Fyr3Flyt3: Hello Ladies and Gentleman, and welcome to the maybe 9th? chapter of Gamer Blues. This one is probably going to be really long or surprisingly short. Who knows, I haven't even written it yet. Any who, on to the story!

Previously on Gamer Blues

I MUST GET STRONGER!

And Now...

Chapter 9: In the Jungle

5:30 A.M. Ao Cottage. Tuesday. Full Moon.

You have slept in your (claimed) bed. All HP & MP had been restored!

I kinda regret claiming this couch now. Since I claimed it a week ago, I have to specifically sleep on this couch otherwise I only get a percentage back, depending on the conditions. But, hindsight is a lot like my ex-girlfriend.

Note to self: Get ex-girlfriend who's a bitch to make that joke legitimate.

Any whoozle, time for my routine.

I hopped off the couch and walked into the dimly lit kitchen. I stared out of the window, watching the sun rise in the distance. It's really pretty, ya know. The sun light coloring the sky a pale pink as the blue water glistens below. Hmmm.

Well, enough of that beautiful shit, time to get going. I poured some water into a cup and gargled it. I spit it out and reached into the fridge. I pulled out some grapes and popped them in my mouth. I walked out of the kitchen, re-entering the den area.

"[Equip: Montage]" My body glowed turquoise and my former outfit of a t-shirt and boxers were replaced by a track suit. The suit was dark blue with red accents. It had the numbers, 10-59, written on the back in white.

I got this suit from Eadard after a very successful hunting trip. As it turns out, I can give nicknames to Equipment Sets. Like my jacket and Moonfangs were labeled [Hades] and my sleep clothes were labeled [Morpheus]. I could also apparently rename attacks too.

With the quick costume switch I was ready to go. But first...

"Good Morning, Little Bird." Tori walked out of the hallway leading to her and Jei's rooms. She was dressed in her usual baby blue nightgown with her hair down.

"Good Morning, Old Man."

"Mmmh," snarky little shitling," well, I'm heading out for my training. I'll see you at 12." I started to walk out the door, but stopped. "Don't forget to bring the chess set and the cards!" She just answered back with a lazy, "Yeah,Yeah." Flippant one, that girl. Anyway, time to start. VITALITY!

I started jogging towards the town, passing by a couple of the other houses out here on the way there. Most of them were structured just like the cottage, small houses with large swathes of lands behind them. Yet strangely, only that Alexan-whatever lady actual grows stuff behind her house. And they are some damn good apples.

I reached the town in a matter of a few minutes. The training was really going well, building up my speed. I made a quick turn off Main Street, not far from Eadard's, onto Catarina Lane. I jogged a bit further until the shop came into sight. In front was a average sized woman with short brown hair. She had her hand close to the door of the building and turned it. Opening up for the morning already.

"Hey, Mrs. Mayor!" The lady looked up at me and waved, smiling back at me. She opened up the door and walked inside.

That is Mrs. Drasil, the mayor of Celstia. She is also the owner of Drasil's Bakery, the only bakery on the island with the best damn apple pie I've ever had. I don't know why the baker of the island is also the mayor but who am I to question the political situation of this small island town? She is the nicest person I've ever met. She has a short brown hair, green eyes surrounded by tiny crow's feet, and a smile as wide as the sky.

I walked in through the now open door to the bakery. Mrs. Drasil was nowhere to be seen, probably in the back starting up the ovens. I like coming here in the mornings before things really get started. It's a nice little stop before non-stop training for an entire day.

Mrs. Drasil came back from the kitchen holding a piping hot pie. My delicious apple pie. Mrs. Drasil makes one for me every afternoon, but since I don't back in town until later in the night, she just leaves it in a mini-oven to stay warm until I can get it in the morning. I plopped down at one of the tall chairs by the counter.

"Here you go Dante, an apple pie nice and ready for you."

"Thanks Mrs. Drasil" I said as I tore into my pre-exercise treat.

"Oh please, for the hundredth time, call me Barb." Yeah, Mrs. Drasil always tells me to call her that but I refuse because... well, Barb isn't short for Barbara. It's short for, and I shit you not, Rhubarb.

.

.

.

Fucking Rhubarb.

I almost choke on the pie just thinking about it. I cough out a 'Yes, ma'am' before shoveling the last of the pie into my mouth. Mrs. Drasil stood there and watched me eat. She kept wringing her hands and glancing towards the doorway. I swallowed the pie and asked, "Mrs. Drasil are you okay? You seem a bit nervous." She just looked at me and smiled.

