just for your information, sorry if there are some words that cannot be understood because this story was originally in my language and translated into English so there may be some parts that are difficult to understand due to language limitations

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  Morning came with a cool breeze that slipped through the leaves. Ryo opened his eyes slowly, letting the sunlight that penetrated the gaps in the trees wake him up completely. Beside him, Luna was still sleeping soundly, her face looking peaceful in the morning light.

  "Luna, wake up," Ryo whispered as he shook her shoulder gently.

  Luna blinked, her pitch-black eyes looking at Ryo sleepily before finally sitting up and stretching her body. After making sure that they were ready, Ryo took out the map he had bought earlier.

  "There's a small settlement at the end of the river," he muttered, his index finger following the flow of the water drawn on the map. "Let's head there first."

  With steady steps, they began to explore the riverbank, letting the sound of the trickling water accompany their journey. Every now and then, they encountered small monsters that became easy prey for Ryo. In addition to increasing his fighting experience, the materials they obtained from the monsters could be sold to increase their money supply.

  After several hours of travel, they finally arrived at a small, simple village. There was no hustle and bustle of a big city, just a few wooden houses with residents living their lives quietly. There was no adventurer's guild here, just a few small shops lining the main street.

  Ryo decided to look for information. He approached an old man who was sitting in front of his house, enjoying warm tea.

  "Sir, are there any other villages around here?" Ryo asked casually.

  The man put down his cup and thought for a moment before answering, "Hmmm... I'm not sure about villages. But if you're looking for a big city, there is one. If you travel south for about five to seven hours by horse-drawn carriage, you'll reach the Kingdom of Febrelis."

  "The Kingdom of Febrelis?" Ryo repeated, making sure he had heard correctly.

  The man nodded. "One of the richest kingdoms, famous for its high-quality handicrafts. Many great craftsmen live there, and their goods are sold to various regions."

  Hearing this valuable information, Ryo and Luna decided to make the Kingdom of Febrelis their next destination. But before leaving, they gathered more supplies. Ryo sold the monster materials they had obtained, then bought some supplies like dried meat and bread for their journey.

  While wandering around the village, Ryo’s eyes caught something interesting—a small shop with various unique items displayed behind glass. He stepped inside, letting his gaze wander over the shelves filled with strange objects.

  A navy-blue necklace caught his eye.

  “This necklace can increase the wearer’s mana,” the seller said proudly.

  Ryo swallowed. If this thing could really increase mana, there might be a chance for him to use magic—a possibility that had never crossed his mind before.

  “How much?” he asked.

  “Two gold coins for thirty silver.”

  Ryo almost choked. That was too much for him. Slightly disappointed, he turned his attention to another shelf.

  “Do you have any masks?” he asked.

  The seller showed him a mask for one gold coin. Again, it was too expensive.

  “Do you have any cheaper ones?”

  The man sighed, then picked up a black mask with strange carvings. “This mask is twenty silver coins. But… there’s one problem.”

  Ryo narrowed his eyes. “What problem?”

  “This mask is cursed.”

  Rather than being afraid, curiosity filled Ryo’s head. “What kind of curse?”

  The seller shook his head. “I don’t know for sure. But there’s an unpleasant aura about it. That’s why I’m selling it cheap.”

  Ryo reached for the mask, feeling a chill run down his skin. There was something strange, but also intriguing.

  “I’ll buy it,” he said without hesitation.

  But before he left, the seller suddenly pulled out another one—a white mask with an almost identical pattern.

  “Take this too, it’s free,” he said. “I don’t want to keep this creepy thing any longer.”

  Luna eyed the masks nervously, but she was used to Ryo’s often unexpected decisions.

  With the two mysterious masks in hand, Ryo and Luna finally prepared to leave the village. Unbeknownst to them, this small decision will lead them into a vortex of events far greater than they could have imagined.

  After buying the two masks, Ryo handed the white one to Luna while he chose the black one. Without saying much, they immediately left the village and began their journey to the Febrelis Kingdom. If using a horse-drawn carriage, the journey could take five to seven hours. However, in order to save money, Ryo decided to walk.

