CHAPTER 3 - Worth of a Musician
I opened my eyes slowly. My vision was blurry at first, but it gradually adjusted to the morning light. I climbed out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. The old man had provided us with new clothes, which was incredibly kind of him. As I went through my daily routine, I noticed a strange sensation—I was excited. Perhaps surviving in this world was better than doing school homework every night. It couldn't be that bad, could it?
I headed to the living room where everyone was already eating breakfast, except for Satoshi, who was deep in conversation with the old man. Reiji was nowhere to be seen; he was likely either still recovering from his injuries or simply preferred his own company.
The old man looked up and rose from the couch. "Good morning, survivalist. Would you like to eat something before continuing your venture?"
"Sure," I replied. "I feel like I haven't eaten in ages."
I took a seat near the couch. It still felt awkward sitting with these people—I'd only met them yesterday, and my social anxiety wasn't helping. The old man soon returned with toast and a steaming cup of coffee.
"Enjoy," he said, his voice dropping an octave. "This could be the last peaceful meal you ever eat."
His words made me wary, but the hunger won out. The food was delicious—far better than last night's leftover ramen—and I devoured it in no time. Once I finished, the old man cleared his throat to get our attention.
"So, I assume each of you aims to escape this realm and return to Earth?"
We all nodded in unison.
"Very well. Your first objective is to reach Shizumori Village. To get there, you must pass through the Eternal Forest. If you are lucky enough to pass this forest then you may find the village."
"Do you have a map?" Kira asked.
"Maps are useless in the eternal forest," the old man said darkly. "The routes shift and bend of their own accord. The forest is full of dangerous entities; that is why so many fail."
"That's not good," I muttered. "We'll have to strategize."
"The forest itself is a living entity," he warned. "It will actively try to mess with your minds, driving you toward insanity, self-harm, or worse—harming each other."
"So, we have to maintain our sanity while looking out for the team," Satoshi summarized.
"Precisely. You must endure the pain, young survivalists. Just remember: never back down."
At that moment, Reiji stomped into the room, scowling. He looked rested, but his disheveled hair suggested he had dressed in a hurry.
"Did you get enough rest, Reiji?" Satoshi asked.
"Would you like something to eat?" the old man added gently.
"Stop asking questions and get moving," Reiji growled. "I don't have time for this crap."
"Dude, why are you in such a hurry?" I asked, irritated by his attitude.
"None of your business."
"Then we aren't going yet."
"Are you picking a fight?" Reiji snapped, drawing his knife.
"I'm not fighting you," I said coldly. "I'm saving my energy for the entities."
He gritted his teeth and scoffed, "I'll deal with you later, then."
"Alright! It's time to start your journey," the old man interrupted, sensing the rising tension.
We gathered our belongings, and the old man handed each of us a weapon—enough to defend against Hazard-class entities. He handed me a sheathed sword that looked ancient.
"This blade is special to me," he said solemnly. "It is the strongest weapon I own. Handle it with care."
"You bet." I promised.
We waved farewell and headed towards Shizumori Village. The problem was, none of us knew the way, so we simply picked a direction and started walking. After a few hours of trekking through the shifting woods, the unease set in.
"Is this even the right way?" Satoshi asked.
"We don't have a choice," Yasuto replied. "Trust your gut."
"Wait, I have an idea," Kira said. She used her dagger to carve a small, distinct mark into a nearby tree. "Let's mark our path so we don't get stuck in an endless loop."
"Can we move on, or are we going to keep wasting time because you're scared of getting lost?" Reiji mocked.
We ignored him to avoid another argument. As we delved deeper, the forest truly did feel alive. Eerie sounds echoed through the canopy, and the trees swayed in the wind as if trying to intentionally disorient us. As night approached, we found a secluded spot to camp. Satoshi and Yasuto set up the tents the old man had given us. Reiji stared at the fire blankly, lost in his own thoughts.
Kira and I were assigned to scavenge for resources. "We have to remember the way back to camp," she noted.
"Don't trust me with that," I admitted. "I forget things easily."
She sighed, but we kept searching. I felt awkward—I'd never really spent time alone with a girl before—but I tried to keep my cool. We managed to find firewood and, surprisingly, an old pistol with two bullets.
"Mizuno," Kira asked as we walked back. "Do you think we have special abilities?"
"I'm not sure. The old man mentioned that those without magic are gifted in one of three components. I'm still trying to figure out what those are."
