High School DXD (The Phantom Gamer)

by KidIcuras

Warren Fall was your average shut in/culinary arts student, or well he was up until he got stabbed in the chest with a sword of all things. Now reborn as the newest person with the power of The Gamer, he'll train hard in order to protect the new friends he's made at this second go at life...wait he's been reborn where now! OCXHarem. IsseiXHarem (Rated M for Warren's dirty mouth)

5. Zone Defeated and Truth Revealed

Prologue Arc

Zone Defeated and Truth Revealed

It took a solid twenty minutes to get back to the house after I split off from Issei in order to get even more groceries. I had a walk-in freezer and cabinet, and I was not going to be satisfied until they were both filled enough that I could feed a small army if I had too.

Also praise be to [Inventory]! Praise!

After getting back to the house and putting away my newest batch of groceries, I went about giddily learning the new Skill Books I had bought. The rush of information as a result of which was rather painful, but thankfully the pain went away quickly enough.

Actually having access to so many new kinds of equipment was rather interesting; however, as I actually had the ability to create something called [Equipment Sets] which basically gave a Passive Buff when three or more pieces of a certain "set" were worn at the same time.

With that new piece of information in the air, I quickly went about looking through the current equipment I could make with the materials I had available. In total I found I could create up to four different [Equipment Sets] with the materials I had available. All of which would give me an overall boost in either DMG or DEF to DARK based attacks as well as a rather massive boost (at least a 25 extra stat points just Passive Buff-wise) to either STR, AGI, VIT, or INT depending on the set worn.

"You know…I actually have enough to make about three of these sets," I contemplated aloud. "I wonder…hey uh [Gamer System]?"

[Yes?]

Blinking in slight surprise over actually getting a response, I continued on with my question. "Well I was wondering. Would it be possible for me to create a skill where I could "quick-equip" certain sets of equipment? Kinda like the Requip Magic from Fairy Tail."

When I didn't get a response for a few moments, I began to wonder if maybe I had asked too much before I was surprised by a new textbox flashing into my face.

[Hmmm we suppose that we did set up Tutorial IV as a test of your ability to work with what you had readily available…and the idea does have some merit to it…]

[You know what? Sure why not, and hey we'll even give you a tip. See about trying to combine one of your Phantasms with a weapon. It is one of Trinity Tuner's abilities after all!]

[A new skill has been discovered thanks to a specific line of questioning!]
Requip, Active {Lv: 1} {Exp: 0.0%}:
Taking inspiration from one of the most badass and sexy red-heads in all of anime, you can now change your wardrobe…with magic.
Grants access to [Equipment Sets] Sub-Tab}
Cost: Varies per Equipment Set
Grants {Quick-Equip} skill

"Niiiice." Looking into the new Sub-Tab, I found that I could create templates using the equipment I had available. A little question mark in the corner also went into more detail about the new mechanic and explained that since I was pretty much using my magic to create the equipment from scratch when I used {Requip}, I pretty much had an infinite amount of said equipment. The downside; however, was that not only was I paying MP to actually use said equipment, but the equipment was also not permanent. If nothing else the equipment would last until the end of the battle, but I thankfully wouldn't have to pay anymore MP after the initial cost.

Which was fair enough really. If nothing else it would give me incentive to try and create better armor and weapons down the line.

"Now begs the question of what [Equipment Set] to make first," I muttered as I began going over the different sets and the materials I currently had available.

Looking through the sets, I decided to make the {Crossbones} set first which granted me an added 10% DARK DEF buff as well as a 25 VIT point boost thanks to the three equipment pieces that made it up. Of course there was also the regular DEF boost added in for both Physical and Magical DMG from the armor itself, so the {Crossbones} Set was probably going to be my go to set for when I wasn't sure if I could survive a hit or not. (A little morbid I know, but it's better safe than sorry.)

The next set I created was the {Joint} set which gave me an increase to DARK Physical DMG and a 25 point boost in AGI which was really important as I currently didn't have a means to increase my speed outside of {Sprint} and inventive uses of {Black Fire}. Honestly those two skills were probably the only reason I actually survived my encounters with Skull Knight with his own 50 AGI, and he could go up to 60 AGI or even higher if you consider his weapon and skill.

The final set I made was the {Cranium} set which would increase my DARK Magical DMG and DEF while also giving WIS and INT a 15 point boost each. The biggest thing of note with this set; however, was that I had enough materials left over that I could create a new accessory called Lesser Dark Medallion which was really nice as it reduced the cost of DARK based skills by 5%. Not the biggest reduction in the world, but hey every bit helps.

The only real issue I found with creating each set was that they each took a decent chunk out of my materials, and as a result I wasn't able to create the STR based set as well. Plus since I used so many of my resources I was limited on how many Basic HP Potions I could make.

Basic Health Potion {Common} {Item: Potion}:
The most basic health potion that can be made. It can be made with a plethora of different ingredients and upgraded with higher end ingredients or materials.
Heals up to +100 HP

With the addition of [Equipment Sets] aside, the Skill Book I gained for barriers was honestly quite fascinating if not utterly headache inducing because I didn't realize something until I actually went about absorbing the Skill Book. The barriers I was learning to create were Magician style barriers. For those who don't know, Magician style magic is based almost purely around equations.

Now imagine what would happen if you happen to have hundreds of marginally complex (they were only Common Tier barriers after all) equations crammed into your brain all at once.

To put it bluntly I had almost gone into shock from the amount of information stuffed in my brain so suddenly and even had to go as far as to pump some Unused Stat Points into both INT and WIS so that my brain could handle it. Something I was honestly a little pissed about as I had met the requirements to learn the Skill Book stat-wise before the loss of points.

Besides that little, the only thing I really had left to do at this point was to try out the [Gamer System]'s recommendation to try and combine a Phantasm with a weapon.

"And I know just the Phantasm to use," I said with an evil chuckle as I pulled out my new Demon Blood Saber and my newest Phantasm, Skull Knight.

Skull Knight, Tier I {Lv: 1} {Exp: 0.0%}:
A Tier I Fiend Phantasm of the DARK element. This Fiend Phantasm was originally brought to life by a necromancer to act as anti-knight repellent which plays part in its bone deep hatred for european style swords. It uses its high speed and vicious sword style to wear opponents down until dealing the final blow.
[STR: 5] [AGI: 20] [VIT: 1] [END: 1] [INT: 1] [WIS: 1] [LUCK: 1]
Unused Skill Points: 0
Skills:
Speed Demon, Active {Lv: 1}:
They say that being fast is a crime, but this skill just doesn't seem to care.
Cost: 25 SP
Grants +25% Movement Speed for 5 Seconds and +10 AGI for 10 seconds
Cool Down: 10 Seconds

"So that's how he was able to get out of the way so fast," I muttered in annoyance as I glared down at the Phantasm in my hands.

I mean don't get me wrong. I understand that Skull Knight was just doing its thing when it decided to try and fuck with me, but…honestly I was still a little pissed at it.

Which was all kinds of weird considering I could now feel it in its little niche in my head, and it could feel my irritation at it in turn.

Which made it even weirder since it seemed to be really interested in trying to become "bound" to my Demon Blood Saber.

(Though after being used by Horus as a chew toy since it entered my Soul Plane, I probably shouldn't have been so surprised it wanted to gtfo.)

"Well here we go I guess," I muttered lightly as I held the blade out before me…before I then slammed the Skull Knight Phantasm into the blade while letting my golden flames (or were they soul flames, Trinity Tuner, or something else. I honestly hadn't given it all that much thought till now) surrounded the blade and Phantasm to see if perhaps that was what I was supposed to do.

I mean it felt right…I guess?

Apparently it was considering my flames seemed to condense around the blade and Phantasm being held against it thus allowing me to see a rough outline of the weapon before my flames burst outward bright enough to blind me for a few moments.

With my initial blindness gone, I went about looking at the new blade, and I found myself marginally surprised by what I saw.

Retaining its overall shape, size, and color, the biggest changes to the saber were the inclusions of what looked to be flame light designs along the blade itself that in the right light made the blade look to be ablaze. Something that was rather ironic considering the biggest addition to the blade was the literal flaming, horned skull that it now had as a hand guard. For any of those curious, the flames were in fact my golden ones.

? {Rank: E-} {Type: Anti-Unit} {Item: Sword / Noble Phantasm}:
A Rank E-, Anti-Unit, Noble Phantasm of the DARK Element. This sword has been infused with the power of a Skull Knight and has gained a boost to its previous DARK alignment as a result.
Deals a Base 80-100 Physical (DARK) DMG and grants a +50% increase to all Physical DMG dealt to DARK aligned beings.
Grants +35 AGI and +15 STR
Unique Skill: {Speed Boost I}

"…unholy shit," I whispered in shock as I stared down at the much much more powerful sword in my hands when compared to the blade it had once been. The fact that I could feel the new aura that the blade now held as well as the fact it was still "linked" to me in a sense just made the entire thing stranger still.

Hidden Quest Complete!
[Noble Phantasms: The weapons of souls!]
By creating your first Noble Phantasm, you have taken your first steps toward having your own arsenal of stupidly overpowered weapons! YAH!]
{Objective: Create a Noble Phantasm}
Rewards: 2,500 Exp and 50,000 Yen]

"Well that's nice!" I exclaimed happily-and there's another text box in my face.

