100,000,000 Years Until the Main Story Begins

This is a plant called ‘Plentera’. It’s an ancient species.

Rare, huh? An ancient species that has survived until now. What abilities does it have? Judging by its appearance, it seems like it’s just for ornamental purposes.

Not at all. Plentera is a carnivorous plant that can even hunt decent-sized animals even now. So, how powerful must it have been in ancient times when the concentration of magic power was incomparably denser than it is now?

……

I dare say, it must have reigned as the king of the jungle.

******

There’s no one as sensitive as I am.

The strange sense of discomfort I felt when I first saw the three little demon kids.

Miho didn’t feel it, though.

But I felt that creepy gaze from the spirits.

There was too much evidence.

I stared back at the voice that was watching me through the child’s eyes.

“Having fun?”

I don’t know what the intention was behind scattering intelligent beings across this dimension.

Maybe it was with good intentions.

But it’s hard to believe that the one who was secretly peeping at me did it with good intentions.

I don’t like the way they were scattered either.

Naturally, my tone became sharper.

The voice couldn’t answer that.

Just because it can only watch?

No way.

It’s a being powerful enough to scatter intelligent beings across an entire dimension.

There’s no way it couldn’t borrow a child’s body.

It just doesn’t want to talk to me.

How insolent.

“I won’t ask what your goal is…”

It doesn’t seem like it’s going to tell me.

If it had any intention of doing so, it would have revealed itself by now.

Now it’s clear.

I can’t just stay still.

The fight with the pterosaurs earlier comes to mind.

If I stay here quietly, no matter how much time passes, I’ll just keep being manipulated by that guy.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do…”

I don’t know why they’re so desperate to torment me.

I have to prepare for the impending apocalypse.

I have to deal with at least one alien.

And most importantly, I have to survive.

There are countless tasks I need to accomplish to get there.

It feels distant now.

But I don’t think it’s impossible.

I have confidence in myself.

I’m sure I’ll eventually finish everything and survive.

I’ve always done so until now.

“If you don’t close those eyes, I’ll kill you somehow.”

At that moment, the gaze disappeared.

Even I didn’t expect that result.

*

“What on earth was that?”

[I’ll definitely find out. This is a matter of pride as a Watcher.]

Belva likes to subtly leak information about herself.

Watcher.

It’s a fitting name for what she does.

Though lately, she feels more like my manager than a Watcher.

Anyway, I feel relieved.

It would have been quite unsettling to think someone was constantly watching me.

It’s fortunate that it backed off so easily.

“You guys.”

I spoke to the demon kids who have now become somewhat useless.

“From now on, just follow on your own. There won’t be any protection like last time.”

Hmm…

Saying this, I realize how much I’ve changed.

Unlike back then when I would frantically pack to protect even an orc, now I don’t care at all what happens to anyone.

It might be growth, in a way.

Honestly, I sometimes surprise myself.

I thought I was living like a human.

But at some point, I started feeling like I was drifting away from the person I knew.

With mixed feelings, I spat out those words, and the kids quickly nodded.

The kid who was the eyes of the voice observed more carefully, but there was no change.

I grabbed Miho and put her on my shoulder, slowly making my way out of the cave.

The sunlight, which I had briefly parted with, was shining brightly.

[That’s a relief.]

“That’s a relief.”

The pterosaurs seem to be gone.

Or maybe they’re hiding somewhere, waiting for an opportunity.

Either way, it doesn’t matter.

I’ve already found out everything I needed to know.

But now, it seems like it’s time to settle down.

A shelter, so to speak.

Belva told me that 90% of the intelligent beings born on this land die within a day.

Half of them die by the second day.

Three days, four days.

She said there are no intelligent beings that survive past a week.

The intelligent beings dropped by the voice, not naturally occurring ones, have nothing but basic instincts, making survival difficult.

If I save someone like today, I’ll need a place to let them stay.

If I’m not going to live alone forever.

“Honestly, all the terrains are trash, but the place where I first woke up seems the best.”

I’ve already decided where to make my dwelling.

Back to the jungle I’m most familiar with.

I can’t say it’s safe, but it’s not filled with elements unsuitable for life like the ice fields or volcanic regions.

In fact, it’s overflowing with life force, making it dangerous.

So, there’s one variable.

I don’t know.

What might be lurking in the jungle.

I haven’t even explored one percent of it yet.

Maybe some absurd monster will jump out and kill me.

It’s the kind of terrain that makes such wild guesses seem plausible.

Let’s be careful.

I can’t let my guard down.

I quickly led the kids out of the volcanic region.

Every time a monster appeared, the kids, out of habit, tried to run somewhere, but they stopped when they saw me piercing them all with a single spear throw.

Seeing the three of them scatter in different directions, I could roughly guess how they’ve survived until now.

It’s still a long way.

