===3rd Person POV===
A black shadow darted through an orc settlement.
A singular orc was a D-rank monster, but an orcish settlement was an A-rank threat. Contrary to popular belief, orcs were quite intelligent. In a settlement, there was 1 Orc King, a B-rank threat. 20% of the population were Orc Mages, C-rank threats in groups of 2; 60% were the Orc Warriors, B-rank threats alone; 10% were normal orcs, D-rank threats. The last 10% were non-orc monsters that helped with husbandry and assassinations. That being said—
In an instant, the clear night sky was filled with blood.
The nearby trees were dyed red, their leaves as red as rubies.
"LV 1 -> LV 87"
"I expected more but I'll take it."
A voice, not unlike a teen girl's, rang out at the site of the bloodbath.
"Looks like my soul's filtration rate is 23%. If I remember correctly, it was 97% before. And that Hero had a rate of about 72%. Non-Demons have a rate of around 40%, I think."
The shadow sensed a presence.
'A human? I've got nothing better to do, so why not?'
The shadow disappeared.
At the same time, a head could be seen flying through the air.
A chuckle could be heard.
"It never gets old. Oh? What's this? It's similar to Nez, but also similar to a hero. Don't tell me they did it... They did! Those idiots made an Otherworlder a True Demon Lord! HA! I have to check this out."
The shadow blurred and then disappeared. This time, it had a target in mind.
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===Akuma POV===
"I'm up."
My first day as an adventurer and this already felt exciting. I can't wait!
I get out of bed and wear my 'combat' gloves. In actuality, these are normal gloves with increased durability.
I lock my room and head downstairs for breakfast.
The food in this world isn't as bad as you'd think.
Monsters don't taste all that bad and besides that, the agriculture in this world surpasses the old one by a lot.
Anyway, getting back on track, for breakfast I had a fish sandwich and some fried potatoes. If I had to guess, an Otherworlder probably introduced this world to modern cuisine.
I finished breakfast and headed downstairs to the main lobby.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hey, you're Akuma, right?"
"Uh... Yeah? Is something the matter?"
"Well I just wanted to inform you that your examiner is here earlier than expected. So if you want to take the test today, you are free to do so."
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
So I can take the exam today itself. Kiko there won't be any downsides to this right?
Welp. I trust you.
"I would like to take the test as soon as possibl-"
Before I could finish, a rough voice interrupted me.
"Hey, hey hey. What the hell is going on here?"
"Oh God, not you again." She murmurs
"What appears to be the problem, Sir?"
She looked visibly annoyed.
"How come that brat is allowed to take the test but me and my pals can't?"
She sighs, then continues in a voice that sends shivers down my spine.
"Bryce, we have been over this 28 times already. You can't take the test if you have failed it once."
"And I said I don't care. Now let me take the damn test or you might get hurt a bit. I don't think anyone would like that."
"Why do you make me take action personally? You know what? Fuck it. Your elusive test will be against me. The first to lose consciousness loses. Killing is allowed. Any objections?"
"None. This will be so damn easy."
"Alright then. Let's move to the ground shall we?"
She snaps her fingers and suddenly we are behind the building.
"S-space magic?!"
"Hmm? What's wrong Bryce? This will be 'so damn easy' for you won't it?"
"B-but of course. So what if you can use space magic. I can still rush over there and kill you before you can even start constructing the spell."
"We'll see about that. Hey Akuma."
"Yes?"
"Can you act as referee for this match?"
"Sure, uhh..."
"Nola."
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===Nola POV===
Hey there. Nice to meet'cha. The name's Nola. I am the receptionist at Izel's Guild.
How do I know you're here? Simple. I am an apostle of the God of Chaos. I was told to pretend like I didn't know of your existence, but it was more of an 'easier than the alternative' than a 'this is a matter of life and death'.
Before I became an apostle, I was an A-rank Adventurer by the name of Veil. Despite my rank, however, I am as strong as an S-rank party.
I do fight here and there to shake off the rust, but it's nothing compared to my adventurer life. My Status if any of you want a reference point.
