Chapter 35: Skills in Reality! The Dawn of Supernatural Power!
...
"Excellent," Seito said, nodding in satisfaction at his new teammates. "It's past nine now. I'm heading offline."
"Eh?" Maple looked up, her cheek stuffed with tavern bread. "Why so early today, Seito-kun?"
The others looked equally confused. Usually, the "Big Three" would grind until the early hours of the morning to maintain their lead.
"I want to get some proper sleep," Seito replied with a mysterious smile.
He had a mission tomorrow: wake up early, prepare a world-class meal, and share lunch with his "Angel," Kanade.
"See you all tomorrow." With a wave of his hand, Seito initiated the logout sequence.
....
Seito's Apartment.
Seito opened his eyes and pulled off the sleek neural helmet. But as he sat up, he froze mid-motion. His breath hitched in his throat.
"What is...?"
He stared down at his body. He wasn't wearing his pajamas. He was clad in the signature white trench coat of his in-game avatar. On his right index finger sat the White Dragon Ring, shimmering with a faint, ethereal glow. Leaning against his nightstand was the jet-black Tachi he had used to slaughter millions just an hour prior.
More than the gear, he felt his body pulsing with an alien, overwhelming vitality. He felt light, powerful—as if the laws of gravity were merely a suggestion.
"This sensation..." Seito clenched his fist, feeling the air compress under his strength.
He didn't know how it had happened, but the implication was terrifyingly clear: his digital power had manifested in the physical world.
Zip!
With a single thought, he triggered Spatial Shift. In a blur of blue light, he vanished from his bed and appeared instantly in the center of his living room. He grabbed a hand mirror from the counter and shifted back to his bedroom, sitting on the edge of the mattress.
"My eyes..."
In the mirror, his deep cerulean eyes were no longer normal. Within the pupils, a golden hexagram—the mark of his Kamui Space—glowed with a dreamlike radiance.
He turned toward the black sword on the floor and focused his gaze.
"Kamui."
A localized space-time vortex swirled above the blade, sucking the heavy weapon into his private dimension in a matter of seconds.
Seito took two deep breaths, forcing his racing heart to steady.
Supernatural power. Real-world manifestation.
God's Domain could no longer be classified as a mere VR game. This was a bridge between worlds. He thought of the countless web novels about "Game and Reality Merging"—it seemed those stories weren't just fiction anymore. This game was gifting him the powers of a literal deity.
"I can't let up now," Seito's eyes flared with renewed ambition.
He could never abandon the game. In fact, he had to dominate it. If the rewards for first place were this reality-warping, he had to secure every "First Clear" and "Event Victory" moving forward. Mortality was a cage; who would choose to wither away into dust when the path to immortality was sitting right on their nightstand?
Suddenly, a holographic interface flickered into existence before his eyes—without the helmet.
[IGN: Sei
Level: 20
Divine Power: 10
Divine Stats: [Atk: 65 | Def: 65 | Spd: 6,255]
Talent: Spatial Mastery]
[Notice: Direct Dive available. Would you like to initiate 'True Login'?]
"Direct Dive?" Seito murmured.
He clicked the prompt. A wave of vertigo hit him, his vision spinning for a split second before he materialized exactly where he had stood ten minutes ago—in the tavern on the Eleventh Floor.
"Huh? Seito-kun? You're back already?" Maple asked, blinking in surprise. The group hadn't even finished their drinks.
[Warning: Player is using 'Physical Form' for login.]
[Resurrection Function: DISABLED.]
[Death in-game will result in Absolute Death in the physical world.]
Seito scanned the warning. It was true. He hadn't just projected his consciousness; his physical body had crossed the threshold into the game world. This was "True Presence."
"Just forgot something. Carry on," Seito said, giving them a casual salute before logging back out.
He reappeared in his bedroom, his mind racing. 'The game's servers are managed by the global administration. Do they know?'
He shook his head, dismissing the thought. If the authorities knew God's Domain was a gateway to godhood, they wouldn't have left the top-ranked players alone. They were likely treating it as a massive economic engine, unaware of the metaphysical bomb sitting in their basements.
Right now, he was the only person who knew the truth.
"At Level 20, I'm already beyond human," he whispered to the empty room. "Without my Kamui, a missile might hurt me. But at Level 40? I'll be immune to conventional warfare.
At Level 100..."
He laughed, a sharp, wild sound. "I'm discarding my humanity! From blood and bone to a throne of stars!"
After the adrenaline subsided, he sat back down to reflect.
Why me? Why now?
The answer was obvious: the Divine Fragment. That tiny speck of God-touched light was the catalyst. It had converted his data into Divine Essence, allowing his "digital" self to overwrite his "physical" self.
"In this godless age, I'll set the new standard," he vowed. "I will be the First God of this era."
Success required him to stay one step ahead. Every floor, every boss, every secret—he would claim them all for the Fatui.
Determined, Seito tucked his gear into his spatial dimension, washed up, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. Tomorrow, he had a lunch date with an Angel, and a world to conquer.
....
Thank you for reading.