A/N: Hey everyone, welcome to the Reboot of Rise of the Shadow Monarch. Where it's gonna be bigger, badder, and way more violent. I will implement things from other anime and cartoons, but I'll keep all my mythology ideas, because I wanted to incorporate those ideas into my book. Main three cartoons I'll be using will be Ben 10, Generator Rex, and Secret Saturday's there will be more, but those will appear later on. The animes I'll be using besides Solo Leveling will be- just kidding can't tell you just yet. And updates for Pirate Adventure? Hmmmmm maybe. Maybe not. Idk tbh. I'm not really into binging One Piece just to change things up for the story, but we'll see. I have chapter 8? Right? Chapter 8 partially written and I don't know if I wanna finish it or not. Oh well we'll see.
Chapter 1: And So It Begins
Gates. No one knew where they had come from. No one knew what to expect from them until monsters ranging from various sizes started coming out of them. Until one day, a Dragon came out and decimated half of the West Coast until 5 people were able to stop it's rampage. The Calamity Dragon was dubbed Kamish by the people and the heroes responsible were heralded as National Ranked Hunters. That's also where everyone gained there powers, young, old, even aliens, but one person didn't need these powers. And her name was Gwendolyn Tennyson, wielder of the Omnitrix. The greatest invention to ever exist.
Every Gate had its own rank, the one Kamish came out of was Ranked S. Like dungeons, Hunter's who gained ability to awaken were determined by there magic output which categorized them into various ranks. There were National Hunters, the ones responsible for defeating Kamish, S Rank Hunters, A Rank, B Rank, C Rank, D Rank, and Finally E Rank.
Gwen Tennyson and four other incredibly gifted humans defeated Kamish and were granted the title of National ranked Hunters. But this story isn't about Gwen Tennyson, it's about her powerless black sheep cousin: Benjamin Kirby Tennyson and how he become a hero in his own right.
Ben Tennyson had always been a trouble maker, but once Gwen found the Omnitrix, he just got worse. That road trip with his grandpa Maxwell Tennyson, changed his life. Even with the Omnitrix, Gwen had discovered her abilities in magic which seemed to make her even worse to be around. Then when there grandpa went missing two years ago, Gwen made the decision to put the Omnitrix back on and since then, he'd been the third wheel dragged along on missions with her and Kevin Levin, her boyfriend and his best friend.
Ben would never admit it out loud, but he used to love his cousin and envied her because she got all the love from there family. His parents wanted him to be more like Gwen, Grandpa Max and Grandma Verdona favored her more than him. He'd been living in her shadow for years. And he hated it. No matter where he went Gwen Tennyson's name would be associated with him and he couldn't stand it. He was his own person, not his cousin.
There was always one day he regretted more than anything and it was the day he acquired the Omnitrix. Ben couldn't describe it, but the power was amazing. The rush. The feeling of helping people as an alien. He loved it, but then he made the worse decision in giving it back to her. And when he did, something started welling up inside him. He hated her. He knew it was wrong of him to hate his cousin, but he knew it better than anyone what it felt like to be second best. Living in someone else's shadow. To feel like anything he did didn't matter. So he decided to live up to being the black sheep of the family and started distancing himself from them.
Well, he tried. There was one person who saw through his pain and it was Kenneth Tennyson, Gwen's older brother and his older cousin. Ken helped Ben when he felt like he wasn't as important as he thought he was and since then the only family, who'd actually uplifted him was his older cousin. Even with Ken's help, Ben still lived up to being a trouble maker.
He'd blown off chores, skipped school, blew off mission reports. Anything you name, he'd probably thought of doing it or already did it. He'd been reprimanded by the Plumber Superior's more than once for his behavior. Max and Gwen often bailed him out due to there pull with the Plumbers. Ben hated them for it.
Currently, the aforementioned teenager was in his room, sleeping, until his Plumber badge started ringing. A groan could be heard as an arm reached from under his covers and grabbed it. He yawned before answering it, "Hello?" He said in a drowsy tone.
