Dumpster

Fuse

Opening the door into Garbanag's storage area, we found chests upon chests stacked on top of each other with absolutely no sense of organization at all. The chests weren't even color coded, and it almost made me throw up with the total lack of color coordination befitting of a Brit.

And also, The Guide was just chilling in this room, drinking some coffee.

Zach

Status: Healthy

Race: Human

Title: The Guide

Classes: Archer, Guide.

Overall Ranking: D

Zach sipped on his coffee, making eye contact with me specifically. As he finished, he politely asked, "Are you here to take something?"

Well, might as well be honest.

I nodded without any shame at all, "Yep. I'm hoping you know where he keeps his old wings? I kind of need some to, you know, kill Garbanag."

Zach nodded as if he knew what I was going to say beforehand, "Of course. Skeletron Prime, do you think he's worthy to come in and take Garbanag's stuff?"

Angeles robotically shrugged, "He is my master-"

"No I'm not."

Angeles moved on without acknowledging my statement, "He should be free to take what he wishes."

What the heck is her deal with her calling me master? That's just super creepy and I don't like it at all. I really need to get her to stop doing that.

Zach didn't say anything at all about Angele's kink as he instead said, "I see. In that case, since Garbanag isn't here to defend his loot… Why don't we have a quick spar? If you win, you can take what you want."

So, I beat the hell out of a C ranked nobody in exchange for all of this? I'll definitely do that!
"Yeah, sure, I can accept that," I said, readying for a fight.

Quest Created

[The Guide of War]

Description: The stash of the bird is defended by The Guide. But he can't be that strong, can he?

Objective: Defeat The Guide.

Reward: 1 gacha token, 3 minor rank points, Guide's Bow.

Zach pulled out his bow, then he gestured to the backdoor, "Let's fight outside, then. Angeles, you can be the referee."

Angeles nodded, and we all went to exit the storehouse and went onto a relatively flat field.

We ended up catching the attention of basically everyone else in the village, so they had all ended up gathering to see the fight.

"Huh, do none of you guys hate me for fighting your boss that one time?" I questioned someone nearby, who just so happened to be the Goblin Tinkerer.

The Goblin Tinkerer shrugged, "You have no chance of beating him, we aren't mad that you're trying."

My eye twitched, "Oh, we'll see about that…"

As I took my place on the battlefield, I heard a small betting circle beginning to form.

"Hey, King Slime, who are you putting your money on?" Asked someone who I could've sworn was Skeletron.

The King Slime laughed, "You know my betting history! I always bet on Zach!"

Murmurs of agreement echoed through the crowd as more and more people began to bet on Zach winning.

Wow, absolutely no faith at all.

Well, that's alright. That just means that the few Americans in the crowd rooting for me will win big.

I'm trying to save bullets for my actual fight against Garbanag, so I decide that instead of using my guns, I'll stick to using my swords and magic for this fight.

With that in mind, I pull out Roosevelt and Eisenhower from my inventory and assumed a fighting stance, "Ready?"

Zach pulled out a wooden bow, and suddenly I feel like I'm in danger.

To try and calm myself from the sudden intent to kill, I checked Zach's status again.

Zach

Status: Healthy

Race: Human

Title: The Guide

Classes: Archer, Guide.

Overall Ranking: S+

Power Rank: S+

Magic Rank: S+

Social Rank: S+++

What the FUCK.

Zach chuckled, as if he knew that I knew what Zach was truly capable of, "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."

Yeah, okay, sure, I'll believe the collaborator who sucks British dick to go easy on me.

NOT!
I'M SCREWED IF I TAKE THIS FIGHT!

But I can't just back out now! I'll look like a coward if I run with my tail between my legs!

That means I just have to take his word for it and fight! That's absolutely terrible!
I nodded anyways, "Sure, I'll gladly accept that."

Well, all I can do now is pray.

…To myself, huh?

I live in the worst timeline.

Well, at this point, there's nothing I can do except pull up my bootstraps and fight on. But just before I do, I need to ask…

"Hey, what's your opinion on America?" I asked.

Zach shrugged, "Hm, well, I hear Garbanag doesn't like that place very much. So I suppose I don't either."

Ah, so I have absolutely no problem with kicking his ass.

