Volume 1 Chapter 1 Prologue
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
August 16, 2018
”I’m heading out for the night!”
”Good work today, Okabe-san.”
”Catch ya later, yo-ssu~”
Whew. I actually managed to slip out of the office without anyone cornering me. I’m just glad I made a clean break; I really pushed myself to wrap everything up by 6:00 PM. Just a few months ago, this project was a total dumpster fire. I was catching the last train home almost every night-if I even made it home at all.
I’m forty now. I’ve got a bit of a dad bod and I’m chronically out of shape. My body just can’t handle those back-to-back late nights anymore. Last year was a total disaster, too; I was so exhausted I missed my footing on the station stairs and ended up snapping my ankle.
The work I did at the start of this year, though? That was a home run. I managed to push through a proposal to automate a chunk of our workflow, and thanks to that, the workload dropped off a cliff. Now, I can actually get home at a decent hour.
I made a beeline for the station. It’s the dead of August, the absolute peak of summer, and it only takes a minute of walking before the sweat starts pouring off me. I hurried through the turnstiles and took the escalator down into the basement. As I reached the platform, the train slid into the station right on cue. The doors hissed open, a sea of people poured out, and-luckily enough-I managed to snag a seat.
Finally taking a breath, my thoughts drifted to my family.
(Dad, come home early, okay?)
(It’s Yuki’s birthday today, honey. Dad’s gonna work hard and get home fast.)
(Mom’s gonna pick her up early, too. Let’s all celebrate together!)
(Yeah!)
The morning scene played back in my mind. My wife, Sachiko, should be finishing up at work and heading to the daycare right about now. Today is our daughter Yuki’s fourth birthday. She’s been talking about her birthday cake for weeks; I need to make sure I pick one up on the way home.
I scrolled through the photos on my phone. She’s grown so much in just four years. She looked like a little wrinkled monkey when she was born, but man… she’s turned into a real cutie. I was never really a “kid person,” honestly. I never thought I’d be this head-over-heels for my own.
Sachiko was a lot thinner four years ago, too. She’s put on a bit of “mom weight” since the delivery, but I guess we’re in the same boat there. We’ve been together since our university days-over twenty years now. She’s everything to me. My anchor.
Anyway, I’ve got some time before my stop. Might as well squeeze in a nap. I pulled my earbuds out of my bag and popped them in; classical is the only way to go when you need to zone out.
I set my phone alarm for thirty-five minutes-just before my stop-hugged my bag to my chest, and let my head hang heavy. Thinking of the look on Yuki’s face when she sees the cake, I let my consciousness slip away into the haze.
* * *
-Gah!?
Crap! Did I oversleep?!
I snapped awake with that jarring feeling that way too much time had passed. Why didn’t the vibration go off? My hand was empty-the phone was gone. My bag was gone, too. I lifted my head and blinked.
”…What?”
Mori… A forest. What is this? I scrambled to look around, my heart hammering. I was in the middle of a dark, dense wood. It was a jungle, the kind of place you only see on TV. There was nobody here. Where the hell am I? My brain started to short-circuit.
I turned around and saw a titan of a tree-wider than my outstretched arms. It looked like I’d been leaning against this thing while I slept.
I stood up and scanned the perimeter; as far as I could see, it was nothing but massive trees. A literal sea of timber. It was dim in every direction, and I couldn’t even see the sky.
The canopy was so thick with overlapping leaves that it choked out the sun. I couldn’t even tell if it was clear out or if a storm was rolling in.
Is this a dream?
-No. It isn’t.
The heavy, earthy scent of the deep woods tickled my nose. I could feel the stifling, humid air clinging to my skin. The cold sweat pricking my forehead. The thudding of my own heart. The reality of it was overwhelming.
Don’t tell me… is this one of those “other world” teleportations? Waking up in the middle of a deep forest… I literally can’t think of any other explanation.
The blood drained from my face. My vision started to swim and it was getting hard to breathe. My stomach flipped; I felt like I was going to puke.
