Akito lay on his side, arms folded behind his head as he stared at the slow swirl of smoke rising from the dying campfire. The others were quiet now, either resting or in some sort of light meditation, but his mind was wide awake—buzzing with observations.
This wasn't just any adventuring party.
They were professionals.
Varek was the frontliner—blunt, immovable, and constantly vigilant. His shield wasn't just for defense—it was a moving wall, a tool of control. Every time the boar tried to break formation, Varek was already there, taking the brunt and forcing it back on course.
Ruva, cold and calculating, moved with deadly purpose. Every step was deliberate. Her arrows were fast, precise—never wasted. She had a scout's instincts and a tactician's mind, and though she spoke little, her timing saved them more than once.
Kael, despite the smirks and casual banter, was cunning beneath it all. He understood pressure points, reading the flow of combat like a gambler sizing up his hand. When to bait. When to spring a trap. When to disappear and set a bigger one. Akito now saw why his introduction had been late—it wasn't carelessness. It was calculation.
And then there was Caldus.
Akito's gaze shifted to the mage, who sat with legs crossed, eyes closed as though asleep, but his mana signature was still subtly active—like a heartbeat.
Caldus was something else.
While the others fought with blades, bows, and clever footwork, Caldus worked like an architect of destruction. The chant, the gestures, the formation of sigils—all of it flowed in one seamless sequence. Every part of his spell had purpose.
The final spell—Akito replayed it in his mind—wasn't just a burst of power.
It had structure.
First, mana was released—freely, like steam from a valve.
Then, it was shaped—sigils forming in the air, delicate and precise.
And finally, the energy coalesced, transformed into a brilliant spear of light and impact. Not chaotic. Not wild. Directed. Programmed.
Just like electrons in a PCB…
The thought struck him hard, and he turned it over in his mind, stunned.
Mana behaved like current.
If so, then spells… were circuits.
Each spell circle was a logic gate—a series of instructions. The chant? Maybe a compiler. The gestures? Execution steps. The output? A designed result.
But on a scale smaller than anything I've ever worked with. Energy manipulated at the base form. Like quantum computing meets magic.
His heart beat faster—not from fear, but excitement.
This wasn't just another world with a new set of rules.
This was a living, breathing codebase.
And Caldus?
He was a dev running the most optimized kernel Akito had ever seen.
He closed his eyes and smiled slightly.
As the crackling fire settled into a bed of glowing embers, Akito shifted to a seated position, brushing some ash off his pants. The night had calmed, the earlier chaos now just memories carried on the cool breeze.
He turned toward Caldus, who was still seated in his usual meditative posture. "Hey, question. What's the bigger picture here? Like… where even are we?"
Caldus opened one eye lazily, as if weighing whether answering was worth the energy. "You mean Leyfir Forest?"
"Yeah," Akito nodded. "I get that it's dangerous and full of murder-hogs, but where is it in relation to, well… civilization?"
That got the rest of the party's attention.
Kael stretched with a yawn and answered first. "Leyfir's the westernmost wild zone in the Elban Province. You're basically sitting on the Empire's edge."
Akito blinked. "Empire?"
"Regal Empire," Ruva added, her voice calm but clear. "Ruled by Emperor Valen the Fourth. Human, of course."
Varek grunted. "Still hasn't changed the tax code."
Caldus continued, brushing his fingers through his beard. "Leyfir stretches wide, but not forever. If you go north from here, you'll eventually hit a massive river. Wide enough to halt armies. On the other side of that river is a mountain range."
Akito leaned forward. "So that's the place where I lure the boar to slam head on to the river..."
"And what's south?" Akito asked.
"There's an old road," Varek answered. "Takes you straight toward central Elban. We came from that way."
Kael nodded. "At the center of the province is Zephyros Keep. That's where Duke Zephyros rules. One of the more competent nobles, if you ask me. A bit obsessed with law and order, but not corrupt."
"And to the east of Elban?" Akito asked, more curious now.
Caldus shrugged. "Plains, cities, the Empire proper. You'll reach the capital eventually, if you keep going. But that's leagues away."
Akito let all that sink in. Regal Empire. Leyfir Forest. Elban Province. Zephyros to the south. Mountains and rivers to the north.
"Okay. So I woke up in the western fringe of an empire I've never heard of, in a death forest, near an angry boar with mana nukes for teeth. Great starting zone."
But at least now he had a mental map. The wheels in his head were already turning. Knowing the terrain meant knowing the escape routes. Trade lines. Supply chains. Potential allies or threats.
He glanced up at the stars peeking through the canopy.
Step one: survive. Step two: understand the world. Step three…?
Well, he'd figure that out when he got there.