Chapter 2: Monster Alert: Run!

Humans are creatures that adapt.

But that doesn’t mean you can immediately adapt to a world that changed overnight.

“One hundred gold coins… yeah, that’s a lot. If it were me, I’d sell him out too.”

I’m no different.

A person from the 21st-century information society wouldn’t easily adapt to a world where every convenience suddenly vanished.

Escaping the Imperial Palace?

If I had been alone, I couldn’t have done it.

Even if it seemed possible, it wasn’t something I could decide easily.

How would I know what was outside the palace?

I don’t have a sense of adventure.

I hate wandering around unfamiliar places, which is why I don’t even like traveling.

So how did someone like me pull off something as bold as escaping the Imperial Palace?

Because I had help.

[You have entered the forbidden land, Ens.]

This thing right here.

A notification window that appears in front of my eyes like a game.

For convenience, I call it the System.

[Loading the map of the region ‘Ens’.]

The only entity in this world that helps me.

I interpret the System as something like a guide meant for humans who fell into this world.

How it came to exist, who created it, whether I’m the only one who can see it…

There are far too many questionable aspects.

But one thing is certain, it helps me.

[Due to insufficient data on the region ‘Ens’, the visible range is limited to a radius of 2 km.]

If the System didn’t exist?

Forget escaping the palace, I would’ve gone insane long ago.

[The Castia Empire has summoned you as a Hero.]

[Due to the provided ‘Outsider Buff’, your physical abilities have greatly increased.]

At first, this System nearly scared me out of my mind.

Being dropped into a group of mages wearing bizarre, outdated robes while I stood there in sweatpants…

And on top of that, a translucent system window flickering in front of my eyes.

It was pure terror.

‘If the System hadn’t existed, I’d probably still be stuck in the palace being treated like that.’

Sure, being summoned as a Hero increased my physical abilities—giving me stamina, agility, and strength that made me question whether I was even human anymore.

But the reason I managed to escape the Imperial Palace safely was still thanks to the System.

The information it provides is almost limitless.

It’s like a smartphone upgraded several generations ahead.

Though unfortunately I can’t watch XTube, use XTalk, or play games.

The most useful feature is the mini-map displayed at the edge of my vision.

Right now it only shows a two-kilometer radius, but that’s probably because Ens is a special kind of land.

Before this, it gave me a map so precise it made GPS look pathetic, never missing even the smallest alleyway.

[Dalton Logan and the Imperial Knights have entered the border between Ens and Simiga.]

“What? Ah, damn it…”

And that’s not all.

Even though I never set anything up, the System somehow knows everything, so much so that it almost feels like a living creature.

It pops up perfectly timed notifications.

Who’s leading the knights, where they are, it tells me everything automatically.

[Dalton Logan and the Imperial Knights have advanced to approximately 1.5 km southwest and are currently waiting.]

I started trusting the System right before escaping the palace.

To be honest, I hadn’t expected anything from it.

I thought it appeared for the Hero, not for someone like me.

Just another existence like those people who bullied me.

‘Ha… those damn bastards. Should I just bolt? But how do I even get out of this massive palace?’

Searching for a method of escape from the Imperial Palace according to Hero’s request.

But the System acted differently from what I expected.

As if it existed for me, not the Hero.

In the end, the reason I escaped the Imperial Palace safely was because the System provided an escape route.

[Soldiers are forming ranks along the border of Ens and Simiga.]

“So they’re planning to wait until I come out and catch me? In the end they’re not coming in…”

I have no intention of going back.

I don’t even have a plan beyond meeting that genius magician.

So maybe I can relax.

Or maybe I should despair at the fact that I’m standing in a land so terrifying they’d rather wait than follow me just 1.5 kilometers deeper.

“…”

Thick fog filled the surroundings.

Even knowing they wouldn’t chase me in didn’t make this place feel any safer.

If I died here before even meeting that magician, it would be a completely pointless death.