Name: Nola (Veil)
LV: 492
Race: Amalgam (Human/Dragon/Elf)
Title: [MONSTER SLAUGHTERER]
[APOSTLE OF THE CHAOS GOD]
[AMALGAM]
HP: 789729947
ATK: 2378352
DEF: 2398340
MP: MAX
AGI: 2136786
INT: MAX
VIT: 0
SKILL: [ICE MAGIC]
[WATER MAGIC]
[WIND MAGIC]
[FIRE MAGIC]
[EARTH MAGIC]
[AQUA MAGIC]
[FLARE MAGIC]
[STROM MAGIC]
[GAIA MAGIC]
[OCCULTISM]
[LESSENED MP CONSUMPTION]
[FORMLESS MAGIC]
UNIQUE SKILL: [FROST]
ULTIMATE SKILL:------------------
RACIAL SKILL: [MAGIC DIVINITY]
[AMALGAM]
[FREE FORM]
When it says that I have MAX MP and INT, that means those two stats are the highest possible for a non-god to have. As a cost of being one of the strongest mages in the world, however, I take massive damage from magic. Due to my Racial Skill, I don't fall ill, so that invalidates the original point of the VIT stat.
This stuff is pretty boring, huh? Alrighty then.
Ĺ̵̛͔̄̂͒̀͐͗̃̂͌̓̿͠È̴̡̡̬͙̬̣̲͋̆̅́͒̏̚͝T̶̙͇̼́̏͛͑̏͗͝'̵̛͔͕̿̈́̐̈́͌͝S̷̡̗͓̟̰̬̫̬̬̥̬̹̊̈͐̈́͜ ̷̨̡̢̛̳̦̭͙̯͈͈̘̣̦̙̔͌̄͌̔̕̕B̵̨̪͖̳̭͔̞̻͓͉̜̣͂̈́͛̈́̅́͑̍͑̈̆̒̊E̸̤̬͖̥͍̩͛͋̅̌̑̕̕G̶̡̢̹̖̀̍͜͝Ĩ̸̢̬̬͍̤̲͇̺̩̪̥̓̊͌̄̆̑̄̿̚͜͝N̷̡̨̛̦̬̪̺͎͖̥͇͔̈́̓̄̈́̓͂̈͘
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Begin!"
As soon as Akuma signaled the start of the match, Bryce rushed towards me. For anyone else, it seemed like an instant was all it took for him to close the distance, but for me, it was painfully slow. I have to go on break soon so I'll end this soon. At the same time though, he should learn his lesson this time.
"{Frost Prison}"
"What the-"
"{Hail}"
"Then I'll just break out of here!"
"Goodbye. {Icicle Barrage}"
"I-"
To explain my combo, {Frost Prison} traps my enemy in place for a few seconds, then {Hail} stops them long enough for {Icicle Barrage} to finish them.
In short, my win condition is my opponent getting trapped in the prison.
"End of match. The winner is Nola."
"So damn easy, huh."
"B-b-boss?!"
I used a Phoenix Feather to revive Bryce.
For the record, a Phoenix Feather is a 4-Star rarity item, in video game terms. It's possible to get a lot of them, but the conditions for getting at least one are pretty hard. For starters, you will need to fight a Red Phoenix in such a way so as to not ruin its feathers. A Phoenix is an A-rank threat, powerwise at least. Although, it is documented as an S-rank threat. The only reason for this is that, when you kill it once, it revives itself if even a single drop of blood or the tiniest bit of magic remains.
"So you see, Bryce? You are just too weak to even stand a chance at being an A-rank."
"W-w-w-what the hell is your LV?!?!"
"Around 300."
"Wha…"
"And he fainted a second time. Great."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
===Akuma POV===
An LV of around 300... the only one with LV close to that was the chimera I fought before. And, from what I read, chimera are weaker in terms of base stat totals. Even now, I don't think I could kill one unless I used the same trick as last time. What sort of monster is she?
"And he fainted a second time. Great."
I must've looked shocked on the outside as well because what she said next calmed me down a bit.
"Don't worry, Akuma. You will only have to prove yourself against a B-rank adventurer. Christian Woods is going to be your opponent for the test. Lana, my assistant will be the examiner. Due to unforeseen issues, your test will be held this evening. Please prepare all you need."
"Understood."
And so she walked away. Honestly, I can never get a read on her. She can also switch from non-formal to formal in a matter of seconds which is, as someone from Earth, scary.
Anyway, it's about 8:30 AM now so I have 9 hours left to prepare. I don't know how strong a B-rank adventurer is, but Roux, the C-rank was, at least in my evaluation, around LV 75.
