The Darkness of Night

I set the Gray Wolf pelts down beside my home. Though calling it “my home” makes it sound fancy, it is really nothing more than a shabby little hut.

All I did was put up posts at the four corners and lay palm leaves over the top. I am not even sure if they are actually palm leaves, but they look exactly like them.

The plant life in this world is similar to that of Earth. Maybe there is some kind of default “planet creation template” like you see in light novels, and the gods used that when making this world.

Another possible explanation is that similar environments naturally produce similar living creatures.

There are humans in this world who look just like Earth humans. Which means the environment must be suitable for the evolution of a species extremely close to Homo sapiens.

If similar creatures live here, then you could say the overall environment, including the plant life, is similar too.

The universe is unimaginably vast. If you include other worlds and other dimensions, it would not be strange if fantasy worlds like the one I am in existed even without divine intervention.

Of course, even if the environment is similar, there are still plenty of differences. This world has beastfolk and elves, and monsters too.

There is even something called mana, which Earth does not have. So there are plants and animals that do not exist on Earth, and some that look the same but are completely different on the inside.

Something that is non-toxic on Earth might be poisonous here, so relying too much on Earth knowledge can be dangerous.

Even if I find mushrooms that look exactly like the natural hon-shimeji from Earth, I can only swallow my tears and resist the temptation. Mushrooms are scary.

Thinking about things like that, I gather up the palm leaves from my destroyed home. Seriously, palm leaves are amazing.

They are big, easy to collect in large numbers, and repel water well. It is like they were born to be used as roofs and walls.

They always show up in survival shows on the Discovery Channel, and in survival manuals too. Even today they are still widely used as building materials in places like Southeast Asia.

Once I gather the palm leaves carefully, I stack them up and tie them together with vines. I already chose a new place to move to.

Being near a river is convenient, but it increases the risk of being found. Humans cannot live without water. If someone were tracking me, they would search around water sources first.

Just like when I wandered the forest, I explored the area around my home bit by bit.

I already picked out a spot that looks suitable as a place to live. I will think of the destruction of my home as a divine message telling me to hurry up and move.

Although knowing that god, he probably watched the Big Clay Boar crash into my house and destroy it, then grinned with a sleazy smile.

Carrying the few belongings I have along with the palm leaves, I head for my destination.

I leave the Gray Wolf pelts behind. I skinned them for now, but I do not have a use for them yet. I will think about it later at my leisure.

Walking slowly from the river, it feels like about ten minutes to the planned relocation site.

It is not too close and not too far from the water. The area is open, but the surrounding trees are thick enough that it cannot be seen from outside. There is a gentle slope, so drainage is good.

Puhahaha, this is a perfect spot if I do say so myself. Here I shall build the Great Wildling Empire! Well, jokes aside, I do at least want to make a comfortable home.

I put down my things and get to work. First is leveling the ground. I carefully pick up stones, force up tree roots, and stomp the ground flat.

Digging out stumps is hard work. Even on Earth it was a major obstacle in land development. But this is another world.

With my level-boosted strength and the power of leverage, I forcefully rip them out. Since the area was already somewhat open, the work finished quickly.

Next comes gathering materials. I cannot cut down the trees nearby, since I need the house to stay hidden, so even though it is a hassle I go a little farther away and cut trees there. Or rather, I kick them down.

“Hyaaah!” 

“ Hell yeah! Actually the catchphrase of Sakura from Naruto that she shouts whenever she's excited or angry. It has no meaning, so I improvised with something that made sense. ” 

“Alright!”

“Wooooh!”

While keeping alert for monsters with Presence Detection, I shout every weird battle cry I have ever heard as I kick down trees.

I am being hunted by the territorial army. There is also the risk of attracting monsters. Even so, I am deliberately doing something stupid.

I am staying alert with Presence Detection, and I am mentally prepared to be attacked at any time. I am being cautious while acting like an idiot.