"Are you both ready to start?" Angeles asked, holding up a red flag she somehow obtained.

We both nodded, brandishing our weapons.

Angeles unenthusiastically and anticlimactically waved her flag once and said, "Start."

Zach was prepared for it as he immediately launched an arrow my way.

I was able to just barely dodge it, the arrow still flying and hitting a tree.

The sound of wood breaking compelled me to look where the arrow landed-

Oh, there was no tree anymore.

"That's you taking it easy?!" I shouted incredulously as I began to rush towards Zach.

Zach laughed, "It is!"

Zach fired another arrow, but I created a spell on the spot to force the ground beneath me to lift me up, forcing the arrow to hit the ground but allowing me to jump down straight at Zach.

[Create Pillar - Creates a pillar at a location of your choosing from the ground. Costs a moderate amount of mana.]

Using [Quick Strike], my next attack was quickened. Fortunately, my next attack was me kicking Zach's head so my momentum was sped up, successfully kicking Zach in the head.

I comboed that with my swords, successfully stabbing Zach in the stomach, trying to keep it non-lethal.

I won.

Well, at least that was the thought I had for a second before the guide forcibly grabbed my leg.

"What the-"

I was flung like a ragdoll straight into a nearby cobblestone tower.

My half-slime body took the blow fairly decently and I was only left mildly bruised from the throw.

I couldn't say the same for the arrow that took my left hand.

I muffled my scream of shock and pain as I angrily shouted at Zach, "What the hell dude?!"

Zach held in his arrow for a bit longer as he shouted back, "We respawn! It's fine!"

I DON'T?

I should've just gone for the head with an attitude like that!

Using [Holy Heal], my hand slowly starts to grow back. But then Zach started attacking again and I started running in circles around him to avoid being hit.

Using [Darkness Overflowing], Zach hesitated for a moment as his eyes turned fearful.

Using that opportunity, I rushed towards Zach's head with Roosevelt using [Quick Strike], landing a blow directly in his brain.

Zach recovers from his fear, and goes to punch me directly in the gut.

[Cling to Life] activated, and my body twisted itself to avoid his punch, and I immediately jumped away, kicking Zach back.

I obviously wasn't going to fight Garbanag today, and since apparently this was a battle to the death, it was fine to go fight at my maximum potential.

And if I wanted to kill somebody, what is the best weapon in my arsenal that isn't a gun to kill someone with?

"Hey, Zach, you wanna see the ability that I have, where I shoot you whenever I try to hit you?" I said as Zach was recovering from getting his brain pierced.

[Monologue Boost has activated on [Domain Expansion: Revolutionary Battlefield].]

"Wha-?" Zach barely got out before I saluted.

"Domain Expansion."

The sounds of construction, cogs whirling, horses neighing, and an absolute hell of a lot of gunshots sounded out as Zach was separated from Dumpster and was placed inside my domain.
"Revolutionary Battlefield!" I finished.

Zach looked completely baffled at the whole situation, not recognizing Washington D.C.

I took advantage of his momentary confusion and used [Multi-Earth Blasts].

Today I learned that every rock I threw at an enemy in Revolutionary Battlefield was considered a separate attack to my domain.

Zach didn't share the same invincibility frames that Garbanag did, so each and every single shot made their mark alongside my rocks. And because Zach didn't have invincibility frames and somewhat adhered to the laws of physics, he was getting ragdolled around without the opportunity to draw his bow and fire.

But Zach was ranked at S, and he's been holding back this entire time.

In a slight moment where his hands were free from the laws of physics, Zach pointed towards the sky and whispered, "Bang."

My domain was completely and utterly shattered, surprising the hell out of me.

How the hell has this happened TWICE?

As the shards of my domain fell and dissipated, Zach chuckled as he regained his composure, "That was close. If that kept going for a few more seconds, I could've been seriously hurt."

The citizens of Dumpster all gasped as whispers of amazement went through them, that anyone could even hurt Zach.

Zach rolled his arm, "Anyway, domain expansion, was it? That was a pretty cool technique, let me try."

Wait, can he just copy-

Zach made some sort of weird hand sign, "Domain Expansion…"

I blinked, and the next thing I knew, I was in a massive library, filled with rows and rows of books.

