He stood on a cliff, the vast ocean stretching before him, waves crashing against the rocks below with a rhythmic, calming sound. The landscape was unfamiliar, otherworldly. Tayden crouched down, running his fingers through the grass, the cool breeze on his face.
"Yeah, I'm dead," he muttered, a nervous laugh escaping his lips. "No way I just got isekai'd, right?" But the scent of the sea and the rough texture of the earth felt too real. "Sigh... Where the hell am I?"
The serene beauty of the place was offset by an unsettling stillness. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. He needed to find someone—anyone—who could tell him where he was.
"Okay, are those slimes?" Tayden's eyes widened as he spotted light blue slimes hopping about, their gelatinous bodies jiggling with each bounce. 'That's so cool! Should I approach them?' But as he watched, the slimes surrounded a bird and, in a swift movement, devoured it whole.
"Yeah, nevermind..."
---
"Woahh" Standing on the edge of the cliff, Tayden can see spectacular views along with the refreshing smell of seawater from below. 'wait … are those people? Wait they are people!!'. "inhale... HEYYY!! CAN YOU HEAR ME? I'M LOST UP HERE AND I NEED HELP!!" though his calls remain unheard. But his voice was swallowed by the distance.
he finally noticed how deep the fall down was, his stomach tightening at the sheer drop. Intrusive thoughts crept in, urging him to jump. "Nope!" He quickly stepped back, shaking his head. He wasn't about to do anything stupid.
After a while of just wandering through the hills, finally noticed the sun dipping lower, casting long shadows across the ground. "Oh no, the sun's already setting," he muttered, anxiety bubbling up. 'I need to find people fast.' Night was closing in, and he still hadn't found anyone. Just as he considered sleeping on the ground, a flicker of movement caught his eye.
'Is that fire? That means there are people there!' He hurried towards the light, hope rising. But as he got closer, his excitement faded. 'What the heck are those things?'
A group of creatures gathered around a campfire, their masks adorned with strange patterns. 'Maybe I could say hi...' He hesitated, but the ground suddenly shook beneath him.
THUMP THUMP THUMP
Tayden's eyes widened as a massive figure emerged—a larger, more menacing version of the creatures, wielding a giant axe. 'NOPE, BAD IDEA.' He backed away slowly, careful not to make a sound. Only when he was far enough did he let out a shaky breath. "Phew, that could have gone badly..." He glanced at the sky, now nearly dark.
'I need to find a place to safely rest.' After walking a direction AWAY from the camp of the masked creatures he finally found a small cave nestled in the side of a hill, just big enough to provide shelter for the night. 'Guess this is my home for tonight'
BOOM
Rain began to pour, drumming against the cave's entrance. 'Great, now it's raining. Not sure if that's good or bad luck...' The cave wasn't cozy—dead branches and leaves littered the floor—but it was dry. "Wait... is that something glowing?"
He grabbed a long stick, his makeshift weapon, and cautiously approached the source of light. Four small, round creatures, radiating a warm glow, bounced toward him. "Fire Slimes?"
The slimes noticed his presence. "Uhh hey, little guys. Are you friendly?" One of the slimes starts to bounce slowly towards him, giving him a curious look. "Aww aren't you a cute little-" then it jumps towards him "You sonuva-" He managed to swat one away to the right, sending it flying towards the wall. Seeing one of them get attacked the others soon started their assault.
"Alright then!" he strikes a fighting pose, using his long stick as a sword. "Come at me!"
One slime lunges towards him but he dodges to the right, just as the slime lands he slams the stick down on it, making it splatter around the ground. 'Two down, two to go!'
The last two slimes circled him cautiously and Tayden quickly thinks of a plan. He backs away and stops just at the entrance of the cave. The sound of rain and thunder can be heard as the two slimes jump at him.
"Sike!" only for Tayden to jump to the side and let the slimes jump out into the rain. They shuddered, their fiery bodies hardening. He seized the moment to strike, ending their lives.
"Take that you weird fire balls!" Tayden relishes in his victory against the Pyro slimes. Striking many poses in succession. "Man that was awesome! I feel totally invincib- AHHHH!!!"
The first Pyro Slime, not entirely defeated, attacked from behind, burning his arm. The force of the impact sent them both tumbling out of the cave into the rain.
