Koverdale was an ancient city. North of it stood a cemetery reserved for fallen adventurers.

A sound like shattering glass rang out. Cracks that sliced through space spread from the void.

Darkness flowed from the cracks like liquid. It converged, forming a bizarre hollow.

Inside was endless darkness. Human eyes could see nothing within it.

A figure in a black robe stepped out of the hollow. A necklace hung from his neck, its pendant a fist-sized red-and-black crystal.

His face was hidden beneath his raised hood. Only darkness and a pair of ruby-like eyes could be seen, glowing with an unstable red light.

Five more figures dressed the same way followed him out. None of them wore necklaces.

One of them carried an unconscious blonde girl.

They walked straight toward a weathered gravestone. It looked as though no one had tended it for years.

Even the name had been worn away in places by time. Green moss covered its base and back.

The leader stopped before the gravestone and spread his arms, seeming excited.

“Mm... I can feel it. This is an incredibly powerful force.”

A withered, yellowed hand reached out from his robe. Its nails resembled a beast’s claws and looked razor-sharp.

Magical energy rippled through his hand.

A moment later, the earth began to tremble slightly.

The ground before the gravestone cracked open. A badly corroded stone coffin pushed through the fractured soil and rose to the surface.

“Bring up the sacrifice.”

At his command, the robed figure carrying the unconscious girl placed her on top of the stone coffin.

The other robed figures produced blood-red powder. Centered around the coffin and the girl, they drew a magic circle filled with eerie patterns.

They finished soon after. The six figures then took their positions around the magic circle, standing at the points of a hexagram.

The red light in the leader’s eyes grew slightly brighter. He carefully inspected the circle for any missed details.

After confirming that none of his subordinates had made a mistake, he drew a yellowed bone dagger from his robe.

The blade had been carved from human ribs. Its handle was made from a human spine, with a tiny skull fitted over the bottom.

“God! I offer this sacrifice to you.”

Shouting words of worship, he gripped the dagger in his left hand and walked toward the stone coffin inside the magic circle.

The girl on the coffin had no idea what awaited her.

The dagger sank into her chest. Blood splashed across the black robe.

The girl awoke from the agony. She found that she couldn’t control her body and could only groan.

Despair and terror filled her eyes as she stared at the robed figure before her, his clothing drenched in her blood.

The other robed figures began chanting around them.

The robed man raised the dagger again and drove it into the helpless girl’s throat.

The dagger pierced through her neck and nailed itself into the coffin lid.

The robed man stepped back and returned to his original position outside the magic circle.

The blood covering his body vanished strangely, as if the black robe had absorbed it.

He pressed both hands against the crystal on his chest.

Countless thin lines appeared inside the crystal. They split open, transforming into eyes of different sizes, each one shaped like a snake’s eye.

“God, beneath your grace, I offer up this sacrifice. I perform this offering!”

The thick blood flowing from the wounds slowly spread. It soaked through the stone coffin.

The magic circle began to emit a faint purple glow. Unstable magic flowed across its surface.

The chanting echoed through the silent space.

In response to the incantations, movement came from within the coffin.

The cracks began to draw in the blood.

“Excellent! It’s responding!”

The robed man seemed delighted. He joined the chanting soon after.

The coffin shook more frequently as it absorbed the blood. With each tremor, it drew in the blood even faster.

The girl on the coffin had been dead for some time. Her face was twisted by agony, and her gray-white pupils held nothing but unwillingness and despair.

But the coffin seemed unwilling to let her go, even in death.

Under an invisible force, her flesh began to shrink and wither. The blood that hadn’t yet coagulated was squeezed out and completely absorbed by the coffin.

“By the name of God, awaken. O powerful soul wandering in the abyss of death.”

The magic circle’s purple light changed into a blood-red glow. It was even dimmer now, and far more sinister.

A sound of bone joints grinding came from inside the stone coffin.

The coffin lid began to move slowly from within...

Han Mu followed the information Wall had given him and found an inn in the northern part of the city. This would be their lodging for the night.

This was Koverdale’s slums. One-third of the city’s population lived in this cramped area.

The main road was somewhat run-down, but it was even livelier than the rest of the city.

After they turned onto a side street, everything became noticeably more dilapidated.

Some homeless vagrants sat along the roadside. Filthy water gave off a pungent stench.

The inn stood right there.

Business wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t exactly good, either. Anyone who paid could get a room.

