The first thing I noticed upon entering the new world was how . . . dirty everything was. I found myself standing in a narrow alley between several buildings. The smell of rot and filth was everywhere. Trash, mostly broken wood covered in dirt, was piled high on each side of the alley. One of the buildings next to me had walls made of wood, and I could see several large openings where something had broken through. The holes in the building were surrounded by shattered wood and other debris. The building on the other side of the alley was made of stone but was covered in dust and dirt as if it had not been cleaned in years.

  I could see a larger street in front of me, so I carefully stepped around the trash littering the alley and approached it. At the mouth of the alley, I looked both ways down the larger street and took in the details of the world I found myself in. The street wasn’t made of pavement, like back home, but instead of large cobblestones. The cobblestones were worn down, as if they had been in place for many years. I was surrounded by buildings. This was clearly a metropolis of some kind, but not a modern-looking one. All of the buildings were in various states of decay and ruin. Many of them had collapsed entirely. Pillars lined the streets, many of them knocked over and shattered on the cobblestones. Remnants of plants and flowers that must have once been beautifully maintained to offer shade for walking pedestrians now struggled to grow through the dirt and debris that had taken over.

  The buildings were a mix of stone, wood, and brick. None of them were made of modern concrete. The architecture of the buildings favored arches and pillars reminiscent of ancient Rome. Remnants of murals and other adornments on the buildings appeared here and there, smudged and covered in dirt where not completely broken.

  I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the stench of the city around me. Whatever I had been expecting when I stepped through the portal, this was not it. I looked back down the alley, but the portal had closed as I had programmed it to do. There was no going back now.

  I stepped out into the street and carefully eyed the buildings around me. There were no signs of life. Not even birds called from above the city; my enhanced senses were unable to hear even a mouse scurry nearby. The city seemed eerily quiet, as if I was disturbing a long-neglected tomb. I carefully walked into the center of the street, listening as I moved. My heart began to beat faster as I took in the silent, dead city around me. Thankfully, the tension I felt as I turned my head to keep an eye on the many buildings around me helped unify my body in a way I hadn’t been able to accomplish in the lab. My mind was too distracted to fight my body right now, and I walked smoothly to the center of the road.

  Once there, I looked both ways and saw no end to the buildings around me. I was definitely in a major city of some kind, one that did not have the same level of technology as my old world.

  I picked one of the nearby buildings that looked to be in better condition than the others. The building appeared to be a single-dwelling house, but one of the fancier ones in this area. The front of the building had a beautifully designed arch over two wooden doors inlaid with designs of flowers and other ornamentation. The arch was dirty but hadn’t been touched by whatever had damaged so many of the other buildings. The two doors were closed, but thanks to the strength of my new body, I was able to force one of the doors open with ease.

  I slipped inside. The building was several stories tall, and the front doors opened into a foyer that had hallways to the left and right of me. Stairs also led to a second floor, and across from me was another set of wooden doors that were wedged open, showing a courtyard that dominated the center of the building.

  I stepped forward silently and peered out into the courtyard. There were overgrown trees, bushes, and flowers around a central fountain that I assumed had stopped running some time ago, judging by the buildup of vegetation in the fountain itself. To my left and right were several doors that ringed the courtyard and another stairway made of wood. It led upward to the second and third levels.

  I made my way up the stairs and ducked into one of the rooms on the third floor. Large open windows let in plenty of light as I entered the room, but my passage kicked up so much dust I had to cover my mouth with my sleeve and close my eyes. I carefully maneuvered toward the windows, trying to figure out how much time had passed for so much dust to have accrued in the room. Ten years? Fifty years? A hundred? I didn’t know for sure.

  I stood next to the open windows until the dust settled around me. Opening my eyes, I looked out upon the city in which I now lived.

  The first thing I noticed was that the city stretched for as far as my eyes could see, which was pretty far, given my enhanced senses. Hundreds—thousands—of buildings surrounded me. Several were taller than the one I was in, but most were shorter. The city seemed laid out in an unusual way, haphazard alleys and smaller streets branching off several major roads that cut through the clutter of the city. The buildings were mostly wood, many of them collapsed or burned down from some long-ago fire. The few stone buildings were more intact, but even they showed signs of damage from whatever had ravaged the city.