I should test my power out again and get a proper dagger to fight with, if not to cut, then to atleast channel mana through to form a light alternative to a long or medium ranged weapon.
I head to the weapon shop close to the guild. Inside were a variety of armor. Everything is mainly made of iron-orichalcum alloy at first glance, but I don't know what it actually is.
Would you look at that? Anyway, the weapon section is likely deeper in. I make my way to the front desk and ring the finely crafted bell.
"Coming!"
Soon after, a small boy of about 10 years comes out holding a hammer. What I'm caught off-guard by, however, are his eyes. One is crimson red, while the other is a deep sea blue.
"Despite appearances, I am the master blacksmith here, y'know."
"Wait, really?"
"Yep. I'm just part Vampire so I look abhorrently young compared to my actual age. I am over 300 years old, after all."
"..."
"Of course, I am extremely short as well, but that's beside the point. Anyway, what are you looking for on this fine day?"
"Two daggers, one sharp and one blunt."
"Hmm."
He went into deep thought.
"You, sir, have made a difficult request. But, it might be possible, if I know what you want the blunt dagger for, that is."
"Well, I can't tell you what I want it for, but I want it to be as mana conductive as possible."
"I see... Alright then, I'll give you the sharp dagger right now, but the blunt one will have to wait till tomorrow. For testing purposes, I will give you a dagger that is both sharp AND conductive. Do we have a deal?"
"Deal."
"The sharp dagger will be 50 silver. It is my sharpest dagger after all."
"Is the price negotiable?"
"45 Silver is the lowest I'll go."
"45 it is then."
There was no need to draw the conversation out. He was never gonna budge.
I handed over 45 Silver coins from a bag that I seemingly got from the gods. He went back inside the, what I presume to be, weapon cache and brought back two daggers. One had a red blade while the other had a brown blade.
I decided to Appraise them and...
Name: Blood Ruby Dagger
Rarity: Unique
ATK: +3254
Durability: 739257
Effects: [LIFESTEAL]
[STRENGTH STEAL]
[MANASTEAL]
Name: Copper-Orichalcum Dagger
Rarity: Rare
ATK: +643
Durability: 48392
Effects: [INCREASED MANA CONDUCTIVITY]
[INCREASED MANA EFFICENCIANCY]
"Whoa..."
I heard him chuckle, but never mind that. These weapons are amazing!
"You should probably be testing them out now. After all, you do have to fight Christian later today."
What?
"How do you know about that?"
"Well, I am Christian's uncle."
"..."
"I was adopted into a human family."
"..."
"Don't worry, I won't rat you out or anything. He needs to be knocked down a peg soon, honestly speaking. He's too over-confident. I am not asking you to defeat him, just damage his pride a bit, if you can."
"..."
"If he successfully becomes more modest, I'll give you the conductive dagger for free."
"... Shake on it."
I reach my hand out. He shakes it.
""I guess we have ourselves a deal.""
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I head to the outskirts of the town. I just wanted to try out the Copper-Orichalcum Dagger. It's ATK is a little bit higher than my old dagger. For reference, my old had an ATK of +591 and a Durability of 32784024. It was a Rare too I think.
"Kiko. Let's see what you can do."
