Game Start

'This is a lot better…' Adam thought as the way he viewed reality shifted. Yes, this was truly fair…

A proper video game.

Since real life was such a unbalanced game with so many bugs... Honestly, he'd always thought this.

Who thought a oerma-death system where your progress was deleted upon death was good?

And on an even bigger note: What was the point?

On games of other genres than 'Real Life' had goals to their creation. Each one being specific.

'Survival Horrors' were as their name suggested. It was about surviving in world filled with horrors.

'Fighting Games' had variations, but the core concept was always defeating your opponent.

To fight for supremacy.

'Stealth Games' focused on not being seen.

'3D Platformers' focused on manoeuvring around.

Whether it be a linear story or virtual sandbox, the goals of the avatar were always expressed clearly.

But what about 'Real Life'?

What was so goddamn REAL about life…?

'All locked and loaded.' He thought when the disk inside the cylinder magazine was ready to be shot.

This was more real…

His movements became robotic, but there was more purpose in the way he fitted in the rounds.

This was his reality.

A dot appeared at the centre of his vision, and his body unconsciously aligned to have high accuracy.

Although having the end point of his aim calculated like this didn't 100% ensure he'd hit the target, this was a lot better than nothing. Moreover, he still had his 'Deep Eyes Digest All Things' to support him.

Now all he needed was to shoot with precision…

Adam looked between the ♾/ ♾. The two infinity symbols on his green health bar 100% MP bar.

'I guess this is hacks…' Perhaps it was unfair that he had an aim-bot and a health bar that was impossible to lower, but his opponent was much more of a cheat. The 'God' was like a Raid Boss.

If this was a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game (MMORPG), then this axe-wielding God of Fire would probably be the type of opponent you'd need an entire army to defeat.

He glanced at the man to glean information. Even if the God didn't have a system, he could get a hint.

[Name: Hephaestus Terran

Title: Cuck, Husband With A Pseudo-Harem Of Wives, Former Werewolf, Midget, Dwarf Face

HP = ???/???

MP = ???/???

Imaginary Attribute: Hephaestus

Skill List: Blacksmithing, Godhood, Knowledge of all Arms, Axe Mastery, Absolute Chop, £&@?f#%*]

What he could glean using 'Deep Eyes Digest All Things' wasn't much. All he got was useless facts.

Moreover, was the first and last two titles needed?

He glanced at the corner that indicated his 'Equip'.

42 rounds… That's all he had before he needed to reload, which might as well be a death sentence.

There was no way anyone using a melee weapon would let him actually go through with reloading.

He needed to be cautious…

On the other hand, Terran was seeing things in a different light. His battle zone seemed impacted.

The moment a firearm was placed against his cold weapon, the difference between them was shown.

The dome-like imaginary barrier symbolising the divine blacksmith's reach. Where he could defend.

"Let's start…" Terran was the first one to act, he stepped toward the miracle gamer aggressively.

Only to have his 'done' blasted away in an instant.

*Ptching!*

Like the slot machine of a casino, a disk was short at high speed. Breaking through the thick defence.

Terran only barely managed to deflect the shot…

His eyes widened with surprise when he looked at the disk that had been embedded into the wall.

"Pure Mana…?" It was a rare power that isn't seen often. Much less in the body of a mere mortal.

Not even 'Avatars' should possess such a power…

*Ptching!*

Another disk was shot, but this time… Terran was ready to react. His axe swung like a baseball bat.

Hitting the bladed 'bullet'.

*Bam!*

The energy disk went straight back into Adam's face… but an odd thing happened at that point.

The disk… bounced off…

A ripple occurred through Adam's HP Bar, but the damage wasn't even enough to cause an ailment.

This only served to disappoint the both of them.

For Terran, he noticed that his opponent didn't even flinch. His shooting posture was impeccable.

'Is this even possible…?' It seemed crazy that a mere avatar could withstand such a great force.

