When I came to, I was greeted with an ever-expanding viridian shade.

No longer was the wind cold and unforgiving. Instead, a cool breeze caressed my skin, bringing the fresh scent of flora along with it. There was no moon or sun either—rather, the large trees around had created the perfect shade for a good day’s nap.

As my hand felt the sensation of rustling grass, a smile formed on my face. Long had I been tired of life in a city, and now I was almost as one with nature. However, the joy didn’t last long, as I was reminded of my past doings right when I started moving around.

Even lifting a finger was hard work. As soon as I was aware of it again, my body was struck with a chilling cold. My hoodie and pants were still soaking wet.

I nearly died. That was the truth.

Or perhaps, I already did die. After all, this was no urban town. I couldn’t have been dragged to the middle of nowhere after I drowned in that river.

So, this is my afterlife?

It could very well be. After all, this place was beautiful—mesmerizing, even. For a guy that spent all his life trapped in a concrete prison known as the city, having this verdant sanctuary as an afterlife wouldn’t be so bad.

In a situation like this, a normal person would try to figure out their surroundings, or try to find any clues regarding food or shelter. But I was no normal person. And besides, I should be dead already. If this was my sanctuary, then I might as well enjoy it as much as I could.

I took off the soaked hoodie and flung it onto a nearby branch, letting it dry off by itself. With only a black T-shirt on me, I lay down on the soft, grassy ground and stretched out my body in glee.

How long has it been since I last got to enjoy myself like this? Such thoughts crossed my mind as I let out a loud yawn, ready to drift into dreamland at any moment’s notice.

However, it was not my day today.

There was a rustling in the wind. A different kind of the breezy, safe and comfortable rustling that I had just experienced. An eerie sound that would normally spell danger.

It couldn’t have been humans. This forest was too clean, too pure for any traces of humanity around. Then it must have been an animal, but the question was which kind. Even a predator had many kinds—a rattlesnake would be very different from a lion. And the sound of that rustling must mean something quite large in size at least.

But that wasn’t the only detail that caught my attention. There was a reason why I compared it with the wind from before. The rustling sound also carried a slight, but also cool sensation, as if there was another source of wind flowing towards me.

For an animal to be blowing wind, that would limit the species quite a bit. A large bird, or a flock of birds would be the answer. That would mean my safety was ever so much more than before—even a large bird like an eagle wouldn’t attack humans so readily, and if it was a flock of smaller birds, all the better for me.

With that thought in mind, I let out a deep breath and steadied my shivering arms. The numbness from the cold had dispersed. Worst case scenario, I could run away without any issue.

I stepped forward, clearing the thick leaves and branches in my way. As my hand swiped through the obstacle, however, a strangely sticky and slimy sensation crawled its way between my fingertips.

“What the hell is this?” Taken aback by the sudden foreign object, I retracted my arm. On my hand was a glossy, viscous texture bearing a bright golden color. Even without bringing it close to my nose for a sniff, I could detect a faint floral fragrance.

“…Honey?”

Unable to contain my curiosity, I brought my sticky hand towards my mouth and gave it a light touch of the tongue. An intense, almost brain-numbing sweetness struck right at my nerves. Just another sip, and I might have gone straight into a sugar rush and hallucinated.

Stolen story; please report.

I flicked away the strange honey with all my might, panting for air to get rid of the lingering sweetness as much as I could. Never before in my life had I tasted honey as potent as this thing… no, perhaps it would have been better to call it an unknown drug. Should I give up seeing what’s behind those bushes?

No, I shook my head once more, it’s safer to at least know. I might be attacked from behind if I was clueless.

Taking another deep breath, I opened a big enough hole through the leaves to observe the other side.

Immediately, I came to regret my decisions.

Perhaps, it would have been better if I didn’t know. For if not, I would have still carried the naïve, but worry-free thought of being in paradise.

