ã€ŠWhen God Is Bored He Builds New Worlds&#x2026; Mine Was Next, Unfortunately...ã€‹


 Raito 1 - MISEKAI: When God Is Bored He Builds New Worldsâ€¦ Mine Was Next, Unfortunately...

    MISEKAI

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    When God Is Bored He Builds New Worlds¡­ Mine Was Next, Unfortunately...

    WELCOME TO A NONSENSICAL PROLOGUE

    Raito

    I never expected God Himself to be a fan of mine.

    When I was creating my game I never had the thought it would be popular honestly. Let alone the fact that I would be having the Holy Maker and His Angels become obsessed with it.

    It was just a game where you summoned mythological warriors and controlled them, and fought other people online. I mean, there was more to do, but it wasn''t anything special.

    It was earlier that day that I found out any of this...

    I suddenly found myself in some sort of otherworldly realm. I had just finished making myself an excellent breakfast and had found the time to sit at my desk and relax when of all things it happened.

    An angelic girl appeared before me.

    She dressed in a long white t-shirt which wasn''t exactly how I pictured a holy Angel to dress. She hovered about, flapping her feathery wings. She wore no pants only white undies, which I deduced by the amount of leg revealed to me. I could admittedly see a lot from my position below her.

    Come to think of it, we dressed quite similar. Perhaps we both were lazy NEETs who played games in our pajamas all day.

    "Raito-san...! But didn''t you wear that same pair of black underwear yesterday?"

    Those were the Angel''s first words to me.

    I could tell this was going to be a bizarre experience for me from here on.

    "...? I''m not dead, am I??" I asked.

    "Sorry about your cereal. I realize it''ll get soggy if it just sits there on your desk but I needed your help~"

    "..."

    "It''s not like I really interrupted anything anyways. It''s not like you do much," said the Angel.

    Now I was here with a spoon in my hand and an angelic being chastising me.

    I had to be dead. This must be hell. I''m forever stuck in this room with her. The constant fear of my cereal getting soggier by the minute was surely going to drive me insane.

    But, she did make it sound like she was only borrowing me. If that was the case, I hope this was only a quick question or two. I hope I wasn''t trapped in a real-life isekai.

    This is how most of them start off after all. A moment of confusion, some almighty figure oppressing you, then banished to some fantasy land for the rest of your life.

    It checks all of the boxes.

    Damn. As fun as an Isekai adventure sounds, I''ll pass on it. You see, I''m rich now back home. My game is widely successful and it''s even got its own manga and anime series releasing soon based on the light novels. I''m going to be able to sit back and do absolutely nothing soon! Just like I used to, but this time with lots of money.

    "Who are you?"I questioned with my spoon in my mouth.

    "Whoops, I should probably do a proper introduction~~"

    The Angel cleared her throat.

    "My name is Serenity. I''m an Angel and the Overseer of your island region. I know this might be a lot to take in but we''ve summoned you for a particular reason, okay~~"

    "What is it?" I asked.

    "You know the online game that you developed on your own? God Game Royale?"

    I nodded my head.

    "I know a little about it."

    "Well, I''ve been watching you play it for months straight now and I started playing too, but I can''t beat my coworkers, no matter how many times I try," said the Angel.

    "Wait?! You play GGR?!"

    The Angel looked embarrassed.

    "I need your help, Raito-san."

    "You''re telling me Angels play video games?"

    "Yep. What else is there to do up here? It''s boring. There''s no scenery and everyone is too busy getting along. Games are the only way we angels ever get to release our anger! Who do you think is yelling at you on the mic!"

    "Usually some Russian guy, if it''s on PC. If I''m playing on a console it''s usually an angry twelve-year-old. Are you telling me those are..." I said.

    "Yep. Those two were Angels! Artyom loves games!" said the Angel.

    "Hmm, alright. .. So what did you need help with? Beating your coworkers, you said?"

    The Angel nodded her head.

    "Which summons do you main?" I asked.

    "I like to use Enyo..." answered the Angel.

    I choked on her reply, coughing loudly.

    "Enyo?! Enyo damages herself with her own special moves. She''s like Pichu before they made him good. No wonder you''ve never won a game. For starters, you should choose Ares, who is an all-around better Slayer-class summon."If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    The Angel giggled.

    I had accidentally exposed my nerdiness.

    Damn.

    "But, I''m good with Enyo," said the Angel.

    "It doesn''t sound like your good at all if you can''t beat any of your coworkers."

    "Enyo is the best, okay! I''m good with her!"

    "No one''s good with Enyo! So there, you don''t need my help anymore. Just pick a different summon and try someone new. Now can you send me back home? This place is making me uncomfortable. It''s like I¡¯m dead and waiting to be judged on my past life."

    "Well, you see. At first, it was only me playing the game but it soon spread to the other Angels. Now every Angel here plays God Game Royale... erm, even the Almighty himself," said Serenity.

    "The Lord plays God Game Royale?! I can''t picture God playing video games honestly. I bet he wins every time, doesn''t he?!" I asked.

    "Not only does he play obsessively --which is why he has no time for prayers anymore-- but because of our complete obsession with the game at the office, so to speak, we''ve decided we needed to experience that world for real."

    "Uh, what?....did you just say?..."

    Did she just say what I think she said? I don''t like where this is going.

    "We''ve recreated your game for realsies!Isn''t that exciting?!"

    "No! That''s horrifying!" I said.

    "Aw, man. I thought you''d be excited! It''s your world after all! Usually, the Almighty creates movie and anime worlds. He doesn''t normally do it for this genre! It''s awesome!"

    "Seriously cancel those plans! That''s a terrible idea! Our world is fine, we don''t want to experience God Game Royale in real life! I came up with most of the game mechanics when I was sleep-deprived! I stayed awake for seven days working on terrible world-building. The elves weren''t sexy enough! I had to dedicate myself to it! Because of this, the rest of the world isn''t even well made or thought out! Don''t do it! I stole most of my characters from my favourite games and shows even! It''s a bad idea!"

    "Well, it''s too late! The Almighty is already too excited to see his new isekai in action. Since you are often at the top of the leaderboard in your own game we would like to get your opinion on it. Playing your own game competitively is pretty unfair by the way! It''s like when the Almighty''s Son played Earth Isekai and used all those cheat codes. Anyways, we want to make sure the world meets with your expectations, of course!" said Serenity.

    "Great..." I said, resting my hand on my face.

    "It is! Isn''t it?"

    "No! No, it''s not!"

    "One last thing..."

    I let out a deep sigh.

    "What is it?"

    "The Almighty asks if you have any requests before we send you to this domain. Surely, you''ll want an advantageous bonus, which we shouldn''t allow... You are the Holy Maker of this world after all. What item do you want? Is it a powerful memento? Or maybe a fancy dinner? Any wish is fine."

    (Well, I already know not to take her with me. I already know the outcome of an event like that happening.)

    "Fancy dinner? You''re making this sound like my last meal! Am I going to die down there?" I asked.

    "I mean, probably. Everybody does," said the Angel, shrugging her shoulders.

    "Jesus, Serenity."

    "You want your legendary wish to be Jesus? He would probably enjoy exploring this world with you, actually. I''ll text him."

    "Wait, what?! No, it was only an expression! Stop texting him! That''s not the legendary wish I want!"

    "Oh. He just replied. He sounds stoked man!... I''m going to have to tell him you said no now..."

    (It''s actually pretty hilarious she has Jesus on speed dial, but maaann this Angel was dumb in the head. How she became an Overseer was beyond me.)

    "Oh, by the way. Angels read thoughts. Most prayers are done internally as a matter of fact!! So stop it, you dummy!I''m just glad I''m not some pervert weirdo like you, who lewds his own video game characters. That''s weird, dude!" said Serenity.

    "You''re being lewd right now! We''re literally having a conversation in our underwear."

    "What''s weird about that? Who''s got time to get dressed?" said the Angel.

    "You''re just as perverted as me I bet."

    "I''m pure as a leaf, you NEET."

    "Pure as a leaf is not an expression. No one says that."

    "They do in Heaven!!"

    "So which magic thingy was it again? The Almighty told me to give you at least one super cool power or item before I let you leave. It can literally be anything. Your wish is my command. We don''t care what you pick, because it''ll be entertaining either way. You sure you don''t want to take Jesus? He''s a wizard at RPGs. Literally, Jesus is the best in the office, besides you know who -- the Big Cheese."

    "This will be a very quick mission! I promise! Just go down to the new world and make sure it meets with your expectations!"

    "I have a question first. Are there game-like rules in this world?Like server-side inventories, statistics and skill levels and level ups?"

    "I dunno, I can''t remember. That''s not really my department."

    I was going to request to be an Admin. That would give me access to all of the overpowered abilities and impenetrable invulnerability. But, it could also be a waste of a wish if this world goes by real world rules. I''d end up just being a normal guy with a useless Admin badge.

    Maybe if I requested access to my dev room, assuming they recreated my game''s world completely. I could just nab all of my secret developer gear from there and use that. There was an item there that would even allow me to open portals to return back.

    Wait, I''ll just ask for the portal item.

    From there, I''ll teleport in.

    I''ll grab all the gear one by one...

    As much as I can carry and I''ll store it in ----

    "---- Eh, stop trying to form some complicated plot in your head and just ask me for the World-Edit ability. You''ll be able to do what you need with it," said Serenity.

    Shit, I keep forgetting she can read my thoughts.

    "Yeah, sure. I''ll go with that, I guess."

    The Angel wiggled her wings and hovered down to my level and by pressing her finger on my nose, she shrunk me down in size. She was now holding me in her hand like a little chess pawn.

    The world began to generate around us. From my position on top of her palm, I could see the entire map of the familiar world I''ve spent thousands of hours creating appear before my eyes in pristine graphics.

    "It looks like there are people down there already. Yeah, there''s definitely people! Are they NPCs?" I asked.

    "Oh. Well, we didn''t just generate the world now. We just loaded it up for the first time on my server. Those are players from other worlds. Most of them are probably from Earth Isekai," replied Serenity.

    "How long has this world existed?!"

    "This save file? I mean, I dunno. Angels don''t perceive time the same as humans. Awhile I guess. I mean, they are still very much in their early days. But, so are Earth Isekai humans as a matter of fact. A few thousand more years and Earth Isekai might actually be a fun game. It''s too similar to an RTS right now for me. Tense country border patrol simulators aren''t my kind of game. I think even the Almighty got bored of it."

    I could hear the sounds of a phone vibrating...

    HHHHHHHH....!

    HHHHHHH...!

    HHH...!

    "One moment here... I''m getting a call!" said Serenity.

    Serenity dropped me down to the world below. I flailed to and fro through the air.

    I descended down towards the ground, doing somersaults on my way down. The wind tried to pull off my boxers, so I held them tightly in place.

    I soon collided with the ground, creating a perfectly sized indent of my body in the grassy field below.

    [Well, I''m surprised that didn''t kill me.]

    Serenity appeared above my crater hole, which felt like my personally dug grave. She had a dumb smirk across her face. Serenity was back to her regular size-- back to her natural short stature.

    "Welcome to God Game Royale, Summoner!"

    "Ugghh... She¡¯s using the intro line to my game... It sounds so cheezy when she says it..."

    Serenity flicked me a small aluminum pin which I caught in my hand.

    "There''s your Admin badge! Now go explore the new world and make sure it meets with your expectations!"

    "Well, my expectations are extremely low, so from that overhead view I seen I''d say it looks great. You guys knocked it out of the park. Great work team. Now I¡¯m done right?"

    "I''ll pull you out when you''ve completed your mission!" said Serenity.

    "It''s still pretty unclear what that mission is!" I told her.

    "Make sure to have fun! Bye bye now, sexy Raito-san!"

    I think I''m going to cry.

    Why did this happen now!

    It should have happened when I was poor and doing nothing, not when I finally made a name for myself and had money!

    What a cruel, cruel world!

 Raito 2 â€“ So This Is Really The Beginning? Part 1

    So there I was -- standing in a field -- overlooking the spectacular world I had originally created for my video game God Game Royale.

    Had this been the actual game I''d be choosing my starting class right now, with this beautiful field of red and white roses serving as my backdrop.

    I happened to find myself in an interesting situation, which wasn''t the most ideal way to start this adventure off...

    I wasn''t even properly dressed to go outside, let alone adventuring. For clothes, I was starting with my white shirt and black boxer briefs from earlier that day. No shoes, no socks, and not an ounce of service.

    I must say it was far from the standard adventurer''s starter pack.

    Now, I didn''t have an old sword or a wooden training stick like some beginners might start with¡­ I''d be okay with something like that. What I had was far worse than either of those. It was my spoon from breakfast that morning. Just a standard little spoon meant for scooping sugar for my morning coffee or filling my mouth with sugary cereal.

    It wasn''t all negatives though. Standing in this familiar field, it was clear I was in a recreation of my game world. Judging by the design, it matched with my game''s map layout entirely. There was a good chance this meant I knew the layout of everywhere else too.

    Usually a title card would appear at this point and announce that I was in "Vermilion Forest", but seeing as this was the real world we didn''t have such luxuries.

    The area I was currently in was supposed to be a forest area, with old marble statues and ruins wrapped in tangly thickets of roses. At the center of the glade was a large stone water fountain and a big open area where players could spend time before venturing through to the nearby beginners'' town.

    For whatever reason my trees had been removed though, so now it was simply a hill region with roses everywhere.

    I spent a lot of time fine tuning the gameplay in Vermilion Forest back when I was creating it. I would make sure the enemies were easy enough to learn the basics off of, and fix any issues that made it too easy for players to get lost or confused.

    Vermilion Forest was a pretty simple beginners area.

    The only enemies being slimes, large frogs and enemy vegetables; carrot soldiers, celery-men, rabid cabbages, you know -- that deal.

    I intentionally made it as simple as possible because I didn''t want players losing before even reaching the first town.

    Imagine spawning only to be eaten by a monster seconds later. It''s not very fun when it happens in a shooter game, but it would be even worse if you lost your gear and levels upon death like in my game. That would be truly frustrating. Because of this, I made the first area comically easy. The average player should be able to stroll straight through and reach the first town with ease.

    The slimes were really the only threat here. Not because they did much health damage but because they actually did durability damage. This meant these little jellies could dissolve your clothes if they attacked you! If your armour durability reached zero you''d have to walk to the first town without the luxury of a covered body.

    It was the classic walk of shame, but it was still pretty safe.

    If this world truly was based on my game then survival would get pretty rough for us players later on. Deaths caused complete wipes of your character -- meaning you''d start back in this field, or another respawn zone, with absolutely nothing.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    My game wasn''t a standard fantasy RPG as it might seem from the floor I was on.

    The game was designed to be playable with imported character models, meaning you could play as any of your favourite characters. It also allowed for use of an array of user-created mods.

    Players could design their own character classes too, which had to successfully pass verification. These custom classes were then downloadable to everyone.

    Player-created content like the custom classes and use-your-own-models soon caused my project to become bigger than I ever thought it would. The players did most of the heavy lifting, while I only created the original template -- a canvas to let their creativity run wild.

    I even got the players to handle the balancing of the content, which might sound chaotic but it actually worked out in my favour. It turns out players don''t like going against over-stacked kits in player deathmatches, so the masses would tune and balance the content accordingly by voting on changes. It eventually got to the point where I didn''t have to lift a finger. I could just sit back and be lazy, watching as my game grew into something of its own.

    Soon we had an infinite amount of downloadable content created by the players themselves, all while I sat at home eating cereal in my pajamas.

    The end product was a world where you could really be who you wanted to be, and while the first floor was chock-full of classic fantasy tropes, the rest of the game wasn''t like that -- it was thriving modern metropolises, dark Lovecraftian worlds, dieselpunk dream worlds, and an endless supply of player created worlds.

    Every floor was a different beast entirely.

    You could spend your whole ingame career in one world without ever exploring the others, and even sell loot in the marketplace for real money so you even had a viable income. Some players even used ingame companies that focused on one thing or another -- like mining or farming, where players worked day to day earning real money.

    The game had some pretty quirky and unique systems. I never designed the game with the intention of it being as popular as it ended up becoming. It was simply just a thing I made for fun -- a little obsession, so I added a ton of content that I thought only I''d enjoy.

    One of the more interesting systems was the Lineage System. The Lineage System was some half-baked system that I put together over the duration of a single night.

    Basically, while you normally do the full-restart upon death, if you have Lineage options available you can preserve your items, your gear and pass along an assortment of stats and skills as well. You do this by selecting one of your "Lineage Extras" that you''ve created with another player or NPC. *wink wink*

    Simply put, you play as a direct descendant of yourself when you die, and you lose minimal progression from the occurring death. Playing as a descendant means you''ll have a different name, appearance and possibly gender too, but this new character is still you.

    In the game making descendants causes them to appear in your Lineage Extras page, and the only real use they have is replacing you when you die. So basically, you want to fill that page up with Extras so you can continue on forever without losing much progress. This also meant lots of sweaty intimate moments are encouraged to reach the end game content. (I know, I''m a pervert!)

    Not everyone enjoyed my filthy additions to the game, but it didn''t stop them from playing it...!

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    I still couldn''t get over the fact that my beautiful forest region was now a big grassy field. Every tree and every boulder in the area had been cut and mined away. Off in the distance, you could see the players chopping the remaining trees down as well.

    I spent a lot of time painstakingly placing each of those trees, I should tell you. They weren''t generated by a program. I spent whole nights tuning the forests to feel just right! And now my beautiful area had been flattened into a flowery field!

    I sat at the water fountain observing what appeared to be a small army of newbie players. They aimlessly jogged around killing slimes, chipping away at enemy vegetable soldiers, and chasing potatoes for simple fetch quests. There must have been close to a thousand of these players.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    I almost felt bad for the enemy mobs. They were so outnumbered compared to the hordes of newbie players assaulting them. If any mobs managed to spawn in, they would immediately find themselves decimated by a party of five charging players.

    Some of these beta players wore potatoes sacks for clothes. This was due to durability loss on their armour, which caused it to shatter like glass -- and then they would need a repair skill or a blacksmith to reforge it.

    "Well, slime attacks are behaving like they are supposed to. So I guess I can check that off of my list of inspections," I said, talking to myself.

    Besides slime hunting and cutting trees to craft, other players were doing gathering quests which focused on catching live potatoes in big potato sacks. This is where most of the unskilled players were getting their next clothing option.

    It was strange to me that these thousands of players were still trapped in the beginning zone. It was surprising that none of them had solved the first puzzle.

    I felt a tap on my shoulder.

    I looked over to see a girl with light-brown pigtails and a freckled face standing behind me. For armour, she wore the potato fetch quest sacks. In her hands was a large wooden beginner''s staff, the cherished symbol of a newbie mage.

    "Cool sack-armour," I said, "I''m guessing the slimes got you?"

    "Yea... I couldn''t bare hiding in the fountain any longer so I had to put on these bags for clothes... Whoever designed this place is a monster..."

    I nervously rubbed my neck.

    "Yeah, he sure is."

    "Why aren''t you killing slimes?" she asked.

    "Eh, I''m just waiting to see if anyone will figure out the secret to leaving this place."

    The girl in her potato-sacks looked up at me with big wide eyes.

    "Secret...?!"

    "Yeah, for the locked gate," I answered.

    "If you have insider knowledge you have to tell me! We''ve been trapped here for days! Pleaseeeee!"

    "Days? Really?"

    "Yes! We''ve tried everything..."

    "Well, if this world is identical to the world that I built then there''s a boss that needs to be defeated before we can leave here."

    "...! Did you say ''built''? You''re not the creator, are you?!" asked the girl.

    "I actually thought the boss would''ve been defeated by now, honestly. She was meant to be a floodgate, but not an unsolvable challenge."

    All of the commotions around us ceased instantly. All of the beta players turned their attention to the potato-sack girl and me beside the fountain.

    "Did that severely underdressed guy just say he built this adventurer''s hell?!" said one of the players.

    "Tell us your secrets, senpai!" said the girl, "show us how to escape this place! We beg of you!"

    "Our glorious, glorious savior has arrived to show us the way!" said another.

    I shrugged.

    "Nah, I''m nothing special. I was only telling Potato-sack here that I''m pretty sure there''s a boss in this region that needs to be defeated."

    "THERE IS? SHOW US TO HIM, O GREAT ONE!"

    "I''m no great one, only a NEET. You can call me Raito."

    "Raito-san, please give us direction!"

    "Ah, well. If I''m correct, you need to beat the first boss in order to open the gates. She''s easy with a group. Once she''s defeated the gates are permanently open. I implemented that to ensure that early-copy thieves couldn''t progress without the help of more players."

    "This man really is the Maker of Worlds! Only the True Maker of Worlds would dress in his underwear so informally like that. He doesn''t have any mortal worries or cares!"

    "He doesn''t even need to do quests! He just sits there! That is the true symbol of a fearless leader!"

    "But, how do we summon the boss, O Holy One?"

    "Raito is fine. Please call me Raito."

    I pointed over to six marble stone pillars behind me. Each had distinct coloured rune symbols on them.

    "Those are platforms, six players must stand on them. But first, you need to equip yourself with Slime Jelly. You should all have plenty in your inventory from killing slimes."

    "THIS MAN REALLY IS THE SAVIOR!"

    "Slime Jelly slowly revitalizes you but unequips once you''ve become fully healed. It then proceeds to spawn an enemy Slime Clone of yourself, so be careful..." I said.

    "Give this man a harem! He deserves disciples! We''ve spent whole days studying those pillars... To think it was so simple!"

    "Eh?"

    My ears perked up.

    I''m no great one, but I can''t argue with that! A harem of beautiful girls?! Who would say no to that kind of thing?! If I''m going to be stuck in this world I might as well live comfortably!