"Ahh! Dammit!" He gritted his teeth, pain searing through his arm. He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the pain, and rushed back into the cave, smashing the persistent slime with all his strength. SPLAT
Panting, he dropped to his knees, his arm throbbing. The slimes were gone, but the burn on his arm was bad, making it hard to move.
---
Tayden huddled in the cave, shivering as the cold rain continued to pour outside. "It's getting c-cold…" He needed warmth—and fast.
Looking, around the cave, he realized the remnants of the Pyro Slimes still smoldering. An idea struck him, he gathered the remnants, and some sticks in the cave using both items to create a small campfire.
"Haahhhh… that feels nice" The warmth filled the cave, and he allowed himself a moment to relax. "Oh yeah, I need to clean up the wound somehow or it's gonna get infected- huh?" when he reached down to clean his burn, he was shocked.
The wound was gone. The skin was unblemished as if nothing had happened.
"What...?" He stared in disbelief, then slowly touched the spot where the burn had been. Not a single scratch nor burn mark had been left. "Ok, that is NOT normal.."
Still confused, Tayden suddenly focused on a sharp edge of the cave and an idea came to him. "This is a stupid idea... But this is what I think it is then it's gonna be so cool!"
With some hesitation, Tayden ran a finger along the sharp edge, slicing his skin. The cut started closing before his eyes, the pain vanishing almost instantly. A grin spread across his face "I have regeneration… HECK YEAH!!"
Giddy with excitement, he spent the next hour experimenting with small injuries, marveling as each one healed in seconds. After a while, the exhaustion of the day finally caught up with him, so he lay down by the fire, a smile still on his lips as he drifted off to sleep.
'Maybe this isekai thing isn't so bad after all'
---
The next morning, Tayden woke to the sound of his stomach growling. The euphoria of discovering his regeneration had worn off, replaced with overwhelming hunger. "Oh yeah, didn't eat anything yesterday.." rubbing his eyes he decides to get up "i guess I could go get some breakfast"
Looking at his battle stick from the day before, He gave a silent prayer for his battered stick, now broken in two from the previous day's battle, and then headed out.
The sky was overcast, clouds swirling ominously, and the wind had picked up, carrying the scent of rain. "Why does everything look so gloomy in the morning?" Tayden muttered as he pushed through thick bushes, searching for food. After what felt like hours, he finally spotted movement—a boar rooting near a tree.
Tayden crept closer, his mouth watering at the thought of roasted meat. But as he prepared to strike, the boar looked up, its eyes meeting his. Before he could react, the boar charged 'I should have thought this through- OUGH!-' slamming its head into his chest and sending him crashing into a tree.
"Ugh... Not again..." Tayden groaned, winded. As he sat up, rubbing his chest, he saw that the boar had run away. But then he noticed something out of the corner of his eye—eggs, nestled in a branch above him.
"Eggs it is then" Climbing up the tree he finally reached the nest . 'yummy-" Just as he was about to grab the eggs, two angry birds swooped down, attacking with sharp beaks and claws.
"Ow!" peck "Hey!" scratch "Get off!", swatting them away. He grabbed the eggs, and in a fit of frustration, threw one of the eggs at the birds and surprisingly hit one in the head.
As the bird fell to the ground, the other bird also flew down to its partner and Tayden took this opportunity to pounce, the other bird looked up at Taydens form and resigned itself to its fate…
---
"Now there are two dead birds and four- no three eggs since I threw one of them" Tayden quickly gathered them up, feeling a twinge of guilt. But hunger won out.
Back at the cave, he roasted the birds and eggs over the fire, the smell making his stomach growl even louder. He devoured the meal in minutes—two birds and three eggs—but as he sat back, he realized something disturbing.
He was still hungry.
"What the hell...?" He frowned, his stomach still growling. It was as if the food had done nothing to sate his appetite. Unease gnawed at him, but he pushed it aside, determined to keep going.
---
Tayden decided to explore further, hoping to find more substantial food or, better yet, other people. As he made his way through the forest, he found himself back near the Hilichurl camp he had avoided the night before. The creatures were still there but now it looks like they were training.
Tayden watched, both fascinated and terrified. The big creature was monstrous, its strength obvious even from a distance. He began to back away, careful not to make a sound, but his foot landed on a dry branch.
Snap.
A dry branch cracked under his foot. Every Hilichurl in the camp turned toward him. For a moment, time seemed to freeze. Then, one of them roared, pointing in his direction.