CALIBRATING MANA TRANSFER... 40%... 94%... 100%. MANA TRANSFER CALIBRATION COMPLETE.> Instantly, my dagger shone with a black light. "{Shadow Buster}" The forest was decimated by that one attack. "Kiko, what's my MP looking like?" MP: 699800/700000 | 200 MP for an attack like that isn't that bad. It's 4:00 PM now. I should head back to the guild, eat something and then wait for Christian. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "It's about 6:00 PM now. Where the hell is Christian?" Lana, the examiner, appeared to be quite annoyed at the fact that Christian isn't here yet. And truthfully speaking, so am I. He was supposed to be here by 5:45 PM. "Y'know what, new kid? If Christian doesn't show up, I'll fight you instead. Oh. And don't worry, my LV is only around 120. I won't really attack either." "Uh... Sure, I guess?" 120 is still insanely high. "Let's wait a couple more minutes for hi-" "There you guys are. I have been looking for you all over. You could've at least told me you would be here. Anyway, who is the weakling I am supposed to be fighting?" "That would be me." "Alright then, don't worry and stay calm. And DIE!" He rushed at me in, what I think was, an attempt to slice my head off. I easily dodged it though. I use my [DEMONIC EYES] to check his Status. Name: Christian Woods LV: 97 Race: Human Title: --------------- HP: 980000 ATK: 570000 DEF: 550000 MP: 650000 AGI: 750000 INT: 350000 VIT: 550000 SKILL: [SPEARMANSHIP] [FIRE MAGIC] [AWAKENING] UNIQUE SKILL: ------------------ Weapon Equipped: Ifrit Naginata A Naginata, huh? Didn't think I would see one here. But that weapon sounds dangerous. Name: Ifrit Naginata Rarity: Legendary ATK: +6472389673 Durability: +985739758998 Effects: [PIERCE] [FIRE ELEMENT COST NULLIFICATION] [DEMONIC FLAMES] Ah crapbaskets. This ain't good. Yeah I think I will take you up on that offer. I use Wind magic to boost my speed and appear within slashing distance of Christian. Instantly, I felt danger. I retreated to my previous spot. Dark flames that ate space itself flared around him. 'What is that?' Then what should I do? "Oh? Not going to attack me? Then I will just kill you!" Damnit! Tch, got hit. Kiko, I have an idea. Do you think it will work? <... YES.> Let's do this then. I channel some mana to my copper dagger. <30%...> A bit more. <43%...> That's good enough, I think. "{Wind Buster}" "Wha-" "Oh?" I cut him in half. Lana seemed surprised. "Ahem. That's the match. The winner is Akuma. Now you." She sighs. "You will be demoted to C-rank as punishment and retribution for your various crimes and rule-breaks." "Crimes?" "That spear was stolen from Rosalia, an S-ranker. As for how, he managed to drug her, somehow. He also is guilty of 2nd degree Arson." "Wow." "Hm." "So…" "Right, here is your C-rank card. Rest up for the day. You deserve it." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I went to my room and slept the day out. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ===Nola POV=== Hey there... umm... this might seem a bit... off? So I was just doing, y'know, my job and then out of nowhere, this letter shows up. I opened it up and inside was a request specifically to Akuma, Aden's victi- I mean 'unknowing apostle'. I thought that that, in itself, was odd. But the real reason I'm acting so fidgety is that the handwriting is similar to that of someone I was supposed to refer to as "Kuro". And this Kuro is someone I have only heard of, but I am utterly terrified. Why? Simple. SHE IS FREAKING OVERPOWERED!!!!!!! HER STATS ARE ALL IN THE 1000000s, AND HER LV (though drained a bit) IS FREAKING RIDICULOUS!!!!! WHAT'S MORE, SHE USED TO BE A GOD!!! THE HELL IS UP WITH THAT ANYWAY?!?!?! THIS IS NOT IN MY PAYGRADE!!! THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS WORLD NOW?!?!?! 'Hey Nola, can you hear me?' 'Lord Samael?' 'Yep. You see, Kuro has somehow escaped. And now has an LV of... 97. And the new kid's life might be in danger. So I want to see how things work out." "Nonono. I don't think you understand, Your Eminence, but my stat average doesn't even come close to 500000, let alone 1000000!" 'Inside voice. Also you misunderstand, idiot. You have to do your job as a guild lady, not an Amalgam. You know what that means right?' 'Well yes! Obviously! But I can't send him on this mission! I have to follow him. If I don't he'll die! But I do follow him, then I die! YOU SEE THE ISSUE?!' 'Yes, yes I do. But you worry too much.' 'Ababbababbahbhabhhaba… Fine. But I better get bonus vacation days from this.' 'Sure, why not.' ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ❰AKASHIC RECORDS❱ ENTRY NUMBER: 59430 {NOTE: This entry is incomplete as there is not enough data on the subject.