"Living...! I must keep living...!"

I muttered the words like a spell, step by step, pushing my legs forward.

The only thing keeping my fraying spirit intact was the hope that Nanami might still be alive and able to reach this world.

Nanami is alive.

Believing that was the only thing that could carry me through this harsh reality.

Whether the strategy of moving at night, as hinted, was effective, or whether the dark spirit magic worked better, I couldn't be sure—but after starting to walk for just over three hours, so far, I hadn't encountered any monsters.

Still, moving straight along the shortest path, I'd now reached the steep slope of the mountain, and was crawling upward, barely making progress.

The map I exchanged for three points was indeed high-performance, but since it's just a "world map," it doesn't show fine details like terrain elevation around my current location. All I can tell is that I'm in a forest, and there appears to be a mountain range to the south.

There might be flatter terrain if I went around to the north, but I chose to go straight ahead.

Or rather, lacking any hiking experience, I had no choice but to simply follow the map straight forward.

I try not to use spirit magic too continuously.

Of course, ideally I'd keep using "Dark Mist" the entire time I'm walking, but I absolutely must avoid the risk of suddenly passing out from spirit energy depletion.

I wasn't quite sure exactly how much spiritual energy recovered naturally, so I had no choice but to memorize it through feel. After using the technique over and over again, I was starting to get a vague sense of it.

The Dark Mist itself seemed to be improving with practice—its duration was growing longer. There was already a glimmer of hope that, as my proficiency increased further, I might eventually be able to use it continuously.

"Huff... huff... It's tough... but I can't afford to waste distance..."

Walking this unfamiliar mountain path, where monsters could jump out at any moment, I was already utterly exhausted.

I had been in the school sports club in middle school, but I wasn't particularly passionate about it, so I only had the average physical stamina of a typical fifteen-year-old.

The status board comes with a built-in clock, showing the current time—quietly convenient.

It's unclear how rotation and revolution work in this world, but a day is 24 hours long, and daylight hours are nearly identical to those on Earth.

Whether this is divine providence or mere coincidence, there's no way to know.

"Five o'clock in the morning...? It's getting a bit brighter...?"

It looks like sunrise is approaching.

When using Dark Mist, shadows seem to pool heavily in bright areas, appearing slightly unnatural. However, since the deep forest is full of places where sunlight doesn't reach, it's not overly obvious.

"Even if we use the barrier stone during the day, its duration is only twelve hours. I'd at least like to hold on until seven, calculating backwards from when the sun sets..."

Just because it's bright doesn't mean danger appears immediately.

I summoned my last strength and dashed up the slope.

The view opened up, and I emerged onto a slightly elevated hillside.

And there, seeing the creature before me, my heart stopped for an instant.

"Kikik!"

Two small—yet still the size of mountain gorillas—red apes.

Beyond them, a massive flaming ape lying on its back, asleep.

The smaller ape, noticing me, screeched loudly.

The large ape in the distance stirred slightly.

(M… Maaaaaaajii…? Did I actually end up in the big ape’s nest…?)

A bed made of stacked twigs and grass.

Fruits, nuts, and animal bones piled around it.

I couldn’t tell whether the large ape was male or female, nor whether it was the same individual I’d encountered yesterday, but one thing was certain—it was a nest.

(Can I still escape…?)

I clenched the barrier stone tightly, ready to shatter it at any moment, and recited my Dark Mist.

But the morning sun was already rising.

In a place sufficiently bright, my Dark Mist wouldn't even fool a mosquito, let alone be effective. It only seemed to pique the monkeys' curiosity.

(Damn it… what should I do…!? What can I do…?)

I was half-panicking.

The barrier stone creates a barrier at a specific location. If used in a monster's nest, it would prevent me from moving from that spot for twelve hours.

Unless the monster disappeared within those twelve hours, the little monkeys wouldn't leave the nest.

Luckily, the large ape seemed surprisingly calm, and though the little ones made noise, it barely stirred—no sign of waking up.

But the little monkeys were heading this way.

It didn't look nearly as aggressive as a great ape, and by appearance alone, it even seemed cute—yet it was still a child of that ferocious great ape. There was every chance it might casually rip off my limbs.

The distance between me and the young ape was about twenty meters.

That was already close enough to say we'd "encountered" each other.

I started running to put as much distance between us as possible.

If I was going to be spotted anyway, I might as well go all in.

