[4] - Re: Oath
IF didn't mean to fall asleep in the Neptower. She really didn't.
But damn it, she was glad she did. She'd awoke on one of the many guest beds in the tower, and the sheer familiarity of it all sent her breaking with tears. It'd been too long since she last slept in this bed, slept with this carefully controlled warmth. All of this had disappeared in the future, and now they were back.
She silently cried in relief.
After that little episode, she silently crept her way back into the living room, simply taking in how everything looked. There were some missing things here and there, but the floor was essentially a perfect carbon match with the one she had in her memories.
She nearly cried again, but she forced them back. She'd used her quota of tears for the hour.
She wasn't surprised to see Histoire floating by the dining table, a small cup of tea placed by her side as she sifted through a stack of papers. She'd greeted the little oracle, and she waved back before returning to her papers.
But then she stopped her just as she was about to leave, asking where she was heading to. IF said that she was heading to the Inner Virtua Forest to grind some Exp. The oracle then asked if it'd be alright for her to join, and IF was definitely surprised then. She didn't mind, certainly, but she'd asked why.
"I need to take a vacation." She simply said, and it was only with years of dealing with the oracle that she'd managed to keep her jaw from falling. 'Vacation' and 'Histoire' did not mix in the slightest. Her reasons were clearly a lie, but she decided to let her in the end. After all, none of the monsters in the Virtua Forest could even deal a scratch onto the little fairy.
The fairy was damned OP, as Neptune used to say.
She ran the entire way to the forest, and Histoire easily kept up with her, floating over her tome as she drank her cup of tea. It made IF somewhat jealous actually. She hadn't eaten any breakfast, but that was fine. She could do that later.
It didn't take them long to reach the Virtua Forest, and even less time to reach its inner side. Just like before, she could already see monsters roaming about, with the Fenrisulfr just barely in her sight. She made a mental note not to-
"If I may," Histoire suddenly said. "Could I make a request for you to fulfill?"
IF blinked. A request? Was this Histoire's true purpose? "...Sure." She said, and Histoire smiled.
"From what Nepgear said, you managed to injure the Fenrisulfr, right?"
She frowned. She…technically did, but that didn't mean much. She doubted she'd be able to actually kill the thing. "I did, but not by much." She said. Strangely, Histoire's smile only grew at her admission.
"That's certainly a feat, Ms. IF." Again, doubt, but IF stayed silent and let Histoire continue. "My request is this: Defeat the Fenrisulfr." IF blinked. What? "As revenge for Nepgear." Histoire then added, almost as an afterthought.
IF blinked again. "...and how am I going to do that?"
Histoire's smile looked positively sly by this point. "With this, Ms. IF. Hero's Journey!" With a small flourish, she raised her hands up. An explosion of light surged around her, and IF could only gape at the status effect she'd received.
[You have been inflicted with [ Heroic Disposition ]!]
[All stats are increased by (50%)! Attack power is (doubled)! All Active Skills cost (50%) less SP to cast!]
She turned to Histoire, and the oracle simply grinned and said nothing. Didn't this skill cost a lot of SP to cast? Why would Histoire cast this on her? Why now?
But, with this buff on her, she had a definite chance of winning. So she turned to the floating fairy and smiled. "Alright. I'll take on that request." She couldn't really deny the reasons either. That damned wolf had hurt Nepgear, and by god she'd make that thing pray it never came into being in the first place.
With Histoire floating just behind her, IF began running, killing any monster that came in her path with a single swing of her steel daggers. Even the Spiders fell in a single swipe, and the exhilaration it gave her was near maddening. She'd need to remember that this wouldn't happen again in the near future.
It took her less than a minute to reach the Fenrisulfr, and the wolf turned to her and snarled. It began to open its jaws, but before it could do anything, she leapt right up to its nose and sent a powerful Cross Impact straight onto its face. Chunks of fur and blood exploded her way, but she swiftly blurred away.
The Fenrisulfr frantically looked around before it howled in pain as another Cross Impact smashed onto its hind leg. IF breathed, and smashed another Cross Impact onto its other leg, effectively sealing its movements.
