Prologue: Tutorial Level

Leon Fou Bartfort ponders how things had led up to him lying down in a dungeon, after falling through a hole from the floor above. Maybe it was his sister's fault, for trying to sneak into a dungeon and dragging him along. Maybe it was the evil bitch's fault, for bringing them to the demi-human lands to buy a slave. Maybe it was his father's fault for betting money on the Bunshin Tournament and winning an amount that the bitch demanded for her use.

Or maybe it was his own fault, for telling his dad that the mysterious Masked Knight that showed in the tournament would be the winner.

Nah it was definitely his father's fault. What responsible adult believes the word of a 10-year-old on such things?

As to why Leon knew that the Masked Knight would win the tournament: it was all because of an Otome Game. Leon was what you would call a reincarnator, awakening to past memories around 5 years ago, for some reason. Prominent among his memories was an otome game called Arcane/World Impact. Strange name for a dating sim targeted to a female audience, but it had supposedly been a gaming company's attempt to expand their market reach.

Why he was playing that game in the first place wasn't relevant right now. However, it did allow him to identify certain aspects of the world he was currently in that matched the game in his memories. One of the details was the mysterious Masked Knight, a character with sporadic but often enough appearances, whose supposed initial claim to fame was winning the Bunshin Tournament he first appeared in. Normally not a detail Leon would have memorized, but whenever the character appeared to assist, he said it every. Single. Time.

Realizing he was just spending time remembering dumb memories, Leon finally decided it was time to get up and start looking for a way out. Miraculously, he hadn't broken anything due to the fall and his clothing was undamaged with just a bit of dirt. Same couldn't be said for his short sword, something standard for this world even for children. It must have tumbled out of the sheath during the fall and snapped when it hit the ground. Still, a broken sword was better than no sword so Leon placed what was left of it back into the sheathe he wore. The small pouch he carried fared better, with no tears and managed not to spill its contents.

Climbing back up the hole he fell from was a no go, considering how small he was. He hoped Claire was already on her way back to the village to get some help. Normally, someone hoping to get rescued should stay where they are to make it easier to be found, but Leon recognized the area he fell in. Thanks to the same memories of the otome game, Leon recognized them as the walls of a tunnel leading to a certain in-game cash-shop.

Why did an otome game have a cash-shop? Again, a gaming company originally known for making tactical RPG's tried salvaging an old unpublished work into an Otome Game. They may have forgotten to tweak the difficulty of the combat segments for the game's new genre. Whose demographic was less inclined to want to deal with that sort of stress. Controversy of the decision aside, it somehow worked, even if the items' themes didn't match the game's setting.

Either way, this was Leon's chance to confirm if the cash-shop even existed in the actual world based on the game. With luck he might find a better way out, or if he got really lucky, one of the cheat-items themselves.

A futuristic doorway greeted Leon after a short walk through the tunnel. Thankfully open. Almost tripping inside due to excitement, Leon was greeted to the site of a scientific laboratory. A familiar computer screen and controls filled one side of the room, as well as glass tubes filled with liquid were scattered around the room. He tried to find what constituted an on button to get access to the system. Turned out it was less of a button and more of a giant touchscreen panel.

Weirdly enough, the first thing that popped-up when the screen turned on was the language setting option. Scrolling through the options, Leon recognized some of the other languages but thankfully Japanese was select-able. The home screen came up and as expected, kanji and other Japanese alphabet filled the labels of the icons. Leon tried using the search feature to find a map of the place and hopefully a way out.

"Interesting." A voice spoke in Japanese.

The computer screen came to life. A 3D model of a DNA rotated on the screen... as well as Leon's picture? When did that happen?

"Based on your actions," a voice that sounded close to a young male teenager came from the computer. "You really do understand Japanese. Yet you're clearly a New Human-Oh? What's this?" A portion of the DNA model separated and enlarged. "Old Human DNA! How interesting!"

