[Note: Volume 19 is Death march's what IF story.
This is a story about a world line in which Satou, who landed in the Dragon's Valley, did not use the meteor shower.]
Before I knew it, I was standing in a place I didn't know.
"Where am I?"
The air is dry, different from stuffy Japan. If you look around you, you'll see a vast expanse of wild land reminiscent of America's Death Valley.
Until recently, I was fighting against Death March, which was in the final stages of game development.
I should have put an end to that and crawled under my desk to lie down to get my first sleep in 30 hours.
"Then, is it a dream?"
A game in development as it claims U.I. (User interface). An icon that looks very similar to is floating in my field of vision.
The radar at the bottom right of my field of vision only shows the terrain around me.
I tried opening the map just to be sure, but only a small portion of the vast map, the terrain in the same area as the radar, was displayed.
There's no need to follow the game's specifications to such an extent.
It's a dream that is unnecessarily faithful to the specifications.
As I was feeling dissatisfied, there was something in my field of vision.
--All map exploration.
This is a magic icon for beginners' relief that I added this evening after consulting with Mr. Tubs from the development planning team.
It's a great magic that can only be used once, but there's no need to skimp on it.
I casually tapped the icon.
There was a bug where my hand would slip through the icon in a dream-like ambiguity, but when I tried to use it, I could use it normally, so it wasn't a problem.
If you use the full map exploration magic, the entire map you are currently on will be revealed.
It's a very large map. The current location seems to be near the bottom of the map, and even if you scroll, you can't quite see the top.
"--Gah, the top half is bright red, isn't it?"
Red indicates enemies.
All of them are high-level dragons, and they are all hidden boss-level enemies that appear as a late game.
By the way, my current level is 1, so if even one of them comes towards me, I will definitely be killed.
"There are ways to fight, but..."
As with all map exploration, there are three ``Meteor Showers'' that are a beginner's remedy.
This is a so-called map weapon, and it is a final attack spell that deals massive damage to all enemies on the map.
Instinctively, I reached for the ``Meteor Shower'' icon, but stopped short.
If they're not going to attack me, there's no need to start a fight.
I start walking towards the outer edge where there are no red dots.
Just to be sure, open the map and go to the first location. Pick the flag option. Set it up and mark it. This will give you an idea of the approximate travel time to the bottom of the map.
The desert-like wasteland that you often see in American movies continues.
The first place I was in was like a table extending vertically from the ground, and it was very difficult to get down to the ground, but luckily there was a structure like a staircase and I managed to do it.
"...I'm thirsty."
Maybe it's because the air is so dry that my throat gets parched right away.
Unfortunately, I don't have any drinks on hand. All I has with me is my cell phone in my pocket, four calorie bars, wallet, and watch.
My cell phone and calorie bar were getting in the way when I was walking, so I put them in a game storage area called Storage.
"It's scales again. This time it's bright red."
As I walk, large scales sometimes fall.
Every time I find something, I pick it up because it might be useful for something, and I can put it back in storage just by thinking "storage."
"-Water!"
Just as I was about to die of thirst, I discovered a trickle of spring water coming out between the cliffs.
Sip water while clinging to the cliff.
"Whew."
I came back to life.
If I had something like a water bottle, I could fill it with water and take it with me.
--I heard the sound of rustling leaves.
When I turned around, I saw several bamboo trees growing under the rocks.
"Oh, lucky."
Truly a dream. How convenient.
Although, I would have been happier if there were plastic bottles lying around.
"How should I cut it?"
I don't have a knife.
Other than my phone and a box of calorie bars, the only things in my storage are dragon scales and moderately sized stones that I picked up along the way.
"by the way--"
I remembered that the scales were jagged, so I took one out.
When I tried using the jagged part of the scales as a saw, I was able to scrape and cut the bamboo.
All that's left to do is carve out the spout and the bamboo canteen is complete.
When I was a child, I often made it at my grandfather's house in the countryside.
I fill a water bottle with water, and once I have a few bottles in stock, store them in storage.
"Now I can drink water."
Once my thirst was quenched, hunger struck.
There are only four calorie bars. Save money by eating one in the morning and one in the evening.
"...It's cold"
Just when I thought the sun was setting, it quickly became dark.
At the same time, the temperature went from hot to cold suddenly, and now it's so cold that I'm shivering.
To make matters worse, the wind became stronger after the sun went down.
My body heat is taken away. It's bad if it stays like this.
