Faerith stared down at the bronze key in her hand, then looked at the door painted in the same color. Slowly, she approached it.
Am I really supposed to put this in?
She hesitated a moment before sliding the key into the lock, the metal rubbing against each other. A soft click echoed from the lock. Light burst from the edges of the door, bright—almost blinding and then it faded.
The door cracked open with a heavy gust of wind rushing past her. Beyond it was nothing but pure white, glowing with strange, mystical energy.
The system appeared again, forming from broken purple glass shards:
[Bronze Door Unlocked]
Another smaller tab followed:
[You have obtained Basic PsyWhip]
[INVENTORY]
– PSYWHIP (LVL.1)
Faerith tilted her head, confused. Her lips parted.
"A psywhip?" she whispered faintly, reaching toward the floating name in the inventory. She placed her hand into the tab, and a burst of purple light exploded outward.
She gasped, her eyes wide and glowing bright violet. When she pulled her hand back, she was holding something—
a whip lined with silver spikes, each one sparking with purple energy. She jerked from the shock of it, but soon steadied herself.
An actual whip… amazing. I've heard of these, but I don't think I can use one. Guess I'll just have to learn.
With a sigh, she stepped through the open door. The white light swallowed her vision, forcing her to cover her eyes. She kept walking—until the ground vanished.
Her heart lurched.
Faerith found herself falling, meters just from a large body of water.
A sharp gasp left her just before she plunged into freezing water. Panic surged. She clawed, kicked, fought to rise, but the cold dragged her down. Her breath burned. Her limbs shook.
Her childhood fear of swimming—crippling, choking—wrapped around her again.
Her vision darkened.
Then—air. She gasped hard, coughing water from her throat as she pushed upward. When she finally steadied herself, she found she was lying on a barren shore, chest rising and falling rapidly.
Only nothing but sand and the silence.
She looked back at where the water was supposed to be, but the surface was calm, rather empty. It was as if nothing had swallowed her at all.
Faerith glanced down at herself, her half bare form, the small white cloth still clinging to her chest and thighs. But she realized even her clothes were completely dry.
"What the fuck just happened?" she whispered.
Before she could think further, a sudden, deep growl rumbled behind her. Heavy footsteps thudded in the sand. Faerith snapped her head around.
A wolf—black furred, huge, its eyes glowing with a fierce orange light—stared her down.
A wolf? Why here?
She rose to her feet, meeting its gaze. Saliva dripped from its jaws. It was not friendly.
Faerith tried to steady her breath and took a defensive stance. The wolf lunged, teeth bared.
She reacted by instinct—throwing her hand forward, eyes squeezing shut. She braced for pain… but none came.
When she opened her eyes, the system hovered in front of her, pulsing.
[Default Skill Used: Psychokinesis]
She turned her gaze to the wolf. It was frozen mid-air, trembling violently, trapped inside an outline of glowing purple light.
This ability… she knew it.
Back when she met Loni'var, she had awakened something that let her move objects without touching them.
Telekinesis.
"How amazing," she murmured, raising her hand. The wolf floated higher, growling helplessly. Then she slammed her hand down.
The beast exploded into blood and scattered flesh.
A soft chiming sound rang out.
• Level Up!
Light spread through her body. Her nerves tingled slightly. Her veins oulsed. Her eyes glowed immensely as a weightless feeling settled into her limbs.
STATUS-
Name: Faerith Brewer Lv.002
Class:
Title: Common Esper
HP: 106
MP: 65
Energy Used: 3
Strength: 22
Agility: 22
Stamina: 22
Knowledge: 22
Perception: 5
AP: 2
Faerith released a soft but slow breath, a sigh of relief. Her chest rose and fell as she steadied herself. The system truly was helpful just as Ravessa had mentioned. With it she could grow stronger.
With this introduction of levels, she wondered what it would be like if she reached the end... The hundredth level perhaps.
Then, a notification appeared.
[Psychic Skill Cooldown: 50 Secs]
She stared at the timer as it began to count down, a soft chime marking each second.
"A cooldown…?" she muttered, lips parting in disbelief. "There's a limit to that power? No wonder it was so powerful"
Before she could dwell on it, low growls cut through the silence. Saliva splattered onto the sand.
Faerith dismissed the system and turned to face the upcoming threat.
More wolves, smaller but vicious—this time four, maybe six. And something about them felt wrong. Strange symbols floated inches above their heads, the same as the system.
[Wild Wolf] Lv.1
• HP: 50
• MP: 100
Faerith took a few steps back, panic creeping in as another tab appeared before her eyes.
[Bronze Door Mission: Defeat all 6 enemies]
[Enemies Defeated: 0/6]
Bronze door mission? Defeat all enemies? Is this something I must do?
So I don't have a choice.
Now running was pointless. She would have to fight as there was no place for her to run.
Armed with nothing but a whip she had just started to learn to use and almost no combat experience, not even being able to face a Mythic of lower class, Faerith forced herself to stand her ground, teeth gritted.
One of the wild wolves charged first. The others stayed back, watching—waiting—like they had planned this. Faerith rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding its jaws.
But it was a mistake.
The moment she hit the sand, she left herself open.
Another wild wolf lunged.
"Fuck!"
Faerith's forgotten instinct which she never knew she had kicked in. Her sharpened perception reacted faster than her fear. She snapped the whip forward, the metal striking the beast and forcing a sharp whimper from its throat. It stumbled back but it wasn't over just yet.