  As they walked out of the village, Luna looked at the mask in her hand doubtfully. "Ryo, are you sure about this mask? It feels... strange," she said, her voice full of doubt.

  However, before Luna could finish her sentence, Ryo immediately put on the black mask without thinking.

  For a moment, he was silent. Not moving. Not speaking.

  Luna frowned, feeling that something was wrong. "Ryo...?" she called, but there was no answer.

  Suddenly, Ryo knelt down and screamed in pain. His left hand clutched his face, while his right hand reached for the ground, as if looking for support. His body was shaking violently.

  "Ryo!" Luna ran over, panicking. She tried to pull the mask off Ryo's face, but it seemed to have become one with his skin.

  "Don't play around...!" Luna gritted her teeth, trying her best. However, her efforts were in vain.

  Then, suddenly Ryo stopped moving. The sound of his screams disappeared. His previously gasping breath now slowed down, almost inaudible. Luna stared at him anxiously, not daring to touch him again.

  When Ryo finally opened his mouth, his voice sounded flat—almost unlike himself.

  "Put on your mask, Luna."

  Luna was stunned. There was something different in his tone. The voice was deeper, heavier, as if it didn't come from someone she knew.

  "I don't want to," Luna answered, her voice trembling.

  However, Ryo repeated his command, this time more firmly. His sharp gaze made Luna bite her lip. With shaking hands, she finally put on the white mask.

  Luna held her breath, waiting for something to happen. However, there was no pain. No screams. No change. She opened her eyes, turning to Ryo, who was now holding her hand.

  "Let's go to the side of the road," Ryo said.

  Without further ado, Luna followed him.

  After making sure they were in a safer place, Ryo finally began to speak. "When I put on this mask... I felt like I was being dragged into a dark space."

  Luna swallowed, listening intently.

  "There, I saw a large cage. I approached it... and inside was someone."

  "Someone?" Luna repeated, her brow furrowed.

  "I couldn't see her face clearly," Ryo continued. "But I heard her voice. It was a woman. She was crying, asking for help."

  Luna felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

  "I asked who she was, and she said that she had been sealed in this mask. Her form, soul, and power were divided into two, each trapped in two masks."

  Luna bit her lip. "Why was she sealed?"

  "At first, she wouldn't answer." Ryo paused for a moment, then sighed. "But she finally told me the truth. She is a dark magic user."

  Luna widened her eyes.

  "Because of that, she was locked inside this mask," Ryo continued.

  They were silent for a moment. Dark magic was not something that was commonly found, especially in a world that viewed it as something taboo.

  Luna looked at Ryo worriedly. "Then... what did you do?"

  "I destroyed the iron bars," Ryo answered flatly.

  Luna blinked. "You WHAT?!"

  "I used Impact and hit it with all my might," he said casually. "And it worked. The bars shattered into pieces. The woman came out and thanked me."

  Luna didn't know what to say.

  "But after that, I suddenly felt an incredible heat on my face," Ryo continued. "This mask seemed to be burning my skin. When I could barely stand it, I heard the woman's voice again in my mind. She told me to hold on a little longer. Soon after, the pain disappeared, and she told me something."

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  "What?" Luna asked warily.

  "She told me to tell you to wear your mask too."

  Luna swallowed, but eventually complied. And it turned out, she didn't feel anything.

  After a while, the woman spoke again in Ryo's mind. She said that they could remove his mask by using the spell, "Mask."

  Ryo tried the spell, and the mask on his face just disappeared. Luna tried it too, and the result was the same.

  However, after the mask disappeared, Luna realized something. "Ryo... look at your hand."

  Ryo looked down. On his hand, there was a symbol in the form of a white line. On Luna's hand, the same symbol, but in black.

  They exchanged glances, trying to understand the meaning of the mark. However, rather than thinking too deeply, Ryo finally said, "We should continue our journey."

  Luna nodded.

  They still had to reach the Kingdom of Febrelis, and it seemed like their journey had just gotten a lot more complicated than they thought.