Behind the counter sat a sexy young woman, asleep against her chair. Her low-cut clothing revealed a deep neckline.

Woof noticed her looking at him with the same expression one might use to look at trash.

Han Mu coughed and tapped the counter.

“Could you prepare a double room?”

The woman opened her eyes reluctantly. She glanced at Han Mu and Woof, then opened the ledger before her.

“Sure. One double room. Is the second floor all right? The view’s excellent.”

“No problem.”

“Then please pay first. A room costs five copper coins per day, with another five copper coins as a deposit. If you plan to stay longer, I can lower the daily rate.”

Han Mu counted out fifteen copper coins from a heavy cloth pouch and placed them on the counter.

The pouch contained all the human currency the werewolf tribe currently possessed.

Han Mu was curious where the money had come from, but he didn’t ask.

The woman collected the copper coins and inspected them. She locked them inside a drawer, then used a quill to record the payment in the ledger.

Afterward, she led them upstairs. She opened the door and handed the key to Han Mu.

“If you need anything, come find me downstairs.”

“Understood. As it happens, I need your help with something right now.”

“What is it?”

“Please notify ‘the Mole,’ Finn. You should know him.”

The woman raised an eyebrow, seeming to grow more cautious.

“Who sent you here?”

“Wall Lockefeller is our older brother. We’re from the Lockefeller family.”

“The Mole” was what people usually called black-market merchants.

Finn, meanwhile, was a reliable contact who had long traded with Wall.

Since the black market paid no taxes, its prices were generally lower than those in ordinary shops.

Unless necessary, Wall wanted them to conduct their transactions through Finn.

The woman looked Han Mu and Woof up and down. She nodded, seemingly noticing something beneath their cloaks.

Han Mu had the feeling that she knew they were werewolves.

“No problem. I can notify him for you. But I can’t say when he’ll receive the signal and come over.”

Before leaving, the woman secretly leaned close to Han Mu’s ear.

“You seem to be carrying quite a bit of money. If you’re interested, bring three silver coins and come find me tonight.”

“I’m only offering because you’re such a cute little brother.”

After the woman left, Han Mu turned toward Woof with an embarrassed expression.

The woman had lowered her voice, but how could anything escape a werewolf’s hearing?

Woof had naturally heard every word.

And now she was giving him that same look of disgust.

Come on. He hadn’t even done anything this time.

Did he really look that lecherous?

The room wasn’t large, and its furnishings were simple. Two wooden beds stood close together, each covered with a set of bedding.

Once they entered and locked the door, the atmosphere became somewhat strange.

Woof’s face seemed to grow a little red. She didn’t dare look at Han Mu.

What was wrong with this kid?

“Um... why did you book a room with two beds together? Couldn’t we get separate rooms?”

So that was it. The kid really was small, but her mind was already getting ahead of itself.

They had slept in the same tent before. Why was sharing an inn room suddenly embarrassing?

“You’re still a child. I need to look after you.”

“Brother Mu, precisely because I’m still a child, you can’t...”

Han Mu struck the top of Woof’s head with a sharp chop, stopping her nonsense.

“Ow...”

Woof crouched down, clutching her head.

The more he listened, the worse it sounded. Did she really think he was that kind of person?

Did he look like some kind of creep?

“Sleep in the bed on the left. I’ll take the one on the right.”

“We’ve probably built up quite a bit of fatigue on the road. Get a good rest tonight.”

“Got it...”

“I’ll ask the innkeeper for a basin of hot water later. You can wipe yourself down.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll wait outside while you do it.”

“You’ll sleep more comfortably after washing up.”

“Oh.”

As night slowly fell, the two of them lay on their beds in thin clothing.

Han Mu extinguished the oil lamp on the bedside table.

Woof seemed to have already fallen asleep. Her steady breathing made that easy to tell.

Han Mu lay on his bed and stared at the somewhat aged wooden ceiling.

He remembered that, back in the game, he and his companions had stayed in inns just like this one.

I wonder if they’re all right.

Were they transported here too, just like me? Or was I the only one?

I hope it’s the latter.

I hope everyone made it home safely and won’t get dragged into these strange events again.

Could he figure out what had happened to him? How he had come to this world? And how he could return?

As he thought about it, drowsiness slowly overcame him.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes.

He sensed a noisy group of people appearing on the road outside the inn. Several of them had even entered the building.

The ears atop Woof’s head twitched several times.

Her wary instincts woke her as well.