Even beetles have a knack for rolling around.
If the system were offering an opportunity to choose a job, then it was a compensation for forgiving all the incompetence, sluggishness, and laziness it had shown so far.
“What should I pick?”
Rena stood first at the first crossroad.
As she did, the cluttered other paths blurred, and in the far-off end of the straight path ahead, the figure of an old man, cloaked in a robe, came into view.
“This one’s a wizard.”
It was a tantalizing choice.
Not only was it the first on the list, but the very word “wizard” conjured up a romantic image.
A supreme job that offered power, utility, and flair without missing a single factor!
Still, there was no need to rush the choice.
Rena moved to the next crossroad.
The second was a knight.
This was also as fundamental as being a wizard.
The ideal of conviction driven by nothing but the body and skill, and loyalty upheld in a world of fantasy, even if history didn’t quite reflect that in reality.
But this was a game, after all.
Put that way, the wizard was the trickster.
There were plenty of other options that drew her in too.
“Ugh!”
Rena let out a tormented groan.
Too much bother.
It would have been easy if only a few options were given to choose from.
But with hundreds of jobs available, Rena felt like she might develop decision paralysis.
Though it might seem trivial, every option had its appeal when analyzed closely, leading to regrets about other choices no matter what she picked.
“Let’s keep it simple.”
Lingering in endless conflict over the decision for centuries wasn’t Rena’s style—it was too frustrating to endure.
She always said that no matter how complicated the problem, if you simplify the thinking, it becomes simpler.
Rena closed her regrets as much as possible, focusing on one question:
Which of these jobs would be most helpful right now?
“…Then, this is probably the best.”
Once a decision is made, there’s no room for hesitation.
Rena moved decisively toward her choice.
As she took the first step, all other paths melted like cotton candies soaked in water, leaving just one goal in sight far ahead.
In the distance, at the end of the path stood the figure of a naturalist self-sufficient in the wild, away from civilization.
“The player has awakened to the destiny of the wild!”
It was the destiny of the wild.
It wasn’t particularly flashy or majestic, but it would be highly practical.
Rena judged it would be immensely helpful in her first-ever experience of living in the forest.
If not, she’d simply have regrets.
Then, she’d just have to beat her head in frustration and get by.
Regrets, after all, served no purpose in life.
—
[Destiny of the Wild]
This is the path that defies domestication and awakens the primal instincts from ancient times.
The laws of nature are the true laws of the world.
The philosophy of survival—survival of the fittest, self-sufficiency, and self-reliance—is a necessary trait for those who follow this destiny.
The owner of this destiny will discover the workings of nature at the boundary between order and chaos, blending with one’s instincts to create a new order.
Though the beginning may be faint, with true insight, the end is certain to be grand.
※Survival Knowledge: Insights ingrained in the mind that rise appropriately.
※Blessing of Nature: A strong mental barrier and enduring survival instincts when in peril.
※Increased Stamina and Recovery: An abnormal recovery ability that heals fatigue and injuries.
※Instinct Trigger (details below):
Predator’s Sensitivity, Beast’s Strength, Path of Harmony…
—
“Hng!”
Rena stretched vigorously.
With a leisurely sigh, a current of invigoration ran through her entire body as she finished.
“I slept well!”
She called out loud, stretching her arms upward.
She didn’t even realize how refreshed she felt.
“Does camping suit me?”
Honest thought: She assumed she would wake up feeling tired and miserable.
Her sleeping spot was strange; even with a bed of leaves, she had slept on the bare ground, and she kept waking up during the early morning hours.
If she had such expectations of an invigorating morning, she’d indeed have been a thief.
But hmm? What was this?
She couldn’t recall ever waking up this energized in the morning before.
It was just as uplifting as the days she was late for work after oversleeping.
She often heard that she could survive even if stranded on a deserted island. Looks like she was proving it now.
“If I had known this, I would have gone camping more even when I was busy.”
She now felt like she had missed out on half of her life.
Putting her regrets aside, Rena began tidying up her sleeping area.
“Oh, what should I do with this?”
She had one cumbersome, hard-to-deal-with burden left.
The carcass of the serrated jaguar, whose neck she had broken.
“Hmm.”
It would be best to immediately dispose of the animal’s body, but since she had fallen back asleep right after choosing her job, she was only now pondering how to handle it.
It felt wasteful to just throw it away.
After all, it was all meat.
Its hide looked pretty durable too.
If wrapped around herself, it could serve as a makeshift sleeping bag.
However, Rena had never butchered an animal before.
Sure, she’d seen it on YouTube, but who could possibly remember all the details?
She didn’t even have a tool to attempt it.
For butchering, you need a sharp knife, right?
Break a rock?
That could hurt her hand.
Even ancient stone knives, though decent enough, required sharpening to be truly effective.
That’s why eventually metal replaced them despite their convenience.
They lacked the precision and sharpness necessary for butchering.
She’d risk the meat and hide going bad if she botched it.
While she was lost in thought,
“A survival insight has just arisen!”
A sudden and novel idea flashed through her mind.
“Serrated jaguar.”
Why “serrated”? What made it a serrated jaguar when jaguars are jaguars?
But that’s how things were named in fantasy worlds.
Was she in a fantasy world?
Not exactly a wuxia world where spirit creatures armed with Chinese characters didn’t pop up, so yeah, probably.
Rena grabbed the dangling serrated jaguar by the neck and stretched its mouth wide.
Sure enough, the jaguar’s mouth was lined with sharp, serrated teeth fitting its name.
She gripped one firmly and pulled.
It popped out with a sound, and blood flowed from the empty tooth socket.
Since she had pulled a tooth from a living mouth, bleeding was inevitable.
But the animal was dead, so it wouldn’t feel any pain. Lucky.
For a human who had taken its life to think this way was a bit hypocritical.
Still, the jaguar’s tooth was as long as her hand.
Its pointed end looked sharp enough to easily pierce human skin, making it a sufficient substitute for a knife.
Rena firmly gripped the jaguar’s tooth and cut into the jaguar’s back.
With little effort, the jaguar’s back tore apart cleanly.
“Working well, working well.”
Subsequently, insights into how to butcher the animal and how to make each cut clean and effective came floating into her mind.
“Am I actually a genius?”
She marveled at how everything she had vaguely seen on YouTube came back to her and could even be applied.
She was astonished by the latent potential within her.
“The destiny of the wild is granting its owner necessary survival knowledge!”
Though it was actually a function of the job she had chosen, Rena had guessed as much.
She was just pretending ignorance and praising herself.
After all, what’s the point of giving the system credit for something when you don’t see it?
It felt better to believe she was a genius.
“Whew, exhausting.”
She carefully peeled the hide and divided the meat by part, laying them out on a mesh made of bark to dry over a bonfire.
This would smoke-dry the meat.
Once dried thoroughly, it would become jerky.
If only she had salt, it would be perfect.
But you can’t have what you don’t have.
She had to be satisfied with what was possible.
Compared to the old routine of fishing all day and eating nothing but fish, this was a blessing.
“Salt, hmm, salt. Don’t they get salt from rocks?”
Also known as rock salt or halite.
Halite is mainly found in mines or deserts, but this was a fantasy world (assuming).
You couldn’t evaluate this strange world by conventional standards.
Besides, it was more hopeful to take a positively open mind than to jump to negative conclusions.
After eating some jaguar hindquarters to fill her hunger, Rena marched forward with renewed energy.
“The objective is reconnaissance.”
—
“Master!”
“Yes?”
“Here! There’s evidence of human presence!”
“What?”
The armored knight jumped off his horse and approached where the apprentice had called.
“Damn. It’s real. How did you find it?”
“I thought it was odd to see a cluster of three-legged crows.”
“Ah, those tricky bastards.”
High in the sky, black dots were circling in a loop.
Three-legged crows, common monsters in this area.
Their combat power was so weak that any commoner with a cudgel could drive them away.
That’s why they were notorious for their cunning tactics—steadily pressuring strays or loners until they were worn out and then striking.
“What do we do?”
“Hmm.”
The knight followed the trail.
If whoever made this trail wasn’t too far gone, they needed to be located and protected.
Such was the duty of knights out on patrol.
“Damn, gone.”
“What?”
“We’ve taken the wrong path. They’re not a local but a traveler.”
The trail led into the forest.
“The Great Forest, the cradle of monsters.”
“Probably dead by now.”
The knight’s voice trembled slightly.
An unconscious reaction to fear.
“…Is that place really so dangerous?”
“Ah, you haven’t been through the initiation ceremony yet?”
“Not until next week.”
“Be careful.”
The knight turned away without hesitation.
“No one survives there.”
