CIN POV
I had been trapped in this world for three months.
Three months.
And I hated every second of it.
Not because the jungle was filled with monsters.
Not because almost everything larger than me considered me food.
Not even because I had awakened in the body of an ant.
No.
Those problems were manageable.
The real problem arrived last night.
Players.
I crouched beneath the root of a tree large enough to resemble a mountain from my perspective, staring through the leaves at distant flashes of light.
More of them were appearing.
One after another.
Humans.
Adventurers.
Players.
Whatever you wanted to call them, they were the most terrifying creatures that could possibly enter a game world.
Not because they started strong.
They didn't.
Most of them were probably Level 1.
But players had something monsters didn't.
Potential without consequence.
Kill them?
They respawned.
Beat them?
They learned.
Hide from them?
Eventually somebody would discover you, post your location somewhere, and suddenly fifty idiots named things like xXDragonSlayer69420Xx would arrive looking for loot.
And unlike me...
Their real bodies weren't here.
Mine was.
I looked down at my six tiny legs.
"...This sucks."
A translucent screen floated before my eyes.
The only reason I hadn't died during my first week in this world was because of one advantage.
I wasn't really an ant.
I had the body of one.
But the mind?
Human.
And then, after surviving long enough, something else had awakened.
My system.
I stared toward the distant glow of the newly established player settlement.
If I waited, they would spread.
If they spread, they would explore.
If they explored...
Eventually somebody would step on me.
Literally.
I wasn't accepting that.
"System."
The interface appeared.
I didn't hesitate.
"Simulate."
DING!
[STARTING SIMULATION.]
The jungle disappeared.
SIMULATION #1
[DAY 1]
You explore farther than you ever dared to in reality.
No hostile monsters are encountered.
You discover the remains of another ant and consume it to survive.
Not glamorous.
But food was food.
[DAY 2]
You continue northeast.
No major discoveries.
[DAY 3]
No significant change.
[DAY 4]
You locate the remains of two more ants.
You eat them.
Okay.
This simulation was becoming depressing.
[DAY 5]
Then I saw it.
Buildings.
Wooden walls.
Smoke rising from chimneys.
And everywhere—
Names.
Floating above people's heads.
IronWolf
MapleMage
ChomperTheGreat
My body froze.
A village.
No.
A Novice Village.
Players laughed as they ran between NPC shops, accepted quests, compared equipment, and tried to jump onto rooftops for absolutely no reason.
Only players—and apparently me—could see the names above their heads.
Interesting.
That meant my system recognized them differently from NPCs.
I crept closer.
Too close.
A shadow fell across me.
Wait—
SQUISH.
Everything went black.
[YOU HAVE DIED.]
...
There was a long silence.
Then:
[CAUSE OF DEATH: STEPPED ON.]
"..."
Of course.
[KILLER: ChomperTheGreat.]
I was going to remember that name.
[SIMULATION REWARD CALCULATING...]
[REWARDS:]
• Size Growth ×2
• Tough Shell Experience
• Random Talent Token
My consciousness snapped back into reality.
The jungle returned.
I immediately felt it.
My body expanded.
Not enormously.
I was still tiny compared to most creatures.
But I was twice my previous size.
My shell felt slightly heavier.
Harder.
Better.
I stared toward the invisible direction of the village.
"So that's how this works."
Death inside the simulation wasn't failure.
Death was information.
And information...
became power.
I stored the Random Talent Token.
Not yet.
I wanted more.
"Again."
DING!
[STARTING SIMULATION.]
SIMULATION #2
This time, I didn't wander around like an idiot.
I hunted.
[DAY 1]
You search the forest for smaller prey.
[DAY 2]
You kill several worms and ten ants.
You consume everything.
[DAY 3]
More.
[DAY 4]
More.
[DAY 5]
More.
A strange realization settled in.
My instincts were changing.
The first time I'd killed something in this world, I'd nearly panicked.
Now?
I understood where to bite.
Where to attack.
When prey would turn.
How creatures moved before committing.
[DAY 6]
Combat experience increasing.
