The wooden gates of the camp slowly opened with a loud creaking sound.
I stepped inside and looked around in amazement.
"This place is huge…"
Hunters walked everywhere. Some were sharpening swords, others were carrying monster parts, and a few were loudly arguing about something near a wooden table.
One hunter was even chasing a small blue slime while yelling, "Stop running! I need that for tonight's soup!"
The slime bounced away.
Another hunter laughed. "You lost to a slime again?"
"I slipped!"
I blinked.
"This world is weird…"
Rylan walked forward without reacting to any of it.
People noticed him immediately.
"Rylan's back."
"Already?"
"Didn't he go toward the outer forest?"
A tall woman with short red hair approached us. She wore light armor and had two daggers at her waist.
Her sharp eyes landed on me.
"…Why did you bring a kid?"
"I found her in the forest," Rylan replied calmly.
The woman frowned. "Alive?"
"Yes."
"Barely!" I added.
She crossed her arms. "Name."
"Hora."
"Level?"
"Two."
The woman blinked.
"…Two?"
A large man with heavy armor walked toward us while resting a giant axe on his shoulder.
He looked like he could break a tree with one hand.
"Rylan," he said in a deep voice.
"Captain Brann."
So this giant guy is the captain.
His eyes moved toward me.
"You survived the outer forest?"
"…Mostly running," I said honestly.
Some hunters nearby laughed.
Brann nodded slowly.
"Running is also a survival skill."
I liked this guy already.
The red-haired woman sighed. "Captain, we can't let random people stay here."
Rylan finally spoke again.
"She has a system."
The camp suddenly became quiet.
"A system?" someone whispered.
"That's rare…"
The red-haired woman looked at me again, this time more seriously.
"Show me."
I awkwardly pointed into the air.
"System… open?"
A glowing blue screen appeared.
A few hunters leaned closer.
One guy whispered, "She's really Level 2…"
Brann scratched his beard.
"Interesting."
Rylan turned slightly.
"She helped distract an A-Rank Horned Fang Bear."
Everyone froze.
"A-Rank?!"
"You're joking!"
I quickly waved my hands.
"I mean… I only pushed the wind once!"
The red-haired woman laughed.
"You distracted an A-Rank monster at Level 2? Either you're crazy or stupid."
"…Probably both."
She smirked and extended her hand.
"Name's Kael."
I shook it carefully.
Her grip was strong.
Brann nodded once.
"You can stay for now."
"Really?"
"But tomorrow you take the rookie test."
My smile disappeared.
"…The what?"
Kael grinned.
"The test where we see if you're useful… or monster food."
Great.
Just great.