  Unlike a modern city, this one had no distinguishable rich or poor neighborhoods that I could see. Mansions were packed next to wooden slums, and stone buildings were surrounded by walls built next to ancient apartment buildings that looked rickety and unsafe to my modern sensibilities.

  Distracted by the city, I realized after a moment that my ears had been hearing something behind me. I turned instantly, crouching and raising my arms in one of the basic forms of martial arts I had downloaded from my world but had never practiced. I listened intently; my advanced hearing could distinguish the sound of several different creatures approaching the room I was in. I waited, not wanting to draw more attention to myself, but whatever was stalking me already knew I was here. Their small, quiet, scuttling steps approached until I saw several creatures crowd the door, eager to find me.

  I took in the sight of the creatures, disgusted by what I saw. They were massive rats, the size of a dog at least. They had beady, intelligent looking eyes and yellow teeth that dripped saliva as they eagerly stared back at me.

  Before I could figure out what to do, the first one through the door crouched and leapt toward me. It was powerful enough to cross the entire room in a single leap, its large, disgusting body surprisingly powerful. Thankfully, the instincts of my new body knew what to do in the face of such an attack, and I dodged to the side easily. The rat slammed into the edge of the windows I had been standing at. It teetered for a second before its momentum sent it falling out of the window, its claws unable to find enough purchase. The second rat had followed the first into the room, scurrying toward me instead of leaping at me. It approached me more carefully but seemed unable to cope with my speed as I dodged past it quickly, managing to avoid its nasty looking teeth.

  I darted out of the room, slamming the door behind me and frantically looking for some kind of lock but not finding one on the outside of the door. I scanned the balcony that ran around the entire third floor of the building. Several more of the rats were on the landing, crouching cautiously in response to my sudden appearance. They hissed at me as I turned to stare at them.

  The balcony I was on looked down on the courtyard below. Above me was an overhang that covered the balcony from the elements. The rooftop was supported by pillars spaced evenly around the balcony. A once-fine wooden railing stretched between each of the pillars to prevent people from falling.

  One of the rats summoned up the courage to attack me as I searched for a way to escape. Like the first rat, it leapt forward, trying to take me by surprise with its speed. If I had been a normal human, it might have succeeded, but thankfully, my reflexes were good enough that I could dodge even the fast-moving rat. I ducked underneath it, allowing it to fly above me, and swiftly stood and shoved it as hard as I could, propelling it behind me. My shove, fueled by the strength of my new body, sent the beast careening away from me, where it skidded and rolled over and over.

  The other two rats hadn’t been idle, rushing forward to attack me while I was distracted with the first rat. I turned back to them quickly, dodging the first rat as it tried to bite me. The second surprised me by leaping toward my face. Something about the rat getting close to my vulnerable face caused my body to panic, and I flailed backward in a markedly less-coordinated attempt at dodging. I felt frustration at the failure of my body’s instincts as I lost control and fell backward. I suppressed the irrational panic that threatened to take over my mind and turned my fall into a roll. Unfortunately, I moved too slow and the other rat was able to latch on to my leg with its disgusting teeth.

  I could feel the pressure of its bite as it tried to sink its teeth into my leg, but my strengthened clothing managed to prevent it from breaking my skin. I tried to shake the rat off as I stood rapidly, but it hung on tenaciously, scratching my pant leg with its claws and gnawing at my leg like a dog with a bone.

  I reached down and grabbed the beast, staggering in a circle to keep the other two rats in my vision. The first one that had launched itself at me had recovered and was rushing back toward me. The second one was even closer, moving to take advantage of my stumbling steps as I dealt with the rat on my leg. I wrenched the rat off my leg, my strength enough to overpower its attempts to cling to me. I held the rat away from me for a second before throwing it off the side of the balcony and into the courtyard below.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  The second rat attempted to latch on to my leg as well, but now that I wasn’t panicking as much, I briskly stepped backward and then kicked the rat to the side, sending it flying until it impacted against the railing. It broke the wood and followed the other rat into the courtyard below.

