Present Day: March 5th 2093.
Colony: New-Tokyo; Shibuya Ruins.
7:05 pm GMT+8
Takashi's skill lands a fatal strike on the Centrial. A sword appears as if out of thin air. It lands a strike on the Centrial, seamlessly bypassing her hardening skill defense and impaling her.
The Centrial lets out a groan as blood spews out of her mouth. She looks down at Takashi, asking him;
"You… damn human... What did you… DO?!"
Takashi lets out a wince as he tries to move. A broken arm and leg were a price too high to pay in his view, just so he could land a strike on her. But as he looked at her impaled body, he couldn't help but grin, as he said;
"I… told you it was going… to hurt you Monster!" He said, in a low tone. The pain was taking quite a toll on him as well. "You assumed my Phasing Blade* skill only lets me make weapons… vanish! But there was more to it than that!"
*Phasing Blade; A skill unique to Takashi alone. It gave him two major abilities. The first was to make weapons vanish; making it seem as if he were unarmed. Which was perfect for stealth missions.
The second ability allowed him to bypass an opponent's defense, regardless of how absolute it was. Provided the difference in levels between the opponent's defensive skill and his offensive skill, wasn't too high. Basically, his Level 2 Offensive Skill couldn't work on a Level 4 Defensive Skill or higher.
However, this depended on whether an opponent uses a defensive skill. If not, Takashi would have to rely on his own power to harm his opponent. The tricky part was that there was no way of telling when Takashi would use the skill. Which gave his opponents a hard time.
What made the Academy grade his skill with unknown potential, and give it a Time Limit, was the fact that; at that point, he could only use the skill up to level 2. That meant; upgrading the skill to higher levels would increase its effectiveness exponentially.*
"Why you little…" Aria said.
She raised her arm again, covering it in the metallic like coating once more. This time, however, three claw like protrusions appeared on her fist. She kept reshaping them; almost as if they were made of a fluid of sorts. A few seconds later, the protrusions grew in length and were about as long as a short blade.
"This, is what I meant when I said one must never reveal their trump card unless assured of victory, human!" Aria said. A deathly glow glinted from her eyes.
Alarmed by the sudden change in his opponent's weaponry, Takashi attempted to use a Defensive Boost in readiness for the impending attack. Lying on the ground, unable to move—that was his last resort.
< ⚠ Warning ⚠ >
< Boosts: 0 >
< Incapable Of Activating Skill >
"What?!" He said. "Damn it all!!!" Takashi forgot he used up his final boost during the surprise attack.
With the blade still impaling her, Aria struck him right in the torso, breaking four of his ribs, rendering him unconscious almost instantly.
"You were quite the fighter for a human." She said. "Had you been of a higher level, could our fight have ended differently?"
Hiromi looked in horror as Aria struck down Takashi. He couldn't believe someone like Takashi lost so easily.
"Takashi!!" He exclaimed.
Aria looked back at Hiromi, and letting out a slight groan as she pulled out the blade, impaling her. Takashi had wounded her quite a bit as well. However, being a Centrial, Aria's wounds would most likely heal soon.
"I nearly forgot about you code #00156 Hiromi Kazuya." She said condescendingly. "You are my precious target after all."
Hiromi could feel his heart racing again. He knew if he stayed there any longer—he would die.
'Even Takashi couldn't beat her… what can I do with no inventory?' Hiromi thought. A cold sweat now running down his spine. He instinctively started backing away. Until a message showed up on his HUI.
< Notification >
< You Have Received Inventory >
< Sender ID: Dazai Takashi >
< Grenades: 1 >
< Dual-Wielded-Daggers: 1 set >
< Message >
< I know you used your COPY SKILL on me! Stop being a COWARD and prove that you're not a WEAKLING!!! > 3min.
***
Fifteen Minutes Earlier.
"Code! What is the likelihood of Takashi beating the Centrial?" Hiromi asked with an anxious voice.
< Less than five percent Hiromi. >
"Less than five percent?!" Hiromi exclaimed. "I figured it would turn out this way, but…"
< Based on my observations; it is highly unlikely that code #00345 Takashi Dazai will not last much longer with the Centrial on the offensive. >
"Well, in that case, Code, I need you to…"
"Run Acclimatization* on him!" Hiromi said with a resolute expression on his face.
< ⚠ Warning ⚠ >
< Acclimatization* Depends Entirely On Having Weapons At Your Disposal. At Present Inventory Is Empty! >
< Do You Still Wish To Proceed? >
"Don't worry, he'll catch on." Hiromi said as he chuckled. "I think?"
End of Flashback.