As soon as I started running, the young apes also began sprinting on all fours toward me.

I'd triggered the instinctive urge in beasts to chase down fleeing prey.

(Damn it! Fast!)

Though they were called young apes, they were large—yet incredibly agile.

Before I could even gain any meaningful distance, I was nearly caught, and just as I was about to be grabbed by the arm, I shattered the barrier stone.

A translucent dome appeared, and the baby monkeys, having lost sight of their prey, dashed around the plaza, screeching wildly.

What if they had been caught as they were?

Probably, they would have been consumed as an interesting puppet with some reaction.

The thought makes me shudder—what if God hadn’t provided the barrier stone as a salvation?

"……Still, this is really the end, huh………… hehe……"

I opened my status board and looked at the item list.

Among the purchasable items, one stood out distinctly.

・Surrender Pill　　 Required Points　All of my current points

I could use this before being eaten alive by those monkeys.

Of course, giving up doesn't mean returning to the original world with some easygoing item.

In other words, self-( ) decision-( ) use-( ) ( ) poison-( ) medicine-( ) exclusively for oneself.

"I managed to get fifty meters away from the sleeping giant ape... but it's still not far enough to escape... right...?"

Even though I'd managed to put about fifty meters between myself and the still-sleeping ape, would I really be able to avoid a human appearing right nearby, even at night?

No, he was probably fast asleep and might not be very sensitive after all.

But the little monkey seems sharp enough to spot me any moment now.

"Well... I guess it'll have to play out however it will."

Honestly, I was completely exhausted.

I was suddenly chosen to be transported to another world without any preparation, and I’ve been walking through a deep forest.

This place, where sunlight filters through and soft grass grows, was the first bright spot I’d seen in a while—even if monsters were lurking nearby. I just wanted to collapse onto the ground and fall asleep.

"Something to eat…?"

The sense that had been numb inside the barrier was returning, and I felt an intense hunger and thirst.

I was also extremely sleepy, but I couldn’t sleep without getting some water first.

I opened my status board and exchanged one crystal each for a sandwich and water.

The sandwich came wrapped in paper, and the water emerged from a heavy ceramic bottle.

I devoured it eagerly, drinking and eating without pause.

Afterward, I felt a bit more energy returning to my mind.

"…Now that I think about it, Crystal, you were oddly full."

Since 30 crystals equal one point, crystals are valuable.

The last time I checked, I'd received two crystals for "Achieving 100 million daily viewers" and "First encounter with a monster." I'd used one from a hint, so there should have been only one left.

But just now, it looked like there were about six crystals accumulated.

Let me check the status board's log.

The oldest entry is "Achieved 【100 million daily viewers】." The next one is "Achieved 【First encounter with a monster】." I already knew about those two crystals.

Then comes "Achieved 【First Spirit Magic】," worth one crystal.

And finally, "Achieved 【Total viewers reached 500 million】." That one seemed special—apparently, it granted three crystals all at once.

Apparently, "cumulative" refers to the total number of unique daily accesses.

Still, five hundred million—that's a staggering number.

Even though today is treated as day two, five hundred million people is no small figure.

The number is so large it's hard to grasp in real terms, but that probably means nearly one-tenth of the world's population has already watched me.

Right now, the real-time viewer count is already over four hundred million—so this really is real attention.

……though only as a comedic segment at the beginning.

Otherwise, there's no way someone like me, a sudden newcomer, would be getting this much viewership.

And then, on day two, achieving the milestone of 'One Hundred Million Daily Viewers.' Daily viewers seem to be available every day. That's a relief.

This means I've now collected seven crystals in total.

I've used three—hints, bread, and water—leaving four remaining.

Thirty crystals are far away, but since it's still only the second day, it's going smoothly... I guess?

No, right now I'm just wasting points frantically with barrier stones.

There's no way I can say it's going smoothly.

Deciding to cool down my mind, I set a timer and lay down for a bit.

I've been walking all night. Without sleep, I won't come up with any good ideas to survive.

"So, let's set the alarm for four hours from now..."

　

The status board has a timer function in addition to the clock.

This must be a helpful feature for modern people tied down by time.

"……Good night."

I murmured into the void.

I can't imagine how they—my viewers—are watching me.

But surely, someone out there in this forest is cheering me on as I fight alone.

...That's definitely how it must be.