Ren studied the status screen, his eyes lingering on the locked skill slots. Each one was a mystery, a potential power waiting to be unlocked. The concept of unlocking skills wasn’t new to him—Illustria Chronicles often had hidden abilities that players could discover through quests or secret events.

“But they never set an exact number of skills from the beginning,” Ren thought as he examined the five skills on the list. “I hope this doesn’t mean I’m limited to just these.”

The locked skills were a puzzle. What would it take to unlock them? And more importantly, what would they be?

“Ugh, no point in dwelling on it now,” he sighed, dismissing the status screen with a thought. It faded from view, leaving him alone once more in the dense forest. “I need to find a town fast, or I’ll die from starvation before this journey even starts.”

With no immediate threats and no clear direction, Ren decided to continue along the path.

As he walked, Ren couldn’t help but replay the events of the last few hours in his mind. The sudden transportation into this world, the eerie similarities to his favorite game, and the acquisition of a skill he’d never seen before—all of it pointed to something bigger, something he was missing.

He needed to understand the rules of this world if he was going to survive and, hopefully, find a way back home.

The forest began to thin as Ren moved deeper into it, the trees giving way to a more open landscape. The sunlight grew stronger, casting long shadows across the ground.

In the distance, he could see the outline of mountains, their peaks touching the sky. But what caught his attention was a thick plume of black smoke rising from somewhere ahead.

“Finally, smoke!” Ren’s heart quickened. He had finally found signs of life—hope.

Smoke could mean many things in this world—a village, or perhaps a camp. But the dark, billowing smoke didn’t look like it came from a hearth or a simple campfire.

“Why is it so massive?” Ren wondered as he drew nearer. This wasn’t chimney smoke or a campfire. It was too massive and thick, almost blotting out the sunlight.

Suddenly, as Ren quickened his pace, he heard the sound of a blast and what seemed to be the clashing of swords.

“No, it can’t be…” Ren murmured as he sprinted toward the source of the smoke, following the path as it curved around a hill until he reached a ridge overlooking a wide valley.

What he saw below made him stop in his tracks.

The valley was a battlefield, and it was alive with chaos.

“What the hell is going on here!?” Ren exclaimed, his voice trembling as he took in the scene below.

Hundreds of soldiers clashed in a brutal melee, their swords flashing in the light, armor clanging with each strike. War cries and screams filled the air, a cacophony of violence that echoed off the surrounding hills. The deafening sound of gunfire filled the area as soldiers fired from both sides.

Fires burned in scattered patches, sending up the plumes of smoke Ren had seen from a distance. Bodies littered the ground as the battle raged on without pause.

“Nothing like this is supposed to happen here,” Ren whispered, his breath catching in his throat and his stomach twisting into a knot. “It’s supposed to be peaceful here. What the hell happened?”

Ren was confused, puzzled, and most of all, disgusted. This wasn’t the game he knew. Yes, the game had its dark moments and could delve into disturbing topics, but something as intense as this—especially in the beginner town—had never happened in the game.

His heart raced, but he decided to get closer to the scene. He found a way down from the ridge and approached the battlefield.

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“I should stay away from the center,” Ren murmured as he moved toward the outskirts of the town. It was quieter here, as the battle was concentrated in the town's center.

The town was in ruins. The beginner town that he used to visit at the beginning of Arc 2 was now completely devastated, devoid of life.

He took a step forward, but the gruesome scene before him overwhelmed his senses. The sight of bloodied bodies, the stench of death, and the sounds of agony pierced his mind.

His legs wobbled, and a wave of nausea surged within him. He tried to look away, but the horror surrounded him on all sides.

“I had hoped the skill would block out the stench, bu—” Ren’s thought was cut off as his stomach churned violently.

Ren fell to his knees, his stomach lurching. He tried to steady his breath, but it was no use. The sheer brutality of the battle was too much. A bitter taste filled his mouth as he doubled over, vomiting onto the ground. The bile burned his throat, but he barely noticed, too consumed by the disgust and horror churning in his gut.

