As Ethan reentered his Divine Realm, the door behind him dissipated in a ripple of grey light. Regardless of how many times he returned, the sensation still sent a shiver down his spine.
The world he left behind—the school, his classmates, and the fresh air—felt like a dream compared to the oppressive atmosphere of this realm.
He pulled his hoodie up, more out of habit than comfort. It didn't protect him from the ash that drifted down like snow, or the bitter stink of corrosion in the wind. However, it provided him a sense of resistance against an overwhelming environment.
This realm… it represents me. Though fractured and corrupted, It remained resilient.
His boots crunched against the cracked, spongy soil. The terrain sloped unevenly, like someone had crushed a junkyard and let it rot for centuries.
He opened his interface.
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[Objective: Build Basic Infrastructure]
[Required Material: Metal x2, Fabric x1]
[Available Nearby Resources: Scattered Scrap (Low Purity), Tattered Banners, Corroded Panels]
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Ethan let out a sigh. "Low purity. Just what I needed."
He walked past the half-built shelter he had constructed earlier—a pathetic frame of bent poles and a tarp that flapped weakly in the poisoned breeze. It wasn't much, but it marked a starting point. Remarkably, it had retained warmth for a whole six minutes the previous night.
Soon.
He approached a collapsed structure resembling a watchtower—rusted steel beams creating a jagged silhouette. Weeds, if one could classify them as such, crept around the base—thin stalks with oily leaves that moved just slightly when he turned his gaze away.
"Please don't be alive," Ethan whispered.
He got to work, wrenching a loose panel from the rubble. It screeched as it broke free, releasing a cloud of black spores.
Ethan staggered back, coughing hard.
"Awesome. Bioweapons. Just what I needed now!" exclaimed in annoyance.
He backed off and let the wind disperse the spores before continuing. One panel, then two, followed by a tattered banner—damaged, but potentially salvageable.
Then he noticed a slight movement.
A faint rustle—neither wind nor metal.
Ethan froze.
His eyes scanned the wreckage.
Then he saw it—a barely visible, small figure standing just beyond the ridge. It was too small to be human, yet too tall to be natural.
Its shape flickered, like light bending around oil. A hunched shadow with elongated limbs and an unnaturally tilted head—then it vanished.
Ethan's heart raced.
"What... the hell was that?"
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[Alert: Realm Anomaly Detected]
[Classification: Low-Grade Curious Entity]
[Interaction: Passive – No Known Aggression]
[Potential Trigger: Unknown]
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"…Curious Entity? That's not reassuring."
He waited—but nothing happened.
The figure didn't return.
No footsteps or attacks—only the same dead wind.
"Alright," he whispered, not sure if he was talking to himself or the entity. "I get it. I'm new here and this is your turf. But I'm not leaving, not this time."
He turned and kept working.
Minutes passed.
An hour.
He filled his makeshift sack with strips of metal and what might have once been a curtain. Just barely enough to complete the water collector.
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[Resources Collected: Metal x10, Fabric x2]
[Construction Ready – Confirm Build?]
[Yes or No]
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He tapped yes.
A small screen appeared, showing a glowing schematic that hovered above the ground. The pieces he'd gathered floated toward it, fusing into place with slow, but deliberate hums.
Piece by piece, it transformed into a jagged funnel-like dish, bolted to a tripod of sharpened rods, pointing defiantly toward the sky.
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[Water Collector – Scrapyard Tier]
[Status: Operational]
[Filtration Rate: 0.3 units/day]
[Purity: 12%]
[Retention: 4 hours]
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"An unattractive little miracle," Ethan remarked.
He stepped back and actually smiled—a genuine expression, albeit fleeting.
Then, he heard it.
A soft splash.
Turning slowly, he saw it: a single droplet, fat and glistening, rolling down the funnel's edge and falling into the collector tank.
It worked.
It actually worked.
For the first time since waking in this life, something responded. Something changed.
