"Damn it...! I'm not getting eaten, not a chance!"

I was caught by a pack of wolves.

I kept using Dark Fog without pause, occasionally using Shadow Runner as bait to distract them, then ran again.

"If it were just one opponent, maybe...!"

Was this a different pack from the ones I'd encountered earlier? Or the same one? I couldn't tell.

One thing was certain—these wolves were large, fast, and strong.

There were about fifteen of them.

I didn't have time to count properly.

But one thing was clear: there was no way I could outmaneuver them all.

"Dark Fog...!"

I could feel my spiritual energy draining.

My whole body felt hot, and my body was screaming that continuing to use it would be dangerous.

The wolf didn't seem reckless enough to charge straight into the darkness, so it merely observed from a distance while the Darkness Fog was active.

Still, it maintained a careful, consistent distance—neither too close nor too far.

The Darkness Fog had surpassed a mastery level of 100 and had advanced to the fourth tier.

The darkness was deep, its range wide, and the duration likely around four minutes.

But it was only four minutes per use.

"Darkness Fog…………!"

In the brief instant the spell flickered, I revealed my position to the enemy.

And even that fleeting moment was enough for them to swiftly and sharply attack.

During the night, I wouldn't need to use it consecutively like this.

Besides, I rarely employed the Shadow Runner, so my spiritual energy remained plentiful.

……No, that's not right.

Night is "darkness."

There's a noticeable difference in the exhaustion level when using shadow spirit magic.

The strain of generating darkness at night versus during a sunny daytime is several times greater... or so it feels.

I don't have time to check the map, but I'd guess there's still about thirty kilometers left.

No, wait—thirty kilometers was the distance to the nearest fortress.

That means there's about twenty kilometers or maybe ten kilometers left until we clear the forest.

The world map isn't detailed enough to tell exactly.

"Darkness... Fog………………!"

Shadow fog that cuts through light.

Even the snarling wolves running around frantically can't approach the pitch-black mass, as if it had physical weight.

But the limit was drawing near.

Checking my status board while running, I saw there were three crystals inside.

In the corner of his vision, the log displayed the words: 'Total Viewers Reached 5 Billion'.

Immediately exchanging it for a spirit recovery potion, he drained it.

The heat receding from his body.

"Good...! Now...!"

He ran.

Toward the direction of the forest's exit.

Straight ahead.

Fortunately, the forest had slightly improved, becoming easier to traverse.

Perhaps someone had been tending to this area.

"Darkness Fog...!"

How long had he run by then?

His strength had long since reached its limit.

His clothes were torn to shreds, shredded by branches from top to bottom, his entire body covered in cuts and soaked in blood.

Yet he still lived.

His brain, overheating to the point where pain no longer mattered, was struggling with everything it had—just to survive, in this moment, and for the future ahead.

It shouldn't have been possible to run this far. Perhaps

the threat of death had unlocked hidden strength within humanity. ...But I've reached

my limit. The forest still stretches ahead

. ...No, wait. There's light. A faint

glimpse of the grasslands beyond the

trees. Just a little more.

Just a bit further. ...No, it doesn't matter either way.

Breaking through the forest won't instantly lead

to safety. I might just be more exposed out in the open, at a greater disadvantage. The wolves never gave up

on me. Dozens of them, drooling, closing in just steps away. I can't move

another inch. When this final veil of darkness clears,

there'll be nothing left I can do. "...Hah, hah. I should've just climbed

a tree, since I'm up against wolves after

all."

I suddenly think of this, and a laugh bubbles up.

Of course, I no longer have the strength to climb trees.

My body and spirit energy are completely drained.

　

My whole body feels as if it's being roasted by flames.

It's as though I'm floating in a fever, disconnected from myself.

It's a miracle I haven't passed out.

"Ah..."

The items stored in the shadow bag spilled out from the darkness. My magic had finally failed to sustain the spell due to total depletion of spirit energy.

Three spirit stones, a glowing flower, a rope, and a shirt sleeve. A ceramic cup that once held a potion.

It was strangely amusing to calmly realize how, once spirit energy runs out, everything stored in shadows simply spills out.

"……I'm… going to die?"

When this dark fog clears, my life will end.

Will my father and mother see that image?

Will my two younger sisters see it too?

Will they shed tears?

Will Nanami survive alone in a world where no one knows her?

Just moments ago, I never even dreamed of dying.

Am I really going to die in this empty forest, with no one around?

The effects of the Dark Fog still linger.

On the other side of the darkness, large wolves drooling with anticipation wait eagerly for the fog to lift.

"No... I can't die... I don't want to die...!"