[DAY 7]
I was eating when the bushes moved.
Too late.
Something slammed into my back.
Pain exploded through my body.
Goblins.
Five of them.
Crude weapons.
Numbers.
Coordination.
I managed to bite through one's ankle before another spear pierced beneath my shell.
Then another.
Then another.
The world faded.
[YOU HAVE DIED.]
[REWARDS:]
• Major Size Growth
• Tough Shell Experience ×Large
• Basic Combat Intelligence
• Evolution Token
My eyes opened.
Power flooded through me.
My shell thickened.
My body expanded again.
And this time the difference was enormous.
I flexed my mandibles.
The Random Talent Token floated in my inventory beside the Evolution Token.
Players could respawn.
Players could grind.
Players could improve.
Fine.
Then I would do the same thing.
Only faster.
"Use Random Talent Token."
DING!
[RANDOM TALENT GENERATED.]
ENDLESS STOMACH
Your internal storage capacity becomes effectively limitless.
Normal food requirements are dramatically reduced.
Water remains necessary.
Consuming biological matter accelerates physical growth, recovery, and evolution.
I stared.
Then stared again.
"Oh."
That was...
absurd.
"Evolution Token."
DING!
[SELECTING COMPATIBLE EVOLUTION...]
Pain detonated across my back.
I slammed into the dirt as my exoskeleton split along several sections.
Something pushed outward.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Spikes.
Black, jagged spikes erupted across my shell.
The pain lasted nearly a minute.
Then vanished.
[EVOLUTION COMPLETE.]
SPIKED CARAPACE
Your shell has evolved defensive protrusions capable of injuring attackers on contact.
I exhaled slowly.
Then opened my status.
STATUS
Name: Cin
Race: Evolved Ant
Level: Null
Rank: Minor Beast
Talent: Endless Stomach
Skills:
• Tough Shell [+]
• Primary Physical Resistance [+]
• Primary Poison Resistance [+]
• Spiked Carapace [+]
Combat Power: 18
Not impressive.
Yet.
I smiled internally.
"Simulation."
SIMULATION #3
This time I already knew where I was going.
The Novice Village.
[DAY 1]
You travel directly toward Novice Village #347.
[DAY 2]
I didn't stop hunting.
Goblins.
Animals.
Anything I could overpower.
Everything went into the Endless Stomach.
Everything became fuel.
[DAY 3]
My simulated body grew.
Three meters.
Four.
Five.
The forest that once towered over me was becoming smaller.
[DAY 4]
A party of four players found me before I reached the village.
They stopped.
One pointed.
"Whoa! Rare monster!"
Rare monster?
A swordsman grinned.
"Free EXP!"
They charged.
That was their first mistake.
Treating me like an animal was their second.
I baited the tank forward.
Circled.
Crushed the mage first.
Killed the healer second.
The rogue tried escaping.
I ate him.
The tank lasted twelve more seconds.
His name wasn't ChomperTheGreat.
Unfortunate.
I consumed all four.
My body surged from the meal.
Seven meters.
Then more.
A surviving player had escaped before I finished him.
He ran toward the village screaming.
Perfect.
I followed.
The alarm sounded.
Players poured through the gate.
Dozens.
Then hundreds.
NPC guards formed shield lines while players organized behind them.
Tanks forward.
Damage dealers behind.
Healers protected.
It would've worked beautifully against a normal boss.
I wasn't a normal boss.
I understood what they were doing.
So I refused to fight the way they wanted.
I slammed through a building beside the defensive line.
Their formation collapsed.
I attacked healers.
Retreated when they concentrated fire.
Used buildings as cover from mages.
Forced their tanks to chase.
Ten minutes later, the village entrance had become a battlefield.
Nearly a hundred players were dead.
Several NPC guards had fallen.
And I was barely standing.
Arrows pierced my joints.
My shell was cracked.
One leg dragged uselessly.
Then I saw the bodies.
Food.
I lunged.
One corpse.
Three.
Five.
Ten.
ENDLESS STOMACH ACTIVATED.
