[ARC 1] EPILOGUE: TO BE A CHAMPION OF DARKNESS
*CRASH!!*
T-too close... glad I was sent up to the mountain again. If I had landed on flat land, there would be scrambled Rasetsu Orge Lord for breakfast for the local wildlife.
I tried to climb up from the improvised safety net I had made by using the many large boulders here on this mountain, but I couldn't generate any strength. Not after that roller coaster trip without safety belts... or the roller coaster car.
The bird-bots continued to rain down from the sky. They weren't as lucky as I was. Good thing that I was in the eye of that tornado... was still blown up in the... air?
I stopped my inner monologue due to witnessing something falling from the sky... straight towards me!
*Crash!*
Al-almost didn't dodge in time...! I waited for the dust to settle while picking off the remains of the safety web.
Geh, the Deathcaliber!? It came back! What a good lad... not! I almost got killed by this thing! Don't tell me it's a cursed weapon-!?
...Let's get it into the Storage where it can't do any harm...
"Ga~ra~mi! Are you safe?" - Gust
And flying down from the mountain was Gust, who after seeing me shouted, "What are you waiting for!? The water's coming!"
...Water? I looked over the edge...WHAAAAT?! Tons of water erupted where Glavras was the last time I saw him. Like, Niagara level amount of it!
The water level's increasing at a breakneck pace. Is it the second coming of the great flood?
I hurried up to where Gust was and looked down on the land. In the distance, I can see that this place is... used to be a wasteland, no different than the Outback in Australia. Nevertheless, the massive amount of water that came outta Glavras'... corpse, is flowing throughout the entire area so fast that I can't even imagine this place being dry land in the beginning.
"To think the Velantas region had ended up like this..." - Gust
"Velantas?" - Garami
"Yes, it seems we are in the Velantas region of the Invidia continent. It is better known as 'the Lake Sea region' due to it consisting of a single large lake with different types of islands and Velantas city, which is built on five artificial islands." - Gust
A "Lake Sea" region? And it used to be a wasteland just a few seconds ago!?
...Disasters are scary. Or is it the Dungeon that's scary? Nah, must be Glavras. He had this freaking obsession in his eyes, be it the empty body or the kaiju-god form of his. Something I'm not eager to know about. Yeah, we'll call him a crazy snake and be done with this!
Just as I decided to stop worrying about everything related to the Water-Knot (just to be safe), Gust suddenly collapsed to the ground, snoring loudly. Oi, I get that you're exhausted after all that's happened, but don't fall asleep here-!
I turned around and saw something that shouldn't be on a mountain.
A dark, slimy globe was floating in the air. It must have used something to hide all this time, either with a skill, or maybe some item. But there's no sense of hostility, like with the other monsters I've faced. There's nothing strange with its stats or skills, except that the only battle-related one is [Make Sleep]. But it's "Controlled" by someone...
"Ahm, test, test. Calling from Nibiru, here is Ria-chan with the latest message to a hard-working Champion~." - Darkness Globe
.....Correction: It is controlled by something unspeakably... stupid.
"...The goddess?" - Garami
I broke the silence that came due to the stupid introduction of the Darkness Globe.
"That's right~. Everyone's favorite goddess of darkness, Alvatria, aka, Ria-chan, is here to award her favorite Champion for a good job done~. Oh, and the bird was knocked out so he won't hear our conversation. I'm here incognito and all that." - Alvatria
I was right. Seems like she's using the demonic spirit as some sort of communicator... not that I have any proof, but there's not many that know I'm a Champion.
The other side tried to sound as upbeat as possible, but their voice is lacking in any emotion. A voice machine could produce a voice with more emotions than this. For some reason, I understand that it's not the Darkness Globe that's the culprit. Maybe because I could turn into one before? In any case, this goddess gives me the creeps.
"Good joke, after throwing your 'favorite Champion' into a Dungeon as an infant." - Garami
"Not that I had any other choice. The Grey Demon was supposed to be born in the area with the highest aether density to assure that you would retain all of your intellect. There was no way for even me to know that the place would be the Dungeon that's caused Lusalki so much headache. The other three options would be born in the areas of this region where they are normally born." - Alvatria
Ah, so it was my fault? Whoops.
"But that is not important right now. That last battle brought both great gains and losses to you, but those damn nitpicks still didn't allow me to gratulate you personally." - Alvatria
Hey, hey, goddess. You're more important than some king, of course... gains and losses? Or rather, I forgot about the System Message before I was blown away.
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Acquired title: [Dungeon Raider]
World Quest: [Glavras the Disaster] has been cleared.
Emergency Quest: Cut the Knot has been cleared.
Quest reward can be selected from the Quest Log
Acquired title: [Slayer of the Ultimate]
You have earned 5.0 Skill Points
Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 5.0 Skill Points were earned.
