CHAPTER 3 — Dawn of a Survivor

  Cycle 22,841 of the Dragon Era — Day 120

  A freezing morning twilight.

  My eyes snapped open as I jolted awake—heart pounding, breath sharp, cold sweat running down my face.

  The nightmare was too vivid.

  The wolf’s jaws, the freezing breath, the broken bones—

  I relived everything again in my sleep.

  I forced myself to breathe slowly, even as my chest tightened painfully.

  It was still half-dark.

  A muted blue light filtered through the leaves above me, but the canopy was so thick the sky was completely hidden.

  I wiped sweat from my forehead and tried to move.

  To my surprise…

  my body obeyed.

  Not without pain—

  that was still there, sharp and constant—

  but more freely than yesterday.

  Good.

  At this point, I was starting to ignore the pain altogether.

  It was becoming part of me.

  Then hunger hit, sudden and harsh—

  a deep emptiness that hurt.

  My healing must’ve burned through everything I had left.

  I reached for the red fruits growing slightly higher.

  Expecting the same horrible taste as yesterday, I held my breath and bit into one.

  Sweet.

  A little sour, but refreshing.

  So the ones I ate earlier were just unripe.

  I ate until the ache in my stomach faded.

  Only then did I look around—

  and freeze.

  The forest…

  was glowing.

  Tiny white particles drifted through the air like floating embers—soft, pure, shimmering faintly in the pale dawn light.

  Each time one touched a leaf or branch, it vanished—absorbed instantly.

  As I watched, something inside me stirred.

  A faint sensation.

  Barely noticeable.

  Like warmth scattered across the forest…

  like tiny sparks of life.

  Life.

  I could sense life.

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  Not clearly.

  Not deeply.

  Just a faint awareness of countless small creatures far away — not through sight, but through sensation.

  Their presences felt like soft, white auras—

  not visible, but perceived.

  “What… is this…?”

  The sensation faded quickly—almost as if it were scared.

  But it was real.

  Curiosity mixed with fear.

  Only one way to know more.

  I began climbing higher—carefully, quietly.

  My muscles protested with every pull, but I pushed through it, keeping silent, checking above me as much as below.

  Finally, I reached the top and pushed my head past the last layer of leaves—

  A blast of wind smashed into my face.

  Cold.

  Fresh.

  Alive.

  The thick canopy had been blocking it completely, but up here, I could feel the world properly.

  Everywhere I looked, lush trees stretched to the horizon in every direction—

  a sea of green.

  And far in the east, a massive mountain range rose, towering into the sky.

  This world…

  was enormous.

  I swallowed, took a breath—

  and focused on that faint sensation again.

  This time—

  Terror struck instantly.

  A chill shot down my spine so violently my hands almost slipped.

  My eyes widened, breath stuck in my throat.

  I felt them.

  Not through sight — but through that same instinctual sense.

  Massive auras. Ancient. Wrong.

  Not near me—

  but out there.

  Existing in the forest like sleeping disasters.

  My fingers clenched around the branch, knuckles white, body trembling uncontrollably.

  Just sensing them felt like drowning.

  I shut the sense down immediately—

  or maybe it shut itself down.

  It disappeared so fast it felt terrified too.

  Whatever this ability was…

  it was faint, untrained—

  but real.

  And extremely dangerous to use carelessly.

  I climbed back down slowly, trying to steady my breath.

  I tried sensing the wolf’s corpse… nothing.

  Dead things had no aura.

  But compared to what I felt now, whatever aura it once had… must’ve been insignificant.

  A joke.

  Not even worth comparing.

  Realizing that made something snap in my head.

  I understood it again—my strength isn’t enough here.

  My mind screamed: I have to get stronger.

  I have to survive in this place.

  But for that…

  I need strength.

  Real strength.

  The kind that can at least protect me from things like those.

  But not yet.

  I needed to recover.

  And gather resources.

  Food.

  Shelter.

  And—

  “Water,” I whispered.

  I needed a water source—

  one reliable enough to use daily.

  With that fixed in my mind, I dropped to the forest floor using the Ice Fangs as hooks.

  Their edges were still cold—unnaturally cold.

  The moment my feet touched the ground, a new pulse hit my senses.

  It was the same strange pressure as before—like the forest itself pushing against my nerves.

  Instinctively, I glanced around, half-expecting to see some kind of glow around whatever was coming, like in a game.

  Nothing.

  No light. No color.

  Just that weight in the air, that presence.

  This wasn’t something the eyes could see.

  Aura wasn’t visible at all—

  it was sensed.

  Felt.

  A warning pressed straight into my body, not my vision.

  Stronger than the wolf.

  I could tell.

  And it was approaching.

  Slowly.

  My body froze.

  I hid behind thick roots, breath silent.

  A moment later, it appeared.

  A monster resembling a boar—

  but massive, twice the size of any Earth boar,

  with tusks like stone blades and muscles thick enough to snap trees.

  My heart thumped painfully.

  One hit from that…

  and I was gone.

  But then a thought sparked.

  Boars follow water.

  They drink often.

  They know where streams are.

  They move along paths animals have used for decades.

  “…If I follow it,” I whispered,

  “it might lead me to water.”

  I stayed low, stepped silently—

  and followed the giant creature from a safe distance.

  Minutes passed.

  Branches cracked under its heavy steps.

  Then—

  A faint sound reached my ears.

  Running water.

  I crouched behind a moss-covered rock, peeking through the leaves—

  A small stream shimmered in the morning light, flowing into a clear spring nestled between stone and roots.

  My breath caught.

  “…I found it.”

  A water source.

  Finally.