"BENJAMIN KIRBY TENNYSON, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" A loud screech erupted from the Plumber badge as Ben had to cover his ears to keep them from rupturing.
"What are you talking about?" He asked irritated at the speaker on his badge.
"YOU'RE LATE FOR OUR NEWEST MISSION DEBRIEFING!" The speaker yelled once again as Ben groaned.
"Spare me, your lectures, Gwen. I'll pass." He replied curtly.
"You have one hour to get here or else I'm dragging you out of that house." Gwen Tennyson, Hero of the Highbreed Invasion, Defender of the Universe, and one of the National Ranked Hunters who played a massive part in bringing down Kamish remarked in a serious voice before hanging up.
Ben groaned loudly before throwing the covers off his body, "Bitch." He muttered before getting to his feet, he grabbed a pair of jeans before smelling them. The smell caused the teenager to shudder as he dropped the jeans back onto the floor before grabbing another pair and seeing they smell sorta decent, he pulled them on before grabbing his green jacket.
He left his room, to come to the living room where it was basically empty. He had standard furniture, but it just didn't bring the same feeling from before. He sighed as he pushed those accursed memories away. His father, Carl Tennyson, died during the Kamish rampage and his mother, Sandra Tennyson couldn't handle it and broke mentally and was sent to a hospital for the last two years and didn't seem to be recovering in the slightest. Since Ben was 18, he'd gotten the house of his parents and been living by himself for the last two years.
He sighed once again, "No use dwelling on the past." He grabbed his car keys and left the house.
It didn't take him long to reach Plumber Headquarters, since the appearance of Gates, 10 years ago, The Plumbers had taken the initiative to welcome in Hunter's who awakened. But some of them passed to join the other popular guilds that were rising or would stick closer to the Hunter's Association.
Ben thought it was weird when the Plumbers actually welcomed in newly awakened Hunter's, but Max told him, "It was because they weren't just opening here on Earth, but everywhere in the universe." Meaning Aliens, who already had powers would gain even more. Ben had to stifle a groan when he learned that shred of information, everyone was powerful in there own right, BUT him. He'd been stuck as an E-Rank for two years. Sure, he was skilled in martial arts, but it didn't mean jack against a monster with a weapon.
Ben looked around the Plumbers Hunter's Base, he'd see various Hunter's or staff talking to each other. He'd see various aliens species, but in this age, nothing really shocked him. He'd gone on a road trip across the country with his grandpa and cousin with an alien device and to find out his grandpa was a retired galaxy cop. And his cousin was an anodite.
He'd remember when his grandma Verdona came to visit and was immediately drawn to Gwen, sure she acknowledged him, but it was always Gwen. He felt his fists tighten at that memory, before relaxing, 'No us getting worked up over it.' He thought annoyed with himself.
Ben looked around once again at the various Aliens and Hunters coexisting fighting for humanity, he'd remembered the Forever Knights and Will Harangue those xenophobic assholes. Will hated his cousin for being a more of hero and made it his mission to slander her every chance he got. He still remembered when he made that robotic body to stand a chance against her. He sighed, "What a dumbass." He grumbled, as much as he hated Gwen, he hated Will Harangue for his views on alien species being unwanted on Earth.
He soon went walking through the lobby as everyone's eyes were on him as he walked by.
"Look it's him."
"The black sheep of the Tennyson family."
"I heard he ranked E while his cousin is a National ranked Hunter."
"Worldest Weakest."
"Why's he's still here?"
"I heard it's because his Grandpa is the Guild Master while his cousin is the Vice Guild Master."
Ben could feel his anger boiling inside as he heard every single insult hurled at him. He wasn't here by choice like everyone else, he was forced to be here. He didn't bother to correct anyone as he entered the elevator and headed to the top floor.
The teenager stuffed his hands into his pockets as the elevator hit the top floor and he stepped out and headed to the meeting room.
