I didn’t get far.
Honestly, I barely made it a few dozen steps into the forest before my body completely gave up on pretending it could keep going.
“…Yeah, no,” I muttered, leaning hard against the nearest tree.
“We’re taking a break.”
This time, my body didn’t even try to argue.
Everything hurt.
My side throbbed with every heartbeat, my shoulder burned like it had been torn open, and my arms felt like I’d been dragged across stone.
Even breathing properly took effort.
Still… I was alive, and right now, that felt like more than enough.
I slid down the tree slowly and let out a long breath, tilting my head back to stare up through the canopy.
Light filtered through the leaves in uneven patches, calm and quiet, like nothing had happened.
Like nothing ever happened here.
Too calm.
Way too calm.
“The Scriptors give me a Title,” I muttered under my breath, “and I’m still getting hunted like prey.”
No answer.
Of course.
Then—[ DING ]
I blinked.
“…Finally.”
The System.
About time.
[ Quest Complete: Kill your first beast ]
“Yeah,” I muttered dryly.
“Barely survived, but sure.
Let’s call it a success.”
[ Reward Distribution: Complete ]
That made me straighten slightly despite the pain.
This was it—the part that actually mattered.
[ Reward Granted: Space (Divine) ]
I froze.
“…Huh?”
For a second, I thought I read it wrong.
There was no explanation, no buildup, no dramatic pause.
Just—given.
“…Space?”
My brain tried to process it—and then completely failed.
“—SPACE?!”
I pushed myself upright too fast, pain shooting through my side, but I barely even felt it.
Because I knew what that meant.
Not guessing.
Not hoping.
I knew.
The ranking system was burned into my memory: Dull.
Mid.
High.
Extraordinary.
Divine.
And Space?
Space wasn’t even supposed to be fair.
Even at High, it was ridiculous.
In the novel, only one person ever had it—and they became one of the strongest people alive with just that.
And now…
“…Divine?” I whispered.
I looked at the System message again like it might change if I stared hard enough.
It didn’t.
[ Space (Divine) ]
Still there.
Still real.
And completely insane.
A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
“…Okay.
That’s—wow.
That’s actually insane.”
Not strong.
Not lucky.
Insane.
Because this wasn’t just a good start.
This was a cheat.
A straight-up cheat.
And then—I felt it.
Not something new.
That was the weird part.
It didn’t feel like something that had just appeared.
It felt like something that had always been there… and I had only just noticed it.
A space.
Not physical.
Not visible.
But there.
Quiet.
Empty.
Waiting.
And somehow… present everywhere.
“…No way…”
I focused slightly, curiosity pushing past the exhaustion.
There was a broken branch lying near my foot.
“Let’s try this.”
I didn’t do anything complicated.
Just—thought.
The branch flickered and disappeared.
I went completely still.
“…Oh, that’s broken.”
There was no delay.
No effort.
No strain.
Just gone.
And yet—I knew exactly where it was.
Not here.
Not on the ground.
But not gone either.
Just… somewhere else.
Inside that space.
I reached out instinctively, and it reappeared in my hand instantly.
No transition.
No movement.
Just—there.
I stared at it for a second, then let out another laugh, louder this time.
“Okay, yeah—this is actually ridiculous.”
I tried it again.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
Every single time, it worked perfectly.
Effortless.
Like the world didn’t even question it.
Like it just accepted whatever I decided.
“This is so unfair,” I said, grinning despite myself.
Because it really was.
This wasn’t normal.
This wasn’t balanced.
This was the kind of ability that broke systems.
And then the second realization hit me.
“…Wait.”
I paused.
Because Space wasn’t the only thing.
I already knew that.
I closed my eyes slightly and focused inward again.
There it was—another presence.
Fainter, but somehow… bigger.
“Heh…”
I didn’t even need the System to confirm it.
I already knew.
Star (Divine).
I opened my eyes slowly.
“…Two.”
The word came out quiet.
Almost disbelieving.
But I was smiling.
Because what else could I do?
“Two Divine affinities?” I said, shaking my head.
“That’s not even trying to hide it anymore, is it?”
That wasn’t rare.
That wasn’t lucky.
That was absurd.
People spent their entire lives trying to awaken a single decent affinity.
Most got stuck at Mid, High if they were talented, Superior if they were monsters.
But me?
Space.
And Star.
Both Divine.
I let out a short laugh, running a hand through my hair.
“…I’m actually built different.”
There was no other way to put it.
Because what kind of combination was this?
Space—control over distance, position, movement itself.
Star—something vast, distant, powerful in a completely different way.
I didn’t even fully understand Star yet.
But that didn’t matter.
Because if Space was already this broken, Star wasn’t going to be normal either.
“This is going to be fun.”
That was the only thought that stuck.
Not fear.
Not caution.
Just excitement.
Real, genuine excitement.
For the first time since I got here, I wasn’t just trying to survive.
I actually had something.
Something crazy.
Something worth pushing.
I looked at the branch in my hand again, then made it disappear and reappear one more time, just because I could.
“…Yeah.
I’m definitely abusing this later.”
Not now.
I wasn’t stupid.
But later?
Absolutely.
I pushed myself to my feet again, wincing slightly as my injuries reminded me they still existed.
Right.
Still weak.
Still injured.
Still very much capable of dying.
But now—
There was something else behind it.
Something waiting.
Space.
Star.
Both mine.
“Alright,” I muttered, rolling my shoulder slightly.
“Let’s see how far this takes me.”
I stepped forward, moving deeper into the forest.
It didn’t react.
Didn’t care.
Didn’t acknowledge the fact that I had just been handed something completely unfair.
It just kept going.
So I did too.
Something shifted to my left.
I reacted late.
“—Tch!”
Claws sliced through the air where my neck had been.
Too close.
Way too close.
I stumbled back, swinging the branch instinctively.
Missed.
“Still trash at this,” I muttered.
The creature circled me, low and fast, its movements sharp and precise.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
It just attacked.
And me?
I hesitated.
Thought too much.
That gap—
That was everything.
I stepped back—
Then stopped.
No.
That wasn’t working.
I adjusted my grip on the branch.
“…Let’s try something else.”
The creature lunged again.
This time, I stepped forward.
The timing was off.
Almost bad.
But not completely.
The branch connected with its shoulder, and it staggered.
“…There we go.”
I didn’t stop.
Again.
Pressure.
No space.
No breathing room.
Not faster.
Not stronger.
Just relentless.
Eventually, it broke.
Collapsed.
I stood there, breathing hard.
“…Progress.”
Not skill.
Not talent.
But something.
I leaned against a tree again, catching my breath.
Still hurting.
Still tired.
But smiling slightly.
Because now?
Now it felt different.
I glanced inward again.
Space—calm, responsive, easy.
Star—distant, quiet…
…but there.
Waiting.
“Yeah,” I exhaled.
“This is going to be fun.”
A rustle nearby snapped my attention back.
Another one.
Already.
Of course.
The forest didn’t wait.
Didn’t care.
So neither could I.
I pushed off the tree and tightened my grip on the branch.
No hesitation this time.
Because even if I wasn’t strong yet, even if I was still figuring things out, I had something now.
Something real.
And I was going to use it.
“Alright,” I muttered, stepping forward.
“Let’s run it back.”
I apologize for not uploading yesterday.
I was feeling a bit sick.