Having the blueprint of a skyscraper does not mean you can build it with your bare hands.
That was the first brutal lesson reality imposed upon Jonathan's shared neural network. The asynchronous knowledge transferred within the dreamspace flowed perfectly through the code of their souls, but the "hardware"—the muscles, tendons, lungs, and nervous systems of the avatars—was painfully human.
The theory was omnipotent.
The flesh was fragile.
Ryozanpaku Dojo
The midday sun beat down on the dirt courtyard of the Ryozanpaku dojo.
Beta lay on the ground, coughing dust. His muscles trembled with uncontrollable spasms. In front of him, Akisame Koetsuji, master of philosophical Jujutsu, calmly smoothed the folds of his gi without a single drop of sweat on his forehead.
A few meters away, an exhausted Kenichi Shirahama lay unconscious after his own torture session, unaware of the level of analysis unfolding beside him.
Beta and Kenichi shared the same age, the same school hallways, and the same status as disciples in that hell of martial artists.
But while Kenichi was driven by desperation to stop being a victim, Beta was driven by the necessity of forging an indestructible vessel.
"Your movements changed overnight," Akisame remarked, his narrow eyes hiding an intellect sharp as a scalpel. "Your center of gravity dropped, and your breathing… is unnatural. Interesting. You're forcing oxygen into your blood vessels, almost as if you want to oxidize your own cells to generate explosive energy. Where did you learn that technique, boy?"
Beta pushed himself onto his elbows.
He knew he couldn't lie to a monster like Akisame—but he also couldn't say the technique came from a demon hunter in another universe.
"It's an experiment, master," Beta replied hoarsely. "I'm trying to optimize oxygen delivery to compensate for my lack of muscle mass."
Physiological Warning (Sage Core):
Implementation of Total Concentration Breathing (Initial Phase) in a body without proper pulmonary conditioning is causing capillary micro-ruptures. Blood pressure at critical levels. If oxygen continues being forced toward the lower extremities at this rate, the Achilles tendon will rupture during the next jump. Recommendation: terminate specialized breathing and return to basic Jujutsu.
Negative, Beta thought, ignoring the stabbing pain in his chest.
If I don't force adaptation now, Gamma dies in the snow and Alpha gets crushed by gravity. My muscles need to memorize this stress so Delta's Falna can encode it as experience.
Beta stood up and assumed the Zhan Zhuang stance, rooting his feet to the ground using Alpha's Ki theory. He inhaled; the sound of his breathing was a sharp, metallic whistle.
Akisame smiled—a smile promising educational pain.
"A dangerous experiment. Theory without a physical foundation destroys the body. Allow me to demonstrate why."
The master didn't attack with speed, but with an unavoidable flow of motion.
Beta saw the strike coming. The Sage Core traced the perfect trajectory.
Trajectory Analysis: Circular projection. Optimal interception angle: 34 degrees inward from guard. Execute deflection using fluid dynamics principles.
Beta moved his arm exactly thirty-four degrees.
His mind was perfect.
His shoulder reacted a tenth of a second too late.
The friction between mental command and nervous response was fatal.
Akisame caught his wrist, used Beta's own rooted stance against him, and hurled him into the ground with a flawless throwing technique.
The impact knocked the air from his lungs.
"You know the road, but your legs have yet to walk it," Akisame said, extending a hand. "You possess a terrifying analytical mind for combat. You see the structure of technique. But your flesh rebels against your mind. We will begin from zero. Your tendons will be trained until they obey without latency."
As Beta accepted the master's hand, Miu Furinji stepped onto the porch carrying a tray of tea.
The old master's granddaughter observed Beta with curiosity.
There was something unsettling about him—not Kenichi's frantic fear, but an almost unnatural stoicism. His gaze looked as if it were calculating the weight of the world with every blink.
Beta met her eyes briefly, nodding with quiet respect before returning to his stance.
There was no time for distractions—though the system silently registered the subtle resonance of her presence.
The Dungeon of Orario
On the first floor of the Dungeon, the air smelled of damp stone and old blood.
Delta moved through corridors illuminated by faint phosphorescent crystals.
Unlike novice adventurers swinging heavy swords in panic, Delta wore light leather armor and carried two short daggers.
He was Level 1.
Physically ordinary.
But his mind was a lethal processing engine.
A Goblin burst from the shadows, screeching as it raised a splintered wooden club and charged blindly.
Delta did not retreat.
His dark eyes locked onto the creature.
Enemy Lexical Analysis (Sage Core):
Low-class Goblin. Attack pattern: linear, primitive, inertia-based.
Execution Suggestion: Avoid brute force. Delta's physical stats insufficient for frontal clash. Apply Beta's deflection technique combined with Gamma's breathing control to stabilize pulse.
The club descended.
Delta exhaled slowly, a thin thread of air leaving his lips as his heart rate dropped.
Instead of blocking with the dagger, he stepped forward into the monster's space. His forearm brushed the goblin's wrist—not striking, merely altering the trajectory by a few centimeters.
The club smashed into the stone floor.
The goblin lost balance.
With a cold, efficient motion devoid of emotion, Delta drove the dagger into the base of the creature's skull—piercing the medulla and severing neural control instantly.
The monster dissolved into black ash, leaving behind a small magic stone.
Delta picked it up.
He wasn't sweating.
Excelia Evaluation:
Action completed. Minimal energy expenditure. Removal of mental inertia produced high-quality pure Excelia assimilation. Falna registering biomechanical learning.
It worked, Delta thought, adjusting his grip.
If Beta trains the muscle memory and I kill using those algorithms, the Falna will encode Earth's techniques as structured Skills in this world.
We're hacking the gods' growth system.
Delta continued hunting.
He did not seek glory nor deeper floors.
He sought repetition.
Ten goblins.
Twenty.
Thirty goblins and kobolds.
Each death identical—millimeter evasion, inertia redirection, lethal strike.
It was less a battle and more an industrial assembly line.
But his emotionless precision did not go unnoticed.
At a dark dungeon intersection, leaning against a crystal wall, a green-haired elf watched him.
Ryuu Lion.
The former high-level adventurer had descended to the first floors on Guild business, but paused when she saw the novice.
Ryuu narrowed her eyes.
New adventurers trembled, shouted, hesitated.
This dark-haired boy moved with the silence of a shadow and the precision of a seasoned executioner—yet his body clearly lacked the divine grace accumulated by veterans.
His techniques were not those of Orario's knights or assassins.
They were… strange.
He used the opponent's force as if it were his own. His feet traced invisible circles on the ground. His breathing synchronized unnaturally with every strike.
Delta wiped blood from his dagger and slowly turned, sensing the gaze.
Their eyes met.
For a second, the air tightened.
Tactical Alert (Sage Core):
Entity detected. Estimated level: 4 or higher. Probability of user annihilation: 100%. Recommendation: avoid hostility. Diplomatic profile required.
Delta made no defensive move.
He simply sheathed his dagger smoothly, bowed his head slightly in respect to the veteran, and took a different corridor toward the surface.
Ryuu did not stop him.
But she memorized his face.
There was a deep melancholy order in the way he fought—a mystery that did not belong in a city full of boastful adventurers.
Delta emerged from the Dungeon hours later beneath the glow of sunset.
His body ached, but his mind remained sharp.
He walked toward the Guild headquarters.
He knew Alpha was being crushed by gravity.
Gamma was dodging claws in the snow.
Beta was breaking his bones in the dojo.
Yet through the Falna, Delta could feel the container of their shared soul slowly expanding.
The friction between code and flesh was infernal.
But the compiler was working.
Unified Energy was no longer a dream.
It was beginning to take shape in the scars of four worlds.