This question was probably weird. Wasn’t it already finished after all?

The thing was, I hadn’t killed that thing. If it so happened that it attracted other beasts here, I’d be in trouble.

Well, what now?

I looked to where the critter had now disappeared. I stood up and approached, recalling what I knew about the Hardlett. He was a mana critter that lived alone. It lived underground and only breached the surface to hunt.

Is there something I am forgetting?

I couldn’t quite think of anything… Hmm that must be all.

As I approached, this time more relaxed, I looked at where this tunnel lead: a wide network of tunnels, with multiple embranchments leading to different points.

Thankfully, I had the map.

Still, instead of proceeding, I backed away and hid. Peeking from behind the rock, hoping to see if something else lived there.

No movement; no mana; stillness.

I advanced.

A trail of blood and footsteps on the ground told a sad tale.

“Sorry...”

I looked at them. The trail connected to a hole further away. It seemed it had managed to hide somewhere, probably in his home base. A smile crept on my face: a smile of relief.

I only wanted it gone, insofar as he was a threat.

As he was now, I doubted there was any way for him to pursue me anymore, and I doubted it’d attract anything my way.

Well, good luck.

I looked at the map and prepared to enter the next tunnel.

No sooner had I stepped in than a voice reverberated in my head.

[Hey you.]

“What?” I answered reflexively.

“Wait, what!?”

I jumped backward, looking around me, my dagger ready.

Frantically searching for the person who had spoken; shaken by the fact they had somehow avoided my gaze.

“Who are you!?”

“I am not afraid!!” I said, trying to convince myself.

[Hel..p me..]

“Uh, where are you?”

[No... inside.. the belly,] A tired voice said to my mind.

“W-what are you?” I stuttered.

It ignored me instead with pained said, [... Inside... the belly.]

“Inside the belly?”

I looked around me, and the only belly besides mine I could think of was the stomach of the Hardlett I had just ‘defeated’ — a belly that was now buried.

N-no way, really?

“Inside the wolf’s belly?”

[Y-ye...] The voice inside my mind trailed off as if it was at its limit.

I didn’t want to go in there. I would probably have to kill that thing.

Given the current circumstances, I wasn’t too keen on wasting time saving someone else, and I knew full well that beasts were often the most dangerous when injured.

However…

How did this person communicate with me? It looked similar to what Franky had used but somehow more refined; as if they had been standing next to me the whole time.

How had they even survived being eaten?

Also, could I kill that thing?

This wasn’t a trivial question.

In this cutthroat world, it was certain one day I’d have to kill someone.

So if I wasn’t even able to finish a beast that had attacked me, especially to save someone else, would I be able to kill someone if the situation asked for it?

I looked in the hole's direction and sighed.

“Sit tight!”

I denuded myself, realizing this task would be bloody and after neatly putting them away, I walked toward the hole.

As I got in, I walked a bit, crossing a few tunnels guided only by my sight and after some exploring, there it laid.

This place seemed to be its house, as it was much more spacious than the simple tunnels I had just crossed.

Its useless eyes were closed, and its mana flow seemed to show he was alive, even though weak.

I got out of the hole and went back into the initial tunnel.

Not because I was running away, but because I needed something longer.

As I looked at him, instantly I realized how useless the dagger would be. He was too big, and his fur too thick for a dagger to be of any use here.

The only way to kill him easily while bypassing that thick coat of fur was to reach its brain through the eyes. My stomach churned at the idea, but I shook my head.

I’ll make this quick.

I looked around.

And as I looked, I found something usable, a big spike about the size of my leg.

It was heavy, and to avoid cutting myself, I had to wrap it with the lab coat, but it’d do the job perfectly.

I walked back into the hole.

As I approached the creature, it opened its eyes but didn’t react to my presence. He was on the verge of death, its whimpers painful.

Its head was down, and thus I didn’t have too much problem climbing it.

