Chapter 3: The First Construction

As soon as the pact was sealed, a blinding pillar of light descended from the heavens, swallowing Ren whole. The world dissolved around him.

When the light faded, the agonizing pressure in his limbs was gone. Ren found himself standing firm on two intact feet in the middle of a bustling cobblestone street.

Full of energy and thoroughly disoriented, he frantically reached down to touch his legs. The severed flesh, the bone-chilling pain, the pool of blood—everything was gone. His leg had been completely restored.

"Unbelievable..." he muttered in sheer shock. "My leg is back... and I actually escaped that monster."

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his heart pounding against his ribs. If that light hadn’t pulled me out in time, I would have ended up as a chewed-up smear on the forest floor.

Was it really the System that saved me? Just like those cheats in the webnovels I used to read?

Ren took a deep breath and looked around to survey his new surroundings.

Sellers shouted their wares over the clatter of wooden cartwheels, advertising fresh produce and foreign goods. Townsfolk dressed in medieval-style tunics, coarse cloth trousers, and leather boots moved past him in steady streams.

On either side of the wide avenue stood neatly arranged two-story timber-and-stone houses with steep tiled roofs and wrought-iron lanterns hanging from their eaves. Far in the distance, looming over the entire cityscape, rose the colossal spires of a majestic royal castle. Its white marble walls gleamed under the sun, radiating an unmistakable aura of absolute authority and ancient magic.

Ren looked up, taking in the grand atmosphere.

According to the memories stored in his brain, this was the capital city of his current home—the Starlight Kingdom.

While he was still absorbing the breathtaking sight, a sudden collision nearly knocked him off his feet.

A figure shrouded in a heavy black cloak sprinted past, slamming hard into Ren’s shoulder before darting down the crowded street. Ren stumbled, catching his balance just in time to see the hooded man weaving through the crowd with unnatural speed.

"Stop that thief!" a sharp voice echoed over the market noise. "Someone help me catch him! I’ll pay a handsome reward!"

Ren turned toward the voice. A young woman wearing an elegant off-shoulder green dress was chasing after the figure, her face flushed with anger as she shouted to the crowd.

A thief? Ren’s mind raced.

Hearing the word thief—and more importantly, the promise of a cash reward—several onlookers instantly joined the chase alongside the woman.

Ren didn’t hesitate. He didn’t know the exact amount of the reward, but in this unfamiliar fantasy world, money was a matter of life and death. His former Earth currency was useless here; he needed local coin, and he needed it fast.

Driven by pure instinct, Ren bolted after them.

"Oi! Get back here, you bastard!" one of the chasing townsfolk bellowed.

Ren surged forward, his boots slapping against the cobblestones. To his surprise, his legs felt extraordinarily light. He wove through the crowd with fluid ease, effortlessly overtaking the winded townsfolk ahead of him.

Is this because of his previous job? Ren realized. As a porter who constantly navigated dangerous terrain and fled from beasts, this body possessed agility and stamina far above that of an average civilian.

The cloaked thief turned sharply into a narrow side alley. Due to his swift pace, the pursuing crowd quickly lost sight of him, leaving only Ren and the woman in the green dress still on his tail.

The chase turned intense. The thief vaulted over wooden crates, kicked down stacks of barrels to block the path, and scrambled over low stone walls.

Yet, guided by the muscle memory embedded in his body, Ren navigated every obstacle without missing a beat. He slid under falling debris, vaulted over barricades, and maintained a tight distance behind the thief, matching his maneuvers stride for stride.

CORNERED!

The alley ended abruptly against a towering stone wall.

Ren and the woman rounded the corner simultaneously, positioning themselves side-by-side to block the only exit.

"Where do you think you’re going, huh?" the woman panted, her eyes flashing with rage. "Hand over the purple crystal right now!"

Ren’s brows furrowed. Purple crystal?

The phrase instantly triggered a memory—the mysterious purple crystal he had uncovered inside the pyramid right before his translocation. He quickly shook his head, burying the thought. No, that’s impossible. It’s just a coincidence.

The cloaked man turned around slowly, letting out a dark, mocking laugh from behind his face mask.

"Do you really think you can stop me, bitch?" the thief sneered, his hidden lips curling in contempt.

Ren’s brain worked at maximum speed. He needed a way to disable the target quickly. As he scanned his surroundings for anything useful, his gaze landed on a pile of rusted metal debris near his feet.

Stuck beneath a slab of broken masonry was a discarded iron pipe. It was useless junk—flaking, sharp, and covered in grime.

However, the moment Ren locked his focus onto the pipe, a layer of translucent blue text materialized over his vision, scanning the object in real-time.

[OBJECT DETECTED: RUSTED IRON PIPE]

[STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY: 15% (CRITICALLY DAMAGED)]

[COMPOSITION: IRON OXIDE + TRACES OF RARE MINERALS]

[WOULD YOU LIKE TO DECONSTRUCT THIS OBJECT?]

[YES / NO]

Ren stared at the floating interface. Deconstruct?

As if reading his thoughts, a small pop-up window expanded beside the primary text, displaying a concise summary:

[QUICK GUIDE: CHAOS ECONOMY]

1. CHAOS MATTER (CM): Universal material refined from deconstructed objects. Used as raw material to construct new items.

2. CHAOS POINTS (CP): Mental energy and system stability index. Used as operational cost to execute [Construction] or upgrade skills.

Note: By deconstructing this object, you will obtain CM and CP, which can be utilized to [FORGE/CREATE] functional tools limited only by your design and imagination.

Ren swallowed hard. Creating something out of literal trash?

He couldn’t afford to hesitate. If he failed to catch the thief now, he would lose his chance at securing his first source of income in this world.

