The first week in the forge was a brutal, humbling grind. For all the genius I'd stolen, my body was still a pathetic collection of low-level stats. I spent days just cleaning, my muscles screaming in protest as I scrubbed away decades of industrial grime and chased out families of very territorial rats. Every swing of a broom, every lifted box, was an agonizing workout.
But it was a workout with rewards.
[Through strenuous physical activity, Physical Training (Passive) Lvl. 1 -> Lvl. 2!]
[STR +1, CON +1]
It was maddeningly slow. After the instant, intoxicating rush of absorbing a genius's entire mind, this felt like trying to fill an ocean with an eyedropper. The feeling of seeing myself grow, of watching those numbers tick up, was addicting. And this... this was the opposite of a fix. My frustration mounted with every pathetic point gained. This wasn't how it was supposed to work.
The Gamer... he didn't have to do this. He had a cheat. An ultimate grinding room on demand.
I stood in the center of the dusty concrete floor, my body aching, my patience worn thin. The desire for that sweet, sweet progress, for a flood of notifications and level-ups, became an overwhelming need. I took a deep breath, focusing all my desire for power, for progress, into a single command I prayed the system would recognize.
"CREATE ID!" I roared, the sound exploding in the cavernous space, startling a pigeon on a nearby rafter and rattling a loose pane of glass in its frame.
The moment the words left my mouth, a triumphant chime echoed in my mind, far louder than the usual notifications.
[Through a specific, forceful vocalization, the Skill Shout (Basic) has been created!]
[Shout (Basic) Lvl. 1]: (Active) Can amplify vocal projection to stunning levels. (Passive) Permanently deepens vocal tone and resonance.]
[Passive Effect Applied: CHA +10!]
[Command 'Create ID' failed. Prerequisite skill [Dungeon Creation] not found.]
I blinked, stunned. "I got a skill... for yelling?" I cleared my throat, intending to speak at a normal volume. "Testing."
The voice that came out was not the one I was used to. It was deeper, richer, with a baseline of authority that simply hadn't been there before. A low chuckle rumbled in my new chest cavity.
"Well, what do you know," I mused, the sound vibrating pleasantly. "Watch out, Blackagar Boltagon. I'm coming for that throne."
"So no magic monster closet for me. Not yet, anyway," I sighed, but the disappointment was already fading, replaced by analysis. "Now that I think about it, Jihan Han had Gaia's help to get that skill off the ground, didn't he? I don't have to worry, though. There are other ways to get a private training ground in this reality. I'm pretty sure the Mirror Dimension works on a similar principle, just with more... geometric weirdness." A confident smirk touched my lips. "And besides, if Jihan Han had Gaia, I have my lovely Raphael."
Raphael's voice replied, and I could feel a sense of warmth in her tone.
The plan shifted. If I couldn't rely on a system shortcut, I'd have to rely on my own stolen genius. I needed to build my digital empire, and for that, I needed the ultimate tool.
Guided by Raphael's strategy, I put my new hacking skills to the test. First, Raphael located a defunct shell corporation in Delaware. With a few elegant lines of code, I resurrected it, creating a phantom CEO and board of directors. Next, I used my cryptocurrency to purchase Monero, a far more private digital currency.
Then, the hunt began. We ordered components from a dozen different suppliers across the globe. Each order was placed by our ghost corporation, paid for with Monero, and shipped to a different secure, short-term rental locker in the New York area. It was a dizzying, complex shell game of logistics and data forgery.
Over the next two weeks, I became a courier, collecting my high-tech contraband. Slowly, the components for the server filled my workshop. The assembly was a work of art, a symphony of soldering and coding. I christened its custom-built OS "Synapse.
[Through a specific action, the Skill Crafting (Basic) has been created!]
[Through repeated application, Electrical Engineering (Master) Lvl. 67 -> Lvl. 68!]
Finally, the moment came. The server rack stood in the center of the workshop, a sleek, black monolith humming with latent power. I flipped the main breaker. The lights dimmed for a second, and then a low, resonant hum filled the space. On the main monitor, a stylized neuron pulsed with soft blue light.
I ran a hand over the cool metal of the server rack. "Welcome home, Raphael."
"And what's our first job?" I asked, pulling up a chair.
My fingers hovered over the keyboard. I logged into the Synapse, my digital presence a ghost slipping through the infinite wires of the world. I bypassed their firewall in under a minute, found the vulnerability, and patched the exploit. I left a simple text file on the desktop of their Head of Security.
It read:
"Your network is vulnerable. Your entire client database could have been copied and sold in the last 60 seconds. The exploit has now been patched.
My consultation fee for this service is $50,000, payable in Monero to the attached address.
Consider it the best investment you'll make this year.
The Digital Ghost."
I hit 'Enter'. A small notification appeared on my screen: [Message Sent].
I leaned back in my chair, the hum of the Synapse a comforting presence. The game had changed. I wasn't just surviving anymore. I was building. And the Digital Ghost had just made his first move.