Having made his way back, White noticed that a campfire was lit.

"I'm back..." He cautiously said as his foot passed through the translucent barrier.

"Oh, welcome back."

The conversation ended there.

White quickly racked his brains for one. He thought of asking if Shinri was bathing as well, but it somehow felt inappropriate.

All the fighting from earlier and being in a place filled with the stench of goblins must've caused some amount of perspiration and odor on the adventurer, but Shinri didn't seem to smell at all.

Shinri sat down on a stump across the young man after setting down two straw beds nearby.

"Is that... not going to be a problem?" White pointed.

"We're fine. It's hard for monsters to see anything beyond this field. Plus I've cleared out the surroundings too just in case."

"I see..."

The two sat across each other before the campfire.

When he saw that White was looking intently at the bread he was chewing on, Shinri broke it into two and shared it with him.

"T-Thank you..."

(Hard!)

The bread was as hard as a rock as White desperately bit into it. It also had no taste at all. Seeing the young man struggling with his food, Shinri chuckled.

"...It's nothing fancy, but at least it fills the stomach."

Like Shinri had said, food was food. He had retrieved his belongings when he fell down into the dungeon, but the pouch that contained his food reserves had been squashed completely from the fall.

"Here, some water."

"Th-Thank you..."

No one spoke a word after that short exchange. The two lingered in this quiet atmosphere for a few minutes, eating silently. Staring down at the flickering campfire in a daze, the flame danced and illuminated the nest of twigs. 

The fire crackled and spitted out embers which seemed like stars in the night.

White looked at the masked adventurer across him. A gust of wind blew occasionally, letting a few of Shinri's crimson hair flutter along his forehead. He still couldn't see what his face looked like as Shinri had eaten the bread swiftly without removing the kitsune mask.

His hair was surprisingly long. ...No, that wasn't the point, he could see a well-trained stature from the way Shinri was sitting, someone who wouldn't falter against the sight of monsters. That probably was the true spirit of an 'adventurer'.

White felt that he was about to come to an answer, but he still wasn't sure what he actually wanted ever since coming to this world. Was this 'second life' really worth all the dangers it entailed? The young man began to wallow in self-doubt, but because he was already very exhausted, White did not keep it up for very long.

...Eventually, his eyelids began to turn heavier. 

"----Are you scared?"

Just as he was about to sleep, Shinri's collected voice broke him out of his reverie. 

"...Of this world? It's your first day in this world, right? But you seem so calm all the time, are you perhaps just holding it inside?"

Shinri continued nonchalantly as he poked the firewood with a long stick.

"I've seen the otherworlders... once before, they were the heroes that were summoned from Earth, and were extremely powerful. But you're not one of them, are you? You must have been here as a stray, without any special powers or protection like the heroes. Aren't you afraid?"

Was this Shinri's way of showing concern? Asking a question like that, it was definitely roundabout. 

"Am I afraid? If I was as strong as Shinri-san, maybe I wouldn't."

The adventurer seemed to flinch when he heard that, and then he looked down solemnly.

"I... I'm not strong, enough."

"..."

White didn't say anything further, but it did get him thinking.

He pondered over that simple question. Many ideas swirled around inside his head, but he could not come to a conclusion. It didn't seem like he was being chased for an answer. As a result, White spent a long time staying silent.

'Are you afraid?'

A question of self-reflection caused him to think seriously about his experience thus far.  About his first day here, and the things he had seen.

True, he had gone through many painful, scary things, even coming across a corpse. White had thought that his heart would leap out of his chest then----

He had been lacking in strength, ability to protect himself... Things did not go the way he wanted to, and White began to feel distrust about the things he had learnt from the game. This world wasn't as simple as it seemed. The implications of a reality merged with a game had created many variables impossible to predict. It was a foolish notion for him to imitate the protagonists in these stories, to 'relive' their experiences and choose the right decisions. 

In truth, it was impossible to predict anything. Forest A wasn't Forest A at all. The fact that goblins had appeared, a dungeon existed was also because it was actually a dangerous region called the "Rotting Forest". Adventurers exist just like a trope, but it didn't mean that they were as glorified as they were described to be. 

