- NARI SHIZUNE

Light shined beneath everyone's feet, swallowing the platform and the participants on it in a blinding brilliance. The vibration of energy overwhelmed their senses, as their vision was blinded into white, and a clear sound could be heard like a high-pitched hum. Nari's eyes widened as the teleportation began.

The blinding light finally receded, and the trio suddenly found themselves standing in a lush, overgrown forest. As towering trees reach high into the sky, and the air which is cold and rich with the scent of moss and blooming flowers. Birds chirped in distant branches, and the rustle of something large moving echoed faintly between the trunks.

Nari was the first to move. Her dark hair glinted as she turned her head rapidly, scanning their surroundings with sharp focus.

"Soji isn't here..." she said, her voice tight as she scanned the area looking for him frantically.

"What?!" the red-haired girl snapped, as she gripped the handle of her halberd tightly.

Suddenly, the system announces itself once more.

[ ONE MEMBER IS FORCEFULLY REMOVED ]

[ The decision was carried automatically by the system ]

[ VOTINGS FOR REMOVAL: 2 out of 1 ]

[ THE PARTY MUST ACQUIRE 100 ESSENCE EACH TO PASS ]

[ GOOD LUCK! ]

[ TIME LEFT: 23 HOURS 58 MINUTES ]

"Why! What did you guys do?!" Nari snapped on the two, her voice sharp as she interrogated them.

"Relax, Nari. We didn't do anything… The system simply responded to our intentions. Our will leaned against letting Soji join... And apparently that was enough for it to act automatically." Her tone was calm and steady as she replied.

"See for yourself," she replied in a calm tone as she pointed at the system.

"Yeah! We didn't think the system would kick him off... Like it was our fault to begin with!" the red-haired girl replied, her tone defensive.

"If you guys just accepted him to beg—" Nari's words were cut short as she instinctively turned back as she sensed a monster. Without hesitation, she quickly spun around, her eyes narrowing.

"We're not alone," she uttered, reminding the two.

In a flash, her hand reached for her double-ended glaive, her expression battle ready as the two also did. The red-haired girl gritted her teeth and swung her halberd off her back, while the silver-haired one calmly drew her crescent-shaped sword, her expression unreadable.

A huge orc appeared towering and menacing, its height reaching thirteen feet, its skin a sickly greenish hue. It carried a massive spiked mace, its grip firm and powerful. Behind it, two huge wolves can be seen the size as tall as them, their fur matted and eyes gleaming with hunger as their growls vibrate in the air.

[ MONSTERS DETECTED ]

[ MONSTER NAMES: Giant Orc, Giant Dire Wolf ]

[ MONSTER TIER: ]

[ GIANT ORC: C+ ]

[ GIANT DIRE WOLF: D ]

[ OVERALL THREAT LEVEL: MEDIUM ]

[ OVERALL ESSENCE VALUE: 30 ]

"Ehh? I was expecting something stronger..." The red-haired girl sighed as she swung her weapon back onto her shoulder.

"Let's give those weak monsters to Nari first... She has an anger that needs to be quenched..." The silver-haired girl replied while smirking slightly as she retracted her crescent-shaped blade.

She gave Nari a playful nudge, clearly teasing her, before stepping back to let her take over.

"Seriously guys! Kaibe! Shurime!" Nari exclaimed, already gripping her double-ended glaive while pouting as she gave a mean happy look.

Regardless of her complaint, Nari took on a fighting stance, ready for battle. She wields her glaive back. Her feet were planted firmly on the ground, ready to charge and attack.

The orc let out a guttural roar as it raised its massive mace high, charging at her. While the two giant wolves snarled, their teeth bared, following the orc, ready to pounce on Nari.

Nari remained silent and closed her eyes...

.....

"Emerald Blossom Second Technique: Wind Tempest!"

A storm of translucent green wind covered Nari as it swirls at an insane speed. And suddenly, Nari dashed at an insane speed, vanishing in a sudden leaving the orc and wolves stopped in their track, confused and alert.

WHOOOOOOO-SHANG!

In a sudden moment, the orc and the wolves met Nari's wind along with her blade. The giant orc and the two dire wolves froze in place, their bodies instinctively locking up in pure primal fear. For a split second, the forest itself stood still, time seemingly halted.

And then—thud... thud... thud.

Their heads dropped. One by one. The orc's massive head hit the dirt with a heavy, final thump, followed a beat later by the two wolves' heads rolling to a stop at Nari's feet. As blood sprayed from the decapitated bodies, painting the grass crimson.

Nari then retracted her glaive from her behind with a cold expression, the translucent wind fading slowly around her. Her emerald eyes were cold, focused, yet gleaming with unspoken wrath. And the Orcs' and wolves' essence starts flowing around her arm before getting absorbed. And then suddenly...

