Episode 1: When I noticed, I was here.

 

A dazzling light had suddenly wrapped around him, and moments later it slowly dimmed down…

Where is this place…?

A young man was suddenly standing inside of an unfamiliar forest.

Until just moments ago he was on his way to climb a local mountain. It was a famous mountain to which he was very familiar with from a young age, and one which he had climbed many times.

Did I get lost!?　No, that can’t be it.

Asking that question felt strange, since he was climbing was a mountain commonly visited, in the early summer, and during daytime. It might have been dangerous if this was winter time, or if he was mountain climbing at night, but there was no way he could get lost with the current situation.

Is that a beech tree? … No, this is the first time I see this type of tree.

He looked around as he tried to confirm the types of trees growing nearby as he always did.

The young man was somewhat familiar with different animals and plants inhabiting nearby forests. However, this was the first time he was seeing the types of trees that surrounded him.
They didn’t even appear in the field guide of Japanese trees book.

“That’s right, I have to confirm my current location…”

As he tried to calm down, he spoke his thoughts aloud. After all, it was known one needed a clear head to objectively check one’s own location.

Taking out the compass from his pocket he went ahead and checked the direction. At the same time, he also observed the surrounding branches and leaves, along with the direction at which the moss was growing.
After all, acquiring the most information was the best way to get the most accuracy.

“After that, would be the position of the sun, ri… ght…?”

And finally, as his gaze moved towards the sky, he became lost for words. A sight beyond imagination was spreading before his very eyes, overwhelming him.

“What’s is… next to the sun? Are those moons? Moreover… two of them.”

It was a truly unbelievable sight.
As he looked up, there indeed he could see a bright and shinning sun.
But two moons undoubtedly stood next to it, as if dancing. Such spectacle was clearly seen even though it was a bright day.

“In other words… this mean this is not the Earth.”

After thinking about his circumstances, that was the reasoning he came to while trying to remain calm.

So I didn’t just lost consciousness after wandering into an unknown, unexplored forest. Those were his thoughts as he analyzed the situation until a while ago.
In truth, there were still many trees, plants and animals on Earth that humanity had not discovered yet. So, for him it was a valid possibility since he saw trees that he didn’t know about.

But as his gaze turned up to the sky, that possibility disappeared.
The lack of the familiar sky he had seen since the time he was born, proved that this was not the planet where he was born and raised.

“Is this another planet?　Or a parallel world? ……”

He believed one of those possibilities was the answer.
The air might have the same components as on Earth, that he knew, since his breathing was without any discomfort since the time he had woken up. If this were to be an actual different planet, to have the same component ratio as the Earth’s air, that would be an astronomically small probability.

“Well then, what should I do to survive…”

While remaining wary of his surroundings, he started thinking.
I understand this is not Earth, but a different world. For the sake of convenience, let’s call it “parallel world”.
　The problem was, what he should do next in order to not die.

I don’t really feel the desire to stupidly walk to my death, and I’m not a lazy person either, so I don’t want to just stay here. He didn’t want to unnecessarily die, he wanted to live a long life.
And in order to accomplish that, his highest priority was to find a way to survive in this unknown world.

“The degree of danger might be 『Equivalent to a jungle on Earth』… …might as well add『The largest』to that, I wonder if this is how I should see this.”

As he had hobbies about outdoor activities such as climbing, he was able to understand the scariness of nature to a certain extent.
No matter how advanced the civilization developed through scientific knowledge, people were inherently weak.
They were the weakest of creatures even unable to overcome dogs and cats, of course, that was without the support of the power brought by the use of weapons and tools.

The fur that once protected the human body degenerated, exposing humanity’s soft and unprotected skin. Moreover, human strength was weak, and they even lacked claws and fangs to defend themselves.
Even a tempered martial artist had low probabilities of winning against a wild animal, if at all. In reality, it didn’t work at all like it did in the manga or TV shows.

Another disadvantage people had was the fact they consumed more physical strength by being bipedal, compared to quadruped animals, and they were easier to topple over.
Their digestive capacity was low and along with the lack of thermal resistance, it made humans easily prone to diseases such as colds.
If one were to ask if people could really live naked in snowy mountains or deserts?　The answer was no, it was impossible.

“People are the weakest among all creatures.”

That was his answer after calmly thinking about it.

“Now, to confirm my own situation.  Breathing is fine. My body temperature also seems stable. “

He continued to voice his thoughts out loud as he kept checking his surroundings.

“OK. Next is securing food and a source of water. Then, find a safe place where I can rest, although I doubt I can find one in this forest… That would be my top priority.”

He had been taught a survival rule, the『Survival Rule of 3』.
That rule stated:『You can survive for 3 Minutes without air or in icy water, you can survive for 3 Hours without shelter in a harsh environment, you can survive for 3 Days without water, you can survive for 3 Weeks without food』therefore, with his priority order decided, he proceeded to act.

For now, he felt lucky that breathing was not an issue, and the temperature here was not harsh either.
If this were world with a different air component ratio than Earth, he would have died in the first three minutes. Similarly, if this was a desert or a snowy biome, he would have lasted only 3 hours.

Having those secured, he felt lucky, wondering if it was simply devil’s luck, or a god’s blessing.

No… I guess there aren’t gods nor devils in this world either.

Since he would at least be able to survive for three days, his next step was to secure water and food. In case of emergency, he also had some preserved food remaining in his climbing backpack too.

“Well then… which direction should I start heading towards to?”

As he decided to leave this place, he continued to check the direction on the compass.
He moved forward while having some lingering attachment to this place, after all, this was the first place which he had come to.
『I wonder if there is a way to go back to Earth? 』Those words, that slim sliver of hope was still present in a corner of his mind.

In reality, this place looked quite dangerous.
If one were to camp here forever, it might take all of one’s efforts just to keep from starving to death or being attacked by wild animals and die. Since he knew this, he was compelled to get out of this forest if he wanted to stay alive.

　I’m not a person with a suicidal wish.
　I want to live a long life.

Having those thoughts, he started to walk through this deep forest, in order to live on.

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