The last door in the hallway was pulled open as he found everyone he knew inside. His grandpa Max, Kevin Levin, Rook Blonko, Cooper, Julie Yamamoto, Helen Wheels, Manny Armstrong, Kai Green, Alan Albright, and her. His cousin. The bane of his existence. The constant reminder, he'll never be anything more than an ant beneath her boot. Gwendolyn Tennyson.
She had her arms crossed, but Ben snuck a glance and saw the newest version of the Omnitrix on her wrist. It looked more like an Apple Watch then an alien device. It was white and purple. This was the final version of the Omnitrix, Azimuth (the Devices Created) gifted to Gwen.
Everyone's eyes were on him as soon as he walked in, "You're late." Max replied with restrained annoyance at his grandson's tardiness.
Ben shrugged, "Woke up late." He replied nonchalantly, "Now can we skip over the pleasantries and get this over with?"
"Asshole!" Cooper glared as Ben sighed before the blonde haired teen was face to face with him, "Do you even know what this is?"
"No, just some asshole getting angry over some stupid mission." Ben glared as he and Cooper remained locked in there staredown.
"You don't wanna push us today, Tennyson." Cooper warned as Ben took his hands out his pockets.
"Back off." He warned.
"Enough!" Max yelled as Kevin and Rook got up and separated the two, "Cooper, sit back down!" Cooper shot Ben a dirty look before taking his seat, "Benjamin, you will show your superior officer respect, do I make myself clear?" Max glared at his grandson.
Ben's whole demeanor shifted immediately, "W-What? Superior Officer?" Did he just hear that right? Cooper was his Superior Officer?
"You heard him, Ben, everyone in this room now outrank you." Gwen finally decided to speak up, "You're being demoted." Ben's eyes widened further.
"You're always late. Slacking on your chores. Your not completing your mission debriefs. Talking back to Superior Officers. You've even went out of your way to pick fights-" Max listed his eyes never leaving Ben's.
"Grandpa-" Ben began when Max spoke over him.
"I'M NOT YOUR GRANDPA! I AM GUILD MASTER TENNYSON!" Ben verbally flinched at his grandpa's anger, "You will listen to me, if it weren't for Gwen or Kevin, I'd have thrown you out of the Plumbers Association for the lack of respect you have for anyone present. I'm tired of your behavior Benjamin, and everyone is too. From now on, you'll be on dungeon clean up duty until further notice."
Ben's fists tightened. He could feel everyone glaring daggers at him, "You'll report to Lieutenant Luca starting tomorrow. Any questions."
"..." Ben didn't say anything until he took off his favorite green number 10 jacket and threw it on the floor, "Yeah... I quit." He glared, "I hate you." He glared at his grandpa who widened his eyes at him.
"Ben-" Gwen began as Ben's anger was thrown at her.
"Shut the hell up! I don't wanna hear something from the great Gwen Tennyson! I hate you too! I hate you all!" He yelled, "I don't ever wanna see any of you ever again!" He soon stormed out the meeting room when he heard Max's voice again, but he was already in the elevator.
"BENJAMIN!"
Ben stormed out of the Plumbers Association, anger still brimming within him. Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes as he walked down the street, "Stupid Max. Stupid Gwen. I hate them..." He mumbled as tears streamed down his face.
No one believed in him, hell he barely believed in himself. He thought that once he became a hunter, he'd be able to stand by his family as an equal, but to his disbelief, he'd been ranked as the lowest of the low. Even lower than a Goblin if it weren't for his martial arts training.
"Why can't I get the same love Gwen gets..." He whispered more to himself. His cousin was beloved by the entire universe. And he barely had anyone. His dad had died, his mom was in a mental hospital, his grandparents favored Gwen more. Gwen. Gwen. Gwen. GWEN.
No matter where he went, no matter where he goes, he'll be nothing more than Gwen Tennyson's cousin. He'll always be living in her shadow. And he was tired of it. He wanted to overshadow her. He wanted something his cousin couldn't do. Something. Anything...
