"Ah… My head hurts."
I woke up with a throbbing pain in my skull. Sunlight was leaking into my newly built house through the gaps between the roof logs. My memory went blank right after walking toward the bed. Judging by the headache, I must've passed out from exhaustion.
I stood up and stretched my body; the cracking sounds from my joints proved that I had pushed myself to the limit yesterday.
"Day 2 already, huh?"
It had been two days since I arrived in this world. "Fuck existence."
I hadn't forgotten what happened. No — I still hated everything. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if I'm taking things too personally. Still, the rational part of me refuses to believe such misfortune is normal.
"If I were a sin, I'd be Envy."
Muttering to myself, I left the house and walked toward the river. I took off my clothes, placed them under a tree, and washed my body in the water. In my reflection, I could see a few strands of gray in my hair.
"I'm going gray from stress…"
Aside from the graying hair and the visible wound on my shoulder, everything else about me was pretty much the same. And staring at my reflection, I couldn't help but question if I was really brought into this world. Considering what happened in two days, well… it was real enough.
"And it was pathetic."
I didn't spend too long in the water. I put my clothes back on; the sunlight dried my body quickly, though I couldn't say the same for my long hair — taking care of it was honestly a pain.
But what mattered right now was…
I'm hungry. Actually starving. Those Valberries could only keep me going for so long.
I returned home and grabbed my axe. Time to go hunting for some wild boar — I need protein.
I had never hunted before, but I was pretty sure a wild boar would be tougher than a Hilichurl. Those things are stronger than people think. Based on my game knowledge and considering the river's nearby, finding a boar shouldn't be too hard. After wandering through the forest for a while, I found one quickly. Alright, let's check it out. Size matches the in-game model. Normally they run instead of charging. In the game you can catch them easily. I know I'm faster — I know it.
I lifted my axe onto my shoulder and rushed at it at full speed, for some reason grinning as I ran.
"Meat, protein, meat!!!"
Once the boar noticed me, it chose to charge instead of run. It was fast. I held the axe up and stood at my place for it to enter my swing range.
3… 2… 1…
"Now!"
I brought the axe down on its skull with full force. Blood splattered outward, and before it could fully collide with me, it lost all momentum, only nudging me back a little. One strike. That was all it took. I grabbed it by the leg and dragged it home. Since I wasn't far, the trip was short. I moved to the river and began carving it up. Because I was a complete amateur, I wasted more edible meat than I wanted while peeling the skin. I rinsed the meat I managed to salvage in the river, and I washed the bloody axe as well.
The boar wasn't big, so I figured I could eat most of the meat in a day. That mattered because I had no fridge to store it. It already smelled awful. I gathered some sticks and placed rocks in a circle around them. Then I threw my last fire-element bomb into the bushes; they ignited instantly. Perfect for cooking.
I skewered the meat on the sticks and held them over the fire. I kept rotating them to make sure they didn't burn. After about fifteen minutes, I took them off to cool and then devoured them. I cooked the rest as well so they'd last a bit longer. I placed them on my table and surrounded them with rocks I'd heated in the fire — hopefully that would keep them fresh for at least a day. Hopefully.
I put out the campfire and washed my hands and face in the river. I really didn't expect all those survival videos I watched online to help this much. What can I say — I always loved survival themes.
I grabbed my axe again and wandered into the forest. Honestly, I wasn't sure what I was looking for. I just kept walking, keeping the direction of my house in mind. It didn't take long to find a Hilichurl camp. As usual, one archer, one shaman, four club-wielders. I hate ranged enemies.
After making sure they hadn't noticed me, I approached quietly. The archer happened to be standing in a ridiculously bad position — right in front of me, back turned. I drew back my axe and swung at his neck.
"Highk—!"
Blood splattered everywhere, and the grotesque sound echoed as the others realized what happened.
"One's dead. Five to go."
I rushed toward the shaman, kicked his staff to stop him from chanting, and embedded my axe into his skull. The remaining four charged me at once. You stink, your masks, your size, your color — everything about you disgusts me.
"Hiyakkk!"
Shut the fuck up with those vocal cords.
While they ran at me, I charged them too, aiming for the one on the far right. I tanked his club strike with the side of my arm. It stung a little, but with his 50-kilogram, 160-centimeter body, he couldn't hurt me. I cleaved his neck and used his collapsing body to block the other incoming strikes. Then I finished the rest. I was getting good at this. Lucky for me, the big axe-wielding bastard wasn't here this time either.
I found a chest in the camp and punched the lid to open it. Inside were a few scraps of leather, rope, and four elemental bombs — two water, two electric. Perfect.
I returned home with the loot. While looking at the elemental orbs on my table, an idea came to mind.
"I've got an idea."