I followed close behind Sera as we ran for our lives. Yet, despite the chaos, it was a great opportunity to see why my twin sister had been accepted into NorthStar Academy.

And she did not disappoint.

Sera carved a path through the swarm of bees with precision and grace. Every step she took was deliberate, every movement refined, every slash of her blade devastatingly precise. Meat Bees fell around her like flies, each attack slicing cleanly through their bodies. No matter how loud the furious hum of wings behind us grew, her eyes remained focused on one thing: forward.

When a bee attacked from her blind spot, her blade moved with instinctive accuracy, brushing the side of the bee’s head and redirecting it into another behind us. That level of reaction wasn’t born from training alone. It was pure instinct. A feat only a handful in history could achieve at her age.

Sera was, without a doubt, a reliable protector.

As we rushed out of the hive, a shadow darted backward toward us, halting five steps away. It was Lucy.

Murky, dark crimson blood dripped from her dagger. Her maid uniform bore claw-shaped tears on her shoulder and the right side of her belly. Thankfully, none of the wounds seemed to have reached her body.

My gaze shifted to what she had been protecting us from, the source of the roar we had heard earlier.

Standing before us was a Bearowl, the apex predator of these woods. Its upper half was that of a polar bear, with three straight horns protruding from its head. The bottom half resembled a snowy owl, complete with massive wings and viciously sharp talons at the end of its owl-like legs.

Even its pure white fur couldn’t help it blend into the snow, as its towering height — twice that of an average man — made it unmistakable.

Yet, something was wrong. This wasn’t a normal Bearowl.

Crimson mist swirled faintly around its body. Bloodshot eyes glared at us with unnatural ferocity, and stinking saliva oozed from its mouth like that of a rabid dog.

I recognized the symptoms all too well.

I glanced at Sera’s throat. The same thing trying to turn her into a mindless beast like the Bearowl ahead of us was inside her — Demonic Qi.

The Bearowl’s state was the result of Demonic Qi being injected into living beings. It consumed their life force, clouded their minds, and amplified their worst emotions and darkest desires, driving them into a relentless frenzy until they died.

That was exactly what this Bearowl was experiencing.

It was sheer luck that Sera only had a minuscule amount of Demonic Qi in her throat.

“We need to get out of here. Now!” Lucy shouted as she conjured a ball of black fog at the tip of her daggers.

The fog could obscure the Bearowl’s vision but would do nothing to stop the bees behind us. Unless...

I quickly assessed the situation. Lucy — [Level 42], Sera — [Level 28], the Bearowl — [Level 53], and the bees swarming toward us — [Level 12], [Level 16], [Level 18], [Level 9], [Level 22]...

We were caught between a frenzied apex predator ahead and a horde of carnivorous bees behind. Stuck between a rock and a hard place.

But the worst part? This Bearowl was male. That meant its female partner wasn’t far away. We had to move fast.

“Forward!” I shouted, sprinting toward the Bearowl.

Lucy immediately caught on to my intent and dashed at the beast without hesitation, her speed allowing her to overtake me quickly. Sera and I followed close behind, putting as much distance as possible between us and the bees.

Sera tightened her grip on her szabla, readying herself, while I opened the honey box and scooped up a handful of honey.

The Bearowl roared and charged, its massive wings spread wide, blocking any chance to dodge left or right.

“[Blinding Fog],” Lucy commanded, launching the black fog directly at the beast’s eyes.

Even in its frenzied state, the Bearowl’s instincts kicked in. It tilted its head to the side, dodging Lucy’s [Blinding Fog]. But that was only a distraction. The real attack was her throwing dagger.

The blade embedded itself deep in the Bearowl’s right eye.

The beast roared in agony but refused to slow its charge. The shadow rope around Sera’s and my waists sprang to life, rushing forward and binding one of the beast’s forelegs.

“Now!” Lucy shouted, pulling on the shadow rope and leaping to the right.

The Bearowl lost its balance, crashing hard into the snow and sliding forward. Sera dodged left, using the momentum to deliver a precise slash at the beast’s left eye. Her attack landed perfectly, rendering the Bearowl completely blind.

Taking my chance, I threw the honey at the Bearowl’s face and jumped to the left. The bees would now be too occupied with the raging predator to chase us.

“Shit,” I muttered under my breath as I sensed another source of Demonic Qi. This time from behind us.

I snapped my head around just in time to see an even larger Bearowl.

If the male had been twice the size of an average man, this female was at least triple that. With a deafening roar, the [Level 55] beast opened its jaws horizontally and swooped toward Sera like an eagle closing in on its prey.

