While pondering how to use the unexpectedly large amount of points I’d acquired, I continued scanning the surroundings for danger.

　Ai-chan was still eating.

　She seemed incredibly hungry, crunching down on every last bit of bone with a strangely satisfying intensity. She was clearly consuming far more than her body’s mass, yet each bite appeared to be instantly converted into spirit energy. It made perfect sense that she loved spirit stones—directly gaining spirit energy must be far easier than anything else.

　

　Having devoured every last scrap of bird and lizard, Ai-chan floated slightly and licked her lips with a long, lazy tongue.

　Though her face was hidden beneath thick fur, her mouth was enormous. Her sharp, evenly spaced teeth, like little Zorori, spoke volumes about her carnivorous strength.

This kid's a monster body, so their appetite is huge. It must be tough traveling just to keep them from starving.

No, they were just starving to death, so they only ate this much—probably wouldn't need to eat this much every day if they were living normally...

I don't want to see such a cute kid die. I'll figure out a way to make it work somehow.

"Can I touch you a bit?"

—Sure

—Alright, alright, good girl, good girl, good girl.

I gently stroked Ai-chan’s body floating around me, unsure whether she’d give the okay or not.

Her fur was fluffy, and since we were in a dry area, there was no weird smell—just a pleasant, indescribable feel.

I even forgot we were in a dangerous place, lost in pure bliss.

—So nice

Ai-chan seemed to enjoy it too, not at all indifferent.

You probably haven't been petted before, so I suppose. Nanami, the one who gets petted, was a well-known figure among the local dog owners—those who walk their dogs around here.

After spending a while being rubbed and regaining my energy, I and Ai-chan began heading back along the original path (though there isn't really a path).

The massive eagle's corpse we'd knocked over on the way here was still lying there. Since Ai-chan's here too, I'd at least like to recover the spirit stone.

As I walked, I opened my status menu and decided to spend one crystal to view "a clue for living."

The first time I saw it, it said "Head west."

I think it probably meant to save Ai-chan. If that's the case, the clue should have changed by now.

Of course, it might still say "Head west," but in that case, I'll just head west after collecting the bird's spirit stone.

According to A-chan, it seems living creatures don't come near her, so maybe she's no longer in danger—but that also means she can't find food, which is a problem in itself.

Tap for a survival hint.

＜'Spirit Energy Potions are most effective against the Monster's Hunger'＞

An unexpected result appeared.

It might mean that if left this way, A-chan could be eaten by her own hunger and end up finishing the game.

(In the worst case, even if I'm eaten, I'd have to make sure others don't eat me.)

――I won't eat you

"Ugh, you heard that? Just a hypothetical scenario, in the worst-case situation. Nobody can really resist hunger, after all."

It's concerning that my inner thoughts can be heard like that.

The ability to communicate thoughts only becomes audible when we try to convey something or when strong emotions are exchanged, but perhaps it's gotten easier between me and Ai-chan since we became friends.

(The angel's voice clearly said "Teim," so we should consider that some kind of bond has formed between Ai-chan and me. Well, in reality, Ai-chan is undoubtedly far stronger, and our relationship is more like that of friends.)

— Friends?

Ai-chan blinks her long lashes, fluttering them as she looks at me.

"Yes, friends. Explaining friends is hard. It means companions who spend time together, play, eat meals, and share enjoyable moments."

At least, Ai-chan doesn't feel like a pet at all.

— I can tell what you're thinking.

――Strange

――Nanami is my friend

"Hehe. Nice to meet you, Ai-chan."

In a dry, desolate wasteland scattered with corpses, I walked hand in hand with floating Ai-chan.

Bird carcasses remained untouched, not eaten by other animals. Ai-chan devoured the bodies, but pulled out the spirit stones to save as emergency rations.

Well, according to the hint, spirit energy potions seem to turn into food, so thanks to Ai-chan, we've got plenty of points. For now, we won't have to worry about running out of food.

