Journey Ahead!

Chapter 2 - Journey Ahead!

As the sun was almost down, Bell stepped out of the forest and onto the roadside.

"I really thought I'd end up spending the night in the damn forest," he muttered.

To be honest, Bell would never have chosen to camp out in the forest if he had any other choice.

Camping might have been a thing in his previous life, but that was based on the relative safety of campsites. That couldn't compare to this messed-up world where swords and magic were the norm.

No one could guarantee what kind of monsters were lurking in the forest.

You could run into an ant that spits acid or a lizard that's a master of camouflage.

Basically, unless you're strong, the forest is a place to avoid. If you're unlucky enough to stumble into some monster's territory, you might as well kiss your ass goodbye.

That's why Bell figured it was less risky to stick to the road.

If the biggest danger in the forest is the monsters hiding in the shadows, the real threat on the road comes from people.

After all, some people have monsters hiding in their hearts.

But Bell wasn't too worried about those types. He had nothing worth stealing, and even if some bandit saw him, they'd probably pass him by.

Even counting what he had in his Spatial Pocket, Bell's entire net worth wouldn't exceed 12,000 valis. Out of that, 10,000 valis were the living expenses his grandfather left him, and the remaining 2,000 valis were just some clothes, camping gear, cutlery, food, three short knives, and three sharpening stones.

Bell glanced around and decided to set up camp by the roadside.

This road was pretty well-traveled. Sure, there was a chance he'd be spotted by passing adventurers, but Bell was confident no one would bother robbing him, and even if adventurers came by, they wouldn't attack him.

And really, do adventurers who camp by the roadside even have any spare money?

It's obvious to anyone who's been around that there's no point in attacking someone if there's no reward.

Plus, Bell was just a fourteen-year-old kid fresh out of the village. He wasn't a threat to anyone, so camping by the road was the safest bet.

It also gave him a chance to see how many people were moving along the road.

After making his decision, Bell looked around and carefully pulled a small tent out of his Spatial Pocket.

The tent was just big enough for one person. It wasn't much, but it would do.

Even though Bell had crammed the wooden bed from his house into the Spatial Pocket, there was no way he was taking that out while camping outside. Especially without any obvious transportation—it would just raise too many questions about how he was carrying all this stuff.

He quickly started a fire with some flint, poured water he'd gathered earlier into a pot, and took out some meat he'd prepped earlier from the Spatial Pocket while the water heated up.

"Good thing Grandfather hunted a bear before he left."

Bell was grateful to his grandfather for keeping his identity a secret.

Bear meat was plentiful and would last him at least a month.

There's no concept of time in the Spatial Pocket, so once something's stored, you don't have to worry about it going bad.

Bell carefully cut the bear meat into small pieces. After cleaning the knife, he put it back in the Spatial Pocket.

By now, the water was boiling. He carefully dropped the meat into the pot.

The meat quickly changed from red to pale white in the boiling water, and a layer of impurities formed on the surface.

He pulled the meat out of the water, dumped out the pot, wiped it down, and put it back in the Spatial Pocket.

He then grabbed a frying pan and added just a tiny bit of oil.

Oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar were all hard to come by and expensive as hell, so Bell used them sparingly.

Who knew when he'd be able to restock? It might not be possible until he reached Orario, so he needed to stretch his supplies as far as he could.

Once the meat was fried, he flipped it over, kept cooking until it was nicely browned, sprinkled on a little salt, cooked it until the salt melted, and then pulled the pan off the fire.

By the time Bell finished cooking, it had gone from dusk to night. The sky was pitch black, like someone had thrown a blanket over it. Without stars, it felt like the whole world was shrouded in darkness.

At the edge of the forest, a small fire could be seen.

The curling blue smoke was a dead giveaway that someone was there.

But everything around was quiet, and you could hear the chirping of mosquitoes—a good sign when you're out in the wild.

If you couldn't even hear mosquitoes, then shit was about to hit the fan.

Bell scanned the area to make sure everything was fine. He poured himself a glass of water, grabbed a fork, and started digging into his dinner—pan-fried bear meat.

He took a bite.

"This is way different from beef."

As soon as he bit into the meat, Bell noticed the texture was different from beef. It was more tender and had a springy texture.

"The flavor's damn good. Just salt, but it tastes amazing."

Bell found himself eating faster without even realizing it.

In no time, the plate was empty.

"Ahh!"

After eating, he downed a glass of water. The cool water just made everything better.

"Now, I'm satisfied!"

After eating and drinking, Bell, sitting on the grass, felt a lot more relaxed.

A whole day of non-stop running had wiped him out. This time to eat and rest was the most precious thing in the world for him.

"Next, I need to pick up the pace and try to reach Orario within a month."

Bell knew his adventure would only really start once he made it to Orario.

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[IMG of forest]