The thorny weeds and poisonous bushes get in my way. My foot is pierced by the equally thorn-covered ground.
"Ouch!"
I keep my mouth shut and continue moving forward.
I dodge the thorny vines, but one of them brushes against my shoulder.
Thanks to my cloak, the thorns can't pierce me so easily.
The poisonous pollen fills the air, burning my lungs and nearly blinding me.
I furrow my brow and keep going.
What a wonderful decision.
It's obvious that if a biome doesn't have any monsters, it's because the biome itself is the danger.
I trip over something, and a thorny vine smacks me right in the middle of my forehead.
"Grrr!"
Up ahead, there's a massive wall of poisonous bushes. Even when I look to either side, the wall stretches on without end.
"Oh, no!"
"Do I seriously have to go around it?!"
I'm not doing that. I've already spent days walking through this biome. I push forward, stepping straight into the wall of bushes. The instant I do, my body turns purple from the poison and swells up.
I force my way through the branches. The thorns tear at my face, feet, and hands, but I don't care. Sooner or later, my regeneration will deal with it.
I've already crossed countless bizarre biomes. I've endured lightning and firestorms, walked through freezing cold nights, faced endless acid rain, and even lived through storms of flying rocks.
I spit out a clump of poisonous pollen that has built up in my saliva.
"I'm not getting killed by a few lousy thorns and little plants."
I make it past one last wall of bushes and step onto ground free of thorns and poison.
No matter where I look, all I see are gigantic trees. The sunlight barely slips through the gaps in the leaves.
My regeneration restores my skin, flushing the toxins and swelling from my body.
"Are there only plants here?"
My expression doesn't ease, and before long, I'm staring at the scenery in disbelief.
"A... normal forest?!"
"No way."
I take a deep breath, not sensing any poison or paralyzing agents in the air. The trees here actually look like trees.
I keep moving forward, leaving the poisonous undergrowth behind.
I walk cautiously, but without slowing my pace.
At last, I've actually found a forest with vegetation that isn't deadly.
I don't recognize this place, but it's a lot like where I first woke up.
Silence dominates this area, but I know that at any moment, explosions or tremors could break out because of a battle between monsters.
Even though I walk carefully without making the slightest sound, I can feel eyes watching me. The warm, humid air no longer makes me as uncomfortable as before, but it doesn't exactly help, either.
A bad feeling creeps over me, as if... this place is worse than anywhere else. The distant undergrowth seems to warn me, "Be careful! Don't come over here." The other side warns me, "Don't step over here either."
Why does this place give me an even worse feeling than all the other biomes?
But I just shake my head, not paying any attention to those thoughts. Plants don't talk.
Thanks to my regeneration, I'm physically fine, but my tan skin is filthy. My hair, which used to look nice, is now completely unrecognizable. Thanks to all the places I've been through lately, it's totally ruined.
I run a hand through my hair, looking at its black color, but I figure it might be better to change it.
"What hair color do I want today?"
"Red, then."
I concentrate for a moment. My hair stirs, changing from black to red before settling back into its straight shape. It isn't anything amazing, and it certainly isn't beautiful, but it's different. A smile forms on my lips, only to fade just as quickly. I'm not really in the mood for that.
I discovered that my hair can change its color and shape for no apparent reason. When I first noticed it, I was amazed, and over time, I learned how to control the changes.
It's still not very easy to manipulate, even after all my practice, but I plan to keep training it. Who knows? Maybe someday this ability will end up saving my life.
My expression remains neutral as my eyes sweep from side to side, unable to see the end of this biome. The treetops keep rising higher and higher, and I can no longer see any sunlight.
"How long have I been walking?"
"I've already passed through so many places. I remember seeing countless sunsets... I think it's been a month... or two... hmm... maybe three?"
As I walk, I think back on some of the peculiar things I've seen throughout these biomes.
No matter where I go, every place has an incredible rate of recovery. I think it's connected to the enormous Source I can feel, and have already seen. Whenever I close my eyes, I can see the energy flowing through the trees and beneath the ground.
The trees seem to share their strength with one another through their roots, while the soil absorbs part of the Source and the nutrients before using them to restore something later.
The certainty came during my travels. As I passed near a clearing, I saw a crater slowly closing up, with trees sprouting from the freshly formed ground.
That caught me completely off guard. It was that day I discovered the forest's healing factor. Right away, I figured that was why the forest still hadn't been destroyed to this day.
I glance over my shoulder a few times. Nothing is chasing me.
Lately, I've also realized that the forests are full of resources. I don't really know what's considered valuable in this world, but I've come across piles of raw gold and diamonds scattered across the ground in plenty of places, not to mention the countless gemstones I keep stumbling over.
I could've picked up a piece or two, but my cloak doesn't have any pockets, and besides, strangely enough, I have no interest in owning them. And even if I did pick them up, the bizarre climates around here would probably just disintegrate them.