"Uckk— Hwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~~ I hate it! Ackk— Look! It is disgusting! I hate doing this~!" she suddenly wailed, complaining like a cute softie rabbit. Her foot accidentally nudged the severed orc heads by accident, and she leapt back with a shriek.

Kaibe burst into laughter, nearly doubling over.

"Seriously?! Ten seconds ago, you were slicing through them like a piece of sushi, now you're complaining like a kid?! WHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHA!" Kaibe laughed soo hard that she accidentally sucked her red hair.

"Ugh... This again, Nari?" Shurime replied, placing a palm over her face, waving her head as her silver hair gracefully followed the movement. 

"Ugh! Whatever! Let's go! We have to gather essences and find Soji!" Nari uttered dramatically, brushing her dark braids behind her shoulders and stomping ahead into the trees.

"That Soji again! Let's hunt a strong monster first!" Kaibe exclaimed as she gave an irritated look.

"Look, if you all just agreed to let him stay in the party in the first place, he wouldn't have been separated!" Nari snapped, her emerald eyes flaring with frustration.

"Alright, no more fighting girls, let us just do both..." Shurime interrupted calmly, voicing out.

"Tsk—We didn't know the system would just throw him like that! I thought it was just... I dunno, him still here even if we disagreed because you forced us to take him!" Kaibe rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as she sighed. 

"I know we disagreed, Nari... But that doesn't mean we threw him to the wolves. The system interpreted our will directly." Shurime raised both of her hands, her voice calm as ever. 

"Well, it was a stupid decision. I can see through his Soul! He was the weakest of all people there, and his intentions are not evil... He might be a deadweight, but he deserved a chance." Nari replied as she looked back her head down.

Silence ensues for a moment... Before the trio started walking. Their Essence Hunting had begun.

Hours had passed, and the girls had already hunted many monsters, their essence already past one hundred, but they kept pushing in order to receive the best reward from the system.

The golden hue of the sun shifted steadily through the dense foliage. The once clean robes of the trio were now stained with blood and dirt, a testament to the number of monsters they had defeated.

[ TIME LEFT: 18 HOURS 12 MINUTES ]

Everything was good until they saw something... Something... Insane...

They stepped into a clearing veiled in quiet stillness. The cold breeze has stopped. Blood can be seen stained on the grass, some dried like it was burned, and at the center of it all lay the corpse of a massive lion. They instinctively knew due to its massive size, that it was a strong creature.

Its white fur was covered with blood, its once-majestic body now lifeless. The face... it was barely recognizable as it was smashed beyond recognition. This sent a shiver down their spine.

"This... This is insane... What monster could've done this..." Kaibe's usual confidence drained from her face. 

"This wasn't just a clean kill. It was brutal… and relentless." Shurime's eyes were sharp, but even she looked disturbed by the face of the corpse.

"If they had the power to do this... I hope we don't meet that person..." Nari muttered as she looked at the corpse with a sad expression.

They then started to walk again, with an uneasy silence hanging between them, still not getting over the lion corpse. But as they continued forward, the unsettling pattern became undeniable.

More corpses...

First, it was an orc, its massive body beaten down and its head crushed seemingly with a fist. Then came the trolls, all their heads torn seemingly done as they have no way to bypass their regeneration. A wyvern was next, its wings torn and twisted, its skull crushed.

They even passed a fallen centaur, its heart missing, ripped out from its chest. A hulking ogre slumped nearby, its limbs broken and its face frozen in terror. Even a swarm of armored insectoid beasts lay scattered across the ground, their body cracked open like fragile shells.

Dozens of monsters... It was all massacred...

"This… This isn't normal…" She muttered as Kaibe's normal angry face had gone pale.

The other two stood in silence, their weapons gripped tightly, their expressions unreadable as they took in the horror that sprawled endlessly before them. As they continued to walk past, just ahead, they saw a mountain of corpses of the same insectoid beasts... And someone was standing on top of it...

A tall muscular man, his shirt filled with blood from the creatures he had slain, his broad back exposed under the gray light filtering through the trees. His body was littered with bruises and cuts, but he stood perfectly still like a monument of carnage. One hand hung at his side. The other… gripped the severed head of the insect queen, its mandibles twitched slightly, a final reflex in death. His presence was terrifying...

None of the girls moved. Not a word left their lips. They stood still, holding their weapons as they got into a defensive stance. While locking eyes on the man.

The guy noticed their presence, on which the girls instinctively backed away. The man's head tilted slightly, his face covered by the shade of the huge tree. His grip on the queen's severed head tightened, causing a sickening crunch as it cracked under the pressure.

The three girls saw his face lightly, but it was covered in a shadow, his eyes glowing red... Then the terrifying presence muttered something... His deep voice muttering something... But the voice was low that they couldn't hear it...

.....

"NARI SHIZUNE?"