There was an empty lot behind the leaves. Or, to be more precise, everything on the other side had been cleared into an empty lot to make room for the giant structure standing tall at the center of it all.

It was somewhat spherical, dyed in a deep golden color. From its sides, that same sticky honey dripped off… no, it would be more correct to call it “flowing” outward—the thick honey stretched out from the structure to the ground as if to fix that spherical thing in one place. On a closer inspection, there seemed to be layers upon layers that made that spherical structure, and on those layers were something akin to hexagonal spots, with each having the size about twice… maybe three times the size of my head. This unique shape, as well as that bewitching honey, could only mean one thing…

“A… giant beehive…”

That was the only conclusion that I could draw. However, if it was true, then there was another, much bigger problem to worry about.

If the beehive was this big already, then what kind of monstrous bee would live inside it?

Once again, I had my answer right away. And once again, I instantly came to regret it.

There was a strange buzzing sound. Not just in front or behind me, but in almost every direction that I could hear. But that was not all—“strange” was the least of my problems. The buzzing sound also came with that eerily chilling wind from before. Only this time, with this close of a distance, the wind was no longer chilling, but strong and sharp, almost to the point of freezing.

And yet, even those weren’t the part that made me scared stiff.

Surrounding me were bees, their numbers by the dozens at the very least. But they were far from your regular bees. For one thing, each of them had the size of a mature wolf. Their stripes weren’t straight like regular bees, but jagged and rough, almost like a tiger’s. Their bodies did not bear a bright and friendly yellow, but a deep, golden hue mixed with a hint of crimson. Their compound eyes were bright red filled with killing intent. Their jaws were big and sharp like a stag beetle’s horns. And their stinger at their tail end was as long as my arm, with a black shine akin to solid steel.

These weren’t bees in the first place. If anything, they were hornets. Giant, mutated, and very trigger-happy hornets.

There was no time to think or even scream. I turned around, picked a direction that I thought had the least hornets blocking my way, and ran with my life on the line. As soon as they saw their invader move, the pack of hornets followed suit, flapping their wings to create a small storm that ravaged the surrounding trees with slicing winds.

There was no way for me to escape the chase, that was the unfair, but blatant truth. My body was already pathetic enough in its “healthy” state, and now I was not only shivering due to fear, but I had also just recovered from a near-death experience, while still not completely healed from that struggle in the river. When push came to shove, my steps were haggard and wobbly, but the adrenaline rushing into my head refused to let myself die this way, even if I had already died once before.

Must… live! I barely had any strength left to let out a shout of motivation, so I had to make do with a shout in my mind. But I was a pessimist from the start—that kind of weak will could only bring me so far.

A nerve-wrecking pain coursed through my body from my back. I was stabbed by one of my pursuers. And once one caught up to me, another was soon to follow.

Another. And another. And another.

Their stingers were poisonous, but it was not some kind of anesthesia that numbed my senses. No, their poison was something much more sinister. With each sting, I could feel everything clearer than before. My back, my blood vessels, my throat, my eyes, my brain. Everything was on fire. Blood gushed from my mouth, yet my throat was parched. I couldn’t move a single step, but I already felt like being torn limb from limb.

I wanted to fall. I wanted to sleep. But they wouldn’t let me. These vile creatures, as if taking joy from seeing my suffering, continued to pump me with their mind-enhancing poison. I could only feel more and more pain, yet never shocked into unconsciousness.

Please… Let it be over…

Ironically enough, at this point, I knew that my brain was working at its best capacity. And yet, it was as if I was hallucinating, as echoing in my head was a strange, emotionless, almost mechanical voice.

[Detecting ‘Player’ in critical state… Activating ‘Starter’ quest…]

I must have been hallucinating, since floating in front of my eyes seemed to be a blue, holographic screen.

[Please choose your first partner.]

I reached out to that disgusting man-made object.

As I mustered the last of my strength on that one pointless act, a flash of crimson flooded my eyes.