After having climbed upon it, now looking at his eyes with sweat dripping down my back, I resolved myself.

“Go rest now,” I said as I took a deep breath and plunged the stone pike into its left eye as deep as possible.

His whole body twitched before immobilizing.

He didn’t even make a sound.

Soon, the mana that ran through his body simply seeped out.

This was the first time I had seen this, but instinctively I knew what it meant. The Hardlett had died.

After that, my legs buckled, and I fell on my bum.

This was way more taxing than I thought it’d be.

The tactile and gross feeling of his weapon penetrating first the eye and then the brain.

This was real; I didn’t like it, but it was real.

I had killed something.

I didn’t feel guilty; I didn’t feel bad.

I am able, was the only thought in my mind.

I can kill.

I sighed and thanked the critter.

I knew he had allowed me to grow.

I can’t run anymore.

Still, despite myself, I couldn’t help but think of him.

Father, I can kill too.

#

Oh yes

I looked at the now inert body of the Hardlett; there was someone in there.

Despite my best precautions, it seemed I had nicked myself on a rock, and now that the tension had gone down, I was realizing it.

It stings.

I looked at the belly. So you’re in there?

I first tried to enter through the jaws. But somehow, they seemed sealed shut.

So heavy!

‘Ok, what do I do?’

There was another entrance, so to speak, but there was no way I’d go through that.

I could dig? But…

I had 7 days to find the metal; I had already wasted a lot of time in the very first embranchment of this path. Did I really need to save this person?

There was no telling how long it’d take to reach the belly, with that ridiculous coat of fur covering it. And I was here on a mission.

But somehow, even putting aside morals and the weird telepathic ability that had made me compelled to help this person in the first place, I felt somehow drawn to this individual. As if saving them would represent a turning point in my life, with consequences even more considerable than embarking on this journey.

Well shit.

I grabbed my dagger, walked, and then started digging a path to its stomach. The earth fought back, scratching my hands and making them a bloody mess.

“This better be worth it.” I groaned.

Even in pain, even with my hands bloody, something dragged me forward; something in there was calling me.

After a few hours of digging, the pain had gotten numb. My hands were in an ugly state; my fingers swollen and blistered like charred sausages.

“Phew, finally”

The stomach of the wolf was finally visible. Sorry for that buddy.

I gripped my dagger as tight as I could and slashed at the wool coat; I slashed and slashed until I reached its skin.

I wasn’t really thinking anymore. I was out on a mission. Single track mind, leading me to slash, slash, slash and slash again. Thankfully, I had denuded myself. The further I progressed, the more drenched in blood I was. I honestly couldn’t tell whether that blood was mine or the beast’s, but I slashed until I finally reached the stomach.

Slash

The stomach was full, and its highly pressured content sprayed outwards, bringing along a fetid odor.

I puked.

The odor woke me up from my trance.

I couldn’t even complain about it, as I was afraid of swallowing this foul thing.

The high pressured flow of stomach juice and other stuff I didn’t want to think about slowly slowed down to a trickle.

Urgh, you didn’t make this easy.

I puked again

After emptying my stomach — twice — I looked to the stomach I had slit open. Inside I could see shining meekly through the cavity, a floating, purple ball.

What?

Instead of a person, inside that faint light ball, I could see a small, shiny white snake.

“You?” I said in shock

[He..re]

[He.… lp me... boy]

Animals can speak?

Confused, and worried about whether this stomach juice marinade I was drenched in would make me more appealing to neighboring monsters, I extirpated it from its fleshy prison.

Even without me doing anything, the amount of mana the creature held grew — from the initial quasi-nothingness to a considerable amount.

This thing got a lot of mana.

The mana ball that had been around the creature had dissolved after I removed it from the stomach, as if it was trying to conserve its energy. Wrapping the snake around my neck, I climbed outside the hole. Once out of it, I fell to the ground.

I hope I chose right.

On the ground, I fainted from exhaustion.