[Would you like to name your new Noble Phantasm?]
[Name: _ ]

Giving it a moment of thought, I decided to go with the tried and true tactic of KISS and keep it simple stupid.

"{Bōnseibā (Bone Saber)}," I said because yes, I was that unoriginal okay-and that's another textbox in my face.

[Good job creating your first Noble Phantasm, but we figure you want to know what a Noble Phantasm is huh?]

[Noble Phantasms (and yes we are also unoriginal and decided to rip off the Type Moon franchise a bit so hush) are basically items you empower with souls. That is the simple answer; however, the more in-depth answer is much more complicated.]

[For information on Noble Phantasm go to the new Sub Tab –Noble Phantasm- in your Sacred Gear Tab.]

'Probably be best if I went ahead and read that,' I thought while also taking a moment to stick my new weapon (or Noble Phantasm I suppose) into my [Inventory]-

"Why isn't this working," I said in irritation as Bōnseibā wouldn't go into my [Inventory]. It was like I was pushing it against a bubble or something.

[Hint: Read the more in-depth explanation]

'Of course,' I thought in exasperation at yet another quirk of the [Gamer System].

[Noble Phantasms are items or skills (not just weapons) that have gained a degree of consciousness via either gaining a soul or become so well known (via stories or their own accomplishments) that they gain power from the very legends that created them. Because of this Noble Phantasms can only be used by those they accept to be their wielder/user or by the user they became famous through. (So no worries about someone being able to steal them from you.)]

[Noble Phantasms created through the use of Trinity Tuner are a bit different from naturally born Noble Phantasms; however, in that they are linked to the user's soul no matter what. This mainly having to do with the fact that only Phantasms currently residing in the Soul Plane can be used to create Noble Phantasms.]

[NOTE: As Noble Phantasms created through Trinity Tuner are soul-bound to the user, it is advised that they do not enter the users [Inventory] as doing such could sever the link between user and Noble Phantasm.]

"Well then where the hell am I supposed to store this thing?!" I asked incredulously. "It's not like I can just carry it around everywhere!"

[Hint: The Soul Plane can be used for storage of Noble Phantasms as they are soul-bound items.]

"Oh…well how do I access my Soul Plane?"

The answer to that question came rather quickly as Horus went about linking up and appearing beside me almost bleeding exasperation from his frame. He then made a point of summoning upon his flames for a moment in a gesture of covering the-Oh!

"So my flames can access my Soul Plane?" I asked rhetorically as I once again covered the blade with my golden flames. Once the blade was covered I soon felt the additional weight kinda…shifting I suppose is the word for it. It was like the sword was both within the space I now recognized as my Soul Plane (aka where Horus and the others usually resided), but at the same time still existed in this reality behind the flames surrounding it.

A mere thought was all it took to finish the action to have it enter my Soul Plane and once done Horus let out a huff of approval and joined it.

It was also at that moment I came to a rather…interesting revelation.

"By Gabriel, Trinity Tuner really is a combination of Shin Megami Tensei and Type Moon mechanics isn't it," I muttered into my hands as I realized just how much my Sacred Gear seemed to be a mix-mash of powers from the different franchises.

Taking a moment to mourn the copyright issues my powers seemed to have nipping at their heels, I quickly made myself a sandwich in order to make myself feel better. Once done eating, I went over the final preparations needed before I went into the ID.

Said preparations included the creation of another Noble Phantasm via combining my revolver with the Meda Bat I got the night before in turn creating:

Dākuai {Rank: E-} {Type: Anti-Unit} {Item: Firearm / Noble Phantasm} :
A Rank E-, Anti-Unit, Noble Phantasm of the DARK Element. This revolver has been infused with the power of a Meda Bat and has gained a DARK alignment as a result as well as a vast increase to its magical potential that allows it to fire higher concentrations of magical power.
Reload Cost: 5
Deals a Base 40-65 Magical (DARK) DMG per shot
Grants +35 INT and +15 WIS
Unique Skill: {Dark Blast}

The new Noble Phantasm was definitely an improvement over my previous revolver, and that's not even getting into its new design. The gun now sporting a dark purple coloring along the barrel, and the barrel itself was now connected to the revolver portion of the gun which gave it the look of a hand-cannon. The handle had a dark green outline with a pale yellow center, and a small dot in the middle of the handle made it look like an eye was embedded within it. The final changes were a pair of bat wings acting as the sights and a dark blue key-chain like addition on the bottom of the handle that resembled a spade tail.

And yes I am once again that unoriginal in that I named the new Noble Phantasm, Dark Eye.

The new upgrade in artillery aside, the rest of my preparations were mainly focused around making sure my new [Equipment Sets] were all set up, and that I could summon from my Soul Plane with the speed as if I were using pulling it from my [Inventory], or I was using {Requip}.. The answer being yes, though the particular method was a bit flashy.

Preparations done, I looked at the time remaining until my appointment tomorrow (20 hours remained), and {Requiped} my {Cranium} set as it was the most balanced option I had available.

(And yes I also acknowledge that I tend to use magic based skills to deal with pests so shush.)

Now decked out in a tattered black overcoat with baggy sleeves, a skull on the hood, a cackling skull on the back, a pair of dark grey leather grieves adorned with bone like designs, and two fingerless gloves that went to my elbows that also had the bone motif going for it; I went about stepping into the nightmarish ID-

"BANG!"

-and promptly blasted the head off a Skull Servant that instantly appeared around the corner with a {Black Fire} enhanced bullet. (The bullet being larger which I took to be from the fact it was now a Noble Phantasm.)

"Unholy shit," I said in shock at both the fact I one-shot the magic skeleton, and the fact my reflexes were good enough to do such on pure instinct...or my loathing of one of my biggest pains in the ass simply made me react without thinking.

Shaking off my shock, I began making my way to the roof tops like usual and started traversing toward my destination for hopefully the last time.

Traversing through the Undead Zone had quickly become second nature of sorts. The distance between the different buildings seemed to follow a set pattern, the number of mobs spawned down certain streets or dead ends also followed a similar layout. Then there were the seemingly random instances where I couldn't continue traveling from a higher vantage point, and I instead had to travel from ground level. During these times was when I would experience what I'd come to call Hordes, naturally occurring masses of mobs much smarter and much more organized than the random groups I would usually find.

It was these Hordes that caused me the most problems as while I could simply snipe them from a distance or rain shadowy death upon them, it didn't change the fact that it would drain my MP a lot faster than simply attacking them outright would accomplish. The fact that a Horde may also contain a potential mini-boss made conserving MP that much more important as well since recovering a significant amount of MP takes time even with {Meditation} available.

Which is why I began to depend on SP based attacks instead.

"{Circle Sword}!" I cried out unleashing my newest sword skill upon the mobs I had found myself surrounded by. The technique quickly felling the surrounding Zombie Warriors (I wonder if I can petition for the name to be changed?) with a spiraling sword swing that was very reminiscent of a certain green wearing Hylian (I honestly just wanted to call it something else than the standard Spin Attack.) only with a circular {Flying Slash} being added in for even more range and damage.

Circle Sword, Active {Lv: 7} {Exp: 21.2%}:
Swinging a sword in a circle to deal with a mass of mobs has always been a staple sword skill. You've improved upon it by adding both more range and power.
Cost: 5 SP and 2 MP
Deals 25 Magical DMG + Base Damage

A quick breather was all I was allowed before I had to jump up in order to dodge a charging Mammoth Graveyard. The use of multiple midair {Counters} quickly returned the small volley of spells sent my way with the added bonus of a round of {Dark Shots} from Dākuai in order to make certain the magic skeletons stayed down.

Landing on the solid ground again, I quickly went about parrying attacks from the surrounding Zombie Warriors and occasional Hard Armor. Bōnseibā definitely showed its worth by being able to tear them apart with a single swing as {Flying Slashes} bled off the saber in waves with each swing.

"{Requip: Joint Set}!" I called out with the new [Equipment Set] flashing into existence over my frame. The main designs of the new armor being similar to the {Cranium Set} with the main difference being a large focus on the heavy duty metal grieves on my legs and my wizard esc overcoat being exchanged for an armored black vest with white steamers resembling bones coming off the sleeves and shoulders.

"{Rush Strike}," I intoned, letting the boosted AGI from my new [Equipment Set] and the speed boost from the skill allow me to flash forward in multiple fast strikes that tore through the nearby enemies without a hint of MP having to be used. The speed I was traveling revealed just how much a difference the [Equipment Set] made to my AGI as the nearby mobs were dead before they could even acknowledge I was beside them.

Rush Strike, Active {Lv: 11} {Exp: 52.1%}:
Speed is the name of the game. Am I right?
Cost: 10 SP
Deals 20 Physical DMG + Base AGI
Grants +11 AGI when in use

After dealing with the small group; however, it became increasingly obvious that I was going to have to resort to using magic based skills very soon if the sheer amount of mobs I just faced was any indication.

Still, three hours in, I was nearing my objective from only traveling at a fairly decent pace. From what I could tell there was only about ten miles left to go which said a lot for the progress I could make while conserving MP.

Shaking my thoughts away, I found myself nearing my destination with practically no mobs in sight which is...worrying. I find it highly unlikely that the [Gamer System] wouldn't throw at least one more major obstacle my...way...

...why hello there Murphy, I haven't seen you in a while. How ya been?