Heat rushed through me.
My wounds tightened.
My damaged limb snapped back into position.
Cracks sealed.
Players stared.
"What the hell?!"
"IT HEALS BY EATING US!"
"STOP LETTING IT GET TO THE BODIES!"
Too late.
My size approached ten meters.
I took another step—
The world turned orange.
My instincts screamed.
I jumped.
BOOOOOOM!
A fireball larger than my body obliterated the street behind me.
The edge still caught my shell.
Pain.
Burning.
I rolled through several buildings before forcing myself upright.
A player walked through the flames.
Polished armor.
Red cloak.
A sword burning in his hand.
His username floated above him.
CRIMSON EMPEROR
He looked at the wrecked village.
Then at me.
"You've got to be kidding."
His sword ignited brighter.
"All this because of an ant?"
I charged.
He met me head-on.
My leg caught his side.
He flew through a wall.
But stood again.
Bloodied.
Angry.
Strong.
Far stronger than the others.
"Okay."
Flames exploded around his body.
"Now you've pissed me off."
I saw the skill name appear.
FIREBALL STORM
The sky turned red.
Dozens of burning spheres formed overhead.
Then they fell.
I ran.
Dodged one.
Two.
Three.
The fourth shattered my shell.
The fifth took a leg.
Then the entire world became fire.
[YOU HAVE DIED.]
[NEW RESISTANCE ACQUIRED: PRIMARY FIRE RESISTANCE.]
[REWARD CALCULATION...]
• Major Combat Experience
• Strength Increase
• Tough Shell Upgrade
• Primary Fire Resistance retained
I returned to reality.
And laughed.
Not because dying was funny.
Because I finally understood the system.
It didn't reward victory.
It rewarded progress.
Crimson Emperor had killed me.
Good.
Now I knew he existed.
Now I knew how he fought.
Now I knew what I needed.
"Again."
SIMULATION #4
I did not attack the village immediately.
That was the first improvement.
I watched.
Learned patrols.
Guard rotations.
Player habits.
Which gates received reinforcements first.
Which buildings housed healers.
Which players panicked.
Which players didn't.
I hunted while observing.
My body grew.
My strength rose.
Then I found something else.
[SKILL ACQUIRED: ENHANCED REGENERATION.]
Good.
On Day 5, I attacked.
This time the village lasted hours instead of minutes.
Not because I was weaker.
Because I was patient.
I pulled groups away.
Cut reinforcements apart.
Forced players to respawn while their allies were still fighting elsewhere.
Then Crimson Emperor arrived.
His flames were hotter.
His sword faster.
And despite everything I'd learned...
he still won.
Barely.
But barely was enough.
[YOU HAVE DIED.]
[REWARDS:]
• Greater Strength
• Advanced Fire Resistance
• Enhanced Regeneration upgraded
• Evolution Token
I used the token immediately.
DING!
EVOLUTION: ABYSSAL CARAPACE
My shell changed.
Black spread across it like ink poured into metal.
The surface compressed.
Hardened.
My spikes lengthened.
For the first time since becoming an ant, I looked at my own body and thought:
Monster.
Not bug.
Not beast.
Monster.
STATUS
Name: Cin
Race: Abyssal Ant
Size: 15 meters
Rank: Greater Beast
Talent: Endless Stomach
Skills:
• Abyssal Carapace [+]
• Enhanced Regeneration [+]
• Advanced Fire Resistance [+]
• Primary Physical Resistance [+]
• Primary Poison Resistance [+]
Combat Power: 45
Still not enough.
"Simulation."
SIMULATION #5
I hunted everything.
Goblins disappeared when they saw me.
Beasts fled.
On Day 5, I found a Titan Beetle ten times my mass.
It nearly killed me.
I ate it anyway.
On Day 9, I returned to the village.
On Day 10...
Crimson Emperor arrived.
He raised his flaming sword.
I remembered every death.
Every burn.
Every mistake.
He attacked.
I stepped through the flames.
His face changed.
"What—"
My mandibles closed around him.
CRUNCH.
I swallowed.
