Episode 17: Sabertooth Tiger

In the dense morning mist of the forest, I emerged from the cave in the rocky area I used as a bed and loosened up my body. Having gotten used to sleeping on the bed in the cave that used to be the Goblins’ dwelling, sleeping rough for the first time in a few days put a considerable burden on my body. No matter how young I am, getting wet with morning dew and losing body heat makes every joint in my body stiff and creaky.

Still, just doing light stretches warms my body, loosens the muscle stiffness, and fills me with vitality. I’m truly surprised by the performance of this superhuman body and feel grateful.

Last night was tough, making a bed and eating while protecting my left arm injured in the fight with the two-headed wolf and its pack, but checking it after waking up, the gouged wound has closed. Pain remains and movement is a bit awkward, but it’s no problem for normal activities. I’m repeatedly amazed by the tremendous recovery power, but thinking that it also manifests in my abnormally high libido makes my feelings complex. Junior is full of energy from the morning again today…

My stomach screams Gyrurururu~~~ violently from hunger. Recovery from injury and venting libido consume that much energy. I have to replenish that, so first, a meal.

I start by searching for prey to serve as ingredients. Visibility is poor due to the morning mist, so I focus on my hearing and further probe for presence with the Field. Various cries and sounds are heard like noise, but listening carefully, there is an animal snorting fugofugo about 20-30 meters away.

Expanding the sense of the Field, I can vaguely tell it’s walking between trees. Whether it sensed my Field or not, the animal seems to have noticed my existence too. It immediately started running, coming toward me with hostility.

Good grief, seems I have to fight. Animals in this world are abnormally belligerent. I ready my halberd. Since I can’t see it at all due to the morning mist, I confirm the animal’s movement relying on sound and the sense of the Field. The moment I thought it was close, a silhouette appearing in the mist took the form of a pseudo-boar and attacked me. Fast! Moreover, it’s scattering Pressure.

My waiting body froze for an instant, dulling my movement. Influenced by the wound inflicted by the two-headed wolf, the halberd’s trajectory went off, and I missed my aim. I managed to hit its front leg, so combined with the momentum of the pseudo-boar’s charge, it became a counter and I think the bone broke. However, at that time, the pseudo-boar’s tusk grazed my shoulder, tearing the flesh.

Unable to land properly, the pseudo-boar slid across the ground and crashed headfirst into a rock. Since it staggered from a concussion, I thrust the halberd’s spearhead into its head in that opening. Soon, a black mist appeared and vanished, so I confirmed its death.

It was good that the prey came to me, but failing to defeat it in one blow was clumsy. The opponent is a pseudo-boar about 1 meter long. Struggling against an enemy of this level makes me anxious about the future. Thanks to that, I sustained an unnecessary injury.

Fortunately, the injury is just a small cut, so it’s not a big deal and will heal quickly, but it’s certainly a risk. And it makes me feel depressed. I sighed to mark the end of my depression and collected the pseudo-boar carcass.

I start a fire to make a bonfire and prepare a meal. I butcher the pseudo-boar to take out the meat, skewering and roasting it. Afraid of parasites, I roast it thoroughly, but that makes the meat lose even more flavor. It feels dry and crumbly in the mouth; the taste and texture are the worst. I’m conversely impressed by how bad it tastes without spices or seasonings.

If only there were at least salt, but what isn’t here isn’t here. There was no salt in the Goblin dwelling either. How did they replenish salt? Did they drink some kind of live blood after all? I’m not prepared to go that far yet. If there were proof it’s safe to drink, I might be able to endure it, though.

Whew~~~~………

I sigh deeply. My stomach is full, but my mood has depressed even further.

Defeating prey at the risk of my life, spending time and effort cooking, and this is the result—it’s unbearable. Survival is depicted coolly in manga and anime, but in reality, it’s nothing but hell. Injuries are constant, and you always carry the risk of death. Honestly, I feel like I can’t do this.

When I was in Japan, I could eat deliciously and easily at restaurants or convenience stores, and if I got injured, I could go to a hospital for treatment without worrying about infections. As for sleeping places, hotels and inns were everywhere, and with the right equipment, I could easily rest my body by sleeping in a car or camping.

Over a week has passed since coming to this world, and while I’ve gotten somewhat used to primitive life, I miss my safe and convenient life in Japan terribly. I’m fed up with tasteless meals and the difficulty of ensuring safety. Even if it’s to protect my life, I’m sick of days fighting to take lives. I can’t help but wonder why this happened.