***
"Finally! Took him long enough… he actually caught on, huh?" Hiromi said with a grin on his face. "Is that why he kept calling me weakling more than usual? Shifting the Centrial's attention away from me, enabling Code to run the Acclimatization* program? Not bad."
< Acclimatization* Complete >
< Do you wish to Integrate*? >
*Acclimatization; Not a skill, but a program Hiromi coded. Being a Novelty-Class, it was impossible for him to use Red-Core-Energy to boost his physical abilities. Instead, he used Blue-Core-Energy to code up programs and invent artillery that he could integrate into his Inventory System, as a substitute for skills.
Acclimatization was a program that analyzed an individual's fighting sequences with impeccable precision. Creating a Source Code which was an exact copy of the Individuals fighting sequences.*
"Proceed with Integration* Code!" Hiromi said.
A series of binary numbers started flashing before Hiromi's eyes as the program integrated, forming an algorithm of Takashi's fighting sequences.
< Integration* Complete >
< Fighting Sequences >
< AB >
< CA >
< AAA>
…
A grin appeared on Hiromi's face.
*Integration; at present, a level 2 program that enabled Hiromi to assimilate the fighting sequence and skills of anyone he used Acclimatization on. This was limited to people that were of the same level as Hiromi or lower. Basically, as a level 2 program, Hiromi couldn't use it to integrate the skills of a Level 3 or higher.
The strain this put on his body was quite high.*
"AB Combo!" Said Hiromi.
Two daggers appeared in his hands. He spun them around for a few seconds, and the blades vanished.
"That skill is it not?!" The Centrial said.
Hiromi dashed forward and headed for the Centrial, his speed and movements mirrored Takashi's.
'If I use the AB Combo, she'll block with her left arm, and try to hit me with her right…' He thought. 'In that case, I'll change it up a bit!'
Instead of following the sequence entirely to perform Takashi's exact moves, Hiromi changed it to suit his own body frame and fighting style, as he was smaller and not as strong as Takashi was. He preferred an improvised form of combat, which involved nimble movement and a combination of long and short range attacks.
"CA Combo!" Hiromi said.
His eyes adapted to Takashi's kinetic vision skill, and he saw her movements almost in slow motion.
"Damn! My eyes hurt! How was Takashi able to fight so long with such strain?!"
As the Centrial noticed Hiromi's approach, she picked up her Lasso, and sent it flying towards him. To her surprise, instead of dodging, Hiromi let the lasso wrap around his torso and she pulled him in to land a blow.
As he got closer to her, Hiromi took out a W.A.R.P and used it on Takashi, who was still unconscious. He then used the Flashy Grenade skill when he got in range, with the remaining fifty percent he had left on his Plasma Blade, and blew up half the roof.
Having already been wounded significantly by Takashi, Aria's reaction time and movements were getting sluggish. The blinding light from the Plasma Blade, disoriented her further, failing to react to the grenade in time.
Because Hiromi prioritized Takashi's safety over his own, He took on a direct explosion at close range. His left side was a mess. It got affected by the brunt of the explosion; and he was bleeding profusely. Even the components of the W.A.R.P around Takashi had almost disintegrated entirely.
Hiromi's vision was getting blurry, and his heart rate elevated. His body felt heavier than usual. The strain of using Takashi's skills successively, as well as bearing with the brunt of the explosion, was taking quite a toll on his body.
"Did… that take her out?" Hiromi asked. Unfortunately for him, though, Aria was still standing. "No way! She survived that?!"
The Centrial was standing on the debris of the old roof. Half her body covered in the metallic coating, the other half badly wounded.
"AAA Combo!" Hiromi said. He winced, as it was getting harder for him to breathe. He knew using anymore of Takashi's skills would be dangerous in his current state. But he had no other choice.
The AAA Combo was the second ability the Phasing Blade skill gave. He dashed towards the Centrial, and struck her in the chest, easily bypassing her defense; thanks to the skill. The mask the Centrial had on broke—exposing her face. Oddly, she wore a bright smile.
Using every ounce of strength she had left, Aria injected a capsule in Hiromi through his exposed left arm. It happened so fast, Hiromi couldn't react.
"Mission Complete!" She said. With a contented expression on her face, as she fell to the ground.
< ⚠ Warning ⚠ >
< Unknown Substance Detected In Blood Stream >
Hiromi felt his chest tighten, his heart rate was skyrocketing, and his breathing was shallow. He soon lost consciousness and fell to the ground.
The sound of the Cleaners got even louder, and the warning which signaled the shutdown of the Refuges went off.
***
"Secure the students!" A voice said.
"Yes, Lieutenant!"
"Lieutenant, it seems one student is not breathing!"
Five Academy first-year students and a Centrial were found in the ruins of Shibuya on that day. And one of them was dead.
***
End of prologue.