Even if he felt no physical pain, Adam's posture should have been thrown off by the impact…

…but that didn't happen.

'I have to acknowledge this.' Terran sighed on the inside. The former landlord grew in a short time.

He was no longer the same person as before.

Whether it be the way those eyes were unflinching towards difficulties, or the madness he sensed.

Everything about him had changed…

Especially the way Adam seemed unconcerned,

'I should put a 'Sharpening' on this.' The miracle gamer determined that he needed to be hardcore.

His hand traced against the spine of Mk1 SDCC.

[You have acquired the Personal Skill: 'Dicer Disk'.]

[Description: 'Slash Sharpening' shall be applied passively every 10 seconds when Sword Disk Casull Contender is equipped. The closer the proximity to opponent, the greater the effect.]

[This Skill is only available in the FPS Genre.]

10 Seconds might have sounded like a long time to some, but there was no way Terran would sit still,

He could sense Adam's cylinder battle zone that only stretched forward. There was no point staying in one place. It was better to approach and show the difference between them in close combat.

*Ting!*

When he saw Adam's weapon glow up and ring with a sharp sound, he instinctively leapt forward.

['Barrage Shot' has been activated.]

The miracle gamer didn't save his ammo.

'Fuck…' He thought. Terran was approaching his body with a speed beyond his senses could reach.

His large axe creating a pathway through his stream-like battle zone. A boulder in the river.

The divine blacksmith shortened the radius of the dome-like battle zone to increase the durability.

Helping him get straight into Adam's face.

*Bang!*

There was another clash, but Terran realised this wasn't the gunblade. He had hit something else.

'A shield…?' Seeing the spatial riot shield in front of him, the dwarf-like God of Fire attacked again.

But his axe couldn't get past the durability of space itself. Adam decided to wait for his opportunity.

They started to spar even more intensely…

Adam kept on switching between attack and defence, while Terran kept hacking aggressively.

Gradually, the bullets started to deplete one by one. Damage wasn't being done to either of them…

…but the finale was coming.

The previously sophisticated sparring session where they both calculatingly struck became dark.

A battle craze was taking over his opponent…

The demonic spatial energy that created the riot shield shouldn't have been able to be cut, as that was like cutting space itself. However, the dwarf-like man seemed to easily make visible cuts on it.

If he was struck by that kind of blade, then…

He stopped thinking about it.

'What ifs' weren't going to get him anywhere. He needed to find a strategy before he ran out of-

*Kch* *Kch* *Kch*

'Fuck…' One moment of deep thought made him forget about the number of bullets that were used.

He needed to reload!

But would Terran let him do that?

"Looks like you're out. If you're struggling against me, then you won't even touch the corners of her dress." The divine blacksmith released his established battle zone and lifted his axe high.

Adam's pupils started dilating…

His opponent had given up all defences for this single hacking cut. Most likely the 'Absolute Chop'.

Although the miracle gamer was confident in his riot shield's self-repairing ability, he was sure this cut would go straight through his defences. It was at that point he saw an option on his virtual HUB.

So what should he do?

'Lose it.' To increase his speed, he let go of a flimsy defence to focus more on dodging or parrying.

However, there was a problem.

First Person Shooters didn't have those options.

The META of gaming made him keenly aware that FPS Games rarely had features for this scenario.

Getting hit was inevitable…

But judging from the strength of the slash, it would hack him into two pieces regardless of his abilities.

None of the Skills he had could defend against it.

This reminded him of that similar scene from not too long ago. From when Red Rabbit defeated him.

She left him without any room to fight back.

Making him feel inadequate. Making him feel wrong. But most of all, she made him feel 'empty'.

Like everything he'd built himself to be was false.

A facade meant to protect his fragile ego…

She didn't just completely destroy his body. Her attack had thrown away everything he believed in.

Hollowing out his existence.

Now, was he losing again?

Was he still 'wrong'? Was his iron conviction not good enough? Perhaps he'd been too conceited.

