CHAPTER 2 — Memories and Preparations

  Cycle 22,841 of the Dragon Era — Day 119

  Evening of the same day

  …My eyes slowly opened.

  Or at least, I thought they did.

  I couldn’t move.

  Every muscle in my body screamed, a deep, burning soreness locking me in place.

  My injuries pulsed with a slow, throbbing ache that spread through my arms and legs like fire.

  Faint traces of frost still clung to the skin where that wolf’s claws had raked across me, and every breath made my cracked ribs sting sharply.

  One thing was certain:

  This isn’t Earth.

  That wolf—the way ice formed along its claws and fangs, spreading like a living weapon… and the way its wounds sealed as if they had never existed.

  That alone proved I was in a different world.

  A different planet.

  A place with its own rules.

  But… how did I get here?

  I tried to force my thoughts backward, scraping through the haze.

  My skull still throbbed faintly from when I was slammed into that tree.

  I remembered my apartment.

  Lying on my bed after finishing an intense strength training session.

  Exhausted. Satisfied.

  And then… I was here…

  I did want a place where I could focus only on training and getting stronger… but I never imagined I’d end up somewhere like this.

  I must’ve fallen asleep.

  And when I woke up… I was here.

  But something bothered me more than anything:

  I can remember everything I’ve learned in my nineteen years.

  I remember Earth.

  I remember its cities, its technology, its rules.

  Yet I can’t remember a single person.

  Not family.

  Not friends.

  Not one face.

  Not one name.

  It’s as if… the people were erased, but the world remained.

  Is there even a way back?

  No.

  Right now, that doesn’t matter.

  Especially after barely surviving that wolf…

  and waking up still breathing when I shouldn’t even be able to move.

  My wounds should’ve been bleeding, frozen, torn wide open — but they were already starting to heal.

  I could feel myself becoming slightly stronger than before.

  Like every breath carried something my body naturally absorbed.

  I raised my broken arm slightly—just to test.

  It moved…

  I was certain this hand was done for.

  Pain exploded through it instantly, sharp enough to blur my vision.

  “—gh!”

  I immediately stopped.

  No point in making things worse.

  For now, I have to survive this hell of a forest.

  I couldn’t thank my past self enough for training every day, fighting to get stronger.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  I always believed I’d never regret that decision.

  Turns out… it ended up saving my life.

  But if monsters like that exist in this world…

  then this strength means nothing.

  It was just a fluke this time.

  My eyes drifted back to the wolf’s corpse. And another thought hit me.

  The body was still fresh—no decomposition, no scent change, nothing.

  That meant I had only been passed out for a few hours at most.

  I remembered reading that wolves almost never travel alone.

  They only wander by themselves if they’re young adults searching for a mate…

  or if they’re exiled from their pack.

  This one wasn’t young.

  Its size, scars— everything about it screamed experience.

  If it was exiled, that explains its reckless behaviour…

  attacking blindly, not caring about the injuries it caused itself.

  An animal with nothing to lose is far more dangerous than one protecting a pack.

  And thinking back to the fight…

  My survival was pure luck.

  If its neck muscles had been as strong as the rest of its body…

  if its windpipe hadn’t collapsed the moment I hit it…

  And if it had healed there too—

  That would’ve been the end of me.

  Its pack is still somewhere in this forest.

  That alone was bad enough.

  But what scared me more was the obvious:

  I had no idea what other monsters lived here.

  With all that in mind…

  I pushed my palm against the rough bark behind me and tried lifting myself off the tree.

  It worked.

  But—

  “Kh—ah—dammit—”

  Small, broken sounds escaped my mouth every time my body moved.

  Pain carved itself through my muscles with every shift, every breath.

  Each pull felt like tearing open frozen wounds again.

  And the distant noises of the forest were getting louder as the sun began to set.

  Not good.

  Not good at all.

  I needed to find safety before nightfall.

  The best idea that came to mind… was climbing the tree.

  Not that the height would matter if a flying monster decided to grab me for dinner,

  but at least it was safer than lying on the ground like a wounded meal.

  I’ll follow the oldest instinct: go high.

  It’s what our ancestors did first.

  Back to basics.

  Up the tree.

  Yeah… I’d take the risk of reopening my wounds.

  It would hurt like hell, but staying here would get me killed twice as fast.

  Before that, though…

  I needed to check one thing.

  I hesitantly approached the wolf’s corpse.

  Every step felt heavy, but curiosity forced me forward.

  Even now, being this close to the thing sent a cold shiver down my spine.

  I reached out a hand—

  My hand touched its fur.

  The body shifted slightly.

  “—OH! WHAT THE—”

  I fell backward instantly, heart jumping out of my chest.

  For a split second, I relived that moment it lunged at me with speed I couldn’t even imagine—fangs, claws, cold breath— all flashing back in one heartbeat.

  It wasn’t alive.

  Of course it wasn’t alive.

  My hand moved it first.

  But still—

  …That scared me more than I expected.

  I let out a long sigh.

  “Looks like the tension is really getting to me…”

  I steadied myself and leaned forward again, more carefully this time.

  “…I’ll take two of your fangs now, if you don’t mind.”

  Slowly, carefully, I gripped its jaw and pulled.

  One fang slid free — sharp, cold, and shimmering with faint traces of energy.

  Then the second came out just as easily.

  Two weapons.

  Two pieces of proof that I actually survived a monster like this.

  And two things I could rely on in this nightmare forest.

  I tucked them close to my chest.

  Time to climb.

  Back on Earth, I’d been in decent shape.

  I trained hard, had solid functional strength — climbing a tree should’ve been easy.

  But right now?

  It felt like I was scaling an endless wall.

  Every pull sent fire through my broken arm, and yet I continued to climb.

  My muscles trembled.

  My palms burned.

  The wolf’s fangs saved me.

  Without them as makeshift climbing picks, I would’ve slipped right back down.

  Their coldness didn’t help my hands at all, though.

  After what felt like an eternity, I reached a thick, stable branch.

  “This will be my resting spot for today…”

  I muttered, letting out a shaky sigh.

  I’d chosen this tree for a reason.

  It had strange red fruits growing on it — ones I’d never seen before.

  I picked two and bit into one.

  Terrible.

  A sour–bitter mix that made my tongue vibrate in protest.

  But it was full of water—and right now, that mattered more than taste.

  I wanted to climb higher, maybe get a better view…

  but I decided against it.

  Today, I needed rest more than anything.

  As the sun dipped below the horizon, the forest changed.

  Not louder.

  Not more chaotic.

  Silent. Completely silent.

  As if every creature had gone into hiding from something far more terrifying that ruled the night.

  Then… faintly…

  like distant whispers…

  I sensed something.

  A few powerful, haunting presences far away.

  Wrong.

  Dangerous.

  I immediately shut down that sense.

  I didn’t want any attention.

  I sat still on the wide branch, barely moving, barely breathing.

  Anxious.

  Terrified.

  Praying nothing looked up.

  Somehow, despite the fear, the pain, and the cold…

  my eyes grew heavy.

  I leaned against the trunk, gripping the two wolf fangs tightly — the only proof I wasn’t dreaming.

  This wasn’t bravery.

  This wasn’t confidence.

  This was exhaustion.

  And before I could think another thought,

  sleep pulled me under.

  Tonight isn’t victory.

  It’s survival.

  Barely.

  But even in fading consciousness, one truth remains:

  If one wolf nearly killed me…

  what else is waiting in this forest?

  Whatever the answer is—

  I won’t die here.