    "I changed my mind. I guess I am the one true God after all!" I said with a shrug.

    "Nooooo~~ That''s not true!" said a voice from the heavens.

    It was then that my Guardian Angel decided to descend down from her cozy apartment above -- blessing this wonderful world with her presence.

    A bright light beamed down from the clouds like a searchlight blinding a bunch of wild animals.

    "It''s an angel with big white wings!"

    Serenity hovered down in front of us and basked in the admiration of the desperate beta players.

    "You can start worshipping me in 3...2...1!" said Serenity as she fluttered her feathery wings.

    I let out a sigh.

    "That''s your best opening line?" I asked her.

    "Raito-san is obviously not God by the way! I mean if anyone here is... It''d be me! You shall know me as the One True Boo!"

    "I mean, I did create the world..." I added.

    "Plus, Raito-san here is simply just a worker employed by yours truly," added Serenity, "Worshipping him is no different than worshipping a housekeeper or praising the garbage man when he takes out the trash."

    ...I''m going to put her in the trash...

    The pack of players cheered for Serenity.

    "She''s under-dressed too! Look at those cute panties! Let''s praise her instead! She''s real goddess material!" said one of the players.

    "Yeah! Can''t believe we were almost tricked by that weird no-pants kid!" said another, "this angel is clearly the one that needs a harem!"

    I let out a sigh.

    She couldn''t let me have a moment, could she?!

    Standing on the six pillars, the beta players lined up to spawn the boss. Each of them dug out the Slime Jelly that they had obtained from slaying slimes from their inventories.

    "Alright guys, let''s eliminate the first boss!"

    The beta players equipped the Slime Jelly into their armour slot next. The different coloured Slime Jelly began to spread across their bodies, forming into a jelly bodysuit which left only the neck and head uncovered.

    "Ew! It''s cold and gross!" shrieked Potato-sack as she wiggled around awkwardly.

    The platform below her lit up, displaying a blue rune which matched up with the colour of her jelly suit.

    The rest of the players covered themselves in the jelly as well, but none of the runes appeared to activate below them.

    "There must be more to this puzzle."

    "The Slime is in between my butt crack... can we seriously hurry this up! I want to take this off ASAP!" shouted Potato-sack.

    "Her suit is blue and so is the rune... I''m guessing we need to match our suit colours to the colours on the pillars."

    The crew began to rotate positions until each of the six pillars finally activated.

    "We did it!"

    But just then, an enormous ball of green translucent gel fell from the sky, landing in an open area at the center of the six players.

    "SO YOU''VE COME TO CHALLENGE THE SLIME GUARDIAN, HUH? UWAHAHAHA!"

    The boss, lazily titled Slime Guardian, appeared before them in all of her glory. The enormous Slime was simply an upscaled generic slime enemy but with a big crown on her head.

    Her eyes glared red as she hopped up and down. A running trail of red light followed her eyes.

    Potato-sack''s jelly suit began to move on its own. It even began to pry itself off of her, rendering her armour-less, leaving her with only her potato-sack for clothes once more. It snickered as it sprung off her of.

    "Hehehehe~~"

    "Oh my God. My jelly is alive!" she squealed.

    The six Slime Clones dashed over to the Slime Guardian and prepared themselves for battle.

    I spent most of this period lazing around the starting area fountain. I drew characters in the sand with a stick. Part of me was hoping that by doing nothing Serenity would have to call off my assistance and yank me out of this world. But, she seemed completely content with lazing beside the fountain with a group of beta players serving her every need like some real goddess.

    Some time passed...

    "Raito!"

    "Eh?"

    I looked up to see the group of beta players surrounding me. The same boss-conquering ones from earlier. They had accidentally tramped on my sand drawings.

    I let out a deep sigh.

    "What is it?"

    "We need your help!"

    "Please Raito-san, please!~~"

    "With what?"

    They were sweaty, dirty, and covered in goop. Overall, they seemed exhausted.

    "Ah, defeat the Slime Clones first of all."

    "We did that! The boss is the hard part!"

    "Oh...

    Well, just learn his attack patterns.

    123...1...12...123.

    That''s his only attack pattern.

    I didn''t want to make it too complicated."

    "Or you''re just too lazy!" said Serenity.

    "Eh, a bit of both, okay."

    They returned back to the boss. I spent this time skipping rocks in the fountain. Serenity tanned in the sun beside me. I actually managed to skip a pebble six times! But Serenity wasn''t impressed.

    "We can''t beat him still...."

    I turned around to see the beta players again. This time they were all wearing potato-sacks and drenched in a mixture of slime and sweat.

    I sighed.

    They were really making it hard to be lazy...

    "Dodge roll on the thrusts. Jump on the sweeps. Block on everything else," I said, hoping that this was the last advice they would need from me.

    I turned around looking over to the boss area across the field. Hundreds of swords stuck from out of the flowery fields. These swords were created upon a players death to mark their location much like a gravestone.

    Making contact with these gravestones also turned them into resting camps that generated warmth and revitalized stats slowly, and could be used to access the inventory of a fallen player, but you couldn''t activate them within a few yards of an actively pursuing enemy.

    "We''ve had to restart so many times!!"

    "Please help us, Raito-san!" said Potato-sack.

    "I would if I could but a Slime Clone of myself would be too powerful to defeat, seeing as he would copy my stats and I''m an admin."

    I pointed to the badge on my shirt.

    "I''m not sure what my stat sheet looks like, but for all I know my Slime Clone and I are both impervious to damage."

    "Raito-san. Just go help them already," insisted Serenity.

    "Ah, fine," I said, stretching my back, "but you have to help too."

 Kirev 1 - I Wish You The Best Of Luck

    Kirev

    I placed the round crystal in my palm and covered it with my other hand. I knew doing this would activate it. Activating these orbs would reward me with the appearance of a random summon. It wasn''t any different from a random prize vending machine. It all came down to luck. Which of the many great gods would be the first for my roster? It was impossible to tell at this point.

    The orb lit up and began to hover out of my hands. The light coming from this floating gem was enough to cause attention. I turned around to make sure no one was watching me from in the surrounding woods.

    The shining, pulsing gem flickered through the colours of the rainbow before settling on blue.

    The dark silhouette of a divine being manifested from the blinding blue light of the gem.

    A summon descended down from the heavens...

    It was a god. No... a goddess.

    It had to be.

    It was a divine goddess, unmatched in beauty.

    The silhouette of this woman descended down through the air towards me.

    The light had now faded revealing her. My summon was a petite girl with shiny holographic white hair tied in long pigtails. The strands of her hair were everchanging in colours of whites and blues.

    "You there. Are you my Summoner?" asked the goddess.

    She spoke in a gentle tone.

    "I am."

    "I am Freya, Queen of the Valkyrie."

    This was perfect. My first summon was the Queen of Valkyries. Hopefully, she was a Slayer-class summon, as something with a sword and shield would fit my play style perfectly.

    She spoke softly, but confident:

    "To determine if you are fit to be my master, you must first beat me in a game of my choosing."

    "..."

    Was she serious? No way this was standard protocol. If I lost would I lose my first summon? This wasn''t how a Summoners first summon was supposed to go. You''re always supposed to get your first summon to accompany you without having to defeat them first.

    She smiled as she placed her finger on her chin:

    "Have you heard of Spell-Blade-Bullet?"

    Simply put, Spell-Blade-Bullet was the Summoner''s version of rock-paper-scissors. This summon wanted to determine if I was a worthy master by playing a game of rock-paper-scissors? Was she serious?

    "Sure. I''ve heard of it," I said.

    "Great. Then I challenge you. If you win, I will fight by your side. If you lose, I will be free to be my own master. Do you agree to these terms?"

    Did she wish to be her own master? That was a strange request for a summon. Most summons actually wanted masters because their mana and abilities are considerably weaker when on their own. Summoners were the catalysts that made summons capable of reaching their absolute power.

    "I accept your challenge, Freya."

    The goddess approached me with her fist out.

    I held out my fist as well.

    Spell-Blade-Bullet was simple enough. To form a blade I needed to extend all of my fingers outward and have my hand sideways. To form a spell gesture, it was my thumb, index and middle finger outwards with the back of my hand facing upwards and fingers spread out. To do bullet, it was just the ordinary finger-gun gesture, two fingers out, thumb up and hand on its side.

    Like in real battles between Summoners, Spell-Blade-Bullet simulated the outcome of real events. Blades beat Spells, as they could deflect and redirect magic. Spells beat Bullets, as Spellcasters could simply stop bullets and projectiles in mid-flight. And Bullets beat Blades, which was pretty common knowledge because deflecting a bullet with a blade was difficult enough as is.

    Freya tapped my fist with hers and began counting down from three.

    What she didn''t know is I had a plan.

    If I blurted out my move ahead of time it would throw her off. I''d simply tell her what I was choosing. It would leave her to decide if I was trying to make her counter my move or if I actually was choosing it and trying to screw with her.

    She began her countdown.

    Three.

    Two.

    "I''m choosing Blade!" I shouted out loud.

    Her fist froze in mid-air on the count of two.

    Her eyes widened.

    "You''re not supposed to tell me! Have you ever played this game before?!"

    "I always choose Blade. Let''s continue though, keep counting down," I said.

    She moved her fist and continued counting down.

    Three.

    Two.

    "Wait..."

    She paused.

    "Are you trying to trick me??"

    "~~No..."

    She looked mad.

    "I win then if I choose Bullet. But, what if you''re lying and you actually are going to choose Spell. That would mean you win!" said the goddess Freya.

    "Errrrrrrrrrrrr."

    She turned around.

    She started pounding on her head.

    "If you think I''m lying, choose Blade and we will draw," I said.

    "But, if I choose Blade and you choose Bullet then I''ll lose!!" said Freya.

    "I''m ready to play when you are!"

    "You ruined it! Now I can''t choose anything!" said Freya.

    "Just pick one. Let fate decide."

    "Are you some sort of mastermind?! Was this your plan all along?" asked the goddess.

    "My plan was for my first summon to challenge me to a game of rock-paper-scissors? Let''s just play and see who wins."

    "NO! I DON''T WANT TO."

    "Then I win by default," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

    "No! Cheating is not allowed. You''re a cheat!"

    "So are we going to play?" I asked her.

    Freya began her countdown from three again.

    Three.

    Two.

    One.

    Freya revealed her move -- Spell.

    She looked down at my hand -- Blade.

    "Looks like I win."

    I shrugged with a big devious smile.

    She pointed her finger up at me and shook her head.

    "Unbelievable! My potential master is a dirty cheat who can''t even play a kids game fair."

    "I told you my move in advance. No excuses."

    I laughed.

    "You were trying to make me second guess my move!"

    "I mean if you want to be your own master you can do so.

    I was hoping for my first summon to be sword-wielding class type anyways."

    I said, suggesting a solution.

    Freya''s eyes narrowed as she stared me down.

    "It''s just I''ve come to the realization you''re probably a Spellcaster-type, seeing as you have that book of arcane spells tied to your belt. I''m not really looking for a Spellcaster at the moment. I wouldn''t even know where to start. I guess what I''m trying to say is you are free to leave and be your own master if you want that," I said.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Her face began to crunch up, like a toddler about to have a tantrum.

    "You''re saying you don''t want me?! You really are an idiot, you know!"

    "I was hoping to roll a Summon class with a sword anyway. I''m not sure I could even use a Spellcaster correctly. It''s not my usual playstyle."

    "Fine! ~~ That''s great! I wanted that anyway," agreed the goddess.

    I turned around and waved goodbye.

    "Where are you going?!" she asked.

    "To set up camp. It''ll be dark soon."

    I continued to walk away. I could hear her footsteps quietly following me.

    "Hmm?"

    "~~You''re actually planning to leave me here?!"

    "That''s what you wanted," I said.

    "Why would you just abandon me like that?! What kind of Summoner are you?!"

    "The smart kind. You didn''t want a master. So you''re on your own. I''m on my way to find a summon that''s actually useful."

    "Um, actually useful?! Are you saying I''m useless?!" asked Freya.

    "No, I didn''t mean that. I mean you''re not my type."

    "What!! How am I not your type? Now you''re saying I''m not pretty enough?!"

    I rubbed the back of my neck. I could tell I was just digging myself a deeper hole.

    "No. You''re quite pretty. I meant I''m used to using a sword. I wouldn''t know how to properly use a Spellcaster in my roster. So are you going to continue following me or do you want me to point you in the direction of the nearest settlement?"

    I stopped in my tracks, thinking for a second.

    "On second thought, if you go to a settlement then Summoners will surely try and defeat you. You see, if you are defeated you''ll drop something called a memento. Mementoes from summons allow Summoners to collect and capture gods. They''re always looking for powerful summons and new mementoes."

    Freya crossed her arms and turned away.

    "I''ll go in your direction for now. Only until I find a place to make into my own divine settlement. I''ll call it Folkvang City! A place where only gods of equal status to me are allowed through my gates!"

    "Good idea. Probably safer to avoid settlements if you do go on your own."

    I gathered forest greens, mushrooms and moss on my route towards a good camping location. These greens fried in a pan would serve fine as a dinner. I collected as much dry red cedar as I could for fire kindling.

    Freya continued following me. She was pulling on my arm constantly and whining whenever she heard a noise in the woods. I tried to get her to carry something but she refused to help.

    Despite her being annoying, a little too naggy, and very uptight it was nice to have some company. She was the only being I had any memory of talking to since I woke up in the cave with the obelisk. It was, in some form, a nice change.

    "Don''t try and think of yourself as my Master now. You''re not my Pilot, or my Master or my Summoner. I''m just following you temporarily. We''re not teammates or anything. So just get that through your thick skull," said Freya as she cautiously followed me.

    Master, Pilot, Summoner-- these were just different words for the same thing. My role was essentially to lead a team of summons, and during combat, I would have to pilot them-- which meant the summon and I would share their body and I would essentially drive and control them while they fed off my mana supply. This is how piloting worked. The difference between a good pilot and a great one was their bond with their summons and their knowledge of when to use their summons effectively.

    Having found a suitable place to make camp on a cliffside overlooking a valley, I began immediately on a fire. This is where having a summon who can use the element of fire comes in handy. You''d never be cold and have to worry about using primitive tools to create a warm cosy fire.

    Freya sat on a log laughing at my many failed attempts at starting the fire. At first, she held her laughter in, but soon she was outright rolling on the grassy floor cackling away.

    I sighed.

    "You know you could help a little, right?"

    "As a Norse Goddess I''ve seen plenty of fires made, but this is the saddest attempt I''ve ever seen!

    ~~ Are you sure you know what you''re doing?!"

    I could see she was holding in her laughter.

    "If you''re going to follow me around at least make yourself useful. Make the tent or something."

    "I''m a goddess, not a housekeeper! You should have summoned a maid if you wanted someone to make your bed every night!~~"

    "You really are a pain in my ass, you know!"

    After an hour, I managed to start the fire. It only took a few attempts after switching to the stick technique, drilling its end to create friction until an ember appeared.

    I cooked up the greens, pulverized the mushrooms and fried the reindeer moss. It actually turned out quite good.

    Typical of Freya, she refused to eat it.

    "I''m not eating grass like a mule!"

    "Then stop acting like one!"

    Freya leaned in and shouted.

    "ERRR. THAT''S THE LAST STRAW!! I''M LEAVING!"

    "GOOD!"

    We butted heads again. This was becoming pretty common though. The trick here was not letting her win. Even small victories would go to her head.

    The sun set. The thick forest that we traveled through became pitch-black as the sun disappeared over the distant mountains.

    Eventually, Freya passed out. She used my lap as a pillow and my parka and cloak as blankets. Because of this, I couldn''t feel my legs any longer, but I also didn''t want to move. Moving would wake her up and her sleeping was the only peace and quiet I could get. She slept sprawled out and snoring. It was not how I imagined a goddess to sleep. To make matters worse, she left no room to lay near the fire, forcing me to shiver all night in the cold.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    Crunch! Crunch!

    The sounds of trees snapping. The land shaking like tremors from an earthquake.

    Smash!

    Something was approaching us...

    "*Yawn* What is that noise?"

    Freya rubbed her tired eyes.

    The face of a giant leaned in down upon us. His face was made of shades of metallic silver -- built from moving parts. A mecha of sorts with big shoulders and long horns resembling ears. His eyes were like fog lights framed in camera shutters. His long steel jaw hung open enough to reveal a fleshy tongue and teeth. It wore an enormous white hooded cloak, which it wore like a poncho.

    Our cliffside camp was nestled beside a drop that was easily fifty meters to the floor below. This giant had to be even taller than that to lean in down on us.

    "I. AM. YMMMIIIIRRRR!"

    The giant summon roared its name, while sweeping his arm across the camp. I quickly dived, tackling Freya over, knocking us out of the way of the attack.

    The treeline where our camp resided was flattened with one swing of its mighty sweep.

    "I''m going to have to pilot you, you realize that don''t you? There''s no other option," I instructed.

    Freya shook her head.

    "No, I''ll deal with this myself."

    A barrier of flowing energy surrounded Freya. Her book of arcane magic hovered in front of her, flipping through its pages as Norse runes appeared by her side.

    Nordic tattoos now decorated her arms and legs, her eyes lit up like lightning flashing in a thunderstorm. Her hair flew wildly in the wind.

    She began to channel her spell.

    Could I have been underestimating her this whole time?

    "Spears of the Weapon-dead, Wings of the Valkyrie! Open the gates and bear witness! Take this soul in front of me as tribute! CLAIM THIS SOUL AND BANISH IT. TO. FOLK...VANG!" chanted Freya as she entered into her [Alpha] state.

    Freya launched her ultimate Folkvang -- a barrage of chilling energy blasts rained down from above, which after colliding into the giant, formed one enormous fiery blue explosion.

    The attacks careened into the metal giant, hitting him like a solid right hook from a giant of equal size.

    Freya turned and gave a cocky smirk in my direction.

    "Easy."

    She stumbled to keep her balance.

    The giant roared once more. This time he seemed to be enraged more than before.

    "GGAAARRRHHHHH!"

    The metal beast screamed.

    "URRAAAHGG!!"

    Freya turned her attention back to the giant, shocked that her ultimate didn''t decimate him.

    "How can this be?! ~~~"

    The giant swung his arms down knocking Freya against the floor, rolling her towards me.

    "HHHRRRGGGGHH!!"

    I extended my hand out to her.

    "You have to let me pilot... or we''ll lose right here. Freya, come on. We can beat Ymir, but we need to do it together."

    Her mana capacity was empty, spent from her single magic attack, which caused her to be nearly lifeless.

    "I''ve defeated Norse giants before. So Ymir got one good hit in. It''s no big deal," said Freya.

    "Don''t be stubborn. Your mana is depleted. You know you can''t fight him in this condition!!"

    Freya turned her head away from me.

    "Come on, damnit!"

    Freya wouldn''t let me pilot. Not yet. I''d have to figure out another solution.

    Ymir prepared for another attack.

    "Hhhhrrgggh!"

    He looked down at the lifeless Freya. He was going in for the kill.

    I couldn''t let this happen.

    I''ve never fought anything of this size before.

    I didn''t even know how to engage him.

    But I had to act fast...

    Ymir was about to swing...

    Out of instinct -- I dived in to save her.

    Ymir paused, cancelling his attack. Instead of smashing down his fists on top of us he simply flicked us into the treeline, like if I was an ant crawling on his leg.

    "AAAAHHHHhhhhhh!"

    I flew into the side of a tree and fell to the floor below. Freya was laying beside me. She could barely open her eyes. Her mana was dwindling. She was close to defeat, which meant so was I.

    "Fuck.... ---"

    Just the flick of the colossal summon''s finger had me coughing out blood and wishing for death. I couldn''t feel my ribs. I wheezed and gasped for air, but it felt like my lungs were collapsed. I couldn''t imagine enduring an actual blow from Ymir. No wonder Freya was in rough shape.

    Even with a proper weapon, I wouldn''t be able to take down a summon like Ymir. Not on my own. Not without piloting a summon.

    I kneeled down beside my fading goddess.

    "It''s over. Just like that."

    I spoke under my breath.

    I rested my head against her chest.

    I could hear her heart still beating.

    Freya reached over and grabbed hold of my hand.

    "I am ready," she said, with a reluctant nod.

    Usually to pilot a summon you require an item of theirs. Equipping this item, called a memento, you can transform into the summon at will.

    But, for your first time piloting you must both forge a contract between one another. To do this, first touch has to be made and both must agree to be companions to one another.

    Now that we had made first touch, our contract was complete. Now all I needed to do to pilot Freya was to speak the verse of the Spellcaster.

    Each class of summon required a verse.

    This verse had to be spoken in the lost language.

    With it, I could pilot Freya.

    The verse of a Spellcaster was...

    Ko, the word for Ice and Reason.

    Sa, the word for Fire and Passion.

    Ki, the word for Energy and Power.

    Ra, the word for Light and Knowledge.

    I shouted, holding my damaged ribs:

    "KO - SAAA - KI - RAAA !!!"

    A bolt of lightning overcame me.

    In this instance, I became ethereal.

    While in a piloting state my body existed no longer. I was Freya and she was me. Freya and I were one entity. I now felt in control of her movement. I could move her fingers and close her fingers to make a fist.

    And I knew magic. I KNEW MAGIC!

    Not only did we share control of her actions, but our thoughts were interlinked and shared as well. And now because of our fusion, Freya relied solely on my mana, stamina and health.

    This moment was spectacular. It felt like being in control of a mech, and I was the operator living inside its head. But, it wasn''t a mech it was a divine god; a petite goddess of near-limitless power.

