Date: September 19, 637. Time: 9:12 a.m. Location: Somewhere deep in the forest. Since the dream that caused me to open my eyes in this world, many things had happened to me. In the cave where I had involuntarily fallen asleep again, I had another dream that seemed like a continuation of the one I had seen the previous day. Once again, I found myself in the middle of that terrifying scene, but this time, it felt as if time had skipped forward, and I was experiencing the moment just before I called out to the girl. Everything was the same as before: her coat, her movements, and the positions of the objects around her. Once again, I hesitated to call out. The events from before hadn’t been pleasant, but I was still curious about who she was. What was she doing here alone? Why didn’t she have a face, and yet appeared human?
After a moment of thought, I decided to approach her without calling out this time. I wanted to try a different approach. As I walked closer to her, the wind occasionally intensified, sending dust into my mouth and face, which I had to spit out. Fortunately, she didn’t notice me. As I reached her, I realized she was drawing something on the ground with an iron rod. Just as I focused on what she was doing, the iron rod suddenly dropped, and the girl vanished. I didn’t understand what had happened. Startled by the sound of the rod hitting the rocks, I looked around and noticed some writing on the ground: ‘Do you believe in Rebirth?’
As soon as I read and understood these words, they began sinking into the soil, consuming everything around me. Everything started collapsing, and ultimately, all turned to darkness. With the incomprehensible numbers passing before my eyes once again, I opened them and found myself right where I had left off—next to the now-extinguished fire.
What could “Rebirth” mean? Was she referring to me? Was she trying to communicate with me? I had been experiencing strange things. Why was I having these dreams? Even though I had just regained my senses, I already had many questions, and searching for answers was already wearing me out. It was truly a bizarre situation. Rebirth…
At that moment, hearing footsteps alerted me that the cave’s inhabitants were returning. I needed to get out quickly, as the footsteps were coming from the direction I had entered. Going that way wasn’t an option, so I’d have to proceed to the parts of the room I hadn’t yet explored. I didn’t know if I would find an exit there, but I had no other choice.
Quickly straightening my clothes, I took one last look around the room and noticed something concerning—my footprints were visible everywhere I had walked, likely from the dirt and mud I had stepped in all day while barefoot. Although my feet had dried and wouldn’t leave fresh prints now, this meant they could still track me here. I immediately began moving toward the back areas.
As soon as I left the room, I started hearing their voices. Unfortunately, I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but I was strangely curious. At the other exit, I hid behind a pile of rubble in the corner, intending to watch the people entering the room and listen to their conversation. Considering that the path I was taking might be a dead end, I knew I might have to face them. If I was spotted, I planned to escape with all my strength.
As I focused, I realized I could clearly hear their words. I tuned in to what they were saying. There were three of them, dressed in an unusual, old-fashioned style. One wore a hat resembling a cap, a thick cream-colored jacket, and patched brown pants. He had a five-centimeter-long beard with streaks of white and pronounced lips that poked out from under his thick mustache. His words were the first ones I focused on:
“The trail ends here. Search the area thoroughly. It must be around here.”
After saying this to the other two, he began searching the room I had been in just moments before. These individuals had scarred faces, with deep cuts suggesting they had engaged in many dangerous pursuits. Thanks to the Archive and the Analyze command I had found within it, I could observe them in such detailed and informative ways. Clearly, the Archive was proving to be an even more intriguing system than I had expected. Analyze had offered an option to combine with a command called Visor, allowing me to examine things from a distance. This was a welcome development. Unfortunately, it seemed I was out of time. As the tallest of the group—a man with red eyebrows, vivid green eyes, and a white bandana—noticed the dried footprints on the ground, I realized my hiding place would soon be discovered.
Turning away, I attempted to continue my journey into unknown territories. However, as my black coat brushed against a small box on a pile of rubble, I gave away my position. They had clearly heard the noise. As soon as I started running, they began to chase after me. I tried slowing them down by knocking over piles of rubble along the path without losing speed, but my efforts weren’t particularly effective. Not knowing where I was heading, I took random turns at intersections, going left or right, until I finally noticed a light at the end of a path. It seemed I had found an exit.
I immediately turned toward the light and ran with all my strength. It felt like an impossible journey to complete. I don’t remember how long it took, but eventually, I managed to escape. I seemed to have emerged in a different part of the vast forest, where the trees and plants were of different varieties. Looking back at the cave, I could still hear the voices of those pursuing me. They knew I was searching for an exit, so it wouldn’t take them long to reach my location. I had only about fifteen seconds to figure out a way to lose them.
Just then, I heard the roar of water nearby, sparking an idea. I quickly ran in the direction of the sound, hoping to use the river’s force to throw off my pursuers. However, there was a problem. Now that I had a living body, I wouldn’t be able to breathe underwater. Along the way, I searched the Archive’s list of commands for something that could help, but I couldn’t find anything useful. It seemed that Restricted Mode was limiting my access.
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When I reached the riverbank, I was met with a wide, fast-flowing river. With the river’s powerful current, crossing to the other side seemed impossible. I needed another solution. Sitting on a large rock by the water’s edge, I resumed searching through the command list. It would be difficult for people to reach this part of the dense forest, but I suspected my pursuers weren’t limited to just those three. They would likely start coordinating a more thorough search for me soon, so I needed to act quickly. As I scrolled, a command labeled Strength caught my attention. It allowed me to temporarily enhance a part of my body for better performance and, when combined with the Endurance command, could reduce damage taken by up to eighty-seven times. Perhaps, with this combination, I could cross the river.
