[Traversal Complete]
[Current World: Cyberpunk 2077]
Riku's vision blurred, and the beautiful yet deadly Demon Slayer girl vanished. In her place was blinding neon light pollution, so intense he almost thought it was daytime.
Blinking, Riku took a step back. Right in front of him was a glowing neon billboard featuring a scantily clad woman.
"…"
He quickly looked away, scanning his surroundings cautiously. He was in a narrow alley, and thankfully, no one else was around.
"Phew~"
The safe environment let Riku breathe a sigh of relief. He'd been reckless back there, not activating traversal right away. That brush with death wasn't fun, and trying to negotiate with the Demon Slayer Corps as an oni was, unsurprisingly, a terrible idea.
"But, silver lining—I've landed in a world I actually know."
Riku grinned. Even in the worst situations, he could find a bright side.
Cyberpunk 2077. He'd played the game to completion, knew the story inside out. Compared to stumbling blindly through Kimetsu no Yaiba, this was a massive upgrade.
Best of all? No Demon Slayers hunting oni here. This place was way safer!
It might sound absurd, but this messed-up cyberpunk world was, for Riku, a lot less dangerous than the world of Kimetsu no Yaiba.
"Now, what's the timeline here?" he wondered.
Riku stuck to the Traverser's Essential Guide: in a new world, with a system already in hand, the first steps were to confirm time and place.
The place was clear. The billboard had "Night City" written on it—the main stage of the story. Looking out, he spotted a towering building in the distance: Arasaka Tower, the tallest structure in Night City, visible from anywhere.
No hesitation needed. Riku stepped out of the alley. In this city, he could afford to relax a bit. Looking like he did—with his oni horns and all—wasn't even that shocking here. He could just pass it off as overdoing the hormone mods.
Night City had a gang called the Animals, a group of oddballs in a world obsessed with cybernetic enhancements. While everyone else chased "flesh is weak, metal is king," the Animals went the opposite way, aiming to perfect the human body. They embraced the wild, primal side of humanity, trying to blur the line between man and beast, creating a new kind of subspecies.
Their look was anything but normal—spotted or striped skin, beast-like jaws, even self-growing muscle implants. Riku's appearance? He could stand in the middle of Night City, and the Animals' leader, Sasquatch, would probably give him a thumbs-up without a second thought.
Boldly stepping out of the alley, Riku entered another one, then stopped. A human figure appeared ahead—a dirty, disheveled homeless man slumped against the wall, head down, possibly asleep.
Riku frowned, a bit annoyed. Even this filthy guy smelled… appetizing. Like a mix of stench and savory meat. At that moment, Riku truly understood the phrase "stinks but smells good." It was foul, sure, but that meaty aroma was real.
He held his breath, planning to slip past the "ugly yet tasty" guy without trouble.
"Got any food?" the homeless man suddenly rasped, lifting his head. His cybernetic eyes glowed red as he stared at Riku.
"Sorry, don't have any," Riku replied, caught off guard but honest. He didn't need food—his own body was his meal.
"Heh, he says sorry," the man muttered, lowering his head again, ignoring Riku.
Riku turned to leave, catching the man's faint mumbling.
"…"
He knew life at the bottom of this world was rough. People like this homeless guy—displaced, with nothing left—were everywhere. Cyberpunk, after all: high tech, low life. A dystopian mess where the elite enjoyed the perks of technology, and regular folks got crushed by the grind.
Bang!
A gunshot echoed through the dim alley.
Riku's face froze. Behind him, the homeless man stood up.
"Sorry? What's that gonna do? Can I eat it?!" the man spat, cursing as he rose, gripping a pistol. That shot had come from him.
A penniless, homeless drifter carrying a gun? In Night City, that was par for the course.
The man approached Riku, confused. Why was this big guy still standing? The gun's caliber was small, but he was certain he'd hit Riku square in the head. Brain matter had splattered.
"Sigh…" Riku let out a long breath. He'd almost forgotten—this wasn't some normal city. This was freaking Night City.
"What the hell?! I hit you!" the man shouted, spooked by Riku's sigh, half-convinced he was hearing things.
That thought didn't last. The hulking figure with a bullet hole in his head turned around.
In the man's terrified gaze, Riku shook his head sharply, flinging out the bullet lodged in his skull. The flesh inside had already healed.
"Look, wouldn't it have been easier to just let me pass? Why'd you have to go looking for trouble?" Riku asked, not really expecting an answer.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Die, you monster!" the man screamed, unloading his clip in a frantic burst.
His magazine didn't have much left, though. This guy was clearly running on fumes.
Panting after emptying his gun, the man's eyes lit up with surprise—the monster wasn't moving anymore.
Thwack!
Riku's claw shot out, piercing straight through the man's throat.
The man reached up, trying to save himself, but blood gushed down Riku's claw. The glow in his cybernetic eyes faded.
"Brains blown out didn't kill me. You think a few more shots would?" Riku said, pulling out his claw and shaking off the blood before wiping it on the man's clothes.
His first time killing a human, and Riku felt… nothing. No nausea, no panic, no drama. Maybe because this guy was such a scumbag? No grudge, no reason, just a random sneak attack from behind?
This wasn't a Demon Slayer who knew he was an oni. The guy just wanted to kill him, probably to sell his body for cash.
Killing him felt like squashing an ant. Honestly, it wasn't much different from killing rats or monkeys before.
"Well, there's one difference," Riku muttered, staring at the system prompt: [Ding! Experience +5.]
Five points? That was four more than he'd expected. Where'd the extra come from?