Leon had no idea what the new voice was talking about. "Are you- an A.I.?"

"You even know what an A.I. is!" The voice cheered. "Most would assume I'm just a dungeon spirit or magical creature. Do you know what A.I. means?"

"Artificial Intelligence?"

"Such a smart child! Did you learn that from your parents?" While true, the AI didn't have to sound so patronizing. Even if Leon was currently physically a 10-year old, he was already past 20 when he died!

"No," Leon tried to not let his annoyance show. "This might be hard to believe, but long story short: I may look like a 10 year old but my soul is Japanese. 'Rice and Miso is Justice', if those words mean anything to you."

"Soul…" the voice was silent for a few seconds, which was a lifetime for an AI. "By that, you mean the concept of reincarnation?"

Leon shrugged. "Sure I guess."

"Do you remember the war?" The voice sounded solemn.

"War? Only those in the history books," a puzzled Leon answered. "The Japan I came from wasn't in direct war with any country. I was born in a peaceful era and was your typical salaryman."

"The fact you still talk about countries at war means you come from more primitive times than I expected."

"Yeah, I still have no idea what you mean," the AI could have gone without the 'primitive' though. "I'm not even sure I'm from the same world you think I'm from. To me, this world was just an Otome Game." explained Leon.

"Otome. Game." the AI repeated with a hint of disbelief.

"A dating simulation game. Not even a good one since it needed shitty pay-to-win items to balance the game mechanics," Leon couldn't help but laugh at the memory of playing the game before his death. "Doubt it got great reviews."

"Sounds like nonsense. However," the DNA model disappeared from the screen and was replaced with a full body scan of Leon. Again, when did that happen? "The fact you understand Japanese plus your genetic information. I can only repeat myself… Interesting."

"If it helps, the existence of this place is proof itself. This is supposed to be the cash-shop of the otome game."

"I don't know whether to be amazed or disappointed as a source of those supposed 'shitty pay-to-win items'."

Okay, so maybe ranting about that was a terrible idea in hindsight.

"Of which I have none," the AI dropped the bombshell.

"WHAT?!" screeched Leon, which he blamed on his prepubescent voice. "But you're supposed to have all these sci-fi stuff! Did someone take all of them already?!"

"Negative," the AI stated plainly. "Authorization for any equipment to be brought out of the lab lies solely for Old-Humans. If you mean a list of items that can be produced, there is one."

The screen changed once more, displaying icons of various equipment that looked very, very familiar to Leon.

"Those are the shi- cash shop items!" Leon caught himself. "You said produced, right? You can make them!"

"Affirmative. Though I would require the appropriate material to do so. Here, let me display the material and amounts needed underneath each item."

Leon wanted to bang his head on the console. Listing the amounts with the icon perfectly matched the paid currency. It just made it look even more like a cash-shop!

Oblivious to Leon's internal screaming, the AI continued his explanation. "Unfortunately the resource I would need to produce these items is a very specific material. Normally a converter would allow natural resources to be used, but you would need the same material to make one in the first place," the icon of the converter was enlarged just to emphasize his point. "I doubt you would know of it as its discovery was far into the future from the time you should be from."

"That's what you think!" Leon was ready to prove this cocky AI wrong.

He brought up the pouch he kept on him and dumped its contents on the console. Nondescript blocks except for a blue tinge that emanated from its edges. Blocks that perfectly matched the icons of the cash shop. Or apparently in-universe, the material needed to construct the pay-to-win items.

"Amazing," the AI sounded genuinely impressed. "You managed to find a good amount of programmable matter. I don't recall any signs that the local population are aware of what these are. Nor do they have items made of the material. Are they common where you're from?"

"Nah, most think they're just dungeon loot you can find. Mostly worthless as they can't seem to do anything with them. Well, except maybe this," Leon took two blocks, channeled a small amount of lightning magic, and pressed the two blocks together. They eventually merged into a single piece like they were glued together. "Even then, what adventurers manage to get from a dungeon aren't enough to be used to craft anything practical. A collector's item at best." Channeling another lightning spell split the blocks apart again.

