The three Colombians led the way with Leo and Ken following from the back. They kept a gap between each other as the duo was still wary of the new strangers.

“Shit, we’re going farther away from east,” Ken said, pocketing back the compass into his pants pocket.

“Come on, man. It’s the right thing to do,” Leo said. “Just think of it as a side-quest.”

“A side-quest that gives no reward is not a side-quest,” Ken replied. “And did you see the thing in that Latina's hand? She has a bow, and she could have killed us.”

“But she didn’t,” Leo said. He assumed she left it as a sign of showing no hostility.

“Well, who knows what she was thinking. The bow doesn’t even look good, and I don’t think it comes from the system,” Ken said.

Leo took a double-take at the bow she was holding. The design was simple and crude and the arrows too were not your typical looking arrows. It was as if she made it from scratch.

Along the journey, it didn’t take long for them to encounter a stalking beast. The one who alerted them was not Leo, but rather the woman holding the bow.

“Leopardo!” she shouted as her motion was smooth, nocking an arrow instantly on her wooden bow. She pulled back the string close to her ear, aiming down sight. Then she let it loose. The arrow missed the eye, but ripped through its fur, leaving a trail of dripping blood.

The leopard pushed forward, fearing not a flimsy arrow. It pounced at the closest and most vulnerable in the group. The shortest woman with the widest ass. She screamed, fearing for her life as she couldn’t even move. Her memories of her life flashed before her eyes as death was about to come.

“Taunt!” Ken yelled. His skill immediately drew the attention of the leopard who was an inch closer in ripping the Colombian lady’s head apart. It pounced at the taunter, baring its yellow fangs. But its teeth sunk not at flesh as the plastic and fabric of the chair buckler blocked its beastly intent. Ken followed with a thrust, and the gladius went straight to the leopard’s body. He twisted the handle, making it worse for the beast. The leopard let go of its bite, but as soon as it did, it went limp to its death.

“Sword up, Ken!” Leo shouted brought Ken back to alertness. It wasn’t only one leopard as more came out from the thick bushes.

Leo rushed through the jungle floor with his eyes glowing in green. His speed was enhanced and his swing got quicker. He swept an incoming leopard by the leg, and it fell to the side. A downward blow sealed the deal as the bludgeon head of a leopard stayed motionless in its death. Yet that single big cat wasn’t enough to raise his level.

He fought harder going against two at the same time. He swung and missed. The one at the back saw a chance and pounced. Leo turned at the last moment alerted by his perception, readied to give a decisive blow. But an arrow struck right at the head of the feline, and it dropped. Leo looked over and saw the archer gal nocking another arrow. He appreciated the help, but right now, what he needed was more experience.

He went back to the lone leopard and killed it off using his aluminum bat’s reach. With his speed, and strength behind that swing, a lone leopard couldn’t contend against his power. In the end, he killed another two, but there was no new message.

“That was fun,” Ken said, smiling.

Leo glanced at the woman who still stood at the same place. Yet her wet crotch gave it away. The archer gal comforted the scared woman, and the guy holding a scalpel could only stand and watch. Leo drew closer to him and asked, “Is she the only one who fights in your group?”

“You mean Paola?” the guy said, glancing at the archer gal.

“Yea, the one who uses the bow,” Leo said.

“Si, she’s the only one who can,” the guy said. His head glanced down with a somber look.

Leo got the gist of it. Last night's event must have happened to them also. A fight against a horde of beasts was not something that anyone could survive easily. He figured most of them probably died last night, and the sole fighter left was only this bow gal named Paola.

They continued their journey. Leo stuck around with Alvaro and had a few small talks with the guy. Alvaro worked as a clinic assistant at the clinic they were heading to. And he had the same experience as them, weird individuals asking them weird questions. Then the ground started to shake, and in the end, they were here, stranded in the middle of a jungle.

“We’re here,” said Alvaro.

Leo stood there for a few seconds, taking in the sight of a one-floor small lot clinic. Even the lobby of his company was a lot bigger than this. He couldn’t imagine what these people had gone through with this kind of shelter.

“It’s pretty shit if you ask me,” Ken said. Blunt like always.

The two of them went inside through the back door as the main entrance of this clinic gateway to their world, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. Bloodstains were all over the chaotic place, and the musty smell wasn’t making it any better.

“Over here,” said Paola.

Leo and Ken went through a door labeled as the examination room. The smell of strong alcohol pierced through his nose, and his sight found a few bodies on the floor. But all of them were covered from head to toe. He didn’t have to guess to know that these must be their fallen comrades.

Moving further in, his eyes traced over the thing that Paola was looking at. It was a kid lying on the examination bed. Her face was pale and her lips getting bluer like a corpse. Yet the heavily bandaged arm was where the problem lied. Her forearm was missing and Leo could guess that a big cat must have ripped it off. This poor girl definitely had a worse night than he and Ken.

“Where’s the doctor?” Leo asked.

The glance from Paola to the dead body on the floor was enough of an answer. “Can you help her or not?” she asked as her strong gaze met with Leo’s eyes.

“I’ll try,” Leo said. His hand reached out for the kid but stopped before touching her.

