The Truth

After Azure searched the entire upper floor, he couldn't find a single corpse—not even Emilia's body, even though he had placed her in his room himself.

Dizziness began to take over. His vision blurred, and he was losing focus from the blood loss and his severe injuries. He leaned against the wall, about to speak to the voices in his head—when he suddenly felt something grab his leg.

Looking down, he saw one of the monster's tendrils wrapped tightly around his ankle. Before he could react, the creature flung him into the ceiling, then slammed him back down, sending him crashing through the floor into the lower level.

It felt like every bone in his body had shattered. Pain consumed him. He was about to lose consciousness.

"Get up, boy. I can't take control of your body anymore, so you'll have to run on your own," the feral voice said.

"Shut up," Azure muttered in pain as he tried to stand.

Tendrils shot forward again, grabbing his body and pulling him toward the monster. It was then that Azure got a good look at the creature's post-burn appearance.

The beast was barely able to stand. Half its body was melted and disfigured; many of its tendrils had dissolved completely. Its face was twisted with pure rage and hatred.

Fear, awe, and fury clashed within Azure as he struggled to break free. But the monster tightened its grip, and he could feel his bones beginning to crack.

He screamed in agony.

Then, in a sudden blur, the monster was hurled away—slammed into a wall, impaled by an icy spear.

"Are you alright?" a calm female voice spoke from behind him.

Azure turned to see a woman with silver hair and ocean-blue eyes. Her presence radiated a noble aura that instantly soothed him.

"Does he look alright to you, with his body in that state?" said a man emerging from behind her—probably in his late thirties, with red hair and beard, black eyes, and a smug, arrogant expression.

"Looks like Suzy's got another patient," the man added, glancing at Azure.

"Who are y—" Azure tried to ask, but his eyelids dropped. His body wavered. He was about to fall.

The red-haired man caught him before he hit the ground. "Don't worry, kid. You'll be fine."

And just like that, a warm flame enveloped both of them, and they vanished from the house.

The silver-haired woman looked at the melting monster. She conjured more icy spears mid-air and fired them to finish it off completely. Then, glancing at the damage and the kitchen, she thought to herself:

For someone with no combat ability to do this much damage...

She froze the kitchen and what remained of the corpse, then shattered everything—erasing all evidence.

Elsewhere

Azure and the red-haired man reappeared in a neighborhood four blocks from his home.

A girl, about sixteen, with blonde hair and brown eyes, wearing a tight brown leather outfit (though not revealing), was treating the injured. She seemed to possess healing abilities.

The man cleared his throat. "Ahem. Suzy, we need your help. Can you tend to him? He won't last much longer."

Suzy looked toward Azure and immediately panicked at the sight of his injuries. She rushed over. "Of course! Right away!"

As soon as she reached him, she activated her ability and began healing Azure's wounds.

Slowly, his blurry vision returned. He looked at his body and noticed his severed arm was regrowing, and his wounds were rapidly closing.

"Her power is incredible, isn't it?" said the red-haired man proudly. "Even among healers, she ranks extremely high."

"Don't say stuff like that… You're embarrassing me..." Suzy muttered, her cheeks red.

The man just chuckled.

Once Azure was fully healed, the red-haired man said, "Alright. Now that you're patched up, come with me."

Azure said nothing but followed. They stepped outside, where many people had been gathered, divided into two groups: one for men and one for women.

"See that group over there?" the man said. "Go stand with them. No questions for now—we'll explain everything shortly."

Azure nodded and joined the line.

"Can I ask you something?" the calm voice spoke in Azure's mind.

"What?" Azure replied, disinterested.

"I know we started on the wrong foot, but… could you not tell them about us?"

"So you can take over my body more easily?" he replied, sarcasm thick in his tone.

The calm voice fell silent.

"Nothing to say now, huh?" Azure said, voice laced with bitter mockery.

"You wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for us," the feral voice growled.

"Oh, don't act like a saint. You only saved me because if I die, you die too. And you both tried to hijack my body right after the last fight. If it weren't for all these people around, you would've done it again," Azure snapped internally.

"Did you forget I was the one who burned that monster? And I gave you back control after that," said the feral voice with a growl.

"Oh yes, such a noble protector. My guardian angel," Azure replied, sarcasm practically dripping from his thoughts.

Silence fell. None of them spoke again.

About forty minutes later, more people had gathered into their respective groups.

Then, a man appeared.

