The Razor-Tusk Boar was a mountain of bristling, obsidian-colored fur and jagged bone, its breath coming in hot, snorting puffs of vapor that smelled of fermented earth and old blood. In the standard game mechanics of Aether-Sync, a Level 3 beast was an absolute death sentence for a fresh Level 1 "Interloper." Most players would have seen a terrifying red nameplate and a massive health bar that made their own tiny life pool look pathetic.
Jin, however, saw the world through a different lens. To him, the boar was not just a monster; it was a moving construct of golden scripts. Its speed was fueled by a flickering [Haste] rune on its hind legs, and its aggression was tied to a jagged, unstable [Ferocity] rune pulsing near its brain.
His grip tightened on the Weighted Runic Dagger. His instinct—driven by that strange, thrumming blood—screamed at him to strike, to let his body lead him into a dance of blades. But Jin suppressed it with the cold logic that came from living in the slums of 2300. In his world, recklessness was a luxury for the rich who could afford a second chance. If he died here, the neural backlash would lock him out of the Sync-Pod for twenty-four hours while his brain recovered. Twenty-four hours without earning credits meant twenty-four hours Mei would go hungry.
I am a crafter, he reminded himself, his heart slowing to a calculated, icy rhythm. I don't need to be stronger than the beast. I just need to rewrite its environment.
He backed away silently, his boots barely making a sound on the bioluminescent moss. The boar snorted, its tusks tearing up the glowing soil as it searched for the source of the scent it had caught. Jin deactivated his standard HUD, clearing the screen of the distracting blue map and health bars. He relied entirely on his Runic Eyes.
He scanned the clearing, looking for materials. Ten meters to his right sat a cluster of Obsidian Shards—worthless environmental clutter to most, but through his vision, they vibrated with a sharp, dark energy.
[Essence Scanned: Minor Rune of Sharpness (F-Rank)] [Essence Scanned: Minor Rune of Fragility (F-Rank)]
He moved with a hunter's patience. Every time the boar turned its head, Jin froze, his body blending into the shifting violet shadows of the light-trees. He reached the shards and began his work. His fingers moved with a grace he didn't possess in the real world, "peeling" the runes from the shards as if he were harvesting fruit. One, two, four... he collected six [Sharpness] runes and, more importantly, three [Fragility] runes.
The thrum in his blood grew louder, more focused. It was providing him with a mental blueprint—a geometric pattern appeared in his mind's eye. It was a Runic Formation.
He knelt by a narrow gap between two massive, light-emitting trees. This was a natural funnel. He began carving into the dirt using the tip of his weighted dagger. He wasn't just digging; he was "programming" the ground. He placed the [Weight] essence he had gathered earlier at the center of the trap and surrounded it with the [Fragility] runes.
[Warning: Formation Complexity exceeds Current Level.] [Primordial Bloodline intervention... Stabilizing Logic...] [Formation: 'Crushing Pit' created.]
Jin wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. In the real world, back in their cramped unit, he knew the Sync-Pod's cooling fan was likely whining in protest. He had to finish this. He picked up a jagged stone and hurled it at the boar's flank.
THWACK.
The beast let out a piercing squeal of rage. It turned, its red eyes locking onto Jin. With a roar that shook the bioluminescent leaves, the Razor-Tusk Boar charged. It was a blur of fur and muscle, fueled by its [Haste] rune.
Jin stood his ground at the end of the funnel. Twenty meters. Ten meters. Five.
Just as the beast reached the gap between the trees, Jin snapped his fingers, injecting a tiny spark of his own Mana into the ground to trigger the circuit.
The formation ignited with a dull, violet glow.
The effect was instantaneous. The [Weight] rune activated, suddenly increasing the gravity in a two-meter radius by five-fold. The boar, mid-charge, was slammed into the dirt as if a giant's invisible hand had crushed it. Its legs buckled, the bone-snapping sound echoing through the quiet forest. Simultaneously, the [Fragility] runes took hold. The boar's tough, hide-armored skin—usually resistant to low-level blades—became as brittle as sun-dried parchment.
Jin didn't hesitate. He stepped forward, his Weighted Runic Dagger glowing with a dark, heavy light. He didn't aim for the flank or the head. He aimed for the flickering red rune of [Vitality] he had seen earlier.
He drove the blade home.
Because of the [Fragility] debuff, the dagger sank into the beast's throat like a hot needle through butter. The boar didn't even have the chance to scream. Its body shuddered once and then dissolved into a shower of golden data-pixels.
[Level Up!] [Level Up!] [You have reached Level 3.]
[World First: Solo Kill of a Level 3 Beast at Level 1.] [Reward: 500 Credits, 1x 'Uncut Rune-Stone', +2 Luck.]
[Hidden Condition Met: Bloodline Feeding.] [Your bloodline has consumed the 'Haste' and 'Vitality' essence of the Razor-Tusk Boar.] [Bloodline Awakening: 0.05% -> 0.12%] [New Passive Gained: 'Neural Reflex' - Your real-world reaction time is slightly enhanced.]
Jin slumped against one of the light-trees, gasping for air. The credits alone were enough to cover a week's worth of food for Mei. But it was the "Uncut Rune-Stone" that made his hands shake. In the market of 2300, a raw rune-stone from the Higher Dimension could be sold for thousands of credits to tech corporations looking to build faster quantum processors.
"Brother! You did it!" Mei's voice crackled through his private comms, sounding breathless. "The system just logged a massive credit deposit. But Jin... the Sync-Pod is overheating. Its temperature is in the red! You have to log out. Now!"
Jin looked at the glowing forest one last time. He saw the potential here—the runes waiting to be harvested, the power waiting to be rewritten. But his sister's safety came first.
"Logging out, Mei. Get the nutrient packs ready. We're eating real food tonight."
As the world dissolved into white light, Jin felt a strange sensation in his physical body, still sitting in the cramped slum of Sector 4. His fingers, which usually felt stiff and tired from the cold, twitched with a newfound, fluid speed. The "Neural Reflex" wasn't just a game stat. It was changing his biology.
He opened his eyes in the dark, cramped Nano-Unit. The smell of burning wires was thick. Mei was hovering over him in her wheelchair, her face pale but her eyes bright with relief.
"The credits are real, Jin," she whispered, showing him her tablet. "542 Credits. We're safe for the month."
Jin sat up, his eyes briefly glowing with a faint, golden light that Mei didn't notice in the dark room. "We're not just safe, Mei. We're going to get you out of that chair."