BOOOM!!!!
The colossal werewolf—a terrifying mass of pitch-black muscle and crimson eyes—threw its entire weight against the barrier again. BANG! The hex-grid rippled, chiming with magical resistance, completely unfazed by the impact, but the sheer sound of it vibrating through the ground was enough to send me scrambling onto my hands and knees.
I didn't wait to see if the barrier would hold a third time. I threw myself back through the heavy wooden door of the cabin, slamming it shut behind me. I slid down the smooth wood until my heavy body hit the polished floorboards, my chest heaving, gasping for air as if I had just run a marathon. My white dress shirt was completely soaked with terrified sweat.
"Okay. Okay," I panted, clutching my chest. "Safe zone. I'm in the safe zone. The barrier works."
I sat there in the quiet of the cabin for a long moment, listening to the muffled, frustrated roaring of the beast outside. Slowly, my erratic heartbeat began to settle. The sheer, impossible reality of the situation finally started to sink in. I had a Sacred Gear. I was in another world.
I looked down at the ethereal silver-and-emerald bracer glowing faintly on my left wrist.
"Hey, System?" I called out, my voice trembling slightly in the empty room. I looked around, half-expecting a floating fairy or a robotic voice to answer me. "System? How do I—"
PING!
Two transparent, blue-and-green holographic windows instantly snapped into existence right in front of my face.
[Skill Acquired: Appraisal]
[Skill Acquired: Endurance]
I blinked, waving a thick hand through the hologram. It shimmered but remained firmly in my field of vision. "Skills? Just from running for my life and looking around?"
Curiosity overriding my lingering terror, I pushed myself off the floor. My legs still felt like jelly, but I waddled over to a beautifully crafted, sturdy wooden table sitting perfectly in the center of the room. It looked ancient but completely untouched by time.
"Appraisal," I whispered, focusing my eyes on the table.
Instantly, a small text box hovered above the wood.
[Sage's Table] Description: A table crafted from the wood of an indestructible World Tree. Infused with supreme magical reinforcement. It is completely immune to physical damage, magical degradation, and decay. Even a Dragon King's breath could not scorch its surface.
"Indestructible furniture," I muttered, my eyes wide. "Of course. Why use oak when you can use World Tree? Makes perfect sense."
I looked back at the space in front of me. "Okay, so there has to be a main menu, right? Menu. Open Menu."
Nothing happened.
I tried lifting a finger to physically tap the empty air where a menu button should logically be. Still nothing.
"Maybe it's intent-based?" I muttered. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and mentally pushed my intent forward, focusing solely on the concept of a user interface.
PING!
A larger screen expanded outward, displaying a sleek, streamlined menu. Two distinct, brightly glowing tabs sat at the very top.
[Asset Conversion] [Transfer]
"What do these mean?" I asked aloud.
Reacting to my voice and my intent, the [Appraisal] skill automatically triggered on the menu options, expanding them with detailed text.
[Asset Conversion]: Any object, item, or monster drop placed within the System's domain can be instantly converted into the local currency of the user's origin world, or a universal currency of equal value.
[Transfer]: The foundational power of the sub-dimension. The door to this cabin can be actively linked to appear anywhere the user desires within external, connected universes, functioning as a flawless, absolute multiversal gateway.
My jaw dropped. The gears in my head clicked into place.
Wait. A mysterious door. A secluded, perfectly safe cabin. Indestructible items. Asset conversion. A magical garden...
"No way," I breathed, my eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. "This... this is Yuuya Tenjou's setup! I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World! The Sage's Cabin!"
A rush of pure, unadulterated euphoria washed over me. I wasn't just some fat, magic-less loser in Kuoh Academy anymore. I had the keys to the kingdom! I had the ultimate grinding spot!
"Show me my stats!" I yelled, pumping my fist into the air. "Come on, let's see the base power of a reincarnated Sacred Gear user!"
The screen shifted, opening a detailed character sheet.
[Name:] Ard Voldigoad
[Level:] 1
[Magic:] 1
[Attack:] 1
[Defense:] 1
[Agility:] 1
[Intelligence:] 1
[Luck:] 1
[Skills:] Appraisal, Endurance, Item Box
I stared at the screen.
I kept staring.
Slowly, the euphoria drained out of my body, replaced by a cold, heavy, suffocating weight.
"One," I whispered, my voice cracking. "Everything... is at one."
My knees buckled. I collapsed onto the floor, assuming a fetal position right next to the indestructible table. A dark, gloomy cloud of anime-style depression physically manifested over my head.
