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Chapter 2 - Chapter 2 The Unbreakable Burden

The silence in the moonlit clearing was thicker than the forest fog, heavy with shock and the metallic tang of blood. Kaito stood frozen, the echo of the shattered sword blade hitting the mud seeming louder than the bandits' panicked flight. His fingers still tingled with the impossible sensation of crumpling steel like foil. The interface in his mind was a silent, glowing testament to the absurdity: `HP: ∞/∞ | STATUS: Healthy. Confused. Overpowered.`

The young woman – Elara, he'd learn later – finally found her voice, a trembling whisper cutting through the stillness. "Th-thank you." She scrambled towards the injured man, Borin, her father. Her fiery red hair, now tangled and dirty, seemed incongruous against the pallor of her fear. "Father! Are you alright?"

Borin groaned, clutching his bleeding forearm. "Alive, thanks to…" He looked up at Kaito, his eyes wide with a mixture of profound gratitude and primal fear. The fear Kaito understood. He'd just shattered a sword with his bare hand and taken a blow to the head without flinching. He *looked* like a young man in simple clothes, but his actions screamed something… else. "Who *are* you, stranger?" Borin repeated, his voice raspy with pain and awe.

Kaito swallowed. The surge of righteous fury that had propelled him forward was ebbing, replaced by the familiar, unwelcome tide of social awkwardness. He was Kaito now, not Kevin the data clerk, yet the ghost of Kevin's insecurities clung stubbornly. *Talking to people. Why is this harder than breaking steel?* "I… I'm Kaito," he managed, his voice sounding too loud in his own ears despite its calmness. "Are you hurt badly? Can I help?" He took a hesitant step forward.

Elara flinched almost imperceptibly. Borin held up his uninjured hand. "Easy, lad. Easy. We mean no offense, truly. You saved our lives. But…" He gestured weakly at the scattered shards of the bandit's blade. "That… defies nature."

Kaito winced internally. *Defies nature. Yeah, tell me about it.* He focused inward, the system interface obligingly flickering to life. `<< Absolute Comprehension (Passive - MAX): Instantly understand any language, written or spoken, and grasp the fundamental principles of any magic, skill, or technology observed. >>` He looked at Borin's wound – a deep, messy gash from the rusty dagger. Instantly, knowledge flooded him: anatomy, basic field medicine, the principles of healing magic (though he sensed no active mana flow from the man or his daughter), the high risk of infection from the filthy blade. He saw the wound not just as blood, but as disrupted tissue, severed capillaries, potential vectors for disease.

"I can see it's deep," Kaito said, his voice gaining a fraction more confidence as he recited the knowledge imposed by the system. "It needs cleaning and binding. Infection is a major risk." He scanned the overturned cart. Grain sacks were torn, a few wooden crates lay splintered. "Do you have any clean cloth? Water?"

Elara, spurred into action by practicality overcoming shock, nodded. "Yes! In the cart." She scrambled towards the wreckage, pulling out a waterskin and tearing a strip from a relatively clean linen sack that had held apples.

Kaito knelt beside Borin, careful to move slowly, deliberately non-threatening. He accepted the water and cloth from Elara, their fingers brushing briefly. A jolt, completely unrelated to his infinite mana, shot through him. *Oh gods, she's actually really pretty up close.* He forced himself to focus on the wound, pouring water over it. Borin hissed in pain.

`<< Damage Nullification (Passive - MAX): All physical, magical, spiritual, and conceptual damage reduced to 0. >>` The notification flashed uselessly. *Right. Doesn't work on others. Great.*

As he carefully bound the wound, following the precise instructions his `Absolute Comprehension` fed him, Kaito tried to answer their unspoken questions. "I… arrived here tonight," he began, keeping his eyes on the bandage. "From… far away. Very far. I don't know this land. Terra Nova? Valerius Continent?" He used the names from the system.

"Aye," Borin grunted, watching Kaito's surprisingly deft hands. "Valerius. You're near the borderlands between the Kingdom of Aethelgard and the Wildwood Marches. Dangerous roads, especially at night. Bandits, goblin raiding parties sometimes, worse things deeper in." He eyed Kaito with renewed curiosity. "Far away? Beyond the Sea of Mists?"

"Something like that," Kaito mumbled, tying off the bandage. "Further." He hesitated. How much could he say? *Hi, I died awkwardly on Earth and a sarcastic goddess gave me god-mode cheats?* "I was given… abilities. To survive here. That's why…" He gestured vaguely towards the sword fragments.

