Two days had passed since Arjun had parted ways with his family.
He traveled alone, his thoughts weighed down by the storm of questions swirling in his mind—about the world, the truth of his system, his memories, and what the future held. But above all, there was one pressing question.
What had become of his home?
The sun dipped low behind the jagged cliffs as Arjun reached the hill overlooking the area where his village used to stand. The air was unnaturally still.
He stopped.
His breath caught.
Before him was nothing but ruin—ashen soil, scorched trees, and silence broken only by the faint crackling of burnt wood. The village was gone. No homes. No laughter. No lights.
Just death.
Night began to fall, and shadows crept over the land like silent predators. The smell hit him next—burnt flesh, rot, and something far worse. He stepped forward, slowly, his eyes scanning the desolation.
Dead bodies. Some half-eaten. Some barely recognizable. Some—children.
He dismounted from his horse, numb, trying to comprehend what he was seeing.
Then—rustle.
The bushes nearby moved.
A shadow darted.
Before he could react, thunk—his horse collapsed.
Headless.
Blood sprayed from the neck stump, soaking the dead earth beneath.
Arjun blinked.
But this time, he didn't feel horror. He didn't panic.
Instead, he calmly opened his inventory, and summoned a standard steel blade.
He had trained too long for fear to take over now.
Then it appeared.
A small, twisted figure—a child's corpse, mutilated and rotting. Black veins pulsed through its limbs, and its mouth hung wide open, teeth jagged and unnatural.
It charged him, eyes glowing with crimson rage.
Arjun swung his blade—clink!
The sword snapped clean in half on contact.
Arjun staggered back, barely dodging as the corpse lunged at him. Dirt sprayed under their feet.
He summoned another weapon. Closed his eyes.
Breathe.
The way Sage Sharun's name had been used. The way they'd trained for three months.
Inhale. Hold. Focus.
Exhale. Strike.
This time the long sword glided through the creature's neck with a clean slice—as if cutting dried wood.
The corpse fell, twitching for a moment… then still.
Arjun stood silent.
"This confirms one thing," he muttered. "Breathing techniques exist… and they work in this world."
But as he raised his eyes again, his relief was short-lived.
More figures emerged from the darkness.
Children.
Dead children.
Demonic and twisted.
Dozens of them.
And then, in the middle of them all, stood a familiar figure. Thin. Shaking. With hollow sockets where eyes used to be. But something was wrong—its skin was not pale like Manglu's… it was crawling. Living. Demonic.
And then it smiled.
"Manglu…?" Arjun whispered.
A voice replied, sharp and cruel.
"Come, come, my dear brother Arjun. Come…"
It wasn't Manglu's voice.
Arjun gritted his teeth. "Who are you?"
The thing that wore Manglu's face laughed—long and loud.
"Oh! So you know I'm not him. How clever. Did you find the boy's corpse? Is that why you returned? Alone?"
Its mouth split wider, unnaturally wide. "But it's too late."
It spread its arms, the horde behind it groaning in unison.
"I killed everyone. Every last one. Even your sweet old grandfather."
Its laugh was madness. "Yes. I am the demon who slaughtered them. Then I stole the body of that pathetic child. And now I hunt… I feed. I feast on hope and flesh. What will you do now, hero?"
Arjun stared at it, unreadable.
Silence.
Then, calmly, he spoke—his voice just a whisper.
"Yeah. I can't do anything right now… But... I'll come back."
The demon flinched.
Not from the words.
But from the voice. The quiet resolve that laced it.
The voice that wasn't shaking. That didn't beg. That didn't tremble.
A voice that made it feel, for the first time in centuries—threatened.
"What did you say…?" the demon hissed.
Arjun didn't repeat.
Instead—
"Teleport."
A flash of light.
He was gone.
The creature screamed, clawing at the air. "NOOOO! My prey!!"
Its body twitched, twisting like smoke. Its arms spread wide again.
"…He'll return. Oh, he will return. And when he does…"
Its tongue flicked over its black lips.
"I will devour him. I'm obsessed with him now. That scent. That soul. So… tasty…"
It threw its head back and laughed in madness.
Darkness swallowed the night.
The flicker of light died out, and silence returned.
Arjun opened his eyes. His breathing was uneven. He stood still, his hand on the hilt of the sword that had just saved his life—but he wasn't on the battlefield anymore. Cold air clung to the cave walls around him.
"…Where am I?"