Acquired title: [Daredevil]
Acquired skill: [Fear Resistance Lv.1]
[Fear Resistance Lv.1] has been integrated into [Fear Resistance Lv.Max]
Acquired Blessing: [Proof of Lusalki].
Acquired skill: [Liquid Control Lv.1]
Oooh! There's a lot... not! Where's my God Slayer title!? I demand an awesome, but a little chuuni, God Slayer title!!
"Guess you saw." - Alvatria
"Lots of rewards are missing." - Garami
"Too bad~. Glavras never turned into a real god. He was only manipulating a Dungeon, an object, that had obtained divinity through his machinations. That, and it would be troublesome if it came out that Glavras can be classified as a god and not a false one. But hey, you got the Dungeon Raider title despite the Anti-World-System that was around the guy, so be happy about that." - Alvatria
How can I be happy for only this after all that work!?
"Also, that just now was an order." - Alvatria
As if I care~.
"Then I'm forced to use the Champion-self-destruct button, it seems~." - Alvatria
"I'm sorry, so don't push that! Why do you even have something like that!?" - Garami
"For fun?" - Alvatria
How's that funny!? My life's on the line here! Wait, haven't this goddess answered my thoughts for a good while now?
"That's because I can read them, silly." - Alvatria
...I see. If even Gust can do that, it's logical that a God also being able to do so. Even better than him as well. You had to allow him to read the thoughts for the skill to work on them.
"Aw, complimenting me will get you somewhere, so keep it going~." - Alvatria
...Isn't it the other way around?
"Self-destruct." - Alvatria
I'm so sorry, lady Alvatria! The most beautiful and wisest of all Ultimate Gods!!
"Good, good, keep it coming~." - Alvatria
Damn, no way I'm getting more outta this one...
"Then, how about I answer some of your questions then?" - Alvatria
Seriously? That's it?
"As expected of my Champion. Not even trying to hide your greed. But how many lifetimes do you think it takes for a God to answer the requests of mortals?" - Alvatria
Oh, so there's not just a single quest... wait! That's wasn't my question!!
"You already asked two of them from the beginning, so don't worry about it. Just ask away~. The night's still young." - Alvatria
Well, in that case... what's up with the low amount of Skill Points related to the Disaster-title? Stopping something that could destroy the world should give more than just 5 Skill Points... Quest rewards or not.
"Then making the reward, which is given to all participants no matter how much they contribute to the subjection, something so awesome that people, or even races, will go into their extinction to obtain, despite being less than gnats in front of the Disaster?" - Alvatria
...Fair point. Some idiots that never experienced the fear of death might do something like that.
"Even so, I agree that the fight against Glavras was more than we anticipated. That was definitely nothing that Lusalki could think up with. That's why I'm answering your questions now." - Alvatria
...? Just now... Nah, forget it. Then what about not getting any God Slayer title? Even if Glavras wasn't the one turned divine, was the fact that you didn't wanna admit the birth of a new god the only reason why I didn't get the title?
"That, and because of the Anti-World-System effect I mentioned. It canceled the process of the Hunting titles, but we twisted the rules a little to give you the Dungeon Raider title. And if people get to know you can go against the System by using Dungeons, there could be several new Water-Knots popping up left and right." - Alvatria
That would be annoying alright. I can agree with that... and having such a title could spell trouble when I think about it.
"Glad you agree. Then, over to the last question." - Alvatria
We're already finished!?
"I never said I would answer many of them. So, what is the final question?" - Alvatria
...Was it you guys that created the Disasters?
"Oh? Why do you think so?" - Alvatria
You mentioned something about this Lusalki-person not being able to think of something like Glavras. In another view, it means that she should have come up with something that would act like the Disaster of Water.
You also said having the Disasters being connected to gods would be bad, but if you told the mortals that the Disaster was a pagan god or something, that wouldn't be a problem at all. The reason why you don't do so is that there really is a connection to the Ultimate Gods and the Ultimate Disasters and that would be revealed if people started to look into it due to there being a connection to Disasters and gods.
Besides, a group of world-ending monsters appearing around the same time, representing an attribute of each basic attribute? That's too much of a coincidence for me to simply accept it.
"..." - Alvatria
......?
"...Kukuku. Mwa-hahahahaha!!" laughed the goddess, completely without the apathy in her voice from before.
"A-ha-ha-ha. Brilliant! To think that you would see that connection just from that. Is it because you're from another world? Or is it that this Disaster being such a thought-provoker regarding the subject?" - Alvatria
A little of both, but your comments were the real reason.
