Having gone through the [Warhammer Simulator] twice now, Kenmei Isayama had a pretty good idea of what this "simulation" actually meant.
In short, it downloaded his consciousness into a "Thought Form," which was then inserted into various characters within the Warhammer universe, allowing him to experience major historical events firsthand.
That was the simulation.
Kenmei called these [Story Simulations] because sometimes he was thrown into a massive war, and other times just a snippet of a specific character's life.
Take his second simulation, for example:
[Far East Sector: ASH-3 Defense (Destroyed)]
He had participated in the Chaos Legion of Khorne's invasion of an Imperial Homeworld. But he wasn't a hero. He was a Flesh Hound—a traitorous one at that, slaughtering his own kind.
Why turn traitor? Because there was profit in it.
Running the [Warhammer Simulator] cost Points.
There were three ways to get Points:
1. Conversion: Kenmei could harvest Cursed Energy from his own world and convert it into Points. This was the only way to initially start a simulation.
2. Slaughter: Once inside a simulation, killing earned points. The more blood and death, the higher the score.
3. Plot Deviation: This yielded the most Points but was incredibly difficult to pull off. It required changing the established lore or diverging from the original timeline.
For instance, in the Warhammer universe, ASH-3 was destined to fall to Chaos. If Kenmei had somehow helped the Imperial Guard defeat the Chaos Legion and saved the planet, he would have earned a massive amount of Points.
Or if he had managed to kill that Bloodthirster (Greater Daemon of Khorne), that would have been a jackpot too.
But let's be real. Kenmei was just a single Flesh Hound—an elite "Gore Hound" at best—in an endless sea of Chaos forces.
Asking him to solo a Bloodthirster was like a manager at a shady startup telling the new intern, "Hey, go bankrupt Amazon real quick."
"Uh... me?"
All Kenmei could do was fight guerrilla-style on the fringes of the battlefield, pick off stragglers, and save a few Imperial Guardsmen here and there.
The second and third methods were essentially for grading. More Points meant a higher grade, which meant more experience (XP) and Attribute Points.
XP and Attribute Points were how the [Warhammer Simulator] strengthened Kenmei in the real world. Every simulation buffed him up a little bit.
The Simulator converted Kenmei's physical stats into data, making it easy to track his progress.
Opening his personal status screen:
Name: Kenmei Isayama
Class: Psyker
Level: LV.3 – Iota Grade (The next level is Theta Grade. Each major grade spans 10 levels.)
HP: 100% (Dynamic value based on injury severity; cannot be fully digitized.)
Mana: 80 (Intelligence × 10. Regen: 9 per hour.)
Strength: 4 (Attack power, carry weight, etc.)
Intelligence: 8 (Learning ability, spell damage, mana pool, perception, divination, etc.)
Charisma: 7 (Appearance, social skills, summoning, etc.)
Luck: 2 (Affects random character selection and plot events. Extremely hard to increase!!!)
Free Attribute Points: 3
(Note: The average adult male has 5 in all stats, and 1 in Luck.)
Except for Luck, all stats had a little [+] button next to them.
The experience from his second simulation had power-leveled him from LV.8 Kappa Grade straight to LV.3 Iota Grade.
The [Warhammer Simulator] used the Imperium's 24-point Assignment scale for Psykers.
In reality, leveling up was only fast in the beginning. Kenmei suspected it would get exponentially harder later on. The gap between a low-level Psyker and an Alpha-class was unimaginable.
It was like throwing an ant into the Milky Way. Every major grade increase represented a fundamental shift in the quality and quantity of psychic power.
Everything Kenmei knew about Warhammer and Psykers came from his first simulation.
And that first run was his worst performance to date. He doubted he could ever get a lower score.
The grade was historically low:
Grade E.
Since it was his first time activating the [Warhammer Simulator], he got a "Newbie Bonus": S-Rank clearance to try one A-Rank Simulation for free, zero Points required.
Just thinking about that wasted opportunity made Kenmei's stomach hurt. His second run, where he played an elite Gore Hound in Khorne's army, was only a D-Rank Simulation.
The Points required for an A-Rank sim were astronomical compared to a D-Rank.
A D-Rank simulation cost 100,000 Points. A C-Rank cost 1,000,000.
B-Rank? Kenmei didn't even know. Anything above C-Rank was greyed out for him.
"Untouchable."
If he tried to click it, a red pop-up would appear:
"Insufficient Clearance. Please upgrade clearance level."
But how to upgrade clearance wasn't explained, so Kenmei was in the dark.
Getting an A-Rank simulation right out of the gate was like finding a signed blank check on the street.
And this A-Rank simulation lived up to the hype. It involved the Master of Mankind—the Emperor Himself—and one of his twenty Space Marine Legions: the Thousand Sons.
The scenario was the tragic campaign where a traitor altered the Emperor's orders from "Bring him back" to "Destroy them all," forcing the Legion of sorcerers into the arms of Chaos.
The event was known as:
[The Burning of Prospero]
And the identity Kenmei's "Thought Form" inhabited? None other than Ahzek Ahriman—Chief Librarian of the Thousand Sons, Captain of the 1st Fellowship, and second only to the Primarch Magnus the Red!
A powerful Space Marine and a master of the warp. His status was legendary. If Kenmei could have actually played as Ahriman, changing the plot and raking in Points would have been a guarantee.
But there was a catch. Before getting the Simulator, Kenmei was just a normal guy.
Putting a normal human mind into the body of a Psyker with that level of mental power? The result was obvious.
Even with the Simulator's protection, the strain on his consciousness was catastrophic.
Less than a millisecond after downloading into "Professor Ahriman," Kenmei's "Thought Form" was torn apart. Simulation over.
[Simulation Ended]
[Grade: E]
However, an A-Rank simulation was still an A-Rank simulation. Even in failure, there was a consolation prize.
He retained fragments of Ahriman's knowledge—specifically regarding Psykers and the nature of the Warhammer universe. It was incomplete, but to Kenmei, it was a treasure trove.
That knowledge started him on the path of the Psyker. That was why Kenmei considered Ahzek Ahriman his mentor, even if they had never technically met.
"We are the Red Sorcerers of Prospero. To our brothers, we are the damned. This is the end of our fate, concluding in betrayal and blood."
That was the last image Kenmei saw before his consciousness faded. He vaguely remembered an old man arguing desperately with a giant, red-skinned figure.
"No... you may find it noble to suffer your fate, but I will take up arms against it!!!"