Renzo walked slowly down the crowded street, the fifty dollars still folded neatly inside his pocket.
Not a lot of money.
But it was a start.
More importantly…
It proved something.
His Divine Forge worked exactly the same as it had in his previous life.
Maybe even better.
Kensei-Ryu spoke lazily in his mind.
"So what now, blacksmith?"
Renzo didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he stopped at a street stall selling cheap coffee and bought a small cup.
Two dollars gone.
He took a sip.
Still terrible.
Just like he remembered.
"Now we scale up."
Kensei-Ryu hummed.
"Meaning?"
Renzo began walking again.
"If scrap metal can become equipment…"
He glanced toward a nearby alley where broken appliances were piled beside dumpsters.
"...then raw materials are basically everywhere."
Vulcanos spoke calmly.
"Efficient thinking."
Renzo nodded.
Hunters usually bought materials from suppliers.
But Renzo had something better.
Knowledge of the future.
He knew exactly which items could be refined.
Which materials were useful.
And which places in the city threw away valuable components every single day.
Broken computers.
Damaged tools.
Old steel pipes.
Everything could be melted.
Everything could become equipment.
Kensei-Ryu chuckled.
"So you plan to rob garbage."
Renzo smirked.
"It's called recycling."
But as he turned the corner of the street—
A large TV screen mounted on a building suddenly switched to a breaking news broadcast.
People nearby slowed down.
Some stopped walking.
Renzo's eyes narrowed.
The reporter looked nervous.
Behind her was footage of something strange.
A glowing distortion in the air.
Like a crack in reality.
The reporter spoke quickly.
"Authorities are investigating a mysterious energy anomaly discovered early this morning on the outskirts of the city."
Renzo stopped walking.
His heartbeat slowed.
He stared at the screen.
The distortion pulsed with faint purple light.
Kensei-Ryu spoke quietly.
"That looks… familiar."
Renzo whispered.
"...Impossible."
Vulcanos spoke in a low tone.
"A spatial fracture."
Renzo clenched his jaw.
That wasn't supposed to happen yet.
In his previous life, the first tutorial gates appeared in three weeks.
But the distortion on the screen looked exactly like the early stage of a gate forming.
Which meant only one thing.
The timeline had changed.
Kensei-Ryu laughed softly.
"Well… this just became interesting."
Renzo watched the screen carefully.
The reporter continued speaking.
"Authorities have sealed off the area while scientists attempt to understand the phenomenon."
The footage showed police barricades.
Military vehicles.
And a growing crowd of curious people.
Renzo slowly exhaled.
His mind began racing.
If the gate formed early…
Then monsters might appear early too.
Which meant opportunities.
But also danger.
Vulcanos spoke calmly.
"The future is shifting."
Renzo nodded.
"Yeah."
He turned away from the screen.
Then started walking again.
But now his eyes were sharper.
The game had begun sooner than expected.
Which meant every decision mattered even more.
Kensei-Ryu asked the obvious question.
"So what will you do?"
Renzo smiled slightly.
"That depends."
Because three possible paths had just appeared.
And each one could change his future.