Chapter 1 – The Awakening
The smell of salt.
That was the first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes. The second was pain. My body ached as if I had been crushed beneath a mountain.
"…Where—" My voice was hoarse, weak. I pushed myself off the damp sand.
An endless stretch of jagged rocks surrounded me, waves crashing violently against them. No human voices. No sign of civilization. Just a storm-colored sky that promised no mercy.
> [System initializing…]
[Welcome, Transmigrator.]
[Difficulty selected: Hell Mode (Lv. 8)]
My heart nearly stopped.
A system? So it was true—I had transmigrated into another world.
> [Rule 1: Your survival is not guaranteed. Quests must be completed to gain strength.]
[Rule 2: Failure leads to punishment proportional to the mission's weight.]
[Rule 3: Bonds are limited. Chosen heroine: Shakuyaku.]
[Violation of Rule 3 = System Termination + Progress Loss.]
My eyes narrowed. Shakuyaku…?
The name struck me. In canon, she was once a famed beauty, later owner of a bar on Hachinosu. If she was the system's "heroine," then it had locked my future path tightly. No other routes. No distractions. Just her.
I exhaled slowly, letting the information sink in. Betray the system, and everything vanishes.
> [First Quest: Survive three days on Erevos Isle without dying.]
Reward: Basic Stat Boost (All attributes +2).
Punishment: Severe Physical Injury.]
Three days.
It sounded simple—but only idiots in fiction thought survival was easy. This place was not peaceful. Even without looking deeper, I could already sense eyes watching me from the forest beyond the rocks.
---
I tore strips from my ruined shirt, binding them around my arms for makeshift protection. Then I crouched low, studying the coastline.
Step one: secure water.
The waves here were too violent for fishing. And seawater? Suicide. My mind raced. Most uninhabited islands form freshwater pockets inland. Look for streams… depressions where rainwater collects.
Every detail had to be accounted for. Every mistake would cost blood.
---
The forest canopy loomed like a curtain of shadows. The moment I stepped inside, the air changed—thick, heavy, charged with danger.
A guttural snarl echoed to my right. My head snapped toward it. From the underbrush emerged a beast straight out of nightmares: a wolf the size of a horse, its fur matted with sea-salt and its fangs curved like sickles.
> [Mini Quest: Eliminate the Alpha Wolf.]
Reward: Strength +3, Agility +2.]
Punishment: -5 Endurance.]
"Of course," I muttered bitterly. "First day, and you already want me dead."
The wolf lunged. My body moved on instinct—I dove sideways, feeling the rush of its breath as jaws snapped shut where my head had been. My pulse spiked.
Think. Think fast.
I had no weapons. No training—yet. But I had observation. Every fight was a puzzle, and puzzles had solutions.
The beast's movements were powerful but linear. Predictable. Its blind spot… yes, its left hind leg dragged slightly. Injury? Old scar? Didn't matter. That was my opening.
I grabbed a broken branch, sharp enough to pierce if angled right. When the wolf lunged again, I feinted right, rolled under its belly, and drove the branch upward. A howl tore the forest.
Blood sprayed. The beast stumbled, crashing into the roots of a twisted tree.
It wasn't dead. Not yet. But it was enough. I scrambled onto its back, choking down fear, and jammed the branch again and again until silence claimed it.
Breathing ragged, I staggered back. My arms trembled—not from weakness, but from adrenaline.
> [Mini Quest Completed.]
[Strength +3. Agility +2.]
[Total Stats Updated.]
I wiped blood from my face and forced a smile. "That's one."
---
Night fell.
By then, I had found a freshwater stream trickling down from a rocky hill. I drank cautiously, then gathered broad leaves for bedding.
The forest around me was alive with howls and rustles. But exhaustion won. My eyelids grew heavy.
Before sleep claimed me, I whispered, "Shakuyaku… you better be worth this hell."
> [End of Day 1: Survival Progress 33%.]
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Character Status (Day 1):
Strength: 13
Agility: 12
Endurance: 11
Intelligence: 95
Observation: 10
System Quests Completed: 1