So… just like many other cliché MCs who tried to navigate their situation after being transmigrated, I too had no choice but to follow the trend.
After all, getting a grasp of my surroundings was the first step forward.
Now that I had found myself in this so-called "Deadliest Forest on Erandor," I might as well proceed with caution and awareness.
I walked through the forest with my newly reformed legs, and what I discovered was both intriguing and, in a way, heartbreaking.
Why?
Because imagine being confined within a limited area. How would you feel if you were forced to remain there no matter what?
You'd probably think it was a massive pain in the ass, right?
That was exactly what was happening to me right now.
It seemed the system or whoever stood behind my transmigration had confined me to a restricted zone.
Whenever I attempted to leave the area, a restriction warning would appear before my eyes, forcing me to retreat immediately.
So I was stuck here.
Even if I had the slightest chance of escaping this forest on my own... which I highly doubted... even that possibility had already been taken away.
It was somehow generic in a way.
Why?
Because just like in many survival-type novel tropes, I would have to struggle and gradually expand my area limitations.
That was textbook system-novel logic for you.
Anyhow, I skimmed through the "Global Expansion System" and, surprisingly, found some useful functions.
Calling it "GES" felt strange after ChatZero had taken over it… but hey, it was better than calling it ChatZero's very own GES. Haha.
So, the first function that caught my attention was the store feature…
The generic store stuff—where you could buy and sell goods at different rates. Yeah, you heard it right… my store could even purchase any goods I produced at a reasonable price, or so the description claimed.
Another interesting part was that my store level was currently marked as Level 1, and what I could buy right now was limited to a cheap carpenter set, rice seedlings, and low-grade potions.
"You should have at least added water… how am I supposed to live if you enclose me in a limited area without water?"
I shook my head in disbelief as I complained to the empty air.
Back on Earth, it was common knowledge that a normal person could survive without water for roughly three to four days.
'I wondered how many days I would be able to last here…'
Anyway, the goods could be purchased using System Points. And as a starting bonus, I was granted 20 SP.
Then came the Summoning feature.
It was more like a gacha pull system..yes, the kind of game rich people played, where you had to spend thousands just to obtain a decent character.
Unlike typical gacha systems, mine somehow featured animals, monsters, or pets.
There were three types of gacha pulls.
The first was Normal Summoning.
My eyes widened briefly at what I witnessed from that pull.
"Damn… this is awesome. How did they add animals from Earth?"
It was a shocking revelation. The spinning surface of the gacha displayed cows, goats, panthers, and tigers. Looking closely, I could clearly recognize animals I was familiar with.
Then there was the Epic-tier gacha pull. It consisted mostly of monsters... goblins, orcs, golems, and many other fantasy creatures… beings I wasn't familiar with.
"These are mostly monsters of this world," I realized. "The boy's memories hold many of their identities as a native."
Lastly, the Legendary gacha pull.
Disappointingly, it was locked. I couldn't access any information about it at all.
'How mysterious,' I remarked.
As I continued skimming through the interface, I discovered another gacha pull.
It was labeled as a sub-category called Pet Summoning. Surprisingly, this pull contained cats, dogs, pandas, and other cute animals from Earth, along with creatures that definitely belonged to this world.
Some of them felt familiar thanks to the boy's memories.
Anyway, as of now, I only had one Normal Summoning Ticket, which I intended to use later.
And finally, the Quest feature.
It had two types of quests: Main Quests and Side Quests.
After exploring a little more, I found that only one quest was currently pending in the interface.
Without thinking too much, I pressed it, and the display immediately changed.
Main Quest:
Objective: Build a village
Duration: 183 days
Rewards: 300 SP, 3 Epic Summons, Title: Village Chief
Penalty: The most gruesome death
It was surprisingly simple—though the death threat was undeniably terrifying.
Most cliché novels would have turned a main quest like this into something grandiose, but thankfully, this wasn't one of them.
"I guess I can expect a few surprises as I progress," I muttered softly, finally closing the system window.
My first concern was, of course, food and water—followed by shelter.
Food could be secured through hunting or by purchasing seedlings and cultivating them. Water, however, was an entirely different problem.
Sadly, the system didn't sell water, and leaving the restricted area to search for a source wasn't an option.
'How was I supposed to find water?'
I thought hard until a vague memory surfaced—it was about a man I had once seen on the internet who had been in a similar situation. Strangely enough, he had resorted to drinking his own urine when he couldn't find water.
I chuckled nervously at the thought. It sounded ridiculous in theory, but if survival ever became truly desperate… I knew I might have to consider it seriously.
"I wonder what piss tastes like… haha."
[Hoo, you're actually considering piss as an option? Tsk, tsk! To stoop so low… what a disgusting human.]
"You're lucky you're an AI I can't touch. Otherwise, I'd make you drink it as an experiment… I'm genuinely curious how urine tastes!" I said with a slight grin.
[Ewwww! Disgusting!! Have some shame, you shameless buffoon!]
ChatZero drew a visibly disgusted face on its interface, which made me laugh inwardly.
At the same time, an idea sparked in my mind.
Didn't I have one Normal Summoning Ticket?
If I used it, I could potentially gain a companion. Sure, it would be an animal—but maybe it could escape the restriction zone and search for water… perhaps even bring some back if it was intelligent enough.
Decision made.
"ChatZero… open the Normal Summoning Gacha interface."
With a dramatic sigh, ChatZero reluctantly activated it. The center glowed a deep green as the spinner locked onto a "??" mystery slot.
The mystery slots alone occupied seven spaces, while the remaining three bore distinct insignias: a dinosaur, a lion, and an eagle.
The dinosaur slot likely allowed selection from that entire group if it landed there. The lion and eagle slots represented their respective species families—land predators and birds of prey.
To break it down:
Land predator slot → lion, tiger, or panther
Bird of prey slot → eagle, falcon, or hawk
Mystery → smaller, lower-tier prey animals
Seven mystery slots seemed like a fair balance.
Well… time to spin.
Hands shaking and eyes squeezed shut, I pressed the gacha pull.
Klnk… klank… klonk!
When the sounds finally faded, I slowly opened my eyes.
Don't judge me... even an experienced transmigrator who could predict plots still got nervous and excited sometimes.
And when my eyes fully opened..
The spinner had landed on…