After what felt like a full hour, I was finally beginning to calm down.

That monkey’s violent image still burned in my mind.

But I can’t stay like this forever. I have no choice but to think about what to do next.

In this world, there’s only surrender through death.

"……Can you even do anything with just 19 points?"

Nineteen points aren’t exactly few, but after seeing that monkey, I feel even more aware that I’ll need to think carefully and strategize thoroughly to get out of this forest. If I make a single mistake, it could mean game over instantly.

I absolutely refuse to be eaten alive, my limbs torn off while still alive.

"Big ape… will it come back? If this is its territory, it must be searching for me right now…"

Once this barrier breaks, I'll have to walk again.

If that happens, I'll most likely encounter that monkey once more.

Should I fight it, or is there another way?

First off, killing that giant ape is impossible. That's a certainty.

Even if I poured all 19 points of my resource into it, and used attack magic items like scrolls, I might barely stand a chance—no more than that.

My sole goal is escaping the forest.

I must not lose sight of that.

　

The board displays the remaining time on the barrier—nine hours left.

Since it's daytime now, it'll be night when it breaks.

I'll need to plan how to handle the night as well. "……Still, the viewer count just skyrocketed. Are there really this many people watching?"

Suddenly, my eyes catch the real-time viewer count.

The number of viewers is constantly changing, but right now, it's an astonishing 101.63 million. Considering it was only around 2 million just a moment ago, this is an extraordinary surge in popularity. Given that many people were already interested in the transmigrated individual, this must be due to the effect of random transfer—proving that the comedy segment at the beginning wasn't for nothing. Somewhere on Earth, people are relaxing, munching on snacks, watching my survival unfold on their TVs, phones, or computers. Honestly, I feel a complicated mix of emotions. But if I hadn't ended up here, I'd probably be doing exactly the same thing. The blame lies with the god who set the trap, not me. The status board displays various logs, and even the viewer count appears in the form of "surpassed X number of viewers."

And as a reward, crystals are distributed.

Though they aren't physical objects, they're more like points.

Apparently, you can exchange thirty crystals for one point, so you might as well call them fragments of points.

Anyway, right now, I have two of these crystals.

A reward from achieving "One Hundred Million Daily Viewers" and "First Encounter with a Monster."

The fact that the smallest unit for distributing crystals is one hundred million viewers feels like a rather tough condition, but still, I'll take anything I can get.

Crystals can be used in various ways.

First of all, they can be exchanged for a wide variety of items.

For example, one crystal can be exchanged for a basic potion. There are also smaller items available—pocket tissues, toilet paper, sandwiches, water, wooden swords, cotton cloths, notepaper and pencils, and so on... quite a variety of small items can be traded.

Although I'm not feeling hungry right now, likely due to extreme tension, I'll probably need a sandwich and some water soon. In that sense, crystals can be considered valuable.

With three crystals, you can exchange for potions that restore stamina, vitality, and spirit energy.

Additionally, there's a flipboard set available for exchange—probably intended for transmigrants to convey messages in writing to viewers.

With five crystals, you can exchange for mid-level potions, tools, equipment, and a wide range of other items.

After all, each of these will likely be needed someday, so wasting them isn't an option.

"I guess I'll have to use this one for now."

With the crystal, it's possible to exchange not just items but also other things.

"Monster Identification," which reveals information about the monster encountered just before.

"Item Identification," which provides details about an object held in hand.

And "Survival Tips," which offers information essential for staying alive.

Naturally, the one I should choose right now is the last one. While Monster Identification is interesting, I'll save that for when I've already survived.

Even though I have two of them, the crystal itself is precious—just one is enough.

Since thirty crystals equal one point, that means, conversely, I can't increase my points unless I accumulate more crystals.

But right now, I just want as many survival tips as possible.

I pressed the "Hint" button.

＜Consume 1 crystal to hear a "hint on survival"? YES・NO＞

Touching YES immediately displays the hint.

＜'Blend into the darkness.'＞

"Huh... Is that it?"

Too vague. Exactly a hint.

It might just be random advice, given the already dire situation.

But it's true—I have nothing else to cling to.

"So, 'darkness' means I should move during the night?"

Generally, I feel nights are more dangerous, but I've taken the "Dark Vision" skill.

I won't know exactly how well I can see until I actually try it at night, but probably walking around won't be a problem.

If it's safe to walk at night, one could stay within the barrier during daylight hours, as long as the points allow, and gain distance at night...

"Maybe the monsters in this forest are mostly the kind that don't move around at night?"

Honestly, I know almost nothing about this world. Perhaps there are simply few nocturnal creatures.

Or rather, the hint says to hide in the darkness, not specifically at night. It's only natural to assume nighttime is safer.

"But then, wouldn't a hint telling us to act at night make just as much sense?"

It says darkness, not night.

