Veteran Reader in a regression novel

When humans wake up in the morning, we tend to be quite drowsy. Sometimes, the first ten minutes are spent differentiating between dreams and reality, which is why I’m confused.

“My bed shouldn’t feel like grass, nor should there be the scent of a forest in my room.”

I opened my eyes to be greeted by the lush greenery of a forest.

Did my brain recreate the scent of a forest in a lucid dream? That doesn’t seem very likely.

Let’s assess my situation. I went to sleep, and now, when I wake up, I’m surrounded by trees. The last thing I remember before going to sleep was… the notification on my phone.

Is this the typical trope of being sent to another world after insulting an author? If that’s the case, I should first figure out which world this is.

As an avid reader, there are many novels I’ve given feedback on, some of which brought the authors to tears—either from appreciation or hatred—so it’s hard to conclude where I am.

To think there would come a day when I become what I hate the most: a transmigrator.

My friends often ask me why I hate them so much, but all I can say is, “What’s not to hate?”

The first thing the protagonist does is become confused and deny reality. Then, they make strange priorities, like finding out why they’re there and how to go back.

To me, that priority list is simply nonsensical. While I’m curious as to why I ended up here, finding out wouldn’t help me much. And as for finding a way to go back… why?

It’s not like I don’t have family or friends, but isn’t this more interesting than the original world? Family and friends can be made again, but the experiences here is a once in a life time opportunity.

So, it’s quite clear what I should do.

Observing my surroundings, I made a few guesses.

“The trees and surroundings look like Earth, so this is most likely a world inhabited by human-like creatures, not demons or aliens.”

I’ve read a lot of novels, and what they all have in common is the setting. The habitat and scenery differ depending on the species inhabiting the world, so I’m fairly certain this area is dominated by humans.

Now, I should find out what sort of world this is.

“Status window,” I said out loud, despite my embarrassment. To my regret, nothing popped up, which further added to my frustration.

So, there’s no system? That eliminates quite a lot of novels.

That is as much information as I can get from deducing. My next step should be finding the inhabitant of this world.

I have a few choices: I could camp out and hope someone passes by, walk aimlessly and hope to find a town, or make a campfire and hope someone sees the smoke.

All of these rely solely on luck, especially the last method. Even if people see smoke, they might not approach. Unfortunately, out of the three methods, the last one seems the most viable.

How can I make sure people will approach me and notice the signal? I can think of one way, but morally, it’s wrong and logically, it’s crazy.

After carefully weighing my options, I smiled brightly and muttered, “Let’s start a forest fire!”

If people see smoke, they might not come over, but if it’s a huge fire, they’ll have to extinguish it. There will undoubtedly be a commotion, which can help me spot the inhabitants of this world.

My only concern is that this might not work if there are intelligent beings around. But that’s unlikely. What civilization would leave so much space undeveloped? Certainly not an intelligent one. For them not to notice a forest fire, they’d have to be very far away.

To think my first practical use of starting a fire and pyrolysis would be for creating a forest fire. Rather than blaming myself, I should blame my scout instructor and professor. They taught me too well, and now this world’s forest will suffer for it.

Just as I started shifting the blame, my fire source ignited. But to burn all these fresh trees, such a small source isn’t enough. I need enough heat to drive away the moisture and start the forest fire.

After meticulous planning and a lot of hard work, I finally succeeded in igniting a whole tree. Now all that’s left is to wait.

Working hard sure is exhausting. It’s been a while since I’ve sweated this much. Maybe I should get some water soon.

Ah, shit. As I said before, reading doesn’t exactly make you smarter. While I’m quite proud of my plan, I overlooked a simple element: I don’t have any water with me.

I worked intensely for an hour, sweating profusely, and now I have to endure waiting for the fire to spread. It sounds simple, but reality is harsh.

“How can I endure this without even a sip of water? I don’t need an oasis, just a drop would do.”

Ugh, the heat is getting more intense. I can’t stay here. Making up my mind, I ran away from the fire as fast as I could.

I can’t search for water and run at the same time. My mental fortitude won’t allow it. At the very least, I should run as far as possible before I faint.

After a few minutes of running, my body seemed to reach its limit. As my mind started to cloud, I heard a commotion from afar.

With all the strength left in my hoarse throat, I decided to do one last thing before fainting: the most primitive action a human can take, an international symbol of asking for help.

I screamed at the top of my lungs.