"Tch, Lux's gonna complain again. But yeah, we Ultimate Gods were the ones who made some of the Disasters, just to round them up. In addition to the Water Disaster, the Water-Knot I mean, I think the real Disasters also included the Order Disaster, the Wind Disaster, and the Light Disaster. Meaning the other 8 was fashioned as trials for humanity by that attribute's respective Ultimate God." - Alvatria
...Then the Darkness attribute Disaster is...
"My creation~♡." - Alvatria
I knew it!! Isn't that worse than any natural variant possible!? I've just met this goddess, but I'm confident in this statement!
"Aw, you're making me blush. But it's time soon, so how about we go over the rewards you've won?" - Alvatria
A snapping sound came from the Darkness Globe and two chests appeared from nowhere.
"First, we have the Triana Replica and the Ring of John Due for completing the 'Cut the Knot' Emergency Quest, along with the information about the Kur Kigal race I promised. Clear your ears and listen closely, because I won't be saying this more than one time." - Alvatria
Wait a sec! Can't you just write it on some paper?
"Nope. First off, you need the 'Essence of Heresy', I'll add the location of it in this region to your mental map as service, then you need a total of 50 skill levels with Heretic attribute skills, an Advance-tier Scout class as your Main Class, and the Black-Light Technique User title." - Alvatria
Black...Light...what's that?
"That's your homework, so I won't be telling~." - Alvatria
OI!
"And for the reward of clearing Glavras is the Emblem of Water, which is the usual reward for crushing a Disaster, a Dungeon Core, since the Disaster was a Dungeon, and as a special reward... something you're in dire need right now." - Alvatria
Something I'm in dire need of?
"Oh, and before I forget, remember those skills you got in exchange for being my Champion?" - Alvatria
Those? They were... the Aura, various Darkness attribute-related ones, then the Debuff-power up, and... [Identification] and [Language Adaption].
"Those two last ones are fake." - Alvatria
...Eh? But they've worked perfectly... maybe not. I'm unsure about [Language Adaption].
"No, not in that meaning. I was talking about that you got those two from a different source. Remember those grayed-out titles? They are the 'Champion of Alvatria'-, 'Migrant'-, and 'Reincarnator' titles." - Alvatria
I can see the first and the last one, but "Migrant"?
"To say it simply, it's the title all other-worlders get when they arrive on Terra Sol. And the skills that come with that title are [Identification] and [Language Adaption]." - Alvatria
Oh... then why did you say they were part of the Champion-deal?
"Champions all get an Element-, Reinforcement-, and Resistance skill related to the attribute of their Ultimate God. Then they get a skill that the other Champions will obtain due to the other Ultimate Gods' Proof-Blessing, which is also a skill unique to the Champions only."- Alvatria
Hmm, then the other Champions may also have [Aura of Darkness]. Hey, what about the Order and Chaos Champions?
"They got Extra Skills to replace the first three and the fifth skill." - Alvatria
Tch, damn cheaters.
"The fifth skill is a support skill to enhance the traits of that attribute. Like [Healing Reinforcement] for the Life Champion. Finally, the sixth skill is something to represent the Champion themselves. But at that time-" - Alvatria
Right... I was technically not born back then.
"Therefore, I decided to wait until you build yourself an actual identity before adding the last skill." - Alvatria
You little... then why didn't you say so at the beginning?
"Why throw away the chance of getting more praise?" - Alvatria
Yeah, as if you would praise someone that throws you into a Dungeon when you're born.
"Lux was damn nasty when he noticed it. And you can just kill this one here for the EXP. You've been denied that pleasure for too long lately." - Alvatria
You don't have to remind me of that!
"Ta-ta~." - Alvatria
Wait, what about... that Black-Light... she's gone... Damn it!
*Slash*
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Level has increased. Reached Lv.7
You have earned a total of 0.3 Skill Points
Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.3 Skill Points were earned.
hat's something, at least. But I'm not going to rely on that goddess by the first.
And here comes the sunrise! What a beautiful way to start my life outside the Dungeon... hm? Hot? Hot, hot, hot! The sun's too hot! I'm being scorched! Retreat!
"...*Yaaawn*. When did I fall asleep... Garami? Why're you crouching inside the cave?" - Gust
*Sniff*, the sun should just explode! That's it! I'm going to create a place I can call home without the intrusion of that bastard! Just you wait!!!
Greydra
Kigal-Note/Active Skills: [Evil Lord's Aura]
Description:
A skill said to be used by the worst of tyrants. [Evil Lord's Aura] inflicts various mental status ailments to the opponent with an extra focus on the Fear ailment. The skill requires MP to be used.
The effect of this skill is relatively weak compared to skills that focus on a single ailment, but since the requirement is only that the opponent sees or recognizes that the skill user is close to them. The more attempts that stack on the same target without rest, the higher chance of the status ailment to succeed.
Garami's comment: And why's this the skill perfect for me? Seriously, why?!!
