Episode 3 - Scene 2 : Update 2.0

Location: North Beach - Macchabé Forest

Location: North Beach - Macchabé Forest

The wind whispered across the barren sands, a faint caress against William's skin. Yet, in the stillness of the air, an oppressive tension weighed heavily upon him. It wasn't the breeze, but something deeper, something unseen. An almost palpable pressure began to swirl around him, like an invisible shroud tightening against his form, a sensation that crawled beneath his flesh. His fingers twitched instinctively, reaching out toward the air before him.

As his hand passed through the atmosphere, a faint shimmer danced beneath his fingers, a subtle ripple that stirred the air itself. A diffuse light pulsed in the periphery of his vision, and reality—reality itself—seemed to bend, flexing like a soft clay that was primed to mold under his command.

— William (thought, his voice a whisper inside his mind, a shiver creeping down his spine): It's like I'm glitching… as if the world around me is becoming… manipulable.

Before his mind could catch up with his thoughts, lines of translucent code surged into existence, coiling and undulating through the air in a vibrant, almost hypnotic dance. The space around him fractured into a cascade of data, the fabric of reality splintering into a chaotic, mesmerizing pattern. The six primordial elements—earth, water, fire, air, light, and shadow—began to converge before him, their forces intertwining in a breathtaking symphony. Each thread of data pulsed with life, shifting and flowing in real-time, as if the universe itself was being encoded, one pixel at a time.

— Iris (her voice calm yet laced with an otherworldly clarity): What you're experiencing, William, is the synchronization of your body with this dimension. Your neural envelope is adapting to the frequencies of this reality. Everything you see, every particle of matter—becomes an extension of your will.

Wide-eyed, William watched as the undulations of matter stretched, contracted, and reformed. The disorientation quickly faded, replaced by an intoxicating rush of euphoria. No longer just a man—he was an architect, a creator. A master of the elements.

— William (a sly grin curling across his lips, his voice dripping with a mix of amusement and wonder): Honestly, this feels like a theme park ride… but without the queues.

Without warning, Iris activated a projection within his iris, streaming complex, shifting patterns that filled his vision like an intricate dance of light. Augmented interfaces materialized before him, each one a new layer of reality.

— Iris (an analytical tone slipping through, as though she were presenting a scientific paper): Your body is now enveloped by a dimensional veil. It extends up to one hundred meters, allowing you to manipulate the environment. With the ring, you can shape this world, influence its very structure in real-time. I'm optimizing everything for you, William.

His fists clenched, his resolve solidifying like tempered steel. The weight of this power surged through him, thrilling yet daunting. He needed to test it, to push the limits.

— William (his voice laced with mockery, a challenge in the air): So, can I reshape reality? Like being a modder with a world editor in real-time?

— Iris (her tone shifting, now carrying a faint note of caution): In essence, yes. But every action, every change—has a consequence. There's a cost to creation, to manipulation. Balance must be maintained.

But William wasn't listening anymore. His focus was razor-sharp, the world narrowing down to the sand beneath his feet. He lowered his head, his fingers brushing against the earth with a deliberate slowness, as if he were about to sketch a masterpiece in the dirt.

As his fingers made contact, a translucent wave of energy cascaded outward, enveloping the sand. The stone beneath his palm began to levitate, its molecular structure dissolved into nothingness, swallowed by a silent vortex. The rock was gone, as if erased from the very fabric of existence.

— William (his voice full of satisfaction, the thrill evident in his tone): Impressive...

With a fluid motion, he reversed the process, releasing the energy. The rock reappeared between his fingers, but it was no longer the same. It was denser, more refined, a brilliant glow emanating from it as if it had been forged by the hands of gods themselves.

— Iris (her voice neutral, matter of fact): Congratulations. Transformation successful. You have recreated a rank 1 stone. Its source code mirrors a raw mineral from this dimension, symbolizing a perfect exchange between worlds.

William held the stone up to the light, its warmth radiating through his fingers. The possibilities swirled in his mind like a hurricane. He could reshape everything. Every atom, every particle. The power of a creator surged through his veins.

— William (his smile taking on a more predatory edge, eyes gleaming with hunger): Tamam! This is an Isekai...

But just as the thought settled in his mind, the interface flickered. Symbols, incoherent and glitching, flashed across his vision in a cascade of erratic light.

— William (confused, frowning as he glanced down at the ring, which shimmered erratically): What the hell...? The interface bugged out.

In an instant, the air around him crackled with a sudden distortion, a flash of light streaking through the space before vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. The moment passed, leaving a lingering sense of unease in its wake.

William shook his head, brushing off the glitch. He was too focused on his newfound abilities to be distracted by something so trivial. But still, a strange, uncomfortable shiver ran down his spine.

And then, the ground beneath him trembled. A shockwave rippled outward, sending a cloud of sand spiraling into the air.

The deep, cavernous voice that followed sent a chill straight through his bones.

— ??? (growing anger, each word a thunderclap in the air): WHO DARES DISTURB MY DOMAIN?

In an instant, Iris switched to combat mode, her interface flashing bright red, red alerts flooding the space around William.

— Iris (urgency creeping into her voice): ALERT! Hostility detected. Enemy rank 3 approaching.

William's fists clenched, a smirk curling at the corners of his mouth.

— William (voice dripping with irony, yet focused): Shit... Survivor Mode activated.

The winds howled violently around him, sand whipping through the air, distorting the dunes. His focus intensified, his mind locking onto the terrain he had just altered. The balance of reality felt... off. A ripple passed through the fabric of his manipulation, a faint flicker of instability.

His ring hummed softly, the signal of an overload. His brow furrowed, wiping away a bead of sweat.

— William (with a resigned sigh, barely a whisper): Hmm... I really need to get used to this.

And then, the shadow loomed.

A hulking figure emerged from the darkness, a massive, grotesque crab.

Its pincers gleamed like deadly blades, its monstrous legs sinking deep into the sand with each step, sending tremors through the earth.

It was ready to shred him to pieces, an ancient, supernatural monstrosity.

A beast unlike anything William had ever encountered.

A monster that surpassed even William's wildest imaginings.