Danger?

The moment the screen appeared in front of me, my body instinctively tensed.

[Danger! Abnormal Monster detected nearby!]

The bright red screen was hovering right in front of my eyes while Black was casually standing there holding the tree branches.

"Why is the system showing this warning? Is there a monster nearby?"

My brows furrowed and I instinctively looked around myself. There was forest, the hut, the darkness, and Black, but no monster I could spot.

’That only leaves one possibility...’

Slowly my gaze returned toward Black. The screen wasn’t disappearing, which only meant one thing.

The abnormal monster this was warning me about was standing in front of me.

This realization sent a cold shiver down my spine. My eyes widened slightly as fear slowly began to take over my body.

Noticing this, Black tilted his head and began.

"What happened?" he asked casually. "Why are you sweating?"

"S-sweating? Who?" I subconsciously raised my hand and touched my forehead. When I did, I sensed that the paper bag was getting wet from something.

However, I forced myself to stay calm and casually took a small step backward. He raised an eyebrow at my reaction.

At first glance, Black looked completely normal. Dark hair, somewhat tired eyes, and ordinary clothes. Nothing was unusual. Except for the hut behind me.

But the system still wasn’t calming down.

Ding!

[Warning: Host is advised to maintain caution.]

"..."

I couldn’t understand why it was showing this thing now. Why couldn’t it inform me when I first met Black?

This function must have been locked, just like all others under the name of me getting married first.

Black stared at me for a few seconds before suddenly laughing under his breath.

"The way your body is tensed up, it seems like you have seen a ghost."

Ghost?

Only if it was a ghost.

I forced myself to calm down and replied, "It is nothing. I just got startled when you suddenly appeared behind me without the mask."

"Hmmm..."

Black narrowed his eyes slightly as if he was trying to read my expression under the mask. But thankfully he didn’t press the matter further. Instead, he walked past me toward the hut.

The moment he passed by me, I felt a cold chill and my entire body stiffened.

For a split second... I sensed it. A pressure which wasn’t mana yet was so strong. I had felt mana from Elena before, so I know this wasn’t it.

It was completely different. Like I was standing near a beast pretending to be a human.

Creeeak~

Black pushed the broken wooden door open and looked back at me. "Are you coming in or planning to stare at the forest all night?"

His voice sounded completely normal, which almost made me think that the system warning might be fake.

Almost.

Because if I let my guard down for even a bit, I don’t know what could happen in that moment.

Before turning to Black, I looked at the screen for the last time.

[Abnormal Monster nearby.]

The warning still hadn’t disappeared, and it was making my heartbeat faster every second around Black.

"Yeah." I said and slowly walked inside the hut with cautious steps.

The inside was surprisingly cleaner than I expected. There was an old wooden table, a lantern hanging from the ceiling, and several bags piled in one corner.

But what caught my attention the most... was the faint smell that lingered in the air. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

It was blood. Not fresh, but old dried-up blood. The kind that soaked into wood.

Unconsciously, my hand moved to cover my nose, but halfway through I forced it back down. I didn’t want Black to get suspicious.

Meanwhile, he casually threw the branches into a corner and sat on top of the table itself instead of using the chair.

"You came faster than expected," he said while crossing one leg over the other. "Most people usually think for at least a few days before agreeing to enter another Gate after almost dying."

"I-I just need a bit of money," I answered quickly.

That was entirely a lie. But I needed to give some excuse in this situation.

Black stared at me silently for a moment. Then spoke up in a low voice, "That isn’t the real reason."

My heartbeat skipped. He... he is really different from the one I met yesterday.

"What?"

"You don’t look desperate for money." He rested his chin on his palm. "You look desperate for something else."

Those words were a bit too accurate and for a second, Viora’s face appeared in my mind.

Her blindness, trembling hands, the system, and lastly the evolution screen. Those... were the reasons I was here, but I don’t want to tell him that.

"Even if that’s true, what does it matter?" I asked carefully.

Black smiled faintly as he raised both his hands and shook his head. "Nothing. I just find humans interesting."

He said humans, not people. The way he said that sentence made my skin crawl slightly.

’Why is this getting worse every second?’

I swallowed quietly and decided to change the topic before his next words gave me a heart attack.

"So, what about the work? Am I in or not?"

"Right."

Black hopped off the table and walked toward one of the bags lying in the corner. After opening it, he pulled out several objects wrapped in dark cloth.

Weapons, daggers, short swords, and something resembling a black crystal were inside it.

"There is a Gate we are going to clear tomorrow," he explained casually, just like before. "Low-rank goblin type Gate. Easy work."

If it is goblins, then why would he need me? He and the other two can easily clear it without me. I think he wants to test me further before trusting me completely.

But shouldn’t it be me who has to test him to see if he won’t just jump me and stab me while I am not looking?

To tell the truth, I really don’t want to get involved with him after the abnormal monster warning, but I have a feeling that there is more to it than the system told me about.

So I will just trust my instincts and enter a Gate with him to find out about him and get goblin’s trait for Viora.

"So, what do you say?"

He asked and I replied by holding my hand out, "What is there to say? It is a deal."

A smile appeared on his face and like last time we shook each other’s hands, and I left the hut very, very cautiously after taking the dagger he gave me.

Phew~

Getting a bit further, I let out a sigh.

"That... was nerve-wracking."