"Fufufu…" I can still remember the feeling of her hand grabbing at my internal organs, as she squeezed tightly on my intestines. The painful feeling of my body starting to shut down slowly due to blood loss.
Her giggles and moans of ecstasy at my suffering, sound out repeatedly. This nightmare never seems to end. "I'll kill you…"
"Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…"
-p!
"Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…"
-ke up!
"Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…Fufufu…"
Wake up!
Chapter 4
Waking up in a coughing fit, I find my arms connected to the wall in chains. "What the…" Looking back up to eye level, I find my eyes meeting the soft eye's of my sole shadow. "Aren't you…supposed to be d-dead?"
She tilts her head at my question, not giving me an answer as she disappears into my shadow.
"Finally awake?" The voice of the maniac reaches my ears, I feel my body fill with fear as he comes into sight. "Oh, Yes, Yes! I do believe introductions are in order. Ahem! In the Witch Cult, I am the Sin Archbishop representing Sloth, Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti! DES!"
His head tilts all the way to the right, but he doesn't seem affected by the unnatural position of his head. "As I have diligently introduced myself…I do believe it is your turn, yes?"
New Quest!
Behold, Insanity!
Objective - Escape the Witch Cult (0/1)
Optional Objective -
Kill Petelgeuse (0/1)
Kill Witch Cultists (0/10)
Rewards - 1000 Exp, 10 AP, 20 Holy Dragon Coins
Optional Rewards - 10000 Exp, 50 AP, New Title, Gospel, New Quest
Failure results in Death
Quest is automatically accepted
Ignoring the screen pop-up, I choose to humor the madman with a response. "...W-What?..You want to know…my name?" He answers my question with a nod, impossible as it may have been. "...I, I'm Ren. But what do you want…with me? And where am I?" I ask hesitantly. 'Oi, Elsa.'
"Yes. Of course! How slothful of me, to keep you ignorant in these matters, my own Sloth is to blame! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" Putting his head back into the correct position, he gets on his knees and starts slamming his head on the floor. I feel the shadow inside of me respond to my call. 'Do you still have your stealth ability?'
Looking on as he continues to Slam his head onto the ground, he suddenly stops, opting to pace around mumbling something as he bites down on his fingers. I don't receive an answer from my shadow, instead I feel her disappear and possibly start exploring, thankfully unnoticed by the Sin Archbishop…Whatever that means.
Clearing my throat, I get his attention once more. "...You were saying?"
"Oh, Yes, Yes! The Gospel's Instructions have led us to you, Pride to Be!" Pride? As in the sin? Why me? And what is a gospel? "Have you not received a Gospel?"
"Gospel? What is that?" For the first time, a negative expression appears on the Archbishop's face.
"Hmm…For one as starved of Her Love as yourself, I suppose it makes sense." Shit! Now he's looking at me weird, weirder than before.
"Her Love?"
"Yes, Her Love!" He starts to incessantly yell about it, not that I understand anything he's saying. Now he's clawing away at his face…but it's enough time for me to open up my status menu.
Status
Name: Ren Fujimura
Level: 46 [475/650]
Job: Shadow Monarch - Lvl 0/10
Title: N/A
HP: 2350/2350
MP: 1275/1275
STR: 49
AGI: 46
END: 46
INT: 46
WIS: 46
AP: 60
Investing all of my AP into Int, a new screen appears in front of me.
INT has reached 100, Choose a skill as a reward
Mana Battery - Passive Skill - Quadruple MP max capacity, increase MP regen by 100%
Or
Smart, Smarter, and Smartest - Passive Skill - The Player's IQ is raised to 400…That's it
'Really? That's it? The system has to be messing with me.' Selecting the first skill, I start what I had planned. "Oi! Petelgeuse! You know what I think? I think you don't deserve her love! Her love will be all mine!" My goading seems to work well as he goes ballistic.
"What did you say?!" He poses strangely, but I can guess what he's doing, he's using his invisible attacks.
"Bloodlust! Now, Elsa!"
Bloodlust Successful
Out from the shadows comes Elsa, knives in hand as she plunges her knives into his back. "But…My unseen ha-..." Whatever he was saying was cut short as I used Ruler's Authority on the knives I summoned from my inventory to stab him in the heart. Elsa doesn't bother showing any remorse, as she chops his head off, confirming the kill.
Shadow Elsa has defeated Archbishop of Sloth, Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti
Elite Knight Shadow "Elsa" has evolved into General Shadow
Sloth Witch Factor Obtained
Quest Completed!
Level Up x 14!
Shadow Monarch has Leveled Up!
Quest Completed!
Shop Unlocked!
Skill Learned!
'She got the Exp for that kill?…So he was still alive even with a knife in his heart, tough bastard…I'll look at those other things later.' Trying to stand, I remember that I'm still stuck in chains. "Get me out of these chains, will ya?"