When I heard the flapping sound, I looked over and saw that something cloth-like was caught on a branch and was shaking.
"what?"
When I approached it using my cell phone's light, I realized that it was some sort of fur.
Fortunately, it didn't have any insects, dirt, or strange smells, so I put it on.
It's warm and the lining is smooth to the touch.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't care why there was fur in a place like this, but right now, the warmth is justice.
I crawled under the shade of a rock to protect me from the wind and made it my campsite for the night.
◇
"...I am hungry"
There were calorie bars for food, but even though I ate them sparingly, I ran out of them on the second day.
I survived the third day without eating, but on the fourth day I became dizzy due to low blood sugar. Oh no, if this continues, it's a dead end.
--here.
I felt like someone was calling me, and when I looked up, I discovered a bush with a small fruit on it - a raspberry.
No, it would be completely different from the surrounding vegetation.
Even though I was thinking about it in my head, my hands were plucking the raspberry and my mouth was desperately chewing the raspberry.
The sour and bitter raspberry tastes just right now, as if it were eaten from a heavenly table.
Feeling more comfortable, I plucked some raspberries and put them in storage to use as food for the time being.
This will last me a few days.
Just before I ran out of strawberries and water in my water bottle, I reached the edge of the map.
◇
"The barrier of the Dragon Valley?"
The edge of the map was blocked by something like a slightly elastic membrane.
"Ah, I broke through."
It felt a little uncomfortable, but I was able to get through it normally.
"--Is the wind different?"
It seems that the climate is different outside the barrier.
You can see what looks like a fort or castle on top of a nearby cliff.
After looking at it for a while, an AR display popped up and I realized that it was a place called ``Warrior's Fortress.''
From here, it seems to be a different map called Earl Seryuu territory of Shiga Kingdom.
At least it's not Japan. It would be different if Shiga Kingdom was Shiga Kingdom, which was created by Shiga becoming independent.
It would be easy if there was a spell to explore all maps, but it's already used.
--Oh?
While somehow operating the menu screen, I discovered that a spell called ``Explore all maps'' was registered in the spell column.
There was also ``Magic Magic: Other World'' in the skill column.
I didn't notice it because it was minimized, but there was a notation in the log window that I had acquired skills and magic.
Apparently, I was able to get it the first time I executed the "Explore All Maps" icon as a beginner's remedy.
"Huh? Did it fail?"
I selected the spell ``Explore all maps'' in the magic column and executed it, but it only consumed magical power and failed.
The "Magic Magic: Otherworld" skill that I got with the magic is grayed out, so I might have to activate it.
Maybe I should allocate skill points, but as of now I have zero skill points, so I guess I'll have to wait for them to level up.
Other skills such as Climbing, Night shift, and Strong legs have also increased before I knew it, but these are also grayed out, so they are of no use.
Well, I couldn't cheat, but I'm sure I can update the map by walking, so I'll fill in the map steadily.
I regained my composure and headed towards the "Warrior's Fortress" in front of me.
There was no one inside the fort, and there were no red spots of light that seemed to be hostile.
I looked around briefly and found that place was completely abandoned. There was a lot of dust and spider webs everywhere.
This place must have been used a long time ago.
Behind the fort are a number of grave markers.
"Did someone forget this?"
At the entrance to the cemetery, I found a shoulder bag that someone had left behind.
It doesn't seem to be the magic bag you see in fantasy books, but more like an ordinary leather bag. It didn't seem to be damaged and had a unique smell, so it must have been burned with insect repellent incense.
Inside were items such as a pot, a cup, and a fork.
The item wrapped in oiled paper appeared to be some kind of dried meat. There's also cheese wrapped in cloth and crispy brown bread. There were some words written on the piece of paper at the bottom of the package, but I couldn't read them because they weren't familiar to me.
I was a little worried because I was running out of strawberry stock in my storage.
Should I eat the contents of my bag along with the food, or should I abide by the law and endure starvation?
Today, I disguised my hunger with the remaining raspberries and went to sleep early wrapped in my fur.
"Okay, I'm sorry for not asking you, but let me borrow it."
Out of guilt, I couldn't help but say it out loud.
I think I'll borrow the contents of this bag until I can get some food at the nearest village.
It would be nice if you could use Japanese yen in the village, but if not, you could just exchange the watch for cash, refill the contents, and then return it here.
I made that decision and left the ``Warrior's Fortress'' heading for a human village.