I stared at the lifeless body of the man lying on the cold forest floor. The silence around us was absolute, almost suffocating. My breathing was still rapid, and every inhale made my stomach ache with pain.
My female body bore the marks of the fight — scratches, bruises, and small cuts burned on my skin — but still, I stood. In the end, when I looked up, both of my eyes — left and right, burning with fury and pain — fixed on the last of the men who had hurt my companions.
His gaze, when he faced my two bodies, was pure disbelief — maybe because deep down, he still wanted to deny the cruel reality that all his companions were dead. I didn't know... and, honestly, I didn't want to know either. At that moment, only one thing was clear in my mind: I was going to finish what I started. But before I could take another step toward the man, something unexpected caught my attention and made me freeze in place.
Suddenly, the tip of an arrow pierced the man's chest, going straight through. A jet of bright red blood burst from the wound, splattering in all directions. I was momentarily shocked by the brutality of the scene — but what really stunned me was realizing who had shot it.
It was Oliver. His face was covered in cuts, and parts of his body bled through torn clothes. He approached without hesitation, eyes steady, and pulled the arrow from the man's chest. The body dropped with a dull thud to the ground.
The man struggled for a few more moments before finally stopping all movement — the silent confirmation of his death. My eyes rose and met Oliver's. There was no guilt there. On the contrary, I saw only determination — firm, cold, almost frightening. It was a look very different from the one he had seconds ago. Could seeing me kill those people have awakened something inside him? I'm not sure.
In the end, I finally let out a sigh of relief as I slid my daggers back into their sheaths. Both of my bodies moved in perfect sync, as if they were reflections of each other. Moments later, I approached Ethan, Alice, and Oliver, still feeling the tension of the fight slowly drain from my muscles.
"You guys okay?" Noa asked, in my female form, her voice heavy with concern: "When we left those sewers, we heard voices coming from the forest, so..." Justin, in the male form of my body, trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging as if still trying to make sense of what they'd heard.
Oliver didn't answer right away. His gaze remained fixed on the man he had just killed, as if searching for something there — regret, justification, or maybe just silence. Was he reflecting? Thinking about how things could have been different?.
Everyone would react differently in a situation like that, and trying to understand all the possibilities was useless. As my thoughts scrambled, Oliver's voice finally broke the silence. Low, but clear enough to reach me.
"I'm not gonna lie, I expected this" Oliver began, his eyes fixed on his own hands, now stained with the man's still-warm blood. Drops slowly dripped from his trembling fingers: "But... even so, everything happened so fast... I didn't have time to think about anything" As he spoke, he clenched his fists tightly, as if trying to hold something back — guilt, fear, or maybe just the need to stand for one more moment.
I understood what Oliver was saying, but honestly, there was nothing I could do at that point. The situation had gotten out of control long before I arrived ready to fight. From the start, it was clear those men had no interest in talking. Still, I can't deny Oliver's words echoed in my mind, making me reflect, even amidst the chaos.
After all, they were still human. Thinking that I killed them — and so easily — gives me a strange discomfort. More than that, the fact I don't feel any remorse scares me for real. Is this place changing me? Or was I always like this underneath? Honestly... I don't know which answer would be more terrifying.
After that, the mood between us got awkward. It wasn't exactly distrust — we didn't look at each other with fear or suspicion — but there was an uncomfortable silence in the air, like no one knew what to say about what had just happened. After all, even though it was self-defense, that was the first time we had taken a life.
Still, maybe because I've always been the kind of person who puts priorities above everything else, I didn't feel as shaken as I expected. Even after killing three people just minutes ago, my mind remained strangely focused — as if the weight of guilt had been muffled by the need to keep going.
As I lost myself in thought, Oliver's voice broke the silence and echoed around us, catching everyone's attention: "Guys, what do you think about getting out of here?" he asked, scanning each of us carefully, watching our reactions. He paused briefly before continuing, his expression serious: "I don't really know how this forest works, but considering what we've run into so far, we can't expect the animals here to be... normal. Also, after the mess we made, it's likely other monsters have been drawn here"
"I don't care about that... but will you guys be okay? You and Alice look especially worn out" Ethan commented, a hint of concern in his voice as he shared his thoughts.
"I'm fine. Honestly, I was the one attacked the least. I'm just exhausted... I ended up using more mana than I should have. But if it's just walking, I can manage. I want to get out of here soon too" Alice replied, forcing a small smile as she took a deep breath, trying to regain strength.
In the end, Oliver's eyes settled on me, his gaze shifting between Justin and Noa — my two bodies. There was a silent tension on his face, but all I did was shrug, trying to sound casual: "Personally, I think it's a good idea. But... are you sure everything's alright? You three look hurt. Don't you want to stop for a bit, breathe, recover?"
