Already mentioned this over at Keeper of Secrets, but I'll repeat it here: I'm considering delaying the updates on this story to be bi-weekly. It's still going to be weekly at the moment, but if things pick up and my spare time decreases, then I'm gonna be forced. Just gotta say that.


[7] - Re: Assemble


It's somewhat jarring really. She'd just escaped from a secret dungeon with monsters that would easily crush other adventurers. She just escaped a giant mech monster that was leagues stronger than the Fenrisulfr.

And now she was back in the Virtua Forest, killing Dogoos and the like with a single slash of her crystal daggers. The difference in danger was staggering.

But, this time,

"Hyah!"

The Dogoo shrieked as a bright pink blade smashed onto its face. It flopped onto the earth, its eyes spinning before it finally shattered into shards of light.

[Gained 5 Credits]

IF smiled faintly as Nepgear celebrated another successful victory. It was only against a normal dogoo, but a victory was a victory, she supposed.

She was in a Party with Nepgear at the moment, with all the Exp going to Nepgear and the Credits they gained being split. IF didn't really need the Exp at the moment. Not that these monsters could provide her much anyways.

Her reason for being here was simple.

[ Cross Impact* ]

50/50 monsters killed with a single cast

1/2 boss monsters killed with a single cast

Her Cross Impact had finally reached the 100% threshold, and all she needed for the rank up was another boss monster. She still needed two Cross Impacts to take out a Grandogoo, which left the weaker, but definitely rarer Horsebird Leader. The thing could fly and all, but a single Cross Impact to the head was enough to send it down.

Which was why she was tagging along with Nepgear. She'll slay the normal monsters, while she'd take out the bosses, and Nepgear would gain all the Exp.

The girl was level 4 right now, which was technically enough for her to begin venturing deeper into the Virtua Forest, but IF wanted to be careful. She herself had begun venturing in when she reached level 6, so the plan was to get Nepgear to level 6 before they began venturing deeper.

She thought getting Histoire to agree to the idea would be hard, but the fairy had agreed near immediately. She wondered why that was-

"Ms. IF! Over there!" Nepgear shouted, and IF followed where Nepgear was pointing. She grinned. There was a Horsebird Leader flying just above the trees. A perfect target.

"Just call me IF." She said for the fifth time, and Nepgear blushed. IF smiled and patted the girl on the head. She wasn't quite sure why Nepgear was so respectful to her this time, but she didn't really mind.

Holding her breath, she climbed up a nearby tree and crouched just below the leaves, locking her eyes straight at the hovering monster. She brandished her crystal knives, its blue blades beginning to glow as she filled it with SP. She took a short breath, tightened her grip, and leapt.

The Horsebird Leader spun to meet her, but it was too late by then. She'd gotten just above the thing, and she grinned as she swung her knives down.

"Cross Impact!"

A loud bang echoed through the forest as the Horsebird Leader crashed through the trees, whining weakly before it exploded into shards of light. IF gracefully landed just seconds later, and Nepgear ran up to her with a bright smile on her face. IF smiled back.

[ Cross Impact** ]

Rank: Elementary | 0%

For a whole is greater than a sum of their parts. A combination of three simple strikes, all launched in a singular moment. This skill can damage any monster type.

Costs 100 MP to cast

Strikes penetrate through (15%) of the enemies' Vit

Damage is increased by (+5%) every (5 Str) of the user

Damage is increased by (+5%) every (5 Agi) of the user

Damage is increased by (+300%) if this skill is executed with a sharp weapon

Her eyes widened. A 5% increase based on her Str and Agi? That was…awesome. Granted, her Str wasn't great, but her Agi was her magnum opus. She was getting a 20% damage increase from her Agi alone!

She grinned. Oh, this was going to be fun.

The ground shook, and IF leisurely looked to the side. A Grandogoo had arrived, its large beady eyes staring straight at her. Nepgear readied herself to fight, but IF placed a hand on her shoulder. "This guy's mine." She said, smirking.

The Grandogoo almost seemed to flinch back.

Too bad.

She leapt up to the Grandogoo's face, daggers held just under her chest as she grinned. The thing was massive, but that size meant nothing.

"CROSS IMPACT!"

Three strikes slammed onto the Grandogoo's face, and a second of silence followed before the air erupted. The shockwave of her attack shot a hole straight through the giant dogoo, and it let out a small whimper before it shattered into motes of light.

[Gained 250 Credits and x1 Grand Jelly]

Oh yeah, baby. Now that's what she's talking about!

