THUD.
I tumbled backward out of the splintered closet frame, crashing heavily onto the dirty sleeping mats of my apartment.
I lay there for a long, quiet moment, staring blankly up at the cracked plaster of my ceiling. My entire body was aching, completely coated in a thick, foul-smelling layer of dark dirt, dried monster blood, and sweat. After I had killed that massive Calamity Ursa, I had run into three more packs of those freakish Nightstalker Crawlers and a rogue armored elite monster that looked like a giant, spike covered beetle.
By the time I finally decided to return to the safety of the Sage's cabin, I was practically dead on my feet.
"System," I croaked, my new, deep voice sounding completely exhausted in the quiet room. "Status. Open the menu before I pass out on this floor."
PING!
The sleek blue-and-green holographic screen snapped into existence, hovering gently over my face in the dark.
[Name:] Ard Voldigoad
[Level:] 105
[Magic:] 2666
[Attack:] 2666
[Defense:] 2666
[Agility:] 2666
[Intelligence:] 2666
[Luck:] 2670
[Unallocated BP:] 60
"Level one hundred and five," I muttered, a tired, victorious smile tugging at the corners of my lips. "Three more levels just from wiping out those extra packs. And sixty more bonus points to play with. Innovate Clear is literally the greatest cheat in existence."
I pushed myself up into a sitting position, my muscles aching slightly. I peeled off the heavy, dark pieces of the Bloody Hound armor one by one. I deposited them into my [Item Box] with a simple thought, leaving me sitting in the dark in just my torn, dirt-stained sweatpants.
"Let's keep everything eqaul for now," I said, tapping the floating screen with a grime-covered finger. "Add ten points to everything. Evenly distribute all sixty bonus points across the board."
[Stats Updated.]
[Magic:] 2676
[Attack:] 2676
[Defense:] 2676
[Agility:] 2676
[Intelligence:] 2676
[Luck:] 2680
A sudden, sharp ripple of pure, refreshing energy cascaded down my spine. My muscles tightened slightly beneath my skin, compressing with even greater density, and the faint, throbbing headache behind my eyes vanished entirely.
"God, that feels amazing," I sighed, stretching my arms high over my head and listening to the loud, satisfying pops of my spine. "It's like a full-body massage straight to the soul."
I leaned back against the peeling wallpaper, opening my [Item Box] to check the loot from my hunt. The screen displayed a grid of various weapons, monster hides, and strange iron ores. But as my eyes scrolled down the list, two specific items instantly caught my attention. They weren't weapons or armor. They were large hand sized glowing crystals that pulsed with red and green light.
"What are these?" I muttered, reaching into the item box and pulling them out.
They rested heavily in the palm of my hand. One was a deep, crackling purple crystal that literally hummed with static, the other was a translucent, swirling sky-blue stone that felt unnaturally light, almost like it was trying to float away.
"Appraisal."
PING!
[Skill Stone: Lightning Field ]
[Description: A rare magical stone synthesized from the core of a Calamity Ursa. Upon consumption, it grants the host the permanent ability to produce a powerful electrical field from their own body.]
[Note: The electricity cannot be expelled directly outward as a projectile beam, but it can be channeled through the skin or redirected externally if a proper physical conductor (like a metal blade) is utilized.]
[Skill Stone: Aerodynamic (空力 - Kūryoku)]
[Description: A rare magical stone synthesized from an elite Aerial Stalker. Upon consumption, it grants the host the permanent ability to create small, localized plates of highly compressed air beneath their feet.]
[Note: These plates function as invisible, absolute footholds, allowing the host to run, jump, and maneuver freely through the open air as if standing on solid ground.]
I stared at the two stones, my jaw completely dropping open.
"Skill stones?" I whispered, my eyes darting frantically between the purple and blue crystals. "You're telling me I can just learn monster abilities? No training montages? No eating monsters? Just instant magic skills?!"
I looked at the description again. Upon consumption.
"Wait, do I have to eat these?" I grimaced, holding up the jagged, solid purple rock. "They look like they'd shatter my teeth into powder. System, how do I actually use a Skill Stone?"
A small text prompt flashed beneath the item description.
[Notice:] To inherit the skill contained within a Skill Stone, the host must physically crush the stone.]
"Oh, thank God. I am not swallowing rocks tonight," I laughed, a massive wave of relief washing over me.
I gripped the purple Lightning Field stone tightly in my right hand. I took a deep breath and squeezed.
CRACK.
The solid crystal shattered under my grip, exploding into a fine, glowing purple dust. The moment the dust touched my palm, it dissolved straight through my pores, sending a sharp, exhilarating jolt of static electricity shooting all the way up my arm.
"Whoa!" I yelped, my hair literally standing on end as tiny, bright violet sparks began crackling wildly across my shoulders, chest, and arms. It didn't hurt at all, it felt like a massive, terrifying surge of pure, raw adrenaline.
PING!