"He also said there are roles other than 'Survivalist.' We can't even be sure that's what we are."
Before I could answer, a blood-curdling growl erupted from the shadows behind us, followed by a desperate scream for help. We didn't hesitate; we ran toward the sound.
We burst into a clearing and saw a gruesome sight: a humanoid creature was choking a man. The entity's head twitched with violent micro-spasms. It was taller than me, though not quite as tall as Audio.
"Kira! Use the detection device to check its tier. I'll save him!"
I rushed forward, sword drawn. The creature's attention shifted to me, dropping the man like he was suddenly boring. Before I could even swing, the creature blurred. It moved with blinding speed—a clean jab caught me square in the face, sending me rag-dolling backward. I scrambled to my feet, my jaw aching. Its physical stats were off the charts.
It closed the distance again. I was certain I was done for.
But then, a surge of energy flooded my veins. My instincts shifted into high gear. I let go of my thoughts and let my body take over, dodging a flurry of jabs and punches. It was as if I could visualize every move before it happened.
The creature suddenly stopped, its head twitching violently as if in the middle of an internal conflict. I didn't waste the opening. I lunged, my sword slicing through its arm with terrifying ease. Green blood sprayed across the forest floor as the creature let out a harrowing scream. I retreated until I reached Kira's side. The creature began punching aimlessly, its movements fueled by pure, mindless aggression. I backed away easily, keeping my eyes on its erratic flailing. It seemed to have lost track of me entirely, redirecting its fury toward a nearby tree, bark flying as its knuckles collided with the wood.
"Are you okay?" she asked, feeling worried as she glanced at my bruised face.
"Yeah," I breathed, trying to steady my racing heart. "Did you find anything? What are we dealing with?"
"Yes—I found some details!" she blurted out, her eyes darting between the screen and the chaos in front of them. "It's called 'Misfire.' Hazard class. It's all raw physical power, but... but there's a lag. Its body moves faster than its brain can keep up with. It can't harmonize the two, so if it gets too agile, it'll literally trip over its own impulses!"
"It's body is faster than its mind? No wonder it's whaling on that tree instead of us!"
The creature's head snapped toward us, its twitching eyes finally syncing with its movements. Green blood geysered from the gash in its side like a high-pressure jet spray, painting the dirt neon. It closed distance in a blurred, jagged dash, lashing out with its heavy arm—but it was sloppy. Desperate. Every swing whistled past me, the timing completely derailed by its own momentum. I barely had to move; its lack of coordination was doing half the work for me.
"Control your limbs, or I'll do it for you!"
I easily wove through its barrage of attacks, finding the opening I needed to drive my blade deep into its abdomen. But it didn't flinch. Instead of reeling, it swung a massive right hook—a move so raw and reflexive that my newfound instincts couldn't track it. The impact was sickening. I was launched backward, my body skipping across the dirt before crashing into a jagged boulder.
The air left my lungs in a wet wheeze. I coughed, and the blood that followed was thick and rhythmic, refusing to stop. My vision began to fray at the edges, dissolving into a hazy blur, yet somehow, my consciousness clung on—tethered to the world by nothing but sheer, agonizing spite.
I pushed against the dirt, but my arms buckled like wet paper. Every breath felt like swallowing broken glass. Before I could even find my feet, a blur of motion cut through my fading vision—Kira.
She stepped over my broken body, her dagger drawn and humming with a desperate, jagged energy. She didn't look back; she couldn't afford to. Her focus was locked on the beast that had just sent me flying.
"Stay down, you idiot!" she hissed. Her voice was sharp, but I could hear the tremor in it—the sound of someone who had only known me for a day but was already terrified of watching me die. "Don't you dare close your eyes! I've got this—just... just stay with me!"
The creature didn't care—it didn't even wait for her to finish. With a guttural, wet snarl, it pounced.
It was a blind, violent blur of green blood and muscle, launching itself toward her with a force that cracked the ground where it had stood. Kira barely had time to brace herself before the beast also knocked her out of the fight.
Suddenly, music began to drift amid the chaos. It was jarringly beautiful—soothing and silver-toned, slicing through the roar of the wind and the creature's jagged breathing.
My head lolled to the side, searching for the source. There, standing amidst the debris, was the same man who'd nearly been torn apart moments ago. He wasn't running. He wasn't hiding. He stood tall, his fingers dancing across a keyboard as if the battlefield were a concert hall. The melody felt like a warm weight lifting the pain from my chest.