Once my injuries healed and I departed, I fought a beast early on and got injured again. Naturally, I become nervous. I feel crushed by anxiety about whether I can really survive and escape the forest.

Whew~~~~………

I sigh deeply once more. I became weak-hearted and complained a lot, but the reality is that complaining won’t help anything.

During my salaryman days, there were many times I fell into difficulties with no visible solution. Still, I managed and lived. Based on that experience, I tell myself it will work out somehow. Hang in there, hang in there, I encourage myself.

The wound throbbed, so looking at it, blood was seeping out. Thinking I wouldn’t have sustained this injury if I had armor, I thought about making a shield. Reflecting on the fight just now and the battle with the two-headed wolf yesterday, I keenly feel the necessity and importance of a shield. If I have a shield, I should be able to prevent unexpected attacks too.

I spent the morning making a shield. The material is bamboo-pseudo. Lacking a saw, wood processing is difficult; only bamboo-pseudo can be processed relatively easily with the dagger and knife I have.

I cut bamboo-pseudo into plate shapes, glued them alternately, and tied them with vines to fix them. It’s clumsy, but I made a square shield with 30cm sides. I attached a hook on the inside to pass my arm through. By fixing it to the bracelet, I minimized the impact on my arm. There is some anxiety about strength, but I think this can counter beast fangs and claws. Since my hand extends beyond the shield, I can use it while holding the halberd.

I’m satisfied with the decent result. I truly think making things is good. Concentrating makes me forget anxiety, and the process of completing something feels simply fun. With a small sense of accomplishment, my stress reduced significantly. Knowing how to deal with stress from years of experience is better than anything. The older the ginger, the hotter the spice (experience counts), as they say.

I depart when the sun passes its zenith. The morning mist is long gone, and clear air fills the forest. The wound is closed and there is no bleeding. There is some pain, but it should be fine as long as I don’t move violently. The healing speed while sleeping is phenomenal, but I feel it’s quite fast even when awake. Thinking of my previous body, it seems like a lie.

I wonder suddenly, is this normal for humans and animals in this world? The beasts I fought so far didn’t lose their will to fight even when deeply wounded. Is that because they know injuries heal quickly?

Looking at the wounds and bruises Lusine suffered, it didn’t feel that way, but since the time we spent together was short, I don’t know. I want to verify with animals, but since they don’t stop fighting until death, that seems difficult too.

I leave the forest and walk along the fissure in the earth. It’s a rugged rocky area, but it’s faster than walking in the forest, and above all, the good visibility is grateful.

The earth fissure formed by columnar joints continued for a while, but it ended after advancing about 10km by feel. As I climbed the mountain, the valley bottom gradually became shallower, finally becoming a place with large rolling rocks, and beyond that was covered by forest. Hiking is interesting because you can enjoy such transitions in scenery and changes in terrain.

Going to tourist spots in Japan, it often ends with just seeing the spectacular scenery, so it lacks interest. Moreover, the areas before and after are often off-limits, which is disappointing. In that sense, being able to walk in this world with completely untouched nature might be a precious experience. Though, since danger is always next door, I can’t recommend it.

Walking into the forest for a while, I felt a strange sense of incongruity. I probed for presence at first, but there were no signs of large beasts. So I proceeded deeper into the forest, but it feels strangely too quiet. Normally, the forest is filled with voices and sounds emitted by various animals and plants, but only this area has turned into a silent world without sound.

I concentrate my nerves on my hearing to check the situation. Then, I felt faint breathing. Something is holding its breath and hiding; I sense such a presence. And a tense atmosphere drifts, as if the surroundings are standing still in deference to it. Thinking this is bad, I changed my direction.

Then, a thick tree branch that had become part of the scenery moved. Landing lightly on the ground from the tree branch was a single tiger. The tiger emitted Pressure to the surroundings while showing an overwhelming presence.

I was captured by the tremendous Pressure and our eyes met. When it started moving, the surrounding world started moving all at once. I even felt the scenery itself held awe for it.

The distance to the tiger is about 50 meters. Even if I want to run, my movements are dulled by the Pressure. The tiger has definitely locked onto me. It approaches walking slowly.

Bad! The Pressure emitted by the tiger is greater than the Hobgoblin’s.

I took a deep breath, calmed my feelings, and then psyched myself up. Holding strong feelings, I also emit Pressure and clash it against the tiger’s Pressure. My Field and the tiger’s entangle and disperse explosively. My body becomes free to move, and I ready my halberd. The tiger’s huge body twitches in reaction. It is surprised its Pressure was neutralized.