[ARC 1] EXTRA CHAPTER 3: DIVINE HEADACHE
Realm of the Ultimate Gods: Celestial World, Nibiru
In the temple of the Ultimate Gods exists a meeting room in greek fashion, with a white marble table formed in a ring with twelve thrones going clockwise around the table.
Alvatria entered the meeting room with light steps and sat down on the throne made of jet-black materials, positioned where the number 6 would be on a clock. Chaos, sitting on the 12th throne that would not be strange to be called a throne worthy of a demon lord, figured out she was successful in annoying her Champion as she promised she would.
"Then, what's the result?" she asked one of the other two characters in the room.
Order, the blonde woman dressed in a white business suit stood up from her seat, which was decorated to the point of being worthy of a pope.
"With the defeat of the Disaster of Water, better known as the Water-Knot of Glavras Dungeon, the list over the twelve Ultimate Disasters will now be updated. And could the creators of the artificial Disasters please give us some more info-" - Order
"Nope~. Be happy that you got even the Disaster Rank~." - Alvatria
If stares could kill, then Terra Sol would be one Ultimate Goddess less due to Order right now. But she couldn't do anything but heave a sigh over it. None of the other Gods divulged much information about their artificial Disasters either, so having the two biggest troublemakers amongst them do so is a futile task.
"Then we all agree of having the Water Disaster's Disaster Rank at the current level?" said Order while projecting the list in the middle of the ring-shaped table, allowing all the gods present to take a look.
Disaster of Fire
Title: The Titan of Flames
Identity: Unknown
Disaster Rank: A
Disaster of Water
Title: All-Swallowing Ocean
Identity: The Water-Knot of Glavras (Dungeon)
Disaster Rank: F- (C+)
Defeated by the Champion of Alvatria
Disaster of Wind
Title: Father of Storms
Identity: Unknown bird-type monster
Disaster Rank: B+ (Assumed)
Disaster of Earth
Title: Divine Beast of the Earth
Identity: Unknown
Disaster Rank: D-
Disaster of Light:
Title: Aurora of the Fallen God
Identity: Unknown
Disaster Rank: S (Assumed)
Disaster of Darkness
Title: The Beast that Devours the Light
Identity: Unknown
Disaster Rank: S+ (Assumed)
Disaster of Ice
Title: The Noble of Frozen Dreams
Identity: The "Nightmare of Luxuria"
Disaster Rank: C
Defeated by the army lead by the Emperor of Wakoku. The army included the Champion of Qulux, amongst other notable characters.
Disaster of Metal
Title: Myth-Killing Armament
Identity: Unknown
Disaster Rank: E
Disaster of Life
Title: Sludge of Monstrous Life
Identity: Ever-Regenerating Mud of Corruption
Disaster Rank: B+
Defeated by the combined front of the Champion of Agnir, the Champion of Tharos, and the Champion of Yrlanaya.
Disaster of Death
Title: Harbinger of the Vanquished
Identity: Unknown
Disaster Rank: S-
Disaster of Order
Title: Invaders from a Fallen World
Identity: Other-worlders(?)
Disaster Rank: E+ (Assumed)
Disaster of Chaos
Title: Creature of Diversity
Identity: Tres Clades (Grand Chimera)
Disaster Rank: A+
Defeated by the United Humanoid Army of the Patientia continent.
Chaos looked at the list, with a winch of regret that the Oracle that divined the titles of the Disasters couldn't have named his a little better.
"Fine with me~. That thing's strength was too based on its body mass to be considered B-Rank material there." said Lusalki, the adult woman dressed more for being on a tropical beach than a greek temple as she showed off her pale blue skin underneath her swimsuit.
The other Gods agreed with that, as the Water-Knot of Glavras would only be a threat if it had developed the Dungeon a little more before initiating its advent to godhood. The constant destruction and disturbances made by the Champion of Alvatria drastically weakened the Water-Knot before Glavras could activate the Disaster, resulting in it being way weaker than first expected.
"Moving on with the schedule is the proposal of ideas regarding the remaining three real Disasters. Anyone got a suggestion here?" - Order
"Sickin' the Beast at them~. Relax, it will only be the loss of three or so continents~." - Alvatria
"No way!!" - Lusalki
"Ehh~? Why not~?! - Alvatria
"You have a reputation, that is why. And will you give us the information about... whatever that is already?" - Order
"Don't wanna~," said Alvatria, but even she wasn't going to unleash something like that... whatever the 'Beast' is supposed to be.
"Do we even know what these real Disasters are in the first place?" - Lusalki
"The Wind Disaster is at least a creature from outside the System, but it's too fast for us to observe it, let alone dealing with it." - Order
"And the Order Disaster is just weird. Those invaders keep on popping up on the Superbia continent and even if one of them dies, they just respawn as if nothing happened." - Chaos
"And the Light one's a complete mystery except being worse for our PR than Glavras~." - Alvatria
All the gods heaved a *sigh*..., except Alvatria, who just played along. For her, even the Disasters were a source of amusement.