"I'm garbage," I lamented, burying my face in my hands. "I am the lowest common denominator of two entire universes. A slime has higher base stats than me. A blade of grass probably has an attack stat of two. I'm Level 1 with all 1s. Even with a cheat system, my genetics are an active insult to God."
I lay there, wallowing in the absolute failure of my existence, until my eyes dragged themselves back up to the glowing blue screen.
Right next to my pathetic Level 1, there was a small, glowing icon that read: [BP].
I squinted. "Appraisal."
[Bonus Points (BP)] Description: Points awarded upon leveling up that can be freely distributed to any stat value of the host's desire. Standard Yield: 10 Points per Level. Sacred Gear Override: Due to the host possessing the Longinus Innovate Clear, the foundational rules of creation are amplified. The host is rewarded 20 Points per Level instead of 10. Current Titles: [First Time World Traveller] - Awards the host an instant 100 Bonus Points upon system initialization.
PING!
[100 BP Added to User's Pool.]
I shot up from the floor, the gloom instantly vanishing. "Twenty points a level?! Plus a hundred just for showing up?!"
I started laughing. It wasn't a cool, heroic laugh. It was the desperate, slightly manic giggle of a guy who just found a winning lottery ticket in the trash. I completely understood the system now. My base stats were garbage because my physical body was garbage. But this system was a pure, unfiltered power fantasy. All I had to do was level up, and I could artificially pump my stats to godhood!
Smiling from ear to ear, I pushed myself up and began practically skipping around the room, checking out the rest of the cabin. It was immaculate. A plush bed in the corner, a glowing hearth, and a massive, ancient wooden bookcase lined with heavy, leather-bound tomes.
I reached out and pulled a thick, dusty book from the middle shelf. I flipped it open, eager to read whatever legendary magic the Sage had left behind.
My smile fell. The pages were covered in jagged, elegant, completely incomprehensible runes. It looked like someone had smashed an elvish alphabet together with ancient hieroglyphs.
"Oh, come on," I groaned, disappointed. "I can't read a single word of this. What's the point of a magical library if it's all in squiggly nonsense?"
PING!
[Skill Acquired: Language Comprehension] Description: The user can now fluently read, speak, write, and understand all existing languages across all connected dimensions.
I looked down at the book. As if a blurry lens had been snapped into focus, the jagged runes actively shifted before my eyes, morphing into perfectly legible Japanese. Advanced Elemental Theory: Volume I.
A slow, massive grin spread across my face.
"Oh, this is beautifully broken," I whispered. "I complain about not reading, I get a language skill. I get tired running, I get Endurance. I can get skills on the fly just by encountering an obstacle!"
BOOM! BOOM!
The heavy thud against the barrier outside vibrated through the floorboards again. The monster was still out there, relentlessly bashing its skull against the hex-grid, desperate for a piece of me.
My eyes narrowed. The cowardice that had gripped me ten minutes ago was entirely gone, replaced by the intoxicating thrill of the System. I had an absolute cheat setup. I had guaranteed stat growth. I just needed experience. I needed a kill.
"Time to take out the trash," I muttered.
I marched over to the far corner of the cabin, where several weapons rested in a wide wooden barrel, exactly like the anime. I reached past the spear and the scythe, wrapping my thick hand around the hilt of a beautifully crafted longsword. The moment I pulled it from the barrel, the blade practically sang—a flawless, gleaming silver edge that caught the ambient light of the room.
"Appraisal."
[Omnisword] Description: A conceptual blade forged by the Sage. It is always perfectly sharp and untarnished. Depending on the wielder's capabilities, it is capable of cutting through absolutely anything in existence. Its durability is infinite.
"Cutting through anything," I repeated, feeling the surprising lightness of the blade in my hand. It was perfectly balanced. "Let's test that."
I walked to the front door, gripped the handle, and threw it open.
The Bloody Hound was waiting. It snarled, backing away from the barrier slightly as it saw me step onto the porch. Its massive muscles coiled, acidic saliva dripping onto the pristine grass of the garden.
I raised my left hand, pointing my bracer at the beast. "Appraisal."
[Bloody Hound] Level: 300
Magic: 1200
Attack: 5000
Defense: 4500
Agility: 4800
Intelligence: 1000
Luck: 1000
My stomach did a violent flip.
"Level three hundred?!" I shrieked, my voice cracking. "Stats in the thousands?! My attack is ONE!!"
I couldn't do this, I...I'm weak. I can't even run down a driveway without needed a puff or two from my inhaler!