This was a feeling rising from the very depths of my soul.

I would have never known such a feeling in my entire life had I not truly been on the brink of death.

It didn’t matter that this was another world—none of that mattered. What one doesn’t want to die, won’t die.

A primal wish. Or perhaps this is what we call instinct.

As the end draws near, the wolves seem to sense it instinctively, surrounding me completely with no openings.

The darkness will soon lift.

Grabbing the spirit stone I pulled from the great ape’s spine, I held it in my hand—something that might serve as a weapon, however slightly.

A drowning man grasps at straws. That was exactly what the spirit stone was to me, lying right before my eyes.

The stone was large and hard, perhaps among the better weapons I could currently obtain.

If I could jam it into a wolf’s mouth, I might be able to knock down one or two.

It might not mean much, but I at least want to strike back with one blow.

As for things that could serve as weapons, points or crystals come to mind. These two can suddenly appear as rewards from special events. At present, they were the only things capable of significantly increasing my chances of survival.

Open the status board.

"One crystal!"

Looking at the log, it was due to "top daily viewership."

This was something I'd managed to obtain twice before.

Perhaps my situation had become so dire that it had drawn more attention.

But one crystal alone wouldn't be enough to change my current circumstances.

Desperate, I performed an item appraisal on the large ape spirit stone I was holding.

Among my current inventory, this stone was the only one that might have potential.

...Or maybe it was just a gut feeling.

The power this stone held—and the possibility it represented.

[Spirit Stone: Chaos] Chaos Spirit Crystals are occasionally found by harvesting them from the bodies of beast-like monsters, or rarely dropped by slaying monsters. Chaos is a mixture of spirits that failed to attain pure elemental properties, encompassing all elements and thus also known as "Demon Stones." They drop from the Demon King with a 100% rate. Extremely rare from regular monsters or beasts, making them highly valuable. Large stones serve as sources of spirit energy and are traded at high prices as power sources for magical artifacts. This specimen was dropped from a Homyura Mandrill Monster

. LL size. Rare material. "Monsters," "Demon King"—so many unfamiliar terms, but one thing stood out: "Source

of spirit energy? Could this actually be filled with spirit energy...?" The effect of Dark

Fog was beginning to fade. Slowly, the dark mist started to clear.

There was no time to think.

"Please...!"

I clutched the spirit stone tightly with both hands, gripping it as hard as I could.

I didn't even know what I was praying for.

But throughout all this time using spirit magic, I had always felt a deep certainty—that spirits were living entities.

Though I was the one performing the spell, I knew it was the collective power of countless spirits that fueled it, and that was what had given rise to this darkness.

If the spirit stone was a crystallization of spirits, then—

"Grant me strength... strength to survive...!"

—hehe, hehe

—kyakya

A voice echoed from somewhere.

It was like the voice of the great spirit of darkness, yet different—so much more innocent, pure, and unspoiled something (..)—a voice like no other.

In the next instant.

I could feel my body's heat gradually fading away.

Whether the spirit stone had responded to my wish, or whether my body's heat was being transferred to it, the stone slowly began to grow warmer and warmer.

Then, it started pulsing, as if it were alive.

Spirit energy was returning to my body. No, it felt more like power was flowing into me from somewhere else.

Yet, despite the energy returning to me, for some reason it was being channeled straight into the stone.

"W-what's going on...? The spirit energy...?"

I couldn't even use Dark Fog, let alone any other spirit magic.

It felt as though some kind of spell was actively being cast.

Light began to pour out from the spirit stone.

The light split into countless colors, shimmering brilliantly and dispelling the last remnants of the Dark Fog.

The sparkle within the stone, like stars scattered across the night, seemed to melt into light before their eyes.

The wolves appeared hesitant, as if frozen in place before this phenomenon.

Colors of light continued to spill from the stone.

With an odd, pulsing rhythm, the heat radiating from the stone intensified.

It was as if—alive.

"Hot! W-what...?"

He had imagined gaining spiritual energy. Indeed, spiritual energy had been obtained.

But what was happening now was beyond anything he had imagined.

Unable to bear the scorching heat, he dropped the spirit stone.

The light poured from it, gathering upon the ground where the stone rolled, swelling and growing denser. A complex array of colors.

It gradually turned red, then deep crimson, taking on a distinct shape—

"Gwah!"

A wolf charged at something that had emerged from the spirit stone (...) .

In the next instant—

*Dunnn!* The wolf was slammed into a tree trunk dozens of meters away.

"No way..."

The light spilling from the spirit stone converged, turning crimson and red, solidifying into bone, flesh, blood—coalescing into a single, massive form.