“Ugh, this is worse than I thought,” Ren said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, trembling. This wasn’t just a game anymore. This was real—too real. He had never seen anything so grotesque in his life. The thought of it made him shudder.

As he wiped the cold sweat from his brow, the sound of footsteps startled him. A group of soldiers ran past, carrying a wounded comrade toward a certain direction. But something strange happened. None of the soldiers seemed to notice Ren’s presence.

“That’s impossible…” Ren muttered as he watched the group move past him without even glancing in his direction. “They’re completely ignoring me.”

After discovering this, Ren decided to test his theory. With a hand covering his nose from the stench, he followed the group all the way to a camp.

On the way, Ren tried everything to get their attention. He threw rocks, stood in front of them screaming, made funny faces—everything—but the group completely ignored him. They couldn’t see him at all.

The camp, which looked like a medic camp, was full of medical personnel running around carrying tools and buckets of water. It was overrun with wounded soldiers. Some had burn wounds, and some had even lost their limbs. The stench was even stronger here, and Ren used his shirt to cover his nose.

“This is all too real,” Ren murmured as he observed the chaos around him. “Even in the game, it was never this graphic.”

If someone could explain it, it would be like the game had changed from a 13+ age rating to a 17+ rating.

The beds were covered in blood and dirty bandages. Ren could hear the screams of the soldiers as they struggled with their pain.

As a gamer, Ren was used to playing war-themed games, but for a young teenager living in the modern era, this was a scene he could never have predicted seeing in real life.

But Ren’s theory was right. Even in a place as chaotic as this, not a single person took notice of him. No matter what he did to get their attention, not one of them acknowledged his presence.

He was completely invisible to their eyes.

“This must be the work of Unexistence,” Ren murmured as he walked around the camp. “Either my presence is completely hidden from this world’s reality, or their perception is somehow altered by the skill.”

There was one more test he needed to try. Earlier, he couldn’t touch the altar, but could he touch a human?

“No point in waiting.” Ren said as he placed his hand on a soldier in front of him.

But as Ren expected, his hand passed right through the soldier’s body like a ghost. He swirled his hand around inside the soldier’s body, but the soldier didn’t notice anything.

“Well, that answers that,” Ren murmured, realizing another aspect of his mysterious ability.

He sighed, knowing that he couldn’t even ask for help if nobody could see him.

“It’s a good thing nobody can see me now, or they’d think I was a spy,” Ren muttered, acknowledging his situation. “But it also means I can’t get help from anyone.”

After a while, Ren decided to wander around the camp. On his way, he found what looked like a supply tent.

“I need to get some food and water,” Ren said as his stomach churned. The fact that he was starving and thirsty, combined with the disgusting stench, made for a dire situation. “I’m sure they won’t mind if a couple of things go missing… I hope.”

Inside the tent, it was filled with supplies—essential tools, canned food, what looked like MREs, and quite a few bottles of water.

“Oh, it’s paradise,” Ren said, his eyes tearing up at the sight of the abundance of supplies before him.

He looked around the tent like an excited kid in a candy store. Of course, it wasn’t as beautiful as a candy store, but for a starving teenager, this was heaven.

But just as he was about to take some food, Ren remembered a fact about his skill.

“Damn it, can I even touch these things?” Ren murmured, thinking it over. He knew the skill wouldn’t let him touch objects or people, but if it wouldn’t let him die, there might be a chance.

“Please, just let me grab the damn thing,” Ren pleaded as he tried to place his hand on a can of food.

However, as expected, his hand passed right through it.

“Are you kidding me!?” Ren screamed in frustration. “Am I just supposed to starve? What kind of useless skill is this!?”

Ren cursed some more as he tried repeatedly to grab the can of food in front of him, but not a single attempt succeeded.

After a few minutes, Ren finally gave up, his stomach still churning and his mind racing with frustration. He slumped to the ground, groaning.

“What am I supposed to do?” Ren muttered, covering his face with his hands. “Am I really going to die like this?”