"Oh, it's nothing hun. Now you'd best be on your way. Can't start slacking on your training" Mrs. Drasil is amazing. Not only does she give me free pies, but unlike Jei, she isn't constantly suspicious of me and even supports my dream of adventure. Maybe I should move in with her. I hopped down from the chair and headed to the door. Mrs. Drasil waved bye as I walk back out into the street. Now, time to get serious.

5:47 AM. Moonway Forest. Mezza Clearing.

I stood in the middle grass field, slowing my breathing. I only leveled up my VIT once this time. Each day, it gets harder and harder to level up as the difficulty scales with my level. The first day I got like 4 levels doing a solid run from the Cottage to the Moonway Forest entrance. Now look at me, barely eking out one level. I've given up even trying to level up my STR anymore.

I looked up at the single tree standing in the field of yellow grass. It's trunk bent backwards like a flower in the wind, the long, winding branches its closed bud. This is where I came into this world. The starting point of endless journey. Not endless in the way that it will never end, but in the way that is had no set ending.

Enough reminiscing and metapor-ing, time to do what I came here to do. I closed my eyes and smacked my hands together. I spread them out, enough room for the blue construct I knew would form.

"[Arena: Strong World]" I threw out the construct as it glowed and began to grow and encompass the entire the area in blinding sapphire light. It slowly began to fade away, revealing a massive rainforest. Greenery surrounded me on every side. Trees blocked out but only the smallest rays of light, making the jungle almost pitch black. Grunts, tweets, howls, and roars echoed through the dense forest. The beasts know of my arrival. Good.

This Arena is like Han Jee's ID Create, where I can make different 'dungeons' of different levels and type. The dungeons can be whatever I can imagine and I can imagine a lot. This particulate dungeon, Strong World, is aptly named after the One Piece movie due to the dense jungle and its residents.

" [Equip: Heracles]" Blue light glowed over me and changed me out of my track suit and into a pair of navy gi pants with a white rope tied around my waist and my torso is covered by a thin navy gi top. I got blood red padded fingerless gloves and no shoes. I'm ready rumble! Preferably in the jungle.

I leapt up above the canopy of trees. The jungle extended for miles in every direction, farther than the eye could see. In the distance, I could see a disturbance in the trees. The disturbance being they were all getting knocked over. Looks I found my dancing partner. I landed back on a tree branch.

"[Rasurar]!" I stomped my foot five times as fast as I could and vanished in a burst of speed. The world blurred into greens and browns as I descended into the forest and glided over the jungle floor. I started to slow enough to where I could touch the ground enough to kick off again. The technique's not high enough level that it can last very long, I get leg cramps and I can't see when I use it, but I just need to go in one direction right now. I should be at the area the animal is by noAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!

I flew through the air right into the center of a fight between a giant jaguar and a pack hyenas, I think? I touchdown right in front of the mega jaguar. It was basically just a giant jaguar, no other special features other than it was more yellow than I think it should be. It growled at me, rumbling the entire area around us and me. The hyenas decided that now was the time to get the fuck out of Dodge and ran yipping into the jungle. Why the hell are there hyenas in the jungle?

As I watches the hyenas run off into the thicket, the jaguar pulls its foreleg back and lets loose a powerful swipe of its paw, blowing out great winds strong enough to rip up trees. I barely reacted in time.

"[Aegis]" A large turquoise oval of Mana formed in front of me, blocking the forceful blow. Cracks began to form in the shield. "[Aegis: Tenfold]". The shield thickens becoming a thick, dark blue wall of Mana. The winds slowed until it finally stopped. As the shield fades away, I stared at the jaguar. "[Observe]"

[Construct] Paka, Queen Jaguar of the Jungle

LV: 16

HP: 400/400

Paka is the biggest and toughest animal in the entire Jungle.

She is the last of the Megapanthera onca (Giant Jaguar).

Usually she sleeps in her den, only coming out at night to occasionally hunt.

She has the strength to tear down swaths of forest with a swipe of her paw

Effect: Queen of the Jungle: Attacks do double to other, weaker animals

Tame Rate: 0% [Construct]

"Well hot flipping pancakes, you're a strong one. I'm honestly surprised that [Aegis] was even able to stand up to you, you're probably the strongest thing in the forest right now."

I looked up at the panting jaguar and pulled tight one of my gloves. Giving my most menacing smile, I said, "Let's fix that, shall we?" And like that it was on like a gorilla in tie named Donkey.