"Well then. We ended up back at the starting point. Let's start over and head toward civilization! The nearest village is east, so let's keep running this way!"

――Oh

"Let me know if you get hungry."

――Yeah

Still, that's an incredible ability—“mind communication.”

To think we can connect hearts with other creatures so naturally, it's like a dream all over again.

“Are you okay running?”

—No problem at all.

“Then, let’s go!”

Our journey has just begun!

…Well, that might be bad luck.

Getting carried away now that we’ve made a companion.

I’ll reflect on that.

◇◆◆◆◇

After walking a bit more, the only danger we’ve encountered was deliberately provoking that massive hawk.

Given how large that hawk is, its territory must be vast, yet we’ve already taken down several of them—suggesting this area might simply be where creatures grow unusually large.

Judging from how barren the land is, the size balance seems off.

Or maybe there are incredibly high-calorie prey out there that I just haven't encountered yet—herds of water buffalo, perhaps.

…Well, in a world where spiritual energy, a kind of free energy, supposedly floats in the air, thinking about such things might not make much sense anyway.

The ecosystem resembles Earth's, yet it's been significantly tuned for gameplay, and as Serika-chan said, it often defies explanation through simple food chains.

In addition to possessing solar energy like Earth, the fact that all things— even the air— contain an extra energy known as "spiritual energy" is significant. Organisms capable of skillfully drawing spiritual energy from the air can survive without water, soil nutrients, or even sunlight. Plants, for instance, are diverse in their ways of life—some, like air plants, live by absorbing only the spiritual energy from water, without needing to root into the ground.

I'd like to explore them all when I have the chance.

The great eagle was defeated by Ai-chan.

I was genuinely surprised when I shot down the giant bird charging at me with beams from its eyes, but this was probably a spirit technique. It resembled the technique used by the woman I'd seen in the footage—

—so it was likely the same kind. I'd heard that monsters using such techniques wouldn't appear in labyrinths, but it felt unusual for a wild creature to possess one.

Afterwards, I removed the bird's spirit stone and stored it. Its body was eaten by Ai-chan.

Originally, I'd heard that Ai-chan's presence would prevent attacks, but since a bird had flown nearby, I followed Ai-chan's suggestion and volunteered to act as bait.

How I did it? Amazingly, Ai-chan can use a spirit technique to make her body transparent!I'd already studied spirit magic in Serika-chan's lecture beforehand, but this must be the light spirit magic 'Invisibility.' If that beam is a photon ray, then Ai-chan can at least use up to the sixth technique using only light.

After Ai-chan vanished from sight, I ran a short distance, and immediately the great falcon attacked.

Though it's a noble bird I'd hesitate to kill, I still want to collect even a little of its spirit stone as emergency rations. It'd be a lie to say I have no hesitation about killing living creatures, but such things will surely be necessary many times in the future. It's better to get used to it quickly.

Incidentally, I decided to carry the backpack I exchanged for five crystals on my back.

　

With all this in mind, we continued forward, and it was already nearing evening.

"Only eighty kilometers left to the nearest village..."

The distance is roughly equivalent to two full marathons. With the current ease of movement, I should be able to cover it in under ten hours. Fortunately, the ground conditions aren't too bad.

The real concern lies in the threats of this wilderness—its environment and wildlife. We don't fully understand them yet.

Even though A-chan is using invisibility, few creatures approach us. Birds—more precisely, giant eagles—do attack, but those we can handle. Both A-chan and I have complementary offensive abilities. I'd prefer to conserve my ammo, so I mostly let A-chan take the lead.

Still, other creatures are the bigger issue.

For instance, though we haven't seen them yet, if those fat, large lizards appear in numbers, that could become a serious problem.

I'm just a fragile human, and I don't really get the sense that A-chan excels in close combat. She might be able to bite, but attacks like that depend not just on strength but also on body weight.

Besides that, we need to be careful about small creatures too—snakes, spiders, scorpions, and the like. We don't have poison resistance, so if we collapse before we can even use a potion, that'd be it.