} RACE: Demi-God SPECIES: LV: 100000-999999 Title: HP: x 10^50 (Rounded down) ATK: x 10^50 (Rounded down) DEF: x 10^50 (Rounded down) MP: x 10^50 (Rounded down) AGI: x 10^50 (Rounded down) INT: x 10^50 (Rounded down) VIT: x 10^50 (Rounded down) RACIAL SKILL: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ===Akuma POV=== I was in the white room again. This time though, there was a television as well. "Welcome back, Akuma", the boy greeted me. His face was a bit blurred as I tried to remember my last visit, but the faces were unintelligible, as if covered in hazy fog. I realised that I hadn't asked their names, but I felt that it was for the best that I hadn't.. "I'll get straight to the point. If you don't take this week seriously, you will die." DIE?! ALREADY?! I know there are people stronger than me but will I really die this early?! "Your next opponent will be Project Kuro. She has Mythical-tier base stats. All averaging 800. Her skills are very strong. She had 5 Unique Skills and 24 Ultimate Skills, if I am remembering correctly. But the 'project' in Project Kuro is due to the experiment of whether it is possible to weaken a demi-god to the point of a mortal being able to kill one with relative ease. And so we tried to remove as much mana from her soul as possible. This resulted in her Filtration rate dropping from 93% to 24%. Her LV was reset to 1, so her stats are all 800. Her Unique Skills and Ultimate Skills were all extracted from her soul." My heart started pounding. The room turned even more ominous than before. "Currently, her LV is 137. So good luck." … … … ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I woke up. I was in my room at the adventurer's guild. It was morning, so I decided to get up for the day. As I came downstairs Nola greeted me. She seemed a bit sombre, but cheered up quickly. "Hey, good morning Akuma" "Good morning", i greeted in response "We have a quest that came in for you today, so if you are free then please attend to it", she said. 'Wow, straight to the topic, huh'. "Sure, let me just get breakfast first", I replied, already walking towards the delicious smell coming from the cafeteria. == 45 Minutes Later == "So, what was this quest you were talking about?", I inquired, my stomach filled with sandwiches and fruit juice. Wasn't a good idea, in retrospect. "Yeah, about that. It's a quest from an anonymous guy requesting to clear the D rank haunt, Arachnid forest. As the name suggests it's a part of the forest completely overridden with spiders and the like, but since it's a request to clear the whole haunt the difficulty will probably be that of a C rank mission. Also there's a supposed boss monster that, according to adventurers, is around lv 80 so be careful", Nola said with a hint of regret. "Yeah, it's fine, I'm a C rank adventurer after all and I think I can handle a few spiders and anything that isn't too much of a danger", I said almost as if reassuring her. She wasn't half bad honestly, even if she could be a bit scary at times. "Some tips for tackling a haunt. Try to secure a vantage point or find a safe spot. And remember. You only have to 'clear' the haunt. That means kill at least 60% of the monster or reach the end." "Alright, got it," I said as I started preparing. I took the two daggers and a bag to put the items of value in. 'First I should get the other dagger.' ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Kiko, any information on arachnids and spider type monsters?". "Got it". While walking to the weapon shop I questioned Kiko about the haunt. Speaking of weapons, I started to wonder about my armor. it was the same from before I died, the training gear provided by the knights. While it wasn't bad, it was a bit conspicuous. So I decided to buy new armor as soon as I could afford it. While the gods gave me some money, it was only about 100 silver which amounted to a single gold coin. More than half of it was spent on my daggers and living expenses. I had only about 30 silver left. By the way, the conversion was 100 copper=1 silver, 100 silver= 1 gold, 100 gold= 1 Medallion. A medallion was something that was used mainly by nations for national trade and diplomatic relations. Although an equivalent amount of money sits with the guild and high level adventurers, so really it is mainly for formalities. Anyway, back to armor. "Kiko, what is the best material to make armor?" Hmmm. Interesting. What is the average dragon's level? Whoa Oh. Huh. That so? Anyway, how do I get monster materials exactly? Really? Because from my experience, killing the monsters in the labyrinth just drops mana stones? 'I should probably get a change of clothes.'. As I discussed these matters with Kiko I looked for a clothes shop before going to get the blunt dagger. I found one relatively quickly. It was just down the road from the weapon shop. The shop wasn't too large and there weren't any customers except a young girl. "So all you need is spider silk right?", the girl asked the shopkeeper. 