Chapter 2 – Into the Abyss (Part 1)
The first night in the Abyss had been long, cold, and very, very uncomfortable.
Ryo woke up with his face buried in a pile of damp leaves, his stomach growling like a feral beast.
"Great… no bed, no blanket, no hot noodles. Just me, the trees, and the wonderful aroma of monster poop."
He rubbed his face, groaning. His body still felt sore from the accident, though the strange force that had dragged him into this world seemed to be keeping him alive.
The Abyss was vast—an endless forest stretching in every direction. The sky above wasn't the same sky as Earth. It was darker, painted in shades of violet and black, with three moons casting ghostly light. For a moment, it looked beautiful. For Ryo, it was just terrifying.
He clenched his fists.
"Alright. If I stay here sulking, I'll just die like an extra in a cheap fantasy novel. No. I have to move, explore, find food… maybe hunt."
The word hunt echoed in his mind.
He had no weapon, no armor, not even shoes suitable for a forest crawl. Just his casual jeans and T-shirt from the moment of the accident. But something in his chest—something strange and warm—pulsed faintly. It wasn't mana, nor aura, nor anything he could recognize. It was subtle, like a seed waiting to sprout.
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The First Encounter
Ryo wandered deeper into the forest. The ground was soft, covered with moss, and the air was thick with mist. Every sound made him flinch—rustling leaves, distant howls, the snapping of twigs.
Then he saw it.
A creature.
It looked like a wolf, but its body was made of shadows, glowing red eyes burning in the darkness. It wasn't large—maybe the size of a stray dog—but to Ryo, it looked like the final boss of his nightmare.
"…Nope. Not fighting that. Absolutely not."
The wolf snarled.
"…Crap. It's coming this way."
Ryo ran.
Branches whipped against his face as he dashed through the forest. His lungs burned, his legs screamed in protest, but fear pushed him forward. The wolf leapt at him—only for Ryo to trip over a root and fall face-first into the mud.
The wolf landed on his back. Its weight crushed him. He struggled, grabbing the first thing his hand touched: a broken branch. With a desperate yell, he jammed the stick upward into the beast's neck.
The shadow wolf howled, black smoke erupting from its wound. Its body dissolved into mist before vanishing entirely, leaving behind a faint glowing shard on the ground.
Panting, covered in mud and sweat, Ryo stared at the shard.
"What… what the hell…?"
He picked it up. The shard melted into light and sank into his chest.
---
The First Stat Increase
A strange voice echoed in his mind.
> [Stat Increased: Strength +1]
Ryo froze. His jaw dropped.
"…I… I just leveled up? No way. No freaking way!"
He jumped to his feet, laughing like a maniac.
"Haha! So it's like a game after all! Kill monsters, get stats! I knew it, I'm the protagonist! Screw you, truck-kun, your signboard accident just turned me into an adventurer!"
The thought made him laugh even harder, though his ribs hurt from the wolf's attack.
But the realization was clear.
If he wanted to survive, he had to hunt.
If he wanted to grow stronger, he had to kill.
And deep down, beneath the humor and shock, a spark ignited inside him. For the first time in his life, Ryo felt… alive.
---
Hunger Strikes
That spark, however, was immediately crushed by the sound of his stomach.
"Ughhh… damn it. I can't live off glowing shards. Where's the nearest convenience store in this place?"
He spent hours wandering, looking for berries, mushrooms, anything. At one point, he tried chewing on a strange glowing fruit. His tongue went numb instantly.
"Yeah, no. Not doing that again."
He sat by a tree, rubbing his stomach, feeling pathetic.
"This is ridiculous. I just killed a wolf made of shadows, got a stat point, and I'm still dying because I can't cook."
Then, he remembered the corpse. Well, not a corpse, since the wolf had vanished into smoke. But maybe other monsters left meat behind. Maybe he could eat it.
"…Am I really going to eat monster steak? Hell yeah, I am."
---
Foreshadowing
As the night returned, Ryo built a pathetic little campfire using sticks and sparks from hitting stones together. His jeans were torn, his shirt filthy, but his eyes burned with determination.
"I'll hunt tomorrow. Stronger beasts. More shards. More stats. I don't care if I have to eat monster soup every day. I'll survive. I'll grow."
Unbeknownst to him, far above the forest, hidden eyes were already watching. A mirror—crafted by powers he had yet
to understand—reflected his every move. And in the Abyss, Ryo's journey was only just beginning.