For several seconds, I simply stood there.
Then:
DING!
[MAJOR ENEMY DEFEATED.]
[WORLD RESPONSE UPDATED.]
YOU HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED A WORLD BOSS.
...
That wasn't good.
Day 12 proved why.
Three hundred players came for me.
Not beginners.
Raid groups.
Commanders.
Healers.
Specialized builds.
They had studied me.
Fire resistance?
They brought ice.
Regeneration?
They poisoned corpses.
Armored shell?
They targeted joints.
Intelligence?
They used decoys.
For nine hours, I killed them.
For nine hours, they came back.
Again.
And again.
And again.
That was when I finally understood the true horror of players.
It wasn't that they couldn't die.
It was that I could.
Eventually my legs gave out.
A hundred skills struck at once.
Darkness swallowed me.
[YOU HAVE DIED.]
[TITLE ACQUIRED: DEVOURER OF HEROES.]
[REWARDS:]
• Massive Strength Increase
• Advanced Combat Awareness
• Evolution Token
• Raid Boss Qualification
I opened my eyes.
"Use it."
DING!
EVOLUTION: TYRANT ANT
My body erupted in size.
Thirty meters.
My mandibles thickened until they could bite through metal.
The Abyssal Carapace layered itself across my frame like armor forged directly onto bone.
I had spent simulations learning how players fought.
Now?
I wanted to know what the real ones would do.
NOVICE VILLAGE #347
The alarm rang before I reached the walls.
Players gathered in the plaza.
Hundreds.
Their confidence lasted until my silhouette appeared between the trees.
A massive shadow spread across the village.
One archer lowered his bow.
"...That's the ant?"
Another player laughed nervously.
"That isn't an ant. That's a raid."
Then the system spoke.
WORLD EVENT ALERTTYRANT ANT — CINHAS DECLARED WAR ON NOVICE VILLAGE #347.DEFEND YOUR HOME.
I charged.
The outer barricade disappeared beneath one leg.
Warriors flew.
Spells exploded against my shell.
Arrows shattered.
Players screamed.
And somewhere in the chaos, I heard it.
"HE ONE-SHOTTED THE TANKS!"
Good.
Crimson Emperor appeared near the center of the village.
So he existed outside the simulation too.
His sword ignited.
"FORMATIONS!"
Players moved.
"Tanks front! Ranged DPS on joints! Mages, debuffs! Healers spread out!"
Exactly like before.
I almost felt disappointed.
Then I changed the pattern.
I smashed sideways through the market.
Turned.
Attacked their backline.
Crushed the healers.
A tank raised his shield.
My mandibles closed around him.
Metal screamed.
Then broke.
I swallowed him.
My cracked shell began repairing itself.
Silence.
Someone whispered:
"...It heals."
Another player shouted:
"IT HEALS BY EATING PEOPLE!"
Crimson Emperor stared at me.
Understanding replaced anger.
"This thing isn't following boss AI."
No.
I wasn't.
His sword erupted in flame.
He charged.
I turned toward him.
For the first time, I spoke to a player outside the simulations.
"You again."
Everything stopped.
Crimson Emperor nearly stumbled.
Players stared.
One mage slowly lowered her staff.
"...It talks?"
I lunged.
Crimson Emperor swung.
I knew the angle.
I knew the timing.
I knew the fire.
My shell deflected the blade.
My spiked leg pierced his armor.
His eyes widened.
"No way—"
I lifted him.
"You burned me once."
His sword slipped from his hand.
"But never again."
My mandibles closed.
And Crimson Emperor disappeared.
The players broke.
Some ran.
Some screamed.
Some simply stared.
Then—
BOOM.
Something struck my face.
The world spun.
I crashed through three buildings.
My instincts erupted.
Danger.
Not player.
Not ordinary NPC.
Something else.
A man walked through the dust.
Simple clothes.
Heavy arms.
No magical armor.
No ridiculous weapon.
Just fists.
A label appeared.
ROLAND THE INDOMITABLEGUARDIAN OF NOVICE VILLAGE #347
Players stared.
