EVIL SYSTEM

Ben leaned back in his seat and enjoyed the cool breeze. Slowly, he let himself drift into a meditative state.

Ben focused on forming his stars for the Summoning element. He wanted to know what his summon would be and whether it was worth continuing to invest in this element.

Ben immersed himself completely in meditation, and after about three hours, he formed two more stars in his Summoning element.

In total, he now had three stars and needed seven more to perform his first summon.

After meditating, Ben turned his attention to finding a martial art that would allow him to effectively utilize his strength.

The system had an endless variety of techniques and martial arts.

[Dragon Fist]

[Black Karate]

[Hyperfluid Sword]

[Chaos Axes]

[Bone Breaker]

[Sunfire Daggers]

There were martial arts of all kinds, even some from his previous life. But this time, Ben didn't want the most powerful martial art.

He wanted a martial art that would adapt to him and his style. He wasn't a sword or saber guy, though he admitted they looked really cool.

He also didn't like using short weapons like knives or dagas. And the spear definitely wasn't his thing.

He'd rather use his own hands, but he had developed a liking for using an axe, so the axe-based martial art intrigued him. But if he lost his axe for some reason, he'd be useless in terms of martial arts.

So Ben searched deeply, reading the descriptions of each martial art until he finally found one that caught his attention.

[Ultra Reaction]

A martial art that trains and strengthens perception. Nothing can hurt you if nothing can surprise you.

Upon purchasing it, a flood of information poured into his mind. Among it were a variety of physical and strenuous exercises.

Although the martial art focused on increasing perception and reaction speed, without a body trained enough to move in the most unpredictable ways, it would be a very weak martial art.

If this martial art was practiced to its limit, it would certainly make it very difficult to harm Ben.

Ben dedicated himself to digesting the information in his head and soon understood what his first step would be.

Expanding his awareness.

Just like in meditation, Ben had to be very calm to practice this method.

The martial art came with a breathing guide and various tips.

It took Ben about an hour to enter this special meditative state.

Special because Ben's awareness and perception were no longer focused inward on his elements and stars.

His perception expanded to his surroundings. Dante's normal breathing entered his ears so clearly that for a second, Ben thought Dante was right next to him, breathing inches from his ear.

He could also hear the wind and the birds singing. Along with them came a strange, odd sound from Bedsi's engine.

This state only lasted a minute before everything returned to normal.

"Wow," Ben opened his eyes and smiled excitedly.

This was only the first level of the martial art, and he had to train constantly to enter this state more easily. All with the goal of being able to use it in combat in the future.

Ben looked at Dante, who was driving with a relaxed smile on his face.

"I think Bedsi might be a little damaged."

"Hmm?" Dante glanced at him. "What makes you say that?"

"The engine sounds weird," Ben replied.

"I think it sounds normal," Dante raised an eyebrow.

"We should get it checked. I don't want to get stranded in the middle of the road," Ben advised. "We've got nothing to lose by doing it."

"Maybe you're right," Dante nodded. "But the next big city is over five hours away."

Dante opened the glove compartment and pulled out a piece of paper, handing it to Ben.

"Look at the map and tell me which direction the nearest city is."

Ben took the map and began unfolding it.

"Don't you have a GPS or something?"

"Bedsi doesn't have air conditioning; don't expect her to have GPS," Dante joked. "I don't have a phone either, but if you have one, it would help a lot."

Ben didn't respond and simply focused on studying the map.

The hardest part of using a map is figuring out where you are. The first thing Ben did was look outside at the road and observe the signs.

Since he already knew the direction they were heading and now had a clear idea of the specific distance, Ben was able to locate himself quickly.

"Ruffbull City is the nearest city," Ben said after a while.

"That's where we're headed," Dante replied with a frown. "Isn't there even a small town closer?"

"No," Ben shook his head. "This route is just forests and road."

Dante was silent for a few seconds before sighing.

"I know a shortcut."

After about a kilometer and a half, Ben saw a dirt road, unpaved, branching off from the main road.

Dante took the shortcut not just out of concern for breaking down but also because it was getting late, and daylight was threatening to disappear.

For a dirt road in the middle of the forest, it was in relatively good condition. There were no large potholes or deep puddles of water.

But Ben noticed that Dante didn't seem very relaxed. He kept looking around, always alert for any anomalies.

"Why are you so nervous?" Ben asked.

Dante frowned deeply and hesitated to speak for a minute before sighing and explaining.

"In Bampie, there's a rumor that these woods are cursed."

"You believe in that stuff?" Ben asked with a mocking smile.

"Of course I do!" Dante nodded without hesitation. "I've seen ghosts before, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that they're terrifying."

"Hahaha," Ben laughed. "Don't be so naive. Those things don't exist. Your brain probably just played a trick on you. What you should really be afraid of is the living, not the dead."

"I swear ghosts exist! It's an undeniable fact!" Dante kept looking around while arguing with Ben. "Are you going to tell me you don't believe in the 8 Horrors, the 7 Treasures, and the 6 Beasts either?"

"Hmm?" Ben looked at him, confused.

"You don't know about the Horrors, the Treasures, and the Beasts?" This time, Dante looked at him with wide eyes. "It's a very popular children's tale. If you don't behave, one of the Horrors will come for you."

Ben shrugged. "Let's just say my mother never cared enough to tell me bedtime stories."

Dante looked at him in silence and said nothing more.

No words of comfort, pity, or anything else—nothing.

"Well," Dante coughed. "The important thing here is that every city and country has its own beliefs and urban legends. For example, in Mavis, there's a legend about a woman with one leg and no eyes who wanders at night looking for her missing parts. If she finds you, she'll attack you and rip out your eyes to try them on."

"Wow, that's grim," Ben whistled. "That would make a great horror movie plot."

"There is one!" Dante shuddered. "I didn't sleep for a week after watching that movie."

"The point here..." Dante continued, "is that even though in Mavis, this creature is seen as horrifying and evil, in Luttia, it's viewed as a being of prosperity. If someone sees it, it means that person will have success."

"Is it a strange belief? Of course, but it's their belief," Dante pointed out. "But the 8 Horrors... In every country I've been to, in every city, if you ask anyone—whether a child, teenager, adult, or elder—they all fear the Horrors."

"Look, I'm not saying that just because everyone believes in them, they're necessarily real," Dante continued. "But there has to be a reason why everyone fears them and is even afraid to mock them."

"There are a lot of superstitious people in the world; that's the answer," Ben mocked. "No one dares to mock them?"

Ben stuck his head out the car window and shouted.

"Heyyy, Horrors! I, Benjamin Clay, don't believe in you, and I challenge you to appear before me!!"

"Are you crazy?!" Dante paled and trembled with fear. "You're playing with fire!"

"Don't worry," Ben smiled, not too concerned. "Ghosts don't exist."

"The Horrors aren't ghosts!" Dante started sweating. "They're beings of immense evil that defy all logic and follow only their own laws."

"Don't worry, nothing's going to happen," Ben hadn't even finished speaking when the car started making a strange noise and suddenly shut off.

Dante just stared at him.

"This has nothing to do with it," Ben justified. "I already told you the engine was sounding weird."

"Only you would think to challenge the Horrors at sunset in a cursed forest!"

"Come on, it's not that big of a deal," Ben got out of the car and started pushing it. He didn't want to be under Dante's judgmental gaze, which seemed to blame him for what was happening.

Thanks to his strength, he was able to push it relatively easily.

But because they weren't moving as fast as before, night caught up with them.

They could barely see anything in the darkness of the night, and in the silence of the forest, something stood out.

A house on top of a hill, just off the road.