'Spider silk? Kiko, explain'. 'Umm, Kiko? What is this higher species you talked about?' 'It says that my race is a demonoid, is it an evolved form of human? I'm guessing that it isn't'. 'So I'm no longer a human huh. Oh, that's right before I do anything else, Kiko, I want you to conceal my status to a little more than a normal human.' I checked my status. Name: Akuma LV: 85 Race: Human Title: [Assassin] [Master Of The Fight] HP: 17,000/17,000 ATK: 4,250 DEF: 4,675 MP: 6,375 AGI: 7,225 INT: 5,950 VIT: 8,500 Skill: [Appraise][Stealth][Sneak Attack] Unique Skill: ------ Ultimate Skill: ------- Talent: [Mystic Eyes] (419/500) MAGIC: [Wind Magic: 3] [Fire Magic: 4] 'Pretty normal, I guess. Than-'. "Uh, excuse me?", the girl talking to the shopkeeper had approached me. 'Crap, did I accidentally talk to Kiko aloud?' "Are you an adventurer?", the girl continued. I used [Demonic Eyes] on her. Name: Ava Windbell LV: 94 Race: Half-Elf Title: [Archer] [Dark Mage] [Prodigy] Blessing:--------------- HP: 17,100 ATK: 6,175 DEF: 5,225 MP: 15,200 AGI: 11,400 INT: 14,250 VIT: 14,100 Skill:[Bow Dexterity][Spot Weakness][First Hit Advantage] Unique Skill: [Guidance Of The Spirits] Ultimate Skill:------------- Racial Skill:[Elven Eyes] Lv 4 Magic: [Storm: 2][Life: 5][Dark: 3][Wind: 5] "Umm, hello?"the girl, Ava asked again, a look of concern in her eyes. "Ah,uhm, yes, yes I am one", I replied being caught off guard, "An adventurer, I mean". Communication wasn't really my strong suit when caught off-guard. "Then may I ask what rank you are?." "I am a C rank." "Yes! Finally, a C rank. Umm, can you please come with me to the C rank 'Arachnid Forest' please?" I entered serious mode. "What's in it for me?" "We'll split the profits 50-50." "And?" "Spider Silk is pretty good for making armors, you know? They also sell pretty well. Not to mention the fact that they can be enchanted a lot as well." "How much do they sell for? An approximate would be nice." "I'd say 5 to 6 Gold per dissection." Seems like a good deal. And just like that i had a party member ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We headed over to the weapon shop. As we walked most people turned their heads and looked at us. I decided to ignore them. "Hey, Ava?" "Yes?" "You're plenty strong and you are a mage too. shouldn't you be able to take on a C rank haunt yourself?" "Ah, uhm, well…" "You aren't afraid of spiders are you" "..." "I see" "Just because I have a thing against spiders doesn't mean I'm weak, you know!" "Yeah, yeah", although she was probably older than me she still acted like a child. When we got to the weapon shop, Ava told me that she had some business to attend to so I went in alone. I rang the bell at the desk and the blacksmith came out to greet me. "Hey kid. Here for the dagger, I presume?" "That's right. Say, do you remember our deal?" "Of course I do. It'll be free of charge." "It was good doing business with you." "Same here." We shook hands. He went to the back room and came back seconds later. "Here's your dagger. Highest conductivity I could get. But do remember that its ATK is extremely low. I call it 'Shining Diamond'. What do you think?" He hands me an aquamarine dagger. However, the moment I touch it… ...What? "HUH?!?!" "EH?!?!" Me and the blacksmith shout at the same time. "Kid… Inspect the daggers…" "Ok?" Name: The Blades Of Duality Rarity: Legendary ATK: +680000000000000 (Red) / +4500000000000 (Blue) Durability: 985000000000 (Red) / 985000000000 (Blue) Effects:[Soul Eater][Consume][Unbreakable] (Red) / [Extreme Mana Conductivity][Mana Nullification][Unbreakable] (Blue) / [True Combo][An Incentive] (Both) This is unreal... What happened? "I think I have a rough idea of what happened." The blacksmith spoke up after several minutes of silence. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When I left the shop, Ava was just running back. She stopped in front of me and was holding a piece of paper. "I was looking for you everywhere. Where were you?" She seemed worried. "I was in the weapon shop. Something came up so there was a bit of a delay." "Anyway, look at this. I found someone who was willing to sell a map of the haunt. Pretty cool right?" She showed me the map. It was only a circular area. I don't think it was the whole haunt, just a bit of the center. Already? That was quick. "So what's our plan?" I asked her. "I will hang in the back and snipe them from afar while you act as a frontliner. Are there any issues?" "None at all." And so, we left Izel. —------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ===Sky POV=== "According to Her Majesty, Project Kuro will be appearing in this haunt in a bit. Do not, under any circumstance, challenge her. You will not stand an inkling of a chance." "Is this 'Kuro' really that powerful, Lady Sky?" "Yes, she