I observe the approaching tiger. The first impression is that it’s simply huge! Tigers seen in zoos seem like children. Its appearance resembles a Sabertooth Tiger, possessing large fangs nearly 50cm long.

It’s a subspecies of tiger or something considered extinct on Earth, but it exists in this world.

Though, it seems far larger than the Sabertooth Tigers that were on Earth. I recall the Earth ones weighed about 250kg, but the one in front of me is easily over 500kg. The fangs of Earth ones were apparently 20-25cm, so its size is overwhelming. Even standing on four legs, its face is higher than my height.

Come to think of it, long ago when I went to the “Cat Museum” in Shizuoka, they exhibited taxidermy of felines like tigers, lions, and leopards. There were also taxidermy and skeletons of extinct ancient tigers and lions exhibited there; the largest tiger was as big as a horse, and I was surprised by its size and impact. However, the one in front of me now is even bigger.

I tell myself to be calm. It looks strong, and there is an image that tiger = ferocious beast = terrifying, but this is one animal. Since it’s not a pack, it should be easier to fight than yesterday’s wolf pack. Moreover, although large, its body is smaller than the pseudo-boar I fought before heading to the Goblin dwelling. I should be able to fight it.

Due to the influence of injuries on my arm and shoulder, I want to avoid melee combat and manage with long-range attacks if possible. I thought about hitting it with a large stone like when I fought the pseudo-boar, but unfortunately, being a deep forest, there are only earthen ground and grass, and no suitable stones are found. While thinking about how to fight, the Sabertooth Tiger approaches slowly. Surprisingly slow movement.

Come to think of it, I feel I read somewhere that Sabertooth Tigers went extinct because their prey, slow-moving large animals, decreased in the Ice Age, and they couldn’t cope with fast-moving small animals. If that applies to this Sabertooth Tiger too, competing with speed might be good.

I throw a golf-ball-sized stone. Of course, this is a feint to see its reaction. The stone flying straight curved right just before the Sabertooth Tiger and flew backward. As expected. From my battle experience so far, I’ve seen most beasts divert thrown stones to the right to avoid them.

This applies to humans too, but it might be a natural habit of living things. When living things move, there is a tendency to lean unconsciously to the left. Track sports are typical, with all events being counter-clockwise. The reason why isn’t well understood, but it seems that movement is natural.

I throw two stones simultaneously. One straight, and the other imbued with Will to curve in the opposite direction of the divertable direction. The Sabertooth Tiger avoided the straight-flying stone as intended, but the stone curving in the opposite direction hit it. However, its Telekinesis is powerful, and the affected stone missed the intended brow and hit its fang.

A high-pitched clack echoed through the forest. The fang didn’t break, but intense vibration seemed to resonate in the Sabertooth Tiger’s brain. For a short while, it staggered with tottering steps.

Thinking chance!, I threw a stone with all my might. But perhaps due to instinct as a strong one, the Sabertooth Tiger instantly floated its body and slid to the left to dodge. I was ashamed of my lack of thoroughness. I regretted why I didn’t throw two stones like before.

Recovering from the dizziness, the Sabertooth Tiger burns with rage and charges at me. The Pressure is tremendous; I feel like I’ll be blown away just by that. I managed to stand my ground, but melee combat seems unavoidable.

I want to avoid melee combat if possible! Thinking so, I took a gamble.

Against the charging Sabertooth Tiger, I charge head-on too. Accelerating my leg muscles with Telekinesis, I approach at a speed greater than its. The Sabertooth Tiger showed a moment of hesitation at my fierce speed, but thinking chance!, it opened its mouth wide and directed its giant fangs at me. I approach the Sabertooth Tiger to the last second and thrust out the halberd.

Naturally, the Sabertooth Tiger’s eyes glow, changing the direction of the halberd thrust to the right. Reading that it would happen, I let go of the halberd and let it veer to the right. Meanwhile, I myself jump to the left, opposite the halberd, readying my dagger while trying to dodge the Sabertooth Tiger’s approach. Hit-and-run tactics are my choice. However, the force of the Field pulling to the right is too strong, and I am drawn toward the Sabertooth Tiger’s mouth.

Surprised by the unexpected power, I instantly apply Telekinesis to my left arm and move the shield with all my strength. Then, the shield slipped past the Sabertooth Tiger’s fangs and entered its mouth. It couldn’t close its mouth, and fortunately, I avoided being bitten.

