At the boundary of Tokyo, Saitama, and Yamanashi Prefectures on the island of Honshu, Japan stood Mount Kumotori, covered in thick snow and thicker cold.
Trees seemed to have turned into defiant wooden pikes, and chilly gusts of wind slithered up and down the mountain, licking damp wood.
Down the slope, the trees weren't as sparse as at the mountain's peak. Despite the dense snow and wind, many of the trees had won the battle in the winter, keeping a dark green shade about them.
Suddenly, an eerie wind danced its way through the leaves of these crowded trees, reaching toward heaven like a tornado.
When the wind settled, a figure could be seen standing where it had sprung up.
Underneath an untied black Haori patterned with blood drops at the edges, this figure was wearing a black Kimono with a black belt over a thin white shirt. For pants, it was wearing black, baggy tobi trousers ending in white tabi socks and wooden Japanese Sandals with black straps.
Yet, if one were to ignore the long tail at its back, then the most striking thing about this figure was its skin.
Blue; The color of a cloudless sky on a summer's day.
This blue flowed like water over the figure, as though it would ripple if touched.
On the figure's forehead, a thumb-sized red jewel glistened like the thickest blood drop, and if one were to observe it from up close, then one would have noticed that this jewel was pulsing from within. Moreover, the rhythms of these pulses, though scarcely noticeable, were increasing with every passing moment.
A stray gust of mountain wind flew up, and the long white hair of the figure looked like millions of white hands reaching towards the unseen peak.
Under the holy sight, his demonic, reptilian eyes glistened hazel.
This figure was none other than Kai Stormborn.
Even before he could make sense of his surroundings, the Systems greeted him with a notification.
…
[[
Candidate Red, you are given an allowance of 30 minutes.
You can familiarize yourself with the Package and consult the data again if you wish during this period.
For the next 30 minutes, your presence has been cut off from the world, but you can not go beyond a radius of 50 meters, either.
Once the 30 minutes are over, the live feed to your Sponsors and the Mission Time Limit's countdown will begin.
Your privilege to ask questions from the Systems will not work in this Random World. All such questions will be directed to the Sponsors instead.
Good Luck.
]]
…
Kai nodded to himself. But where was the Package?
Kai looked around and found nothing but snow and silence. It was at this moment he heard a thud behind him. Kai's hands gripped the hilts of his swords instinctively. He spun around and raised an eyebrow, finding the freshly arrived object.
It was a wooden box studded with iron plates and reaching up to the height of his knees.
On one side, it had a handle, and opposite this door, on the backside, there were two white straps to carry the box on one's back.
Kai narrowed his eyes on it. He approached the box and crouched, bringing his nose near the handle. Out of the blue, the entire box shuddered. The grip on swords' hilts tightened.
There's something alive in the box, Kai reflected. A creature? Hmm, so this is the package. Well, the Systems said nothing about not opening the box to look inside. Or do the box and the living creature inside both constitute the word Package? I will find out later. For now, there are more important things to do.
Kai stood up and then brought his attention to his odd clothing.
He had seen it in the archaic records in his previous life, but never wore it himself.
The clothes were warm, spacious, and had ample pockets to store his Items. Kai could feel the Items he had taken out before teleportation inside his black shirt.
He looked over his shoulder and saw his tail. The Systems seemed to have tailored the garments, taking his monstrosity into account.
Kai felt quite flattered and chuckled.
The only things that didn't suit him were the socks.
His feet were webbed, and it felt cramped with the strap over his feet, pressing into a web between his toes. Yet, it wasn't something that needed immediate attention.
Kai ran around here and there, climbing trees, jumping down, and then practicing with his swords, familiarizing himself with the clothes and the environment.
Once he was done, Kai repeated all the movements with the box over his back.
It was lighter than he had thought, but not something he could casually ignore, either.
At last, he massaged his temples, easing the physical pain brought by the spiritual one. Inside him, over his heart, was Selene, sending slow bursts of Soul Chill.
This pain was the reason for Kai to come here in his Golduck form.
With the time of mind-jewel maturation approaching, Kai knew he would have to assume this form in this Random World, anyway.
If he were to do it midway through Mission's Time Limit out of nowhere, then it would definitely cause some concern in the eyes of the observers. Kai could not afford the slightest chance, though. Not now, with Contestants from the 18th floor watching him.
And as far as the overall change was concerned, Kai could put the weight of this mystery on the rewards of the 1st Stage.
