After watching his surroundings, Tejasv prepares for the next event mentioned by the system. To face the monster waves, he needs loyal and brave subordinates who can withstand any danger in the future.

He reads through the requests, Most of them mentioned the difficulties the person had faced during these difficult times or pleaded with him to save others. Some were showing him the power of money and status.

The rest were only begging. None of these strikes Tejasv in mind. He has no greed for money and status, nor does he want to walk the path of a hero.

Tejasv organizes the requests based on his criteria, including strong skills, mentality, loyalty, and nothing to lose. If someone filled all these requirements, he would be happy enough to let them join. However, no one covers all these requirements.

Many with powerful skills face rejection because skills are only extra limbs. Without a good mindset, it will only hinder the growth of others. To survive in this world, adapting to nature is most important. Even without good skills, you can survive by riding on others' backs only if you have adaptability.

He knew that loyalty can only be earned; it cannot be forced. Tejasv was searching for a simple sentence that would describe the other person. Some ways to show their connectivity.

The requirement implies that he is only looking for warriors who will exert their strength for him.

Tejasv created the last category on a whim to see how many people have lost everything and are still ready to survive. Somehow, Tejasv wants to show himself that he is not the only one that lost everything, and there are others like him.

One of those entries arrests his gaze; he reads it repeatedly, still unable to comprehend the mindset of the sender. The words were,

====

"I do not need pity or compassion; I want a strong leader. Someone strong and capable of leading. Lead me the way you want. I will fight for my survival. I will stand my ground like a soldier. "

              -Catherine Hills

====

Tejasv's eyes were wide open, and he stared at the system window for a while,

"Hahaha...Catherine! Interesting... let's see your performance. "

--

Back in the day, before the monsters appeared:-

A man in his late twenties, dressed in a suit and old glasses, trotted into the corridor with a tired and stressed-out look on his face.

It was obvious from his features and the many documents in his hands that he was the manager of a celebrity. He enters a room with a board indicating 'no entry'.

While gasping, he informs the person sitting there, "Mam! Can you explain your decision to cancel today's promotion for the sequel to 'Lord Chiang'?

Don't you know all these are for your future growth, Catherine? "

The manager's eyes met with the woman standing before him. A beautiful woman with shining golden brown hair, dark blue eyes like the ocean, beautiful red lips, and remarkable sharp features.

Catherine Hills is a rising star in the acting industry. In her debut film, she captivated the world with her superb acting abilities.

She glares at her manager. While playing with her hair, she speaks, "Today I have a meeting with my family, and you know, family is first."

After hearing her response, the manager sighed, "I will arrange the promotions later. Enjoy your time with your family."

He left after conveying his regards.

There are rumors that she is an illegitimate daughter of a successful businessman, and some say she is soon to be mistress of a prestigious clan. However, the reality is different. She is just a child of a normal family, who lived the dream of becoming an actress.

Everyone can see her beautiful smile and success on the stage, but no one notices the hardship she faced to get there.

Catherine departs from the studio and asks her driver to take her to the airport. She takes a flight and arrives in 'City Arin', her birthplace. She alters her appearance and discreetly moves to her home.

"Everyone, I'm back."

Catherine was hugged by a young boy, probably around ten years old, her younger brother Jason. She finds Jason's actions adorable.

Her parents were happy to see their daughter back home. They tell her how beautiful she looks on the big screen, and everyone praises her.

After remembering her manager's words, they were a tad discouraged. He told them Catherine's mysterious image is good for her career, so she cannot introduce her family to the world.

For their daughter's support, her father and mother ran an antique shop in their home and faced many financial situations. But now, they are not allowed to call their daughter in front of others.

Catherine assures her family that when she gains a stronghold in this industry, the world will know her family. The family spends a lot of quality time together.

Her brother leaves to bring ice cream from the kitchen as dessert after lunch. While waiting for dessert, she chats with her manager to confirm her schedule for next week. Her manager stopped replying in mid-conversation.

She was confused because he never discards his work midway.  No one answered the phone when she called.

Suddenly, a breaking sound comes from the kitchen. Everyone glanced towards the closed kitchen door.