Leon got these as a bribe/reward from his dad for the betting information. Only because someone had bet on the tournament using these materials and was part of the winnings. Probably a way for his dad to ease his conscience for using his son's information to win, and not really give a child real money from gambling. There were worse parenting decisions.

"Of course those New-Humans wouldn't be able to use it properly. Without the proper technology to manipulate it, they're as good as paperweights," A panel beside the touchscreen opened revealing an empty compartment. "You can put the materials in here for processing."

"Wait a minute, bucko," Leon quickly shoved the blocks back in his pouch. "I'm not going to just give this to you. They're worthless to the 'New-Humans' you talk about but I know how much they're really worth. And it looks like I have a lot of choices to pick from."

"Truly interesting," the AI sounded amused. "Your claim to be more than just a child seems to hold true. Not only were you aware of the value of keeping those materials, but your greedy expression is not one you see on children. Only a scumbag adult can make such a face."

"Shut it you overly descriptive AI! You know what? I don't have to take this from you."

Leon manipulated the touch screen and brought up the option he was looking for. Fingers flew over the keyboard as he entered the appropriate information and hit the confirm button.

"Confirmed," declared the AI as Leon's image was once again on the screen. A profile picture of himself was blown up along with some physical data about him. Just when did the computer have time to put that together?! He only entered his name when registering!

"Leon Fou Bartfort has requested command of Research AI - 70667. Current rank and known training puts Leon Fou Bartfort in lowest priority of the command structure. No known surviving personnel above Leon Fou Bartfort. Promoting Leon Fou Bartfort to Commander. Confirmed, sufficient Old-Human DNA detected. Self-destruct sequence aborted."

Leon was about to cheer his success until the AI mentioned the last part. "Self-destruct?!" his voice once again reaching heights allowed by prepubescent age.

"Yes," the AI simply answered as if he wasn't planning on committing double-suicide. "One of my directives is to self-destruct if I were to be stolen by New-Humans. Luckily, your Old-Human DNA manages to circumvent this directive."

If it was any other time, Leon felt like he should look more into this Old-Human vs New-Human thing the AI keeps talking about.

"But this place is mine now?"

"Technically it's under ownership of the Old-Human government, but yes. This spaceship is yours to command, Master Leon."

"Yes! Wait- spaceship?!"

Normally, this world only had the concept of airships seen in most fantasy games. They were powered by float stones and used propellers and sails to fly. A futuristic spaceship certainly stood out.

"Indeed," a 3D image of a spaceship appeared on the computer screen. Leon was familiar with this one at least. It was one of the items he bought in the cash shop when the world was just a game. "Congratulations on your command, Master. At age 10 no less. You may be the youngest ever to receive such a commission."

"Yey," Leon cheered in monotone. "I'll deal with that later. This means you have to obey me now."

"Such is my directive," Finally, maybe this would improve the AI's attitude with him. "As the newly promoted commander, Master Leon, I am now obligated to report on elven personnel entering the base," footage of elves walking through the entrance of the dungeon played on screen.

A second window popped up, showing the entrance of the dungeon where Leon could see his family members arguing with the elves. By the looks of it, they wanted to enter but the elves weren't letting them.

"Finally a rescue party."

"Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case, Master," A speaker icon appeared on the screen of the elves walking through the dungeon.

The child managed to reach as far as the labs?

Something tripped the alarm at the entrance. It could just be a monster or it could be the child.

Tch… unfortunately we can't let information about the labs leak out. Even if no one will take a child seriously.

Then we kill him if he did make it that far, and say he died due to the dungeon.

The elves said more but Leon didn't need to hear any further. They were going to kill him!

"Such a disappointment from former creations of Old-Humans. Though it's not surprising some would turn feral over the years."

