

But this wasn't going to change his experiment, which is why, without moving from where he was floating, he used the newly acquired skill.

Two invisible hands appeared out of Hiroki’s spiritual body and extended towards where the snake was. And to Hiroki’s surprise, despite the snake noticing him, it still couldn't see the upcoming invisible hands.

The two invisible hands that felt as if they were his own grabbed the snake by its neck and tried strangling in order to render that snake motionless.

 However, once the snake realized it had been captured, it sprayed poisonous acids all over the place in an attempt to escape the predator that had captured him.

But escaping from something that wasn't there to begin with…. Was something that the snake had no hope in.

Seeing that the invisible hands weren't enough to strangle the snake to death, Hiroki used his skill ‘AirBlade’ from where he was and sliced the snake into three pieces.

After he received the points from killing the snake, he continued moving forward with the sole objective of earning as many points as possible. 

Many of the monsters that were roaming around were not a threat, which is why Hiroki was gaining a lot of spiritual points that he could use to level up his intelligence or spiritual force. 

But the only downside of killing normal monsters in the forest was that he couldn't receive any sort of skill.

‘So only dungeons have a higher chance of me getting special skills?’ 

He still didn't know how rare a dungeon was in this world, which is why he accepted the fact that getting new skills was going to be much harder than he thought.

After a few more experiments with his own status system and how it worked, suddenly, in the distance, Hiroki heard an unusual noise that grabbed his attention.

‘Those are the sounds of swords clashing. There must be humans somewhere around here.’ 

That's where Hiroki now has to make a decision between ignoring this or interacting with the potential humans that could be useful to him.

* * *

Somewhere not so deep into the darkest part of the forest, several individuals could be seen standing in front of a monster that had similarities to a wild boar with sharp, pointy teeth that were upward shaped. 

The monster itself was severely injured, but it still didn't run away from the four humans that were armed with swords.

The humans were rather organized, which explains why none of them were injured in the battle that was occurring right now. 

However, that didn't seem to be the same case with a certain girl that was in this group. 

A girl that seemed to be around 13 or 14 was standing in the front lines, almost separated from the rest of the other guys. Despite having a small body, the girl with long brown hair had a white glowing ball in her hand while trembling at the menacing way the dangerous boar was standing.

The boar wasn't injured because of the young girl who seemed to be on the front lines, but because several guys with their swords in hand were taking sneak attacks from the boar while this girl was acting as bait.

“Stop slacking off already!” 

“...hk!”

One of the guys from the group loudly told the girl, who was standing in fear. While the girl in question let out a small shriek at the order that was given to her.

Despite being used as bait, the girl still didn't run away from there, even though there were plenty of chances to do so. 

The girl, who had fragile arms and a slender, small body, swallowed her saliva before taking some steps forward in order to prepare herself for what was about to happen.

The monster-looking boar, which was dripping blood the whole time, was releasing a stench that almost made it harder for the girl to breathe. But in those kinds of moments, she forcefully breathed in and out as a way to overcome this.

And after a few seconds, the boar started charging towards the girl once again. 

Stomping noises were heard in the whole terrain as the boar was using its powerful legs to kill the girl in front of its eyes.

“..ah, gh!”

The moment the boar was within its killing range, the girl jumped to the side to avoid the charging boar that could kill anyone with its powerful pointy teeth. And before the boar could get away, the girl used the white glowing ball on her hand to blind the boar by blasting dust and air in front of its eyes.

It was a close-range tactic that could easily cost the girl’s life. The light scratches that were on her body were proof that she had dodged a bullet with this boar.

“Now’s our chance!”

“Kill it!”

The moment that the boar was trying to regain its vision back, the other members of the group jumped on the boar and thrusted all of their swords in order to rend the monster dead within a second. 

The boar only let out a small cry before it died from the amount of injuries that it took within that moment.

“Alright, it's over.” 

The guy, who had a rather sharp and stern look on his face, spoke to the rest of the guys before pulling all of their swords out.

“Be careful not to touch the blood if you have any injuries. Even if this beast is dead, it can still harm your body.” continued saying the same guy.

“Don't worry, captain. With that brat over there, we’ve barely got any injuries or damages this time.” 

Another guy who was smiling responded while wiping away the blood from his sword using a piece of cloth.

“If you say it like that, then we’ll truly sound like some kind of sick bastards who take advantage of young girls.” 

