Chapter 4 : Someone who could survive and thrive even if stranded on a deserted island

Even a Grub Has a Way of Rolling

The opportunity to choose a job was compensation enough to forgive the system’s incompetence, slowness, and laziness it had shown so far.

“What should I choose?”

First, Lena stood at the initial fork in the road.

Then, the chaotic array of other forks blurred, and the figure of an old man wearing a robe appeared at the end of the distant path ahead.

“This is a wizard.”

It was a tempting choice.

The first option in order, and the word “wizard” itself carried a sense of romance.

The best job—one that didn’t skimp on firepower, utility, or style!

Still, there was no need to rush her decision.

Lena moved to stand in front of the next fork.

The second option was a knight.

This was as fundamental as the wizard.

The pinnacle of romance—relying solely on one’s body and skill to uphold beliefs and maintain loyalty.

Knights in actual history weren’t like that, but this was a game.

If you thought about it that way, wizards were just scammers.

There were many other things that drew her in.

“Uhhhmmm.”

Lena let out a pained groan.

This was a headache.

If she’d been given just a few choices and told to pick one, she could’ve decided quickly.

But with hundreds of jobs to choose from, she felt paralyzed by indecision.

Even though they seemed trivial, each option had its own advantages. If she chose one, she’d regret missing out on another; if she picked that one, she’d miss this one.

“Let’s think simply.”

Lena couldn’t stand the frustration of spending years agonizing over it.

Even the most complicated problems become simple when you approach them with clarity.

Lena set aside her regrets as much as possible and focused on one question:

Which of these jobs is currently the most helpful?

“…Then it’s this one, after all.”

Once she’d made up her mind, she shouldn’t hesitate.

Lena strode toward her goal in one decisive move.

As she took her first step, the other roads melted away like cotton candy dipped in water, leaving only one destination far ahead.

Eventually, at the end of the path, she saw the figure of a rugged man who lived off the land in the wild, far from civilization.

[The player awakens to the destiny of the Wild!]

It was the destiny of the Wild.

Magic and knights were all well and good, she knew that.

But whether they could address her current difficulties was questionable.

Lena had to find a water source, secure food, and even fend off a beast attack during the night.

Her top priority right now should be survival, not romance.

In that sense, the destiny of the Wild was perfect.

It didn’t have the coolness or splendor to show off to others, but it was practical.

She judged it would be a great help for her first experience living in the forest.

Or maybe not… It was a shame.

She’d smack herself on the head and have to live with the disappointment.

Regret was useless in life.

[Destiny of the Wild]

It is a path that rejects the taming influence of civilization and awakens primal instincts.
The law of nature is the truth of the world.
The philosophy of survival—embodied by the survival of the fittest, self-sufficiency, and self-reliance—is an essential quality for those who follow this destiny.
The bearer of this destiny will come to understand the providence of nature at the boundary between order and chaos, forging a new order by merging with their instincts.
The beginning may be humble, but with true enlightenment, the end will surely be great.

※ Survival Knowledge: Inspiration etched into the mind, surfacing at the right moment.
※ Grace of Nature: A mental barrier and tenacious survival power that grows stronger in times of trouble.
※ Increased Stamina and Recovery: Abnormal resilience that heals all fatigue and wounds.
※ Instinct Trigger (details below):
Predator’s sense, beast’s power, path of harmony…

“Kkeueung!”

Lena stretched deeply.

As she finished with a long, languid sigh, a refreshing current ran through her entire body.

“I slept well!”

She shouted, thrusting both arms straight up toward the sky.

It was such a refreshing morning that the words slipped out without her realizing it.

Lena tilted her head and asked herself, “Am I just naturally suited for camping?”

To be honest, she’d thought she’d wake up tired and miserable.

The bed was unfamiliar—she’d slept on bare ground, even with leaves spread out—and there’d been a commotion in the early morning.

It’d be greedy to hope for a refreshing morning after all that.

But oh? What was this?

Her body felt as energetic as if she’d never been so awake in the morning.

She felt as lighthearted as if she’d overslept on a workday.

Come to think of it, she’d been told she could thrive even if dropped on a desert island.

She was proving it now, in her own way.

“If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve gone camping more often, even if I was busy.”

She felt like she’d missed out on half her life.

Lena brushed aside her regrets and tidied up her sleeping spot.

“Ah, what should I do with that?”

There was one troublesome burden she’d noticed at the end.

It was the corpse of the toothed jaguar whose neck she’d broken.

“Uhm.”

The best thing to do with an animal’s corpse was to dispose of it immediately, but since she’d fallen back asleep right after choosing her job, she was only now thinking about how to handle it.

