"HARUTO! C%@$&AN YOU HEAR M@^#E? HAR#@%UTO?!"
A sound—
No.
A voice.
Something reached him through the darkness.
It was familiar… unmistakably so. Yet distorted—fractured, as if some unseen interference was preventing it from fully reaching him.
His consciousness stirred.
He tried to open his eyes.
They refused to move at first, stiff and heavy, like he had been asleep for far too long. But after a moment of struggle, they finally obeyed.
Dim light greeted him.
A vague, shadowy space slowly came into focus. Stone. Uneven walls. Darkness clinging to every corner. Sensation returned next—cold, rough rock pressing against his back.
I can feel my body…
He tried to move.
It took several seconds, but eventually, his arm lifted into view.
His hand trembled slightly.
He was alive.
…But how?
His gaze wandered, taking in his surroundings.
Everything—walls, floor, ceiling—was stone.
"…This looks like a cave," he muttered.
"Hey, you dufus! Look down!"
Another voice rang out.
This one was clearer. Sharper.
He instinctively lowered his gaze.
"…Finally. Geez."
Sitting there—no, floating there—was a metallic, Rubik's-cube-like object.
And it was talking.
Not aloud.
Directly into his mind.
"…What—" the word slipped out before he could stop it.
"You seriously don't recognize my voice? What kind of a brother are you?"
His breath hitched.
"…Haru?" His eyes widened. "What—what happened?! Where are you? Are you… in that cube?!"
It was Haruki.
How that was possible, he had no idea.
Acting on instinct, he picked the cube up, turning it over in his hands. It was solid. Cold. Definitely not a speaker.
"We were worried, y'know," Haruki replied. "You were just lying there like a dead body."
"Well, that's reassuring," he said dryly. Then paused. "…Wait. You said we. Hana's here too?"
"Well…" Haruki hesitated. "She is. But—"
"Haruto?"
A third presence entered his mind.
His body stiffened.
That voice—
He turned slowly.
"Uh…"
He froze.
There, just a short distance away, was a translucent, gelatinous creature.
A slime.
"…You're a slime?" he asked bluntly.
The slime rolled closer, stopping at his feet. "Y'know, I expected a bigger reaction."
Haruki chimed in, "C'mon, sis, I told you! If you turned into a hot milf or something—"
"COULD YOU TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"
His shout echoed through the cave, making both of them flinch.
"Geez, you don't have to scream," Haruki complained.
He exhaled sharply and lowered himself to the ground beside the slime. "Is that really you, Hana? What happened? Why are you two… like this?"
The slime wobbled, clearly struggling with its unfamiliar body, before managing a small hop—landing directly on his lap.
"Didn't you hear the voice?" she asked.
"The voice…?" His thoughts flickered back to that cold, mechanical presence. "Y-yeah. I heard something. But it ignored me. I thought it was a hallucination."
"What do you mean?" Hana tilted slightly. "Didn't it tell you we were being reincarnated into the Earth: Nullara?"
"…No," he said slowly. "It sounded like it was talking to itself."
That earned him silence.
Confusion rippled between them.
"So… we really got reincarnated?" he asked.
"I can't say for sure," Hana replied. "But that's what it told us. Something like—You are hereby chosen by the Earth: Nullara to be reincarnated as a being of influence."
"And then it made us pick races," Haruki added. "I panicked and picked a random card. Now I'm a cube."
She sounded… disappointed.
Hana turned toward her. "You might be more useful than you think. That's why I chose a slime. If I get the right skills, I could be insanely strong. It's risky—but exciting."
"This is… a lot," he muttered, rubbing his face.
"Oh yeah," Haruki said smugly. "What'd you pick? Don't tell me you went human."
He stared at them blankly. "I didn't get any of that. I just heard a voice… and then I woke up here."
"Oh," Hana murmured. Her gelatinous body subtly angled toward him. "But you did change. You look younger."
"I do?" He glanced at himself, finally noticing his smaller frame. "Did I just… turn human again?"
"No," Hana said slowly. "You feel different. There's… pressure. Like an aura. Humans don't do that, right?"
"…An aura?"
"Probably."
He stood, Hana settling awkwardly on his head.
That's when a thought struck him.
"…Isn't this weird?" he said. "We're just accepting all of this."
"Because we're massive weebs," Haruki replied instantly.
"…Fair."
Hana hesitated. "If this really is another world… what do we do now?"
He scanned their surroundings again.
Stone walls.
Unknown plants.
