part1 · 023-ep23

Episode 23: Life on the Second Floor

Several days passed since he'd killed the monster on the second floor.

Ren didn't try to push farther right away. First, build an environment where he could live on this floor.

That was what mattered most to the Ren of now.

　　　　　◇

Confirm the water sources. Search for plants that could be food. Record the routes monsters took. And find a place he could rest safely.

He repeated, on the second floor, what he'd picked up on the first.

That said, some things were different from the first floor.

"...Lot of monsters here."

On the second floor, monster encounters were clearly more frequent. And they were stronger than on the first floor, too.

Ren started avoiding pointless fights. No battles he didn't need. If he sensed danger, he hid. He only hunted when he truly needed food.

Just that alone cut down how often he got hurt.

　　　　　◇

One day. Ren found a gap between large rocks near the water source.

He checked inside. No monsters. Not a spot where rain would fall, either. Hard to see from the outside.

"Here, maybe..."

Ren checked the surroundings. Not too far from the water. No trouble going out to search for food, either.

"This is the place."

Ren settled on that spot as his new bed.

Different from his bed on the first floor. When the floor changed, the place he lived changed with it. Little by little, Ren was getting better at finding places that suited him.

　　　　　◇

That night. Ren was roasting meat by the fire. He took a bite of the cooked meat.

"...Yeah."

Different from that first time he'd eaten raw meat. Now, eating with fire had become his normal.

When the meal was over, Ren picked up the nut shell he'd brought water in. Small enough to hold in one hand — he'd made it to carry, so it was smaller than the one he'd used on the first floor.

He tipped the shell and drank the water little by little.

"..."

With his throat wetted, Ren set the shell on the ground.

He no longer needed to drink straight from the spring every time. He drew only what he needed and carried it back to his bed in this shell. It couldn't be sealed shut completely. So he didn't fill it full — just enough that it wouldn't easily spill on the walk.

Even so, this alone made life considerably easier.

Then he looked at the map on the rock wall. Since entering the second floor, he'd covered a fair amount of ground. But there were still blanks on the map.

"...There's still more beyond."

Ren gazed at the blank spaces. Even on this floor, there were places he didn't know yet.

And beyond them—

there had to be stairs leading down.

Ren didn't know yet. The stairs' location had been fixed from the moment this floor was entered. He simply had no way of knowing where.

So he walked and searched. Made maps. Expanded his range, little by little.

Keep that up, and someday he would reach the stairs. No doubt about it.

"Tomorrow, I'll check over that way."

Ren pointed at a blank space on the map. The fire flickered, small.

Life on the second floor had only just begun.