It sounds contradictory, but if I spend every moment trembling in fear just because I am being hunted, my mind will not hold out. Even fake cheerfulness is fine. I have to enjoy myself.

If I do not, I will end up dwelling on things like the uncertainty of the future, or being separated from Gonz and the others, and I will spiral into depression.

The monster called loneliness will swallow my heart whole.

When I was wandering through that goblin-infested forest, probably the Sacred Forest, I was in real danger. My heart was being worn down and I was on the verge of breaking.

You should not let your guard down, but being too tense is not good either.

It is best to keep the mindset of, “I am on a camping trip, yay!” Since as soon as night falls, loneliness and anxiety will flood in anyway.

After I kicked down a suitable number of trees, I tied them together with vines and slung them over my shoulder. And then I realized something.

The trees are in the way, I can’t get through! Crying on the inside, I took them apart and carried them one by one.

The trees are only about as thick as an adult’s arm, so they’re not very heavy. I lifted each one and jogged toward the planned construction site.

Man, the physical boost from leveling up is incredible. It didn’t even take that long to haul all the trees over.

On Earth this alone would’ve taken me the whole day. Leveling up really is amazing! Next material is stone. I picked up gently rounded, decently sized ones from the river.

Hmm, carrying them one at a time is pretty inefficient. A backpack frame or something would be nice. If I had bamboo I could at least weave a basket, but it doesn’t seem to grow around here.

I could braid vines and make something, but that would take time. Guess I’ll just carry them one by one. I’ll count it as training to get used to the mountain environment. Yeah, this is all part of my discipline.

I’ll be going back and forth between the river and the building site a lot from now on, so I took a slightly roundabout route to avoid leaving a trail that could be followed.

Even after the house is finished, I’ll still depend on the river. So I tried to leave as few traces as possible by taking detours and moving along the tops of trees. I totally felt like a ninja! Shadow step!

While I was moving through the trees, my Presence Detection skill picked up a Clay Boar. I jumped down from the tree and smashed its skull in with a rock.

“SKREEEEEE!”

…Yeah, that wasn’t very ninja-like. More like a total wildling.

I shouldered the dead Clay Boar, went back to the river, and butchered it. I sank the butchered meat next to the giant Clay Boar — the Big Clay Boar — that I’d already submerged. The size difference makes them look like parent and child.

After that, I changed up my route and carried stones back and forth many times.

Once I had gathered enough materials, it was time to decide on the house’s shape and walls. If I put pillars at the four corners and made a triangular roof, I’d get more interior space…

…but the structure would get more complicated and I’d need more materials.

It’s only a place to sleep and wait out the rain, and I don’t plan to live here long-term. A simple A-frame hut should be fine.

For the walls, I could use mud to keep bugs out, or weave vines like a screen for great ventilation, or go super simple and just layer palm leaves.

Hmm… for now, palm leaves! If it turns out inconvenient once I’m living in it, I’ll rethink it. My “dream home” already collapsed, after all. Anyway, I need to at least finish the bed before nightfall.

I always pictured palm trees as being tall…

But the palms here must be a different variety, or maybe not fully grown. They’re only about as tall as a person, and there are a lot of them. You can get loads of big leaves from them.

I collected a huge amount of palm leaves a little ways from my base.

Combined with the palm leaves I salvaged from my old home, I should have more than enough. I carried the bundle back to my base.

First, the frame. I leaned two logs together in an A-shape and tied them with rope I’d made by braiding the fibers from that grass skirt plant. I made two of those and buried the ends in the ground to fix them.

Then I laid a log sideways across the top points of the two A-frames and tied it on. Next, I leaned more logs from the sides up against that horizontal beam and tied them in place.

Once I’d lined up several A-frames like that to make a wooden skeleton, I wove long vines horizontally through the structure. Some of the vines were over ten meters long, so gathering them was easy.