And then he heard it. Ben was snapped out of his self loathing when he heard something strange. He looked around to find himself, down the street from Mr. Smoothies, one of his favorite places in the world. He looked around as the noise got louder, in a nearby alley, was a Gate leading into a mysterious dungeon. His eyes widened in fear, remembering something Max told him, 'If a gate appears, run the other way. Don't be a hero, Benjamin.'
Ben's eyes widened when he remembered that, "Don't be a hero..." His fists tightened, "Don't be a hero." His emerald eyes were blazing with restrained fury, "Time for me to be the hero." He approaches the swirling mass infront of him and jumped inside. The Gate soon closed after.
Ben landed in a dark and desolate cave. He looked around and noticed the gate had closed, "Seems I can't turn around even if I wanted too." Torches seemed to light up the walls as he looked straight down the narrow path, "Guess that's my way forward." He hesitated for a moment, "If I don't do this now, then when will I ever get a chance to be a hero better than-" His mind snapped at him telling him not to even utter her name, "You're right and great, I'm talking to myself." He sighed before looking straight ahead and started walking forward.
Ben looked around the cave, he couldn't hear anything except his own footsteps against the floor or the flickering of the flames of the torches on the walls. He hoped he wasn't in any kind of danger, he facepalmed himself, "Smooth move, Tennyson. You jump into a Gate to prove your family wrong, but essentially proving them right." He sighed, before shaking those thoughts away, "No, I'll prove them wrong. Anyone can be a hero regardless of rank or lack of alien device or training."
When he got closer, he could see something at the end of the hallway. It was two large doors infront of him, "Wonder what's behind door number 1?" He mused as he attempted to push open the heavy doors only to find they weren't heavy at all. His eyes brows quirked as the doors creaked open.
Ben felt a chill run down his bacl, when the doors were opened. He stepped into the darkened room, he squinted through the darkness when the torches in the room erupted to life. His eyes widened as large statues filled the room, holding various weapons and instruments, but his eyes were drawn to the largest statue sitting 100 feet away from him in a throne. It was as big as Humungousaur fully grown.
In the corner of his eye was another statue, this one had large angel like wings and was holding a stone tablet. His eyes shifted between the God Statue and the Angel like statue before finally landing on the Angel's stone tablet. He walked over to the tablet which had three commandments carved onto it.
Ben quirked an eyebrow as he read the commandments, "First is Worship the Lord?" He looked around, before he read the second, "Second is Praise the Lord?" He honestly thought he was being pranked when he read the third commandment, "And lastly Prove your Faith?" Ben sighed, "This has got to be some kind of joke." He then heard the doors creaking loudly. He turned around to find the doors slammed shut, "Aw shit." He groaned, "Now I'm trapped in here." He rubbed his face when he felt it.
The hairs on the back of his neck, on his forearms, and legs stood up. Every instinct in his body was screaming danger. He froze before turning around slowly to see the God Statue staring at him. His eyes widened in complete fear when his eyes shined and every fiber of Ben's being was screaming at him to dodge. A pair of lasers shot directly out of the God Statues eyes aiming for the teenager who dodged the attack. Ben's eyes widened as he ducked underneath another pair.
Ben then felt it, the pain erupt within his body. His eyes dropped down to his right arm which was severed up to forearm. The heat from the lasers cauterized the wound, but Ben screamed loudly as his left arm moved to the stump of his right arm. He cried and screamed for awhile before looking around for his right arm, "I can't do this... This dungeon... Is beyond me." He attempted to stand when the God's eyes glowed brightly which immediately made Ben freeze dead in his tracks.
He lowered back to the ground and the eyes shut off and he soon looked over at the Angel holding the commandments, "Worship the Lord... If I go any higher than he'll fry me faster than I can get to the door. Worship the Lord? Meaning I have to bow to him?" He thought, "I don't have anything to lose." He said before kneeling before the God Statue.