"The blacksmith?!"
Roland rolled one shoulder.
"You've done enough."
He vanished.
His fist hit my carapace.
BOOM!
Pain.
Real pain.
I slid backward.
Before I stabilized, Roland grabbed one mandible.
Then the other.
My eyes widened.
"No—"
He lifted me.
Thirty meters of monster.
Lifted.
Then slammed me into the ground.
CRAAAAASH!
The entire village jumped.
I attacked with four legs.
He dodged all four.
Punch.
A dent appeared in my shell.
Punch.
Another.
Punch.
CRACK.
Pain spread through my chest.
Players cheered.
I barely heard them.
I was analyzing him.
No spells.
No flashy abilities.
No weapon.
Just horrifying physical power and technique.
He attacked again.
I couldn't win.
Not like this.
My system chimed.
[EXTREME COMBAT THREAT DETECTED.]
[EMERGENCY SIMULATION AVAILABLE.]
My eyes narrowed.
"Do it."
DING!
The world stopped.
Roland's fist froze inches from my face.
EMERGENCY SIMULATION
I fought him.
Died.
Again.
Fought differently.
Died.
Again.
Changed my center of gravity.
Better.
Still died.
Again.
Day 3.
A system prompt appeared.
[CURRENT BODY STRUCTURE LIMITS COMBAT APPLICATION.]
Yes.
I knew.
My size gave me strength but ruined precision.
I needed hands.
Balance.
Dexterity.
Not just bigger legs.
I needed—
A different shape.
[EVOLUTION PATH DISCOVERED.]
HYBRID TYRANT
The simulation continued.
My body changed.
Six legs reorganized.
My torso rose.
Two primary limbs became clawed arms.
Secondary limbs folded closer to my armored frame.
My mandibles shortened enough to stop interfering with vision.
I became smaller.
Denser.
Faster.
Still monstrous.
But no longer merely an animal.
Day 7.
Roland punched.
I blocked.
For the first time.
Day 8.
I landed a hit.
Day 9.
I survived.
Day 10.
[EVOLUTION CONDITION SATISFIED.]
[EMERGENCY SIMULATION COMPLETE.]
Reality resumed.
Roland's fist moved the final inch.
My body changed.
Thirty meters collapsed inward.
Armor shifted.
Limbs twisted.
Muscle condensed.
His punch landed—
And I caught it.
Roland's eyes widened.
My new claw wrapped around his fist.
"...Impossible."
I rose onto two legs.
Taller than him.
Black armor.
Six crimson eyes.
A mouth beneath shortened mandibles.
I smiled.
"No."
I tightened my grip.
"It's evolution."
I slammed him into the earth.
Once.
Twice.
The second impact shattered something beneath the village.
Not stone.
Something else.
A pulse of blue light erupted from underground.
Roland's expression changed instantly.
For the first time...
fear.
"Idiot!"
Cracks of light spread beneath us.
The village hadn't been built here randomly.
Something ancient was buried underneath it.
A gate.
A portal.
A sealed object Roland had apparently spent years guarding.
And I had just broken it.
Space split open.
A black-blue vortex formed behind me.
The pull was immediate.
I dug my claws into the ground.
Roland staggered upright.
He saw the opening.
So did I.
"Don't."
He punched.
I lost my grip.
The portal swallowed me.
The last thing I saw was Roland standing beside the ruined village.
Then—
Darkness.
UNKNOWN LOCATION
Waves.
That was the first thing I heard.
Waves.
The second thing was screaming.
I opened my eyes.
Sand clung to my armor.
No forest.
No Novice Village.
No players.
The air smelled like salt.
I pushed myself upright.
My Hybrid Tyrant body stood roughly three meters tall now, its power condensed into something far more efficient than my original giant form.
System?
Nothing.
Still there.
Good.
Then somebody screamed again.
I turned.
Humans.
Several wore iron collars.
Chains linked their wrists.
Guards pushed them forward along the coast.
At the center of the group walked an obese man wearing extravagant clothing and a transparent bubble around his head.