Slowly, the door opens with a kicking sound; they notice a big hairy hand in the corner. Before they could think of anything, a humanoid beast stepped out of the kitchen. It was a bit taller than the average human.

Its body resembles a wolf through and through. Drooling all over, he emerges from the kitchen.

The family noticed the beast was pulling Jason's bloodied arm with the other hand. Everyone was taken aback by the situation as if their hearts had stopped. The beast jerks Jason's body and throws it away.

After Catherine and her father came to their senses, they slowly backed out of the position. Her mom freaked out and cried aloud. The beast noticed her and leaped over. He grabs her neck with its jaws and rips her head apart. They were frightened by the blood that splashed over them.

Her father draws his attention to him and starts running upstairs. Catherine realized that her father was trying to save her from the beast. A loud noise comes from upstairs.

Catherine knew what happened and fell to her knees. From upstairs, the beast made loud a howling sound.

Catherine was afraid and alone. The sight of the blood was scaring her, and she was waiting for the beast to take her life. She notices the damaged corpses of her family and starts weeping. She holds her mouth tightly to stop any sound from leaking out.

"No ..No, How can I die like this? I'll at least take revenge for Dad, Mom, and Jason. I will smash that animal to bits and split his body. "

She moves to their antique shop and picks up a katana from one of the shelves. She encourages herself by remembering her kendo tournament days. She stands beside the gate in an enclosed room on the ground floor.

She makes very little sound to attract the monster and firmly positions herself. The beast comes downstairs and sniffs the entire area.

It slowly enters the room. Catherine shivers with each step the beast takes towards the room. As soon as the head entered the room, she swung the katana with all of her strength and slashed its head.

She kept staring at the headless body lying before her. Her body started shivering even more. She came to her senses when a small amount of blood touched her feet, and a loud voice enters her ears.

====

[Congratulations! You have defeated the gnome and completed your quest.]

[This territory now belongs to you.]

[Check your rewards and prepare yourself for the next event after 48 hours.]

[In the meantime, you can help the person in need and earn some more rewards.]

====

She wasn't even able to mourn for her family due to a notification ringing in her head. She checked the system window; many people were still fighting different monsters. She had mixed opinions about helping someone.

She knew that the only reason for her survival was the sacrifice of her family. Only due to luck, she was able to kill that beast. However, her survival instincts were screaming for her to become strong and stay alive.

"How can I face my end here? I survived in the acting industry for so long and reached the top with small steps. Catherine Hills will survive again and kill all monsters like gnomes or whatever. "

She checks her rewards.

====

[Skill - Weapon Master]

[You can use any object as a weapon as effectively as a professional can; the only condition is that you must accept that object as a weapon and keep it in your hands.]

====

After learning that anything can be used as a weapon, she turns her attention toward her physical ability.

To use weapons one must be strong enough to wield them. Therefore, she enhanced her physique with the three outlined choices. She also got cheap armor as a reward.

--

Stepping up, she changed into her kendo gear. She accepts the request for a nearby home. No one was alive when she reached her destination. Their bodies were scattered like trash but not even one drop of blood could be seen.

The bodies were lying as if sleeping. She couldn't find any monsters there.  Suddenly, something hit her from behind and threw her away. She lost her katana in the impact. She took a deep breath and looked around.

A very large black spider, about 5 feet long, crawled on the walls. It was wrapping the bodies of residents in its web. It tries to attack Catherine with its long legs. She dodges but has narrow escapes.

She notices knives in the kitchen and leaps to grab them. As soon as she considered them as weapons, all knife skills came to her mind. Aiming for the spider's head, Catherine threw them one by one, and to her surprise, every attempt was successful.

The Spider fell to the ground, and Catherine received a notification that her mission had been completed. She was exhausted from facing two sturdy enemies in a day. She finds her katana and returns home.

After some rest, she checks the ranking and trending survival videos in the system. A man was killing monsters at an alarming rate, and people gave him the alias "Reaper". He appeared to be a beast who bathes in monster blood.

Catherine watched his videos the entire day, and the fight at the military base shocked her. The military base battle filled her heart with a sense of belief that this person will survive to the end.

Now she was adamant about working with this strong man and surviving in this world. She sent this person the request for cooperation and hoped for the best response...