Pak swiped at me with her massive paws. I leapt out of the way of her limb, put the air waves slammed me through two trees, costing me 50 HP and wiping out all of the trees in a 20 yard radius from my former position. Paka is environmentalists' nightmare, a rare animal, destroying a rain forest. Albeit a rainforest of my own construction that doesn't actually exist and is-TAIL!

I got swept up in my own musings, and I almost got swept up by the jaguar. I hopped in the nick of time and landed on the tail as it moved back behind Paka. She looked around in the wreckage of the forest to try and find my corpse.

Maybe if I stay very still, she won't notice me.

Paka then slowly turned her head around to face me. Crapbaskets.

She whipped her tail like, well, like a whip, flinging me into the air. I flew straight up into the air, nearing the clouds. From above, I could see the path of destroyed trees her attacks had left. In the little clearing, I can see Paka. It looks like she's crouching, but her heads pointing in the air, like..she's..going to jump into the air.

.

.

She's about to jump into the air and chomp me down like dog after a thrown treat. This is somewhat degrading.

She pounced into the air, her maw wide and dark. I rolled through the air, starting to slow down and fall. I was perfectly aimed down Paka's throat. If I didn't know any better, I'd think she practiced this.

Alright, I can't go dying in my own [Arena] Tori'd never let me live it down. And I can die in here. 0 HP is 0 HP, [Arena] or not

If Paka wants to fight dans l'air, then I'll play her game. I began to rotate my body with one leg parallel to the ground as I began to spin. This was a move I had access to but never had a reason or any way to use it. Now I have both. I began to spin faster and faster as time seemed to slow around me. I could see the thick white trail of wind following my foot, creating a ring of air around my form. Paka was getting closer and closer along with the ground. I had to time this perfectly or I'm going to be Fancy Feast.

Paka was at least six yards away now, so it's time to kick that cat to the curb. Alliteration bitches.

"[Kite..." Paka slightly closed her mouth, putting me closer to her nose than her mouth. Perfect. I forced my body to stop rotating with my leg parallel to the ground, and Paka's face. The air formed a Dodgers blue blade of wind underneath my leg as I brought it down in the middle of Paka's nose.

"Guillotine]!" The blade and my leg smashed into Paka, instantly reversing all that upward momentum down. Hard. She sent up a huge cloud of debris, crushing all the trees beneath her massive body. I, on the other hand, was blown backwards into the jungle, a few hundred yards away. I crashed into a treetop and dropped down the tree, hitting every single branch on the way down.

-70 HP

Yay, now I'm down 120 points of health. I sat up from the base of the tree and leaned back on the trunk. "[Inventory]" I scrolled through all the junk I had collected: Deer Fur, Wolf Fur, Mink Fur, Rabbit Fur, Tree Branches, Scraps of Metal, Apples, Tin Cans, A Metric Shit Ton of clothes (Note: 1 Metric Shit Ton = 4 Imperial Fuck Tons), Stacks on Stacks of Books, A Gun, 4 throwing knives, and 20 pounds of assorted animal meats. I should see a butcher, I'd make a killing.

I pull out five apples and munch down on them. +50 HP restored. Apples, nature's medicine.

ROOOOOAAARRR!

Well, she sounds pissed and like she's coming this way. I don't think just fist are gonna cut it this time.

"[Moonfangs]" The trustworthy chain-scythes appeared around my arms and dropped into my hands. Nothing kills cats like scythes to the throat, 'cept curiosity.

Trees crashed as she bound through the forest. I don't want to be in her direct path when she gets here so I'll need to get higher. I glanced at the tree behind me.

"No time like the present." I ran at the tree and began to run up its perfectly vertical trunk. Special things about this tree, it is a Sube tree meaning it's as slippery as a freshly caught catfish. And catfish are disgusting slimy bastards. The only way to climb one is 1. Equipment 2. Fuck Physics 3. Naruto Tree Walk that shit. I'm doing 3.

New skill has been created

Tree Walking (Active) LV: 1

Connecting your mana to that of a living plant will allow you to walk up a tree as if it were horizontal.

Now I'll I have to do is learn Shadow Clones, The Rasengan (And its multitude of variations), and seal a giant fox in my stomach and I'm basically Naruto. More on that later, fighting a giant jaguar.

Well, giant might be pushing it. She's about the size of a double decker bus really.

I got to the top of the tree just as she smashed through it and once more I was above her. With a perfect shot at her back.

