Chapter 3

It had been about 550 days since Zangren began living in the cave.

Zangren was staring at the single character he had carved into the cave wall with a knife.

On a whim, he flicked the nose of the magical beast lying beside him, a creature resembling a snow leopard with white fur and black spots.

This magical beast, already as large as an adult snow leopard on Earth, was still far from being fully grown, which was surprising.

The magical beast, whose nose had been poked, opened its eyes slightly and looked up at the troublemaker with a disgruntled expression. Its tail, which was more than twice the length of its body, slapped Zangren in protest.

The tail wrapped around Zangren's neck, face, and back.

Zangren silently scratched the magical beast's throat.

Immediately, the magical beast began to purr like a cat.

To an outsider, it was a ridiculous exchange, but it was a common occurrence.

The encounter with this magical beast, which he named Yuki-shiro, happened when Zangren finally ventured outside the cave after a while.

During the time he was confined to the cave, Zangren, who didn't have to worry about immediate food supplies, decided to prepare thoroughly.

It was not hard to imagine that a Japanese person would be powerless in a world where venturing outside was difficult and dangerous. Zangren decided to focus on mastering the thick magic textbook. He also decided to improve his physical strength.

However, he didn't seem to be able to do much in terms of physical training, so the focus would be on magic techniques.

Deciding to do so, Zangren skimmed through the book while there was still a little light in the cave and practiced.

"Fire"

He fainted.

When he woke up, feeling a slight pain all over his body, it was already dark. He couldn't see his watch to check the time.

He slowly retreated to the back of the cave and fell asleep, still feeling the pain deep in his body.

He learned that skimming was dangerous.

The next morning, as soon as he woke up to the cooler air, he picked up the magic textbook.

Of course, he remembered the lesson from the previous night, and he felt a sense of crisis as the cold crept in.

While munching on the emergency food from his backpack, he read from the table of contents, the preface, and the first chapter, which contained things that the inhabitants of this world learned during their youth. He read it from cover to cover, reread it, and then practiced again.

"Small fire"

This time, he fainted with a headache.

The textbook stated that fainting, pain, and headaches were not problems and were similar to fatigue or muscle pain, so Zangren used magic without hesitation.

The result was that he had not clearly conveyed his intention, and he could not control or release his magic power. He was drained of all his magic power by the spirits in the air, which mistook his magic power for food, and he fainted without causing any phenomena.

Magic power, in simple terms, is the excess vitality of a human being pooled together, a term used when using magic.

Zangren was drained of his magic power at once, and it almost affected the vitality used to maintain his life. His body, sensing the danger, forced him to faint to cut off the supply of magic power to the outside, which he had allowed. The body, mistakenly thinking that there was not enough vitality to maintain the current state, increased the vitality.

Although it is not recommended now, the textbook stated that in the old days, this was how one recognized the existence of spirits in the air and one's own magic power, which was why Zangren acted this way.

Zangren faintly felt that the invisible, intangible something, like plankton, had rushed to the magic power like hungry pigeons in a park, and he fainted.

Zangren sat up abruptly. This time, he felt pain and ringing in his ears.

Looking at his watch, it seemed he had been unconscious for about three hours, not a full day.

And again,

"Small red fire"

He felt a sharp pain in his chest and fainted.

However, even after fainting about ten more times, when the intervals between fainting became shorter, a small, fist-sized red fire was flickering proudly in the center of the room, where he had dug a hearth-like pit.

This was the materialization of a low-level fire spirit, a very common thing used by the inhabitants of this world for cooking.

Zangren learned that spirits would materialize almost automatically when given magic power.

Having successfully cast his first spell, Zangren became even more engrossed in magic.

In the morning, he would look outside to change his mood, and then faint, or rather, practice magic.

As Zangren continued this routine, the blizzard had suddenly stopped.

It was when the scratches on the cave wall reached 180.

Zangren, as usual, woke up in the morning and was breaking down the earth cover at the entrance of the cave before breakfast. After successfully materializing the earth spirit, he had been covering the entrance as much as possible before going to bed at night.

It was only a makeshift cover.

The morning sun illuminated the dawn. Zangren squinted at the brightness.

It was the first time he had seen direct sunlight in a while.

Through his slightly opened eyelids, he could see the opposite mountain, which was now much clearer. On the rocky outcrop, where the morning sun shone, the magical beast resembling a snow leopard was lying down as usual.

When the magical beast lifted its head lazily, the pure white fur from its neck to its belly was visible. Overall, it had fewer black spots than a snow leopard.

The gray-golden eyes, which were staring at Zangren from a considerable distance, seemed to hold a pride that would not allow anything to invade.

Then, as if it didn't matter, it lay down again as if nothing had happened.

To Zangren, it was a wildness that was blinding.

During the 180 days, the blizzard had occasionally thinned out.

When Zangren peeked outside in the morning, the magical beast was always there.

The first time their eyes met, Zangren had stiffened, thinking he might be eaten. However, after a few days, he realized that the magical beast had no such intention. It might have been watching Zangren's movements.

Still, they had never approached each other.

There are various theories, but according to the definition in the magic textbook, a magical beast is a creature that can use magic.

Its existence is the result of other spirits fusing with existing life spirits over generations, resulting in a species that can use magic.

Life spirits are the spirits that dwell in all living things, the living things themselves, and the vitality itself. They are present in trees, insects, and humans, each with only one.

In a broad sense, humans are also spirits, and they might even be magical beasts.

Monsters, on the other hand, are spirits that have deteriorated due to hunger or other reasons and materialize. They are natural disasters and enemies of all living things, fundamentally different from magical beasts.

Not all magical beasts are negotiable, but they are not as completely unapproachable as monsters.

In fact, a silent mutual non-interference had been established between Zangren and the snow leopard-like magical beast.

Perhaps it was because Zangren had no means of attack.

Even in the cold, Zangren never considered hunting the magical beast for its warm fur. He had secured some warmth, but more importantly, he never thought it was possible.

In this mutually non-interfering relationship, Zangren's daily morning view of the outside world was to see the magical beast, perhaps for entertainment in an otherwise monotonous day, or to confirm the existence of another being besides himself.

Today, Zangren decided to go outside, as if drawn to the being he had been watching for so long.

As soon as he made the decision, he shuddered, but Zangren simply broke eye contact with the magical beast and returned to the room to prepare to go outside.

Was the shudder from fear of the outside world, the thrill of adventure, or just the cold?

Zangren didn't give an answer.

He was just going outside. That was all.