"Fuck my life."
Tayden turned and ran, his heart pounding in his chest. He weaved through the trees, but the Hilichurls were fast, their growls and footsteps getting closer. An arrow whizzed past his ear, followed by a sharp pain in the back of his head. He stumbled, realizing too late that the arrow had hit him, the pain blinding him for a moment.
The ground trembled as the Lawachurl's heavy footsteps closed in. Tayden glanced back, just in time to see the creature's massive stone axe swing down. 'Dodge!' his mind screamed
He barely managed to throw himself to the side, the axe slicing through the air where he'd been just moments before. The force of the swing nearly knocked him off his feet. The Lawachurl blocked his path, forcing him to veer back toward the camp. The ground quaked with each of the creature's steps as it closed in.
"AHHH! DONT KILL ME!! I DONT WANNA DIE TWICE!"
Bursting into the camp, Tayden's mind raced for a plan. The other Hilichurls were already moving to surround him, weapons raised. In a desperate moment, something caught his eye—a barrel marked with the Pyro symbol, filled with Fire Slimes.. An idea formed in his mind, and he skidded to a halt, turning to face the Lawachurl.
"Come on, you big brute!"
The Lawachurl charged, its axe raised high. Tayden darted to the side at the last second, the axe slamming into the barrel instead. The explosion was immediate, a wave of heat and force sending both Tayden and the creatures flying.
Dazed, Tayden pushed himself up, spotting the Lawachurl struggling to stand. its movements sluggish. Then he saw an arrow on the ground in front of him and without thinking, Tayden grabbed it and sprinted toward the creature.
"HAAAAHHH!", he plunged the arrow into the Lawachurl's eye. The creature roared in pain, swinging its arm wildly and sending Tayden crashing into a tree.
CRASH "UGH-" The adrenaline surged again, and Tayden forced himself to his feet, sprinting back to the fallen Lawachurl he saw that the creature had dropped its axe. Grabbing the weapon with both hands, Tayden lifted it, the weight nearly overwhelming him. With a final burst of strength, he brought the axe down, embedding it deep into the creature's skull.
The Lawachurl let out a final, gurgling roar before collapsing. Tayden staggered back, panting, his heart racing. The remaining Hilichurls froze, stunned by the death of their strongest.
Not wasting a second, Tayden lunged toward one of the archers, taking it down with a quick strike to the neck. Another archer drew its bow, but Tayden used the fallen Hilichurl as a shield, the arrow thudding into its lifeless body. He swiftly dispatched the second archer with another well-placed shot.
Six more Hilichurls remained, smaller and weaker than the Lawachurl. With a mix of rage and desperation, Tayden charged them, fists swinging. They fought back fiercely, stabbing and hitting him, breaking bones, but he didn't stop until the last Hilichurl fell motionless.
,
pant.. pant.. pant..
Breathing heavily, Tayden stood amidst the carnage, his body trembling with exhaustion. The adrenaline was finally starting to fade, leaving him in pain and worn out. But then, something strange caught his attention as he looked at the creatures corpses.
They.
Looked.
Delicious.
His mouth watered, and his stomach growled louder than before. The scent of blood filled his nostrils, intoxicating and irresistible. His body moved on its own, driven by a primal hunger.
Everything went black.
---
"What the? What happened?" looking around he noticed the lack of dead bodies,but when he looked down he saw his arm completely covered in blood.
"What.. What's going.. on?"
When he took a step forward he heard something squishy under his feet. It was a finger, a severed finger of one of the creatures. The realization finally settling upon him.
"Oh god... What did I...?"
He dropped to his knees and vomited. He ate them, he ATE them. This is an entirely different situation than eating animals. These creatures could speak to each other in a language he didn't understand and.. communicate with eachother with their actions. They were intelligent life with feelings and sentience
And he ate them.. It felt like eating another human
-Hours Later-
Tayden sees the sun is about to set again "Haahhh… I need to get going". he muttered, feeling a strange emptiness inside. Slowly, he got to his feet, surveying the camp. It was well-stocked, with food, weapons, and supplies. Despite everything, it was a good place to stay, at least for now.
"I guess it would be a waste not to use it..."
Tayden forced a grin. "I guess this is my new home base." He had no idea how long he would be here or what the future held, but for now, he had a place to call his own.