Sera noticed the new threat and twisted her body, preparing to counter. But the sheer size of the beast caught her off guard. A single sidestep wasn’t enough to move her out of the path of its gaping jaws.

There was no time to think.

I ignited a small part of my life essence to activate my martial arts — a last resort I didn't want to use.

Everyone was born with a finite amount of life essence. Once it was gone, it was gone forever. If life essence was the glass that held water, then life force was the water itself. Refilling life force was easy, but once the cup shattered, it could never be repaired.

And the less life essence I had, the weaker my life force would become.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

*Ding

[You have reclaimed your martial arts: Four Directional Protectors Arts – Level 1]

Qi erupted from the ignited life essence, surging through my body like an unstoppable torrent. Strength coursed through me, every fiber of my being brimming with newfound power.

Wasting no time, I directed the freshly formed Qi toward my legs, preparing to execute one of my martial arts techniques.

[Four Directional Protectors Arts – Movement technique – Tail of the White Tiger]

The capillaries in my legs burst under the strain, and a searing pain radiated from my heart, spreading through my body like wildfire. It felt as though my organs were being consumed from the inside out.

Ignoring the pain, I skated across the snow’s surface, unhindered, hurtling toward the incoming beast. I threw the honey box to the ground as I redirected all my focus to the Qi gathering around my fist.

[Four Directional Protectors Arts – Smashing technique – Head of the Black Turtle]

Qi compressed tightly within my fist, ready to erupt on contact.

The moment my fist met the female Bearowl’s jaw, a deafening boom resounded across the snowy forest.

Pain surged through my arm as I felt my forearm bones shatter and blood vessels burst from the sheer rebound. The beast, knocked violently to the side, bounced twice before crashing through an ancient pine tree that must have stood for over a century.

A single canine tooth, dislodged from the Bearowl’s mouth, landed in the snow with a faint puff. Warm blood dripped onto the tooth from my mangled, bleeding arm.

“What just happened?” Sera’s voice cracked, her jaw dropping in disbelief.

How could she not? I, someone who was supposed to be too weak to fight, had just knocked a massive monster away like a ragdoll. A monster that even veteran hunters from our village struggled to handle.

“Your arm!” she exclaimed, her eyes fixed on my injured arm.

*Ding

[Full body restoration activated]

I raised my hand. “I’m fine. See.”

That wasn’t exactly a lie. My insides still felt like they were on fire, and my hand hurt like a motherfucker, but the wound had already healed.

“How…” Sera was taken aback, her eyes darting between my arm and my face. Just moments ago, my arm had been dangling and bloody, and now it was completely fine.

I quickly scanned the battlefield. It wasn’t looking good for us.

I had miscalculated. There were far more Meat Bees than I’d anticipated. Some were attacking the blinded male Bearowl, others were swarming Lucy, and a few were already heading toward us. If we wanted to survive this, we needed to use the female Bearowl to our advantage.

“There’s no time to waste. Give me the crystal. You grab the honey box and lure the bees attacking Lucy here.”

“No,” Sera refused firmly. “I’ll stall the Bearowl.”

“We don’t have time for this, Sera,” I said as we both leaped backward to dodge the female Bearowl’s incoming claw. I landed to the right, and she to the left, the closer side to the honey box.

The beast turned toward me and let out a deafening roar, crimson fog swirling ominously around its body.

Great, another one infected with Demonic Qi. Is this a worldwide issue, or just regional? I thought while sidestepping a wing slash. Demonic Qi wasn’t a natural phenomenon, after all.

“Now, Sera!” I shouted, shifting my focus entirely to the raging Bearowl.

Sera gritted her teeth, her hand tightening around her sword’s hilt before dashing toward Lucy.

The Bearowl’s left shoulder muscles twitched — a diagonal claw attack. Its wings unfolded skyward — a vertical wing slash. Veins bulged around its neck — a straight bite. I saw the attacks as they came, but my body struggled to react quickly enough.

Wounds began to pile up on me as I barely dodged each blow.

Too bad for the Bearowl, it’s all useless.

*Ding

[Full body restoration activated]

No matter what wounds I endured — broken bones, burst blood vessels, or shredded skin — my body always returned to its peak condition. The System’s period of grace had saved me more times than I could count, and this was no exception.

If only my life essence could be restored too.

That was my only concern. Burning another part of my life essence was far from ideal, which was why I had been dodging as much as possible, carefully minimizing my Qi consumption.

“Big brother, catch!” Sera shouted, throwing the Sound Amplifying Crystal my way.

The timing was perfect. Sera and Lucy were heading toward me, trailed by a horde of Meat Bees. I jumped back to evade the Bearowl’s snapping jaws and caught the crystal mid-air.

“Cover your ears!” I yelled.

