Jihoon walked until dawn, the sun finally bring down on his back once more.He slowly felt physical exhaustion spread through his body, and he rested along the riverbank.While the moment he had woken up in this world he was lost, now that was further emphasized.Should I try to find civilization? I’m not even guaranteed to find others in this world…Jihoon forced himself up to get a bearing of his surroundings.Jihoon looked down the river, seeing nothing for miles, then looking deeper into the desert, and seeing rugged sand dunes, as well as the beginnings of some greenery.He filled himself up on water, and began towards what he believed to be the edge of the desert.As he approached closer, shrubs came out, and grasses, as well as slightly stronger soil that he didn’t sink into.However, among the sand dunes, he saw a type of structure.What looked to be almost a mineshaft, digging into the soil was not a figment of Jihoon’s imagination, but a real structure.Jihoon drew closer, entering the run down cave-like structure, with fire-lit torches bzing as soon as he stepped foot inside.The torches revealed a long stone brick corridor, sand and soil seeped in through cracks in the walls and piles of rubble scattered across the floor. Red cloth banners with unintelligible sigils drawn crudely on them hung from the walls and ceiling.The roof itself seemed as though it could give in anytime, yet Jihoon entered.Jihoon broke a torch off the wall, feeling rather barren.The torch was crude, a simple stick wrapped in cloth, yet Jihoon figured it was better than nothing.He slowly pushed forward, the wind’s quiet howling at his back.Torches on the walls had slowly begun to spread out, becoming few and far between as Jihoon pushed in.Jihoon rounded a corner, able to see but a small patch of fur, a small part of a rger, slumbering wolf.Jihoon quickly stepped back, but raised his torch a bit higher, the light spread further across the corridor, revealing a full pack of sleeping wolves. Jihoon stepped back slowly, but it seemed he reacted too te.The rgest wolf of the pack had begun to stir, slowly awakening and upon spotting Jihoon, it bared its teeth, and began towards him.Jihoon began to sprint back towards the entrance of the mineshaft, but the wolf was far faster.It tackled him to the floor, biting at him and digging its cws into Jihoon’s flesh as Jihoon stuffed the torch in its mouth to hold it back, before forcing it off him.The wolf reared back, its cws taking skin and flesh with it. “Gaah!” Jihoon screamed in pain.It hurts! What if that gets infected?Jihoon got up to his feet, and as the wolf pounced again, Jihoon kicked it in the nose with all his force.I won’t die like this, not to one single wolf attack! These exist on Earth too! They’re nothing compared to those other beasts…Jihoon thought of the beast creatures that ravaged his camp, and a shiver traveled down his spine.The wolf was sent stumbling across the floor, as Jihoon battered its skull with stomps.Blood spattered across the floor as Jihoon dropped to the floor, panting.But the ordeal was far from over.The encounter had created far too much noise, and down the hall, through dim lighting, he spotted the rest of the wolf pack.Three more, albeit smaller wolves, slowly walked towards Jihoon.You’ve gotta be kidding, not like this… Do I run– No! They’re faster… They’ll catch me and maul me while I’m exposed without cover.Jihoon’s eyes scanned the room, nding on a metal rod buried in some of the stone rubble, likely used as reinforcement for the structure. He sprinted to it, but as he tried to pull it out, the weight of the rubble on top of it was heavier than he expected.The wolves inched closer, only meters away from him. He pulled the rod with his full body strength, knowing it would be life or death here.Jihoon pulled the metal rod free, falling back as he pulled it out. The end of the rod was sharp, but he held it with both hands like a bat.The wolves were mere feet away from him now, they began to circle him, but Jihoon backed himself into a corner, not wanting one to be behind him.The first wolf pounced quickly, as Jihoon smmed it aside with full strength.The wolf cried and helped itself back up, as another wolf repced it.The second wolf came faster than expected, and Jihoon tried to kick it away. The wolf dodged the kick, biting down on Jihoon’s ankle, spreading excruciating pain through his body.Jihoon stabbed into it’s fur with the sharp end of his metal rod, as the third wolf quickly jumped onto Jihoon as well. He elbowed the wolf in the chin, pulling out the rod from the second wolf, and smming it into the grounded body of the third wolf. The first wolf, who had been crippled by Jihoon’s first attack, limped away, slipping deeper into the mineshaft and into the shadows. Jihoon crumpled to the floor, next to the wolf corpses next to him. He limped to the wall, tearing off the dirty banners and using them as crude bandages for his bites.He wailed in pain, blood gathering into the crude bandages.Am I gonna bleed out here..? Even if the blood loss doesn’t kill me, it’ll probably get infected…Jihoon grabbed multiple torches off the walls, pooling them together into a small fire.Jihoon moved the wolf corpses into the fire. The fur would be fuel, and hopefully he could eat some of the meat if it wasn’t burnt to ash.Jihoon changed his bandages with new ones that he had held over the fire to hopefully sterilize it to some extent. Jihoon sat next to the fire, his vision blurring as he looked out of the mineshaft into the vast desert.His eyelids dropped as he slowly began to sleep.Jihoon woke up quickly, checking on his bandages, and quickly getting his bearings.I need water, and I should eat.While the wounds weren’t too deep into his flesh, and rather superficial, he’d be lying if he said the pain wasn’t excruciating.Jihoon was able to walk with a small limp, and changed his bandages, checking on the wolf corpses by the now dead fire. He tore into the flesh with his hands, most of it burnt to a crisp, but on the insides of the wolf corpses was a meat that was somewhat edible.Jihoon ate what he could off the wolf corpses, angry at himself he wasted so much meat by falling asleep foolishly. That takes care of that, but water? The river is hours away…Jihoon peered outside, but his face was buffeted by a sandstorm that had kicked up during his sleep.However, by now, Jihoon had exhausted himself severely, and hadn’t had anything to drink in over 24 hours.He waited hours within the shelter, hoping the storm would end, but to no avail.His thirst had only worsened by the minute, and driven by desperation, Jihoon tore another banner off the walls of the mineshaft.He wrapped it around his face, covering his mouth and nose, putting his hoodie up as well for more protection from the sand.He grabbed his metal rod and started out of the mineshaft, back into the desert, and the unknown, towards what he believed was the direction of the river.