Chapter 5: The Bear Meets a Girl

I opened my eyes.

It wasn’t my home.

(When you log into the game, you’re usually transferred to your home.)

I was in an unfamiliar forest.

And I was wearing bear equipment.

Both hands, both feet, and the clothes I had on.

It was the full set of bear gear I received from that campaign earlier.

Why was it suddenly equipped?

What kind of punishment game is this?

But when I tried wearing it, it actually felt surprisingly comfortable.

Looking at my hands, the bear gloves were like puppets.

I tried opening and closing their mouths.

They were unexpectedly cute.

I looked around, but there was no one.

For now, I felt relieved that no one could see me in this embarrassing outfit.

“For now, let’s change clothes.”

You can only change equipment at your home.

I tried to take out a teleport item from my item box, but the item box wouldn’t open.

A bug?

It’s a hassle, but I guess I’ll log out and log back in.

“Why…?”

The logout screen didn’t appear.

Fine, I’ll call a friend from my small friend list, but that screen didn’t appear either.

For now, I opened the map screen to check my location.

“Huh?”

The map screen didn’t appear.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

I opened the status screen.

That one appeared.

Name: Yuna

Level: 1

Skills: Otherworld Language, Otherworld Text

“What is this～～～!”

Was this some kind of update mistake?

“Hey, what’s going on with the management? My character that I spent a whole year raising is level 1? I’ll sue for compensation!”

No, I don’t even need money, just give me back my original character.

A chime rang.

It was the sound of receiving mail.

A message from the developers apologizing?

I tried to open the mail screen, but it didn’t appear.

“How am I supposed to read it?”

Just as I thought that, a mail screen appeared in front of me.

Sender: God

Congratulations, Yuna-chan.

Based on the survey results, you have been selected.

Clap clap clap clap

The place you are in is not the game world.

It is a world I manage.

In other words, it is another world.

You will now live in this world.

Of course, it would be cruel to send you with nothing, so I gave you the bear set.

There are also other gifts, so do your best to find them.

“Is this some new event?”

For now, since I didn’t understand, I decided to look for other players.

Another world?

That’s just a cliché from novels.

There’s no way something like that would happen in reality.

What kind of delusional idiot would believe that?

The problem is that I don’t know my current location.

My level is 1, and if I get attacked by monsters here, I’ll die.

If I die, will I return home?

For now, I should get out of the forest.

But not having a weapon is a problem.

All I have are these bear gloves that open and close their mouths.

As I walked through the forest, looking around, I found a stick of just the right length on the ground.

I made the bear mouth hold it.

“Will this work as a weapon?”

It’s better than being empty-handed, so I decided to take it.

It feels like I’m a hero equipped with a wooden stick.

While walking in a bear outfit holding a wooden weapon, a wolf appeared.

A wolf is a beginner monster that appears near starting towns.

I tried to check the wolf’s status screen, but it didn’t appear.

Even wolves have individual differences in level.

If it’s weak, that would be good, but with my current weapon being a wooden stick, I’m not sure I can defeat it.

At least there’s only one.

I held the stick like a sword.

The wolf ran straight at me and leaped.

Just like I always do in the game, I stepped slightly to the side and struck its side with the stick.

If it were my usual sword, it would have been cut in half.

The wolf let out a cry and stopped moving.

I defeated it in one hit.

That was unexpected.

Could it be the power of the hero’s wooden stick?

I raised the stick high into the air.

Well, jokes aside.

Huh?

I looked at the wolf, but nothing changed.

Even though I defeated it, it didn’t turn into an item.

When monsters die, they disappear and drop items.

Wolves usually drop meat, fur, and sometimes magic stones.

But the wolf didn’t disappear.

I poked it with the stick, but it didn’t move.

It was definitely dead.

That message from earlier started to feel more real.

Is this really another world?

For now, I should leave this place.

Other monsters might come attracted by the smell of the dead wolf.

I definitely don’t have the skills to dismantle a wolf in real life.

I can’t do it like in games or novels.

After defeating the wolf, I walked for a while, but I still couldn’t get out of the forest.

“I’m hungry～”

I can’t open my item box, so I can’t take out food.

No, if this isn’t a game, there might not be any food inside anyway.

If I don’t find someone soon, I’ll starve before being killed by monsters.

Even though I walked a long distance through the forest, I didn’t feel very tired.

Is it because of these bear shoes?

They’re embarrassing, but convenient.

“Someone… help me…”

A human voice.

It might be dangerous, but it’s the first human voice I’ve heard.

Knowing the risk, I headed toward the sound.

When I ran, I reached a slightly open area.

A small girl had fallen to the ground.

Three wolves were about to attack her.

The girl couldn’t stand up, probably frozen in fear.

While running, I picked up three stones about the size of baseballs from the ground.