"Cache of All Knowledge," Zach finished.

I'm cooked. It's over. I'm done for.

Zach took a look around his own domain and remarked, "This is pretty cool! I'm jealous you get to use it all the time."

What even is his domain effect? Am I about to die instantly?

No… I'm not going to let that happen.

Just as I was about to pull out my get out of jail free card-

"Eh, I think we'll call it as your win," Zach said, snapping his fingers, causing his domain to dissipate.

"What?" I confusedly asked, not understanding what the hell Zach's doing.

Zach turned to the audience, "I'm giving the win up to Fuse! I don't actually care enough to protect Garbanag's stash like that."

Dumpster erupted into chaos.

"Wha- my bet though?!"

"Haha! Pay up! Pay up!"

"I'm never betting on Zach again!"

I…

Wow.

That's definitely lucky.

And also somewhat worrying.

"Say, Zach, can Garbanag beat you in a fight?" I worriedly asked.

Zach shrugged, "It depends on the day, really."

Well, fuck.

If I fought Garbanag when I got here, I would've been totally destroyed. In a sense, I'm kind of lucky that Zach decided to do this whole spar thing.

"Wait, how the hell are you even alive? I literally stabbed you in the brain."

"I moved my brain out of the way, obviously."

"What the fuck."

Quest Complete!

[The Guide of War.]

Reward: 1 gacha token, 3 minor rank points, Guide's Bow.

Your Strength Rank has increased to C-!

Opening one of the chests in the storage room, I found a bunch of junk.

I sighed, "Garbanag, fuck you."

Zach laughed, "Don't worry, Fuse! It's not that bad! You get used to it."

"Of course the Brit would have atrocious organizational skills," I ignored Zach's words to mock Garbanag, who wasn't even here, "Can't organize shit in London."

I absolutely can't wait until the day I meet another American-born American.

Sure, Dori and the others were great, but there was something inherently connected between two Americans who've been on American soil for their whole lives.

I sure do hope that the civil war is over by now, though. Preferably with the rightful President Of The United States of America restored to his place in the White House.

Though, I sure wouldn't mind ripping everything Trump worked for outside of his hands…

Opening another chest, my eyes caught a bunch of souls of flight inside this chest.

Taking count, there's about 65 of them inside here.

Yoink.

Angeles called out to me, "Fuse."

I turned my head to her, "Yeah, Angeles?"

She held up a pair of butterfly dust, "Will this be useful to you?"
Butterfly dust… Makes butterfly wings.

The aesthetic doesn't really fit, but I'll take it.

I nodded, moving over to her, "Yeah! It's definitely useful. Good job, Angeles."

Angeles didn't visibly change when I complimented her, but I could tell that she was happier for it.

Then, I turned around to find the mythril anvil just chilling to the side.

Go figures that the Brit would put his crafting stations next to his storage junk.

Moving over to the anvil, I tried to figure out how the hell do I use this thing.

Zach, seeing me stare at the anvil for a few moments, helpfully spoke up, "You bring the materials out and tell the anvil to craft wings with it."

"Thanks," I half-heartedly thanked the neutral guide, following his instructions.

And in a bright flash of light…

[Butterfly Wings - When worn, grants you the power of flight. B-Class flight.]

Fucking Nice.

I'll probably wear this only when I have to, though. It's a fashion disaster.

Though, maybe I can change how it looks using my stylist class…

"Congratulations, Fuse," Angeles complimented me.

"Thank you, Angeles," I thanked back, then turning to Zach, "Alright, we'll be taking our leave now. See ya."

Zach waved, "See you later."

I snapped my finger, opening a portal back to Dori's place, "C'mon, Angeles. I'm going to introduce you to a friend of mine.

And so, we both hopped into the portal.

"Fuse, what the hell," was the first thing Dori said when she spotted Angeles.

I pushed Angeles to the front, my arm around her shoulder, "This is Angeles. She's a shy one. And also, I had to give her a name since "Skeletron Prime" obviously isn't a good name."

Dori didn't seem to understand that last part, "What do you mean? Skeletron Prime sounds weird, but it's still a first and last name…"

"It's another world thing. It would kind of be like naming someone Sumeru Better."

"Ah, I see."