“What are you doing?” Paola asked. The creases on her forehead furrowed deeply as what Leo was doing boggled her mind.

“Relax, I’m going to heal her,” Leo said.

“Heal?” Paola asked confusion all over her face. “But how? You…” her words fell as she witnessed the girl’s body covered in white light. Everyone in the room had their eyes bulged wide open, seeing a strange light that came out of nowhere. Then the light receded.

Paola went to the girl’s side, pushing Leo away. “Julia?” she tried to wake her up. She saw the difference in her complexion as her color was returning. But Julia still wasn’t responding to her voice. “Why isn’t she waking up?” her eagle-like eyebrows demanded an answer from Leo.

Leo looked annoyed. “Because I’m not finished, and you’re getting in the way,” he said.

It dawned on Paola and she left in silence, giving space to Leo to do his job. Ken, on other hand, was grinning seeing Leo manhandled the archer gal. He didn’t understand what they were talking about, but their expressions alone were enough for the warrior.

He healed Julia for the second time, then the third. It went on until almost half of his MP was drained. With sweats dripping down Leo’s face, she looked at the girl who was finally stabilized. And how did he know? Well, by luck his Identify went a level, reaching level two. If it was still level one, he could only see the level of a user but now it was different.

[Name][Julia Gonzalez][Human]

[Level][0]

[Class][-]

[HP][40/40]

[SP][40/40]

He thought his Identify would never level up, considering how many times he had used it after each cooldown. Leo came to realize that leveling skills and spells were much harder compared to level.

“Sir? How is she?” Paola asked politely. She knew that Leo was her only chance of getting her sister back.

“She’s fine,” Leo said. “Her HP isn’t dropping, so for now she’s in the clear.”

Leo gave Paola some space, and the big sister called out to her younger sibling. “Julia…” she repeated that name until Julia’s eyes finally twitched. She slowly opened her eyes and saw her big sister tearing up. “Paola?” the moment Julia said those words, Paola hugged her tight, crying over her shoulder.

Leo and Ken gave them some space and went to the doctor’s room led by Alvaro.

“You know, I almost think you were a doctor just now, and the tone was just right,” Ken said, grinning. “Grey’s Anatomy?”

Leo gave a shove at Ken, a sign to stop the teasing. Thinking back, it was pretty cringing on how he said it. He made a mental note to do that again.

“So side-quest is done. Now let’s off for the main one,” Ken said.

“Yea, let’s go,” Leo took a quick look at the place and it was a mess. In hindsight, they got pretty lucky to transfer with the whole company building.

“Wait, you’re leaving?” Alvaro asked, panicking over these two men’s intention.

“But you can’t just leave. What about us?” Alvaro begged with his eyes, hoping Leo and Ken wouldn’t leave them.

The woman who pissed in her short jeans, Cecile or Chichi for short, heard from the examination room. She barged in with her eyes shaking. “Please, you can’t leave us,” said the woman.

“I’m sorry, guys, but we have to,” Leo said. Standing his ground. “I believe you two received the same message that told us to climb Mount Akrat, and both of us intend to do so.”

“But you’re a saint. You can’t just leave us here,” the woman said. She came closer to Leo and grasped his hands.

“A saint? I think there’s a misunderstanding here,” Leo said. He was caught off guard by the sudden title. “I’m not a saint, miss.”

“Yes, you are,” said Chichi. Staring at Leo with a fervent gaze. “The healing light you made to heal Julia is the truth, you are the one, you are the saint.”

“Bro, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but that big-ass girl is staring at you like a fanatic,” Ken said, seeing the obvious.

“Chichi is right,” Alvaro chimed in. “You are our savior, you are the saint that we never asked for.”

Leo sighed. Things were getting complicated and he started to regret coming here.

“What’s going on?” Paola asked, coming right on time.

“Hey, you,” Leo called. “Didn’t you explain to these guys about class attainment?”

“Class?” Paola looked clueless.

Leo’s head dropped. ‘Oh my God, not this again,’ Leo thought. “At level five, you have options to choose a class, didn’t you choose the archer class?” he asked.

“Yes, I did. Why?” she asked.

“Then can you explain to them, that I am no saint, and the white glowing thing is just my spell from being a mage,” Leo said.

“A mage?” that clueless face was on Paola again.

Leo pinched his nose bridge as he was getting a headache just from dealing with these ignorances. It was so hard for him to deal with these non-gamers who knew nothing about games.

“Listen up, I’m just going to explain this once, and then I’m getting out of here,” Leo said. He then explained to the three of them the mechanic of this system and how at certain levels you could obtain rewards like a class. He went further explaining the roles of each class from a warrior to a mage.

“So is that how you’re strong?” Paola asked.

“Every class has its own advantage, but a higher level will definitely give you a bigger advantage,” Leo said. “Can you tell me your status? I can help you out in figuring what to do with your future progression.”

Paola agreed immediately and told him everything.

[Name][Paola Gonzalez][Human]

[Level][5]

[Class][Archer]

[HP][50/50]

[SP][50/50]

[MP][75/105]

[Strength][23]

[Vitality][5]

[Fortitude][0]

[Dexterity][11]

[Agility][9]

[Perception][8]

[Intellect][5]

[Spirit][8]

[Charisma][5]

[Luck][0]

“Wow, you put quite a lot in strength,” Leo said.