"Right away, My liege." …Did she just..?
I feel my bindings release as I continue staring at the now vocal Elsa. Memories of my first day start flowing in, the agonizing pain I went through is still remembered clearly. "Is everything alright my liege?"
Punching her in the face, I glare at her fiercely. "Who the hell said you could speak?!"
She only gives me a confused stare, before she starts speaking again. "I understand you may have bad memories associated with me, My Liege, but I can assure you that I will protect you with my life, no matter who I may have been bef-"
"Shut up! I don't remember asking for your opinion, so be a good shadow and get me out of here quietly."
"Understood, follow me, My Liege." Is she not listening?
"Tch…" I stop in front of the dead body of the maniac, and attempt to extract. "Arise."
Shadow Extraction Successful
Normal Shadow - Lvl 1/10
'What? But he was strong before?' Canceling the Extraction, I continue following my killer out of this room. Out the door are stairs leading up, going up, I find bodies littered all over the floor. 'At least she did this. Too bad they're terrorists, could've used an army of them.'
Continuing to walk behind her, we finally make it out of the building. A safe house perhaps, they were terrorists after all. Turning towards my only shadow, I sigh in annoyance. "...Why did you have to learn how to speak?"
"I don't understand? I have always known how to speak." Everytime I hear her voice, I can only think about my death.
This fear you have of her is ridiculous, Ren. She is subservient to you, she'd sooner die than let you be hurt.
I scoff at the sudden return of the system moderator. 'Oh, great. Now you come back? To defend my killer no less, first my memories and now this?'
…
'Just do your job, System. I don't need your second opinion.' Focusing on Elsa again, I unfortunately have to talk to her. "Follow me Shadow, and what did I say about talking?" I spit out the word shadow with so much hatred, it's almost palpable.
Job: Shadow Monarch (1/10)
Job Skills
Shadow Extraction
Shadow Preservation - Capacity 1/50
'It must have evolved since I'm finally past level 50.' Closing the sub window, I look at my new status.
Status
Name: Ren Fujimura
Level: 60 [70/1045]
Job: Shadow Monarch - Lvl 1/10
Title: N/A
HP: 3050/3050
MP: 14100/14100
STR: 63
AGI: 60
END: 60
INT: 120
WIS: 60
AP: 95
I'm tempted to raise my Int to 200, but decide against it. Closing the status menu, I open a new tab, the shop.
Shop
Search: Spell Book
Sort By:
Price(Low-High)
Mana Control For Dummies
Price: 50 Copper
Mana Attack
Price: 75 Copper
…
The 6 Elemental Spells (Re:Zero)
Price: 1 Silver
…
Echidna's Book of Magic (AN: Not the Tome of Wisdom)
Price: 5 Holy Dragon Coins
(Item is Currently on Sale)
Buying these four books, I put them in my inventory for later. Bored of walking, I sit down to rest for a bit.
"Nyx, are you there?" Calling out to my now named contracted spirit, she appears in front of me. "Ah, there you are. Sorry if I worried you, thankfully all's well, that ends well." My spirit friend bounces around in joy and happiness at my wellbeing.
"Hopefully soon enough you'll grow into a quasi-spirit, so that we can communicate with each other. It would be a whole lot better company than what I already have." It seems to nod in determination and anticipation, not noticing my diss at both my shadow and system.
Standing back up, I continue walking through the planes, towards the only landmark I can see, Flugel's Tree.
It's been a few days since my capture and escape, I've been living off cheap shop meat and bottled water. Now if only I had an actual bed to sleep on.
Just one more day of walking…
Lifaus Highway
I'm finally here, and there's something unexpected. A Dungeon.
Dungeon of the Tree Elves
Recommended Level: 30 - 150
Would you like to enter?
[Y] - N
Well it's either out here, or in there. Selecting Yes, my surroundings start to warp, the barren planes replaced by an overgrown forest.
Obtain 500 Souls to reach Floor 2
[0/500]
'How ambiguous, so I need to kill things?' "Shadow, Go do your job, I'm taking a nap." Finding a suitable enough tree, I lay my back against it as I start to rest.
After a few minutes, I open my eyes to make sure that Elsa is well and truly gone. Standing up, I start making my way opposite of where she went.
The forest seemed to go on and on, never ending. Walking for who knows how long, I finally encountered something. The sounds of battle. Activating Stealth, I jump up onto one of the tree branches, I start to observe the confrontation between elves and mabeasts. Seven Elves and a shit ton of Mabeasts, staying where I am, I watch the fight unfold.
'Hoh? ...That's too bad, two down already.' The battle seems to only grow worse for the elves, as they lose both their healer and spellcaster. Without their mages, their formation crumbles under the sheer amount of Mabeasts.