He then felt it again, danger, but it wasn't react to the situation danger. No this was far more sinister. When Ben looked up, he paled considerably. The God Statue's eyes were red with black sclera, and it had a giant, sadistic, extremely creepy smile on it's face. Ben scrambled onto his ass when he saw the grin it was giving him, like it was mocking him.
Then he heard it, he saw the Warrior Statues moving and they weren't moving towards the God Statue, they were moving towards him. His eyes widened in fear as he scrambled to his feet and tried to run, "Shit! Shit! Shit! Fuck!" Ben cursed as he avoided being cleaved in half by a Warrior Statue wielding an axe. He rolled forward through another Statue wielding a giant sword.
He tried to think hard, "The second commandment it was Praise the Lord!" He thought on how he was supposed to praise a sadistic asshole God like him. He dodged a lance by a hair when he noticed the statues wielding the weapons were the only ones moving. The ones with instruments had yet to move.
Then it hit him. 'Praise the Lord with Music!' He then changed course ducking under a sword aimed to take his head off his shoulders. He stopped infront of statue with a trumpet which immediately started playing music. Ben's eyes scoured the statues with weapons to see the music slowing them down, he looked around, "The music is the answer. Gotta get to the next statue before I get skewered." With that in mind, Ben bolted to the next Statue with an instrument.
He noticed the Warrior Statues movements were a tad bit slower, giving him the advantage to reach the next one. The next statue he reached was one playing the drums and he grinned, "This is working." He noticed there movements dulling, "Almost there." He ripped the fabric from his shirt and tyed it to the stump of his right arm, "Focus on escaping. I can do this!" With that done, Ben bolted to the next statue, but the Warrior statues realized what he was doing and started anticipating which instrument he'd go for making him lose his advantage over them.
He dodged by another statue wielding an Axe, but the Sword Statue sliced the right side of his hip, it took Ben everything he had not to scream in pain. He dodged another sword statue, but barrel rolling through another statues legs and landing infront of a statue playing the lyra the music made the statues stop moving briefly giving Ben time to rip his shirt again and bandage up his hip, "There anticipating my moves. I gotta get to the last statue." He winced slightly rubbing his hip, "I can do this." He took a deep breath to calm his shaken nerves as he bolted past the army of Warrior statues.
As soon as he left the Lyra Statue, the Warrior statues immediately started moving even faster which shouldn't have been possible. He ducked under a lance, but failed to see the hammer slam itself into his back, Ben coughed out blood as his body went flying across the room. He slammed hard into the floor, he tried to get himself orientated to see the Warriors approaching him, he flipped over onto his stomach and began crawling away. He soon made it to a statue, but it wasn't the one he wanted. He looked up to see a Statue wielding a shield. And it didn't hesitate to bring it down onto him. Ben pushed himself to his feet as the shield cleaved the ground sending him flying to the statue next to the Shield.
He then heard the music coming from the final Statue, she was singing and it seemed to make the other Statues return to there post. Blood leaked from Ben's head as he tried to regain his barrings. Infront of the God Statue's throne an alter shifted from the ground. He felt pain once again, he thought it was his back from where the hammer collided with him. Ben groggily glanced to his feet and realized he didn't have any feet. His pants were torn, and blood was already leaking from his wounds.
His vision looked over to the Shield Statue and saw both of his feet. He felt like giving up here, he didn't know why he was trying so hard to survive this dungeon. It was virtually impossible for him. Ben's head fell to ground in defeat.
'Is that it?' A voice asked within himself, 'You're just gonna give up? After all you've achieved? After all you've done to survive? You're just gonna lay there and die?'
Ben didn't have an answer for whoever this voice was, 'I can't do this anymore... I can't..'
'You sound like a quitter to me. Maybe Max was right, you don't have what it takes to do what is necessary and Gwen will always remain the beloved hero you'll never be.'