The other member of the group laughed at the joke he made.

The girl who acted as bait the whole time was on the ground sitting on her butt after she fell when dodging the boar. 

Seeing that her part was over, she slowly got up and walked to where the other members of the group were, holding her left arm in pain. 

However, she didn't complain or make any crying noises. But if someone would look at her face, they could clearly tell that she was in pain.

“—Advantage? She was the one who agreed on becoming a bait. If she wants, she can leave at any time.” The captain responded with barely any guilt in his voice.

“You say that, but that also means that she won't be getting any of the rewards if she leaves.” 

The guy who finished cleaning his sword responded with a rather sarcastic tone in his voice.

Once the guys in the group noticed the girl who was full of scratches coming toward them, the captain took out a bottle with a green color on it and dropped it in front of the girl’s feet.

“Drink that. We won't be taking any breaks today.” The captain said that as he looked down on the girl. 

The beautiful young girl who was filled with scratches remained silent and then picked up the bottle that was given to her. 

And while the other swordsmen were taking body parts from the boar, the girl drank the bottle.

“Ghk! Cough, cough.” 

She struggled to drink from the bottle due to its bitterness. But despite that, she forcefully gulped the whole thing, not because it was given to her but because it was healing all of the visible scratches on her body.

After several more minutes, all of the swordsmen prepared to leave the place.

“We’re going— Move!” The captain ordered.

The girl didn't say anything back. She simply nodded and followed the swordsman from behind until new orders were given to her.

That's what she was to them. Nothing more than bait for the monsters that they had to deal with. And thanks to that, this girl’s clothes were becoming more and more damaged. 

Even her leather armor, which was supposed to protect her vitals, was becoming useless from the holes and cuts it was receiving.

The same group that consisted of four swordsmen and one girl continued following the same path until the place around them was becoming darker. That wasn't because the sun was setting, but because the tall trees were preventing any sunlight from coming to the ground, making the whole place chilly with barely any plants that grew bigger.

There was a weird and nice feeling to this kind of environment, but what none of the swordsmen knew was the fact that this territory was quiet. 

However, they thought of this as a place that none of the monsters found habitable.

“Um— we should head back....” 

The girl, who had restless eyes from being in this place, suddenly requested the swordsmen, who hadn't said anything until now.

“.......” But none of them responded to her.

“—I heard that in this place there are dangerous monsters. T-that’s wh—”

“Are you saying that we are that incompetent?” One of the swordsmen responded back, sounding rather pissed.

“N-no, that's not what I mea—”

“Then be quiet! If we need you, then we’ll say so. No one asked for your opinion.”

The girl attempted to reason with the swordsmen, only to be dismissed outright. 

Even if her suggestion was ignored, she didn't really have any choice since if she wanted to go back, she would have to deal with many monsters lurking around.

The group continued moving even deeper into the forest until all of them came to a stop. 

The captain slightly raised his hand in the air, silently telling the rest of the guys that they had to be quiet. 

And in the next moment, rustling noises could be heard until something came out.

“......”

What was in front of them was a deer-like monster that was almost four meters tall. 

It had a long head with small ears and an arched upper lip. The muscles of this monster were clearly visible, showing that it can run fast and kill any prey very easily. But what made this monster dangerous were the massive, sharp horns that were much bigger than his head.

“T-thats…. A legendary Mast!” One of the swordsmen exclaimed with his eyes wide open.

“Captain, what do we do? We can't handle that legendary monster!”

“S-shit!”

The group of swordsmen nervously stood with their swords out while waiting for their captain's orders.

“We’re running away! When I give the order, run.” The captain spoke with a stern voice.

All of the swordsmen were frightened by the dangerous monster in front of them. Even though they had never seen that kind of monster before, they knew what it was capable of.

“W-wait, don’t make any nois–”

“Now!!!”

The trembling girl tried saying something only to be interrupted once again. All of the swordsmen ran as fast as they could from the monster's sight. 

Even the girl, who was frozen in fear, was pushed mercilessly to the ground by one of the guys who bumped into her.

“Stay back and become a bait for that thing!!!!!” 

One of the guys ordered as they left the girl on the ground in order to buy some time for their escape.

Noticing the group of guys running away with all their might, the monster stomped its hoot two times on the ground then charged towards the cowards. 

