Aaron didn't know how, but he had ended up sitting in a dark burrow beneath the roots of a tree. The last few hours felt like a blur. The sun had long since set, and night had fully taken over.
He had lost track of time.He was hungry.He was cold.He was uncomfortable.But above all—he was afraid.
He had tried to stay calm and composed this whole time, but now—alone, facing the silence, the darkness, and the unknown—Aaron could no longer pretend.
For what felt like hours, he couldn't stop replaying the massacre he had witnessed earlier.His mind fixated on one single thought.
The creatures hadn't eaten a single corpse.
They weren't feeding on humans—They were exterminating them.
His body trembled on its own.The only thing he could do was take deep breaths to keep himself from losing control.
Little by little, he regained his composure and began to think.
"What the hell is happening!?"
The last thing he remembered was going to bed after finishing a book.
Then, he woke up here.
And a few minutes later, monsters arrived and slaughtered everyone.
It felt like some kind of cruel joke—except it wasn't.
Right now, his priority was survival, and that was something Aaron fully understood once his mind had cleared.
Fortunately, he wasn't completely defenseless.
Thanks to quick thinking and an unexpectedly bold decision, Aaron had managed to gather all the basic survival tools he needed.
A canvas bag (for storing and carrying his belongings) A stone knife (which could help him craft more tools) A rope (useful for traps, shelter, and countless other purposes) A flintstone (since starting a fire in the wild without tools was incredibly difficult) Three days' worth of food and water.
Aaron took out all the items from his bag and laid them out before him.He had somehow managed to acquire all the essentials needed for survival.
Now that this distraction was over, he had to think about his next steps.
Aaron knew he couldn't stay in this burrow forever.He needed a plan, a strategy to survive in this new, hostile environment.
So, he began analyzing his options.
Step 1: Find a Safe Base
This hole in the ground was a temporary shelter, but he needed something more permanent.He decided to search for higher ground—an area that was easily defensible and had a clear view of the surroundings.
Step 2: Secure Food & Water
His current provisions would not last forever.
He would have to learn how to hunt, fish, or find edible plants.
Or, he could choose the more dangerous option—using the altar in the clearing to buy food.
However, that required points, and if his theory was correct, the only way to earn points was by killing monsters.
Step 3: Protect Himself
He had already seen how dangerous the creatures were.
He needed weapons, armor, or anything else that could help him fight.
For now, the simplest and most effective weapon he could make was a wooden spear.
As for defense, he couldn't think of much beyond crafting a wooden shield.
That would be a problem for later.
With a clear strategy in mind, Aaron suddenly felt relieved.
He was no longer a passive bystander.
He was actively thinking of a way out of this nightmare.
And that simple fact lifted a tremendous weight off his shoulders.
With all these thoughts in mind, he moved deeper into the burrow, storing his supplies back into his bag.
Then, he lay down, hoping the night would pass quickly.
...
As soon as the sun rose, Aaron didn't waste time dwelling on how sore his back was.
He had spent the entire night lying on solid rock without anything for comfort.
At the very least, it hadn't been cold.
That was one of the many strange things he had noticed about his new environment.
The air was a constant, moderate temperature—neither too hot nor too cold. There was no sun or moon in the sky. The light seemed to come from an omnipresent source, yet shadows still existed. There was no wind. If the entire planet had a constant temperature, that might explain it. There were no insects or birds.
In short—this place was extremely unnatural.
It was as if someone had created an artificial world but didn't bother adding details.
Shaking off these thoughts, Aaron continued his journey through the forest.There was no point in wasting time questioning things he couldn't change.
Even though every little anomaly drew his attention, he forced himself to focus.
Right now, he was heading back to the clearing from yesterday.
He wanted to investigate the stone altar again, now that he was calm and rested.
He moved cautiously, staying hidden behind the vegetation, making sure to observe his surroundings carefully.
He had already learned his lesson—this place was dangerous, and he needed to stay alert.
Then, as he walked, he noticed something else strange.
The forest floor was completely clean.No fallen leaves. No dead branches.
Very strange.
Once he arrived near the clearing, he didn't enter immediately.
Instead, he circled around the perimeter, making sure there were no monsters nearby.
Once he confirmed the area was safe, he stepped forward.
Then, he froze.
What he saw stunned him.
The Clearing Was… Unchanged.
Exactly the same as before.
Not similar.
Identical.
The corpses, the blood, the remains of the slaughter…
All of it was gone.
Aaron's breath caught in his throat.
How?
He couldn't believe it.
Had someone cleaned it up?
Or was it the work of something else?
Or…
Had it all been a dream?
Would he wake up any moment now?
Aaron shook his head sharply.
No.
He needed to focus.
He examined the area more closely, but no matter how hard he looked, he found no trace of the massacre.
It was as if the bodies had evaporated overnight.
The more time he spent in this place, the more Aaron felt like he was losing his mind.
Or perhaps…
He already had.
Could a madman even realize he was insane?