He had black hair and eyes, a long scar across his face, and wore dark leather armor with a sword strapped to his side. He looked to be around fifty years old.

"It's time to explain what's happening," he said in a strong voice. "First, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Christopher Nolan, and I lead this group of mercenaries."

"Sure, the term 'mercenary' sounds old-fashioned, but you'll understand soon. Most of you have probably realized we're no longer in our world. The monsters and magic should be proof enough."

"This world is connected to ours—not physically, but spiritually. Your bodies are still in the real world. And don't worry, time flows differently here."

"No matter how long you spend here, only a few seconds will pass in the real world… although there are rare cases where the flow syncs. That's another topic."

He grew more serious.

"Many of you watched your families and friends die. Most of you were traumatized by the monsters. But you don't need to panic—people not registered in this world can't be affected. When a regular person dies here, they return to the real world with no memories of this place. To them, it's like a vivid daydream lasting a second or two."

He paused to let that sink in.

"We can send you back anytime. But sometimes, individuals possess special talents—perfectly suited for this world. We can test every one of you to see if you match."

"If you don't want to stay, that's fine. But it's a one-time choice. Once you leave, you'll forget everything and never return."

He gauged their reactions. Many of the teens looked intrigued or even excited.

"We'll start testing now. One by one, we'll try to connect you to the system. If your status window appears, that means the world has accepted you."

"We'll begin with the women."

They brought the first girl forward. Christopher placed a hand on her back and said, "Take a deep breath. Relax. I'm going to transfer some energy into you. Just try to feel it."

His hand began to glow.

The girl focused. Moments later, a translucent window appeared before her.

Christopher's eyes lit up. "The status window will be visible to everyone only once. After that, it's hidden unless the owner chooses to reveal it."

He examined her profile.

[Status Window]

Name: Lisa Nelson

Title: None

Gender: Female

Race: Human

Age: 18

Mana Affinity: High

Inner Energy Affinity: Low

Attributes:

Health: 17

Strength: 13

Intelligence: 16

Agility: 11

Endurance: 14

Luck: 10

Passive Skills:

[Mana Body] Your body has a strong affinity with magical energy.+50% Mana absorption rate.+50% Magical attack strength.+50% Skill learning speed (magic only).

[Skilled Tailor] +75% success rate in any kind of tailoring.Clothes/armor you make can gain bonus stats.If magic is infused, there's a 5% chance of granting a passive skill.

Skills: None

A perfect first result—with great stats and extremely useful passives, Christopher thought, practically shaking with excitement.

"My dear, would you like to join our team? We can help you grow your abilities and give you everything you need to achieve your dreams," he said proudly.

Lisa didn't speak, still a bit shaken. She only nodded.

A female staff member escorted Lisa away.

"Alright, next," Christopher said with renewed enthusiasm.

Out of fifty women, only fifteen were accepted—five with above-average potential and ten with average talents. Five declined and were returned to their group. Christopher recruited the remaining ten.

Now with a slightly deflated tone, he said, "Let's move on to the men."

He began testing them. Eventually, he found another excellent candidate.

[Status Window]

Name: Eric Diamond

Title: None

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Age: 25

Mana Affinity: Medium

Inner Energy Affinity: Very High

Attributes:

Health: 30

Strength: 25

Intelligence: 13

Agility: 18

Endurance: 24

Luck: 19

Passive Skills:

[Iron Body] High physical resistance.+100% Cell regeneration speed.+50% Defense increase.

[Natural Martial Artist] +100% Skill learning speed for techniques.+100% Skill learning speed for all melee weapons.

Skills: None

Christopher nearly froze from excitement. A talent like this… even one in a thousand wouldn't compare.

"Would you like to join us?" he asked.

"Can I try for a short time?" Eric replied calmly, staring straight into his eyes.

"Of course. You can leave anytime," Christopher said, visibly pleased.

Azure watched all of this nervously. He didn't know whether to accept or not… or if he even had any talents. Worse—what if the system detected the voices in his head?

Eventually, it was Azure's turn.

Christopher stepped behind him, placing his hand on Azure's back. "Relax… I'm sending energy now."

Azure focused, trying to feel the energy enter his body.

And a window appeared.

[Status Window]

Name: Azure Hunter

Title: None

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Age: 21

Mana Affinity: Extremely Low

Inner Energy Affinity: Extremely Low

Attributes:

Health: 7

Strength: 5

Intelligence: 13

Agility: 6

Endurance: 8

Luck: 1

Passive Skills: None

Skills: None