When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a massive forest.
Shadows covered the entire place, but there was a small spot where a faint light was seeping through.
"Looks like it's nighttime."
But I don't remember going to a forest before I lost consciousness.
Could it be that they threw me into an unknown forest?
"If you were trying to piss me off, then congratulations… you succeeded."
I clenched my teeth in anger before trying to find a way out.
I needed to figure out where I was so I could get back.
I grabbed a tree trunk and started climbing, but something was strange…
My fingers were sinking into the tree as if it were made of clay.
"Is it possible for a tree to be this soft?"
I didn't pay it much attention and decided to keep climbing.
When I reached the top of the tree, I looked over the forest, but...
No matter how far I looked, all I could see were trees—no signs of any humans living here.
"Did they really throw me into such an isolated place?"
"I really underestimated them."
I slowly began climbing down the tree.
I was scared of falling from such a height. Imagine falling from five floors up.
My body shivered just from imagining it—I didn't want to experience that.
I kept descending slowly and carefully, but a small mistake happened...
I missed a foothold and slipped.
The ground rushed toward my face as I closed my eyes.
Thud...
I felt like I was floating before I hit the ground hard,
As if the wind had slammed into me with great force.
When I hit the ground, I felt pain in my back.
"Ugh… that hurts, that really hurts…"
"Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on with me?"
First, a soft tree, then a wind that came out of nowhere,
And now a forest that has nothing but trees?
"Am I dreaming?"
Honestly, I've had enough.
I looked at my hands and noticed black lines.
It seemed I hadn't noticed them before because I was too busy trying to figure out where I was, but now I saw them.
There were black lines running all over my body.
"Am I really losing my mind?"
Since I woke up in this forest, nothing has made sense.
Even the thought of the tattoo-like markings on my body disturbed me.
Even though I'm not against tattoos, the lines on my body made me uncomfortable.
As if I'd seen them somewhere before, but I couldn't remember.
I tried to recall, but my mind was foggy.
"I swear, I'll skin you alive once I get out of here."
I had to get out of the forest fast.
I started running in a straight line.
I didn't try to turn or go back because I didn't want to repeat those stupid anime scenes—
Where they get lost and keep ending up in the same place over and over.
Can't they just walk in a straight line?
I kept running, but there was something strange—I didn't feel tired at all.
I kept running faster, yet I didn't get tired at all. I just kept going.
A long time passed since I started running, but I couldn't find the exit—just endless trees.
More than three hours passed as I kept running before I finally saw the exit in front of me.
When I reached the exit, I felt a huge relief.
Finally, I could leave the forest.
After running for more than six hours, I finally reached the exit.
"At least now I have a story to tell my grandkids."
When I looked at the exit, the sun had already risen.
"Goodbye, damned forest."
I stepped out of the forest. And when I reached the sunlight, I felt it.
To be continued...
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