The water had a funny scent. It was not bad, but I was still not sure how I felt about smelling like woods. I kept wondering how the plumbing system worked in that place, considering that everything seemed so…rustic and antique.

On the wall, right above the bed, there was a map of the village yet I could hardly read or understand anything. The map was quite well drawn, however I had no idea what the location tags meant—it was written in a language I didn't know. French, Italian, perhaps even Latin?

All furniture was made of wood; the bed, the chairs, the table, the walls, the roof—it was truly a cottage in the middle of the woods.

Wait, the trees' fire wouldn't spread to the cottages, right? It was raining cinders, but that wasn't enough to set fire to the village. Right?

I shook my head, trying not to think about my new house burning to ashes while I was naked. First, clothes. I left the shower with a towel wrapped around my waist, sparing a few seconds in front of the mirror beside the dresser.

My heart stopped.

Until that point, I didn’t know how Park Eun-Woo looked like. I didn’t know if Eun-Woo was strong or handsome. If he had moles or funny birthmarks.

This…this is me.

I touched the well-defined muscles on my abdomen with shaking fingers, as if the moment they made contact, the illusion would break. But it was real. My shoulders were wider, and though my arms were not overly muscular they were still bigger and stronger than I thought they could ever be.

Then I focused on my face.

Short black hair, pale skin, eyes with a gray so bright and light it looked like silver. Neither outstanding nor terrible. Average.

Yet to me, it was almost as beautiful as the scenery outside.

In my previous life, I did receive compliments about my looks every now and then. Yet even when the person sounded genuine, I couldn’t feel it. I couldn’t bring myself to love the person I saw reflected in the mirror every day. But at that moment, not only I could feel this love, but I also felt proud. Joy. The feeling of my dreams finally coming true.

This was the body of Park Eun-Woo, my new body. Those were my muscles, my arms, my shoulders. My new height, my face, my new self.

Can people die from extreme contentment? I felt so giddy and over the moon, my heart could barely hold it in.

Yet deep down I was still afraid to smile, to accept and give in to that joy. Fearing that the moment I acknowledged it and basked in that feeling, Park Eun-Woo would disappear.

Should I thank my parents or my past society for fucking me up like that? Or maybe what I really had to thank was life itself for never allowing me to remain happy for too long before things were taken away from me.

Perhaps that was why I had been so lucky as Park Eun-Woo; I was using all the accumulated luck that had never been used in my previous life.

I walked a few steps, making a silent prayer as I opened the first drawer, relief spreading through my chest when I saw clothes inside—my previous clothes were disgusting. I sniffed them, glad they were not ‘woods-scented’ like the water.

[You acquired 'Black Treasurers']
[You acquired 'White Linen Shirt’]

I wondered if I could mute those notifications.

The twins responded to my message almost instantly, as if they were somewhere waiting eagerly for my reply. They instructed me to meet them at the plaza, in front of the fountain. At first, I was not sure which direction I should take. Everywhere I looked, all I saw was more and more cottages.

I suddenly missed my phone; the possibility of taking a picture of the map or opening a GPS to guide me through a strange place. Yet perhaps it was for the better. Starting with a new body, in a new world, in a new community—

That was how I would live my best life as Park Eun-Woo.

I admired my surroundings, happy to realize there were plaques spread out through the streets and light poles—which was surprising since that place did not give the impression of being powered by electricity, by any means.

Well, it does have a plumbing system, somehow. Guess it’s not so weird after all.

In a matter of a few minutes, I was able to find the twins. They were quite easy to spot. The moment Hildr saw me she widened her eyes, running across the plaza in the most adorable pale blue dress, opening her arms to hug me.

"Mister! You really came!"

What kind of monster would I be if I didn't?

I looked around, somewhat surprised to see so many people walking around. This is too crowded for me…

Most of those faces were not familiar to me, and from the Trolley group, most players had to stay behind to have their injuries treated. That could only mean there had been more challenges happening simultaneously.

I was dying to talk to some of them to see which group got the short end of the stick.

"You two seem to be doing well—that's good."

To be honest, I was a bit worried about the twins. They looked way too young to be participating in something like that. What about their parents or their guardian?

Halvard walked in our direction, his hands inside his pockets. "What were you doing, sightseeing? You took way too long."

Wasn't someone a cute little angel?

"Is there anyone here with you? Your parents, maybe?"

"We don't have any."

"We have you now, mister!"

"Hil...you didn't forget what we talked about, right? We don't know how much we can trust him." Hal took his sister's hand, making her let go of my legs. He gave her a cold, harsh gaze.

Still, she did not lose her smile.

"I know we can trust him. He saved us!"

"No, your brother is right." They both turned to me; Hil in pure shock and Hal with a frown. "You know nothing about me. I am bigger and stronger than you. I could be a bad person and take advantage of you both, so you should not let your guard down."

Hal crossed his arms. "We won't. We know quite a lot about grown-ups, mister." There was venom in his words, a pernicious darkness and cruelty that was far too dense for me to visualize.

Who were those kids?

"Hal! Stop. The mister—"

"Just call me Eun-Woo."

"—is only trying to help. Besides, I told you. I have a good feeling about him."

From the death glares I was receiving from the brother, I realized I had to do something fast.

"He has no real reason to help us, Hil. You better not forget the help we usually receive from people like him."

The girl looked as if she was about to cry. "But mister is different from them—I can feel it!"

"Listen here, you two."

They turned to me as I knelt, looked them straight in the eye.

"Let’s make a deal. You stick with me and I swear I’ll do everything I can to keep you guys safe."

"What's in for you?" Hal asked, his voice steady and defiant. He was quite smart, that one.

I gave him a smile.

"Information. Whatever you can find about this place, the system, other competitors—anything. It will be like an alliance. I help you, you help me. What do you say?"

I extended my hands to them.

Hal squinted his eyes, not moving a finger. "How do we know you will keep your promise?"

"The next trial. I will protect you both and make sure we win."

The boy scoffed, his voice imbrued in mockery. "You can't be sure of these things."

"I'm certain I want to stay alive. If you just stay close to me, or do what I do, you will survive as well."

Perhaps it was the sheer confidence in my voice, or the assertiveness of my gaze. They exchanged glances, as if they were communicating in silence. Then, they grabbed my hand; Hil with a smile and Hal with a grunt.

"Deal! We are happy to be working together, mister."

"You better not be thinking I trust you, yet."

“Trust can be earned, don’t worry.”

While I showed a poised smile, the boy squinted his eyes—shadows filling his gaze.

Yes, I did want to help the twins. Yet such a proposal seemed to be the fastest way to have them agree to help me and keep them close.

Besides, Hildr had been the one to find the silver chain back at the tracks, and Halvard was quite a quick-witted boy. My intuition told me that having them by my side would not only help me; it could give me an advantage.

"I actually wanted to ask for your help with something. You can say this is my first compensation for helping you back at the tracks."

Hal started opening his mouth, yet the sister pushed him to the side, her curly white hair bouncing off her shoulders.

"Sure, mister! How can we help?"

I lowered my voice, making sure to avoid prying ears.

"Do you know anything about using and exchanging points?"

Hil's eyes lit like candles while a smirk touched Hal's lips.

And that was how I knew for certain I had gotten, indeed, quite lucky with my findings.