Behind her, another presence loomed, one of the creatures she had forgotten.
Faerith glanced over her shoulder and froze. A wild wolf was just inches from her, jaws open.
Damn that's close!!
She fell backward, her small frame bending just enough to avoid the bite. Gripping her whip tightly, she reacted again—wrapping it around the wolf's body. The silver metal burned and bit into flesh as she yanked hard, slamming the creature straight into the rest of the pack.
She hit the ground moments later.
Pain flared—but she had bought herself time.
Faerith pushed herself up, breathing hard, and stood once more.
As Faerith faced the vicious beasts once more, she noticed something had changed. Floating inches above each of the wolves' head was the same green bar she had seen earlier and now, it seemed to be dropping. Just like hers had when she was close to certain death.
So this was their life force as well.
If that bar emptied, they would perish.
This means that they can be killed. I just need to drain the bars over their head.
Realization struck her heavy like a boulder and with this, confidence came.
Faerith smiled, tightening her grip on the whip in her hand. The wolves prepared to attack, but it was already too late for them at this point.
"Come forth, you fiends!" she shouted, swinging the whip through the air.
All six of them lunged at once, ready to deliver their final blow, but Faerith was no longer overwhelmed. She dashed forward and slashed with her whip, striking one of the beasts. Its whimper filled her with fierce, growing satisfaction.
Fear rippled through the pack, each of them backing down.
She pressed the advantage.
With controlled swings and deadly precision—something she never knew she possessed—Faerith struck again, the whip cracking across the remaining wolves. The green bars above their heads dropped sharply.
The injured beast she had delivered this devasting attack to first tried to sneak behind her.
[Psychokinesis Cooldown Completed]
Faerith turned.
Her eyes burned violet as she raised her glowing hand. Psychic force burst outward, freezing the wolf in mid-air. She clenched her fist gently and the creature exploded into blood and flesh, splattering across her body.
[Psychic Skill Cooldown: 50 Secs]
+20 EXP
The remaining wolves froze, terrified. Blood stained the sand. Faerith stood among it, her violet eyes cold and unblinking.
"Who's next?" she asked.
They didn't get a chance to react.
She charged at them.
Ignoring every once of pain, every caution, she swung widly but with purpose, delivering judgement like she was a deity. One by one, the wolves fell. Growls began to die now replaced by whimpers.
Silence returned.
Faerith dropped to her knees in the sand as the bodies around her dissolved into nothingness.
• Level Up!
• Level Up!
[Bronze Door Mission Completed]
Rewards: Dirty Fur ×4
She looked up at the tab, exhausted—when another appeared.
[Armor Tab Unlocked]
Available Armor: Fur Armor
Fur armor? That sounds disgusting.
But looking down at herself, she had little choice.
She reached out and tapped the tab. It rippled like water.
A cerulean light enveloped her body. The blood vanished. Her old clothes dissolved. She gasped and instinctively tried to cover her chest with her hands but she stopped. Now she was clothed in fitted wolf fur, shaped like her previous outfit. Firm around her chest, a fur skirt around her waist partially covering her legs and behind, barely covering her thighs.
Faerith sighed.
"Great. Now I look like some tribal savage…
Still—better than what I had before."
Faerith rose from the sand and gazed across the barren expanse before her. The land lay silent, empty, as though it were holding its breath.
"What fate awaits me now?" she asked the still air.
Her words had barely faded when the sound of footsteps echoed behind her.
She turned sharply—yet no one stood there.
Then a voice drifted forth, cold and smooth as winter steel. "My beautiful Oracle."
Faerith spun again, her heart skipping. Ravessa stood behind her, tall and imposing, her presence bending the air itself.
"Must you always appear like that?" Faerith said, irritation sharp in her voice. "It is hardly amusing."
Ravessa did not answer the complaint. "You have begun to master the rudimentary arts of your power," she said. "Yet what you have accomplished is but the first step."
Faerith's brow furrowed. "The first step? I nearly lost my life. I believed this trial to be finished."
"You yet draw breath," Ravessa replied calmly. "And what you faced was only a test. Beyond every colored door lies a greater adversary. To advance, each must be conquered."
"The doors…" Faerith whispered.
Memory stirred—doors of many hues revealed when she first crossed into this realm. Bronze, the weakest of metals. If that was so, then what awaited beyond the others could only be far more terrible.
Ravessa watched understanding settle across the young woman's face and inclined her head. "You comprehend swiftly. That is why you were chosen."
Faerith let out a bitter breath. "Chosen for slaughter, it seems. I thought my ordeal ended here. Now you would have me walk toward death again?"
"You pledged yourself to strength," Ravessa said. "Do you not wish to stand against the Mythics? Do you not intend to accept Loni'var's summons? Power is not granted but it is earned."
Silence hung between them.
At last, Faerith straightened, resolve hardening in her gaze. "Very well," she said. "Alright then, lead me onward."
Ravessa smiled—a slow, knowing curve of her lips. "There is no need. You already walk the path."
The world lurched.
Just like that, like a snap of a finger, Faerith found herself standing upon cold stone. Before her loomed a vast black citadel, its walls rising like a mountain forged from shadow. Two colossal metal doors barred its entrance, ancient and unyielding.
She stared up at them, breath unsteady.
"Fuck... Me…" she murmured, shocked.
Moments ago, there had been nothing but empty soil now she was standing before this titan in the shape of a castle.