Among the four hunters, the one who stepped forward as their representative was a woman clad in light armor.
“Thank you.”
Her first words were a simple expression of gratitude. But she didn’t stop there—she continued to chatter eagerly.
“I’m Noah. What’s your name?”
“…I’m Alice.”
“Alice, huh?”
“Yeah.”
Speaking with others in this body was a first for me, and even I found it a little awkward.
Perhaps this body wasn’t accustomed to talking.
In the original game, the player character didn’t speak either.
In fact, in Hunter Land, the protagonist never utters a single word.
It’s a common trope in games, isn’t it? The protagonist is a silent hero, and the NPCs never seem to find it odd.
Maybe that’s the issue here.
Even though my mind was buzzing with thoughts, the words didn’t flow easily from my mouth.
On top of that, hearing this voice—so unlike my own—made me feel a bit uneasy.
Talking to strangers was uncomfortable too.
It was a problem both for this character and for me mentally.
“Alice” was a name I’d come up with after being dropped into this world.
My in-game nickname was “RabbitProducer,” but introducing myself as that felt… wrong.
So, after some thought, I recalled Alice in Wonderland.
It was a bit of a leap from “RabbitProducer,” but I was pretty pleased with it.
“Um, are you hurt?”
“It hurts.”
Noah was a striking woman. Beneath her blue outerwear, she wore a form-fitting spandex-like shirt that highlighted her toned physique.
Her abs, sculpted by her life as a hunter, stood out prominently. She looked like she didn’t have an ounce of fat on her—her face was just as impressive, with a cool, refreshing beauty.
She was taller than me, and not just in height—her arms and legs were long and lean.
Surprisingly, her eyes and hair were a plain black.
“…Uh, Alice?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve got some medicine. Want me to apply it?”
“Sure.”
Noah glanced back at her companions.
“Let’s skin the Lugarak first. Hmm… it should be fine, right? We’ll handle Nav separately. It was supposed to be a capture mission, but… well, what can you do? Surviving is what matters. Let’s at least take the materials.”
Wait, they were supposed to capture it alive?
If I’d known, I wouldn’t have beaten it to death.
Killing the target in a capture mission is pretty much trolling.
Still, neither of us knew the full situation, and I did save their lives, so it should be fine.
“Come on, let’s go over there.”
“…Can’t we just do it here?”
“…No. Your clothes are all torn up.”
Noah touched the hem of my outfit. She was right—it could hardly be called clothing anymore.
It was so ripped and battered that “rag” would be a better description.
She seemed concerned about my exposed skin. Grateful for her consideration, I followed her behind a tree.
Setting her bag down, Noah rummaged through it and pulled out a cloth first.
I wondered what she planned to do with it, but then she started wiping the blood off my face—mostly Lugarak blood.
“Ugh…”
“Just bear with it a little. There’s a lot of blood on your face.”
She pressed the cloth firmly against my skin, scrubbing without mercy.
Please, have some mercy…
Once she’d roughly wiped away the blood, she slung the cloth over her shoulder and took out some healing ointment and bandages.
I thought she’d start treating me right away, but instead, she stared at me intently and swallowed nervously.
“…There are wounds under your clothes too. Can I… lift them?”
“Go ahead.”
Noah seemed a little embarrassed. Maybe she felt awkward about seeing another woman’s bare skin.
I get it—even among guys, seeing each other naked can be uncomfortable.
Truth be told, I was embarrassed too. I used to be a guy, you know.
But I tried not to let it show.
She slathered the ointment generously onto the scratches on my stomach and legs. She even treated older scars and wrapped them with bandages.
A stinging pain flared up every now and then.
“Ow…”
“Are you okay?”
“It hurts a bit.”
Noah dabbed at the blood with the cloth. The sharp pain made me flinch and grimace. I’d rarely been hurt this badly in my life—the worst was probably just a fall when I was a kid.
“Just hold on a little longer.”
“Mm…”
God, this hurts so much.
I bit my lip, enduring the pain. I hadn’t noticed during the fight, but now that the adrenaline had worn off, it was excruciating.
I shouldn’t do this kind of close-quarters fighting without armor again.
It was great for dealing damage, but my body couldn’t handle it. If only this world had a system where drinking a potion instantly restored health, like in the game.
After dressing the wounds with bandages and securing them with pins, Noah finally released me.
“The wounds should heal in a day.”
“Thanks.”
“We’re the ones who should be thanking you.”
Noah chuckled as she packed up her supplies.
I moved my bandaged shoulder and stomach, testing my range of motion. The bandages didn’t restrict me.
Then I noticed Noah staring at me intently again.
“What?”
“…You don’t have any other clothes, do you?”
“No.”
She seemed bothered by my tattered state.
“Want to borrow mine?”
“If you don’t mind.”
Noah even pulled some spare clothes from her bag and handed them to me.
Is Noah an angel?
I set the clothes down for a moment and started lifting my ruined top from the bottom.
But Noah was still watching me. Even though she’d given me the clothes, changing in front of her felt awkward. I was too shy to undress in front of a woman.
I lifted my shirt up to my chest, then lowered it again and looked at her.
“…Um, Noah.”
“Yeah?”
“Could you, uh… give me some privacy to change?”
“Oh! Right… S-sorry!”
Noah hurriedly gathered her things and stepped away.
Only then could I change in peace.
Noah’s clothes were bigger than I’d expected. Especially around the chest…
Not that it mattered to me, since I was originally a guy!
—
Noah watched her companions as they skinned the Lugarak.
“Well, the mission’s a bust…”
“Eh, we’re lucky to be alive. The lab director will be disappointed, though.”
