It reminded him of a starry sky: so beautiful and as vast as the universe. He felt as if floating, yet knew that the scene was nothing but a deadly trap. 

  　　At this moment, he was inside the Ghostly Carnivora. He also knew that the light was unbelievably deadly. 

  　　It was all pure negative energy! 

  　　He couldn't help but snicker to himself. Were the elves outside already considering him dead? Probably, right? He wasn't quite doomed just yet, for he still had a trump card. 

  　　"Activate Ghoul Transformation!" This thing was totally needed if he wanted to stand a chance. 

  　　Just as he was done morphing, the light increased in intensity, the energy penetrating his entire body. 

  　　[Negative Energy Detected!] 

  　　[Currently Undead…Immune! Immune!]

  　　He simply let it all wash over him, even going for a counterattack. "Take this!!" His full-powered slash barely left a scratch. Still, either way this creature was going down! 

  　　He kept the onslaught going, the monster seemingly not minding much. Thus he kept scratching and scratching until… 

  　　— REEEEE! — 

  　　What the hell was that cry?! The Ghost Carnivora had finally realized that something was wrong. Why hadn't the human inside it perished already? 

  　　At this moment, the creature finally learned the meaning of indigestion. It shook, unsure what was happening and even more unsure of how to fix the problem. 

  　　One had to know that the stomach of that being was a trap from which escaping was impossible. This was because the whole space would be magically closed as if it were another realm. 

  　　The poor plant opened its maw wide and tried digging the annoyance out with a vine, but it just couldn't! That's when it turned toward the sky, seemingly begging for help. 

  　　Meanwhile… 

  　　-1

  　　-1

  　　-1

  　　-1 

  　　-…
　　Jack wasn't giving up one bit. This was actually a contest of endurance between him and the plant. 

  　　He was akin to an inmate digging his way out with a plastic spoon. How was it even possible? Who freaking knows! 

  　　"Freedom awaits, just a couple more million fireballs…." Jack reassured himself as he kept firing magic / meditating at the same time, totally acting as if a Hellish Oven. 

  　　Yes, just a few million… 

  　　—
　　The elves' faces had drastically changed once they had detected the strange happenings. They all pointed toward the creature in worry. 

  　　"Its body's shaking?!" 

  　　"That's not all, is it…wailing?!" 

  　　"Oh god, what the hell did he do again?!" 

  　　They stared at the screen, beads of sweat trickling down their foreheads. They already couldn't take the suspense! 

  　　But as seconds, minutes, and hours elapsed, they concluded that Jack was definitely still alive in there. How?! 

  　　Little did they know, he was not only alive but also actively working toward taking the thing down. But then suddenly a detail came to light… 

  　　"W-what happened to the vegetation?!" A trembling elf remarked. 

  　　The previously lush Arena full of trees was slowly but surely getting transformed. The vitality of the surroundings was getting drained and turned into Negative Energy! 

  　　Life —> Death 

  　　None had ever seen it happen like that before! This was simply because the only way to defeat such a creature was one solid proactive blow. 

  　　Battle of attrition? Ridiculously dumb!

  　　But, seeing how long this took, this was beyond attrition! Heck, the elves were just watching, and they were already getting weary. How would he feel in there?! 

  　　"Tch— At least he ought to be suffering, right?" The elves glanced at one another, finding solace in that thought… 

  　　—
　　"Ah! That's the spot!" Jack was almost moaning. 

  　　Every time the creature sent a pulse of Negative Energy, he felt the fatigue in his body and soul disappear. Well…more accurately, he felt his mana regenerate, but it was similar. 

  　　What if he opened an Undead Only Resort? Wouldn't this be super popular?! Then again, spas were primarily popular with the fairer sex, and they tended to mind rotting flesh. 

  　　Time passed, and some more, and then…. 

  　　[Safety Warning!] 

  　　[Connected Too Long!] 

  　　[You Will Be Disconnected!] 

  　　[Please Rest Well! In the Meantime, t—] 

  　　"Hell no! Disable safety measures, abort! Humans can survive three days without water, don't give me that crap! Just do your job and register the damage ticks!!!" 

  　　-1

  　　-1

  　　-1

  　　-1

  　　…
　　Even as he bickered with the system, he still kept roasting the poor ghostly plant, not a shred of mercy. Luckily, the system had no choice but to back down. 

  　　Then it finally happened. With one last damage tick, the Boss collapsed, wrecked from the inside. Anyone else would have been cheering, yet he couldn't. 

  　　The joy and relief in his eyes instantly switched to solemnity. Right now, he indubitably looked and felt like a ghoul, and there was no way he could fool the elves. 

  　　[Congratulations! Completed Settlement Trials!] 

  　　[Head to the Inner Temple to collect your reward!] 