"You can be disappointed later! They want to kill me for finding you!" Leon frantically scrolled through the touch screen trying to find a way to protect himself. "Is there a way out of here?"

"Unfortunately the secondary exit has long collapsed. The only other exit is through the main entrance you came from. Which is most likely where the elves will be coming."

Leon swore not suitable for a child. "You said there was a spaceship?! I'll use that to escape!"

"The spaceship has long been moored and placed in maintenance mode. While the power core is still active, the rest of the system has long been rendered non-functional."

"Defenses then? You should have some!"

"Normally the point defense units could be deployed, but again, due to lack of resources, they have not been properly stocked," the AI said matter-of-factly. "Not even the amount of material you have on-hand is enough to bring them to functionality."

Leon had almost forgotten about those. He hurriedly poured the contents of his pouch into the receiving compartment. "I should be able to get something with this amount to defend myself with!"

"Calculating amount," the AI said too slowly and calmly for his taste. "Replicable item found."

The computer screen displayed… a short sword.

"Seriously that's it?!" whined Leon. "Not even a pistol?!"

"The body of one could be made, but there is neither ammo nor energy packs available. It would be better used as a bludgeon."

"They have rifles! I can't bring a sword to a gunfight!"

"Agreed, Master. Your current stature would not help either."

Okay, even Leon could admit that his current physical body of a 10 year old wouldn't help. But it was annoying if someone else pointed it out. Even if he boosted himself with magic, only trained dark knights could outspeed a gunslinger with a sword.

Leon was clutching his head in despair, trying to think of a way out when the AI decided to be helpful.

"While the material you have right now isn't enough to create a proper weapon," A panel on the console opened and a small device popped up. "There are other methods."

"I'll bite, what's this?" Leon picked up the device slightly bigger than his childish hands.

"A Standard Logistics Integrated Moldable Equipment," the words appeared on the screen.

"Why does it spell 'SLIME'?" Leon deadpanned.

"I didn't name it, Master," the AI elaborated. "A device that can convert programmable matter into a nano-suit. It also allows further shaping to provide assistance in the user's tasks."

A helpful graphic showed the outline of Leon's body slowly covered by black material until it shaped into a suit. The graphic extended its arm causing a robotic claw to form past his hand.

"It's a Slime Suit," groaned Leon. "Whatever, if it helps get out of here alive." He picked up the device and shoved it inside the compartment containing the programmable matter. The device sucked in all the materials and felt heavier than it did before. "You sure this is enough to make a slime suit?"

"For a standard infantry personnel? It wouldn't be. But for a child your size, it would be enough."

If he lived through this, Leon would have words with this AI.

"Put the device to your chest and it will do the rest.".

Leon did as instructed and he felt the device secure itself to his clothing. As the AI showed earlier, black nanomachines spread out from the device until it completely covered him from head to toe. He felt momentarily blind and suffocated, until the material around his eyes turned transparent and he found he could breath normally through the material.

"I look stupid," Leon's real-time image was projected on the screen and he was basically a black silhouette all over. Except for his visible eyes.

"As I stated earlier, the material you had on hand is barely able to create a full suit for your size," the AI's voice sounded like it came from an earpiece instead of the console's speakers. "There is not enough material for further shaping, but a full suit should be enough to supplement your physical attributes to match even a New-Human adult. Without magic though."

"My magical training should be enough to boost myself."

"An unpleasant trait inherited from Old-Humans but an asset for now," the monitor once more displayed the elves walking through the dungeon. "They are approaching the last corridor towards here, Master Leon."

"Crap need to think of something quickly," Leon tried to find what other advantages he could use.

Fighting head on would still be suicide as the suit barely leveled the playing field. Well, if he couldn't fight like a knight, it was time to fight like a shadow.

When the elves reached the entrance of the lab, they confirmed that the trip wire alarm had indeed been set off. Entering the lab however, they didn't see anyone inside.

