The stench of blood grows stronger, making me want to puke, but I continue to walk through the dense, silver mist forest with my hands covering my nose. There’s even a rotting smell trying to punch its way through.

Despite the stench, there’s no sign of its source. The only things around me are blood, damaged armor and clothes, swords and spears, arrows and shields.

What happened here? And what is that smell? It smells rotten, but there’s no body in sight. Just weapons and arrows piercing the forest everywhere. Is this where the battle was? But where are the bodies?

The weapons and armor are scattered everywhere, blood is everywhere, and the armor and clothes are damaged. However, some armor is still intact. Perhaps I could use it...

With that thought, I pick the lightest intact armor: a leather vest to protect my body, iron bracers for my hands, paired with leather gloves, and iron boots for my feet. The most useful item I find is a belt used to carry a katana or sword. It has a blue crystal beside it, but I don’t pay much attention to it. I wear the belt around my waist, place my katana on the left side for a quick unsheathing with my right hand, and pocket the blue crystal because it’s beautiful.

Nice. With this, I am now protected. Hehe, luckily there’s still armor that’s not damaged. Ahh, it feels good wearing this. And there’s even a blue crystal on the belt. Well, it’s pretty, I guess. I can put it in my pocket and think of it as a souvenir. Hmm... wait, there’s something under the tree...

Noticing something as it breaks my happiness for wearing such armor, I walk slowly toward it, closing the distance little by little until it’s just below my feet. I crouch and see a gun on the ground.

This is... This is a gun...

It is a sleek, obsidian-black gun adorned with intricate silver runes. It features a long, engraved barrel and a seven-chamber cylinder. The grip is made from darkwood wrapped in dragon-hide leather, and the hammer is shaped like a dragon’s claw. Curious, I pick it up and open the cartridges to see if it can still serve as a long-range weapon. There are two crystal bullets inside, but I cannot remove them, as if they are stuck.

A crystal bullet? Shouldn’t it be metal? Well, at least I have a long-range weapon now. With this, I can play it safe by keeping my distance. Hehe, this is useful. The only problem is that it only has two bullets. I guess whoever owned this used it to fight, but they died instead. Yet the body is nowhere in sight...

My body shook with the thought: What if that happened to me? But I calmed myself down because the more I panicked and made myself anxious, the less likely I'd survive. So I told myself to stop dwelling on it and instead focus on positive thoughts.

If there really was a battle here with humans, seeing all the weapons scattered around must mean that humans exist in this world. Perhaps they are just outside this forest, which would imply there's a safe place nearby. I could gather intel there, and who knows, I might even remember who I am. Hehe.

But as enticing as it may sound, I can't dismiss the possibility of other living beings here. If there was a battle, who were their enemies? It could be human against human, but it could also involve monsters or something even worse. But who cares? As long as there are humans and a safe place, I can still find refuge. I just need to be cautious.

With a positive smile, I stood up, trying to calm myself down. I couldn't afford to panic; losing focus here could be fatal. So, I took one last look at the forest and the scattered items before continuing my walk into this creepy forest.

...

After an hour of walking, the blood and scattered armor are nowhere to be seen. Despite walking too far, the stench of rot still lingers, but the smell of blood has vanished. All I can see are the towering trees, four times larger than me, but they pale in comparison to the tree I woke up under. The thick silver mist blurs my sight, and my legs tremble from all the walking I've done. At this point, fear begins to grip me.

Am I lost? Is there even an end in this forest? Am I lost now? What if I get stuck here? I have to find a way. I need to esca...

As my sight becomes blurred, I fall down, halting my thinking. Suddenly, a footstep is heard from my right side, the sound growing stronger with each step taken. In reaction, I quickly turn my head, trying to find out what it is. And I am frozen in fear and shock the moment I see what it is, paralyzed at this moment.

Wh-what the fuck...

It was a tall, skinny human with a reddish body covered in black liquid. Its eyes were missing, as if they were gouged out, and its bones were visible through its thin frame. It didn't even have any fat, and the scariest part was its mouth, which was so large that it reached its ears. It felt like it could devour a single adult male and many children.

I didn't dare to move. My gun was in my right hand, but I didn't dare to fight him because the distance between us was too close. I knew at that moment that I shouldn't make any sound. The katana was at my waist, along with the book. I wasn't even breathing, as my chest tightened, making it harder to breathe. My mind was hazy, but I didn't dare to panic because if I did, I wouldn't even know what would happen to me.

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Is he gone?...

When three minutes passed and I completely couldn't see him anymore, I stood up slowly, trying not to make any sound while gripping the gun. My hands and feet were trembling in fear.

What was that?... Hahhh, so there really is a monster living here. Now I'm sure of it. I need to leave here as fast as I can...

With that in my mind, I took a step with my right foot, ready to leave this creepy forest when suddenly a branch cracked under my foot.

Crack...

In reaction, I looked down and saw the small branch beneath my feet. Suddenly, a chilling temperature enveloped me from behind, accompanied by a stinky breath. I froze, unable to look back, but I heard the sound of an old man trying to open something slowly. I knew I needed to make a move and a decision quickly.

But my body was frozen in fear. So i bit my tongue, jolting myself back to reality, and managed to move and run. I tripped, though, and was able to saw what was behind me. It was the monster from earlier, its mouth wide open as it tried to devour me.