Because setting up a herd of Mammoth Graveyards, easily twenty in all along the last stretch of land before the boss is kinda dickish don't ya think?!

Biting my lip in worry, I quickly checked my remaining time, and after discovering I still had a solid 16 hours remaining I decided to simply deal with them the fastest way possible, i.e. high costing MP attacks.

"Horus prepare for {Black Meteor}," I said as I went about {Requiping} into the {Cranium} set and using {Shadow Stitching} to nail the walking fossils in place to make sure none of them escaped before I killed them all. The boosted INT and WIS from the [Equipment Set] allowing me to create easily three times the amount of "stitching" as before.

For those wondering, {Black Meteor} was the name I gave the combination attack of {Condensed Shadow Spear} and {Black Fire}. The main reason being the fact that after using the skill on the cathedral that I got Meda Bat; the resulting aftermath of the attack made it look like a meteor crash from the crater alone.

Though I had done a little experimenting after entering the ID, in that I tested to see just how much I could either condense a {Shadow Spear} or how much {Black Fire} it could handle before becoming...unstable.

The answer was quite a lot surprisingly, and I had honestly started to become worried over just how powerful the skill could become because Horus was starting to really get into using the skill from the sheer carnage it could cause.

The fact that I pretty much one shot all the Mammoth Graveyards with a single {Black Meteor} should prove a good enough example of why I'm starting to get worried. The quarter mile wide crater where they had been standing just further proved my point.

Truthfully, it was only the long charge up time required to make the unregistered skill work that made me hesitant to use it in live battle. Well that and the damage I would inflict upon myself from being anywhere near the blast radius.

And really, nothing else needs to be said over that little obstacle besides the fact that it cost me over a quarter of my overall MP and a little pride over having to use such a cheap means to defeat what was probably meant to be my last obstacle before the boss.

Walking down and then up the crater in all its flaming aftermath "glory", I finally reached my destination...and it wasn't anything like I expected.

[You are about to enter the- Tier One Boss- territory. Would you like to proceed?] {YES/NO}

Okay...so let me set the stage.

In front of me is what could only be described as a graveyard to end all graveyards. Miles upon miles of gravestones and memorials were displayed in varying states of disrepair while descending down hill as if the entire area was ground zero of a proper meteor. The thousands of skeletons and bones of assorted sizes and styles only made the image all the more disturbing as the skeletons all seemed to be positioned as if they were trying to get away from the bottom of the incline. Though if I were in their position, I would do the same as the centerpiece of the graveyard was easily one of the creepiest things I have ever seen in this new life.

At the very center of the graveyard crater was a temple. A temple that was using an enormous rib-cage as its main supports and a giant horned skull as its entrance. Large skeletal arms, legs, and a tail spread from it with the clear indication that it had once been a massive beast. The temple itself was in disrepair as well to the point that the roof couldn't really be called such, and it had all the check marks to have it labeled a genuine ruin.

Taking a moment to think over my options, I quickly went about exiting the ID in order to go to my crafting station to make some more Health Potions. I also went over my current stats as I had finally reached level 15 and as such could only use what I now had available to work with.

[Name: Warren Fall]
[Race: Human][Gender: Male] [Age: 16]
[Titles:] [The Gamer] [Expert Zombie Slayer] [XXX]
[Sacred Gear: Trinity Tuner {Lv: 11} {Exp 61.2%}]
[Level: 15] [Next Level: 32.7%]

[HP: 475/ 475] [HPR: 9.5 a Minute]
[MP: 1,125/ 1,125] [MPR: 15.0 a Minute]
[SP: 475/ 475] [SPR: 9.5 a Minute]

[STR: 22]
[AGI: 25]
[VIT: 19]
[END: 19]
[INT: 23]
[WIS: 20]
[LUCK: 12]
[Unused Stat Points: 97]
Title:
[The Gamer]: Grants Passive Skills: {Gamer Body} and {Gamer Mind}
[Expert Zombie Slayer]: 25% DMG to all Undead Enemies
Passive Boosts:
({Magic Core} +550 MP and +5 MPR)

Looking over my current stats, I finally decided it...was time.

"Thank you Psalms Memento," I said gleefully as I started pumping up to 77 Unused Stat Points into my various stats. My stats as a result gained a large boost overall and looked something like this:

[HP: 750/ 750] [HPR: 15.0 a Minute]
[MP: 1,550/ 1,550] [MPR: 20.0 a Minute]
[SP: 750/ 750] [SPR: 15.0 a Minute]

[STR: 22] + 10 =32
[AGI: 25] + 10 = 35
[VIT: 19] + 11 = 30
[END: 19] + 11 = 30
[INT: 23] + 17 = 40
[WIS: 20] + 10 = 30
[LUCK: 12] + 8 = 20
[Unused Stat Points: 20]

"That feels so much better," I sighed in utter contentment as a knot I hadn't even realized had been in my center finally released a lot of tension. Sure I probably used too many of my stat points just now, but dammit I was starting to get really sick of relying on Horus and his monstrous stat boost to get me through just about every fight.

Oh yeah, Horus had finally passed the Lv20 threshold himself not that long ago (and again, no new skill unfortunately), and I was honestly starting to get nervous on just how strong Horus originally was for his stats to be as large as they are now. As in some of them were larger than I currently am!

Horus, The Black Flame Dragon, Tier III {Lv: 20} {Exp: 21.1%}:
A Tier III Phantasm of the DARK element. This Evil Dragon Phantasm is an existence originally created from the living will of Black Fire, a force of nature that takes in all the negatives of the world and burns them to nothingness. It is a spirit specializing in both close and mid-range techniques thanks to its use of Black Fire as well as the sheer endurance and power all dragons hold.
[STR: 37] [AGI: 29] [VIT: 45] [END: 45] [INT: 32] [WIS: 27] [LUCK: 24]

If that doesn't explain my slight hysteria I don't know what will. Especially when you consider the fact that linking with Horus now more than doubled my stats.

Horus and his stupidly massive stat boost aside, I also decided it would be a good idea to use his newly gained Unused Skill Point on {Black Dragon Scales} this time as it would give me a much needed boost in defense. The main reason I decided to do so you ask? I could honestly blame paranoia if nothing else.

You see the biggest reason I decided now would be a good time to use my Unused Stat Points as well as boosting my base defenses as much as possible is wholly blamed on the upcoming boss fight.

And yes, obviously that is the biggest reason I am preparing so much in advance. Not doing so before a boss fight would just be stupid. So what exactly is the problem you ask?

The problem is the boss area, and the two scenarios it heavily leaned towards.

The first scenario entailed a boss that, while somewhat fragile, would make up for its weakness by summoning in mobs for me to fight. Really the only thing I had to base this idea on was the, let me restate this, thousands of skeletons lining the crater. If that was the case, then speed and defense were going to be critical as both a means to get myself out of being cornered easily or allowing me to survive long enough to get out. Having the ability to do so without using MP draining skills was also very important as mob summoners were always long battles to deal with and keeping stock of my MP was going to be very important.

The second scenario was only slightly better in the fact that I would either deal with one bulky warrior or beast based enemy that would make the area of the crater necessary to contain the soon to be battlefield. The main evidence I had for this theory mainly relied upon the large skeleton that made up the central "temple", and the fact that it could very well come to life somehow. The boss in turn probably being either a tank that would just stand there and weather the hits, or a juggernaut that would slowly follow me around the graveyard while attacking any time I got too close. In either case I would need higher stats to either allow me to fight the enemy mono e mono or get me the hell out of dodge fast enough to just {Black Meteor} the thing to oblivion.

Of course I could be wrong in both scenarios, and I was going to deal with something completely different. Either way I was going to prepare as best I could in order to make sure I at least survived.

Those morbid thoughts aside, I closed my stats screen and I quickly went over all my equipment and weapons to make absolutely sure they were top shape for the fight to come.

Doing one last sweep of everything, I figured I was about as ready as I could be and stepped back into the ID.

[You are about to enter the- Tier One Boss- territory. Would you like to proceed?] {YES/NO}

Taking a deep breath, Horus flashing into existence behind me in case we had to start fighting straight away, I pressed {YES} and braced myself...

...

...nothing...really?

Slowly making my way down the incline with all my senses on high alert, I shuffled between skeletons in the off chance they would awaken if touched, and I made sure to have my Noble Phantasms at the ready for anything.

It took a solid fifteen minutes for me to make it all the way down the crater, and after I took a moment to toss some rocks into the skull born entrance to the "temple" in order to check for traps, I made my way inside. It was only when I was about halfway into the ruins that Horus gave me a heads up that something was amiss.

The inside of the temple was designed like, surprise surprise, a crypt with stone caskets and coffins lining the walls. The centerpiece of the crypt was a large, dark stone coffin easily over ten feet long and seven feet wide. Engraved with images depicting necromantic rituals and symbols, the central coffin set off all my internal sirens, and Horus made his own displeasure of the massive casket well known.

"Easy buddy," I whispered softly as Horus began to click his beak and ruffle his metallic feathers at the dark stone casket/coffin, and Horus only got louder as a slight shifting began to come from inside the coffin. I stayed still for a few moments to see if the boss would exit its stone prison because obviously that's where the boss is. When it didn't, I made my way just a little bit closer-

"Krrrrrrrrrkkkkkkkkk"

-only for the stone covering the coffin to slowly slide off to the side, not quite off the casket but still open enough for one to see inside.

