Chapter Two — What World Did I Fall Into?
Feizui stood in the forest for a long time, staring at his hands.
They were trembling.
They looked completely normal.
No wounds. No blood. No sign that he had just been cut down by bandits… or erased by the terrifying old man in the cave.
“…I’m alive?”
His voice came out hoarse.
The forest was exactly the same. The same crooked tree to his left. The same cluster of moss-covered rocks. Even the same birds were perched in the same places, chirping like nothing in the world was wrong.
“This… isn’t a dream,” he whispered.
He slapped his own face.
It hurt.
“…Okay. Not a dream.”
His heart began to race.
I died. I was definitely killed.
Once by the bandits.
Once by that old man.
And yet—
“I came back.”
A chill crawled down his spine.
“…So I respawn here. Same place. Same time.”
He looked around carefully.
“…Like a checkpoint.”
The thought was ridiculous.
And terrifying.
He laughed weakly.
“Of course. Of course I get something like this.”
He picked up a rock and stared at it for a few seconds.
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“…Let’s test something.”
Before he could hesitate, he smashed it against his own forehead.
Pain exploded.
“OW—!”
He staggered backward, nearly falling.
Tears welled up in his eyes.
“…Still hurts. Good.”
He touched his forehead.
No wound.
Not even a bruise.
“…So injuries don’t stay.”
His breathing slowly steadied.
A strange thought crept into his mind.
If I can’t stay dead…
The forest suddenly felt a little less threatening.
And a lot more dangerous.
---
He spent the next hour moving cautiously through the area, memorizing landmarks.
A split tree.
A leaning rock.
A shallow stream.
Each time a branch cracked or leaves rustled, his heart jumped.
Eventually, he found water and drank deeply.
“…Real.”
He sat down and buried his face in his hands.
“…This is insane.”
He thought about his apartment.
His final exam.
“…Am I even in the same world anymore?”
He laughed bitterly.
“…No. Obviously not.”
Then his expression hardened.
If I’m stuck here… then I need to survive.
His eyes drifted toward the distant smoke.
The bandits.
“…That’s the only thing I know about this place.”
He swallowed.
“I can’t fight them.”
He already knew that.
“…But I can watch them.”
---
He approached carefully, hiding behind trees and rocks.
The scene was the same.
Screaming. Fire. Steel.
At least ten bandits.
They moved in patterns.
“…They’re not random.”
He watched.
Memorized.
Then—
A hand grabbed him from behind.
Pain flashed.
Cold.
Darkness.
---
He woke up.
Same forest.
Same place.
“…Okay.”
He sat up.
“…So time resets too.”
He didn’t panic.
Not this time.
He went back.
Watched again.
Died again.
And again.
Each time, he stayed a little longer.
Each time, he learned a little more.
“…Left side opens when the leader moves.”
He panted.
“…But even then… I can’t win.”
He clenched his fists.
“…I need a weapon. Or training. Or luck.”
His gaze drifted in another direction.
The cave.
His stomach tightened.
“…That old man is dangerous.”
But
“…He’s also the only strong person I know.”
He stood there for a long time.
Then exhaled.
“…Let’s not die immediately this time.”
---
The cave was quiet.
The old man sat beside a small fire, eyes closed.
Feizui stepped on a stone on purpose.
It clicked against the cave floor.
“You have terrible footsteps,” the old man said calmly.
Feizui jumped.
“…S-sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“…Then why are you here?”
Feizui hesitated.
“…I’m lost.”
The old man opened one eye.
“…You don’t look like someone from around here.”
“…I get that a lot.”
The old man studied him in silence.
“…This forest is not a place for weak things to wander.”
“…Yeah. I noticed.”
Pressure filled the cave.
“…If you are a bandit,” the old man said, “…you chose the wrong cave.”
“…I swear I’m not.”
“…If you are a spy, you are even worse at it.”
“…I’m also not that.”
Silence.
“…Then speak. Why are you here?”
Feizui chose his words carefully.
“…I saw smoke. People being attacked.”
“…And?”
“…I can’t do anything about it.”
“…Then leave.”
Feizui froze.
“…I can’t.”
The old man looked at him.
“…Explain.”
“…I don’t know where to go.”
That was the truth.
The old man stared at him for a long moment.
“…Strange.”
He stood up.
The fire flickered.
Feizui tensed.
“…You are either very brave,” the old man said, “…or very stupid.”
“…Most people say the second.”
“…You have no cultivation.”
“…I don’t even know what that is.”
The old man snorted.
“…Then you truly don’t belong here.”
He turned away.
“…Leave before you die.”
Feizui bowed quickly.
“…Thank you. For not killing me.”
“…Do not return.”
He did not argue.
He left the cave, his back drenched in cold sweat.
Only when he was far away did he breathe again.
“…That was too close.”
He looked up at the sky through the trees.
His hands were still shaking.
“…I really am alone in this world.”
---
That night, he sat beside a small fire of his own.
Staring into the flames.
“…I can’t fight. I can’t cultivate. I don’t even understand this place.”
He clenched his fists.
“…But I can try.”
He looked toward the direction of the smoke.
“…And as long as I keep coming back…”
His eyes sharpened.
“…I can learn.”
The forest wind ran through the trees.
And somewhere far away,
Danger was waiting