A girl collapsed.
Maybe twelve.
A guard kicked her.
"Move."
She didn't resist.
That bothered me.
I'd watched players scream while I ate them.
I'd watched goblins fight while dying.
I'd watched animals claw until their final breath.
But these people?
They looked empty.
Like somebody had already convinced them they were dead.
My claws dug into the sand.
I walked toward them.
The ground trembled.
A guard turned.
"What the hell is that?"
The noble looked irritated.
"Kill it."
One man drew a sword.
I crossed the distance before he completed the movement.
My claws struck.
He fell.
The others froze.
The noble's face twisted.
"Do you know who I am?!"
"No."
He puffed himself up despite trembling.
"I am a World Noble! A Celestial Dragon! You filthy creature should kneel before—"
My foot landed.
The sand cratered.
He didn't finish.
The slaves stared at me.
So did the surviving guards.
Nobody moved.
I looked toward the chained girl.
"Why didn't you fight?"
She flinched.
"I..."
Her voice barely existed.
"We can't."
I looked at the broken body beneath my foot.
Then back at her.
"Everyone can."
Distant cannons answered me.
Marine ships appeared on the horizon.
Wonderful.
New world.
Same problems.
ONE HOUR LATER
Three Marine vessels were burning.
I stood on the remains of the fourth.
Cannons had been disappointing.
Rifles worse.
Officers somewhat better.
I had learned plenty, though.
This world's fighters used something strange.
Some sensed attacks before they happened.
Others hardened their bodies.
My system had begun recording both phenomena.
Then sunlight gathered on the broken mast.
A man appeared inside it.
Tall.
Yellow-striped suit.
Sunglasses.
Hands in his pockets.
He looked over the wreckage.
Then at me.
"Ooh..."
His voice was absurdly relaxed.
"You've made quite the mess."
Every surviving Marine reacted instantly.
"ADMIRAL KIZARU!"
Admiral.
So this one mattered.
Kizaru tilted his head.
"They told me some enormous insect killed a World Noble."
His gaze moved over my condensed form.
"Mmm. Smaller than expected."
Danger screamed through every instinct I possessed.
Roland had triggered it.
Crimson Emperor had triggered it.
This?
This was worse.
Kizaru raised one finger.
Light gathered at the tip.
I moved.
A beam passed where my head had been.
The ship behind me exploded.
My eyes narrowed.
Fast.
Very fast.
Kizaru smiled lazily.
"Ooh. You dodged."
Then he disappeared.
Pain erupted through my side.
I hit the ocean hard enough to skip across the surface before crashing into another wreck.
I hadn't seen the kick.
Not properly.
Light gathered again.
My instincts screamed left.
I moved left.
A beam tore through my shoulder instead of my skull.
My regeneration activated.
Kizaru watched the wound close.
"Hm?"
I attacked.
My claws crossed his chest.
Nothing.
His body became light.
My arm passed straight through.
My eyes widened.
Kizaru leaned closer.
"That's dangerous."
His finger touched my chest.
"Too bad."
BOOM.
Light swallowed me.
When I emerged from the explosion, half my frontal armor was cracked.
I regenerated.
Slower this time.
I understood.
Couldn't touch him.
Couldn't match his speed.
Couldn't trade attacks forever.
Good.
Finally.
A problem.
Kizaru became light again.
My eyes tracked him.
Failed.
Kick.
Block too late.
Another.
I predicted.
Still too slow.
Another.
This time...
I moved before he appeared.
His foot missed my head.
Kizaru's expression changed slightly.
Interesting.
My system chimed.
[UNKNOWN SENSORY PRINCIPLE DETECTED.]
[OBSERVATION-TYPE ABILITY COMPATIBILITY: HIGH.]
So that's what it was.
Not seeing faster.
Feeling intent earlier.
I focused.
Kizaru raised his finger.
Danger.
Not from the finger.
Above.
I jumped.
A beam crossed beneath me.
Better.
His eyes narrowed.
"Oh?"
Again.
Again.
Again.
Every attack taught me.
Every injury corrected me.