The Sabertooth Tiger crushes the shield with brute force, but taking advantage of that momentary gap, I pulled my arm from the shield and fired a finger bullet. The fired pebble hit the uvula inside its mouth and flew deep into its throat. Immediately, the Sabertooth Tiger choked. Maybe the pebble entered its windpipe.

Surprised by the completely unexpected event, the Sabertooth Tiger coughs repeatedly in distress. Having escaped danger by a hair, as I passed the Sabertooth Tiger’s side, I thrust the ready dagger into the side of its chest. The shield broke, and it didn’t go as a planned hit-and-run, but the result is alright.

“Gaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!!”

Stabbed in the flank with a dagger, the Sabertooth Tiger jumped up in surprise. Its lung must have been punctured. It spewed blood from its mouth and nose along with bleeding from the flank. However, it seems it didn’t reach the heart. Even with a 30cm blade, with that giant body, it might be unavoidable. Threading through the gap of its dulled movements, I went to pick up the released halberd.

The Sabertooth Tiger glares at me while wheezing. Its face is dyed bright red with blood spewing from its mouth and nose. The beautiful fur filled with dignity is nowhere to be seen.

Still, its fighting spirit hasn’t decayed at all. No, now burning with hatred, it’s surging even more than at first. It might have never suffered such wounds before. Its pride must be hurt. From its appearance upon entry, this Sabertooth Tiger was clearly full of the dignity of a ruler of this area.

It came toward me again, but after advancing a little, it writhed in agony. Looking, it started bleeding massively from the flank. Apparently, every time it walks, its left front leg hits the handle of the dagger stuck in its flank, and the blade inside the body seems to be shredding its internal organs. This is a happy miscalculation I hadn’t anticipated at all.

I can’t miss this opportunity for victory. I throw two stones at the Sabertooth Tiger suffering in pain. Naturally, I assume one will be dodged. But when the Sabertooth Tiger’s eyes glow, both stones divert greatly and fly to the right. Even while enduring pain, it was prepared for my attack. As expected of living in this world, it’s a veteran of a hundred battles.

Unfortunately, long-range attacks don’t seem to work on the Sabertooth Tiger. I have to crack its head or pierce its heart in close combat. Buying time to aim for exhaustion from blood loss is an option, but if the dagger comes out by some chance, it will attack again. Worst case, other beasts might join the fray. This is a heartless world of survival of the fittest with no rules.

I hold strong feelings and psych myself up. Facing the Sabertooth Tiger, I ready the halberd and charge at full speed. Of course, accelerating with Will.

The Sabertooth Tiger doesn’t move, keeping its posture low to wait for me. Just before contact, the Sabertooth Tiger’s eyes glowed, and a strong Field enveloped me. Amazingly, it Space Moved my body to avoid the halberd attack. I had assumed it would move the halberd tip, so I had put Will into the halberd to keep it steady.

My body is wrapped in the Sabertooth Tiger’s powerful Field and moves flying past its side. There is a thick tree ahead, and it intends to smash me into it using my charging speed. I struggle to escape with Space Movement, but its Telekinesis is overwhelmingly stronger, and my body doesn’t respond.

Unavoidably, leaving my body to fly, I concentrate Will on the halberd to interfere with the Field.

Against the Sabertooth Tiger’s Telekinesis wrapping me in a large Field, my Telekinesis, forming a Field narrowed only to the halberd, freed the halberd’s movement. Throwing the halberd with acceleration as we passed, its tip pierced the Sabertooth Tiger’s nape.

At that moment, the Field dispersed explosively, and the power of the Field vanished. I regained control of my body, and although I hit the tree, I managed to break the fall using the bracelet to absorb the impact.

Burden was placed on my injured left arm, and the wound opened with fierce pain and bleeding, but I avoided full-body bruising. If I had hit as is, I might have ruptured internal organs, suffered a concussion, collapsed, and my life might have ended.

On the other hand, the Sabertooth Tiger with the halberd stuck in its nape thrashed around as if mad. Probably, the nerve bundle that becomes the Telekinetic Stone deep in the nape was severed. Drifting black mist, it rolls on the ground gasping in agony.

The halberd came out, but the dagger stuck in the flank remained, so every time it rolled, it dug deeper, seemingly shredding internal organs. It seems to have reached the heart; massive amounts of blood spewed not just from the wound but from every orifice in its body.

It writhed in agony for a while, but eventually became quiet, and the Sabertooth Tiger died. Finally, the battle ended, and I exhaled deeply. As a single enemy, it was the strongest I’ve faced so far. The idea of making a shield from the experience of fighting the two-headed wolf and putting it into practice turned a pinch into a chance. If I didn’t have that shield, I would be inside its stomach by now.