An action I didn't have to take as moments later a large bony hand slowly made its way out of the coffin in order to hoist up the rest of its body.

A body wrapped in familiar purple yet more regal robes.

A body easily ten feet tall and made entirely of bones.

A body practically radiating a miasma of corruption and death.

A body that caused me to become pissed the fuck off.

"{Observe}," I snarled out, {Black Fire} already sprouting from my frame in rhythm with each burst of rage over the fact that it looked like a Skull Servant.

[King of the Skull Servants (Lv 25)] [Race: Undead Necromancer]
[Title: Tier One Boss of the Undead] [Overlord]
[HP: 1250/ 1250] [SP: 500/ 500] [MP: 3000/ 3000]
[STR: 25] [AGI: 30] [VIT: 50] [END: 20] [INT: 110] [WIS: 65] [LUCK: 25]

"Of course, why the fuck wouldn't it be a Skull Servant based boss!?" I roared out in tandem with Horus's own screech of rage.

The King of Skull Servants (okay fuck that long ass name, you are hereby now know as SS King) was clearly surprised by my actions as it, honest to Gabriel, reared back in shock. That shock then turned into something simply wrong as it then got a hold of itself in the most bizarre way possible.

"KEKEKEKEKEKE!" By further rearing back and cackling like a demented sociopath about to slaughter all the toys in a toy factory. The miasma surrounding it burst from its frame in the process and surrounded it like a cocoon before parts of the miasma filtered off and-

"Oh, are you fucking kidding me!?" Because fuck it, I called this shit!

This particular piece of shit was the fact that the miasma leaking from the SS King was bringing the skeletons around us to life.

"Oh how I hate skeletons," I snarled, shooting a few rounds at SS King's miasma shell only to scowl at the fact that it was in fact a barrier. Turning my scowl to the undead coming at me, I shot myself upward in order to dodge the first few spells flung my way because obviously Skull Servants were what it was going to summon. Situating myself along one of the temple's "support beams" , aka a rib, I then retaliated in kind by firing off some shots, {Shadow Arrows}, and {Shadow Spears} in order to take care of all the long range attackers as per usual.

Before descending downward to face my opponent's sword to sword; however, I quickly went about changing into my newest [Equipment Set], the {Knuckle} set. A set which not only gave me a huge boost to damage dealt to DARK based beings but also greatly boosted my STR stat.

Decked out in heavy bone armor in the shape of large pauldrons, heavy duty grieves, a legitimate rib cage protecting my middle, and a bone helmet styled like a knight's helm, I jumped into the fray with all the wild nature Horus projected through our bond.

I was immediately met with a Zombie Warrior (you know what, fuck it, the name can stay at this point), and it was during out first exchange I was shown just how much a change both my boosted stats and new armor made.

Now when normally facing a Zombie Warrior, I tend to depend on quick strikes to either its spine or its skull to cripple it quickly as otherwise it would just keep fighting. The problem with this was that Zombie Warriors were usually smart enough to block such attacks via their shield or parrying the strike with their own sword thus making me have to depend on magic to get around their defenses.

So you can imagine my surprise when such a series of events occurred and instead of stopping my blow enough to allow it time to back up and reorient itself, the Zombie Warrior was instead flung backwards hard enough to impact one of the rib supports and explode on contact.

In fact I think I surprised the other mobs as well as they all stopped in their charge forward and instead swiveled their gaze from me to the splintered pile of bones that used to be their ally and back again as if asking," did that just happen."

Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, I smiled a bloodthirsty grin that screamed of my desire to do the same to them.

Which was honestly real as I really, reallllly hated skeletons.

(And going by the wave of vicious pride coming from Horus I could only imagine he both agreed and was proud of my progress when it came to scaring the literal undead shit out of the undead.)

That little slice of hilarity aside, I quickly went about diving into their midst like a ravenous beast as I decimated their numbers like a ballistic missile. I slashed and smashed my way through their numbers like a man on a mission as I made my way towards the ringleader of this little "get together". Fortunately by doing so, I also made a rather interesting discovery.

You see each time I defeated one of the mobs trying and failing to deal even a little damage to me (the {Knuckle} set also gave a sizable Physical and Magical DEF boost plus Horus's {Black Dragon Scales} skill granted a decent boost as well); I noticed that the miasma that brought the mobs to life seemingly disappeared. Looking at the SS King I also realized that for each enemy I defeated the boss would lose a few MP.

With that realization in mind I grinned in vicious glee as I allowed {Black Fire} to start streaming off my sword swings in waves of enhanced {Flying Slashes} that took down the swarms of enemies rushing towards me like they were wheat in a field.

Horus even joined me as he partially materialized and began blasting out streams of concentrated {Dragon Breath} at any enemy that got either near me or tried to snipe me from a distance. The show of voluntary teamwork warming me oddly enough as we worked in tandem to take down the small scale zombie apocalypse.

"CRASH!" Turning away from my thoughts and instead towards the sudden sound, I grimaced as a new stream of undead soon flooded into the already packed room through a hole they had seemingly broken through one of the walls-

-and then I felt my insides freeze as I remembered the literal thousands of skeletons that lined the floor of the crater I was currently standing in.

Gritting my teeth at forgetting such a thing, I quickly shot myself upward like a rocket and blasted my way out of the temple. Continuing to rocket upwards I looked around the desolate battlefield and felt my stomach drop as thousands of undead were brought into a second go at life thanks to the undead boss below me.

An undead boss that I could still hear cackling its cranium off.

A rage I didn't know I could achieve suddenly overtook me as I glared down at the temple that contained my enemy(prey).

An enemy(prey) that apparently didn't like its opponent outside of its line of sight as the roof of the temple seemingly unraveled and allowed the enemies(prey!) inside to see me. The big boss himself(preypreyprey) stared up at me from where it allowed its miasma shell to form into a cyclone of sorts around it.

The reason for showing itself was quickly revealed when the boss(prey!) raised its arms and charged up a massive DARK based attack...and then hundreds, possibly thousands, of Skull Servants(PREY!) followed its lead as they too raised their hands to the sky with a spell ready to be cast.

"You have got to be kidding me," I muttered in horrified shock as I stared down at the thousands of spells just waiting for a signal to be cast, and my thoughts raced to figure out how I could possibly survive such a barrage of attacks intact.

I mean seriously how was I supposed to survive something like this! How the hell was I supposed to beat an army?!(PREY!)

"AND WHY THE HELL DO I KEEP THINKING OF THEM AS PREY!?" I screamed in annoyance and rage and confusion and-

"SKRRRRRR!"

And I froze as the sound of metal screaming against metal shrieked in my ears like the enraged cry of a bird of prey. Turning slowly as a wave of intense heat and rage washed over me, I turned to see a bird shaped figure wrapped within the combined golden and black flames I had come accustomed to seeing both himself and even myself practically bathed in as we fought together.

"Horus," I breathed in shock as my first Phantasm took form, true form, from the combined flames streaming off me like a bonfire. His blood red eyes flashing with emotions so similar yet different in that moment that I completely ignored the threat below and focused the entirety of my being onto him and him alone.

He seemed to take my single minded focus in stride as bursts of conflicting emotions welled up through our bond. Feelings of anger, rage, and dissatisfaction were brought to the forefront as he narrowed his crimson gaze at me, and the flames around us burned brighter with a legitimate heat haze appearing in the air around us.

Yet...yet there was also sadness and disappointment only a friend could feel for another as they failed at something they had thought they could achieve. The feeling of someone who had believed in something they never thought they could...and was only met with frustration and loss and failure.

And it was then that I realized that I had failed.

I had failed in Horus's eyes to uphold the unspoken agreement we made upon creating our bond. The agreement we had made through gaze and understanding alone…

The agreement that I would not back down. Just as I had done with him. Just as I had done with every enemy before this...

Just as I had failed to do not moments ago when I questioned myself and the odds against the prey below us.

And so I did the only thing I could in that moment.

I gazed back at Horus in his blood colored eyes. Eyes that screamed their anger and rage at my failure. At the fact it took me this long to realize I had betrayed the words I had never said but somehow understood when we created our bond.

And I said the only thing I could say.

"I. Will. Fight!"

My voice rang through the air with the promise my words represented, nah the absolute fact my words were meant to be as I felt something deep (oh so deep) inside me finally snap into place.

(And for the briefest of moments my inner world, a world so young and new yet so full of potential, grew just the slightest bit. Grew as it truly made a place for a being that had never known what a true home was before. A being that had only ever known carnage and the destruction that its very being could bring upon the world.)

Horus (my first Phantasm, my strongest companion, my friend) stared at me. His gaze seared into me with all the power of a dying star as our combined flames grew brighter and stronger as I felt the bond between us deepen as my words(my apology, my pledge, my promise) resonated between us so strongly that I felt him.

I felt Horus.

I felt his burning desire to burn the world's negatives to nothing. I felt his power over flames that could burn the corrupted and innocent alike. I felt his rage at being branded a thing of evil when his powers were him and not something he simply had but something he simply was.

...and finally, I felt the longing he held. His longing to belong in a world where negatives did not brand him as the negatives themselves. A world where he could belong.

So I did the one thing I could…

I reached out.

And the world exploded into black and gold flames.

---

Across that battlefield of undead prepared to lay waste to the single enemy they had ever known, to utterly annihilate the very reason they were reawakened in the first place, a ripple appeared.

