'Here is good.'
Vio kept running without stopping. If felt the path he was taking was going uphill, he would abandon it and choose another direction. As long as he sensed a descent, he continued forward.
The mountain terrain was extremely rugged. At times, Vio found himself slipping, but it was nothing compared to the previous slope.
The further he descended, the less snow covered the path, revealing more trees and branches. He left behind the snow that had been weighing down his legs only to begin struggling with jagged, uneven rocks. Moving was already difficult, and running was even harder.
As the sun approached the horizon, darkness began to spread. When Vio noticed the thick fog dissipating, he found it replaced by shadowy darkness. Thanks to his Perception, he managed to avoid obstacles in his way.
He had expected to encounter soldiers or their wolves, but to his surprise, no one crossed his path. This should have made him happy, but for some reason, it only made him more anxious.
[EP decreased: 20%]
He had been moving for about an hour, and it was no light activity—jumping, running, and occasionally encountering steep terrains that drained his energy even further, not to mention the person slung over his shoulder.
In the midst of it all, he came across a wide crevice in the mountains. Initially, he thought it was a cave. He hesitated to enter, but since his instincts didn't warn him against it, he summoned his courage and discovered that it wasn't a true cave in the traditional sense.
The gap was formed by two tall rocks. Unlike a cave, there was barely any space inside.
He entered and tossed the soldier to one side. Moving to the entrance, cut down some branches and placed them there to block anyone from entering. Grabbing a handful of snow, he put it in his mouth, waiting for it to melt little by little before swallowing.
[Hero's daily water requirement fulfilled.]
"Water entering a cyborg's body… I wonder how that works," he mused to himself. Didn't bother asking the system—he didn't need unnecessary complications, and it wasn't like he'd understand it anyway.
'Should I distribute the points now or… no, let's focus on what's important. It's not like they're going to disappear.'
Standing before the soldier, he slapped his face a few times until the man started to open his eyes.
"Wakey, wakey," Vio said. "You've got some homework to do."
As soon as the soldier fully regained consciousness, he sprang to his feet, backing away in an attempt to grasp where he was.
'Now, how am I going to explain this?'
Communication was key, but it was currently nonexistent due to the language barrier. What did people do before language was invented?
Vio struck his chest, flashing the soldier a provocative smile that was hard to misinterpret.
The soldier scowled, sensing the disdain radiating from Vio.
"You bastard," the soldier shouted. "Are you mocking me?"
Fighters, regardless of rank or skill, always possessed pride. That was something Vio could use to his advantage at the moment.
To further provoke him, Vio closed eyes and kept striking his chest.
"Damn rat," the soldier muttered before his breathing grew strange, followed by a bright glow forming in his hands, which culminated in the appearance of a sword.
'So, they can summon their weapons, Something to remember.'
Of course, Vio wasn't really keeping his eyes shut. No matter how much he wanted to provoke him, he wouldn't let his guard down. Their tricks and capabilities were still unknown.
The soldier lunged, swinging his sword to strike, but Vio dodged every move with boredom.
"Man," Vio said, landing a slap on the soldier knocked to the ground, "I want you to use your electricity, you idiot. Don't you get it?"
"Ah," the soldier groaned, clutching his cheek, stunned by the humiliation.
For him, being punched or even killed was something he could accept, but being slapped was too much for his pride to handle. Vio, however, didn't want to aim anything at his head, fearing it might explode and bring an end to an experiment that hadn't even begun yet.
"Aaaaagh!" The soldier let out a crazed scream and stood, extending the arm holding his sword while adjusting his breathing.
'It seems the appearance of ice and lightning is linked to their strange breathing patterns'
Vio hadn't clearly noticed the issue with their breathing until now, all thanks to the enhancement of his Perception.
Crack, crack.
Finally, Vio's ears picked up the sound he had been waiting for, accompanied by a flash. Sparks of lightning danced around the soldier's sword.
In a fit of rage, the soldier repeated the same attacks—not because he lacked other moves but because the earlier landslide had exhausted him completely, both physically and mentally. Summoning the lightning was already an achievement.
After Vio dodged several swings of the sword, grabbed it with both hands and pushed it toward his chest, stopping it just an inch away.
"What are you…" The soldier's words trailed off as his mind recalled a similar scene—one where he and his late comrade had joined forces to fight Vio.
'Surge Strike.'
The cyborg's heart glowed, unleashing an electrical surge that flowed into Vio's fingertips and merged with the sword's lightning. The result was a shockwave that struck the soldier's body.
"Aaaaah!" the soldier screamed in pain as Vio checked the notifications flooding his vision.
[EP increased: 21%]
[EP increased: 22%]
[EP increased: 23%]
Vio's grin widened, but quickly tempered his emotions, reducing the intensity of 'Surge Strike' to avoid killing the soldier.
After some time, the unconscious soldier was released. Vio stepped back and analyzed the results.
[CyborgHeart charged from 20% to 65%]
[45 XP obtained]
The skill 'Surge Strike' was supposed to consume energy, but when used with their lightning-based abilities, the process reversed. It allows electricity to enter the CyborgHeart, effectively recharging it.
'CyborgHeart is like a battery, and batteries store energy. Electricity is a form of energy.'
When 'Surge Strike' is activated, the CyborgHeart allows energy to flow in. As long as the energy exiting is less than what enters, the charge increases.
Vio's eyes lit up, and a smile of satisfaction appeared. Finally, he had figured it out. But this revelation opened new doors of thought.
'There's solar energy, wind energy, and so much more.'
If could find a way to harness these, he wouldn't have to worry about running out of power again.
[correct, but an error must be clarified.]
'Can't you let me enjoy my success for once? Go on, explain.'
[The hero's CyborgHeart is the type of battery that stores electricity, not energy in its purest form.]
'What did I just say? Are you trying to tell me electricity isn't energy?'
[Searching for a simplified explanation for the hero…]
Normally, Vio found such messages irritating, but not this time.
He hadn't even finished high school. Most of what he knew was how to survive on the streets. The streets didn't encourage anyone to learn theoretical concepts taught in school—concepts most people barely used unless their field required it.
[In nature, pure energy does not exist.]
[For example: solar energy can be converted to thermal energy, which can then be transformed into pure energy.]
[To store pure energy, the hero would need to make CyborgHeart compatible with it. Currently, it only stores electricity.]
'I can do that by upgrading it, right?'
[Incorrect. Upgrading will only increase its electricity storage capacity.]
'Then, the store?'
[Correct. In the store, the hero can create a CyborgHeart capable of storing pure energy.]
[Note: the hero will also need to purchase a method for converting specific types of energy into pure energy before storage.]
'Wait, what about upgrading?'
Upgrading the battery required resources he gathered from missions.
[Each item crafted comes with specific requirements for Upgrade.]
In simpler terms, resources could be wasted. It was truly like a game that punished players for bad decisions.
The need for Vio to recall memories of gaming days forced his mind to dig them up, no matter how much cobwebs had wrapped around them.
When a player found a weapon early in the game, they faced two choices: invest resources to Upgrade it and make the early stages easier, or save the resources for a better weapon later—turning the missions into a nightmare in the meantime.
'Man, let's think about this later. I've found a glitch in the mission.'
He rubbed his hands together with a grin, setting his sights on the unconscious treasure trove of experience points—the soldier.
Like players who discovered a way to exploit the system, Vio had found one here. And he was going to exploit it as much as the poor soldier could endure.