Elara, who had been silently watching, spoke up. Her initial terror had shifted to intense curiosity. "Abilities? Like… the Heroes of old? Blessed by the Divines?" Her gaze was direct, unsettlingly perceptive.

Kaito shifted uncomfortably under her stare. *Blessed? More like celestial compensation for terminal loserdom.* "Not… exactly blessed. More like… compensation." He saw the confusion on their faces. "It's complicated. And I don't fully understand it myself." That, at least, was true. The sheer scale of the power within him was a constant, low-level hum, terrifying and exhilarating. He felt like a child holding a live star.

"Compensation," Borin repeated slowly, testing the word. He struggled to his feet with Elara's help, wincing but managing. "Well, Kaito from far away, complicated or not, you have our deepest thanks. We owe you our lives." He looked sadly at his dead horses and ruined cart. "We were taking grain and sundries to the frontier outpost of Stonehaven. A week's journey on foot now, with this." He gestured at his bandaged arm.

Kaito looked at the scattered sacks. `<< Inventory: ∞ (Passive): Access to an infinite-dimensional storage space. >>` An idea sparked. *Can it… hold physical things?* He focused on a nearby, intact sack of grain. Mentally, he reached out with the concept of *storing* it. Instantly, the sack vanished.

Borin and Elara jumped back, gasping. "Witchcraft?!" Borin exclaimed, instinctively putting himself slightly in front of his daughter.

"No! No witchcraft," Kaito said quickly, holding up his hands. "Just… part of the compensation. Storage. I can… put things away. Safely." He focused again, and the sack reappeared exactly where it had been. "See? Harmless."

Elara's eyes widened further, fascination momentarily overriding caution. "Incredible! Like a spatial mage! But without a chant or a focus…"

Kaito shrugged awkwardly. "It just… happens." He looked at the cart, the remaining sacks, the crates. "I can carry it all. Light as air for me." He demonstrated by effortlessly lifting the heavy cart upright with one hand, its broken axle groaning. Borin's jaw dropped.

"You… you'd do that?" Borin stammered, overwhelmed. "Travel with us to Stonehaven?"

Kaito nodded. He had no other plan. No destination. These were the first people he'd met who hadn't tried to kill him. Plus… Elara. *Stop it, Kaito.* "I need to learn about this world. Stonehaven sounds like a start."

Relief washed over Borin's face. "A blessing indeed! We'll guide you, lad. Share what we know. Elara knows her letters, she can tell you tales of the land."

As Kaito efficiently began vanishing sacks of grain and crates into his infinite inventory (eliciting gasps each time), his mind raced. `<< TITLE: The Apex Virgin >>` the system reminded him mockingly. He glanced at Elara, who was watching his display with open wonder. *Talk to a girl, Aurelia said. Yeah. Easier said than done when you're basically a walking god-weapon with the social skills of a stunned otter.*

While Kaito focused on packing, far from the clearing, the bandit leader, Garv, crashed through the undergrowth, fueled by terror. He finally stumbled into a small, hidden camp – a rough fire pit, bedrolls, and two more rough-looking men sharpening blades.

"Garv? What in the Seven Hells?" one growled, seeing his leader's ashen face and empty scabbard.

Garv collapsed by the fire, gasping. "Monster," he choked out. "On the West Road… looks like a man… young… soft…"

"Monster? Did the old man land a lucky blow?" the other bandit sneered.

Garv shook his head violently, eyes wide with remembered horror. "Sword… my sword… hit his head… like hitting a mountain! Didn't even blink! Then…" He mimed crumpling something. "Shattered it! Like glass! With his *hand*! Just… shattered it!" He shuddered. "Told us to leave… voice… like stones grinding… felt it in my bones. Ran. Had to run."

The two bandits exchanged skeptical glances. "Shattered steel? With his hand? You hit your head, Garv."

"No! I swear by the Dark Below!" Garv insisted, his voice raw. "He's out there! A monster wearing a man's skin! We need to warn the others! Warn the Black Talons in Stonehaven! Something… something *wrong* walks the roads!"

The skepticism lingered, but the raw terror in Garv's eyes was undeniable. A seed of unease was planted. The legend of the unbreakable man, born in a pathetic bathtub death on Earth, had taken its first, shaky steps into the world of Terra Nova. Kaito, blissfully unaware of the terrified rumors already sprouting like poisonous mushrooms, finished storing the last crate, ready to walk towards Stonehaven, carrying the impossible weight of his power and the crushing burden of being the Apex Virgin. His journey, awkward and world-breaking, had truly begun.

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