Fear was written all over my face. I didn't know what to do as a flood of thoughts overwhelmed me. Before I could think of anything, the monster mercilessly charged at me. As I tripped, I reacted instinctively, using the gun in my right hand.

Bang...

The monster fell, screaming in pain. I took the chance to run away as fast as I could, glancing back repeatedly. I saw the monster recovering from the bullet, so I ran even faster until I couldn't see him anymore.

There's a monster... Hahhh, damn it, where do I go? How did he get behind me? I'm sure I saw him leave; I even waited! Fuck...

As I ran as fast as I could through the creepy forest, an angry scream echoed behind me, followed by footsteps growing louder. I couldn't see properly because of the silver mist covering the whole forest, but I knew he was coming.

Fuck, damn it, did he already recover? What do I do? At this rate, he's going to catch me.

In a rush, I made a last-minute decision to hide. The monster was already in the area, so I found a spot among the trees, hoping he wouldn't find me.

I sat at the base of the tree, not making any sound or movement. The monster had no eyes, so I knew it would have a hard time finding me. But how did he get behind me earlier?

Did he have good hearing abilities that allowed him to hear the crack of a branch from far away? And the way he managed to catch me so fast—is that how he was able to sneak up on me despite my precautions? Damn it...

I didn't dare move or stand up, knowing he was still nearby. The monster continued to scream in anger, the sound echoing through the whole forest.

Terrified, I remained silent, my mouth bleeding from the bite I had inflicted earlier. The monster, unable to find me, ran wildly, destroying everything in its path. It was so fast that I couldn't keep up with its movements as it ran back and forth, tearing through the trees in its rage.

I could sense the monster growing impatient as its screams grew louder, as it almost breaks my eardrums. I covered them with both hands, but the sound was still deafening. Red liquid started to drip from my ears. The pain was intense, paired with the burning sensation in my mouth. Blood dripped from my eyes, and my heartbeat grew louder. My hands trembled with fear, but I had no choice but to remain silent; who knows what would happen to me otherwise.

The monster was in front of me, causing chaos in the forest as it destroyed trees with ease, despite them being much larger than it. However, at that moment, I saw something that should have never been seen. The tree that the monster destroyed began to repair itself. Inside the tree, I saw with my own wide-open eyes that there were hundreds of adult humans. It was as if the tree was a living being devouring humans.

Then suddenly, I noticed a single human being covered by countless corpses inside the tree. He was still alive, laughing crazily. This was madness, and I saw it happening with my own eyes.

The ground where the monster ran in chaos almost broke apart. There was a hand buried in the ground. At that moment, I finally knew what the rotting smell that I had been detecting earlier and the missing bodies in the forest despite it being covered in blood. They were everywhere—the forest was alive.

The monster then suddenly stopped and started sniffing as if it were smelling something. Its mouth curved into a grin that reached its ears. It was in front of me, and I was frozen in fear. The monster then turned its head and stared at me with its missing eyes. It knew I am here, and I knew I am fucked.

The monster walked slowly at me as if he is telling me there was no way to run anymore his grin tell me he was laughing at how foolish i am thinking i would be able to run away from him my body was frozen in fear as they trembled the more steps he take and i also tried to move backwards but the tree in my back was in the way.

Hahh... Fuck, did he fucking smell me? Was it my blood? Hahh, fuck...

I couldn't speak from fear. My right hand held the gun with only one bullet remaining, and the sword was at my left side on my waist. I didn't know whether to fire the gun again or use the sword, but I knew I shouldn't use the sword since I had no experience wielding it. My best bet was the gun. With a click, I pointed it towards the monster, but it responded with a quick slash, and my head was beheaded at that moment.

Waking up from that vision, the monster was in front of me, slowly approaching. I touched my neck in reaction to what had just happened.

Wh-what is that? What happened? I'm sure I was beheaded. Is that the future? ...

Before I could think further, the monster closed the distance between us. I didn't know what to do anymore—whether to use the gun or the sword. I wasn't able to make a decision as the monster raised its long, skinny arm, ready to slash me again. I moved backward once more until I felt the tree at my back. Suddenly, I felt something crush in my pocket.

A blue circle of light started to appear around me, and a blue wind began to envelop me. The monster slashed at me just as the light appeared, making a very deep wound on my chest, ripping my body and the leather armor vest I was wearing with ease. The force knocked me against the tree, hitting my head so hard it left a crack. Luckily, I was able to block some of the damage with the iron bracers on my arm, but it still left severe damage on my body. Then the blue light completely covered me, and I vanished together with the light, leaving the monster behind in the forest.

...

Three people were talking; they were discussing something. My head was pounding, and my chest and arm were burning.

Wh-who? Where am I now? Wait, the monster— I need to run. Sa-saved me...

My mind was blank; I couldn't think properly. But hearing people talking, I wanted to ask for help. Yet, my mouth couldn't open. It was hot; my body was burning, and my sight started to black out. So, using my last energy, I managed to croak, "sa-saved me, please." It was a pitiful plea, but I didn't care; surviving was what mattered most. Then, a person approached me. However, I couldn't see their face; my sight was blacking out. But a breath of relief washed over me as I closed my eyes and lost consciousness, ready to rest.

Im saved now right?...