Twelve million.
An enormous number, without question…….
But to confess how I feel: unmoved.
Of course, Achievement Points are one of <FoS>'s core systems. The playthrough carryover system found in any number of games.
The sole advantage you're given for facing a difficulty that skyrockets from Normal, never mind Hard, you could say?
The problem is.
"……Right now, this thing is a chicken rib—too good to throw away, too meager to eat."
In this game, everything before you enter the forest is nothing but a tutorial.
You could protest—what kind of tutorial stage has a game over?—but that's exactly why <FoS> is a trash game.
What does this mean?
It means that even with Achievement Points, the <Shop> where you can spend them hasn't been unlocked.
'Make the player stockpile a currency without knowing what it's for, then reveal where to spend it later.'
A common enough approach in games, but in my current situation, it only pissed me off.
"……Hm?"
Mid-sigh, I noticed something rolling around at my feet.
An object shaped like a glass marble.
Inside it, a cluster of light in some unidentifiable, metaphysical form tangled and twisted riotously.
"A <Raw Stone of Talent>."
This item, called a raw stone for short, is one of <FoS>'s main means of growth.
To explain it simply, using one lets you raise your abilities.
Not ordinary stats like strength or agility—rather, the somewhat special abilities called <Talents>.
"……This drops here?"
I was surprised, but I could also guess the reason.
Whatever else you say about this game, it does faithfully hand out rewards to match your suffering.
Most likely a reward for destroying the 'Man Who Greets and Embraces.'
'I started on the <Instant-Death Route>, so my stats right now are probably…….'
Talent
Body: D- Mind: D
Art: F Intuition: E
Probably something like this.
As I said, your start point is determined by your character's race, age, and initial stats, so it was something I could infer.
'Use it right away.'
If I secured various materials later, I could use it more efficiently—but this is the Instant-Death Route.
I have no intention of indulging in that kind of leisure.
The problem is…….
Lowest-Grade Raw Stone of Talent
Randomly raises one Talent of Grade D or below by one grade.
Exactly as written here—the Talent that rises is random.
'Fuck.'
The curse slipped out on its own, but honestly, this is FoS's defining trait, and its appeal.
Random elements riddle every side of character growth, so you have to squeeze out the optimal build to match circumstances that shift by the moment……
And that judgment is precisely the yardstick that separates one player's skill from another's.
'Art and Intuition.'
Those are late-blooming Talents.
Body and Mind, on the other hand, are the most important stats in the early game. Each single grade up is also where you feel the difference most.
'Please, one of those two.'
The odds are one in two.
Not bad. A full half, after all.
Cranking my optimism circuits as hard as they would go, I cupped the raw stone in both hands with the feeling of tossing a coin—just as my character used to when I played.
FLASH……!
A soft light immediately seeped out from between my fingers……
[You have used <Lowest-Grade Raw Stone of Talent>.]
[Your Intuition grows sharper.]
"……Goddamn it."
The coin I'd tossed had come up tails.
***
Strictly speaking, I'd dodged the worst.
Intuition is at least better than Art, which is utterly useless for staying alive.
'If you ask what meaning there is in an E becoming an E+, I don't really have an answer, but…….'
Still, it was already done. Dwelling on the negative would change nothing.
That was when an announcement rang out.
-Cu, cucu, currently…… opera…… ―ger…… ―evacua…….
A noise-riddled mechanical voice sounded, then cut off.
-……We are currently experiencing a temporary issue with train operations, and recovery work is underway. For your safety, we ask that all passengers please wait inside their compartments for the time being. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. Once again: we are currently experiencing an issue with train operations…….
On the surface, it sounded like an ordinary announcement.
But after being attacked by a monster bastard just moments ago—after a person had died, no less—you'd be a dumbass to take those words at face value.
'So far, this follows the flow.'
After the announcement rang out, I waited exactly five minutes or so.
Why?
Because in the game, the screen faded to black after this broadcast, and the story proceeded in text.
[After the broadcast, you hid in your compartment, quietly holding your breath.]
[From beyond the door came the sound of something dragging, the howling of unknown beasts, and intermittent human screams.]
[……And before long, the train overturned…….]
My guess is that <FoS>'s crude graphics simply couldn't be trusted to depict a train overturning.
'Either way, the train flipping is a fixed course of events…….'
The problem was this: among the surviving NPCs' conversations afterward, there was the following exchange.
"A survivor? Don't recognize the face."
"What? You were riding in Car 13? Well now, lucky you."
"Of course—you're the only one who made it out of the rear cars."
The rear cars, here, means everything behind Car 4.
Where I am now is Car 13……. Setting aside Cars 14, 15, and 16, which serve as cargo cars, it's practically the tail end.
'If I hunker down here, will I save my neck like in the game?'
A hollow laugh escaped me.
As if. That's the kind of thought only a bastard with a flower garden in full bloom inside his skull would entertain.
