Chapter 2: The Crucible of the Forest
Before I knew it, weeks had passed in this dark forest without me realising. Ever since my first day here, I experienced a sort of blackout that couldn't be explained. It felt as if I were looking down on myself, struggling to survive—an out-of-body experience that left me even more despondent in my already near-shattered mental state.
I knew I needed to survive, but the mental fatigue from the situation made me feel like it would be better to just lay down and slowly die. Yet, every time that thought surfaced in my mind, I felt a resilience to continue on. I wanted to know the big answer to why I was here. Was it some cruel joke by some god? Or am I here for a grand quest? After this kind of beginning, I don't plan on being anyone's little hero. If I found out some sort of kingdom summoned me here, like one of those "other world" novels, I'd want to level it to the ground.
So, I kept on moving, surviving, and doing anything I could to distract myself from the situation I was in. I carefully traversed the forest laid out in front of me and eventually found a nice place to make a home base—a large rock that had been carved out, providing enough space inside to sleep The rock itself had been damaged by the elements however it looked like a pleasing spot to me due to the dense moss on top acted as a natural camouflage.
I gathered any available lumber from the surrounding forest and brought it to this rock. I used the wood as supports for my own security, ensuring the rock would not fall on me as I slept. When I finally finished making my home base, I started working on some new and improved clothes.
Unfortunately, they were still made from leaves and materials from the surroundings, but at least they provided some protection. However, against a beast attacking me, I might as well be naked wearing this. Thinking about the beast I saw on my first day here continued to make me shudder. It resurfaced in my mind whenever I tried to sleep, its yellow eyes piercing into me, marking me as its prey.
As I spent time in this forest, my hope of this being my "earth" diminished each day. The other animals that existed here—some of which were familiar—initially gave me hope. The occasional bird I recognized would bring a slight smile to my face, but every now and then, I'd spot a creature I couldn't explain, or even plants that were outright alien to me, and at the sight of those things, my melancholy returned.
Surviving here was a constant struggle. I managed to secure a few water sources, but finding food was rare. Occasionally, I would catch an animal to eat, but on the days when I had no animals caught, I resorted to consuming plants that I could only judge as somewhat edible. With the unfamiliar fauna and flora in this place, my choices were limited in terms of what I trusted to consume.
Occasionally, the thought of escaping this forest and discovering the true world I was in crossed my mind, but it was stifled by the memory of the demonic beast I encountered on my first day here. If there were more beasts like that lurking around, I was essentially trapped. That beast on that day made me feel as though it sensed me but let me go out of some sort of pity. It was intelligent and knew what I was, yet it ignored me. It didn't see me as something "worth" catching. The thought of this made me feel pitiful.
When I used to roam the countryside with my dad, we were the kings of the forest—the top of the food chain. We would hunt, set up camp, and make the forest our second home. Here, however, I was nothing. I of course wanted to escape here one day, but I had to plan far more for an event like that. I needed to know what situation I was in and at least gain some strength to fight back if needed.
On a certain day, I followed my routine as usual—gathering supplies from the surrounding forest and heading back to my "home" here. As I stumbled through the forest, a sudden fear overcame my body. All my senses screamed at me to run. I turned around to see what was causing this sudden fear and noticed something standing far behind me, staring at me.
It was a zombie-like creature, stalking me as its prey. As soon as I turned to look into its hollow eyes, it realized its cover was blown and immediately started to charge at me on all fours. Without a second thought, I dropped all the wood and supplies I had collected and began to dash away. In this malnourished state, my young body struggled. Each muscle screamed at me as I pushed them to move and whilst I was giving it everything I had I realised that such a small body was incapable of covering such a distance, I felt the creature closing in on me with every passing second.
My mind raced with stress, anxiety, fear—all sorts of emotions flooded my brain in a cacophony. I wanted to scream out how unfair this was, questioning why I was placed in this forest of horrors.
I continued to run, knowing what awaited me, refusing to give up until the last moment. As my speed reached its peak, I felt myself lose control of my balance, much like a runner would running down a hill. I twisted my ankle and brutally tumbled across the floor. When I turned around, I saw the zombie-like creature closing in on me. It grabbed my foot and tried to drag me toward it.
"NO!"
I grabbed a nearby stick and struck it with all my might, desperately trying to fend it off.
"J-Just… fuck… OFF!"
Despite my efforts, its hand remained latched onto me like a vice. I felt my emotions bubble like a cauldron as I desperately tried to shake off this creature. The more I hit the creature the more I felt powerless, I bludgeoned it so many times at this point, yet its eyes remained poised on me.
I closed my eyes, not wanting to witness what was about to happen. The last thing I saw was its open mouth about to take a bite out of my leg. I expected to feel a sharp pain, but instead... I felt nothing. When I reluctantly pried my eyes open, I found myself completely bewildered.
I wasn't sprawled in the mud anymore. Instead, I was perched high up in a tree, looking down at an area in the forest that was different to where I was before...
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone