Boarding the Icarus

Huff. Huff…

The numbers ticking down by the second inside my head were starting to feel familiar. It had gone beyond simply seeing the digits—I could now sense the flow of time itself without any visual reference. An absolute time sense. My brain was forcibly making me understand exactly how long one second lasted and how desperately I needed to hurry.

Based on my movement speed and the terrain so far, I had roughly five minutes left to the exit. Time remaining was about fifteen minutes. That was more than enough. But right then, something new appeared on the map.

“...What the hell is this now?”

In the distance, from deep within the forest, came the sickening crunch of an entire giant tree being snapped in half. It was followed by a low, ground-shaking roar that made my skin crawl. The same instincts that had kept me alive while dodging zombie hordes were screaming at me. This isn’t something I should mess with right now.

The core of farming was controlling your greed. I chose a wide detour around the sinister blinking red zone. It would cost me an extra three minutes, but that was a cheap price for guaranteed safety.

During the detour, I found an unexpected harvest. Small, hard fruits were scattered around the bases of the trees. They looked a bit like coconuts but not quite. When I cut one open with my knife, it was filled with clean, sweet liquid.

My bundle was already at capacity. In the end, I had to take out a few of the mango-peaches ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I’d collected earlier and leave them on the ground. It hurt to do it, but in the apocalypse, clean hydration was worth more than food. I had no regrets.

There were other strange resources all around that caught my eye, but the limits of what I could carry and the remaining time forced me to swallow my greed. Right now, securing food and water for survival was the top priority.

Less than four minutes remained until the exit. The distance was under two hundred meters. The pack was heavy, but as long as I didn’t start crawling, I would definitely make it.

The moment relief washed over me and strength returned to my steps, I heard a rustle. A single yellow dot on the mental map began shooting straight toward my position at terrifying speed. I immediately dropped the bundle on the ground. If a fight was coming, I couldn’t afford to be weighed down.

Knife in one hand, pistol in the other, I aimed in the direction the map indicated. Five seconds, factoring in distance and obstacles. At most, it would appear in front of me in five seconds.

5. 4. 3. 2.

Bang! Bang-bang-bang-bang—!

The instant something appeared before my eyes, I pulled the trigger. A sharp scream tore out as the creature clutched its face and rolled across the ground. I’d gotten lucky. Even in that split-second panic, I’d managed to land a clean hit on its face.

It looked like a furry beast, but it wasn’t the monkey the map had warned about. It resembled a feline predator. Shockingly, even after eating an entire magazine, it was still twitching and trying to stand. With shaking hands, I smoothly swapped the magazine and took careful aim at the creature’s head as it writhed on the ground.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The moment the fresh magazine clicked in, I put round after round into the feline predator’s skull until its movements stopped completely. After one final violent spasm, it went still.

I caught my ragged breath and examined the thing.

“......What the hell is this?”

It was definitely a feline predator, but nothing like any animal I knew. Its body was covered in dark green fur that gleamed with a bizarre metallic sheen, as if steel wires had been densely embedded throughout. That explained how it had survived a magazine and a half. Most of the bullets had either deflected off or lodged in that steel-like coat. The actual cause of death wasn’t penetration—the sheer impact energy from the pistol rounds had transmitted straight through to the brain, causing a fatal concussion. As a result, the hide itself was completely undamaged.

I had no idea how to properly dress an animal. I lacked the tools, and I certainly didn’t have time to skin this bizarre hide. But the System was offering to do it for me?

My hesitation was brief. The meat and sinew were tempting, but what I wanted most right now was obviously that tough hide.

“Hide.”

The moment I made my choice, the panther’s corpse was enveloped in blue light. The flesh vaporized as if evaporating, leaving behind a single well-processed hide that dropped onto the ground with a soft thud.

“Ha. This is actually insane.”

I didn’t even have time to marvel. I put my jumper back on, spread out the steel-furred hide, and swept all the scattered items into it. Tying the four corners together and slinging it over my back turned it into an excellent makeshift backpack.

Less than two minutes remained. The designated exit was the entrance to an old building covered in vines. It showed traces of a fairly advanced civilization, but it looked like no one had been here for a very long time. Had there been some reason people once lived in the middle of such a dangerous forest?

The closer I got, the more blue light vibrated out through the gaps. I clutched the bundle tightly to my chest and threw myself into that blue glow.

A strange floating sensation flipped my organs over once, and the moment I opened my eyes again, I was hit by the musty smell of dust that stung my lungs. I was back. Back in my ruined world. Fortunately, the leather bundle hanging on my back proved this wasn’t a dream.

“It wasn’t… a dream.”

I carefully set the steel-furred bundle on the floor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and untied it. The peach-like fruits and coconut-like fruits I’d brought back gave off a sweet aroma. I stored them inside a plastic box I kept in the warehouse. I didn’t want my precious food supply getting contaminated by dust.

Next, I used my dagger to split open one of the coconut-like fruits from the forest. It was filled with clear, transparent liquid. I’d already drunk until my stomach felt like it would burst back in the forest, but after running for my life all the way here, I was thirsty again.

Gulp. Gulp.

The sweet, cool liquid sliding down my throat finally cleared my head. It was hard to believe that only a few dozen minutes ago I’d had a pistol in my mouth, waiting to die.

I lay back for a moment and caught my rough breathing. For now, I had survived. On the verge of dying from dehydration and starvation, I had miraculously extended my life. If I rationed carefully, this was enough to last a week.

I opened my status window once more.

“One day…”

In one day, I could return to that abundant place. A place overflowing with clean ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠water and food. Honestly, living in that forest with a stake in the ground seemed far easier than stubbornly surviving in this ruined Seongwon City.

But I couldn’t ignore the warning the System had spat out.

My survival instincts—the same ones that had kept me alive until now—were telling me not to ignore that warning. So what should I do now?

I had to prepare to cross dimensions again. Why? Because thirty minutes spent risking my life in that forest was dozens of times more valuable than spending all day digging through trash heaps in this fucked-up city. There was no reason not to go.

First, I picked up the ammo box I’d tossed aside. There was still a bit of ammunition left that could fill some magazines. I replenished the rounds I’d used on the forest panther. Click. After loading the magazine into the pistol and chambering a round, my mind felt a little steadier. I now had the capacity to respond if something attacked me.

Next was the backpack. It was a little worn and had holes, but it was better than nothing. This time I’d be able to bring back far more than if I went empty-handed.

Then I spread out the steel-furred hide. It still gave off that metallic gleam. Its astonishing defensive power had withstood a magazine and a half from a pistol. It would easily deflect zombie teeth or the crude blades of looters. It would also protect me from any threats coming my way.

Trimming this tough hide with my rusty knife was beyond difficult—it was impossible. Instead, I used some twine and duct tape I’d scavenged from the corner of the warehouse to create a crude vest that covered my chest and back. When I layered the leather vest over the old backpack and put it on, a reassuring weight pressed down on my shoulders. Now even the worn-out backpack would be protected from most impacts.

What next? Rest. I chewed and swallowed the fruit without holding back. To me, these fruits and the coconut-like ones seemed to contain the power to restore my malnourished body to health. I’d gotten lucky and survived this time, but there was no guarantee I’d be lucky again. If I didn’t want to die, I needed to keep my body in peak condition.

After a short meal, I hugged the gun to my chest and closed my eyes. I needed to rest deeply until the cooldown was over.

I closed my eyes.

I scanned my surroundings and began a final check. Backpack—good. Makeshift leather vest—good. Sharpened knife and loaded pistol—good. And my body, restored by the fruit’s vitality.

This should be perfect.

This time, my goal wasn’t simply to keep myself fed. Food was basic. I needed to secure more survival supplies that could qualitatively change my life in this world. The forest wasn’t just a place with food, after all. Fire-starting tools, medicinal herbs, lumber—I organized the list in my head while staring at the blinking message in my vision.

Obviously yes. The moment I chose it, the world shook with that strange floating sensation. I would be sent to another world full of food and water again.

With that pleasant expectation, I opened my eyes—only to be greeted by something completely different from the refreshing scent of a forest.

“...Huh?”

A cold metallic smell stabbed at my nose.

“No, what the fuck is this?”