The dead forest felt like walking through a graveyard designed by someone with serious psychological issues.
Every step I took on the brittle leaves sounded like breaking bones, and the sword Tiamat had given me was heavy enough that I had to drag the tip along the ground every few steps just to keep from dropping it. My arms were already screaming from the cleaning marathon, and now I was supposed to hunt something?
*Great plan, Kenji,* I thought bitterly. *Get transported to another world just to die of exhaustion before you even figure out what's going on.*
The system screen flickered in my peripheral vision, still showing that useless 100 NP. I couldn't afford any techniques that would actually help me survive this suicide mission. Basic Cursed Energy Reinforcement was my only option, and even then I'd be broke afterward.
But what choice did I have?
I pulled up the shop menu and stared at the technique description. Twenty-five percent physical enhancement for five minutes. It wasn't much, but it might be the difference between dying horribly and dying slightly less horribly.
*Here goes nothing.*
I selected the technique and felt the NP drain away, leaving me with a pathetic 20 points. Immediately, knowledge flooded into my head—not like downloading a file, but like remembering something I'd always known but forgotten. The flow of cursed energy through my body, how to channel it into my muscles, the proper breathing technique to maintain the enhancement.
I took a deep breath and activated it.
The change was immediate. The sword suddenly felt manageable instead of like I was carrying a small tree. My sore muscles stopped aching, and when I took a step forward, I moved with a fluid grace I'd never possessed in my original life. It was like the difference between driving a beat-up Honda and getting behind the wheel of a sports car.
"Okay," I muttered, hefting the sword properly for the first time. "Maybe I won't die in the first thirty seconds."
The forest stretched out before me, all twisted branches and shadows that seemed to move when I wasn't looking directly at them. I picked a direction that looked slightly less terrifying than the others and started walking.
Five minutes. That's all I had before the enhancement wore off and I went back to being a exhausted high school student with delusions of grandeur. I needed to find something to hunt, kill it, and get back to Tiamat before—
A growl echoed through the trees.
I froze, gripping the sword tighter. The sound had come from somewhere to my left, low and rumbling like a diesel engine with anger management issues. Whatever was making that noise, it was big.
*Please be something I can actually handle,* I prayed silently. *Please don't be another dragon or demon lord or whatever.*
The bushes rustled, and something stepped into view.
It looked like what would happen if a wolf and a garbage disposal had a baby and then fed it nothing but steroids and bad attitude. The thing was the size of a small car, with matted black fur, glowing red eyes, and teeth that belonged in a museum's prehistoric predator exhibit. Saliva dripped from its jaws, sizzling when it hit the dead leaves.
"Oh, come on," I whispered. "Couldn't it have been a rabbit? A really big rabbit?"
The creature's head snapped toward me, those red eyes locking onto mine. For a moment, we just stared at each other. Then its lips pulled back in what might have been a grin if grins could promise violent dismemberment.
It charged.
I don't know what possessed me to stand my ground instead of running like a sensible person. Maybe it was the cursed energy enhancement making me feel invincible. Maybe it was the knowledge that running would just get me killed anyway. Or maybe I was just too terrified to move.
Either way, I raised the sword and braced myself.
The wolf-thing hit me like a freight train made of claws and fury. I managed to get the blade up between us, but the impact sent me flying backward into a tree trunk hard enough to knock the wind out of my lungs. Stars exploded across my vision, and for a second I thought I was going to pass out.
The creature landed a few feet away, shaking its head. Dark blood dripped from a shallow cut along its shoulder where my blade had connected. It wasn't a serious wound, but it was something.
*Okay,* I thought, struggling to my feet. *So I can hurt it. That's good. Now I just need to do that about fifty more times without getting eaten.*
The wolf-thing crouched low, preparing for another charge. This time I was ready for it.
As it leaped, I threw myself to the side and brought the sword around in a clumsy arc. The blade bit deep into the creature's flank, and it let out a howl that made my teeth ache. But instead of falling, it spun around faster than something that size had any right to move and caught me across the chest with its claws.
Pain exploded through my torso as I stumbled backward. Three long gashes had torn through my uniform shirt and into the skin beneath. Blood ran down my stomach, warm and sticky.
"Damn it," I gasped, trying to keep the sword steady despite the pain. My cursed energy enhancement was still active, but I could feel it starting to fade around the edges. Maybe two minutes left at most.
The creature circled me, its red eyes never leaving mine. It was taking its time now, probably realizing I was wounded and getting weaker. Playing with its food.
*Think, Kenji. You've read enough light novels. There has to be something you can do.*
I remembered the technique description. Basic enhancement was supposed to be the foundation for more advanced applications. What if I could push it further? Channel more cursed energy into specific areas instead of spreading it evenly?
It was a desperate idea, and probably suicidal, but I was running out of options.
I focused all my remaining cursed energy into my arms and legs, feeling the enhancement intensify. My muscles burned with power, and for a moment I felt like I could punch through solid rock.
The wolf-thing charged again, and this time I was ready.
