> Location: Mist Forest — Eastern Outskirts of the Starting City
The mist clung to everything like the breath of ghosts. Thick, shifting, almost fucking alive. Those twisted trees felt like they were watching me, judging every step I took. My gauntlet crackled with blue energy, pulsing in rhythm with my racing heartbeat. B.I.T.—my sphere drone, my Bios-Intelligent Tracker—hovered just above my shoulder, humming like a mechanical guardian angel.
This was only the beginning. And I was already addicted.
Z3RO. That's who I was now. I'd chosen the Artificer class—a hybrid, tech-savvy nightmare that most players avoided like the plague. Too complicated, they said. Too risky. But that's exactly why I loved it. I didn't want to just hit things or cast pretty spells. I wanted to understand the game's code, to bend it to my will, to make it mine.
When I left the city center, I'd told all those easy quests to go fuck themselves. Too much dialogue, too much handholding. I went straight for the Forest of Mist like a moth to flame.
Objective: Hit level 5. Period.
**HUD Interface:**
* **Name: Z3RO**
* **Class: Artificer — Techno-nomad Initiate**
* **Level: 3**
* **Active Skills:**
* *Micro-Drone Lv. 1*: Scans and analyzes enemies
* *Energy Overload*: Electricity pulse that feels like lightning
* *Gravitational Grenade*: Slows everything in a targeted area
* **Inventory:**
* 3 Raw Genesis Crystals
* 1 Unstable Component
* 12 Energy
* 1 Healing Capsule (Lv. 1)
The first fight came fast and ugly.
A wet, sucking sound. Like flesh being torn. The Stringy Ghoul burst out of the mist, empty eye sockets bleeding darkness, flesh hanging in ribbons. It screamed—a sound that made my interface glitch and my soul want to crawl out of my body.
> *Hostile Detected — Type: Stringy Ghoul (Lv. 4)*
I pressed myself against a tree, bark rough against my back. "Quick scan, B.I.T!"
> *Movement: Erratic. Speed: Medium. Weaknesses: Electric shock, posterior joint.*
Beautiful. I activated the gravitational grenade with a grin that probably looked insane.
> *Launch... impact in 3...2...1.*
The metallic sphere detonated in perfect silence. A distorted gravitational field grabbed the creature, folding it in on itself like origami made of screaming flesh.
"Now, you ugly bastard."
I triggered Energy Overload. Blue lightning erupted from my gauntlet, striking the paralyzed ghoul and turning it into a shower of glowing pixels.
> *+120 EXP gained!*
> *Loot: Genesis Tooth — Necrotic Gland — 9 Genesis Units.*
I collapsed against a rock, gasping. Twelve seconds. The fight had lasted twelve fucking seconds, but my heart was hammering like I'd just run a marathon.
I opened the crafting window with shaking hands, feeding the new loot into B.I.T.
> *B.I.T. Protocol updated: Can deliver micro-electric shock on impact.*
The smile that spread across my face felt dangerous.
"It's starting."
Another signal flashed. Multiple hostile forms. A pack this time.
I stood up, replaced my visor, and felt that familiar rush of adrenaline flooding my system.
"Come on then. Let's see if Genesis is ready for me."
**✦ End of Chapter 4**
*Next chapter: "Hakaijin, the Other Side of the World."*