Chapter 3: Survival Instincts
My whole body trembled. My hands wouldn't stop shaking, my legs felt heavy, and every breath came out ragged. Fear, exhaustion, and the memory of blood weighed down on me all at once.
I forced myself to calm down, gripping the dagger tighter until the cold steel steadied my thoughts. Breathe. Think.
The glowing text still lingered in front of me:
[Points +75]
I swallowed hard and accepted the reward. The words disappeared, leaving only the corpse of the massive boar at my feet. Its stench was strong, but my stomach growled all the same.
Another window quickly followed:
[Points Updated:200 → 275]
I crouched down, dagger in hand, and with clumsy cuts managed to sever one of its hind legs. It was heavy—heavier than I expected—but at least it was food.
Part of me wanted to sit down right there and explore the system—open the store, try the gacha, anything—but reality pressed harder. I was alone, in the middle of a forest I didn't recognize, with blood on my clothes and the scent of fresh kill in the air. That could only mean one thing: predators would come.
"I need… shelter. First."
I wiped the sweat from my forehead, grabbed the boar's leg, and forced myself to move.
I didn't have to walk far from the river before I spotted it—a small cave tucked between two giant roots. I paused at the entrance, dagger ready, but after checking carefully, I found nothing inside.
Empty. Safe enough. For now.
Dragging the boar leg inside, I dropped it against the stone wall. My body screamed for rest, but the sky outside was already dimming. Night was coming fast. If I stayed in the dark and cold, I'd freeze—or worse.
I forced myself back out, gathering dry wood and brittle branches until my arms ached. Soon, I had a small pile ready in the cave.
But then reality hit me. I stared at the wood, frowning.
"…How the hell am I supposed to make fire?"
Rubbing sticks together? Knocking rocks? I wasn't a survival expert. Panic started to creep in again, until an idea sparked in my mind.
The store…!
I quickly summoned the system again. The familiar translucent box appeared in front of my eyes. My finger hovered and then tapped on the option that read:
[Store]
The menu unfolded, far bigger than I had expected:
Weapons – Daggers, swords, bows, spears, and more.
Skills – Combat techniques, survival methods, even magic.
Items – Potions, medicines, food, fire starters, tools.
Structures – Cabins, small houses, barricades, traps, fences.
Gacha – Randomized draws for weapons, skills, items, or beasts.
My heart quickened. This wasn't just a system—it was a lifeline.
"Wow… damn, this is awesome." My eyes widened at the sheer number of options laid out before me. Weapons, skills, structures—it was overwhelming. "There's so many things to see…"
But I forced myself to focus. First things first. Fire.
I tapped on Items, and another screen appeared, presenting nine glowing boxes in neat rows.
Beginner Item Store
Low-tier Health Potion
Low-tier Mana Potion
Wood Plates
Wood Utensils
Match
Simple Blanket
Basic Rope
Dried Rations
Empty Water Flask
My brows shot up. "Health potion? Mana potion? Even utensils and plates?"
I leaned closer to the display, shaking my head in disbelief. "Wait… this match—this looks exactly like the ones on Earth. So I can buy things here that exist back home?"
Curious, I reached out and touched the glowing box with the picture of a match.
The system chimed immediately, a small window appearing before my eyes:
[Purchase: Match – 10 Points] [Confirm? Yes / No]
My lips parted slightly. "Ten points… for a single match?"
It felt expensive, considering I only had a few hundred points to begin with. But without fire, the night would be unbearable.
I clenched my jaw, then pressed Yes.
In an instant, a small bundle of matches materialized in my hand. They looked exactly like the matchsticks I used back on Earth, even down to the faint smell of sulfur.
I stared at them in awe, my heart pounding. "It… really works."
After confirming the purchase, I closed the system window and crouched down by the pile of wood I had gathered earlier. With trembling fingers, I struck one of the matches.
Fshhh!
A small flame bloomed, fragile but alive. Carefully, I held it against the dry twigs until they caught fire, the flames growing brighter, warmer, stronger.
Heat spread through the cave, chasing away the chill of night. For the first time since I woke up in this strange world, I felt a flicker of comfort.
My stomach growled loudly. I dragged the boar's leg closer, slicing chunks of meat with my dagger. The smell of fresh blood filled the air, and I skewered the meat on a sharpened branch, holding it over the fire.
The fat sizzled, smoke curling upward. My mouth watered, and I waited, stomach twisting with hunger, until the meat browned.
Then I ate.
I devoured it piece after piece, ignoring the grease on my hands and the smoke in my eyes. The taste was rough, gamey, but in that moment it was the most delicious meal of my life.
By the time I leaned back, my stomach was full, my body warm, and my eyelids heavy.
With my stomach satisfied and the warmth of the fire wrapping around me, a deep weariness settled in.
The day had been chaos—fear, confusion, blood, and battles I never imagined I'd face. But now, sitting beside the flickering flames, belly full, I felt a strange sense of peace.
My eyelids grew heavy. I lay down near the fire, using my arm as a pillow, the crackling wood lulling me into comfort.
"Just… a short rest…" I murmured, my voice fading.
The firelight danced across the cave walls as my breathing slowed. Soon, I drifted into sleep, unaware of what awaited me when I woke