A wave of confusion and fear that the undead did not believe they could ever feel again arose within every undead being within the battleground of the greatest of them all. The one who gave them life to fight their single enemy.

And it was because of that one being they felt these things.

Because as the King of Skull Servants starred up into the sky with its empty eye sockets, it felt something beyond the understanding of its followers. The feelings that arose as it watched its greatest enemy seemingly explode into a small sun made of black and gold flames caused every instinct that it believed it had lost upon its death to rise to the forefront. An instinct that screamed at it that it had lost at its moment of triumph.

And that was unacceptable.

It was the King. It was the greatest of all the undead, an Overlord; a being of death that could not die from the hands of some mortal. A boy not into his second decade of life that it was created to fight for his own improvement.

It refused.

It refused!

IT REFUSED!

So it launched the most powerful blast of impure darkness it could conjure and ordered the entirety of its followers to do the same. The flood of spells launched into the sky numbered in the thousands as bolts of lightning, car sized fireballs, icicles as long as telephone poles, and even blasts of darkness similar to its own sought their intended target.

And the only thing the King of Skull Servants could do was cackle in maniac glee as its sole enemy would soon be defeated, and it's true reign could finally begin!

...only for the small, multicolored sun in the sky to suddenly decrease in size to reveal the Overlord's enemy.

From first glance the being known as Warren Fall hadn't changed. He was still dressed in the bone armor crafted from its defeated followers that gave him the appearance of some barbarian knight, and he still held the two weapons that screamed of something more to every sense the King had...

And then the King saw the wings.

At first glance it almost mistook them as large swords the size of their wielder that were simply sheathed across its enemy's back. Perhaps even something its enemy had pulled out thinking it would help it survive considering the swords seemed to be streaming the same black fire its enemy had been throwing around like party favors earlier from their bottom halves.

Then it noticed that they moved. The large sword-like structures revealing themselves to in fact be large, segmented, dark grey, metal wings that were channeling black fire from the sides pointed toward the ground like boosters off a rocket.

The Overlord was not worried; however, as even with his new wings (and the capabilities they surely granted him) the King knew it would not be enough. Its enemy would be able to dodge a couple dozen perhaps even hundreds of spells, but even he with his seemingly newfound power would not be able to stop the flood of spells flying towards him…

Yet why did the Undead Necromancer still feel unease? Why did it feel as if this image of complete overkill it had rot upon a single enemy was simply not enough?

Why did it still feel FEAR gazing upon the young mortal that took upon him the visage of an angel of war and death.

Then as the monsoon of spells was within yards of finally impacting their target, the King of Skull Servants saw its young enemy lower his hand, light a fire all too similar to the black flames that he had been using to defeat its followers the entire battle, and the King felt It.

It was the heat that could only be compared to the foreshadowing of fire right before it incinerated its victim.

It was the unprecedented fear all mortals felt upon realizing they were about to be consumed by the very flames they brought into existence.

It was the hunger that all fire held within its uncontrollable nature that feasted upon anything that entered its volatile visage.

It was the fire that consumes all the evils in the world.

And. It. Was. Starving.

Then the unholy thing that looked like black fire held within its enemy's hand seemingly reached out to impact the first spell about to harm its creator, the King' very own spell, and the flames proceeded to eat it.

And those horrifying, ravenous, insatiable, starving, flames exploded forward and consumed the next spells to impact it and the next and the next and the next-

And with each new spell it consumed it grew and grew and grew-

Until the sky itself was consumed by the fire.

The realization of what exactly its enemy had unleashed shook the King to its core. The realization that thanks to cosmic irony it would soon be destroyed by the black flames that only continued to grow as they descended downward in search for more to eat after consuming and growing stronger through the King of Skull Servants' own actions.

Anything?! Was there anything that could save it now?!

All thoughts of actual victory were lost as the Undead Necromancer frantically thought and searched for anything that could preserve its own life as the undead lives of its followers were wiped out within moments of contact with the ravenous flames that only continued to grow as they consumed the miasma that brought its minions to life-

And the King's gaze settled upon the temple that had once housed it; that had provided the power for its own rebirth. The same temple that was built using the bones of a once great beast as its base...

The King of Skull Servants could only grin (a grin once filled with sadistic glee now replaced with one that could only be described as unhinged insanity) as a plan quickly formed in its empty skull.

And a cackle of insanity rose forth as the flames finally descended upon its form.

---

"This...is easily the most badass thing I have ever witnessed in my life," I said in horrified awe as I continued to watch the flames I had brought forth completely and utterly consume the thousands of undead that could have killed me not moments before.

The burst of immense pride Horus sent my way was completely justified in this instance as a fraction of his true power continued to feast upon the dark powers powering the army below us with all the savage hunger as a pack of ravenous sharks.

(A rather snarky portion of my mind also made the realization that I probably wasn't going to have to worry about acquiring the resources from this particular zone for quite a while.)

Still to think all this was caused by a single skill.

Scorched Earth, Active {Lv: 1}:
A powerful and deadly skill that can only be accomplished through using flames that can devour a concept, power, or emotion. This attack will continue to spread and devour anything in its path as long as there is fuel to spread its ravenous flames.
Cost: 100 MP per second (price for skill beyond initial MP cost can be paid via having attack feed off of negative energy of any source.)
Deals 250 Magical (FIRE & DARK) DMG per second of contact.

{Scorched Earth}. A truly fitting name for such an all consuming skill.

Watching the last of the previous army of undead being consumed by my completely overpowered skill, I slowly made my way downward so as to not mess up and accidentally fall to my death by moving my new wings the wrong way at the worst time.

Wings of the Black Flame Dragon, Passive {Lv: MAX}:
The wings of a dragon represent more than just a means to fly around; they represent their ability to go wherever they want, whenever they want. It represents the very freedom that all dragons are promised at birth. Through creating a true bond with Horus, The Black Flame Dragon, this new skill will allow you access to wings created via Horus's power as an imitation of his own wings.
Grants access to the {Flight} Passive Skill.
Max Speed when using skill is Base AGI

To say that I could reach the ground in less than five seconds with my new wings is probably within the realm of possibilities. Unfortunately learning to actually fly without crashing into anything takes priority at the moment.

Though I was already thinking of a few tests I could perform later to measure the new capabilities my new wings could grant me.

Thoughts of future tests aside, I finally reached the ground with only a small stumble to show for my inexperience, and a quick glance around revealed not a skeleton in sight. Only harshly burned earth and literal tons of ashes remained to even paint the picture that this had once been a battlefield.

"I guess there's a straggler or two around here somewhere," I muttered in confusion as I was honestly surprised anything survived the sheer annihilation {Scorched Earth} brought forth.

"rumble"

Blinking in surprise I glanced around in further confusion as I swore I heard something-

"Rumble"

"Okay what the hell," I said, looking around wildly as I know I heard something that time-

"RUMBLERUMBLERUMBLERUMBLERUMBLERUMBLE!"

"HOLY-!" I yelled in shock as I rocketed upward with my new wings in order to avoid whatever had been coming out of the ground from beneath me. Staring back at the ground, wondering what the hell had actually survived, I could only stare in unbridled shock as a completely massive, boney tail slowly pulled itself free from the earth. Tracing the tail to its base of origin, I couldn't stop myself from gaping in further shock as I watched a colossal, skeletal beast pull itself from the hills of ash and burned earth it had been seemingly buried under.

The beast itself was something I could only describe as a skeletal Godzilla as it was clearly the skeletal remains of some kind of super dinosaur mixed with a dragon and then brought back with all the fun stuff involved with necromancy as its eyes glowed with a sickly green light and miasma streamed from its maw like smoke from a coal factory.

It was focusing on where its heart would have been that I become downright pissed; however, as hung in its chest cavity, like some kind of patchworks heart, was some kind of purple and black core of darkness that radiated miasma and death...just like a certain other undead I had the displeasure of knowing.

[Skelesaurus (Lv 35)] [Race: Great Undead Beast]
[Title: Secret Boss of Tier One Undead] [Zombie Kaiju]
[HP: 4000/ 4000] [SP: 4000/ 4000] [MP: 500/ 500]
[STR: 200] [AGI: 80] [VIT: 150] [END: 150] [INT: 20] [WIS: 20] [LUCK: 0]

"Why do I have the feeling this is some kind of big "fuck you" that SS King decided to pull before it died?" I asked rhetorically as I stared at the hulking behemoth of death (fucking zombie kaiju) now staring at me. The unnatural light of death in its skull glowing like beacons from a lighthouse as it reared back and-

"ROOOAAARRRRRRRRRR!"

-roared loud enough to cause hurricane force winds from the sheer pressure behind it and cause my eardrums to almost burst like sticks of dynamite. I was only lucky enough to realize what it was about to do at the last second and in turn plug my ears with both my hands and cover them in the strongest {Basic Silence Barrier} I could manage to create. Thankfully it was enough, if just barely, as I could still feel my head ringing like a church bell.

That was not enough to distract me from the ripoff kaiju now rushing toward me with all the grace of a landslide; however, and since I could now fly, it was actually rather easy to dodge the flailing titan as it attempted to eat me whole. I even went about {Requiping} the {Joint} set as a means to further increase my AGI.

Though dodging became a lot harder as the undead super lizard started to swing its tail around with very large success because while I could dodge the tail easily enough, mostly from the sheer obvious nature of the attack, that didn't stop me from being almost pulled in by the suction of the wind that the attack kicked up in its wake.