The creature let out a distorted screech, clutching its head as if the melody were a physical weight crushing its mind. In a fit of agonizing frenzy, it gripped the hilt of the sword still buried in its gut and—with a sickening squelch—began to hack at its own ears to silence the sound.
Kira didn't hesitate. Guided by the rhythm of the music, she threw her dagger. The blade whistled through the air, burying itself deep into the monster's left eye with lethal precision. Before it could even roar, she drew the pistol we'd scavenged earlier. Bang. Bang. Two shots splintered into its remaining eye, plunging the beast into total darkness.
The creature's grip failed, and my sword clattered to the dirt. Kira snatched the blade from the ground in one fluid motion, spinning and shearing through its second arm like it was nothing but paper. As the monster let out a final, hollow wail, she lunged. She drove the steel upward, burying it into the soft tissue of its neck.
The screaming stopped. The monster collapsed into a heap of twitching limbs, finally dead covered in a mess of green blood.
The musician stopped playing his keyboard and began searching hastily through his bag. Kira rushed to my side as the adrenaline began to fade; my vision blurred, and I felt myself slipping away.
Just as I was about to pass out, my eyes snapped open. The musician had forced me to drink the blue drug – the same medicine the old man had injected into Reiji, jolting me back to consciousness. I felt a surge of energy return, though it wasn't quite enough to keep me steady. Still, with Kira supporting me, I managed to stand.
The trek back was a slow, agonizing rhythm of stumbles. Every time my left foot hit the ground, a spark of white-hot pain shot from my ribs to my jaw. Kira had my arm draped over her shoulder, her small frame straining under my weight, while the musician—pale and trembling—clutched his bag and hovered nearby, looking like he expected the trees to swallow him whole.
The orange glow of the campfire finally broke through the fog. Satoshi and Yasuto looked up, their faces hardening as they saw us.
"Mizuno!" Satoshi was on his feet in a second, clearing the distance to help Kira lower me onto a bedroll. "What the hell happened? You look like you went through a wood chipper."
I didn't answer. My lungs felt like they were shrinking, and the effort to stay upright took everything I had. I just leaned back against a log, my eyes half-closing.
Kira wiped a smudge of neon-green blood from her cheek. "Hazard-class. A 'Misfire.' It nearly took his head off, but this guy..." she gestured to the musician, who was standing awkwardly at the edge of the firelight, "...he saved Mizuno."
Reiji stepped out from his tent, his eyes scanning my bruises with a cold, analytical indifference. "So, the 'special' sword didn't make you invincible? Shocking."
Kira ignored him, turning her attention to the musician. He looked small in the presence of the other three—Satoshi's quiet intensity, Yasuto's grounded strength, and Reiji's blatant hostility.
The musician looked at the ground, his fingers twitching against the strap of his bag. He looked hollow—not just from the monster, but from something deeper.
"Sit down," Kira said, her voice softening as she handed him a canteen. "You're from Earth too, aren't you? Before you ended up in this nightmare?"
He took a shaky sip and nodded. "I was a musician. Or... I tried to be. I spent years crafting a sound that meant something to me. Something unique." He let out a hollow, dry laugh that didn't reach his eyes. "The internet didn't agree. The comments, the 'ratioing,' the constant pile-on because I didn't fit the mold... it gets to you. One night, the isolation just felt heavier than the air. I didn't think anyone would notice if I was gone. I didn't want to be noticed anymore."
He looked at his hands, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I was at my lowest point—ready to end it all—and then I woke up here. With this bag and a keyboard, but this keyboard actually creates magic through my notes."
"Well," Kira said, breaking the silence. "This world is a fresh start, whether we wanted it or not. We're a group of five now, if you join then our group can strengthen with the help of your unique music. So, You want to stay?"
The musician looked at each of us—Satoshi's quiet nod, Yasuto's curious gaze, and then at me, slumped and broken but still breathing because of him.
"I've spent a long time being alone," he admitted. "And being alone in these woods... it's worse than the comments. If you'll have me, I'm in. Name's Leo Strummer."
"Welcome to the unit, Leo," Satoshi welcomed.
"Mizuno?" Kira whispered, leaning over me. "You still with us?"
"Yeah," I croaked, my voice barely audible. "Nice... to meet you, Leo."
I took a long breath.
"The unique musician."