> Area: Outer Ring — Abandoned Factory Outpost, Southeast of Metacore
Time since last IRL contact: 2 hours and 27 minutes
Z3RO returned to the hangar entrance, out of breath, his armor's sensors still warm from the fighting.
He had moved away from the portal a few minutes earlier, out of caution. Too unstable. Too risky.
But the silence of the factory left a bitter taste in his mouth.
B.I.T., his floating drone, was analyzing the cybernetic debris around them.
> "No immediate threat. Analysis in progress... energy retention rate increasing."
Z3RO sighed, arms crossed.
— "I've faced some mechanical bastards before, I've seen weird collision glitches... but this thing, this portal... it's pulsing. It's calling me."
He opened his interface and dragged in an advanced crafting module.
> [Access Crafting Menu — Expert Mode]
He selected several components looted earlier:
Corrupted Cores (x2)
Unstable Circuit Boards (x1)
Steel Teeth
Overcharge Micro-Capacitor (leftover from an old, decommissioned drone)
> Objective: Craft an EMP Trap v2 and reinforce the energy discharge gloves with an ion conduction module.
His fingers danced at an impressive speed, adjusting the virtual temperature of the molten iron, sealing the components like a gifted technomancer.
> [Craft Successful — Enhanced Gloves: "Nexus Gauntlets Mk.I"]
Passive Effect: +15% Discharge, Critical Bonus on Mechanical Targets
> [Crafted Item: EMP Trap v2 — Expanded Area of Effect, Fast Recharge]
Z3RO smiled.
— "Now, if anything on the other side wants to eat me... I'll fry it."
He saved his data, secured his key items, and approached the portal.
Dark energy pulsed around him. The ground trembled faintly with each pulse, like the beating of a monstrous heart.
B.I.T. hissed.
> "Warning: Inter-zonal distortion detected. Unregulated passage. No guarantee of return."
Z3RO stood still for a moment. His reflection in the portal's dark energy seemed blurred, almost dissociated.
— "All I have IRL is an old mattress, an aunt who ignores me, and a reality that reeks of defeat."
His eyes hardened.
— "So yeah, I'll pass. And this world? I'll dominate it."
He took a breath, put away his drone, and passed through the portal without hesitation.
Silence.
Then...
A blood-red light.
A hiss.
And a sudden change in temperature.
> New area detected: Genesis Sub-Layer [Classification: Unknown]
Detection: Presence of another player nearby — Profile partially obscured…
Z3RO looked up. The area around him was neither forest nor industrial ruin.
It was a tangle of fractured architecture—a hybrid dimension between Metacore and Murim, chaotic and twisted, as if two zones had collided.
He smiled.
— "Interesting…"
✦ End of Chapter 9
Next chapter: CHAPTER 10 — Z3RO vs. Hakaijin: Clash in the Shattered Genesis