It’d be a shame to just throw it away.

That was all meat.

And the leather was so beautiful.

If she wrapped it around herself, it could double as a sleeping bag.

But Lena had never butchered anything before.

She’d seen it on YouTube, but who remembers every step of the process?

She didn’t even have the tools to try.

If she was going to butcher it, she’d need a knife—a sharp one, right?

Split a rock?

What if she hurt her hand doing that?

Besides, while stone knives were decent tools in ancient times, they weren’t that sharp unless properly honed.

That’s why they’d been replaced by metal, despite being easy to make.

They weren’t suitable for butchering, which required precision and sharpness.

If she wasn’t careful, the meat and leather would spoil.

She was groaning over it when—

[Survival Knowledge comes to mind as inspiration!]

Suddenly, a unique idea struck her.

“Toothed jaguar.”

A jaguar is a jaguar, so what’s a toothed jaguar? But that’s how naming works in fantasy worlds.

Was this a fantasy world, then?

In an oriental fantasy world, spirits wielding Chinese characters would pop out, so it must be.

Lena grabbed the dangling neck of the toothed jaguar and stretched its mouth wide.

Sure enough, inside were sharp, cog-like teeth, just as the name implied.

If she gripped them tightly and pulled—

With a pop! the tooth came out.

Blood flowed from the spot where it had been extracted.

That was only natural, since she’d yanked out a living tooth.

But since the jaguar was dead, it was fortunate it couldn’t feel the pain.

It was a rather shameless thought for the human who’d taken its life.

The toothed jaguar’s teeth were longer than her palm, matching the size of its body.

The sharp tips looked capable of drawing blood with a single poke, making them a decent substitute for a blade.

Lena gripped the tooth tightly in her fist and sliced into the jaguar’s back.

She didn’t use much force, but the skin split open.

It cut well—really well.

Then, ideas about how to butcher it and wield the makeshift knife started popping into her head.

“Am I really a genius?”

Faced with the real thing, she recalled what she’d only seen a few times on YouTube and even applied it.

She could only marvel at the potential of this body.

[The destiny of the Wild injects the owner with essential survival knowledge!]

In truth, it was the effect of her new job, the destiny of the Wild.

Lena was vaguely aware of it.

She was just pretending not to know, playing the part of a smug fool.

What good would it do to give credit to an invisible system anyway?

It felt better to think of herself as a genius.

“Oh, this is hard.”

She skinned the leather neatly, divided the meat into portions, laid them out on a net woven from tree bark, and set them over the bonfire.

This would smoke them, and once dried, she’d have jerky.

It’d be even better with salt.

What’s missing is missing.

She had to be satisfied with this much.

Compared to her original plan—catching and eating fish all day like yesterday—she was deeply grateful.

“Salt, um, salt. Didn’t they extract salt from rocks?”

This was technically called rock salt, or halite.

Halite is mainly found in mines or deserts, but this was a fantasy world (presumably).

In a world like this, anything could happen, so it was unwise to judge it by real-world common sense.

And rather than assuming something was impossible, the optimistic belief that it might be possible felt more hopeful.

Lena grilled and ate the jaguar’s hind leg she’d set aside to satisfy her hunger, then marched forward with renewed energy.

“Let’s go!”

Her goal was to scout the forest.

“Senior!”

“Why are you calling me?”

“Here! There are traces of humans!”

“What?”

A heavily armed knight leapt off his horse and headed to where his junior was calling.

“Ha, sh*t. It’s real. How did you find it?”

“I thought there might be something because three-legged crows were gathered.”

“Ah, those sly b*stards.”

Black dots circled high in the sky.

Three-legged crows—a monster common in this area.

Their combat strength was so weak that even an ordinary person could fend them off with a club.

That’s why they relied on cunning, persistently chasing and harassing lone beasts or humans who’d fallen behind, hunting them once they were exhausted.

“What should we do?”

“Hmm.”

The knight traced the person’s tracks with his eyes.

If they hadn’t gone far, he’d need to confirm their identity and ensure their safety.

That was the duty of a patrolling knight.

“Tsk, forget it.”

“Yes?”

“They took the wrong path. Seems they weren’t a local—just a traveler.”

The footprints led into the forest.

“The Great Forest, a place called the cradle of monsters. They’re probably dead.”

The knight’s voice trembled slightly.

It was an unconscious hint of fear.

“…Is that place that dangerous?”

“Ah, you haven’t had your initiation ceremony yet, have you?”

“Yes, it’s scheduled for next week.”

“Be careful.”

The knight turned away without hesitation.

“No one survives there.”