The world settled into silence again.
After the monster dissolved into pixelated ash, the glitch-flickers around the clearing slowed. Birds stopped repeating their calls. The ground no longer rewrote itself beneath Ashen's feet. For the first time since he had awoken in this world, reality seemed to pause.
Ashen sat on the forest floor, spine aching from impact, breath gradually steadying. A moment ago, he had nearly died—again. And yet, what stuck with him wasn't fear. It was that look in the girl's eyes when she said:
"You're like an error."
He didn't respond to that. Couldn't.
Instead, he studied her now that they weren't in immediate danger.
She leaned against the strange glowing stone, cradling her arm with an experienced sort of resignation. Her robes were a mess—bloodied, torn, the light blue fabric dulled to grey. Her hair, a matted golden-blonde, was tied messily at the back, revealing a small line of scars across the side of her neck. Her expression was sharp. Tired. But alert.
And underneath all of it—pain.
"Thanks," she said quietly, interrupting the quiet. "For that. I'd have been monster chow if not for you."
Ashen nodded, still catching his breath. "You're welcome."
She glanced at him again, eyes narrowing slightly. "You're not from around here, are you?"
Ashen looked away, pretending to focus on the glowing stone behind her. "Just… passing through."
It wasn't a lie, not really. But it wasn't the truth either.
"Passing through Zone 3-V alone, without gear, a map, or a class registration?" she snorted. "Right. Makes sense."
Ashen gave a small, tired smile. "Lucky day."
She shook her head, a dry chuckle escaping her lips. "More like cursed."
There was a long pause between them.
Ashen didn't ask anything. He just waited.
Eventually, she spoke again.
"This is Zone 3-V. One of the Special Zones of Thornia. You've heard of Thornia, at least?"
Ashen nodded, slowly. "Remind me."
She eyed him like he'd grown a second head, then sighed and leaned back against the stone. "Biggest kingdom on this side of the continent. Military-heavy. Loves their rules, walls, and gold. Most of the nobles are corrupt as hell, but the people get by."
Ashen let that soak in.
It sounded like a classic medieval kingdom—one you'd read about in stories or find in an old RPG. Thornia. He filed the name away.
"And this Zone?" he asked.
Her eyes darkened slightly. "Thornia labels areas where monster density is off the charts as 'Special Zones'. This one—3-V—is borderline condemned. Monsters crawl out of the woods every week. Adventurers flock here to make money hunting them. Half never make it back. It's like... the kingdom decided it was easier to turn this hellhole into a monster buffet than to reclaim the land."
Ashen nodded slowly. "And you're one of those adventurers?"
"I was." She looked away. "Used to be a registered Healer. Ran in a three-man party. Good people. We made it through some real shit. Then one day, a Chimera got through the wards. Slaughtered my village's outer farms. No guards. No backup. No Adventurer Corps."
She paused, voice tightening.
"They all had contracts in richer zones. My people weren't profitable enough to protect."
Ashen didn't speak.
She exhaled hard through her nose. "So I left. Left the guild. The quests. The city. Came back here to hold the line, broken arm or not."
She gave a dry laugh.
"Stupid, right?"
Ashen stared at her. "No. It's not."
That made her blink.
She didn't reply, but she looked away a little too quickly. As if embarrassed.
Ashen shifted closer, resting his back against the same glowing stone.
The silence between them this time was more comfortable.
"So, what's the village called?" he asked quietly.
She smiled faintly. "We call it Elsbeth. But most maps just mark it as a blank patch of trees and hills. They stopped writing our name decades ago."
"The village that forgot," Ashen murmured.
"Huh?" Seris turned toward him.
"Nothing. Just… sounds like the world's forgotten it. Like it erased the name."
Seris stared at him for a moment, the intensity returning to her gaze.
Ashen held it.
Then she smirked.
"You're a weird one, Ashen Vale."
He shrugged. "So I've been told."
Another small silence stretched.
She moved her arm slightly and winced.
"Your shoulder," he said, nodding to it. "Dislocated?"
"Yeah. And I'm fresh out of mana. I burned everything I had trying to slow that thing down."
Ashen stood. "Hold still."
She raised a brow. "You know how to—?"
He took her arm gently, without responding. She tensed, eyes narrowing.
He found the correct pressure point at her shoulder, held tight.
"This'll hurt."
"Wait, you—"
Snap.
Seris grunted in pain, but didn't scream. She exhaled hard and blinked rapidly, breathing through her nose.
"…Okay. Maybe you're not totally useless."
Ashen smiled faintly. "Thanks."
She flexed her hand slowly, testing the range. Then looked up at him again.
"You really don't have a class, do you?"
He shook his head.
"No stat sheet?"
"Nope."
She whistled softly. "That… might be the rarest thing I've ever heard."
Ashen didn't answer. He couldn't explain more. Not without unraveling too much.
And something in his gut told him not to.
Not to anyone.
"You should come back with me," Seris said suddenly.
Ashen blinked. "To your village?"
She nodded. "It's not much, and it's barely holding together, but we've got shelter, food, and you clearly have no clue how this world works. You helped me back there—I can repay it."
Ashen hesitated. "I don't want to be a burden."
Seris snorted. "You destabilized a monster by existing. You're the most dangerous thing in a ten-mile radius. Trust me, you'll earn your keep."
He hesitated a second longer, then nodded.
"Alright. Lead the way."
---
As they started walking deeper into the glitch-scarred forest, Ashen glanced at the sky—now a steady blue. For the first time, it looked almost peaceful.
But deep inside him, the code still pulsed.
The System hadn't spoken again.
But he knew it was watching.
Waiting.
Because something about Zone 3-V was starting to feel too stable.
And something deep in his gut whispered:
This was only the beginning.
---
To Be Continued…