Chapter 19: The Changes in Reality

Bang!

With a sudden stomp, he launched himself at Kuina like a wild beast, letting out a ferocious roar. He didn't want to lose, didn't want to lose.

Hmph.

Kuina snorted coldly, thinking of Tang Shen's advice. She felt she had been too lenient—the opponent couldn't even recognize the gulf between them. Her bamboo sword spun in her hand, her eyes narrowing.

Too many flaws, far too many.

Her mind replayed Tang Shen's draw-cut—the one that struck Zoro's forehead, leaving a faint mark still visible.

Now.

She shifted half a step forward and right, then swung her bamboo sword sharply.

Through the opening, she struck Zoro's forehead dead on, overlapping perfectly with Tang Shen's earlier mark.

Smack!

A crisp sound echoed, startling every student in the dojo.

It was too fast—they hadn't even seen it clearly.

In that instant, Zoro was stunned, crashing heavily to the ground.

"So weak, far too weak. You're a boy, but if you want to beat me, you're still a long way off," Kuina commented at just the right moment, her gaze lofty and contemptuous, tinged with a hint of pity.

Zoro couldn't see the pity in Kuina's eyes. He heard only the scorn in her words and saw the disdain in her gaze. Unprecedented anger and frustration welled up within him, along with a burning desire for strength he'd never felt before.

Yet, a true man admits defeat—just as he had when he lost to Tang Shen. "A loss is a loss."

"Good, that's admirable," Koshiro said, timely and approving. He was pleased with Zoro: no matter how furious, he acknowledged his defeat.

A swordsman isn't forbidden from failing; it's failing to face his defeat that is the real failure.

"I'm joining your dojo now—got a problem with that?" Zoro declared brashly.

Just like before: defeated, yet still so arrogant. He made it sound as if others were begging him. Tang Shen could only shake his head—this kid was truly proud, proud to the point of inviting a beating.

Just as Kuina now felt—her strike had been too light; she should have hit harder.

"None at all," Koshiro replied with a gentle smile, finding the situation amusing yet remaining patient.

Kuina felt her task was done, sheathed her sword, and turned to leave.

At that moment, Zoro suddenly raised his head, his expression earnest. "I'll train as hard as I possibly can, and someday I'll defeat you. Remember that."

His voice brimmed with resentment and anger, but his eyes blazed with determination—to cleanse his humiliation. It was his instinct: admit his weakness, recognize it, but never remain weak. One day, he would grow strong—strong enough to overcome.

"There will never be such a day," Kuina replied without turning, leaving the dojo with a calm remark.

Zoro was left gritting his teeth, glaring at Kuina's retreating figure, fists clenched and trembling, revealing his unwillingness.

Outside, Tang Shen was already waiting for Kuina.

"Well done," Tang Shen smiled openly, offering praise without reservation.

"Teacher, why do you care so much about him? He's just a kid who's never studied swordsmanship," Kuina asked, puzzled.

Tang Shen smiled mysteriously. "What if I said I'm grooming your future rival? Would you believe me?"

"What? Him?" Kuina couldn't hide her surprise. In her eyes, Zoro was far too weak—how could he ever be her rival?

"You'll understand someday," Tang Shen said, offering no further explanation.

......

Tang Shen logged out of the game, climbed out of bed, and found himself in excellent shape, full of energy. His clothes felt uncomfortably close against his skin.

He hurriedly took them off and discovered a fine layer of granules inside, along with a coating of black impurities on his skin.

Alarmed, he rushed to the bathroom and washed thoroughly, emerging refreshed.

Standing before the mirror, Tang Shen was stunned, or rather, amazed.

His skin glowed white with a hint of red, as delicate as porcelain. He'd already been pale before, but now he was even fairer.

It was a subtle difference, but Tang Shen noticed it.

In his memory, his body had minor issues. As an orphan, although the government subsidized those under eighteen, he still had to work odd jobs to support himself.

The small apartment, barely twenty square meters, was his own rental.

Years of odd jobs, keeping up with school, and late nights had given him chronic neck problems and mild nearsightedness.

But now, all those issues were gone. His vision was crystal clear, no longer blurry, and his neck felt comfortable—none of the usual stiffness after sleep.

Even more surprising, his once frail body now showed faint muscle definition. It was still slight, but much improved.

He had just entered the game and reached level one, with barely half a point added to constitution. With the official synchronization rate at ten to twenty percent, how could there be such a drastic change?

By logic, there shouldn't have been much difference!

Tang Shen was completely baffled by the transformation, caught off guard.

"Wait, this feeling... it's just like..." Tang Shen suddenly realized, exclaiming, "Isn't this exactly how it felt when I put all my attribute points into constitution in the game?"

Indeed, his body now felt identical to how it did in-game—a shift from sub-health to perfect health.

Could his reality-game synchronization rate be higher than the official standard?

If he kept leveling up, what would his constitution become? Surely he'd quickly surpass the initial gene warriors.

If that's the case, as long as he kept leveling, he'd grow far faster than gene warriors—and with much less effort.

The thought made Tang Shen's heart race. Survival was his biggest challenge—if he solved that, everything else would be easy. He hurried back to his bedroom.

Tang Shen had no idea that his body was now synchronized with the game at one hundred percent—meaning his power in-game was exactly matched in reality.

He booted up the secondhand computer he'd salvaged from his job. It was old, but still ran quickly.

Tang Shen immediately navigated to the official website of Second World.

Upon opening it, Tang Shen was dumbfounded.

Not because there was too much information, but because there was too little.

Pathetically little.