Cold wind was the first thing he felt
Not pain
Not fear
Just cold
Rayan opened his eyes slowly and stared at a wooden ceiling full of cracks
The smell of damp soil and smoke filled the air
Somewhere outside a goat was crying and people were shouting in panic
He tried to move but his body felt strange
lighter than it should be
smaller than it should be
This is not my room
That was the first clear thought in his mind
He pushed himself up and looked at his hands
thin fingers
rough skin
not the hands of a modern engineering student anymore
A wave of memories crashed into his mind
A lecture hall
a late night project
a falling light
then nothing
And now this place
He sat still for a moment trying to understand what kind of joke reality was playing on him
Then suddenly something appeared in front of his vision
A faint glowing screen without glass or metal
just floating light in the air
WELCOME USER
GRAND ARCHITECTURE SYSTEM ACTIVATED
Rayan blinked slowly
Either I am dreaming or I have finally lost my mind
The screen changed again
CURRENT LOCATION
ABANDONED BORDER VILLAGE HOLLOWBROOK
CURRENT STATUS
CRITICAL CONDITION
BUILD POINTS
ZERO
A long silence followed
Then outside the wooden door something crashed loudly
People were shouting again
Bandits are here
they are taking everything
Rayan stood up instinctively
His legs were weak but his mind was sharp
So this is one of those worlds
Fantasy setting
collapsed village
danger everywhere
and I wake up in the worst possible situation
The door burst open before he could think further
A woman rushed inside carrying a small child
Please help us
they are burning the grain storage
Rayan looked at her and then at the system screen still floating in front of him
Then at his empty hands
No weapons
no power
just a strange system that talks about architecture
He exhaled slowly
Of course
If I am going to die anyway I might as well understand what this system does
He focused on the floating screen
A new option appeared
BEGIN FIRST BUILDING PROJECT
He hesitated
Then asked softly
What can I build
The system responded instantly
AVAILABLE
BASIC STRUCTURE
WOODEN SHELTER
SMALL DEFENSIVE WALL
BUILD REQUIREMENT
UNDERSTANDING OF SPACE
MATERIALS AVAILABLE
Rayan looked around
The village was collapsing outside
but inside this broken hut he could see scattered wood beams
old broken furniture
stones near the corner
He smiled faintly
So you want me to build with this
Not bad
Outside screams grew louder
Something was burning
Rayan stepped out
The village was worse than he imagined
Half burned houses
people running
armored men looting grain and livestock
smoke covering the sky like a dirty blanket
One of the bandits laughed while kicking over a food barrel
Pathetic village
Rayan watched silently
His expression was calm but his mind was already calculating
Angles
materials
movement patterns
escape routes
weak points in structure of buildings
Engineering instinct never leaves
Even in another world
The system screen flickered again
BUILD AREA DETECTED
CAN INITIATE EMERGENCY STRUCTURE
Rayan raised his hand slightly
Alright
Let us test this system
He walked toward a collapsed wooden cart and placed his hand on it
A new prompt appeared
DECONSTRUCT INTO MATERIALS
YES
He selected it
The cart dissolved into glowing fragments of light that reformed into neat piles of usable wood and metal pieces
Rayan paused for a second
Okay
That is actually useful
A bandit noticed him
Hey you there
Stop moving
Rayan ignored him
His eyes were focused on something else now
Blueprint lines were forming in his vision automatically
a structure design was being generated in real time
Simple shelter
but reinforced
with angled supports
and hidden weak point traps
Interesting
So I do not just build
I design
He lifted his hand again
BUILD
The materials rose into the air
Wood pieces moved like they were alive
locking together in perfect sequence
forming a structure faster than any human carpenter could achieve
Within moments a small defensive structure stood in front of him
A reinforced wooden barrier with angled support beams and narrow openings
The bandit who was approaching stopped walking
What is that
Rayan looked at it calmly
A wall
Then he stepped back
And waited
The system flashed again
FIRST BUILD COMPLETE
BUILD POINTS INCREASED
NEW SKILL UNLOCKED
STRUCTURE STABILITY VISION
Now he could see weak points in everything around him
houses
fences
even the ground had structural stress lines visible in faint light
Rayan exhaled slowly
This is insane
Behind him the woman from earlier was staring at the wall in shock
Did you do this
Rayan did not answer immediately
Because even he was not fully sure what he just did
But the bandits were no longer laughing
One of them stepped forward angry
Destroy it
He swung a crude weapon toward the wall
The impact hit
And nothing happened
The structure held perfectly
Rayan tilted his head slightly
So basic defense works
Good
He walked forward slowly
The bandit noticed him and hesitated
You built this
Rayan nodded
Yes
Bandit laughed nervously
Then die
He rushed forward
Rayan did not move
Instead he raised two fingers slightly
And focused on the system again
MODIFY STRUCTURE
ACTIVATE INTERNAL LOCK
Suddenly the wall behind the bandit shifted
Hidden wooden spikes rotated outward from inside the structure
The bandit froze
Too late
He fell backward avoiding the spikes by inches
His face turned pale
What is this thing
Rayan finally smiled faintly
Engineering
But in this world it looks like magic
The remaining bandits started backing away
Something is wrong with this village
Retreat
They ran
Silence returned slowly
Only smoke and burning sounds remained in the distance
Rayan looked at the structure again
Then at his hands
So this system is not about fighting
It is about design
If I build better things
I become stronger
Interesting logic
The woman approached him slowly still holding the child
Who are you
Rayan thought for a moment
Then answered honestly
Someone who just arrived
He looked at the burning village around him
And added
And I think I might rebuild this place
Not because he was heroic
Not because he wanted to save anyone
But because for the first time in this broken world
He saw something that made sense
Structure
logic
design
and systems
And that was something he understood better than anyone else
Above him the system screen glowed softly again
NEW MISSION GENERATED
REBUILD HOLLOWBROOK VILLAGE
REWARD
UNKNOWN
Rayan stared at it for a long moment
Then turned toward the ruins
Alright
Let us start building