The Fenrisulfr was snarling, and IF could feel the temperature increasing as flames began to build in its throat. She grinned.
She moved back before she leapt under its jaw. Her steel daggers glowed as her MP coursed through them, and she sent a Cross Impact straight onto its lower jaw, smashing its teeth apart and snapping its throat shut. The flames it'd built were painfully sent exploding back. The wolf howled as its insides burnt.
But this wasn't enough. Not yet. Grinning, she pelted the thing with several more Cross Impacts, carving out fur and blood from every inch of its body. By the end of it, the previously proud wolf was left weak and whimpering. It could do nothing as IF stood above it, her face carefully blank.
She didn't hate the thing for hurting Nepgear. Not really. She knew that normal monsters couldn't really think of anything else aside from hurting others. That was just their nature. She couldn't fault them for that.
With one last glance, she gripped her daggers tight and sent one last Cross Impact onto its head. Her daggers cleaved through its skull with hardly any resistance.
[Gained 8000 Exp, 6000 Credits, and x1 Earth Ripper]
[Gained the Title [ Wolf Slayer ]]
IF smirked. "Job cleared. How did I do Histo-" She turned to the stupefied oracle and blinked. "...Histoire? What's wrong?"
Histoire snapped out of her stupor and blinked. "Oh, forgive me, Ms. IF. I was merely…surprised by your skill. I'd never seen such a powerful skill before!"
IF smiled shyly. Of course she hadn't. Cross Impact had been a skill she created herself by combining three very simple skills. Still, to think that Histoire thought it was a powerful skill. She doubted there was a higher praise she could get.
"R-Really?" She idly ran a hand through her hair as she smiled. "I mean, I'm being buffed by you and all. I doubt it'll be this strong normally."
Histoire shook her head. "Certainly, your powers are increased at the moment, but even then, I'd never seen something so elegant." Histoire looked at her and smiled. "You certainly are interesting, Ms. IF. I can see why Nepgear latched onto you so quickly."
She blinked again. "...really?" Histoire nodded again, and IF hummed. Was Nepgear that attached to her already? She did save her and all, but they'd only met a day ago. Or perhaps it was because Nepgear was Nepgear?
…It was probably the latter.
"I'm probably going to stick around until I level up." She said. "Will you join me, Histoire?"
"Certainly!"
With a smile, IF swiftly swapped her old title with the one she recently got and began running. She easily swept through the hordes of monsters, sounds of shattering glass filling the chasm as her daggers cleanly cleaved through monster after monster.
It took her mere minutes before she leveled up.
Name: IF | [ Wolf Slayer ]
Lvl 9 (+1) [ 90/17500 ]
HP: 550/550 (+50) | SP: 600/1050 (+100)
Str: 11 (+1) | Vit: 10 (+1)
Int: 17 (+1) | Men: 12 (+1)
Agi: 17 (+1) | Tec: 13 (+1)
One more level until more slots for skills are unlocked. Just one more level. It was going to need over 17000 Exp, but that wasn't too much in the grand scheme of things, so level 10 was going to be hers soon.
"I've leveled up." IF said as she placed her daggers into her inventory, and Histoire nodded, her hands glowing a bright green. Anyone would've been confused at what the oracle was doing, but she'd seen this spell countless times already. She simply closed her eyes and waited.
"Hero's Return!"
And with a flash, her surroundings warped. The metallic platform under her changed into a comfortable carpet, and IF opened her eyes to see the ever-so-familiar sight of the Basilicom dining room.
IF couldn't help but smile slightly. What a convenient skill that was.
"Well, now that we're back," Histoire turned to her with a smile. "Shall we have breakfast, Ms. IF?"
Undeniable warmth pulsed in her heart, and she managed a small smile. "Yeah. Let's."
[Cross Impact]. A skill that launches three simultaneous strikes. Gained by: Unknown. First user: IF. Costs: 100 SP. Further Information to be added in the Future.
Histoire smiled at the new document she'd added into her database. Cross Impact, what a strange skill IF had created. A combined strike so powerful it could generate shockwaves. Coupled with how fast IF could cast them and their relatively small SP cost, it was a skill most people would love to know, if it went out to the public that was.
