I wrack my mind, trying to recall the details of how I ended up in this strange and unfamiliar world.
I can almost remember it, just barely. Ugh, this is very irritating.
I am so close to retrieving the memory, just a hair's breadth away. Ugh, this is very annoying.
Kazu, out.
◇
Unwavering.
I stand on the peak of the mountain, facing the colossal beast that dwarfs the land beneath it. The blue light from the mountain range casts an eerie glow on its vicinity, highlighting my silhouette.
This is it. The moment I've been waiting for. Finally! The time has come to use my phone! Kukuku! Anyone want to see some explosion? I do.
I feel the device in my hand, its weight and power reassuring me. It looks like an ordinary smartphone, but it can unleash a force akin to nuclear weapons. It is my secret weapon, my overpowered skill that I got when I was transported to this world. Like every Isekai protagonist, this is my cheat skill.
Behind me is a lush and green land. However, in front of me is a desolate and barren wasteland. The creature's legs are barely visible in the darkness. All I can see is its massive chest and its twisted face, full of jagged beaks and bloodshot eyes. The blue hues help me see the surroundings, but not enough to be sure if the whole land is all barren.
For some reason, it has a strange obsession with magic stones, maybe devouring them to absorb their power and grow stronger. And by a twist of fate, it has found me - and I have a lot of magic stones on me. 'Lucky me.' It probably wants to cross the mountain range again, where more monsters and magic stones await.
"Fredrick," I say with a smirk. "Tsk tsk. You're not supposed to die today. But you made a big mistake… You pissed me off."
THUD! THUD!
The earth trembles as it walks towards me. But I don't flinch or falter. I stand my ground, my right hand in my pocket, holding the smartphone tightly. I'm not afraid of it at all. I only pity it.
I have reached the point of no return. There is no way out of this situation except through it. But that is exactly what I want. My hopelessness is the key to unlocking my hidden power. I grip the device firmly, ready to twist it at any moment.
THUD! THUD!
◇
Frederick reaches out and touches the summit of the mountain with his right hand. 'So far…' I mutter to myself, as he moves his hand to touch the part of the mountain range on my left. He bends his knees slightly, preparing to jump. His crotch is in front of me, blocking my view. 'You are that huge, huh.' Darn, that came out wrong. I shake my head as I look at his towering figure. Tsk, I am not referring to his private parts, but rather his height and width. His arm length is very astonishing to witness, as he can easily span across the gaps between the mountains.
I twist my phone.
Suddenly,
"BOOOOOOOMMMM!"
With a brief blinding light, everything turns dark. I die.
◇
Restarted.
Cough! Cough! The explosion fills the air with smoke and dust. I gag on the gritty particles that invade my mouth and nose.
"SCREEEhhhh… scrrrreEEEEEHH!!"
A deafening cry of pain and anger pierces the air. Frederick is still alive, despite the blast. His voice makes my ears ring. "What's wrong, big guy? Can't take a little boom?" I taunt him, knowing he can't understand me.
He must be very sturdy. Or maybe his massive physique shields him from the worst of the damage? Either way, I am not going to give up. I have all the time in the world. Let's see who lasts longer, my resurrection or his sturdiness.
I reach for my phone again, ready to trigger another explosion.
But then,
A red spot glows within the smoke. Before I can make sense of what it is or react in any way, everything goes black.
I have already restarted.
Dammit. So even if he disintegrates me with his laser, I will still be resurrected. Well, it makes sense. After all, the explosion of the phone also disintegrates me.
"ZZZZZTTTT! ZZZZZTTTT!"
Tsk, he beats me to it again. He has already fired his laser at me.
"ZZZZZTTTT! ZZZZZTTTT!"
Fuck!
He doesn't stop hitting me with his laser,
"ZZZZZTTTT! ZZZZZTTTT!"
not giving me a chance
"ZZZZZTTTT! ZZZZZTTTT!"
to recover
"ZZZZZTTTT! ZZZZZTTTT!"
or dodge.
"ZZZZZTTTT! ZZZZZTTTT!"
How can he sense
"ZZZZZTTTT! ZZZZZTTTT!"
that I am still alive?
"ZZZZZTTTT! ZZZZZTTTT!"
Is he using
"ZZZZZTTTT! ZZZZZTTTT!"
some kind of thermal vision
"ZZZZZTTTT! ZZZZZTTTT!"
or something?
"ZZZZZTTTT! ZZZZZTTTT!"
◇
All of a sudden, he stops lasering me. Finally, is his magic exhausted? Hahahahaha, too bad Frederick, too bad for you.
I twist my phone, not wanting to lose this chance to finish him off.
"BOOOOOOOMMMM!"
