Reincarnators Despair in Another Reality (2)
I spotted a thickset, hooked-nose brute clutching a handaxe in the direction the goblins were screaming and fleeing toward.
The brute visibly flinched, panic etched across his face.
Yeah, figures.
Just moments ago, his minions had been charging in full force, and now they were all bolting back toward him in abject terror.
Normally, running into a brute like that would've made me flinch. But this time, the moment he laid eyes on me, his body started trembling.
He's clenching his ass cheeks too.
What the hell do you take me for?!
"Fuck, you too?! You little shits! Stop! I said stop?!
I'll split your goddamn skulls if you don't!"
In the end, the brute—no, the orc—freaked out completely, hurled his axe away, and bolted.
That's when it hit me instinctively. No sharp claws or fangs needed—humans are predators, after all.
And right now, I was feeling it in every fiber of my being.
Excitement surged. Killing intent boiled up.
My teeth ground together like a beast baring its fangs.
As the orc fled, I chased after him harder than before, without even realizing it.
I was no different from a hunting dog reflexively pursuing moving prey.
Goblin or orc, I was ready to rip them apart.
Whether it was reason or instinct that made me snatch up the dropped axe, I couldn't say.
I relentlessly pursued the largest, slowest orc among the fleeing monsters and smashed the back of his head with the axe.
"Keek! Keek!"
Rough breaths heaving from my lungs, I watched the orc twitch on the ground near my feet, blood pooling from the axe buried in his skull.
After felling one, my head cleared.
Only then did the rage ebb away with each exhale.
So I didn't bother chasing the goblins fleeing into the distance anymore.
"Hah... hah... Now what?"
Having vented my pent-up fury, cold reality crashed back in like sobering up from a bender.
I'd just taken down a monster.
Definitely an orc.
Can't communicate with the locals.
No auto-translation.
Stark naked.
Indistinguishable from a monster.
A freak who terrifies even monsters, unable to speak the language, standing on this otherworldly soil.
Totally boss mob treatment right from the summon. If there's some Enlightenment or SAN value for 'going insane,' it'd be maxed out from the start.
"...So what now?"
No family, no friends, no special powers, nothing to my name—I'd have to survive alone in the wild.
Well, not nothing.
I yanked the axe from the orc's head. Crude, but it was the bare minimum for survival.
"Status Window."
Level 3
HP 50/60
STR 13
AGI 15
INT 20
LUK 10
MP 1/20
Equipment: Orc's Worn Axe
Blessing:Happy Moment
Huh? More info now.
I wanted to analyze it, but there were too few clues. No—priority one was figuring out how to improve my situation.
There had to be something. Some way. Let's calmly recap today's events first.
Woke up naked in a new world. Saved a girl being chased by goblins. Turned into a pervert and took down an orc.
"......"
The more coldly I thought about it, the more hopeless it seemed.
Guess I'd have to find a cave and start the Stone Age over in this world.
At least with the axe, I was roughly at Bronze Age level.
As I mulled over useless worries, my stomach growled.
I scanned around for something edible, but all I saw was the orc corpse.
Ugh, no way. Even Bear Grylls wouldn't pick that option.
Still rummaging through the body just in case, I felt a rumbling vibration growing closer—thud thud thud.
In the distance, a knight on horseback charged toward me, lance at the ready.
No warning shout. No hesitation. Just straight at me.
Like a runaway truck about to isekai me to yet another world.
"Whoaaaaah!!"
I rolled aside instinctively, and the lance tip whistled past where I'd stood.
Missing the strike, the knight thundered past, reined in far off, then walked the horse back toward me.
Still aiming the lance, probably catching her breath for the next charge.
"Wait! Hold on! What the hell?! I'm human!!"
The knight flinched briefly. He... no, she.
Looking closer, long hair flowed behind her, and her armor curved noticeably.
No guy wears armor decorated with a massive pair of tits, otherworld or not.
Right. A female knight straight out of manga or novels—the flower of the battlefield, golden ponytail whipping in the wind.
