Chapter 3

The next morning, I was fortunate enough to wake up without being attacked from above.

I lowered the slightly dried and wilted grass to the ground and faced the biggest problem.

-- Namely, the urge to urinate.

Even if my gender had changed, as long as I was human, this was a problem that would arise.

Moreover, I vaguely remembered reading in some book that the urge to urinate becomes more frequent when you are dehydrated.

While the function of the item inventory had helped me avoid an immediate food crisis, there was nothing I could do about the lack of water.

The only water items in my inventory were twenty bottles each of two types of acceleration potions and ten bottles each of four types of attribute resistance potions.

Ice cream, while rich in water, was in too small a quantity to rely on.

I could obtain water by defeating enemies with item drop equipment, but... I would rather not engage in actual combat, even if it were a game.

"Anyway, if you drink, you'll have to go, and if you eat, you'll have to go. It's the way of nature, so there's nothing I can do about it."

I dug a hole with my one-handed sword, which I used as a makeshift shovel, and prepared myself.

I never thought I would use a sword as a shovel.

Women apparently need to wipe after, so I prepared the grass I had used as a blanket the previous day.

I didn't want to dirty my magic knight's uniform, so I changed back into yesterday's cuirass before relieving myself.

The uniform had various decorations, such as a cape and a front apron, which made it seem likely to get dirty.

Taking off the uniform of a young girl with my own hands gave me a sense of forbidden excitement... It was quite good.

"---Phew"

After cleaning up with the rough grass, I felt a little itchy. The grass in this area didn't seem to suit my soft skin.

I wanted to find softer grass, but I would put that off for now. There were many other things I needed to investigate. I couldn't afford to waste my strength and time.

I carefully buried and erased the traces. I didn't have the nerve to leave them as they were.

"Well, before I start exploring... should I check the functions first?"

Last night, I understood how to use the item inventory and equipment window.

However, I hadn't investigated the other functions due to mental fatigue.

"First, the map function---"

I operated the shortcut key to call up the map.

A semi-transparent 30 cm square window opened in front of me, displaying the surrounding map.

"Wow... but this would be a nuisance if it were always displayed."

It was too obstructive to have it in front of me. It would probably only open when needed.

"Still... it's useless!"

Looking at the displayed map, I let out a voice of despair.

Even when expanded to the maximum range, only three shrubs were displayed.

From the distance of the visible shrubs, the map's display range was probably no more than five kilometers square.

While the map function was supposed to help you reach your destination without getting lost by displaying the terrain, it was meaningless in this situation.

"Here, where the horizon is visible, this function is completely useless."

Next, I opened the party window. Of course, there was no one to form a party with me, a solo player. It was sad.

I switched the tab and displayed the friend list.

As a joke character, I had a few registered acquaintances.

While I had created a proper character in Midgard's Online, which allowed multiple characters to be registered, and had a wide circle of acquaintances... there was no one with a connection mark.

I also opened the quest window, but there were no quests currently accepted. This situation was not a new game feature.

"Of course. After all, MGO is still a monitor display game."

Next, I opened the status window and skill window.

These were exactly the same as in the game.

"There are no changes to attack power, magic attack power, or evasion. The status calculation formula is the same. Skills... I can't tell until I use them, but I'd rather not engage in actual combat."

The main skills of a magic knight were primarily offensive. There was also a skill to accelerate HP recovery while in a standby state, but it was meaningless since I wasn't injured.

There were also riding skills, but there were no animals to ride.

I tried the GM call and whisper functions, but there was no response. I couldn't even find the logout function.

In the end, the functions did not help me change the current situation, and I spent the morning.

"Well, then... let's start by checking the north side, shall we?"

Since I could hear the sound of water inside the cave, there was a high possibility of a water source inside. I didn't want to get lost too far from here.

The map function displayed the terrain but not paths, signs, or enemy positions. If there were rivers, they would be displayed, but they were not on the map. This meant there was no water source nearby.

The goal was to secure the cave's water source as a last resort and find a safe path.

"While I'm at it, let's check my stamina."

Ymir's durability was set to withstand stamina attacks, but it was unclear how much this affected endurance.

I didn't want to engage in combat, but since I had been thrown into an unfamiliar land in a game-like character, there was a possibility of being attacked by game-like enemies.

If I failed to manage my stamina during combat and collapsed, it could be fatal.

I thought it was necessary to quickly grasp my physical abilities.

"Alright, let's go!"

I pushed through the grass that reached my waist and ran north.

I minimized the map to the point where the rocks were barely visible. If I went any further, I would disappear from the map.

The only new discovery was one shrub.

This meant there were no paths, rivers, or villages within a ten-kilometer radius to the north.

"Still, this is amazing..."

I pushed through the tall grass for about five kilometers. Despite this heavy labor, I felt no fatigue at all.

While the game didn't have a stamina value, this was an incredible endurance.