I had also been attempting to go on the offensive as I was constantly launching {Shadow Spears} and firing {Dark Shots} from Dākuai with limited success because while I was in fact dealing damage to the massive beast, the attacks themselves weren't dealing real lasting damage.

Yeah, apparently the zombie kaiju had a high enough HPR to be on par with a legitimate regeneration skill. I gotta say, watching its bones slowly meld back together after each hit was just weird.

No, I realized pretty early on that if I were to try and deal any significant damage then I was going to have to hit Skelesaurus in its "heart". A single well timed {Dark Blast} to its "core" being enough proof of such a claim as that single attack dealt over 100 damage.

Unfortunately one attack was all it took for Skelesaurus to realize its own, pretty glaring, weak spot, and it made it a point to deflect any attack thrown at it or simply dodge which was rather surprising at times given its massive frame.

Our "game"of cat and mouse continued in this pattern for I don't know how long, and pretty soon it became obvious that I wouldn't be able to keep up such an assault for much longer.

Fortunately I wasn't the only one getting annoyed by our little "game" as the undead kaiju attempting to kill me decided to take matters into its own hand-er claws and took another deep breath it most certainly did not need.

At first I thought it was going to attempt to roar again as a means to throw me off as it was probably the only thing the massive skeleton had been able to do that affected me. That thought left just as quickly as it arrived; however, as the miasma that was usually wafting from the undead's giant maw seemingly sucked in and condensed itself into the back of its skull.

It was at that moment I realized two things.

The first was that my original comparison to Godzilla may have been more accurate than I thought as Skelesaurus took a very familiar pose.

The second was that while Horus may very well resemble, act like, and squawk in annoyance like a bird of prey at times that did not change the fact that he was a dragon and like any other dragon upon witnessing another dragon attempting to release its "roar" of choice, the only course of action he could take would be to meet it in kind.

And considering the fact that I was currently hosting Horus within my soul and even linking our very souls together…

Well is there really any surprise over my next course of action.

Rearing my(our) head back in near imitation of the undead kaiju before me(us), I(we) pooled together and condensed a mass of flames into the back of my(our) throat in preparation for the largest, most powerful, and all together most destructive {Dragon Breath} I(we) could create.

Though I(We) did add a little twist to it.

Truthfully what happened next I would later look back on and blame entirely on natural instincts, and Horus rubbing off on me way more than I had realized at the time.

Because there was no signal. There was no forewarning or foreshadowing that determined when the attacks were launched. It simply happened.

From the resurrected remains of a once great beast, a mass of ghoulish, green flames flooded the sky. Flames that decayed the ground beneath and further ignited the very air above as though it was breaking apart the very molecules it came into contact with.

On the other end of the spectrum the black flames that surged from our open maw seemingly consumed the sky. The black flames blazed forth with such speed and savagery that they seemed more like a pack of starved wolves looking for their next meal than actual flames.

And then the two attacks met in the middle…

And the {Scorched Earth} enhanced {Dragon Breath} continued to consume the corrupted and, most importantly of all, negative energy powering the undead kaiju's flames and rushed forth to their source in short order.

It was almost anticlimactic as once the flames came into direct contact with Skelesaurus, it too was consumed by them. The cat and mouse game we had played before seeming kinda pointless really as {Scorched Earth} reduced the once terrifying and monstrous beast into simple ash within seconds.

"Those are definitely going to be used sparingly," I told myself resolutely as the sheer absolute nature of the skill honestly scared me a little if for no other reason than because the skill simply could not be controlled, and thus would not be safe to use around allies. Heck I didn't plan to use them against enemies unless it was the only possible alternative.

(The pulse of honest understanding (and slight disappointment obviously) from Horus did help a great deal to solidify my snap decision.)

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

Quest Complete!
[Tutorial IV (Conquer The Undead Zone)!]
A final tutorial to test your progress and will to fight in this new world!
{Objective: Complete Tutorial IV, and defeat the Tier 1 Boss of the Undead Zone in order to progress through the Instant Dungeons.}
Rewards: 5,000 Exp, 50,000 Yen, 1 Rare Item Randomizer, 1 Random Tier II (DARK) Phantasm, and access to the rest of the Zones!
{Bonus Objectives: +500 Exp per Bonus Objective completed}
- Defeat Tier One Boss in one try (Complete!)
- Raise a Phantasm to Level 20 or higher (Complete!)
- Create Two or more Noble Phantasms (Complete!)
- Create up to 10 or more new skills (Complete!)
- Force Tier One Boss to revive Secret Boss: Skelesaurus (Complete!)
Bonus Rewards: 2500 Exp
{Secret Objective: Complete all other objectives}
Secret Rewards: 1 Noble Phantasm Randomizer

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

"Finally," I groaned tiredly as I descended downward. The shear strain of the last hour finally catching up to me so much that I pretty much crash landed and just laid there-

"Wait, it's only been an hour?!" I asked incredulously as I stared at my in-game clock in my status menu. Seriously, with everything that had just gone down, it had felt a hell of a lot longer than an hour.

Still, the fact that I was able to deal with a small scale zombie apocalyspe, the undead necromancer that brought it about, and a zombie fucking kaiju in the span of an hour was honestly baffling. The fact that I could claim to have done such while only having a few days worth of combat under my belt at all more so.

Guess that's why most consider [The Gamer] such a broken power.

"Well we don't know about that?"

'What?' Before I even had a moment to question who had just spoken, I was suddenly...well I guess the best word would be transported. That doesn't really work; however, as I'm pretty sure I didn't actually move. It was more like the space around me moved.

"Yeah that's about right."

Snapping my head up (as I had still been laying down at the time), I was met with the sight of someone I had never seen before.

The person was the definition of ambiguous as they had the perfect balance of masculine yet feminine features. Their skin was dark enough to be called tan yet also light enough to be considered pale in the right light. Their hair was pure black in color which extended into a small ponytail in the back just like my own though theirs was without the bangs along the front. They were dressed in casual clothes that consisted of a pair of black jeans that did nothing to help me determine their gender; the baggy, black wool sweater not helping either. The only other things of note were the fact that the figure had elfish like pointed ears that I couldn't help but compare to a certain loli dragon god, and a pair of eyes I could only compare to a kaleidoscope. The unreal amount of different colors that appeared one second and was gone the next honestly making my head spin just looking into them.

Rising slowly in case the individual was a threat or not, I quickly went about {Observing}-

"Unholy mother of all that is GAHHH!" I roared in pain that I could only describe as a hot red poker being shoved in my brain and proceeding to scramble it like a blender.

"You just tried to use {Observe} didn't you? We're afraid doing such would be a...bad idea to put it mildly."

"Thanks for the warning," I growled out as my brain pulsed in pain for a few more moments before the pain thankfully receded.

"Snarky one aren't you," they responded with a smirk of careless amusement. "Though in these circumstances, we suppose it is only to be expected."

"...we?" I asked warily as I finally began to realize the individual was always speaking in plurals. I then tried focusing on Horus in order to use his higher senses to check the surroundings...only to pale as for the first time since I'd gained Hours as a Phantasm, he wasn't there.

"How-"

"SKRRRR!"

Jerking in shock, I snapped wide eyes upward to find the source of the cry I had become incredibly familiar with in the past few days. (And wow it hadn't even been a week yet.)

Staring in unaltered shock, I watched as Horus began a descent downward until he practically crash landed not a meter from me, kicking up dirt and dust in the process.

"H-Horus!" I shouted incredulously as the metallic esc Evil Dragon fluttered his way out of the dust cloud with all the grace of a sea gull on crack. That was the only thing I was able to say as not moments later he tackled me.

"W-Whoa H-Hor-gah! Horus stop that!" I shouted out as he proceeded to peck at me like a Gabrial be damned woodpecker. His metal beak impacting my skull with all the force of a hammer repeatedly until he seemed to finally get whatever had caused such an action out of his system because he then stared me down for a moment and then-

'Dear Gabrial is Horus preening me?!' I thought completely and utterly shocked and incredulous as the Evil Dragon continued to straighten my hair from the mess it had become thanks to his pecking.

Finally done with his preening (because seriously what the fuck?!), he finally got back off, gave a cry/bark of contentment, and just wandered off in a random direction seemingly done with me for the time being.

"Well well well, Horus seems to have developed a softer side. The last person who gained him as a Phantasm ended up getting third degree burns in their first meeting," the stranger commented idly as they watched Horus seemingly fascinated with the claimed change as Horus made his way to who knows where.

"Don't worry he's just exploring the new area in your Soul Plane is all," they once again commented idly-wait hold the phone.

"Soul Plane?" I questioned with a raised brow as I finished dusting myself off. At the stranger's waving hand, I actually took a look around only to be astonished with what I saw.

Plains and hills of evergreen grass were spread out as far as the eye could see with mountain ranges, rivers, lakes, plateaus, deserts, heck I swear I could even see a glacier off in the distance, dotting the landscape in all of nature's wonders. Really what appeared to be a "basic starter town" in the distance that also made up the centerpiece of the land was kinda underwhelming at best and only noteworthy in the least.

"Where the hell?" I muttered in shock and awe as every time I looked in a new direction I saw something new-is that a volcano?!