[Skill Inherited: Lightning Field (Lv. 1)]
"Awesome," I grinned, looking down at my hands as the violet sparks slowly faded back beneath my newly forged skin. "If I channel this through the Omnisword... I should be able to cut through almost anything despite my level. Now for the next one."
I picked up the blue Aerodynamic stone, placing it in my left palm. I closed my fist and crushed it in a single, effortless snap. The sky-blue dust melted into my hand, and a sudden, bizarre sensation of absolute weightlessness washed over my feet. It felt as if the air beneath my soles had suddenly become dense, lifting me a fraction of an inch off the mats. I tapped my foot against the empty air, and it met a solid, invisible plate of resistance.
PING!
[Skill Inherited: Aerodynamic (Lv. 1)]
"I've got air walk now, haha suck it CPO!" I laughed, completely shaking my head at how easy it was for me to aquire a skill that took marines and CPO years of training to acquire. "I am a one-man cheat code. I don't even need wings! Alright, let's clear out the rest of this inventory. Open Asset Conversion!"
I selected every single piece of junk loot left in the system grid—the generic iron swords, the basic monster hides, the low-tier bones, the giant stag beetle shell—and slammed my hand onto the conversion button.
DING!
A brilliant, blinding golden light illuminated the dark bedroom. The items vanished from the system grid, and a split second later, a avalanche of bound paper yen dropped right into my lap, spilling out across the floor.
I blinked, staring blankly at the sheer volume of cash.
There were fifteen individual, thick bricks of ten-thousand-yen notes.
"Fifteen... fifteen million yen," I whispered, my voice trembling as I picked up one of the heavy, perfectly crisp stacks. "Combined with the five million from earlier... I have twenty million yen. I made twenty million yen in a single afternoon."
To put that into perspective, twenty million yen was enough to completely wipe out my deadbeat parents' shady debt, pay the commercial property taxes on the diner downstairs for the next 2 years, and still leave me with enough leftover cash to live like an absolute king for the entire year. Thank God this place was cheap as hell.
I leaned my head back against the wall, letting out a long, deeply emotional breath. The ghost of my past life—the broke, starving, exhausted, bullied loser—was officially dead and buried.
"Alright," I said, my eyes hardening with a sudden, fierce determination as I looked around the dilapidated, disgusting room. "No more living in a dump. Tomorrow, my life officially starts over. First thing in the morning... we fix this place."
I packed the massive mountain of money safely back into my [Item Box], crawled onto my lumpy, uncomfortable futon, and fell into the first peaceful, nightmare-free sleep I had experienced in two entire lifetimes.
The next morning, the sun hadn't even fully gone up before I was up and moving.
I stood in the center of the first-floor diner, my arms crossed over my chest, looking over the absolute disaster around me. The wallpaper was peeling and stained with hardened cooking grease. The wooden floorboards were warped, water-damaged, and creaking loudly with every single step. The fake leather on the seating booths was cracked and torn, exposing yellow foam, and the air smelled faintly of dust, and something old and rotten.
"Yeah, this is depressing," I said aloud to the empty, silent room. "But better late than never I guess."
I walked out the front door, slipping on a pair of oversized, baggy sweatpants and a plain black hoodie with the hood pulled up to hide my new, ridiculously athletic build and my entirely different face. I walked straight down the street to the largest home furniture megastore on the edge of Kuoh Town.
When I walked inside, I didn't hesitate. I bought dozens of cans of premium, dark oak wood stain, heavy-duty industrial floor sanders, massive rolls of modern slate-gray wallpaper, industrial-grade sealant, and a top-of-the-line set of professional power tools. I even went to a high-end luxury furniture depot next door and purchased four gorgeous, dark leather seating booths and a sleek, modern mahogany counter for the diner.
The cashiers looked at me like I was a high-level cartel boss when I pulled out crisp, clean stacks of ten-thousand-yen notes to pay for absolutely everything upfront in straight cash. I didn't care. I gave them a fake address for delivery, waited patiently until no one was looking in the back loading zone, and systematically shoved every single piece of heavy equipment, lumber, and furniture directly into my [Item Box].
By nine o'clock in the morning, I was back inside the diner. The doors were locked, the blinds were drawn tightly shut, and I was ready to work.
"Alright," I muttered, stripping down to just a plain white tank top. "Let's see exactly how fast I can fix up this place."
I pulled out the massive, heavy industrial floor sander. I didn't even plug it into the wall. I just grabbed a massive block of heavy-grit sandpaper in my bare hand, dropped to my knees, and pushed my hand forward.
VROOOOOOM!
The sound of my hand moving across the floor cut through the quiet room like a literal jet engine. Moving at at super speed, my entire arm became a blur. In less than three seconds, an entire twenty-foot section of the warped, stained wood was forcefully sanded down to a smooth, pristine, flawless white pine finish.
"Now that's how we do it, like a boss!!" I laughed, shifting instantly to the next section of the floor.
