Lava, Regret, and a Whole Lot of Water

She had won, technically. She had defeated a lava drake by herself, leveled up a ton, and was now immune to fire.

But she was also completely naked, covered in soot, and trudging across a never-ending expanse of molten rock and volcanic wasteland, looking like the world's most miserable cavewoman.

"This is NOT how I imagined my first isekai adventure," she grumbled, stepping over a crack in the scorched ground. "Where are the elves? The fancy medieval cities? The ridiculously overpowered swords?"

The world offered no answers—only more lava and suffering.

For three agonizing days, Rin had been making her way toward the magic circle the system promised would get her out of here. She barely slept, barely ate (because there was nothing to eat), and mostly just focused on not dying.

It was going okay—if she ignored the part where she now talked to rocks for entertainment.

"Alright, Steve," she said, kicking a small piece of obsidian forward. "Just a few more steps, and we'll be at the portal. You excited, buddy?"

Steve, the rock, did not respond.

Rin sighed. She was so tired.

Her body felt like it had been cooked, stomped on, and then cooked again. Even with [Heat Immunity], she was still exhausted.

But then—

A faint glow appeared in the distance.

Her breath caught.

"...The circle."

She ran.

Bare feet slapping against hot stone, heart pounding, she sprinted toward the glowing ancient teleportation circle etched into the rock. It shimmered with blue energy, completely out of place in this fiery nightmare.

As she reached the edge, a system notification popped up.

---

[Portal to the Future Detected]
Time Jump: +3.8 Million Years
Destination: ???
Do you wish to proceed?

[YES] – [NO]

---

Rin slammed the yes button before it could change its mind.

The ground rumbled.

The magic circle flared to life, and in an instant—

The world vanished in a flash of light.

---

The next thing Rin knew, she was falling.

Her eyes snapped open just in time to see a vast, endless ocean stretching out below her. The sky was blue. The sun was way brighter. And there was no land anywhere in sight.

She had just enough time to take a deep breath before—

SPLASH.

She hit the water hard, sinking like a very tired, very naked rock.

Bubbles swirled around her as she flailed, kicking her legs in panic.

"OH, COME ON!" she screamed internally, swimming back up toward the surface. She broke through, coughing and gasping.

DING!

New Title Earned: [The First Swimmer]

"...What does that even mean?!" she groaned, wiping saltwater from her eyes.

She looked around.

Nothing.

Just ocean in every direction. No islands, no land, no friendly boats offering her a towel and warm soup.

She let out a long, exhausted sigh.

"Great. First lava, now this."

Somewhere, she was pretty sure a god was laughing at her.