Hearing my words, Oliver averted his eyes. It was a subtle, almost imperceptible movement, but it didn't escape my notice. His eyes slowly scanned the bodies scattered on the ground, and his expression grew visibly darker by the second.
"I'm fine..." he murmured, voice low and restrained: "Anyway, we need a place to stay. I think everyone's seen it, but we're gonna spend the next three months here. I don't think wandering around is a good idea"
I heard Oliver's words and glanced quickly around. From what I could tell, everyone seemed to share similar thoughts to his — at least to some extent. In the end, I just nodded silently, agreeing with what he said.
Some time later, the five of us were walking through the woods. The thick fog made it hard to see far ahead, but that wasn't really a problem. After all, the same could be said about just about everything in this forest.
Justin — my male body — and Oliver were helping Ethan walk. His injuries were far worse than they looked at first glance; he could barely stand, and every step required visible effort. Alice, although injured too, had only superficial wounds in comparison. Among us, she was clearly in the best condition.
Anyway, there wasn't much to do but keep moving. Justin kept a sharp eye on the surroundings, alert with every step. I took advantage of the downtime to focus on my female body, scanning the status screens I hadn't really had time to properly analyze before.
*You killed [Human / Archer – lvl 11] – Bonus experience for killing a member of your race. 1100 TP gained*
*You killed [Human / Warrior – lvl 12] – Bonus experience for killing a member of your race. 1200 TP gained*
*You killed [Human / Warrior – lvl 15] – Bonus experience for killing a member of your race. 1500 TP gained*
My first reaction when my eyes landed on the points was pure disbelief. Honestly, I never imagined I could accumulate such a high amount so quickly. And on top of that, just by killing three humans... over three thousand points? It was almost like this place was challenging me, pushing me to keep going down this dark path. The most ironic part is that, even with these thoughts running through my mind, I had taken three lives just moments ago, and felt no guilt whatsoever.
In the end, all I could do was let out a silent sigh, trapped inside me. There wasn't much to do but accept the situation I was in. With that resigned thought, I turned my attention to the next screens, observing every detail with a mix of curiosity and helplessness.
*DING! Class: [Assassin] reached level 19 – Status points allocated*
*DING! Class: [Assassin] reached level 20 – Status points allocated*
*DING! Class: [Assassin] reached level 21 – Status points allocated*
*New skills available for the Assassin class*
Even though leveling up was good news, honestly, I didn't feel happy about it. Maybe it's stupid to worry so much about having killed people who, in the end, wanted to kill me. But it's not exactly that which bothers me.
What really unsettles me is that, after eliminating them, even now, I don't feel like I did anything wrong. This lack of guilt is what plunges me into deep thoughts, as if something inside me is disconnecting from what I used to believe was right.
Honestly, I wanted to believe that all of it was just the effect of being in that place — that somehow, it was slowly changing me. But deep down, I knew the truth: the change was coming from inside me. I was the one adapting, shaping myself to this new reality.
For as long as I can remember, I've always been that kind of person — someone who adjusts easily depending on the situation, almost like I was made of chameleon skin, soaking up the environment to survive. In the end, all I could do was let out a quiet, resigned sigh, accepting that situation as my new normal.
The next moment, my eyes fixed on the next screen, and I couldn't help raising an eyebrow, intrigued. A quick thought flashed through my mind, and, as if answering it, another screen appeared before me, lighting up the area with its cold, pulsing glow.
[Tutorial progress]
Tutorial duration: 90 days remaining.
Completion criteria: [Survive the tutorial and accumulate tutorial points]
Tutorial info: [Starting point varies for each beginner depending on where they were at the tutorial's start — whether in forests, deserts, or even seas. Wild beasts roam these biomes. Defeat them to earn tutorial points and strengthen yourself]
Rules for earning tutorial points: [Earn tutorial points by defeating beasts wandering the area. Points will be shared among collaborators. If you kill another rookie, their tutorial points will be transferred to you]
Final tutorial rewards will be determined by total Tutorial Points and the number of survivors.
Total survivors remaining: [4870/5900]
Total TP earned: 4693
Putting aside the fact that the number of survivors was dropping alarmingly — especially considering it hadn't even been a day since the tutorial started — what really surprised me was the impressive amount of points I had managed to accumulate.
Of course, even though this was good news, that wasn't exactly the part that surprised me. To be honest, I had completely forgotten about that rule. Looking back at the tutorial panel, it was there, crystal clear: when you eliminate another person during the tutorial, their points are automatically transferred to you.
In other words, before I even ran into those guys, they were probably already actively hunting others, accumulating points at my expense. This detail completely changed the way I viewed the whole situation. When I thought about that, my mind immediately turned to the number of survivors, which was plummeting alarmingly.
This realization made me reflect: maybe the drop in survivors wasn't caused only by the monsters inhabiting that dark place, but, even more cruelly, by the fact that humans themselves were hunting each other — driven by greed for points and the desperate struggle to survive.