In the silence of the Blood Forest, the adventurers' steps grew heavier. They crept between trees that were getting denser, and the strange atmosphere sent chills down their spines. Firzt, who was leading in front, arranged their formation and made sure their steps did not attract the attention of monsters that could appear from unexpected directions.
Firzt turned his head back, making sure Maria, Snow, and Alice were all right. When he saw that they were safe, Firzt walked forward again. At the very back was Joel, everything should be fine, but Firzt just wanted to be sure.
Maria hugged her book tightly. Even though the forest felt frightening, she still tried to remain calm. Joel walked lightly behind her, his large weapon on his back ready to be used at any time.
"Are you all right?" Joel asked.
Maria nodded. "Yes."
Joel felt relieved. He continued walking, and a moment later, he bumped into Alice's body. The woman turned back with an annoyed look. This could turn into an argument, and that was not something wise. Joel knew that, so he immediately asked a question to distract Alice.
"Why did you stop?" he asked in a low voice.
Alice shrugged her shoulders. They both looked ahead. It turned out Firzt was raising one of his hands, giving a signal to stop. His other hand was already on his sword. Seeing that, the others immediately prepared themselves as well.
"What's wrong?" Joel asked.
Firzt replied, "There's someone ahead."
Joel, Alice, and Maria were shocked to hear that. Someone inside the Blood Forest. That was not something normal. There were only two possibilities, the first was the slave traders that had been mentioned, or the second was a monster disguising itself as a human to deceive them.
Joel, Maria, and Alice moved forward, walking slowly while following Firzt from behind. They sneaked closer, and soon the person Firzt had mentioned began to appear before their eyes.
A young man, sitting with his back hunched, seemed to be eating the flesh of a dead monster. The stench of blood spread toward them immediately. Firzt, Alice, Maria, and Joel quickly covered their noses. Their brows furrowed.
"Is that a human?" Joel whispered.
Firzt shook his head. "I don't know, but it doesn't seem like it."
It was impossible for a human to be alone in the Blood Forest. And besides, what he was eating was raw monster meat. Just imagining that made Maria and Alice nearly vomit. They turned their gazes away. Too disgusting, nauseating.
Firzt raised his right hand again, but this time with a clenched fist. That was the signal for them to prepare to attack.
"Or maybe…"
Before he could finish his words, suddenly one of them moved forward. Firzt and Alice immediately turned back. Sure enough, Snow was no longer there. Joel and Firzt clicked their tongues in annoyance. They had no choice. They had to move forward quickly or Snow would be in trouble.
***
Noah had just finished killing another monster. He had truly died over and over again, but his ability did not allow it. Noah would continue to live even when his entire body was destroyed. His condition was so strange. He did not know why he could be like this.
He also did not know whether this was a blessing or the opposite.
"I must return to the hospital. Mother is waiting for me," he said softly.
He raised both of his hands. Those hands were not his own. Somehow, he had entered the body of a young man whose name was very similar to his, Noah, though their last names were different.
Noah looked again at the system screen before him. It was very clear, the name was not his own.
[Name Set: Noah Carlyoung]
[Level: 1]
[Class: Undeath Blood]
"Carlyoung… who is this young man? Why did I enter his body?"
That kept disturbing Noah's thoughts. Was this power he received an inheritance from this body or from his soul? Noah still could not understand, but one thing he believed was that what he experienced was part of the phenomenon occurring on Earth known as Death Syndrome.
"If that's true. That means people who died on Earth, their souls…" Noah shook his head, refusing to believe it. "No. That's a different phenomenon. It's different."
His hand clenched tightly, rejecting the conclusion he himself had made. Noah did not want all of that to be true because if it was, then his body on Earth would be considered dead. If that were the case, there was a possibility he would never be able to return to Earth again.
Meanwhile, his mother was still in the hospital. Noah could not imagine what would happen to her if he were not there. She would be expelled from the hospital, abandoned, and end up dying from her illness.
Imagining that made tears fall from Noah's eyes. His hands clenched tighter. "I must go back."
He steeled his resolve. But deep inside, his heart could not lie, the sorrow inside him still gnawed away at his fear. His tears did not stop flowing.
Noah took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. After that, he closed his eyes, controlling his breathing carefully. But something happened. Suddenly his face felt cold.
He opened his eyes and saw a woman standing before him, touching his cheek. The woman was very beautiful with skin so white. So white, it looked like snow.
"You will be fine," the woman said.
Noah's eyes widened. He instinctively stood up and stepped back from the snow-like woman. He took a stance and manipulated his blood, shaping it into a blood sword pointed at the beautiful snow-white woman. Noah's gaze was sharp, cautious.
"Who are you?" Noah asked.
"My name is Snow Elvaneira," she answered calmly.
Noah narrowed his eyes. A woman in the forest? Of course, he would not believe it. His eyes darted to another direction, and at that moment he saw four other humans. They were all holding their weapons.
Seeing that, Noah panicked even more. His survival instincts flared.
"Wait!" someone among them said. The man raised his hand. "Lower your weapons! He is not an enemy," he said.
Of course, Joel, Maria, and Alice did not immediately obey that order. However, Firzt reassured them. In the end, they all lowered their intent to fight. They stood still in their place, not moving, just as Firzt had asked.
"Be careful!" Joel reminded.
Firzt nodded.
Noah still stared at them cautiously, his blood sword was not lowered yet. Firzt remained calm, staring into Noah's eyes without fear.
"We don't intend to hurt you," Firzt said briefly.
Noah fell silent, weighing those words. Of course, he had to be cautious because he was in a world completely unfamiliar to him.
Firzt, who understood that, threw his sword to the ground in front of him. Dropping the blade. He wanted to convince Noah.
"Trust me!" he urged again. But Noah did not immediately believe. "We are the same. We come from Earth," Firzt continued.
Noah's wary eyes suddenly widened. "You…"
Firzt nodded. "Yes," he answered.