I was looking at a person who was the strongest I had ever met so far. She had offered me a very beneficial thing: not only to teach me how to use magic, but also a place to grind experience.

But I also had some concerns.

What I encountered coming into this world was far more dangerous than anything I had ever seen in my past life.

I clearly understood the fact that I had died, but was given a second chance at life. I thought I was special.

I felt like the main character in some novel, but when I met that figure with red eyes, it became the first crack in my conviction.

Yes, I wanted to enjoy the life I didn't have in the past, but just seeing that silhouette made me afraid.

At that time, my body was petrified. Judging by the words of that silhouette, it was threatening my freedom, and my biggest fear was losing that..

It could be extremely painful, which I didn’t really want; the thought of killing myself painlessly didn’t seem so bad.

But the possibility of raising my level and becoming stronger made me have at least some hope.

However, that same power that would make me stronger, made me lose myself under its influence…I couldn’t trust the system.

My gaze fell on the indicator.

[22%]

As it turned out, after the prior events, the percentages dropped…but this was not a guarantee that the same thing wouldn’t happen again.

I am more afraid of losing myself than of dying. And now before me was a person who said she would teach me magic.

Honestly, for a moment I thought it might be the wrong choice.

I was so confused that I couldn't accept or reject her offer.

And at that moment when I was feverishly thinking about what to do, it appeared in front of my eyes again.

[22% => 23% ↑]

After that, my mind froze. Before I had gained this skill, I wasn't afraid and took everything more like a game. There was even some anticipation.

But right after I realized what I had become and what I had done, my attitude changed. Now, what was happening at the moment I arrived here, in some sense, lost its meaning. I thought about selfishly living just for myself, and not for others.

My previous dreams of having relationships with girls and leading an open lifestyle disappeared from my head. Now, the main thing I had to do was to stabilize my situation.

I couldn’t clearly predict where learning to use magic and having connections with this woman would lead. I also didn’t know if it was right to refuse, but the fact that I would become stronger, albeit slightly, eased my thoughts.

Only after that incident did I realize that even if this game interface makes me stronger, it doesn't mean it can't harm me. Really, any tool, if used improperly, can ruin or even kill you.

But I still didn’t fully understand how the system worked. It was like some kind of game, but it also had a very strong influence on me.

Even then, without it, I would be nothing and wouldn't be able to stand up for myself. My previous world was not like this one. Although it was also dangerous in some places, it was still a normal level that a person had a chance to overcome with a simple factor such as adrenaline.

Here, everything is different, the danger is very high, and demons are everywhere. For some, it may have been just like a game, but at this stage, it was like playing on hardcore mode with a randomizer mod.

<<How I regret not playing this game to the end.>>

As my thoughts were spinning more and more, my head tilted slightly to the side simultaneously with the sound of a smack. Then heat spread across my cheek, and had not passed yet before it suddenly happened again on the other side of my face.

"What the hell?!"

With an angry voice, I looked at the woman.

"Oh, I guess you sometimes freeze up. Is it a problem from your childhood?" she said in a doubtful tone, making me irritated. But I quickly controlled myself and cursed loudly, trying to normalize my state.

"What's wrong with you, ‘since childhood’, ‘since childhood’? Did you not have a good childhood or–" I was interrupted as I saw everything spinning in front of me.

After that, sharp pain emanated from my hand, and a dull pain on my face as I was ruthlessly thrown to the ground. My mind went into chaos, as I felt as if I had been hit by some wild animal.

As my mind gradually returned to normal, I heard a cold and grim voice next to my ear, causing shivers down my spine.

"It seems you don't understand what I can do to you. Don't think that just because I didn't kill you, you can say whatever you want."

Her voice had changed significantly, confirming one fact - she really did have a bad childhood. And I had touched upon it without understanding; perhaps she had some trauma?

While enduring the pain, I heard her voice again.

"Do you understand me?"

It seemed like she wouldn't let go until I answered.

"Yes...I understand, so...let go," I replied.

After waiting a few seconds, the grip on my arm finally loosened.

Pressing my nose with my hand to stop the bleeding, I slowly stood up, feeling warm liquid dripping from it. It seemed that the blow was quite strong.

In addition to the pain all over my body, there was now added heat and pain on my face.

I had never been in such a state in either my previous or current life up to this moment.

Holding my nose, I slowly stood up, and my gaze naturally fell on her figure.

Unlike before, the woman now showed an estranged and cold attitude.

Although she was distant before, it wasn't like this.

In a way, I could understand her. Although I didn't have a difficult childhood like hers,I too was an orphan.

Given the intricacies of this world and the fact that she was probably killing demons, she must have had a heavy backstory.

Feeling like we were in similar situations in some way, I felt bad about it.

So I looked at her, opened my mouth, and said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that."

But she just fidgeted in response, and after I asked where I could find the bathroom and followed her directions, I went to do something about my nose.