  The third rat, meanwhile, had learned caution and was glaring at me but not approaching. I stared at it for a moment before backing toward the stairs that led downward. The third rat stayed where it was until I reached the stairs. I slowly backed down the stairs, watching as the rat crouched and began to carefully scuttle toward me. The rat that I had trapped in the bedroom was loudly slamming into the door, but it hadn’t been able to open it yet.

  Given a moment of relative peace, I couldn’t help but marvel at what a strange situation this was as I backed slowly down the stairs, glaring at the rat in front of me. My body was living up to my expectations, but it felt odd to be engaged in such a physical contest. Sweat had broken out all over my body. I felt flushed with adrenaline. My heart was beating faster than normal. My breath was short, even though I hadn’t exerted myself that much. So many biological reactions, none of which I directed with my mind. Thankfully, the stress of the situation was helping my mind and body learn how to work together better; I hadn’t completely failed when fighting the rats.

  The rat above me let out a squeal as I continued down the stairs, and I heard scratching claws on the stairs below me speed up in response to the cry.

  “Damn,” I said, speaking aloud. My voice was rusty, and I felt a moment of vertigo as I heard my own voice for the first time. I ruthlessly pushed down the feeling and my momentary introspection. Now was not the time to let myself get distracted by so many intellectual thoughts. Now was the time for living in the real world. And that world was full of giant, very angry rats.

  I turned and rushed down to the second-story balcony in time to see more rats coming up the stairs toward me. I ran forward and kicked the nearest rat where it stared up at me from the second-to-last step. My foot connected with its head, and it flew over the other rats behind it with a noisy crunch of broken bones.

  I counted the remaining rats and found two more on the stairs, but I froze momentarily as I realized one of the rats was glowing slightly in my vision. It was a subtle glow, easy to ignore if I wasn’t staring directly at the rat, but to my vision, the rat was clearly glowing a dark blue color. The glowing rat was also bigger and seemed to have even more intelligence behind its small, beady eyes. It turned to watch the rat I had kicked land, checking to see if it was getting up again, whereas the smaller, non-glowing rat didn’t pay any attention and rushed forward to attack me.

  Positioned as I was on the top of the stairs, I easily dodged the charging rat. As it snapped at my shin, I stepped back, grabbed it by the scruff, and tossed it at the glowing rat below it as hard as I could. The blue rat dodged to the side, avoiding the incoming rat, but the one I threw wasn’t as lucky; my strength caused it to slam into the stairs and then bounce down to the bottom level, where it lay unmoving like the first rat I had fought here.

  I looked at the blue rat suspiciously, but before I could do anything, I felt an impact against my back. I pitched forward, losing my balance and falling down the steps. As I did, I felt the rat I had left behind me biting into my neck and scalp, drawing blood and causing significant pain. I screamed as I fell, the sensation of pain so overwhelming that my vision went white for a moment and I lost all sense of myself.

  When I came to, I was lying at the bottom of the stairs. The rat that had knocked me over was underneath me, my fingers wrapped around its thick, hairy neck as I slammed its head into the stone floor over and over. Rat blood sprayed over me as my own blood dripped from the back of my neck and scalp. It was absolutely disgusting, but my body was so flushed with fear and adrenaline that I barely noticed. I released the rat, recognizing that it was long dead, and turned to find the blue rat gnawing at my ankle, trying to cripple me with its powerful teeth. It had managed to damage my pants but hadn’t fully torn through them yet. My Achilles’ heel felt bruised but was not torn to shreds like it would have been without my enhanced pants.

  I bunched my hand into a fist and struck the blue rat in its nose, sending it backward and making it squeal in pain. I lunged after it, pushing myself across the bloody stone toward it. It recovered quickly, but I was faster. I grabbed its head with one hand and lifted it up before slamming it into the ground as hard as I could. The first slam only disoriented the rat, which was protected by its thick hide and large body, but I didn’t let up, slamming it over and over until it stopped struggling in my arms. I stood up, making sure it was truly dead before dropping its filthy corpse onto the floor.

  I looked around but didn’t see any more rats nearby. I tried to control my breathing so I could listen to my surroundings, but my body refused to stop panting. I shook my head and took several deep breaths, forcibly calming myself down as much as I could.