    "I hope you know what you''re doing, Summoner," said the goddess.

    "Yeah, trust me. I got this."

 Kirev 2 - The Tavern And The Settlement

    Kirev

    I pried the fingers of the giant''s detached arm down from their closed position like a makeshift door and helped Freya walk out before me like a gentleman.

    We arrived at the pilot settlement in the palm of Ymir''s giant hand. He had flung us during the fight, but we didn''t leave empty handed. Ymir did though.

    We left the giant''s arm in the street where we had crash-landed to the shocked expressions of the speechless pilots and to the awe of their godly summons.

    The settlements littered around these regions were like player hubs now. Pilots and their summons came here to gather Summon Hunt information, to do memento trading, to battle each other for high stakes -- everything was allowed.

    All of these pilots were armed with more than their companion summons. Most of them had guns strapped around their shoulders, or swords sheathed at their waist.

    It was often hard to tell the class of a summon at a glance, but not so much for a pilot. For the most part you could easily tell the class of a pilot. They often either dressed like a mage if they were part of the Spell discipline, a knight if they were part of the Blade discipline, or a soldier if they were part of the Bullet discipline.

    While you could be disciplined in all three, you really left yourself unspecialized. Jack of all trades were often a master of none.

    Freya and I continued past them minding our own business. Everyone was still looking around dazed and confused. The streets weren''t as empty as I thought they''d be. There was a time when pilots avoided contact with each other to avoid being robbed of their mementoes. It seemed those days were gone. Pilots seemed to party up and gather together now. Times were changing, probably for the better.

    I still preferred to go solo though.

    The pilots were all clamoring. Confused at what must''ve felt and sounded like a meteorite hitting the streets of the player hub. It probably sounded pretty similar to a WWII plane doing a dive bomb with Freya crying and screaming as we crashed. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! I''d probably be confused too if I wasn''t riding alongside with her.

    "DID THEY JUST SERIOUSLY ARRIVE ON THAT?" asked one of the settlers.

    "DUDE, ARE YOU GUYS OKAY????" asked another.

    "Hey Idiot, you can''t park there. You know that right?" called out a pissed off civilian.

    I turned towards the angry pilot, who was calling me out.

    "That''s not a mount, it''s a summons hand. It''ll disintegrate and fade away in a few hours," I said, walking away.

    "Jeez, you gotta be kidding?! Did he say that''s a s-s-s-summon''s hand?!" said one pilot.

    "I''ve never seen a summon that big before! It''s huge!" said another pilot.

    Freya was walking with a bit more spring in her step today. As if her mood had lifted and a new side of her was piercing through her cold impenetrable ice-barrier. Maybe winter for Freya was over and it was time for a warm spring.

    It could be the fact that every pilot and even their summons were eye-balling her like they were madly in love. All female summons were beautiful goddesses, why were they staring at mine!

    I couldn''t help shake the feeling of piloting Freya. I hadn''t piloted in so long. I almost forgot what it felt like. It felt good -- No, it felt great even.

    Nothing compared to the moments when we moved as one. Each step felt so light as Freya. We could move so fast as a pilot-summon fusion. It was like having the strength of a superhero and the speed and dexterity of a ninja. All I had to do was think of movements and our body could do them. It was like moving with zero latency, just efficiency; strength and speed. She could dash without even touching the ground, and launch energy-ice barrages for christ sake.

    It even felt like Freya and I were getting along better now that we had synced our minds together briefly while piloting. I think she finally understood why piloting is so important to me from experiencing bits of my past. When I was her, I saw glimpses of her past life as well. When she was summoned by me it had sucked her out of a very important time in her life back in Vanaheim. It made sense why she was so distraught and confused. She must have been stressed with her current situation.

    I think the more we piloted together, the closer our bond became.

    Being an ordinary human again was no fun.

    I felt so sluggish now walking with my own two feet.

    I took a second to breathe in the new environment.

    The settlement itself looked strange at a glance.

    It was very primitive in design. Just houses made of withered wooden boards. It was like walking into an old-timey one-horse town, but the surrounding high walls were made of metal and high-tech devices were all over the place. Touch screen vendor displays on the wooden walls of the buildings, tangled webs of power lines above providing electricity. Small floating steel boats used for transportation parked outside of run-down shacks.

    The pilots parked their mounts outside of the tavern. These were mostly hovering steel boats called skiffs. There was also the odd living mount -- giant rideable birds and giant cats -- I''m not sure how the two species got along, but they did. You could tell the new pilots from the old ones this way. New pilots always rode on rickety old speeder bikes while veterans rode rare living mounts. Living mount riders often formed lifelong bonds with their mounts, but I had never acquired one in my time.

    The clash of old-timey and futuristic aesthetics was definitely an odd sight to take in for a newcomer, or a vet returning after many years.

    I wasn''t a fan of relying on settlements to gather information on Summon whereabouts. But, without a full roster of three summons, I was still at a disadvantage. I desperately needed more summons, and going to this tavern would be the quickest way of finding them. I needed to acquire some mementos as soon as possible.

    "We should check out the tavern. See if we can get some Summon Hunt info," I said.

    "I need a drink after that battle anyway. I just wish people actually got to see me in action. By the way, don''t ever pilot me again! You were absolutely reckless," said Freya.

    So much for that new bond we shared after the piloting scenario!

    Even after that fight, Freya was still on my case!

    I sighed.

    "I was reckless?! You held me back there!"

    "Whaaaaaaat! HOW SO?" asked Freya.

    "You and your clumsy feet and your bad calls!"

    "What bad calls!?" she asked.

    "You tried to punch him for one?! He was made of freakin'' metal..."

    I sighed.

    "It was a special attack¡­ Idiot!" said my useless goddess.

    "Did he know that..." I asked.

    "It was! Learn my moves next time before you hijack my body! And, I don''t know why you''re complaining. It worked!! He didn''t expect a physical blow from a Spellcaster-type like me!"

    "He didn''t expect to laugh so hard at such a weak attempt at a punch. You''ve punched before, right? Because it didn''t really look like you knew how back there."

    *Angry Freya Noises*

    "GRRRRR! YOU WANT ME TO HIT YOU ALL THE WAY TO VALHALLA?! HUH?!"

    "Try it, babe. You won''t land a hit. You''re too clumsy!"

    "I''M GOING TO SMACK YOU SO MUCH HARDER NOW."

    Freya went in for a smack with her book of arcane knowledge, that I gracefully ducked under. I guess she was raised like a mobster and knew beating me with a phone book would stop me from looking bruised up.

    "I mean, did Ymir know that was a special move? Because he acted like he didn''t even notice it."

    *More Angry Freya Noises*

    "YOU¡­ UH! YOU''RE SO DUMB. It''s infuriating!...Errr."

    "Seriously though, we need to level you up. Summons are only capable of accessing four moves on-hand at a time, not counting ultimates. Seeing as you apparently have a move called ''Flail'', we should definitely look into replacing it with a better move."

    "IT WORKED PERFECTLY, ACTUALLY! The move is called ''Fracture''. It seizes movement, and it stunned him!" said Freya.

    "Oh, shit. That means you did well back there."

    "Yeah! Waaa... OF COURSE, I DID! Why are you looking so surprised?! I''m a full-rarity summon for a reason, DUH! What''d you think I was doing?"

    "I mean it looked like you tried to punch him... punch a metal giant.. with your baby hands."

    "Why would I do that?" she asked.

    "I mean¡­ you did do that¡­ I was there¡­ in you. Those were my fists as well. It hurt."

    "Well, either way, you owe me a drink for saving the day. Better pay up!" said Freya.

    "Sure, if we keep it to a one drink maximum. I can literally count the amount of money we have on one hand..."

    I pushed open the big hefty wooden doors of the tavern. The place was packed to the brim with pilots and their mighty god companions.

    "Holy shit¡­"

    Freya looked at me with big question marks above her head.

    "Huh?"

    Some of the rarest summons happened to be here. The Crusader-class King Midas, with his infamous Touch-Of-Gold, Selene the Dark Moon, Columbia and her twin sister Liberty, Narasimha, Veles¡­ the list goes on¡­.

    Freya shrieked as she pointed at a summon.

    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it."*Gasp!* Wow, look at that weird summon with the tiger face¡­ Scary!"

    "It''s a lion head actually. That''s Narasimha. He''s a Hindu God. And beside him are Anubis and Bastet the Cat God, from the Egyptian pantheon. Damn, there are some great summons here. "

    "Hmmm? There''s a Cat God? I don''t see ''em!?" asked Freya.

    Freya looked over at the nearby table and spotted a cat, who was having a mug of beer with his comrade.

    "Aw! Damn, you''re cute!" she said, hopping excitedly.

    Freya stayed near the front entrance as I continued on. She was petting the cat, who she mistook for ''Bastet'', who was actually not even a summon. It was just some Nascal trying to mind its own business like we were.

    "Cutie-cutie-cutie-cutie-cutie-cutie-cutie-cutie-cutie-cutie!!"

    She must have never met a Nascal before.

    I could hear her aggressively harassing him as I walked towards an empty seat inside the bustling tavern''s dining area.

    The Nascal race were shifty little pests that were infamous for swiping mementos off unsuspecting pilots. Master-class thieves and swindlers, those cats were.

    "Back off, Lady! I''m trying to drink here!" said the furry Nascal as he repeatedly knocked away her hand with his tiny paw.

    "But, you''re such a cute kitty! I want one so bad! Kirev, I need one of these!!" said Freya as she lifted the Nascal up and buried her face into his soft belly fur. I guess she didn''t realize I wasn''t over there anymore.

    Freya started petting his head lovingly.

    "I''m not for sale, lady! Someone get her off me!! I don''t like headpats."

    The Nascal''s human friend was roaring with laughter.

    "Who you shittin'', Rosco. Everyone likes headpats. You can pet me if you want, lady."

    Freya looked at him blankly while she still cradled the Nascal in her arms.

    Freya shook her head.

    "No... thanks...?"

    I sat down and ordered a round of drinks for us.

    It was best to keep a low profile in busy places, especially at a tavern. Pilots often settled arguments in winner-takes-all duels. Losers would lose their last used memento.

    Having only one summon put me at a disadvantage, so duels were out of the question. During duels, I wouldn''t have the ability to swap gods as they did.

    This meant I didn''t have access to the abilities, weapons and summon class types that came with having other summons to choose from.

    Once an opponent figured out Freya''s summon class and attack ranges then they could fully take advantage of the fight.

    Then there was also type advantage to worry about. Type advantage was when you chose a class type that excelled against another. Freya was a Spellcaster-type, which meant she was weak to Hunter and Assassin-type summons.

    If I ever wanted to be a better pilot I''d have to collect more summons. I needed a bigger and more diverse roster before I could properly take care of myself.

    The bar-maid approached with a tray of drinks and placed two mugs on the table.

    "Here you go! Is that everything?"

    I looked over at the waitress and nodded my head. The beers had arrived.

    "Yeah, seems to be. Thanks."

    I said as I gave her a coin.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    Psssst.

    The sound of someone trying to draw in my attention. As I was saying, it''s always good to keep a low profile. Other pilots were often trouble. I decided I''d just ignore this guy and pretend I''m hard for hearing.

    Pssst!

    "Hey, buddy."

    The pilot started to wave to get my attention, clearly unaware that I was intentionally ignoring him.

    "... Eh?" I said.

    The guy sitting beside me pointed to the two guys behind me.

    Well, I guess it''s unavoidable.

    "Is that your Freya? The one near that door over ''er?" asked the stranger.

    "Oh, uh, yeah. Is she causing you trouble?"

    "Nah, she''s smoking hot... She''s an epic rare, ain''t she?"

    "She doesn''t seem like it, sometimes," I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

    "Could we see her memento? I was telling my buddy Edwin here about her mementos. How her sword memento can turn to an ice spear like Skadi uses."

    Edwin nodded repeatedly.

    "Yeah. It sounds badasssssss."

    The man leaned in and spoke:

    "I''d love to carry around some sword that could turn into sharp ice. I''d be like a knight or a samurai with that tied around my waist."

    "Yeah, would be nice," I said.

    I just wanted this conversation to end already. These guys reeked of new player, and usually, new players were hot-heads, always picking fights and looting others.

    The man pointed to his memento.

    "The memento I got for my Calypso is only this little ribbon. I hate wearing ribbons. It ain''t very manly."

    It wasn''t until then I noticed the orange ascot tie around his collar.

    "Just tie the ribbon to your belt or something?" I said.

    The newbie with the ascot tie looked like he had just discovered the light bulb for the first time.

    "Damn, that''s not a bad idea."

    "I mean, you don''t have to wear it like a little tie. You look like Fred from Scooby Doo."

    The two guys'' eyes narrowed.

    Well shit, I pissed them off.

    "Oh. Well, my Freya is a Spellcaster-class. She doesn''t have a sword, unfortunately."

    Edwin leaned in and spoke:

    "Can we see it? I bet it''s even sweeter. What is it? That cloak you'' wearin'' or what?"

    "Nah, sorry man."

    "Dude, just show us the item you got. It''s not a big fucking deal dude. What, like we''re gonna steal it off of you in a place like this?"

    Well, seems these guys are trouble.

    I shrugged and shook my head:

    "Nah, sorry, Fred. I just got nothing to show ya."

    The two guys ripped me out of my seat and stood me up.

    Assholes¡­

    The two men swung at me, which I narrowly evaded. In that instance, I blocked Fred''s next swing, while kicking Edwin over.

    Freya had taken notice of the fight and was on her way. I think she forgot she was holding the Nascal because she brought him with her, carrying him like a baby that just filled its diaper.

    Most of the Pilots and Summons around the table were forming a circle around us. I''m not sure if the other half of the tavern even noticed the brawl though. They were still singing and partying.

    Edwin stood up and swung. I evaded, only to take a punch from Freddy.

    I pushed Fred off of me and headbutted Edwin while tossing him on top of Fred.

    "Come on, a 2 v 1 ¡­" I said.

    His summon, Calypso, dropped down from her position on the wooden cross-beams above me. Her curved knife was against my throat.

    Calypso was a tall, slender summon in a bikini top, with a jacket and denim shorts over top of everything else. She carried a bow on her back, and of course, the knife at my throat.

    "...!"

    Freya had appeared by my side, butting heads against Calypso.

    "Back off, Hunter scum!" shouted Freya.

    Calypso spoke with a cocky smirk:

    "Heh. Poor little Spellcaster. Is your Summoner too much of a pussy to let you off the leash?"

    *Angry Freya Noises*

    "WATCH YOUR MOUTH BEFORE YOU LOSE IT?"

    Freya was almost literally burning up with rage. The naturally cold temperature surrounding her was turning into mist.

    She was a living, breathing kettle and the tea was ready.

    At this point, Freya wasn''t protecting me anymore. I was the one holding her back from going berserk on these guys.

    I could feel the cool breezy chill of Freya''s hands as her magic prepped for an energy-ice barrage.

    The tavern maids, who all looked identical in their black maid outfits, were shaking their heads and waving their hands frantically.

    "Fights between summons are not permitted in here!"

    "You heard the ladies."

    Calypso rolled her eyes and faded off into an ethereal form.

    The two men turned for the door. But, not before colliding into the muscular chest of Midas, who was watching the fight closely.

    The big bearded Crusader-class summon leaned down and addressed the two:

    "Ha! It''s lads like you who give new players a bad name! You wreck and vandalize with no thought of the consequences! Let this be a lesson! Respect and honour in battle speak volumes of a person''s character! A 2 versus 1 has no honour! Don''t sour experiences for others! It''s dastardly! Be a hero!"

    The two guys exited the tavern with their tails between their legs.

    The jolly Midas cheered as he pointed to me:

    "Good scrap, lad!"

    Midas was insanely muscular. He wore a thick heavy gold crown, and everything he wore was either red or gold. Crusader-class summons often were huge brutes or defensive tanks, and Midas definitely fit the bill.

    "A free round for the lot of ya! Everyone here drinks on me!!!!"

    Freya was beaming with delight.

    The whole bar was deep into celebration mode but I''m sure Freya was the loudest of them all!

    "Kirev. Kirev! Keeeer-ev! Isn''t this so great!!" said my drunk-of-a-goddess.

    The clumsy goddess that was my summon and I walked back over to our seats.

    "Good job back there, Freya. Saved my ass," I said.

    "Don''t I always? I could''ve taken her down too if it wasn''t for the interference."

    "Calypso would''ve had type advantage though. Could''ve been a close call in a real fight."

    Freya spoke, waving her finger like a wealthy Queen:

    "No way. A low-class goddess like Calypso poses no threat to someone of my caliber."

    "Eh, but if we lose a duel, then we''ll lose each other."

    "What does that matter to you?" asked Freya.

    "Life would be too relaxing, I think. I''d never get anything done."

    "Ahhhh. Or you''ve finally come to the realization that I''m unrivaled in both beauty and in battle."

    "Eh, if your head gets any bigger it won''t fit through those tavern doors. Then you''ll really be in a pickle," I said.

    "WHAT''S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"

    "That your level of humbleness knows no bounds!"

    "I''m the most humblest!! Out of the every summon I''m definitely second or third on a humble list!"

    "Saying you''re the most humble... is definitely not working in your favour..."

    *Freya does her mad baby face*

    "You sure got a knack for pissing people off!!"

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    We continued to hang out in the tavern. We drank a few more mugs of beer, only because Midas paid for the lot of them.

    Midas even ordered meals for everyone. I hadn''t had a cooked meal as good as the one cooked at the tavern in so long!

    "This food is delicious!! SO GOOD! SO GOOD! It''s just as excellent as the food my servants used to cook me!" said Freya with a big smile across her face.

    It wasn''t until then I noticed she had fangs!

    Freya got along with the other summons in the tavern and even made a few friends, I think. I''m pretty sure she was wasted because she was singing and dancing in the crowds.

    Freya wandered back over to her seat, later on, acting tipsy:

    "I NEED TO GET A NASCAL! THEY ARE ADORABLE. :3"

    "Not happening," I said, waving my hand.

    "Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

    She sounded like an engine firing up when she didn''t get her way.

    "Because Nascals are little thieves! Normal cats, sure. I love ''em. Not a Nascal though!"

    That reminded me. I came here to find Summon Hunt locations.

    I activated the digital display screen on my table.

    Using these servers would be the best way to obtain Summon Hunt locations, as well as available local quests.

    Local quests gave coin, which was important if I planned to buy anything.

    Sadly, the map kept failing to load due to the influx of pilots accessing the Versa servers in here.

    This tavern is packed with pilots... I can''t load anything...

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    I spent the rest of my time at the tavern asking around for information.

    I bumped into a guy near the exit of the tavern. He accidentally dropped a weird little badge with the words ''Admin'' on it. The place was booming. I tried to follow him, but the crowds of people were too tight.

    Freya ended up running a high tab and getting us kicked out on our asses.

    But, more importantly, before that happened I found the whereabouts of a new potential summon.

    The only problem being in order to acquire a new summon I would have to defeat them while piloting my own summon, which was Freya¡­

    If I was to win against the summon I could obtain a memento; a relic from that god, to summon them as my companion.

    Still, with Freya as my summon this made things challenging. While Freya had the near-perfect beauty of a goddess, she didn''t have the stat parameters of one. Her luck stat was incredibly low. This made her clumsy in not only battle but day-to-day life. To make matters worse, her intelligence stat was nothing to write home about. An intelligence parameter was an important stat for a Spellcaster-class Summon.

    Essentially as a Spellcaster-class Summon this particular Freya was not in the high tiers or even mid-tier. More than likely she was at the lowest tier.

    Freya wasn''t the only one of her kind. Gods came in many different varieties. Other Freyas with different stat parameters and different personalities were out there, even ones with different class types and weapon varieties.

    We met a Slayer-class Freya in the tavern that night. She looked very similar, besides some differences in hair colour and hairstyle. That Freya had a short sword and a shield and wore a corset with hide armour.

    My Freya wore nothing close to that.

    She was the queen of impracticality.

    She basically wore glorified beachwear.

    "It would be a crime against man to hide such a perfect figure", she would say, whenever I mentioned armour being a viable tactic in war.

    I wasn''t sure if all Freyas dressed in skimpy black outfits, but now it seems it''s only mine that does because the other Freya wore actual armour. Armour that was practical and covered her midriff even!

    But, I couldn''t examine that other pilot''s Freya for too long. My Freya became jealous as she normally does and started constantly hitting my arm to make me leave. I was only curious of that Freyas stats though. I think my Freya thought I was trying to trade her away.

    I wish.

    Now that we were out on our asses we would have to find somewhere else to sleep.

    I was really looking forward to a nice bed at the tavern''s inn for a change.

    I was getting tired of cold nights by campfire.

    As a goddess of winter, Freya had no problem with cold nights, but I sure did.

    "Looks like we''re sleeping outside again," said Freya, as she took a big deep breath of the brisk night air. She almost seemed excited to be kicked out.

    "...Yeah..." I said with my head down low.

    We made camp not far from the settlement. The one good thing about being kicked out was we were closer now to the Summon that I found the location of while at the tavern. It gave us a head start against any other pilots following the same lead.

    We managed to find a player''s inventory. It must have been from a player who was defeated here some time ago. Inside his unlocked satchel were potions, notes, a bit of food, ammunition and a low-tier bolt-action rifle. There were a few other trinkets that probably belonged to a quest we didn''t have as well.

    Freya quickly dove into the guy''s food supply and then nestled up in her bedding beside the crackling fire. Her long twintails were wrapped around her neck like a big cozy scarf. It didn''t take her long to pass out.

    Even though I was a little mad about losing all of my coins and being out in the cold again, it was impossible to stay mad at her. She was adorable whenever she wasn''t yapping.

