It echoed in my head. I woke up to shake off the voice that fueled my anxiety.
[This isâŠ]
The sound of water crashing and receding. It repeats. When I got up and looked at it⊠I was presented with the world of water that went on forever as far as my eyes could see.
The water I scooped by with my hand was salty. Could this be the sea Iâve heard about?
It seems that I was sent to this beach after the battle with Libra.
When I tried to remember, the pain felt like my head would crack. I defeated Libra and devoured the failed God.
And I had absolutely no memories of the time after I exchanged kisses with Roxy. When I tried to remember from there, the headache hit me again.
[RoxyăŒ!]
No matter where I look, sheâs nowhere to be found. Roxy⊠where in the world have you gone?
But if I was able to go out into the outside world, she might be in the same situation.
With that in mind, I wandered around the beach aimlesslyâŠbut I still couldnât find her. She may have drifted to a different place than here. As I sank into the sand,
[Eh?]
There was a sense of incongruity with the sandy beach where I was sitting. For some reason, the bottom of the sand is hard.
And, even now, it smelled like rusted iron.
Thinking it strange, I started digging in the sand. Then, what came out from inside was what seemed like a thick iron plate.
[No way⊠down here.]
When I dug up all over the sandy beach, it was the same.
This place didnât seem to be just land. I looked to the land opposite the sea. A vast continent with lush greenery continued.
There are mountains and riversâŠwere they all on top of a thick metal plate?
I imagined it might be a really huge ship. But could it be sturdy enough to support a continent?
[AhahaâŠthatâs ridiculous.]
Itâs a story that made me laugh without realizing it. The buddy who was usually the first to say such a thingââGreed was quiet in his scabbard.
I grabbed the handle and pulled him out, but
[As expected, itâs still broken.]
Greed lost half of his blade in the fight with Libra. It was supposed to have the power of the non-destructive attribute, but when I forced two powers of greed and gluttony into the black sword, the material couldnât endure it and ended up breaking.
Perhaps because of that, I could no longer hear Greedâs voice dwelling in the Black Sword. But I feel it.
Heâs still there.
[In order to revive Greed, if only I could return the Black Sword to its original formâŠ]
I muttered to myself, then looked toward the other side of the ocean.
I turned my eyes to the land, but there were no signs of people beyond my sight.
I donât know where this is. At least not in the Kingdom. This is because I have never seen plants growing here or the insects flying around.
I wonder how far Iâve been swept away.
Greed was broken, Roxyâs whereabouts are unknown, and I didnât even know where I was.
The problems were piling up.
In my eyes, itâs an undeveloped land. And Iâm seemingly all alone here.
Myne, Eris, Aaron⊠the people in the kingdomâs mansion. And how were the people of Barbatos fief doing?
I want to go home, but I donât know how.
When I was thinking about everyone, I suddenly started to miss home.
Perhaps the Kingdom was on the other side of that sea. Thinking so, I tried to enter the sea, but my legs gradually became heavy.
Was there a way for me to cross over the sea?
I stood still while my knees were hit by the crashing waves.
I was lost.
I was supposed to go back to everyone after the fight with Libra⊠Yet, here I am, alone in a place I donât know now.
Iâm here because I donât even know if what I won was right. Somehow I canât do it.
But I canât stay like this forever.
[I should goâŠ]
Nothing will start if I stay here. I was swept away and came to this strange sandy beach.
My friends probably wouldnât even know where I am.
In that case, the first thing I should do is find out where I am.
I turned my eyes to the land.
[It would be nice if there is a village.]
Suddenly, my thoughts came out. Maybe thatâs why Iâm so worried.
I have overcome a lot. But all that felt less troubling because I had my friends by my side.
With a heavy limp, I walked out of the sandy beach and entered the meadow. The sea breeze was blowing the grass under my feet. With this wind, even wet clothes can dry after a bit of walking.
Gradually, my pace became lighter.
The sun had risen high in the sky, and it was probably past noon.
That triggered my stomach growling. No matter what the situation, my appetite seemed to be unaffected.
That didnât mean I had food ready. It also didnât look like I could eat the grass that grew around here.
I donât know what to doâŠwhile thinking so,
A white object jumped out from the bushes.
[A rabbit?]
However, it was different from what I knew.
Thatâs because it had sharp, pointed horns on its head.
Could it be a monster? In that case, letâs use theăAppraisalăskill to investigate.
ăAppraisală skill does not activate. Why? Itâs supposed to be a convenient skill that usually teaches me the monstersâ names, statuses, and skillsâŠ
It didnât work at all. Thatâs impossible.
I panicked and tried to check my status. But it was the same.
I canât even see my own status. I wonder whatâs going on.
The sense of values that have been built up until now makes noise and crumbles.
Even in such a situation, the Horned Rabbit wonât wait.
Was it because I invaded their territory� It slammed its hind legs into the ground and seemed quite angry.
The sound propagated through the ground and awakened other horned rabbits. From the holes dug in the ground, they stuck their faces out one after another.
[This is badâŠ]
When I turned around, there were horned rabbits there. Same went with my right and left.
Despite their cute look, their horns still seemed sharp. If I get attacked from all directions by countless horned rabbits, Iâd be in big trouble.
I tried to use other skills such as fireball magic and dust magic, but they didnât work. In other words, it seems that none of the skills I have are activated. Maybe even the Gluttony skillâŠ
The rules here were clearly different from those of the kingdom I lived in. I couldnât help but feel it.
[This is badâŠ]
Sweat dripped from my forehead.
In this situation, even the absolute power of Area E would not be able to be exerted. In fact, I canât feel the protection of power from Area E since a while ago.
What would happen if I were attacked by a horned rabbit? Of course itâs going to tear open a hole in me⊠I could easily imagine it.
The only thing I can rely on is the swordsmanship that Aaron taught me.
I pulled out the black sword that had been broken in half from its scabbard. It was only as long as a dagger now, but better than nothing.
I opened the way for the horned rabbit that was creeping up on me while keeping it in check.
Itâs only a matter of time.
A horned rabbit that had been waiting for me jumped at me from behind.
So fast! I thought to myself, but itâs still the speed that my eyes could follow.
[Take this.]
I slashed before the horn could reach me.
Itâs aggressive, but not as strong as I thought.
At the same time, a familiar voice echoed in my head,
ăGluttony skill activatesă
I heard the inorganic voice for the first time in a while.
Hooray! Gluttony skill is alive and well!
I was overjoyed since I was worried that Iâd lost it, butâŠ
ăFailed due to being out of rangeă
I couldnât eat it!? I was stunned by the recoil of joy.
It was my first time. To hear such words from the Gluttony skillâŠ
This world is made up of different rules than the one I know afterall.
I was convinced, but now I still need to survive the horned rabbitsâ attack.