"Haa... haa... I'm starving..."

Since I was within the territory of the Great Ape—Homura Shishin— I've been walking for several hours since then, but haven't encountered any dangerous creatures.

I've seen animals and birds, but managed to evade them by hiding my form with shadow spirit magic.

I've also tried the Shadow Runner technique a few times, and found that ordinary animals panic and flee, helping me distinguish between harmless ones and actual threats.

Since I haven't eaten anything since yesterday, I'm quite drained. But as long as there's no danger, I want to keep moving.

The forest is gradually changing in the types of plants growing.

There are more low-growing trees with edible-looking fruits scattered here and there.

Among the types of trees most commonly seen, fruits resembling cherries hung heavily from the branches, and if those were edible, one could acquire calories—or even water, in some cases—without having to expend crystals.

There were plenty of fruits stored in that great ape's nest, so they were probably edible... or rather, since monsters could eat them, it didn't necessarily mean humans could safely consume them either...

"It smells sweet..."

Dazed and drawn in, I plucked a cluster of fruit.

An unbearable, dangerous fragrance.

I have "Poison Resistance," so I could take a risk and try eating it... but still, spending one crystal is a pity.

I opened my status board and selected the "Item Identification" option.

One crystal is a shame, but if this is edible, I won't have to worry about food for a while.

[Coral Suguri: Typically found growing in the eastern region of the Ring Pill Continent. The fruit is edible, but consuming large amounts can cause diarrhea. Widely cultivated, it is eaten raw or processed into jam. This specimen is at peak ripeness.]

Upon reading the note, I immediately popped the fruit into my mouth.

A sweet and sour taste spread across my tongue. Thinking about it, it had been five days since I last had something sweet.

"Delicious...! I never thought wild fruit could taste this good...!"

The sweetness blended with a subtle bitterness. The juice was abundant, refreshing my entire body.

Since I often come across Coral Suguri while walking, I won’t have to worry about food for a while. Though eating too much may cause diarrhea, I’ve got strong resistance to illness and poison, so I should be fine. I hope I’m right.

Crystal increases by at least one per day.

I can't say how difficult it is to reach one hundred million daily viewers. I was taught that the world's population is roughly seven billion. Only a fraction of that—probably around half—actually watches the stream. That would be about 3.5 billion. So, one hundred million daily viewers means roughly one thirty-fifth of the total viewership... is that right? But in reality, the number has settled around six hundred million in recent days, far from being just a casual figure. Why is it receiving so much attention? Of course, it's because the random transfer suddenly plunged everyone into a life-or-death adventure. Other transferred individuals might be progressing steadily or simply starting ordinary lives by finding jobs. But... there are over a thousand transferred people in total.

There are probably many people watching on multiple screens, but even so, having 600 million people watching me is abnormal.

There must be others besides me who chose random transfer, and surely some transfer participants are pushing the limits of danger just to boost their viewership numbers.

Thinking about it like that, the number of 600 million feels eerie.

Is it because I’m a newly appeared transfer participant?

"……Wasting time thinking about it won’t help."

Right now, my only goal is surviving and escaping this forest. Everything else is trivial.

Yes, the unusually high viewership is concerning, but aside from the crystal, it doesn’t really matter.

I’ve come this far without even caring that I’m being watched.

I ate about four handfuls of coral figs, then cut off the remaining sleeve of my shirt, tied the bottom, and stuffed just enough fruit inside.

Right hand held the great ape's spirit stone, left hand held the fruit.

"I've come to truly appreciate the importance of a bag..."

I could exchange it for a backpack by spending one point, but I couldn't possibly waste a point on something like that.

After all, I can't fight or do anything else with it, so this is fine for now. My hands get tired, though.

Walking while using Darkness Fog and Shadow Runner, I finally reached sunset.

I managed to walk thirty kilometers in a single day—pretty impressive.

If I keep this up for about ten more days, I should be able to get out of the forest.

"…But the real problem is what to do from here."

It's obvious, but humans must sleep.

I can't keep walking forever.

As for food, as long as I eat coral sugu, I can manage somehow. I can't afford to worry about nutritional imbalances—what matters is just getting enough energy to keep moving.

But sleep is another matter entirely.

Up until now, I could sleep soundly because I was breaking barrier stones—

"But at night, there's still a chance that great spirit of darkness will appear again..."

If it shows up, there will be no choice but to break barrier stones once more.

Yet, it might not appear at all.

Today, there are no clouds, so the moonlight might provide sufficient illumination.

That clinging, suffocating darkness is likely a sign of its coming. And I'm certain that it was my own spirit magic that created this situation.

In any case, I wanted to save the barrier stone for when danger was just around the corner.

There were only six points left. You could say there were only six lives remaining.

Eventually, I decided to search while walking past trees that looked like good places to sleep.

Honestly, walking at night seemed safer, so I wanted to gradually shift my sleeping time, sleeping during the day and walking at night.

Since it was currently 7 PM, I planned to sleep from around 8 PM until about 2 AM—

With a rough plan in place, I climbed onto a promising tree, straddled a branch, and leaned my body against the trunk. Since falling while asleep could be fatal, I splurged and exchanged two crystals for a rope. The rope was made of thin hemp, and looked fairly sturdy.

I quickly tied it around my body. That way, I wouldn’t have to worry about falling.

I briefly conceal myself in Darkness Fog, then close my eyes. The spell lasts about ten minutes at most, but it's better than nothing.