6. Brave New World, Part 1.

A blinding light flooded Ars’s vision, sharp enough to make his eyes sting. He squeezed them shut and lifted a hand to shield himself.

Gradually, the brightness receded. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing inside what looked like a cave.

Sunlight filtered through an opening in the ceiling, casting pale beams across the stone walls.

Outside, cicadas droned and birds called to one another.

The air felt different—clean, almost crisp, untouched by the heavy pollution he had grown accustomed to, even though Japan was already cleaner than most other countries. The difference was still unmistakable.

It didn’t seem as though the inhabitants of this world had ravaged their environment the way humans had in his own.

Drawing in a steady breath, Ars stepped toward the cave’s mouth.

Then it hit him.

Pain speared through his head without warning, followed by a violent surge of nausea. He doubled over and vomited, his body refusing to cooperate.

The spell was brief but overwhelming, leaving him weak and unsteady.

After a while, he forced himself upright. The worst had passed, though a bitter taste clung to his tongue and his breathing remained uneven.

He couldn’t tell what had caused it. Was it the strain of crossing worlds? Or his ability awakening after he consumed the Golden Fruit? He had no answer.

But something had shifted inside him. He could sense it faintly, as if something new had taken root inside him. Though still unclear, he had a vague understanding of his ability.

Ars shrugged off the large backpack from his shoulders and retrieved a water bottle.

He rinsed his mouth thoroughly before taking a few measured sips. Before stepping through the Gate, he had packed enough food and water to last three days.

He hadn’t known where he would arrive—or whether he would find anything to eat or drink.

So he had prepared carefully: a sturdy hiking pack, a compact tent, and basic supplies for surviving on his own.

His sword hung at his waist. Beneath his shirt, the fragmented branch of Leah—the World Tree—rested against his chest, suspended from his neck like a necklace.

Once he confirmed that everything was still with him and that the lingering pain had dulled to something manageable, he moved toward the exit.

If the nausea and headache were the cost of traveling through Leah’s Gate, it was a troublesome one. He would have to endure it if he intended to use it again.

For now, though, there were more pressing matters ahead.

Soon, Ars exited the cave and found himself in a jungle. Large trees surrounded him on all sides. For a modern person like him, staying in a jungle was never an option.

There could be poisonous insects or creatures he didn’t even know about. He had no idea what to expect.

For now, finding civilization was the right call. The sun was still up, so he couldn’t afford to stop. Night would only make things more dangerous. First, he had to determine which direction to go.

With a dull thud, Ars set his large backpack on the ground. He quickly climbed a tall tree to get a better view.

From the top, all he could see were endless trees and dense jungle. Who knew what kind of animals or dangerous species lived here?

As he scanned the horizon, he spotted something in the east—a tower. It was so tall it seemed to reach the sky, closer to the clouds than the ground.

Ars didn’t know what it was, but he could tell it wasn’t normal. Beneath the tower, he could barely make out what looked like a city.

It wasn’t just because his eyesight was sharp—even with mana enhancing it, as trained by Saber and Leah—but because the tower and the city were enormous.

Even so, they were still far away.

Ars decided to head toward that city. He could gather more information along the way if there were villages or towns nearby.

From his position, he noticed a small road running east to west. For now, he would follow that road.

He climbed down quickly, grabbed his belongings, and began jogging toward it.

After about forty minutes of jogging, Ars finally reached the road. Along the way, he had tried to make as little noise as possible, avoiding any direction where he heard movement.

The jungle stretched in every direction. He was certain that whatever made those sounds wasn’t human.

What kind of humans lived in a place like this? Nomads, maybe? But even that felt unlikely.

They were more likely dangerous animals or other creatures.

And even if he doubted humans lived here, he still wasn’t sure whether humans even existed in this world.

There could be entirely different beings ruling this land.

Living in modern-day Japan had at least taught him one thing—never carelessly intrude on territories that belonged to something stronger or more adapted than you.

Those who survived in dangerous jungles were rarely welcoming to strangers.

Still, finding a village remained his priority.

As he sorted through these thoughts, he saw something he wasn’t prepared for.

‘Is that a goblin?!’

That was his first thought when he saw the grotesque creature standing ahead of him.

In his eighteen years of life, he had consumed enough manga and novels to recognize a goblin on sight.

In most games and stories, they were among the lowest-ranking monsters, alongside slimes.

He couldn’t be completely sure, but the creature in front of him matched the image too well.

It was a green, plump humanoid monster with large, bulging eyes.

Just looking at it made his skin crawl. It wobbled as it walked, moving slowly. It was alone and barely half of Ars’s height.

At six feet one inch tall, with his long, lion-like white hair flowing behind him, Ars made the creature look like a child in comparison.

The goblin still hadn’t noticed him.

So he took his chance.

Ars carefully lowered the backpack from his shoulders and set it on the ground. Sword in hand, he slowly approached the creature.

Years of training and sparring with Saber had shaped him. He had awakened mana and learned how to channel it through his body, enhancing his strength, speed, and endurance beyond normal human limits.

He still didn’t know how he would fare against this creature, but it had to be better than facing it without any training at all. At the very least, he had years of swordsmanship behind him.

