Chapter Fourteen: Strength is a must in another world

I think it didn’t really sink in that I’m in a different world, despite all the hardships I’ve been through, mainly because the other races live a civilized life.
That pattern of thinking completely changed after meeting a monster for the first time. Who would have thought that a monster as vicious and brutal as that gazelle would appear and attack me for no reason at all? But I guess that’s only natural, since wild animals in my world also act in the same manner.
After making sure that the monster could no longer chase me once I was inside the barrier, I hurried to the rabbit I had caught earlier and retreated from the area. The monster followed me from the other side, even when I went to pick up the rabbit.
The rabbit in my hand was big, twice the size of adult rabbits in my world, and its ears were particularly long even for a rabbit.
On my way back to my base, I came across fields covered with running rabbits, and for some reason, they all stared at the one hanging from my hand.
If I hadn’t already experienced their level of intelligence when they played with me, I would have sworn they were about to attack and take back their friend. But that would have been too much for me to handle.
It took quite some time before I got back to the mountains. The wooden basket I received from Milta yesterday was still where I had left it on the rock, so I climbed up to see if my breads were still there. Confirming they were untouched, I picked both of them up and began biting and chewing continuously.
By the time I realized I had no water to go along with the bread, they had already started their job of nourishing my body.
It’s strange. I hadn’t eaten anything since last night, yet I was able to chase the rabbits for hours and also run away from that monster. Even after returning here, I wasn’t nearly exhausted enough to feel lazy.
The rock I was on was about two meters tall and four meters thick. It was rooted to the tall mountain almost like a child, but unlike the mountain, it was easy to climb.
Eating all that bread without drinking any water was almost suicidal of me, but because it had rained yesterday, I was able to find some water in the middle of the rock where it sloped a little, just next to where the basket was kept.
Drinking the water with my mouth like an animal, I felt a little embarrassed, but I swallowed my embarrassment along with the water.
It had already gotten dark when I finished drinking, and the rabbit from earlier was still unattended. With my long sword, I moved to the edge of the rock so I wouldn’t dirty the resting place I used so often.
The moon was new, so it was very dark as I cut open the rabbit’s stomach and removed the intestines. Removing them was easy — all I had to do was pluck them out.Because I hadn’t done so quickly after killing it, the intestines were swollen, so I threw them away. The hardest part was skinning it. Back in my world, I had only ever seen scenes of skinning animals in movies, which left me completely clueless about where to even begin.
One way or another, I managed to remove the skin, though a lot of meat stuck to some parts.
I was really thankful for the light glowing from the basket, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to see a single thing I was doing…“Light from the basket!?” That was when I realized the light that brightened the top of the rock wasn’t from the moon.
Quickly picking up the basket, I noticed two small stones the size of eggs. They were the same stones I had seen when I was held captive in that cell.
Holding them in my hands, the light covered more area, and I was able to see my body clearly, almost as if I was holding a torch.
I must not have noticed their glow yesterday because the breads had been on top of them.
I then used the stones in my hand to inspect the job I had done on the rabbit. It had cuts everywhere, clearly showing it had been skinned by an amateur. The more the light shone on the rabbit, the more confused I became.
“I just skinned the rabbit, but now what!?” Was I actually thinking of eating it raw?
That’s impossible. But still, I thought about washing it to get rid of the blood stuck to its body and the mess from when I had plucked out the intestines.
The water on the rock was precious to me, so I decided to save it for drinking. With the two stones in my pocket and the rabbit in my left hand, I climbed down.
Then I removed the two rocks from my pocket and held them together in my right hand, illuminating the ground as I moved.
Since it had rained heavily yesterday, I was sure to find a pond somewhere if I searched.
Moving carefully with the meat in my hand, hoping I might spot some rabbits, I instead found a small pond between two large trees. Thankfully, I hadn’t run into any rabbits on the way.
The pond was small, but it had enough water because of its depth. Thinking I might have to use it again if it didn’t dry by tomorrow, I fetched water with my hands, allowing me to wash the meat outside the pond.
It would have been considered bad hygiene to wash meat in ground water, but in my current situation, I could only say one thing: “To hell with hygiene.”
I placed the stones on some leaves next to the pond so I could clearly see how clean the water was. After washing the meat, I picked the stones back up. There had been a little gap between them when I placed them on the leaves, so when I scooped them up in one motion, I felt a little spark.
That spark got me thinking: “What if I could use them to start a fire?”
With that thought, I cleaned some leaves in the pond and placed the meat on top of them. Then I got into battle mode, holding the two stones in both hands.
When I imagined making fire with them, I felt excited, rubbing them together with anticipation.
It was almost magical — with just a little force, the spark that appeared nearly started a fire. Seeing that it was possible, I widened my arms, then this time struck them together with more power. A blue flame was born.
The flame was so bright it lit the woods twice as much as the stones had, then disappeared before reaching the ground.
“I did it…” Though it seemed too simple compared to ordinary rocks or twigs, I was still happy.
On my way back from the pond, I searched for dry twigs I could use to start a fire, as well as some thick ones that would hold the meat.My hands were full, so climbing onto the rock was difficult. I first tossed the wood up, put the stones in my pocket, then climbed with one hand while holding the meat in the other.
It was rude to the dead rabbit, being dragged from place to place, but I couldn’t help it.
With the wood I had gathered, I rubbed the stones on the twigs, and a beautiful blue fire was born. The rock became brighter than before, and I could even see part of the ground below.
The rock wasn’t soft, so the wood I brought to serve as supports for the meat couldn’t penetrate. I went down and filled the basket with sand, which I spread around the fire, then used it to hold the Y-shaped branches I had picked out.
The four Y-branches I placed formed a rectangle along the fire, and two other branches lay across them, forming a bridge to hold the meat.
