Three hundred meters away, dusk dyed the forest a deep green.
Miliarde walked barefoot along a leaf-covered path. She wore a white cloak, her expression weary, taking occasional swigs from the bottle in her hand. The pointed ears unique to elves trembled slightly.
Rustle—!
A sound came from deep within the forest, drawing closer and closer.
Only when five Demon-Horned Tigers, each the size of a small calf, slowly emerged did she stop. She lowered the bottle from her lips.
"Taking a shortcut really was a mistake,"
she muttered to herself, her voice cool and detached.
"Roar—!"
The lead Demon-Horned Tiger let out a low yet commanding roar.
Miliarde watched quietly, a trace of helplessness flashing through her eyes.
"Looks like I'll dirty my clothes again."
She casually brushed at a speck of dust that didn't actually exist on her cloak—after all, as a mage, fighting one against many really wasn't her forte.
As she spoke, she hung the empty bottle at her waist.
The tigers spread out in a fan shape, surrounding her.
Then they lunged.
...
"Boom—!"
A thunderous explosion rang out. Three hundred meters away, Yuhran's body instantly tensed.
He cautiously poked his head out from behind the rock. After waiting a moment, he realized that all the beastly roars had vanished.
He had no idea what had happened—perhaps the humans of this world were fighting.
But no matter what, it had nothing to do with him.
He took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently.
"What terrible luck right out of the gate. I should run—get away from here first. If that wasn't thunder just now, then this world is far more terrifying than I imagined."
He had explored less than one ten-thousandth of this world. Whether supernatural powers even existed was still uncertain.
And if they did exist…
they were definitely not something a small-time ordinary guy like him could afford to mess with.
With that in mind, Yuhran carefully moved to his mountain bike and lifted it upright.
"While the fighting's over, I need to leave fast. Those beasts were probably taken care of. Even if any are left, they should be injured."
"The theoretical sprint speed of this bike is forty kilometers per hour. I hope that's enough."
Crunch.
With the soft sound of gravel being crushed under the tires, Yuhran quickly left the mine entrance.
Even so, his eyes remained wary, constantly scanning his surroundings.
...
Elsewhere.
After finishing off several of the fierce tigers, Miliarde looked at the crater on the ground—five meters in diameter—and suddenly narrowed her eyes.
Because from deep within the forest, a gigantic beast emerged, one three times the size of an ordinary Demon-Horned Tiger.
Its fur had a metallic dark-gold sheen. The horn on its forehead was crystal-clear, with red liquid flowing inside.
Most striking of all was the ring of silver fur around its neck, faintly glowing in the twilight.
"The Tiger King…"
Miliarde rarely frowned. Her right hand rose instinctively to her chest, forming a spellcasting gesture.
The Tiger King did not attack immediately. Instead, it circled the crater at a slow pace.
With every step, the ground trembled slightly, revealing its terrifying weight—though the sound was absorbed by the pads of its paws.
Then, its golden beastly eyes fixed on Miliarde. A disturbingly human greed flashed within them as its tongue slowly licked across its fangs.
—A mage… and an elf at that. Perfect.
Longevity meant a vast reserve of magic power, and magic power could drive evolution.
As the king of beasts, in order to hunt better, what it needed was evolution.
So, without any warning, it suddenly pounced, moving so fast it nearly left an afterimage.
Slash!
Almost instantly, a wound appeared on Miliarde's left arm. White fabric was immediately stained red with blood.
The magic she unleashed, however, was repelled by the Tiger King's dark-golden fur, exploding into useless motes of light in midair.
"Magic resistance?"
A grave look flashed through her eyes. She quickly retreated several steps to open distance, checking her wound—fortunately, it was only a flesh wound.
Even so, she knew this was trouble.
Miliarde rapidly considered her options. Though the Tiger King was immune to magic, physical attacks should still work.
The problem was—aside from an empty wine flask, she had no weapon on her at all.
Just as she was thinking, the Tiger King's nose twitched a few times. It then turned its head toward a certain direction in the forest.
Its golden pupils contracted slightly, as if it had noticed something interesting.
Miliarde followed its gaze, but all she saw was dense shrubbery.
Soon, however, she sensed it as well—
A human was approaching.
Judging by the aura, an ordinary human. No magical fluctuations whatsoever.
...
Within the bushes, Yuhran was advancing cautiously.
He had to admit—he had underestimated how complex the wilderness of this world was.
Although paths had been opened up, the weeds and tree roots were completely unmanaged.
Luckily, the tires were sturdy. Otherwise, the bike would've been scrapped within a few hundred meters.
Just as he was about to leave the path, Yuhran suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of dread.
He pricked up his ears and listened carefully.
The forest fell unnaturally silent. Even insects and birds had gone quiet.
That was a danger signal.
Swish.
At that moment, the bike burst out of the bushes. A cool breeze brushed his face as Yuhran opened his eyes—
And saw, not far away, a tiger nearly five meters long, as massive as a small building, glaring at him with ferocious intent.
"!"
His heart jolted violently.
"Sorry to bother you."
Are you kidding me?
Without a second thought, he abandoned the bike and immediately tried to leave this world.
But the Tiger King clearly had no intention of giving him that chance.
"Roar!"
—Where did this human come from?
Can't deal with the elf quickly… but the bag on his back smells nice.
—A quick snack, then.
It vanished from its spot in an instant. Just as Yuhran turned around, he heard the sound of air tearing behind him.
Within half a second—
He made his decision.
One hand pressed on the crossbow at his waist. He turned—and fired instantly!
By sheer coincidence, the bolt struck the Tiger King directly in the eye, embedding itself deep within. The beast froze, utterly unprepared for a human to be carrying a weapon on him.
And the power of that weapon was nothing like what it had expected.
—Pain!
So much pain!
Its entire body felt as though it were on fire. It roared, half its vision plunging into darkness.
The charge halted abruptly from the pain, but the momentum it had already built up still sent Yuhran flying several meters away.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye.
Thud!
The instant he was sent flying, it felt as though he'd been run over by a truck. Yuhran's vision went black, and he knew—he was probably done for.
He knew how fragile the human body was. He also knew that even if he survived the landing, he wouldn't be able to use the two-world gate to return home and contact a hospital.
He couldn't explain how he'd suffered such severe injuries while supposedly staying at home.
And if an investigation followed, he wouldn't be able to explain where the gold had come from either.
What a disastrous start…
Bang!
He hit the ground hard, rolling several times. Even with the fallen leaves cushioning the impact, Yuhran spat out a mouthful of blood.
Soon after, his consciousness faded, and he fell into a coma.
At that moment, he faintly heard footsteps approaching.
Opening his eyes felt as heavy as lifting a thousand pounds—he couldn't open them at all.
Everything was pitch black.
"%＃£ (What an interesting human),"
a strange female voice with an unusual cadence reached his ears—the last thing he heard before sinking into darkness.
"¢€&¥… (What is that thing in your hand? To be able to injure the Tiger King… interesting. I need…)"