I had no choice but to try. I jumped off the rock and backed up about thirty meters into the trees. My new plan was as follows: after activating the Strength and Endurance commands, I would build up speed, then launch myself from the rock I had been sitting on to gain the height and power needed to clear the approximately fifty-meter-wide river and land in the shallow area on the opposite bank. I knew it would be challenging, but I felt I had enough courage to try.
After double-checking my calculations and mentally preparing myself, I began counting down in my mind. Every second mattered since the command would only last a few seconds. Three, two, one! As I activated the combination, the surrounding trees and plants shook violently as if caught in a powerful storm. I managed to soar across the entire length of the river like a bird. But just as I reached the shallow part on the other side, the command deactivated a few milliseconds too early, and I crashed painfully onto the hard ground. With the impact causing my head to accelerate, I inevitably lost consciousness for a brief moment. But surprisingly, nothing happened.
Apart from a few intense pains, my body seemed unharmed. I guessed I had a rather resilient body. Even so, I was in pain. I tried to lift myself but quickly realized it wouldn’t be easy. I began dragging myself onto dry land, as the water, though shallow, kept splashing into my mouth and eyes, which was incredibly uncomfortable. However, I had to admit something—each time I accidentally inhaled the water, I actually felt refreshed. Not sure why, but this sensation felt pleasant, so I continued breathing in the water consciously until I was safely ashore.
After a few minutes of intense effort, I finally reached the shore. I managed to turn myself over to lie facing upward, and though it was difficult, I succeeded. As the Sun cast its uncomfortable greeting upon me, I closed my eyes and reconsidered if that had been a wise idea. It had been an adrenaline-filled moment. I knew I needed some rest. The commands and the impact had left me utterly exhausted. I didn’t want to fall asleep, but the warmth of the Sun on my body felt soothing. At that moment, I felt a lightness over me; however, it wasn’t an emotional feeling. My thick black coat was gone. I immediately opened my eyes and looked toward the river, spotting some dark shapes drifting with the current. I must have lost the coat during the jump. Instinctively, I held my head—I had liked that coat.
Just then, a crowd of people across the river caught my attention. Along with the three who had been chasing me, I counted over twenty others watching me from the opposite bank. Although I couldn’t tell what they were thinking based on their expressions, it was clear they must have been puzzled by how I had crossed. I had lost them, for now. Still, I knew it was possible they could be on this side as well, so I began to lift myself once more. I would have to continue my journey into the unknown parts of the forest.
Based on my calculations, I had been walking for around thirty minutes. After finding the source of the water, I had started looking for a new goal, though nothing had yet caught my attention. I took the time to think about those people. They looked strange. The place they lived was equally strange. Did humans always live in such places? Or was it because they were involved in questionable activities that they lived there? A sound that might provide the answers distracted me, and I picked up my pace, focusing entirely on that direction.
In the depths of the forest, it sounded like the cry of a bird echoed through the trees. What could have happened? Could this be something caused by those people? I was searching for a logical reason to keep my distance from them, as per the third rule. I was close to discovering that reason. When I reached the source of the sound, I saw a bird trapped on a tree branch, struggling to free itself from a sharp, metal trap that had injured it badly enough to stain the tree and surrounding grass with blood. The trap, which kept the bird from flying away, looked like something humans had set, and it provided the reason I had been looking for.
The bird, about thirty centimeters tall, with feathers in shades of red and dark green, was clearly pleading for help. I had no reason not to help, so I started climbing the tree. I had no idea how to remove the metal device without harming the bird further, but I had no other choice but to try. I attempted to activate the Strength command from the Archive, but all I received was a message saying that the command wouldn’t be available for a while. This would make it much harder to free the animal. Although the device wasn’t large—only about the size of my hand—its metal construction made it almost impossible to break with my relatively fragile body. Almost impossible, but not entirely. An idea occurred to me.
If the Strength command was on cooldown, I needed an alternative solution. There was an option called Speed, which allowed me to temporarily increase my movement speed up to tenfold. However, due to Restricted Mode, this boost was currently limited to just ten times. If I could strike the chain at sufficient speed, it might be possible to break it. I was eager to try.
I positioned the one-meter-long chain connecting the metal device to the tree in a straight line along a sturdy branch. Now, all I had to do was activate the command and strike the chain with all my strength. For the impact to be effective, I needed to make contact with the smallest possible surface area. I flattened my hand like a blade, activated the command, and struck the chain’s side with the edge of my hand. Not only did I break the chain, but I also managed to snap the tree branch. The force of the movement sent both me and the bird tumbling to the ground.
Lying on the ground, we both looked up at the sky. Suddenly, the bird entered my field of vision and started nibbling at my hair. I assumed this was its way of thanking me. Its cries were no longer as strong as before, but each time it moved, I could tell it was still in pain. With each step it took, a faint whimper escaped. I knew I needed to find a solution for its injuries, but I was exhausted. I had used the Archive too much today, and my eyes were growing heavy. The bird’s playful tugging on my hair was relaxing me, lulling me closer to the embrace of sleep. Before long, I drifted into a deep slumber.