— Walking through 373 kilometers of forest.

Just imagining how grueling that is makes my head spin.

I don’t even have food, let alone water.

Sure, I could probably exchange for supplies with points—

but I must survive, just to meet Nanami again.

No, even if it weren’t for Nanami, I couldn’t just give up on living so easily. I, who should have died just moments ago, am now alive—perhaps that’s God telling me to keep living.

For now, there’s nothing I can do but focus on surviving.

I slapped my cheeks with a loaf of bread.

"Let’s walk…!"

Thanks to the map, I at least know which direction to go.

No matter how dangerous it is, it’s not guaranteed I’ll encounter monsters.

Maybe only monsters that can run away by fleeing will appear.

It's still too early to despair.

Before climbing down from the tree, I checked my status screen once more.

The real-time viewer count showed 1.87 million 6,540, seemingly increasing every second.

It seems I ended up drawing attention as a comedic act in the early stages.

◇◆◆◆◇

The forest was lined with tall trees spaced about ten meters apart.

Little grass grew on the ground, and luckily, it wasn't difficult to walk on.

The boots I exchanged for using one point fit perfectly, as if custom-made.

It seemed that monsters weren't particularly numerous either, as I'd already been walking for about thirty minutes without seeing anything resembling a living creature.

...Not only that, even ordinary animals aren't visible.

It's eerie.

"Anyway, can't let my guard down..."

According to the high-performance world map, this place is rated a danger level of four out of six.

Even the faint, mysterious sensation brushing against my skin makes it feel unlike any ordinary location.

Or perhaps, while we're standing here, we're already being shot by a high-intelligence monster's arrow, or devoured headfirst by a creature we can't even see.

Clutching the item I traded my last single point for before setting off, I kept moving forward.

With my boots and that item, my remaining points have dwindled to nineteen.

I'm already living on the edge of death.

The rustling of trees in the wind only fuels my anxiety, wearing down my mind as I strain to sense the presence of monsters that could appear at any moment, from anywhere.

As if to erase those anxieties, I simply pushed forward with all my might, moving my legs without pause.

After about two and a half hours of walking,

the outcome, at least, was surprisingly smooth.

Given how dangerous the situation could have been, I’d already mentally prepared for disaster, so the lack of any major problems felt almost surreal.

The weather was neither cold nor hot.

I wasn’t deep in the mountains, but rather in a relatively flat forest.

The distance was only enough to be traversed in slightly over ten days if things went smoothly.

Upon calmer reflection, this random teleportation destination wasn’t actually that bad.

If I’d ended up in winter mountains, I’d have surely died. And if it had been actual mountains instead of a forest, even descending would have carried significant risks.

I was lucky.

—But at that moment, I was mistaken.

It's not that there are no living creatures here for no reason.

Just as herbivores avoid the territory of a lion, the presence of powerful monsters actually causes their density to decrease in those areas.

I hadn't truly grasped the meaning of a danger level of four.

The first thing I heard was the creaking of trees.

Then came the rustling sound of something leaping between trees, swaying branches back and forth.

I stopped in my tracks and glanced around.

After all, this was the first time I'd ever heard "a sound made by another being" in this forest.

While bird calls occasionally reached my ears, this clear sense of a living presence was completely new.

"A monster...? Or maybe some kind of ape—?"

The rustling sound of swaying trees continued without pause.

And it felt as though it was slowly approaching.

"At least... at least let it just be a mere animal..."

I couldn't tell which direction it was coming from.

It might be circling around me, closing in on me gradually.

Monster. Demon.

I had already been informed by the deity beforehand that such things existed.

I had explained to Nanami about it, telling her that we might need the means to fight—perhaps acquiring some physical enhancement through points, and carrying a weapon.

But I had never truly considered what it meant to face a "monster" in reality.

No, no one living on Earth could realistically imagine themselves fighting a monster.

　

After a while, the sound abruptly stopped.

At the same moment, a heavy thud as something landed on the ground.

I instinctively turned toward the sound.

And I realized, with crushing clarity, that my wish—that it be just an ordinary animal—had shattered completely.

"…W-what the hell is that?"

　

It felt unreal.

The trees growing in the forest were slightly different from those on Earth, yet they looked perfectly natural; the soil was no different from Earth’s. The clouds, the wind, the sun—everything was familiar.

I would have believed it was Earth itself, such was its resemblance to the world I knew.

And yet, whatever it was, it was something that could never exist on Earth.

Standing about four meters tall, it had long, thick tusks protruding from its mouth, but most striking of all, it was blazing red. A massive ape engulfed in flames, standing fully ablaze from head to toe.

It wasn't as if someone had set it on fire—it continuously emitted flames from its crimson fur.

Its highly developed upper body was as thick as a nearby giant tree, possessing enough strength to cleave through ten people at once, like a blade through rice.

From its massive mouth, capable of swallowing a human whole, flames rose like heat haze.

The moment I saw it, my heart pounded as if it would burst, my legs froze, and my body felt as though all blood had drained away.

I couldn’t even move a single fingertip, as if my body no longer belonged to me.

I had been targeted by an absolute predator. There was no way I could survive.

As if my instincts knew this all too well.

"Gyaaah-aaau!"

The great ape roared, intimidating me.

To the ape, I must have appeared small, weak, and perfectly edible, but the great ape didn't move right away—instead, it just stared at me with burning eyes, observing.

Was it wary, having encountered something that shouldn't exist in such a forest?

Or was it merely salivating at the sight of prey?

Only its impassive, blood-red eyes glowed intensely.

I might as well say I'd been nearly unconscious since meeting the ape.

Yet, in the brief moment the ape paused to observe, I managed to turn my brain just enough to think clearly.

That's why, when the ape roared and charged, I didn't hesitate—I used the item without delay.

I clenched the glass-like crystal in my right hand and shattered it.

＜Seal stone used. Time remaining: 12 hours＞ Instantly, a

hemispherical, translucent barrier appeared within a radius of about three meters centered on me. Though the membrane

looked fragile at first glance, the giant ape suddenly stopped in its tracks, as if it had lost sight of its target, frantically scanning the surroundings. Roaring in

fury, it pounded the ground and dashed about in confusion. Occasionally, flames burst from

its mouth, scorching the tree trunks nearby. It seemed extremely enraged. I

was collapsed on the ground, barely ten meters away

. My lower body had completely lost strength, and I wouldn’t be able to stand up for a while. Sweat

poured off me in overwhelming amounts, soaking my clothes until they felt heavy. Survival of the

fittest.

That concept, which had always felt like something completely unrelated to me in school lessons, suddenly appeared right before my eyes. I felt my whole body burning with heat, realizing I might have been devoured as a weakling.

This is the other world.

This is the world I’ll have to live in from now on.

(Please… just go somewhere else…!)

Even though I have twelve hours of grace, if that giant ape never moves from this spot, I’ll be truly finished.

The barrier stone can be used repeatedly, but it still costs one point.

I’d lose points in an instant, and ultimately be eaten.

　

My plea won’t be answered, but the ape that had been searching for me seems to have given up and left for somewhere else.

I let out a sigh of genuine relief from the bottom of my heart.

(This is danger level four…?)

I had always expected to encounter a monster at some point.

Perhaps I was being optimistically hopeful, thinking that the monster that appeared might not be too difficult to handle.

Something strong but slow-moving, or appearing in groups but each one weak individually.

But that monkey was enormous, powerful, fast, and likely intelligent—perhaps even capable of breathing fire from its mouth.

Even if I had been fully equipped, it would have been impossible to defeat.