part1 · 009-ep9

Episode 9: The Choice to Survive

More time passed.

Ren wasn't living by the rule of see-a-monster-run anymore. Monsters he could fight. Monsters he should flee from. Places he must never approach.

He had learned to make those calls himself.

　　　　　◇

One day. Ren was heading to his usual water source.

On the way, he stopped.

"...?"

Something was off. The sound of water he should have heard wasn't there.

Slowly, Ren peeked out from behind the rocks. In front of the spring stood a monster he'd never seen before.

Big.

Clearly bigger than the wolf he'd faced before.

"..."

Ren held his breath.

Could he fight it?

He thought it through. He had a weapon. He had an escape route. But there was no guarantee he could win.

Ren observed the monster. Its legs. Its fangs. The way its body was turned. The terrain around it.

And the direction he could flee in.

"...Let's not."

Ren lowered his spear.

He wouldn't fight.

He gave up on the spring. And slowly backed away.

The Ren of before would have forced his way closer, driven by hunger and thirst.

But.

Now was different.

To survive, sometimes not fighting was necessary, too.

　　　　　◇

Ren headed elsewhere. To find a new water source.

After walking a while, he found a small pool of water.

"...There."

He checked the water. Cloudy. Drinking it straight was risky.

Ren recalled what he'd learned before. First, just a little in his mouth. Confirm nothing went wrong with his body. Then drink, little by little.

"...This should be fine."

Ren secured his water. Not perfect. But enough to live on.

　　　　　◇

That night. Ren rested in the shadow of the rocks. He could sleep better than before.

Of course, he wasn't completely at ease. A noise would wake him. If he sensed a monster, his body reacted on its own.

Even so.

He no longer spent the whole night trembling, the way he had at first.

Ren closed his eyes.

And then.

A voice suddenly rang out in his head.

《Survival Adaptation activated.》

"...Huh?"

Ren opened his eyes.

《Sustained environmental adaptation confirmed.》

《Danger sense improved.》

Ren stayed silent for a while.

"...Danger sense?"

He looked around. Nothing had changed.

But.

Just a little.

He felt like he could tell the differences in the air. Monsters in the distance. The direction of the water. Dangerous places. He could sense them, just slightly more easily than before.

"...So this is... Survival Adaptation...?"

Ren looked at his hands. The power granted to him when he'd first defeated the slime. Back then, he hadn't known what it was for.

Now, at last.

He understood a little of what it meant.

This power wasn't just for making him strong. It was a power for surviving in this place.

　　　　　◇

That night, for the first time, Ren felt a little bit of relief. He had a power for surviving in this place.

In that case.

He didn't have to give up yet.

"...I can go home."

He murmured it softly. And closed his eyes.

Just before he fell asleep. Ren didn't know. How much stronger he would become from here on. How vast this dungeon truly was.

And—

That someday, he would become a being who understood this place, down to its very core.

Not yet, though.

For now, there was only surviving.