The system answered in its usual neutral tone.
> [You are in a sealed cave deep underground. This was the nearest protected location, triggered by your Random Teleportation Scroll.]
> [This cave is safe. No one can find you here. It's also the ideal place to begin your universe travel.]
"…So I ran," Arjun muttered.
He clenched his fists. No matter how strong he wanted to be, no matter how much he tried to act calm, he had still escaped. He had no way to fight that demonic army. Not with his current state. Not yet.
He looked at the dirt-stained stone under his feet and sighed.
Then a thought struck him.
"How do I get out of here?"
> [You will need another Random Teleportation Scroll from the system store.]
That made him flinch.
He immediately opened the store interface.
> Balance: 0 🪙
"Of course," he whispered. He had spent everything before. That last scroll was a miracle. He was alive because of it… but now he was trapped here with no money and no way out.
His thoughts wandered to the people outside—his family, the demon, the burned village, the smell of ash and blood. He'd seen enough to understand now. Breathing techniques and swords wouldn't cut it.
He had to grow stronger.
No more pretending.
He took a deep breath. Then nodded.
"…Okay. Let's do it."
> [Initializing Universe Travel…]
[Please select an entry skill for your avatar.]
[Reminder: In the target world, you will not have this system or your soul affinity. Your body will be a standard avatar created in accordance with that world's natural laws.]
"What kind of world is it?"
> [A ghost-hunted world.]
> [In this world, every person must survive an encounter with a ghost to awaken spiritual power.]
"A ghost world, huh…" Arjun rubbed his chin. "So, I need a survival-based skill."
> [Here are your options for foundational spirit powers.]
---
🔍 Skill Trees
(All skill tiers cost 🪙 — You currently have 0)
---
🧿 Spiritual Eyes
Blue – 1,000,000 🪙
Yellow – 10,070,000 🪙
Red – 200,900 🪙
Green – 500,000 🪙
Purple – 24,574,900 🪙
Pink – 5,644,000 🪙
---
✋ Spiritual Hands/Legs
Blue – 104,640,000 🪙
Yellow – 1,006,667,000 🪙
Red – 2,009,700 🪙
Green – 5,005,500 🪙
Purple – 27,490,800 🪙
Pink – 5,647,000 🪙
---
🫀 Spiritual Organs
Blue – 107,856,000 🪙
Yellow – 256,779,000 🪙
Red – 800,970 🪙
Green – 5,342,900 🪙
Purple – 512,338,890 🪙
Pink – 677,779,000 🪙
---
👤 Reitsu Body
Soul Body – 10,000,000,000 🪙
Grim Body – 80,000,000,000 🪙
Dead Body – 900,000,000,000 🪙
Reaper Body – 680,000,000,000 🪙
Visnq Body – 239,000,000,000 🪙
Raghura Body – 3,400,000,000 🪙
Sianin Body – 2,090,000,000 🪙
---
> [🪙 Balance: 0]
"…You want me to buy from this?"
> [Yes. You're broke. But hey—I offer loans!]
Arjun narrowed his eyes. "No."
> [C'mon. Don't be stingy now. Just take a small loan. Get a powerful skill. Repay later. It'll make you a hero.]
"No," Arjun said again. "I don't want it."
> [Think again. Do you really want to awaken by barely surviving a ghost's curse? Or do you want to crush the ghost with a skill you already have? Just sign the loan. Quick power! Instant respect! No death!]
"No," Arjun said for the third time, his voice quieter. "There's no thrill in that."
> [Thrill? Are you serious? You're talking about death here.]
"I don't want to be a puppet."
"I don't want to be a system-built pawn."
"I want to feel it. Bleed if I must. But win because I survived. Not because I bought a shortcut."
The system paused.
For once, it didn't reply instantly.
Then, quietly…
> [Acknowledged.]
> [Loan option disabled.]
> [Random avatar with zero skill loading…]
> [You will enter this world as a normal human.]
> [Survive your first ghost encounter to awaken spiritual power.]
Arjun sat down on a cold rock, arms folded. His heart was steady.
"Yeah," he said softly. "Let's see if I can survive the hell you drop me into."
The cave around him started to glow.
White light spiraled in lines, like veins of magic. Wind began to swirl, despite the sealed space.
> [Avatar creation complete.]
> [Entering Ghost-Hunted World…]
Arjun clenched his fists.
"No more running."
The light swallowed him whole.