Chapter 1 - Waking Up As Amnesiac

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My body feels so sluggish…

*drip*... I feel something wet fall on my face... I slowly open my eyes while rubbing my face.

...

It's still dark! What is this place!? Weren't I... huh?

"... I can't remember anything."

My head is blank... wait, there's something I remember...

The blurry faces of two people... staring at me and swinging me around in the air, as if I was a baby?

Why do I only have memories of when I was a baby?

... For now, I tried swinging my hands to search for the walls of this dark place so I could navigate where I would go. As I swung my left hand vertically,

*swung* something appeared clearly in my vision even though the surroundings around me were still dark.

[Shindou Yuuma] (進藤悠真)
Job: [Irregular] (異常者)
Lv: 1
Atk: …

"... a status panel?"

It has all the things that are common in RPGs... huh? Wait, I know about this, but I don't have any memories of learning about this…

I’m only level 1 which is why my status is still pathetic as of now.

Come to think of it, I can read these letters. The alphabet and kanji. 

"Shin-dou... Yuu-ma, huh..."

I just learned my name. Also, what the hell is my job supposed to be? It doesn't sound good at all!

I’m not really sure, but does this mean…

"I'm in a game as an amnesiac...?"

A few minutes after reviewing my situation, I–Shindou Yuuma walked around with the help of the wall's navigation. It's a good thing that the path is stable, not slippery nor dampy.

That was until my face bumped into something warm and weird. I assessed the thing with my hand until I heard–

“*Screeech!*”

It was a screech of something rampaging, and all of a sudden it bit me.

“Ouch!”

[MP Gauge] Indicates your Mana Point to cast Magic
[EXP Gauge] Indicates your accumulated Experience Points

I can see some notifications and my HP of 100 decreased by 7 points!

It won’t let go of me and my HP keeps decreasing by 2 points each second!

[Skill Unlocked: Appraisal Lv 1]

[Starwing Bat - Lv 1]

I was finally able to identify what it was. It’s a monster, I think?

I had a hunch, but monsters do exist here after all, huh? Well, it's that gamey after all.

This is the first time I'll have to kill a monster, but I don’t have time to think twice since I’ll die if my HP reaches 0!

“No hard feelings, okay!?”

I punched the monster with all my strength, but it still wouldn’t let me go!

My HP or its HP! It’s a battle of whose will goes out first!

…

“*Scre…*”

“Huff… huff…”

Leaving my HP at 20, that monster finally took its last breath and became my EXP. It doesn’t show how much I received, but my EXP Gauge hit max and:

[Met the EXP condition. Do you want to Level Up?]

… huh? The system asked me? It is a given to get stronger in these kinds of games, right? Why bother asking me?

My body tells me to press YES, and as I move my hand to press–

““*SCREEEECH*””

I heard many noises, the same as the bat monster’s I just defeated, and my vision was filled with many level 1 Starwing Bats even though I can’t see due to the darkness.

“The swarm!?”

Punching one to death took me so long, not to mention it almost took me down with it. There's no way I can fight a swarm!

I took a dash and ran while keeping my track on the walls. When I looked back, I could still see their names, but I managed to put some distance from them!

As I kept running, I found a tint of blue light. As I passed through the area, I took a glance at the source of the light.

[Glowing Moss - A plant that turns water to light]

That’s interesting.

As I glanced back, I could finally clearly see the swarm that was chasing after me. As the name says, they were bats with star motifs on their wings.

“If only I can outrun them soon!”

As I looked further, there were plenty of glowing moss shining the path until the end of an edge. I stopped to inspect what was beyond.

There was a small river with a tree near it. Glowing moss surrounded the place, and it finally clicked to me why it was so dark and why I was being chased by bats.

"I'm in a cave!"

... wait, why!? None of this explains why I have no memories, nor why I have a status panel!

I turned back to find the swarm that was still aiming for me.

I have to slide down the edge... Oh hell nah! That's at least 5 meters!

*Thud* a bat tackled me, decreasing 5 points of my HP as it pushed me over the edge.

“Damn it–”

I’m falling!

What should I do!? Think, Yuuma! Falling from this height might be fatal!

No, I can’t get out of this situation safely!

“I have no choice…!”

I held my left arm in front of my head. *THUD* I sacrificed my left arm to be the cushion of my fall by reflex, covering my head first.

"Ouch..."

I'm still alive... my left hand is numb. I can't move my body due to the shock.

How about my HP bar... huh? No fall damage? Even though it hurts so much!?

[Safe Zone] It is an area where you take no damage. Wild monsters can't enter this place.

Thank god they have Safe Zones! Even though all of this doesn't fit with real-world logic!

Is this a game!? Is this another world!? Which is it!?

As I rolled around in pain, I looked at the tree and the river.

Finding water made me thirsty. Plus, it seems like the tree got some fruits too.

[Hunger Meter] Indicates your need for food, will lose HP gradually if it hits 0.
[Thirst Meter] Indicates your need for water, will lose HP gradually if it hits 0.

... Once I became conscious of it, the Hunger Meter and Thirst meter showed up as two circular icons at the edge of my view along with a brief explanation. My hunger is at half, but my thirst is at quarter.

... After grunting in pain for about 10 minutes in harsh pain, I dragged my body to drink the water from the river, and ate fruits from the tree.