Lucy carried the honey box on her back, then quickly covered her ears with her hands. Sera followed suit without hesitation.

I took a deep breath and cranked the crystal’s volume to eleven. With a sharp exhale, I unleashed my supersonic assault — “Karl’s Specialty.”

The ear-shattering sound blasted everything in sight.

The Meat Bees froze mid-air, their compound eyes vibrating uncontrollably as they were assaulted by the maddening melody. The Bearowl staggered, its massive frame trembling under the auditory onslaught.

It was chaos. The horrendous sound sent every creature into a frenzy far more terrifying than the effects of Demonic Qi. The Bees and Bearowls turned on each other, tearing into one another with a violent, unrestrained madness.

*Ding

[You disrupted Harmony. A penalty has been imposed on your physical condition for 3 hours]

[Full body restoration activated. Penalty canceled]

Sweet. I thought as I made a mad dash to group up with Sera and Lucy.

Once we were together, Lucy hurled a fog ball at the ground, creating a thick veil of darkness. The distraction was enough to let us slip away unnoticed as the monsters continued their frenzied battle against one another.

We ran as fast as our legs could carry us, not stopping until we reached the safety of the village.

Only then did we finally exhale in relief. Not only had we survived that unexpected mess, but we’d also managed to bring back some honey. It wasn’t a lot, but it was better than nothing.

“Next time, we shouldn’t get so close to the Bearowl’s territory,” I said, brushing snow off my shoulders.

“What was that?” Sera asked, staring at me intently.

“What was what?” I feigned innocence.

“Those Bearowls with the crimson fog around them! They were crazier than a Snow Hare during mating season! And then there was you with your woosh and pow and sending a Bearowl flying with just one punch! What kind of Skill was that?”

While Sera reenacted all the kung fu moves with exaggeration, Lucy stood silently nearby, observing me with her sharp eyes.

If I were her, I’d be suspicious too.

Before I could come up with an excuse, Sera suddenly grabbed my hand. Her large frame, which always exuded strength, seemed so small and vulnerable as her shoulders began to tremble.

She was half a head taller than me, but right now, she seemed so fragile.

Her voice cracked as she looked down. “Please don’t die,” she said, choking on a lingering pain.

A shadow of past trauma hung heavy in her words, a pain she clearly hadn’t moved on from. Maybe my actions reminded her of our parents, who were no longer here with us.

“I won’t,” I made an unreliable promise.

Hoping to lighten the mood, I added, “Now, let’s get this honey to the brewers and make some mead and medicine.”

I didn’t wait for a reply, hoping the change in subject would work.

Lucy seemed to be on the same page as she followed up, “Yes, the children need more medicine immediately. I’ll handle that. Young master, second miss, please go home and rest.”

“Okay.” Sera tapped her cheeks lightly, snapping herself back to her usual cheerful self. “See you later, Lucy.”

As we walked home, Sera didn’t say a word for a long while. The only sounds that echoed through the desolate village were the crunch of snow beneath our feet and the faint rustling of leaves.

“Did you Level up and get a Class, big brother?” Sera eventually asked, breaking the silence.

“No,” I shook my head. “Still Level 8.”

“…That’s even weirder, isn’t it? You didn’t Level up with all those bees we killed? I thought that punch and your movements were Skills, but they weren’t either. You’re not even Level 10 yet and have no Class. This is just so weird.”

She wasn’t wrong. I had noticed the same thing. I didn’t gain any Experience Points during the battle. Either I needed to personally kill monsters, or the System had other requirements.

“I’ve been weird since I was born,” I replied, trying to play it cool with a joke.

“Well, that’s… true,” Sera mused.

“…At least deny it a little,” I sighed. “Anyway, let’s say I reach Level 10 tomorrow. Is there anything around here that can help me get a Class?”

Sera thought for a moment before answering, “If you want to be a [Warrior] like me, you have to sacrifice the body of a monster you hunt alone. It’s the same for [Archer], but you need to hunt with a bow. I don’t remember what a [Rogue] needs, though. You can ask Lucy.”

She crossed her arms and thought so hard her face scrunched up in concentration. “That’s all I can think of for our village. You want to be an [Alchemist], right? Maybe you could sacrifice some of your inventions to get that Class.”

“I see. Thanks, Sera,” I said, reaching out to pat her head as I used to for my daughter in the previous world.

“…It’s been a long time since you did this,” Sera said softly, giggling like a little girl.

“Good girls deserve praise,” I smiled. “There’s something I want to test out. Can you help me with it?”

“Of course,” she said, thumping her chest proudly. “Leave it to me.”

I laughed lightly. It was time to test some hypotheses and grow some goddamn grass.