This can’t be happening… Can I even go back? Sachiko, Yuki… Mom? Am I never going to see them again? The thoughts hit me all at once, a crushing weight on my chest. Tears started to blur my vision.
No. Get a grip. If this isn’t a dream, I have to get back to Japan. No matter what. How do I get home? What is this situation? Think, damn it, think. Actually, scratch that. Survival first. If I die here, I’ll never see them again. I refuse to die. I’m not ending my story in a place like this.
I held my breath and listened. Nothing. Just the faint rustle of leaves. It’s a deep forest; God knows what’s lurking out there. I have to stay quiet.
If this really is another world, maybe there’s magic?
(Status Open. Properties. Skills. Fireball. Appraisal. Summon…)
I tried wishing for the words in my head, but nothing happened. I tried whispering them under my breath. Still nothing. So there’s no “game system” like in the novels? No “cheat” gift? I’m in the heart of a jungle with zero weapons, zero supplies, and I’m all alone. I’m dead. I am 100% dead. If a predator finds me, I’m just a slow-moving snack. Please, give me something. Anything!
I started cycling through every word I could think of.
(Item Box¹.)
Suddenly, a perfect, pitch-black square manifested in the air before me.
”Yes! I did it!!”
It was a cube, about a foot on each side, floating right at chest height. At least I’ve got one piece of magic on my side. It appeared the moment I wished for it with every fiber of my being; I was picturing a 4D pocket. Is this actually an Item Box?
The situation hadn’t changed, though. I was still just a middle-aged guy with a beer belly lost in the woods. I needed to figure out a way to defend myself, and fast. I walked in a circle around the black box. It looked the same from every angle-void-black, pure darkness. I couldn’t see a thing through it.
(Vanish.)
The moment I thought it, the box blinks out of existence. Okay, so I can summon and dismiss it at will. I tried thinking “Storage²,” and it popped back up. The name didn’t seem to matter-as long as the intent was there, it appeared. I’ll just call it “the Box” for now.
Can it actually hold things? What if I stick my hand in and it gets lopped off? The thought of reaching into that void was terrifying.
I found a fallen branch about three feet long and gingerly poked the end of it into the Box. It didn’t come out the other side. Even though the branch was way longer than the Box was deep, it just… disappeared into the black. When I pulled it back, it was perfectly intact.
This time, I reached in with my hand still holding the branch. I let go of the wood and pull my hand back. Empty. The branch was inside the void. I reached in again; I didn’t feel anything, like reaching into thin air. Where was the branch? Then, an image of the stick flashed in my mind, and my hand found it naturally. I pulled it out, and there it was.
Okay. It’s definitely an Item Box. It’s not like a video game, though; there’s no floating list of items. If I want something, the concept of that item pops into my head. I don’t really have a clear sense of its total capacity yet.
Wait. Is there already stuff in here? Food? Weapons? I reached in to feel around, but I instinctively knew the Box was empty.
Hold on. Can I put part of an object in? I shoved the branch halfway in and focused on “Storing” it. The branch suddenly felt lighter. I looked down at my hand-the half of the branch that was inside the Box was just… gone.
Holy crap. It can store parts of things? And whether it “cuts” or “holds” depends on my intent? I picked up a thicker branch, about five feet long.
(Storage: Activate!)
I swung the branch toward the Box like a kendo strike. The moment it hit the black surface, the tip vanished. The branch was now nearly two feet shorter.
Wait-could this thing cut me? I had to know, but there was no way I was sticking a limb in to test it. My fingernails… they were a bit long. The white part was maybe two millimeters out. I moved slowly. Very, very slowly. I pressed just the tip of my right index nail against the Box.
(Storage: Activate!)
The nail was fine. It didn’t cut. Trembling, I tried sticking just the very tip of my finger-maybe two millimeters-into the void. Still nothing. Whew. Thank God. If it could cut me, I’d be too terrified to ever use it.