Maybe… he was just worthless.

A can on the roadside. No matter how he tried to define individuality and find a place in the world…

…it would always end in a disaster.

'No…' Adam thought with burning eyes. He had lost too much for this, and couldn't possibly accept it.

Time started to slow, and his thoughts accelerated:

'Broken… Abandoned… Lost… After feeling all of that, am I STILL losing? Really? Hehe, hahaha~'

He couldn't accept it. Was his real self just a loser who'd accept such an outcome? Losing? LOSING?

It was at that moment his focus and drive had unlocked a state both gamers and fighters shared.

A rarely accessed state of mind that couldn't be consciously entered. It needed a few factors.

Determination, creativity, and an immersion into their task far beyond the scope of concentration.

A hyper-focused mindset that flipped the tables.

[You have entered 'The Zone'.]

[All stats are temporarily boosted. Your proficiency in battle has temporarily increased to a new level.]

[Power Tier= S (Common)

Agility Tier= SS (Rare)

Speed Tier= S (Common)

Defence Tier= A (Common)

Magic Tier= E (Common)]

The 'Deep Eyes Digest All Things' stared at the snail pace weapon was frozen in the seas of time.

His body felt liberated in this world. Like anything he thought of could be accomplished in this state.

[Would you like to automatically re-equip? Y/N]

There was an option given…

But this would likely not be fast enough. Even if he changed his weapon, the slash would cut down.

He needed something fast!

'QUICK. Think think think think think-' A flash of inspiration interrupted that moment of thought.

'Right. That.' Adam twisted his Mk1 SDCC, which made it seem like he was taking the hit head on.

"Sorry~~~!" Terran smiled with a bloodthirsty expression while chopping down on his figure.

Only to see his opponent intercepting first…

Even though Adam moved after his opponent, the fluid motion of his weapon made it clash faster.

This wasn't a difference in speed. Since the miracle gamer had no wind-up motion, it was sent out first.

But that also made such an attack useless.

'Not enough…' In that brief moment before their weapons clashed, Terran gazed down coldly.

He found it disappointing…

As someone who actually loved battles as much as he liked weapons, he liked to see fighters grow.

This was just the nature of the Bloodlust Pack.

They may have become meeker in a modernised society, but their hearts was always feral in nature.

Animalistic…

However, Terran was fully unaware of 'gamer logic'.

Maybe in real life, such a short motion without any wind-up might have been nothing… but…

Adam was using the physical logic of such a reality.

Since First Person Shooters focused on long-ranged battle, short ranged combat had to be swift and concise. Therefore, it was only natural the genre would change his blade's melee potency.

*Clang!*

[Both you and your opponent's attacks are at an equal level. Thus, combatants shall be disarmed.]

Mk1 SDCC returned to his inventory, and Terran lost grip of his axe… It left him at a loss for words.

[You have created the Skill: 'Heavy Strike'.]

['Job: Strike Administrator' has recorded the Personal Skill. The genre limitations are lifted.]

The dwarf-like man didn't know what happened.

He didn't expect the attack to not go through.

Adam was too immersed to notice the face of confusion. He spammed the same Skill again.

*Bang!*

When used without a weapon, the speed of the Heavy Strike heightened while strength lowered.

But it was enough to knock the unsuspecting blacksmith off his feet, causing him to kneel.

'Crouch.' The miracle gamer continued his assault before his opponent was able to regain composure.

His legs bent to lower his posture, then it Terran while he was still on the ground until he gave in.

"I give… I give! Don't you dare go overboard!" The man held his bloody nose while blocking strikes.

He had been caught off-guard by the first punch…

Adam, as if driven by instinct from his extra deep immersion, kept moving in front of the God of Fire.

Stand. Crouch. Stand. Crouch. Stand-

"THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!" This shout had snapped him out of 'The Zone'. Adam bit his lip.

The gamer realised he'd went too far…

"Sorry… Habits."