    I reached over and took some of the food from beside her nest of bedding and ate quietly.

    I stayed awake tending to our fire for most of the night. I could hear the faint sound of hovering skiffs speeding across the fields. They were only a few miles out.

    It was best to be wary with new players around.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    I woke up the next morning to find myself tied to a tree. Freya was gone...

 Ledger 1 - Reality Breach!

    Ledger

    I opened my eyes. Surrounding me, a field of swords and shattered steel. A ringing in my ears. A sharp, pulsing sting from a fresh cut. I felt a deep laceration across my left eye. Blood ran down my cheek onto the coarse dirt below. Red droplets of blood fell onto my open palm.

    The sound of slow steps, which were barely loud enough to hear, drew my attention.

    The calm approach of another rival. I turned to face the direction.

    It was a scrawny man draped in a long black hood, only a grin could be seen from what the hood couldn''t cover. The man was armed with a bow, one much too large for practical use.

    The man reached for the weapon which was slung over his back -- that oversized greatbow. Next to the bow was a quiver of arrows. These arrows were more similar to long metal javelins than arrows.

    Within the moment of contact between this great weapon and the man, he changed. The hooded man immediately transformed. He had taken another shape and altered his appearance into a tall muscular man. The transformed man had unruly black hair and wore no shirt, only loose pants, with bracelets and other accessories. His eyes were now glowing white like some god-like figure.

    The god-like archer drew back the string of his bow with a cocky grin ear-to-ear. He held an arrow snug against the greatbow with two fingers and spoke:

    "The man you see before you is none other than L¨¹ Bu Fengxian."

    The archer laughed to himself:

    "He''s a master archer. I''d tell you to say your prayers, but I''m afraid there won''t be time."

    Without any further hesitation, L¨¹ Bu released his arrow.

    "So long, friend."

    The shot fired, and with it came an explosion of energy towards me. The speeding javelin was covered in fiery blue energy. A path of destruction followed as everything in its wake scattered from sight.

    I drew the weapon sheathed at my waist -- a straight short sword. The sword itself was double-edged and fit for single-hand use, and while it was ornate in design, it couldn''t compare against the incoming missile.

    As my hand came into contact with the hilt, I transformed as well. Long blonde locks of hair fell down into the edges of my field of view. I shrank in height and size. My once moderately toned arms were now waifish in appearance. I took a moment to look down. I had transformed into a girl in golden armour.

    This wasn''t the form of a god like my rival had. This girl appeared to be short and meek, with porcelain skin and shaven legs. Her armour was uncomfortable and tight.

    I could feel the heat of L¨¹ Bu''s shot as it closed in on me. The javelin had to be a mere meter from my face. We swung our sword instinctively, parrying and deflecting the javelin arrow away from us.

    The energy-engulfed javelin exploded off in the distance behind us.

    This girl didn''t look like a god, but she was powerful.

    L¨¹ Bu was dumbfounded.

    "How the hell did you survive that?! No one''s ever survived that!"

    He had never seen someone move and react with such speed and timing.

    Without wasting a moment, we lunged forward. I could feel every muscle move as she thrust our sword towards L¨¹ Bu. I could see he was lining up another shot from across the field. It felt as if the sword was pulling us through the air. It was as if we were now the javelin soaring straight towards our target. The blade pierced its mark as we careened into the Archer''s chest.

    L¨¹ Bu coughed, spewing blood from his mouth. He looked down in shock as the girl''s sword pierced through him.

    "...How is this possible?! I can''t lose to you!"

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    I had fallen asleep in the bath. The floor was soaked in warm bath water. The water had overflown from the tub.

    I should get out.

    I''ve been spending so much time on the online servers that my mind was feeling fried and warn out.

    17 hours straight is how long my last session was. I was starting to get addicted to the player versus player content, which I mostly avoided most of my life ingame. I was always more of a player versus environment type of gamer, but the release of God Game Royale changed that for me.

    I turned off the running taps and sat in the tub a little longer while it drained.

    As I dried myself off I noticed something unusual. From the pool of water on the floor, there were footsteps leading out of the bathroom and into the main room. Either I was sleepwalking and don''t remember doing so, or someone had been in my house.

    I cautiously opened the bathroom door wearing only a towel.

    The wet footsteps kept going, leading into the kitchen.

    I continued on down the watery trail into the kitchen. The cupboards and fridge were open. Someone was clearly in my house. A robber wouldn''t check the fridge if he was looking for valuables unless it was a hungry robber -- which actually might be more dangerous now that I think about it.Stolen story; please report.

    The footsteps lead from the kitchen to my room now.

    Weaponless and naked, I approached with caution.

    It would be smart to arm myself with something like a kitchen knife, but for some reason, I didn''t feel the need. Not that I''m a champion fighter or anything, but if it is a home invader I could likely handle it. I spent so much time fighting online with my god-tier summon roster that it felt like I could get the same results in real life.

    God Game Royale used real motion which was inputted straight from thought into code, meaning things you accomplished online were also basically accomplished offline too. If you thought you were training with Bruce Lee all day, you''d pick up his moves. I spent so much time reading and predicting other players movements and attacks that I felt it was possible out of game as well now.

    I entered my bedroom. My closet was open as well and I know I had it closed last because I hardly ever used it. I wasn''t the most organized man, and left the clothes I liked in places easiest to find them -- which meant my clothes were still on the floor in the bathroom or on the bed where I could see them.

    The sounds of rustling came from the closet now. It could be a bag of chips being rifled through, or maybe a grocery bag loading up on my undesirables. Was the intruder searching for my sister''s room, surely he would want her underwear, not mine.

    "Is someone there?" I called out.

    I poked my head into the closet, which was a large walk-in one full of never-used dressers of socks and underwear, old junk consoles and collectibles.

    A blonde haired girl looked up at me with the strangest look I''ve ever seen. She was kneeled over wearing one of my big hooded sweaters and boxer briefs and looking almost disappointed in me. In one hand was a bag of potato chips and in the other was more of my underwear.

    "Can I help you?" I asked.

    She stood up and handed me the bag of chips. She must have been only five foot and a couple of inches in height because I had to look down while she talked. She had unusual eyes, like a light golden colour and long hair.

    "You''ve summoned me to such a place without any of my armour or weapons. And from what I can tell this house only has gear woven of cloth! Now, I can summon my sword when it''s dire, but I will need armour," spoke the girl.

    "Summoned? What are you talking about?!" I asked.

    She looked at me with a puzzled look and spoke:

    "Yes. You summoned me to your aid, via memento. Did you not?"

    "Memento? You mean like in God Game Royale? Are you a GGR player too?"

    The girl tilted her head and looked up at me confused. Her golden eyes were captivating. She had a sense of familiarity about her that I couldn''t shake. At first, I thought she might have been a cosplayer, who styled herself to look like one of the popular summons ingame. It was the only option that made any sense to me.

    "D-did you need some proper clothes? My sister''s room would be a better place to start. I mean, she''s not home and she''s probably the same size as you."

    "What sort of armour does she wear? I prefer something hard, but I will settle for bronze."

    This cosplayer girl was going full Daniel Day-Lewis on me.

    She was either the best method actor alive today or completely fucking nuts!

    She kept talking about armour, mementos, summoning.

    "Well, uh. It wouldn''t be armour¡­ but it would be clothes so you wouldn''t need to wear my boxers anymore¡­" I said.

    The girl came up close to me. I stepped back slowly.

    "That necklace around your neck..."

    I could feel her breathing lightly on my neck as she examined the bead. She pressed up against me as I looked to the door for an easy exit in case she started doing anything even remotely batshit crazy.

    "This was a gift from my sister Enyo. She gave me this... moments before..." said the girl.

    She paused and seemed to be deep in thought.

    Her hand was still on the bead necklace hanging around my neck.

    I could feel her rolling the smooth bead in between her fingers.

    "...that battle."

    I looked down to see the necklace she mentioned around my neck, which wasn''t there prior to taking my bath... I don''t even own any jewelry so I know it wasn''t mine. How did this necklace manage to find its way onto my neck?! Did she tie this necklace around my neck when I was in the bath? That''s weird as fuck, but kind of hot in a scary sexy kind of way.

    "Ares?..." I spoke under my breath.

    I was starting to lose it. I knew this girl... but I knew she also... wasn''t real...

    "This is the memento that made it possible to summon me," said the girl.

    "Is this the same memento I have ingame?!"

    Everything about this was bizarre. Could this actually be the memento from ingame, and was this girl the summon? It had to be. This girl was my companion ingame. There was no doubt about it. Perhaps my brain really is fried and I''m just hallucinating.

    "Then you must know that it''s imperative to carry a summon''s memento on them at all times. You must cherish it. If you were to lose it, you would lose me as your companion as well."

    "You really are my summon from God Game Royale, aren''t you?" I asked.

    "...? Are you okay, Summoner? You look as if your mind has been broken from the dark arts."

    "Just very confused at the moment."

    "Then please rest! I will solve this armour situation in the meantime! We need to be prepared for future battles," said Ares.

    "Right. Well, I don''t have any armour here..."

    "Then where do I start to find proper fitting armour?"

    Ares walked past me towards the main room and pointed to my sister''s room.

    I nodded my head.

    "Yeah, that way..."

    She gave me a thumbs up and walked in.

    I sighed out loud.

    What the fuck was going on...!

    Nothing made sense when it came to the bleeding-edge technology of VERSE, which was what made God Game Royale possible. It could simulate virtual-reality so clearly that it wasn''t virtual anymore. Any action we made or skill we learned ingame, was part of us forever. But, this was different. VERSE couldn''t generate characters in the real world, could it? It didn''t make sense. Nothing can just spawn out of the blue. Matter doesn''t just appear from nothing, especially full-blown women appearing from thin air. Did she just emerge from inside a 3D printer one day and decide to break into my house?

    Either way, she didn''t appear harmful. I guess I could keep her around until I made sense of all of this.

    I should probably clean up all of those wet footprints before they ruin my nice hardwood flooring too...

    I sighed again.

    I mopped up every inch of the house that Ares had explored while soaking wet. She had traveled further than I initially thought. Even appeared to have opened the front door to the house. Hopefully, she hadn''t done so while stark naked. I''d have a hard time explaining that to my neighbours.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    Ares was still busy in my sister''s room so I went in to check on her.

    I poked my head in.

    Ares was holding up a shirt to the window to see how thick it was in the sunlight.

    She shook her head and then repeated the process with another shirt.

    I knocked on the door to get her attention.

    She beckoned me into the room:

    "These options are worse than before, Summoner."

    "What do you mean?"

    Ares stood up revealing her new look.

    She was wearing my sister''s clothes, a sort of dress top and denim shorts.

    "We should go to the blacksmith and request something of higher quality."

    "Blacksmith?! Those barely exist anymore. Maybe one or two shops but, that''s out of the question. That outfit looks fine. If you want, we can go to the market and pick you out something else."

    "Yes. That sounds excellent. I would like to try some food, Summoner."

    Now she wants food too?!

    She''s going to murder my wallet! I already can''t even afford my books for school!

    "I meant to buy you some clothes, but uh, I guess we could get some food, too..."

    "Yes! We need food -- meat and vegetables, Summoner. Let us go to the markets for a real meal!"

    I sighed.

    My life sure will be more entertaining with Ares around...

 Ledger 2 - Aspera: Advent Trigger Pt. 1

    Ledger

    This is the story of how I met Kirev and heard about Raito.

    Ares and I walked to the magrails together. I had received a call from my little sister Hailey about a position in the Aspera team, which she was already apart of. Aspera was a group of agency-funded gamers who got paid to play the games I already played. It seemed like something worth at least checking out, seeing as I''m broke as fuck. Especially now that I have another mouth to take care of, in the form of Ares! These guys apparently paid pretty well and I''ve spent enough time gaming that I could probably solo queue some of these challenges that they''re probably stuck on.

    The agency was called Vestal. Vestal was a massive company. It was part independent military for the borders, as well as an enormous tech company.

    The place I was told to check out was a facility located in the redzone. Normally, average pedestrians weren''t allowed to cross into these redzone areas. This was actually the first time I''d be doing so. I was a little nervous but also excited. I couldn''t wait to see what gaming setup they used at a facility like Vestal. They had a nearly endless supply of money so you know they would have some bleeding-edge rigs.

    My little sister always bragged about her job. That''s what felt strange to me. Why would she be giving me a job as good as hers? She never did anything that benefited me. I wouldn''t be surprised if she had signed me up for some freak experiment.

    Ares and I boarded. She was wearing a big oversized hoodie with the hood up, a gangsta baseball cap, and denim shorts, all belonging to my sister. The hoodie was very baggy, and the sleeves themselves nearly touched the floor. I think Hailey would kill me if she saw me giving away her stuff, but it''s not like Hailey hasn''t literally dumped my stuff on the sidewalk before. Ares sort of dressed like an urban street rat at the moment, which was hilarious to me because she knew nothing of the city culture. She kept looking at her outfit unenthusiastically. Whenever she would point to something the long sleeves of the hoodie would flop and flail around like wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube men.

    Everything little thing seemed to interest Ares. She was like a little kid seeing something for the first time. We would be walking down the city streets and I''d look over -- she''s gone! I''d find her staring into the window of a store, or buying fast food at the food trucks with all of her no-money, or rubbing her face up against the coarse fur of someone''s mangy dog. Literally every few steps you''d hear a cute little gasp come from her direction. Ah! Oh! OOOH!

    "Summoner, look!"

    Streetwear Ares pointed over to a transportation shuttle.

    "Ah, yep. It''s just a shuttle. There''s many of those," I said.

    "But look, it moves without wheels!"

    "Yep. They do that."

    "And now it''s carrying people!" said Ares excitedly.

    "Ah, shuttles carry people. That''s what they do."

    "And the mangy dog boarded to!!"

    "Yep. He goes with his owner," I said.

    All of my replies were as dull as a butter knife. I had been answering so many questions about things at this point, I felt like my head wanted to run off and abandon me.

    The magrail system took us from one part of the city to the next within a couple of minutes. My home was situated nearly 450 kilometres away from where we needed to go. That was 280 miles covered in only a few minutes of standing in the compartment of a spaceship-looking skytrain. The magrail had tracks all of the ways across the Pacific ocean to Japan as well, which was where a large portion of my cities people went for work.

    The scenery from the view of the magrail changed drastically for the worst as we rushed towards the exterior of the city. The bustling city of Shinseiki started to turn in colour until it looked to be covered in mold and rot. As we approached our destination the city was absolutely deserted and covered in foliage. The exterior of the city was unkempt and slowly returning into the forest it once was. In the further distance there appeared to be a creeping black terrain, like black tendrils crawling towards the heart of the city.

    Ding-dong!

    An automated voice spoke to the passengers of the magrail:

    "Thank you for traveling Vestal Civilian Magrail. Please form a straight line at the nearest exit point for scanning and clearance! Have a safe day and remember No One Dies Alone."

    "Wait what the fuck did that automated message just say?"

    I turned to the other passengers, who all looked unphased by the message.

    I looked to Ares, who looked concerned as well.

    With no other option, we formed into the line and continued our journey towards the heavily-guard redzone. We could have stayed on the magrail and returned home, but what good would that do. I''d still be broke and without any family ever home, I was the only one paying all of the bills.

    The military presence was astounding here. Patrols of Vestal soldiers in SWAT gear marched on every street of the run-down and deserted city areas. The buildings were dilapidated and in ruin, besides the Vestal-owned structures, like the enormous tower in the background-- which was where we had to go.

    The soldiers all seemed to march with a non-soldier looking person in the centre of them. Some sort of Vestal general perhaps, that wasn''t restricted to company uniform policy. The person in the centre often did wear a military hat or have some form of a badge on their outfit, but some of them dressed downright weird, like mini skirts, or a literal bikini top on one of the females. The weather was warm right now, but definitely not hot enough for something so revealing.

    If the redzone was so dangerous then why did the generals dress like Halloween sluts?

    We managed to pass through clearance fine, with the help of a call to my sister. The soldiers seemed to be looking at each other strangely as they scanned Ares though. One of them even took the radio strapped to their chest during the checkpoint. I couldn''t help but think that was bad news.

    We continued to walk down the streets towards the ever-watching tower overhead. We kept our eyes low and away from the attention of the patrols. Ares was still quietly gasping at things and subtly pointing while pulling on my sleeve.

    The app on my phone began to blink. Black Garden at Beacon Hill Park.

    We were arriving at the rendezvous spot.

    I looked out for my sister, but she didn''t seem to be at the park where we agreed to meet.

    We continued towards the lake that apparently was further into the park. The park was overgrown, but it had swing sets, benches, picnic tables, volleyball nets on the lake''s sandy beach. The park was much nicer than it appeared to be from the outside, with its rusty old metal fence and dense coverage of vines and unkempt foliage.

    A strange girl seemed to be swimming in the lake, but she didn''t look like my sister. She had long straight black hair and red eyes. She had something about her though. It was as if she was surrounded by an alluring aura like a siren of the deep; she was the lady of the lake. I felt captivated by her sight and couldn''t look away...

    ...A vague familiarity...

    We approached the shore of the lake.

    A shirt, a jacket, thigh-highs, a bunch of clothes bunched up were left on the bench.

    I picked up the clothes, only to have panties fall onto my lap.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    Was this girl skinny dipping? Wasn''t she waiting for us? Why would she choose this moment to go into a lake in the middle of a park naked?

    The girl began to wade out of the water and approached completely stark naked.

    I turned away. Ares just stared, unphased by any of it, as if it was normal enough.

    "Why are you playing with my panties? You''re not a pervert, are you!" asked the naked girl.

    I looked down at the clothes and quickly pushed them off of my lap and onto the bench.

    "Just kidding. You must be Ledger. Everyone calls me Oni, so I guess you can too."

    Oni narrowed her eyes at Ares but continued her conversation with me.

    "Here''s your clothes!!" I said.

    "Nah, you can keep ''em," said Oni.

    "Excuse me?!" I asked.

    She let out a laugh before snatching them from me. I covered my eyes and averted my gaze as she towelled off and slipped on her panties first, followed by her long thigh-highs.

    "I thought my sister was going to meet us here?" I asked her.

    "Heh. Like she''d do something nice. That''s a stretch. She doesn''t like anyone, and especially not you."

    I looked over at Oni confused. But, quickly turned around again, as she was still only half-dressed. Oni seemed to be enjoying herself because she had a devious smile on display. Despite having a cute smile, she had noticeable fangs.

    Finally, she geared up, putting on her jet-black military jacket with a matching black military cap.

    "Why do you say that?" I asked her.

    "Well, she wouldn''t have volunteered you for this if she did."

    "Huh?"

    "Did you notice that black stuff crawling over the horizon on your way here?" asked Oni.

    "Yeah. What was that?"

    "It''s the End. We won''t have much time to use the gates, because of it."

    "What''s the End? Gates? You aren''t making sense," I said.

    "It''s the end of our story. *laughs* Follow me. I''ll escort you to the real facility."

    "Isn''t it the... tower in the distance?"

    "That old thing? Just a decoy. This park is our real base of operation."

    We followed Oni along the dock, which led to a strange Clocktower alongside the lake. The building overlooking the crystal clear lake had what looked like thousand of powerlines tethered to it. It looked as if it powered the surrounding area.

    "Welcome home."

    Oni turned around, suddenly blocking the door. She pointed to Ares.

    "She''ll have to wait here."

    "She goes where I go," I said firmly.

    "Not this time," said Oni shaking her head.

    "It''s fine. I will stand watch from here," confirmed Ares.

    "Are you sure?"

    Ares nodded her head.

    "Good girl," said Oni.

    Oni opened the doors. Inside the Clocktower was just an elevator. You could now tell that this was truly a Vestal operation as the inside was bleeding-edge for sure. The elevator had a clear screen to the lower facility. Below we could see vats of water in two formations of seven, with teams of scientists in lab coats addressing younger people in strange bodysuits.

    "What''s going on down there?" I asked.

    "That''s what you''ll be doing. You''re new role."

    "I thought I was hired on to be a gamer."

    Oni laughed, while she leaned up against the wall.

    "Same same but different."

    "No seriously, what the hell is this."

    "Aspera program, noob. You''ll see when we get there."

    We exited the elevation and approached the staff hard at work.

    A young man about the same age of me begins to exit his pod, which is filled with water. He''s dressed in a black bodysuit with a large helmet over his head. A dozen large tubes are attached to the suit at the head, shoulders, and back.

    The man coughs violently, as he pulls off his helmet and hands it to a scientist. The man''s wet hair hangs over his face. He begins to lean over and immediately starts throwing up on the floor in front of him, while still coughing.

    A young, lanky scientist quickly addressed the man immediately, giving him no time to get his bearing: "Kirev, you''ve got to figure out how Freya entered Alpha state during that fight with Ymir. It''s not a common occurrence. She may be the key to accessing Omega as well."

    The man, called Kirev, wiped his mouth on his arm and looked over at the scientist while still leaned over and breathing heavy.

    "Someone has kidnapped Freya. She''s missing. I think it was the players I encountered at the bar," he said.

    "Then, you need to skip your free block and go back in there," said the scientist.

    "I can''t. I''m tied to a fucking tree!" said Kirev.

    The scientist sighed and shook his head:

    "Misaka Yagami!"

    A girl hurried over and stood at attention, doing a military salute. This girl, Misaka, also wore one of those bodysuits. This one was white, with cables hanging from the back of the helmet, which dragged along as she walked.

    "Yes, Professor Aemon?!" asked Misaka.

    "Enter Kirev''s gate, log in and untie Kirev before he starves to death."