  After walking for quite some time, Ryo started to feel bored. Their steps felt too slow, and he didn't want to waste any more time on the road.

  "I'll just use Sprint," he muttered.

  He turned to Luna who was still walking beside him. Without warning, he immediately lifted the girl into his arms.

  "E-Eh?! What are you doing?!" Luna was shocked, her face turning red.

  "Hold on tight," Ryo replied casually, then—

  THUD!

  In an instant, their bodies shot forward at high speed. The wind hit their faces, and the surrounding trees turned into blurry shadows as Ryo ran through the forest.

  Luna wrapped her arms around Ryo's neck, trying to stop herself from falling. "You don't have to carry me like this, you know?!"

  "If I don't carry you, you won't be able to keep up with my speed," Ryo replied while still focusing on the road.

  Although Sprint allowed Ryo to run very fast, he deliberately set his speed to save more stamina. With this strategy, he could keep running for a full ten minutes, then take a short break before doing it again.

  In this way, in about two hours, they finally arrived in front of the gates of the Febrelis Kingdom.

  ---

  Once they arrived, Ryo and Luna put on their masks to hide their identities. However, as soon as they reached the guard post, a guard stepped forward and looked at them suspiciously.

  "Halt!" he ordered. "In Febrelis, hiding your identity with a mask is prohibited! Take off your masks!"

  Ryo froze. Damn, this could be a problem.

  However, before he could think of an excuse, Luna quickly took action.

  With a smooth movement, she took off her mask and looked at the guard with a sad face. "I'm sorry, Sir Guard... actually my friend can't just take off her mask like that."

  The guard frowned. "Why?"

  Luna lowered her head slightly, her voice filled with sorrow. "Her face... was badly burned in an incident. Her skin was destroyed, and since then, she has always worn a mask to cover her wounds."

  The guard looked at Ryo with thoughtful eyes. "Is that so?"

  Ryo, who was initially a little surprised by Luna's lie, immediately played along. He nodded slowly, pretending to have a gloomy expression.

  The guard snorted softly. "Okay... But what's your reason for coming to Febrelis?"

  "We're adventurers," Ryo answered without hesitation. "We want to go to the guild to register."

  The guard nodded, then asked for their adventurer cards. After examining them for a while, he finally returned the cards and gestured.

  "You may enter."

  Ryo and Luna stepped through the gate, finally making it into the city without any problems.

  ---

  Once they were inside the kingdom, their first goal was to find an inn. However, as they walked through the crowd, Ryo's eyes caught something that made him freeze.

  A wanted poster was plastered on one of the city walls.

  His eyes widened when he saw his own face on it.

  "Bring him alive."

  His heart was beating fast. Damn it! They're already looking for me!

  He turned to Luna, who had also seen the poster. They exchanged glances, and without a word, they knew they had to change plans.

  "An inn is out of the question," Luna whispered.

  "Right," Ryo nodded. "Let's just buy a tent."

  They immediately headed to the adventurer's supply store and bought a small tent that was big enough for two people. However, after that purchase, Ryo's money supply was getting thinner.

  There was no other choice.

  He had to find a job soon.

  ---

  When evening came, they went to the adventurer's guild and looked at the mission board. There were several hunting missions, but only one had a high payout.

  Without thinking, Ryo immediately took it.

  He didn't want to wait any longer. Soon after, they left the city for the forest where the target was located.

  ---

  After arriving at the location, Ryo immediately set up a tent under a large tree. Since the monsters they were hunting were hard to find, camping here was the best option.

  Once the tent was set up, Ryo and Luna could finally relax after their long journey.

  Sitting in front of the tent, Ryo turned to Luna. "Can you share some mana for a moment? I want to check my status."

  Luna nodded, then placed her hand on Ryo's. A warm energy flowed into her body, and a transparent screen immediately appeared in front of him.

  Ryo opened the status menu and raised some of his stat points that he had earned from killing monsters during his journey. However, just as he was about to close the screen—

  A new menu appeared in the corner of his vision.

  "Party."

