While wandering through the forest, Luke realized something important.

What was the point of searching for herbs if he couldn’t bring them back?

When he questioned the system, it quickly became apparent that even if he crafted something from ingredients found in this world, such as a potion, it still wouldn’t qualify as a product originating from his own world. As a result, it couldn’t be taken back with him.

What a bitch.

Still, Luke hadn’t expected the system to bend its own rules.

And it wasn’t as if he lacked potion ingredients to begin with. The area around his village was full of useful herbs. He had only been hoping to discover something unique here.

Now, most of that motivation was gone.

As he continued walking through the forest, he asked,

"By the way, System. Is this world just a simulation, or do actual people live here and I’m the intruder?"

[The host may consider this world an echo. A memory left behind by a lost civilization. However, the beings the host encounters possess free will. Therefore, expect the unexpected at all times.]

Almost as though those words were a warning, Luke suddenly felt something coil around his ankle.

His reaction was instantaneous.

Without wasting a fraction of a second, he summoned his hammer and brought its heavy weight crashing down onto the thick body wrapped around his leg.

Hissssss!

The snake shrieked in pain.

Its coils loosened immediately, allowing Luke to wrench himself free and leap backward while the hammer pinned part of the creature’s body to the ground.

In the same motion, he pulled his dagger from the inventory.

The serpent’s head reared up.

Luke stepped forward.

Magma Tooth plunged straight through the center of its skull.

A sickening hiss escaped the creature as the smell of scorched scales and burning flesh filled the air.

The snake thrashed violently.

The hammer was knocked aside, and despite the devastating wound, the creature somehow tore itself free and slithered away from Luke’s grasp.

But the damage had already been done.

The enchantment within Magma Tooth continued to ravage its body from within.

The serpent managed only a few more meters before its movements became sluggish.

Then slower.

Then still.

Its massive body collapsed among the undergrowth, smoke curling from the wound in its skull as life finally left its eyes.

Luke let out a sigh, recalled his dagger, and approached the snake’s corpse.

His expectations were low.

It was only a Level One beast, and based on his previous experiences, there was little chance of finding anything particularly useful inside it.

Reaching the body, he crouched down and extended a hand to inspect it.

"Shaaas!"

"Ah!"

The supposedly dead snake suddenly jerked and spat a stream of venom straight at his face.

Caught completely off guard, Luke stumbled backward.

The venom splashed across his eyes, turning his vision into a burning blur. He instinctively retreated another step, losing his footing in the process.

He couldn’t see what was behind him.

A tree, perhaps.

At least, that was what he expected.

Instead—

"Huh?"

His back passed through a curtain of leaves.

There was nothing behind them.

The ground vanished beneath his feet.

For a split second, he hung in empty space.

Then gravity claimed him.

Darkness swallowed his vision as he tumbled into the hidden opening.

"Gaah!"

A sharp cry escaped him when he slammed into a rocky surface.

The impact knocked the air from his lungs, but it wasn’t enough to stop his descent.

He continued rolling.

The slope beneath him seemed endless, throwing him from side to side as jagged stone scraped against his armor.

Unable to see anything through the venom clouding his eyes, Luke flailed desperately, reaching for anything that might stop his fall.

Nothing.

"Tch!"

In desperation, he summoned his hammer into his right hand.

Thunk!

The massive weapon instantly wedged itself between the walls of the narrow passage.

The sudden resistance nearly ripped Luke’s arm from its socket.

But it worked.

His momentum came to a violent halt.

For several seconds, he simply hung there, breathing heavily.

Only then did he realize something important.

His body wasn’t resting on solid ground.

It was dangling.

Taking a slow breath, Luke summoned a healing potion with his free hand and drank it.

The cool liquid soothed the worst of the pain.

Next, he pulled out a container of water and repeatedly washed his eyes.

Gradually, the burning sensation faded.

His vision returned piece by piece.

And when it finally cleared, Luke discovered two very important things.

First, the same oversized hammer he had spent hours cursing had become the perfect anchor.

The weapon was lodged firmly between the rocky walls, supporting his entire weight.

And second...

Luke slowly lowered his gaze.

His feet hung over empty air.

Far below, the cave floor stretched into darkness.

At a rough estimate, he was at least thirty feet above the ground.

The realization made his stomach tighten.

One wrong movement, and he would be taking the rest of that fall without the hammer to save him.

Taking a deep breath, he peered down.

The cavern below was shrouded in dim light, yet he could still make out its general outline.

Scattered across the ground were massive fallen boulders, some half-buried beneath patches of fresh grass and clusters of long, bushy vegetation. At the center of it all rested a large pond whose still surface reflected the faint light filtering in from somewhere above.

The entire place felt strangely tranquil.

Almost too tranquil.

Luke’s gaze swept across the rocky wall beneath him.

Several thick vines stretched all the way down to the cavern floor, clinging stubbornly to the stone.

Even so, he wasn’t about to trust them completely.

Better safe than sorry.

He pulled a rope from his inventory and tied it securely around the handle of his hammer.

The weapon was wedged so tightly between the walls that it might as well have become part of the cave itself.

All Luke could do was to recall it in the inventory later.

Satisfied that the hammer wasn’t going anywhere, he carefully tied the other end of the rope while hanging one-handed.

The process was awkward and far more difficult than he would have liked, but after several frustrating attempts, he finally secured it around his forearm.

Only then did he reach for one of the thick vines.

Testing it with a few cautious tugs, he began his descent.

The vine creaked softly beneath his weight.

Luke moved slowly, keeping three points of contact at all times.

The rope served as a backup while the vines carried most of his weight.

Hand over hand, foot by foot, he climbed downward through the vast cavern wall.

The cool air brushed against his face as the distance to the ground gradually shrank.

Despite the danger of the fall behind him, a spark of curiosity began to grow within him.

A hidden cavern concealed beneath the forest.

A tranquil pond.

Vegetation thriving in a place untouched by sunlight.

Whatever this place was, it certainly wasn’t ordinary.

And Luke had a feeling he had just stumbled onto something far more interesting than another hunting ground.

••••••

A/N:- I hope you liked the Chapter.