Even so, he couldn’t shake the nervousness creeping into his chest. It was his first time seeing—let alone fighting—an actual monster. Feeling scared was only natural.

Closing the distance quietly, Ars stepped right behind it and thrust his sword forward.

The blade pierced straight through its head.

The creature let out a monstrous cry and flailed wildly for a few seconds before collapsing onto the ground, its body twitching once before going still.

Ars remained motionless, watching carefully. Only after he was certain it was dead did he release the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

He had killed it without much trouble.

It felt almost anticlimactic, but Ars wasn’t looking to prove anything.

He wasn’t foolish enough to fight a monster head-on in an unknown world, inside an unfamiliar forest filled with who knew what.

If he got injured, infected, or poisoned, there would be no one to help him. If the fight dragged on, its allies might have come to surround him.

He didn’t even know where the hell he was!

He was alone in this world.

He refused to be reckless and die meaninglessly. There would be time to test himself after he understood this world better and reached civilization.

He was also grateful he hadn’t appeared in a place completely uninhabitable for humans.

If the air had been toxic or there had been no oxygen, he might have died immediately.

That was why he had brought a mask, food, and water with him.

Thankfully, the mask—just a basic one—hadn’t been necessary.

Ars chose to stab its head instead of slashing off its neck or aiming for the heart for a simple reason—he didn’t know its biology.

The sword he carried was good, far better than most. Saber had ‘borrowed’ it from a master craftsman.

Even so, human-made swords weren’t designed to repeatedly cut through thick bone.

A modern blade could chip or even break after a few hard strikes. He couldn’t risk damaging it in an unfamiliar world with no way to repair or replace it.

That was also why he had brought several sharp knives along with a proper survival kit.

They were high quality—ordered and shipped from Amazon before he left. He had prepared as much as he reasonably could.

Most living creatures died when their brains were destroyed. The heart, however, could vary in position depending on anatomy.

What if this monster’s heart wasn’t where a human’s would be? Stabbing the brain had been the safest and most efficient option.

The goblin-like creature had spilled a large amount of blood onto the ground. Ars crouched down to examine it more closely.

Yeah. It looked disgusting.

As he stared at the corpse, an uneasy thought surfaced.

What if these were the normal residents of this world?

What if he had just killed an ordinary citizen?

The idea lingered for a second before he forcefully pushed it away.

No. It had to be a monster.

It looked like one. Moved like one. Felt like one.

Still, the sensation of blade cutting through flesh and bone lingered in his mind.

It was unpleasant—far more real than sparring with Saber. But years of harsh training had helped steady him.

He had known what he was agreeing to when Leah told him about this path.

Leah had saved his life. It had done so much for him. The least he could do was face this much without breaking.

Thankfully, his experience hunting wild boars and deer in Japan had prepared him for blood and death. Without that, this moment might have shaken him far worse.

Then another thought surfaced—something drawn from countless games and stories he had consumed.

Monsters often dropped loot.

Adventurers collected ears as proof of kills. Fangs. Claws. Magic stones.

Ars examined the corpse more carefully. And there—embedded within its body—he found a small crystal-like stone.

It might really be a magic stone.

Curious, Ars pulled out one of his knives and carefully began digging it out.

“Owaa!”

The moment he dug the crystal out, the monster’s corpse suddenly crumbled into ash and vanished.

Ars froze.

Only a single fang remained on the ground where the body had been. The crystal was still in his hand. Some blood lingered on the dirt, but most of it had disappeared along with the corpse.

It really was a mystery.

Was every living being in this world like this? Did they all disappear and leave loot behind when they died? Would the same thing happen to him if he were killed here?

Where did the bodies go? Did they turn into mana? Or was this something unique to monsters—perhaps only to those with these strange crystal stones inside them?

Questions flooded his mind.

But he couldn’t stand there thinking forever.

He had to move.

Ars placed the crystal and the fang into his backpack and resumed walking fast along the road, searching for signs of civilization.

Nine hours passed.

During that time, he encountered thirteen more of those goblin-like monsters.

Thankfully, they were either alone or in small numbers. They were weak—nothing he couldn’t handle. Years of training with Saber made short work of them.

Now he had fourteen crystals, seven fangs, and two claw-like nails.

It seemed they didn’t always leave loot behind.

Throughout the journey, Ars stopped occasionally to rest, eat, and drink.

Even then, he carefully rationed his supplies. He didn’t know how long he would remain in this forest.

And even if he reached civilization, he had no idea whether he could buy food without this world’s currency.

Still, he hoped the crystals and monster parts might have value.

The canned and preserved food he had brought would last a long time, but that didn’t mean he could waste it. He only consumed what was necessary.

As these thoughts passed through his mind, he suddenly heard something.

Voices.

Someone was talking.

Ars had been careful to follow the direction of the massive tower the entire time. Quickly stepping off the road, he moved toward the sound.

Soon, he spotted two men walking and talking to each other.

“Hey, can you tell me—” Ars began.

The moment they saw him, both men went on alert. One drew a spear. The other unsheathed a sword.

“####***#*…” they said sharply.

And then it hit him.

‘Shit! I don’t know the language.’