Seolo Forest

Seolo Forest, A Few Kilometers in the Eastern Part of the Dungeon City Orario...

A naked young man with otherworldly charm without even a speck of cloth covering his body can be seen lying on a grassland surrounded by huge trees.

He has a perfectly defined face that could ensnare anyone just by catching a glimpse of him, a snow-white silky smooth long hair, a perfectly toned body with lean muscles, a firm-wide chest, and firm perfectly-formed abdominal muscles along with thin mermaid waistlines.

Moments later, the young man began showing signs of waking up. He soon opened his groggy eyelids, exposing his crystal clear blue eyes.

He slowly sits up and began to look at his surroundings not even recognizing the fact that he was currently naked.

"Hmmm... So Erethel decided to send me to a forest huh... I thought she'll be sending me directly to that city. What was it called again?..."

While he was racking his brains out and scanning through his memories of everything he saw in the anime's first episode, he was suddenly interrupted by a 'robotic' voice.

[*Answering... It's called the Dungeon City Orario...*]

"Eh!?... Who!?... Is that you Erethel?..."

He was flabbergasted when he suddenly heard a mechanical voice out of the blue and thought his wife was playing another prank on him.

[*Answering... No host, I'm not the Goddess Erethel. I was only created by the Almighty Goddess Erethel to assist and provide you with everything you need throughout your journey until you reach the zenith.*]

"Oh?... So you're like those systems in the novels I used to read?" he asked but remembered that white orb thing Erethel gave him.

[*Affirmative...*]

When he heard that, he couldn't help but think 'She's a good wife alright... Even though I wanted to achieve everything on my own, she still gave me something that could make my life easier.'

"Alright, so you're the legendary 'Save Yourself Time Energy and Money' thing... What are your func--"

He was interrupted by the sudden jolt of his body when he felt something ticklish that was scraping his thighs and his 'sword' that once pierced the 'heaven' itself that caused it to bleed for the first time.

"Hehehe... oh~... o-hehe... oh yeah it tickles~... hahaha"

He suddenly snapped out of it and look down, only to discover that he was butt naked and the things that tickled him were the grass blades caressing his smooth skin. He abruptly stood up and said...

"Wh-... I swear I was wearing my clothes when I left the Primordial Garden..." but then he remembered a certain prankster who loves to do these things to him. He just shook his head and facepalmed.

"Hey SYSTEM... no... Wise, I'll call you Wise from now on... Can you help me out here?... I need something to cover myself."

[*Negative... most of the system functions are currently locked... at the moment. However, the Goddess did send you a starter pack. Would you like to open it?*]

"... Yes... please."

[*Opening...*]

A few seconds later, things just started to pop up out of nowhere and are neatly presented in front of him.

[*Host has acquired the following:

System Points: 10,000

Qty: 2 - Weapon Ticket (Random)

Qty: 1 - Combat Ability Ticket (Random)

Qty: 1 - Miscellaneous Skill Ticket (Random)

Qty: 10 - Healing Pills

Qty: 1 - 5,000 cubic meter storage ring

Qty: 6 - 500 cubic meter storage rings

Qty: 1 - Normal Wear (Set)

Normal Wear Set contains:

Qty: 2 - Long-Sleeved Shirt (Black and White)

Qty: 2 - Sleeveless Shirt (Black and White)

Qty: 1 - Leather Fingerless Gauntlets (Brown)

Qty: 2 - Belt (Brown)

Qty: 2 - Overcoat (Black and White)*

Qty: 2 - Underwear (Black)

Qty: 2 - Pants (Brown)

Qty: 2 - Socks (Black)

Qty: 2 - Leather Long Boots (Brown and Black)]

"She really went all out..." Seeing the things in front of him, he couldn't help but gasp in awe but didn't wallow on it and hurried to grab the garments and wears them.

He is now wearing the black long-sleeved button-up fitted shirt over the black sleeveless fitted undershirt similar to what Ottar from the Freya Familia wears except for its color.

Since his top is fitted, his perfectly defined lean muscles are emphasized and outlined in the clothes he is wearing.