I was truly surprised by that ability to Space Move me along with itself. There must be plenty of guys this strong ahead. Thinking so made me depressed. My headache is severe, and I feel the worst.

However, from this event, I learned that black mist doesn’t occur when a beast dies, but when the nerve bundle is destroyed. It probably occurs when the nerve bundle transforms into a Telekinetic Stone. I don’t know what that means, but it seems related to the Field this world or planet possesses.

Maybe the energy emitted by life is converted into a Field and returns to the planet. I suddenly thought so. But I thought this might be a forced interpretation, an idea born from the Buddhist thought that when a person dies, the spirit becomes a Buddha.

Since the crisis has passed for now, I tend to the open wound and stop the bleeding. In this battle, the shield broke, and my stock of throwing stones ran out. One canteen in the knapsack broke, and my shoes broke from continuous forced movements. I sighed.

Lamenting won’t help, so I thought about repairing them, but intense sexual desire welled up. It’s always like this after a battle. As the battles become fiercer, my libido becomes more intense. Junior looks like he’s about to explode any moment, and my head fills with desire for a female body. Unable to endure, I went behind a tree and vented my desire about three times.

Whew…

I calmed down for the moment, but the desire for a woman only increases. I sigh once more.

Beasts attack one after another leading to battles, and afterwards time is taken for sexual release. Progress is slow. Each time I get injured or things break, taking more time for treatment and repair. Anxiety increases wondering if I can really find a place where humans are like this.

I recall the idea of “God’s amusement” that crossed my mind yesterday.

If this really is a fantasy-like world and God threw me into this world for pastime or entertainment, I seriously feel like I can’t take it.

I believe God doesn’t actually exist and is a creation of the human heart fearing things, but coming to this world, that belief is wavering. My heart must be weakening from too many unreasonable events. Naturally, I’m fed up and filled with the thought give me a break already.

Forced into life-or-death battles in a situation with no one, living hand-to-mouth without decent food, and only libido abnormally inflating. It would be stranger not to go crazy!

In my long salaryman life, I was troubled by unreasonable bosses and work many times, and in the end, my wife cheated on me leading to divorce. Thanks to that, I became distrustful of humans and thought it better to be alone, but when such a lonely and painful situation continues this long, I want to meet and interact with any human, no matter who.

Lusine, whom I finally met, died immediately.

Why do I have to meet with such misfortune!? Have I done such evil deeds? I just lived ordinarily!

I wanted to scream and rage like a madman with all my might. If God exists, I wanted to curse and punch Him with all my hatred.

I thought about dying, but this body full of vitality didn’t desire that and is positive about living no matter what. If it were my old, aged body, I would have undoubtedly committed suicide.

If only there were alcohol, I might be able to distract myself somewhat, but if I get drunk, my corpse will probably be lying there tomorrow morning. This is that kind of world.

I punched a tree to vent my anger for a while. Pain shot through my hand, skin split, and blood spurted. I continued punching, not caring.

When I finally got tired and emptiness welled up, I thought of skinning the Sabertooth Tiger for a change of pace. It’s a big game I took down with effort. I thought it wouldn’t be bad to have that magnificent fur.

Long ago, I visited a rich man’s house decorating a tiger skin on the wall, and I was captivated by its power and beauty. I don’t have a house to decorate, but since it will get colder as I approach the summit, it will be good as winter clothes.

Not wanting to be disturbed by other beasts, I made several large bonfires to surround the Sabertooth Tiger corpse. I thought the forest might catch fire, but I thought so be it. I must have been quite crazy at this time. Thinking if I caused a forest fire and burned down the forest, I might get back at the unreasonable God a little.

Fortunately, it didn’t become a forest fire, only scorching the surrounding trees a little. After struggling to skin the Sabertooth Tiger, I gained a slight sense of accomplishment, left the place, and departed to look for a bed.

To keep my sanity even a little, I decided to stop walking for the day, eat a lot, let it out, and sleep. Even if the food is bad, if my belly is full and fatigue is removed, my mood should become positive. Pent-up frustration is best vented on the spot. That’s how I survived nearly 40 years of empty salaryman life. The old man just has to hang in there.

Incidentally, the Sabertooth Tiger’s Telekinetic Stone was large and yellowish-green, but it was split in two.

When I calmed down and became rational while sleeping, I realized that since the Sabertooth Tiger was slower, I didn’t have to force a fight; I could have just run away. Before I knew it, I seem to have become a battle maniac dyed in this world.

Damn!