  When nothing else attacked me, I reached up and felt the back of my head and neck. The biggest wound was on the back of my neck, where I felt two big gashes that were bleeding freely. Smaller scratches covered the back of my head, and my hair was already matting from the blood. I touched them gingerly but didn’t find anything that seemed likely to kill me right now.

  I carefully checked the courtyard but didn’t find any more rats except one of the two I had tossed over the third-floor balcony. It wasn’t dead, but it was injured enough that it couldn’t join the fight earlier. The other one I had tossed over must have joined in the attack on the stairs. I killed the injured rat with a quick stomp to its head, putting it out of its misery.

  Now that I wasn’t breathing so loudly, I could hear the world around me better, so I stopped and listened. The city was back to being eerily silent, except for the sound of the trapped rat above me scrabbling and slamming itself against the door. I set my nanobots to work. They healed my injuries and repaired my clothes as I returned to the bottom of the stairs. It would take time, but I was confident in my nanobots. They would heal me completely, given enough time, even if the rat’s teeth and claws had carried a nasty disease.

  As I stood near the dead rats, letting my nanobots start their work, I noticed that the rat that had been glowing blue was beginning to glow even brighter in death. I stepped back, unsure of what was happening. A moment later, the blue light coalesced above the rat’s body, slowly forming into an orb that began to float in midair. As I stared at the strange, glowing orb, I also felt something foreign enter my mind. It felt like receiving information back home, before I put myself into my body.

  Dire rat defeated—1 experience awarded. Dire rat defeated—1 experience awarded. Dire rat defeated—1 experience awarded. Dire rat defeated—1 experience awarded. Dire rat defeated—1 experience awarded.

  Dire rat sub-boss defeated—5 experience awarded. No class detected. Experience pooled for future use.

  The communication was similar to how my siblings and I had used to communicate, except this time I wasn’t connected to them through the global networking system. This felt almost telepathic in nature. Was it a magical re-creation of the global networking system my world had developed? How had it detected me and interfaced with my unique biomechanical brain? I must have made myself human enough to trigger whatever governed the esoteric systems I had detected on this world.

  I felt happiness at the messages, despite their strange appearance in my mind. This was what I had been looking for when I spent all those months scanning different worlds. Gaining experience, as if I was still in one of the virtual reality worlds back on Earth, was exactly what I hoped to find. Although the brutality of the fight with the rats was much more realistic than I had anticipated, I still felt a surge of happiness at the confirmation I had found the right kind of world. I was a bit surprised by how little experience the rats awarded, but I was used to a virtual reality world where entertainment was the goal and so experience and rewards were tuned pretty high. I was guessing, in this world, that wasn’t going to be the case.

  I stood up and approached the glowing orb, which still floated above the larger rat’s body. I now knew that these were called dire rats and that the blue glow indicated that this had been a sub-boss of some kind. I reached forward, unsure of what it was, but I assumed I was meant to collect it somehow. As my hand touched the orb, it sparkled one more time and then solidified into a perfect, small blue orb. The light slowly faded, and I was left holding a blue orb about the size of my thumbnail.

  I stood up fully and stretched. I still felt good despite my first brush with mortality. My body had responded well. I had moved rapidly and with significant strength. The wounds I had suffered were already starting to mend, although they still hurt significantly more than I had anticipated.

  Not wanting to pass up any experience, having learned that lesson early on when playing games with Michael, I went upstairs and finished off the last rat before leaving the building.

  Dire rat defeated—1 experience awarded.

  I was still missing experience from one of the rats I had fought, if my count was right, but I guessed the one that had fallen out of the window during the first few seconds of the fight had survived. I searched around the outside of the building but found no trace of it. It must have scampered off before I could get to it.

  I stood in the street near where the rat would have fallen, considering what to do next. I didn’t need to eat as much as a normal human thanks to my unique body, but I would eventually get hungry. I would also need to consume food to power my nanobots, especially considering the extra work they were performing in healing my wounds and mending my clothing. I wasn’t squeamish about eating the rats if it came to that, but since it would be a couple of days at least before I felt truly hungry, I decided to wait and see if I could get more appropriate food for my very first meal as a living being. It felt wrong to experience the pleasures of eating—something humans went on and on about throughout their entire history—by consuming a dead rat.

  Holding the strange blue orb in my hand, I set off to explore more of this dangerous new world.