Glowing crystal clusters.
"…First, we leave," he said. "This place looks like a dungeon."
Moving was better than waiting. No one was coming to save them—especially not here.
It looked peaceful at first. But he simply knew better.
The clusters of glowing crystals...
Different types of plants, different than anything they've seen before...
A glaring giant wolf—WAIT, A WHAT?!
"…That's a—"
His words failed him.
"AHHHHHH!!"
Hana screamed.
And the sound nearly shattered his skull.
---
The wolf growled low, lips curling back as it bared its fangs—pure intimidation.
Haruto was ready to run. To grab both of them and move.
But his legs betrayed him.
They trembled violently beneath his weight.
Still, he forced himself to stand straight.
Move. Just move.
And then—
Something broke inside him.
His pupils shrank as a sudden, violent headache tore through his skull. A sharp, crushing pain struck without warning, sending him collapsing to his knees.
"Haruto?! W-what happened?!" Hana cried out, panic flooding her voice.
Haruki froze.
She couldn't even speak.
Haruto clutched his head, teeth clenched as the pain intensified. The wolf, sensing weakness, didn't hesitate.
The beast lunged.
Heavy footsteps thundered toward them.
Haruto barely managed to raise his arm in instinctive defense.
Too slow.
Jaws clamped down.
Bone shattered.
The wolf crushed his arm between its teeth.
Hana and Haruki went numb—unable to process what they were seeing.
Haruto, however, felt everything.
The pain surged through his body, raw and overwhelming. Tears welled up, threatening to spill as his vision blurred.
It hurts—
Then—
<
<
<
The pain vanished.
Gone.
In its place, information flooded his mind—vast, precise, overwhelming. His eyes widened as the world itself slowed to a crawl.
The dire wolf froze mid-motion, its massive body moving slower than drifting ash.
Haruto's body moved before his thoughts could catch up.
When he looked to the side, a massive sword rested in his hand.
He knew exactly how to hold it.
And yet… he didn't remember learning how.
I know this… but I don't.
Instinct.
That was the only word that fit.
The wolf sensed danger and released his arm, leaping back in an attempt to create distance.
That hesitation—
Was fatal.
Haruto's eyes gleamed with cold killing intent.
He stepped forward and swung.
One clean motion.
The blade flashed.
The wolf's head separated from its body before it could even react.
The massive corpse collapsed.
As the severed head hit the ground, time snapped back to normal.
Haruto staggered, staring at the scene in stunned silence.
Hana rushed to him immediately, ignoring the dead beast entirely. Her attention locked onto his mangled arm.
"H-Hey—are you—" her voice cracked. She couldn't finish the sentence.
Haruto looked down.
His arm was broken. Bloodied. Twisted unnaturally.
Oddly enough… it didn't hurt as much as it should have.
Did my pain tolerance increase…?
Then another thought struck him.
He turned sharply.
"…Where's Haru?"
Hana froze.
She looked around frantically.
Nothing.
That's when Haruto noticed the weight in his hand.
The sword.
"…Wait," he muttered. "Is that you?"
"Urgh… what the hell did you do to me?" Haruki's voice echoed from the blade. "I feel dizzy~"
Relief washed over him.
"I don't know! It just… happened—"
"HEY! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR ARM?!" Haruki yelled, cutting him off.
He glanced down again. "Guess I'm lucky it didn't get ripped off. That thing's bite was no joke."
Hana was about to respond—
Then she screamed.
"AH! WA—WHA—WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"
Haruto whipped around, heart skipping a beat. For a split second, he feared another wolf.
But instead—
The dire wolf's corpse was being consumed.
By a slime.
A massive one.
Unlike Hana, this slime was blood-red—opaque, violent, and pulsing as it devoured the corpse effortlessly.
Within seconds, the wolf was gone.
And then—
Haruto felt it.
Something flowed through his body.
Not blood.
Energy.
It circulated through him in perfect synchronization, like an internal system coming online.
His senses sharpened.
His muscles tightened.
Strength surged through every fiber of his being.
His broken arm mended itself almost instantly.
When he looked again, it was flawless.
As if nothing had ever happened.
The air around them subtly shifted.
Hana and Haruki both felt it.
They turned to him slowly.
"…Was that you?" Hana asked.
"How did your arm heal?" Haruki demanded.
Haruto couldn't answer.
It all felt unreal.
Exhilarating.
Terrifying.
What if this is a dream?
What if I wake up… and they're gone?
