I can’t believe it took this long just to get outside the city…

The sky was already beginning to grow dim.

My watch read 3:10.

I figured it was probably around 6 p.m., so I adjusted the time.

Then again, this world might not even use a twenty-four-hour day.

Eh, whatever.

Now that I’d finally made it outside, I needed to find a monster as quickly as possible.

I never expected a city surrounded by such enormous walls to have only four exits.

I simply walked toward the wall, then followed it until I reached one of the gates.

That’s why it had gotten so late.

By the way, getting through the gate was easy.

All I had to do was show my Guild Card.

The gate guard advised me not to head out since it would soon be night unless it was urgent.

I insisted it was urgent and forced my way out anyway.

I put on the gauntlets.

It was incredible how perfectly they fit, even with my watch and rings still on.

As I admired the quality of my equipment, I walked down the well-maintained road.

There wasn’t a single monster in sight.

To the left was about a hundred meters of grassland.

Beyond that was… a forest?

Or maybe woods?

Or even a mountain?

It was too close to tell.

Either way, there were plenty of trees.

To the right stretched open grassland all the way to the horizon.

The forest looked like the place most likely to have monsters.

And if anything happened, I could always run back to the road.

With that shallow line of thinking, I stepped into the forest.

There was still a little sunlight outside, yet almost none of it reached inside.

It was incredibly dark.

Thankfully my eyes had adjusted enough that I could barely see.

This was dangerous.

Yeah…

Let’s head back.

The moment I turned around to leave, my instincts screamed at me.

Danger.

I stopped and listened carefully.

Something was approaching at considerable speed.

The instant I heard it leap toward me, I spun around and slammed a backfist into it.

The impact on my hand was surprisingly small.

Was that thanks to the blessing?

Did it even reduce the impact of striking something?

I looked toward the creature I’d sent flying.

It looked like a dog.

Or rather…

Imagine a Doberman with walrus-like tusks, devil horns, and tiny demon wings.

Its right eye had been crushed, and it staggered unsteadily.

That was probably my doing.

I activated Appraisal.

[Enemy]

It didn’t say Monster.

Still…

If it was marked as an enemy, it was probably a monster.

In that case…

Bring it on.

I instinctively settled into my usual fighting stance.

It really did feel light.

Not just the equipment.

Even my body felt lighter.

And yet, I’d still dealt that much damage with a single punch.

So the weight clearly still existed.

I was just the only one experiencing it differently.

Definitely some kind of supernatural power that could never exist in my old world.

“Come at me!”

I shouted to fire myself up.

Whether it was frightened by my yell or still stunned from the pain, the dog-like monster hesitated for a moment.

I used that opening to charge.

Whoa…

I’m moving way faster than I expected!

Was that because of the boots’ blessing?

Or was it stacking with the gauntlets’ blessing?

By the time I finished wondering, I was already right in front of it.

The monster hadn’t even begun to attack or retreat yet.

“Take this!”

Using the momentum of my sprint, I drove my right fist into its face.

The blow landed with even more force than I’d expected.

The left side of its face caved in as blood exploded outward.

Blood sprayed directly toward me.

Yet somehow…

Not even a drop landed on my clothes.

“These blessings are amazing.”

“The dagger’s still hanging from my belt, but I didn’t get a single drop of blood on me.”

Though…

Even I had to admit…

That was pretty gruesome.

An animal rights organization would probably sue me back home.

Well…

Monsters were considered evil in this world.

So I doubted anyone cared.

By the time I finished thinking that, the dog-like creature had stopped moving.

It was dead.

I knew I was probably stronger than it.

But I never expected the fight to end in just two punches.

Time to collect my first monster materials.

I drew my dagger.

Then I realized something.

“…Which parts am I supposed to take?”

In those monster-hunting games I played back in elementary school, you just walked up and pressed the gather button.

The materials collected themselves.

Actually doing it in real life…

I had no idea where to start.

“I’ll just take the fangs, horns, wings, and hide.”

I picked the parts that seemed like they might sell.

If they turned out to be worthless, I’d just throw them away.

I wasn’t sure if the meat was edible, so I might as well bury the rest afterward.

I tried removing one of the fangs first.

It wouldn’t come out.

I cut into the gums with my dagger, but the roots extended much deeper than I expected.

It was incredibly difficult.

After a lot of effort, I finally managed to pull out the right fang.

That was way more tiring than I expected.

As I caught my breath and stored the fang inside my Magic Bag…

I realized I’d been surrounded.

“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

How focused had I been?

I hadn’t noticed them at all.