I continue to do so, repeating the same action over and over again, like what he did to me. How do you like that, you bastard? Have a taste of your own medicine.
"BOOOOOOOMMMM!"
◇
I have already stopped twisting my phone, to check if he is still alive. The smoke from the multiple explosions starts to dissipate, as I breathe more easily.
"SCREEEhhhh… scrrrreEEEEEHH!!"
But Frederick is still alive, agonizing. This is not bad, because he deserves to taste torture before death. Take that, that's for robbing me.
I take out my phone from my pocket, but I cannot see it because of the darkness and the smoke. I thought my phone was powerful enough to kill him, even if it took 2 to 5 tries. But it seems that my phone is not as overpowered as I thought it was. Tsk, to think that I relied on it too much as a last resort. 'Shame on me.'
Too dark.
Damn, I have screwed up. The mountain range must have been destroyed by the explosions, making the surrounding devoid of light.
"SCREEEhhhh… scrrrreEEEEEHH!!"
"Stop crying already, Frederick! I'm coming, I'm coming." Tsk, the ugly bastard cannot even wait for me to finish him off.
I walk toward the cry, hoping I will not trip over anything.
Frederick seems to sound far away, maybe he has distanced himself from me. 'He is not that dumb, huh.'
I continue to walk until I hit something. "Phuwe…" I spit out dirt as I bump into some kind of wall made of dirt. 'Ho, nice trick Frederick.' So, he can use other magic than laser, huh. Maybe he is buying time to heal himself or prepare for another attack.
I wonder if I should twist my phone to destroy this wall of dirt. But doing that aimlessly is too reckless. After all, these walls may not be just spanning horizontally. I may be enclosed in a dome big enough that the radius of the blast of my phone is insignificant. If I make another explosion, I might be buried under the rubble, unable to twist my phone and endlessly restart. And I cannot hear Frederick's cry anymore, did he die? His cry cannot guide me anymore. In any case, I need light.
As I wish for light, a light indeed comes. I can now see the faint blue sky above me. 'Morning, huh.' It gradually illuminates the whole surrounding.
How?
I am dumbfounded by what I am seeing. As the surrounding gradually brightens, I realize that I am surrounded by walls of dirt, 'The heck, that is almost the same height as the mountains.'
So, Frederick is this powerful. I have underestimated him. Because of that, I am now trapped here like an ant in a big bowl.
How can I get out of here? Nothing comes to mind. Should I just wait for an apple to fall down? Maybe someone will come and help me? As if! I know no one in this world.
The walls are steep and smooth, offering no grip for my fingers or toes. I scan the surface for any cracks or crevices that could serve as footholds, but they are few and far between.
With a grimace, I do what I have to do. Snap! I break my arm off my shoulder, severing the joint with a loud crack. The pain is excruciating, but I bite my tongue and suppress a scream.
I twist and tug at my arm until it hangs limp from my shoulder. Blood drips from the wound, staining the ground below me. 'This is worse than being mauled by a monster. Fuh, never again.' I shudder at the thought of doing this to myself.
I peel off the flesh and skin from my snapped arm, exposing the bones underneath. I pick one that looks sharp. Then I stab myself in the chest, triggering a restart.
I wake up with a new arm, feeling a surge of relief. "Time to do some crafting." I say, holding the bone in my hand.
I sigh.
"This is going to take a while. Making a knife out of nothing." I mutter to myself, as I get ready to use my own bone as a material.
I select a bone that has a suitable shape for a blade. I break the fingers on my left hand, one by one, at the joints. Then I press the fingerless hand against the bone, slicing it with the power of my restart.
Restart. Slice. Restart. Slice. Restart.
I repeat this process over and over, changing the angles, until I have a blade that is sharp enough to cut through anything.
"Not bad." I say, as I test the edge of the blade on my skin. It slices through my flesh like butter, leaving a bloody trail.
I cut off the fingers on my right hand and afterwards, lay my palm into the wall, the same right hand. I imagine them as hooks, holding me in place as I lose consciousness. Then I slash my throat with the blade and restart.
It works, but not smoothly. I slip and slide on the slick surface, scraping my skin and losing my grip. I have to slash my throat again and again, each time hoping to restart at a higher point.
After hours of painful climbing, I finally reach the top of the wall. The sun blazes overhead, scorching my skin and blinding my eyes.
My mouth drops open and my eyes widen as I look around.
I slam my hand on my forehead and curse myself out loud. "I'm such an idiot."
This is not a wall, but a huge hole in the ground. When I kept twisting my phone, I created a crater over and over again. 'Yeah, I just dug myself a grave.'
If that's the case, where is Frederick?