Chapter 2: A Power with No PowerPart 1: Testing the [Borrow] SkillArata took a deep breath and stood up. His legs were shaky, and his mind was still catching up with reality, but he couldn’t just sit here forever. If this was really a different world, then the first thing he needed to do was figure out how to survive.

  "Alright," he muttered, looking at his status window again. "I have a skill called [Borrow]... but what the hell does that even mean in practice?"

  The description said he could "borrow" a skill for 10 minutes—but from who? There was no one around.

  He sighed and scanned his surroundings. He was in a vast, open field with patches of trees in the distance. Birds chirped, and a warm breeze rustled the grass, but aside from that, it was completely silent.

  He needed to find people.

  Arata started walking, following a dirt path leading toward what looked like a forest in the distance. As he moved, he started to notice something—he wasn’t tired.

  Back in his old life, even a short jog would leave him gasping for air, but now, despite walking for what felt like an hour, he barely felt winded.

  He smirked. “Well, at least my endurance is better here.”

  Then, just as he was about to reach the tree line—

  Rustle.

  His body tensed. The bushes nearby shook. Something was in there.

  Then, it leaped out.

  A rabbit.

  But not just any rabbit—this thing was huge, at least as big as a medium-sized dog. Its fur was dark brown, its ears long and sharp, and its red eyes locked onto him with an unnatural hunger.

  Arata felt a cold sweat run down his back.

  "Wait… this is a fantasy world. That means—"

  The rabbit suddenly lunged at him, its powerful legs propelling it forward like a bullet.

  "SHIT!" Arata barely dodged, stumbling backward as the monster rabbit nded where he had just been standing. Its cws dug into the dirt, and it turned to face him again, preparing for another attack.

  "I have no weapon. No combat experience. If this thing gets me, I’m dead!"

  Desperate, Arata shouted, "Status window! [Borrow]!"

  A faint glow surrounded him as the skill activated.

  Error: No target nearby to borrow from.

  "...Huh?"

  The rabbit leaped again. Arata barely managed to roll out of the way, dirt staining his clothes. His heart pounded.

  [Borrow] only works on people!

  He cursed under his breath. "Are you kidding me?! This skill is useless right now!"

  The rabbit didn't care. It was already charging at him again.

  Arata gritted his teeth. He couldn't just keep dodging forever—he needed to fight back.

  His eyes darted around, searching for anything he could use.

  Then he spotted it—a thick, sturdy branch lying on the ground nearby.

  Arata sprinted toward it, grabbing it just as the rabbit lunged again. This time, he didn’t dodge—he swung the branch as hard as he could.

  CRACK!

  The wood connected with the rabbit’s skull, sending it crashing to the ground. It twitched once, then went still.

  Arata stood there, panting, his hands shaking.

  He had won.

  It wasn’t some heroic victory, but he had survived.

  He swallowed hard and looked at the rabbit’s body. "...Did I just kill something?"

  It felt surreal. He had never even been in a real fight before, and now he had just taken down a monster rabbit with a tree branch.

  Then, something strange happened.

  A small notification popped up in front of him.

  [Congratutions! You have defeated a Wild Fang Rabbit!]+10 EXP gained!

  Arata stared. EXP? Like in a game?

  His mind raced with questions. Was leveling up a thing here? Could he get stronger?

  For the first time since arriving in this world, he felt a spark of excitement.

  Maybe this [Borrow] skill was useless right now… but that didn’t mean he was powerless.

  He grinned.

  "Alright… let’s see what this world has to offer."