  Ryo's eyes widened. Quickly, he pressed the menu.

  On the screen, two names were written:

  Ryo

  Luna

  And what was even more surprising—Luna was level 1.

  "Luna, look at this." Ryo immediately showed her the screen.

  Luna stared at the transparent screen with a confused expression. Suddenly, the emblem on their hands glowed, and a woman's voice sounded in their heads.

  "Luna, use Stat magic."

  Luna gulped. She raised her hand and tried to activate Stat.

  At that moment, a transparent screen appeared in front of her.

  Her eyes widened when she saw the numbers displayed there.

  STR : 1

  DEF : 2

  AGI : 2

  MP ??: 7

  HP : 3

  "...I can really see it," Luna whispered in disbelief.

  The mysterious woman's voice sounded again.

  "You can use the stat system because you and Ryo are connected... thanks to that mask."

  Luna turned to Ryo, and they exchanged confused glances.

  After a few hours of relaxing, the atmosphere began to change. Ryo felt something strange—the wind that had been blowing before had now disappeared completely. From within the bushes, a faint sound was heard that made him alert. Luna, who also felt the strangeness, quickly stood behind Ryo, preparing to use her skill.

  It turned out that their hunch was right. From behind the darkness, a strange monster appeared—it looked like a bat, but had the head of a lion. However, instead of flying, the creature crawled on the ground with creepy movements. With the sun having completely set, Ryo looked at the monster's form with a mixture of amusement and fear.

  Without thinking, Ryo immediately used Sprint, approached quickly, and slashed at the creature. However, what happened was beyond his expectations—as soon as his sword slashed the monster's body, its form turned into steam, then quickly returned to its original form.

  Ryo was shocked. He tried to attack again, but the result was the same. Panic began to creep into his mind—this creature was immune to physical attacks!

  Just as his mind was starting to get stuck, a woman's voice suddenly echoed in his head.

  "Ryo, use my power."

  Without giving him time to think, the voice uttered a spell.

  "DarkBind!"

  Instantly, four shadowy hands emerged from the ground, gripping the monster's wings and legs tightly, holding it in place. The monster struggled wildly, clawing at the ground in frustration, but it couldn't move.

  "Now, stab your knife into the center of its chest!"

  Ryo, still shocked, immediately followed the order. With all his might, he stabbed his knife right into the monster's heart.

  The monster let out a loud screech, its body shaking violently. From the wound Ryo made, thick black blood began to flow profusely, staining the ground beneath it. The monster continued to struggle, but as time went on, its strength weakened.

  Finally, after a few seconds that felt like an eternity, the creature stopped moving. Its last breath came out in a low groan before its body fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Its eyes that had previously glowed red now dimmed, losing all life.

  Ryo stood there, panting. The iron scent of the monster's blood filled the air, making him realize that this time, the creature was truly dead.

  He took a deep breath, then spoke in his mind.

  "Thank you… whoever you are."

  There was no answer, only silence.

  Ryo walked over to the monster's corpse and began to clean the remaining blood on its body. After that, he took out a rope from his bag and tied the monster to make it easier to carry.

  "Tomorrow we'll take this to the guild," Ryo said as he tightened the rope.

  Luna nodded in agreement. Since it was already too late, they decided to spend the night in the forest. They made a small campfire and took turns guarding before finally resting until morning came.

  The Next Day

  When dawn broke, Ryo and Luna immediately packed up and took the monster's corpse to the adventurer's guild. When they arrived there, Ryo placed the monster's body on the delivery table. A receptionist approached them, assessed the monster's condition, and nodded in satisfaction.

  "You managed to kill the Lesser Chimera Nightwing. This isn't a low tier monster, so the reward is quite large," the receptionist said as she handed over a bag of coins.

  Ryo accepted the bag and counted it—45 silver coins. It was quite a large amount for him, but after remembering how difficult the monster was to defeat, he felt it was worth it.

  "Thank you," he said before turning away.

