Chapter 3 – First Blood
Here’s the chapter, enjoy~
Chapter 3 – First Blood
Yes, hi there, Kosuke here. Today, I’d like to report on Day 2 of my otherworldly survivalist lifestyle. I don’t mean I’m going to be reporting on this! It’s just so real!
The various protagonists who are thrown into horrible situations and forced to survive, as well as the voice-loids who play a part with them, are remembered for their hard work… I’ll be a little nicer to them when I get back to my old world.
I’m going to make sure that I don’t graze them when they are having a rough time.
Now, it’s morning. I’m really thirsty. I could use some water. But water, water, right? …I think it’s safe to assume that there’s an abundance of water here since it’s in the forest. The problem is how to find the water source.
Hmm, I don’t have a good idea. I guess I’ll just have to walk around properly for now. I’ve got everything I need in my inventory, and I don’t need to stick to the border between the wilderness and the forest. Today, let’s just take a random walk through the forest and look for something to eat or the water source.
“Register a shortcut, and then…”
Be prepared also to have the ability to instantly retrieve items by assigning a number from 1 to 0 to items in the inventory. A stone spear, stone ax, knife, and bow will appear in my hand when I’m conscious of it.
“It’s like a magic trick!”
This is where an idea occurred to me. If the jumps work regardless of my movements and I can do two-step jumps, wouldn’t I be able to do the same with these weapons and tool-based actions? And.
After some trial and error, I found out that I could perform basic actions with weapons, or rather, ideal actions by being conscious of the mouse button’s left-click. It’s very uncomfortable to see my body move on its own, but I can use both the bow and the spear with this. As for the bow, it even displays the target in my field of vision when I take action. Now even I, an amateur, can shoot a bow!
By using a combination of my own actions and command actions, I can do things like shoot twice in a row that won’t go unnoticed! Although the first shot is not very good because of the difficulty of shooting it by myself.
In other words, if I want to aim for a higher level of proficiency, I’ll have to practice on my own. Well, I’ll have to work hard on this one, hahaha.
By the way.
“That’s something dangerous… It’s bad; it’s really bad!”
It was good that I found a water source ahead of the forest, but there was something dangerous there. It was a lizard. No, a lizard or…? Wolves? No. It’s a lizard, right?
It is a creature that looks like a reptile and a wolf divided in two. It’s about the size of a big dog. I’m glad it wasn’t a giant creature like in some hunting games. I wonder if this is its territory or if it is sleeping peacefully in the sun. Can I sneak up to the water source and get some water? No, if it wakes up out of the blue and I get hit by it, I’ll be dead.
I can see a combo of serious injuries, if not death, and death from infection from there.
Retreat, retreat. I’ll need to prepare traps and other things to challenge it. I calmly shift into the covert mode with the C key in mind and move backward quickly with the S key in mind. Hmm, this way, the easy mistake of stepping on a twig to make a sound is――.
*rustling**rustling*
Yes, I ran into the bushes as a result of retreating without looking back. I quietly look at the lizard wolf. Please! Don’t notice me! Please!
Our eyes met. Unfortunately, it’s not something that made us realized that we’re liked each other like in the rom-com manga, I mean.
“GISYAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
“Right!”
It threatened me with all its might. I’m also setting up my stone spear and pointing the tip of my spear. If this were going to happen anyway, it would have been much better to strike a blow while it was sleeping! Goddamn it!
The lizard wolf seems to be carefully measuring its timing, or it doesn’t seem to be able to rush in out of nowhere. I don’t know how much of an athletic ability it has, but I have to be the first to make a move in this kind of thing.
“Seiiyyaaa!”
Kosuke’s stone spear thrower! The lizard wolf has flown out and avoided it!
“SHAAAAAAAA!”
“Hoaaaah!”
The lizard wolf pounces! Kosuke thrust out his additional stone spear as quickly as he could! He did some damage to the lizard wolf, but it also blew Kosuke away! No, I’m not joking around!
“Waaaaaaa! Uwaaaaaa!?”
I was already in a panic. The spear that I thrust out on the counter-attack broke off, but fortunately, it seemed to have pierced the lizard wolf’s mouth, and the lizard wolf was lying on the ground thrashing around.
I ran to the lizard wolf and swung the stone ax down as hard as I could. I kept swinging down. The next thing I knew, the stone blade of the stone ax was gone, and I was hitting the lizard wolf in the head, crushed and smashed it with the wooden handle.
“Guh, oeeeeeeee.”
And it was so gross that I had to reverse it. I’m a wimp who has only ever killed insects before. The only time I’ve ever come in contact with a dead body was when my mother died, and I’m not very good at “splatter” in the first place. It’s enough to make me feel sick, even with the gore expressions in games and such.
“Huhh, haahh…”
All I could see was stomach juices, but a round of vomiting calmed me down somehow. I had to fight… against reality. In the meantime, let’s get rid of the dead lizard wolf I killed.
I think I might be able to get it into my inventory. As I was thinking about this, I noticed that I could access the lizard wolf’s corpse. When I tried to access it, the lizard wolf’s inventory appears.
