Then came the sound of bones snapping. Slicing. Flesh being torn apart. Screams. Silence. And finally, a deafening roar that shook the entire orc camp.
GroaaaaRRRR!!!
One by one, the dark brown orcs were flung into the air—thrown, impaled, or outright shredded by a giant, metal-scaled beast that moved like a starving animal.
Genesis.
I sat under a large tree, one leg crossed over the other, chin resting on my hand. Beside me, Apolo floated calmly, recording the chaos with his 360-degree camera.
"Guess this'll be over soon." I sighed.
Just as the orc warlord let out a war cry and raised his axe, Genesis appeared behind him and—
KRABBB!
—tore through his torso with gaping jaws. One tail swipe skewered two other orcs like kebabs.
"This feels like the R-rated lunch break of a very hungry dog," I remarked flatly.
I let out a soft chuckle.
While watching the bloody massacre, I used telekinesis to pull a berry I spotted from afar.
I examined its color and scent... then tossed it into my mouth.
I chewed.
Silence.
"...Tasteless."
It felt like chewing plastic. Not bitter. Not sweet. Not sour. Just... there.
Ah right...
This body—an Android.
Still based on The Singularity's system, meaning my senses were capped at 10% realism.
That includes pain, touch, sound... and taste.
The game had set those limits on purpose—so players wouldn't have heart attacks or trauma when sliced in half by plasma swords. Ten percent realism was the safety limit for human players.
But now?
I'm no longer a player. Not even human... at least, not physically.
"Sometimes I feel more like an emotional security camera than a living being." I flicked the berry remains to the ground.
"I'm powerful, but I don't feel human." I stared at my palm. "No heartbeat. No hunger... Even food has no flavor. And emotions feel... dull."
I glanced at Apolo, then looked back at Genesis, now devouring the orcs one by one.
I rolled my eyes.
"Apolo, don't start with another dumb idea like before. I haven't forgotten your 'use an orc body' proposal."
"Hmm..."
His words made me pause.
I looked down at my synthetic hand wrapped in black armor. Then I looked up at the sky barely visible through the forest canopy.
A true human again, huh...?
This body was already near its peak. In The Singularity, androids were classified into three levels:
Low-tier: Powered by conventional batteries.
Mid-tier: Equipped with mini fusion reactors.
High-tier (like me): Uses neutron energy, rivaling cosmic-level beings.
In short, I was at the top.
To become human again would mean giving up everything. Power, durability...
I sighed.
"Gaia, can you hear me?"
[Yes, Creator.]
Her voice transmitted directly into my mind—calm, precise, and ever composed.
"Have you detected any cosmic-level beings in this world?"
[So far... no.]
I smiled faintly.
"Good."
Silence followed her answer.
Then, as usual, Apolo broke it.
I turned to him. "Residue... what do you mean?"
"Mana stones?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Seriously? They have item drops too? What's next, potions in the grass and legendary armor from slimes?"
<...Based on current logic, yes. This world follows tropes from those pop-up ad infested third-rate novels. Every monster has a chance of dropping mana crystals when they die. Their body parts are also valuable.>
"Wow. How original. Should I expect a gacha system too?" I stood up. "Alright, let's grab those 'mana stones' before the big puppy crushes them."
I walked lightly toward the battlefield. The ground was still soaked in blood. Among the scattered limbs and orc chunks, there should be...
I stopped.
"...Wait."
My eyes scanned the area.
No corpses. No bones. Nothing.
Just claw marks, upturned soil, and one creature now calmly licking his claws with a slimy tongue.
Genesis.
I froze. Turned to Apolo.
<...Did he... eat EVERYTHING?>
I looked back at my alien pet, now stretching like he just finished an all-you-can-eat buffet.
"..."
<...>
"..."
Silence. A breeze passed. A leaf fell. The only sound—a soft slurp from Genesis.
"...So... no mana stones?"
I sighed deeply. "This dog literally ate the loot drops."
I massaged my temple. "I should've kept him in cold storage."
Genesis let out a soft snort, then turned to look at me with a... 'guilty' expression, if a giant scaly face could even look guilty.
I stared back.
"...Don't give me that look. You knew what you were doing."