No. I gritted my teeth, gripping the hilt of the Omnisword with both hands. I died once to a truck. I am NOT dying a second time to an overgrown dog!
Steeling my nerves, I let out a desperate, roaring battle cry that sounded more like a panicked scream. I raised the Omnisword high above my head, shut my eyes as tight as I could, and swung down with every pathetic ounce of physical strength my Level 1 body possessed.
There was no sound of impact. No clash of metal against bone. No resistance whatsoever.
It felt like swinging a hot knife through an empty cloud of steam.
I opened my eyes, stumbling forward from the momentum of my own swing.
The Bloody Hound was frozen in mid-air. A perfectly straight, glowing silver line appeared down the dead center of its snout, running between its eyes, all the way down its spine.
For a split second, nothing happened. Then, with a sickening shhhk, the massive beast neatly split completely in half.
The two halves hit the dirt with a heavy thud, instantly dissolving into a thick, swirling cloud of pitch-black smog. The smog evaporated into the night air, leaving behind absolutely no blood or gore—only a neat pile of glowing loot resting quietly on the grass outside the barrier.
My arms gave out. The Omnisword clattered to the wooden porch as I collapsed onto my back, my chest heaving, my entire body shaking so violently my teeth rattled.
"I did it..." I wheezed, staring up at the starry, alien sky. "I actually... I actually killed it."
PING! PING! PING! PING!
A rapid, machine-gun cascade of chimes erupted in my ears. The System interface exploded in front of my face, flashing with blinding golden light.
[Experience points acquired. Level up!] [Level up!] [Level up!] ... [User has reached Level 100!]
My heart stopped. "What?"
The stat screen automatically forced itself open.
[Name:] Ard Voldigoad [Level:] 100
[Magic:] 1000
[Attack:] 1000
[Defense:] 1000
[Agility:] 1000
[Intelligence:] 1000
[Luck:] 1000
[Unallocated BP:] 10,000
My left eye began to twitch.
Level 100. From a single kill. YES!!!! In less than a day i've gone up from level 1 to 100!!!. And the BP... ten thousand bonus points. Because Innovate Clear doubled the yield.
"Hehehe..."
A low chuckle escaped my lips. I couldn't stop it. The sheer, unadulterated absurdity of this cheat broke something deep inside my brain.
"AHAHAHAHAHA!"
I threw my head back and started laughing maniacally, rolling around on the porch like a lunatic. I was a god! I was going to be an absolute, untouchable god! If Kiba or Issei or any of those harem protagonists tried to sneeze in my general direction, I could flick them into orbit!
( Not really)
PING!
[Skill Acquired: Swordsmanship (Lv. 1)]
"Of course I did!" I cackled, pushing myself off the floor. My body felt... different. The heavy, aching fatigue of my fat frame was entirely gone. I felt light. I felt powerful. Every muscle in my body hummed with an explosive, terrifying energy. The jump from 1 to 1000 across all stats was a wave of adrenaline.
I practically teleported off the porch, my new Agility stat carrying me across the garden in a blur. I stopped right at the edge of the barrier, reaching through to the pile of loot the Bloody Hound had dropped.
Sitting in the grass was a collection of folded, dark armor pieces, and a massive, jagged, pitch-black tooth the size of my forearm.
I picked up the tooth first. "Appraisal."
[Great Fang of the Bloody Hound] Rank: A+ Description: Far from being an ordinary item, this colossal fang is dripping with highly concentrated magical venom. A single superficial cut from this fang is enough to poison and kill a full-grown man within twenty seconds. With proper modifications, it could be forged into a devastatingly powerful weapon.
"Insta-kill poison," I muttered, grinning as I tossed it lightly in my hand. "I'll save that for a rainy day. Item Box!"
A swirling black vortex opened in the air beside me, and I tossed the massive fang inside. I then turned my attention to the folded armor pieces. As I dragged my eyes across them, the Appraisal skill worked in rapid succession.
[Beast Scarf] Rank: A+ Description: A ragged, dark scarf that wraps around the user's neck. Actively improves the user's base combat prowess, strengthening physical abilities and passively sharpening sword skills.
[Raging Beast Bauld] Rank: A+ Description: Chest armor. It channels the user's raw courage and fighting spirit, allowing them to summon a massive phantom beast of rage that actively attacks the wielder's enemies on command.