"But the strangest thing is that I haven't found anything edible here."
"Seriously... I haven't seen a single fruit tree, or even a pond."
No matter where I went, across every biome I've crossed, there wasn't any food or water. If I had actually needed those things to survive, I would've died a long time ago.
***
I keep walking between the trees until I come across something unbelievable.
A clear, crystal-like lake.
I rub my eyes and even pinch myself to make sure I'm not seeing things.
I cautiously approach the lake and see my reflection on the water's surface.
"..."
I try to smile, but all I manage is a crooked, ugly grin. Even so, I look fine. Nothing out of the ordinary.
A gentle breeze brushes through my hair, and a single strand falls into the lake.
The water suddenly bubbles and surges upward, nearly hitting me in the face.
I instinctively lean back, bending my knees as if I were doing the limbo.
The sudden reaction startles me. I straighten back up and quickly step away.
Now I'm hiding behind a tree.
"What was that?"
I edge closer, staying concealed behind the bushes.
"Is that lake... really a lake?"
I watch the surface of the water. It's perfectly clear and sparkling.
"But that looked like acid... does it explode?"
Near my foot, I pick up a small rock and throw it into the lake.
The moment the rock touches the surface, the lake explodes again, forcing me to jump back. Once the explosion dies down, I notice everything around it burning and giving off smoke.
I don't react. My expression stays perfectly neutral.
"That's not ordinary acid. It's explosive acid."
"You've got to be kidding me. Is this just another dangerous place?"
"How do monsters even survive in this forest?"
The question hangs in the air, since I don't have an answer. I've seen plenty of monsters around here, although I've never gotten a good look at them because I'm always running away like crazy.
"So far, the only ones I've seen clearly are the giant green tigers and black wolves."
I shift my thoughts, remembering how I escaped the lake's first explosion. I have to admit, in my previous life, I wasn't nearly healthy or flexible enough to bend my knees like that and still keep my balance.
I look myself over.
"Come to think of it... I think I've done a whole bunch of things I never would've imagined I could do."
"I even climbed a cliff."
I slowly start turning my head backward. Before I realize it, my head is perfectly aligned with my back, just like an owl's.
I jolt in surprise and quickly snap my head back into place.
"Whoa!"
"Could I..."
No longer afraid, I do it again. I turn my head once more, lift one foot behind my head, bend my palms backward, and finally twist my other foot to face behind me. If anyone saw what I was doing, they'd probably start throwing rocks to drive the "monster" away.
I return to normal.
"That's some insane flexibility."
"Do I even still have bones?"
I think it over for a moment.
"I'd better not do that when I run into other people."
After that bizarre moment, I move away from the acid lake, feeling the heavy air gradually fade as I press onward.
My footsteps leave faint marks across the uneven ground, and the silence of the forest is broken only by the sound of the wind.
It isn't long before a sudden movement catches my attention. A tiny mouse-like creature leaps out from a bush. Its eyes sparkle with curiosity, its oversized ears stand upright like little antennas, and its red fur gleams beneath the light. Its tail crackles like a living spark, streaking through the air as it runs toward me, carrying a strange mix of cuteness and mystery.
I immediately go on alert.
"This is the first animal I've come across."
The little mouse keeps running until it stops right in front of my feet. Its tiny size and almost unreal cuteness leave me speechless.
Standing on its hind legs, it lifts its little body and stares at me with small yet brilliantly shining eyes. Then, with an unexpected leap, it clings to my cloak around my leg, as if looking for company, as if asking me to be its friend.
I'm completely captivated by the sight. I feel my expression soften, unable to reject such an innocent gesture. I tilt my head, curious to get a better look at it. For a brief moment, it's just the two of us, me and the little mouse, as if the world around us has vanished, leaving only this unlikely encounter.
How cute...
This little guy must be...
The mouse's tail suddenly begins crackling furiously right in front of me, like fire meeting gunpowder. I watch the spark race through its body until its fur starts glowing. The red intensifies in the blink of an eye, and before I can even react, the mouse explodes.
The explosion is so catastrophic that it feels like the world around me is swept away, everything vanishing in the wake of the destruction.
A massive crater tears open in the ground as I watch the earth rapidly fall away beneath me.
"This is the most miserable, cursed thing I've ever seen!"
I go flying with my face burned and mangled, my legs completely blown apart by the explosion. My arms are badly mangled as well. Overall, my entire body is in terrible shape. Luckily, my cloak absorbed part of the blast, giving me at least a little protection.
Even with my high durability, the impact is far too powerful. I keep hurtling upward, reaching an absurd height. My body begins regenerating, restoring itself completely.
I let out a sigh, still being launched toward the sky.
The morning sun stings my eyes.
"Damn rat!"
"The first animal I come across after all this time turns out to be an exploding monster."
"..."
"How long have I been flying?!"
I force a smile.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again..."