The Choice

Silence fell over the area for several seconds...Then, some of the mercenaries began to laugh. One of them scoffed,"First time I've seen someone this weak. Even if his stats are just basic..."

'Normally, stats and skills are determined by one's training, physical and mental strength… but to have all stats low and not even a single skill?' Christopher thought, narrowing his eyes.

Azure stood frozen, staring at the screen in front of him, unable to speak. Even the voices in his head remained silent — though for a different reason.

"There's no way those are his real stats… The boy survived being hunted by a beast, showed immense endurance, and even high intelligence and willpower. It's impossible for any living being to have zero talents or abilities," the calm voice muttered in disbelief.The savage voice, however, stayed silent.

"Kid, with stats like that and no skills, surviving in this world will be extremely hard," Christopher said coldly. "Sure, you can train and grow stronger, but you'll be facing dangers you can't even imagine."

Azure remained silent, unsure how to respond.

"You should reject the offer to stay here," one of the mercenaries advised seriously. "It's for your own good, so you don't regret it. Unlike regular people who forget everything once they return to the real world… we remember. Every bad memory will stay with you."

A new system window appeared.

[Do you accept to become part of this world?]

Azure stared at the window in front of him. Then he closed his eyes, silent…After about a minute, he opened them again and said,"I accept."

[Welcome. You have been registered into the system.]

"No one in this squad will accept you. How do you expect to even understand this world?" Christopher asked with a stern voice.

Azure calmly looked into Christopher's cold eyes."No one knows what the future holds."

Then, he walked toward a distant rock, sat down, and closed his eyes.

Christopher went back to testing the other men, not sparing Azure another glance.

Some time later, Azure suddenly heard the system again. He opened his eyes to find several messages flashing before him:

[System Error]

[System Error]

[System Error]

The message repeated over ten times.

Azure stared at the screen in surprise.

[System repair in progress]

[Progress: 30%]

He looked around — no one seemed to notice him.

Right… the system is only visible to me for now. But… is it normal for a system to have so many bugs? Azure wondered as he waited for the repair to finish.

Twenty minutes later...

[Repair completed.]

[Thank you for waiting.]

[User interface bug has been fixed.]

[Updated status window incoming…]

[Status Window]

Name: Azure Hunter

Title: None

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Age: 21

Mana Affinity: Low

Inner Energy Affinity: Low

Attributes:

Health: 15

Strength: 12

Intelligence: 45

Agility: 17

Endurance: 14

Luck: Measurement Error

Passive Skills:

[Sealed]

[Sealed]

[Wheel of Fortune] 

Your luck is unlimited, but constantly shifts between fortune and disaster.

Danger Level: Unknown

Skills:

[Eye of Truth]

Allows the user to see the weaknesses of any living creature.

Status: Sealed

[Blood Manipulation]

Description: Sealed

Status: Sealed

Azure stared at the screen in shock."Well… these stats are much better," he said with a faint smile.But quickly, he calmed himself and returned to a neutral expression, closing his eyes to avoid suspicion.

Since they all think I'm weak… I should stick to that story, for now, he thought. Three passive skills… Two are sealed. The third one? No clear explanation. And my luck stat is glitching...

Then something hit him."Can you two see the system like I do?" he asked the voices in his head.

They didn't speak, but both responded with an approving sound.

"I'm going to ask something. If you lie, the next thing I say will expose you both to the people in front of us. Is that clear?"

A few seconds passed before the calm voice replied,"Understood."

Azure took a deep breath."Did you try to take control of my body after the lizard fight?"

"Yes," the calm voice answered.

"And again, against the slime beast?"

"Yes," this time the savage voice responded.

Hmm... strange.After a moment of silence, Azure asked,"Then why did you do it again?"

Neither voice answered for a full minute.

"So you don't know...?" Azure muttered mockingly.

There's something they're not aware o—

His thoughts were interrupted by a distant crashing sound.Chunks of ice came rushing toward them, and riding on top of them — was the silver-haired girl.

"Finally, you're here, Elizabeth. You're so late," Christopher said, smiling.

She didn't reply. Ignoring him completely, she scanned the area as if looking for someone.

"Cold as ever," Christopher muttered, waving a hand and going back to the examinations. Unlike the few women, the men were far more numerous.

Elizabeth's eyes finally landed on her target — it was easy to find him, as Azure was sitting alone, away from the group.

She walked toward him.

"Have you done your system check?" she asked, her voice calm and icy.

Before Azure could answer, one of the mercenaries interrupted with a laugh."You should've been here to see his stats — the weakest I've ever seen. Not a single skill!"

Azure shot him a cold glance but said nothing.

Christopher turned toward Elizabeth."Forget about him. I already tested him. His stats are weak. I tried to convince him to leave, but he refused."

Elizabeth never looked at Christopher or the mercenary. Her gaze remained fixed on Azure the entire time.

"Do you want to join us?" she asked, her tone unchanged.

Azure stood up and slowly bowed."First, let me thank you twice. Once for saving me... and once for your offer. But I'm sorry — I have to refuse."

He returned to sitting on the rock, head lowered, eyes closed.

"I already said I wouldn't accept him into the team. That's final," Christopher added firmly.

Elizabeth turned toward him."Then I will leave the squad."

The mercenaries went silent, stunned by what she had just said.

Then she looked at Azure again."Do you want to become my student?"

Everyone was shocked — especially coming from her.

The red-haired man blurted out,"But… don't you hate men? All your students are women, and you don't even look at guys! So why—"

Her cold gaze silenced him instantly.

Azure opened his eyes, equally shocked, staring at her.

Before he could say anything, Christopher marched forward in anger.

"What do you mean leave the squad? Do you think this is some kind of music band? You'll just leave because you feel like it?"

"Did you forget the very first thing I asked when I joined your team?" Elizabeth replied coldly.

The temperature around them grew unstable — shifting between heat and icy cold as their powers began to flare.

"Hey—hey—stop it already!" the red-haired man stepped between them. "Can't you settle this like adults? At least show some dignity in front of the kids… If the grown-ups solve everything with fighting, what do you expect the teens to do?"

Their energy began to drop again.

"Thanks..." the red-haired man sighed.

"My agreement with him stated I could leave at any time," Elizabeth said flatly.

"At least give me a logical reason," Christopher snapped. "You're leaving now over some talentless brat?"

"You never said I needed a reason," she replied, forming a blade of ice in her right hand and glaring at him. "So… are you going to break your word?"

Christopher looked around and saw everyone staring at them. He took a deep breath and muttered,"Fine. You can go. But don't come crawling back later."

She turned once more to Azure, who had been watching everything in stunned silence.

"Do you want to become my student?"

I doubt I have a choice after what she just did... Azure sighed internally.

He looked up slightly and nodded."Yes… I want to."

For the first time, it seemed she smiled slightly."Good. Then from this moment on, I'll be your teacher. Come with me."

With that, she took Azure and walked away from the squad.

Ten minutes later, once they were far enough, she finally stopped and created what looked like a magical portal — likely one of her own abilities or elements.

"Enter," she said, not even looking back at him.

Azure stepped forward, inspecting the portal cautiously —But before he could make a decision, she grabbed him and stepped through the portal with him.