DanMachi: It's destined to lose its self.

Kopii had spent the whole day lying on the bed again due to overexertion. "Aaaah…" Kopii yawned as he got out of bed. "It still hurts."

Stretching his muscles, Kopii thought as he approached the closet and chose clothes to wear for gathering herbs.

"Yeah…" Kopii said. "What a small selection."

After Kopii got dressed, he started preparing so that what happened last time wouldn't repeat itself. He looked at the map - the road seemed long, and he might spend a whole week getting to the right place. This fact did not please Kopii at all, but he couldn't do anything about it.

It was his family, and he had promised Miyaha that he would always help if needed. Kopii didn't want to waste time and decided to sort out his feelings and understand where this thirst came from during the little journey - it had already appeared twice.

The first time this feeling of thirst saved him, and the second time he almost completely lost himself. At first, he could control himself more or less, but the more monsters he killed, the weaker his control became.

Kopii was afraid of one thing - that he might attack adventurers, especially when he completely lost control. The main thing he wanted to find out was how he managed to return to normal and what caused it.

Kopii approached the mirror and looked into his eyes. He was afraid that he would completely lose control of himself. Pushing these thoughts aside, taking his backpack, he left the room and went down to the first floor. Approaching Naaza, she raised her sleepy eyes and looked at him.

"I'm ready. So I'll go."

"Okay, Kopii, be careful."

"I am caution itself," Kopii said, leaving the Blue Pharmacy.

He headed towards the exit from the city of Oraria.

***

Naaza watched Kopii leave, remained silent for a few minutes, and then spoke:

"Do you think this is a good idea, Miyaha-sama?"

Looking at the stairs, after a few seconds she saw Miyaha slowly descending. After a moment, he spoke:

"It's better than if he goes down into the dungeon and doesn't return."

"But sending him so far… It will take weeks, and it will slow down his growth."

"I understand, Naaza," Miyaha replied. "You saw what kind of Kopii was coming back the last two days. He changed, became more reckless. We need to give him time to calm down."

"And about growth…" Miyaha paused for a moment, looking into Naaza's sleepy eyes. "Yes, you're right, it will slow down his growth. But it's better than him just dying."

"Miyaha-sama, I understand. Okay, I'll go buy groceries."

***

Kopii finally left Oraria. He opened the map and looked at it carefully.

"How far to go for such a small amount of herbs…" he thought. "Naaza said that they are quite expensive, so we will benefit greatly from this."

As Oraria receded into the distance, the fresh air and silence of the forests had a beneficial effect on his condition. He began to listen to the sounds of nature, trying to distract himself from disturbing thoughts. The rustling of leaves, the singing of birds, the buzzing of insects - all this created a soothing melody, helping him to regain his peace of mind.

On the way, Kopii tried to analyze his feelings. He tried to understand what exactly provokes this thirst in him, what makes him lose control. Maybe it's fear? Or anger? Or a thirst for power? He didn't know the answer, but he was determined to understand himself.

By evening, Kopii found a suitable place to spend the night. He lit a fire, prepared a simple meal, and settled comfortably by the fire. Looking at the flickering flames, he decided to change his approach to studying the thirst - to study it from the root, to understand where it came from. That was the most important question.

The first time he felt it, he thought about monsters and death. Then he began to analyze the monsters, why they are like this and what drives them. Most importantly - about how he wanted to live: enjoy life, food, laugh, be sad.

These thoughts didn't give Kopii anything - he never understood where this hatred for everything and the thirst that cannot be quenched came from. Another question he also didn't know the answer to was how he got out of this state. Thirst appears out of nowhere and disappears suddenly.

Everything was different when he felt it for the first time and when for the second time. The second case happened after he killed the warlike shadow. The first and second cases are completely different.

"Maybe thirst is a hidden ability of my body that appeared for the first time?"

"And how did I understand that it was thirst? Why did I understand it immediately then? I don't understand…"

Kopii stared into the fire, trying to grasp the elusive thread. The reflections did not bring clarity, but only confused him even more. He understood that there was no simple answer, and the reason for his condition probably lay somewhere deep inside.

Kopii looked away from the fire, took a sleeping bag out of his backpack, spread it out near the fire, and settled down for the night. Fatigue took its toll, and he soon fell asleep, full of fragmented thoughts and disturbing images. He dreamed of battles with monsters, dark corridors of the dungeon, and the reflection of his own eyes, filled with insane thirst.

Kopii woke up before dawn. A slight chill ran through his body, and there was still chaos in his head. He quickly ate the remnants of yesterday's food, packed his things and set off. The day promised to be long, and he had to travel a considerable distance before he reached his destination.

He walked slowly, carefully examining the surroundings. The forest lived its life, and Kopii tried not to disturb this harmony. Soon he came across tracks of wild animals, broken branches, and other signs of the presence of forest dwellers. He was careful, understanding that he could face danger at any moment.

Closer to noon, Kopii made a halt by a small stream. Filling the flask with fresh water, he settled in the shade of a spreading tree to rest and consider further actions. He took out the map, looked at it for a few minutes, and put it back.

"Only a quarter of the way… How slow!" he thought. "A useless waste of time."

Kopii continued on his way. He wanted to reach his destination as soon as possible. As he progressed deeper into the forest, the landscape changed - the trees became taller and denser, the sunlight barely penetrated through the foliage. Kopii felt more and more lonely, but the sounds of the birds calmed him down. He began to notice strange shadows flickering between the trees and hear quiet rustles, making him wary.

Suddenly, Kopii heard a loud crack of branches. He stopped sharply and listened. The sound repeated, now closer. Quickly grabbing his backpack, he slowly pulled his sword out of its sheath, preparing for battle. Looking around, he tried to determine the source of the danger. Soon a huge boar jumped out of the bushes, bristling and ready to attack.

Kopii felt relieved - it was just a boar.

"What are you, a boar?" he didn't have time to finish speaking when the boar ran towards him.

Kopii jumped aside and climbed a tree. The boar clearly did not like this action. He began to kick the tree, and when he tried again to accelerate and hit it, Kopii jumped down and aimed at the neck. After a successful attack, he barely had time to rejoice that there would be meat today, as the boar screamed and ran away.

"Hey, dinner, where to?" Kopii exclaimed. Now he regretted not cutting off the boar's head when he could have done it.

He threw his sword at it, hitting it in the leg. But the boar still continued to run, now with the sword.

"Are you kidding me, boar? Give me back my sword!" Kopii quickly ran to his backpack, took it and followed the boar's blood. After a while, he finally saw the boar lying dead.

"So tenacious…"

But Kopii stopped abruptly and realized:

"Where is my sword?"