Ben stopped when he remembered why he came into this dungeon to begin with. He gritted his teeth as he dull emerald eyes shined, 'No. No. No.' He screamed, using his left arm to crawl forward, 'No! No! No!' His fingernails chipping themselves as he dragged his battered body towards the alter to finish this dungeon.
'You have the tools to survive. To be the greatest hero this worlds ever seen. In order to achieve it, you need to survive no matter what!'
"I WILL NEVER QUIT!" Ben screamed as he dragged himself to the alter, blood trailed behind his body as he clawed and dragged his way to the alter.
Ben climbed up the small round alter, breathing heavily as the doors behind him opened, but when they opened small blue flames appeared around the alter as Ben recited the final commandment, "Prove your faith." As one flame went out followed by the next the Warrior Statues began moving again which startled Ben as he tried to keep his eyes on all of them, but there were too many and they were moving too quickly for him.
He didn't stand a chance to stop any of them when one impaled him in the chest, Ben coughed out blood as he was soon flung into the air and landing ontop of the alter where the Lancer Statue severed off his left arm, Ben went his lungs punctured and filling up with blood as he choked on his own blood. He was once again stabbed in his chest, the entire alter was drenched in blood as he attempted to sit up, but a Warrior Statue wielding an Axe was getting ready to decapitate him, when the last flame went out.
The Warrior stopped as his axe was a meter from the mutilated teenagers body as he laid there dying from blood loss, "So... This... Is... I-it? I... Wa-snt... Re-ready... To di-die..." His emerald eyes gazed to the ceiling, "I-I'm... Co-co-coming... To... Se-see... Y-you... Dad." A lone tear left his face when a large screen appeared in front of him.
[Completion Requirements for the 'Secret Quest': the Courage of the Weak has been met!]
Ben's fading eyes gazed at the blue screen, 'Wha-' He attempted to question the screen, coughing up blood in his wake, 'What's happening?'
[You have acquired the rights to become a Player! Do you accept? Y/N?]
Ben didn't have time to question what was happening when he felt his heart slowing down when another screen appeared infront of him.
[There is not enough time left for you to make your decision! Your heart will cease functioning in precisely 0.02 seconds after you refuse to accept. Will you accept?]
'Y-y-yes.' He muttered as his eyes started closing, but not before seeing one last screen appear.
[Congratulations on becoming the Player!]
With that last screen, Ben passed out.
One Week Later
It was a late Saturday afternoon, when Ben finally woke up. He gasped, as he sat up within the bed, he'd been sleeping in. He gripped his chest, when he felt his heartbeating within it, "I'm alive?" He said softly then something hit him, he looked down at his hands to see they were attached to his body. He threw the blanket off his lower body to see his legs also were reattached. His eyes widened in shock, "How?! Why? What happened?" He asked shell shocked.
He went through every memory within his mind on that dungeon. He lost his right arm against the God Statue, his feet were taken off by that Shield Statue, and finally his left arm was taken off by the Lance Statue, so the million dollar question was how'd his arms and legs regrow?
During his mullings, the door to his room opened. His emerald eyes locked onto a man five years older than him, he had red hair, emerald eyes, and pale skin. He wore a blue jacket, with a black shirt, and blue jeans and converses. Ben's eyes widen as did the man who had flowers in his hand. He dropped them before rushing to his side.
Ben was frozen solid as Kenny Tennyson was here. The man that he'd looked up to him. The man who saw for him. The only true shred of family he had left.
"Ben! You're okay!" Kenny cried happily hugging his younger cousin, "I thought-" He kept sobbing hugging him higher, "I thought I lost you!"
The teenager started sobbing as he hugged Kenny back, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Kenny." The two hugged embraced before letting the other go, "How long have I been in here for?" Ben asked
"About a week." He answered which made his eyes widen, "What happened to you? When they found you, you were covered in blood and your clothes were torn to shreds." Kenny berated the teenager.
