Episode 2

## Story

He hears the sound of swords clashing nearby. Someone is fighting. Lento is curious but also afraid. Who could be fighting in this dangerous place? Is it a fellow adventurer or a powerful monster? He cautiously makes his way towards the sound, his heart racing with anticipation and fear. This could be his chance to finally interact with the outside world, but it could also mean certain death.

Lento, now a skeleton monster, fights desperately in the dungeon to survive and evolve. One day, he hears the sound of a sword fight nearby. Curious, he investigates and finds a new adventurer, Rina Lupauge, fighting for her life against a skeleton. Lento jumps in to help, using his experience to take down the skeleton and save Rina's life. Rina is shocked and confused to see a skeleton fighting alongside her. Lento tries to communicate with her, but his skeletal voice is barely audible. Rina, realizing that Lento saved her life, agrees to help him. Lento desperately needs a way to cover up his undead body so that he can leave the dungeon and find a way to become human again. Lento gives Rina all of his money and asks her to buy him some clothes to cover up his body. He tells her that he is also an adventurer, but he doesn't explain why he is a monster. Rina agrees to help, and she goes to the town to get a map from the guild and buy some clothes for Lento. While Rina is gone, Lento continues to fight monsters to get stronger, just in case Rina doesn't keep her promise. When Rina returns, she gives Lento the clothes she bought, which are of good quality. She also shows him a mirror so that he can see how his face looks. Lento is shocked to see his skeletal face and realizes that he needs the clothes to cover it up. As a final item, Rina gives Lento a mysterious mask that looks special. Lento doesn't know what the mask is or what it will bring for him in the future. Nonetheless, he is grateful to Rina for her help and promises to repay her someday.

As Lento puts on the mystic mask, it suddenly molds to his face with an eerie perfection. It was so perfect that it almost felt like it was a part of him. Lento realizes too late that the mask is most likely cursed. Despite trying to use his spirit to remove the mask, it remains stubbornly attached to his face. Rina is amazed at Lento's rare ability to use spirit, which is usually only accessible to the church. Lento reveals that he received a blessing from a spirit, but now his next goal is to find a clergyman to remove the cursed mask. Rina accompanies Lento to the town, but they are stopped by a suspicious soldier at the entrance. The soldier becomes even more suspicious when he hears Lento's strange voice and demands to see his face. Lento tries to explain that he can't take off the mask, but the soldier doesn't believe him until he tries to remove it himself and fails. Finally, the soldier lets them enter the city. Once in the city, Lento becomes nostalgic and decides to part ways with Rina. He feels that he is still a monster and doesn't want someone as pure as Rina to be near him. Instead, he heads to the outskirts of town to meet with a shady person he has known for some time. This person is Lento's only hope for a "normal" life. As he enters the person's room, Lento's spirit catches her attention, and she demands to know how he achieved this new state. Lento knows that this is his chance for a fresh start, and he explains his situation. But little does he know, that this person has her own agenda and might not be the ally Lento thought she was.