He sat in the center of his room, on the tattered tatami mats. The darkness was almost total, broken only by the faint bioluminescence of some mushrooms in the outer garden filtering through the slits of the rice paper, painting the room with spots of sickly blue.Ryuu reviewed the knowledge implanted in his brain one last time.*Muscle Reconstruction via Mana.*The process required absolute precision. Mana was a capricious force: it struck like a sledgehammer against sudden pressure, but flowed like liquid silk when guided with patience."Flow follows tension." Ryuu stood up, his muscles still rigid from the vigil.He took off his upper kimono, exposing his torso to the cold night air. His body was pitiful; ribs showing, arms like dry branches.Ryuu stood up, separating his legs beyond shoulder width. He bent his knees until his thighs began to burn, keeping his torso upright as a rod. In front of his navel, he curved his arms in a circular gesture, with his palms facing each other as if protecting an invisible sphere of heat.He had to "recompose" an external circuit before inserting it.He began to move his arms slowly, tracing concentric circles. With each rotation, he forced small amounts of mana through his pores, weaving bluish threads that clung to his skin. He breathed in counts of four: inhale, hold, tense, exhale.
*One. Two. Three. Four.*
With each *tense*, the energy web became denser, a second skin that vibrated against his hair and made the back of his neck prickle. He loaded his body like a spring about to snap.
Now came the suicidal part. Imploding that web inwards."System." Sweat already beaded on his forehead from the effort of holding the stance. "Initiate the reconstruction."
**[Do you wish to activate "Muscle Reconstruction via Mana"?]****[Warning: Success rate under uncontrolled conditions is 14%.]****[Passive skill "Pain Nullification" detected. Systemic shock risk is critical.]**
"Initiate," he ordered through gritted teeth.
[Passive Skill: Pain Nullification - Filtering extreme fatigue signals][Warning: Sensory nullification eliminates the pain signal, not physical damage. The user can still die from systemic shock or organ failure.]"I know."He broke the stance abruptly, bringing his hands together in front of his chest in a dull clap. He interlaced his fingers like claws.
"Injection!"
The mana web collapsed, sinking inwards. Millions of microscopic needles of blue light sought out his pores simultaneously, claiming the flesh.
His arms swelled instantly. The veins stood out against his pale skin like blue snakes trying to escape. "Pain Nullification" filtered the scream that would have torn his throat apart, but it couldn't hide the sound: the wet crunch of muscles breaking and reorganizing by force.
The skin turned from red to purple in seconds. Capillaries burst beneath the surface, spreading bruises that drew a map of agony.
*Crac. Cric.*Sounds both wet and dry at once. The sound of flesh giving way and reorganizing by force.His arms were a clinical map of agony. The skin turned red, then purple. Capillaries burst beneath the surface, spreading bruises in seconds.
[Massive Physical Damage Detected.][Muscle Integrity (Arms): 45% and dropping.][HP: 65/80]
"More." He changed the position of his hands, inverting the seal. Thumbs pointing toward his own sternum. He pushed the mana toward his torso.His ribcage creaked under the tension of spasms. His body arched backward in an unnatural arc, his head touching the floor, his back lifted. A full-body convulsion shook him, induced by the electrical overload in his nervous system.His figure writhed in absolute silence, eyes fixed on nothingness as his body bruised and swelled to the point of bursting.[HP: 40/80][Shock Alert. Critical heart rate.]"Not yet," Ryuu thought. His mind floated above the disaster, observing from above as the avatar broke apart.He had to complete the circuit. The legs. The foundation.From his position on the floor, he stretched his legs rigid and pointed his toes forward, closing the flow cycle.He directed the final torrent of mana toward his thighs and calves.*SNAP!*Something broke for real this time. A tendon or a minor bone insertion gave way under the sudden contraction of an overloaded quadriceps. His right leg twisted at an ugly angle.[HP: 15/80][MP: 0/150]The fuel was gone. Ryuu's body collapsed onto the tatami, a rag of throbbing flesh and stressed bone. He was broken. Completely destroyed.Now came the regeneration. The broken tissue was fertile soil."System. Assisted Regeneration. Consume my remaining vitality if necessary. Prioritize structure."[Command accepted.][Initiating reconstruction protocol...][Insufficient resources. Consuming fat reserves and non-essential tissue.]Hunger hit Ryuu like a hammer blow.An absolute cellular voracity consumed him, like an animal in winter whose stomach attempts to digest itself.His body began to heat up. Steam rose from his pores, a white mist in the bluish room.The bruises on his arms faded, changing from purple to yellow and then to new skin in a matter of minutes. The muscles, previously flaccid and broken, tightened into dense, compact forms, like braided steel cables under the skin. The fibers aligned, optimized by the System for maximum efficiency, ignoring aesthetics. The twisted leg snapped back, realigning itself with a dry, disgusting sound.Ryuu tried to move, but paralysis from exhaustion pinned him to the floor. The regeneration consumed every ounce of energy. His consciousness flickered.[Body Integrity Restored: 98%][New Physical Attribute Detected.][Strength +2][Constitution +3][You have acquired a Minor Resistance: Internal Damage Tolerance.][Achievement Unlocked: Architect of Flesh][Reward: 50 SP][System Shop Unlocked: Current Balance 80 SP]
Ryuu smiled weakly before the darkness claimed him.Ryuu had replaced traditional training with a brutal dissection and reassembly. His body no longer sought aesthetics, but pure function; a utilitarian tool forged in agony.***"Wake up, trash!"The shout arrived accompanied by a bucket of ice water.Ryuu sat up abruptly, gasping for air.He was soaked. The morning sun entered through the open door, blinding. In front of him, Takeshi held the empty bucket, with a grimace of disgust."You smell like death," Takeshi said, covering his nose. "Did you shit yourself while sleeping?"Ryuu looked at himself. A dry crust of old blood and black sweat covered him, toxins expelled during reconstruction. He smelled of iron and ammonia.But beneath the filth... the difference was palpable.He clenched his fist. The tendons in his forearm stood out, sharp and hard. Residual pain was absent. He felt only compressed power, a new spring waiting to be released.[Name: Ryuu Oboro][Rank: F (Level 1)][HP: 85/85] (Increased by Constitution)[Strength: 6 (Previously 4) - Level of an athletic child][Agility: 7 (Previously 7)][Constitution: 6 (Previously 3) - You have ceased to be an invalid]He had doubled his durability in one night.Ryuu looked up at his brother. The system interface floated above Takeshi's head.[Takeshi Oboro][Threat Level: Medium-High for current user]Yesterday, the threat level was "Deadly". Today, it had dropped to "Medium-High"."Clean yourself up," Takeshi ordered, kicking him in the shin.Takeshi's foot connected.*Thud.*A dull, dry impact, like hitting a bag of hard sand.Takeshi frowned slightly, withdrawing his foot. Ryuu remained motionless."Five minutes," Takeshi growled, turning around. "Today I won't be kind with the cane. Dad expects us for breakfast after training. If you vomit in the dojo, you don't eat."Ryuu stood up slowly. Hunger roared in his stomach, an acidic and painful void demanding to be filled. But time pressed."Five minutes," Ryuu muttered, taking off his dirty clothes. "Enough."His body absorbed the sunlight avidly, but it needed matter. The reconstruction had taken a heavy toll. He would survive the training on an empty stomach to earn his place at the family table.He looked at himself in the polished bronze mirror.The child in the reflection was still thin, almost skeletal in appearance. But the eyes... the eyes were those of a predator that had just discovered its claws.Today, class would be different.