"I saw a gate-" Ben began as Kenny punched him upside the head, "Ow! What was that for?!"
"For being an idiot! Why didn't you turn and run!" Kenny glared at him when Ben, himself asked himself that question repeatedly.
"Because I wanted to be a hero too." Ben said solemnly, which immediately grabs Kenny's attention, "I wanted to prove Max and Gwen wrong. I just want the same respect and love they always give her. I just want to be noticed!" Ben didn't even remember when he started sobbing until he felt Kenny hug him again.
"I know, Ben. Gwen told me what happened that day. I'm sorry." Kenny said softly, but Ben heard him, "I know better than anyone how you feel, and you don't need Grandpa, Grandma, or Gwen's approval. All you need is to believe in yourself. Because whether everyone turns on you, I'm always gonna be on your side." Kenny said, which made the older man smile.
Ben sobbed as he hugged Kenny tightly. As the two hugged once again Kenny spoke up, "What happened when you went inside that gate?" He asked.
Ben then started getting flashbacks to those Statues, slaughtering him like an animal. The God Statues sadistic smile as it watched him beg for his life. The commandments. The weird screen he saw before dying.
"Ben?" Kenny tapped his shoulder as Ben looked over at him, "You alright, you look a little pale?"
"Yeah. I'm okay." Ben forced a smile onto his face, before telling Kenny of the giant Statues and the rules within the dungeon minus the part of him losing almost every limb on his body. He described almost every single detail as it was etched into every cell in his body.
Kenny listened intently as Ben continued on until he said he passed out on the alter, "That sounds insane." Kenny replied as Ben nodded, but before he could continue two men in suits walked in.
Kenny jumped from his seat, "Who are you?"
"We're with the Federal Bureau of Hunters-" Before the man could finish Ben answered.
"Did Max Tennyson send you?" There was dark look in the teenagers eyes which sent a chill down everyone's spines on how cold and full of hatred were in it.
"No." The man answered a little unnerved, "My name is Markus and I'm here to investigate the dungeon, you've experienced, Mr. Tennyson."
"Why? I thought the Federal Bureau doesn't get involved in other guild's businesses?" Ben questioned, as he went back to normal.
Markus and his associate quirked an eyebrow, "I'm sorry, we were under the impression that you excommunicated from the Plumbers Guild."
Ben and Kenny's eyes widen. Ben then remembered he told them he quit before storming off and heading into that dungeon so that wasn't really as shocking to hear. A small part of him felt relieved, he can finally be his own person without living in Max's or Gwen's shadows.
"I am." He answered, "Sorry, it's just a lot to take in."
"My apologies, I hope we're not imposing. Our boss wanted to hear your story so here we are." Markus answered as Ben nodded, "If you don't mind can we talk alone?"
Kenny was about to refute the idea when Ben gripped his arm, "Go. I'll be okay." Kenny sighed before nodding.
"Alright, I'll come visit tomorrow." He hugged his cousin once again before excusing himself from the room.
"You two seem close." Markus said with a smile as he and his associate took a seat beside his bed.
"Yeah. He's my cousin. The last shred of family I have." He said with a smile, Markus was gonna say something, but thought against it.
"So, Mr. Tennyson, tell us what happened?" Markus asked and Ben nodded and soon told them the story he told Kenny. By the end of the stories the two were in shock, "Wow. That story sounds scary."
"It was." Ben said looking at his hands which had grown back when he woke up, "What happens now?"
"Well, given that nothing came out the dungeon with you, once you're cleared by the doctors your free to live your life. One more thing." Markus then gestured to his associate who held up a small device, "We believe you might have had a reawakening inside that Dungeon. This is our measuring device to see if anythings changed within you."
Ben nodded as he placed his hand onto the device Markus and his associate watched as a number appeared which read '25'. The two men gazed at Ben who looked kinda unbothered by the number.
'Most Hunters have a measurement up to 70.' Markus thought as he and his associate got up, bid him a farewell, and left.
