Chapter 6: Where The Real Adventure Begins
Feywood, also known as the sea of trees, sprawls like an emerald ocean expanding from the east of the Ashvel Empire covering almost half of the eastern part of the continent. This vast jungle is a realm of untamed beauty and hidden dangers, serving as home to many powerful monsters. A fact that leave much of its area unexplored even by the bravest adventurer.
In that jungle, the story of a single lady and her pistol began.
...
"Oh shit… oh shit… oh shit…" Kazumi panted as she sprinted through the dense forest, weaving between the trees. Behind her, a massive humanoid creature with a pig-like face—a towering orc—bellowed in pursuit, swinging its enormous club with deadly intent. Each whoosh of air from its weapon felt like a warning; one misstep, and it would all be over for her.
The ground trembled with every heavy step it took, and she could hear the whoosh of air as it swung its enormous club, narrowly missing her as she ducked beneath a low-hanging branch. Panic surged through her veins, propelling her forward.
She glanced over her shoulder just in time to see the orc's furious eyes lock onto her. Kazumi's mind raced as she plotted her escape. The forest was thick with underbrush, navigating it was not easy, even more so for the huge orc. It had almost tripped several times now, an opportunity the injured Kazumi had been using to outrun it.
Kazumi spotted a big tree, its trunk could easily hide her from the pursuing monster. With no time to hesitate, she veered toward it, pushing herself harder. As she neared the tree, she took a deep breath and leaped onto the bushes, hoping the orc would keep up with the chase.
The moment she landed, she took off her bag and waited for the right time. Her heart almost stopped at the same time she stopped running.
The thunderous step keeps getting louder and louder as the orc approaches. Kazumi waited and waited, her heart felt like it was ready to go.
Until...
The right moment came.
Kazumi hurled her heavy bag to the right, drawing the orc's attention. With a roar, the orc abandoned its furious chase, stopped, and swung its massive club toward the bag, sending it flying. An opening Kazumi created from her quick-wittedness. Not wanting to waste this opportunity, her gun aimed directly at its lower body.
If there's one thing she learned from her previous encounters, was that, aiming for the head takes a lot of skills. However, a wider larger target such as the body, at this range, surely would hit.
Kazumi's heart raced, adrenaline coursing through her veins as she steadied her aim. "Not today, you pig!" she shouted as her finger pulled the trigger.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"OOOIIIIINNNNNKKKKK...…" The orc's anguished scream echoed through the air as three bullets ripped into its legs, sending it crashing to the ground. Blood oozed from the wounds, pooling around its twisted limbs. Its eyes locked onto Kazumi, burning with rage and hatred. In its mind, a savage fury unleashed, imagining Kazumi's limbs torn apart, her body shattered and broken.
Kazumi stood up, panting heavily from exhaustion and the sudden release of stress. Cautious, she created distance between herself and the orc, anticipating a potential attack.
Just as she expected, the orc defied its pain and struggled to its knee.
Kazumi's finger trembled on the trigger, firing rapidly: BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! She emptied her magazine into the orc's chest. With swift precision, Kazumi reloaded and assumed a ready stance. The orc, however, collapsed. Its labored breathing a testament to its mortal wounds. Blood gushed uncontrollably, its life ebbing away with each passing second.
…
It had been two days since Kazumi's harrowing encounter in the cave, and she found herself wandering through the dense forest, desperately searching for a way out. The oppressive weight of the foliage made every shadow feel alive, and she was on high alert.
As she paused to rest in a patch of dappled sunlight, the fatigue weighed heavily on her. She had encountered more goblins on her way here, but she was able to get away unnoticed. However, this time is different, the soft breeze rustles the bushes slightly, creating a very soothing atmosphere, leaving her completely unaware of the danger looming behind her. The creature was massive, its grotesque features twisted in a sneer that sent a chill down her spine.
Caught completely off guard, Kazumi's instincts kicked in. Heart racing, she hastily stuffed her belongings into her bag, fumbling as panic surged through her veins. She barely had time to glance back at the monstrous figure before she turned and sprinted deeper into the woods.
Branches clawed at her arms as she dashed through the underbrush, the orc's heavy footsteps echoing behind her, relentless and thunderous. She could hear its growl, a deep rumble of fury, coming closer and closer to her. Kazumi's mind raced with options. She needed to find a way to lose it, to outsmart the beast that was now hunting her like prey.
…
Kazumi, convinced the chase was over, paused to retrieve her bag and its scattered contents. She picked up the bullets one by one, keeping a wary eye on the unmoving orc nearby. A curse escaped her lips as she noticed her last bit of food crushed under the creature's swing. She hurriedly collected what she could, cleaning the remnants, knowing that in a survival situation, she couldn't afford to be picky.