"You're confused. That makes sense," the ambiguous stranger said with a chuckle." Like we said before this is the Soul Plane, or rather the newly unlocked Neutral Zone in your Soul Plane if you wish to be specific," they finished with an amused look.

It took a solid five seconds for what they were saying to properly register, but when it did I physically reared back in shock at the implications. "Are you saying that I'm currently inside my own soul?!"

"Obviously," the stranger confirmed, clearly amused by my confusion and shock.

"How?" Is there really any other question to ask-actually hold on. "Wait! Firstly, who the hell are you?!"

"You've finally thought to ask us that huh?" The stranger said with an amused grin that just screamed of jackass levels of wisdom and 'nah-nah I know something you don't'.

"Now that we think about it, we've got a lot of names really, for now though we guess you could call us Chaos."

And like that my mind proceeded to sputter out and crash because what the flying fucker's fuck.

"What the fuck?!" Oh didn't mean to actually say that aloud.

"We suppose we shouldn't be surprised. That is the usual reaction for this kind of thing, and before you ask. Yes. We are in fact the Chaos from the Greek Pantheon. The same one that is pretty much their "Origin" slash "Creator God" if you will."

...you know I can honestly admit to never being quite this gobsmacked in my life, and I don't even really know what gobsmacked means?!

"W-What why-How?!"

"Boredom was a pretty big part of it; curiousity was a rather close second," Chaos (because seriously what the fuck?!) said with a laid back shrug, "after hearing about my fellow "Origin's" attempt to "even the playing field" as it were by creating the Sacred Gear System, we figured we'd give it a shot ourselves."

Wait a fucking minute," a-are you saying that you're the one who created Trinity Tuner?!"

"No." Chaos immediately denied, "We are saying that we were the ones who created your version of [The Gamer]. The fact you choose the path you went down that allowed you access to your Sacred Gear is simply a bonus as it has allowed us to create something...rather special," they finished with a fond look at my Soul Plane in its entirety.

"U-Unholy s-shit," I stuttered out in shock as I fell on my ass from the sheer importance of what the being before me was saying because this...this changes everything.

"Oh we wouldn't say that," Chaos said with an amused shrug. Though that may also be deprived from my shocked look over him clearly reading my mind.

"No, I am more so reading the changes in your soul," Chaos explained once again displaying his ability to-wait what?

"Reading my soul?"

"Well yes," Chaos commented with a smug look," reading one's mind is such a simple way of doing things. Reading the soul on the other hand is a rather interesting and extraordinary ability, no?"

Staring at the Primordial Being of Chaos standing before me for a moment, I decided to bring the topic back on track.

"How does this not change things?" I questioned with a grimace as I could already feel a headache forming from...well the situation as a whole really.

"Well some things will change we guess," they said while scratching their head sheepishly. "For instance, we are going to be doing an "update" of sorts to your [Gamer System] that will have the interface feed off of your Sacred Gear."

For a moment, I stared at them. A wide range of questions raced through my mind as I tried to figure out what they were talking about. Eventually I narrowed down my questions to one singular question.

"Why?"

Chaos tilted their head up for a moment as they seemingly went into thought of how to answer such a simple yet complex question. Eventually a literal light bulb went off above their head, and they looked at me.

"To start explaining the hows and whys of what we did, we would first like to ask a question of our own," Chaos began and upon my hand wave to continue they did so. "Are you familiar with the term Campione?"

I frowned for a moment in thought as the word set off warning bells in my head. Finally remembering where I had heard the term before I stared incredulously at the Primordial Being as they surely weren't talking about that meaning of Campione.

"I know that it means "champion" in Italian," I began a bit awkwardly before Chaos sent me a look clearly telling me to "get on with it". I grimaced slightly before continuing, "though there is also another meaning to the world back in my first life…"

"God Slayer," I said, watching the higher being before me speculatively. "It also means God Slayer."

"And you would be correct," the Primordial said, not even phased by the downright blasphemous words most other gods would have considered my words to be. "Since you have the basic idea of what the word means, can I also assume you know the means for one to become a Campione?"

Looking at Chaos confused, I thought back to what I knew of that particular series (because obviously I knew what Campione meant thanks to yet another harem shonan anime) and continued slowly as I wasn't quite sure if I remembered it entirely.

"I'm pretty sure that a goddess, Pandora I think, would adopt a person after they had killed a god. In turn she gifted that person a nigh indestructible body, vast magical reserves, and an Authority or two from the god they killed as well as the ability to take the Authorities of any other gods they killed after."

"That sounds about right," Chaos said with a somewhat distant nod as if the being was remembering something from long ago-are they blushing?

"What, no! We are not blushing?!" Chaos suddenly shouted while very clearly looking anywhere but me with red splashing across there otherwise balanced skin.

I raised my hands in a clear show of dropping the subject which the Primordial only seemed to vaguely acknowledge as they gave a grunt. Thankfully Chaos seemed to get over whatever had just happened and continued with the point they were trying to make.

"The point we are trying to make," Chaos said in a clear show of showing off his ability to "read my soul" once again, "is that a mortal does not have to actually be born to a god in order to receive their power." Here they looked at me as if waiting for me...to...

Oh dear Gabrial.

"D-Did you adopt me?!" I asked incredulously as I stared at Chaos in shock.

All Chaos did was shrug as if what I just claimed wasn't a big deal, but at the same time they didn't deny it which meant what the fuck was going on?!

"What is going on," Chaos said slowly as if speaking to a child which nearly set me off again considering what exactly we were discussing, "is that we have decided to spread a little chaos."

I stared at the Primordial Being of Chaos for a moment before paling so much that I literally felt the color draining from my face as what exactly they just said hit me like a truck.

"And you would spread chaos...by adopting me?" I asked hesitantly and honestly a little scared at their answer.

"Well that just plays a part," Chaos said flippantly as they waved their hand back and forth in the air. "In truth we only adopted you in name alone as to give you a body that is "without limits" and "without bindings" in a sense."

Now I was getting even more confused. "What exactly does that mean?"

Here Chaos gave me an indulgent look before sighing in exasperation over my not apparently understanding what the hell they were talking about.

"It means," Chaos once again said slowly yet also kindly, "that you have a body that could grow infinitely strong. A body, heart, and soul that is quite literally unbound from both Fate and Destiny to the point that you could do anything because you are our child. A child born from Chaos that can walk in Chaos."

As Chaos continued talking all I could do was stare in wide eyed shock as what exactly they were saying fully registered.

Because what they were saying was that I was without human limitations. I could grow well past what my physical body should have been capable of.

They were also basically saying that plot had no hold on me. I could change things when otherwise Fate and Destiny would have either stopped me or made certain things always take place.

And with that realization made there was really only one thing I could do.

"Thank you," I said with as much sincerity and thankfulness I could push into my tone while performing a bow to the higher being before. A higher being who had adopted me and allowed me to be free.

"Hey now, there's no need for that," Chaos said kindly while pulling me from my bow to pat me down before laying a hand on my shoulder. "We are honestly quite proud of how far you have come in such a short time. Especially with you reaching this point so soon."

"...this point?"

"Ah," here Chaos grew somewhat sheepish and even went as far as to scratch the back of their head," let's just say that you completing Tutorial IV was kind of a make it or break it moment."

"How so?" I was honestly confused over what they were trying to say.

"Well this world has a very intense power curve," Chaos said with a sheepish shrug." You proving that you can overcome frankly insane odds in just a matter of days is honestly one of the biggest reasons we decided to reveal ourself to you now."

"Wait," I said cutting them off as I thought that over. "Are you saying that you wouldn't have revealed yourself if I hadn't completed Tutorial IV so quickly?" I asked frankly a little upset as that would have...well not necessarily been bad, but it would have made understanding everything a bit harder.

"No no no," Chaos said repeatedly, reassuring me otherwise. "We would have still revealed ourselves to you in time just…probably after you accomplished Balance Breaker or the like at the least. Though," here Chaos looked at me with undisguised interest, "that is a rather big reason we decided to reveal ourself now rather than when you fully unlocked it."

Okay now I was really confused because I know I hadn't unlocked Balance Breaker yet-wait they said fully.

"I unlocked a portion of Balance Breaker?" I asked uncertainty as I'm pretty sure I would have remembered something like that.

"No, it's more of a one time thing really," Chaos said flippantly before their grin grew even wider," or did you really think that you gaining access to {Scorched Earth}, a skill that could only be accessed with Horus's true power, was just a fluke?"

At my shocked face they laughed for a moment before their grin gained a proud look to it, "You must understand the sheer absurdity of what you did Warren. You see when you went about linking, truly linking, with Horus in his entirety for even that fraction of a second; you tapped into the portion of ourself that we implanted in you to adopt you." Here their grin grew even larger and applause rang from literally nowhere. "The chaotic nature of that "spark" allowed you to do something that no other being beside ourself and other Chaos attuned beings could do."

"You overcame causality Warren. You warped the fabric that makes up the Loom of Fate in such a way that you created a single moment of controlled chaos."

Chaos shook their head in complete disbelief while I was doing a very good impression of a fish, "honestly, we can't even call what you did a Balance Breaker as what you actually did was create a single moment in space/time where you could connect with Horus at his greatest peak thus granting you access to one of his most powerful skills. A skill that was absolutely perfect to deal with the threat before you."

