After all of the chaos, I have pretty much adapted into this new world. I also wandered to find more info for three straight days. And during that time, I managed to learn a few things
The kingdom I'm in is called Midgar, and its people are too friendly. So friendly, in fact, that I got suspicious of their behavior. I felt something was wrong, but I can't prove it. They even gave me some food. I mean… I would've straight-up died from hunger tho .
Also, this kingdom's infrastructure is quite hierarchical. The Pope—or the Church—is at the center, separated by walls. Nobles are around the center, and commoners are pushed to the corners. There's no way a revolution will happen anytime soon.
As for the owner of this body, the only thing I've figured out is that he's even below the commoners—people born without any kind of experience points. I don't know what the owner was doing, maybe he was in some kind of debt, who knows.
And the main thing—magic. It's eerily similar to Java in my world. I also tried multiple ways to combine it with programming knowledge, but I kept failing. At one point, I almost gave up, but you know… I just screamed.
I fucking thought it'd be easy because the concept seemed familiar. But nah… it's damn hard.
"Aghhhhhhh…"
I shouted in frustration.
After a moment, I forced myself to calm down, running some random motivational phrases through my head. With that tiny boost, I started experimenting again. And, to my surprise—which I clearly hadn't expected—I gained experience points.
Was it really this easy, or is it easy for me because of the system?
I don't know, but I think it's time for me to check my stats.
"STAT!" I shouted.
The window popped up:
[STAT WINDOW]
Name: Ren Nishimiya
Level: 1
Experience: 1 / ??
Knowledge Access: Basic → Expanded
Observed Magic Patterns: Limited
Mana: 100
It was my first time seeing this window; I'd completely forgotten about it. Can't really blame my short-term memory.
I looked at the stats… and, predictably, it was pathetic.
I closed it to avoid a headache. But before I could relax, my stomach growled.
"Gruhhh."
I pushed myself up and wandered around to find something to eat. Of course, I quickly found some, as the area outside the kingdom was full of fruits and berries.
I climbed several trees and gathered fruits. After hours of grinding, I finally collected enough to last a while. Now I could focus solely on combining my knowledge.
I sat on the ground, unsure how many days had passed. I wrote down almost everything I knew. I went through so many trials and errors… until one day, I finally found a way. A way to combine magic and coding.
Finally. I could actually code in this world!!
I cried the tears I'd been holding in for so long.
And the idea I came up with was very simple—but it had taken almost a week to figure out.
At its core, the logic was elegant: I could treat mana flows as asynchronous functions, spells as nested loops, and nodes as data structures I could manipulate programmatically. Map magical circuits to algorithmic logic, and I could write "programs" the world would execute.
In simple terms: magic here works like gates and circuits—connect them, and they act like an integrated system.
And the input is mana, which I still don't know how to control.
I was basking in my small victory when another thought hit me: I can't just copy-paste my world's gate logic here. Maybe I can?
I held my head in frustration… until I remembered Arc. The one and only hope to find my answer.
I checked for experience points in my stats. To my surprise, I had quite a few EXP—maybe because I researched, I guess.
And soon, I called out:
"Arc!"
A system window popped up, and a voice rang in my ears.
[So… finally, after ages, you called.]
[Do you know how much time I've spent waiting in there?]
[And I hope you've prepared enough money.]
[Knowledge requires EXP. Certain levels cost more.]
I nodded quickly. "Tell me how magic works. Show me the layout and how to perform it."
[Ah… that? 10 EXP.]
"Just give me the damn info. I want it."
[As you wish. My pleasure.]
I paid the price, and the system laid out all the info. I skimmed through it, realizing I could recheck everything later via the stat window. Really useful—even if my EXP bar was now zero.
But it didn't matter. I finally had what I needed.
Magic wasn't much different from logical gates—the underlying mechanics were similar—but the patterns were completely different. I quickly figured out the NOR and XOR equivalents and started laying out circuits in my mind.
One thing was certain: I could finally write code here.
To connect circuits, I had to write sequences and then decipher them into magical glyphs. I swore I wished I had my computer here—it would've been so much faster.
After that, I experimented with different elements using the circuits I'd designed. Surprisingly, I grasped all the basics in just an hour.
"Damn… I thought it'd take forever, but I got it too quick. It feels like cheating though."
But my theory was useless without practice. I needed results.
So I went hunting for a sacrificial lamb and soon found one: some weird, gooey beast wobbling around. I had no idea what it was called—never bothered watching isekai in my old life—and now I regretted it.
Still, a test subject was a test subject.
"Please forgive me, you cute little creature."
Woggle.
I inhaled, raised my hand, and muttered:
"…Fireball!!"
The air started to accumulate around my arms. I focused my mana as the air started to warm up. Heat surged against my skin, and then the air ignited in my hands. A blazing orb formed around my palm—it glowed like a small condensed sun.
"What? Just this much?" I sighed in disbelief, but I launched it.
As soon as that small condensed ball shot forward, it tore through the air in a straight line. It struck the beast, detonating into roaring flames. Everything in its path was incinerated. The air blazed around, creating a crater.
I froze. Breath caught. Cold sweat dripped down my neck.
"I… how… what… wtf."
But before I could process it, my chest tightened. My vision wavered. A heavy chill spread through my limbs, and I felt like something was empty inside me. My knees buckled. Before I could regain my senses, the darkness swallowed me.
When I came to, it was already night. I was lying on the ground, dazed and weak.
"What the hell happened? Aghhh…"
I tried to stand up, but my body ached like it was coursing with current.
I opened my stat window to check and soon noticed something unusual:
[Status Effect: Mana Fatigue]
The user suffers paralysis and extreme exhaustion due to overuse of mana.