Maybe because we're now dozens of kilometers away from where A-chan was, the colors of plants and living things seem to be getting darker, and that trend will likely grow stronger the further we go.

The likelihood of being attacked should increase proportionally.

"A-chan. Can you keep moving without rest?"

—I'm fine as long as I have food.

"Then we should manage somehow."

The situation is such that continuous movement without sleep is possible in itself.

But I have options.

I can move during the night or not—I have that choice.

The barrier stone creates a barrier effective for twelve hours, requiring one point, but it ensures safety for the time being.

"When in trouble, just ask for hints."

I’ve received plenty of advice from Serika-chan and Karen-chan, and among them, the "hint to survive" is essentially divine words. In the current situation where the message function is frozen, it’s the only external source of information. I was told I should use it without hesitation whenever I’m in trouble.

Indeed, so far, I’ve been receiving extremely valuable information.

The viewership is huge.

It’s already well over 100 million, so I should be able to earn 100 million crystals daily.

I used one crystal to unlock the "hint to survive."

<『Prepare Your Gear』>

"Unexpected... no, actually a sensible hint."

Probably because there are so many points to consider.

Indeed, I'm currently wearing a thin white outfit—commonly known as the 'Transmigrant's Garb.' The temperature has dropped noticeably as evening approaches.

I'll just go ahead and equip myself properly.

After double-checking my surroundings, I opened my status board.

"I could wear adventurer's clothes too... but what should I do?"

I've learned that gear exchanged with points fits perfectly, making it actually quite cost-effective.

I currently have 14 points left—thanks to recruiting Ai-chan, I gained 9 points. Maybe I can spend around 4 points on armor.

Then again, if it's too heavy and I can't run, that would defeat the purpose. I should stick to the bare minimum for protection.

I could replace the Goujitsu Plate too, but if I'm in a situation where I need that, I'd be done for anyway... Hmm.

After some hesitation, I decided to swap out the adventurer's outfit and the Mithril Breastplate.

The outfit costs 1 point, the armor 3 points.

Honestly, I worried whether it was worth spending 4 points here, but I chose to trust the hint.

After equipping the gear, I opened the hint further.

There's no point being stingy with crystals now.

＜'Lizards are ectothermic animals'＞

"Huh...?"

Another hint that's beyond imagination.

Lizards scuttle around everywhere, even here, and it seems lizards in this world are also ectothermic. Well, they look the same, and their ecology seems similar to those on Earth.

Apart from the existence of this mysterious energy called Spirit Power, this world is astonishingly similar to Earth.

"……Ah, I see."

Got it.

This means we should slip through during the time when the Debutocage's activity is low—when it avoids those bullets.

It's a bit hard to grasp.

If that lizard is a cold-blooded animal, it should barely move by dawn. It's already evening, and the temperature is dropping.

It's not nocturnal either, so yes, that means we can at least avoid the biggest threat.

The current time is 6 PM.

Assuming we use the barrier stone, we'd have to wait twelve hours—until 6 AM. But if we wake up around 2 AM and move, that should work.

　

"Aichan, can you tell if enemies are near even at night?"

—I can.

It's a very straightforward answer, but incredibly reassuring.

Wildlife's sense of detection is incomparable to ours.

Anyway, now I can run at night without worry.

"Then, I'll rest a bit until nightfall, and then start running. I'll go to sleep until then. I'll set up a barrier, so you can sleep too, Ai-chan."

— Barrier?

"Something like a way to hide from enemies."

— I see.

— I'm sleepy because I ate so much.

I moved to a spot where I could lean against a rock and summoned my cloak using five crystals.

Ai-chan's body heat is high, and it was quite warm during the day, so the ground and rocks were warm too.

I broke the barrier stone and set a timer for a short rest.

Despite everything, mentally and physically exhausted, I found comfort in Ai-chan's warmth and quickly fell asleep.