He wears the brown belt that he wore on his waist over his top, brown pants, socks, and the leather long boots that reached his calves, and lastly, the leather fingerless gauntlets

When everything's done, he pats his chest and his shoulder and turned his eyes downwards to see how he looks but didn't get to see an overall view.

"Hey Wise, is there anything in the system that can help me see how I look?... you know, like a mirror. I want to see how I look with this get-up..."

[*... Affirmative. Opening Host's Interface... Showing Host's Status... *]

A second later, a hologram of a human figure with a stoic expression can be seen inside his mind along with his basic status.

When he finally saw his own image with the clothes he's currently wearing, he couldn't help but feel satisfied and continuously praised Erethel in his mind and repeatedly thanking her for everything.

He was basking in the moment of narcissism, repeatedly praising his Ultra Ikemen physique and get-up. He didn't even bother to look at his basic status parameters and forgot about them.

When he finally got tired of appreciating himself, he remembered that he needed to find shelter before night comes.

Knowing that it would be dangerous to wander around the forest unarmed, he decided to grab the weapon tickets he has and use them to get a weapon for himself.

Wise's robotic voice resounded in his mind and asked him if he wants to use the tickets to which he said yes.

[*Host has acquired the following:

Qty: 1 - Standard Katana (Rank: D)

Qty: 1 - Tanto (Rank: F)*]

He didn't forget to set a reminder in his mind to ask about those grades/ranks represented in letters when he can find a place and settle down.

Grabbing the two, bladed weapons, he was about to start his journey on finding a shelter when he noticed that he still hasn't yet stored the rest of the items in the starter pack Erethel gave him.

"Hey uh... how do I use this thing?"

He grabbed the ring with the largest capacity and observe it for a while before asking Wise how to make it work.

[*Answering... The host needs to put a drop of blood on the ring to activate it.*]

Upon hearing that, he unsheathed the tanto he just got from exchanging the weapon ticket and slightly stab his index finger, enough to draw a bit of blood, and dropped it on the ring.

Almost instantly, the ring began to glow for a few seconds before he suddenly felt the connection he has for it. He could clearly see in his mind the empty white space inside the ring.

Wise also told him how to store the items inside it, and as well as taking them out. After trying several times and getting used to storing and taking the things out, he finally stopped and prepared to leave.

"Hmm... which direction should I go now?..."

[*Answering... I have the map function. I can scan the terrain around you within a 500-meter radius.*]

---

Trekking through the dense forest of Seolo while enjoying the ambiance of the surroundings at the same time, he couldn't help but say "Man... the forest here is truly something else huh..."

Although he couldn't really compare the forests back on earth and in DanMachi world since he didn't get a chance to wander around back then and just saw some pictures of it, he could still say that there's no comparison and that everything around him right now is so... magical.

It gave him a mysterious vibe that everything around him and even the forest itself has its own consciousness and seems to be overflowing with vitality.

*Rustle* *Rustle*

He was suddenly interrupted by a rustling sound on the bushes nearby and immediately thought that it was a monster since he knew that in this world, monsters are pretty rampant.

*Shiiiiiiing!*

Even without having the knowledge and enough experience of fighting yet, he draws his katana and assumes what seems to be a 'Chudan' stance and was preparing himself for whatever comes next.

'Although I don't know much about proper stances, I'll just imitate the stance In those movies and anime I've seen before.' He thought steeling himself and holding his breath waiting for the creature... or whatever it was to come out.

*Rustle*

Feeling that it was about to come out and reveal itself since the rustling is getting louder and more frequent, he was about to charge at it and thought it was better to strike first when suddenly something jumped out of the bushes...

*Squeak* *squeak*

It stared at him for a short while tilting its head showing a curious expression and then immediately ran away.

"... A... bunny..."

When he realized that it was not what he was expecting, he heaved a sigh of relief and patted his chest, and began to calm his nerves down.

He continued his journey towards where Wise pointed out earlier according to the map that has a high possibility of being safe and inhabitable caves.

Fortunately for him, he didn't encounter any bloodthirsty monsters along the way and wasn't forced to fight for his life.