It was as if life itself were being reversed.

The "Homura Shishin," once shattered by the great spirit of darkness, now stood before me, its back wreathed in crimson flames, shielding me.

"Gyaaarrrr!"

The roar of a great ape froze the wolves in place.

The sheer difference in rank—beyond mere biology.

Size, strength, and likely even spiritual power differed vastly between the wolf and the great ape.

In this foreign world, wolves must have clearly sensed that difference.

The outcome was one-sided.

With every movement the great ape made, two or three wolves froze in place.

One was crushed by an arm thicker than a log, another burned to death in a fire breath.

Devastation.

The wolves' attacks, relying only on bites and claws, seemed to barely register on the great ape.

I couldn't properly grasp reality, just staring at the scene.

I couldn't even tell whether that ape was friend or foe.

Spiritual energy was nearly depleted.

It seemed as though it had temporarily recovered, but almost everything had been absorbed into the spirit stone.

Did that stone grant my wish?

Was it the inherent power of the spirit stone all along, or something else entirely?

The answer came from an unexpected source.

"Congratulations! You, the first transmigrated being from another world, have awakened to the 'sealed Eighth Spirit Art.' As a first-time bonus, three points have been awarded."

"Sealed... what's that...?"

Before I could process it, the battle had already ended.

There was nothing moving around me anymore.

The great ape stood facing me, having crushed the wolves, awaiting orders.

Surprisingly, I felt no fear.

Upon closer inspection, the entire form is not fully restored—patches of flesh are missing, exposing bones in places.

...Just like a zombie.

Open the status board.

【 Dark Spirit Magic 】

First Rank Technique

・Void of Darkness 【Shade Shift】 Mastery Level 11

・Coffin of Darkness 【Shadow Bind】 Mastery Level 0

・Call of Darkness 【Summon Nightbug】 Mastery Level 0

Second Rank Technique

・Sight of Darkness 【Night Vision】 Mastery Level 9

・Transformation of Darkness 【Shadow Runner】 Mastery Level 21

・Incorporation of Darkness 【Shadow Bag】 Mastery Level 6

Fourth Rank Technique

・Manifestation of Darkness 【Darkness Fog】 Mastery Level 1

Special Technique

・Return of Darkness 【Create Undead】 Mastery Level 1

"Create... Undead..."

A new spirit art was beginning to take root.

It seemed to be the technique of creating undead—zombies, to be precise.

Was it because my wish had been infused into that spirit stone, awakening this technique?

I tapped the screen to view the description.

'One unique spell per attribute. The dark spirit art's special technique is the creation of undead. Requires either a "Dark Spirit Stone" or a "Chaos Spirit Stone" as material. The resulting undead takes on the previous form of the stone. Powerful enough to create undead of monsters or even demon lords, but demands high spirit power, so use with caution. With increased proficiency, creation time decreases and duration increases. No rank advancement. The spirit stone used is consumed.'

I looked at the giant ape standing before me.

It looks almost unchanged from when it was alive.

Its combat power is certainly on par with what it had before—capable of scattering the wolves in an instant like that. Probably nearly the same as it was in life.

If so, then this power is extraordinary... no, overwhelmingly powerful.

Perhaps the requirement for raw materials is the only thing holding it back...

The spiritual energy had slightly recovered.

――kyakkyakkyu

――ahahaha

The voice fades into the distance.

Probably, this voice is that of the spirits.

Not like the great spirit of darkness, but the voices of countless small spirits scattered throughout this world.

"……Thank you."

Muttering into the void.

The Create Undead spell has a time limit. The danger hasn't completely passed yet. I must hurry.

"Great Ape, can you extract the spirit stone from the wolves' corpses?"

"Gwau"

The great ape who obediently carries out my orders.

"Ugh... that's gross."

The great ape extracting a spirit stone from a wolf's body, as if squeezing seeds out.

Skillful, as expected of an ape, yet somehow pitiful to watch.

Though he was the one being hunted relentlessly, they weren't truly at fault. If an easy target appeared, they'd go for it—just like natural law.

Most spirit stones were transparent, just like those of young apes, except for one that glowed a deep blue.

Ah, so the "Chaos" stone, speckled with stars, is quite rare indeed.

Next, I had him bring back fruit as food.

I could sense that the time to maintain the created undead was nearly up.

After finishing the fruit collection, the great ape let out a cry and vanished, turning into sparkling particles.

I tucked the wolf spirit stone and the fruit into my shadow bag and set off walking.

Be sure not to forget to create a new barrier stone with one point for precaution.