Instead of trying to dodge, I stepped forward to meet it head-on. The sword came up in a perfect arc, guided by instincts I didn't know I possessed, and sliced clean through the creature's neck.
Its head hit the ground with a wet thud, followed by its body a second later.
I stood there for a moment, staring at what I'd done. Then the adrenaline wore off, my cursed energy enhancement faded, and I collapsed to my knees in the dead leaves.
『 ENEMY DEFEATED 』
Corrupted Forest Wolf - Grade 4 Threat
Experience Gained: 50 NP
Total NP: 70
"Fifty points," I panted, wiping blood from my chest wounds. "For nearly getting killed by a nightmare wolf, I get fifty points."
Still, it was progress. And more importantly, I had something to bring back to Tiamat. The wolf was definitely big enough to count as "suitable" prey, even if I'd almost died getting it.
Now I just had to figure out how to carry a creature the size of a small car back to the lair with three bleeding gashes across my chest and the energy level of a used dishrag.
---
Twenty minutes later, I was seriously reconsidering every life choice that had led me to this moment.
Dragging a dead wolf through a forest was harder than it looked in movies. The thing weighed at least three hundred pounds, and even though I'd managed to rig up a makeshift sled using broken branches and strips torn from my uniform jacket, it was still backbreaking work.
The cuts on my chest had stopped bleeding, but they burned like fire every time I moved. My hands were raw from gripping the makeshift rope, and I was pretty sure I'd pulled every muscle in my back.
But I was alive, and I had proof of my success. That had to count for something.
The lair came into view just as I was starting to wonder if I'd gotten turned around in the maze of dead trees. Tiamat was exactly where I'd left her, sitting on her stone seat with her eyes closed. She looked so peaceful and serene that for a moment I felt bad about disturbing her.
Then I remembered that she'd sent me out to hunt or become lunch, and the sympathy evaporated.
"I'm back," I called out, letting the rope drop and collapsing beside my makeshift sled.
Tiamat's eyes opened slowly, and she looked from me to the dead wolf with what might have been surprise.
"Interesting," she said, standing and walking over to examine my kill. "A corrupted forest wolf. These are not easy prey for someone of your... limited capabilities."
"Yeah, well," I panted, "it wasn't exactly easy. But it's dead, and I'm not, so I'm calling it a win."
She crouched down beside the wolf's body, running one finger along the clean cut I'd made through its neck. "This is skillful work. The cut is precise, efficient. Not what I would expect from an untrained human."
I decided not to mention the cursed energy enhancement or the system. Something told me that revealing my advantages too early would be a mistake.
"I got lucky," I said instead. "And it helped that the sword is really sharp."
Tiamat studied me for a long moment, her dark blue eyes unreadable. Then, to my surprise, the corner of her mouth turned up in what might have been approval.
"Perhaps," she said. "Or perhaps you are more than you appear to be."
She stood and gestured toward the wolf. "This will suffice for now. But next time, I expect you to return with less damage to yourself. A servant who dies of his wounds is useless to me."
"Next time?" I squeaked. "There's going to be a next time?"
"Of course. I require regular meals, and hunting provides you with practical experience. It is beneficial for both of us."
Beneficial for both of us. Right. Because nearly getting mauled to death was such a learning experience.
But as I watched Tiamat begin preparing the wolf for cooking with movements that suggested centuries of practice, I realized something. Despite the terror, despite the pain and exhaustion, I felt... different. Stronger, maybe. More capable.
The system screen flickered, showing my updated stats:
『 CURRENT STATUS 』
Grade: 4 (Novice)
NP: 70
Available Techniques: Basic Cursed Energy Reinforcement (Learned)
Combat Experience: 1 Victory
Next Upgrade: 0/1000 NP Required
One victory. It wasn't much, but it was a start. And if I could survive one corrupted forest wolf, maybe I could survive whatever else this world threw at me.
"Rest," Tiamat said without looking up from her work. "Tomorrow, we will begin your actual training."
"Training?" I asked, though I was almost afraid to hear the answer.
She glanced at me over her shoulder, and for the first time since I'd met her, there was something that might have been genuine interest in her expression.
"You managed to kill a creature of Low-Class devil strength on your first hunt, despite having no formal combat experience" She turned back to the wolf. "It would be wasteful to let such potential go undeveloped."
I stared at her back, trying to process what she'd just said. Training. Actual training from one of the Dragon Kings. That wasn't something that happened to random isekai protagonists, was it?
Maybe this nightmare scenario was actually an opportunity in disguise.
Or maybe she was just planning to turn me into a more effective hunting servant. Either way, I was too exhausted to care about her motives right now.
I found a reasonably clean patch of stone and curled up on it, using my ruined jacket as a pillow. The cuts on my chest still hurt, and every muscle in my body ached, but for the first time since I'd arrived in this world, I felt like maybe I wasn't completely doomed.
As I drifted off to sleep, I heard Tiamat humming softly to herself while she worked. It was a hauntingly beautiful melody that seemed to make the dead air around us feel a little less oppressive.
Maybe serving a Dragon King for time being wouldn't be the worst fate imaginable after all.
I just had to survive long enough to find out.