Kazumi was confident in her ability to identify edible plants, but that knowledge applied only to Earth's flora. Here, in this alien jungle, she hesitated to risk her health on unfamiliar vegetation. With only enough supplies to last until tomorrow, her fate rested on sheer luck.
"Is there even any wildlife in this world?" she mused, glancing around the thick trees, searching for signs of life. Her thoughts drifted to the orc. "That's a bit… different." Yet she understood her predicament all too well: she needed food.
"If there are no animals in this jungle, maybe these creatures are the equivalent of wildlife here," she pondered, her mind racing through the implications. But whether there was any logic in that train of thought was quickly drowned out by the oppressive silence of the trees, with no one to offer an answer.
Kazumi weighed her options. Should she risk starvation and hope for a miracle, or take a chance on the orc's meat? The choice was grim, but survival demanded difficult decisions. In her original world, despite the scarcity of supplies, foraging for food had been a viable option. She had comrades to rely on, a safety net that felt distant now.
"Meat it is, I guess," Kazumi decided, steeling herself. She couldn't risk her life fighting just to perish from hunger. "If I'm not mistaken, an orc is just a pig in a different skin. I hope that's the case. No way in hell I'd be eating goblins tho."
With determination, she approached the orc. The weight of her choice settled heavily on her shoulders, but survival demanded hard decisions. She took a deep breath, steeling herself for what lay ahead. Kazumi retrieved her knife, her hands trembling at the thought of butchering a humanoid creature. With determination, she pressed the blade against the orc's tough skin.
"How tough can this skin be?" she wondered.
She swung the knife with all her strength, but it only managed to draw a shallow wound, barely breaking the surface.
Frustration bubbled up inside her. "Come on!" she muttered, shifting her grip and trying again, this time aiming for a weaker spot where her bullets penetrated earlier. It worked, but the flesh she held was far from appetizing. The orc's skin was tough, and the meat was a darker color than any pork she remembered. But there was no turning back now.
Kazumi continued to carve into the orc's meat until she felt satisfied with her haul. She gathered large leaves, wrapping the fresh orc meat tightly. She had secured her food for now; it should sustain her for the coming days.
But a new problem loomed: water. She had already used up her supply last night. With her stomach growling and her thirst rising, she scanned the thick jungle for any signs of a water source.
In the rules of survival, there are three basic needs: shelter, food, and water. Kazumi had managed to find some semblance of shelter, squeezing herself between the tangled roots of a large tree. It would have to do for now, at least until she found a way out of the jungle.
But the pressing issue was water. Without it, survival was limited to a mere three days at most. Kazumi's throat felt dry, and she knew she needed to act quickly.
She scanned her surroundings, hoping for any signs of moisture—perhaps a stream or even dew on the leaves. If she didn't find water soon, all her efforts to secure food would be in vain. She took a deep breath, steeling herself for the search ahead. It was time to move.
Kazumi turned her back to the orc's mangled corpse ready to move, but in that moment.
"AHOOOOOOOOOOO…" a haunting howl pierced the air.
The sound sent chills down her spine, echoing through the dense jungle. Kazumi froze and instinctively gripped her pistol tightly. Moments later, a pack of horned wolves emerged from the shadows. Their movement was almost ghostly, gliding through the underbrush without a sound, as if the very jungle itself was holding its breath.
The wolves were sleek and muscular, their eyes glinting with a predatory intelligence. The horns that adorned their heads were sharp and menacing, adding to their feral beauty. Kazumi crouched low, her body squeezed tightly to the tree, heart racing as she prayed they wouldn't notice her.
The pack moved with a coordinated grace, their gaze darting toward the orc's carcass. Kazumi's mind raced. The wolves were clearly drawn to the scent of fresh meat, and she realized that the same meat was stowed away in her bag.
One of the wolves inched closer to her hiding spot, its nose twitching as it caught her scent. Kazumi's pulse pounded in her ears. Had it been just one wolf, she might have stood a chance, but four others were lurking nearby.
"What do I do now?" she whispered to herself, panic rising.
Just as she felt her options dwindling, the wolf stopped, its ears pricking as it turned back toward the orc's carcass. With a low growl, it backed away slightly, beckoning the others to join it. One by one, the wolves shifted their focus, drawn to the freshly butchered meat.
Kazumi watched, her breath hitching in her throat. As the pack moved closer to the orc, they began to feast, ripping into the flesh with sharp teeth. This was her moment.
With her heart still racing, she silently moves away, ensuring her gun is ready to be used. The wolves were so engrossed in their meal that they didn't notice her slipping into the shadows of the jungle, giving her a chance to escape.
As she moved deeper into the underbrush, she felt a surge of relief mixed with adrenaline. She had avoided a dangerous encounter—at least for now.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone