They carefully carried Haruto to the cave, each step filled with urgency and fear. Once inside, they sealed the entrance with a high-graphic illusion barrier, designed to distort visibility from outside. But even with the barrier, unease lingered in the air. To be extra cautious, they dragged a massive boulder from near the cave and rolled it into place, blocking the entrance completely.
They weren't sure the barrier alone could protect them—not after witnessing what those monsters had done to guns and knives. Steel shattered like glass, bullets deflected as if they were toys. Nothing felt safe anymore.
Inside the cave, they laid Haruto down gently, his face pale and chest rising slowly. No one dared to sleep. The fear of losing him loomed over them like a shadow. Time crawled. The silence was only broken by shallow breathing and the occasional anxious whisper. Six hours passed in tense patience before Haruto finally stirred.
The group sighed in relief almost in unison. Tears welled up in Hye Rin's eyes, and John exhaled deeply, falling backward onto the cold stone floor. The tension melted from their faces, and, worn out by stress and fatigue, one by one, they drifted into sleep beside Haruto.
When they awoke hours later, for a brief moment, they hoped everything that happened had been just a nightmare—a strange illusion born from a malfunction in their spaceship. But reality greeted them with the same cave walls, same rough floor, and the same air heavy with fear and uncertainty.
Haruto was awake now, sitting against the wall, weak but conscious. Everyone rushed to him.
"Are you okay now? Do you feel pain?" Hye Rin asked, checking his forehead.
"I feel... better than expected," Haruto replied, surprised by his own strength.
After sharing the last of their food and water from the spaceship supplies, Ayan gathered them together.
"Everyone, listen," he began, his voice calm but firm. "We need to go back to Earth. But for that, we have some major problems to face."
The team grew quiet.
"First of all," Ayan continued, "our spaceship is destroyed... but not beyond repair. It's damaged, but fixable. That's the only way we're getting home."
"Then what's the problem?" John asked.
"We don't have the parts to fix it," Ayan explained. "We'll need to craft them using minerals and resources found on this planet. That means exploring. That means danger."
Everyone looked at each other, concern in their eyes.
"And secondly," Ayan said, "for all this, we need to survive. The only way to do that is to kill monsters. When we kill them, they drop weapons—powerful ones. We'll need those to defend ourselves and train."
Before he could continue, Haruto raised his hand. "Captain, I need to say something."
Ayan paused. "Go ahead."
"I didn't receive any weapons," Haruto said. "When that monster died... the system said I didn't get anything."
"What?" Ayan's eyes widened. "You didn't get a weapon?"
"No," Haruto nodded. "But... my stats increased by one point each, and my health bar rose by five. I feel like I'm recovering way faster than before. The pain is almost gone."
"Wait—so your health bar increased and your recovery speed improved?" John asked. "What is this, some kind of video game?"
"If it is," Haruto said, "then we should take advantage of it. Faster healing can save lives. Maybe as we level up, we become stronger, faster... even regenerate."
"That's actually... not a bad thing," Hye Rin added. "My cheek was hurting a lot yesterday, but now it doesn't. Wait—let me check."
She carefully removed the bandage on her cheek. Everyone stared. Her wound had completely healed.
"No scar... it's like nothing ever happened," she whispered in disbelief.
"If that's the case, this world gives us more than just danger—it gives us a way to adapt," Ayan said. "But we must be careful. Haruto, how long until you're fully healed?"
"Less than a day," he replied.
"Good. Until then, we won't go monster hunting. Instead, we'll focus on understanding our surroundings. We need to analyze the fruits, monster meat, and river water we collected."
Everyone nodded.
Ayan and Kaito decided to visit the spaceship, located a few hundred meters away, partially buried under broken trees and rock. On the way there, they remained alert, watching for monsters.
They reached the wreckage and examined it carefully. The main engine was damaged, but the outer frame remained intact. The communication system was broken beyond repair. Even if they fixed it, the signal would take years to reach Earth.
"We'll have to rely on the ship's core and power systems," Kaito muttered, jotting down what materials they needed. "No shortcuts."
Returning to the cave, they found that the team had finished their research.
"Report," Ayan asked.
John stepped forward. "The fruits here are not edible—they contain toxins we've never seen before. But the monster meat is edible. Surprisingly, it's nutritious and gives stamina. The river water is completely safe. In fact, it's purer than Earth's mineral water."
Ayan nodded. "That's good news. We can stay hydrated and feed ourselves with monster meat."
As evening came, they finally sat down and shared the remaining rations from the spaceship. Their bodies ached, minds heavy with worry. But for the first time in two days, they felt a small spark of hope.
Then came another revelation: the day on this planet lasted 30 hours instead of Earth's 24. It explained the strange light patterns and how long their previous night had felt.
Eventually, they lay down on the cave floor, letting exhaustion claim them again.
And just like that, their second day on the unknown planet ended—not with answers, but with determination to survive.