Even with all his knowledge of fantasy worlds, he felt exposed. Vulnerable.
He was still human.
They were too.
They looked calm—excited, even—because they were relying on him.
Because he was supposed to understand this.
And if he panicked…
They would panic too.
Like when the smartest kid in the room starts freaking out.
Haruto straightened his posture.
Forced his breathing to steady.
I can't afford that.
So he swallowed his fear—
And stayed calm.
---
Think.
Consider every possibility.
Everything that had happened—and everything that could happen.
This was a world of fiction.
And he was a writer of that very fiction.
Haruto knew exactly what to do.
At that moment, his entire perception of the situation shifted.
He wasn't supposed to be afraid.
This was his element.
Fantasy wasn't something he merely read or wrote—it was something he understood. Something he dissected, theorized, and rebuilt countless times.
He took a slow, deep breath.
Hana looked at him, confused. But beneath that confusion was expectation—almost relief. She knew he would adapt. He always did.
Haruto gently placed Haruki down and sat beside her, closing his eyes as he focused on calming his thoughts.
And the moment his mind steadied—
Information surged in.
Not random fragments.
Knowledge.
It had always been there, buried beneath panic and shock.
Now, it surfaced.
"I get it now…" he muttered.
He had skills.
That voice—that thing—had said so. Something about sins and virtues… and something else. His consciousness had been fading before he could properly register it.
But now those abilities were etched directly into his instincts.
That explained everything.
The slowed perception.
The dulled pain.
The way the wolf had been devoured—absorbed—into him.
That was when it became clear.
The key to power in this world…
Was the mind.
<
<
"…Huh?"
The voice again.
Before he could even process the message—
The world changed.
His eyes snapped open.
And suddenly, he could see it.
Magic.
Energy flowed through the air like mist—layered, vibrant, alive. It was everywhere, invisible no longer.
He turned to Haruki, still bound in her sword form.
The aura radiating from her was dense. Far denser than the ambient flow around them.
A sensory skill… he realized. One that detects variations in magical density.
"Sick," the thought slipped through his mind before he could stop it.
Everywhere he looked, colors shifted—like a spectrum woven into reality itself. When his gaze landed on Hana, the difference was immediate.
Her body radiated an aura several times stronger than the surrounding environment.
Dark.
Purple.
"…Yeah, that's not ominous at all," he muttered.
Even this much information was enough.
Magic particles were everywhere—fundamental units, like atoms. Different colors suggested different properties or types.
And above all—
Skills existed.
He didn't know the full extent of his abilities yet, but he could already draw conclusions.
First: A cognitive acceleration skill.
That explained the slowed world.
Second: A devouring or absorption ability—likely tied to blood or physical contact.
That explained the wolf, the power surge, the regeneration.
Third: Enhanced mental capacity.
No human brain could process that volume of data unaided. His earlier headache all but confirmed it. Some kind of internal archive—accessible only under specific conditions.
Fourth: Magic Instincts.
A highly versatile sensory skill. Essential for understanding and manipulating magic particles.
And regeneration—likely a byproduct of the devouring skill.
That was enough for now.
He felt stronger. Faster. Sharper—physically and mentally.
A power-devouring build… huh.
If that was true, then there was only one way forward.
First priority: identify and master every skill he had.
Before leaving this place.
Because Haruto recognized this area for what it was.
A tutorial.
And tutorials existed for one reason—
To be exploited.
He stood up.
Experience was information. Information led to understanding. Understanding led to new awakenings.
And he wasn't alone.
The two most important people in his life were here with him.
That irony didn't escape him.
Did the others get isekai'd too…?
"HEY! THIS ISN'T THE TIME TO DAYDREAM, Y'KNOW!"
Hana's voice snapped him back to reality.
When he opened his eyes—
Two massive wolves stood before them.
Same species. Same crimson glare.
Reinforcements.
Their killing intent was unmistakable.
Hana and Haruki tensed in panic.
Haruto didn't.
Strangely enough… he felt calm.
A faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"Looks like I won't need to look for test subjects after all."
"Huh?!" Hana stared at him like he'd lost his mind. "What are you talking about?!"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he stepped forward.
His plan was simple.
Intrinsic skills activated under specific conditions.
So he would force those conditions—observe the response—and replicate the trigger.
Trial and error.
Controlled experimentation.
"…Pretty cool, right?" he muttered under his breath.
With his understanding of fantasy systems, it wouldn't take long.
Soon enough—
This magic system would be as clear as water.
And then—
He would thrive.
...