She silently giggled. She loved adding new things into her database. It was what she was created for.
She closed her eyes. IF. An orphan, moved out of the orphanage a couple years ago. Gained Credits by doing community work, but stopped several months ago. Began heading to Virtua Forest a week before. Fights using a pair of daggers. Speed seems to be her specialty.
It was rather odd really. Why did the girl suddenly decide to start hunting? How did she get so skilled so quickly? Why did she seem so familiar?
Whatever the case may be, she was indebted to her. She'd gone out of her way to save Nepgear. The oracle couldn't even fathom what she would've done if the girl hadn't been there to save their CPU Candidate. She'd have to see if IF had anything she needed.
But, for now,
"H-How are you so good!?"
IF turned to Neptune and grinned. "Practice." A loud 'Game Over!' panged out across the screen, and Neptune could only wail in defeat. Nepgear laughed behind them, and IF smirked at her third continuous victory.
Histoire smiled. She could ask that later.
IF huffed a small laugh as she stepped out the elevator. It'd been…hectic, to put it lightly. She'd saved Nepgear, met up with Neptune and Histoire, killed a Fenrisulfr, and punted Neptune all ways to Sunday. It was…fun.
And she got another Exclusive Basilicom Card, this one for Planeptune. She was collecting them like trinkets by this point.
Bidding the guards farewell, she went out the Basilicom, smiling slightly as she looked back up at the Neptower. She hadn't planned to meet them so quickly, but she didn't mind. Meeting them again wasn't as painful as she thought.
But the slice-of-life needed to be shelved for a later date. She didn't know how much time she had. She needed to get stronger, and she needed to do it fast.
Ah, if only she still had her bike. Travelling would've been so much quicker.
Taking a small breath, she began running. She swerved around the passing crowd, flowing through the gaps with years of experience. She soon made it to the borders, greeted the two guards that always seemed to man the place, and began running towards Virtua Forest.
Her plans were simple: Kill monsters, avoid the Fenrisulfr, and get to level 10. She wasn't quite sure what to do after that; probably try and add another skill to her repertoire, but she could think of that later.
She reached the gates of Virtua Forest and continued running deeper, slashing apart the occasional monsters that cropped up. Her speed hardly fell as she entered the Inner Virtua Forest.
She quickly fell back into her routine. Slice the Hoinins in half. Cut off the Piranha Flowers' heads from their stems. Sever the Fungus' head cap from their body with a couple strikes. Immobilise the Spiders' legs before offing their head. If a Fenrisulfr comes into her field of view, turn around.
It was honestly rather therapeutic. If she had her Aeropods on her, she'd probably play some future Lo-Fi. Not that she'd be getting one anytime soon. Those things were surprisingly expensive.
Wait, did Aeropods actually exist at the moment? She forgot when her brand of Aeropods were sold on the market.
[Level up!]
IF stopped, took out her phone and looked at the clock. She blinked. A couple hours had gone by since she started, and she barely even noticed. How did so much time pass without her noticing?
Well, it didn't matter much.
Name: IF | [ Wolf Slayer ]
Lvl 10 (+1) [ 20/22000 ]
HP: 650/650 (+100) | SP: 850/1250 (+200)
Str: 12 (+1) | Vit: 11 (+1)
Int: 18 (+1) | Men: 13 (+1)
Agi: 19 (+2) | Tec: 14 (+1)
She grinned. Now that's a nice sight. But the true prize was the additional skill slots her level up gave, and she already had a plan as to what she'd be doing next.
Spectral Blade and Flash Edge. The former was actually a skill Neptune would get in the future, while the latter was something IF made herself. One sent a flying blade of magic from the distance, and the latter was a powerful stab charged with lightning magic. Both were good skills in their own right, but 'good' wasn't enough.
She needed more.
In the distance she saw a hoinin simply hanging about, the monster idly floating in place as its beady eyes stared aimlessly. She aimed her dagger at it, and closed her eyes.