But this Item Box… it’s a terrifying weapon. Seeing it in a book is one thing, but seeing it in person? This is a high-level lethality. I needed to figure out its limits. Can I move it?
I imagined it sliding forward. It moved. Down, diagonally, right-it went wherever I wanted. It seemed like it had a range limit, though. If I tried to move it fast, it really moved. It was lightning-quick. The moment I thought “there,” it was already there. There was no way I could dodge this if someone used it against me. It was basically instant.
I moved the Box across a nearby tree trunk, activating “Storage” as it passed. It carved a perfect, deep chunk right out of the wood. My god. This is incredible. Can it gouge through metal? I’ll have to test that later. Right now, I don’t have time to waste.
Next: transformation. Can I change the shape? I pictured it getting long and thin, like a staff. It changed-though only a little. Now it was more like a cylinder, maybe ten inches wide. That’s my limit for now. It’s like trying to eat with my left hand-clumsy and frustrating. I’m going to need practice.
Whew. I’m wiped. I need a break. I sat back down against the giant tree. It felt like maybe two hours had passed? Without a watch, I’m just guessing. But thanks to this Box, the immediate “I’m going to die” panic had eased up. I finally had a way to fight back against this world. While I rested, I tried expanding the Box. After a lot of trial and error, I managed to stretch it out until it was about the size of a manhole cover.
Now, I’ve got a shield.
(If I don’t focus on making this Box³ move or disappear, it seems it stays locked in place wherever I leave it. I could be jumped at any second out here. I’d better keep it active and fixed right in front of me like a floating shield.)
Man, I’m exhausted. Now that I think about it, I worked like a dog today even before I ended up in this mess. I just want to go home. I wonder if Sachiko and Yuki are worried sick about me. And was I really the only one who got teleported? There were so many people on that train; were they all scattered across different lands, too?
Now then, what’s the plan?
I take a good look at myself: a white T-shirt under a short-sleeved polo, gray slacks with a belt, and a pair of Puma sneakers. My company allows business casual⁴, which was a stroke of luck.
If I’d been dumped in a place like this wearing a full suit, I wouldn’t have been able to stand it. I’ve definitely got a “metabolic syndrome”⁵ gut going on-about five-foot-seven and 175 pounds.
Aside from the gut, I’m carrying plenty of extra padding everywhere else. I used to play soccer back in school and kept up with weight training after I started working, but once I hit my thirties, I blew out my shoulder and knee. I quit exercising after that, and that’s when the weight started piling on.
I have absolutely nothing on me. No food, no water.
(Wait-my glasses! Where are my glasses?!)
I scramble around, panicking. I’m useless without them. (Where are they? Where-wait. I can see. I can see perfectly, even way off in the distance!) Come to think of it, my knee doesn’t hurt either. Ever since I messed it up jogging, it’s been a constant, nagging ache, day and night.
Ah. This really is another world, isn’t it? It sounds impossible, but my vision is restored and my injuries are gone. I suppose I should be grateful for the recovery, especially in a situation like this.
Hunger I can deal with for a bit, but without water, I’m dead. If I can’t find anything to drink, how long do I have? Maybe a day or two. By day three, my brain will probably be mush. The last time I had a drink was before I left the office, maybe three or four hours ago. That means the clock is ticking; I’ve got about forty-four hours left.
I’ve only ever read about survival in manga. I don’t have the skills to make it out here. Where am I supposed to get water? I’ve heard you shouldn’t drink stagnant rainwater.
And I have no clue which plants or berries are safe. Just getting an upset stomach from eating something strange would be a death sentence. I don’t have any medicine.
I need to grasp the situation. First, where am I? I strain my ears, but there’s nothing. Just the sound of leaves rustling in the wind. The air feels heavy and muggy. No birds, nothing. Is this forest devoid of animals? Everywhere I look, the scenery is identical. Which way is the “right” way?