"Check the area," the lead elf ordered the two others. "Find the boy or whatever tripped the alarm."

He made sure his voice could be clearly heard. If it was the boy that was here, then he would believe he was being rescued and reveal himself. Then they would just escort the boy outside the lab area and execute him there. No one could know about this lab. Their chance to revive the glory of the Elvan Empire.

The lab was suddenly pitch black as all the lights turned off. "Who turned off the lights?!"

"Not us!" he heard one of the other elves shout.

The elf quickly turned on a flashlight, and saw another one light up. And no other.

"Where'd Froder go?" the other elf asked.

The lead elf waved his light around in search of the missing elf. He heard a yell and saw the flashlight the other was holding clatter to the ground.

"What in the Saintess?!" he raised his rifle. "Caron! Stand up!"

He was only greeted with silence. Realizing that they were being attacked, the elf frantically searched around for the culprit. A clang behind him caused him to turn around and blindly fire his gun.

His light showed he shot at nothing.

Lowering his gun, he tried to find the cause of the sound when a blinding pain shot through the lower half of his body. His legs gave out as his body curled in pain. He barely had time to feel the blow to head before the darkness swallowed him completely.

"Fantastic performance, Master!" The AI praised Leon. "Hiding in the shadows and taking them down one-by-one, such an elegant display!"

"If you're so impressed, maybe you could've helped me drag them outside the door!"

"Unfortunately I have no remote body available."

"Whatever," Leon sighed in annoyance. "They won't stay unconscious for long and I have to get out of here before they wake up. You can lead me out right?"

"Yes, I can guide you remotely through your SLIME suit. But once you leave the dungeon, you will be out of transmission range."

"Well that sucks. I just got you," it would probably be years before he could come back here. "Even if you're the only working thing here. What's the point of being a commander of a broken spaceship?"

"Correction, Master. The ship is non-functional due to lack of materials. Given enough, it could be activated to proper functionality."

Leon could only sigh. It wasn't something he could do in the near future, but at least there was still the option.

"Something to work for I guess. For now," Leon finished entering his new password. "Time to lock down this base. You sure no one will be able to get in?"

"Affirmative. With a living commander, it is possible to secure the facility until authorized. But before you do so, Master…"

A panel on the ground opened and a blocky item floated out. It looked almost like an art piece, if it wasn't constantly moving.

"What's this?"

"A long range receiver."

"I thought you didn't have materials available."

"This programmable matter has already been assigned a function. It can no longer be used for anything else. It can, however, be used to augment your suit. Simply touch the item and its functions will be added."

Leon did as instructed and watched in amazement as the whole item flowed like a liquid towards him. His suit felt just a bit thicker than before.

"With this, I will be able to maintain contact even outside this dungeon. It will also allow me to send the necessary commands to manipulate any more programmable matter you obtain."

His eyes widened as Leon realized the implications. "A portable cash shop!" he cheered.

"A crude description, but correct."

Looks like getting lost in this dungeon was worth something after all.

Once the lookdown was complete, Leon left the unconscious elves outside the entrance and followed the AI's directions out of the dungeon. Along the way, a thought occurred to him.

"Uh, hey." Leon tried to get the attention of the AI.

"Yes, Master?"

"Do you already have a name or do I need to give you one?"

"Indeed I do. The designation assigned to me is 'Cid'."

"Cid?" repeated Leon. "That mean something? Like 'Central Intelligence Device'?"

"Pfft," why did the AI- Cid have to laugh like that? "Please consult me in the future before you name anything else, Master."

"Hey!"

"I'm simply Cid. A name, nothing more."

A/N: Promised myself that if I managed to get the chapters a decent length that had equal elements of both settings, I would finally make a separate thread. So here it is. Aside from the combine settings, the main challenge is how a less sociopathic character can still function as an Eminence in Shadow. That doesn't mean completely sane though as instead of a chuuni-filter, this one has an otome-game-filter instead.