I didn't know if this was Ymir's ability, adjusted to 100 with equipment bonuses, or the ability of the locals.

"Most of all, this speed. Running five kilometers on rough terrain in this time..."

On flat ground, it would take about an hour to walk, but with this grass and rough terrain, it would take three times as long. Even if I had run...

"Probably... it hasn't been five minutes yet, right?"

Running 100 meters in ten seconds would be 36 km/h. Running five kilometers in five minutes would be 60 km/h.

Moreover, I hadn't run at full speed.

Even if Ymir's agility value had reached its limit... this was strange.

"Did I misjudge the distance? Maybe the map's display range is only one kilometer?"

If so, running one kilometer in five minutes would be 12 km/h. Considering the rough terrain, it would be a reasonable range.

If so, my height might be very low?

"No, no, it's not that low... Anyway, let's go back to the rock."

In the end, I ran around in all directions, trying to run until I was tired, but I only found a few shrubs.

"Seriously, there's nothing here..."

There was no harvest... but I learned that I didn't feel tired at all after running for about thirty minutes.

Considering I was carrying a long sword on my back, this body must have a lot of stamina.

"Hmm... should I check to see if the rock is outside the map...?"

While gnawing on a fish from my inventory as a substitute for lunch, I thought.

If I unfolded the map, I could tell the directions, so I wouldn't lose sight of the rock if I went in one direction.

The problem was that there was no way to recover if I lost sight of it.

"Losing sight of the rock and losing the water source is scary, but I don't want to enter the cave either, and it might not even exist. I haven't even confirmed if it exists. Should I check the cave...?"

While muttering to distract myself from my anxiety, I heard something.

"Where from... the cave?"

Faintly, but clearly, a human-like voice could be heard.

"...Hic... hic... huu"

"Who's there! Is anyone there!?"

Hearing a human voice for the first time in a day, I couldn't help but shout. Despite the mysterious animal sounds in the cave.

No, it was strange to hear a voice from such a place. It was the voice of a child.

"...Anyone... help..."

"Damn, it's inside!"

No, calm down... there are stories of wild animals mimicking human voices. This voice might be calling me as prey... in this case, me.

But... what if it's really a child's voice?

Could I bear the fact of abandoning them?

To begin with, Ymir wouldn't...

"That's right, Ymir wouldn't... ignore someone in such a situation!"

Usually, MMO avatars don't have personalities. Unless the story is set, Midgard's Online is a free scenario game, so characters don't have personalities.

But I... I enjoyed it by imagining her personality. Role-playing.

Even if downgraded, Ymir, who was in the highest knight class, wouldn't abandon a child... I don't remember setting her personality that way.

I pumped myself up to blow away my hesitation, drew the greatsword from my back, and stepped into the cave.

The cave was pitch black, and without light, I couldn't see even a little bit ahead.

Midgard's Online didn't have the concept of light, so there were no torches or light magic. Ymir, of course, didn't have any.

"Maybe I should be glad I chose this sword..."

The sword I chose had an auto-cast of fire attribute, which emitted a faint light in the darkness.

It wasn't enough to illuminate more than ten meters, but it provided enough light to see a few meters around me.

The floor near the entrance was covered in dust, which rose with each step.

"This means no animals have come this far..."

The dust indicated that there was no traffic.

Maybe they were nocturnal animals that disliked light. Was the entrance area safe?

More importantly, looking at the entrance, it was clear that the cave had been artificially created.

The entrance was narrow, but after descending the stairs to the underground, the path widened enough for five people to walk side by side. The width was... more than five meters.

The path was flat and the walls were vertical. It was clearly a man-made structure.

"Definitely a man-made structure. Anyway, the voice is coming from deeper inside... the voice resonates quite a bit."

Now, I tried to walk as quietly as possible.

After a while, I arrived at a place where the path split left and right. It was natural for a cave, especially one that was artificially created.

I didn't know which way to go. So I called out cautiously to the deeper part.

"Hey... which way?"

"Kykykykyky!"

"Ah!?"

In response to my voice, a suspicious animal's cry came back.

"This way is dangerous... I'll go the other way. Wait, I have a map."

I took out the keyboard and called up the map.

A complex network of paths appeared in front of me.

"Wow, the dungeon map does appear?"

In Midgard's Online, the map was displayed in one go for each area and each floor.

Unlike the game, it couldn't display areas in the outside world, but in dungeons, it showed the entire area.

The displayed map was intricately branched and seemed quite large.

In it, I focused on one small room.

A room on the right side of the path, with a semi-circular shadow visible along the wall.

In the game, such shadows often indicated a column or a pool, a sign of an impassable object...

"Either way, there's definitely something there. Should I go check it out?"

It was a small room, so there might be a door to rest for a moment.

I moved toward the room with a slight hope.

That's it for today.

I'll post the continuation tomorrow.