Ben cocked his head to the side, "I guess they couldn't see it either." To the left side of his vision there was a flashing envelope with three on it, "How do I open it tho?" He asked outloud.
'Mail open.'
Nothing.
'View Mail.'
Two for two.
'Check Mail.'
A blue screen appeared within his field of vision, jolting him a bit.
[Congratulations on becoming a Player!]
Ben tilted his head a bit as he read the screen's contents, "Player? What's a player?" He asked inquisitively as another screen flashed infront of his face.
[Daily Quest: Preparations to become strong!]
Ben had a really weird feeling like he's seen this somewhere before. He soon gazed at the Daily Quest and again was getting majored deja vu, but he didn't know from what. But then two words stuck out to him, 'Become Stronger.'
'I can become stronger?' His eyes widened, he didn't need any alien technology if he could become stronger all on his own, 'Stronger. I can be stronger! Stronger than her!' He couldn't fight how giddy he was feeling, he wanted to be stronger than her for the last eight years and now he's finally gotten the chance. A grin soon split his face as he gazed at the contents of the quest, 'What do I need to do to become stronger?'
[Sit Ups - 100 times (Incomplete) 0/100]
[Push Ups - 100 times (Incomplete) 0/100]
[Squats - 100 times (Incomplete) 0/100]
[Running - 10km (Incomplete) 0/10km]
[Warning: Incompletion of Daily Quest will result in a severe punishment.]
Ben's face immediately dropped to one of extreme disappointment, 'This? This is what I need to do to become stronger? This looks like a basic training regiment.' He nearly facepalmed himself for how excited he was getting, 'Of course I let myself become too complacent and now its biting me in the ass. I knew it was too good to be true.' Ben sighed running a hand through his hair as he flopped back onto his bed.
'I'll find some other way to become stronger.' And with that last thought, Ben fell asleep unbeknownst to him that there was a timer on his daily quest which was ticking downward.
As Ben slept soundly in his bed, the clock in his room, struck midnight and the daily quest timer turned red alerting him that time was up.
[You've failed to complete the Daily Quest. You'll be transferred to the Penalty Zone for a set period of time.]
Ben felt the room shaking violently. He groaned before looking around as he found himself sitting in the middle of a desert. For miles and miles around all Ben found was sand. His eyes widened before he shot to his feet, "Where the hell am I?" He gazed around before he felt the dunes rumble beneath his feet.
"What's happening?" He asked hysterically hoping he was having a freakish nightmare, "If this is a nightmare please wake up!"
Suddenly eight giant, orange centipede's bursted from the dunes towering over the fear stricken boy, "This ha-has to be a nig-nightmare?" He tried to back up, but he was surrounded by them.
Just like a monster from a video game a display name appeared in red letters.
[The Poison-Fanged Giant Desert Centipede]
Ben's eyes widened in fear when he saw the two words 'poison' and 'fanged' knowing what'll happen if these monsters ended up catching him within there giant large fangs. A blue screen soon popped up infront of his face.
[Penalty Quest: Survive]
[Goal: Survive until the allotted time limit is up]
[Time Limit: 10 hours]
[Remaining time: 10:00:00]
[Remaining time: 10:00:00]
[9:59:59]
[9:59:58]
[9:59:57]
Ben's eyes widened in fear, "T-ten hours?! I have to survive for TEN HOURS!" And in that moment, Ben realized how screwed he was.
To Be Continued...
A/N: Alright so, couple things I wanted to stay abit closer to the original, while spinning a new weave into there conjoined worlds. Gates appeared around 10 years ago and didn't fight Kamish until there were 16 meaning during the time frame of Gwen owning the Ultimatrix. I will also be explaining the time frame during the story. I wanted to change a lot, but keep a few things from the original and I think it came out pretty good. Now I'mma start working on chapter's two and three and we'll go from there. Hopefully this one is better for you guys and one more thing: Jeju Island Raid ;)