I awoke with a jolt. My eyes frantically swept over my immediate surroundings in a desperate attempt to locate the source of my awakening. To my surprise, the dried-up tears accumulated throughout the night obstructed these golden irises of mine. Thus, blocking my field of view. With the weak amount of strength in my body, I commanded my arms to wipe them away. While my hands worked diligently at clearing the tears from my eyes, I noticed how cold each of my fingers was. Now that I thought about it, my entire body seemed to be in this state as well, even going to the point of shivering. Subconsciously, my knees tucked themselves closer into my body, and both my hands formed into a fist in hopes of increasing body temperature. A panoramic view of the forest exposed itself in front of me when the tears were gone.

In a matter of a few seconds, the once curly hair of mine had turned into a wet dog. Posted a few meters above my head was a colossal leaf. For the first time since he'd woken up, Itsuki realized that he'd fallen asleep on the sturdy branches of a tree. A gigantic water drop was laden atop the leaf's spacious surface. Most likely, this was the source of my awakening. The army of branches sprouting off the tree and the abundance of leaves on it reflected the immense amount of vitality it possessed. This entire forest was like this. To save my vulnerable five-year-old body from turning into a frozen block of half-dark elf, I repositioned myself slightly to the left. When I felt that I'd relocated enough to be in the clear, I took some time to observe my surroundings. Uncanny animals were going about their business, foraging leaves, taking off to the sky in search of prey, climbing up trees, and devouring one another.

The extreme amount of horns on the creatures or their overly large size and eery resemblance to animals on earth wasn't what surprised me the most. It was the fact that some of them were using MAGIC! A creature that looked like a bison with extra horns and an enlarged head was in a charging stance. It tossed its head back and began rushing towards another member of its species. During the time it took to reach the other Bobble-Head Bison (Yes, I named them already), the charging creature had collected pieces of rock, debris, and other minerals it had stepped on and caused them to float onto its horns. The many horns on its head now had metal pieces and tiny rocks coated atop them. Truthfully, this scene was menacing with how large the horns had become. However, Itsuki shifted his vision towards the floor. A new thought preoccupied him. The memories of yesterday had started to return.

A few tears slipped past him and ended up falling onto the vibrant green grass below. They were swiped by his hands as soon as they revealed themselves. Everything repeated itself over and over in his mind... The amount of blood on the floor, their dead bodies lifelessly staring at the ceiling, the way that he had escaped like a coward. The memories hit like a truck. His breathing was becoming ragged and broken. However, Itsuki eventually managed to return to himself through multiple deep breaths. Nevertheless, that memory never left his mind, constantly playing like a broken record.

Reaching into his bag, Itsuki removed a white towel. Inside its oil-soaked fabric resided some bacon slices. He also extracted an apple and one out of his four water bottles. If he was going to stay true to his promise and survive until Kengen arrived, then it was of the utmost importance that he got some nutrients in his system. While munching down on his breakfast, Itsuki planned his next move. First, he needed to know how much combat strength he had as of this moment. Thus, Itsuki opted to open his system to view his current attributes. After all, It had been a while since he'd last checked. 'System' With a simple mental command, it appeared before him.

{player number 7089}

[Status ||

Name: Itsuki Abara

State: Child

HP: 159 (2/3)

MP: 58

Strength: 53 (2/3)

Agility: 60 (2/3)

Stamina: 60 (2/3)

Vitality: 53 (2/3)

Intelligence: 60 (2/3)

Wisdom: 56 (2/3)

Skills: Language(1/57)

- Mana Movement: lv 10 (Max)

- Mana Sense: lv 1

- Pain Resistance: lv 10 (Max)

- Communication: lv 3

- Novice Appraisal: lv 5

- Intermediate Archery: lv 6

- Magic Infusion: lv 10 (Max)

- Dash: lv 6 || ]

[Conditions have been met. Skills [Mana Movement: lv 10] and [Magic Infusion: lv 10] have merged into a new skill. [Mana Manipulation: lv 1]]

Usually, I would be more than elated at this drastic increase in power. However, the recent occurrences have dampened my mood to new lows. It's as if a hole is being dug into my heart whenever I think about them. No, I have to stop paying further attention to the events that took place. Quickly ending the chain of thoughts, I decide to revert to the matter at hand. With my gaze locked onto the attribute page and my body positioned atop the uneven surface of the tree branch, I analyzed the amount by which I've improved.

I've surprisingly gained an MP bar, probably due to my recent achievement of unlocking all my leylines. Its amount seems to be very low compared to my health, is this normal? Hmm, there is no (2/3) next to it as well. I guess it's not age-restricted like the rest of my stats. I've also gained a new skill, but I guess it makes sense seeing as I can effortlessly feel the mana in my body now. All my attributes seemed to have advanced significantly. I can confidently associate this the recent events. Three of my most practical skills have hit max level, and two of them have even merged. Overall, this is excellent news as it means that I might possibly be able to hunt the monsters in this forest with this level of strength.

My two main issues as of this moment are food and water. Hunting the monsters for nutrition would fix the first problem. While for water, I already have a solution. About one hundred meters ahead of our house, there was a lake. I'm pretty sure that the water there is drinkable. As of the moment, my rations can last a month at most. During that time, I must return home, refill the water bottles and get the hang of hunting to at least be able to sustain myself long enough to survive until Kengen arrived. Yosh, with that settled, it's time to begin. Itsuki quietly nibbled the rest of his apple, downed a little more water and started his long session of animal watching. If he was to hunt animals he knew absolutely nothing about, then Itsuki needed to obtain the bare minimum of info, especially what animals were edible.

It may sound odd, but this is a fantasy world, after all. For all Itsuki knew, the cute little bunnies hopping around with their protruded unicorn horns could have poisoned claws. That is to say that nothing might be as it seemed. Magic did exist here, after all. For the remainder of the day, Itsuki sat on his fat branch and stared at unsuspecting future victims. He was in the same position the entire time, minus that one time he had to pee. And like that, two days of animal watching, eating fruit, peeing on a branch, turning in your sleep, and spontaneous crying in the middle of the night passed. On the third day since Itsuki had become an orphan, he didn't lay on the tree branch and stare at the wild animals for the remainder of the day. Instead, he performed a standard check of his bow, loaded it with arrows, ate breakfast, and headed down the tree branch for the first time.