I firmly held them in the black bear’s mouth.

To draw their attention, I threw the stones with all my strength.

Threw.

Threw.

“Huh?”

The stones hit the wolves.

The three wolves collapsed, spraying blood.

I didn’t expect them to hit.

Does this bear have some kind of accuracy bonus?

I opened and closed the bear’s mouth.

For now, the wolves seemed dead, so I approached the girl.

“Are you okay?”

I spoke to a girl with black hair who looked about ten years old.

Since you can’t create a character like that, she must be an NPC.

“Th-thank you…?”

“Why is that a question?”

“Are you going to eat me?”

“I’m not going to eat you.”

“Are you a bear?”

I remembered my appearance.

I took off the bear hood on my head.

“Is this better?”

“Ah… yes.”

I tried to bring up her status screen, but nothing appeared.

Even NPCs should show some information.

If nothing appears, it’s either a bug… or this really is another world.

Looking at the bloodied wolf corpses, the idea of another world feels more real.

For now, I decided to talk to the girl.

“Are you alone?”

“Y-yes. My mother is sick, so I came to find medicinal herbs.”

“You? A small girl like you?”

“We don’t have money, so we couldn’t buy herbs in town. That’s why I came to the forest. Then I was attacked by wolves.”

“You said town. Is there a town nearby?”

Good, useful information.

“Yes, there is. Didn’t you come from Crimonia City?”

“I came from a place a bit far away. I’ll escort you, so can you guide me to the town?”

“Okay.”

“Then let’s go.”

As I was about to start walking—

“Big sister, what about these wolves?”

“I can’t dismantle them, and I can’t carry them like this.”

“That’s a waste. Wolf fur and meat can be sold, and even magic stones can be sold, though they’re cheap.”

“You can dismantle them?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Then please do it. We’ll split the money evenly. It helps me too.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I can’t dismantle them, and I might need money when we reach town.”

“Okay, I understand.”

The girl took out a small knife and skillfully began dismantling the wolves.

“You’re good.”

“Yes, I sometimes do it as work.”

Before long, the three wolves were neatly dismantled by the girl.

The fur, meat, and magic stones were all cleanly separated.

We split the load and carried it together.

Not having an item box is really inconvenient.

In a game, you could just touch items to collect them.

“Is the town close?”

“Yes, it’s close. That’s why I came here to gather herbs.”

“Did you find them?”

“Yes. But I was attacked by wolves on my way back.”

“Then let’s go this time for sure…”

As I was about to call her name, I realized I hadn’t asked it.

“I’m Fina.”

“I’m Yuna. Alright, Fina, let’s go.”

After walking for a while, we exited the forest, and I could see city walls in the distance.

Wow, it’s bigger than I expected.

Even from far away, you can tell how tall the walls are.

With that, monsters shouldn’t be able to attack.

On the way to the town, I was able to ask Fina many things.

This world wasn’t the game world I knew.

As a hardcore player, I didn’t recognize a single town.

It could be a new continent added in the update, but the more I listened, the more reasons there were to believe it wasn’t a game.

Let’s hope I find some information in the town.

If there are no other players, I’ll accept that this is another world.

To enter the town, it seems you need a citizen card or a guild card.

When I said I didn’t have one, Fina told me I could get one at the Adventurers’ Guild.

But to enter, I also need to pay one silver coin and undergo a criminal check.

I’ve never committed a crime, so I should be fine.

For now, since the town is still some distance away, I check my status.

Huh?

My level has increased.

Name: Yuna

Age: 15

Level: 3

Skills: Otherworld Language, Otherworld Text, Bear Dimensional Box

Equipment:

Black Bear Hands (Non-transferable)

White Bear Hands (Non-transferable)

Black Bear Feet (Non-transferable)

White Bear Feet (Non-transferable)

Bear Outfit (Non-transferable)

Huh?

There’s a new skill.

I read its description.

Bear Dimensional Box

The white bear’s mouth becomes an infinite storage space.

It can store anything.

However, living things cannot be stored.

Time stops while items are inside.

It’s like I got the item box from the game.

Even in the game, food wouldn’t spoil inside the item box.

Thinking about it, maybe this really is a game?

But the fact that this function is attached to a bear…

“Hm?”

I thought the item box would be empty, but there seems to be money inside.

There’s also a single sheet of paper.

I take the paper out from the white bear’s mouth and read it.

I brought the money you treasured in the real world.

Of course, that currency can’t be used here, so I converted it into this world’s currency.

—God

That’s helpful, but it makes the idea of this being another world even more real.

If this really is another world, money will be useful.

Money is the most reliable thing in this world.

When I checked how much was inside, it was an absurd amount.

Could I live as a shut-in forever even in another world?

For now, I’ll think about it after reaching the town.