Then I layered the palm leaves from the bottom upward over the wooden frame and vines. Overlapping them like scales keeps the rain out.

I carefully layered the palms, and the outer walls were mostly done.

Next, I dug drainage trenches around the house. That way, even if it rains, the water will collect in the ditch and, thanks to the natural slope of the ground, it won’t flow into the house.

I couldn’t reach the roof area easily, so normally it would’ve been tough work, but thanks to my enhanced physique from leveling up, it wasn’t a problem.

The roof? A simple jump was enough.

To keep it from blowing away in the wind, I put wooden weights on top. And with that, the house was finished. All that’s left is to build a stove out of the stones and a wooden bed. Then the interior will be perfect.

Back when I built a pit-house using bamboo, it took me several days. Even a temporary shelter that just keeps out the wind and rain takes a lot of effort.

But this time, thanks to my buffed-up isekai body, it was easy. All that’s left is the finishing touch. Normally I’d smoke the place with wood to keep the bugs away, but the smoke would give away my location.

So as a compromise, I hollowed out a type of wood that seems rich in insect-repellent compounds, filled the inside with water, and added finely shaved wood chips.

The result was a dark brown liquid that absolutely reeked of “pure organic forest after the rain” essence.

I didn’t have a spray bottle, so I filled my mouth with it and blew it out like a heel pro-wrestler.

“Blegh— it stinks like the forest!!”

The brutal organic smell almost made me gag, but it couldn’t be helped. Half-crying, I splattered my new home with the saliva-mixed bug-repellent juice.

No idea if it’ll actually work, but I’ll just believe it does.

I quickly built the stove, then made a crude bed by lining up split logs inside a square frame. With that, the interior and furniture were complete.

The sky was dyed orange. Already evening, huh? I’d better retrieve the boars I sank in the river before night.

While carving the meat with my knife, I ate some of it raw. Mmm, tasty… but yeah, I’d really rather cook it.

If I don’t want smoke, then I’ll need charcoal…

…but making charcoal produces a ton of smoke. For today, I’ll just get a good night’s rest in my new home. After finishing my meal, I lay down on the bed.

Yeah… it’s narrow, hard, and the edges dig into my body. This is no good. But even that guy Bear Grylls said you shouldn’t sleep directly on the ground…

Thinking about stuff like that, I spent a sleepless night.

My five senses, fine-tuned thanks to the darkness, reacted to every little thing so I couldn’t sleep.

Monsters getting caught in my Presence Detection. The dying screams of animals becoming prey. The scent of blood carried on the wind.

My mind is just too delicate to sleep in a place crawling with monsters.

As I lay there trembling at every sign of them, only negative thoughts kept surfacing.

The sudden separation from Gonz and the others. The fear of being hunted. The anger toward the nobles who destroyed the happiness I’d found.

One thought after another bubbled up and vanished, spinning round and round in my head.

Overwhelming fear. Scorching anger. A destructive urge that didn’t spare even myself.

After punching that noble and fleeing into the mountains, I’d been driven into a corner mentally. It’s been a week since then, and I still haven’t slept properly.

“Damn it… I can’t sleep,” muttering this, I grabbed my black-steel knife and walked into the forest. There wasn’t a trace of moonlight so it must’ve been a new moon.

It was so dark I couldn’t even see my own feet. Fear welled up inside me.

They say humans rely on sight for eighty percent of their information. Being wrapped in darkness means you only understand twenty percent of what’s around you.

No wonder people instinctively fear the dark.

I cranked my Presence Detection wide open to sharpen all my senses. Then I used Presence Concealment and melted into the darkness.

Relying on my sense of smell, I picked herbs and rubbed their scent onto my body.

Fighting monsters in the dark is insane. But this is a good chance.  I’ll make friends with the darkness of this mountain.

When my Presence Detection picked up a Gray Wolf, the corner of my mouth curled into a grin. I drew my black-steel knife, and disappeared into the night.