“Is that bad?” Paola asked with concern.

“For an archer, that’s a bit too much,” Leo said. Then he traced down and noticed the low perception. He frowned as it didn’t make any sense to him. How could a low perception detect danger faster than even him?

“I’m sorry for asking this, but how did you find out about the leopard?” Leo asked.

“It’s a skill I learned called Detect Danger,” said Paola. “It’s strange how it works. I kinda knew that something was there before I can even see it. Like there’s this aura that I can sense or something.”

‘It must be a passive skill,’ Leo thought. ‘I wonder whether mages have a spell like that.’

He then consulted with Ken on what to do about Paola’s future progression. After much discussion, both came up with a logical point distribution for an archer.

“Next time you level up, put two to dexterity, two to agility, and the last points either perception or vitality, choose it according to your need. But I suggest putting on vitality first since you need more stamina,” Leo said. “You can’t really fight if you keep panting on your breath, right?”

It was not an outstanding point distribution, but at least it would get Paola’s stats aligned with being an archer. He just hoped in the long run, she knew what to do with her stats progression.

“And what about strength?” Paola asked. She knew what strength meant to her. As feeling strong for the first time, besting even a man made her feel delighted.

“I suggest not. Unless you decided to use a heavier bow with stronger draw weight,” Leo said. But the look on her face showed she couldn’t just abandon the strength attribute. “Or you could do this, alternate the last point with perception, vitality, and strength. But focused on the lower number first, okay?”

She agreed, nodding to his suggestion. At least in the future, he might have an archer as an ally.

“We’d help you as much as we can, so I think we better go now,” Leo said.

“I want to follow you,” Chichi said. Catching everyone in the room by surprise.

“Um . . . Why exactly?” Leo asked.

“Because I love you,” she said.

“You what now?” Leo was shocked. The sudden confession came out of nowhere.

“It’s love at first sight. You save me when I’m on the brink of death. If wasn’t for you, I would have…” she omitted her last word and voluntarily hugged Leo.

He felt something soft pressed against his body. Yet his eyes darted between Ken and Paola as if asking ‘what the fuck is going on here?’

Ken smirked. “Good for you, man. You just got yourself some fine cake,” Ken said.

“You’re not helping,” Leo said. He gently pushed Chichi away and felt her strength, trying not to let go of him.

“Let her,” Paola said. Her words didn’t make any sense to Leo.

“Let her what exactly? If you’re still blind, the jungle isn’t a place for a romantic getaway,” Leo said. Yet his inner thought was a different matter. ‘Will I finally get a girlfriend?’

“It’s just her own way of saying that she wants protection,” Paola said.

“Don’t put words in my mouth, Paola,” Chichi hollered. She was frowning and pointing her finger at Paola. “When I said I love him, I do love him.” The woman who just cried on Paola’s shoulder was now standing toe to toe with Paola.

“Oh,” Leo couldn’t hide his disappointment. He thought he had a chance this time, but alas it was just a cover.

“Miss, I don’t think there’s a need to go that far,” Leo said.

Chichi tried to deny it, but Leo stopped her from making it worse. “There’s no need to worry. Sooner or later, you’ll get back home before you know it, and with the numbers you have, you guys have a higher chance than us to open up the main entrance,” Leo said.

“What do you mean?” Paola asked, inching closer to Leo.

“Do any of you have the skill Identify?” Leo asked.

Chichi raised her hand, and Leo dragged him to the main entrance. With the rest trailing from behind. Leo taught Chichi how to use Identify, and after a few seconds, she saw what Leo saw.

[Gateway(Locked)]

[Requirement: More than 50% reach level 10]

[Progress: 0/4]

“What is it? What’s going on?” Paola pressed for answers.

“It’s the door,” Chichi said, pointing at the door. The scene outside was their familiar street. “We can go home. We can really go home,” she broke into a smile, then leaped into Paola’s arms. From glaring to now hugging, her change was as quick as lightning, and Leo had a thought.

‘Girls are really weird,’ Leo thought.

“Explain, Chichi!” Paola parted herself from Chichi and demanded an answer. The gal with the most rotund bottom explained to her what she saw. Then the frown on Paola vanished, turning into a smile. She started cheering and hugged Chichi with more delight. The archer then dragged Alvaro along and explained to him while celebrating like it was a festival.

“Not gonna lie, I really think you should tap that,” Ken whispered, ogling at Chichi's bouncing bottom.

But then…

The wall exploded. Dust and bricks went flying across the corridor as the festive celebration immediately came to an end. The three Colombians were all on the floor, covered in dust. Two were unconscious, and one was shaking her head, trying to get up. While Leo and Ken came forward, taking a battle stance in between the Colombians and the thing that rammed right through the wall.

Leo was dead serious and Ken, smiling like a kid.

“You finally got what your wish for,” Leo said.

“My prayer has been answered,” Ken said, aiming his blade at the big silhouette. “It’s time for me to kill a fucking rhino.”