Rest, Reflection, and What Comes Next

I don't remember what route we took to get here.

Before I knew it, night had fallen.

In the rain, Momo and I ran for our lives.

We avoided fighting monsters as much as possible.

We kept running, even avoiding clearly beatable opponents like lone goblins and zombies.

Neither Momo nor I was in any state to think calmly.

In the end, we'd made it back to the same shabby apartment.

I climbed the stairs and entered my room.

I locked the door and collapsed onto the tatami in the darkness.

I was soaked through. I felt gross...

"Whew... But I'm alive..."

I had survived.

Even after encountering that monster, I had managed to survive.

I took water and a dish from the Item Box.

I filled the dish to the brim with water and handed it to Momo.

Then I greedily gulped down the remaining water.

"Gulp... gulp... phew."

Water tasted so good. Who knew water could taste this good?

I drained it in no time.

"Woof."

Momo apparently hadn't had enough either; it held the dish out with a front paw and urged me for more.

"It's okay, there's plenty more."

For a while, Momo and I continued drinking water in silence.

"Haaah..."

Finally, I began to calm down.

That was way too close.

I'd never felt death so close in all my life.

What the hell was that monster?

Its strength was ridiculous.

That thing definitely wasn't an enemy you were supposed to encounter this early.

If this were a game, it would be enough to make me hurl my controller and sell the game to a used-game store.

No...

Looking back on it calmly now, there should have been any number of ways to avoid it.

That "bad feeling" I had at the convenience store.

That had been Danger Sense kicking in.

If I went to the shopping mall, there would be a High Orc there.

It had been sounding the alarm that there was an enemy I couldn't defeat.

"I should've trusted my instincts and simply gone somewhere else..."

That was probably the right choice.

Both when I was at the convenience store and when I was heading toward the shopping mall, Hostility Detection and Danger Sense had been doing their jobs properly.

I had ignored them and optimistically assumed, "It'll work out somehow," which was entirely my own fault. I was an idiot, plain and simple.

In a world that had become like a game, I'd leveled up and acquired Skills, and I must have gotten carried away somewhere along the way.

On top of that, being able to defeat monsters without much trouble had only made me more careless.

That's why I'd so casually put my life in danger.

"Aargh, damn it... Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

I raked my fingers through my hair.

I felt like stress was going to make me go bald.

≪Your proficiency has reached a certain level.≫

≪Your Stress Resistance has increased from LV 4 to 5.≫

Oh, really? Thanks!

Thanks to you, I feel a little calmer! Damn it!

"Whew... I'm exhausted..."

For now, I wanted to sleep.

I wanted to forget everything and fall asleep.

"Wuff..."

Momo looked exhausted, too.

Its voice lacked its usual energy.

I changed out of my wet clothes.

Then I took out a towel and dried Momo off.

I was sleepy.

I was terribly sleepy. I wanted nothing more than to sleep.

But would it be safe to sleep here right now?

If monsters attacked us in our sleep, it would all be over.

But neither Momo nor I had the stamina to take turns standing watch.

"I guess I have no choice..."

After seeing what happened earlier, I felt a little reluctant, but I'd have to build a barricade.

I took out chests of drawers, refrigerators, washing machines—anything big, starting with the largest—and placed them in front of the entrance and windows.

I kept at it until every bit of space except the area where Momo and I would sleep was packed with furniture.

It looked kind of like a hoarder's house.

But this way, even if monsters tried to get in, the noise would alert us immediately, and it should buy us a decent amount of time to escape... Unless it was a High Orc-class monster.

"All right, Momo, time for bed."

"Woof."

Surrounded by furniture, Momo and I went to sleep.

Because we were exhausted, we fell asleep within seconds.

And so, the first day since the world changed came to an end.

...Well, technically it was the second day.

In any case, it had been an incredibly eventful day.

Good morning.

Morning came.

It was six in the morning.

Since I'd gone to bed around eight last night, I must have slept for a solid ten hours or more.

I must have been really exhausted.

Momo had already been awake for a while.

Actually, Momo's face was the first thing I saw when I woke up.

I was startled for a moment.

"Woof!"

Momo licked my face over and over.

It seemed to be saying good morning.

"Good morning, Momo. Did you get a good rest?"

"Woof!"

Momo answered, wagging its tail vigorously.

It seemed to have fully recovered.

Since Momo kept licking me, I took the opportunity to enjoy some morning petting.

Yeah, it was fluffy and soft, and felt great. So soothing.

"...Looks like we weren't attacked by any monsters."

There was no sign that the furniture had been disturbed.

Thank goodness. Really, thank goodness.

I stretched and sat up.

First, I put the furniture away.

I made a little more room, then took out the bread, vegetable juice, and yogurt I'd gotten at the convenience store.

For Momo, I also took out the dog food it had been holding in its mouth at the convenience store yesterday.

It was a light breakfast.

After eating, I took out a washbasin and some water and quickly washed my face.

Then I brushed my teeth.

Yeah, my head was finally starting to clear.

"Well, then..."

I faced Momo.

"Momo, I have something to talk to you about."

"Wuff?"

Momo sat and looked at me.

I sat across from Momo in seiza.

"I... I'm thinking of actively hunting monsters starting today. The reason is to level up."

I explained to Momo what yesterday had taught me and what I was thinking.

That I'd been naive about this world.

That the best way to survive was to hunt monsters and level up.

And that having a companion would let us fight monsters more efficiently.

"Of course, that doesn't mean we'll hunt recklessly. Safety comes first, no matter what. If we die, it'll all be for nothing."

"Woof."

"So, Momo, I'm asking you again. I want to count on your strength. Let's join forces and survive together. ...Though I might not be much help."

As I said this with a wry smile, Momo rubbed against me.

It seemed to be saying, Don't worry. Let's do our best together.

"...Thanks, Momo."

"Woof!"

Momo barked with determination.

All right, then. Let's give it our all.

I would survive, no matter what.

In this world overrun with monsters.