[Savage Scale] Rank: A+ Description: The right half of a gauntlet and pauldron suit. Forged from a series of flame-attributed hard scales. It completely prevents any evil or dark-aligned attacks from penetrating. Hidden within its design is a single 'reverse scale'; touching it awakens the fierce, uncontrollable anger of the savage beast, drastically boosting attack power.
[Beast Mid] Rank: A+ Description: Waist and fauld armor. It continuously projects a powerful, passive defensive barrier around the user's center of mass, exceptionally effective at repelling dark creatures and curses.
[Bloody Hinds] Rank: A+ Description: Leg and foot armor. Overall leg strength, including running power, jumping height, and kicking force, is massively enhanced. When its special move is activated, the leg is ignited in roaring magical flames, multiplying the destructive power of a kick to catastrophic levels.
"This... this is a full raid-tier set," I whispered in awe, gently touching the dark, flame-imbued scales of the armor. "They're all A+ rank. I just skipped the entire tutorial and jumped straight to the OG gamer loot."
I stored the entire set into my [Item Box], feeling like a billionaire who had just robbed a bank.
My mind was racing at a million miles an hour. If just killing one monster gave me this much power, what else could I do right now?
I sprinted back into the cabin in a literal blur of motion. I grabbed the Absolute Spear from the barrel.
PING!
[Skill Acquired: Spearmanship (Lv. 1)]
I grabbed the Formless Bow.
PING!
[Skill Acquired: Kyudo (Lv. 1)]
I grabbed the Infinity Gauntlet—though it felt unbelievably heavy, forcing me to drop it instantly—and threw a sloppy punch at the air.
PING!
[Skill Acquired: Martial Arts (Lv. 1)]
"Yes! Yes!" I cheered, doing a bizarre, hyper-speed victory dance in the center of the cabin. "I can just touch things and get the skills for them!"
I rushed back outside, my eyes locking onto the massive, glowing garden that surrounded the cabin. The system had said my stomach was at 2% capacity. I was leveling up sure, but I was still starving.
I ran over to a wooden post near the crops. Sitting next to it was an old, tin watering can. "Appraisal!"
[Bottomless Watering Can] Description: A magical tool. No matter how much water is poured from it, it will never empty. The water inside is perfectly pure and highly nutritious for magical crops.
I set it aside and looked at the glowing, vibrant plants growing in neat, perfect rows. Some were glowing faintly with a golden aura; others were pulsing with a deep red light.
I pointed my bracer like a scanner in a grocery store. "Appraisal on everything!"
A massive wall of text flooded my vision, and my jaw unhinged all over again.
[Cure-All Herb] Description: A mythical herb. Consuming it instantly heals all physical injuries, restores lost limbs, and cures absolutely all diseases and poisons. Upon being harvested, it automatically replants and reseeds itself, requiring zero cultivation effort.
[Tomato of Super Strength] Description: A vibrant red tomato. Consuming it permanently increases base Strength and Vitality. It grants the consumer near-infinite stamina, making physical exhaustion almost impossible. Automatically reseeds upon harvest.
[Kobacha of Invincibility] Description: A tough, glowing squash. Consuming it permanently increases Defense and completely stabilizes the user's mind, creating an unbreakable, absolute resistance to all mental attacks, mind-control, and status ailments. Automatically reseeds upon harvest.
[Daikon of Great Wisdom] Description: A thick, white radish. Consuming it permanently increases Intelligence. It actively rewires the brain to allow for parallel processing and high-speed thought acceleration. Automatically reseeds upon harvest.
[Potato of Divine Speed] Description: A golden potato. Consuming it permanently increases Agility. It vastly strengthens kinetic vision, reaction time, and physical reflexes to god-like levels. Automatically reseeds upon harvest.
I fell to my knees in the dirt. These weren't even everything here.
"I don't need to train," I whispered, reaching out with a trembling hand to pluck a glowing red tomato from its vine. As soon as I pulled it off, a tiny green sprout instantly shot out of the dirt, replacing the lost crop.
"I don't need to do pushups. I don't need to run ten kilometers. I don't need to fight." I looked at the tomato, then at the daikon, then at the glowing herbs.
I took a massive, juicy bite out of the Tomato of Super Strength. The flavor exploded in my mouth—rich, perfectly sweet, and bursting with absolute vitality. A wave of pure, hot energy rushed through my veins.
I laughed, tears streaming down my face as I began pulling up potatoes, squashes, and herbs by the handful, stuffing my face like a starving man at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
"I'm going to eat my way to godhood," I mumbled through a mouthful of divine radish. "I am going to become the strongest being in Kuoh Academy, and I'm going to do it by eating a salad!"