Neptune loved getting close, but Spectral Blade was one of the few long-ranged skills she had in her arsenal. She remembered how Neptune came up with it, remembered how she got so fed up with flying enemies that she invented the skill on the spot. She remembered her momentary shock, and the wide grin that followed after.
Flash Edge wasn't really something she came up with on her own. She'd seen one of Compa's new syringes explode with lightning, and the idea had sprung into her mind. She'd spent days in the guild, reading through text after text to find the most efficient way to apply lightning onto her daggers. She remembered the way lightning flickered around her blades, and how numb her fingers felt after she used it for the first time.
The gentle hum of her SP filled the air as her dagger began to glow. That wasn't enough. She'd only gotten one compartment finished.
[The skill [ Spectral Blade* ] has been gained]
She focused, muttering the ancient runes she'd used to make Flash Edge. Her arms felt hot and twitchy. The weight of her SP pushed down on her arms, but she willed them to remain in place. Her lungs felt tight, but she kept whispering, kept flooding more SP into her daggers.
Then, she heard a small cackle of electricity, and she swung.
"SPECTRAL FLASH!"
A blade of electricity shot out from her daggers, flying straight and cleaving the unknowing Hoinin in half. The blade continued on, eventually crashing into the platform and carving out a gnarly scar.
Her arms shook, her head felt muddy, but she couldn't help but grin.
[The skill [ Flash edge* ] has been gained]
[Skills [ Spectral Blade* ] and [ Flash edge* ] were consumed to make [ Spectral Flash* ]]
Skill fusion. With enough effort and thought, anyone could grab two skills they already have and fuse them into one. The combined skill would be stronger, but would gain Exp slower as a drawback. Which made sense. The system would be unimaginably broken if fusion skills had the same Exp gain as normal skills. Everyone would just fuse skills over and over.
{ Spectral Flash* }
Rank: Starter | 01%
The weapon is flooded with magic and swung, sending a powerful blade empowered by ancient lightning. This skill can damage any monster type.
Costs 300 MP to cast
This skill penetrates through (20%) of the enemies' Vit
Damage is increased by (+5%) every (5 Agi) of the user
Damage is increased by (+5%) every (5 Int) of the user
Damage is increased by (+300%) if this skill is executed with a sharp weapon
She huffed out a small laugh. She really did it. She got a fusion skill! She did take the easy way out, but it was still a fusion skill!
The high remained with her the entire way back home.
She sighed in relief, melting slightly into her blankets as she held the warm cup of chocolate in her hands. She'd been dying for some hot chocolate, and she finally got some. A deserving reward after everything that's happened.
She smiled softly. Things had certainly gotten out of control. Just a week after she shifted timelines, she'd met with Vert, saved Nepgear, played games with Neptune, and killed monsters with Histoire. She couldn't even have imagined something like this.
Just a week ago, everything was gone, and now she was back. Her world was back. Her family was back. Everything was back.
But they were slowly crawling towards the end, and no one knew. No one but her.
She blew over her cup. There were many things for her to consider, many things she could change. There were just as many adversaries she'd need to overcome. ASIC, the CFWs, Arfoire, Ultradimension, Zero Dimension, The CPU Shift Period, Kurome, and that.
What could she do? What could she change? She was just a human, an adventurer. She wasn't a CPU. She wasn't a god.
That wouldn't stop her. It never did.
So she took a drink of her hot chocolate and gazed out the window. Everything was calm right now. All was right. But not for long. She didn't know how long it'd take, but ASIC would soon form, and Arfoire's revival would begin.
She didn't know if she could completely stop Arfoire from reviving, but she wouldn't be so helpless this time.
She was human. She was mortal. That was fine.
She'd win this New Game+, and she'd turn that tragedy into a happy ending.
Histy's OP and that's canon. I mean, she's the damn Oracle, so she should've some power to back that position up, right? Besides, she is the keeper of History, so her knowledge of Magic was near limitless. The fairy could cross dimensions and all. I found her skills from the original game to be somewhat lacking though, so I made up some skills for her to use. The one she used in this chapter is, obviously, inspired by the Hero's Journey, so she'll have an entire set of spells just based on it.