For the record, the flower garden in my skull withered to the last stem the moment I encountered those two Shadow bastards.
"Whew……."
One deep breath, exactly one……
And I opened the door and left the compartment.
RATTLE…….
The chill of the train corridor greeted me.
Contrary to the broadcast about a problem, the train seemed to be running along without any issue at all.
'What I patrolled earlier was Car 13 and the cargo cars.'
Which means everywhere I go from here is completely unknown territory, even to me.
Just as unease began quietly rising, I spotted a mop conveniently rolling around nearby.
SNAP.
I snatched it up and kicked off the end to break it, and it became a weapon that could pass, more or less, for a spear.
"……Well, that worked."
In the game, a trick like this would have been impossible.
Because even if a mop existed, it would have been a background object you couldn't interact with.
As I said, the early section of the <Instant-Death Route> resembled a horror game, and the ways to respond were limited.
'When it was a game, that is.'
If this is reality, the range of choices expands without limit.
Ridiculously enough, just holding one jury-rigged spear settled my heart a little.
Moving slowly but urgently, I pulled the handle of the door leading to Car 12……
"Urgh."
The moment the door opened, the stench of blood stabbed at my nose.
The textures I'd seen in the game spread out before me in blood-red. Corpses and blood, chunks of flesh, an eyeball rolling loose……. I forced my gaze away without looking closely.
Was Car 12 wiped out? Or…….
"Ah. A p-person……!"
Just as I expected, a voice rang out.
How did she end up in that state?
I could see a girl pinned beneath a passenger seat flipped upside down.
And a face streaked with blood and tears.
"M-Mister! P-please, save me……. My leg, hngh……. My leg hurts so much……."
"……"
I looked at the seat crushing the girl beneath it.
The overturned chair was pressing down on her lower body.
It was a two-person seat, so it had to be fairly heavy—but with the player's initial stats, I could shift it without much effort.
"M-Mister……?"
"……"
"You are…… human, right?"
Did my silence make her anxious?
The girl's voice began to tremble faintly—
But I still didn't move.
Not simply because I'm a coldhearted bastard—the selfish kind who cares only about his own skin no matter who dies in front of him.
"……"
I observed the girl carefully.
The face crumpled on the verge of tears, the unsteady breathing, the violently quivering eyes—no different from a human's.
At least as far as physical reactions went.
"Looks like you've lost a lot of blood."
"Y-yes……! I-I'm losing feeling in my legs. My right arm hurts quite a lot too, but……."
"That's not what I mean."
I pointed at the pool of blood spread out around the girl.
"I'm saying you seem to have lost far too much blood."
"What……?"
"For someone who's poured out that much, you talk far too well."
If I had to guess, that was a volume of bleeding enough to reach a lethal amount.
After all, it reached all the way to my feet, several steps away.
"……"
The girl closed her mouth—and in an instant, all expression drained from her face.
'Fuck.'
Disgustingly creepy.
Can human facial muscles even shift that abruptly?
It was like watching some creature that didn't understand emotion knead its facial muscles into an expression.
The moment I stepped back without meaning to, the girl broke into a sweet smile.
"Hey. Help me."
The girl flailed both hands with creaking motions.
"I said help me, you fucking bastard……. Hm? You selfish bastard. You're going to live alone—alone, all by yourself?"
I raised the spear.
I could see my fingers, blanched white from gripping too hard.
A tension different again from when I'd encountered the <Shadows>.
'Damn…….'
What if—just what if.
What if I'm wrong about this?
Of course no person could survive that much blood loss, but this is a fantasy world.
She could have kept her life through some method I don't know.
In other words—if the girl is still alive, and her mind has simply cracked under a desperate situation—
Then what I'm about to commit is plain and simple murder.
Gulp.
I'm scared.
So killing a person was this terrifying—a thing that demanded this much resolve.
The moment I grasped that fact—obvious, and one I'd never wanted to learn—
I…….
Noticed something was off.
RATTLE!
The sound of a door opening came from behind me, along with a presence.
I spun around at once, and a familiar face filled my eyes.
"Derek?"
"Hik, hihik!"
What the.
One-eyed Derek, who had unmistakably died, was sprinting toward me with his tongue dangling down to his chest.
"Kai. Kaiii, kaik, kai, Kai! Kaindel! Ihihihihik!"
Oh, fuck.
Why did I forget this possibility?
The fact that a freshly dead corpse is the best host there is for a Shadow to latch onto.
In fact, even in the game, about once in thirty runs, Derek ended up like this.
The instant Derek closed to within arm's reach, I thrust my spear on reflex—and his body pitched forward.
"……!"
My spear hadn't even touched him, of course. The bastard had ducked his body on his own.
Pressing himself flat as if collapsing against the ground, Derek crawled across the floor on all fours.
SKITTER!