Dori then eyed Angeles, "Hm, pretty expensive, aren't you? Say, why are you made of metal?"

Angeles looked over to me for permission to speak.

"Don't look at me like that," I said, taking my arm off her shoulder, "You should be more independent. C'mon, try it."

Angeles then robotically looked to Dori and announced, "I am a robot, designed for war and destruction. However, this form of mine is designed for companionship, which I gained after my defeat at Fuse's hand. But I am able to transform into my warforged form at any time to defeat any threat."

Dori blinked, then she turned to me, "Fuse, what the hell."

I shrugged, "Well, you two are friends now. Thought you could use a bodyguard or something."

"How tough is she?" Dori decided to ask instead of asking anything else.

I answered, "She's the one that mangled my limbs the last time I was here."

Dori's eyes widened, then she smiled, "I see! Quite the valuable bodyguard then, huh? Angeles, I think I know some stuff you could do…"

Angeles robotically nodded, "As you wish."

I walked over and slightly bonked Dori on the head, "Hey, don't be rude. That's another American immigrant you're talking to."

Dori sighed and massaged the spot I slightly hit her on, "Okay, okay, fine. I won't turn her into a weapon for my own benefit."

Angeles tilted her head, "But that is my sole purpose."

"No it ain't," I flatly denied, "You're an American now, sponsored by me. Dori, treat her like a tourist and show Angeles the joys of life."

"Can I make money off of her while I'm at it?"

I sighed, "Angeles, this is your decision."

Angeles seemed to have no problem agreeing, "I am able to consent to being used for financial gain."

Dori stuck her tongue at me.

I pulled down my face mask to stick my tongue out at her back, before immediately getting uncomfortable and putting it back on.

It looks like Angeles was still in the friend-zone and not the BFF zone.

That was fine, though.

Anyways, what else did I need to do… Oh, right, I should use my gacha token now.

"Hey, wish me luck," was all I said before cracking open my prize.

Cursed Common Item rolled.

[Self Destructing Pie - When this item enters your inventory, your face will be pied.]

I had a split second to think about that while the pie came out of literally nowhere to hit my face. And in that split second, I only had one conscious thought.

I live in the worst timeline.

AN:

I wish somebody would give me a hate comment or something instead of clicking off my fic. It's been eons since my last hate comment.

It was like 2 months ago, but same thing.

How am I supposed to thicken my skin if nobody is trying to pierce it?

Also, I feel like I should've switched the order of worlds so that Terraria would be in like the 4th spot. But then the 2nd spot would be kind of weird to go so soon.

Oh well, it is what it is.

Oh, by the way, I was thinking about starting a 3rd fic.

Basically, it would be a Hazbin Hotel fic, another OC-Centric because I love OCs, and the plot of the fic would basically be following a new sinner coming into hell and detailing his life as he becomes the Video Game Overlord. (Or maybe just the Gaming Overlord. Gamer Overlord? Game Demon?)

It won't cut into the Manifest Destiny schedule, and Time Capsule doesn't even have a schedule aside from "Yeah I'll probably write 3 chapters this month."

And this new fic probably won't have a schedule either.

Also, I pinky swear that the new fic won't be a gamer fic. It's just gaming themed.

Anyways, I'll probably write the first chapter for that in April, then whether I upload it is kinda up to whether or not I have the confidence to write for 3 fics at once. I've kept myself to 2, and I'm kind of skeptical on being able to juggle 3. But it could work.

Anyways, if you have any thoughts about that, feel free to comment your support or dissatisfaction.

[Also, it feels like this fic kind of spiked a while ago in terms of Ao3 hits, while the FFN stats stayed relatively stable? I don't actually look carefully at my stats that often so I might be tripping idk.]

[Oh yeah, I also joined a fanfic discord named the Grand Library of Ashurbanipal. It's a mostly Overlord (Anime) centric discord, but it has other stuff. If you really want to shout at me in person, you can do it there since I have my own little corner there. Though I have to warn you that politics are banned from that discord, so if you want to shout politics at me you would have to DM me. But my political takes are pretty boring, and if you're at this point in the story without having already clicked off, you probably agree with half of what Fuse is spouting off anyways, so you basically agree with most of my own political takes.]