Chapter 2: I barely survived… But my bed didn’t.

There was a lot to consider.

Going to another dimension and coming back had left him inexplicably very tired.

'Did that use my magic power, maybe?'

It wasn't simply physical or mental exhaustion. It was something different. A totally new sensation.

'Am I ceasing to be human?'

At the very least, he shouldn't be considered an ordinary human anymore.

Now, he felt a different emotion. The drain of… Let's call it Mana. The drain of Mana made him feel a sense of emptiness and breathlessness at the same time.

Although the actual sensation was different, the most plausible explanation he could find was that.

This feeling also came with the emotion of fear. The loss of 'Mana' made him feel vulnerable.

'I don't like this one bit…'

If possible, he didn't want to feel that way.

But maybe this was the body's way of warning and protecting him. After feeling this, he wouldn't want to experience Mana exhaustion again unless it was absolutely necessary.

That said, although he could come and go between dimensions whenever he wanted, the fact that it demanded so much from him meant he couldn't just move around without a good plan.

...

The next day.

Knowing that something like 'mana' existed made Tomoya more cautious in using Dimensional Jump.

Not go?

That wasn't a valid option.

Despite the risks, it was the same as telling an astronaut who had the chance to go to the moon… not to go.

But… He wasn't seeking his own death.

Before going, he spent part of his savings and bought some 'weapons'.

A large axe for chopping wood. A ten-kilogram sledgehammer, commonly used to break down walls. A big knife, almost like a sword. Two cleavers and food, such as meat and roasted chicken.

Everything was stored in the Item Box after he got home.

Besides that, he also went to an isolated area and stored stones that weighed tons.

He couldn't carry them himself, but what if he made them 'fall' from the Item Box while jumping, or if he was in a tree?

Honestly, he wanted a sword. However, it wasn't easy to buy one and he didn't even have the money for it.

That said, Tomoya, who finished resting for an hour after lunch, prepared himself to visit another dimension.

This time, he was more prepared. Even if that gray bear showed up again, he would have a way to deal with it. In the worst-case scenario, he would return.

He took a deep breath and used the ability.

This time, there wasn't just one mass of energy, but five.

Each mass of energy had a different scenery.

'These are the places I stayed the longest in that dimension,' he thought.

It was similar to when he wanted to return to his own world.

Each place had a mass of energy. Some larger, others smaller. It was even possible to get a brief glimpse of what was happening at X location.

He searched for one where no monster was nearby.

The gray bear wasn't spotted in any of the five. Presumably, it left after losing sight of Tomoya.

When he 'crushed' the energy mass in his hand, he was enveloped by a light.

Opening his eyes, Tomoya found himself once again in the familiar forest.

The sounds of birds could be heard.

In fact, were they ordinary birds, or monsters?

In his hand, a large axe for chopping trees appeared.

Even without seeing any nearby monsters, he didn't want to push his luck.

Walking slowly among the trees and tall grass, he was surprised by the absence of monsters.

'Was that just a coincidence?'

Suddenly, he saw rustling in the taller grass.

With a leap, a white rabbit with red eyes and a drill-like horn jumped in his direction.

Sliding his foot back, he raised the axe.

Tomoya's strength wasn't greater than that of an average man. When he struck, the red-eyed rabbit defended itself with its horn by twisting its head.

Sparks flew from the clash. Tomoya's feet slid backward as he was pushed by the force of the red-eyed rabbit.

'So strong.'

It was impossible for a regular rabbit to have such strength, even if it leapt at him.

The fact that the blade of the axe scraped the horn and produced sparks surprised him quite a bit.

When he saw that he was going to lose the power struggle, he made the axe disappear, replacing it with a giant knife normally used for barbecues.

Holding the knife's handle with both hands, he first dodged and then lunged at the red-eyed rabbit's belly with the horn.

"What the hell?!"

He couldn't help but curse.

The reason was simple. The red-eyed rabbit somehow managed to spin its body in the air and move to the side, gaining distance.

When it landed on the ground, it looked like a cat that lands on its feet and growled with a fierce expression while staring at him with its white fur bristling.

When he took a cautious step toward the rabbit, the growling rabbit actually pretended to charge but then turned and ran into the bushes.

Its movements were decisive and fast. Even if Tomoya wanted to, he wouldn't be able to catch the rabbit.

Tomoya touched his chin with his free hand.

Although he had played some games, the situation he was in couldn't be fully compared to a game. Normally in games, monsters don't flee until they're killed, but apparently, the moment it realized it didn't have a chance to win, the white rabbit with red eyes ran away.

'I should consider these… monsters more like monstrous animals, rather than simple monsters.'

Although it looked the same, there was a difference. Monsters normally don't fear death. However, if they are monstrous animals that retain their primitive instincts, like fear, they won't fight to the death, as in the case of the white rabbit with red eyes.

This also made him think of the following possibility: Calling friends.

If it's one rabbit like that, he could still handle it. But if it's several?

Tomoya backed off in the opposite direction.

When he got a certain distance away, he saw a lake.

Instead of approaching the water, he climbed a tall tree, 10 meters high.

The branches of the tree were thick and long. He climbed up halfway and sat on a branch.

Grabbing a rock the size of a head, he dropped it to the ground.

His goal was simple. Make a loud enough noise to attract some animal. In addition, he also threw down a whole roasted chicken.

'The roasted chicken was still warm.' He thought.

That made him think that time inside the Item Box was frozen, or passed incredibly slowly. That would explain why the roasted chicken was still the same temperature as when it was placed in the Item Box.

That said, he waited. He didn't believe no monster would be attracted by the previous sound and the smell of roasted chicken.

The fact that the roasted chicken was thrown from the top of the tree caused it to splatter and the smell to spread faster.

The ground trembled a little. Dust rose with a stampede of different monsters.

'Shit!'

He had underestimated the smell of the roasted chicken and how sensitive the beasts' sense of smell and hearing was in this dimension.

Soon, he saw different types of monstrous animals.

Huge boars, fierce wolves, bears, among other beasts.

Tomoya's heart froze.

He didn't want to give up now, but seeing that number of beasts that looked powerful running in his direction—even being high up in a tree—he didn't feel safe.

Closing his eyes tightly, he opened them determined.

Reaching his hand downward, he waited.

When he saw the monstrous animals get close enough, he began to pull the giant stone that weighed tons from the Item Box.

The branch of the tree creaked. He hadn't felt the weight of the stone when he began pulling it out, but maybe the weight itself was transferred to him when he started retrieving the huge rock?

He increased his speed to pull out the stone. When he was nearing the end, the branch creaked again. This time, he saw the tree sway, tilting from the absurd weight of the stone.

With the sound of 'Crack' the branch snapped.

The stone began to fall as it came out of the Item Box, but Tomoya also started falling along with the branch.

Quickly, he used 'Dimensional Jump'. He chose his bedroom and to fall onto his bed.

When he appeared, he was almost hitting the ceiling of the house and began to fall.

"Ahhhh!"

With the loud sound of "Crack!", the bed broke.

His body bounced on the mattress.

His face was pale. His heart was beating very fast.

The adrenaline he felt was enormous. Even though he had no injuries, he felt pain spread throughout his body.

It wasn't just from spending 'mana' to jump between dimensions, but also because he was physically and mentally exhausted.

He remained lying on the broken bed without any will to get up.

He only made a bit of effort to turn and face the ceiling.

"Sigh~, that was pretty... risky." He murmured softly.