Krim did not draw himself to his feet again until he could hear the panicked feet of the last goblin disappearing down the tunnel. There was no sound in the cave now--creepily none--as though even the walls were against him.
Great. The whole tribe has just observed the most disgraceful situation of my two lives. And they are likely to cut it into a rock, and warn off the generations to come.
The growl of his stomach was heard with a resounding effect.
"...Right. Food."
Assuming the goblins had--at least in the short run--concluded that he was a curse, or forsaken by his spirits, or unlucky aught, then he doubted they would be providing breakfast in the near future.
So he stepped out of the cave.
The air in the forest struck him at once: wet and groundy and with queer smells. There were crooked giants in the form of thick trees whose root structure went through the ground as though they were willing to trip their feet on anyone that happened to pass. There was a swarm of insects buzzing in every direction.
Krim looked out to the wild.
"Alright. I have played enough role-playing games to cope with this. Wilderness survival. Easy."
In theory.
He made three bold strides into the forest.
He crashed down at once and stumbled on a root.
He went on after having caught himself on a tree-trunk, covered with a suspiciously slimy moss, much less heroically.
The density of the forest absorbs the sun light. There was screeching of weird bird-things passing overhead. there was a rustling in the bushes, and Krim stood still.
That's not a goblin. And certainly not friendly. Don't make me die due to a mistake of me being taken as lunch.
The bush went silent.
Then there came a squirrelish thing of a creature. Except it had six legs. And fangs.
Krim stepped away slowly.
"Nope. No thanks. Hard pass."
He walked faster.
When he stopped his stomach was nearly eating itself up.
At last he saw a hope: a bunch of red apples of bright fruit hanging on a low branch. They were a little bit berry-like. Somewhat apple-ish. Somewhat poison-ish.
"Okay. Logic time," Krim muttered. "Animals eat berries. I am an animal now technically. Therefore... edible?"
He sniffed one. It didn't smell deadly. That was enough for him.
He took a big bite.
Sweet. Tart. Juicy. Slightly spicy? But not instantly fatal.
"Hah! Called it."
He devoured two more.
Then six more.
He did not cease until the branch was denuded.
He raised his hand and wiped his mouth. "Finally. Something going right."
He glanced around.
Trees.
More trees.
Even more trees.
"...Wait."
He picked a direction.
Walked a little.
More trees.
Turned around.
Even more trees.
All the trees were exactly the same: gnarled root, twisted branches, patches of moss, gloomy atmosphere. No paths. No markers. No goblin in the distance crying.
Absolutely nothing.
Krim stopped dead.
"...No. No, no, no."
He spun in a slow circle.
All forest. No cave.
"No way I'm lost. I have a reincarnator's brain! I can not--oh, perhaps I can, but just--
He was walking in a straight line five solid minutes.
then knew that he had go around the same stump twice.
Both his hands he slapped over his face.
"Oh my god. I'm going to die out here. The third day of reincarnation and I will starve in a forest like a mob on the bottom level who went too far away from spawn.
Somewhere in the distance a hooting was going on.
Krim froze.
"...That wasn't friendly."
The hoot came again, louder.
"Is that an owl? A demon? A demon owl? Is that a thing here?"
Branches rustled overhead.
The falling leaves were the confetti of doom of nature about him.
Krim looked up--
--and instantly regretted it.
Two bright yellow eyes returned the gaze of the gloom between the branches. He was unable to determine the body of the creature, but merely the eyes and a slight form of something large.
Very big.
Krim swallowed.
"...Okay. Staying put is death. Not staying put is also death. Fantastic choices."
He turned gradually away, and his hands were up as though the animal were a street muggler and he were presenting his purse.
The eyes did not blink.
Then they moved.
Leaping up and down, unnoised, Like a shadow with claws.
Krim ran.
The direction he was taking, he did not choose--he hardly even noticed where he was heading. He simply ran like a mad man, clattering through the bushes and brushing his face with branches and tearing at his fur loin with bushes.
I was not a snack, I was meant to be the protagonist of the harem!
He did not know how long he ran--a minute, five, ten--all was bewildered in pure panic till, mercifully, all was suddenly replaced by a small clearing in the forest.
He clumsyly stumbled forwards, gasping, panting, and just about falling.
The creature did not follow.
The eyes vanished.
Silence settled again.
Krim was knelling, his hands to his knees.
"...I hate this world."
He slowly straightened himself, staring about to the clearing.
Tall grass. Stones. There is a little stream of cutting through.
Peaceful.
Safe-ish.
Certainly not in the goblin cave.
He plumped down to a level rock in the water and gave a big sigh.
"Lost. Alone. And here I am in the world with stuff that seeks to kill me. No map. No food. No tribe. No backup."
He paused.
...And this is yet better than yesterday.
He sat back and looked at the sky.
He never knew it was exhausting even after death.