He felt powerless in the face of something he couldn't understand.
It was like being trapped inside a nightmare.
And now, he questioned everything.
Should he keep exploring?
Or should he hide somewhere and wait for help?
The second that thought entered his mind, he crushed it immediately.
Yes, it would be comforting to pretend that rescue was coming.
But denying reality wouldn't help him survive.
What Was Reality?
He forced himself to list the facts.
This place was either a completely different world or an advanced simulation indistinguishable from reality. There were monsters in the forest—fast, deadly, and incredibly dangerous. The only thing that seemed useful to him right now was the altar in front of him. The Next Step Was Clear.
Aaron placed his hand on the stone altar, confirming what he had seen yesterday was real.
And sure enough—the information reappeared in his mind.
The only difference?
The countdown had changed—from 30 days to 29. His points had reset to 0.
He had a rough idea of how the altar worked now.
But the one thing he still didn't understand—
Was that damn countdown.
No matter.
He had a plan.
Step one: Build a shelter.
And to do that—he needed to climb.
Aaron turned toward the tallest tree he could find.
And without hesitation—
He started climbing.
Aaron climbed higher and higher, his hands gripping the rough bark of the tree. After years without practicing any climbing, he had assumed he would be rusty, but his body proved him wrong.
After all, despite everything that had happened in his life, Aaron had never given up on physical training.
So, he kept climbing, making sure not to slip.
He moved from branch to branch, and after a few minutes of effort, he finally pulled himself onto a sturdy limb at the very top of the tree.
Once he had balanced himself, he turned his gaze outward.
What he saw left him speechless.
The forest stretched endlessly in all directions.
For about 20 to 30 kilometers, there was nothing but trees.
But beyond that—
At the very edge of his vision, the forest abruptly ended.
Beyond the tree line, there was nothing but vast, open plains of green grass.
And they were perfectly uniform—extending symmetrically in all directions.
If he were looking from above, Aaron imagined that the forest would look like a perfect circle, with a radius of about 20 kilometers, completely surrounded by grasslands.
Strange.
Very strange.
At first glance, he couldn't see any obvious place to build a base.
Unless he built a treehouse, he saw no clear way to establish a safe shelter.
As he thought about it, Aaron began his descent from the tree.
One Last Unanswered Question
But one question still remained.
The monsters.
Aaron had been avoiding thinking about them since yesterday.
But now, if he wanted to survive, he had to face reality.
He needed to learn more about them.
He couldn't afford to stay ignorant.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and counted to three before reopening them.
"If I have to do this, I'll do it intelligently," he whispered to himself.
He placed his bag on the ground and pulled out the stone knife he had bought earlier.
"I need a weapon."
Of all the weapons he could make, a spear was the most efficient and easiest to craft.
It wasn't called the ultimate weapon for nothing.
Ever since humanity had discovered war, the spear and its variations had existed in every culture across the world.
It was both simple to create and easy to learn how to use.
For Aaron's current situation, it was the ideal weapon.
To make a good spear, he needed a strong but lightweight branch—something sturdy enough to be used as a weapon without breaking easily.
Aaron examined the trees around him.
They all looked identical.
Their unnatural uniformity triggered a deep unease in him.
There was no natural variation—as if they had been generated by a program, created without flaws.
This world continued to defy the reality he once knew.
Still, he found a tree with promising branches and began his work.
Cutting a thick branch with nothing but a stone knife was far from easy.
The stone blade was too small for heavy cutting, and every strike echoed in the silent forest, making Aaron feel as if he was committing a crime.
But despite the resistance of the wood, Aaron refused to give up.
He knew he needed this weapon.
Without it, he had no chance of defending himself, let alone trapping or fighting the creatures.
So, he kept going.
Strike after strike.
He took great care not to snap the branch prematurely—he needed it to be cleanly cut.
A Moment of Success
Finally—after what felt like an eternity—
The branch cracked and fell into Aaron's hands.
He held it up, testing its weight and balance.
It was heavy.
But with some modifications, it would become a proper weapon.
Aaron sat against a tree and began sharpening one end of the branch into a deadly point.
As he worked, he felt something shift inside him.
He was no longer just reacting to the situation.
He was taking control.
Every cut of the knife, every shaving of wood that fell to the ground—
It all reaffirmed his will to survive.
Aaron considered hardening the spear tip with fire—a known method to increase durability.
But starting a fire would be too risky.
There were too many unknowns.
He couldn't afford to attract attention.
Finally, after several hours of work, he had his weapon.
It wasn't perfect, but in this world, perfection didn't matter.
Survival did.
Aaron stood up, holding the newly crafted spear.
He took a classic combat stance and tested several thrusts, feeling the weight and control.
"This will do," he murmured.
But he knew—
The real challenge was just beginning.
Aaron turned his gaze toward the silent forest.
Beyond those identical trees, hidden in the shadows—
Something was waiting for him.
Something that wouldn't hesitate to kill him the second it had the chance.
The silence remained unbroken.
But for how long?