"[Shark Crescendo]!" The chains extended as I threw out the blades and slashed her back, forming a criscrossing X pattern down her back. But I'm not done yet. "[Tiger Leap]", the Fangs landed in her shoulderblades, "[Junction]!" I smashed my feet into her skull, eliciting a yowl. I launched off her head into the trunk of a tree.

"[Observe: Fragile]" The world darkened in contrast with Paka who glowed golden, with red marks on her eyes, throat, stomach, and left leg. Weaknesses. I chained up my right Fang and drew a blue line through the air. Five tennis ball sized lights formed in the air. Extra power. I focused on each red spot. Gotta make this count, used a lot of Mana on those [Aegis].

"[Pinpoint: 5x1]" SNAP. I snapped my finger and the Mana bullets flew through the air for each spots, flipping the massive beast on her back. I suddenly felt winded and stopped for a moment.

Whoo. Those Mana attacks really take it out of ya. Now, let's finish this the old fashioned way. I [Unequiped] the Fangs and ran into the massive dust cloud. I saw her, on her back, screeching like a choking canary. I kept into the air like a frog, landing on her large stomach. I beat my hands on my chest several times before bringing them both down for a powerful twin axe hand blow.

"[Gorilla Drum]!" I smashed into her stomach, sending waves through her flesh. She bellowed beneath me, trying her best to get back on her feet. Not that I'll let her. "[Beat]" I brought my hands down again, same result. "[Beat]" Again. "[Beat]" Again. "[Beat]" One more time. My hands were glowing dull white as I brought them down. Suddenly, the entire world flipped up side down with a quick roll. Paka had finally gained some leverage and straightened herself. She leapt back as I picked my self up. Her eyes were swollen shut as she whipped around a bit. She stopped and sniffed the air before looking right at me. Crabapples.

She charged blindly, thrashing her head and gnashing her teeth. I jumped back on one leg, the other at the ready to kick her teeth out. "[Alti Alberi]!" I jumped, more hopped really, high enough to deliver a strong kick to her nose, stopping her dead. I used the momentum of that kick to spin into the air and come back down with both legs. "[Alto Foresta]!" My legs became a blur of movement as I impacted her head with rapid kicks. I landed a handstand on her head after flipping with the last kick. "[Mana Shock]!" A spherical wave of Mana pulsed out from my hand, pushing Paka towards the ground. I flipped back and landed on the ground not far from her.

"[Observe: Health]" HP: 170/400

Jesus, what does it take to put her down? Alright, looks like I'm going to have to use it. My body's starting to slow down, I can feel it. The cramps are already starting. Plus, I'm kinda hungry now. Paka recovered from the attacks and came charging again. Well, at first you don't succeed, try try again, I guess. Even if it doesn't work.

Ok, first, Mana check. 200/415. Eh, that'll be enough. I cupped my hands and focused on the area between them. I could hear Paka coming and she's already close. Guess I'll screw safety precautions then. I immediately flooded the area between my hands with Mana. It swirled into a ball of pure life energy, ready to be released. I took a strong stance and began chanting. "[Kaaaaaaaaaaaameeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaameeeeeeeeeee]..." Paka leapt into the air, ready to crush me under her body. I threw my hands up into the air and released my attack. "[HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA]! ! ! ! ! !" The Turtle Wave flew through the air, barreling into Paka. The beam struggled for a bit against her weight. My entire body ached as I tried to hold the powerful beam. I pushed forward, pushing the beam against Paka. Just. A. Bit. More! "[HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA]! ! ! !" The blue wave blasted through Paka's body, piercing her heart, killing her. Her corpse dropped behind me like a very large sack of bricks. She slowly bled blue pixels until she exploded into blue light.

Well, that was tiring. I dropped to my knees, rivers of sweat flowing from my every pore.

+300 EXP

But, in the end, it was entirely worth it.

"[Status]."

Name: Clark Dante

Title: Wolfsbane (Kill 50 Greys and 3 Knights)

Level: 17 To next: 63.3% of 2,750

HP: 360/420

MP: -45/415

STR: 29

VIT: 35

DEX: 27

INT: 24

WIS: 24

LUK: 26 (-13)= 13

Effects: Bookworm: Someone's been hitting the books (+25% to EXP Gain)/ Unlucky: Some people are blessed by Lady Luck, you're not one of them (-50% LUK)/ Hard Day's Night: Sleep in peace when day is done (+20% Health Regeneration)/ Mana Drain: Too little of a good thing (Slowly lose health and slowly regen Mana)

I take it back, so not worth it. My insides feel like they're trying to twist themselves into a knot and strangle me with the resulting noose. I laid on the jungle floor, slowly dying. Knew I shouldn't have used the damn [Kamehameha] but it's so cool. Uuuuugh. Why? Every muscle contracted, making me feel like my body's being squeezed by a giant.

