Dale was having a nightmare. He dreamt about dark doors and old priests, about glowing stones and a pale gold-haired girl.

'Wait, that's….'

Dale opened his eyes in panic. Standing above him was a giant-like human, a mountain of hard, sculpted muscles and a detached expression on a big face.

'what is this…? is it a…monster?'

While Dale lay flat on his back, hoping the giant won't eat him, the giant examined Dale.

"...You are closer to the divines than ever, small one."

'What is that fool talking about?'

Dale felt cold. In fact, he was freezing. His teeth chattered, and his body felt beyond weak. Feeling disoriented and in pain, he looked at his body.

'what…is the meaning of this?!'

Dale, as it seems, was dying. Covered in wounds and gashes, he couldn't see a single body part not covered in blood. Taking quick, shallow breaths, Dale tried to think about his next steps.

'Affinity! The old geezer said I would receive an affinity!'

Dale closed his eyes and thought of the complex runes he saw on the mysterious dark door. His head was pounding viciously. Dale was barely holding on to consciousness. At last, different runes appeared, swirled, and formed sentences.

Name: Dale

Rank: Candidate

Soul Class: Hidden

Treasures: -

Affinity: [Blood Blessed]

Affinity description: [The Mad One bestowed a blessing upon you. Rejoice! Your blood yearns for the outside world - you will now bleed easily.]

'What the fuck?!'

Dale reread the runes, hoping he read wrong.

'that old lying bastard told me affinities may save lives! My affinity can leave me bleeding to death?!'

As Dale felt numbness enter his body, the giant chuckled.

"I roamed this world for centuries, and yet, it is my first time seeing someone drown to death by his own blood."

The giant's hand glowed, and a radiant silver light shone, basking Dale's battered body.

"This should keep you alive for now."

A feeling of dire pain and cold chased away Dale's numbness. Gasping loudly, he struggled to stay conscious. He could almost feel his body piece itself together in a fierce battle to cage the blood from escaping his slowly closing wounds.

As his vision grew dimmer, he heard the giant mumble.

"I have just the right job for you, little one. Until then, try not to die…"

***

Dale woke startled, touching his once-broken body to ensure he was alive. Having such a close brush with death left him wary and on edge.

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'Just my luck, arriving here already half dead only to be outdone by my own Affinity….'

Dale had no idea why his body was battered to such an extent. He just hoped such an occurrence wouldn't repeat.

"Hope is the fool's ally."

Dale whispered fervently. Slowly getting up, he noticed he was in a world full of…green. Everywhere he looked, he could see the color green.

'Am I…in a forest?'

Dale had never seen a forest before. As far as he knew, the forests disappeared a few dozen years ago on Earth.

'So this realm had forests too, huh?'

Dale took a deep breath, appreciating the crisp, clean air mixed with the heavy smell of nature.

"What a luxurious thing to get used to"

Swallowing the jealousy in his heart, Dale checked his surroundings for any sign of danger. All of a sudden, behind him, he heard a deep voice:

"You've awakened at last, little one. Two days and nights you procrastinated, would you have me wait longer?"

Dale was stumped. Not knowing what to say, he replied with:

"Huh?"

Now that Dale wasn't dying, he could fully see how formidable this giant was, a four-meter creature with bulging muscles and dark skin.

'He can probably kill me with just a flick of his wrist.'

"Your body is…strange. It would help if you had healed long before today. How did you stay alive all this time with this pathetic body?"

Dale tilted his head, trying to gaze at the giant's eyes.

"What I lack in power, my big friend, I can more than make up with my brain."

The giant cracked a smile and sat on a boulder heavily. The boulder shook.

"Well said. With that spirit, you might survive this ordeal!"

Dale paled, took two steps back unconsciously, and asked:

"What ordeal?"

The giant laughed in that uncommonly deep voice of his while his sharp dark eyes narrowed dangerously on the puny Dale.

"Well, don't make me spell it for you, little one. I don't just go around healing strangers out of the kindness of my heart. The life debt you owe me must be paid in full, and as it so happens, an opportunity will present itself for you to settle that debt sooner rather than later."

'Is this part of the First Truth? Is this the piece of history here that I must witness?'

The giant continued uninterrupted.

"You may ask yourself, little one, how can you, a weakling with hardly any use, help the mighty Emery? Well, I'm glad you asked!"

'I wasn't going to ask…'

The giant - Emery, pointed at Dale happily.

"See, when I healed you, I noticed your blood reek of that old geezer, the Mad One. Normally that wouldn't be so interesting, but you see, I may or may not have angered an especially nasty Terror, and you, my dear…ah, what's your name again?"

Dale sighed heavily.

"It's Dale"

Emery continued on uncaringly.

"Right. So little one, you will play a leading role in my glorious second attempt at killing that wretched Cursed Terror. You should feel honored, really!"

'a Cursed Terror? Aren't such Terrors classified as a national-level threat when left unchecked?'

Dale cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Second attempt?"

"Yes! I'm sure you know the saying: "If you can't kill it once, pucker your tushy and try again!"

Awkward silence reigned while the two stared at each other unblinking.

"That's…did you just make that up?"

Emery coughed and looked away, finding the rock's surface fascinating all of a sudden.

"Well, it's not quite popular yet, but I'm sure it'll catch on soon."

Dale exhaled loudly.

'Right…'

"So what would you have me do? I must say I'm not too confident with my fighting skills. Do you need help tracking the Terror? I can maybe help with that."

Emery laughed ominously.

"Oh, there's no need for that, you see, that freaky Terror has been tailing me for a week now! As a matter of fact, it shouldn't be too far from us."

Dale's complexion paled drastically. He swallowed loudly, trying to process what the bizarre giant told him.

"Wh..what do you mean not too far from us?! What are we going to do?!"

Emery's eyes darkened, and his voice lowered.

"We? Who's we? Your only job is to lie down and look pretty. Once the Terror comes and tries to unalive you, I'll deal with it. All I need is enough time to charge some of my power"

While Dale's mind was working overtime trying to find a way out of this arrangement, the giant got up and walked towards him with a mischievous face.

"You see, your blood's unique scent will attract the Terror, lowering its inhibitions, and hopefully, it will just charge mindlessly. Terrors are always drawn to one's vitality, and you, Kale, having the Mad One's whiff in you, have that in abundance. But don't worry. I'm almost certain there won't be a third attempt!"

'If his plan is as good as his listening, we're doomed!'

Dale had no intention of playing along with this. He was rather attached to his organs, wanting them to stay inside him for a little longer.

"So you will make me play bait? Wait, but I'm not even blee- ow!"

A heavy trickle of dark blood went down Dale's arm. As Emery sheathed his small onyx-looking dagger, his voice sounded grave for the first time since Dale met him.

"Prepare yourself, Kale. We are in for a wild afternoon."

Dale looked around, trying to spot any sudden movement in the vicinity.

"I hate you. And also, my name is Dale you damned idiot!"