TRPSG 2

“…A person?”

It was a tall man with hair even whiter than snow.

‘Wow.’

To be honest, I had never once seen a truly handsome man in my entire life.

Not idols or actors on TV, not social media celebrities known for their looks, not even world-famous “once-in-a-century beauties.” I had never looked at any of them and thought they’re handsome.

At best, I’d think, they look a bit better than an average person you’d see on the street.

Even my friends said my standards were way too high, and I agreed. I had always thought I’d probably never experience that cliché moment of admiring someone’s looks in real life—that I’d only ever like 2D characters from games or webtoons.

But this man was genuinely handsome.

Real-life person—well, I wasn’t even sure if this was reality anymore, but seeing a three-dimensional person and thinking he’s handsome was a first for me.

Yes. This is what a beautiful man is supposed to look like.

It wasn’t that my standards were too high—it was that the world’s standard for handsome men had been too low.

The silver-haired man wearing silver armor was very tall, but he didn’t feel intimidating. His sharp features and fair skin made him look almost delicate. If anything, he seemed like something that had stepped out of a stained-glass window in a cathedral. The barren mountain surroundings suddenly felt grand, as if blessed by divine grace.

I even felt like I should kneel without thinking.

“Why are you in a place like this?”

Oh my god. Even his voice was good. A 3D handsome man was breathing, speaking, moving. Hallelujah.

His beauty was so unreal that I had to take a deep breath just to steady myself.

If someone speaks to you, you should answer. Huuup. It’s rude to ignore him just because he’s too handsome. Okay, respond. Hup, hup.

“I-I don’t know.”

…That sounded way too foolish. I quickly added,

“I think I lost consciousness for a moment, and when I woke up, I was here.”

Let’s not mention how I lost consciousness.

I couldn’t exactly say I died saving someone in front of a subway, then some ridiculous system window appeared, revived my body, and dumped me here.

Besides, there was a high chance he wouldn’t even understand words like “subway” or “system window.”

Judging by his armor, fur cloak, and sword, I could roughly guess the era.

‘Probably early modern… or maybe…’

The cloak’s fur was too clean and soft for a harsh medieval setting. This might even be a modern fantasy world that just looks medieval.

‘If this is a starting area, monsters probably won’t spawn immediately… so this guy is likely an ally.’

Logically, I should be wary of a stranger in a strange place, but strangely, I didn’t feel any fear.

And it wasn’t just because of his unreal beauty. It was simply a feeling.

“I’m not sure where this is. I looked around, but it’s just mountains everywhere… Is there a village nearby?”

Probably not, but I had to ask. It’s better to act like a victim who got lost or fainted than someone who suddenly fell from the sky. Being harmless and sympathetic seemed safer.

“There’s no reason for people to be around here.”

Did I make myself look even more suspicious? Maybe I should’ve just acted like some randomly summoned saint from another world?

“I don’t know how you ended up here, but it’s dangerous to travel alone.”

Right. So we’re teaming up.

Just as I thought, a party window had been waiting for this.

‘But how do I form a party?’

As soon as I thought it, a translucent system window appeared in the air—fortunately not blocking his face.

Current waiting members: (1/2)

A party request has been received. Accept?

Of course I’ll accept. If I don’t, I’ll starve to death within two days.

Even if I only had 30 days left, I wanted to use every last bit of my lifespan.

‘Accept! Accept it immediately!’

The moment I mentally agreed, the (1/2) changed to (0/1), and a new message appeared.

[Party Formed!]

The party has been successfully created!

All mission difficulty has increased by 2x.

…What nonsense is this?

I followed the instructions, so why is the difficulty increasing? Are you kidding me?

I glared at the system window, and with a soft poof sound, it disappeared. Was it mocking me?

But I couldn’t waste time getting angry at a vanished window. I still hadn’t answered the man properly.

“Then… would it be alright if I travel with you?”

Even though the system had already forced us into a party, I asked for politeness’ sake.

“Yes. That would be best. Let us travel together until we find a village.”

“Is there a village nearby?”

“To reach the nearest one, we must cross two mountain ranges.”

Two mountains…? These weren’t normal hills either.

“If we don’t encounter monsters, we should arrive in about five days.”

So it was a harsh mountain range that took five days just to cross—and there were monsters.

Not that I was too surprised. This world already felt far from peaceful, and I’d prepared myself after seeing the party system.

“Um, then…”

“My name is Calion.”

Ah. So it’s introduction time.

The name fit him strangely well. More like something from a game than a real person.

“My name is Joo-in.”

I didn’t give my surname. Judging from genre logic, he probably wouldn’t understand Korean naming conventions anyway.

But unexpectedly, he pronounced it correctly.

“Joo-in… a beautiful name.”

That was not what I expected.

“Lady Joo-in.”

“Ah! Please don’t add ‘lady’!”

He was probably just being polite, but my name made it sound awkward. “Lady Joo-in” just sounded like “master.”

“I understand, Joo-in.”

Even just “Joo-in” still felt strange.

But from his name, I guessed people here probably didn’t use honorifics after names.

Like how “Amy” is just “Amy,” not “Amy-ah.”

I swallowed a dumb joke I would’ve gotten scolded for and smiled awkwardly.

I didn’t bother correcting him further. I was past the age of correcting how strangers say my name.

“Nice to meet you, Calion.”

Calion lowered his gaze slightly.

His softened expression almost looked like a faint smile.

He was as still as a winter mountain.

His snow-white hair flowed smoothly without a single tangle, and his clear blue eyes—like winter skies trapped in ice—shone like a living statue.

His well-defined jaw and strong neck gave him no fragile impression at all.

“The area beyond there is where monsters reside. This isn’t their main territory, but stray ones sometimes wander nearby.”

Calion explained that he was a monster hunter.

With his divine appearance, I had assumed he might be some holy knight fighting monsters in the name of a god, but he said he was a wandering fighter with no fixed organization.

“What exactly are monsters? Are they different from animals?”

Since I had already set up the excuse that I lost my memory from collapsing, he didn’t find my ignorance strange.

Either he was naturally trusting, or I just looked like a harmless beginner.

“They are immortal beings powered by core stones. They don’t eat or sleep normally, just roam the mountains. But when they see humans, they change and try to attack and devour them.”

“…Only humans? They don’t eat animals?”

“Monsters do not reproduce, so they do not require food.”

“Then why do they eat humans if they don’t need to eat at all?”

Calion seemed to think for a moment, as if even he didn’t fully understand it.

“They say it is because they like humans.”

“….”

Like humans? Then why eat them? What is that, like saying you love fried chicken so you devour it whole?

I was speechless, but arguing with him wouldn’t help—he wasn’t the one who made the rules.

I changed the topic.

“So Calion, have you been living in the mountains all this time?”

“No. After monster hunts, I resupply at nearby villages and move on.”

So it was “hunting,” not “extermination.” They couldn’t wipe monsters out completely.

There must be a lot of them if he was still traveling alone like this.

“Don’t they ever attack human villages?”

“Occasionally. But if they don’t come in large groups, they can be repelled.”

So they were like manageable monsters in a party system. If villagers could fight them together, they weren’t boss-level threats.

“I would prefer to escort you to the safest place—a castle if possible…”

A castle?