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[Realm Feedback: Ecosystem Shift Detected]
[Effect: +0.1% Realm Stability]
[New Resource: Contaminated Water (Usable After Tier 1 Filter)]
[World Consciousness Observing...]
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Ethan's eyes widened.
It acknowledged my presence.
The world recognized me.
He dropped to the ground, not out of exhaustion—but to savor this moment.
Among the sludge, the scrap and the ruin.
Thunk.
Ethan stumbled out of the Divine Realm portal, nearly tripping over his own feet as he landed back in the Grey Class's stone-floored common room.
He was taken aback by how accustomed he had become to the unpleasant odors of decay and rust, which were abruptly replaced by the freshness of the air.
Classmates were scattered around, some lounging at their desks while others worked on their realm reports. Some chatted, others compared screenshots of clear rivers or stunning skies, their faces displaying a sense of pride.
Ethan cleared his throat, prompting a moment of silence among his peers.
"Oh, look who has returned from another adventure again," Kelly remarked, nonchalantly flicking her curly hair back.
Ethan didn't answer.
He dusted ash off his sleeve and made his way toward the reporting booth, where the holographic interface activated.
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[Name: Ethan Thorne]
[Realm Status: Polluted – Low Grade (1.01% Stabilized)]
[Current Structures: Shelter (Partial), Water Collector (Operational)]
[New Discovery: Curious Entity – Type: Passive]
----------------------------------------------
He hesitated over the last entry.
Should he include it?
His finger hovered over the "submit" button.
Screw it.
Ultimately, he decided to submit.
"Mr. Thorne," came a voice behind him, dry as sandpaper and twice as gritty.
Ethan didn't turn. "Morning, Mr. Huxley."
"It's Afternoon, Mr. Thorne." Huxley corrected, stepping around the desk to examine the interface. His grizzled beard twitched.
"Water collector operational."
"Interesting."
"Yes," Ethan replied.
"Any incidents this time?"
"It depends on your definition of 'incident', Sir."
A moment of silence followed.
Then, to Ethan's surprise, Huxley chuckled softly.
Just once, like a rusty door creaking open.
"You've reported an anomaly, huh." Huxley continued, adopting a serious tone. "A passive entity that observed your activities without interference."
"It just… stood there," Ethan said quietly. "It appeared to be composed of smog and dark imagery."
Students nearby began to eavesdrop.
"Probably just your imagination," Kelly remarked.
But Huxley didn't smile.
Instead, he pulled out his tablet, swiping quickly. "We have been monitoring new realm anomalies since last year. Only four instances of 'Curious Entities' have been cataloged. Three did not engage with the user."
"One, however, was not passive for long."
Ethan felt a wave of unease wash over him.
"It attacked?" he inquired.
"No," Huxley clarified. "It... merged."
"Wait, what?" Ethan blinked, confused.
"It attached itself to the realm's developmental root, altering the ecosystem and making it adaptive. As a result, the realm began to evolve in unpredictable ways."
"So... is that a good thing?"
Huxley looked at him sharply. "Uncontrolled evolution is a double-edged sword, Mr. Thorne. You could end up with a tree that has teeth."
The room fell into a hushed silence.
Even Kelly's bravado had faded.
Ethan swallowed. "But nothing happened in my realm. At least, not yet."
"Yet," Huxley agreed, looking at the anomaly data again. "That's why I'm assigning you a side observer. Someone from the academy will monitor your realm's anomaly reports on a weekly basis."
"What—why me?" Ethan asked, perplexed. "My realm is the weakest in the class."
"Exactly," Huxley said. "Weak worlds don't attract attention. Yours, however, did."
...Was this really about me?
Or was there something within the filth that had been observing him all along?
"Keep building. Keep your log updated," Huxley instructed, his voice subdued. "And if it ever speaks, record every word."
"Speaks?!" Ethan yelped.
Huxley's eyes narrowed.
"Trust me, Thorne. You will want to be aware when your realm begins to respond."
*** END OF VOLUME 1 ***