A flaming black dot descends from the sky at incredible speed, resembling a meteor about to strike the earth.
As it gets closer to the ground, it becomes clear within a few seconds that the "meteor" is actually a boy wearing a black cloak. He crashes violently into the earth, destroying the surrounding forest. Thick, black smoke rises from the crater and, after some time, begins to disperse. The boy's body lies scattered across the crater all around, not exactly a pleasant sight to see.
But the pieces come together and regenerate, forming Nagaro's body.
***
My consciousness returns, and I get back on my feet, trying not to lose my balance, but the world remains blurry and keeps spinning.
"Where is the sky and where is the ground?"
"What day is it today?"
"Has the flying saucer arrived yet?"
I quickly remember where the ground is, realize I don't know what day it is, and, above all, the flying saucer still hasn't arrived.
I feel sad. I won't be able to watch that episode anymore. I'm in another world now. I admit I'll miss those things, but I also feel excited, because getting to know this world might be even better. I still believe this world isn't just made of bushes and forests.
The dizziness finally disappears completely, and I'm able to walk again. As soon as I take my first step, I trip over something and fall face-first into the mud.
I lift my head, feeling a burning sensation on my face.
Wait a second... this mud has... poison.
I quickly get up and wipe the poisonous mud off my face.
"So tiring."
I place my hand on a tree and stop to analyze everything. Putting my thoughts in order and considering the new discoveries I've made.
"First. Don't trust small and cute creatures."
"Second. If dark or black clouds start approaching, run away."
"Third. If a strong wind starts forming, run away."
"Fourth. If, while walking, you find many bones scattered across the ground, run away. The place is either poisonous or inhabited by a dangerous monster."
I look at myself, noticing that all my wounds have disappeared. I literally fell from the sky, was torn into pieces, and even that didn't kill me.
"From what I understand, regeneration works while I'm injured, and I'll keep healing nonstop as long as my Source lasts."
"So if my Source runs out, regeneration will probably become extremely slow or stop completely?"
"I believe so."
Another thing I noticed a few days ago is that I can speed up my healing if I focus on the place I want to regenerate.
I take a deep breath and remove my hand from the tree, but I notice something attached to the trunk: a beautiful white flower.
"It looks like that flower I tried to take care of in my old world."
"What was its name?"
"Ah, right... it was a calla lily..."
The flower releases a transparent stream of liquid toward me. I try to move away before it hits me, but the liquid is faster, hitting me right in the face.
I immediately close my eyes.
"Aah!"
"I almost forgot."
"Fifth. Don't trust the plants around here."
By now, I should know better than to trust plants, or rather, that I can't trust anything that comes from this forest.
But I wonder, what is this substance on my face? I feel a burning sensation and smoke rising.
I sigh because I know exactly what it is.
"It's acid."
I remain calm and focus, allowing my regeneration to take effect. Strangely, even the acid on my face doesn't bother me as much as it did before. I'm actually quite calm about it.
The burning sensation fades.
"Did I lose my sensitivity to pain, or did I just gain a tolerance?"
With my face restored, I open my eyes.
"I think I gained both."
I look around. I only see colossal trees and dense vegetation stretching from right to left. I know nothing about this place. I'm more lost than ever. Standing still won't help, and neither will feeling sorry for myself.
I raise my head. In this area, despite the trees being enormous, there are gaps that allow me to see a bit of the sky.
I start walking and decide to head toward one of the mountains I can see. At this moment, it seems like the most sensible choice.
I take my first step with confidence, but the ground gives way.
There is no time to react. The ground simply disappears beneath my feet, and I plunge into the hole.
***
Days pass, and the afternoon sun burns the highest leaves of the trees. I even witness the beginning of small fires breaking out.
I desperately struggle to move; my legs slowly sink into the quicksand.
A shadow appears right in front of me. Its green mouth, filled with teeth, almost bites my neck, but I react in time, managing to grab its stem. I squeeze the stem until it breaks.
I throw the monster to the ground, and it quickly sinks into the quicksand.
Another one of them leaps at me from the front. I react better this time, grabbing it by the stem, but its mouth bites into my arm.
Blood drips down until it reaches the ground, and the monster's teeth sink deeper and deeper into my flesh. I don't give in, keeping a firm grip.
I hear the broken stem snap, and the monster stops moving, allowing me to get a better look at it. This thing resembles a carnivorous plant with serrated teeth, no eyes, nose, or ears, and it's almost the same size as me.
With my other hand, I rip it off my arm and throw it far away.
Regeneration quickly restores the lost flesh, repairing my arm.
A loud roar echoes behind me.
"Damn it!"
I move with even more determination. Behind me, there is a cluster of carnivorous plants trying to reach me.
***
I look at the sky. No clouds. The scorching morning sun shows no mercy. The few dried bones and monster skulls scattered across the sand are proof of that.
Unfortunately, I ended up in a desert biome, one of the most inconvenient places to travel through.
My hood is already covering my head. I walk with a limp, holding my left arm to keep myself from falling, while a lot of smoke rises from my body and clothes.
The smoke stops, and my wounds are already healed. I return to walking normally.
"Who would've thought I would run into acid rain mixed with poison."
Today was just like the other days. I don't know how I survived. The last storm was brutal. I never imagined that two such destructive storms could merge into one. And, to make things worse, after surviving that terrible storm, a pack of four-legged creatures, resembling coyotes and almost reaching my waist in height, tried to have me for dinner. I barely managed to defeat them.
"But thanks to that, I keep walking without a destination."
No matter where I look, there's only sand.
"I lost the mountain I was using as a reference for north."
