You barely make out a cluster of red caps propping out from the foot of a tree. The dappled sunlight hardly illuminates the undergrowth that spreads across the surface of this dense forest, so it is a wonder you even catch them out of the corner of your eye.

You come up to these strange-looking fungal masses and hearken back to the hanging berry bush. You reason to yourself that these plants must be food, for they are red things amidst the green leaves, akin to the berries.

Or so your simple line of thinking leads you to believe...

You pluck one and bring it up to your nose. It is an earthy smell with a hint of sweetness. This sweetness is not as prevalent as the berries' though. Nonetheless, your empty stomach calls for food, and you greedily take a bite of this mushroom.

Congratulations! Your「POISON RESISTENCE」skill has increased to Level 1

You fall backward, utterly betrayed by your expectations. Your throat burns and your tummy is now upset. Your friend looks on at you, dumbfounded by your stupidity in even attempting to eat those poisonous mushrooms.

Annoyed by the look in its eyes, you chase the animal away.

The hunt for food stagnates. Many of the shrubberies here do not bear food. Your chances of stumbling into fruit in the city were ironically higher. Your friend joins you in your search, but also fails to locate anything substantial with its powerful nose.

The dirt track fades into a small grassy clearing in the middle of the forest, and from then on, you find no path to guide you.

No more roads branch off from your current location, and the river is nowhere in sight. A dead end.

It is during this hopeless juncture that a sound emerges from the shadows.

Your friend appears agitated and growls at the source of the rustling leaves. You turn to the noise and witness a pack of six gelatinous blue blobs hopping toward you.

"What you..?" you stumble back, surprised by these otherworldly creatures.

These are slimes. A common monster in the forest you've foolishly ventured into. You aren't cognizant of the fact, but their aggressive movements are enough to alert you.

As if this wasn't your first rodeo, you pull out your dagger. The blade is dull but it'll make swift work of these monsters.

One of them lunges at you with murderous intent. Your slow reflexes are a result of inexperience, and you are knocked down.

Congratulations! Your「BLUNT RESISTENCE」skill has increased to Level 4

The force of its attacks is not to be scoffed at. And while they are the weakest of the forest creatures, they make up for their lack of strength with numbers.

Your friend rushes to your aid and fights back on your behalf. It sinks its teeth into the jelly-like beast closest to you and tears it to shreds. The slime instantaneously erodes into dust, leaving behind a small crystal.

The slimes are wary of your ability to retaliate and cautiously encircle the two of you.

You stand up and assume a combat stance, ready to face these monsters.

"Let kill these monsters!" you say, wholly focused on the battle. Your friend howls along with your sentiments.

And you charge at the first slime that approaches you, swinging your dagger horizontally so as to slice it in two. The blade easily parts the beast and the number of slimes is reduced to four.

Congratulations! Your「SHORT BLADE」skill has increased to Level 1

You shift your focus to the three slimes ganging up on your friend. While the animal effortlessly takes two out in a single swipe, its back is exposed, allowing the gelatinous fiend to strike.

However, you block it with your staff and cut the monster down, protecting your friend from an unwanted blunt skill level-up.

Congratulations! Your「SHORT BLADE」skill has increased to Level 2

The slime looks at the remains of its fallen brethren and cowers in fear. Without hesitation, the monster turns tail and runs, leaving you two the victors.

"W-we win!" you sheathe your dagger and pump your fist in the air because you can. You have survived your first fight in this world.

And the spoils are strewn about the place—blue-colored gems that sparkle in the sunlight. You collect these stones alongside your friend and inspect them thoroughly.

After staring at them for a straight hour, you come to the conclusion that you have no idea what these could possibly do.

Congratulations! Your「OBSERVING」skill has increased to Level 80

Your friend, who has taken a nap while you quietly scrutinized these blue gems, opens its eyes and looks at you. It is still dumbfounded by your stupidity, and it decides to stick by you out of pity.

You again are irritated by its sorrowful gaze, and you stow the gems in your belt bag and chase the animal away.

This time, you blindly dash headfirst into the dense thicket.

The animal is pretty skilled at weaving through the woods, whilst you occasionally bump your head on incoming tree branches and trip on bushes you happen to sprint through.

Congratulations! Your「BLUNT RESISTENCE」skill has increased to Level 10

Either you are a genius for farming these levels or a total dunce.

Regardless, you spot sun rays poking through into the forest. Your friend is quick on the uptake and bolts toward the light betwixt the trees. You follow the animal and find yourself at the edge of the woods.

You are standing on a hill overlooking a large grassy meadow. Over yonder is what appears to be a farmhouse. You see this massive stretch of land and are paralyzed by this breathtaking view.

Your friend makes no attempt to hide its excitement. It gleefully bounds off to frolic in the fields. You snap out of your trance and join it, elatedly running down the grassy slope and dropping your staff.

For a second you forget all your worries and gambol around like a lunatic.

Congratulations! Your「RUNNING」skill has increased to Level 27

You lie down flat on the pasture and stare up into the clouds. You never noticed just how blue the sky was, nor were you aware of the billows of white that suffused the heavens with bumpy shapes.

Your friend lies down beside you. You place your hand on its head and gently stroke its ears back.

This realm is filled with beauty. Spending millennia in the void may have had an impact on your perception of this world, but that did not bother you in the slightest. Even if you weren't subjected to several lifetimes' worth of darkness, you would still believe this world to be beautiful.

Because the fact of the matter is, that despite the pain and suffering that comes with living here, this world is beautiful.

You internalize these emotions as you continue to pet your friend.

Congratulations! Your「TAMING」skill has increased to Level 5

After you've had your fill of fun, you arise and take up your staff. Your aim is to reach the farmhouse by sunset.

In your heart, you hope it contains a source of heat like the camp. And you stroll through the rough grassland with your friend in tow, and you enjoy the clean atmosphere the void almost certainly did not offer.

The next destination: your potential new home.