One…

Two…

Three…

Four…

Five…

Six…

…Twelve.

Even if I could knock one out in two punches…

There was no way I could handle all twelve at once.

The road I’d come from was over there.

I’d sprint straight through.

The three blocking the path weren’t my priority.

Rather than killing them, I’d focus on slipping past them.

At the same time, I’d stay alert so I wouldn’t get attacked from behind.

“Raaah!”

The moment I exploded into a full sprint…

Six of them leaped at me simultaneously.

I aimed a punch at the stomach of the one directly ahead so I could slip underneath it.

Then my instincts warned me again.

Danger.

I immediately shifted my attention around me.

Two more monsters were charging beneath the first one with a slight delay.

Instead of making fists, I thrust both hands straight into their open mouths.

They bit down with everything they had.

But thanks to the steel gauntlets extending all the way to my elbows, they couldn’t bite my arms off.

My fingers burst out through the backs of their skulls.

The monsters’ fangs stopped only a hair’s breadth from the edge of my gauntlets.

That had been close.

However…

I failed to avoid the hind legs of the monster that had jumped over me.

Its claws sliced across my forehead.

Blood streamed down into my left eye, partially blocking my vision.

Apparently my own blood wasn’t affected by the blessing.

But that wasn’t important right now.

I shook the two monsters off my arms.

Their upper and lower jaws, barely connected by their cheeks, tore apart and fell away.

One more.

If I dealt with just one more, there would be nothing blocking my path.

But there were still seven behind me.

And another two positioned diagonally ahead.

If I stopped moving…

I’d die.

So I ran.

The dog-like monsters showed no fear despite seeing their companions die such gruesome deaths.

The one ahead watched me carefully, waiting to see what I’d do.

Dodging it looked difficult.

But if I attacked…

The monsters behind me would catch up.

When I got within a meter, it opened its mouth.

I clamped its jaws shut with my left hand and slipped past on its right.

I thought I’d barely made it.

I was wrong.

Danger.

My instincts screamed again.

Before I could even think, my body instinctively assumed a defensive posture.

The next instant…

The monster exploded.

The blast hurled me about two meters away.

It hit hard.

But I could still move.

I immediately rolled to my feet and dodged.

Two monsters landed exactly where I’d been lying a moment earlier.

Everything hurt.

But the monsters blocking my escape were gone.

I could make it.

I ran with everything I had.

Without looking back.

Just running.

Thankfully, I hadn’t gone very deep into the forest.

Before long, I spotted the road again.

The instant relief washed over me, something entered the edge of my vision.

Danger.

I somehow managed to stop in time.

A massive boulder shot past directly in front of me.

Calling it a stone would have been an understatement.

If that had hit me…

I’d be dead.

I looked toward where it had come from.

A green, two-legged monster stood there, muttering to itself as it created another boulder from the ground.

Just one of them…

I started toward it.

Then I stopped.

No.

That thing was far stronger than me.

Once I left the forest, there would be nothing to block its attacks.

I’d become the perfect target.

But staying inside the forest wasn’t an option either.

Even if the dog-like monsters had stopped chasing me for now…

They’d eventually find me again.

If I got caught between both sides…

It was over.

Then the answer was simple.

Dodge the next attack…

Then run with everything I had.

I settled into my fighting stance.

I focused.

The green monster lifted the boulder it had created.

It hadn’t even begun its throwing motion.

Yet my instincts were already screaming at me to dodge.

Not yet.

The monster made a strange movement.

At that exact moment, I threw myself sideways with all my strength.

If that had been a feint…

I’d have died.

But it wasn’t.

The boulder tore through the spot where I’d been standing.

Straight through the trees that should have blocked it.

It smashed through them effortlessly.

Throwing something that powerful underhand…

That thing really was a monster.

I jumped to my feet and sprinted out of the forest at full speed, dodging the falling trees as I ran.

Then I headed straight for the city.

After that…

I barely remembered anything.

Before I knew it, I was standing in front of the city gate.

One of the guards was asking me if I was all right.

No.

I’m definitely not all right.

That difficulty was completely ridiculous.

Still…

I’d ignored the guard’s warning and gone outside anyway.

I couldn’t exactly complain now.

I’m going to bed.

“I’m fine.”

“More importantly, could you tell me if there’s an inn nearby?”

“If you’re looking for one, the second floor of that building over there is an inn.”

“If you want the cheapest place, though, the inn next to the Adventurers’ Guild is probably your best bet.”

The guard pointed toward a fairly nice-looking building with a tavern on the first floor.

“Thanks.”

After thanking him, I decided to stay at the closer inn.