  After receiving payment, Ryo invited Luna to find breakfast. But before they left, his eyes were drawn to the mission board on the guild wall. There were many interesting missions, but there was one that looked trivial with a fairly high pay—exterminating plant monsters that were growing in a villager's garden. The reward was 20 silver coins, an amount that was quite tempting for Ryo.

  Without hesitation, he took the mission sheet and gave it to the receptionist to register.

  "Okay, this mission has been registered under your name," said the receptionist.

  After that, Ryo and Luna left the guild to find food.

  During Breakfast

  They found a small shop and ordered simple food. While eating, Luna suddenly told me something interesting.

  "When you killed that monster last night, a screen suddenly appeared in front of me. It said that I leveled up three times, now my level is four," said Luna while biting her bread.

  Ryo was surprised. "Wait, so every time I kill a monster, you also get exp?"

  Luna nodded. "I think so. And maybe vice versa."

  Ryo thought for a moment, then smiled. "Then, we can help each other level up."

  Luna smiled faintly. "Right. This could be a big advantage for us."

  After finishing breakfast, Ryo and Luna began to continue their work. They walked towards the garden mentioned in the mission.

  As soon as he arrived at the garden, Ryo was immediately greeted by an old man with a worried face. His hands were shaking as he pointed towards the ruined field, black roots wrapped around the trees and plants, as if the garden was being strangled by something alive.

  "H-help… the monster… destroyed everything…!" the old man's voice was shaking, almost desperate.

  Luna immediately stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on the man's shoulder. "Don't worry, we're here to help," she said in a soothing voice.

  Ryo, who initially thought this would be a simple task, immediately moved forward. He stared at the terrifying plant monster and activated Sprint. At high speed, he ran towards the monster, then drew his two daggers to slash the spreading branches.

  SPLASH!

  The large and hard branches were cut off, but to his surprise, the monster immediately made a strange sound, and the branches that had just been cut immediately grew back at an incredible speed!

  "What?!"

  Before Ryo could react further, the monster's roots shot towards his body. In an instant, he felt his body being thrown hard.

  THUMB!

  Ryo fell, his body rolling far from its original place. He lay helpless, his body aching all over, and his head was incredibly dizzy.

  "Ryo!!"

  Luna ran towards him in panic, but before she could get close, Ryo had already tried to get up even though his body was covered in wounds. Blood was flowing from his cheeks, and his body looked disheveled.

  "Are you crazy?! Don't push yourself!" Luna shouted, her eyes filled with worry.

  Ryo only smiled weakly, trying to lift his trembling body. "I... haven't lost..."

  Suddenly, the woman's voice echoed in his head again, as if coming from far away.

  "Use your power... I can help you..."

  However, this time Ryo shook his head firmly. "No. I don't want to always depend on you!"

  The woman was silent for a moment, then her voice sounded softer and full of knowledge.

  "Alright, if that's what you want. I'll just give you a hint… All monsters have a core. Usually it's in the chest or head… But some are in other places. You have to focus."

  Ryo tried his best to calm his mind and tried to feel something different. But he didn't feel anything, only the sound of his heart beating rapidly.

  "There's no other choice…" he whispered. "I have to get closer."

  With more careful movements, Ryo activated Sprint again, this time more precisely. He nimbly dodged every attack from the monster's roots, trying to gauge the timing and position. Once he felt close enough, he began to feel a change.

  "There's something… here!"

  Ryo moved his body closer, and slowly, he felt a pulsating core… but not in the monster's head or chest, but in its roots!

  "This is the source!"

  Without waiting any longer, Ryo raised his left dagger and struck the monster's roots with Impact. The ground cracked, and the monster's roots split. Swiftly, he used his right dagger to stab the exposed monster's core.

  CRACK!

  The monster struggled violently, its roots began to rage and tried to avoid it, but finally the monster collapsed, its body slumped to the ground.

  Ryo stood up panting, but before he could celebrate the victory, an overwhelming feeling of fatigue attacked him. His body felt like it was losing strength, and his vision began to blur.

  "Ryo…"

  Luna could only call Ryo's name anxiously, but Ryo had already fallen unconscious on the spot, his body no longer moving.