Chapter 1: begin the journey
The last thing Makora Sumire remembered was the flash of red and blue lights, the sharp crackle of police radios, and the weight of his laptop in his hands. He'd pushed his hacking skills too far this time—digging into files no one was meant to see, pulling strings that tangled with powerful people. When the sirens closed in, he'd tried to run, but the alleyway had been a dead end. A single shot rang out, and then… nothing.
Now, he was staring up at a canopy of leaves so green they looked fake, the air thick with the scent of pine and damp earth. His body felt light, almost weightless, and when he pushed himself to his feet, he didn't feel the ache he'd grown used to from late nights and fast food.
"Where… am I?" he muttered, his voice sounding younger than he remembered. He looked down at his hands—smaller, smoother, no calluses from years of typing. Panic flared for a second, but then a screen popped up in front of his eyes, glowing faintly blue.
STATUS WINDOW
Name: Makora Sumire
Race: Human
Age: 16
Stats:
- Strength: 0
- Speed: 0
- Endurance: 0
- Smarts: 0
- Luck: MAX
- Charm: MAX
Skills:
- Hacker's Insight: Can access all data within a 100-meter radius, regardless of form.
- Kill Aura: Activate to automatically eliminate all perceived enemies within range.
Makora blinked. A status window? Like in the games he'd played for hours on end? He reached out, his hand passing through the glowing text like it was smoke. "This is… insane." He'd died, right? And now he was in some kind of fantasy world? He'd read enough isekai stories to guess the gist, but actually living it? That was a whole different thing.
He took a step forward, and his legs wobbled—strength 0, he reminded himself. He was basically a newborn in terms of physical ability. But then he thought about his stats again. Max luck and max charm? The rest were zero, but those two… what did that even mean?
He started walking, moving slowly through the trees. The forest was quiet, but not empty. He could hear birds chirping, the rustle of small animals in the underbrush. And then, his Hacker's Insight kicked in.
Data flooded his mind—information about every living thing within 100 meters. He knew the type of tree he was standing next to, the age of the squirrel scurrying up its trunk, the presence of a small fox hiding behind a bush. He even knew the temperature of the air, the humidity, the direction of the wind. It was overwhelming at first, but then he focused, and the data organized itself into neat little packets, just like the files he'd hacked back home.
"Cool," he whispered. This skill was even better than he'd imagined. He could know everything around him before he even saw it.
He kept walking, and after a while, he heard voices. Loud, rough voices, coming from ahead. He activated his Hacker's Insight again, and the data told him there were three men, all armed with swords and axes, standing around a campfire. They were bandits, according to the information he was getting—wanted for robbery and murder in the nearby village.
Makora froze. He had no strength, no speed, no endurance. If they saw him, he'd be dead in seconds. But then he remembered his other skill. Kill Aura. He'd used it in games, back when he'd wanted to clear a path quickly. It was overpowered, sure, but right now, it was his only defense.
He took a deep breath. "Activate Kill Aura," he said, his voice barely a whisper.
At first, nothing happened. Then, the air around him seemed to grow cold. The bandits stopped talking, their heads snapping up as if they'd sensed something wrong. One of them stood up, hand on his sword. "What the hell is that?" he growled.
Makora watched, his heart pounding, as the bandits suddenly collapsed. One by one, they fell to the ground, motionless. The data in his mind told him they were dead—all of them, in an instant.
Kill Aura worked.
He stood there for a minute, staring at the bodies. It was different from the games. In games, it was just pixels disappearing. Here, it was real people, lying dead on the ground. He felt a knot in his stomach, but then he reminded himself—they were bandits. They would have killed him if they'd had the chance. It was them or him.
He walked over to their campfire, his legs still shaky. His Hacker's Insight told him there was food in their packs—bread, dried meat, some fruit. He grabbed a piece of bread, his stomach growling. He hadn't eaten in what felt like forever.
As he ate, he thought about his situation. He was in a new world, with no physical abilities but two overpowered skills. Max luck and max charm—what would those do? Would he meet people who liked him instantly? Would good things happen to him no matter what?
He finished the bread and stood up. He needed to find a village, or a town, somewhere he could figure out more about this world. His Hacker's Insight could tell him where to go—he could see the path leading out of the forest, towards a settlement a few kilometers away.
He started walking again, this time with a little more confidence. He had no idea what lay ahead, but he had his skills, his luck, and his charm. And he was a hacker, a gamer. He'd figured out impossible systems before. He could figure out this one too.
The sun began to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink. Makora kept walking, the forest around him growing darker, but he didn't feel afraid. He was Makora Sumire, the hacker who'd cheated death and woken up in a new world. And this was just the beginning of his journey.