Programmer's Guide to Another World

Chapter 2: The Runtime Error

His initial elation, the giddy thrill of discovery, drained away completely, replaced by a familiar, cold dread.

A bug.

A critical, system-level bug.

But this wasn't just a line of code in a program; it was reality itself throwing an error, and he was feeling the consequences directly.

He tried to recall the "Cautionary Notes" from his hastily assembled survival guide.

Mana/Energy Cost: Is there a cost to Reality Coding? Observe fatigue or depletion.

And Paradoxes/Side Effects: Unforeseen consequences of reality manipulation. Test carefully.

He hadn't felt any fatigue before, but the throbbing headache and the churning nausea now were undeniable, a stark, painful reminder.

It wasn't just a mental cost; it was a very real, very physical toll.

He brought up the Omni-Net search bar, his hands trembling slightly, a desperate need for answers, for documentation.

Search Omni-Net: Reality Coding Insufficient Resources Error

The search bar glowed, and results populated almost instantly, far more detailed and complex than his previous simple query.

● Reality Coding Principles - Foundation Layer (Core Document): Direct materialization of complex objects from nothing is highly resource-intensive and often impossible without a significant energy source or existing elemental components. The universe adheres to a principle of conservation.

● Energy Consumption in Reality Coding: Every act of creation or alteration requires an equivalent expenditure of energy. For complex structures or living matter, this energy demand is immense, often exceeding the capacity of a single individual.

● Tiered Creation: Reality Coding operates on tiers.

○ Tier 0 (Information/Minor Manipulation): Text generation, minor light sources, simple sensory alterations. Minimal energy cost.

○ Tier 1 (Transmutation/Assembly): Rearranging existing matter, combining simple elements, shaping raw materials. Moderate energy cost, requires source material.

○ Tier 2 (Complex Materialization/Life Creation): Direct creation of complex objects or living organisms. Extremely high energy cost, often requires external energy conduits or ritualistic components. (Warning: High risk of paradox or instability.)

● Reality Feedback Loop (Error Handling): Attempts to violate core principles or exceed energy limits result in immediate feedback (pain, disorientation, system rejection) to prevent reality corruption.

Hiroshi read through the results, his mind racing, trying to process the profound implications.

"Conservation of energy," he muttered, the fundamental scientific principle from his old world echoing with chilling clarity in this new, magical one.

He couldn't just conjure a hut out of thin air, like a god.

He wasn't a deity.

He was still a programmer, bound by the fundamental rules of the system, even if that system was the entire universe itself.

The "Pythos" language wasn't just a syntax for him to express commands; it was an interface to a fundamental, underlying reality engine.

And that engine, it turned out, had very strict rules, unyielding constraints, and a very aggressive error-handling protocol.

He hadn't just hit a syntax error in his code; he'd hit a catastrophic runtime error in reality itself.

His create_wooden_hut function had tried to call a forbidden operation, or one that required resources he simply didn't possess.