Around me, the Arena is slowly fading back into the regular landscape. The jungle disappeared and was replaced by the silent field. Except now, it was brighter out and Tori was standing under the tree. She stalked towards me, grimacing.

"Finally, took you long enough." She stopped before running over to me. Her hazel eyes scanned over my crippled form. "What happened?"

"Used too Mana. Dying now." Then I realized something. "Why you here? Too early."

"No it's not. It's 1:30, you're late." 1:30? That can't be right, it was 6-ish, maybe, when I went in. Unless...

"Fuck."

"What? Something wrong?"

"Messed up Time Dilation again." I always fuck up the Time Dialation [Arenas]. Sometimes they go to fast, sometimes they go to slow. The first one I tried had me trapped for three days inside when only two hours passed outside. That was a bad time.

"Wow, way to go smart guy."

"Shut up, Little Bird."

Fyr3Flyt3: Sup Ladies and Gents. Boy am I sorry. I haven't posted since last year. Haha. That's a little time humor. But seriously, I'm sorry. I lost track of time not mention Semester exams, Christmas Break, New Year's, writer's block and pure, unadulterated laziness. I messed up. Plus, the preview of what was supposed to be in this chapter is no longer accurate. This chapter was running a little long, so I'm splitting it. I wanted to introduce you guys to the lovely Drasil Rhubarb, because she's going to be important, and to show how Dante progressed over a two week timeskip. Yeah, there was a timeskip if you didn't notice. The states of the moon change the same amount they would in two weeks.

You're probably thinking right now, "Fyr3, doesn't Dante seem a little overpowered" to which I answer, no. Remember, for Dante, the world operates like a video game. And what happens to enemies as you level up? They scale up with you. Plus, he is just fighting wolves, whom will come up next chapter, and his own constructs. And someone else. No one really difficult to fight. Paka has been his biggest challenge yet. That'll change soon.

Now, before I go on to reviews, I would like to note that while I was being lazy I was also planning for the far future of this story. So, ya know, I wasn't completely lazy. But again, sorry. On to the reviews.

DarkLord98: I'm starting to notice an animal theme with Dante's attacks, is that just a coincidence or foreshadowing?

Fyr3Flyt3: Neither. It's just the names of his attacks have an animal theme. They only have an animals theme because I named his first ever skill [Tiger Leap] and just rolled with the animals thing. Not every single on has an animals theme, just the ones from [Dance of the Beasts].

gamelover41592: This was great work on this chapter, well worth the wait :)

Fyr3Flyt3: I'm glad you think so. I honestly don't think it's that good, but people seem to enjoy it and I enjoy writing it. So thanks.

starelight: This is an awesome story! I am not pulling your leg! I read all 8 chapters in one go and I love your story! I really like where it is going and it's so funny! I have laughed so hard! I am looking SSSUUUUPPPEERR excited for the next chapter! Please keep up the awesome work and I hope your hand feels better :) update soon.

Fyr3Flyt3: D'aaaaww, thanks. My hand feels great, thanks! I did not update soon, but I'm doing it now.

Guest: Good work, I hope Tori's mom is not a recurring theme but u r the writer do what u want.

Fyr3Flyt3: Thanks, I shall do what I want. On the topic of Tori's mom, well, you'll see. Maybe.

BBWulf: Huh. Pretty cool.

Fyr3Flyt3: Thanks, I try.

funnyman: And the trope of our hero's relentless pursuit of overconfidence and clichéd move sets continues as he gets beat within an inch of his life by a pack of dogs. Good job Dante, you have the ego of a blimp! Big and easy to take down!

I probably would too.

Fyr3Flyt3: Yeah, Dante doesn't really think things through. Kinda just goes for it. But what did you mean by clichéd move set?

So there you go, Chapter 9, In the Jungle. Chapter 10, It's All Fun and Games, which I already knows how it goes, will be out by Monday. But, I procrastinate so, take that with a dash of salt. Until Next Time. Bye.

Side note: Dodgers blue is a shade of blue. Look it up, it's a very nice color.

Thanks to DarkLord98 for beta-ing.