From the incident with the goblins, White felt a sense of realism about his predicament. Monsters were terrifying creatures which took human lives indiscriminately, and humans who relied on weapons and skills had to constantly live on edge. This was a world where these kinds of things happen frequently, and the existence of fighters known as 'adventurers' probably became the curb for its existence. But these adventurers could not respawn like in the game, and this was the case for White now.

If he died, he wouldn't be given a retry.

White looked up at the moon obscured by the clouds in the starry night, and pondered over many things.

Because he had been so idealistic, he had almost lost his life to monsters. Had it not been Shinri who happened to be here for an adventurer's task, he would not longer be standing here.

"...Before that, Shinri-san... would you mind telling me the reason why you saved me back then? Wouldn't it have been better to avoid risking your life to help me?"

"...Why so suddenly... didn't I tell you earlier, those goblins..."

"---I'm not talking about the goblins. I know you are strong with the sword."

"Eh?"

The adventurer seemed to be shocked that White had taken the initiative to say something like that.

"Your body... I remembered that it made you react strangely when you used your healing spell on me. To be both a swordsman and a magician at the same time..., is it a common thing in this world? If not... i-is that the reason why you didn't feel well after using it?"

"...You even know about something like that, White-kun... you're probably familiar with games huh."

Seeing White nod in response, Shinri looked up at the sky slowly, and sighed.

"Well you're not exactly wrong, but it's true that I would have been better off if I didn't use the healing spells on you.

...As to why I saved you, it is a personal reason which I don't wish to share. We all have our moral codes, don't we. After judging that it was on a manageable degree, I simply followed them and did so, is all."

"...Do spells create a strain on one's body usually?"

"...No, it's a personal weakness of mine. I cannot use spells excessively due to something that happened in the past..."

Saying so, Shinri's voice became lower. It seemed like he really didn't want to talk about it. In any case, he thought that being saved for such a obscure reason only made this strange feeling inside of his chest even harder to describe.

"Everyone... has one or two secrets that they can't tell anyone about. It is better to keep those depressing feelings as determination. That is what it means to live. What about you, White?" 

"W-Well... It's a lot to take in so I'm not sure what I am feeling exactly, but if anything, I feel... fortunate, that I'm still alive talking like this."

White replied honestly as he held his hands together.

"..." The adventurer remained silent.

"Shinri-san... I want to thank you again. Because of you, I wasn't killed by goblins. I don't have plans moving forward so I don't exactly know what I should do from now on. I'm weak because I don't know anything about this world...

But after acquainted with a reliable person like Shinri-san, I think what I am lacking right now is knowledge, and strength. I want to strive to become someone like Shinri-san, that is why I think... I want to become an adventurer too."

To be an adventurer this way. In order to learn about monsters, to level up and become stronger, so something like having his life threatened by goblins would never happen ever again...

He only had one life. Whether it was a dragon, a direwolf, an ogre, a slime or a goblin... They all had the ability to take his life if he was not careful.

"...I see... I understand."

Having heard his thoughts, Shinri stood up and stared down at the young man.

"I won't advise you against it, but I wouldn't agree on that decision of yours either. I can feel your resolution. The desire to grow stronger, that is what drives the fuel of the gruelling jobs an adventurer is tasked with."

White looked up at Shinri attentively, who was cue of telling him something important next.

"It can't be helped... I'll teach you the ropes then, ...at least until we get out of this forest." 

"S-Shinri-san!"

"But don't get your hopes up too much. It's only the basics. Anything more, and you would have to learn them yourself from the beginning. The staff in the guild will tell you those when you reach the city."

"...Thank you."

"Rest up now, we'll begin early tomorrow."

"I understand... then... good night."

"... ...Good night."

Snuffing out the flames, the two slept on a bed of hay apart from each other. Darkness fell upon the campsite quickly and the once, abated lethargy began to sink into the young man.

