Chapter 1: Part 5

You can see it displayed right there in my status, STR [G]. That's the kind of condition I'm in.

I want to shout my rage to the heavens, something like DON'T FUCK WITH ME! Just because my occupation wasn't a combat-related job, they threw me away in the middle of a forest like this! Look, if I can get out of this forest, I'll take my revenge!

I found a perfect stone to sit on, so I made use of it to rest. This forest isn't hot, per se, but it's unceasingly, unpleasantly humid. The layer of sweat drenching my body just made that sensation even worse, yet the stone was now a cold and pleasant sensation in a sea of discomfort.

Suddenly I was startled by the rustling of grass nearby, from something walking closer. I slowly turned to face the sound.

…Is it a cat?

If this was Japan, such a cat might be cute and harmless. However, this was a magical place, specifically a forest inhabited by monsters. It's certainly a cat in front of me, but no matter how I thought about it, it was a cat of unusual size.

This cat was bigger and more vicious-looking than a lion. Two huge fangs came out of its mouth, each one taller than me. I moved on pure instinct, jumping up from the rock and running at first sight.

However, as much as I didn't want to think about it, I quickly realized the reality. That creature that was bigger and stronger than a lion approached me in an instant, which meant it was incomparably fast. After running only a few meters, it sent me soaring through the air from a hard blow, before I went crashing into the ground. A shooting pain ran through me.

My right arm seemed broken; at the very least, it was definitely bending in the wrong direction. Still, my instinct drove me to keep scrambling forward with my left hand and both feet. Before I could go anywhere, something heavy crushed down onto my back, driving the air from my lungs with a yell.

The next moment, I was flying again. The cat monster had momentarily kicked me up with its forepaw. It's as if it was playing with me like a house cat plays with a mouse. I sailed through the air again and again as my body was all but battered to pieces.

"I'm… gonna die a 17 year old virgin, huh…"

I spoke, but no one could hear me.

It felt like every bone in my body was broken, and those that weren't were definitely cracked all throughout. Severe pain was my whole world now. The cat monster seemed like it was getting tired of playing with me, and its eyes looked at me like I was food.

This one-sided thrashing has really fucked me up. I don't want to die, but in my current situation, the only future I see waiting for me is my death.

Giving up… am I going to give up and die in a place like this? I want revenge… revenge on that shitty old man, revenge on those shit-head country officials… can I just abandon my desire for revenge in a place like this?

I don't want to die! I want to beat the shit out of that goddamn old man, kick the fuck out of those officials, and kill this fucking monster that's trying to mess with me!

But how do I kill this thing!?

I only have these five skills: [Cooking] [Ignition] [Dismantling] [Detailed Appraisal] [Material Storage]

And there's nothing there that's useful for combat… Wait, maybe… I have to try, if I don't try it, I'll just get trampled again!

The monster held me down with its forepaw, bringing its face closer to me as if to eat me like dead meat. Its big mouth opened, ready to pierce me with those heinous fangs.

Now!

"[Ignition] [Ignition] [Ignition] [Ignition] [Ignition] [Ignition] [Ignition] [Ignition] [Ignition]!"

Success! I set its face on fire! The monster was rubbing its face on the ground to extinguish the flames.

"[Ignition], maximum firepower!"

A pillar of fire suddenly burst through the ground. The monster was crawling around and screamed in pain.

If you try to kill someone, be prepared to get killed yourself!

Its eyes stared at me with a grudge while half of its face was getting burned off. It really seemed to want to kill me and put out the fire on its face.

The monster staggered toward me and watched me suffer, unable to move because every part of me was broken, so I had no way to stop it from hitting me. Once it got to me, it would be the monster's win, and if it didn't get to me, it would be my win. So it would definitely come after me, right!?

Two meters… one and a half… one meter… Is it my loss, then? But this monster should have taken a ton of damage…

I have some regrets now… I want to― I wanted to live more. I wanted a fun life. Yeah, if I could keep living, I'd live freely. I'd live such a free life that no one could bind me, I could do what I like as I please.

The monster reached me. It was apparently my defeat. Because its face was covered with burns, this monster's breath smelled like insects. I think I fought pretty hard against such a beast…

The monster stepped on my face with its paw. It's going to crush my face right here and now. I could hear my skull creaking.

That's right… that's it! I suddenly blurted out my last trick―

"[Dismantling]!"

I can take apart anything I touch! I actually… remembered that goofy explanation.

In a splattering of blood, the monster had changed into a mess of parts without any resemblance to its original shape. This time… I managed to survive.

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

…

Notifications flowed through my vision in a torrent of information.

…

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

…

You have learned the skill [Spring Water] from leveling up.

…

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

The notification spam was finally over. There sure was a lot of it. Pretty annoying. I saw that I'd learned a skill, but the notification was gone before I could really read it.

Well, that's it. I survived. By the time I thought about it, my consciousness was already fading away…