"Then, for a change of pace, let's go over the Champion rankings instead~!" - Alvatria
You just want to brag about yours, was the thought of all the remaining gods, but they had nothing better to do anyway, so Order retrieved the information about the Champions as a means to keep the Darkness Goddess' mood uplifted.
Champion of Agnir
Champion Skill: [Burning Warlust]
Proofs: Earth, Life, Water, Chaos, Death, Order
Champion of Lusalki
Champion Skill: [Liquid Control]
Proofs: Life, Order, Wind
Champion of Nirmer
Champion Skill: [Storm Compression]
Proofs: Earth, Metal, Ice
Champion of Kishror
Champion Skill: [Particle Impact]
Proofs: Light, Death, Order, Chaos
Champion of Qulux
Champion Skill: [Reflector]
Proofs: Water, Life, Ice, Fire, Order
Champion of Alvatria
Champion Skill: [Aura of Darkness]
Proofs: Chaos, Water
Champion of Iksti
Champion Skill: [Frozen Mist]
Proofs: Chaos, Metal, Life
Champion of Helphahatur
Champion Skill: [Metallurgy Projection]
Proofs: Order, Fire, Wind
Champion of Yrlanaya
Champion Skill: [Form of Avarice]
Proofs: Water, Light
Champion of Tharos
Champion Skill: [Corrosion Touch]
Proofs: Darkness, Life
Champion of Order
Champion Skill: [Gamemaster]
Proofs: Metal, Earth, Wind, Life, Water, Fire
Champion of Chaos
Champion Skill: [Chaotic Concurrence]
Proofs: Darkness
Along with the table came a list showing the rankings of the Champions based on the number of Proofs they had obtained.
"Yeah, it seems that Chaos is still at last place." - Alvatria
"You don't have to rub it in..." - Chaos
"Yours is still alive, compared to Helph's and Kish's Champions." - Lusalki
"Speaking of which, is Helph's Champion really dead? I never heard about his cause of death." - Chaos
"He's at least out of the competition~." - Alvatria
"Then, if that is all, shall we end this meeting?" - Order
"Already?" - Lusalki
"We can't call this a meeting in the purest sense with only one-third of the members assembled." - Chaos
"Then, dismissed!" - Alvatria
The Darkness Goddess then left her seat before Order could say her part. Chaos left his seat as well to follow the goddess into the corridor catching up to her just as they entered the gardens of the divine temple.
"Hey, Ria, got some time?" - Chaos
"Only for a price." - Alvatria
Without another word, Chaos produced something he knew the Darkness Goddess had a weakness for: sweets from a different world.
"Yay~. Chaos and Order are sure damn blessed, being able to get goods from other worlds like that~." - Alvatria
Alvatria sat down on the table produced by Chaos and started to munch on the sweets, looking no different from a regular girl of her apparent age, rather than a goddess of Darkness, fortune, and evil.
"Then, what's on your mind?" - Alvatria
"First off, I got to ask: is the Disaster of Darkness really something you made?" - Chaos
"Eeh~? What are you talking about~? Of course, I did~." - Alvatria
Chaos sighed out in relief for this piece of news. Then in the worst case, Ria can stop the Disaster-
"But the thing is, that child only responds to 'start-up'. Even I cannot order it to stop~." - Alvatria
"Say what!?" - Chaos
"Aw, relax. I've made several countermeasures to prevent it from crushing the world. Even I will be sad if my playground gets destroyed." - Alvatria
But you wouldn't mind if the excitement overdid the loss of never being able to use that playground.
Chaos couldn't do anything but hope that humanity would be able to use said countermeasures when the time comes for that Disaster to awaken. Not that he was any sure if the result would be a world better or worse after said Disaster ran through it.
"And let me guess: your next question is about which Disaster is 'black'?" - Alvatria
"...Just as you say." - Chaos
Alvatria had mentioned to her Champion that eight of the Disasters were made by the Ultimate Gods, but that number is a little off. Or rather, the Gods couldn't allow the humanoids to figure out that they could produce such threats on their own.
"Going according to the list, that 'Titan' is a mystery. But knowing Agnir, she's probably made that one herself. Or rather, she would have extinguished the Disaster beforehand and replaced it with her own that's several times worse." - Alvatria
"Ah, that's true. To the point where humanity is forced to call upon her again." - Chaos
The Ultimate Goddess of Fire would never turn away the opportunity to make havoc on the mortal realm after all.
"As for Glavras that my Champion crushed, he probably got the information by some slip-up from Lusalki, but she's trying to hide that fact." - Alvatria
What is she doing!?