"…I won't ask any further." This 'habit' seemed too strange for it not to be a kind of degenerate hobby.

Why did it look so wrong in his eyes…?

[You have exited 'The Zone'. Your stats shall return to their original state. New abilities are memorised.]

[Power Tier= A+ (Common)

Agility Tier= S (Rare)

Speed Tier= A+ (Common)

Defence Tier= B (Common)

Magic Tier= F (Common)]

"Ahem… So was I good?" Adam had gotten out of the hyperactive emotional state and asked calmly.

He already knew the answer.

"If it weren't did that sudden power up in the end. I wouldn't have gotten hurt." The injury swiftly faded.

"Ah…" Adam wasn't sure what to say to this. That state he was in earlier wasn't easy to replicate.

"Anyway, can you put your arms down now? Are you planning to fight?" Terran narrowed his eyes.

"Err… I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"I literally can't do that." The gamer tried to move more comfortably, but was met with resistance.

[Your actions are not permitted by the genre.]

[All banned actions outside of trigger pulling and striking are now relegated to 'Action Commands'.]

[You can access the 'Action Commands' by getting closer to the interactive object and thinking hard.]

Adam looked at the new messages and stopped.

He looked down on the fallen Terran and spoke with the most innocent expression he had:

"Can I help you up?"

"Umm… Okay…?"

[Action Command: Help the target get up.]

The restrictions lifted around Adam's body momentarily when helping Hephaestus stand.

His body stiffened back to a combative form after finishing, which had made the blacksmith flinch.

But he sighed after realising what had happened.

"…Can't you turn it off?"

"NEVER!!!" And return to real life? Adam would rather kill himself than go back to that game genre.

'Real Life' was broken!

"Alright, alright… You don't have to be so touchy."

"My bad." The miracle gamer readily admitted. It was hard for him to keep a stable mind recently.

"You changed a lot. It feels like you have a goal now compared to before. Can you talk about it?"

"It isn't a secret. Actually…" Adam's face turned serious while speaking: "I also want Godhood."

"You want to become someone like me?"

"Yeah."

"Why?" This short inquiry from Terran threw the gamer for a loop. He didn't know the answer.

"Why shouldn't I want that?"

"I admit. There are many who sacrifice everything to become a God, but it isn't all sunshines and rainbows. If it was like that, my whore of a wife wouldn't sleep around when I'm still here for her."

"…Are you allowed to speak about her like that?"

"She'd likely enjoy it." Terran rolled his eyes, but was still insistent: "Godhood isn't a joke."

"I'm serious about this."

"I know you like control, but this-"

"Terran." Adam spoke out the man's name with eyes that were immovable. He couldn't be stopped.

The God of the Forge looked at that expression…

…then sighed while giving in:

"…There are two ways to become a God. The first is to, like me, rack up enough achievements for your transcendence. For example: Creating many weapons that would be wielded by great figures."

"And the other way?" Adam was absolutely sure he wouldn't be able to do this. It was too difficult.

"Cultivate to become a God."

"You mean like a Breath Circulation technique?"

"How is breathing supposed to turn you into a God?! Ahem… Anyway, there's only one example of this happening to someone. All other routes are too highly specific for you to be able to replicate."

"Then I need to find this person you speak of."

"You've already met her." When Adam heard this, a twisted look appeared on his face momentarily.

But the gamer was able to control himself to ask:

"Red Rabbit…?"

"Yup."

"…" This task was impossible.

It was better to try and rack up achievements throughout his lifetime than try asking that woman.

"If you're thinking of using your immortality to your advantage, then don't. You'll only be disappointed."

"Then how am I supposed to get her technique?" A deep awkwardness appeared in Adam's gestures.

"…Do you want to hear something interesting?"

"I'm hoping this is relevant."

"Of course! Listen… Let me tell you an old story about the fall and rise of a certain Sword Goddess."

Terran looked at the face of interest the miracle gamer showed, feeling like he regained some pride.

He started to talk about the past…