    An assistant quietly came over to Oni and I and questioned Oni. She dressed completely different than a typical assistant, wearing what looked to be a leather racing jacket and a black skirt. She did wear a name tag though, as to stay true to her assistant role. Her name tag read ''Aspera Team Supervisor Kaya Kirasagi."

    Miss Kirasagi looked me up and down and spoke:

    "Is this Ledger?"

    "Yeah, that''s him," said Oni.

    I watched as Oni casually walked away.

    "It''s nice to meet you, Ledger. My name is Miss Kaya Kirasagi. I''m Professor Aemon Green''s assistant, for the most part, but also the Team Supervisor for Aspera. You''re Hailey''s brother, right? Let''s go introduce you to the team."

    "Okay," I said.

    "Professor Aemon. This is Ledger, our new Number Seven."

    "You are Reid Aerys'' son, correct?" asked Professor Aemon.

    "Yeah, you know him?" I asked.

    The Professor adjusted his glasses.

    "I used to work with him very closely. This is perfect. You''ll be teaming up with Oni for her gate."

    "Should I do an introduction?" I asked

    My sister walked by my new team while sticking her tongue out.

    "We don''t need one. We all know you as my stupid brother," said my sister Hailey.

    "Where you going, Hailey?" questioned the assistant as she followed Hailey off.

    "Leave me alone! It''s my free block. I''m going to have some lunch finally!" said Hailey.

    Misaka leaned over to me, giving me a nudge.

    "Don''t mind her, she''s not even part of this team. She''s on Team Ad Astra"

    "We''ve lost so many Sevens that I don''t think an intro really matters. Just suit up and get in the pod. We''ll see if it''s worth getting to know you if you manage to survive through the first session," said Professor Aemon.

    "...What do you mean? You''ve lost people doing this? Like they''ve died?"

    The group chuckled quietly like I was really showing just how out of touch I was.

    "It''s the gate. It''s impossible. No one ever survives in it for more than a few days. Raito was the only one that could. None of Oni''s partners has lasted more than a week," said Kirev.

    "What do you mean by gate....?"

    "Oni is working on the Advent Trigger gate," said Misaka.

    "The game Advent Trigger: Reckless Abandon? I''ve played the shit out of it. That''s a gate?" I asked.

    "Someone get this kid a piloting suit. The gates fine, there are players playing it as we speak. We''re just not working effectively enough," assured Professor Aemon.

    "Yeah, but those players play from the safety of their rooms. I''ve played that game plenty. This isn''t the same situation if you''re losing people though," I said.

    "He''s right. Anyone can do well when they''re playing without anything at stake," said Kirev.

    "We''ve just been dealing with amateurs ever since we lost Raito. Vestal won''t bother giving us any competent replacements anymore," said Misaka.

    "He just doesn''t understand any of the science of the operation, but he will in time," said Aemon.

    "You''re right because none of this sounds like science to me. Seriously, what sort of operation is this? How are people even dying in these gates if it''s just a game played by millions?" I said.

    A scientist handed me my suit and a helmet. The bodysuit, which was dark blue had the words "Zwei" in white on the chest with a bunch of Japanese lettering below it.

    "You''ll be in pod marked Aspera Zero-Seven."

    "You can take this gear back. I''m not going into that without some proper information on what''s at stake here," I said.

    I watched as Misaka plunged into her water tank. She closed her eyes as the cables attached to her suit connected to the sockets of the tank. With a sudden burst of energy, like lightning striking against a metal pole, she vanished from sight. The water in the pod shot out from the tops like a geyser as she seemingly disappeared.

    "Did she just vanish?!"

    "Misaka''s been injected into the gate," said Kirev.

    "But, where did she go¡­"

    "The physical form is tied to the soul. If a soul exits from a body completely then the body ceases to exist in our reality," said Professor Aemon.

    I continued to stare at the empty pod where Misaka just was. How could she just vanish from plain sight? Was she really injected into the game after all?

    SHHHHW!!

    An empty pod behind me shot out some water from the top. Another girl appeared inside, who looked rather shell-shocked. Her eyes were very distant like she had been scared half to death.

    This girl had long blonde hair, which was tied in a ponytail. Her suit was dark purple.

    The girl exited her pod and sat against the clear glass of the vat of water.

    "What happened to you?" asked Kirev.

    "Amelie''s been in a gothic dark fantasy gate," said Professor Aemon.

    "Like Dark Souls?" I asked.

    "They spawned me in as a child... It felt like I was in there for five whole years¡­!" said Amelie.

    "Well, you''ll probably be back in there tomorrow. So, go have a bowl of cereal in the bath or something and find your sanity," said Professor Aemon.

    Amelie, who still stared absently into the void, shook to her senses and shouted:

    "ERRR. I don''t do that!"

    Kirev leaned in and whispered to me:

    "She actually does, it''s so weird!"

    "Someone get Miss Crane in here. If Ledger won''t go in his gate today, someone has to," demanded Professor Aemon.

    "Orianna is still wounded from her last trip! You can''t put her in there!" said Kirev.

    "She''s our only other option here," said the Professor.

    "I''ll go. I don''t care," said Kirev.

    "You''re far more valuable in your own gate. We need Alpha. It''s your task to get it. It''s either Orianna or Ledger," said the Professor.

    A girl entered covered in bandages. Her left side of her head was tightly wrapped, as well as her arm, leg, and waist. She looked beat up and sore, completely on the brink of falling apart and shattering into pieces.

    The Professor pointed to the girl.

    "Orianna, get geared up. You''ll be up next."

    "Sure, right away, boss."

    The girl reached over for her gear, despite being weak and in such a fragile state.

    I couldn''t let her go through with it.

    As much as I feared death, I couldn''t let this girl go in there.

    I''d be the cause of her death if I did. I couldn''t live with that.

 Ledger 3 - Aspera: Advent Trigger Pt. 2

    Aspera - Advent Trigger Part 2

    Ledger

    The girl reached over for her gear, despite being weak and in such a fragile state.

    I couldn¡¯t let her go through with it.

    As much as I feared death, I couldn¡¯t let this girl go in there.

    I¡¯d be the cause of her death if I did.

    I couldn¡¯t live with that...

    "I''ll do it,¡± I said.

    Orianna looked over at me.

    Her face was indifferent and lacking any visible emotion. It was like she was fully obedient to the commands of Professor Aemon and nothing else mattered. She was prepared to do what had to be done, even if she was too injured to return from it.

    She was insane if she thought she could handle anything in her current state.

    Orianna stood silently, not saying a word.

    "Great. Gear up. Amelie will be your tutor, assuming she doesn''t mind doing so," said Professor Aemon as he waved a pencil.

    "That''s fine. Let''s get in there already," said Amelie, as she excitedly reached for her NERO helmet.

    "Is there anything I should know first?" I asked her.

    "It''s easier to just show you. But, whatever you learn inside these gates you keep."

    I wasn¡¯t entirely sure what she meant by that.

    "I''m not sure if you''ve noticed but we''re running out of time before the rot reaches this facility. Soon we''ll have to abandon it and use whatever abilities we''ve managed to obtain before that point. Judging by what we have now, it won''t be enough,¡± said the Professor, rushing me to the area marked Zero-Seven.

    The facility was full of gear, equipment, tanks of water, and other technology but completely open and lacking any cover to properly put on my bodysuit with a hint of privacy.

    "Right, I''m on it. Is there a changing room? Or should I just change over¡­ here?" I asked.

    ¡°Just change here. We don¡¯t care,¡± said Miss Kirasagi.

    That wasn¡¯t the problem! I cared! I had only just met these people. Dressing down in front of them wasn¡¯t on my bucket list!

    I nervously went behind the large vat tank to gear into my suit, which must have only amplified the problem. I could hear my team laughing. Probably due to my novice nature, or possibly because they found my choice of underwear funny.

    The Esper-2 suits, also called Zwei or Angelsuits, left nothing to the imagination... It was like wearing a unitard, which tightly gripped at every curve of the body.

    It''s no different to walking around completely naked, besides the light padding on the crotch and thin possibly-metal plating on the knees, elbows, chest, shoulders, and spine.

    The shoulders, neck, and all along the spine had circular connection ports for the ¡°umbilical cords¡± to plug into. The umbilical cords were just the large tubes that the other pilots had hanging from them.

    After having painstakingly fought my way into the super-snug Esper-2, I had only one part left to equip. The Aspera pilots all wore black metal fins over their ears. These fins covered their ears completely and looked like how a cat¡¯s ears looked while they were back. These fins apparently served the function of assisting with NERO scanning, which had something to do with the external helmet that went over top of the ears and connected directly to them.

    I didn¡¯t really pay much attention to the scientists as they described how any of it worked. Too many abbreviations and not a hint of layman''s terms. Just wear the suit, the ears, the helmet, sit in the pot of water and wait for connection. That¡¯s all I took from it.

    I approached the group while pulling at my crotch area. The suit seriously clung to every inch of me. It was awkward to walk in, let alone hang out beside everyone else in. I kept trying to cover my bits, but it looked way more awkward trying to do so casually.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget your ears!¡±

    Amelie hopped over. With a light brush of her hands on both sides of my head, she combed back my hair and slipped on the two metal fins. After finishing, she rested her hand on my shoulder.

    ¡°You¡¯re almost ready now,¡± said Amelie.

    The underlying lights on my suit lit up changing from red, to yellow, to green. I guess it meant the suit was powered on and ready.

    I could feel as two scientists plugged the large umbilical cords into my shoulders and all along my spine.

    ¡°What do I do now?¡± I questioned.

    Miss Kirasagi pointed with her clipboard.

    "Put on your helmet and wait in your pod," said Miss Kirasagi.

    ¡°First we''ll analyze your dominant skills, parameters, and passive traits. These will all be things you''ve gained over the course of your life. Hidden values earned through cultivation, training, and labour. Each of these hidden values will be essential in being a Master Pilot,¡± said Miss Kirasagi as she addressed me directly.

    ¡°The Cartesius Program will be after. It will assist you in separating from your physical form into ¡°Sov¡±. I know. You haven¡¯t heard that word before. That¡¯s fine. It¡¯s short for ¡°Sovereign state¡±, which is the phantom form that you witnessed Misaka disappear into earlier. Sov is the form in which pilots are capable of controlling others internally, and without the ability to go Sov you won''t be of any use here. So, it¡¯s absolutely vital that you pass or we¡¯ll have to find someone who can.¡±

    I nodded my head, as I looked around at my other teammates. Every single one of them looked calm and casual, as if this was only P.E. class, while I stood at attention like I was just unexpectedly drafted into the military.

    My Esper-2 suit began to flash its lights as it apparently scanned me for dormant skills and stats. The fins over my ears went up-right for a moment in an almost comical fashion. Within a few seconds, my stats were on a big screen displayed to everyone in the facility.

    Name: Reid Aerys

    Birth: 08/29/221X

    Gender: Male

    Sov Type: Engel

    Level: 27

    Alignment: Neutral

    Disciple: ---

    Height: 167 cm

    Weight: 58 kg

    Blood Type: ---

    Health: 230

    Mana: 1300

    Stamina: 126

    Vitality: 3

    Endurance: 2

    Strength: 6

    Agility: 4

    Perception: 5

    Reaction: 3

    Resistance: 0

    Recovery: 9

    Willpower: 12

    Intelligence: 6

    Wisdom: 3

    Extra: 1

    Purpose: 0

    Luck: 27

    Available Points: 26

    Available Rolls: 2

    The team quietly stared for a few seconds, with a few snickers and some hums.

    "It''s peculiar it doesn''t have his blood type recorded -- it''s only ever done that for him and Oni so far,¡± said Miss Kirasagi.

    ¡°What¡¯s really interesting is your name registered as your father''s name instead of your own. It¡¯s never done that,¡± said Professor Aemon as he adjusted his glasses.

    "Could it be an error?¡± I questioned.

    "This system doesn¡¯t have simple errors,¡± said Professor Aemon as he paced back and forth.

    "His stats are extremely low¡­,¡± said Setsera with a sinister smile.

    "Yeah. Not very remarkable at all, really,¡± said Aemon.

    "Hey, I got feelings you know,¡± I said.

    "It can be extremely risky to bring along someone who has a low purpose stat. It can result in heavy side effects and debuffs to his other stats when it goes into the negatives, which could ultimately result in an alignment change during missions. It¡¯s too high-risk,¡± said Setsera.

    "Yeah, if you turn to Dark Alignment at any point expect that we''ll hunt you down and kill ya,¡± said Oni with a cheeky grin.

    "Uh, alright. Good to know I guess,¡± I said.

    "He''s got a pretty high Luck stat. Highest in the group,¡± said Kirev.

    "It''s the worst stat to have a high mark in though. It''s a barely noticeable effect. It''s not like having high Extrasensory Perception which benefits both us and our summons greatly," argued Setsera.

    "His Mana capacity is actually really good too. It''s almost the same as Oni''s was when she started,¡± said Amelie, looking back to me.

    Oni sat up against the wall in the back, focused on me. She seemed to suspect something was up with my strange stat sheet but stayed silent.

    "Have you been cultivating, training or doing labour?" asked Miss Kirasagi.

    "I haven¡¯t really done any training. I¡¯m not sure what cultivation even is, but my last job was hard labour. Like fourteen hour days sometimes, with little to no days off."

    "Well, it seems to have paid off in some form," said Miss Kirasagi.

    Well, first time I¡¯ve ever seen hard work actually paying off.

    "Are we ready to take Ledger on his test run?" asked Aemon as he spun around and pointed at his science teams and Aspera pilots.

    "Yes, boss!" said the team in unison.

    Amelie quickly hopped over to her pod. I watched carefully as she climbed into it. I knew I would have to do the same in just a moment and if I did it wrong, Aemon would light a fire under my ass.

    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    "SARTRE Online," said one of the scientists with his thumb held high.

    "LOCKE is engaged," said another.

    I climbed into the vat marked Zero-Seven, which was apparently going to be my new home and slipped cautiously into the water which was actually warmer than I expected it to be.

    I watched Amelie carefully from across the room. She seemed so excited to jump back in. She was moving impatiently, and upon noticing me she gave me a wink and a thumbs up.

    The umbilical cords attached to me freely swayed in the pod, before darting towards the connection ports inside the tank. I instinctively took a huge breath of air which was now blowing into my helmet through one of the cords.

    It felt invigorating.

    "Launching Cartesius," said Aemon, as he tapped on the glass of my tank.

    WOOOSH!

    I watched Amelie disappear from sight.

    My body began to vibrate as if I was having a seizure or severe panic attack. My heart rate was increasing, beating out of control. Visions of places I¡¯ve never been began to flash before me at a rapid pace.

    Were these all different worlds accessible through the gates that I was about to enter?

    WOOOSH!

    G?????a???????????????t?????????????????????????????????????e????????? 11-22-56

    I gasped for air and coughed loudly.

    I had done it. I had entered through a gate for the first time.

    This was remarkable¡­!

    I pressed my hands into the coarse sand surrounding me. It all felt so real. It was smooth, and warm to the touch, and underneath the top layer, it was cool and refreshingly cold. Just like it should be.

    ¡°Welcome, welcome!¡± said a girl as she approached cheerfully.

    The first thing I noticed about her was the dark raccoon-eyes. She wore a large amount of dark eyeshadow, which framed her eyes. Her black hair was chopped into a short bob-style and she wore an unordinary amount of golden jewelry, with a gold, black and blue colour-themed outfit.

    "Ancient Egypt?..." I questioned.

    I, too, was covered in golden decorations. My arms were wrapped in golden greaves, with black and blue decorative trim. A long white hooded cloak draped from my shoulders, blowing in the warm air. My hair was long and dark, and hanging in the way of my face.

    "Yes. This particular gate takes place in the Ancient World." answered the girl, who had to be Amelie.

    "What did you mean back there? About what we learn in the gate we keep for real?"

    ¡°Come here and let me show you,¡± said Amelie.

    She pulled me and then took a few steps forward. Turning around, she engulfed her hand in a bright red flame.

    "This is a simple pyromancy spell. But, I learned it from another gate, not this one. Yet, I still possess the skill here. My mind has unlocked it, and it''s now bound to me indefinitely. I can even cast it in the real world."

    "How is that possible?" I asked.

    "Without the gates, it wouldn''t be. Anything you learn here or anywhere else stays with you no matter where you and your soul reside. The abilities you gain from the hieroglyphs in this world will be your first real abilities in the other worlds.

    You''ll be able to harness the traditional elements of earth, air, water, and fire here. And hopefully leave with an understanding of mana," said Amelie as she pointed towards a large temple behind us.

    Amelie closed her flaming palm, extinguishing it, and opened it to reveal a small red orb.

    "Crystallized mana. During my mission I was taught the art of forming mana into a physical form from wild elements -- it was a birthright of mine -- to gift it to the other worlds."

    "This is fascinating,¡± I said as she passed the small gem to me.

    "Ultimately, here is where we''ll train you until you have a firm understanding of how it all works. Days and weeks in this world are barely noticeable to those on the outside. I spent five years in my last mission, and it was only an afternoon for the rest of the Aspera gang, so we can spend as much time as it''ll take for you to grasp this. An explanation inside a gate makes more sense logically to Professor Aemon. Everything is a waste of time to him on the outside. That''s why he was rushing to get you ready. He always forgets to slow down and actually be in the moment, but he''s a nice guy after you get to know him."

    "So are we in a game right now?" I questioned curiously.

    "No. Well, it''s not a traditional game. Technically, this place is called Gate 11-22-56. It''s the first place that I discovered on my own. Every world has a corresponding gate number, and inputting these numbers allow us to access them time and time again. Almost all of the gates haven''t been explored yet. This was one of the previously undiscovered ones that I found when I joined Aspera."

    "So this isn''t a game? This is real life?"

    "The gates aren''t always games. Most of them aren''t games as a matter of fact. We''re not even sure why some of them are. But, it''s not a bad thing. Game worlds tend to be the simplest way to obtain our abilities so finding them is crucial."

    "So then, this world is part of history?"

    "More likely it is a fabrication. Some reimaging of an Ancient Egyptian scenario generated by the gates. Maybe it''s purely random. I doubt our two characters are even supposed to meet in history, and the world we see around us isn''t factual neither. This temple is the Temple of Philae, where we are now, and behind us are the Pyramids of Giza. You shouldn''t be able to see the pyramids so clearly from here, so that means this world has moved them closer to fit the narrative."

    "Ah, and are you supposed to be Cleopatra?" I asked.

    "Ah, yes!¡± said Amelie in Cleopatra¡¯s body, ¡°I believe I''m some sort of Hollywood Cleopatra. I think the gates have made her far more beautiful than she was in real history, but who knows. I believe you are Ramses the Builder, a pharaoh of a different age. I doubt they''ve ever met, especially not as young adults like we are doing now. "

    I stumbled as I attempted to move forward, which Amelie was quick to notice and helped me find my footing.

    She let out a little laugh.

    "It''ll take a while to learn to move in a borrowed body. Eventually, you''ll be able to summon in the real world and pilot beings far more capable than ourselves using the same skills you are using now that allow you to use Ramses.

    That''ll be crucial in the End Game. No amount of skills are as effective as piloting Summons against the impending darkness."

    "What if I can... already..." I said.

    Amelie laughs.

    "Piloting is very very advanced learning. Professor Aemon will want you to pass the Cartesius test first before we proceed with those kinds of lessons. Finding a summon is harder than it sounds. They are hidden in mementos for the most part, unless you find a world where they take to the streets.

    It''s worth noting that once we are fully fledged Summoners with full rosters it''ll be our duty to patrol the borders. We won''t have the same liberties as now, where we can explore worlds and acquire abilities and skills. We''ll be generals in a war, and fodder for the demons on the other side of it.

    All Graduates of the Academy have strict military duties."

    "Ah, so that''s the reason for the people patrolling with squads of soldiers around the borders. They are graduates of these facilities?" I asked.

    "Yeah, sort of. Graduates are flown in from all over the world. Those academies are apparently much nicer than the one we had --- before the darkness claimed it and pushed us further into the city. Now we''re forced to use this little run down facility below a city park. It¡¯s a pretty sketchy operation now, but we used to be a school with outfits and everything. Most of those teachers and students are Dark Aligned now though." said Amelie as she led me towards the temple by hand.

    "A world based around God Game Royale or Spell Blade Bullet would be the best place to start hunting for summons, I''d bet. Those worlds are littered with summons."

    "Heh. Your sister told us you were glued to playing those titles -- particularly GGR. I guess she wasn¡¯t lying.

    That knowledge will come in handy when you''re ready for those gates. But, first, we need to get you walking properly."

    "So when you say borrowed bodies, does it mean we are possessing people right now?"

    "It''s a small interruption in their lives that they won''t recall. It''ll be like a dream to them. You ever have that feeling when you zone out and forget you were doing something -- it''s in those moments that perhaps you were piloted by someone else, and you were none the wiser at the end of the day," said Amelie.

    "I knew someone else was doing my tests at school for me. There was no way I should''ve been passing."

    "Exactly. Maybe your sister has been piloting you all of this time, working in the shadows to get you good grades."

    "I hope you''re joking. Hailey would use that power to walk me into a moving train, no doubt."

    Amelie stopped to laugh and covered her mouth with her hand.

    "Fair enough!" she said with a big smile.

    "Do you think it''s possible to learn abilities and summon without the gate techniques? What if gamers were getting abilities from home somehow?" I asked her.

    "It would be impossible without having access to the gates.

    Right now we are basically tricking our minds into thinking this is reality, and by doing so it breaks the limitations of what our brain thinks is possible in reality. We are gaining access to powers we can inherently have, but which are normally locked. The gates are what breaks these locks, by essentially injecting us into another form of reality our minds believe they can do what they possibly once could but can''t anymore.