Chaos couldn't resist the headache coming from his older sister's troublesome personality. Even Ria's more responsible than that airhead.
"And for the Wind Disaster, since it's something completely unknown creature, the chance of it being from a different world is the most probable explanation, but you and Order are more knowledgable about the other worlds. Figure that out yourself." - Alvatria
Figured she would say something like that.
"And the Earth Disaster is probably something that evolved outside the limits of the System, but that Kishor decided to keep quiet about it because he felt bad for the little critter." - Alvatria
Its title and the old man's personality would make you believe that theory...
"The Light Disaster is natural. If that straight-laced idiot were to make something like a Disaster, then it's Disaster Rank wouldn't be that low." - Alvatria
"True that. He would probably take his job too seriously and create something like a rank S+++." - Chaos
Chaos shuddered over the thought of what the Light Ultimate God would have made if he was given that job.
"And I've just explained my Disaster, so moving on to Iksti's-" - Alvatria
"Which is a challenge-type Disaster. I already know that." - Chaos
"We have to thank the emperor for defeating it so fast. Especially considering the continent it appeared on have seen better days." - Alvatria
"Then what about the 'Myth-Killing Armament'?" - Chaos
"Probably something that Helph made? It's not shown itself, so I'm not sure." - Alvatria
And Helph himself doesn't want to tell anything about it. Heck, is its Disaster Rank even real?
"The Sludge was artificial, as Yrla enhanced something similar that already existed." - Alvatria
She bragged about it in the first Disaster-related meeting, so that came as no surprise.
"As for the Death Disaster, it could be equally something that Tharos made or something that crawled up from the Netherworld on its own." - Alvatria
In other words, too little information...
"You know more than me about the Order- and Chaos Disasters, so I'll skip them." - Alvatria
"Sure, if you say so." - Chaos
"Then, for my reward: ten more of these!" - Alvatria
"Oi! They were the whole payment!" - Chaos
"Only for me listening to your request. The information I had about each Disaster costs just as much each, and that's family-service to boot." - Alvatria
And like that, Chaos had to produce more sweets from the other worlds to the goddess that seemed to not know the fear of toothache or turning fat. Just another peaceful day in Nibiru...
Greydra
Kigal-Note: The Twelve Ultimate Gods
The Twelve Ultimate Gods:
During the world-spanning battle against the Genesis God, twelve pieces of its power broke free from it, gained their own will, and turned into Elemental Gods, each governing a certain element of the world. They were later made chief gods of the new world created by the corpse of the Genesis God.
Powers, abilities, and Authorities:
The Twelve Ultimate Gods are creatures that live on a higher plane than the mortal realm. However, they live their lives on Terra Sol by creating Avatars based on the creatures registered in the World System.
The Ultimate Gods' powers are virtually limitless, but due to that fact, they cannot function in the mortal realm. Their powers while on Terra Sol are limited to that of their respective Avatars.
The Ultimate Gods have several divine authorities over their respective elements and two more items.
List of the Ultimate Gods:
Alvatria's comment: It's a pain having so many responsilbities~.
[ARC 2] PROLOGUE: LAKE CAPITAL, VELANTAS
Greydra
The new Arc's starting now! The adventure in Lake Capital, Velantas, is starting now! I hope you all enjoy it.
Also, the [Identification Disguise] skill has been renamed to [Fake Identity].
Land! Beautiful land! The solid land right before daybreak is wonderful!!
This Garami, reincarnated human-turned-demon plus Champion of one of this world's possible worst gods ever, have never been so glad to have you underneath my feet, oh solid land!
After defeating the Water-Knot of Glavras-Dungeon, which doubled as a world-threat dubbed "Disaster" and my birthplace, I was thrown to the top of a mountain while watching as the wasteland that made up the Velantas region and returned it to its proper state as the Sea Lake Region, Velantas.
But that Dungeon, to store more water than there is in Lake Victoria, that's scary. Dungeons are too awesome. And I have a Dungeon Core that can build such a thing with my name on it... wonder how much I can get if I auction it...
After dismissing the Greater Skeleton Fish... which is just the skeleton of a big fish, I stuffed the rowboat that I was given as an extra reward because I was "in dire need of". I'm not disagreeing here, I don't wanna swim all the way.
"Hey, shouldn't we go straight to the city of Velantas when we first had the chance?" - Gust
Gust, my partner who I joined up with during my battle against the Dungeon, looked up to me while saying so.
Yes, saying so. With his own voice. He's graduated from being a Wisdom Raven who could only speak through telepathy.
The Raven Goblin looked up at me while wearing some Japanese-looking clothes. You know, like what a Karasu-Tengu would wear. Seems that when someone evolves into certain species, they're rewarded with some sort of item. He even got [Wind Magic] for free with that evolution! That's cheating!!
