The First Battle
I kept my guard up, scanning the surroundings without letting my tension ease for even a moment. The sun had already set long ago, leaving only a massive moon hanging in the sky. With thick clouds blanketing the heavens right now, the moonlight barely reached the ground. And the towering trees overhead blocked what little light there was even further.
Damn it. I should've left the fire going if I knew this would happen.
Since I'd planned to sleep and move out early the next morning, I'd put out the campfire. That decision had come back to bite me. No helping it now. I closed my eyes, then opened them again, letting my vision adjust to the pitch-black night.
I could sense unidentified monsters closing in from all around. At least two, maybe three. The ones moving in a pack were 6th Grade Dire Wolves. They looked similar to the wolves we all know, but in the original story, Dire Wolves possessed teeth as hard as steel and often traveled with 8th Grade Grey Wolves.
Even beginners could handle 6th Grade monsters without too much trouble if they had decent gear. The real problem was that Dire Wolves brought their 8th Grade minions along. In short, they liked to gang up on you. Their mobility was faster than a newbie's, and their damage output was surprisingly high when they attacked in numbers. They fought incredibly dirty.
Besides, this was reality. An actual existing world. There was no telling what variables might appear. This was my first time wielding a sword over a meter long, and the monsters coming to kill me made my body tremble slightly despite myself.
I'd practiced swinging the sword on the way here, but there was no time to hesitate. Just as I'd predicted, a Dire Wolf and several 8th Grade monsters emerged from the underbrush. Seeing the Dire Wolf in person, it looked well over two meters tall. The killing intent radiating from the monsters as they crept closer with their glowing red eyes only heightened my nerves.
These bastards liked to gang up, but the Dire Wolf wouldn't step forward at first. If there was ever a chance, it was now...
As I stayed alert and observed the situation, the clouds in the sky parted. Bright moonlight began to shine down on me. At the same moment, an 8th Grade Grey Wolf charged straight at me.
I gripped the sword tightly with both hands and swung it in a wide arc toward them. Though this was my first time holding a real blade in this life, it didn't feel unfamiliar at all. I planted my feet, opened my stance, and boldly thrust the sword at the first wolf that came lunging with its mouth wide open.
Shuk!
The sound of the blade sliding into its mouth, followed by the wet rip of flesh being pierced. The sword that had entered the wolf's maw was more than enough to steal its life. I tried to pull it free from the wolf's mouth, but...
"It's not coming out?"
Was it caught on the wolf's teeth? Or had I driven it in too deep? Either way, the sword wouldn't budge. I quickly released it and drew the knife from my belt. Pulling the knife out took a little too long.
The second wolf that followed right behind managed to land an attack. Grey Wolves might not be Dire Wolves, but a monster was still a monster. Its sharp, sturdy fangs sank hard into my left arm.
"Ugh!"
Adrenaline might be pumping, but it still hurt. It hurt like hell. The pain was so intense I wanted to scream. But I immediately drove the knife in my right hand into the Grey Wolf's neck.
I stabbed. And stabbed. And stabbed again. The final desperate thrust finally severed its windpipe. The wolf, its life extinguished, fell away from my arm.
"Haa..."
I caught my breath. I felt like I might collapse at any second, but it wasn't over yet. About ten meters away, the two-meter-tall wolf was staring at me with those glowing red eyes. Had it waited until its underling was taken down? Or had it held back until the very end to finish me off for sure?
The Dire Wolf simply stood there, watching me in my defenseless state without any weapons. Was it waiting until I picked up a weapon? By the way, my left arm where it had bitten me was a mangled mess. I couldn't even move it properly.
I approached the corpse to retrieve the sword I'd failed to pull out earlier. That's when the monster's body slowly began to fade, dropping an item before turning to ash and vanishing completely. I'd thought a real corpse would remain since this was the real world, but apparently they dropped items and disappeared just like in the game. It didn't vanish the instant it died like in games, but the body still disappeared all the same.
I picked up the sword from the ground and took a stance. The Dire Wolf did the same and began to howl.
The moment the howl ended, the Dire Wolf charged at me with murderous intent. I met it head-on, thrusting my sword with one hand. But my strike missed, and the creature's claws raked deeply across my back.