    Simply put, I doubt it''s possible at this time unless the gates progress further beyond our comprehension. Right now the gates are key to unlocking our hidden potential. Playing at home won¡¯t have the same effect."

    "So I¡¯m guessing we¡¯re only here to study then?" I asked.

    "To learn for the next gate. Hieroglyphics are hugely important in the gate I¡¯ve been struggling with. Treat this as a tutorial. To get used to operating in a body that''s not your own. I''m sure Professor Aemon will have us in the real gate later today. He''s been obsessed with completing it since the beginning of Project Aspera,¡± she answered.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just try a new gate if you¡¯re struggling with that other one? Isn¡¯t that the gate that we¡¯ve lost three pilots in?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Aemon says it''s the most important. It was the first gate to ever be unlocked via our systems. Aemon knew the number off by heart and had the whole class running it until most of them fell. He¡¯s obsessed with it. He thinks all of the answers are hidden within it,¡± she replied.

    ¡°Jesus, most of your class fell to it? It¡¯s really that bad, eh?¡±

    ¡°Everyone has had the wrong approach to it, and when we got replacements to fill our open slots¡­ we¡¯ve only had hot-head soldiers in there instead of students. This gate needs to be done slowly, it needs to be studied. It can¡¯t be solved by killing everything that approaches from the shadows.¡±

    We walked along the warm stone steps heading towards the Temple of Philae.

    A man bathed in the sun outside of the entrance. Just relaxing in the sun in front of the temple on a large step. The Egyptian man was remarkably handsome. He only sat up to greet us as we approached, almost as if a polite handshake was out of the question. His quirky long hair was combed backward in a rough fashion, with a strand hanging down into his face.

    ¡°You took your sweet time¡­¡± said the man.

    ¡°Oh, shut up,¡± replied Amelie.

    ¡°You know this guy?¡± I asked.

    ¡°This is Ra, my summon,¡± she answered quickly, ¡°I hope you didn¡¯t think he was my boyfriend or anything. He¡¯s a bit too arrogant for my liking.¡±

    ¡°Hah. I¡¯m arrogant? You should see the way she stares at me. Perfection can do that to a girl though,¡± said Ra with a cocky smirk.

    ¡°Told you,¡± said Amelie as she nudged me.

    ¡°Does your summon just remain here? He doesn¡¯t follow you around or anything?¡± I asked.

    ¡°This is where he chooses to spend his time when I¡¯m not summoning him to my aid. He¡¯s basically on vacation, most of the time.¡±

    ¡°Ramses is a devout worshipper of mine. I assume you will be too, Summoner,¡± said Ra as he finally stood up, ¡°Who are you by the way?¡±

    ¡°My name is Ledger Aerys,¡± I answered.

    ¡°He¡¯s the new Seven in my squad,¡± added Amelie.

    ¡°Well, I hope we get a chance to see each other again,¡± said Ra as he walked away towards the temple.

    Ra waved without looking back, ¡°So long.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s like that with everyone,¡± she insisted.

    ¡°Sounds like he thinks I won¡¯t last the day,¡± I said.

    ¡°You won¡¯t!¡± called out Ra from the distance.

    ¡°Summons have excellent hearing, too,¡± said Amelie shrugging.

    ¡°Ah, wish I knew that sooner.¡±

    END OF PART 2

    PART 3 IS COMING!

 Ledger 4 - Aspera: Advent Trigger Pt. 3

    <blockquote>

    Aspera - Advent Trigger Part 3

    </blockquote>

    Ledger

    I spent most of the day learning hieroglyphs in the body of Ramses. Amelie had taught me the basics of moving throughout the day, and we had even begun advanced movements like wall-running, swinging from pillar to pillar on grappling hooks, and basic blocking and a little combat.

    But then¡­ night time fell upon us.

    The world around us shifted and changed as the sky quickly turned to night and the hot sun disappeared from sight. Geography began to rearrange. The large river near the Temple of Philae turned red, as did the night sky.

    Everything began to change, malforming.

    I lifted up my hand, only to witness my fingers acting sporadically -- as if we were caught in a system glitch.

    The sounds of static white noise and visions of horrors began to invade.

    Our pleasant Egyptian tutorial had changed on a dime.

    I turned to Amelie.

    ¡°What is this?!...¡±

    ¡°Ramses?¡± said the Egyptian Queen.

    She wasn¡¯t Amelie anymore. No. No, she was Cleopatra again.

    Had Amelie left me in this world to survive on my own?

    Is that her sense of a tutorial?

    G?????a???????????????t?????????????????????????????????????e????????? XX-XX-XX?????????????

    We had shifted. Unwillingly, entering into a new gate -- a Dark World.

    The world was pitch black. An absence of light and fire, only the stench of rot, the sound of moist steps approaching, and creeping low fog.

    I felt the floor, looking for a sense of direction. The ground felt like marble stone, but it had been carved into stone faces. The pitch-black became illuminated only briefly, as a red sky shined for a brief moment before fading back to black.

    In my hands was a military rifle.

    I was a soldier now -- was this a survival horror?!

    My gear was heavy, meant for ballistics.

    My rifle-- it had a torchlight.

    I could hear the steps drawing closer.

    I still couldn¡¯t see anything but I could hear the direction.

    I pointed my rifle in the direction, using the flashlight to see.

    The character dressed in a thick hooded cloak. An aura of gold light surrounded them like an angel. Its hands were covered in blood, its face had specks of it as well, and its cloak was drenched in red.

    Two eyes peered up at me.

    Its irises were like rings of a halo and bright enough to see my surroundings as they gazed at me.

    ¡°Good, you¡¯re here. Follow me closely.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­¡± I said, with my arm extended out to the person.

    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong. This isn''t the right gate,¡± said the person.

    ¡°Amelie?¡± I asked as I tried to keep up in the absolute darkness.

    The deep red took over the pitch-black sky again.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look. Keep your gaze low.¡±

    A blood-curdling shriek sounded off.

    The sound of a pterodactyl being strangled by a gorilla.

    I could feel liquid running from my eyes.

    An enormous bird, or dragon, took to the sky. A beast with four eyes, mangy feathers, and bones piercing out from its malformed ribs.

    ¡°What is¡­ that¡­¡± I said in awe.

    The liquid from my eyes was pouring like a river now.

    I felt my face and put my wet hands into the light of my rifle.

    It was blood. My eyes were bleeding...

    "No... Ledger. Don''t look up. We have to exit before the Death Gaze."

    ¡°Amelie¡­ That creature¡­¡± I spoke, lured to the Beast¡¯s draw.

    "???????????S????o?????????????n??????.?????.??????????.?????????"?????????????, said a voice, conversating through my mind.

    ¡°Death Gaze!¡± said Amelie, pulling me to the floor.

    I struggled to fight her off of me.

    ¡°Get off me!¡± I shouted.

    I tried to stand...

    I couldn¡¯t rise to my knees.

    I was locked in position.

    My body shook, sporadically as it did before the gate.

    My mouth was frothing like a dog with rabies¡­ was I having a seizure?

    ¡°Pull out your handgun¡­¡± instructed Amelie.

    ¡°And do as I do."

    The cloaked figure drew a handgun from her waist and pressed it to her head.

    I turned to her, confused and disoriented.

    ¡°NO!¡± I shouted.

    PPCKK!

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    She fell to the floor as the gun separated her body from her mind.

    I couldn¡¯t tell if I was covered in her blood or my own anymore.

    This twisted sick fantasy...

    My vision was getting increasingly blurry.

    The blood poured profusely from my eyes.

    The shriek of the beast filled my mind.

    Where was her gun?!

    I panicked to find it in the black abyss, running my fingers across the smooth stone and fresh warm blood.

    I found the bloodsoaked gun and put it to my skull and pulled down¡­

    PPCKKKK!

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    "You are safe now, Summoner."

    The sound of a familiar soft voice.

    Ares¡­

    I felt the area around me¡­ the soft skin of a warm leg¡­

    She sat by my side, directly next to me.

    I was in a small bed. In comparison, the bed was cold and coarse.

    I felt my face next, a thick cloth was tied tightly across my eyes.

    ¡°Am I blind?...¡± I said in a raspy voice.

    I could hear Ares have a pause in her voice as if she did not want to answer.

    "What happened?" I asked, trying to sit up.

    "You''re strong-will has protected you from the Gaze of Dark Alignment¡­¡± said Ares as she felt my forehead, checking my temperature.

    ¡°It appears to have left you blind, but much worse effects could have occurred. A weaker-willed Summoner would have succumbed to corruption and madness. Had that been you, you would have lost all control."

    I pulled at the cloth wrapped around my head.

    Ares took my hand away -- as if to tell me not to, but then she paused.

    She helped me untie the knot and pulled the cloth from my eyes.

    I tried to open my eyes, but it was as black as before the reveal.

    ¡°Eigengrau¡­¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡± asked Ares.

    ¡°The colour of blindness. It¡¯s not a true black, it¡¯s just a dull grey.¡±

    I was unable to see anything.

    Truly blind from that gate.

    "What do my eyes look like Ares?" I asked.

    "Emptiness."

    "Cloudy white pupils?"

    Ares rose from the bed.

    I could hear a soft gasp -- as if she was alerted of an approaching presence.

    "The one responsible for this is approaching, Summoner. I will begin an assault if that is what you command of me."

    "No."

    "Are you sure? Other Summoners cannot be trusted."

    ¡°This is my own fault,¡± I said, laying back down.

    I could feel Ares'' presence disappear, like a warmth exiting the room, a fire being extinguished.

    PSST!

    The sound of an automatic door opening up.

    "I''m sorry for what happened back there. Really really sorry."

    Amelie had come to apologize for what had happened.

    "It''s not your fault."

    "Yes, it is. It doesn''t normally happen -- that... we''re summoned through that...gate... It never happens when I''m partnered with someone. Because of my presence in that gate your blind," said Amelie.

    "How are you the cause of this?" I asked.

    "I''ve been linked to that gate ever since I can remember. It''s something I face alone, and that I never wanted anyone else to experience. It''s been years since it''s pulled me during a gate transfer¡­ It¡¯s never happened when I¡¯m with someone else," said Amelie.

    Amelie pressed her clammy hand against my forehead, also checking my temperature.

    ¡°You must feel weak right now¡­ Your mana is depleted. You¡¯re very pale," she said.

    ¡°I just want to see¡­ I should have listened back there¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s strange. I felt a strong presence of mana in here earlier, but it couldn¡¯t have been from you, in this state. I came to make sure you were safe.¡±

    ¡°Heh, afraid an Assassin was going to off me?¡±

    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be the first time an emissary of a Dark Aligned Pilot came to kill someone¡­ sadly. Summons can travel almost completely undetected sometimes, especially Assassin and Hunter class Summons.¡±

    ¡°The Dark Aligned Pilots¡­ are they the cause of the darkness approaching?¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t been there yet? It¡¯s like a different world entirely. As if a Gate is attempting to claim and convert our world into its own. I¡¯ll have to show you.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no point if I can¡¯t see it for myself.¡±

    Amelie began to make her leave but paused at the door.

    ¡°You can see it through the eyes of your Summon,¡± said Amelie.

    ¡°...!¡±

    I hadn¡¯t told her yet that I had a Summon¡­

    ¡°How did you know¡­?¡±

    But, she had left the room already.

    I wonder how she was able to endure the Demon-Phoenix back in the gate¡­ without losing her vision and losing her mind.

    It had something to do with her golden eyes and aura¡­

    I needed to rest some more...

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    A tall figure dressed in black.

    Over his shoulder was an enormous greatsword -- a raw slab of iron, dull and as heavy as a blacksmith¡¯s anvil.

    The man had one eye, and a deep scar across the other. His nose had another deep gash through it, and protruding from the left side of his forehead looked to be a horn made of shrapnel.

    His hair was short, black and spiked.

    His expression looked of hunger, blood-lusted or straight anger.

    Walking beside him was a princess-type girl.

    She was small and innocent, wearing a silver tiara vaguely resembling demon horns on the side of her head, which clung tightly to her head.

    Behind them was a hallway of bodies.

    They had infiltrated the Vestal facility and dispatched all of the scientists.

    The walls were painted in blood.

    Behind me was a cloaked woman on the floor -- a Spellcaster.

    Her arms were up, covering her face and head.

    I knelt down and lowered her hood.

    ¡°Amelie¡­¡± I said, shocked.

    ¡°Step aside and let us kill the heretic,¡± said the murderous princess.

    I turned to the duo and shook my head.

    ¡°Not a chance.¡±

    ¡°Then you will die too, big brother.¡±

    ¡°Eh, you don¡¯t scare me.¡±

    ¡°My name is Cortia Crane. And I should scare you.¡±

    The girl smirked before pressing her hand on her Summon.

    She disappeared into her beast of a Summon-- she was an enemy pilot.

    The swordsman shouted.

    AWRRHHHHHHHH!

    He charged towards me.

    Ares rushed into battle.

    With a swiftly-timed roll of her small Spartan shield, she parried the swing of the enemy Summon¡¯s massive sword-club.

    The hallway shifted into a new world entirely, a new battleground for a fight made impossible in the cramped corridors of the facility hallway. The area was a stage in the mountains, a tournament setting with no spectators, just a flat rocky surface surrounded by trees and rocky mountains.

    Ares and the mysterious Summon began to battle, clashing swords and creating enormous holes in the rocky forest terrain.

    Ares was unparalleled in battle, even against a Summon of brutish size. Heracles had much greater physical strength and evengreater physical defense. Only a Crusader-class was capable of so much physical power. Ares made up for this with her higher evasion skills, nimbler speed, critical damaging skills and ability to place a well-timed weapon parry -- effectively stunning them for a moment.

    The large Summon backed off, unable to hit Ares with any heavy attacks.

    ¡°Heracles is a Crusader-class. His type disadvantages are obviously present in this fight,¡± said the large Summon.

    Cortia appeared once more, from within her Summon.

    In her hands was a black lock of hair, tied in a bundle -- a memento.

    Did she plan to summon forth another Summon?!

    Her Summon Heracles faded away, and another appeared to take his place.

    ¡°Lityerses the Reaper, my second Summon,¡± said Cortia.

    Lityerses dressed in a long black cloak, but it left the lower half of his torso exposed, like a strange crop-top. He had horns, light red skin, a skull mask, and wielded a large reaper scythe.

    The reaper vanished in the wind and appeared behind me.

    Ares looked around.

    ¡°...!¡±

    I dove to the ground, narrowly avoiding the swing of his scythe.

    Ares slid across the smooth surface of the tournament floor to my side and grabbed my hand.

    ¡°Fusion,¡± she said, ¡°speak the verse!¡±

    ¡°Right.... Uh."

    "Saaaaa-Na-Saaa¡­¡± I shouted.

    GAAA!

    My body went into Sov -- the legendary Sovereign state.

    We were one as I possessed her and sat behind the wheel.

    Ares erupted in energy, as she gained access to my mana pool.

    Her short sword now glowed blue, with small illuminated runic words decorating the blade at the base.

    The Reaper cackled madly, like a witch in heat.

    ¡°It still won¡¯t be good enough! You only have ONE summon!¡±

    Lityerses vanished again and appeared behind us.

    Ares and I smirked and turned around ready to parry his thin scythe.

    But, it wasn¡¯t the Reaper -- she had switched back to Heracles, and now we had a large iron club coming down on us.

    We weren¡¯t ready.

    Ares crossed her arms and blocked the blow, but I didn¡¯t¡­

    I slid several feet back, with my arms crossed.

    Ares stood in front of me, with the greatsword clashing against her.

    She blocked. I didn¡¯t¡­ and it caused us to separate¡­

    We weren¡¯t in sync.

    We had to move as one¡­ even in critical moments.

    Moments that were too fast to track...

    We had to find our flow and act on impulse.

    There wasn¡¯t time for planning sometimes.

    I was only beginning to understand.

    Ares broke free from the clash of iron and steel and darted back over to me.

    Once again we fused.

    I knew I was holding her back.

    I was still a novice, and she was at a professional level.

    ¡°In this state, my sword can cut through any material, Summoner.¡±

    She was speaking to me.

    ¡°We need to find an opening. One good clean hit is all it will take.¡±

    END OF PART 3

 BONUS: Intermission Episode 1: Spring Break For Summons?!

    ~ Spring Break for Summons?! ~

    Welcome to the Intermission episode!

    We¡¯re running with the name, ¡°SPRING BREAK FOR SUMMONS.¡±

    Because today we are celebrating Spring Break

    Intermission Episode 1

    Kirev

    Heheheheh.

    The mischievous giggles of a sneaking assassin.

    Drip, drip, drop.

    The cold touch of tiny droplets of water falling on skin¡­

    Something sinister was about to happen¡­ that was for sure.

    ...SPLOOOOOOOSH!

    ¡°WAH!?¡±

    Kirev shot awake in his bed. Water poured down on him from above.

    The chilling touch of ice cubes tumbling down his shirt. The water running down his face and soaking into his blankets.

    Shaking his wet hair like a dog, he looked around with weary eyes.

    "Ehhh, what''s the meaning of this?" he said, yawning.

    His cheeky goddess Freya leaned in with a big smile. In her arms was an empty bucket and standing beside her were her two accomplices.

    "Kirev, Kirev. It''s an Intermission Episode, Kirev!"

    Another face leaned in as well -- Ledger¡¯s summon, Ares.

    "Apparently we''re going to play a game called volleyball? Never heard of it¡­¡± said the petite blonde girl with a puzzled look.

    "Ho ho ho! Why not? Spring is the perfect time for games!" said another face as it leaned in as well.

    It was the muscle-bound King Midas with a jolly red-faced grin. The large man dressed in swim shorts, sunglasses, and a towel draped over his shoulder.

    Kirev leaned back as they all leaned in closer. He yawned while struggling to open his tired eyes.

    "Ehh, it just seems out of place. The last episode was so action-packed. Shouldn''t we finish with the conclusion of that one first?" he said with another big wide yawn and a stretch.

    "Bahhhh, hurry up and get dressed!" said Freya rushing him out of bed.

    ¡°Alright, alright... I guess,¡± he replied, slinking out of bed.

    Kirev slipped on his morning slippers and passed by the three summons, proceeding through the facility in his soaked pajamas -- still yawning and rubbing his eyes, half asleep.

    A variety of Summons and Pilots all gathered in the rec rooms playing video games in their pajamas.

    Surrounded by a mob of spectators was Raito and Serenity competing against each other on the big screen television.

    There were only two players left alive, with both only having a single life left. The others surrounding them watched closely in awe.

    ¡°NOOOOOOOO!¡±

    Kirev could hear Raito¡¯s high-pitched squeal as he continued his stroll down the many winding facility halls. The rec room was cheering and laughing. Raito, the Master of Games, must¡¯ve lost his title to Serenity.

    As he walked by the launch area of the gate room where they kept all of the pods, he noticed a net spanning across. The net divided the area into two halves.

    On one side there was the absolutely-blind Ledger with a racket in his hands and a badminton birdie on the floor.

    On the other side was Ares holding her racket, with another puzzled look on her face as she watched Ledger fail to serve over and over again.

    SWING-- miss. SWING--- miss. SWING!

    ¡°Is this how we play... badminton?...¡± asked Ares curiously as she watched her Summoner blindly fail to hit the birdie several times in a row from the other side of the net.

    ¡°Just wait, I¡¯ll get this!¡± said Ledger confidently.

    Kirev observed, scratching his head.

    The morning urge to pee now tugged at Kirev¡¯s conscious.

    Kirev quickly jogged to the washroom.

    As the automated doors opened, he yawned and walked into the rushing sounds of water and the warm misty steam of a prepared shower.

    ¡®Ah, Freya¡¯s got the showers already turned on for me!¡¯ he thought.

    He pried off his soaked t-shirt and swung open the curtains.

    ¡®Finally a little bit of fair treatment,¡± he thought to himself.

    A naked girl with a bowl of cereal in her hands and a shocked expression stared up at him as he prepared to enter the shower.

    ¡°Idiot-idiot-idiot!!!¡± shouted the showering Amelie as she pulled the curtain closed.

    ¡°It¡¯s obviously the girls turn in the showers!¡±

    "Are you seriously eating breakfast in the shower?! Who even does that?!" asked Kirev with his hands raised.

    "I do okay! It saves me time in the morning!" said the flustered Amelie.

    "But... everybody hates soggy cheerios..."

    The screech of Amelie¡¯s yelp alerted the bathroom patrol.

    Setsera, Misaka, and Calypso -- who were all in the midst of getting dressed and doing their hair -- charged at him in their towels.

    "We''re getting dressed, perv!" said Misaka kicking him.

    Kirev shook his hands and pointed at Calypso.

    "Eh, isn''t Calypso a bad guy?!" asked Kirev.

    ¡°Not in an Intermission episode, dummy!¡± said Setsera, as the three girls pounced on him, taking him to the bathroom floor.

    The girls began to beat him up in a cartoon-style dust ball, with limbs and towels flailing about.

    "Don''t attack me! Attack Calypso!"

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    SLAM!

    Now Kirev found himself in a real sticky situation. He was locked out of the bathrooms, which were now guarded by the angels of death, and his urge to pee was reaching the critical point. He didn¡¯t have much time left.

    He only had one option left¡­ a last resort if you will¡­

    He would have to use the woods outside...

    He would have to take the elevator up and pee in the park!

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    Kirev tapped his foot impatiently and hopped around as he waited inside the elevator, waiting to reach the top floor.

    Ding!

    He had reached the summit of dreams!

    Sprinting, he charged to the woods to relieve himself.

    ¡°AHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhh,¡± he said, completing his morning mission.

