After killing the wolf, I hurriedly examined my surroundings.
First, I found two corpses that had probably been ripped apart by the wolf.
I scavenged the corpses to acquire tools and foodstuffs.
I felt no guilt for the looting. Part of it was because I deemed it as necessary for my survival, but more than that, I felt numb to it. With my body still shuddering, I resolved to do my best to survive without sparing a single thought.
I would take all that I could.
And there, at that moment, Id judged that the possessions of those corpses were things that I needed.
I slipped on the gloves I had looted, put on the cloak over my clothes, and slung the leather bag around my waist.
I tucked an oddly-shaped knife (probably a throwing knife) into the belt of my jeans and took hold of a one-handed sword.
But there were two dead bodies, and there was only one of me.
There were a lot of things I couldnt carry.
Finally, I put my hands together and made a motion of reverence towards the dead bodies.
Then, as I walked in the direction opposite the flame wall, I looked at where the wolf had died and vanished.
There was a greatsword casually lying on the ground.
I would have loved to use it, but carrying around something that weighed twice as much as a one-handed sword wasn't practical. I made up my mind and gave up on the greatsword, but then I saw a glimmer at the edge of my vision.
It was a glowing, green stone.
There were a lot of similar gemstones amongst the corpses belongings.
In the state I was in, they served as nothing more than dead weight. I didnt loot them because I decided that bringing about dead weight could become a threat to my life.
However, the color of that particular stone was similar to the color of the wolfs fur.
Honestly, it was more because of sentimentality.
Perhaps because we were both attacked by those same people, I felt somewhat empathetic to it.
In the end, I picked up the stone and stuffed it into my pocket.
What do I do now?
Id done all I could do.
Even if some hostile creatures appeared, I had the means to fight back.
Next, I needed to choose whether I should wait or move.
The cut on my thigh was shallower than I had initially believed (maybe because I reflexively pulled my body away from the blade).
However, even if the bleeding had been stopped by applying pressure, walking with it would be a hassle.
There was no doubt that choosing to move would make me bleed more and make me lose more stamina.
However, to wait was terrifying on its own.
I had just experienced how terrifying it was to wait for someone to save me.
The wolf was traumatic too, but even more so, the fact that I was slashed by the person I had asked for help was rooted deep in my mind.
Thats why I decided I would move.
I should walk with this sword as a prop.
I held the sword in one hand to see how it felt.
It really wasnt suitable to be used as a walking prop.
Isnt there anything better A good tool I can use?
When I looked around as I uttered those words
I saw such a Display floating in the air.
Eh? What, the hell?
A sense of unreality came rushing again.
Then, a dry sneer formed on my lips.
The Display was clearly visible as though it was a piece of dirt stuck to my retina. Even if I moved my vision, the Display didnt disappear from my sight,
H-haha, its as if
As if it was a game.
They were words that felt too vague to be vocalized.
Illusion, Labyrinths, monsters, giant insects, giant wolves, adventurers, swordsmen, magicians flame, turning to light after dying, gemstonesAll those things only existed in fairy tales and were frequently found in classic RPGs.
The delusion of colors being inverted in my eyes along with a dizziness that made me feel like I was hanging off the ground hit me in waves.
So, I readily admitted it.
There was a part of me that felt better by admitting it.
I could feel my perspective becoming more distant like I was watching a dream, but as long as it eased my fear, I was fine with it.
If thats the caseFirst, I need to know about myself. Show me the Display of myself.
For the time being, I let out whatever words sounded appropriate and hoped for it to work.
* * *
* * *
HP4/51
MP72/72
1.01
1.03
1.01
2.02
4.00
Th-thats kinda hard Cant it be more readable?
Status
NameKanami Aikawa
HP: 4/51, MP: 72/72
Class
Level: 1
STR: 1.01, VIT: 1.03, DEX: 1.01, AGI: 2.02, WIS: 4.00, MAG: 2.00, APT: 7.00
Constitution
Confusion: 1.01
Bleeding: 0.52
EXP805/100
Equipment
One-Handed Iron Sword
Otherworldly Clothes
Elven Cloak
Leather Gloves
Scorched Otherworldly Shoes
Throwing Knife with a Spell Mark
Ah, it changed to English.