She seemed to catch that I was human from my words. Even without understanding the language, she got that I was pleading.
Now her gaze raked over me, scrutinizing.
"Oh shit!"
The language barrier wasn't the issue.
Assume she's a guard or escort. Here I was, buck naked before the long arm of the law that rushed in at the girl's scream.
Cops would've drawn batons or tasers. Same deal—her lance was leveled right at me.
Clop clop.
Finishing her scan, she advanced with the lance still trained on me.
Ah... yeah. No sign of standing down.
She closed to a certain distance, then spurred her horse.
Thud thud thud thud!!
My glorious physique must've cranked her seriousness to 200%.
Felt like a maxed-out rage ultimate was incoming. Probably couldn't dodge this one.
Day one in this world, getting exterminated by a human—not even the Demon King—like some monster.
"!@#!@!%!%"
Resigned, I watched as a small shadow suddenly darted in, blocking the knight.
"!?"
The knight yanked the lance back and veered her horse sharply.
It was the girl I'd just rescued. She was protecting me!
"(Reshi, what are you doing?! It's dangerous!)"
"(Lady Ferio, please stop! This person just saved me! He chased off the goblins and took down the orc!
He's my lifesaver!)"
I couldn't understand their words, but her gestures painted the picture.
Good thing she recognized I'd saved her.
Mid-conversation, the girl glanced at me and blushed, quickly looking away.
Wait—what?!
Pretty sure she just checked out my body, not my face. My nakedness... down there... right??
Whatever. Too late to cover up now.
Fine, I'll own it—I'm a naked caveman. No dignity left to worry about.
"(Well... it's a bit embarrassing, but...)"
"(...Naked?)"
Now the knight eyed me openly.
What was she checking?
So blatant it tickled all over.
The axe?
Oh, right. I'd been gripping the orc's axe this whole time without realizing.
I tossed it away to signal no hostility. Guess I'd been the naked axe-wielding perv until now. She'd have pulled a gun, not a taser.
Anyway, she seemed to get the gesture.
"(Understood. Seems you're a wanderer with circumstances. Since you're her benefactor, I'll treat you as a guest.)"
The knight rode past the girl to stand before me.
"(Wanderer, forgive my earlier attack—I didn't know your situation. You look pitiful, so take this.)"
She unclasped her cloak and handed it over.
No language needed to get the meaning.
Suddenly...
All the emotions I'd bottled up surged to my throat.
"Kuh... Thank god. This place... snif snif... is a world... with people... huhuhu...."
The cloak was warm. And it smelled good. Her scent, probably?
So reassuring, that warmth and aroma.
Sniff sniff...
"......"
"(Reshi, did he really not do anything creepy? Be honest—no need to be scared.)"
I caught her cautiously gripping her lance tighter, but who cares.
"(Really, really fine! For real!)"
The girl sneaked another peek at my lower half under the cloak. Like some flasher in broad daylight in front of girls, but whatever? My shame was caveman-level already.
Didn't want to dwell on it.
"(Um... compared to other adults, he seems pretty... healthy?
Really—not in a weird way, so no need for the lance... seriously! No need at all!)"
More than that, the cloak smelled amazing. Enough to wipe my tears and just inhale.
The knight glared like "Should I kill him?" but knowing she owned the cloak made it not scary at all.
If anything, it reassured me she had common sense and culture—like a proper woman.
Guided by the two, after walking some distance, tears welled up again.
With some breathing room, my past life's miseries flooded back.
Why'd I end up like this?
Back home, I was a friendless loser with no one to lean on. Needed money to live, but debts outpaced earnings.
When I got isekai'd, I thought I'd finally escaped that hopeless grind.
But.
Who the hell wants to come to another world like this—no cheat skills, nothing?!
Who wants to suffer here too?!
God or whatever, I refuse to accept this shitty world! No empathy!
...I'll rebel somehow!!
Somehow!!
Like a salaryman who'd lost his life savings to a scam, I wept bitterly again.
And steeled myself for a new life in this new world.
No—I had to.