He was eerily fast, and with the darkness all around, I couldn't properly track his movements.
Crack, crunch…….
Even so, his body was apparently warping further into an inhuman shape—I could hear bone and muscle twisting.
'Damn it!'
As my eyes darted about frantically, Derek's body shot up to the ceiling.
Clinging upside down, he claimed the spot directly above me with the speed of a cockroach, then dropped in an instant.
I hurriedly gripped the spear shaft crosswise and thrust it up to guard.
WHACK!
"……!"
My knees ached and my spine throbbed.
My back isn't done for, is it?
Throwing out your back in a situation like this—there'd be no more horrific joke than that.
While that thought skimmed through my brain, Derek, fallen from above, gnawed at the spear shaft with his teeth, drool streaming down.
"Be, before you slee, sleeeep! Don't, don't forget……! Your patroool……!"
He spouted deranged words through eyes stained pitch-black.
The seizure-like fits Shadows commonly show while kneading a body and mind.
Saliva dripped from his gaping maw, giving off a stench strange in its foulness.
"Urp……!"
The instant nausea surged up, my balance crumbled, and Derek's hand darted into the opening.
SHLICK!
"Gaaah!"
Pain like nothing I'd ever known in my life erupted from my flank, and the hand gripping the spear shaft nearly lost its strength.
"Fuck……!"
Absolutely not.
If I lose my weapon here too, it's truly over!
"Ihik, hik, hiik……! Kaiii……!"
My vision is white.
Even feeling my flank sear as if branded, I barely managed to shove Derek off.
At the same time, I realized one thing.
This bastard's raw strength isn't actually that great.
He's a <Shadow> that's only just taken its host—its bond with the body is still weak.
"You son of a—bitch!"
In other words, speed aside, in pure muscle he's beneath me.
I roared and drove the spear shaft forward hard.
CRASH—Derek tumbled across the floor, bared his teeth, and came charging again.
"Hi, hihik-hik……!"
I leveled the spear in a straight line, trained on Derek.
It wasn't the product of calculation, but neither was it a thoughtless act.
In that moment my gaze was fixed dead on Derek's throat, and so, naturally, the spearpoint aimed there as well.
SQUELCH.
After a sensation like piercing through soft rubber, I felt the point catch on something.
Could any sensation be filthier than this?
"Grk, grrrkk……."
Derek thrashed. Even then, his bloodshot eyes stayed fixed on me.
"Kai, iiiii……."
My spine was drenched in cold sweat.
His throat is pierced through, and he's still making sounds.
That's how tenacious Shadows are—beyond imagining. Left like this, Derek would stay alive a good while longer, and might even recover before long.
CRUNCH!
That was reason enough to give the buried spear shaft one more twist.
"Hk."
With that death rattle, Derek's movements stopped.
[You have exterminated the Shadow, 'Man Who Claws and Bites'.]
"Hah, haah……!"
My breath comes ragged.
Amid the dizziness and the rising nausea, only the pain in my flank stood out with unusual clarity.
…It hurts.
It hurts so goddamn much I could weep. If I could get away with it, I'd roll on the floor howling.
And yet, ironically, that horrific pain was gifting me the tangible sense of being alive.
"Hah, haah, haaah……."
Slowly, my breathing steadied.
The world spun round and round, and only my fingers were strangely cold.
The moment the chill in my fingers spread to my head, what I had to do finally felt unmistakably clear.
SHLICK…….
I pulled the spear from Derek's throat, then walked over to stand before the girl.
The girl, who had watched everything unfold, didn't seem particularly shocked or flustered.
"Mister."
"……"
"Save me. I don't want to die yet."
A calm expression, at odds with the frail voice.
Those words were probably the last ones left behind—not by the <Shadow>, but by the girl.
Just like Derek lunging at me while babbling about patrols, repeating the words the dead left behind like a habit is one of the Shadows' traits.
"Ha……."
A long trail stretched across the floor, like blood wiped up with a rag—
And the distance between the girl and me had closed since before. That was no illusion of mine.
While I was fighting Derek, this thing had crawled its way over to me.
'She was pinned under the seat—how, exactly?'
Simple.
This thing abandoned its lower body.
It wrenched itself until the body below the waist tore away, then crawled toward where I stood as stealthily as it could.
'If the fight had dragged on even a little longer.'
If, at the decisive moment, this girl had grabbed even my ankle.
Then who would be the one lying here as a corpse right now?
"……"
The pain throbbing in my flank seemed to urge my choice on.
Clench.
Strength flowed into my grip on the spear shaft.
Yes—the situation was now unmistakable, and I had already reached my answer.
The reflexive action I'd shown the instant Derek pounced was surely my most honest answer of all.
'……Die, or kill.'
If ever I'm handed that choice between the two.
I—
SQUELCH.
[You have exterminated the Shadow, 'Black Shadow That Tempts'.]
I will gladly raise the spear.