Observation wasn't complete.
But it was forming.
The second problem remained.
Touching him.
I remembered the Marines who had hardened their fists.
That strange invisible pressure.
Armor without armor.
Will made physical.
I compressed everything into one claw.
Kizaru appeared.
I swung.
My hand passed through his face.
Almost.
Something had resisted.
Kizaru noticed too.
His smile faded by a fraction.
I tried again.
Failure.
Again.
Closer.
Again.
The system screamed.
[ARMAMENT PRINCIPLE DETECTED.]
Black spread across one claw.
Barely.
A thin coating.
Kizaru's eyes sharpened.
I attacked.
He tried becoming light.
My claw touched his cheek.
A line of blood appeared.
Silence.
Every Marine nearby stopped breathing.
Kizaru reached up.
Touched the blood.
Looked at his finger.
Then at me.
His usual lazy expression remained.
But his eyes didn't.
"Well now..."
Light exploded around him.
"That's troublesome."
The next attack nearly killed me.
The battle moved across the sea.
Ships shattered.
Mangroves splintered.
I learned.
Kizaru adapted too.
That mattered.
He wasn't a training dummy.
Once he realized I grew from repetition, he changed rhythm.
Delayed attacks.
False movements.
Attacks from reflection angles.
Wide barrages instead of single strikes.
My Observation improved.
My Armament thickened.
But the gap remained.
I could threaten him now.
I could hurt him.
That didn't mean I could beat him.
Not yet.
Then the ocean froze.
I landed on solid ice.
Cold spread beneath my feet.
A man stood in the distance.
Tall.
Dark clothing.
Sleepy expression.
Frost curling from his breath.
Kizaru glanced sideways.
"Took you long enough, Kuzan."
The newcomer stared at the destroyed fleet.
Then at me.
His expression lost its laziness.
"So that's it."
Two.
My instincts screamed louder.
Kuzan placed one hand against the ice.
Cold erupted everywhere.
I jumped.
Ice followed.
Kizaru appeared above me.
Kick.
I blocked.
Kuzan froze my legs.
I broke free.
Kizaru fired.
I dodged.
Kuzan was already there.
His fist slammed into my chest.
Ice crawled across my armor.
For the first time since arriving in this world...
I was being hunted properly.
Hours passed.
My regeneration slowed.
Energy burned.
The Endless Stomach contained food, but healing from wounds inflicted by two monsters consumed power faster than I could replenish it.
Light.
Ice.
Light.
Ice.
One covered the other's weaknesses.
I landed hits.
They hurt.
Neither stayed down.
Kuzan froze half my body.
I shattered free.
Kizaru blasted through my shoulder.
It regrew.
Slower.
Again.
Slower.
Eventually I fell to one knee.
Kuzan watched me carefully.
"Stay down."
I looked up.
No.
Players had crushed me.
I returned.
Goblins stabbed me.
I returned.
Crimson Emperor burned me alive.
I returned.
Roland broke my shell with his fists.
I returned.
And now these two wanted me to kneel?
Something deep inside me rejected the idea.
Not logically.
Not strategically.
It was simpler.
More primitive.
No.
The air changed.
Both Admirals stopped.
A pressure exploded from my body.
Black-red lightning ripped across the frozen sea.
Marines collapsed on distant ships.
The sky groaned.
Ice cracked beneath me.
Kuzan's eyes widened.
Kizaru stopped smiling.
I stood.
The system appeared.
[UNKNOWN WILLPOWER PHENOMENON DETECTED.]
Then corrected itself.
[CONQUEROR'S HAKI AWAKENED.]
I laughed.
Not because I had won.
I hadn't.
But because this world had just given me another direction to grow.
Kuzan looked at Kizaru.
"This thing learns too fast."
Kizaru's hands glowed.
"Mmm."
For once, his voice contained no amusement.
"Then we'd better stop teaching it."
They attacked together.
I don't know exactly how long I fought.
Eventually, time became meaningless.
Cold.
Light.
Pain.
Regeneration.
Haki.
Adapt.
Repeat.