The Display had responded to my careless remark.
It was a little awkward compared to Japanese Kanji, but readability was much more important. I figured I should read it in English letters.
The first and foremost thing that bothered me was the '' from before.
If I took those words at face value, that meant that I was recognized to be in possession of nothing.
I have beef jerky and a water canteen hanging around my waist, though
And yet, this was what was shown:
Item List
Empty
I checked again, but it seemed like I really was not in possession of anything.
Well, I can more or less see the approach here I mean, I love games, so
The point was whether or not I had met the conditions.
There were very crude, inflexible, game-like conditions at play, and I happened to not meet those conditions.
Perhaps Equipment refers to things that directly affect battle Things that affect the so-called parameters
I felt like that meant that I shouldnt equip anything that didnt change the parameters. Or, in other words, I shouldnt put it on or have it attached to my person
Do I have cliched bags with infinite storage or something similar?
I took another look at what I was wearing.
I tried to pull things in and out of the waist bag and my empty pockets.
But nothing happened.
"Then"
Enter~
As an experiment, I held up a piece of jerky to the empty space in front of me as I prayed so in my heart.
And when I did, the space twisted, and the dried meat was swallowed into the vortex.
"?! S-scary!"
I hastily retracted my hand.
The sight terrified me to the bone, but perhaps that was the correct course of action.
Okay. Lets check the 'Item List.
Item List
Beef Jerky
"Haha. Yup, very game-like."
What slipped out was half a laugh and half a fearful snicker.
However, I then understood one of the rules of the 'Item List' storage.
If I held up an item in the air and thought of inserting it consciously, it would be inserted into some other place.
Yup.
Some other place, somewhere
"This should make things easier."
It looked like I would be able to loot more tools and foodstuffs that I had given up on earlier.
With a lot of trial and error, I managed to put various things into that other place one after another.
Incidentally, I couldnt insert the dead bodies or the small insect.
Maybe because they were too bigor maybe because they used to be living beings. They seemed to have been rejected due to some conditions.
And thus, my 'Item List had become:
Item List
Beef Jerky
Water Canteen
Hemostatic Potion
Oil
Numbing Needle(s)
Antidote
File
Aurias Greatsword
Leather Gloves
Leather Shoes
Clothes Bundle
Wooden Bow
Iron Knife
Arrows without Mark
Lighter
Smartphone
Pebbles
Twig
10th Grade Magic Stone
9th Grade Magic Stone
Incidentally, my lighter and smartphone were in the pair of jeans that I was wearing, so I put them in the 'Item List' after making sure I could take them in and out safely.
I tried my smartphones signal, but obviously, there was no connection. The date was off by a few years from the last time I had checked as well, so it might have been damaged during the impact. However, the flashlight and the clock functions were still working, which was a huge help.
"Ive put a lot of things inside, huh If anything, it helps me to have the names for things I dont understand. Wont this actually make the difficulty lower as a game, I mean. No, well, it is helpful, though"
My face slackened on its own when I saw the name 'Antidote' displayed on what looked to me to be nothing more than a powder.
"Theres still a lot I can test"
", !!"
Just as I was about to make a more serious attempt to test the system, the roar of a beast echoed in the corridor.
"B-but lets test it later"
I had been so lost in savoring the convenience that I had forgotten that I was still in the heart of a danger zone.
I used the high-priority 'Hemostatic Potion' (I still didnt know how to use it, so I just smeared it on my wound after I rinsed it) and walked away while using my sword as a walking prop to distance myself from the roar.
Dont be hasty and strain yourself too much
Keep moving while carefully watching the surroundings.
When I checked my status in the 'Display', I found that my Bleeding had been eased, and my HP was naturally recovering.
I walked down the corridors of the Labyrinth, sensing that my life was no longer in grave danger.
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