I tore through the old floorboards like a localized hurricane. Within ten minutes, the entire first-floor dining area was perfectly, flawlessly sanded. I pulled out the dark oak wood stain and a wide brush. Moving at high speed, I painted the entire floor in under two minutes flat, the stain drying almost instantly due to the heat of my movements.
Next up were the walls. I ripped the old, greasy wallpaper off the drywall in a single, massive, continuous tug, making sure it came off perfectly clean without damaging the plaster beneath. I mixed the industrial paste in a bucket, laid out the new slate-gray wallpaper, and applied it to the walls in quick but accurate strokes..
By noon, the transformation of the diner was already ninety percent complete.
I carried the old, broken booths out to the back alley dumpster, lifting the five-hundred-pound metal-and-wood structures with a single hand as if they were made of cheap styrofoam. I materialized the new luxury leather booths and the mahogany counter directly from my inventory, placing them perfectly into position.
"Now for upstairs," I said, wiping a drop of sweat from my brow.
I went up to my apartment and repeated the entire process. I violently ripped out the torn tatami mats and replaced them with sleek, dark hardwood flooring. I scraped the cracked plaster off the walls, applying a clean, minimalist coat of expensive white paint. I threw away my lumpy, broken futon and went back out into town to buy a massive, king-sized bed with a premium memory foam mattress, a high-end gaming desk, an eighty-inch flat-screen TV, and a modern, walk-in style wardrobe to store the new clothes I desperately needed to buy.
I even hit up the luxury commercial appliance store, purchasing a massive, double-door stainless steel industrial refrigerator for the kitchen downstairs and a smaller, sleek black one for my room upstairs.
By five o'clock in the afternoon, I stood in the dead center of my apartment, my jaw practically dropping at my own handiwork.
The rundown, depressing crack-den of an apartment was completely gone. In its place was a sleek, ultra-modern, high-end luxury penthouse suite that looked like it belonged to a tech billionaire in Tokyo. Downstairs, the failing diner had been completely converted into a gorgeous, modern resturaunt that was both warm and homey.
I pulled out my brand-new smartphone, opening my banking app where I had deposited a large portion of the cash earlier.
"I spent an absolute fortune on the best materials, premium designer furniture, top-tier commercial appliances, and coatings..." I muttered, scrolling down the numbers on the screen. "And I still have over fourteen million yen completely untouched."
I let out a loud, breathless laugh, flopping backward onto my massive, incredibly soft new king-sized bed. "This is a joke. The real-world economy is a complete joke compared to another world's loot system."
GROOOOWL.
My stomach, right on cue. I hadn't eaten all day.
"Right. Moving at supersonic speeds to build a house burns a lot of fuel," I said, rubbing my perfectly sculpted abs. "Time to see what a proper kitchen can do."
I headed out to the supermarket down the street. Now that I had unlimited money, I didn't even look at the price tags. I piled my shopping cart high with the highest-grade A5 Wagyu beef, fresh organic vegetables, premium imported spices, and a massive crate of high-end snacks.
Back in my newly renovated kitchen, I turned on the brand-new gas range. I sliced up a thick, beautifully marbled cut of Wagyu beef, searing it perfectly in a hot cast-iron pan alongside some fresh garlic and rosemary. The rich, intoxicating aroma filled the clean apartment, making my mouth water instantly.
I sat at my new dining table, cutting into the steak. The meat was so tender it practically dissolved on my tongue, the rich, savory juices blending perfectly with the seasoning. It was an incredible, five-star meal, but as I chewed, my mind couldn't help but compare it to the divine crops and the monster jelly from the Sage's garden.
"It's amazing," I muttered, swallowing a piece of beef. "But the magical food from Innovate Clear... There's really no competition. Those magical ingrediants are like food for the soul."
I finished my dinner, washing it down with a glass of ice cold coke. I leaned back in my luxury leather chair, staring out the massive window at the glowing neon lights of Kuoh Town below.
A massive, incredibly satisfying realization washed over me.
I had weeks.
I had an entire, uninterrupted summer break of absolute freedom. While everyone else was going to the beach or studying, I had a multiversal cheat cabin. I had a forest full of high-level monsters just begging to be farmed for experience and skill stones.
"They have no idea," I whispered, a dark, incredibly confident grin spreading across my face.
By the time the summer holiday ended and the next semester began, I wouldn't just be different. I would be unrecognizable. I was going to push my stats so high that the very concept of a Devil or a Fallen Angel would look like a joke to me. I was going to forge myself into an absolute god or as close to one as I can get.
I stood up, cleared my plate into the brand-new dishwasher, and turned my head toward the heavy oak door of my bedroom closet.
Behind that door was the gateway to the sub-dimensional world.
"Tomorrow morning," I said, my voice filled with a quiet, intense, burning excitement as I walked toward my massive king-sized bed. "Tomorrow morning, I'm going deeper into that forest. I'm going to find out exactly how far this system can take me."
I climbed into bed, pulling the crisp, clean sheets up to my chest. I closed my eyes, the smile never leaving my face as the dark, peaceful embrace of sleep finally took over.