Chapter 7: Monsters and Barrier Stone

—Walk 373 kilometers of forest.

Just imagining how harsh that would be was making me nauseous.

Not only do I lack food, I don't even have water.

Of course, I can get some with points, but…

Surviving in order to reunite with Nanami -I will survive for the sake of that.

No, even without that objective, I can't just give up on surviving. The reason I am currently alive here even though I was killed not that long ago must mean that God is telling me to live on.

I must not think about anything other than coming out of this alive.

I smacked both of my cheeks.

"Guess I gotta walk!" (Hikaru)

Thanks to the map, I at least know the direction.

No matter how high the danger level, it is not like I will definitely encounter monsters.

Maybe there's only monsters that I can escape from by running away.

It is still too soon to despair.

I confirm the status window once more before going down the tree.

My viewer count is 1,876,540 and it is increasing by the second.

Looks like I am gathering attention as the early laugh segment.

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It is a forest where the tall trees feel to be around 10 meters tall.

There's not much grass growing, and this may be the fortunate thing within the misfortune, but it isn't difficult to walk in.

The boots I used 1 point to exchange to fit me just right as if they had been order-made.

It doesn't seem like there's a lot of monsters. I have been walking for around 30 minutes and I haven't seen any such creature until now.

…Not only that, I don't even see animals.

It is eerie.

"Whatever the case, I can't lower my guard…" (Hikaru)

According to the Highly Efficient World Map, it is a Danger Level 4.

Leaving aside the mysterious presence that has been brushing my skin, I feel like this place isn't normal.

Or maybe even as of now, I am in the sights of a highly intelligent monster with their bow, or I will get eaten straight from the head by a monster that I can't even see.

Before I began walking, I had used 1 point to exchange for an item that I am now still holding in my hand as I walked on.

With the boots and that item, I am now at 19 points.

I am already right by the side of death.

The wind rustling the trees was fanning my uneasiness, and the fear of monsters attacking from wherever was scraping away at my mental stamina.

I diligently moved my legs as if to erase those insecurities.

I might have walked for around 2 and a half hours.

Looking at just the result, you could say it has been going surprisingly well.

Thinking about the danger level, I was prepared to fall into a precarious situation straight away, but I even feel like I have been deceived here.

Climate that isn't cold or hot.

It is not in the middle of a mountain but a relatively flat forest.

A distance that I can get out of in 10 days if it all goes smoothly.

Thinking about it calmly, this might not have been that bad of a place to be randomly transferred to.

If this were a snow mountain, I definitely wouldn't have survived. If it had been a mountain instead of a forest, just going down would carry pretty high risks.

I am on the lucky side.

…But I was mistaken here.

It is not that there wasn't any reason as to why there were no living creatures around.

Just like how herbivorous animals don't get close to the territory of lions, the density of monsters decreases in the turf of a giant monster.

I didn't seriously think about the meaning of the danger level being 4.

The first thing I heard was the sound of creaking trees.

And then, I heard the rustling of trees as if something was flying around and rubbing past the trees.

I stopped my legs and looked around.

This is my first time hearing 'the sound made by someone else'.

I was hearing the cries of birds every now and then, but this is the first time I feel the presence of a living being so clearly.

"A monster…? Or maybe a monkey or something?" (Hikaru)

The sound of rustling trees continued on endlessly.

And I feel like it is steadily approaching.

"At the very least…at the very least let it be a normal animal…" (Hikaru)

I couldn't judge at what direction it was coming from.

It was approaching this place slowly while going around in circles with me as the center.

Monsters…

God had announced beforehand that there would be such things.

I taught Nanami this, and that there might be the need for some combat ability. That there might be the need to use points or something to enhance your body and fight with weapon in hand…

But I didn't really think of the true meaning of facing a monster.

No, no one on Earth would be able to think about the reality of them fighting monsters face to face.

The sounds stopped cold after a while.

Then, the sound of something landing on the ground.

I reflexively look at that direction.

And then…my wish of it being 'just a normal animal' crumbled like the faint dream it was.

"…W-What's that?" (Hikaru)

It didn't feel real.

The trees here in this forest may be slightly different from those of Earth, but their appearance wasn't that different that it would give an off feeling, and the soil was pretty much that of Earth. The clouds, wind, and sun…

They are things you could believe they exist on Earth if you were told about them.

Yet, that was a creature unlike any on Earth.

It is around 4 meters in height, long and sharp fangs sticking out from its mouth, and most of all, it was burning red. A giant monkey with fire all around its body.

It is not like it is burning because someone has set fire on it. Its red fur was constantly releasing fire.

A developed upper body. Its arms were as thick as the big tree at its side and must have physical strength enough to kill 10 people with a single sweep.

Its giant mouth that could swallow a human whole also had heat haze coming out from it.

When I saw that, my heart began to drum as if it were going to explode, my legs lost strength, and blood drained from my body.

I couldn't move even a single finger as if my whole body was not mine anymore.

I have been targeted by an absolute predator. I definitely won't survive from this.

As if understanding this instinctively…

"Gugyaaaaaaau!!"

The giant monkey roared as if intimidating me.

For the monkey, I must look like small, weak, and convenient food, but it didn't move immediately, and it was simply looking at me with its burning eyes. You could even say it was observing me.

It has encountered a being that shouldn't be in this forest, so it is being cautious?

Or maybe it is just enjoying the moment in front of its prey.

Only those burning red eyes that I couldn't read the emotions of were shining bright.

It was a situation where you could say I was as good as unconscious since the moment I met that giant monkey.

But in the short time the monkey was gauging me, I succeeded in turning the gears of my brain.

That's why, even at the moment when the monkey roared and rushed at me, I managed to use that item without hesitation.

I grip the glass crystal in my right hand and break it.

<<The Barrier Stone has been used. 12 hours remaining.>>

The next instant, a hemispherical and half transparent film of around 3 meters in radius appeared.

At a glance it looked unreliable, but the giant monkey stopped as if the target had suddenly disappeared, and was looking around restlessly.

It raised an angry shout as it smashed the ground in rage.

At times it would spit out fire and burn down the surrounding trees.

It seems to be pretty mad.

I sat down powerlessly on the ground around 10 meters away from him.

Power had been sapped away completely from my lower half and I don't feel like I can get up for a while.

I was sweating buckets from my whole body to an abnormal degree, to the point that it made my clothes heavier.

Survival of the fittest.

That concept that I learned at school was now being felt with my whole skin. I could feel my whole body was burning from the reality that I might have been devoured as the weak.

This is an isekai.

A world I have to survive in from now on.

(Please…just leave…!) (Hikaru)

This is a stationary barrier.

I may have 12 hours here, but if that giant monkey doesn't move from here at all, I will be checkmated in the very sense of the word.

I can use Barrier Stones successively, but it requires 1 point.

I would lose my points in the blink of an eye, and would get eaten in the end.

It is not like my wish was transmitted, but the monkey that was searching around must have given up. It left somewhere.

I let out a sigh of relief from the bottom of my heart.

(So this is a danger level 4, huh…) (Hikaru)

I did think I would encounter a monster eventually.

But I might have been too optimistic here thinking that there would be a chance it would be a monster I could manage to do something about somehow.

Like a monster that's strong but its movements are simple, or monsters that move in groups but their individual strength is low.

But that monkey was big, strong, fast, most likely intelligent, and can spit out fire.

Even with perfect gear, it probably would be impossible for me to defeat it.

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