is. She was able to fight against Her Majesty on even ground before her demotion. Granted, Her Majesty was holding back, but even then, I would be in over my head trying to even move a muscle facing Her Majesty. I don't think even the Dragon Council could survive a second against Her Majesty." "It appears, there are multiple monsters at play all at once." "..." "Lady Sky." "Yes, Zaral?" "Would you be able to kill it?" "..." "Lady Sky." "As she is now, it would be tough, but possible. If she were to get stronger, I would not stand a chance. Her base stats are too high for me to be able to really do anything, in any state really." "But you won't act until it does, am I correct?" "... Yes. Yes you are." Zaral doesn't think kindly of me. It makes sense, but still feels a bit bad. But, my own feelings do not matter in the least. Her Majesty's orders were clear and I have no intention of acting out of turn. It is not due to loyalty that I follow Her Majesty, but fear. The Draconic Council— a group of 20 SSS-ranked dragons — have a 0% chance of victory against Her Majesty, even if they all teamed against her. I am only an SS-rank dragon, so I would die due to Her Majesty's pressure. That is not a possibility, it is definitive. Her Majesty's exact orders were to make sure that Izel remains intact and neutral to conflict. At the same time, I am to remain hidden and avoid any contact possible. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ===Akuma POV=== About an hour had passed since we had left for the haunt. It was around 9:00 AM now. "Is it just me, or is the haunt looking a lot scarier than usual." "Well I do feel a slight sense of dread." 'It is similar to that time in the dungeon, and on the bus as well.' But I kept that last part to myself. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When I entered the haunt, I sensed the presence of over a thousand spiders. I also could no longer sense Ava. Sort of. I could not sense her presence, but her approximate movements were on the mini-map. I continued on. Soon I heard a voice. "Human. Turn back now or face our wrath." I was a cold voice, devoid of any emotion. It was probably the boss monster of this haunt. Hmmm… How strong is this Boss monster? An LV of 170. I might be able to deal with that. I continued walking onward. Yes. "Akuma, listen. I think we should retreat. I have been spotted. And the spirits are also telling me to leave as soon as I can. I won't be able to come back for you. So please take care of yourself. Goodbye for now." Huh… Odd. Well I'll just continue on. I ducked down and a thin, purple thread passed through where my throat was. I saw a 2 foot spider. I charged some mana into my blue dagger and used {Light Buster}. The spider tried to move, but all my 'buster' moves are aoe, so it couldn't have dodged it. The world seemed to slow down. I could perceive any and all attacks. 'It is a shame that I can't get all this spider silk instantly. Actually, wait. Kiko, could I use shadow magic to summon a familiar or something like that?' Wait so they didn't give me everything? Huh. That right? Oh well. While the above conversation was happening, I finished the (what seemed like) genocide of the spiders. I felt… A bit more powerful. My LV must have increased. Huh? What? What are you on abo- HOLY SHIT!! WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!?! This… 'thing' has way too much power. I couldn't even compare to it. That chimera I struggled with? Less than a speck of dust to this monster. Nola? Not even worth a glance. I… can't face this thing. I'll die in a heartbeat. I can't even run. It will track me down if I do. But what will that do? Even if I flee, this thing is too strong. Too fast. I will die if I face it. But if I run, I won't be able to survive either. So the least I can do is die with dignity and face certain death head-on. <... VERY WELL. I SHALL AID YOU TILL THE VERY END.> Activate every buff. Spread mana all through my body. I sensed it coming at me from the forest-like area to my right. I decided the best course of action would be to try to trap it. It would likely fail, but at the very least, I would have some information about its stats and skills. So I ran to my left. I ran for about 3 minutes before I felt it catch up. But now, we were out of the haunt and in a wasteland. I could see its every move. Conversely, it could also see all of my moves. It's coming. A massive stalagmite almost pierces a shadow, but it avoids it in time. It tries to rush me, so I use my daggers to block its attacks. This shadow is most probably the monstrous being that was chasing me. It continues to rush me from all sides and I continue to block. [MASTER OF THE FIGHT] is really saving my skin here. After a while, it retreats to the stalagmite I made. I hear a soft, young, feminine voice. "You're not