"Thank you for your purchase." The clerk bowed respectfully.
Rakina returned the gesture before walking away with groceries in tow.
She wandered through the quiet streets, laughter muffled from nearby bars, lost in thought—until she realized she had walked too far.
Looking around, she found herself standing in front of the school.
Abruptly, she sensed a disturbance in the air. She lifted her gaze.
The clouds parted, moved by a mysterious force, revealing the moon. It resembled a divine eye watching over the mortal realm.
Rakina summoned her blade and flew swiftly to the rooftop.
Upon arrival, she spotted Shun staring at the moon in awe. Then, from the corner of her eye, she noticed a symbol—marked in blood.
Her blade vanished as she stepped off it. She rushed toward Shun, footsteps sharp and urgent.
"What did you do?"
The question yanked Shun out of his trance. He blinked, startled by Rakina's sudden appearance.
"Rakina? What are you doing here?"
"That's not important. What did you do?" Her voice had dropped—cool and deliberate.
Shun didn't bother lying.
"I summoned the Monarch God."
"What?" Her voice cracked with disbelief. "But… that notebook should've been undecipherable."
"I used an artifact."
That caught her off guard. She fell silent, brow furrowing. After a moment, she asked quietly,
"Did it work?"
Shun shrugged. "I don't know."
Rakina stepped closer, eyes locked on the glowing symbol. She studied it, then asked more carefully,
"Why would you summon Him?"
Just as Shun opened his mouth to answer, she cut in—
"Was it for power?"
"Yes. Is that wrong?"
"It's not wrong," she said slowly. "But asking anything from a god comes with a cost. Are you ready to pay it?"
"I am."
She turned to face him fully. His eyes, defiant yet steady, made her pause.
"…I see. You're serious about this."
Then, softly—almost regretfully—
"In that case, I won't hesitate to kill you."
Shun froze.
"Rakina?"
She was already chanting. Wisps of frost formed above her—ice blades glinting in the dim light.
He took a step back, heart pounding.
"Wait—what are you doing?!"
"There's a high chance He'll make contact with you again," she said. "And when that happens, you'll lose yourself. You'll become a threat. A monster."
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Shun stumbled as his heel struck the edge. "Can't we just talk this through? Not everything has to end in blood!"
"It's not personal," Rakina said. "It's my duty as a hunter—to protect people from what they might become."
"I'm not a monster!"
"Not yet." Her voice remained calm. "But once He touches your mind, you won't stay human for long. Wouldn't it be better to end this before others get hurt?"
Shun looked down. The height made him nauseous.
He turned to her. "But it's not certain that I'll turn into a monster! Aren't you being hasty here? There are a lot of inconsistencies!
Why didn't He respond to my plea? Maybe He's no longer in this world… maybe He died or chose to ignore me!"
"It's impossible for Them to die," she replied, halting her steps and thinking for a moment. "But it is possible They're in a deep slumber."
"Right?" Shun's eyes lit up. "So can you lower your weapon?"
Rakina studied him for a few seconds before withdrawing her sword.
However, the ice blade spinning ominously above her remained. Shun noticed.
Before she could speak, the floor burst open. A young man with messy black hair appeared—followed by a canine beast.
The man's silver eyes regarded the beast with cold detachment.
Then, with a simple swing of his arm, a shockwave erupted—splitting the beast in half.
Blood and entrails sprayed across the rooftop. The young man and the corpse hit the ground simultaneously. Then, he turned his gaze to them.
Rakina raised her guard, eyes narrowing. The darkness masked the young man's face, but the moonlight helped.
It wasn't long before she recognized him.
"Elias?"
"What are you two doing here?" he asked.
"We're just hanging out," Shun replied, walking toward him. He stopped and eyed the slain monster.
To kill it so easily… he thought, eyes filled with respect.
"You're strong."
Elias didn't respond. Instead, he ordered, "You two must leave. It's not safe here."
"I've detected several monsters. What's going on? A Rift breakout?" Rakina asked.
As the name suggested, it is a phenomenon where a mysterious force tear through space without warning or sign, spilling out monsters and beasts alike. It happened rarely, but the results were often devastating.
"It's not," Elias said, pausing. "It's better if you don't know. Just go. I'll handle this."
"Is it supposed to do that?" Shun pointed at the beast.
Its blood flowed back. Entrails slithered across the floor, re-entering the body.
It was as if someone pressed rewind.
"A recovery ability? But I've never seen something this fast." Rakina raised her arm. The spinning blade above shot forward with a whistle of wind.
It pierced the beast—but its regeneration didn't stop. If anything, it sped up, as though mocking her.
Elias's eyes locked onto them. Though expressionless, the weight behind his gaze triggered every instinct in their bodies.
"Go."
Shun grabbed Rakina's hand, kicked the locked door, and rushed downstairs.
***
With them gone, Elias turned to the monster. It was almost fully reassembled.
He walked over and touched it. A void appeared in midair, consuming the beast whole.
The void shrank. Muffled sounds of flesh and bone breaking followed. Elias watched silently as it compressed to the size of a marble.
He picked it up and popped it into his mouth like a grape.
———
[Foreign objects detected.]
[Using ability: "Converter."]
[Success. You have gained +10,000 EXP.]
[Level up!]
[Error detected.]
[Level up failed!]
[But you still received 10 attribute points!]
———
Elias stared blankly at the status panel. Then he checked his stats.
There's a limit to how often I can use my abilities. If I grow stronger, I'll be able to use them more frequently—to deal with the System's inconsistencies. But that's not why I'm here.
Due to his body's limited mana, Elias could only use his abilities once per day. Levelling up would expand his mana pool—but that wasn't his goal in this world.
He dismissed the panel and looked at the symbol, unreadable.
Then, he felt new presences forming in the air.
The same canine beasts were reappearing—growing in size and multiplying.
I must find the summoner, Elias thought. He drew a [Beginner's Sword] and advanced.
The beasts growled and shifted—but didn't attack. Instead, they scattered and ran into the school, leaving Elias behind.
He stood motionless, pondering.
They hadn't fled from fear—they were chasing something… someone.
An answer flashed in his mind.
"That girl?"