Speaking of cheating, that goddess tried to take the honor for something that she wasn't responsible for again, didn't she? Ah, that's not important right now. I have to answer his question.
"Undeads are worse with the sun than me. Need to wait." - Garami
"That's true... and those desert-fish monsters are more active during the day than the night as well..." - Gust
Like the bird says, this lake's populated with a type of walking fish-monsters that can walk on land or even survive in the worst of desserts, while still keeping their abilities as a fish intact! That's how they survived the sudden flood that was created when all the water in the Dungeon, after digging themselves underground to escape the worst of the water pressure.
Then there is that sun rays are so horrible for my albino skin that my HP actually goes down~. So I had to use most of the first day, and the second one too, to endure those doomsday rays until my [Sunlight Resistance] skill reached a level where my auto-recovery abilities could outdo the damage~.
Unreal.
Not to forget that I had to fish after something for me and Gust to eat during those days, which helped us get an idea of the behavior of these Desert Tunas.
Huh? The name sounds stupid? Shut up! I was the one who gave them that name! I did so when I designed them before getting reincarnated! In fact, that's the sole reason I got a new chance in life!
But those fishes give way more EXP than the Dungeon-monsters do. Thanks to that, my level's gone up several times already thanks to my fishing spree. They also give more Materials than them when I convert their corpses with my necromancy-like skill. [Necromantic Rite]. Maybe the Dungeon itself reduced the EXP and disturbed the Rite?
As for my current stats, they're something like this:
Achievement Titles:
Hunting Titles:
Status Titles:
I had much free time while waiting for [Sunlight Resistance]... and more Skill Points. Blame the status of being a Champion and not me!!
And I finally got Light Technique User!! Just gotta figure out what relationship it has with that Black-Light thing.
Back to the point, since [Sunlight Resistance] increased to a high enough level, it was possible to leave the mountain we were secluded on without risking me drying up to a husk because of a lack of roofs. But even so, we could only travel during the night, when the tunas were sleeping and because the undead we used to pull the boat would have died if it was exposed to the sun.
Yup, that's right. Undeads can't handle the sun. It's part of their Low Undead trait, which is shared by the Undead and High Undead traits as well.
Therefore, we're taking a break on this island before going to the city when it turns to night again. No problem at all.
...Except for this place is the forefather to all haunted houses in the world! Or better said, to all haunted castle-towns.
---
I and Gust walked on the shore of the island, making sure to stay as far away from the castle wall that was the only thing hindering us from looking into the second-worst haunted area on the continent, according to Gust.
"-and therefore, the Château de Gloire was cursed for generations, turning into the Haunted Castle of Velantas." - Gust
*Brr*, nobles can be damn scary. Lesson learned.
I took another look at the former castle-town, which now sends more shivers down my spine.
"But this place would be a great hunting ground for you, won't it?" - Gust
If there are as many undeads as he says there are, then yes...? What's that... a Skeleton!? In the middle of the day!? And it's coming right at us.
The humanoid Skeleton waved its bone-club at me, but I simply side-stepped it and hit its neck with my dagger, dismantling the head from its body. The critical damage and beheading were enough to insta-kill the undead just like that. I Identified it, and it seems to be a Lesser Skeleton. A rank G undead. Figures.
"Oi! This is different from what you said! Wasn't undeads supposed to turn to ashes when they were hit by the sun?" - Gust
I'm the one that's raging here! When I Identified this guy, I saw that it had the [Daywalker] skill, which is the result of [Sunlight Resistance] reaching its highest level. Are you trying to pick a fight with me!?
Oh well, if my luck's good, then converting this could give my undeads the same skill... maybe.
<[Necromantic Rite] have acquired plans for the following undeads:
"Lesser Skeleton", "Lesser Zombie", "Skeleton", "Zombie".>
<[Necromantic Rite] acquired "3" Material.>
Oh? Four blueprints in one go? And I got more Materials than the Tuna that's fleshier than the Lesser Skeleton. Is it because it's already undead, so there are fewer usable parts that are lost during the conversion? It sure brings down the nail that the Dungeon hampered with the conversion.
But [Daywalker]'s still just a dream. Just my luck.
But it seems something interesting popped up now!
Did that happen because I got the humanoid undeads? Skeletons with classes, such as Skeleton Swordsman, is the E-Rank version of the regular variant after all.
I showed Gust the newest information and asked if he knew if I could obtain more classes for my undeads without having to obtain them myself.
"Then just convert a corpse of someone with that class." - Gust
-!? That's ingenious! Why didn't I think of that myself? But someone with a class... let's limit that to the E-rank undeads. I'm not gonna go homicidal just because I wanna strengthen my undeads. But thinking about how much Materials I would need for those E-Rank Class undeads...