Nepgear stared at it all in awe. She knew IF's Cross Impact was strong, but to think a single rank up increased its power by that much! No wonder Histoire called the skill amazing!

With smiles on their faces, the two continued on their way.


[ Exclusive Basilicom Card (Leanbox) ]

A card only granted to those Lady Green Heart trusts. Allows access to Leanbox and its Basilicom.

IF fiddled with the card in her hands and frowned. 'Someone Lady Green Heart trusts' was it? The Goddess barely knew her, so why would she give this away?

She sighed. It was nice that Vert trusted her so easily, IF supposed. It'd let her skip all the tedious paperwork she'd need to do to enter, and also give her full access to Leanbox's database. Not that Planeptune's database was lacking in any way, but having a new perspective to judge her abilities would be nice.

And it'd be nice to listen to 5pb. again.

She smiled slightly. Traveling to Leanbox didn't sound too bad. She was admittedly strong enough to begin traveling around Gamindustri now. She'd still be avoiding the more dangerous dungeons of course, but that was a given. She just needed some form of transportation to get around though-

…wait, she was a Veteran Smith now. Couldn't she just…make her own bike?

Ba-dump

Oh. Oh this is bad. Her heart was beating rapidly in excitement. Her imagination was starting to run wild. She didn't bother hiding her grin.

Veteran Smith helped with making weapons. A motorcycle wasn't normally a weapon, but she could make it into one. Hmm, she could add laser beams onto it. Maybe the wheels will be able to pop up spikes? She could also insert some magic crystals to give the mechanical beast some more bite.

A-Ah. This is bad. Really bad. She couldn't stop grinning. Her fingers were itching to make something, to turn this insane idea bouncing inside her head into reality.


So she did.

[ Soul Blazer ]

A magic-powered sports-bike, outfitted with many hidden functions. A certain movie legend would be proud

It took three whole days, and a bunch of her materials, and nearly drained her of all her Credits, but she made it. She hadn't stopped grinning since.

She was beginning to understand why Nepgear was so hung up on making mechs. The feeling was pure electricity.

It essentially looked like the bike she had, except its chassis was a clean black instead of blue this time. Its engine was somewhat weaker; the newer models haven't been invented yet, but its max speed was pretty much the same. It runs far longer though, courtesy of the magic stones she built into it.

But! Most importantly of all, hidden functions! She outfitted both wheels with hidden spikes, though only the front received the Earth Ripper she got from the Fenrisulfr. The engine was protected by a modified Crystal Skull. Her seat was made more comfortable, and infinitely bouncier with some hardened Grand Jelly.

Oh, and it can float as well. She placed a Horsebird Wing on each of its sides. She hadn't really tried it yet, but it should work out. If it didn't, it at least looked cool.

She was planning to add even more things onto it, but she'd need more materials for that.

She was out in the wild at the moment, grinning as she sped atop her new Soul Blazer. She didn't realize how much she missed riding her bike until she finally did, and boy did she miss it.

But this opened up another path for her to take. She could definitely make her way to Lastation now, and by proxy, anywhere else. Her plan to take a visit to Leanbox was still open, though she'd need to gather some Credits to buy herself a plane ticket.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to go. She was, admittedly, strong enough to begin moving around, but she didn't know if she wanted to.

Would she be okay? Would Nepgear be okay?

She sighed, parking right at Virtua Forest's entrance and dropping her bike into her inventory. She could think about it later, she supposed. It was time to grind some Exp.

Levelling up had, naturally, gotten harder. She practically needed to take down three Fenrisulfrs to get herself up, and as tempting as the idea sounded, she wasn't sure she could take down a Fenrisulfr on her own just yet.

…maybe she could. She had Spectral Flash now, and her Cross Impact had ranked up. Her stats had jumped up quite a bit as well. Would all that be enough?

She made it into the Inner Forests and sighed. She wouldn't know until she tried.

She began tearing through the monsters, mind stewing with uncertainty as her Exp bar slowly climbed. To fight or not to fight? She'd grown, sure, but would that be enough? There was a reason why the Fenrisulfr was regarded as a boss monster by the normal populace, after all.

Was she strong enough?

But when did that ever stop her?

She frowned slightly. It was…true, she supposed. The adversaries she faced in the future were leagues beyond her strength at that point, and she'd still fought. It might've been due to desperation, perhaps because she could do nothing but fight, but fight she still did.

She glanced at the Fenrisulfr in the distance. Her Cross Impacts had a slight stunning effect. If she could somehow catch it off guard, then she could potentially keep slamming Cross Impacts onto it until it could move no more-

She blinked. Catch it off guard. Right, she'd need speed to do that. Her Agi stat might not be fully up to the task, but who said it needed to be?