    ¡°Kirev get over here! We¡¯re picking teams for volleyball!¡± said Freya.

    Turning around, he discovered himself surrounded in a resort-style park filled with Summons bathing in the warm heat of the spring sun. They bathed on the sands near the lake, with the delicious smell of smoke and meat searing on the barbeques.

    ¡®All the summons are in bikinis! I love spring break!¡¯ thought Kirev.

    ¡°Line up, Kirev! We¡¯re going to pick teams for the Spring Games!¡±

    Kirev walked over to the group of Pilots and Summons as two team captains began selecting their preferred teams. Everyone stood in summer clothes; bikinis, shorts, casual shirts, and sunglasses and summer hats.

    Freya was the captain of Team One, while Amelie was the captain of Team Two. Both dressed in cute swimwear.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±

    Freya stood in thought as she looked at her potential team prospects.

    Kirev smiled and pointed to himself.

    He was confident that his own Summon would surely choose him first out of the other available choices. Who else had such a strong bond and shared such a close connection?

    ¡°So many good choices. Hmmm¡­¡±

    So many players were lined up for some volleyball!

    Ares, Ledger, Ra, L¨¹ Bu, Calypso, Midas, Heracles, Cortia, Orianna, Lityerses, Misaka, Raito, Serenity as Mischief, and even Pandora!

    ¡°For my first pick I choose Ares!¡± announced Freya with a twinkle in her eye.

    ¡°Eh! What about me, Freya?!¡± asked Kirev.

    Ares pointed to herself, looking around.

    ¡°I got picked Ledger¡­ what do I do?¡±

    ¡°Walk over to Freya¡¯s side...¡±

    ¡°Ah, okay! I like this game!¡±

    ¡°The game hasn¡¯t started yet,¡± said Ledger.

    The next chosen was Pandora, and then Serenity, and then Calypso, and then Midas¡­.

    Eventually, it was just down to Ledger and Kirev remaining in the lineup.

    Kirev felt bad for Ledger. Surely Ledger would be the final pick seeing as he was blind as a bat and now had zero depth perception because of it¡­ Poor sonuvabitch.

    Freya whispered in the other team captain¡¯s ear.

    ¡°I choose Ledger!¡± said Amelie.

    ¡°HE¡¯S BLIND! You can¡¯t seriously choose him over me!¡± said Kirev fuming.

    Freya was giggling menacingly.

    Did she seriously sell me out and convince Amelie to NOT pick me?!

    ¡°Hmmm, who do we have left¡­ I chooose¡­¡± thought Freya out loud.

    Freya pointed to an empty spot beside Kirev.

    Kirev looked around confused.

    This was getting cruel!

    Had she just selected a ghost over him?

    ¡°NO ONE IS THERE!¡± said Kirev, having had enough.

    A shake and rumble followed shortly after.

    The ground rocked him back and forth.

    ¡°YMMMMIIIIRRRRRR!¡±

    The colossal iron mech appeared from behind the thick forest of trees that surrounded the hidden park. Only his upper body was visible past the tall treeline.

    Startled, Kirev sprang up flailing his arms.

    ¡°OH, COME ON!!! WHEN DID HE GET HERE?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, Kirev. You¡¯re on Amelie¡¯s team.¡±

    He narrowed his eyes at Freya.

    ¡°Betrayed by my very own Summon!¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    After a close match of the Summoner¡¯s version of rock-paper-scissors, L¨¹ Bu served first for Amelie¡¯s team.

    On Freya¡¯s team, there was: Ares, Ra, King Midas, Ymir, Serenity, Misaka, Orianna, and Raito.

    On Amelie¡¯s team, there was: Pandora, L¨¹ Bu, Calypso, Ledger, Heracles, Cortia, Lityerses, and finally Kirev.

    We kept these teams for the remainder of the Spring Games.

    L¨¹ Bu tossed the ball up, crouched for a second and sprung up into the air, prepping for a high-powered serve. Spiking the ball, L¨¹ Bu shot it towards Freya¡¯s side of the net like a speeding javelin missile.

    ¡°...!¡±

    Ares dashed towards the missile and ricocheted it off of her wrists before it hit the sandy floor.

    ¡°HOW¡¯D SHE DO THAT?!¡± gasped the players.

    ¡°She¡¯s quicker than lightning¡­.!¡±

    Midas bounced the ball up, setting it up for a spike for his team.

    Ares sprang up and spiked the volleyball over the net.

    ¡°Get it!¡± called out Kirev¡¯s team.

    He watched as it came towards him full-power.

    He would need to have a death wish to interfere with such a strike.

    Kirev dived away from the speeding meteorite of a ball-- which caused an eruption of loose sand and an enormous crater in the beach floor.

    Miss Kaya Kirasagi appeared alongside the arena. She donned striped referee clothes and blew into a loud whistle.

    ¡°Ares scored! Freya''s team now has one point! Zero points for Amelie''s team¡± announced Kirasagi.

    ¡°This game is going to kill us,¡± said Kirev to Ledger.

    ¡°Eh, I can''t even tell what''s happening¡­¡± said Ledger as he wandered around his side of the net completely blind. He felt the air around him looking for Kirev.

    The Summons shook their heads at their lousy Summoners.

    ¡°Don¡¯t dive away from the ball! You have to deflect it upwards before it touches the ground.¡±

    The game continued and the barrages of volleyballs grew out of control. Each exploding just another hole in the sandy beach. It was starting to feel like the Normandy invasions of D-Day, with a small trench on both sides for the Summoners to hide in while the war took place just above them.

    At first, Kirev chased after the ball, jogging back and forth like a dog trying to catch an impossible frisbee. Now, he joined the other Summoners in the war trenches shivering as each missile sounded off overhead.

    Each of the cowering human players participating in the game had the ¡®I''ve seen some shit¡¯ expression on their faces as they clutched onto their war helmets nervously.

    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna die like this!!¡±

    But, Ares and L¨¹ Bu continued their close competition.

    An endless barrage of explosions and deflections. Freya, Ymir, Ra, Heracles, Calypso, and the other summons were having a blast competing at a high-octane tournament of strength and skill.

    ¡°Let us end this!¡± said Ares as she deflected the ball up with her wrists.

    Tossing up the ball into the heavens, Ra appeared beside it -- ready to launch one final attack for their team.

    ¡°Piercing Solar Flare!¡± shouted the Egyptian God as he struck down the ball for a grand finale.

    A shockwave of solar energy shook the players below. Ra''s ultimate decimated the area, clearing the playing field of any remaining sand. The blast knocked the players back, rolling them into the nearby lake to cool off.

    The sound of blowing whistles alerted the players that the game had concluded. The referee Miss Kaya Kirasagi waved about in her striped outfit.

    ¡°Team Freya are the winners!¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    ¡°That was a good game, Kirev.¡±

    Kirev wrung out the sweat from his headband as he panted for air.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t volleyball¡­ that was warfare!¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    They finished off the day with barbequed steaks, burgers, and salads.

    Ares kept calling them ¡°borgars¡± rather than burgers, which got a laugh out of the others at her table. She couldn''t figure out why everyone was giggling though.

    ¡°Steak or burger?¡±

    ¡°Borgar,¡± she replied, staring at the juicy hamburger in front of her.

    *excessive giggling*

    ¡°Borgar?¡±

    You could almost see the question marks forming above her head.

    ¡°Did you say burger or borgar?¡±

    ¡°Borgar.¡±

    ¡°Why do they call it that, Summoner? Ham-borgar, but it appears to be made of beef.¡±

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    And as always with spring -- came spring cleaning -- where the girls donned their favourite maid outfits and the boys geared up as butlers, and teams raced to clean up their respective areas before the others. Amelie and Ra won this one.

    And for the deciding factor of who would win the Spring Games, they played a game called ¡®Wager¡¯. Wager was a game where at the center of the table was a tall empty glass. The first player poured as much beer as they wanted into the glass and then flipped a coin and called it. If they guessed right, they passed it to the other team. If they guessed it wrong they had to drink it all! Repeat until a victor is decided!

    The last one literally standing wins!

    This was mostly a luck-based game, which lucky for Ledger, was right up his alley. His Luck stat finally came in handy for this game. If only summon battles could be decided based on coin flips.

    Nearing the end of this heated finale, it was Freya versus Heracles. While Ledger got lucky on most of his coin flips, he couldn¡¯t outdrink the mighty Heracles.

    ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ continue¡­¡± said Ledger as he dropped his head on the table.

    Freya and Heracles kept at it, neck and neck. The tiny coin looked like a little pebble in Heracles¡¯ hand. He flicked it into the air.

    ¡°Garhhgh!¡± He said, in proper English.

    ¡°Heracles says tails,¡± said Lityerses, translating Herc¡¯s garbled jargon.

    The coin falls to the floor. Everyone peers over the table at it.

    It reads¡­. HEADS¡­.

    ¡°Wuhahahah! Herc¡¯s got to finish the glass!¡± said Freya.

    Heracles shook his head and slammed the drink.

    ¡°ARGRHHGHH!¡± said Heracles as he fell off his chair.

    ¡°The winner is Team Freya!¡± announced Referee Kirasagi.

    ¡°No way¡­ Team Freya won¡­. Two to One!¡±

    ¡°Go team!¡± cheered Freya as she fell to the floor drunk.

    As the sun lowered over the horizon, and the day came to an end, only a single soul remained awake in the entire park. Wager had destroyed everyone and left them in a snooze-coma. Everyone except for the referee Miss Kirasagi, who hadn¡¯t participated in any of the games herself.

    The area was littered with beer cans and filled with holes caused by the high-powered volleyball game. It was utter chaos.

    ¡°Aw, shit. I¡¯m going to have to clean this all up now¡­¡± said Kirasagi.

    Turning around, she notices the camera crew filming everything.

    ¡°And that concludes the Spring Games! Tune in later this week for more!¡±

    She says, waving nervously into the camera.

    THE END.

 Kirev 3 - Player Killer Part 1

    Kirev

    I woke up the next morning to find myself tied to a tree. Freya was gone...

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    Misaka unraveled the rope from Kirev''s lifeless body, releasing him from the tree that he was tightly bound to.

    ''He must''ve been poisoned by the food in the player''s inventory,'' thought Misaka.

    Kirev''s body fell face first into the dirt. Misaka rolled him over and fed him water from her inventory.

    "Hurry up and log in Kirev," she said, holding him up against her.

    Misaka surveyed the camp. She used the traits gained from her detection skill tree to search for clues, like tracks in the dirt. Picking up a crumb of bread she analyzed it. Her eyes to turned from a normal green to a digital blue while using her skill.

    ''The inventory belonged to a player named Edwin. And it was laced with Level 3 Poison. They intentionally left his items as a trap,'' she thought.

    She checked Kirev to see if the players who tied him up had left any clues on him.

    ''Kirev''s in low-level gear. Did they rob him? Why would they go through the effort to equip him in newbie gear though? Usually, they''d just leave him naked,'' she thought to herself, ''this is strange.''

    I rolled over onto my stomach and coughed loudly.

    "Good morning, sleepy head," she said with a smirk.

    Throwing up the water and leftover poison into the nearby grass, I glanced up at my savior Misaka.

    "...Have a hard time finding me?"

    "Wasn''t hard, honestly," said Misaka pointing to her digital blue eyes.

    "Detection skill tree, eh."

    "Very handy," she said with her thumb up.

    "So, what''s the news, doc?" I asked her.

    "Yeah, it was poison. Level 3 Poison to be exact. They were hoping to kill whoever found Edwin''s stash."

    *coughing* "Bastards..." I said, coughing heavily.

    "I''ve heard the name before. He was one of the players at the tavern."

    "Well, he''s been killed and used as a trap," said Misaka.

    I struggled to get up off of my feet, still weakened by the debuffs of the poison.

    "We need to find Freya."

    "You can barely move," said Misaka, "You need to rest a moment. Just because you''re physically fit outside of the gate doesn''t mean your in-game body is ready. Take a few moments."

    "The longer we wait, the further they''ll get. We need to find her..."

    "Did they steal Freya''s memento off of you?" asked Misaka.

    "No."

    "How can you be certain?"

    "She doesn''t have one," I answered.

    "Every Summon have a memento."

    "Freya doesn''t."

    "But that would mean you summoned her using crystals..."

    I remained silent.

    "You were told not to go in the Chasm. Professor Aemon made that clear. You could''ve lost everything."

    I turned away.

    "I did."

    "So you''ve wiped? That''s why you''re like this? Where are all of your fancy equipment that you had last time we played? See, this is why Aemon says we can''t go in there. In the Chasm if a player dies he has to start from scratch -- mementos and all are lost. Everything is left in the Chasm for others to claim."

    "I know how it works."

    "Now look, you''ve gambled and lost and got nothing to show for it."

    "We need what''s in the Chasm... obtaining those Summons -- the ones only found in there -- could benefit us in every other gate. They''ve got the best stats and moves by far. The learnable pilot abilities are god-tier as well."

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience."Is it really worth it? You''ve got a Level 1 Freya now, which is great -- Freya''s a great roll, but take a moment to think. You had a Level 50 Slayer-class Freya before and now you don''t. You had a full roster too. Aemon isn''t going to like this."

    "He doesn''t have to know. Aemon thinks I still have that Freya. He doesn''t have to know I wiped and lost her. They both look identical."

    "So you plan to level her up and pretend you never lost your original companion?" asked Misaka, "Isn''t it hard? Doesn''t she remind you of the one you lost every time you look at her?"

    "Yeah. She does," I replied.

    "It must be like losing a loved one."

    I lifted myself up and stepped away.

    "I can''t tell if you''re trying to be helpful or trying to sprinkle salt in my open wounds right now."

    "Sorry. I know it must be harder for you. Freya was like your best friend and now she''s gone. I just really liked her, and knowing she''s gone for good is tough for me too."

    "Her memento is recoverable. It''s still in the Chasm where I lost my gear. I doubt anyone will travel that deep down -- not for a while at least."

    "It''s corrupted by now, Kirev. All of your old Summons are probably Dark Aligned by now."

    "It''d still be the same Freya. Dark Aligned or not."

    "You''re planning to go back in there, aren''t you?"

    "I don''t know. Are you going to rat me out? It''s hard to trust having real talk with the teacher''s pet."

    "Oh, buzz off. I''m not his pet."

    "Heh, you sure?"

    "Amelie''s his favourite."

    "I''m not so sure about that."

    Misaka and I sat for a moment in silence.

    "So, you managed to roll another Freya. What are the chances? Doesn''t she have like a 1.0% drop rate?"

    "0.7% to roll a Freya, actually," I said.

    "You two must be bound by fate or something."

    "Just good luck on gachas, I guess."

    "Is she a Slayer-class too?" asked Misaka.

    "Spellcaster this time around."

    "Oooooh. Too bad you''ve never used a Spellcaster before."

    "Heh, yeah. You were right in the end. I should''ve tried out other movesets when I had the chance. It would''ve been easier with my old loot collection," I said.

    "Don''t be too hard on yourself. I''m usually right," said Misaka with a smirk.

    "So, do you like this new Freya?" she asked.

    "She''s a lot of fun," I replied.

    Misaka narrowed her eyes at me while pointing her finger.

    "...! You slept with her already, didn''t you?!"

    "You know what I meant."

    "You''re dodging the question, you dog!"

    "You really wanna know the answer to that?"

    "Fine. Be like that," said Misaka.

    "Be like what?!" I asked.

    "Well, tell me about her or something. This is gonna be a long walk. The tracks lead back towards the settlement."

    "Nice face, nice body, great ass," I replied.

    "Oh my god. I''ve met Freyas before. I know what they generally look like. Which personality did she get?"

    "Stubborn, as usual. She''s great though. A bit cheeky, a bit prideful, a bit less serious, a bit more clumsy."

    "Clumsy? Oh, jeez," said Misaka.

    "You two will get along great, trust me."

    We began our journey back towards the settlement. Misaka closely studied the tracks in the dirt and because of her detection skills she could almost see a reenactment of the kidnapping of my Summon.

    "Do you think it''s possible that my new Freya has the old Freya''s memories within her?" I asked Misaka.

    "No. That''s not possible. She''s a completely different Summon. She just looks like the one you used to have," she answered, "why do you ask?"

    "I don''t know. There''s something to her," I said.

    "She''s probably just very similar. You managed to roll one with the same personality and style."

    "She''s only Level 1 and she has Alpha state unlocked. The only other Summon I''ve seen with Alpha was my old Freya, but that was only when she reached Level 50."

    "What do you mean she''s got Alpha?"

    "She can access Alpha, Misaka."

    "What...? Are you serious?" asked Misaka.

    "I''m not joking."

    "Imagine her maxed out. She could be the secret to accessing Alpha with our other Summons. She might be able to learn Skill Influence and spread it to the others!" said Misaka with wide eyes.

    "I think that''s what Aemon thinks too," I said.

    "Don''t worry, Kirev. We''ll get her back."

 Kirev 4 - Player Killer Part 2

    "Have you checked out the other items?"

    Misaka swiped her hand in the air and brought up a menu displaying the contents of Edwin''s satchel, which she carried over her shoulder.

    "They were quest items for quests I don''t have yet."

    "Not only that but he had this as well."

    She placed her finger on the screen and selected an item called Shard of Aurana, and held it out, spawning it in her palm.

    "Kirev. Take this. It''s a memento."

    "Don''t you want it?" I asked.

    "I''m fine for Summons, and you''ll need one if you plan to get Freya back."

    "That''s right. You already have Odin and Pele."

    "And J?rmungandr now."

    "The world-serpent? Really?"

    "He''s just a baby though. Got him from a special event, actually."

    She placed the small obsidian shard in my hand, transferring it from her inventory to mine.

    "You won''t be able to rely on your skills as a fighter all of the time, Kirev. You need a Summon or you''ll wind up dead."

    Asla''ati Summon Gained!

    ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï Zelet''se (Hunter-class)

    I had just received my second Summon.

    Zelet''se, a god from a forgotten mythos.

    "He must have not realized that the Shard of Aurana was a memento," I said.

    "No, he must''ve known. I''m betting that they didn''t know the verse of a Hunter to initially summon her."The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    "That''s right. They were new players. Saying the verse is required to summon."

    "Do you remember it?"

    "The Hunter''s verse?"

    "Yeah," said Misaka shaking her head.

    "Sanasaga - Slayer, Kosakira - Spellcaster..."

    "You don''t remember it, do you?"

    "I''m drawing a blank," I admitted.

    "The verse of the Hunter: Ni - Ra - Ki - Ro. You don''t remember the nursery rhyme?"

    "Darkness, Light, Power, Sight. These are what give the Hunter his might... I remember. I still think it''s a stupid rhyme."

    "You think everything is stupid. Hurry up and say it so we can meet your new summon!"

    "NI - RA --- KI --- RO!"

    A burst of light shot out from between my fingers. The small Shard of Aurana broke free from my tight grip and hovered into the air before me. A bracelet made of cedar bark materialized around my wrist, with the small obsidian shard bound to the bracelet. My first memento was now locked around my wrist.

    A being became to appear from within the bright shining light. A short silhouette of a petite girl wearing a scarf of fur.

    Was this Zelet''se of the Asla''ati Mythology?

    The girl hovered down, touching her feet into the grass.

    "Nyaaaa~~"

    What I thought was the girl''s scarf from the silhouette appeared to be a living creature, a furry companion. It was like a light-brown fox but had long slender ears with a white diamond in the center of its forehead.

    The girl spoke as she bowed her head with respect:

    "Greetings Summoner. My name is Corrin Nagalia. I am of the Asla''ati people -- we are often called the people of the Sun, worshippers of the Red Bird. I have come to serve you."

    "It''s nice to meet you," said Misaka with a smile.

    "Nyaaa! Yip-yip," chirped the fox on her shoulder.

    "Nawa says ''It''s nice to meet you as well,''" said Corrin.

    "You can speak fox?" I asked.

    "Of course. I can speak a manner of tongues. Jerobi is a pretty easy language, actually..."

    "Nyaaa-yaa!"

    "You said your name is Corrin? I thought we summoned a god named Zelet''se?"

    "Athame Zelet''se, the Many-Tailed Fox Goddess.  Together Nawa and I are capable of fusing into her -- although it only lasts temporarily."

    "And you are a Hunter-class summon?"

    "I am, " she answered.

    Misaka looked the girl up and down. She observed her ceremonial black, white and red face paint and beads in her hair. She lifted up Corrin''s ashen hair and touched her face.

    "You just seem so young," said Misaka.

    "You don''t have to be a senior to be a summon! I may have only reached godhood last year but I know the duties of a summon!"

    Corrin pointed to her left sleeve, which was a long oversized glove fashioned from thick black fur. It had thick black claws covering her fingers.

    "This arm is one of several pieces of my garments made from the Hamatsa demon. The Hamatsa was a demon that terrorized my nation for generations... Killing it is how I reached my godhood status," said Corrin proudly, "The Asla''ati always wear the material of their finest kill. I am the only one permitted to wear this because I''m the only one to have slain the Hamatsa."

    "Why would they let a little girl fight a demon? You could''ve been killed," I asked.

    "Don''t let my appearance downplay the achievement of slaying such a demon!"

    "Aren''t your people immortal or something?" asked Misaka.

    "My people are immune to ailments while the sun shines on us. That is the only reason for my youthful appearance, OK."

    "...You are immune to negative effects in the sunlight?" I questioned.

    "The Great Sun Goddess protects the Asla''ati from disease and protects us from ailments while in her warm embrace. Only in the shade do such things as sickness and aging affect my people. Because of this, my people live much longer than yours do. Six hundred is a very common age for my elders to take their final rest  -- passing on their mana to the young."

