1 Chapter 1

"So there is no turning back, huh."

My first reaction as a former weeb was quite anti-climatic. The forest I've just been teleported to was brimming with life, with several trees forming the canopy with their long branches. Under them, a flora was flourishing, counting many flowers, bushes and herbs.

I could see some sort of open-sky quarry in front of me, with many good quality stones that one could use for many purposes.

Of course, when coming to another world, you'd have to ascertain your surroundings most comprehensively; without that, you'd only risk getting a bad start and fail to accomplish your purpose here, whatever it might be.

While these thoughts crossed my mind, I slowly noticed that the light rose from above the canopy, meaning that I was summoned early in the morning.

This also meant that while this forest seemed peaceful at day, it might not be the case at night, which I discovered not too long after.

No good would come from standing still then. I decided to explore the surroundings a bit, starting with the quarry, which also appeared to be a cave entrance of some sort.

I also found traces of mineral deposits on this quarry's walls and floor, which led me to believe that more minerals could be found underground, provided I dug up a bit. However, as I was summoned as naked as one could decently be, I lacked the tools needed to prove my thinking.

I didn't stay too long on the quarry, though, as I heard some noises coming from the cave inside. It seems that this forest wasn't too peaceful after all. It would also be a bad idea to wander in this cavern without proper light, as I couldn't see more than 7 meters inside.

Exiting the quarry, I looked a bit at the terrain topology and found that I could go in two different ways; one was ahead of the quarry, into the mountains, which would undoubtedly be a good viewpoint from which I could decide where to settle. The other way was downward, where I hoped I could find some water.

Even if I didn't feel the need to drink water, humans always constructed cities near water. Even if I was surviving alone, for now, finding some group of people to cling to before going out on my own would probably prove to be useful.

Also, I felt like climbing the mountain would be tiresome, and somehow, I felt like I should conserve my energy as much as possible for now.

Fortunately, while going downward, I took some time to study a bit the flora, which allowed me to find some crude vegetables and berries that I could eat if I felt hungry.

Breaking some of these bushes was surprisingly easy, but when I went to pick up the goods, they disappeared when I walked over them, adding to my surprise.

Fortunately, something or someone hurried me to "Open Inventory", which I instinctively did without even thinking about how I should do that like I always knew. How much of this new world knowledge was imprinted in me, I wondered.

I was greeted by what seemed to be a game interface, displaying the goods I just picked up, stacking them if they were the same. There were also other things to do on this interface, but the knowledge to manipulate it wasn't bestowed on me all in one go, I guess.

I also noticed one item that wasn't from the one I picked up earlier. It had the appearance of a book, decorated by some golden illuminations.

While it seemed necessary, as I found out later, my survival was my highest priority at the moment, and reading a book in the middle of an unknown forest wasn't raising my odds against my current predicament.

I eventually found myself at the forest border made from coniferous trees and stepped into an autumnal looking forest, with foliages that ranged from yellow to red.

It felt like a long time since I've seen the clear blue sky and the sparse clouds gently deriving at wind's will.

It allowed me to estimate that it should be about 10 AM in earth time, using the sun as a reference point.

It made me glad to see that the sun still has its yellow color, leaving me relieved that all I knew about the world wasn't thrown away the minute I set foot here.

Apart from everything's blocky appearance - and even me, if I look closely at my hands - nothing seems really different, but I shouldn't dismiss any surprises that might come my way.

Soon enough, I heard some bleating coming from another part of the forest.

If sheep, too, was something in this world, it might have allowed me to work something concerning my clothing or create something I would feel comfortable sleeping onto at least.

Like the world heard my silent prayer, I found some sheep lazing around, eating grass, without caring about me at all.

It's odd. If I'm in a wild forest, the least animals can do is to be afraid of me, as something they don't know. But if instead, I'm in a frequently used forest, it means that people live here and that I'm not alone. I sincerely hoped they were friendly or pacific at the very least.

I stumbled across some interestingly looking stone, white in appearance and seemingly sturdy while keeping going inside the forest. If it comes to that, it's definitely something I would want to make building off.

However, the small quantity I found wouldn't be enough the provide the simplest shelter against what was to come. I needed to find an adequate supply of this material as soon as possible.