"Which way do I go now?"
I continue moving forward at a steady pace. The sun even begins to tilt, marking the start of sunset.
I raise my hand above my eyes, slightly extending the shadow provided by my hood.
Far away, a forest reveals itself, imposing and mysterious, and without hesitation, I decide to head in that direction.
My bare feet sink into the hot sand, each step accompanied by the sound of the wind carrying dust as I move forward. My mind returns to the paths I crossed before. I've already walked through lands of all kinds and faced monsters ranging from strange to bizarre.
I look at the hole in my chest, which still hasn't fully regenerated.
"Is this damn thing not going away?"
I keep walking across the sand, but my eyes remain focused on the wound in my chest. Even when I concentrate on speeding up my regeneration, the hole barely shows any signs of healing.
At least the bleeding has stopped.
It's a headache just thinking about it. But this injury appeared even before I faced those coyotes. All because of that horned rabbit.
I lowered my guard without realizing it. I know. I was stupid. I should have learned by now. The forest already warned me: the cuter it is, the more dangerous it becomes. Even so, that creature seemed to have some kind of cuteness enchantment. That thing was so adorable, white, and bouncy. It looked like a stuffed toy.
But when I realized it, the creature started emitting dark energy and made a fast, violent leap, stabbing me in the chest. The attack was so powerful that we were sent flying far away, my back crashing into trees and knocking them down along the way. I managed to strike back and finish off that miserable creature. Even so, the wound remains.
"I'm lucky that, somehow, my regeneration can deal with the injury."
"Hmm."
"So, if the rabbit had pierced my heart, would I have died?"
"Most likely."
"But the wound isn't even the worst part."
I look at my clothes resentfully, touching the hole torn into the fabric.
"That rabbit really did a number on them."
This is the first time my clothes have suffered such a large tear. Even those green tigers from many days ago couldn't rip my clothes.
"Next time, I'll be much more careful."
I glance around.
"..."
"Something is wrong."
No matter which direction I look, I only see the wind.
"Maybe it's nothing. It must just be in my head."
I continue walking. I'm only a few kilometers away from reaching the forest.
"Well... aside from these setbacks, I survived another day."
I feel the sand vibrate slightly and stop at the same moment.
"..."
I immediately make a huge jump. The next instant, a colossal mouth, many times larger than me, emerges from beneath the sand, almost swallowing me in a single bite.
The creature has a pale yellow color, no eyes, legs, or arms, only a mouth. It looks like a giant worm. It moves from side to side, trying to locate me, but soon realizes I'm above it, about to fall straight into its mouth.
The giant worm raises its head and leaps. I raise my hand into the air and summon enormous flames, launching them directly at the worm.
The flames explode inside the creature, making its body shake violently.
I clench my fists and use the fire's momentum to push myself away, landing on the sand. But the worm doesn't die. It keeps twisting, making the ground tremble around it.
I watch its body emerge from the sand, revealing its gigantic length.
I continue attacking, firing several jets of flame. The creature thrashes around, roars furiously, and charges toward me.
The flames aren't being as effective as I expected.
I change my attack method. I plant my feet firmly in the sand. As I move my hands, the sparks disappear, replaced by water.
I launch a stream powerful enough to push the worm far away.
My body quickly dries out, but regeneration restores the lost moisture almost instantly.
The creature rises, showing no apparent signs of damage. Before it can move, my hands generate an explosion of fire that knocks it to the ground.
But my attacks stop abruptly. My hands have been disintegrated.
I force my regeneration to grow new hands immediately.
With new hands, I continue firing jets of flame without giving the worm any chance to fight back. The worm shows clear signs of retreating. But in the end, it doesn't give up and charges at me. It lets out a threatening scream, but I am not intimidated.
My hands are starting to turn black, but regeneration prevents them from being destroyed.
I need more focus and more strength.
As I watch the monster get closer and closer, I bring my hands together. The flames on my fingers intensify as I concentrate the greatest amount of fire I can, creating a huge and densely condensed fireball.
Let's see if this makes it leave.
The worm's mouth is already casting a shadow over me.
I stomp my foot harder into the sand and launch the sphere.
The fire burns the sand around it and explodes against the giant worm. The ground trembles, and the impact sends me flying away, burying me in the sand.
Thick black smoke rises in the distance as I get back to my feet.
I hear a roar, but it is clearly one of pain. When the smoke is pushed away by the worm, I can see that its entire mouth has turned black, and severe burns spread across meters of the monster's body.
Because of this, the worm finally retreats, escaping beneath the sand. As I feel its presence disappear completely, I let out a sigh of relief.
I sit down on the sand, feeling a little more relaxed.
"Thank goodness... it finally left."
I look at my hands and then at my arms, noticing they are slightly burned, but regeneration doesn't stop working, slowly restoring my skin.
"I suffered fewer injuries this time. I only disintegrated my hands once."
Feeling better and fully healed, I stand up and continue on my way. Now that the danger has passed, I realize that this new power I acquired has grown significantly stronger. Based on what Eladreo told me, I think I've finally awakened my Skills.
I awakened the power of fire and water. I discovered this recently when I passed through some volcanoes along the way. It happened so suddenly that, while fighting an ifrit, I noticed sparks coming from one hand and water pouring from the other.
At first, my Skills hurt me severely, but thanks to regeneration and constant battles, I no longer suffer as much, at least not like I did in the beginning.
I get closer and closer to the forest.
My foot touches solid ground covered in vegetation. I am about to leave the desert.
"Funny. Why do I keep explaining things to myself?"
"I guess it's so I don't go crazy."