[Twin-Blade Assassin]

Su Ran instinctively felt for the items in his personal space: several Light Spell scrolls, two Lesser Healing Spell scrolls, an oak staff, and... those seven fragments of the [Skeleton Summoning Token].

The things he had originally planned to trade or keep as trump cards might soon come in handy.

He stood up and spoke quietly, but his voice rang unusually clear through the desperate clamor:

"The driver is right. We're trapped in an Otherworld Rift. If we sit here and wait, death is the only road ahead."

He paused, sweeping his gaze over several frightened faces turned toward him. "If we want to live, we have to go out, find the core of this area, and take down the enemy. Or find a way out."

He pointed out the window. "Looks like there's only one road."

The forest was dark and deep, like a giant maw gaping open, waiting to swallow every intruder.

The driver's roar and the despair that had spread through the bus afterward had almost made the air congeal.

After a brief, deathly silence, the burly driver in sunglasses took a deep breath and clapped his hands hard. The sharp sound forcibly drew everyone's attention back.

"Listen up! Crying and screaming won't help! If you don't want to die here and become fertilizer for the woods, pull yourselves together!"

He took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of sharp, scarred eyes, and scanned the people left in the bus. A few had tried to open the door and escape during the initial chaos.

But the door had refused to budge, and the sight outside the windows was even more terrifying, so they had slumped back into their seats. "I'm Lv.4, with the Black Iron Tier class [Twin-Blade Assassin].

"Now, if you want to live, state your class and level! Don't fucking hide anything. Everyone's lives are on the line!"

His level and relatively calm demeanor were like a temporary pillar of support. Under the threat of death, the instinct to survive overcame some of their fear.

A pale young man gripping the hilt of the blade at his waist was the first to speak. "Lv.2, [Bladedancer]."

A man beside him, with thick arms and a crude scabbard on his back, followed. "Lv.3, [Swordsman]."

A tall, thin man near the back door, clutching a shortbow to his chest, spoke in a trembling voice. "Lv.2, [Archer]."

Another man, who looked somewhat dull-witted but was clutching a worn spear tightly in his hand, said in a low voice, "Lv.3, [Spearman]."

Including the driver, there were now five people with clearly defined combat classes, ranging from Lv.2 to Lv.4.

The others were either ordinary people with deathly pale faces who looked as if they had no combat experience—possibly citizens headed to the outer ring on business—

or support types who might only be Lv.1 or even Lv.0, with classes lacking direct combat ability.

One was a girl huddled in a corner, clutching a small bundle, who called herself a Lv.1 [Apprentice Herbalist].

Finally, everyone's gaze, deliberately or otherwise, fell on Su Ran, who had just stood up to speak.

Meeting the driver's scrutinizing gaze and the others' looks of mingled expectation, doubt, and despair, Su Ran spoke calmly. "Lv.2, [Scholar]."

"Scholar?"

The driver immediately frowned, making no effort to hide his disappointment. "Fuck, one of the most useless support and production classes! At your level, what can you do besides get in the way?"

The eyes of several people who had just named combat classes dimmed as well. In such a desperate situation, a low-level Scholar did sound like a burden.

Su Ran was unmoved by the man's disdain, and his voice remained steady. "I have [Light Spell] scrolls that can deal with dark environments and may have a weakening effect on certain creatures that fear light.

"I have [Lesser Healing Spell] scrolls that can provide limited emergency healing."

He paused, then, as the driver's and the others' expressions shifted slightly, went on to share the most crucial information:

"Besides that, I have a special item, a [Skeleton Summoning Token]. I can use it to try summoning low-level skeleton soldiers to help us fight."

"Summon skeletons?"

The driver's gaze sharpened, and he looked Su Ran over again. Though he was still suspicious, his earlier utter disappointment had faded somewhat. "Can you control them?"

"The token requires mental power to activate, and its effect and duration are limited, but they can serve as an extra distraction or a meat shield." Su Ran did not make any sweeping claims, but he made their practical value clear.

A Lv.2 Scholar who had light, a meager amount of healing, and might even be able to summon undead creatures... Though none of those abilities sounded particularly powerful on its own,

in this dark, eerie forest and in a makeshift team with no means of healing, their value rose sharply.

The driver weighed the matter quickly, then nodded, accepting Su Ran onto the team.

"Good! Now we have five and a half combatants, plus a few... noncombatants."

He glanced at the trembling ordinary people. "Stay close and look after yourselves. We don't have the strength to spare to protect anyone in particular!"

He walked to the front of the bus, picked up a long leather case beside the driver's seat, and drew two short, gracefully curved blades that gleamed with a cold light. He held them in reverse grips.

"I'll take point. Bladedancer, Swordsman, cover my flanks. Spearman, bring up the rear and watch the back and sides.

"Archer, stay in the middle of the group. Look for chances to provide support, and conserve your arrows."

He quickly assigned the formation, then looked at Su Ran. "Scholar, stay with the Archer. Use your scrolls and that token or whatever it is when I tell you to.

"Everyone else, stay in the middle of the group. No running off, and no screaming!"

His instructions were concise and forceful, carrying an unquestionable killing intent that brought the situation under control for the moment.

"Now..." The driver walked up to the tightly shut bus door and tried pulling it by hand, but it did not budge. His gaze turned cold.

He stepped back half a pace and let out a low shout. His right leg lashed out like a whip, whipping up a fierce gust as he kicked the joint of the door hard!

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, his kick actually bent the sturdy door out of shape, and the latch groaned under the strain. He followed up with another kick.

"Clang!"

The door was finally kicked open by force. Cold, damp air, thick with the smell of humus and some inexplicable fishy odor, poured into the bus at once, making everyone shiver.

Outside was the muddy path, stretching into the boundless, dark forest. Twisted trees watched the uninvited guests like silent giants.

Gripping both blades tightly, the driver was the first to step off the bus, onto the soft, muddy ground.

"If you don't want to die, follow me!"

Su Ran took a deep breath of the air bearing the scent of another world, pushed a trace of nervousness down into his heart, and stepped off the bus right behind the tall, thin man with the bow.

The makeshift team trudged along the muddy forest path. The ground was wet and slippery, and all around them stood enormous, twisted, tangled trees draped in wet moss and vines.

The light was exceedingly dim. Only a bleak glimmer, its source unknown, filtered through gaps in the thick canopy, barely outlining their surroundings.

A lingering stench of decay filled the air, along with a faint sense of being watched with malice.