The end of an agreement and a resolution to become stronger, marked the end of White's first day in the new world. In his fleeting consciousness, White prayed for things to get better in the near future.

 

---

  

"---nee... onee-chan... Onee-chan, wake up-----"

...Within a blurry haze... I could see a girl with pale blue hair looking down at me.

"Wake up please... please save me..."

As she came closer to me, I saw those cerulean blue eyes clearly.

"Hurry---- wake up! Help... ....HELP!"

My hand reached out unconsciously towards this girl who keeps calling that name. 

But it was a second too late, the face became disfigured with a mask of worms. They squirmed around erratically and consumed the girl----

"HELP! HELP ME----!"

 

---

 

"Haa-aaah!!!"

The eyes of the young man were opened forcefully. Waking up in cold sweat, White consciously traced the corners of his face. Realizing that his mask hadn't been taken off, he began to slowly calm down his rapid heart beat.

It was a strange and horrible dream.

...Huh?

What... was he dreaming about anyway---? Shaking off those hazy thoughts, the young man rubbed his forehead and raised his upper body. Perhaps the feeling of trepidation in his sleep was just an aftereffect carried over from the incident yesterday.

Looking around him, he realized that the sun was about to rise. He had unexpectedly woken up rather early. The forest was no longer as dark and scary as it was in the night, and the sun's rays passed the miniscule gaps through the leaves on trees, creating glitter when seen from above.

Shinri was nowhere to be seen, however. But knowing that person, he was probably out somewhere for a reason, and would return later. He probably had not expected White to wake up so early.

First he decided to look at the wound that was only partially healed yesterday. After a day's rest, his wounds looked a less noticeable now. Since his body was already feeling much better, White looked at his status to confirm it.

 

[!] Skill updated. 

Did he acquire「Pain Reduction」from being 'used to it'? Just like how he had learnt 「Nature Crafting」, skills really seemed to be collected from 'experience'. And this 'experience' would in turn become 'knowledge' that creates the substance for a skill.

Deciding to test it out immediately, White pinched his arm as hard as he could.

It still hurt, but if he really concentrated and tried to observe the differences more carefully, he felt that it didn't hurt as much as before. He couldn't dismiss the idea that perhaps this was possibly just a placebo effect. But if the level was higher, he might feel its effects to a more observable degree.

The implications of losing the sense of pain was huge if his goal was to become an adventurer in this world. Possibly, the system was designed this way so that humans in this world could ignore the limitations of their bodies and become an existence closest to that of a 'player'. This way, HP and MP would become unbound by the 'fear to receive damage' in the first place.

It was probable how adventurers came to be. Because of their need to be 'hurt', they would awaken to and develop「Pain Reduction」further in order to fight stronger monsters. 

Right now, White only had the passive at Level 1, so he would probably still have to develop it further from now on. That meant that he was given an incentive to 'take damage'?

(In other words, I have to hurt myself strong enough to gain 'experience' on pain.)

White coughed dryly at the thought of being lashed several times just to level up his skill.

 ...Or was he wrong? How would the skill develop from now on? He had already decided not to rely on the game mechanics too much, and even then he didn't know if SP, or skill points still existed in this parallel world. It would become far more convenient then.

White decided to confirm his doubts later when Shinri had returned.

For the time being, he decided to take another bath to clean off the sweat on his body.

 

---

 

Within a few minutes of walking, White had returned to the lake from yesterday. In the morning, the water now looked clean and blue. There were pebbles below it and some fish swimming around. It was surprising animals still lived properly in this world after being evaluated cruelly low on the food chain. Or did animals co-exist with monsters? White had even more questions as he began to think about how this world that had incorporated monsters worked.

After removing his worn-out equipment, the young man dipped his leg into the water for a few cautious dabs to gauge the temperature. It happened to be just perfect, neither too hot nor too cold. White soaked his body into the fairly shallow lake and cleaned himself. When he was done, he moved on to scrub the dirt off his clothes. He also took off his mask and washed off the dirt on the interior.

