Munching onto the cooked fish, I finally know what it meant to actually be happy. This is truly a bliss. I can't believe I've been taking my everyday food for granted, never knowing an unseasoned, charred and unscaled fish could taste so good…
To the children of Africa back home, I swear I'll donate a bunch of money next time I come back. Therefore, God, please send me back.
In spite of the futility, I still prayed for a way back home. It's practically the only thing I could do right now.
After doing so, I decided to check my mental list.
Food? Done.
Water? Abundant.
…Clean water? Diarrhea every few days might not be so bad…
Shelter? Check.
I've practically got everything I need to survive now. The only thing lacking would be… presentable clothing.
This sorry excuse of a leaf cover wouldn't keep me covered for long.
…I know, some questions were probably being asked right now. Why didn't I just follow the body of the river towards civilization?
Like. I. Said. C-L-O-T-H-I-N-G.
I can't just walk around half naked! I'm not an exhibitionist, not in the slightest!
Plus, this female body is much bigger and taller than my previous male body.
Quite a shame to say, but I barely reached 165cm in my previous body. I don't know the exact height of this constitution but I could easily make out the difference in height that exists from my previous height.
Arms and legs being longer was also another indicator.
Can you imagine a person going to a village, practically naked, begging for clothes? Not only would I receive weird gazes, they might even call the police on me!
I don't want a criminal record, you hear me? Especially not a criminal record of being 'extremely open'! That's literally a death sentence for a person like me!
I just wish for a person to come across my camp then offer some clothes for a while. If only such a situation was not a dream for someone in another person's body…
The stars would probably have to align for such a scenario to occur.
At some point in the future, the inevitable might need to happen… but not now.
For now, the best thing to do is to hope for the best. Improvise, adapt, overcome.
You can do it, me!
—
"PAST ME, YOU BASTARD!!!!"
Not even half an hour after accepting my fate, another incident already caught me with my pants down.
As I'm being chased by tiny green-gremlin-looking motherfuckers, I intuitively know how much of a problem being caught would do to me, mentally and physically.
With veins covering their whole body, green outlines of their skin plus the blood splashed across their one-piece clothing covering only their crotch.
They looked extremely ugly. If I was to compare, it's like that one childhood friend of yours, when compared to a fucking cockroach.
Some may argue that cockroaches are cute(small minority), but they're ugly as shit!
Just by looking from a far, I could already feel my breakfast climbing back up my throat. As for me? I'm being chased to absolute oblivion.
I feel like they've been chasing me for at least 20 minutes now. This crossover game between Tag and Hide and Seek is slowly tiring me out.
It's like a constant switch between the two games. One minute, I'm being chased, the next minute, I get time to rest by hiding before they find me.
I mean, they've got to give up at some point, right?
There's no way these dwarf-like people could have that much stamina when compared to me…
Who am I kidding? I'm extremely fatigued right now. Multiple days of malnutrition, lack of sleep, existential crisis…
In short, I'm not at my best capability.
As of now, I get another minute of rest, hiding behind a massive trunk of a dead tree.
My now sensitive sense of hearing could no longer hear their little footsteps.
With that information, I could finally let out a sigh of relief.
Being chased around like that really makes it difficult to form answers in your head.
"Fu…. Fu…."
With my hands on my knees, I caught my own breath.
Wiping a sweat that was trickling down my cheek, I took a deep breath.
'Alright, it doesn't sound like they're around anymore… It should be safe, right?'
Peeking behind the tree trunk, only the lush..green…forest…?
Huh?
Why is everything painted in black colour palette?
Sweeping my gaze over to the crowded forest, green leaves were no longer visible…
Instead, black leaves were in their place.
'What is this place…?'
Now that I noticed the leaves, I finally realised, the tree trunk is not dead.
It's… alive…?
Slowly, the tree trunk began to turn. A face was planted onto the trunk. As it faced my direction, the eyes and mouth became wide open.
"HELP!!!!"
The sudden screaming caught me off guard. With the entire situation already becoming more surreal as the seconds passed, I fell on my rear, not knowing how to react.
'Ent Forest'
I used to play DnD with my old coworkers.
There's this one dude who would not shut up about the possibility of successfully upgrading the job [Herbalist] if he were to clear an Ent Forest.
But that's the thing. Anytime we enter an Ent Forest, we'd immediately be wiped.
He always complained to the Dungeon Master about how unfair it was to wipe the whole party if we messed up even a single roll.
But the Dungeon Master simply said:
"An Ent Forest is a place easily conquerable with the correct plans. But, entering it without a single planned scenarios in mind is simply suicide. Plus, your party doesn't have a mage who's proficient in fire magic."
He would shake his head anytime we entered another Ent Forest…
Ent Forest… seems like I might've struck a lottery today…
Aren't I just the most unfortunate?
—
"Do you have any idea what happened to the Great Harson Forest?"
"Why the sudden question?"
"I mean, I've heard quite a lot of theories about how an ancient weapon had finally shown itself since the [Hero] was chosen…? Wasn't that what happened in Great Harson Forest?"
"Ah right, you were not here when that happened, right? Well, us locals called that incident 'The Remains Of The Demon King's Resentment'."
"Woah, why is the name so exaggerated?"
"Exaggerated? Listen here, newbie. You might think it was overextended, but the name was not exaggerated, at all. Instead, I personally think that it might've downplayed the real thing."
"...huh?"
"Unreal, right? I still remember vividly that night, the giant pillar of flames covering the whole sky. Some people thought that the Demon King might've resurrected or something. But the next day when a high ranking adventurer went to investigate the location… all they found was just a crater."
"...Why make such a big deal about a crater?"
"Hm, perhaps due to the fact that… the crater was the size of a small kingdom?"
"…"