Chapter 7. The First NPC
[The origin of human civilization! You discovered fire!]
[Don't give up! (3/100)]
“F-Fire! Fire! It’s fire! Aah! Huaaah!! Uwaaaah!!”
I don’t even know how much time has passed in the game, but I finally succeeded in making a fire.
The reason it took so long was because my stamina had already hit rock bottom, the wood was damp as if it had rained, and, of course, my own lack of skill played a big part.
I had finally managed to see a tiny flame, got excited, gathered the dry grass I had barely found, scooped it up together with the sand, and stupidly threw it all onto the fire.
The sense of loss I felt at that moment was… truly…
If I hadn’t known about the Indomitable Will title, I would have given up and turned off the game right then.
I would have come back because I was getting paid, though.
Still, I was incredibly lucky to have made a fire before sunset.
There wasn’t even a trace of anything resembling a proper house, but I had my precious fire.
“My… precious… fire…!”
I know.
I know I look like I’ve lost my mind.
But after reaching the limit of my mental strength, I couldn’t help becoming like this.
[The sun has set and the temperature is dropping! If you do not raise your body temperature, a status abnormality may occur!]
They sure used a lot of words just to say, “Be careful not to catch a cold.”
I liked it because it felt like a game.
The exclamation marks at the end of every sentence also gave it a lively feeling that somehow encouraged me.
But what’s the problem?!
I made a fire!
Huh?
I’m telling you, I made a fire!
I’ll keep it burning even if this entire forest has to burn down!
Well, I was planning to do exactly that.
But objectively speaking, my situation wasn’t exactly bright just because I had made a fire.
My body was exhausted to the limit, and it was nighttime, yet I had absolutely no tools or environment to protect myself.
If a monster came sneaking out of the darkness of the night and stood in front of me, I was completely prepared to die without being able to do anything.
If this is a game, shouldn’t I at least be given one or two basic weapons when I start?
You give me nothing but thin clothes and call that everything?
People who receive newbie rewards later probably won’t even know that clothes like these exist.
“If I knew this was going to happen, I should’ve asked them to drop me somewhere that looked like a decent village.”
“Seriously, I’m such an idiot.”
They say that people who are normally calm change 180 degrees once they get behind a car’s steering wheel.
Apparently, this game is my steering wheel.
Normally, I hate doing anything at all, but the moment I entered the game, I was sweating buckets, working hard, and feeling a sense of accomplishment.
And all of this was happening inside a game that had absolutely no effect on reality.
…Well, they pay me after I finish testing it, right?
That’s a very productive thing to do, too.
If I think of this as a job, I feel a little better.
And it isn’t exactly wrong.
Rustle.
Rustle.
“Ah.”
[A mysterious beast has been detected!]
A beast?
I thought animals were afraid of fire and wouldn’t come close if you had one burning.
Was I wrong?
I hurriedly stood up and grabbed a burning branch.
It was my only weapon.
“What is it?
“Where are you?”
“I heard something!”
Crack.
With an overwhelming presence that made it difficult even to turn my head, something made a cracking sound right beside me.
“Grrrrrrr….”
A huge wolf stood right next to me, growling so quietly that even I could barely hear it.
It didn’t seem to feel the heat at all.
It had stomped out the campfire I had worked so hard to make and was baring its teeth as if it could bite me at any moment.
Apparently, I had been dropped into a high-level area.
Yes.
A place where monsters lived that possessed enough brutality to casually stomp out the pathetic fire I had miraculously managed to create after spending an entire day on it.
Rustle.
Rustle.
Large wolves began approaching from the edge of the fading light, slowly surrounding me.
This was beyond anything I could do.
There were too many of them, and the difference in physical ability was simply too great.
Whoosh!
The wolves clearly understood the difference between us as well.
No matter what I did, they merely made mocking breaths and didn’t pay any attention to me.
If they had watched me making the fire, they would probably have laughed at me then, too.
That was why, even when I raised the burning branch I had spent an entire day creating, they didn’t move at all.
They simply watched me struggle as if they were waiting for me to desperately resist.
“You’re standing on that fire.”
“The fire you think is worthless.”