half-bad. But you are still way too inexperienced." The shadow dissipates. In its place is a teenage girl with black hair. She looks like she would be in high school, like me, but she also had a long, black tail and two cat-like ears. Her clothes seem to prioritize movement over defence. They are deep blue in color accented with black. Despite these harmless-looking features, her aura was anything but. "Ready for round 2?" I take a deep breath. "Yes. Let's end this here and now." We both run at each other at our own full speeds. I would say that her AGI is 1.5x my own. But her ATK seems to be lower than mine. That being said, however, she is also using her speed to increase her attack power. She is weaker than me in terms of pure damage, but her speed means that even one blow will be fatal. It's almost even. How am I doing all this calculation without Kiko? Simple. Regardless of type, Kiko, or rather, [Library of Babel] is still a skill. That means that I can temporarily fuse it with my soul completely. So now me and Kiko are one being, in a way. "It seems as if I underestimated you, Akuma." "Does it seem that way?" "Buying time won't help. I'm not using any buffs yet, y'know?" "!" "Mortals are such fragile creatures. You take away their one piece of hope and their confidence crumbles to dust." "You're a god?!" "Was. Not anymore. It was all that 'Chaos God' and Ren's fault." "I feel like we need to discuss some things." "Well… I wouldn't say 'need to'. Maybe 'should sit down to' would be better." "..." "Oh! Don't worry. We will still finish this fight. After all, you still have an extra life left." "What are you-" Before I can finish, she fires multiple fire lances at me. I use my blue dagger to absorb most of them, but I still try to dodge them as much as I can. I feel my blue dagger getting filled with mana. 'Almost there…' "Try to dodge this. {Omnimental Burst}." Multiple spheres of concentrated mana appear all around me. I use Earth Magic to cover me but I still take major damage. I check my HP. "46,830|75,500" 'This is bad' I burrow myself underground to try and think up a strategy to somehow escape this ordeal alive. My win condition is sealing her movements. Her win condition is landing a hit on me. Apparently, I have an extra life, but I won't rely on that. I sensed immediate danger all around me so I used Wind Magic to make a sort of protective barrier. At the same time, I used Earth Magic to carve an exit. When I came back up to the surface, I was nicely greeted by multiple Magics of varying elements. To be blunt, I was fucked. "{All-out Attack}" "{Omnimental Burst}" I felt all of the Magic attacks hit my body. At the same time, however, I had succeeded in hurting her using {Omnimental Burst}. "That… hurt." My breath was ragged and uneven. Whereas she didn't seem bothered at all. 'Shit.' I check my HP. "6,365 | 75,500" I am in big trouble. "Well that was fun. I'm satisfied." "What?" "Yep. I'm done." "S-seriously?" "Yeah. Seriously. I just wanted to test your strength. Of course, if you were too weak, that would have ended in your death. But that is besides the point." "I very much disagree with that statement! If I had died, that would have been the end!" "See? And now you're feeling well enough to shout." "Grk ...Who are you?" At this point, I was unsure whether she was an enemy or an ally. 'I need to be careful here.' "My name's Crystal. I was a demi-god before The God of Chaos and The God of Life, Ren, harvested my soul for an experiment. I was also royalty back in my hay-day." "But why did you follow me? And by extension, try to kill me?" "You are a True Demon Lord, aren't you?" True Demon Lord? Isn't that one of the highest positions of power? "Hmm… You seem to be confused. So let me explain. A True Demon Lord or, to use the broader term, a Demonoid, is the highest evolutionary level possible for a Demon. The requirements for it are largely unknown, except for a couple that were figured out due to the process of elimination. Those are: attaining over 75 LV by killing one lifeform; being chosen by either a previous True Demon Lord or The God of Death; an above average intellect; a personality warped by desire. Those are all the requirements known so far. And you fit all the categories." "I-I don't think my personality is warped by desire." "It is, though. Your want for freedom is what warped you so much. I mean, you could've just ran away once your rearguard was spotted, but you didn't. Your want for freedom simply forced you on the same path that I wanted you to follow." "What you're saying is, my 'freedom' lead to a linearity in my actions?" "That's right." Welp. At least I got a lot of information from this interaction. "It's getting dark. I should head back soon." "Eh. I'll come with." "... What?!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------