Monolith World 18 Second Encounter

*Ugh... Looks like my adventures will have to stall for a bit longer. Just you wait, An!*

This was the new nickname I decided to give the "author of the note" on the fly. Although it was a very lazily given name, it was convenient, and beat having to say "author of the note" every time.

I reluctantly stepped back into the kitchen to make myself a second breakfast. I opened the refrigerator to grab my favorite foods. Eggs and toast!

I hastily turned the electric stove to max, placed a pan on top, and cracked three eggs in it. I stared at them for a few seconds, but the three raw eggs showed no signs of movement in the pan.

*Hurry up and cook already! There are things I need to do!*

If it wasn't obvious already, I had no clue how to cook.

"f.u.c.k! I burned them!"

And I reaped the consequences of cooking on max heat.

*Ah, who cares what it tastes like? At least I am getting good nutrition from this breakfast! Thank you for the meal, me!*

I took a bite of the burnt fried eggs.

"..."

*Never mind! I care what it tastes like! I take it all back...*

Regardless of what it tasted like, I wasn't one to waste food, so I hurriedly stuffed the remnants of the burnt eggs and stale bread into my mouth.

"Ah! That's hot!"

The scalding food seared my throat. I reached for the drinks in the fridge, but cold orange juice couldn't heal physical burns. Needless to say, the second breakfast I prepared myself in this world was a miserable series of events.

——

After preparing a few more "survival essentials", I was finally ready to set foot in the outside world. For real.

I took a deep breath of the fresh alien air.

*It's weird to think about, but I'm most likely on an alien planet. I think I'm fortunate enough that the atmosphere here is a pleasant one.*

Out of the many planets in the universe, the ones that had livable atmospheres could be counted on one hand. At least the ones that we knew of.

*I wonder how many would-be isekai protagonists die instantly due to a lack of a proper atmosphere in their new world. Fortunately, I'm not one of them.*

Even though the sky was heavily overcast and the temperature was slightly chilly, for an alien world, I couldn't complain. I reminded myself that I was lucky enough to be alive.

*Especially with that previous incident...*

I really didn't want to think about it, but I knew I had to confront my fears at some point. Avoiding those rabbits wouldn't make them go away.

*I guess that could be said for any problem in general. Anyway, I don't really have a reason to be afraid of them, right?*

This was because I felt like my body had grown stronger once again. And the change was more significant this time. It wasn't like earlier, where the change was extremely slight. My vision was slightly sharper, my mind was slightly clearer, and my body felt lighter.

*I'll have to test out the specifics later, but let's go on a run for now.*

This time, I wasn't donning my hefty school backpack. There was clearly no need to, because I didn't even know where the school was located. Instead, I was wearing a light athletic backpack with thin rope straps that I nicknamed my "survival essentials pack". In it, there was a plastic water bottle and a few energy bars.

*I don't like using plastic, but it's lighter, so...*

I typically go for the greener option, but today was an exception. I didn't feel the need to carry any extra weight on me, especially since there was a serious threat to my life out there.

After briefly stretching my legs and joints, I started off on my normal jogging route.

*Typically, I only do this after school, but there really isn't anything else I need to do. Rather, there's nothing to do at all.*

My route today would consist of running around the neighborhood multiple times, since it was a closed loop. However, this wasn't usually the case. I would normally leave the neighborhood in the opposite direction of the school and run for a three kilometers until I reached a recreation center. This place was my safe haven from school. I was pretty good at tennis, so I would always look to play against some people there. Afterwards, I would jog back home.

Obviously, this wasn't going to be possible today, so I had to resort to running in circles like a moron. One lap around my neighborhood is roughly one kilometer. So, to make up for not playing any tennis, I would probably run ten kilometers.

*Looks like this is my life now... I'm starting to get lonely already, and it hasn't even been a day.*

Traveling through this run-down version of my neighborhood made me seriously depressed. I was reminded that there was literally n.o.body here but me. Me, myself, and I. I wasn't even allowed to listen to music, or who knows where I'd get jumped from.

So this gave me time to think.

*I know I said earlier that I didn't want to think about useless things, but it's inevitable at this point. There's nothing to do but think.*

So I started with the most important question.

*When am I going to get my WiFi back?*

This was a pressing concern.

*But I think I'm getting ahead of myself here. Even if I had WiFi, there's n.o.body around. When am I going to see another person again?*

I didn't know how long I would be here. I didn't even know where I was. The mental strain of merely existing was similar to running a marathon with no end in sight.

*I guess it technically wouldn't be a marathon if it were longer than 26 miles... Anyway, When will this end? Will it ever end? Am I going to grow old in this place?*

Even though I said I was lucky to be alive, I cursed my cruel fate.

*Looks like even so-called anti-socials go insane without human contact. Maybe it's better to just die instead of living this c.r.a.ppy life.*

But I knew I couldn't do that. I remembered what Jeanna had told me. I remembered what An told me.

*I have two goals. No matter where I am, no matter what circ.u.mstances I'm in, I can never forget them. Not to mention I would probably be brought back here if I tried to kill myself...*

What was the purpose of living a life without a goal?

*I would rather die than live an aimless life. No matter how trivial, I will always have a goal.*

At this moment, I pa.s.sed by my house again. One lap around the neighborhood had been completed.

*Only one lap? d.a.m.n, this is going to take forever. I'm already bored.*

One lap pa.s.sed by without any interference whatsoever.

I was starting to get bored, so I took out some earbuds, another "survival essential", from my backpack. Fortunately, I had a good collection of songs from various genres downloaded on my phone. I made sure to only wear one and have the volume set really low. I wasn't so naive as to believe that nothing would happen today.

Then the second lap pa.s.sed without interference, but I wasn't going to get complacent. I maintained my vigilance while running.

Halfway through the third lap, I heard a rustle in the bushes nearby.

*You've finally decided to show up? I'm ready to make a lunch out of you because I am hungry as f.u.c.k.*

As expected, a slightly muscular rabbit with beady red eyes popped out of the bushes next to the sidewalk I was running on.

I involuntarily trembled and took a deep breath. I quickly put away my earbuds to prepare my senses.

*Looks like my fear still isn't completely gone. But there's no reason to be scared now.*

I had confidence, and it wasn't unfounded.

*Let's see how you react to this!*

Although I had only faced them once, I was going to use a new strategy I had never tried.

*No, it's *because* I've only faced them once that I have to try new strategies. Charge!*

With that, I dashed at full speed towards the hopefully unsuspecting rabbit.