Time: Subjective 1 year after the catastrophe.
Location: Where "Stone Age" and "Modern" worlds collide (permanent snow zone).
Kenji was no longer the foolish gamer from three weeks ago. Over the course of one year (though it was only a few days in real time, 12 months had passed for his brain), devouring the souls of hundreds of creatures, hunger, and constant cold had transformed his body.
His face was now covered with a thin beard, and his eyes sparkled like those of nocturnal predators even in daylight. His clothes were no longer the old cyber-armor and torn samurai pants, but rough and durable clothing he'd crafted himself from the thick hide of an "Arctic Ogre."
Kenji's movements were agile and precise even without system commands. He'd already realized he didn't need a "button" to activate skills like "Shadow Step" and "Lightning Speed." He simply commanded his body "Faster!" and his muscles would respond. Now it wasn't a skill, it was instinct.
He moved through the ruins of a fallen skyscraper. Despite the surroundings being covered in snow and ice, in the distance, several kilometers away, the flames of a volcano were visible.
"Wonderful climate," Kenji said in a low, cold tone. His sarcasm remained, but it was no longer humorous—it had taken on a dark and sharp edge. "Arctic on one side, equator on the other. This world is more sick than playable."
His attention was drawn to a strange sound coming from inside a shop building below.
His hunting instinct awakened.
Target: Royal Swordsman (from Medieval server). This was a mid-level creature with strong armor and most importantly, rare loot—"Titan Steel." Kenji needed this steel to build a hiding place or reinforce his weapons.
Kenji stood quietly and extended his hand. Not in his imagination, but in the deepest part of his brain, a command resonated: "Dragon Fang! Quietly!"
As the sword appeared in the air, Kenji immediately suppressed its power so it wouldn't emit bright light. This sword was no longer just a weapon, it was an organic part of his body.
He climbed onto the building's roof. Below stood a Swordsman in knight's armor, but carrying a laser rifle in his hands (the genre mixing showed itself once again).
"A swordsman with a rifle," Kenji muttered. "Aren't you tired of trampling legends, creatures?"
Kenji jumped from the height. His body made no sound through the snow. His falling speed was faster than the knight's reaction time.
SLASH!
Kenji shattered the knight's laser rifle with his sword in one blow.
The knight stepped back in surprise. Just as he was about to draw his sword, Kenji struck at the neck area of his armor—the weak point in the system.
WHOOSH!
The knight screamed. Without stopping the strike, Kenji twisted the sword again and drove the entire head into the armor.
The knight crashed to the ground with a thud. White-silver mist rose from his body and seeped into Kenji.
Again that familiar energy wave. Again the strengthening of muscles.
Kenji examined the knight's dead body. He only took the piece of Titan Steel, leaving everything else—the disgusting green-colored flesh and rotten skin. He no longer ate food to survive; he only hunted for power.
Returning to his hidden cave in the mountain, Kenji sat before burning tree branches. He attempted to process the metal.
It was a tedious process. In the game, you'd simply press the [Craft] button. Now flattening the iron, heating it, processing it... all of this required time.
He closed his eyes from exhaustion and for a moment his mind wandered.
He saw Aira in his mind's eye.
Aira's face, her laughter. Her gentle voice saying "Kenji, shall we have tea?"
Kenji opened his eyes from sharp pain.
"No!" He shook his head. "Don't weaken!"
He constantly reminded himself now: This world is not a dream. Here weakness equals death. To find Aira, I must be strong. Only strong.
He was forced to forget his old cheerful character. In years of solitude, the sarcasm remaining from his gamer days had become his only shield, but concepts like sincerity and affection were gradually freezing over.
He now needed to learn to attack magically with the 4 elements (Fire, Water, Earth, Air). But the system interfered with this.
Kenji stood up. He extended his hand into the air and imagined intensely: "Water! Ice! Create!"
He wanted to summon one powerful element from the ground, for example, a pillar of ice.
The veins on his forehead bulged. The power accumulated from the souls he'd devoured boiled up within his body.
Sizzle!
In Kenji's palm appeared merely a single drop of water. That water froze in the air, turning into a small, transparent piece of ice.
After one second, the ice melted away.
Kenji collapsed, panting. His entire body, especially his brain, hurt terribly.
"One drop..." he said. "One drop of ice in one year. This is too slow."
He understood: summoning weapons was simply memory and willpower. But summoning magic was rewriting the laws of nature. The power (XP) he'd devoured increased his Capability, but not his Logic. He still didn't understand the physics of magic.
"Well then, Kenji," he said, addressing himself again. "Good. This means for 80 years I'll perfect physical training and the art of weapons. We'll learn magic later. As I defeat enemies and accumulate power, this one drop of ice... will gradually become a river."
Kenji looked at the sword in his hand. Cold and resolute energy emanated from it.
A new idea appeared on his face. He decided that in this world, he wouldn't be a mage, but rather a sarcastic "Sword God" who mastered the combat arts of all eras and feared no death.
He left the cave and headed toward the snowy hills. There lay the most dangerous border between the "Stone Age" and "Space Wars" servers. He needed to hunt stronger mobs.