Ren moved cautiously through the forest, each step measured and deliberate. The faint rustling of leaves and distant calls of birds were his only companions, a constant reminder of how isolated he was.

The presence of the status screen, now tucked away but lingering in his thoughts, confirmed that this was no ordinary experience. He was inside Illustria Chronicles, but something was distinctly off.

Yet, there was a more immediate and embarrassing problem gnawing at him.

“Damn my stamina,” Ren muttered through labored breaths, cursing the weakness in his legs. “My stamina's only good for gaming, not for walking!”

Each step became a chore as fatigue set in. He had no supplies—no food, no water—just the clothes on his back, which he was thankful to have. He scanned his surroundings, half-expecting to stumble upon an NPC or a familiar landmark from the game.

Yet despite the familiar setting, the forest felt unnervingly empty, as if the world itself was holding its breath.

In the game, paths like these often led to hidden quests or special events, but he wasn’t sure if that logic applied here. Still, following the path was better than wandering aimlessly.

After what felt like an hour of trudging through the forest, Ren finally spotted something ahead—a clearing. The trees parted to reveal a small, ancient-looking stone altar.

Vines clung to its sides, and moss covered much of its surface, but it was unmistakably an altar, the kind that would house a rare item or trigger a quest in the game.

"An abandoned altar in the middle of the forest?" Ren muttered, examining the structure.

But something felt off. The altar, though familiar in design, didn’t seem to belong here. It was as if it had been forgotten, left to decay in a world that had moved on without it.

"Should I interact with it, like in the game?" Ren wondered. He hesitated. In the game, interacting with objects like this was second nature, but this was different.

This was real—or at least, it felt real. What would happen if he touched it? Would it trigger an event, or was it just a relic of the game’s design, a leftover artifact with no purpose?

"No, no, as a gamer, you always interact with objects!" Ren reminded himself, his gamer instincts kicking in.

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Curiosity won out. Ren reached out to place his hand on the cold stone surface—but to his shock, his hand passed right through it as if he were a ghost.

He jerked his hand back, his heart skipping a beat. What just happened? He stared at the altar, then at his hand, flexing his fingers as if to ensure they were still solid. But there was no denying what he had seen—his hand had gone right through the stone as if the altar wasn’t fully there.

"I'm here, right!?" Ren asked aloud, quickly touching his face and body to confirm his presence.

Thankfully, he could still feel himself. Letting out a deep breath, he tried to calm down.

Before he could fully process what this meant, his status screen reappeared in front of him, glowing with a new notification. Ren focused on it, and to his surprise, a new skill was listed:

image [https://i.imgur.com/33Hjwyl.jpeg]

“Unexistence?” Ren murmured, his mind racing. This wasn’t a skill he remembered from the game, and it certainly wasn’t something his character had ever possessed.

He glanced back at the altar. Was this some kind of glitch, or had the rules of the world changed in ways he couldn’t yet comprehend?

Ren’s hand trembled slightly as he considered the implications. If he could become intangible, it meant he could avoid physical harm—or, at the very least, pass through obstacles that would otherwise block his way.

“But there must be limitations, or I’d have already fallen through the ground,” Ren murmured, unnerved by the thought.

“It seems to be a passive skill, always active,” Ren speculated. “But I need to understand its reliability and the risks involved.”

Ren didn’t have answers, but one thing was clear: he had to be careful. This ability could either be a powerful tool or a dangerous curse.

Before he dismissed the status screen, he could see something new other than the Unexistence skill in his skill list.

image [https://i.imgur.com/gzvsX0E.jpeg]

There are four locked slots in his skill list. This also never happened when he was playing the game.

“Why is it four? Can I only have five skills forever?” Ren murmurs to himself feeling quite disappointed by the chance it’s true.

Taking a deep breath, Ren dismissed the status screen and took a cautious step back from the altar. He reached out again, and just as before, his hand passed right through it.

“It’s so surreal,” Ren murmured, examining his hand. “I can’t feel anything—not even the texture of the stone.”

He then stomped on the ground, testing the skill once more. His feet made contact with the earth, the sensation of solid ground reassuring him. This was different from the altar.

“What’s the difference? Was it because falling through the ground would be fatal?” Ren speculated. It was possible that the skill didn’t activate on things that could endanger his life.

Feeling frustrated, Ren could only assume that this skill is unpredictable for the time being. He still doesn’t know the ins and outs of this skill.

“There’s no point of overthinking it for now,” Ren said to himself, readying to begin his journey once more. “I should be able to figure out all about this skill through my journey, so no point in worrying now.”

With a final look at the altar, Ren continued his journey to the town with a new sense of resolve.