The world was gray.
It wasn't a poetic observation. It was a literal description of Turu Riku's existence. The concrete of the office building, the asphalt of the road, the steel of the commuter train, and the sky that hung over Tokyo like a damp, dirty rag... it was all gray.
Riku adjusted his tie, the cheap fabric scratching against a neck that had been bent over a spreadsheet for twelve hours. He was forty-two years old. He had a bank account that was neither empty nor full, an apartment that was neither clean nor dirty, and a life that was neither happy nor sad.
He was just… existing. A cog that had spun so many times it had smoothed out all its own teeth.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The pedestrian crossing signal chirped. The herd of tired souls in suits shuffled forward, a collective mass of exhaustion. Riku walked with them, staring at the heels of the shoe in front of him.
Dinner, he thought. Convenience store bento. Salmon or hamburger steak? Maybe just a beer.
That was the extent of his ambition.
He stepped off the curb.
The screech wasn't what caught his attention. It was the wind. A sudden, violent displacement of air that shouldn't exist on a city street. Riku looked up.
A massive delivery truck had swerved, its brakes locking up on the slick pavement. It was hydroplaning, drifting sideways with the unstoppable momentum of ten tons of steel.
Directly in its path, frozen by the headlights like a deer in a nature documentary, stood a child. A girl, maybe six or seven, clutching a bright red umbrella... the only spot of color in Riku's gray world.
Riku didn't think, his body moved on its own.
He lunged.
His hand shoved the girl hard. She went flying, tumbling onto the wet sidewalk, safe.
But it was too late for Riku.
The grille of the truck filled his vision. It looked like a grinning mouth.
Ah, Riku thought, a strange sense of relief washing over him. I don't have to go to work tomorrow.
Then, the gray turned to black.
***
[System Initialization...]
[Soul Integrity: 0.00%... Correction applied.]
[Soul Integrity: 100%.]
[Karmic Value Assessment: Anomalous. Subject died with zero regrets yet maximum sacrifice.]
[Calculating Reward...]
[Error. Soul incompatible with Standard Hero Template.]
[Rerouting...]
[Acquiring Unique Skill... Failed.]
[Acquiring Miracle Skill... Success.]
[Miracle Skill: Omnisophos granted.]
[Generating Vessel...]
***
Pain.
It wasn't the sharp, crushing pain of being hit by a truck. It was a dull, throbbing ache, like waking up with a hangover after a company mixer he hadn't wanted to attend.
Riku groaned. Or rather, he tried to.
"Mreow."
The sound startled him. It was high-pitched, raspy, and pathetic.
Riku opened his eyes.
The gray was gone. In its place was an explosion of green vibrant, aggressive, suffocating green.
Leaves the size of dinner tables blocked out a sky that was a terrifyingly deep shade of azure. Massive roots, thick as subway cars, twisted out of the earth, covered in moss that glowed with a faint, bioluminescent pulse. The air was heavy, smelling of wet earth, crushed pine needles, and something metallic—like blood.
Where... is the hospital?
Riku tried to sit up. His center of gravity was wrong. Completely wrong. He pitched forward, face-planting into the dirt.
He pushed himself up with his hands.
He froze.
They weren't hands.
They were paws. Small, velvety, midnight-black paws with retractable claws that were currently snagged in the moss.
"Mrow?" (What?)
He looked down at himself. Black fur, a sleek, small body. A long, sinuous tail that twitched with a mind of its own behind him.
He was a cat.
Not a tiger. Not a panther. A house cat. A distinctively small, black house cat.
Baffled by the confusion. He tried to shout.
"Hiss! Mreow-row!"
Calm down, Riku, he told himself, the internal monologue sounding remarkably like his old human voice. Deep breaths. You died. You definitely died. That truck turned you into paste. So this is... reincarnation?
He looked at his paws again.
But a cat? Really? Did I not save the girl? Was my karma that bad?
Suddenly, a blue translucent pane of glass materialized in front of his nose. It hovered in the air, defying gravity.
[Welcome to the Great Forest of Eldoria.]
[Current Status: Confused.]
[Would you like to configure your identity?]
Riku stared at the text. It was in Japanese, thank god. Or maybe he just understood it?
A game system, Riku thought, his otaku phase from twenty years ago flickering in his memory. Okay. I can work with this.
"Mew." (Yes.)
[Identity Configuration Initiated.]
[Please state your name.]
Riku paused. Turu Riku? No. That man was dead. That man was a gray stain on a gray road. If this was a new life, he needed a new designation. Something that fit his current form. Something that commanded a little more respect than "Kitty."
He looked at his fur. It was darker than the deepest shadow.
Nero, he thought. Simple. Classic.
[Name confirmed: Nero.]
[Analyzing Species...]
[Species: Felis Catus (Variant: Midnight Prowler).]
[Attributes:]
- Strength: G
- Agility: E
- Magic: F
- Vitality: G
- Intelligence: A+
Strength G? Nero felt a twitch of annoyance. That sounded pitiful. He was essentially a chew toy.
[Notice: Miracle Skill 'Omnisophos' is ready for activation. Would you like to consult the Core Intelligence?]
Omnisophos?
"Mrow." (Do it.)
[Affirmative.]
The text box vanished, and suddenly, a voice echoed inside his skull. It wasn't the robotic text-to-speech voice he expected. It was a woman's voice—crisp, cool, and sounding slightly bored, like a librarian who had caught him chewing gum.
"Greetings, Host. I am the Core Intelligence of the Miracle Skill, Omnisophos. You may refer to me as Sophia if you lack imagination, which, considering you named yourself 'Black' in Italian, seems likely."
Nero's ears flattened against his head. Did the system just roast me?
"I did," Sophia's voice resonated. "I have direct access to your cognitive stream. Now, stop grooming your paw and pay attention. We are in a highly dangerous environment."
Nero froze. He hadn't realized he was licking his paw. It was instinct. He quickly put the paw down.
Explain, Nero thought, projecting the concept at the voice. What is Omnisophos?
"Omnisophos is the All-Wisdom," Sophia explained, her tone shifting to lecture mode. "It is the authority to Analyze, Deconstruct, and Reconstruct the fundamental laws of this world into 'Skills'. In layman's terms: You can look at something, understand how it works, and turn it into a power for yourself. Or, you can modify existing skills."
Limitless power?
"Theoretically. However, your current vessel, this feline form, has the mana capacity of a wet sponge. If you try to create a nuclear explosion, you will turn into dust. We must start small."
Crack.
A twig snapped.
Nero's new ears swiveled instantly, rotating 180 degrees toward the sound. His pupils dilated until his eyes were almost entirely black orbs.
Through the dense undergrowth, about twenty meters away, something was moving.
Nero lowered his body, his belly fur brushing the moss. He peered through the ferns.
It was a rabbit.
Nero relaxed slightly. Just a rabbit. I might be small, but I can handle a—
The rabbit hopped into a patch of sunlight. It was the size of a Golden Retriever. And protruding from the center of its forehead was a spiraled, jagged horn that dripped with a purple liquid.
[Analysis Complete.]
[Target: Venom-Horned Rabbit.]
[Threat Level: E.]
[Note: One scratch from the horn will result in paralysis and subsequent consumption.]
Consumption? It eats meat?!
The rabbit sniffed the air. Its red eyes locked onto the fern hiding Nero. It let out a low, guttural growl that sounded nothing like a rabbit.
Nero felt a primal spike of adrenaline. His fur stood on end, making him look twice his size (which was still very small).
Sophia! What do I do?
"Run? No, felids are ambush predators, not endurance runners. That thing will outpace you in seconds. You must fight."
Fight? I have Strength G!
"You have Omnisophos. Use it. Analyze the target. Find a concept."
The rabbit scraped its paw against the ground, preparing to charge.
Nero stared at the beast. He didn't look at it as an animal; he looked at it as a problem to be solved on a spreadsheet.
Structure: Muscular legs for propulsion. Weapon: Sharp horn, poison. Weakness: Neck? Eyes?
No, he needed a weapon.
He looked at the air around him. The wind rustled the leaves.
Wind, Nero thought. Invisible. Sharp. Fast.
He focused his intent. He imagined the sensation of the truck cutting through the air before it hit him. The pressure. The edge.
Sophia, assist! Create Skill based on 'Air Compression'!
"Acknowledged. Drafting schematic... Mana cost: 15. Success rate: 80%."
[Skill Created: Wind Cutter (Level 1)]
[Description: Launches a small blade of compressed air.]
The rabbit shrieked and lunged. It covered the twenty meters in a blur of fur and malice.
Nero didn't move, more like he couldn't. His body was locked in fear, but his mind was screaming the command.
WIND CUTTER!
He swiped his right paw forward.
Instead of just cute velvet pads hitting the air, a distortion rippled out from his claws. A translucent crescent of distorted light shot forward, accompanied by a sharp swish sound.
The blade of air met the charging rabbit in mid-air.
Squelch.
The sound was wet and sickening.
The rabbit tumbled past Nero, crashing into the roots of the tree he was standing under. It twitched once, then fell still. Its head had been cleanly severed from its body, rolling a few feet away, the horn stuck in the dirt.
Nero stood there, his paw still raised.
Silence returned to the forest.
"Efficient," Sophia noted. "Though your aim was slightly off. You almost missed the jugular."
Nero collapsed onto his haunches, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. He looked at the dead monster. He had killed it. He, Turu Riku, the man who apologized when people bumped into him, had just decapitated a giant monster rabbit.
A strange sensation bubbled up in his chest. It wasn't guilt.
It was hunger.
His stomach gave a loud, demanding growl.
"Host," Sophia said, her voice dry. "I suggest you consume the target. You need biomass to facilitate evolution and mana regeneration."
Eat it? Raw? Nero grimaced. I was hoping for a convenience store bento.
"You are a cat, Nero. Act like one."
Nero approached the carcass cautiously. The smell of fresh blood was overpowering, but strangely... not unappealing. His mouth watered.
He took a bite.
It didn't taste like raw meat to a human. To his feline tongue, it was an explosion of flavor—rich, savory, and energizing.
[Predation Successful.]
[Experience gained.]
[Mana recovered.]
[Passive Skill Acquired: Poison Resistance (Minor).]
[Skill Acquired: High Jump (Derived from leg muscles).]
Nero stopped chewing. Wait. I get skills from eating things too?
"Omnisophos analyzes everything," Sophia replied. "Consumption is just another form of analysis. You break it down, you learn it. If you eat enough of these, you might even grow a horn. Though I advise against it. It would ruin your aesthetic."
Nero finished the meal, leaving only the bones and the dangerous horn. He felt stronger. The lethargy was gone. His muscles felt tighter, more responsive.
He sat back and licked the blood from his muzzle, meticulously cleaning his face with his paws.
He looked around the towering forest. This place was terrifying. It was filled with monsters that could kill him in a heartbeat. He was alone, small, and hunted.
But as he flexed his claws, feeling the hum of mana respond to his will, Nero felt something he hadn't felt in forty-two years.
He felt alive.
Sophia, Nero projected.
"Yes?"
Map.
[Mapping area...]
A small 3D grid appeared in his mind. It showed a radius of about fifty meters. Beyond that, darkness.
Where are we?
"According to the stellar alignment and mana density... we are in the 'Forbidden Zone' of the Central Continent. The humans call this the God-Rot Forest."
God-Rot Forest, Nero mused. Charming.
He hopped up onto a tree root, digging his claws into the bark to scramble up to a higher vantage point. He gazed out into the endless sea of green.
I need a base, he decided. I need to understand my limits. And I need to find out if there's anyone else here besides monsters.
"Objective set: Survival and Exploration," Sophia intoned.
Nero narrowed his golden eyes.
No, he corrected. Objective set: Domination.
He turned his back on the setting sun and melted into the shadows of the canopy, a small, black blot of misfortune moving with silent, deadly purpose.
( END OF CHAPTER 1 )