I had no salt or spices, but the meat soon became oily, which made it easier to roast.
A while later, the meat was done. I wasn’t all that hungry, so I ate a single leg and kept the rest in the basket, which I took back to the cave I had prepared that morning. Then I called it a night.Deep in sleep, I felt as though I was floating in water, and that feeling reminded me of the barrier I had passed through. I didn’t care to wake up, but with time I couldn’t breathe any longer because my nose was blocked by liquid.
When I opened my eyes, I was fully submerged in water, and the basket holding the stones and meat was floating above me.
“Haaa!!” I gasped for air as I pushed my head out of the water.With the stones lighting the cave, I saw water gushing nonstop through the only entrance, blocking my exit.
I had feared something like this might happen, since the cave’s entrance was at ground level, but I didn’t think it would be this bad.
After about forty minutes of waiting, clutching the basket tightly to my chest, the water stopped pouring in, having reached my waist.
Without hesitation, I made my way out of the cave. The ground outside was soaked, and drops of rain still fell from the sky. The rain had been accompanied by strong winds — some of the smaller trees were knocked over.
I realized then that the cave was actually downhill from the forest, so naturally water had flowed inside and escaped through the cracks.
I headed back to my other resting area — the rock. It was fairly wet, but only the small hollow I used for drinking had collected water. It was cold, and my bones trembled, but I had no choice but to accept it. I lay down on the solid rock.
It was supposed to be an uncomfortable night, but I fell asleep almost instantly. When I opened my eyes again, it was morning.
Even in my sleep, I already knew what needed to be done if I planned on staying in the mountains. First, I needed to build a ladder that could take me to the cave in the mountainside.
The moment I woke up, I took my sword and went down to where the trees had fallen from the strong wind. The meat was still in the basket, uncovered, so I used the herbs I had picked outside the barrier to cover it properly.
The piece of cloth I got along with the basket was still in the cave I wanted nothing more to do with, used to cover the leaf bed I had made there. So I couldn’t use it now.
The trees I found knocked over were about ten centimeters thick and ten meters long. They were far too heavy to handle, so I picked only one and used my sword to slowly divide it into two.
After splitting it, it became a little lighter. I then dragged the pieces away from the rest and searched for thick branches about half a meter long, to serve as the steps.
They weren’t easy to find, especially since I needed a certain thickness and size. I cut the tips of some trees and cleared away the thin stems, then prepared for the final step.
The ladder wouldn’t hold itself together just because I wanted it to — I needed some kind of rope. I wasn’t experienced in this at all, but I figured everything would work out as I progressed.
And it did, when an idea hit me: “Why don’t I use the bark of the trees to make the rope?” They were flexible and strong, so I carved strips off and successfully tied the branches to both long logs, spacing the steps half a meter apart.
My ladder was finally complete, but it was much heavier now that all the parts were in place.I managed to drag it below the cave, but standing it upright required strength I didn’t yet have. So I postponed that plan for the time being and instead made another ladder for the rock, which had been my only reliable shelter.
Afterward, I divided the remaining meat into four portions. By the time I finished, it was already afternoon, so I ate one portion and then went hunting for more.
One thing had become clear to me after facing that monster yesterday: I needed to get stronger.
Chasing the rabbits also served as exercise, since I did it for hours. The more I chased them, the faster and more flexible my body felt.
Even so, I wasn’t able to catch a single one, despite there being more of them than yesterday.
After that, I returned to the forest and began practicing with my sword.
When I met Milta before she fell from the tree, I already had this sword with me. Even though I don’t remember what happened before then, I think this sword explains a little about me. Maybe I’m supposed to be a swordsman.
I continued practicing until it got really dark, the light stones still resting on the rock. I thought practicing in the dark might help me somehow, so I kept going even after my hand gave out.
I couldn’t accept defeat — not when the world itself had called me useless.Level Zero? To hell with that!
That’s when the memories of the events leading up to this day began to disturb me, and I felt hopeless.
“I was supposed to be summoned as a hero…” I muttered to myself over and over as I kept swinging the sword with a numb body.
Until midnight, I practiced. Then I returned to the rock and ate another portion of the meat, along with some of the water from the hollow.
The next day, I woke up early and headed to the ladder I had made. I hadn’t been able to raise it yesterday, but I felt stronger than before.
With all my strength, I lifted it from the middle. Each time it slipped and fell, I picked it back up. That process repeated until I finally raised it two meters, close enough to the cave entrance.
I slowly climbed the ladder, and when I reached the end, I tied a rope to its tip, holding the other end in my hand.
With all my strength, I jumped and grabbed the cave’s entrance. I pulled myself up with effort and managed to get inside, scraping myself on the rough surface.
Inside, I hauled the rope, dragging the ladder up until it leaned directly into the cave’s opening.
Seeing that I had done it, I collapsed in joy and dozed off for a while.
When I woke up, it was afternoon. The cave was bright due to its position facing the sun.
It was flat and wide, large enough to be called a room. I felt a surge of happiness seeing my hard work pay off, then climbed back down to the ground to prepare a bed.
I moved my belongings — which were only the basket, the stones, and the single remaining portion of meat — into the cave.
“If I don’t catch something today, it’s back to square one…” I thought as I set out to hunt another rabbit, training my legs at the same time.Once again, I failed to catch any, so I returned to sword training.
Three days passed like that, and I still hadn’t managed to catch a rabbit. Contrary to what one might expect, I remained on my feet, running around almost as if I had eaten the night before.
I seemed to have an amazing endurance to hunger, and that helped me a great deal.
Thinking it had been sheer luck that allowed me to catch that one rabbit, I began to consider trying my luck back in town — just to see how it would turn out.