Her teammates, relieved to have escaped death, laughed lightly as they worked on the hide.
They weren’t carving the Lugarak into fancy shapes or anything—just taking what they needed. It was standard practice to harvest only the necessary parts; taking the entire carcass was illegal.
It was heavy, and there was a custom of returning the remains to nature.
Though, honestly, it was also to prevent overharvesting and because dealing with large carcasses was a hassle. Leaving it behind meant other monsters would eat it.
They each took a reasonable portion of the larger pieces.
That was enough material for each of them.
Noah joined in the skinning, albeit a bit late.
Since this was their first encounter with a One-Eyed Lugarak, securing its materials was important.
Her companions had already started flaying the hide, so she helped by cutting out the necessary bones and parts.
Then, something caught her eye—a glimmering light.
“…What’s this?”
“Oh, you mean the essence?”
The Lugarak’s essence of power.
It was the source of their relentless energy for fighting, but most essences shattered during battle, making it nearly impossible to retrieve them intact.
Fortunately, this one was in good condition. The monster had lived long enough that its essence had hardened and didn’t break easily.
It was surprising that no one had taken such a rare essence yet.
It was tempting, but they’d all silently agreed to leave it behind.
“We didn’t feel right taking it, so we left it.”
After all, Alice was the one who’d effectively taken down the Lugarak.
They’d saved it for her.
Noah nodded in agreement.
“Let’s give this to her separately.”
No one objected.
Noah extracted the essence from the Lugarak’s body, set it aside, and took only her share.
They left the rest of the carcass there.
It would be consumed by other monsters and return to nature.
“By the way, where’s… Alice?”
One of her teammates asked.
“She’s changing.”
“…Yeah, her clothes were pretty much destroyed. Is she staying here?”
“Probably looking for some monster.”
Hunters were used to camping out for long stretches.
They’d come prepared for a week-long search for the Lugarak, but finding it in just a week was faster than expected.
They figured Alice had been in the Floodlands longer than they had.
After all, she’d emerged suddenly from deep within the forest, and her light attire suggested she was familiar with the area.
Maybe she had a specific monster in mind.
But Noah had a different thought.
…Those scars.
Alice’s slender body was as white and beautiful as jade, even to another woman. Noah had stared a bit too long, making Alice uncomfortable.
But when she lifted Alice’s clothes, those thoughts vanished.
The numerous scars told a story of how she’d lived.
She probably fought without regard for her own safety, just like she had against the One-Eyed Lugarak.
Noah couldn’t understand it.
For hunters, life was the top priority—always.
Given the life-and-death nature of their work, they were especially cautious.
Yet Alice threw herself into danger without hesitation.
Sure, she’d managed to take down the Lugarak single-handedly, but she’d ended up battered and bruised.
What drove her to push herself like that?
Why was Alice alone in the Floodlands?
Questions swirled in Noah’s mind.
She shook her head.
They’d only exchanged a few words; she couldn’t possibly know.
Unbeknownst to her, Alice’s scars came from her struggles after waking up in the Floodlands.
Some were pre-existing, but many were from stumbling through branches and bushes or hunting small monsters for food.
There was nothing heroic about her actions—just survival.
“Noah, I have an idea.”
“…Yeah?”
One of her teammates broke her train of thought.
“If she’s been here a while, she probably has a campsite, right?”
“…Probably.”
“Let’s ask to stay the night.”
“You want to impose on her again after she saved our lives?”
“Our situation isn’t great for heading back right now.”
“…”
“Nav’s still in bad shape.”
“…Sorry.”
Noah frowned, but her teammate was right.
They had no supplies, and one of them was critically injured, making travel difficult.
If they ran into another monster on the way back, it could be disastrous.
Is there no other choice?
Noah sighed inwardly.
She knew it was the right call. There was no arguing against it.
By then, Alice had finished changing and stepped out.
She was wearing the light gear they’d brought for the Floodlands, but it was oversized on her, making her look adorable.
When Alice waved her arm, the sleeve was so long that her hand didn’t even peek out—just the fabric flapped.
Noah smiled and approached her.
“Alice, do you like it?”
“It’s fine, except the sleeves are too long.”
“Good. That’s a relief.”
“And the chest is loose.”
“…Hmm.”
That’s not the important part.
Noah chuckled and bent her knees slightly to meet Alice’s gaze.
“Um, Alice, are you staying here?”
“…Yeah, why?”
“We’re not in the best shape to head back right now. Could we… join you?”
Alice blinked at Noah’s question.
“…It might be a bit cramped.”
“We don’t mind! It’s just… we have an injured person. We’ll leave tomorrow.”
“Hmm, alright.”
Alice nodded, and the hunters’ faces brightened.
Finding a safe spot in the dangerous Floodlands was a godsend. They could rest there for the night.
What kind of campsite did Alice have?
They pictured a wide area with a campfire, perhaps marked with monster repellent to create a safe zone.
That’s how hunters usually set up camp.
But as they followed Alice deeper into the Floodlands, doubts crept in.
They had a map, so getting lost wasn’t a concern, but was this really a safe area?
Alice walked confidently, without hesitation, suggesting she knew the way.
“Here it is.”
Their destination was a cave.
“Ah…”
A dying campfire with only embers left.
Animal hides spread on the floor. Damp, musty air. Piles of bones and chewed-up grass in the corner.
Scratch marks everywhere.
It was an utterly harsh environment.
And Alice had been surviving there alone.
The hunters felt ashamed. Despite her own struggles, she was still kind enough to help them. They’d only taken from her and offered nothing in return.
The atmosphere grew heavy.
“…What’s with everyone?”
Everyone except Alice.
—
Peak, another Alice!