Was this a reckless decision?

There’s a sword hanging at my waist, but if I met a real monster, I wouldn’t even have the confidence to swing it.

It’s basically just decoration.

What exactly did I believe in when I came in here?

According to the peace treaty with the demon race, the Knights entering the forbidden land Ens could become the seed of war. Their advance appears to have stopped for this reason.

“Ah…”

Just as regret started to swallow me, the System displayed another notification.

At least they didn’t stop because they were afraid of monsters.

But either way, the fact remains, I entered the forbidden land Ens.

“And in a place like this… that guy Inas supposedly lives.”

For over eighty years, this land had been abandoned, neither demons nor humans setting foot here.

Ens, with its massive overgrown vegetation hidden beneath thick fog, looked exactly like a jungle.

A place where it wouldn’t be strange if a wild beast, or worse, a monster, suddenly leapt out.

“And someone lives here… Well, whatever. I’m already here.”

Instead of wasting time regretting it, I should start searching for Inas.

But where should I even begin?

“The unmanned cart thing… that was real, right?”

Originally, I had a plan.

…The problem is, it fell apart because of unforeseen circumstances.

A day ago.

After meeting the merchant who traded with Inas, I secretly followed him to gather information.

I didn’t do anything stupid like approach him directly.

In a world where no one has black hair, my appearance screams “Hero.”

But…

“Hero?”

“…!”

“So it really was you. I thought I might be mistaken…”

Well, once I was discovered, there wasn’t much I could do.

“It’s a relief you look healthy. You must have had a hard time.”

I was about to run away immediately…

But that merchant was too kind.

And honestly, I had been through a lot.

Hearing someone acknowledge that made me grateful.

Naively placing him into the “good person” category, I asked him directly.

“You trade with Inas, right? Can you help me meet him?”

“Meet Lord Inas? Hmm… that’s difficult. Even I have never met him directly.”

I should have realized something was wrong when the guy who had been cursing “that bastard Inas” earlier suddenly pretended otherwise.

“Then how do you trade with him?”

“Lord Inas sends a magic cart. When we place the requested goods inside, the trade items appear.”

“…An unmanned cart.”

“If you follow the cart, wouldn’t you eventually meet him? As it happens, the cart arrives tomorrow morning. If you’d like, I can guide you there. Would you care to stay at my house tonight?”

I should’ve been suspicious when a complete stranger showed excessive kindness to a wanted fugitive.

But I was exhausted.

Just the thought of not sleeping on the street that night made me happily follow him like an idiot.

Kindness without purpose should always be questioned.

I was simply too tired to do that.

[Danger. An individual with killing intent is approaching.]

If the System hadn’t existed…

“Ugh, I don’t even want to imagine it.”

It was only after the System’s warning that I realized it.

That bastard merchant had reported me long ago.

“There! The Hero is over there!”

“Capture the criminal who dared mock His Majesty the Emperor and flee!”

There was nowhere to run.

So I ran toward Ens.

Without any plan.

Without any mental preparation.

“Please…”

Even though he tricked me, the part about trading with an unmanned cart had better not be a lie.

Otherwise I wouldn’t even have the faint hope of following the cart’s tracks.

[Danger. A monster has appeared northwest within the radius. Rapidly approaching. Estimated speed is-]

“Waaah!”

Just as I was starting to sink into despair over my hopeless situation, the System blared another warning, as if telling me this wasn’t the time to brood.

It was the kind of notification that made everything else vanish from my mind.

“Northwest, northwest? Then I need to run the opposite way! Wait- south, southeast, where the hell is southeast?!”

Imperial soldiers are stationed southwest. I recommend fleeing 45 degrees to the left toward the south for now.

“F-forty-five degrees to the left…!”

The monster has entered within a 1 km radius.

“Waaahhh!”

There was no choice but to run blindly.

That is, if I wanted to avoid facing the monster.