World's Last Hope

"So, what exactly happened?" Eric asked, turning his head to face Olivia.

"After that Grade-6 monster appeared, we got lucky because it made the dragons divert their attention away from us," she began, her tone filled with relief. "I thought for sure we were done for, but then everything changed so suddenly."

"Now that I think about it, it might have been because of you, Eric," Aria interjected. "Wasn't one of your traits something that negatively affected monsters, making them want your soul or something similar?"

Eric frowned, rubbing the back of his neck as he recalled the specifics. "Yeah, I think the 'The Cursed One' had something like that written. It would explain why they were so fixated on me—or us."

"Well, after the dragons were distracted," Olivia continued, "we finally managed to reach the mountain. Once there, we quickly found a cave to shield us from danger and began the process of reviving you."

Her voice softened. "It wasn't easy, though. You were in bad shape, and we were completely exhausted."

Aria blushed slightly, remembering what she had to do. "You know, seeing you burned so badly really gave me a scare! I'm pretty sure your heart even stopped for a while. It's a miracle we managed to save you!"

"What about you?" Olivia asked, tilting her head slightly. "How did it feel... dying?"

Eric shuddered for a moment, recalling the experience he'd gone through.

"Well... I'm pretty sure I went to hell and met the Grim Reaper face-to-face."

"You what?" Olivia shouted, finding it hard to believe Eric's words—not that he could blame her.

"Forget about it," he said as he stood up, using the gem that they had gifted him before he opened the map, noticing they were just ten kilometers away from reaching the cathedral.

"We might be close, but I guess we should expect even more danger from now on..." he muttered under his breath

"By the way, how long was I out for?" he asked, his eyes still glued to the map.

After an uncomfortable silence, he shifted his gaze to the girls, who were staring at him with wide eyes, their cheeks flushed deeply for some reason.

"What?" he asked, his brows furrowing in confusion.

Without answering, Aria raised her hand and pointed downward. Following her gesture, his face reddened as he realized he was naked, and by standing, he was now fully visible.

He was about to summon his armor when a voice stopped him.

"Wait!"

It was Aria, who had turned her back to him. Olivia did the same.

"You've been asleep for three days," Aria explained, her voice slightly flustered. "So... before summoning your armor, it might be wise to take a bath."

Pushing past the uncomfortable feeling, he asked, "A bath?"

"Yeah. A bit deeper in the cave, there's a river running through it. The water is clear, so you can use it to wash yourself."

Eric nodded, muttering a quiet thanks before heading deeper into the cave.

…..

"Eric?" Aria asked, slightly turning her head to look at his location, only to find him missing.

"I guess he immediately went to search for it…" Aria sighed.

"Hey, Aria," Olivia said hesitantly, breaking the silence. She glanced at her companion, her cheeks still slightly flushed. "When you summoned him to our world, he was naked, right? Was he... uh... like that back then too?"

Aria's cheeks reddened further. "No, he wasn't. I guess it's true that men get... excited when they're sleeping."

*****

After Eric finished taking a long bath, he felt refreshed. At least he no longer smelled like burned human flesh.

He summoned his armor, which wrapped around his body. The girls did the same, and they exited the cave.

Looking at the new scenery, Eric's eyes narrowed. They were currently on a high mountain made of black rock. Below them stretched a landscape of nature unlike anything he'd seen before.

There were glowing mushrooms the size of trees and plants with faces that seemed to stare at potential prey. Floating in the air were enormous eyes, as big as human heads, their gaze casting an unnatural, dangerous light.

"I'd better stay away from their gaze," he muttered under his breath.

"There," Aria said, pointing toward a distant mountain. "I don't need a map anymore—I can feel it. The cathedral is there... our target is there."

"By the way, how's your essence?" Olivia asked.

Eric shifted his gaze to her, but her black armor and hair camouflaged her so well against the black mountain that it was hard to see her.

"Not much left, but it should be enough to reach the cathedral, at least…"

Now that he had a moment, he checked his status, only to be surprised by a new trait, "The Last Stand."

"I guess this explains why I was so strong before I passed out…" he thought.

Remembering the description of "The Cursed One" trait, he decided to check it more closely. His eyes widened in shock.

"What?"

He tried to select his trait, but there was a problem. When he did, the system seemed to glitch as if there was an error. After multiple attempts, he was left with no choice but to ask.

'Why can't I select this trait?'

[There seems to be interference in the system that is preventing you from accessing the trait information.]

'What could be the issue?' he asked, clearly concerned. Now, there seemed to be something capable of interfering with the system's functions. But who—or what—could it be?

He pondered for a moment before his face lost all color.

'Don't tell me… is it that creature? The Grim Reaper? I remember the trait stated that I would not be able to escape death again… and yet I did…'

Seeing that he was lost in thought, Aria asked him, "Eric? Is something the matter?"

But he didn't pay her any attention. He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts.

Until the system interrupted him.

[Attention! A trait has been updated!]

[Updated Trait: The Cursed One]

Caught off guard, he quickly checked his status again.

When he did, his face became deadly pale.