[Day 710]
The weather's changing.
It's raining more frequently now—short, heavy bursts that soak everything in minutes, then vanish like they never happened. The forest smells heavier. Wetter. Even the beasts seem quieter, like they're waiting for something. Or maybe that's just me, slowly growing paranoid.
I hadn't checked on my cheat in a long time. Hell, I'd nearly forgotten I even had one. The so-called "superpower" that came with me to this world—the USB drive, the laptop, the system that let me summon and unsummon it like a divine artifact.
But what good was it?
All I'd ever used was the baseball bat. That's the only thing Aldrick ever saw—just a metal stick from another world. I never showed him the real stuff. The computer, the files, the archives—untouched since the day I met him.
Why?
Because none of it helps me grow.
Not like the snake did.
That creature, that monstrous serpent, had done something no cheat ever could. By devouring it, I crossed the line that separates man from monster. I became something else.
But still… the cheat nags at me. Like an unopened letter from a life I've almost forgotten. Maybe someday it'll matter. Maybe it won't.
For now, I focus on what works. My bear form. And the Lumencore—the crystal I stole from the snake's skull. That power, at least, is real. Tangible. Transformative.
But even now, I still don't understand something.
How did that snake grow so strong? What did it eat? What did it consume to reach that level of monstrous evolution?
And if it reached that stage… then what about the lightning wolf?
That thing still haunts my memory. Towering, crackling with fury, moving faster than any beast should. In my current form—stronger, sharper, faster—I might stand a chance.
But I haven't mastered my strength. Not yet.
And that changes everything.
[Day 730]
Something's wrong.
I tried to transform into my bear form today—really tried. Not the partial shifts I've done before, but the full thing. The primal version. The one I used when I tore the snake apart.
But it didn't work.
Something stopped me. A wall. A lock. Like my body refused to obey.
Every time I push, something pushes back. Worse, the beast inside stirs violently. My instincts surge, my muscles burn—and I lose control. My hands twitch, my breathing turns ragged. I feel like I'm moments away from tearing my own skin off.
It's not a transformation. It's a possession.
My most powerful weapon—locked behind instinct and madness.
It's a joke.
And yet, the temptation grows stronger by the day. The closer I get to mastery, the more I feel that if I could just push a little further, if I could just tame the beast...
No. Not yet.
[Day 750]
I'm starting to feel comfortable in this new body.
No, "comfortable" isn't the right word.
Terrifyingly capable.
I fought a tiger today. A real one, not one of those mutated beasts with glowing eyes or bone armor. Just a plain striped predator that used to terrify humans.
I slapped it with an open palm.
It died instantly. Its skull crumpled like paper.
That's my new normal.
And still, I haven't tested my regeneration. I haven't bled in weeks. My skin feels like iron. I don't know what it takes to hurt me anymore. I don't know what I can survive—or what I can't.
It's a strange feeling, being so strong that I can't even understand my limits.
Like living in a glass box with no walls.
[Day 755]
Today, I fought something… new.
A goat. A giant one.
Seven feet tall, walked on its hind legs like a deformed man. Curved horns. Its skin was pale and stretched, like something that shouldn't be alive. It bled yellow when I cut it. It hissed instead of screamed.
Took me hours to kill it.
Not because it was strong—it wasn't.
Because I wasn't.
My body moves too fast. My punches are too heavy. Every time I struck, I hurt myself. Dislocated fingers. Pulled muscles. I healed fast, sure, but it wasn't about pain—it was about control.
It's like learning to walk again. Like my muscles belong to someone else.
Precision is a myth when you've got too much power.
After I finally brought the creature down—breaking its spine with a shoulder slam—I searched it thoroughly.
No core in the heart.
No core in the brain.
I finally found it lodged in its left shoulder, buried deep beneath the bone. A transparent crystal, almost like glass, swirling with faint grey fog. Just like the snake's.
That confirms it.
These monsters—the truly strong ones—have something inside them. A core. A power source. A kind of evolutionary node.
And the stronger the beast, the more likely it has one.
Maybe they're like me.
Maybe… they were human once. Or something else. Something aware.
I didn't eat it.
I could've. But I didn't.
I'm already struggling to control my body. If I eat another crystal now, I might burst like an overfilled balloon.
No—worse. I might not stay me.
I stored it. It's hidden. I don't even want to look at it right now.
[Day 760]
I'm training again. Not to grow stronger, but to understand how to exist in this new form.
How to throw a punch without tearing my ligaments.
How to leap without crashing through trees.
It's tedious. Embarrassing.
Imagine being born again, but with the strength of ten men and none of the motor skills.
Every move has to be re-learned. Every twitch of muscle calibrated.
I'm not just learning how to fight.
I'm learning how to live in my own skin.
[Day 770]
I was sparring with myself today—testing my movement speed, practicing feints and kicks—and Aldrick watched.
He didn't say anything.
But his eyes… they told the story. He looked at me like I wasn't human anymore.
And maybe I'm not.
We still talk, sometimes. Briefly. He gathers food. I train. We share the cave when it rains. But the distance between us is growing. Not out of hatred, but… reality.
We're not the same anymore.
I can't even remember the last time I laughed at a joke. Or cried. Or felt… anything.
[Day 780]
I opened the transmigration panel again.
No new messages.
Just mine:
[kaiser (1)]
I wonder how many are still alive.
I wonder how many even made it this far.
I used to remember my father's voice clearly. His deep, reassuring tone. I used to remember the sound of my mother's slippers across the hallway. The smell of dinner. My friends' terrible taste in music.
Now… it's all fog.
Even my name feels distant. Like it belongs to someone I read about once. A stranger.
Maybe I'm becoming something else.
Not quite man.
Not quite beast.
Something… in between.
[Day 800]
The rain hasn't stopped in days.
The forest feels different. Quieter. Watching.
I can't help but wonder what lies deeper in. Past the hills. Past the cliffs. Past the caves no one dares enter.
There are stronger beasts out there. I can feel it.
And if I want to survive... I'll need to risk everything.
Even losing myself.