As he was doing so, White suddenly felt a breeze brushing past his cheeks. Closing his eyes at that very moment, White body dipped down to avoid the chill. When it had passed, his eyes opened and just then, at the peripheral of his eyes-----

He thought he saw a person.

At first he thought he was hallucinating, but when he narrowed his eyes----Across the lake, a young woman with pointy ears was soaked in the water as well, her blonde hair wet with water droplets. Their eyes met then, and immediately White could only think of a single word.

...Elf. He had really seen an elf. White was stunned. It was absolutely an elf. A female elf at that! White trudged his legs in the water towards that enchanting figure with anticipation. But before he could even reach her, ...she had ran back to the other side of the forest.

"..."

White was confused at the elf's reaction. Did he scare her? ...Of course he did. Looking at his body currently naked from head to toe, White felt that he had done a very embarassing thing. 

After dipping himself back into the water, he decided to reflect on himself. He was still a little light-headed in the morning, so he hadn't thought too much about what he was doing at all.

In any case, White realized that he had also gained a new piece of information. The elves' settlement that he was looking for, was actually just nearby!

What should he do after this? He didn't want to stay another night in this place, but he also wanted to check out the elves too. If he could still trust the game, they would offer him the passive skill:「Experience Boost」.

 

 

White who was deep in thought, did not realize where he had swam to within this lake. Even though it had already happened once, White had still not entertained the idea in his head, that the lake had someone using it before him.

Splash—

(...Someone is here...?)

In that instant, White heard the sound of someone in the water behind him. And he turned to look on instinct-----

The sound of water resounded through the trees. White opened his mouth wide in shock and stood stock still. There was a girl. In front of his eyes was a naked girl.

On top of that, he thought, she was a cute girl.

She had large eyes with amber pupils and lustrously moist cherry-red lips. Her white skin was as smooth as milk and dazzling. Her beautifully slender legs disappeared below the water's surface.

However, what caught his eye more than anything was her blazingly crimson red hair that clung to her gorgeous, porcelain-like body. As his line of sight moved even lower, he could even see... a tattoo...?

But that wasn't the most important thing. He needed to highlight the fact that she was, indeed naked with him. The girl being naked, was the most important thing.

No, what the hell was he thinking?

No good. Naked is no good.

......Speaking of which, he ought to run away.

The rational part of his brain was certainly telling him to run.

However, his body wouldn't move. It was as if he was enchanted. The scene was just too surreal.

White felt a cold sweat begin to form on his back.

For someone who had not seen something like this for years, there was a disconnect in his brain. But surely, his instincts was trying to move his body away from this situation.

"..."

 "...Aha... ahahaha..."

The girl—Her moist and beautiful eyes blinked as she looked at the intruder who had appeared quite suddenly. Her expression was blank. It seemed like she had yet to fully grasp the situation.

She had not even covered her supple breasts yet.

---Twip.

A water droplet fell from the young girl's bangs.

With that sound, White finally regained his senses.

"Ah—Err...,"

He stumbled over his words. He tore his gaze from the naked girl who was still standing there without moving.

"I-I guess I should say... this is a huge accident... okay? I-It is... definitely... an unfortunate, really unfortunate accident for the both of us... So you will believe me right, i-if I said that I don't have any ulterior motives..."

An icy silence fell, or was it just his imagination. Nope, definitely not. That kind of pressure emanating out of the girl before him was, undoubtedly frightening.

The girl slowly raised her arm, crimson hair coiling around its length. Her shoulders shook slightly. It wasn't because she was cold, however, White was oblivious to that fact. 

...Wait, crimson hair?

Unfortunately, White's dazed expression seemed to be interpreted wrongly, as the girl finally spoke.

"...Haven't you seen enough?"

With that sombre voice, tone so chilly that White could feel the frost ensnaring his entire body, she spoke.

Yes. He should get out.

Immediately, should he value his life. Such a cliche would almost inevitably end up with him having broken bones, and so the young man escaped. He had ran so quickly out of the lake that he was creating tailwind behind him.