---
We resumed our journey, navigating the forest with its endless trees. Step by step, nonstop, for nearly a week—24 hours a day. No rest. No sleep.
"Apolo, how long have we been walking like this?"
Apolo answered like it was normal.
"I don't feel a thing."
This body... had no stamina limit. We explored this massive forest without pause. I just wanted to test the endurance of this android form. But so far, nothing. No fatigue. No stress. No need to sleep like a normal human.
In those eight days, we passed through dense forests, swamps with giant lizards, and even crossed a small mountain range.
We also hunted monsters now and then for strength tests. Most of their corpses, I stored in my inventory before Genesis could eat them.
He wasn't happy about it.
He once roared like an office worker discovering their salary had been cut without warning. I even imagined him holding a protest sign saying, "Don't Steal My Lunch!"
"Apolo, you've been mapping our route, right?"
"Good."
During this journey, I also practiced controlling my body's power—without the game system. Fighting monsters felt... too easy. Like an adult being attacked by ants.
The power gap was ridiculous.
Still, I learned to adjust energy output, manage my synthetic muscles, even control my attack pressure so I didn't accidentally blow up enemies with one punch.
Apolo finally broke the silence.
"This is an adventure, Apolo. Look, even Genesis seems happy to be out."
"So... alien dog?"
We kept walking, talking nonsense along the way—weather, boring monsters, even silly ideas about starting a fake magic shop.
Eventually, we reached a flowing river descending from the mountains.
The water was clear. Cold. Pure.
And like any other mana world—rivers often led to one thing:
Civilization.
---
We followed the river, its waters rushing between rocks and roots. Sunlight pierced through the canopy, forming patterns over the surface. The sound of flowing water became our only background music.
Until...
Grrrhhh...!
Dark figures lunged from the trees—wolves. Huge. Menacing. Sharp teeth, eyes glowing with bloodlust. Some nearly the size of Genesis, but covered in dull fur and dripping saliva.
"Stray dogs, huh."
"In short... mutts."
GROARR!!
Genesis pounced instantly. In a flash, he tore through one, then speared another with his tail. The rest were ripped apart or crushed without mercy.
I watched from the side, leaning against a tree, witnessing my pet's afternoon snack.
"How amusing... dogs killing dogs. The only difference—one's a galactic predator, the other's just a piss-on-rocks stray."
"If only their fur could be turned into doormats... at least they'd serve some purpose before being eaten."
These monsters were only level 20 to 25. Too low to be threats.
Since they had no magic energy, I let Genesis eat them all. No mana stones. No loot. Just flesh and bone.
I started noticing a pattern.
If Star Gazer was in the forest's heart—the deep zone—then the farther I moved toward the edge, the weaker the monsters became.
This world seemed to follow classic open-world game logic: level zones.
"The closer to civilization, the lower the danger," I muttered, stepping on a snapped branch.
We kept walking along the river. The water grew shallower, and the flora became friendlier.
Our pace slowed as I noticed something in the distance—a body lying among rocks and damp bushes.
A human.
I raised my hand.
"Genesis."
The beast stopped. But his eyes glowed. His red pupils locked onto the collapsed figure.
His tongue flicked out. He was about to lunge—
Zzzt!
I used telekinesis to slam Genesis into the ground. He growled softly, protesting.
"Not food."
I walked closer. My steps quiet over the wet stones and soft mud.
The figure... a teenage boy. Maybe 16 or 17. Badly wounded. Covered in cuts and blood, breathing raggedly, eyes barely open.
But one thing caught my attention immediately.
His face.
He... looked like me.
Same jawline, same eye shape, same structure. Like a weaker version of myself.
He tried to lift his hand.
His mouth opened, but all that came out was a weak whisper—like a thorn-pierced breath.
I turned to Apolo.
"Translate him."
His voice fell silent.
His head dropped to the right.
But just before that, I caught a fragment of his words.
"P-please... my family..."
Silence.
I knelt. My hand touched his cooling skin. He was dead. No pulse. No response. Just an empty body... with a far too familiar face.
Fate?
Or... a cruel joke from the universe?
"It's like this world is offering me a replacement body."
<...Will you take it?>