Staring at the screen, Alex panicked.

What the hell? Why is there a spirit so deep in the forest?!

Beasts, monsters, spirits, and so on leveled up by consuming specific resources, and the most common of them was mana crystals, which usually clustered inside mountain caves, and because the outermost layer was closer to the mountains, most high-ranked beasts stayed there.

However, the hierarchy of beasts didn’t affect the spirits mainly because they didn’t have a physical body – instead, they manifested themselves in the form of energies, so it was nearly impossible to harm them.

But here he was, standing face to face with a shadow half-spirit.

Even though its rank and level weren’t too high, Alex didn’t have any kind of attacks that he could use to harm it.

"Dammit." Alex gritted his teeth and tightened his grip as much as he could.

What should I do? He tried to think of a solution, but suddenly, the stretching shadow returned to normal.

It’s changing the location!

Fortunately for him, shadow spirits and half-spirits were extremely cowardly and only attacked when they were sure of claiming the prey.

Alex’s gaze shifted toward the sky, which was painted in the red of twilight, and he took a deep breath.

It would be better for me to run away.

Alex made up his mind. He swiftly turned to the back and channeled mana into his feet as he dashed with all of his might.

As he ran, a shadow streaked onto the ground and followed him.

Alex’s shoes dug into the ground, pebbles and twigs gave way under his steps, and he neared the periphery of the forest.

But just as he was about to set foot out of the forest, the wind blew from his right, and he ducked.

Splitting creak echoed throughout the place, and claw marks appeared on the tree to his left.

"Shit!" Alex cursed loudly, and his heart thumped against his chest as he neared the city.

At the same time, night fell, and the guards began to close the gates.

"Wait!" Alex shouted desperately.

The guards turned to look at him, and it was then that he remembered.

"Ah... I am a slave..."

The guards disregarded his very existence and closed the gates.

Alex’s feet slowly came to a stop, and he mumbled in a defeated tone, "I should’ve been more cautious."

He should’ve returned to the city instead of venturing too deep into the forest, but curiosity and greed had made him blind.

The shadow half-spirit slowly crept closer, and he whispered, "It’s fine, I’ll only lose the progress I made after my revival... I can get all of it back. There’s nothing wrong with starting all over."

Alex tried his best to cope with his situation, and suddenly, his face twisted into pure disgust.

"How can I give up so easily?" He asked himself and turned toward the shadow half-spirit.

"Come, you bastard!" He shouted and closed his eyes.

The shadow half-spirit halted for a minute and hesitated whether it should attack this idiotic prey or not.

Soon, it made its decision and dashed forward.

However, just as it was about to reach him, the surrounding mana shifted, and four square translucent yellow shields with honeycomb patterns appeared on all of Alex’s sides.

The shadow spirit slammed itself into the shield and bounced backward.

Alex, on the other hand, had mentally entered the Hall of Great Evils.

He opened the gates and ran from one cell to another in search of a specific one, and after a few minutes, he found it.

[Cell: Celica – Barbed Throne of Roses.]

[Prisoner: Helina Gradlise (★)]

Without wasting a single moment, he grabbed the orb and light wrapped his body, pulling him into the cell.

[System: Host Alex, you have entered a cell.]

Sharp, metallic smell of dried blood brushed Alex’s nose, and he appeared before tall wooden gates with golden filigree leading to the throne room.

Alex pushed the gates.

They opened with a loud creak, and his gaze fell on a woman sitting on a grand throne.

The woman looked to be in her twenties, her hair was like a rainbow and fell past her waist, her skin was flawless white, her eyes were closed, and she wore a regal red attire.

If it wasn’t for the glassy swords plunged into each of her joints and the center of her chest, Alex was sure she would’ve looked extremely beautiful. At the moment, though, she was like a majestic horror.

The throne room’s white walls were full of colorful, beautiful, and peaceful murals, but all were covered in blood. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Alex’s steps echoed throughout the area, and he recalled.

According to the story, after losing her parents, Helina went mad and killed over a thousand humans and fairies in revenge.

Alex stopped at the first step of the elevated throne and said, "I have come to bargain."

Hearing his voice, Helina finally opened her eyes and looked at Alex.

Seeing her silver eyes, Alex felt his chest burn, but he calmed himself.

Helina’s lips parted, and she spoke, "What... do you seek... human?"

Alex pointed at her and said, "I want you."

Helina blinked a few times and let out a mad laugh, "Hahahahaha!"

"You... you want me? How amusing. What gives you the confidence to dare sa—"

"I don’t have time for this, Helina Gradlise. Tell me, do you wish to leave this place or not?" Alex cut her off.

Helina looked into his eyes, and her lips moved.

Crack!

The second of the four shields burst into yellow shards, and the remaining two revolved around Alex. Both of them were already covered with cracks, though.

The shadow spirit clawed once again, and the shield moved before its attack.

Crack!

The remaining shield spun around Alex, and suddenly, his eyes shot open.

He instantly jumped backward and looked at the screen before him.

[Mark of Subservience: Host, you have turned a B-Rank fae into a servant!]

Summon. He mumbled inwardly, and the names of all his available summons filled his mind.

"Helina Gradlise!" He shouted, and cracks appeared across the space behind him.

At the same time, the shadow spirit jumped out of the shadow, and a pitch-black humanoid figure with two ominous red eyes clawed at the last shield.

Its claws tore apart the shield, and right at that moment, the space behind Alex widened into a gate, and Helina, sitting on the grand throne, appeared inside it.

Helina raised her hand and muttered, "Begone."

One of the glassy swords that was plunged into her joints flew out and passed through Alex’s body before striking the shadow half-spirit right at the center.

The glassy blade tore through the shadow half-spirit and exploded into colorful shards.

[Kill: Shadow Spirit]

[Experience: +10]

[Evo Points: +10]

"Haah..." Alex fell to his knee and then to the ground while the gate behind him began to close.

Helina looked at Alex and said, "Do not forget the promise."

The gate closed.

Even though Alex clearly heard her, he was physically unable to answer.

The summoning had drained all his mana.

Do not worry about it...

His eyes turned heavy, and a golden screen appeared before him.

[Devour the defeated Shadow half-spirit (Bronze V) (F)?]

"Yes..." Alex answered and drifted into sleep.