Yeah, let's conquer this place when I got the time. A real-life haunted house, I bet it's filled to the limit with undeads. But first, town. And a warm meal! And a bed!!
*BABOOOOM!!*
Wait, that wasn't me!
"Hey, something is going on over there!" - Gust
Ah, over there. Think I can reach it within a minute... hey!
I grabbed the bird by his neck as he was preparing his escape.
"Where are you going?" - Garami
"Away from there! It's bound to be something bad over there, I can feel it in my feathers!" - Gust
"...Then all the more reason to go there." - Garami
"WHY!?" - Gust
"...If it's that bad, we need more info about it so we can get away safely." - Garami
"Aw, damn it! Fine, but we're getting outta here if it's too dangerous!" - Gust
---
And with that, we went to the area where the pillar of dust had risen from.
"...What's going on?" - Garami
"...No clue." - Gust
A group made of black-uniformed men and women were facing someone clad in dark robes and waving a knife around with a slasher-smile, throwing magic spells left and right. Is that knife doubling as a wand?
It seems like the guy that looks like a cross between a corrupt priest and Jack the Ripper is winning the fight. Oh well, not my problem. Humans should figure out their own... yikes. That sounded way too arrogant. Where did my human heart go to?
It's not wrong that I've got no reason to enter this strife anyway. Better do as Gust suggested before and sneak away... is that Darkness Magic?
That Ripper-Priest is using Darkness Magic on a large scale to drive back the black-clothed group. It's impressive how he's firing such a stupidly large amount of Dark Bullets...
But it's crappy. The magic formula's filled with mistakes. They're made so sloppy that a two-year-old brat could do better. Is it the payment for using so many at the same-
"Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! Fear the awesome talent of this Reinhard Everwand! Let me show you the depths of the dark arts!" - Ripper-Priest
Eh? Wait, what's he saying?
"Ah, it seems he's one of those guys that think they're masters with magic just by having a talent related to a specific, closed-off field. In his case, it's parallel activation of several spells." - Gust
That's it? He calls something that the "depths of the dark arts"?
"Probably due to that, he's only worked enough to barely be able to use low-level spells. The result is that he can rapid-fire low-quality, low-ranking spells en masse, but he's probably never going to learn the stronger spells, nor improve those he has. Tons of guys like him tried to enter the Library Tower's Magic School, but none of them ever lasted a week." - Gust
I could guess that. If I was one of the teachers there, I would have sent them back home after re-educate them thoroughly about magic.
Yes, I'm the one who works a lot when nobody's looking. Got a problem with that?
"Ha-ha-ha-ha! Scram, ants, scram! And if you survive, make sure to tell that bitch that she should have never doubted my awesome power!" - Ripper-Priest
...*Irk*
This guy's starting to get on my nerves. He's only good with spamming attacks. There's no real skill in that.
"Wa-ha-ha-ha! Mwa-ha-ha!!" - Ripper-Priest
*Irk, irk, irk...*
"Bow down for me, the only one worthy of being called the master of Darkness, no, the Champion of Darkness!!" - Ripper-Priest
*SNAP!*
"...Ah, he's dead..." - Gust
I ignored Gust and used the sandbanks to sneak behind the (soon dead) Ripper-Priest. Once I found a good position (the idiot's too busy singing his own praises), I attached the dagger to the thread, started to swing it around like a sling, and then, [Shooting]!
*Swish*, *STAB!*
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Level has increased. Reached Lv.11
You have earned 0.3 Skill Points
Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.3 Skill Points earned.
I knew it. Just some idiot with no brains.
But this is bad. The black-uniformed group just stared emptily at the scene where I crushed that baboon's heart with a single sling-dagger strike, but now they're cheering as if the queen visited.
This is gonna end up like with the Sahuagins, right? Me getting swarmed by people, right? Can't I get to live as a recluse in peace!?
Really? I can't? *Sniff*
Greydra
Kigal-Note/Demi-Humans/Birds: Raven Goblin
Description:
The Raven Goblin is a relative of the more famous Crow Goblin and is the missing link between ravens and raven-type Birdkins. They are extremely intelligent and helpful and fit right in with other humanoids.
Appearance:
The Raven Goblin is like its name suggests, a raven with a humanoid form and size like that of a goblin. Their wings are now located on their back, similar to some Demons and Celestials, and they have developed hands with opposable thumbs that allow them to use items like other humanoids.
To summarize, they are for Birdkins what regular Goblins are for humans.
Abilities:
The Raven Goblin have the ability to use Wind Magic from birth and are talented flyers. They are also capable of using weapons and armor... as long as they come in the right size for them.
Other than that, they are surprisingly frail, and would rather run from a fight than face a predator above their physical abilities.
Garami's comment: It's unfair you get a real Magic Skill just like that *grumble, grumble*...