Choosing to intervene now, I jump down in the middle of the Mabeasts. "Shamak." I take away the senses of every wolgarm in range, equipping my Kukri Knives, I start to massacre the unaware beasts. I don't let the fact I have never killed anything before bother me as I finish off the rest of the Mabeasts.
Once the spell clears, I look around for any more Mabeasts. My eyes land on the closest elf, rushing towards them, I swing my knife at the wolgarm behind them.
Putting the knives back into my inventory, I extend my hand to the only blonde elf I managed to save. "Are you alright?"
She doesn't respond, perhaps a language barrier? Wait, that's not it. "You…are a human?" I guess it would be weird meeting a human in a place only inhabited by elves.
"Yes, I suppose I am. My name is Ren Fujimura, and you are?" Asking for her name, I give her a kind smile.
"...I'm Zelda."
To Be Continued…
Damn it all…Where is copyright when you need it? No, the dungeon is not The Legend of Zelda world, and it's not like I haven't shown a character from another verse before.
Looking at you Bazett.
To The Unfortunate Wanderer, I have uploaded both of the pre-rewritten stories, probably won't update any of them.
Ren seems to be quite the asshole, who could've thought? Me, that's who. Well, every character has its flaws, especially in the Re:Zero verse.
That last thing he bought, Echidna's Book of Magic, is not the ToW. I made that clear before, but in order to not cause confusion, I shall now explain what it actually is. It is every spell Echidna has ever made, including Shario, Iykyk.
Also, Like I said, Elsa will not be missed, why? Because she's not going anywhere. Shadows don't die, lol.
Did Guese die too fast? I think it actually was a reasonable way for him to die. Remember that one loop where Wilhelm took him down in one hit? It all happened too quickly for him to have reacted quick enough. That's just me though, other fights won't be the same, unless they're not a match for Elsa.
Also, Guese wasn't able to become a shadow, cuz he possesses people and doesn't have a physical body. He's dead though, and as a spirit, he went back to od laguna…I think that's what happens at least.
While I'm at it, can I just say how fucking annoying it is having to deal with lore and important characters? Al and the Witch Cult especially, they're all so confusing and barely any info is known about most of them. Still love Rezero though.
Also, these Elves are Re:Zero Elves, but also still "NPCs".
Now, onto the Status.
Status
Name: Ren Fujimura
Level: 60 [70/1045]
Job: Shadow Monarch - Lvl 1/10
Title: N/A
HP: 3050/3050
MP: 14100/14100
STR: 63
AGI: 60
END: 60
INT: 120
WIS: 60
AP: 95
Skills
Lide's Blessing of Longevity - Lvl Max
Lide's Blessing of Literacy - Lvl Max
Stealth - Lvl 1/10
Sprint - Lvl 1/10
Bloodlust - Lvl 1/10
Ruler's Authority - Lvl 2/10
Shamak(Spirit) - Lvl 3/10
Magic Shield(Spirit) - Lvl 3/10
Observe - Lvl 1/10 - Shows Target's Status
Shamak - lvl 2/10 - Costs 25 - ? MP, depending on range
Enhance(Yang) - lvl 1/10 - Increases Strength and Durability of an object. ie. A sword, or your own body. - Costs 100 MP - Duration 10 Min
Fura - Lvl 1/10 - Costs 20 MP - Deals 80 Damage
Huma - lvl 1/10 - Costs 5 MP per shard - Deals 50 Damage
Goa - lvl 1/10 - Costs 25 MP - Deals 100 Damage
Dona - lvl 1/10 - Cost 50 - ? MP Depending on the construct
Healing Magic - lvl 1/10 - Cost 10 MP per Second - Heals 25 HP per second
Mana Control - Lvl 4/10 - Increases Magic Damage by 14% and Magic Resistance by 20%
Mana Attack - Costs 10 MP - Shoots a ball of mana from your palm that deals 10 Damage.
Authority of Sloth - ??? - ???
Relationships
Emilia - 25/100 - She feels indebted to you
Felt - 30/100 - She is concerned for your wellbeing
Reinhard - 20/100 - He is concerned for your wellbeing
Bazett - 40/100 - She is worried sick for you.
Shadow Elsa - 99/100 - She would die for you, but is confused by your attitude towards her
??? - 10000/100 - ???
Inventory
Gospel x 1
Random Loot Box x 8
Status Recovery x 8
Kukri Knives x 2
Holy Dragon Coins/HDC x 14
Gold Coins x 99
Silver Coins x 97
Copper Coins x 43
100 Copper is 1 Silver, 100 Silver is 1 Gold, and 100 Gold is 1 HDC. Kinda like terraria. Also he's missing a few coins cuz he bought food and water.
That's all folks, lmk if I missed anything. Buh-Bye!