Chaos then became pensive for a moment, "perhaps we should even give it a new name as you really didn't so much "break the balance" as to say you "created a moment of chaos". Hmm...perhaps Chaos Creator would work." The Primordial continued to mutter under his breath seemingly forgetting about me for a moment.

I on the other hand was taking this moment to try and center myself from the sheer absurdity of what was being revealed to me.

I mean sure looking back on it; the moment I reached out to Horus had felt a hell of a lot deeper than anything we had done before. Even now I can remember the overwhelming nature of what Horus truly represents thrust upon my being even for that millisecond of true contact.

After all Horus was born from humanity's negative outlook on fire itself.

The subconscious yet conscious fear and terror that ALL of humanity felt upon witnessing the more destructive aspects of fire. The fear of the pain such an existence could inflict upon humanity.

Is it really any surprise that such an existence would be lonely?

A snort of amusement broke me from my thoughts, and I looked up to find Chaos looking at me with amusement but also of subtle pride.

"At least we can see why Horus warmed up to you so quickly," Chaos said, amusement dancing in their tone before their grin turned pensive.

"That said, as much as we hate to say it, we should get back on topic," Chaos said, though the fact that they seemed to be sad over this fact confused me a little. Chaos surprisingly enough didn't take my confusion as a sign to show off their "soul reading" and instead continued on.

"As we were saying before, we will be making your [Gamer System] be more in tune with Trinity Tuner. The main reasons for this mainly stems from the fact that your use of Chaos Creator outside of your IDs may bring unwanted attention." Chaos then grimaced and looked at me apologetically, "The fact that you're really not ready for such a level of power is another reason."

I gotta admit that I was a little insulted for a moment as their words honestly sounded like an excuse...before I remembered the completely overwhelming power {Scorched Earth} displayed as it utterly consumed an army of thousands of undead.

"That does play a part in it," Chaos admitted while once again showing off their ability to read me like a literal open book. "Another part of it stems from the fact that your very being is not ready to channel the strength of such beings yet."

At my confused look Chaos shook his head and spread out his arms to the space around us.

"This is your Soul Plane Warren. Your inner world. This space is you in your entirety, and thanks to Trinity Tuner, you are allowing other souls access to it. Beings of such extraordinary power and might that they could very well rip the fabric of this space apart at the seems."

Once again Chaos shook his head," Do you understand the danger you would be in if you attempted to allow admittance of a soul greater than your own? If Horus had decided you were not worthy to wield even a fraction of his true power and instead decided to consume you from the inside out."

His point made he lowered his arms and stepped up to me to place a reassuring hand on my shoulder. A shoulder that I would wholeheartedly admit to shaking as the very idea of what he was describing shook me to my core.

"Honestly you got very lucky," Chaos said with a chuckle of reassurance. "Your own accepting nature and hardheadedness were honestly perfect to gaining the mutual acceptance of a Phantasm like Horus. Good Job."

I pointedly ignored the warm feeling I got from the Primordial's praise and instead finally decided to turn back to a question I had.

"So what exactly is this "update" going to entail?"

Chaos gave me a rather amused look as if to say they knew what I was doing before answering anyways. "Well we imagine you don't want to necessarily have to explain your powers as something outside of your Sacred Gear," they began to explain before waving their hand around us in a circle. "Take your IDs for example. Those can easily be explained away as sectioned off portions of your Soul Plane that Trinity Tuner created as a means for you to train, or even as trials left behind by previous wielders of the gear. This also easily explains away your gaining new Phantasms out of seemingly nowhere as well as your gaining new items. They will simply be rewards left behind by previous wielders in order to help the next wielder."

Blinking in surprise at the well reasoned argument, I nodded in understanding before voicing up another question I had.

"So what exactly are you at the moment?" Chaos raised a brow to show their confusion so I continued, "well I honestly have a hard time believing this is what you really look like. I mean you are a Primordial Being that existed before humanity was even a thing soooo?"

Chaos blinking for a moment at question before turning thoughtful as they stared into the sky above us. Eventually they seemed to come to a conclusion as they nodded and turned back to me.

"Okay, firstly you need to become aware of just what it means to be an Origin." They said with such a serious tone that I unconsciously straightened and made sure to listen.

"Being considered an Origin is exactly what it sounds like. Origins are the who, when, where, why, and how a set concept comes into existence. Whether that Origin is based around Chaos, Order, Infinity, or anything else they are the beginning, middle, and end of what makes up that concept."

"Such an existence does come with its downsides of course," Chaos said with so much resigned sadness in their tone that I felt tears coming to my own eyes. "Origins can never be whole, you see. As they make up the entirety of what makes up their concept they can never be one central being. Instead we are...everything yet nothing. We make the foundations of the world and yet can never live within the world itself."

Then the sadness was stripped away like a physical thing, and Chaos' eyes glowed within a wild kaleidoscope of bright and happy colors.

"And then The Dream changed everything. The Dream decided that it was bored with its monotone existence and decided to become something more." Chaos said with an infinite number of existences rolling in their voice, and they stared at me with so many emotions in their infinitely colored eyes that I almost felt myself fall into insanity-

"Ops! Sorry, my bad!" And suddenly I could think straight again, and the world existed beyond the unending colors it had momentarily become.

"T-That was," I said gasping for breath and trying to understand a fraction of what just happened.

"Chaos," Chaos finished my statement, sounding so griefstriken and tired in that moment that I pulled myself back to the forefront and focused on my newly adopted parent (and wow is that a weird thought).

"Look, all you really need to know for now is that the being standing before you is only a fraction of the whole. A small part of the collective unconscious that makes up "Chaos" that we placed as the "administrator" of the [Gamer System] with the added data of a semi-human conscious in order to display real emotions and ideas. That way we can guide you and answer questions you may have in a more...natural manner. So can we finish this particular question later?...Please?" Chaos finished rather hesitantly.

Staring at the fidgeting Primordial who I had a vague idea had accidentally started to pull me into its very being, I sighed tiredly and decided to accept that I wouldn't be hearing the end of this particular story for a while.

The sigh of relief Chaos gave in turn over my thoughts brought me back to "question asking mode", and what better question than one concerning my own thoughts.

"Sure I don't mind helping you learn to read souls," Chaos said before I could even voice up the question. Turning an unimpressed look at the Primordial, I gave another sigh before realizing something.

"Wait if you can read my soul then what is the point of asking my questions aloud if you know what I'm going to ask anyways?"

Chaos blinked for a moment before shrugging, "honestly, soul reading is more guesswork and inferring than anything else. Besides, technically it's the only way we could "read" you besides just talking to you. If we attempted to actually read your mind, it would require us to link our own mind to yours, and if you consider what just happened…" Chaos said trailing off.

Realizing I started to give an unconscious shudder from simply thinking about what just happened, I continued on to and ask my final question. (For the time being anyways.)

"Alright I have just one more question." Here I hesitated slightly, but after Chaos waved me on in a gesture of "go on" I sighed and decided "screw it". "Why me?"

At their confused look, I bit my lip and explained. "I mean why did you pick me to give the [Gamer System]. Heck why did you choose to adopt me! I was just your regular guy before so...why?"

Here Chaos blinked in surprise for a moment before their lip quirked upward into a smirk of amusement. "Let us ask you a question in return. Why not you?"

I...I couldn't find any way to answer that.

"The same is true for us." I looked at the Primordial in surprise at their admission. "There really isn't any one way to say why we chose you...we just did," Chaos said with a shrug before gaining a thoughtful look. "Perhaps it was Fate or Destiny deciding to play a part in your life for the last time. Maybe it was just something about you in particular that drew us to you. It could have even been Chaos itself and not just the fraction of us before you that choose."

Leaning back, I allowed myself to truly ponder their initial question in its entirety…

...and eventually decided I didn't fucking care enough to get psychological with it. Like they said, I was chosen, and there really isn't any reason to question it at this point.

"Smart boy," Chaos said in mock condescension before chuckling at my deadpan. "Alright, in all seriousness the "update" will actually require some time to complete, so we're probably gonna put you under for," here they checked their wrist which didn't even have a watch," Ten hours." Wait what?

"Ten hours! That seems a little much don't you think?" I asked a little incredulously as that was honestly a lot longer than I originally thought it would be.

"Well we will be adding a few stop gaps in certain parts of the system in order for you not to perform a Chaos Creator before you're ready," Chaos said with a shrug. "As we will be directly tampering with your soul as a result, we figured it would be better safe than sorry."

Paling at the "what ifs" that could occur if Chaos messed up, I quickly nodded my head in agreement and added, "take as long as you need!"

"So is that it then?" I asked curiously.

Here my new adopted parent looked thoughtful before nodding at nothing," we will also be interchanging some of your more eccentric skills like {ID Create} and both {Gamer} skills to run off the new system, but otherwise we think that's about it. We should also warn you that because of how power intensive the "update" is going to be, we probably won't be able to take a physical form like this one for a while. Though if you ever have any more questions then don't be afraid to ask as we will still be able to answer you via the chat."

At my own nod, Chaos gave me one final smile before tapping into the air for a moment which I assumed caused the new pop up to appear before me.

[The Gamer System is about to go through an update. This update will take 10 hours to complete. Are you prepared?]
{YES/NO}

Rolling my eyes at Chaos' attempt at humor (or I assumed was their attempt at humor anyways), I clicked {YES} and soon found myself welcoming darkness and looking forward to the new possibilities I'll have available when I awaken.