Could you even call that a scratch? The Dire Wolf's steel-like claws felt no different from a sword's edge. The pain was exactly like being slashed by a blade. It was so excruciating that I felt like I might lose consciousness at any moment. Blood poured from the torn and shredded wound like a waterfall.
But I immediately twisted my body and swung the blade with all my strength, slicing into its foreleg and chest. The Dire Wolf, now heavily wounded on its front leg and chest from that attack, couldn't finish me off and retreated backward. However, that last exchange had significantly reduced its mobility.
This was my only chance. The indescribable pain made me feel like I would collapse. I drew on the mana I'd been saving and began wrapping the blade in flames. Pouring out every last drop of mana I possessed, I created a Fire Sword.
The blue flames extended longer than the blade itself, raging wildly as if they might go berserk. I charged straight at the beast. The Dire Wolf, whether frightened by the flames or by the sight of me still standing despite being covered in blood, tried to flee. But with one leg half-severed and barely functional, it couldn't get far before I caught up.
Immediately after, the blade wreathed in blue flames slammed into the monster's head, and the sound that marked the end of the battle rang out.
Thud. Thud.
Once the fight was over, rain began to fall from the cloud-covered sky once again. Covered in blood, I let the sword slip from my hand and simply stared blankly up at the dark sky.
"It's over."
Dragging my exhausted body, I took out a potion from the pack I'd brought and began pouring it over my wounds. In the game it was only meant to be drunk, but the setting allowed for direct application to wounds with decent results. The moment I applied the potion, new flesh began to sprout immediately. My mangled arm returned to its original shape, and the searing pain that had accompanied every movement from my shredded back vanished.
I drank an additional recovery potion to restore my stamina, then sat down with my back against a tree. The rain had started as a drizzle but was now pouring down as if the heavens had been torn open. My wounds had healed, but the blood staining my body remained. Still, the rain from the sky was washing it away.
"It's a bit gross, but good is good."
The battle was over, and I had survived. When I looked toward where the corpses should have been, they had already vanished, leaving only the dropped items behind. I stood up again, gathered the dropped items and my belongings, and moved under the base of a large tree to escape the rain. The small space among the roots was surprisingly cozy.
I stripped off my wet clothes and covered myself with the blanket I'd bought from the shop.
"Catching hypothermia would be a problem. Can't be helped."
The blanket would get pretty dirty, but there was nothing I could do about it. It was a shame to use it once and throw it away, but since I'd be leaving the forest by tomorrow, it didn't matter. I lay down at an angle in the cozy space and stared outside. The rain would probably continue until morning.
Listening to the sound of rain in the pitch-black darkness, I tried to sleep. The unusually long night finally came to an end.
I woke up feeling less than refreshed since I hadn't slept in a proper bed. The sun hadn't fully risen yet, so it seemed to be dawn. The rain had stopped, and only the chirping of birds could be heard. I got up, stretching my stiff body, and stepped outside.
"Hmm... is it a bit chilly?"
It felt somewhat cold. Maybe because of the rain. The wind also felt quite sharp.
"Ah... right. I slept naked yesterday."
I quickly pulled spare clothes from my backpack and put them on.
"That's much better now."
After yesterday's battle, I'd learned a lot. That I was much weaker than I'd thought. That even though it was my first time holding a sword, it didn't feel awkward at all—in fact, it felt strangely familiar. It was probably due to the influence of the original owner of this body, Vern.
I'd also gained a slight sense for handling mana. Well, it's just a vague sense for now.
I'd felt it while creating the Fire Sword yesterday. Even though my mana reserves were low, I had a pretty good idea of how to use what I had.
I want to head straight to the dungeon right now, but...
My stamina didn't seem fully recovered yet. Probably because of accumulated fatigue. Although my wounds had healed, the potions weren't the highest quality, so some faint scars remained. Moreover, my mana hadn't completely recovered either.
Then I might as well move once the sun rises. My stomach was growling too. I took out some jerky from my backpack that had gotten wet from the rain yesterday and stuffed it into my mouth.
When I get back, I'll sell the items, use the money to buy a proper meal. The saying that leaving home brings hardship seems true. As expected, it's dangerous outside the blanket.