Fine. I’ll climb a tree and get some height. One wrong turn and it’s game over. I won’t survive by just wandering aimlessly. I stand up and look up at the massive tree behind me. The branches start way up there; there’s nothing to grab onto near the bottom. Maybe I can use the Box to carve out some handholds?
I use the Box to shear off a nearby vine. I give it a tug-it’s incredibly tough. This will work as a rope. I’ll store that for later. I visualize the Box as a thin rectangle, embed it slightly into the trunk, and trigger the storage command. Good, it shaved the wood right off. I keep going, imagining a ladder as I notch the trunk. This is going to work; I can climb this.
Ten meters up, I manage to hook my arm over a branch. From here on, it’s easy. I haul myself up, branch by branch. They’re getting thinner now. I can’t see the ground anymore; I must be at least five stories up. I’ve always hated heights, so I just empty my mind and keep climbing. Climbing. The sky is finally opening up. Almost there.
As I climb, the branches become dangerously spindly. Just as I think it’s too risky to go further, the view finally explodes into the open.
(Whoa…)
It’s 360 degrees of forest. Just trees as far as the eye can see. So this is a plain? It doesn’t look like I’m in the mountains. I look up. The sun is peeking through a gap in the clouds. Is that sun… bluish-white? Yeah, definitely bluish-white.
It might be a star that’s much hotter than Earth’s sun, though it looks about the same size in the sky. It’s almost directly overhead. It must be around noon. I wonder how many hours are in a day here.
Way off in the distance, I can see mountains through the haze. They look tall, but maybe not quite Mount Fuji height. I’ll avoid going that way; the chances of finding a city in the mountains seem low.
If there’s a settlement anywhere, it’s probably in the opposite direction. I can’t see the edge of the woods from here, but the flat land seems to go on forever. Alright, that way it is.
I’ve seen enough. I head back down. Since I’m terrified of falling, I take it slow. To make sure I don’t lose my heading, I use the Box to shear leaves and branches as markers. Whew. I made it down in one piece. I’m exhausted. I’ll take a quick breather before I set off.
I slump down against the base of the giant tree. Just to be safe, I summon the Box as a manhole-cover-shaped shield in front of me. I can feel the mental fatigue setting in. When you’re this drained, your head feels heavy, like it’s wrapped in fog. My thoughts are sluggish. This is bad; I’m more tired than I realized.
The muggy air makes it hard to breathe. I’m soaked in sweat, and my clothes are clinging to me. I close my eyes and try to rest my brain. I really was just on my way home from work. A long day of grinding, and now this.
Man, I just want to go home and take a bath. A hot soak with some bath salts, pretending I’m at a spa. I just want to sink into that warm, soothing water. Sitting here, stretching my legs out…
(Ah, that’s it. It’s so warm. A perfect bath. I was feeling a bit of a chill, but now I’m warming up from the core. It’s like the exhaustion is just melting away. Wait-what is this?!)
I snap my eyes open and my body is glowing. A faint, shimmering veil of light is draped over me.
(Are you kidding me? I can use healing magic⁶?!)
Is this what they call “Heal”? The fatigue is just evaporating. My arm muscles, which were twitching from the climb, feel brand new. My head is crystal clear. Heal is incredible. It’s the real deal! Yes! My survival rate just went through the roof! The sudden realization that I can use magic has me absolutely pumped. I feel fully recovered, so I try to shut it off. The light vanishes instantly. Let’s try that again.
(Heal!)
…Nothing. Why? How did it trigger before? Earlier, I was picturing being in a bath. Maybe the words don’t matter? Is it all about the mental image? I focus, vividly imagining myself soaking in the tub.
(Man, this bath feels good…)
There! It worked!
The light wraps around me exactly like before. It really is about the visualization. I have to vividly imagine the result of the magic as a physical reality.
Come to think of it, I pictured the “4D Pocket”⁷ for the Box. I’ve watched Doraemon⁸ since I was a kid, and even as an adult, I always kind of believed in higher dimensions.
