Matsurize no longer dwelled on the origin of his new body. Right now, he had a more pressing concern: filling his stomach. He was too hungry—so much so that he could barely stand.
He found himself on a deserted beach, with a dense forest behind him. Just as he was wondering where to find food, he spotted thin columns of smoke rising from beyond the trees.
Excitement surged through him. If his guess was correct, those were cooking fires! This was excellent news—it meant this place wasn't completely deserted, not a hopeless situation. After all, humans are social creatures, and being alone here all this time had already made him feel isolated. If he had to live like this forever, he might very well go insane!
He carefully started heading toward the direction of the smoke. Before stepping into the dense forest, he made sure to remember the exact direction of the smoke, in case he lost sight of it and got lost. It would be too embarrassing to become the first time-traveler to starve to death!
Matsurize wasn't entirely confident he could successfully cross the forest and reach the source of the smoke, but his hunger left him no choice. He had originally considered going into the sea to catch some fish, but after seeing a bull-headed sea beast earlier, he quickly abandoned that idea.
In a way, that sea beast actually saved his life.
In his past life, Matsurize could only manage a bit of breaststroke in an indoor pool. With such limited swimming skills, trying to find food in the ocean was nothing short of a foolish dream.
Nervous but determined, Matsurize pressed on through the forest. Along the way, he saw some wild fruit hanging from the trees. Based on his knowledge from his past life, brightly colored fruits were likely poisonous, so he only picked the plain, harmless-looking ones to stave off his hunger for now.
Luckily, his choice didn't backfire, and the wild fruits eased his hunger a little. But after wandering in the dense forest for a while, he realized he had lost his way—just as he feared.
Getting lost was hardly surprising, though, considering he had no wilderness survival experience. It was only natural to get lost in such a large forest. Now, all he could do was rely on luck, hoping to find the source of the smoke before nightfall.
Matsurize knew some basic survival facts: in such a big forest, nightfall could bring out dangerous beasts. After seeing the bull-headed sea beast earlier, he worried that something equally strange might lurk in the forest. Neither his past self nor his current self stood any chance against such creatures.
He tested his body, wondering if he had gained any special abilities or superhuman strength. Sadly, his new body wasn't much different from his old one—just a bit thinner, which was the only thing to feel good about.
Feeling dejected, Matsurize began to doubt if he could even make it out of this forest. He couldn't help but think that after being reborn as Matsurize, he might soon die here.
He had been too hasty. If he had taken his time, he might have realized that where there are people, there's usually a river. And a flowing river will eventually lead to the sea. If he had followed the river, it would have been easier and safer to find civilization. But if he had known all this, he wouldn't have been stuck as a regular nine-to-five office worker in his past life.
Now, all he could do was press forward. So far, he hadn't encountered any large carnivores, nor even any small animals. He hadn't even found a proper path, which indicated that this area was sparsely populated, if at all. Still, he was certain that the smoke he had seen was real.
Matsurize guessed that the source of the smoke was probably a small village, as the forest seemed to have been left untouched for a long time. He still wasn't sure if this was an island or part of a larger continent, but he had pushed that thought aside for now.
All he could think about was moving forward, trusting his instincts. The afternoon was already slipping away, and time was running out. Surviving on a few wild fruits wouldn't be enough to keep him going. This was no long-term solution.
With each step, he trudged through dead branches and decaying leaves, sinking into the mud with every step. He looked a mess. Just when he thought he couldn't take the hunger anymore, he spotted a rabbit lying quietly under a large tree, as if resting in the shade.
Had it fainted from hunger?
Matsurize couldn't tell if he was imagining things, but now was not the time to be cautious. He carefully approached the rabbit, step by step. Something felt strange—since the moment he spotted the rabbit, it hadn't moved at all, which was odd. But Matsurize couldn't afford to think too much.
When the time felt right, he lunged, pinning the poor rabbit beneath him. Ignoring the mud that covered him, he quickly grabbed the rabbit, fearing it might escape. But he soon realized his worries were unnecessary.
It was a dead rabbit.
A rabbit that had run into a tree and died.
Matsurize finally understood the saying about waiting by a tree for a rabbit. The only difference was, he hadn't been waiting by the tree.