The last thing Ares heard before his consciousness sank into darkness were Elder Varin's words:
"The F-level world is not weak because it is easy or low-ranked, but because it is broken."
"In fact, the survival rate in an E, D, or even C level world is higher than in an F-level world for beginners."
"Be careful not to die, Ares. An F-level world, for beginners like you, is called the graveyard of geniuses."
The moment of passing through the gate was not just a transition from one place to another… it was more like forcefully stripping away an entire layer of reality, then throwing him into another layer that did not accept him from the very first moment.
When his feet touched the ground, he did not feel the stability he was used to. Instead, he felt something strange, as if the ground itself was not as solid as it should be, as if it did not follow a single rule. The air that entered his lungs was not light or refreshing… it was dense in an unfamiliar way, filled with spiritual energy that did not behave as it should. It did not flow smoothly into his body, but slipped in with a quiet violence, then spread inside him without order, as if it refused to be controlled.
For a moment… his consciousness wavered.
Not because of pain… but because of that strange feeling that something in this world did not match him, did not align with what he had built over the past month. The sparks inside his dantian, which had been stable like small stars in orbit, suddenly trembled, shook, as if they had lost their center.
The system's voice sounded, but even it was not as steady:
["Warning… energy pattern is unstable."]
["Calibration failed…"]
["Deviation in energy flow."]
The voice was not loud, but it carried an unusual weight… as if even the system was no longer sure of what it was seeing.
Ares took a slow breath, trying to regain control, pushing the energy inside his body as he had learned, trying to impose order on the chaos… but every attempt hit something invisible. The energy he absorbed did not stabilize, did not obey. It slipped away before completing its cycle, as if this world refused to be used in this way.
He slowly raised his head, his eyes scanning the surroundings.
The ground stretched into cracked plains, with dark rocks emerging from beneath like exposed bones. The sky was not blue, but pale, leaning toward gray, as if even light struggled to pass through it. There was no sound of wind… no clear movement… yet there was a constant feeling that everything was moving, slowly, beneath the surface.
Before the scene became clearer… he felt it.
It was not a sound… nor a direct movement… but a slight disturbance in the flow of energy from a certain direction, like a small ripple on still water.
He turned.
The creature that appeared was not majestic, not large, and not even frightening in the usual sense. A small body, slightly twisted, uneven limbs, and dull eyes staring without clear expression. If he had seen it in the training grounds… it would not deserve more than a passing glance.
But here…
It was not the same.
Ares fixed his gaze on it, and his body began to move automatically. His steps were steady, his breathing controlled, and his awareness fully focused. He pushed energy into his muscles, reinforced his body as he was used to, and moved forward.
His movement was fast, precise, calculated. The distance between him and the creature closed in an instant, and his arm shot forward, carrying concentrated spiritual energy, a clean, direct strike without hesitation.
But…
At the moment of impact, something went wrong.
The mistake was not in the strike… nor in the timing… but in something deeper.
The energy carrying the strike… scattered.
Not completely… but enough to weaken the attack.
His body hit the creature, yes… but he did not feel the effect he was used to. There was no quiet burst of power, no rebound that confirmed the hit. Just… a faint contact, as if part of the force disappeared before reaching.
The creature stepped back only one step.
Then slowly raised its head.
At that moment, Ares felt something tighten inside him.
It was not fear… but a flaw.
He pushed more energy. This time, he did not hesitate. His body surged again, faster, stronger, with more pressure. His muscles responded, his senses sharpened, and everything inside him moved toward one goal: ending the fight quickly.
But the more power he used…
The more distortion increased.
The flow was no longer consistent. The energy no longer moved in a single path, but began to collide inside his body, delayed by a small fraction of a moment, breaking before reaching. His movement remained fast… but its execution was no longer synchronized.
He struck.
The creature dodged.
By a small margin.
Narrow… but enough.
The creature's response was not fast, and not strong… but it hit.
Only one strike, slipping through an incomplete defense, hitting the side of his body. The pain was not severe… but it was clear enough to leave an effect.
Ares stepped back.
Then another step.
His breathing was no longer as steady as before. Not because of exhaustion… but because of that realization that began to slowly form.
He tried again.
This time, he observed more.
The creature's movement was not random as he thought. It was not resisting force… it was moving with it, as if it could feel the flow, avoiding the moment when the strike should complete… or rather, the moment it was supposed to complete.
But in this world…
That moment does not come as it should.
"It was not slower… nor weaker…
But everything it did… arrived half a moment earlier."
The thought was not fully formed… but it was enough.
Ares clenched his teeth, and his body suddenly moved to the side, abandoning direct attack. He was no longer trying to break the creature with force… but began searching for space, for time, for a chance to understand what was happening.
The creature advanced.
Slowly.
But steadily.
Every step it took seemed… in the right place.
Unlike him.
Another strike came toward him. He barely dodged, feeling it pass near his face, very close… closer than it should be. The difference was not in speed… but in timing.
And here…
He understood only one thing.
If he continued like this…
He would die.
It was not a dramatic thought, nor an exaggeration… but a cold, clear conclusion without decoration.
He moved immediately.
He retreated.
One step… two… then he pushed himself backward quickly, using the unstable ground, turning around a protruding rock, breaking the line of sight, then moving farther away without looking back.
He did not stop until the sense of that creature disappeared.
Only then…
He bent slightly, placing his hand on his chest, breathing slowly, but heavily, deeper than simple physical exhaustion.
He slowly raised his head, and his eyes were no longer the same as when he entered.
There was no anger.
No frustration.
But… something else.
Something calmer.
And more dangerous.
"For the first time since he began his path…
he was not thinking about how to win.
But… how not to die."
Silence spread for a moment, before the system's voice returned, this time more cautious:
["Reevaluation…"]
["This world does not match current combat models."]
Ares did not respond.
He did not need to.
Because, for the first time…
He realized that everything he had learned so far…
might not be enough even to survive.