Focusing his intent, he selected [YES].

[COMMAND RECEIVED.]

[INITIATING DECONSTRUCTION...]

Before his eyes, the rusted iron pipe began to vibrate. Its reddish-brown hue faded into a dull gray, before dissolving completely into tiny particles of black light. The particles floated upward, seeping faintly into the palm of Ren’s hand.

A subtle warmth flushed through his arm.

[DECONSTRUCTION SUCCESSFUL!]

[REWARDS OBTAINED:]

+20 CHAOS MATTER (CM)

+20 CHAOS POINTS (CP)

[CURRENT RESOURCE STATUS:] ℯℯ𝑙.

CM: 20

CP: 20

NYX SEAL: 10% (Resets every 48 hours)

[SYSTEM SUGGESTION: Increase System Level to unlock the [CHAOS FORGE] feature.]

[SYSTEM LEVEL UPGRADED: LEVEL 2]

Ren stared at his empty palm, feeling a surge of potential energy humming just beneath his skin.

"Hand it over, you bastard!" the woman threatened, stepping forward into a combat stance. "Don’t force my hand!"

"Tch. You think I’m afraid of your low-tier magic?" the thief sneered, drawing a sharp dagger from beneath his cloak.

The woman glanced sideways at Ren, her voice urgent. "Hey! Do something!"

Ren knew he didn’t have time to mess around. It was time to put this System to the test.

Closing his eyes for a split second, Ren visualized a standard semi-automatic handgun in his mind. A classic design—solid, mechanical, with a detachable magazine. He focused on every intricate internal detail: the rifled barrel, the recoil spring, the firing pin, the trigger mechanism, and the brass cartridges.

Construction.

[CONSTRUCTION PROTOCOL ACTIVATED]

[SCANNING MENTAL BLUEPRINT...]

[TARGET OBJECT: STANDARD KINETIC PISTOL (9MM)]

[COST CALCULATION:]

CHAOS MATTER (CM): 15 (Frame assembly & 7 rounds of 9mm ammunition)*

CHAOS POINTS (CP): 5 (Precision trigger mechanism configuration)

[HOST RESOURCES:]

Available CM: 20 ✅

Available CP: 20 ✅

[PROCEED WITH CONSTRUCTION?]

[YES / NO]

Ren selected [YES].

Black particles burst from his palm, rapidly condensing in midair. Dark gray metal manifested, shaping itself into the grip, slide, and frame of a handgun. Inside the magazine well, seven 9mm rounds materialized one by one—complete with brass casings and lead-alloy bullets.

CLACK.

With a crisp, satisfying mechanical sound, the weapon settled into Ren’s grip. It felt heavy, cold, and smelled faintly of fresh gun oil.

[CONSTRUCTION SUCCESSFUL!]

[ITEM OBTAINED: SEMI-AUTOMATIC PISTOL MK-I]

[ITEM SPECIFICATIONS:]

TYPE: Close-to-Medium Range Firearm MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 7 Rounds

PENETRATION: Medium (Effective against unarmored targets)

DRAWBACK: Requires manual magazine reloading once exhausted.

[REMAINING RESOURCES:]

CM: 5 | CP: 15

Note: Ammunition produced consists of pure physical matter with no elemental attributes.

Ren pulled back the slide, chambering a round. The sharp clack-clack echoed clearly in the cramped alley. Real, kinetic firepower was now in his hands.

The woman beside him blinked in complete bewilderment. "What... what kind of weapon is that?"

In a world governed by swords and magic, a firearm was entirely foreign.

Ren raised the barrel, aiming it straight at the thief’s chest.

The thief broke into a condescending laugh. "What, you think you can stop me with that weird piece of metal? Don’t make me laugh!"

Ren’s lips curled into a cold smile. "You shouldn’t judge a weapon you don’t understand. It’s far deadlier than you think."

Discarding his lingering hesitation for the sake of survival, Ren lowered his aim slightly and pulled the trigger.

BANG!

A sharp gunshot shattered the quiet alley.

Before the thief could even register the sound, a high-velocity 9mm bullet tore through his thigh, leaving a clean, bloody hole.

"AGGGHHH!"

The thief collapsed to his knees with a sickening thud, clutching his shattered leg in excruciating pain. Blood pooled rapidly onto the cobblestones. His face turned deathly pale as he stared at Ren in sheer terror, utterly unable to comprehend how a tiny piece of metal had punctured his body from a distance without a single trace of mana.

The woman next to Ren froze, her jaw dropping in disbelief.

Ren walked forward with calm, measured steps. He brought his boot down heavily on the thief’s wrist, pinning his hand to the stone floor, and pressed the cold muzzle of the pistol directly against the man’s forehead.

"Hand over the purple crystal," Ren demanded, his voice chillingly flat. "And you get to keep your life."

"A-Alright! I get it! Just don’t shoot!" the thief stammered, trembling uncontrollably. He fumbled frantically inside his cloak with his free hand, pulled out a glowing object, and tossed it toward the woman.

Ren sneered under his breath.

The woman caught the object in midair. As Ren caught a passing glimpse of the item, his heart skipped a beat.

The crystal in her hand radiated a distinct, pulsating purple luminescence—an eerie, familiar glow that hit him like a physical shockwave.

It was identical to the purple crystal he had touched inside the pyramid back on Earth.

Ren’s eyes dilated. Could it really be...?

A wild, crazy theory ignited in his mind. If that crystal was the catalyst that dragged me into this world... could it also be the key to taking me back?

As if responding to his gaze, the purple crystal pulsed violently in the woman’s hand, humming with an ancient, resonant energy...