"Ohh, that's why. I used up all my mana."
"Bruhhhh…"
And just like that, I lost consciousness again and collapsed.
The next time I woke up, it was already day. I had recovered my mana, and thankfully I was able to stand.
After that I spent weeks—maybe even a whole month—just experimenting and increasing my mana capacity. I even managed to master a few magic tricks and elements. I trained my body too, since that was the only way I could increase my stamina.
It was harsh. Too harsh.
For a nobody who never exercised in his whole life, and with this new body being so weak, I thought it would at least assist me. But I was grateful for one thing: I could now code here. Not the same kind of coding as before, but acceptable.
Magic was fun, I guess.
I stood up from the ground and prepared myself—it was time to move.
I washed my face and body in a nearby river, then went through the city gates.
I tried to find a guild so I could register my name, but ended up wandering and wandering… only to get lost.
I don't want to admit it, but I was lost.
I lowered my head in sadness, but to my luck, I overheard someone talking about a guild. Like a stalker, I followed them and successfully reached the place.
"…"
I could've just asked them, tho.
Ugh, whatever, who cares.
I walked up to the reception and asked a girl who looked… different.
Ruby red eyes, shining black hair, and a death stare.
She smiled at me.
"…"
Why am I sensing a killing intent?
I gulped and forced a smile back.
"Ahhh, I want to register as an adventurer."
She smiled at me again and handed me a form.
But it felt like someone was holding a scythe right below my neck.
I looked at her, cold sweat dripping down my back, and quickly picked up the form to fill. Then I moved as far away from the counter as possible.
Why was she staring at me like that?
Did I do something to offend her?
I glanced back, and she was still smiling back in my direction.
A chill ran down my spine and I whipped my head forward.
My hands trembled as I filled out the information.
Then she asked me how much EXP I had. Thanks to all the training and suffering, I had accumulated around 50 EXP points, so I told her.
She looked at me, then smiled again.
"Okay, please put your hand on this ball."
I placed my hand on it, and it shone.
My EXP points and mana capacity became visible, and then she handed me a card.
"This is your pass."
I looked at it.
[Name: Ren Nishimiya]
[Commoner]
[Rank: E]
And my reaction was nothing, as I already knew what my rank would be. I sighed and moved on to the mission board.
There were multiple missions with different ranks and tasks posted on it. The danger levels were divided into S, A, B, C, D, E, and F ranks.
Purely confident in my abilities, I took on a D-rank mission.
Because of that, I got quite a lot of stares from the people around me, as if I had just decided my own death.
I just ignored them and walked out of the guild.
An hour later, I reached the designated place.
My mission was to hunt a Demonic Howl — a D-rank demon prowling around this area, attacking anyone who tried to pass through. It had been creating fear and depleting the export rate of traders and merchants.
And to fight it… I had prepared nothing.
Why did I acted so dumb? I should have earned some money from smaller tasks first and bought at least a weapon or a potion.
I really did take on my own trouble.
But there's nothing I can do now. Ahh.
I sighed and moved on, heading down the path in search of the Howl.
***
It's been hours since I've been wandering around the corners of the forest.
But I still haven't found any signs of the demon.
Eyy.. Don't tell me I have to enter deep into the forest without any weapons.
Ahhhh…
~few hours earlier
Hey arc, do you know about the forest I'm going in?
[First money then talk]
Bruh really?
Kay… just take 5 exp and tell me about it
[Now you are down to business hehehe]
[So the forest you are going in is Alzfeim… yeah it ain't got a better name than this]
[So… this forest is a hub of C and D rank monsters, but they all live deep inside the forest. it's pretty rare to see a demon howl alone — they wander in groups. also give me 2 more exp for that info]
Really man… even for that
Just take it
And continue…
[So yeah, the forest is pretty dangerous inside. you might need a weapon to fight the herd of monsters. you better prepare yourself before going]
***
I really did have to go inside. Arc said it's dangerous… but I have to.
I picked up a branch and stepped into the forest.
It's really dark here…
Flash!
A bright ball of light with concentrated energy shot into the sky, brightening a small area around me.
I moved quietly, holding my breath so I wouldn't make a sound.
Quietly… quietly… I looked around, but still there was no trace of any presence.
But my gut screamed louder than my thoughts, as if something dangerous was near me.
A cold breeze flowed around me and a sudden rustle in the bushes startled me.
Hush…
Ahhhh—
Wtf was that?
I looked around.
Is this a horror movie? I want to go home…
I slapped my face.
No… not now. I've taken this task. I will complete it.
But as I moved forward, the air grew colder. My breath stuck in my throat…
As if someone was staring deep into my soul.
My light spell dissipated. I looked at it in surprise, tried to reignite it — but nothing worked. My nerves spiked.
But I didn't drop my calm. I looked around.
The darkness was immense… so intense it felt like I was standing in nothingness.
Then—
Hush… hush…
I turned my head toward the noise… only to see two crimson red dots staring straight at me.
The sound of a growl and beastly breath held my soul tight.
I looked at it tensely, preparing my weapon
It tilted its head… slowly walking toward me.
Hush… hush… hush…
I looked around, seeing more eyes staring from different places — one up in the trees, another crouched in the shredded bush.
I tried the spell again, altering the circuit structure. This time, it worked.
My light spell reignited.
And in the glow… a horrifying figure stood against me.
A demonic howl.
Crimson red eyes.
White teeth sharp like fangs.
A distorted face like dripping saliva.
Brushy hair. A stretched mouth. Torn flesh.
Flowing red energy through exposed veins.
So… I'm surrounded. I guess I have to fight multiple of them.
It's gonna be fun.