The Toll of the Road

The dirt track leading to the outer border grew increasingly treacherous with every league. A severe deep-trench fracture—left behind by the earth-shaking spatial anomalies from the Demon King's arrival two years ago—had completely split the path in two. The heavy, velvet-lined carriage of the House of Alaskar ground to an abrupt halt, its front wheels jammed firmly into a jagged ridge of broken stone."What is the meaning of this delay?!" Lord Julian barked from the window, his hand swatting at the stagnant country air. "Get this vehicle moving! I will not spend the night breathing the dust of these wretched countryside sectors!"The head house guard examined the cracked terrain, his face tight with frustration. "The undercarriage is caught on the bedrock, milord. The horses cannot pull it free on their own. We need to lighten the weight or force it over the ridge."Sitting atop the driver's box under his silver-haired "Rean" identity, Eren didn't waste time arguing with the complaining aristocrat. He hopped down onto the dry, cracked earth. Under his plain traveler's cloak, his baseline mortal muscles felt the strain of his current Level 2 status. Without the 10x cheat code from Alexus, he couldn't simply wipe away structural damage with a wave of divine energy. He had to rely on raw, physical leverage."Hey, hold this," Eren said to the startled driver, casually dropping his standard steel sword into the front box.He walked to the back of the heavy, gold-trimmed carriage, planting his boots firmly into the dirt. He braced his shoulders against the chassis, letting the localized mana from his Novice Swordsman class flow into his core."Push!" the head guard commanded, forcing the horses forward.Eren gritted his teeth, his silver hair falling forward as he applied every ounce of his current strength. The heavy wooden frame creaked loudly. For a moment, his muscles burned with an exhausting intensity he hadn't felt since his days in the starving village slums. With a final, agonizing heave, the wheels caught traction, popping over the bedrock ridge with a loud thud.Eren exhaled heavily, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. He had succeeded barely, his chest heaving as his internal interface flickered with an exhaustion warning.Before he could even step back to pick his sword up from the driver's box, a sudden, chilling shriek ripped through the dead trees surrounding the trench."Ambush!" a guard screamed.From the dense, violet shadows of the mutated wood, a coordinated raiding party erupted. Leading the charge was a pack of gray-skinned, red-eyed Goblins, their rusted daggers dripping with jagged poison. But tracking behind them was a far greater threat: a Lesser Vampire, its pale skin stretched tight over an emaciated frame, its elongated fangs bared as it glided across the dirt with supernatural speed. Due to the global food crisis and the heavy damage to the border lands, these monsters had grown incredibly desperate and bloodthirsty.Without his weapon in hand, Eren was completely exposed. The Lesser Vampire perceived him as the weakest target and lunged instantly, its razor-sharp talons cutting through the air.Eren reacted purely on his veteran VRMMO gaming reflexes, twisting his torso backward. But his Level 2 mortal body couldn't fully match the speed of his mind.Slash!The vampire's claws ripped cleanly through his plain traveler's cloak, tearing into the flesh of his shoulder. Bright red blood splurted onto the dirt. Eren winced, a sharp, white-hot flash of pain locking through his chest. For the first time since being reborn into this world, Eren had received actual injuries. His health bar actively dipped on his internal interface."Rean!" the driver yelled in panic, tossing the steel sword down into the dirt.The weapon clattered near his boots. Ignoring the burning ache in his shoulder, Eren rolled across the cracked earth, his fingers wrapping around the hilt of his sword just as three goblins leaped down to impale him.Absolute Adaptability, Eren thought, his golden eyes flashing with a fierce, cold intensity that completely contradicted his plain disguise.He didn't have a massive divine aura to blast them away, but he possessed perfect muscle memory. Sweeping the blade upward, he executed the water style's fluid deflection technique, parrying all three rusted daggers at the exact millisecond of impact. The metallic clang echoed through the canyon. Transitioning seamlessly out of the deflection, Eren utilized an animation cancel, driving the tip of his blade straight through the throat of the nearest goblin.The monster dissolved into blue data particles."Die, human!" the Lesser Vampire hissed, soaring back downward with its jaws wide open.Eren stood his ground, letting his weight shift to his back foot, locking into the Imperial Thunderclap Stance he had copied from the royal prince. He waited until the vampire was an inch away from his blade.Mana Focus: Critical Strike!Eren thrust forward with absolute, concentrated precision. The steel sword pierced directly through the Lesser Vampire's chest, hitting its core down to the millimeter. The creature let out a horrifying, scraping shriek before its body shattered into dust, leaving behind a glowing crimson stone on the sand. The remaining goblins broke formation, scattering back into the dark wood in absolute terror.Eren stood breathing heavily, his left hand pressing against his bleeding shoulder. The noble's private guards were still drawing their weapons, completely paralyzed by how fast the F-rank rookie had neutralized a disaster-level stray.Ding.[Hostiles Neutralized: 1x Lesser Vampire, 1x Goblin.][EXP Acquired. Current Level: 2 (EXP: 85/100)]Eren slowly wiped the dark blood off his blade, a dangerous, thrilling smirk returning to his lips despite the pain. The cheat codes were gone, and the injuries were real, but he was successfully grinding his way back to the top.