Suddenly, my perception shifted; I was no longer in darkness.

  "A, B... C, D..." Testing this body's voice, I struggled to speak as the lack of air made it difficult.

  ‘Damn it! It hurts! Breathing, trying to stand—it all hurts! How can a candidate's body be so fragile?’ Frustrated by the situation, I forced myself to stand.

  I had possessed the candidate when he lost consciousness. My previous body, the sword, was still clenched in my right hand as I knelt on the ground. Hunger and thirst gnawed at me, but the worst of all...

  “Coward! Come out and fight!”

  The bear, desperate, pounded on the barrier repeatedly, hoping to break it.

  The wolves, eager to kill me, supported him, scratching and ramming to see if they could crack it.

  ‘Idiots.’ Taking a deep breath, I focused. ‘If I keep this up, this body won't last. I have to release another skill.’

  “You...!” The bear growled, exhaling sharply, exhausted from attacking the barrier. “What’s the point of having a sword if you’re not going to fight? Planning to cut a cake or something? Fight! Get out here and fight!” He roared, coughing as he finished, and my patience snapped.

  “Do you think I don’t want to fight, you moron?! Just because you’re big and fluffy—” My throat felt like it was tearing apart, but I kept yelling, “—you think that gives you the right to insult me!?”

  Stunned by my response, the bear stepped back.

  The wolves, who had been attacking, froze and circled around the barrier.

  I knew these creatures had been ambushing small groups of adventurers exploring the forest for wood, killing them mercilessly due to their overwhelming numbers.

  “You… Can you understand me?” The bear’s tone softened as he got on all fours and looked me in the eye. “Human, I have a…”

  He mumbled something I ignored as I made a reluctant decision to unlock a skill.

  ‘Yes, that’s better, much better!’ Smiling slightly, I felt my wounds beginning to heal.

  “A-A… aho… ah, now!” I gasped as my breathing and throat returned to normal.

  “A?” The bear tilted his head in confusion at my sudden change in behavior.

  Gradually, I adapted to speaking with a physical mouth.

  “Now you’re done for, big guy! Let’s fight!”

  “Huh? But I just said—”

  Ignoring him, I stood up, gripping the sword with both hands, and charged toward the bear.

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  ‘He’s going down! Oh, he’s gonna see—’

  I crashed.

  Straight into my own barrier, landing on the ground in the most humiliating way possible.

  ‘How? Why? Have I gone stupid from being cooped up? How do I forget to deactivate my own barrier? Ugh… Well, at least no one saw me.’

  All the creatures around me stared in stunned silence.

  “Uh…” I tried to rub my face discreetly as I got back up.

  “Hahaha! No worries. I’ve always suspected humans were weird. Don’t worry; I won’t judge. Though honestly, I’d—”

  Ignoring his rambling, I straightened up.

  ‘I’m rusty. Centuries away from combat have dulled me. Mistakes happen!’

  Cheering myself up, I readied for round two.

  The pain in this body was gone. My muscles didn’t ache, and hunger and thirst had subsided. The only problem was a nagging thought, but I could handle that.

  “Oh? Wait, how silly of me! Let me change form.”

  A small flash lit up where the bear stood.

  My eyes burned.

  “Damn it!”

  “Hahaha! Sorry about that; it’s beyond my control.” A calm, confident voice spoke. A tall, muscular man stood there, smiling. “You still understand me, right? Talking in this form is more comfortable.”

  He was naked.

  Yes, no matter where I looked, the bear—who had been over two meters tall—was now this exhibitionist. Credit where it’s due, his physique was impressive, but his tendencies were… questionable.

  “Now we’re even! Has this encounter left you all bristled? Hahaha! Don’t worry, we share the same style.” He pointed to his bald head, emphasizing it.

  “…And the fight?”

  “Fight? I just said I wanted to talk! It’s rare to find beings who speak our language, especially humans!”

  A wolf, resembling one that had attacked my candidate earlier, approached the bald man.

  “Boss… With all due respect, I don’t think he’s very sane.”

  “Hey! I can hear you!” I snapped.

  Surprised I understood, the wolf glanced at his companions for their reactions.

  Silence. Apart from the three of us, no one else made a sound. The bald man responded formally, “Ethrion, please… Can’t you see how perfectly he speaks our language? He’s practically a native!” Turning to me in a friendlier tone, he added, “Don’t mess with our guest!”

  “But you ordered us to—”

  “Forget what I said earlier! What matters is now. We’ve still got goblins in the reserves!”

  “Understood…”

  As I deactivated my barrier, I felt all the wolves tense up.

  “Stand down!”

  Before they could attack, the bald man gestured, and they all sat obediently.

  “He’s my guest. Go feast on goblins.”

  As if his word was law, all the wolves retreated except for the one beside him.

  “I’m glad you dropped that barrier! I have to admit, it’s tough. Impenetrable, even. Though I think a few more good hits would’ve shattered it.”

  “No.”

  I replied curtly, approaching him with my sword in hand.

  “Put your weapon away,” the wolf growled.

  “Ethrion… let it be. Maybe carrying a weapon is part of his customs.”

  “Understood.”

  Once I was close enough, I asked them directly:

  “So… you’re not going to fight?”

  Raising his hands with a chuckle, the bald man replied, “Brother! I’ve been saying… Fine, if you want to fight, we can do that later. For now, I’ve got questions!”

  To be fair, apart from smashing into my barrier, this guy hadn’t disrespected me. His subordinate, who clearly disliked me, still held an aggressive stance.

  “And him? Does he want to fight?” I pointed at his companion.

  “Haha, only if—”

  “No! This guy’s an old assistant. You’d kill him!”

  “Oh… Good eye. I’m listening.”

  I respect opponents who surrender honestly. I don’t enjoy killing those unwilling to fight.

  “Where are you from?”

  “The Underworld.”

  “Does everyone there have that hairstyle? I might visit if that’s the case!”

  Laughing at his own joke, the wolf backed off to give us more privacy.

  “How many people know our language? The last time I spoke to someone like this was a girl who…”

  This felt strange.

  ‘Why are more and more trees glowing with that odd symbol? Isn’t it the same one near where I was impaled?’

  At first, I dismissed it as irrelevant, but my instincts were uneasy.

  ‘Where do I know that symbol from? Who used it? If only I could remember…’

  “If I’m not mistaken, she came here last month! You should talk to her!”

  “What girl are you talking about?”