Chapter 67: The Riverside (Neo’s POV)

*Splash!*

*Ssshhhhh... whoooosh*

The sound of water flowing and hitting the rocks stayed constant in a corner of my mind as I lay near the edge of the riverside, where the current had dragged me to a place I didn’t recognize.

I remained conscious for most of the time, just listening to the soft sound of the water flowing and the fish jumping out of it every once in a while to breathe the air.

I could have lain there feeling that warm atmosphere for a long while, but a single drop of water suddenly fell on me from the sky. Slowly, more and more began to drop, and my consciousness flowed back into my body, forcing me to wake up. My eyes fluttered slightly before opening completely, and I looked up at the dark sky as the clouds began to cry and let their tears fall on me. It made me wet, though it was convenient in a way, since I could wash my body without needing a bath after however many days had passed since I was dragged here.

I forced myself to sit up. Half of my body was still in the water, so I dragged myself out and looked around with an unfamiliar look on my face.

Tall trees, dense greenery, and wild canopies covered the area. I could see birds sitting on the branches and several animals sheltering beneath the trees.

I, on the other hand, was completely outside the world I originally belonged to.

"Where am I? How the hell did I get dragged here out of nowhere?"

My words echoed through the rain-filled area, but alas, there was no one to answer my stupid question. I shook my head and forced myself to stand, but of course, my body wasn’t going to give me the freedom to walk straight. I stumbled backward as pain shot through me from the earlier battle. My wounds were still there, though a little lighter than before, because my bloodline awakening had made my natural healing faster and more effective.

But pain is still pain. It doesn’t stop just because a wound has healed. I forced myself to stand up straight, or at least I tried, and began searching for a place to shelter. I would have to live like a wild animal for now, since no one was going to offer me a luxurious home in the middle of a forest. In a world like this one, even a small chance of shelter would be enough.

I stepped forward, searching, though it was difficult to see carefully. The rain was falling even faster now, as if it had been specifically paid to make me suffer more.

After what felt like half an hour, I finally saw a small cave in the distance. Through the rain, I couldn’t tell whether other animals had already taken shelter inside, and I was in no state to attempt any unwanted battle. Still, the thrill lingered in the corner of my mind. I had always thought about camping by myself, and even in my past life I had tried it, since I had almost no friends to join me, and my unfaithful ex wasn’t interested in that kind of thing either. I had once tried camping in a forest, and it was the worst experience of my entire life. I came across a wild boar that somehow marked me as its target, and I had to run all the way back to the public area, gasping for air.

And even if this world was a magical one, there was no telling that it would be any less dangerous than that. Compared to my old world, this one had more dangers than I could imagine, lurking in places that seemed safe.

I forced my body to move toward the cave. After two long minutes of dragging myself along, I finally arrived, and of course, there were various animals staying there. I didn’t mind. I only wanted a roof to shelter me from the rain so I could recover a little.

As I came closer, the animals noticed me and grew nervous at my unfamiliar presence. I made sure to keep my distance and walked to the other side of the cave, while the animals instinctively moved away from me, as if I were some parasite they needed to be careful of.

I shook my head internally. ’Can’t blame them. They probably think I’m a danger to them.’

Prey animals were always worried about when a predator might suddenly appear to hunt them, so it was better to be careful than to relax.

*Growl~*

My stomach growled as I sat on the rocky floor. I didn’t know how many days had passed since I’d fallen unconscious. It felt like I had been starving for months, though probably only a day or two had gone by.

"Oh, I remember. I stored some packed meat in my inventory before leaving, just for emergencies."

I immediately summoned a large box containing several pieces of meat, sprinkled some spices over it, and began to eat. The taste was the same as before, since the inventory had preserved it well.

As I ate and filled my empty stomach, I noticed the other animals looking at the food with drool at the corners of their mouths. I felt somewhat embarrassed under those sparkling eyes, so I picked out a few pieces and set them a short distance away from me.

They hesitated, glancing between me and the meat, but hunger won out over caution, and they began to eat right away.

I watched them with a softened expression while focusing on my own meal. While eating, a question came to me as I glanced back at the animals, particularly at the deer that was eating the meat.

’Err... I forgot that this is deer meat I’m eating, and I’m feeding it to another deer? How kind of me...’

The smile on my face faltered as another thought arose. From what I had learned in my past world, deer were herbivores and wouldn’t eat meat, yet this deer was eating it as if it didn’t care about its own species at all.

’Wait, are they actually magical beasts?! That’s why they looked so different, and their colors are different from what I saw in my old world. Well, I guess the environment changes everything.’

After finishing my meal, I leaned back against the cave wall and watched the magical beasts eat, and another thought came to my mind.

’Is Nora alright? Was she able to escape that place? Or did more devils arrive after I was gone?’

My question went unanswered again, since there was no way for me to know.

’I hope wherever she is, she’s alright.’

My eyes began to close. Exhaustion caught up with me, along with the cold air and the comfort of finally having a meal after days of unconsciousness, and I drifted off to sleep, not knowing what kind of trouble I would have to face once I woke up.