A child lay battered by the biting cold winds and the damp morning dew on top of a desolate hill. Any spectator would mistake the child's lifeless form for that of a cadaver. Only his faint breathing indicated the radiance of life that remained within him.

A lifeless body sprawled beside him, frozen in an eternal state of horror.

Erin was still alive despite the prior events.

Of course, there was no one nearby except for the presence of small insects that curiously refrained from approaching him.

“Ugh…”

Erin gradually regained consciousness, acutely aware of his lethargic state. The cold gnawed at his bones, dispelling any hope that he had awakened in the familiar confines of his own house back on Earth. The vastness of the surrounding forest served as a sobering reminder of his perplexing predicament.

He saw the goblin who had relentlessly pursued him when he cast a glance to his side.

Despite the ongoing challenges and uncertainties surrounding his situation, Erin couldn't help but find a sense of relief. Compared to his initial arrival in this harsh and unforgiving world, he was in a slightly better state. While he was still naked and disoriented, he was grateful to be spared from the excruciating pain he had previously experienced.

“Wait…”

He murmured, his gaze turning inward as he examined himself. To his surprise, he discovered an absence of injuries, thwarting all logic. How could he be unscathed when he had traversed the jungle without a shred of clothing? Moreover, he had undergone the brutal assailment of the goblins, narrowly escaping the disablement of his hand.

The only vestige of that encounter was a thin, almost innocuous scar on his shoulder.

“What…?”

The dissonance overtook him once again as he thought of a perpetrator. Immediately shifting his gaze toward his right hand, he was dismayed to find nothing there.

A tinge of desperation gripped Erin as he searched for the jewel that had become a lifeline for him. Truthfully, without its aid, he would have met his demise on more than one occasion.

Closing his eyes in a frantic attempt to collect his thoughts, something strange happened. In the depths of his mind, he envisioned a colossal jewel, identical to the octahedron-shaped one he once held, except it was now the size of a building.

Immersed in his feelings, Erin was taken aback as he sensed an inexplicable connection with the jewel before him.

"Did it move into my mind?"

His mind raced to comprehend the newfound bond.

He opened his eyes and noticed a faint link to the metal, allowing him to instinctively perceive its presence. Seeking to verify if he still possessed control over it, he willed the metal to move. To his relief, it responded seamlessly, morphing into the familiar elastic form he had grown accustomed to since his arrival in this enigmatic world.

"Great, so the metal is still somewhat under my control. Then, what caused the change in the jewel?"

He mused, acknowledging that answers might be elusive despite his curiosity.

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Transitioning his gaze to the nearby corpse, he made a reassuring observation—it was clothed, albeit roughly and poorly. Nonetheless, the sight filled him with relief, knowing he wasn't the only intelligent being on this planet.

“Nice-looking cape you’ve got there."

Erin commented, though he had no desire to keep the bloodied and foul-smelling clothing. However, after experiencing enough nudity to last a lifetime, he decided to take the cape off and remove the stained parts. As it was slightly oversized for even the goblin, which was bigger than him, he hoped there would be enough fabric to fashion some modest covering for himself.

Kneeling over, he began to search the goblin's body for useful items, noting with astonishment that the creature was much lighter than expected. A sense of strength enveloped him, leading him to wonder if he had somehow grown more powerful.

"Am I perhaps stronger?"

Having little else to test his newfound strength on, he reached for some branches and effortlessly broke them with his bare hands, confirming his suspicions— he was indeed significantly stronger than before. If he could be compared to a fit teenager, even though he was just a child, he believed that he was now much stronger than adults. It seemed as if everything in the world had suddenly become weaker and lighter.

He recalled the events of the previous night, remembering how his legs had glowed when he tried to run. Looking down, he saw nothing, but the intense daylight made it difficult to notice any subtle glow.

Putting those thoughts to the side, he decided to work of his clothes.

The metal provided him with needles, scissors, and other necessary tools to craft clothes. Despite their unappealing appearance, he managed to create badly designed pants, a shirt, and a small pouch using the tattered cape of his fallen enemy.

Though still barefoot, he was no longer bare-naked, and he felt content with the results of his makeshift attire.

Taking advantage of a nearby cliff, he decided to survey the surroundings in an attempt to see into the distance. To his surprise, his vision was remarkably clear, permitting him to observe things far away.

‘I am different. What could have caused this change?’

He pondered, yet the answer still eluded him. His train of thought was interrupted by another piece of good news.

Stretching from his left to his right, he noticed a simple yet discernible path winding through the forest.

"A road... A damn road!"

He exclaimed. Although it was a substantial distance away, it provided him with hope. He just needed to get there and he'd find some sort of civilization.

The hill he was on, though steep, was not impossible to descend. With his increased visibility and dexterity, he carefully made his way down, ensuring he had a clear view of his footing. It took him roughly 10 minutes to reach the ground, and despite the lush forest making it challenging to find the road, he used the sun as his guide.

Based on his estimation, and assuming no encounters with any creatures, he anticipated that it would take him three hours to reach the road. However, to his delight, he discovered that his feet didn't hurt as much, and he was able to walk much faster than expected. In an uneventful journey, he arrived on the road in half the predicted time, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

"This looks like some sort of wheel, but the things pulling it don't look like horses."

He observed, perplexed by the unusual footprints accompanying the track. The footprints resembled large claws, much bigger than his own feet—perhaps three times their size.

Given that he had already dismissed the possibility of being on Earth, he had trained his mind to focus on gathering information rather than succumbing to fear.

“Are they humans, though?”

That was his foremost concern. In an alien world, being the alien himself would probably land him in a lab or cemetery.

To ease his uncertainty, he decided to shape a piece of metal into a coin. Although he lacked the artistic skills to create an intricate design, a simple cross on one side and a circle on the other would suffice for distinguishing heads from tails.

"Cross is right, circle is left."

With a flick of his hand, he tossed the coin into the air, but his newfound strength caused it to soar higher than anticipated. Nevertheless, he had no trouble tracking its movement and reacting accordingly.

"Now that I think about it, my reaction time has always been slightly better since waking up on this planet."

He realized this, recalling how he had evaded the eel's initial attack, and swiftly responded to the goblin in a dim environment.

He also recalled that he had been able to see, albeit not as clearly, in the shade of the trees. Checking the coin, he found that it landed on the left side, indicating a circle. Since no one was available to provide answers, he decided to turn left, guided by the coin's outcome.

…

*growl*

The sound that startled him turned out to be nothing more than his hungry stomach. Erin couldn't help but chuckle at the unexpected noise.

However, despite the momentary amusement, he couldn't deny the weariness that had settled within him. It wasn't just physical fatigue but also mental exhaustion. Throughout his journey, he hadn't encountered any hostile creatures, but he had also seen no signs of life. The road seemed deserted as if the animals themselves were avoiding it.

*Thud-thud-thud*

Suddenly, rhythmic sounds reached his ears from behind. Curious, he turned around, only to catch a glimpse of a faint outline. It appeared to be a massive lizard, resembling an oversized alligator. As his gaze shifted toward the coachman's seat, he was surprised to see what seemed to be a human figure.

A sense of relief washed over Erin as he realized that there were indeed humans in this unfamiliar world. The presence of another human being offered a glimmer of hope and the possibility of finding answers to his questions.