In a single galaxy with billions of planets, there has to be other intelligent life, and things like warps have to exist. That’s why I could imagine it so clearly.
Does the process not matter for magic in this world? No incantations? No need to understand the underlying physics? Is there anything else I can visualize? A stove. I use a gas stove all the time. What about a flame? I lock in the image of a gas burner right in front of me. Okay, focus.
(Click!)
As I imagine turning the knob on the stove, a ring of fire⁹ ignites in the empty air.
(Yes! I did it! Magic fire!)
…Wait.
I’m celebrating, but the fire isn’t going out. It just stays there. Do I have to command it to disappear, too? Let’s try turning it up. I imagine cranking the dial to max, and the flame surges. Stronger, even stronger-now I’m thinking of a bonfire.
No, a ceremonial ritual fire¹⁰. Whoa, it’s growing fast! A massive ball of fire, roaring like a campfire, is just hovering in the air.
Holy crap, it’s hot! I’m going to get scorched! How big is this thing gonna get?!
(Vanish!)
The moment I think it, the roaring inferno vanishes. The nearby trees are blackened. That was close; I almost started a forest fire. Or a “mountain fire”?
God, magic is insane.
…Oh no. I’m dripping with sweat. I don’t have any water, and now I’m hot and parched. I just wasted all that moisture. I’m such an idiot. But… it’s actually gotten cooler. The mugginess in the air has softened. Actually, the breeze feels a little chilly now.
…Huh? The wind is cold. Is the ambient temperature actually low? It feels like it’s barely sixty degrees. In Tokyo, this would be like the chill of October or November.
It’s actually pretty cold. How can the air be “muggy” if it’s this chilly? But when I summoned that campfire, the mugginess thinned out for a second. Like the density of the air dropped. Is there something in the air?
(Magic. Is it mana¹¹?)
Did the campfire consume the mana in the atmosphere? Now that I think about it, I didn’t feel like anything was being drained from inside my own body. The only thing I lost was sweat. If I’m drawing magic from the environment, that would explain everything.
Well, I can worry about the theory later. I’m out of time. If I don’t start moving, the sun will go down. The clock is ticking, and I just shortened my window by sweating my guts out.
It’s been nearly half a day since I woke up in this world. I haven’t moved an inch from where I started, but now, with an Item Box and a fireball in my arsenal, I’ve finally picked a direction to walk.
—
Summary:
Okabe transitions from a mundane office worker dreaming of his daughter’s birthday to a survivor in a primeval jungle. He discovers a magical Item Box that he can manipulate with his mind. He experiments with the box’s offensive and defensive capabilities. The protagonist realizes the box can cut through solid matter like a laser
Profoundly moving from a state of panic to clinical analysis, the protagonist explores the utility of his spatial storage Box by scaling a gargantuan tree. Upon reaching the canopy, he witnesses an endless expanse of forest illuminated by a strange bluish-white sun, confirming his arrival in a foreign realm. The realization of innate healing and elemental magic through mental visualization shifts his focus from despair to the immediate biological deadline of dehydration
—
Trivia:
- The mention of his previous ankle injury due to overwork
- The specific use of classical music as a sleep aid on the train
- Implied survival knowledge from reading manga
- The protagonist’s previous experience with sports-related injuries
- The significance of the bluish-white sun’s heat intensit
—
Character Insight:
Okabe moves from overwhelming despair and panic to a pragmatic ‘salaryman’ problem-solving mode once he discovers he has a tool to work with.
The protagonist transitions from a passive observer of his own fatigue to an active experimenter, showing high adaptability and a reliance on childhood fictional concepts to anchor his new reality.
—
Glossary:
Notes:
• Okabe – A forty-year-old salaryman with a dad bod who is chronically out of shape. He works as a project manager or office worker who successfully automated his workflow before being transported to a mysterious jungle.
• Yuki – The four-year-old daughter of Okabe and Shoko. She has a face that was described as monkey-like at birth but has grown to be very cute, and she loves birthday cake.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply