A flaming longsword shot forth even before Ryuji finished his dash. In the instant the monstrous beasts charged, the sword collided with their faces, shattering the grotesque, mask-like visages and causing the Cthulhu-esque creatures to wail before dissolving into ash mid-air.
These monsters were undeniably powerful, but they lacked intelligence—and their weaknesses were painfully obvious. In his eyes, they were nothing more than cannon fodder.
The moment the last beast disintegrated, Ryuji vanished like a phantom, plunging straight into the encroaching horde of zombies. His sword cleaved through rotting necks without pause, each strike precise, his steps nimble and fluid. To him, the zombies' reactions were as sluggish as turtles crawling through mud.
The once-heavy one-handed sword now felt weightless in his grip, a natural extension of his body. Having long since surpassed human limits through brutal training, he had transcended physical boundaries, bringing feats straight from martial legends into reality.
Severed heads flew. Corpses collapsed. he danced through the horde like a ghost, provoking, baiting, and butchering them in a relentless rhythm.
But there were simply too many—hundreds, perhaps. Still, Ryuji didn't hesitate. Once he reached an optimal distance, he whipped out two grenades from his belt, pulled the pins mid-throw, and lobbed them into the densest cluster of undead.
The explosions tore through the crowd, throwing dozens of zombies into the air, tearing apart their ranks and creating openings. He moved in with surgical precision, cutting through the disorganized stragglers with ease.
And he had plenty more grenades.
In barely ten minutes, the battlefield echoed with blast after blast. From hundreds of enemies, only a few dozen remained. One final charge, and he eliminated the last of them with a ruthless, fluid barrage.
As the final zombie crumpled to the ground, even Ryuji—who now had extraordinary stamina—let out a breath and shook his tattered cloak.
The cloak, originally used in the "7 Days to Die" world for dust protection and modesty, was now soaked in filth and blood. Grenade shrapnel had torn through it, leaving ragged holes. Though he had managed to evade serious injury, his clothing hadn't been as lucky. Some zombies had even managed to grab and rip part of it during the fight.
"More than half my stamina's gone. Mana is nearly depleted. Blood energy is running at the limit…"
Breathing heavily, he turned back, finally ready to check on the two girls he'd just rescued. Who were they? How had they ended up here?
But before he could take a step, something strange occurred. The battlefield, once littered with black ash and broken corpses, shimmered. All the remnants suddenly turned into golden light, gathering before him and coalescing into a glowing, triangular shard that radiated warmth.
Ryuji didn't need any explanation. The moment he saw it—he knew.
A World Fragment from the "7 Days to Die" world.
Those two girls were likely new arrivals, pulled in by the same dimensional rupture that had once dragged him in. But due to the collapse of that world's stability, they'd been forcefully ejected—just like he had.
Ryuji had simply arrived earlier because he'd already been on his way out.
There were certainly complex mechanisms at play here, ones he couldn't fully comprehend. But for now, he simply reached out and grabbed the fragment.
Then, a translucent interface flickered into existence in front of him. Two options appeared:
1. Convert the "7 Days to Die" World Fragment into 10 points of World Power.
2. Store the fragment's power in the Firekeeper's Space, where it can be retrieved or deposited at any time.
He didn't hesitate long. He chose to store the fragment. He wasn't desperate enough to burn it for energy—and besides, there were two girls here who might need protection. If monsters had been rejected upon arrival, these girls were likely affected too.
As soon as the fragment entered the Firekeeper's Space, something inside him shifted.
The world… clarified. The subtle sense of rejection he'd felt ever since arriving vanished completely. It was as if the world had accepted him—as though he'd always belonged here.
"What the…?"
He looked down at his hands in disbelief. He turned to the nearby blocky-looking tree and swung his sword experimentally.
The trunk split cleanly, and a square chunk of wood dropped to the ground. But this time—unlike before—the block didn't just lie there uselessly. It slid toward Ryuji and disappeared into his body.
He paused, then silently summoned the inventory screen from his experience in "7 Days to Die."
Sure enough, an item interface—identical to a video game's—appeared before him. One lonely block of wood now rested in his inventory.
With another thought, his familiar quick-access toolbar appeared. Then the map screen. All exactly like in the game world.
"Interesting... Is it because I absorbed the invading world's energy that I'm now considered 'friendly' here? Or is it something else entirely?"
He rubbed his chin, lost in thought. It was too soon to draw conclusions, but the change was undeniable.
While he pondered, the two girls he'd saved finally approached—one cautiously, the other confidently.
Elsa, stunned by Ryuji's terrifying combat display, hesitated. But the blind girl, Toph, spoke first:
"The noise is gone. You've finished off the monsters, haven't you?"
Though she couldn't sense enemies through the earth like usual, her ears were sharp enough to follow the battle. The grenades had been deafening, so she'd simply covered her ears until silence returned.
"Yeah," Ryuji replied. "But… who are you two? And how did you end up falling from the sky? And those monsters—did they come with you?"
Though he had his suspicions, he kept his guard up. He eyed the sharp-haired girl and the Asian-looking one with the odd hat warily.
"I'm Ryuji, a traveler. If you don't mind, could you tell me what happened to you?"
Elsa blinked. She honestly didn't know. Her first assumption was that her own magic had gone haywire. Toph, on the other hand, remained calm.
"Not sure. One moment I was at home, the next—I was falling. Elsa says the monsters came from the same light that brought us here, but I don't know the details."
There was one thing Toph didn't say: they weren't from this world.
Every time she tried to use her earth-bending techniques, she could feel the world rejecting her—not maliciously, but definitively.
"I see," Ryuji murmured.
Looking at the girls again, he suddenly felt a familiar energy radiating from them. The same feeling he'd had when touching the World Fragment.
"World power…"
It made sense. If the monsters carried residual energy from "7 Days to Die," then these girls probably did too. That's how they'd ended up here.
"Um… I'm Elsa. Queen of Arendelle. Does anyone here know of Arendelle?" she asked timidly.
"Arendelle?" Toph shook her head. "Never heard of it."
"Me neither," Ryuji said, sheathing his sword. "Honestly, I'm not even from this world. I barely know more than you do."
Then he paused. The name Arendelle stirred something in his memory. He glanced at Elsa—her platinum-blonde hair, her regal bearing—and was stunned for a moment.
Frozen?
Ryuji felt a twinge of shame. He hadn't watched much Disney after growing up—especially after learning how they deliberately distorted some things. But still…
Wait, wasn't her hair supposed to be more white than gold?
He stared. In person, her hair wasn't silver-white like in fanart or social media—it was more of a platinum gold. Almost sunlit. And the magical pressure rolling off her in waves…
Even standing still, she radiated barely-contained power.
The sheer intensity of her magical power—it was unbelievable.
Ryuji compared it instinctively. Even with all the power he'd amassed, his own magic paled in comparison. If there was even a sliver of hope he could match her, he would've clung to it.
"I see... Have you seen any signs of civilization? Any people?"
Elsa asked urgently, stepping forward as if to grab his hands in desperation—but immediately stopped herself. Her gloves were gone, lost during the earlier chaos, and she didn't dare risk touching him barehanded.
"Sorry, no. To tell you the truth, this is definitely another world."
Ryuji shook his head. He had taken a good look around on his way down the mountain—there were no people, no buildings. Nothing. Not even a trace of human presence.
"I see…" Elsa's shoulders sagged, her hope fading.
Ryuji hesitated. He could technically return them to their original world if they give him a hand job. But one glance at his current energy reserves made that impossible.
He sighed and opened the system to check how much energy it would take to travel between worlds.
And then he saw it.
"Wait… What the hell?!"
The energy costs were astronomical.
Seria Kirmin: 10 million points.
Tsunade Senju: 200,000.
Erina Nakiri: 30 million.
Nico Robin: 1,000.
Hermione Granger: 600.
Song Hana (D.Va): 300 million.
Rin Tohsaka: 37 million.
2B: 5.5 million.
Rias Gremory: A staggering 1.26 billion.
"This is insane…"
Even if he tried to grind that many points—say, by… ten thousand times per second—he'd probably turn to dust before even getting close.
He'd seen disparities before. The energy required to move from 7 Days to Die to another world had always been relatively low. The jump from the Arad world to the world of Food Wars had cost more, sure—but these numbers were on another level entirely.
"What the hell happened? I was headed for Arad when that explosion hit. Did I get thrown off course? Land in some weird pocket dimension?"
He didn't understand. But he was definitely shaken.
Compared to others, Nico Robin and Hermione seemed like more realistic options.
But he didn't know either of them well enough. Especially Hermione—deep in her magic school, likely far beyond his current reach.
In terms of gathering energy, the Harry Potter world didn't offer much. Ryuji had already tested it: regular people didn't provide much energy, and… well, hiring prostitutes wasn't exactly effective.
Robin's world, on the other hand, was filled with powerful women—many of whom he could potentially ambush and imprison without too much of a moral dilemma.
"Looks like the 7 Days to Die world blew up. That place was a goldmine," Ryuji muttered, frustrated. Losing it meant he'd have to pay a heavy price just to get things moving again.
And unless he was willing to burn a world fragment, he couldn't even leave this place.
With that thought, he made a decision.
"This might sound like I'm taking advantage of the situation… but I have an ability that allows me to leave this world. The catch is—it needs to be charged."
Elsa and Toph both turned toward him with wide eyes.
He didn't hesitate. "And the way to charge it… is through physical intimacy with me."
"…Huh?" Elsa instinctively stepped in front of Toph, shielding her while shooting Ryuji a suspicious glare.
"I know how absurd it sounds, but that's how it works," he continued calmly. "I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It doesn't even have to be sex—just hands or oral is enough. Once I gather enough energy, I can send you both back to your own worlds."
He paused, then added, "Of course, I'm also trapped here. Escaping on my own would come at a very steep cost."
That wasn't exactly true—but Ryuji didn't want to use the world fragment. Even if the chances were slim, he didn't want to be the reason a world ceased to exist.
Or worse, have it be because of something he did.
"Th-this…" Elsa stammered. Though she was a queen, she was surprisingly pure-hearted. She had formal knowledge of such things, of course, but her innocent ideals made it hard for her to process the situation. Even the thought of using her hand made her feel overwhelmed.
And her hands were infused with ice magic. One touch could turn someone into a frozen statue.
"Don't worry—I'll respect whatever choice you make," Ryuji assured them. "I'll provide food, water, supplies, shelter—whatever you need. You've probably noticed this world isn't normal. If anything comes up, just find me nearby. I'll be staying in this area for a month."
With that, he turned toward a nearby cliff. Now that the world had accepted him, he should be able to access its systems. The only question was whether this world's healing items functioned like those in 7 Days to Die.
If so… he could resume training immediately.
Just then, Toph suddenly spoke up.
"Using just hands is enough?"
"Of course," Ryuji replied. "Though I don't know how much energy either of you can provide. Don't worry—the energy is tied to emotion, not body parts."
Toph nodded in thought.
"Makes sense. But how do I know you didn't orchestrate all of this yourself?"
It was a fair question—and one he'd heard before.
"I can't offer any proof," Ryuji said plainly. "It's up to you whether you believe me."
"Hmm…" Toph rubbed her chin, then gave an answer that completely caught him off guard.
"Alright, I believe you. Let's do it. Let's see how much energy these hands of mine can generate."
Toph stepped forward, bold and fearless.
Ryuji: "…Huh??"
Elsa: "??!!"