Banished to Another World

Chapter 1 - Just the first day - struggling to survive

Author:  Yi Ren Bei

Chapter 1

On these grassy plains, the once lush grass had long disappeared, leaving behind only hardened, grayish-yellow roots. Was it because the herbivores had gnawed the grass to the ground? Or had the plants simply dried up beyond recovery?

In some patches, even the grassroots were gone, leaving behind dry, sandy soil.

A gray-black hare peeked cautiously out of a sandy burrow. Its ears twitched, sensing its surroundings. When it detected no immediate threat, it lowered its head to nibble on the roots. Winter was approaching, and every animal was racing to store as much fat as possible to survive the coming harsh season.

In the distance, a tall figure clutched a long spear tipped with a sharpened head. His waist crouched low, he crept toward the unsuspecting hare like a predator stalking its prey.

Swoosh!

The hare's body jerked, its legs twitching. The spear hadn't pierced through it but had struck its head with the flat side.

The figure darted forward, grabbing the now lifeless hare. Its head was smashed, but its fur remained intact. He tied the hare's feet with a grass rope and hung it upside down from a dip in his spear.

Just as he was about to leave, he froze mid-step. His sharp eyes caught something unusual on the ground. Stooping closer, he examined the marks.

There was a long dragging trail etched into the sandy ground, stretching from the west to the east. It looked as though something like a wooden stake had been pulled across the plains.

The man straightened and squinted along the trail. It extended far ahead, almost vanishing into the horizon.

He crouched again, running his fingers over the sandy surface. When he raised his hand to his nose, the faint metallic scent of blood lingered. Though dried, the smell was unmistakable. Whatever creature—human or animal—had left this trail was unlikely to survive another half-day.

To him, an injured creature spelled opportunity.

The man's lips curled into a cold smirk, his long, narrow black eyes gleaming with greedy intent. The scar slashed across his face and the strange markings etched into his skin made his expression all the more menacing.

One rabbit wouldn't be enough. He needed more.

He followed the trail eastward, covering about 2.5 kilometers before arriving at a marshland about 12 meters wide.

At the center of the marshland was a shallow depression, hardly deep enough to be called a pool. Murky, yellow water mixed with sand and mud had collected in it. Hydrophilic plants sprouted along its edges. It was the only spot of greenery in the area and the sole water source within a 10-kilometer radius.

At the edge of this puddle, a figure lay motionless. Whether alive or dead was unclear.

The person had dragged themselves all the way to the water's edge. One hand rested limply in the puddle, but their lips hadn't touched the water.

Their upper body was bare, and a rough grass rope was tied around their waist. Judging from their exposed skin, they appeared young. They weren't very tall and were frighteningly thin, their bones nearly protruding through their skin. The only part of their body that retained some flesh was their buttocks, where a faint curve remained.

Flies buzzed around the figure, joined by countless other insects that had claimed the body as their feast. They crawled across the skin, seeking places to burrow and devour.

The person's right leg bore the brunt of the infestation.

A large, festering wound marred the leg just above the knee. The bone appeared broken, likely from a beast's bite. The wound had been crudely treated—secured tightly with a grass rope—but the surrounding skin had begun to rot. The heat and lack of proper medicine had caused the wound to fester, and white maggots squirmed through the decayed flesh.