Once you think about it that way, it clicks.

Open the spirit magic section from the status board.

Fire, water, wind, earth, light, and darkness.

Each spirit magic can be acquired for a flat 10 points.

For me, who only has 19 points left, that's an incredibly heavy number.

When I input the shadow spirit magic once, a description appears.

'Few direct attack techniques, many supportive ones.'

"Hmm..."

Shadow magic, after all.

There must be a way to blend into the darkness... I think.

Given that it's mostly supportive techniques, there are definitely some that wrap the opponent in darkness—exactly the kind of thing that fits my current situation.

(Besides... I have the favor of the spirits.)

The effect of the spirits' favor is unknown.

But logically, it should grant some kind of buff to spirit magic usage. Since I've always intended to master magic eventually, I can just think of it as a matter of whether it comes sooner or later—something positive to keep in mind.

I was originally considering fire or water...

"...Well, we've come this far, it's either make it or break it—there's no choice but to go forward."

Honestly, the situation is already pretty much hopeless.

The fact that there are so many viewers is the only thing keeping my pride intact, barely holding on by a thin wall. If I had been completely abandoned alone in another world, I'd probably be crying by now.

If I don't use my points here, and keep breaking barrier stones every time danger arises, my points will vanish in no time.

Once that happens, there'll be nothing left I can do.

I have to make every possible effort right now, at this stage.

'Consume 10 points to acquire Shadow Spirit Magic? YES · NO'

I steeled my resolve and pressed the YES button.

'Shadow Spirit Magic acquired. For details on Spirit Magic, please check the status board.'

A system voice echoes inside the mind.

Upon acquiring it, the body instinctively grasped what spirit magic truly was—not through learning, but as if it had always known.

Spirit magic was the act of calling upon the countless spirits existing in this world, using oneself as a medium to release spirits imbued with a specific nature, channeling their effects through the spell.

When opening the status board, a new entry appeared: "Contracted Spirit: Shadow."

Since acquiring spirit magic cannot be duplicated, it seemed that unless the contract was broken (though it was unclear if that was even possible), the user would live alongside the Shadow spirit magic forever...

As the new field for Shadow spirit magic had appeared, the user tapped it.

【 Shadow Spirit Magic 】

First-tier Spell Formula

・Dark Mist

"Hey! Is this really the technique for blending into darkness?"

More than the fact that it's unique and uses a proficiency system, it felt like a ray of hope had just shone upon me—exactly what I needed right now.

It's ironic, really, talking about a ray of hope in the midst of darkness, but somehow, a single path out of this forest seemed to finally become visible.

I don't fully understand the meaning of "Dark Mist," but that can wait—once I get out of this forest, I'll figure it out.

"Well, I'll just try it out. Um… Dark Mist!"

I gathered power in my abdomen and chanted the incantation.

The spirits surrounding me gradually began to transform, through me as the receiver, into darkness.

"O… "

Too slow.

It's really creeping in slowly. Slowly, the surroundings are being enveloped by darkness.

It extended only about fifty centimeters around me.

While I could see outside from within it, it was nothing more than mist. Wouldn’t my silhouette be somewhat visible from outside as well? And the range was too limited.

Was this really it?

　

The darkness dissipated within a minute.

Relying on this to slip through the forest unnoticed was far too unreliable.

Still, this was the only weapon I had managed to acquire.

"But at least I can use it even inside the barrier—lucky break."

The barrier would last for over eight hours. At minimum, I’d have that much time to practice.

I checked my status board.

【Dark Spirit Magic】

First-stage formula

・Manifestation of Darkness 【Dark Mist】　　Proficiency Level　1

"Proficiency’s increased. Does it go up by one each time I use it?"

In any case, I'll just have to keep using it

repeatedly. I need to figure out just how deep my spiritual energy goes, and I can also expect improvements in range and duration as my proficiency increases. "Dark

Mist," "Dark Mist," "Dark

Mist"—I'll try layering them, but

the effect seems too weak. It

might be better to focus on maximizing the effect of a single

spell. I'm not sure whether the effect of the spirit's favor is actually manifesting. Perhaps

the benefit of the spirit's favor is simply not having difficulty casting the spell

at all. Maybe without such favor, even casting a spell would be extremely difficult. "…So if I have the spirit's favor, does that mean the energy required to cast a spell is imbued with love

? I can't really understand it myself…"

Still, using spirit magic gives a distinct sensation—like drawing power from a spirit.

That sensation might be proportional to the amount of spirit energy used.

"Well then, I'll just have to keep practicing and experimenting..."

Without a teacher, there's nothing to rely on but trial and error.

The technique itself is usable, and so far, I don't feel any fatigue from depleting spirit energy.

If I'm walking at night, I'll dedicate the next eight hours to practice.

Every point used on the barrier stone counts—no minute can be wasted.

Remaining points: 9