My eyes opened. The first thing I felt was the smell of soil. Cool air brushed against my cheek. Deep in my nostrils—a sweet scent like a forest after rain, grass and earth mingled together. …Something's off. Just before consciousness surfaced completely, fragmented memories flashed like a revolving lantern. The white light of fluorescent bulbs. Mountains of stacked documents. My boss's voice—Yamada, because of you our client suffered massive losses. Days of endless apologies. An afternoon alone in front of the copy machine, desperately holding back tears. And that night when I threw it all away and fled the company, the cold wind against the building. My former self—Yamada Miyuu, 24 years old, office worker—was truly hopeless. I made mistakes at work, lost confidence, and ran away from everything. As that memory faded, green light filled my vision. When I came to, I was here. ────────────────── When I opened my eyes, there was a tree. Huge. Abnormally huge. The trunk's diameter easily exceeded ten meters. It was less a "tree" and more a "wall." Looking up, light filtered through the gaps in the leaves, but it was tinted a deep emerald green—the whole thing screamed fantasy. At my feet, mushrooms the size of eggs sprouted densely, glowing with a pale blue luminescence. …Glowing. The mushrooms were glowing. Literally glowing. "[surprised]Where… where is this…?" The moment I whispered, the fragments of memory connected. I had been reincarnated. The first three seconds, I was frozen. In the next two seconds, my brain spun into overdrive and reached a conclusion—panic. Now. "[scared]Wait, wait, wait, wait—!!" I tried to jump up, but my legs tangled and I fell. Back onto the grass. From ground level, looking up at the mushrooms, it was somehow even more surreal. Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. …Impossible. But being meticulous has its terrors. Even as I panicked, I found myself already assessing my surroundings. First: my body moved. No pain anywhere. I wore a faded green robe. Leather boots on my feet. And something small touched my left ear—when I touched it with my finger, a jade earring. I looked at my hands. Chestnut-colored hair fell softly against my cheek. Semi-long with loose waves. No mirror, but this must be what I looked like now. Emerald eyes reflected the glowing mushrooms. …Yeah. No matter how I looked at it, this was a different body from my past life. Birds sang in a frequency I'd never heard before. The entire forest seemed to rustle with life. (Where is this? What is this vast forest?) I would learn later that this was the "Velde Great Forest"—a massive woodland spanning over 4,000 square kilometers, spreading across the eastern reaches of the Baltea Kingdom. Two hundred years ago, a large-scale magical rampage called the "Green Awakening" had occurred, and the forest had continued expanding at this scale ever since. There were rumors it had the power to draw reincarnates from other worlds, but of course, I knew nothing of that at the time. But. The grass at my feet was moving. There was no wind. Yet around me alone, the grass swayed gently. "[surprised]…Huh?" I tried placing my hand on the ground. And I thought—move. A rustling sound. The surrounding grass spread like waves, and several vines extended with a wet sound, coiling around my arm. "[surprised]Huh, huh, huh—!?" The vines were gentle. Not an attack—more like a greeting, wrapping lightly around me before releasing. I stared at my hand for a long moment. "[sarcastic]…A witch? I became a witch? Even though I was an office worker?" I spoke aloud even though no one was listening. When I touched a thick nearby tree, something transmitted from deep within its roots. A massive network spread like a web beneath the earth. An overwhelming presence of life. In this world, it was called the "earth vein"—I understood this instinctively, somehow. (A Verdant Shrine Maiden, maybe?) A rare existence that could commune with earth veins—a power said to manifest in only one in a hundred thousand. It seemed I'd awakened to it the moment of my reincarnation. But naturally, I didn't know the cost yet. The physical exhaustion. How using it too much would cause my body temperature to plummet and my consciousness to fade. I would learn all of that through experience. ────────────────── For now, I needed a place to sleep tonight. A rational decision, I thought. Moving before panicking—that was an office worker's instinct. Following the sound of a stream, I found water, then chose a flat spot a little distance from the bank. I picked up a branch from the ground. And began drawing a blueprint. On the earth. "[serious]First, a bedroom… about four and a half tatami mats, with an entrance…" As I drew, I froze. "[sarcastic]Why am I using tatami measurements in another world?" I muttered to myself, but didn't stop measuring. Using grass and wood manipulation, I wove thick vines into walls, assembled branches for the frame, and layered leaves for the roof. The logic was clear. Extend the vines, tangle them, compress them—they'd become a wall. But actually doing it drained three times the energy I'd planned for. "[angry]The blueprint said two hours—!!" It took five hours total. By the time the sun had significantly declined, I'd somehow completed a small hut. Two rooms, with proper doors. The vine weaving was a bit sloppy in places, but it was the first day, so. Just as I was about to bask in satisfaction, I noticed something. Cold. Suddenly, strangely cold. Like heat was draining from inside my body. My fingertips went numb. "[scared]…Wait, isn't my body temperature dropping?" My legs wavered. The world spun. "[angry]The cost is too harsh!?" I cried out and collapsed to my knees, falling into the grass. Overusing magic caused my body temperature to plummet—consciousness fading. As it faded, I thought: (I haven't even slept in the hut I just built…) Then everything went black. ────────────────── When I came to, the sun had declined. Evening, maybe. I didn't know how long I'd slept, but the cold inside my body had vanished. My temperature had recovered naturally. I crawled to the stream and washed my face with water. It was cool, and my head cleared a little. Red berries grew on grass along the bank. Hesitantly, I put one in my mouth. "[surprised]…It's actually delicious." It tasted like strawberry. Sitting in front of the completed hut, watching the twilight, I thought. My former self was hopeless. I made mistakes at work, got yelled at by my boss, lost all my confidence, and ultimately threw everything away and ran. Whether that led to this, I didn't know, but I'd woken up reincarnated in another world. There's nowhere left to run from this. The moment that realization hit, strangely, laughter bubbled up. If the reason to stop running had changed with the entire world, then there was no way to run. I lay on my back in the grass. Beyond the canopy of the giant tree, the twilight sky spread out. The emerald light from before had turned orange. "[gentle]…At least I survived today. Perfect score." A small whisper. No one to hear it. But that was fine. The failure from my past life hadn't disappeared. Somewhere deep in my heart, there was still something that hurt. But there was also a feeling of—maybe that's okay now. There was nowhere to run here, and I didn't need to run. That's right. I'd do things my way here. The moment I thought that was the beginning of my new life. ────────────────── When the sun completely set, the forest changed. The Luna mushrooms that had been ordinary before suddenly blazed with light. The ground became wrapped in pale blue luminescence, and the spaces between trees glowed softly. "[surprised]More fantastical than I expected…" I was mesmerized. It was incredible. A completely different kind of beauty from the night cityscape I'd seen on my commute in my past life. That's when it happened. In the distance, a low voice echoed. Long, a rumbling howl. A beast's cry. Then from another direction, the same sound. As if answering, another direction joined in. I froze. (…Oh right. There are magical beasts in forests.) I'd completely forgotten. I was too enchanted by the fantastical scenery. "[scared]This is bad, this is bad, this is bad." I dove into the hut and used grass manipulation to weave vines across the entrance. Tightly, with no gaps. My arms ached. I'd used more energy, but that wasn't the priority now. Inside the hut was pitch black. Only a little Luna mushroom light leaked in from outside. I hugged my knees and pressed my back against the wall, holding my breath. The howls seemed to be getting closer. My heart pounded. Loudly. (This world wasn't safe at all…) Of course it wasn't. But I hadn't thought about it all day. Being scared now wouldn't help, but scared was what I was. I strained to listen. Trying to figure out which direction the beasts were coming from. Right? From deeper in? That's when it happened. A heavy thud. Outside, something fell. A dull, weighty sound. Once. I couldn't move. My heart thrashed in my chest. My hand went to the vine door, but I couldn't move. If a magical beast crashed through, it was over. But not checking what was happening was also terrifying. Slowly, I moved the vines slightly. Creating a gap the width of a finger. Moonlight streamed in, illuminating the ground outside. There was a figure there. Lying face-down. Motionless. But the shoulders—they rose and fell slightly—breathing. Alive. The clothes were soaked in a dark color. Even in moonlight, I could tell it was blood. I stared at that figure for a long moment. Should I open the door? Or should I leave it closed? From deeper in the forest, I could still faintly hear the beasts' rumbling cries.