No one knew what rewards an individual received at the end of the 1st Stage. With him being at the top, he could've gotten more personalized rewards as well.
Heh! Let them bang their heads over it, Kai thought, scoffing.
Kai let the newly gained 5 Attribute Points remain unassigned for now, grinning ear to ear as he thought of the unlucky bastard who would be the first to fall to the sudden boost in his Attributes.
The word unlucky made him remember the Title Status Points, then.
With no further thought, Kai put one point into the Title, Novice Collector.
…
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn…
You have achieved a Title
…
Title: Novice Collector
Specification: Collect 10 different Artifacts from any random world and timeline.
Status: (10/10)
Effect: Luck +3, Correspondence +3, Breath +3
Note: Only 1 Title can be equipped at a time
…
Conditions to upgrade this Title…
Title: Proficient Collector
Specification: Collect 50 different Artifacts from any random world and timeline.
Status: (10/50)
Effect: Luck +15
]
…
Kai's mouth hung open as he noticed the Effect of the upgraded Title, Proficient Collector. Oh, how dearly his heart longed for this Title? There weren't words to describe the tumultuous feelings coursing through his veins at this moment.
Kai hurriedly exchanged his Coin Master Title with the Novice Collector and felt the boost it brought to his MP and SP simultaneously. This Title was better than the previous one, as it added points to his Active Attributes along with his Luck.
However, he did notice the lack of feeling that he had perceived while bringing his Correspondence to 20.
With the Novice Collector's help, his Breath too now reached 20, along with Correspondence which reached 23.
Perhaps there's an inherent difference between One's Stats and boosted Stats using Buffs, Kai realized, taking a deep breath.
Now came the time to assign the rest of the 4 Title Status Points.
Thinking over it for a while, Kai finally decided not to invest in the Dimensional Leader Title, which needed only 2 Title Status Points.
What's the use of having a Title like this and not having subjects to Summon, Kai thought, shaking his head. It's better to walk the conventional path with this one.
So, he added 2 points to the Title Serial Killer instead.
…
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn…
You have achieved a Title
…
Title: Serial Killer
Specification: Kill 20 Contestants in three different Random Worlds consecutively. The Status will reset if the kills are not done in order.
Status: (3/3)
Effect:
1. Perception +7
2. Agility +6
3. Skill: Murderous Lust
…
Conditions to upgrade this Title…
Title: Genocidal Maniac
Specification: Kill at least 200 Contestants in a single Random World within 24 hours
Status: (0/200)
Effect:
1. Strength +10
2. Agility +10
3. Perception +10
4. Skill: Demonic Sight
]
…
Now remained 2 Title Status Points.
There was an obvious choice in front of him now. However, like Dimensional Leader, it too demanded time, effort, and heavy interactions with the main storyline Characters.
There was just one hiccup.
It didn't directly contribute to Kai's power and ideologies.
So, gritting his teeth, he added the rest of the 2 points t0 —
…
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn…
You have achieved a Title
…
Title: Adulterer
Specification: Have consensual sex with at least three of the following queens:
1. Queen Alicent Hightower
2. Queen Cersei Lannister
3. Queen Margaery Tyrell
4. Queen Sansa Stark
5. Queen Frigga of Asgard
6. Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons
7. Queen Galadriel of Lothlorien
8. Queen Arwen of the Reunited Kingdom
9. Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom
Status: (3/3)
Effect:
1. Stamina +5
2. Skill: Heart Rhythm
Note: Only 1 Title can be equipped at a time
…
Conditions to upgrade this Title…
Title: Heart Breaker
Specification: Have consensual sex with at least seven of the following queens:
1. Queen Alicent Hightower
2. Queen Cersei Lannister
3. Queen Margaery Tyrell
4. Queen Sansa Stark
5. Queen Frigga of Asgard
6. Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons
7. Queen Galadriel of Lothlorien
8. Queen Arwen of the Reunited Kingdom
9. Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom
Status: (1/7)
Effect:
1. Stamina +15
2. Perception +10
3. Skill: Eternal Remembrance
]
…
What the…
It was like the System was bent on him fucking those women!
***************
AN: Now you can access 15 Chapters of Chaos and Order ahead of Webnovel on Patre0n (including up to 60 montly chapters). If you would like to access the exclusive content, while simultaneously supporting the fanfic, then do consider becoming a Patron
Bonus Chapter Deal - 70 Power Stones per day: +1 Bonus Chapter