The monster, which released loud noise from its powerful legs, easily reached the group of swordsmen and tore two of them apart using its razor-sharp horns. Their guts went flying while their faces remained motionless, unable to process what just happened to their bodies.

“W-why did it come for us!?” 

A swordsman's voice broke as he saw two of his friends being so brutally split in half.

The captain and the guy next to him, after seeing that it was useless to escape, looked at the monster in front of them with their swords in their hands. The monster had a murderous glare that sent chills down the backs of the swordsmen.

Even where the girl was standing in fear in the distance, she saw how easily the swordsmen were taken out. Her eyes remained open in fear at the gruesome way guts went flying while the remaining hunters yelled for help.

She was left all alone and she knew that it was going to be her turn, unless—

‘I have to stay s-still…. Or it's g-going to see me!’ The brown-haired girl thought to herself as she was unable to stay still due to her body trembling.

If she ran away, the monster would spot her and kill her. If she stayed still, other monsters might also kill her. 

And even if she were able to escape the powerful horse-like monster, she would still be at risk from many other monsters.

‘I-it’s c-coming towards me?!’ 

The girl thought in fear as she was unable to keep still.

The monster, which had finished killing the group of swordsmen, began walking towards the girl as guts and blood were dripping from its massive horns.

“Urg…. n-no…” 

Even if she wanted to be quiet, a small voice accidentally came out of her mouth as she was trying her best to remain still.

The monster continued moving towards her until it was only two steps away from the trembling-looking girl.

“Ah, gh..” She gasped for air as she fell on her butt from the size that this monster was.

Her eye pupils had shrieked to dots as she was looking at this scary and dangerous monster. She knew that this was going to be the end…..

However—

“Do you wish to become stronger?”

An unexpectedly stern voice near her inquired.

The girl was confused and scared at the same time. She knew it wasn't any of the swordsmen since the voice didn't match any of them.

“....Y-yes.” 

Her small, trembling voice responded, hoping that someone would finally save her.

“However, as a compensation…… I want your body. —Do you still want my help?” 

The deep, mysterious voice inquired once again.

“.........” 

There was a gap of silence as this girl watched the powerful monster that wasn't doing anything to her yet.

She should’ve died right now. But she didn't. She could’ve run away. But she didn't. She could have cried for help. But she didn't.

There was no one else for her this whole time. And the only thing on which she could rely was herself.

“—I w-will do whatever it takes to become stronger!” 

After seeing how helpless her situation was, she finally gave her answer with her eyes shut, expecting either a painless death or someone coming to save her. 

She knew very well that she had no choice over this situation. 

“Very well.” The voice responded with a rather satisfied tone.

“........” 

While keeping her eyes shut, she felt her body get up very quickly before hearing a whooshing sound and a bumping sound, which told her that something heavy fell on the ground. 

Her senses were becoming messed up, and she couldn't understand what just happened. 

When she decided to open her eyes, she saw that she was standing on top of the monster's body. 

She was in a different position than before, and despite noticing that her body was moving independently of her, she was unable to comprehend what was happening.

If someone else saw this, they would claim that this girl was the one who defeated the massive monster. The monster that easily killed a group of swordsmen had been defeated.

“.....”

Right now, she was wondering what was happening and how her body just moved on its own. Her eyes were open in confusion and fear while she waited to know what was going to happen next to her.

“......”

After a short while, she began to feel a release from her body, as if something were escaping. Terrified by what had happened, she collapsed to the ground.

It took some seconds for her to calm down. 

She knew that whoever was the cause of this was definitely strong enough to deal with a legendary Mast, that's why after feeling that someone was near her, she shifted her eyes next to dead monster and saw—

“Then, from now on— I hope you will cooperate with me.”

—the appearance of a handsome man with eye-catching features that would draw anyone's attention. 

He had pure white hair that cascaded almost down to his eyes, framing his pale and delicate face. His piercing red eyes held an enigmatic gaze that seemed to pierce anyone who dared to meet his gaze. 

But what made him truly unique was his otherworldly form. 

Instead of legs, he had a tail made of a white, smoky substance that undulated and writhed like living vapor tendrils. It was this tail that allowed him to move, effortlessly gliding through the air as if he were weightless. Despite his ethereal appearance, he exuded a strong sense of power that hinted at his impressive skills.

The girl who caught a glimpse of this unusual individual first blinked in surprise before her eyes shifted to his exquisitely detailed face, which immediately captured her attention.