  　　[PS: It can be found easily by the exit of the Arena!] 

  　　At least he now had a clear goal! 

  　　He prepared himself and…. 

  　　— Whoosh! — 

  　　He bolted out so fast that the elves only saw his shadow. 

  　　They stared at him in disbelief. He had taken the Ghost Carvivora down?! Also, why was he wearing such a weird full-body cloak, and where was he rushing? 

  　　Still, they were too shocked to react. It was only after a few minutes that they regained their senses. But then their beautiful features twisted into horrible grimaces. 

  　　They had sensed something extraordinarily vile and corrupted: 

  　　"A demonic presence…Undead?!" 

  　　"Quick, find and obliterate this abomination!" 

  　　"Tch— Here, I thought the only vile thing here was the human, yet….Oh god!!" 

  　　The corrupted mana came precisely from the traces he had just left behind! 

  　　—
　　Jack dragged himself forward. 

  　　When was the last time he had slept? He couldn't even remember. There was only one thing in his mind: reaching the Temple, wherever that was, and grabbing his reward. 

  　　"1, 1, 1, 1, …" He kept repeating over and over. 

  　　Before, it had been a mantra to remind himself to attack, but now it was to put one foot in front of the other. 

  　　Then he found it! The Temple was a massive white tree that almost seemed made of marble and yet was definitely alive. 

  　　But right now, he didn't have the mind to observe the beauty of it. "Please let me be in time!" He rushed inside the small hole that served as a door. 

  　　[Welcome to the Elven Treasury!] 

  　　[Please Pick One Reward!] 

  　　What?! Treasury?! Wasn't this a temple?! 

  　　A second later, he was teleported into a pure white room full of countless treasures. All were super high level….but how could he pick like this?! 

  　　- Belt: ??? 

  　　- Cloak: ??? 

  　　- Dagger: ??? 

  　　Everything, absolutely everything, was sealed! He couldn't even see the complete shape of the items as they too were pixelated. Were the things here censored?! 

  　　"No, it's fine. I just need to calm down and sense the right element." He just had to remember the feeling the Seer had described in his letter. 

  　　After all, he knew precisely what he wanted: an item capable of opening the way forward to his next destination, the link between this world and the Eternal Steppes! 

  　　This was the whole reason he was here in the first place! He hurried as much as possible, observing countless items as best as he could.

  　　"Let the wind blow." He gently whispered as he created a small gale. 

  　　He stared at all the items. He'd know that he had the right one as long as it reacted to the wind. Not this one, not this one either…that one! 

  　　He had finally found it! It was on the opposite side of the room, just waiting for him. He hurried toward it. With this, he'd— 

  　　— CRASH!! — 

  　　An earth-shattering sound resounded, a being emerging from the Floor: the priestess! Oh, and she seemed positively pissed, her eyes a bottomless abyss. 

  　　"Filthy undead! I should have known! A being as weak as you couldn't possibly survive otherwise." 

  　　"Let's talk this—"

  　　"Talk?! Hehe, as if! Do you think me as naive as that stupid girl? You may have fooled her, but you won't touch our treasures!"She ridiculed. 

  　　"I totally completed the Trials. I earned it and—"

  　　With a wave, she sent everything in the room flying, the items stacking neatly in the farthest corner, a barrier of vines appearing to protect them. 

  　　The priestess gave a sadistic smile as she refocused on Jack. "Now, let's pump you full of light magic, shall we?" 

  　　Putting arrogant humans back in their place was incredibly fun, but torturing an Undead until they begged to be exorcised even more so. 

  　　At this moment, she shared an expression with those annoying Light Church guys. That's when Jack realized he was fucked. 

  　　- She was way too strong

  　　- He wouldn't get his reward 

  　　- He'd get tortured for super long 

  　　- Even if Leaf wanted to help, she wouldn't be able in the short term 

  　　- He really was utterly, completely fantastically screwed…over 9000! 

  　　"Sigh…Aren't elves supposed to be the good guys in stories? I never hurt any of you, not in this life anyway. Yet here you are being so harsh." Jack sighed. 

  　　"Hehe, are you going to cry? It's not like the undead even have emotions. They're nothing but a byproduct of magic and mere mimicry." She scoffed. 

  　　While usually right, this didn't apply to players at all! Otherwise, there would have been big problems for the players' mental state. 

  　　Exhibit 3: Elves are Bastards 

  　　At this moment, Jack understood what he had to do. It was a royal pain in the ass, but it beat the alternative. "You bitch of an elf, mark my words, I'll be back!" 

  　　That's when he took a Pumpkin out, one filled with plenty of life energy, one that would instantly kill him.

  　　"Bye-bye." Then he blew himself. 

  　　As he died, he cursed the elves, swearing to come back with an unbelievably strong army and rid the world of their righteous arrogance…