I landed one strike on Kuzan.
Two on Kizaru.
They landed dozens.
Then hundreds.
My body failed before my mind did.
Kuzan froze me from the feet upward.
I broke the first layer.
The second reached my waist.
I shattered it.
The third reached my chest.
My regeneration slowed.
Kizaru appeared above me.
Light filled the sky.
This time I couldn't move.
"Yasakani no Magatama."
Hundreds of beams descended.
My armor broke.
My senses vanished.
And for the first time since leaving my original world...
I lost outside a simulation.
MARINE TRANSPORT — CLASSIFIED
I woke inside chains.
Many chains.
Apparently somebody had learned from the fight.
Heavy restraints covered my arms, legs, torso, claws, and neck.
Seastone cuffs had been added as well.
Interesting.
They didn't weaken me.
So I wasn't dealing with whatever powered the people of this world.
Good to know.
Unfortunately, the Marines had noticed that too.
So they'd also drugged me.
Frozen sections of my carapace.
Added massive weighted restraints.
And stationed enough soldiers around my cell to invade a small country.
My body was still healing.
Slowly.
Two familiar presences remained aboard the convoy.
Kizaru.
Kuzan.
They weren't taking chances.
Smart.
I closed my eyes.
I could escape later.
First...
I needed information.
IMPEL DOWN
The prison descended into the ocean.
Level after level.
Heat.
Cold.
Monsters.
Screams.
Prisoners watched as guards dragged me deeper.
Some laughed.
Some stared.
Nobody knew what I was.
Past Level 1.
Level 2.
Level 3.
Level 4.
Level 5.
Then lower.
The deepest floor.
LEVEL 6
The air changed.
These prisoners weren't loud because they were scared.
They were quiet because many of them didn't need to prove anything.
Killers.
Pirates.
Monsters.
Names the world apparently preferred forgotten.
A cell opened.
The Marines threw me inside.
Chains locked.
Doors closed.
Darkness returned.
A voice from another cell laughed.
"Heh."
Metal rattled somewhere nearby.
"What'd you do to get dumped down here, bug?"
Another prisoner chuckled.
"Whatever it was, the Navy looks terrified of him."
I said nothing.
I sat against the wall.
Six eyes glowed faintly in the darkness.
My system appeared.
Nobody else could see it.
[NEW ENVIRONMENT REGISTERED.][HIGH-DENSITY HOSTILE POPULATION DETECTED.][MULTIPLE HIGH-VALUE COMBAT SIGNATURES NEARBY.]
I stared.
Then smiled.
This wasn't a prison.
Not to me.
It was a training ground.
"System."
The familiar interface expanded.
"Simulate."
DING!
TWO YEARS LATER
The guards of Level 6 had developed a rumor about Cell 41.
The creature inside never moved.
Never screamed.
Never begged.
Never fought the chains.
It simply sat there.
Day after day.
Month after month.
Year after year.
Some thought the Admirals had broken it.
Others thought it was waiting to die.
They were wrong.
Inside Cin's mind—
Wars had been fought.
Thousands of battles.
Thousands of deaths.
Thousands of adaptations.
Prisoners had been studied.
Fighting styles analyzed.
Haki refined.
Weaknesses corrected.
Evolution paths discovered.
For two years...
Cin had never stopped simulating.
And then, for the first time in exactly seven hundred and thirty days—
his six eyes opened.
DING!
[LONG-TERM SIMULATION COMPLETE.][REWARD SETTLEMENT READY.][EVOLUTION CONDITIONS SATISFIED.][WARNING.][CURRENT HOST PARAMETERS EXCEED PREVIOUS THREAT CLASSIFICATION.]
The chains rattled.
A guard outside Cell 41 stopped walking.
Slowly...
Cin stood.
His mouth curved upward.
Two years ago, this world had defeated him.
That was fair.
Back then...
he had still been learning its rules.
Now?
Cin looked at the prison door.
"It's time."
DING.
[BEGIN EVOLUTION.]
And somewhere deep beneath the sea—
Impel Down trembled.