A small grin lit up her face.

After all, her new little friend could do that job for her.

She stalked her way across the platforms, taking down monsters as she went on. The sounds of her bike's engine would immediately alert the giant wolf. That was fine. That just meant she had to get close enough first.

She then stopped just a distance away from it. Cross Impact's shockwave could probably hit it from this point, but the damage wouldn't be high. She switched her title back to Wolf Slayer and got herself ready.

She took a deep breath, and let go.

The sounds of a whirring engine filled the chasm, and the Fenrisulfr quickly turned to her direction and growled-

Before a spiked wheel suddenly slammed into its face. A painful squelch sounded as the spikes dug into its head, and the wolf cried out as the spikes dug deeper and deeper.

Jumping off her bike, she stored the Soul Blazer into her inventory and shouted. "Cross Impact!"

Boom!

Fur and blood fly, and the impact of her skill was powerful enough to knock the Fenrisulfr off its legs. IF blinked, surprised at the strength, before she quickly dipped around and broke its right legs with a couple Cross Impacts. She was about to send another but quickly jumped back to avoid a burst of flames.

With a breath, she leapt back in.

"Cross Impact!" The Fenrisulfr staggered as three strikes pounded onto its side, and howled again as IF slammed another Cross Impact at the same spot. It growled, flames building in its throat, but she quickly leapt over its head and shot a Cross Impact right between its eyes.

The wolf whimpered in pain. IF smirked silently.

Her crystal daggers glowing, she activated her skill over and over, slamming Cross Impacts right onto the wound her bike caused. The wolf howled and screamed, its voice growing weaker as blood spilled onto the metal platform.

The Fenrisulfr whimpered, pained and afraid. IF said nothing as she sent one more Cross Impact, shattering its skull.

[Gained 8000 Exp, 6000 Credits, and x1 Earth Ripper]

IF huffed out a small, satisfied laugh. She did it! She needed her bike to initiate it, and her Wolf Slayer helped out massively, but still, she did it! She would've laughed loudly if she wasn't so damned tired. That single Fenrisulfr nearly drained her SP dry.

She should've gotten a quest to kill a Fenrisulfr. Would've given her a bit more Credits for the task.

This meant that she could only slay one Fenrisulfr a day though. She'd need to down about four SP Chargers to fill her MP back up, and she wasn't looking to dock herself into the hospital for another week.

She continued on her way, slaying normal monsters and slowly gaining Exp. She still needed a couple thousand more; just enough so that a single Fenrisulfr kill would level her up. It took about an hour.

Her grinding done for the day, she got on her bike and drove back home.


She returned the next day and repeated the battle. She slammed her bike's wheels onto its head, broke its legs, and then slammed Cross Impacts onto its head until it died. Once again, her MP was drained by the end of it, but she couldn't care less.

[Level up!]

Name: IF | [ Wolf Slayer ]

Lvl 12 (+1) [ 90/27500 ]

HP: 850/850 (+100) | SP: 350/1650 (+200)

Str: 15 (+2) | Vit: 13 (+1)

Int: 22 (+2) | Men: 15 (+1)

Agi: 23 (+2) | Tec: 16 (+1)

She blinked. Huh, she got a (+2) increase on her Str. She'd been fighting with her daggers for a while now, so that made sense she supposed. She just hoped that (+2) increase would be a constant thing.

She smiled slightly. She'd brought up her plans to head to Leanbox to Histoire. She didn't really mean anything to it. She just said it over dinner. The oracle had hummed, and she thought that was that.

It wasn't, because she'd been called up to the Neptower this morning, and Histoire and handed over a brand new passport and a plane ticket.

She'd just stared dumbly at the items, and Histoire giggled.

Because what? For one thing, she got all of it for free, and any attempt to pay her back was swiftly denied. She could understand her getting a plane ticket in a day, but a passport? That thing usually took weeks before it was finalized! And this was Histoire of all people! Not that she meant anything from that, but the oracle was usually rather…slow, to put it simply.

It was nice, though.

She had all her essentials packed already. She had Credits to spare, a good number of clothes, and some important documents stored in her inventory.

It was time to head to Lastation.


Yes, I know Histoire is usually slow, and that it usually happens in times related to the number three.

But this is a fanfic for a reason, and that little gimmick seems to have been retconned later on in the Neptunia franchise. That, and I'm making Histoire here a psuedo-helicopter mom, because why not.