“Oh, no need to rip it off… This is a god-like feature.”
What I got from the lizard wolf’s corpse was a decent amount of raw meat, bones, fangs, tendons, and skin. When I moved them into my inventory, the lizard-wolf corpse disappeared, leaving behind a pool of blood.
This is great. But blood is tricky. It’s entirely possible that other dangerous creatures could be attracted to this blood.
So, I repeated the process for a while on the crafting screen, mass-producing wooden water bottles, drawing water from the water source―a spring, into the water bottles, and putting them away in my inventory. One water bottle seemed to hold about one liter of water, so I drew fifty of them.
With this much water, the water would be fine for a while. I should build a bonfire somewhere safe so that I could drink this freshwater. I’m thirsty, but I don’t want to drink the raw water as it is. I don’t know what kind of dangerous bacteria, poisons, and parasites are in raw water. If I go hungry with no help from anyone, I can only see a future of slow death from dehydration.
And this is a different world. If I get hit by an unknown pathogen or a bad parasite, I can’t even think about it.
I checked myself to make sure I wasn’t injured and thoroughly washed the blood on my clothes before leaving the water source. I picked up some stones and pieces of wood on the way, and while replenishing my lost stone spear and stone ax, I looked for a place where I could rest like I did yesterday.
I found a good tree and square far enough away, so I used the ignition device to make a fire. Yeah, it’s less tiring and quicker to make a spark than the bow-drill type.
“Water, water…”
I select safe water and grilled meat from the bonfire crafting screen and start crafting. It only takes about ten seconds to craft an item, but those ten seconds feel very long.
Then I take the finished “safe water” out of the bonfire’s generated items section, open the cap, and gulp it down. It’s delicious. Moisture seems to be spreading to every corner of my dry body.
“Ahh… The water is so good.”
I take a breath and suddenly look at what I’m holding in my hand. It’s water. Yes, it’s water. It’s water in a plastic bottle. The wooden water bottle is gone, and now it’s a plastic bottle? No, it’s okay, though, right?
No, that’s not good, is it? This is 1.5 liters. I’m getting more water. It’s a good thing that I get it, right…? Well, okay, yeah, don’t think about the details.
Something in the raw water must have been converted to safe water and increased the amount by a factor of one and a half. Yes, it must have. If so, I’m afraid to wonder what the hell is in the raw water, but let’s not think too much about it.
And then there’s the meat. When I look closely at the meat in my inventory, I see that it’s called “Raw Meat (Lizarf).” That lizard wolf’s name seems to be “Lizarf.”
It has a name, which means that there is a being who gave it a name, right? It doesn’t seem likely that I will be alone in this world.
So I’ve decided on my next target. I’m going to find a human village. The problem is that I don’t know the language of this world, and I don’t know if the inhabitants of this world are friendly to me.
If I’m caught and fallen into slavery, then I’d rather become prey here! Kuuhh! It would be problematic if it were like that. But people can’t live alone. If I fall ill or injured, that’s the end of me. So the goal to find local people whom I haven’t seen yet has been set here.
And the meat was burnt. It’s not that I’m not comfortable with eating the flesh of an unknowable creature. But in order to live, I have to eat it.
“Hamu! Hafuhafu! Hamu!”
The meat of the lizard wolf, I mean, Lizarf, was somewhat chicken-like. Yeah, it’s not like a pig or a cow or anything. It’s close to chicken. The chicken meat is a bit fibrous or has a unique texture, right? It’s like a chicken.
But it’s quite good. It’s just grilled meat without any saltiness. I think there is a sweet taste from the fat. The meat is tender, and it’s good enough. It would be more delicious if it had salt.
But salt, salt… I don’t know how to get salt. If I’m close to the sea, I might be able to manage it, though. Mmm, something from the crafting menu… no wait? Suppose I don’t put the relevant materials in my inventory. In that case, this ability doesn’t add craftable items to the list of things that can be crafted.
If I put the material items in my inventory, wouldn’t salt be added to the inventory? Specifically, the soil. I remember seeing something like kangaroos coming to lick the soil containing salt in a TV animal show. It was a kind of reddish-brown looking soil. Do they have such soil around here? I don’t know, but I think it’s possible to dig up some random stuff and put it in the inventory.
Crafting bricks or concrete from a combination of clay, soil, stone, and gravel is also a staple in survival or what might be called “sandbox” games. In reality, you probably need to use limestone and intermediate materials as well as clay and gravel, but in most cases, the manufacturing process is not that detailed in the game.
“Should I consider building a base as well…?”
The idea of a safe shelter made of concrete or brick is appealing. If I were to build a base, it would be near a water source. Preferably a lake or river, and if it’s a compromise, at least a spring. There may be a way to drill a well, but I don’t have the skills to do so.
Maybe I could get away with it if I used my abilities well, but I don’t think there’s any need to go that far right now. If I were to do it, it would be when there are no human settlements around here, and I finally have to think about sitting down and settling in this area in earnest or something like that.
“At any rate, it’s a tool for digging the soil.”