This task has proven itself to be easy, as I nearly fell into another open-sky quarry filled with this material, but also, another earthly product I've never seen yet.

Although the cave in front of me was pitch-black, not hearing loud noises from it boosted my confidence enough to check the new material a bit more closely.

At first, it seemed mundane, blending into the stone that surrounded it, but I soon recognized it as one of the two most important sources of iron in human history: magnetite.

This vein will undeniably be useful shortly, as magnetite is the key to cheaply producing iron, and if processed carefully, steel. However, as I haven't encountered anything remotely resembling an intelligent being, it may be safe not to assume this natural occurrence wasn't already exploited and processed accordingly.

This is a thing I'll have to check as soon as possible, as it will help me estimate the technological level of this world.

Leaving the quarry, while promising myself I will be back to it as soon as I could, I continued my journey downward, and before I knew it, my objectives were flowing in front of me, with the transparent color of something yet untainted by pollution and human greed for profit, a river.

Its bank was mostly constituted of sand and gravel, except for what seems to be clay here and then.

Some wild animals, still not suspicious of my presence, were peacefully drinking water and leisurely sunbathing. Some squids were swimming in the middle of the flowing water. Fishes were nowhere to be found, but I assumed that there might be some that were hiding from my loud footsteps.

It was the first time I felt like I was teleported in another world, contemplating this eerie scene that unfolded before me, where wildlife was brimming and where man's touch hadn't ruined anything yet.

Snapping away from my daydreaming, I looked up in the sky, estimating that it was already past noon and that dusk might come sooner than I expected it.

I needed to find a shelter.

Looking a bit near the river bank, I once again found the cave entrance, surrounded by this strange stony white material, from which loud noises could be heard.

If I was not careful, I could end up dead with every misstep.

While wandering in search of a shelter, I finally found out the proof I was seeking.

Somewhere in the forest, near the riverbank, a small totem was built from a pitch-black material. It was engraved with a form of art that couldn't be confused with primitive work, mostly because this rock's carving must have needed some proper tooling, as this rock seemed the sturdier I've stumbled across since I started wandering in this forest.

I wondered how far were the people constructed such a thing, and if they were friendly enough, I could ask to be hosted, at least for the night coming.

Alas, I would have to hurry in search of these people because dusk was already falling upon me, and the perspective of burying myself in a dirt shelter seemed far less enticing than grouping with people that were used to this world.

I upped my pace a bit, hoping for the best, leaving my previous worries about conserving as much energy as I could behind.

Fortunately, I would not have to run too much into the unknown as I glimpsed a wall of ordered bricks, too peculiar in this place to not be the work of men, or at least highly organizational beings.

However, finding a wall was only a small consolation in the rapidly increasing darkness, which would be challenging to deal with once fully established.

I needed to find a way to go past that wall somehow.

My worries were fortunately useless as I found an entrance into the wall soon enough.

While I was still hesitating to go inside and whether or not I would be warmly welcomed, it was increasingly difficult to see around me due to the sun disappearing under the horizon.

I quickly got inside with no other choices, hoping for the best in this leap of faith.

Finally, getting to see civilization's work in the new world, I quickly found out that this village was relatively small, albeit being protected by armored soldiers.

It also seems that the technological level was lower than I expected and similar to that of our antiquity era. Judging by the outfits of the soldiers guarding the walls and the architecture of the different houses lined up on the side of the gravel road, they hardly reached iron age.

Approaching some villagers to see if they were inclined to host me for a while, I encountered the second hurdle since I came to this world.

I couldn't comprehend them.

They weren't seemingly harboring any ill sentiment to me, at least, so I assumed it was okay to ask some assistance. Despite being unable to understand what the inhabitants were saying, I could follow two of them into a house deprived of any beds, but in my situation, everything that might shelter me was a welcome gift.

Finally, the sun disappeared from my sight, and the darkness had come, making the world around me pitch-black, while I felt protected by the soft light coming from the torches that were hanging on the wall of my newly found shelter.

"At least for this night, there won't be any problems, right ?"

These were my last thoughts of the day, as I was left unable to sleep, wondering about how tomorrow might turn out.