It’s about a twelve-hour run.

And that’s at my speed.

Moving with the kids…

It would take a lot of time.

…

I finished my thoughts.

Unconsciously, I was planning to abandon the kids.

I thought it would be more efficient to look for intelligent beings near the jungle.

I could see the day when I would think like that.

…

That wasn’t the right attitude toward life.

Even if I’ve lost a lot, there are things I can’t give up.

With a pale face, I looked at the kids who were chasing after me, panting with their quick steps.

With a bit of hesitation, I slowly reached out my hand.

…

[Tendency has been updated.]

[Evil ▶ Chaos]

…

…

…

*

…

…

…

We arrived at the jungle.

Maybe because they’re kids, they had grown a bit taller in such a short time.

Their growth rate is too fast.

Maybe it’s a characteristic of demons.

…

And one more thing.

Miho was starting to try to speak.

…

At first, I thought it was just crying, but it wasn’t.

She was expressing some language.

Of course, it was Korean, the language I spoke.

Recently, Belva’s translation skills had improved so much that there was no inconvenience even with different languages, but hearing my native language directly had its own kind of emotion.

Ah. Ya. Eo. Yeo. Oh. Yo.

It was so cute to see her following each word as I taught her.

…

“Ah. Oh. Eooh.”

…

“Good job. You’re doing so well.”

…

“Eooh!”

…

…Sometimes I get confused whether she’s a fox or a cat, but anyway, she was cute.

…

[Focus now.]

…

“I know.”

…

I took out a shield from the Void Space.

In my other hand, I held a sword.

Cold sweat was already running down my body.

The ground I was standing on felt incredibly dangerous.

…

This is driving me crazy.

Just three hours after arriving in the jungle, this thing shows up.

…

What the hell is it?

I feel a more intense danger than ever before.

It’s a sensation I’ve never felt, not even when I was attacked or when I was struggling between life and death.

If I had faced that giant dinosaur head-on for the first time, would this be how it felt?

My knees were trembling from the pressure.

Hoo. Let’s not get tense.

First, let’s focus on breathing.

…

Slowly, I moved the kids and Miho away and took a stance.

At that moment, a root shot up from the ground.

…

Ugh-

…

It’s a plant!

I immediately cut the root that wrapped around my ankle with my sword, but the bone inside was already crushed.

It would take over 30 minutes to recover.

My mobility was more than halved.

…

Its speed was three times faster than I expected.

I never expected the enemy to be a plant.

This world is truly insane.

…

Common sense-wise, how does a blade of grass make sense being stronger than any monster?

…

In the distance, a giant flower bud sat ominously.

A terrifying pulse of magic power could be felt.

Hundreds, thousands of thick stems surrounded it.

Yeah. I have to break through all that, right?

…

Limping on one foot, I stomped the ground hard.

Fighting with one leg.

This is a situation I’ve practiced and prepared for dozens of times.

It actually happens quite often.

No need to panic.

First, let’s assess the general stats.

…

Clang-!

…

What the hell.

I clearly hit the stem with my sword, but it made a sound like hitting metal.

At the same time, my body was pushed back.

The stem had a scratch about 3mm deep.

…

Hmm…

I’m really going to die here, aren’t I?

…

[Plentera! In other dimensions, it’s not such a strong monster, why is it suddenly so…!]

…

I feel helpless. This feeling is truly new to me.

If I hadn’t pulled out my magic power to protect myself, my wrist would have been shattered by that last attack.

I’m sure of it.

Even with the magic power, it was close.

My wrist is already tingling.

So, attacking recklessly would only result in more damage.

…

Reach. Attack power. Defense.

Reaction to attacks. Variety of weapon movements. Speed.

Stamina and ability to create variables.

Nothing.

There’s not a single thing I can win against.

I’m completely outmatched.

…

“…Can I do it?”

…

For the first time in a long time, the tension of being on the brink of death is swirling through my body. The opponent’s killing intent feels like breath.

In this situation where I can’t move forward or backward.

There’s only one thing I can do.

If I don’t succeed, I’ll die.

…

“Belva. I’ll buy Endres’ Dagger and the Elixir of Awakening. If I don’t have enough coins, sell anything from my inventory. It should be enough.”

…

[Understood.]

…

Belva’s serious voice seemed to emphasize the gravity of the situation.

I looked at the dark, heavy dagger in my hand and the bottle with the sloshing purple liquid and ornate patterns.

As a stem stretched toward me, I threw my shield to deflect its trajectory.

Without hesitation, I poured the Elixir of Awakening down my throat.

…

…

[Endres’ Dagger]: A dagger made of black iron with high magic conductivity and absorption rates. It has the reputation of being used by the berserker Endres.

…

[Elixir of Awakening]: Temporarily awakens the user’s mind upon consumption. Duration is 5 minutes.

---