I was lucky enough to get food and water before noon, so there is still time to work. It will be important to try and figure out exactly what I’m capable of doing. I open the crafting menu and check for tools that look like that. I found a shovel with a stone blade, so I crafted it.
“Hmm, not very comfortable to use.”
It’s not as good as a steel sword-tipped shovel. But it’s dozens of times better than digging with bare hands. I dig into the ground with a heavy stone blade. As I dig, I fill my inventory with soil. In addition to digging by myself, I also use command actions to dig. Also, to put the soil in the inventory.
“Aren’t I digging more than twice as fast as I normally would with this?”
Normally, one act of “digging” is to stick the shovel in, raise it up, and then dump the soil. However, if I just want to store it in my inventory, I can do it as soon as I thrust the shovel in and raise it up.
It’s not too tiring because there’s no need for a heavy soil dumping action. The combination of command actions makes the motion look more like a two-step thrust, so it’s more of a “thudthudthudthud” than a “thud… thud… thud!” The soil can be dug at speed like that.
“This might make digging a well easier than I thought.”
I was humming and zapping and digging, digging all over the place. But hey, despite being thrown into a situation like this, somehow I’m still calm, or I don’t panic or anything. I’m in a situation full of anxiety, but I’m enjoying it somehow.
“I guess that’s about right.”
I went around the square area where I planned to stay today and dug up the dirt all around. Most of it looked like humus, but there were some clay-like areas, so I’m expecting a little more.
When I opened my inventory, I found a decent amount of “Rich forest soil” and “clay” in my inventory. However, the number of clay is less than rich forest soil. It is three clays to seven rich soil.
“Now, are there more craft products?”
First of all, there was an increase in the number of composite bows in the weapons section. It’s called a composite bow, which is a bow reinforced with a single piece of wood and multiple pieces of wood, animal tendons, bones, or even a metal plate. It requires materials such as Lizarf bones, but since I can’t see any use for bones at the moment, I’ll use them.
Next is the real deal, crafting with soil. There was an array of farm blocks, dried brick blocks, and other items that could be used for construction-related purposes. It seems that I can also make a stone wall using a combination of stone and clay. I don’t think I’ll be able to make much now because I’m overwhelmingly short of stone.
But farmland blocks or… at least you know that this capability is a system that is designed to produce food through agriculture. The fact that it can also make blocks of building materials system means that building a base of operations using the capability is still in view.
If there is someone who has given me this ability, I don’t know if there is such a thing, but if there is, it’s definitely in his or her scope of vision. Well, let’s leave that consideration for now. I wonder if there’s another one than that? Salt. I want salt. I crave salt.
“Not so fast, huh?”
I didn’t see a salt item anywhere on the crafting menu—a shame. But there was something interesting.
“Furnace, huh.”
It seems that I can craft a furnace out of clay and stone, and leather and wood. This would definitely be a steelmaking flag. A metal tool of some sort… that makes my heart sing. The problem would be where to get the iron ore, though, and the fuel.
No, I think I can use charcoal for fuel. So, iron. Speaking of obtaining iron, it’s either mining or gathering it. If it’s a certain block game, if I dig in the ground at random, I’ll find it eventually, but will I be able to find it in this world as well if I dig in the same way? I won’t know unless I try, but it seems impossible.
I don’t know how it works in this world, but I heard that on Earth, iron-rich ores could be found sunk in the mud at the bottom of ponds and springs. I also heard that there is iron in the sand and stones of rivers. Also, it is said that reddish rocks are colored by oxidized iron, which is why they are rich in iron. I remember something like that.
Should I go back to the water? No, looking at it, I feel like the sun is starting to set. I looked at the clock on my phone and saw that it was 3:47 pm. I don’t know if it’s the same time since I didn’t set the clock at this location, but it was about 6 am when I woke up today, so I’m guessing it’s not that far off.
I looked up at the sky again, and there was a large planet and what looked like a moon. Every time I look at those two things, I am acutely aware that I am in a foreign land. I’m really wondering what will happen next… I’m practically in distress, but the chances of the kind of being able to rescue me back to my world are slim to none.
This is because I only remember seeing the word “other world” in novels, games, and other forms of entertainment.
Is there a chance that the government is organizing a secret inter-world rescue team to protect the human rights of Japanese people who are frequently shifting to another world? Right. You gotta fight reality.
“I think I’m gonna take the day off…”
It’s important to get a good rest so that you don’t drain your energy and stamina. That’s for sure. It will also reduce the consumption of food and water. Tomorrow, I’m going to focus on finding food, iron, and salt. In the meantime, I’m going to check my inventory for more stuff to craft with.
I need to use this ability to survive. The more things I can make, the more I can do. Let’s go for it.
This day I picked up wood chips and grasses for firewood and craft materials around the area, then set up a hammock in a treetop, built a fire with some raw wood, and ate grilled Lizarf meat, and went to bed.
It was smoky, but if there was a human settlement around here, someone might see the smoke and come to check on me. That’s what I was hoping for.
Also, insect repellent. Insects are seriously the worst.