Several notifications had been constantly flashing in front of my eyes, which annoyed me the entire time.

So I had to open them to see what wanted my attention so badly while I was with the beautiful girl.

[You have obtained the skill {Deadly Dance}, Novice level.

Description: During combat, by combining dance and combat skills, both your evasion and accuracy increase.]

[You have obtained the skill {Concentration}, Novice level.

Description: When you concentrate, your reflexes rise to a new level].

[Your skill {Combat Instinct} has improved to Proficient level.]

[Your skill {Sword Mastery} has improved to Proficient level.]

[Your skill {Firearm Mastery} has improved to Proficient level.]

.

After looking for a few seconds, I opened my status.

============================

Name: Amber Florence, Lv. 7

Experience Points: 3780/22000
Free Attribute Points: [0]

====Attribute Categories====
1-9 Weak | 10-15 Normal | 15-25 Peak | 25-45 Superhuman | 45-50 ????

====Physical Attributes====
Strength: 13
Dexterity: 26
Constitution: 9

====Spiritual Attributes====
Mana: 3
Mind: 17
Will: 10

====Skills====
[EXPAND]

============================

My dexterity had already exceeded the level of an average person. In addition, I gained two skills and improved three others.

Skills do indeed improve faster in battle, and the previous one was definitely insane.

I thought of those faces that were ridiculing me, those humans whom I thought I could rely on because of certain situations.

But it was also my mistake to trust others. In reality, Vanessa protects Amber only because she is her sister. And just like in the previous world, even here among demons, people seek profit.

I realized that I shouldn't be so naive and make myself out to be an incomplete hero, since I definitely wouldn’t be getting any feedback from my enemies.

It seemed the only way to survive was to become stronger.

As I looked at myself in the mirror, wiping the blood off my face, I felt a sense of powerlessness.

A vague feeling of fear, which still lingered, weighed on me.

[23% => 24%↑]

I missed those simple times in my previous life. Even though it was lonely and without any good future, there was still tranquility.

It was a life of mediocrity and loneliness.

I looked at Amber in the mirror, the same beautiful face, only a little marked by bruises. And the same long black hair. My gaze focused on her dark blue eyes.

After all this time, I still felt a vague sense of rejection. That familiar but still new face often confused me, but I never thought too deeply about it.

Feelings of mismatch still persisted, and it seemed like I hadn't fully accepted that I was no longer who I used to be... at least not physically.

For some reason, I felt like I should have been making an important decision at this moment.

Pressure, I felt some kind of pressure.

Maybe it was just my imagination.

My gaze was fixed on the eyes in the mirror.

I don't know why, but I felt a tremble. My hand stopped wiping away the blood and started shaking a bit.

Suddenly, a thought came to my mind.

<<Why am I here?

Am I still in the game?

Or is this a parallel world?>>

I kept watching as suddenly, for a moment, the whole world in front of me shook.

I felt it clearly, as if something had happened but hadn't happened.

But something drew me to the mirror, and I couldn't look away. There was blinking again, as if there was interference between my perception and the world.

I felt my heart rate increasing clearly, and there were clear signs of distortion in front of my eyes.

But what happened next made me feel that fear again.

Because it was a distant voice.

Quiet and distant.

"[ekg4................]"

I don't understand what that voice was or what it was saying.

But I still couldn't control myself.

The signs of interference in front of my eyes became more and more frequent.

And my heart rate was abnormally high.

"[....df/....dfg.ewrw....]"

Voice seemed to be getting closer gradually.

My feelings were gradually intensifying.

Suddenly, a desire appeared in my mind that was growing at a terrifying speed.

"Maybe I should stop resisting?"

A huge desire to get rid of it all and accept what was being offered.

A slowly rising flame appeared in my chest.

My thoughts were gradually becoming clouded.

In front of my eyes, everything began to distort more and more.

But suddenly, everything ceased to exist.

I immediately calmed down and felt like my usual self.

I tried to move, which was easy to do.

There was nothing around, only empty space adorned with seemingly random colors.

It was too strange.

I tried to understand where I was.

My eyes moved, and so did my head. The only thing in my line of sight was a door.

The door stood in the middle of this place. There were no walls or anything else, just a lonely door.

However, this door was not ordinary and had some patterns that I did not understand.

Not understanding what was happening, I became curious about this door.

Approaching it, I felt a certain oppression.

This had never happened to me before, but now I felt it very clearly.

It took some time for me to reach the door.

When I tried to walk around it to inspect it from all sides, I suddenly ran into an invisible wall near the door.

Although there was nothing there, I also could not go further away from the door's edges.

I tried from the other side too, but the result was the same.

As I finally approached the door, I noticed something strange - the pattern on it kept changing and taking on different shapes. I could see various figures and abstract forms. There was no other option but to open it. So, I mustered up my courage and put my hand on the doorknob.