    "Six hundred? I''m looking at only living to eighty if I''m lucky!" I said.

    "Oh, that''s not many years at all! You better live large while you can...Time can often feel short..."

    "Great Sun Goddess. Don''t the Asla''ati have a really interesting name for her? I can''? remember it off the top of my head, but I studied your culture before at the Academy" said Misaka.

    "She is called ''The-Sun-That-Drinks'' in my culture. You know of the Asla''ati?" asked Corrin.

    "I know that they hunt demons for meat, and I have read about the many wars between the Asla''ati and the Oro''ati," said Misaka.

    "Mhm. My people are often in conflicts."

    "Nyaa-nyaaa" said Nawa.

    Corrin sniffed the air.

    "You''re right, Nawa. He does smell weird."

    "I just spent a night tied to a tree..."

 Amelie 1 - Spellcasters Daughter!

    Amelie

    At the lowest floor of the darkest dungeon exists a plane separate from the realm of men where a sole monster resides.

    A woman, a Spellcaster, having braved every floor that the chasm had to offer, enters through a Pathway Mirror -- a mirror traversed using the magic language of the chasm. Entering into this creature''s domain. She is the first to cast her light in this plane in centuries.

    "Are you the one I seek? Epimetheus, the Dem''i?" asked the Spellcaster.

    Visions of horror begin to flood her mind -- of her death, of things worse than death, of dark and twisted fantasies.

    She turns to her lantern, which she carries in hand, and speaks three words.

    These words summon three corresponding symbols to her side, which turn the lantern''s light into an ethereal blue. The lantern wards off her visions.

    "If you try to scare me, know I''m not easily deterred. I''ve entered your realm of shadows to learn."

    She wants to study a lost language, that she knows Epimetheus can teach.

    This intrigues him.

    "I don''t get many visitors," spoke a chilling voice.

    The voice of Epimetheus echoes through the dark chambers of the realm of darkness.

    The woman looks for the source of the voice.

    "How did you get in here?" asked Epimetheus from the shadows.

    (She is a practicer of the language and knows enough to translate and access portals.)

    The woman continues to delve deeper into the realm with her lantern in hand.

    "Have you come to kill me?"

    "No."

    She replies immediately.

    The giant enters her sight. He''s an astonishing sight; gruesome, enormous and pale. An eldritch horror, sitting hunched over uncomfortably, wearing nothing but filthy rags.

    "Are you not scared of me?"

    "Well, no. I''ve come to learn from you," said the Spellcaster.

    "You''ve come to learn from me?" he asked.

    "Yes, I want to understand the language to further my arts and well, you would be the perfect tutor, would you not? *laughs* It''s your language. You must speak it fluently."

    Epimetheus spoke a few words. Words of the lost language that she traveled an unfathomable number of dungeon floors to study. She imprinted it to memory. The pale giant transformed himself using these words -- into something her human eyes could comprehend. Epimetheus had taken a human-like form. A clean-shaven man with long unruly black hair. A handsome interpretation of a male human.

    "You''re peculiar," said Epimetheus in human form.

    "Will you teach me? Or have I traveled for nothing?"

    Epimetheus was silent. The Spellcaster looked impatient.

    "My name is Evelyn Vail. The human settlers of the chasm call me by the name Pandora -- Mender of the Broken," said the Spellcaster.

    "Ah, yes. I''ve seen you through the eyes of my demons -- before they have them torn out by settlers. You''ve been saving those wretched souls from anguish. What do they trade you for your service? Do they teach you how to ward off demons with salt? How to craft from bone and tooth? Only primitive beasts dwell in this abyss."

    "And primitive they are. Yet, they still deserve some form of kindness or mercy."

    "Do you treat flies with kindness, Pandora? Do you allow them to live even when you know they will touch, and eat and breed in your food? Humanity is no more than edible flies."

    "If not kindness, then mercy," said Pandora.

    "In what form?"

    "A single day of rest. Allow them a day of peace away from the hungering jaws of your hordes."

    "If I give them a days rest, they will use it for breeding."

    "It takes us, humans, much longer to produce kin, than that of a demon.

    *laughs* A day of peace with the settlers would be a grand way to celebrate the day you''ve decided to take on a human disciple," said Pandora.

    "You are brave, Pandora. You''ve entered my domain and have since only made requests and demands of mercy. I watched as you entered and followed your steps so closely as if to swat you with my raised hand upon entry -- but you did not smell of fear, nor look of it."

    Pandora unstrapped a book from her satchel and flipped through the pages. Finding the correct page, she shoved it to Epimetheus.

    "If you will not teach me then help me understand this phrase before I leave."

    Pandora pointed to the untranslated phrase, a few scribbled shapes, symbols of runes. Epimetheus examined the book without touching it -- he allowed the book to hover.

    "Are these your writings? They''re rather good, if not entirely wrong," said Epimetheus.

    "They are wrong because no one''s shown me."

    Epimetheus continued to flip through the book.

    Pandora paced back and forth, convinced she had traveled for nothing.

    "I''ve learned that much alone through studying. I''ve healed and unlocked pathway mirrors on my own. With proper lessons, I could create things that do exist no longer."

    "You plan to create with my knowledge?" asked Epimetheus.

    "At first. I want to invent in the ways that were lost."

    "In this prison, my powers are restrained, but they may not be for you, Pandora."

    "Then I''ll teach you, Pandora. If it ceases your mouth from attempting to bargain peace days for the ape-men of my chasm," said Epimetheus.

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    The Spellcaster learned from Epimetheus and over time Epimetheus learned from her.

    She spent days in his realm. Days then turned to weeks and then months.

    The Spellcaster helped mend Epimetheus'' blackened heart. His loathing of humankind had puttered off into a firm dislike - - a vast improvement to what it once was.

    She walked through the many floors of the black chasm freely now, returning to the realms of men to resupply, and later journeying back.

    Veilborn demons feared her for a very different reason now. Before they feared her arcane spells and binding hexes, now they feared her as his influencer. They dared not to rip the flesh of the wife of Epimetheus for fear of a fate worse than death.

    Two daughters were born from the union between the Spellcaster Pandora, a human, and Epimetheus, the Imprisoned Dem''i Ruler. Pyrrha of the Vail, a Half-Dem''i daughter of fire, and Metameleia of the Vail, a human daughter of light.

    Pandora learned creation through Epimetheus. At first, they simply corrected her scribbled notes, but soon she could alter his abyss in ways she deemed fit. What was supposed to be shadowy prison for Epimetheus soon became a second world - - a world of darkness became one of light and fire.

    But her traveling to and from the black chasm did not go unnoticed.

    Pandora knelt beside her youngest daughter with an empty box made of cedar wood and bark string.

    To amuse her daughter Maya, she would show her the empty box, close the lid and open it again to reveal a present.

    "How do you do that?" asked her daughter Maya.

    The daughter giggled.

    "Nothing is always as it seems, look again," said Pandora.

    Maya moved the cedar lid open. A cluster of multi-coloured sparks erupted like scattering fireflies.

    Pandora reached inside the box and pulled out a small blue orb.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    "The gift of hope," laughed Pandora.

    "Really, mom. What is it actually?"

    "Crystallized mana, my sweet. A new source of energy that we shall gift to the many worlds. A way for us to celebrate your birthday."

    "What does it do?" asked the girl.

    "Anything. A renewable source of matter, something edible for the hungry, something that comes with the rain and can be found in the ash of a smoldering fire. This is the first of its kind, and of course, it''s yours, dear daughter."

    "Now hide it in your pocket. We don''t want your sister to see," instructed the mother.

    They both laughed.

    "But, she was given a world of her own," said Maya.

    "But, your gift is far better, my sweet. This gift will be part of all existing worlds. Your present will be used in all things. It will feed the starving trees, and the rabbits and even the sickly trolls you dislike."

    A small army of Mageborn entered through the pathway mirror to the Prison of Epimetheus. Pandora had become so complacent in her efforts to hide a realm no one sought that she hadn''t erased the symbols that locked the mirror. Perhaps they had spies following her for some time, who watched her unlock the door numerous times.

    "So the rumours are true. Evelyn Vail has been having relations with demons, breeding half-blood offspring with the very things that decimate our civilizations. I believe we call this heresy, in our laws," said a hooded man in regal vestments, surrounded by armed men.

    Pandora was not far from the pathway mirror. She played and fed her youngest daughter Metameleia as they entered in behind her.

    The men in deep hoods and armour drew their swords and held out their hands - - creating shards of blue light in their palms. They began to sprinkle grounded salt around them as they stepped forward.

    "I''m no demon. Salt will have no effect on me," said Pandora.

    "But, it might on that demon daughter of yours. We will take every precaution necessary," said the hooded man.

    "Today is a day of peace in honour of the day of my daughter Maya. Please leave at once."

    "We''ve only come for you, Evelyn Vail, the fine sister of my brother''s wife- - and now an apparent practicer of forbidden arts and breeder of demons. Do you not remember me?" asked the man.

    "Leave, I said."

    "It''s a shame such a beautiful woman prefers the company of monsters to men. You know, I always did fancy you when we were in our youth. To think you''d become this."

    "Arrest Miss Evelyn Vail before she alters the world further," commanded the man.

    "My name is Pandora. Evelyn Vail is no more."

    "The name you choose to go by doesn''t matter to us. You''ve forgotten yourself. This plane of existence truly corrupts the mind. How many months have you spent down in these dungeons, away from time?"

    "You know nothing of what will come if you harm me in any sense of the word. I am the Mender of Worlds - - demonkin have not harmed man in human centuries, not in any of the realities we inhabit. To enter this realm is to break a lifetime of peace between these races," said Pandora.

    "These demonspawn you breed are not bound by rules, they will become immortal, and their kin will be a plague upon humanity for eternity. We cannot allow them to reach the surface and bring forth their corruption. You are a criminal - - a defiler of our laws. You will be tried. Arrest her now."

    "Tried for creating peace? You fool. We have no such laws in this realm," said Pandora.

    "Tried for a few things. Tried for the death of Sophitia Vail, your sister, whom you slew for her Summoner''s Seal."

    "Her mind was left scattered and broken. She pled for a second life, I only gave it to her.

    There was no malice in my sister''s passing."

    Pandora covered up her left hand, hiding the seal from the Lord Mage''s sight.

    "Tried for the use of Creation Magic -- a banned art for good reason, and tried for the birth of that disgusting half-breed child. We''ll have to eliminate it before it grows beyond capabilities."

    She turned to her three-year-old daughter.

    "Close your eyes, sweetie. Do not fret," said Pandora to her daughter.

    "Once you''ve been brought to the surface, you will be banished to the Black Tower at the heart of Sansora. You''ll undergo treatment by the Order of Red, and eventually release -- with your abilities as a Spellcaster being revoked of course," said the man.

    Pandora spoke a verse in the lost language. She surrounded herself in a hellish blue flame.

    "Your deaths could have been avoided," said Pandora as she stood against the small army.

    She shaped the world around her, crashing the caverns in on the mages, and sending as many to the depths as she could -- to an eternal, endless fall.

    The soldier mages dispersed and charged her from other angles.

    "Lord! She''s a world-editor!" shouted the soldiers.

    "I know, you fool. It''s why we''re here," said the man.

    "My mana is limitless within this plane. My power -- relentless. I will not be subdued by the likes of you, Caius," said Pandora.

    "Ah, so you do remember me."

    The hooded man, now revealed as Lord Caius Crane, spat on the floor.

    "Your trial has now changed. You''ve chosen death. Fair enough.

    Kill the demon already," said Caius.

    Pandora assaulted the soldier mages with mind-scattering fears and infernal spells. With each passing moment, several men fell to the floor as their eyes bled profusely.

    "You paint me as a demon. You want to see the extent of my darkness, then let me show you," said Pandora.

    Appearing beside them in a cloud of darkness, she tore out their hearts and ripped through their flesh with extended fangs.

    The Mageborn soldiers tried to barrage her with arcane spells, but nothing could match her speed. Surrounding themselves, they forged a large spellbinding circle - - a nullifier of magic arts.

    Pandora touched the vicinity of the circle with her long nails, which left a numbing sting and a searing burn.

    "Is this the demon you wanted? I can act as one if you so like, or we can return to a civilized agreement. Leave now with what you have or lose everything," said Pandora.

    The mages formed a circle around her, pressing her to the floor with their nullifying magic.

    Pandora''s powers began to subside.

    "Get your father -- with haste, my daughter!"

    Pandora commanded her young daughter to run.

    The toddler began to cry as she watched her mother scream in a tangled mess of vines of magelight.

    "Kill the demon child," commanded Caius.

    "At once, Lord Crane!" said the soldier mages.

    The daughter ran, while the soldier mages gave chase.

    The Lord''s brother Lucien Crane followed, rushing after them.

    Pandora watched as a small girl only slightly taller than her own daughter and a towering swordsman in black approached her from the pathway mirror. She tried to pull from the spells latched around her.

    Pandora''s eyes widened.

    "You¡­ are a Summoner¡­" said Pandora.

    "It''s only fitting that we allow my daughter Cortia to kill you, seeing as you bare the mark of a Summoner with that seal imprinted on your hand. Summoners have to fight Summoners, after all."

    "But, I don''t have a summon -- they can''t be summoned in this plane."

    "Then it''s a shame you will die with no one to defend you," said Caius.

    The black swordsman threw her to the floor by her robe, ripping it from her body -- and tossing it from out of reach.

    Pandora laid in the circle naked, her hands raised - - pleading for a fair fight.

    "Allow me to beckon forth a summon, so we may settle this. It is Summoner''s code. We can return to the surface for a fair fight," said Pandora, pleading.

    "There is no such law here, Evelyn."

    Epimetheus entered in human form.

    Engaged by the sight, he returned to true form - - the pale giant.

    "My wife!" shouted Epimetheus.

    His shout shook the chasm, echoing through the chambers of every dungeon floor.

    "What a grotesque sight... This is what true demons look like, my soldiers. Cast barrier magic," said Caius.

    The soldier mages turned their attention to Epimetheus and began to lock him in place with barrier magic. Swords of illuminating light pierced down on his flesh, pinning him in place.

    The black swordsman pulled Evelyn by the legs, thrusting her against the grey stone floor. He bashed her as he did it. She covered her face. She tried to block his advances.

    Epimetheus was forced to watch, bound by the circles of nullifying magic and light swords.

    "You wretched creatures! You do not know pain, nor suffering! You will, your children will!

    My wife! My beautiful wife. What have you done!" said Epimetheus.

    Evelyn looked up as if to know the pain was over.

    The black swordsman swung down with his large greatsword, a blunt sword of pure iron, more similar to a club. He continued to bash down on her as Epimetheus shrieked in pain behind him.

    Pandora was no more.

    A bloody pulp of flesh and bone remained, disfigured and demolished.

    "What have you done¡­ What have you done¡­.."

    Epimetheus mourned and breathed in Pandora''s last breath.

    Her mana -- like floating blue embers -- formed a tether reaching to him.

    It allowed him to assume control of her limitless mana.

    His shackles now free, he erupted in a hellish flame.

    "My shackles are lifted. My powers restored.

    Our day of peace will now be a day of mourning and human suffering. Her gift to humanity has been revoked. You shall all suffer like I have... like she has," said Epimetheus.

    The Crane family turned and exited through the pathway mirror. The soldier mages attempted to flee but perished to the ever reaching tendrils of the Dem''i Epimetheus at his new level of power.

    "Where is my daughter Metameleia?

    No¡­ No. Metameleia. They''ve taken my sweet daughter Metameleia.

    Where is Pyrrha? Pyrrha!"

    "Over here, father! Beside mother!" said Pyrrha.

    The young daughter wiped the tears running down her cheek.

    "My dear, come here," said Epimetheus, cradling her.

    Epimetheus turned to his wife''s remains, which were now searing with infernal fire.

    Pyrrha cried beside her fallen mother.

    "What have they done?! Poor, sweet Pandora. You''ve never harmed anyone."

    Epimetheus wept.

    "They''ve killed my wife. They''ve taken my daughter."

    "Pathetic creatures!"

    His screams are heard throughout the entirety of his realm. Every floor felt her rage. The Cranes quickly exited with haste through the dark catacombs, with beasts of the night closing in on them.

    "You will stay with me, young mages. And suffer.

    There will be no death for you," said Epimetheus.

    Caius appeared on the other side of the pathway mirror outside of the Prison of Epimetheus. Alongside him were his brother Lucien, his daughter Cortia and the black swordsman summon. Waiting for their arrival were the Royal Guards of House Crane.

    "Destroy that mirror and have its shards scattered. Kill any man who exits," instructed Caius.

    The Royal Guards dispatched the soldier mages upon their exit of the pathway mirror and shattered the mirror, denying an exit for all who remained inside.

    "And the daughter? You killed her, yes?" asked Caius.

    His brother Lord Lucien Crane nodded.

    "Of course, my dear brother. With a dagger through the little demon''s heart," said Lucien.

    Behind his cloak, nestled in his large satchel was the small Maya, a captive of Lucien Crane. Her mouth and eyes bound by a black cloth.

    "I''m shocked it could die. I actually believed these monsters to be immortals."

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    The pale giant spoke to his new apprentices.

    "None of you know suffering. Not yet," assured Epimetheus.

    The Dem''i spoke to his new slaves. Men and women, once soldier mages, now fodder for a beast.

    "They''ve left you for rot and sealed the doors."

    The soldier mages begged as the tendrils of the eldritch horror entered their heads and bodies from all sides. He examined their thoughts and souls for his answers.

    "You are part of humanity no longer. You will be my creation, something new, once you''ve been corrupted with fear -- you will be my Fallen, Generals of Demons -- the Black Crowns."

    Epimetheus turned his attention to the now ashes of Pandora. Inside her, a small gelatinous golden egg of light similar in appearance to fish roe. Inside the membrane of the gel was a small embryo -- a human.

    "My wife''s final gift. She creates even in death. I can create as well, dear Pandora. Living flesh armour and weapons from these coward mages. Swords and shields from their bones. We will wear their guts as armour, my sweet Pyrrha. We shall shape man for what they really are."

    Epimetheus began to forge armour from the flesh, guts and bones of the living men and women trapped within his prison, leaving only five mind-shattered souls remaining intact to wield his new demon-forged creations.

    "You five shall serve to release my brother Menoetius from his prison."

    ¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù¡ù

    Epimetheus seeks to restore his brother Menoetius, who has been separated into five souls and banished into separate realms populated by Man to be guarded. Menoetius, also known as the Devourer. The Right Arm of the Devourer resides on Earth.

 Virgo 1 - Imminent Darkness, Part 1

    <blockquote>

    KILL ME ONCE.

    Imminent Darkness, Part 1

    [Virgo]

    This is a follow-up to Amelie''s "Spellcaster''s Daughter" storyline.

    </blockquote>

    I took my first breath for a second time.

    I was granted a second chance, another chance at life by this eldritch horror -- the very thing that I came into this world to destroy. I was previously a soldier, but now I had been reborn and repurposed to serve this creature known as Epimetheus.

    I was human no longer. I was a different species entirely. I was a child of Epimetheus'' mercy. The blood of the Dem''i now ran through my veins.

    I was one of five chosen for this ritual.

    One of five to be groomed to be a general in the Great One''s army -- which he called the Outer Legion.

    Now we found ourselves reliant on Epimetheus for sustenance. Dependent on something called oros, or red mana. But, he also needed us -- as only human material could exit through the pathway mirrors of his prison.

    When I was reborn, I found myself motherless, crawling down from a gelatinous egg sac hanging from the ceiling by a tether-- from what appeared to be the remnants of my former body.

    I remember the day I was reborn like it was yesterday...

    The realm I found myself in was in ruin. It was veiled in absolute darkness. We stumbled through the night until we discovered our way. We came upon the pale giant, our new father, and his fiery daughter who surrounded herself in flames.

    As children we trained -- trained for years -- in survival tactics, fighting, and in war. We trained in the Prison of Epimetheus; a realm unbound by the restraints of time and forcefully spent years in the dark chasms above. As infants we were made to live like the chasm settlers, surviving in the absolute darkness of the dungeon floors, with only rags and embers for warmth. As children, we ate bones and meat from the demons we killed.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    Pyrrha, our eldest sister, would tell us "We will be generals for his armies when we grow up. We will be in rags and living off scraps no longer. We will sit at the dining table, eating what we please and living as we choose -- like elegant kings and queens. These times will come, but first Caius must be eliminated. We must do this for my mother. We must do this as the Black Crowns."

    We were the Black Crowns. That was our title. Operators of five malformed entities called Devilsuits -- the King, the Queen, the Prince, the Knight, and the Jester. The Black Crown Devilsuits were living bodysuits; living armour and living weapons created from our old comrades in Lord Crane''s army. They weren''t given the opportunity that I was, and now they lived as malformed bones and flesh -- formed into meaty suits of armour for us to wear in combat.

    Epimetheus replicated humans from the remains of those unfit for his rituals. These men and women became clone soldiers called Fallen. The Fallen were mindless and bloodthirsty but followed orders. Epimetheus was building an army -- an immense force to storm the worlds of man in one fell swoop. We would be victorious. It was impossible to fail. Epimetheus was capable of producing weapons at will and crafting bi-pedal tanks from spoken words. His creation magic seemed to have no limits. Our thralls were outfitted and sent marching with firearms in hand. They would train for five years in the dungeon floors, eliminating those who lingered on the many floors.

    ...But my brothers and sisters didn''t feel that I was ready to command my own army...

    For years I was considered the weakest of the five chosen children. I was considered unfit to lead his fallen thralls into war. Unfit to command my own army.

    But, father didn''t share these feelings.

    He instilled me with confidence.

    He told me, "Virgo, you are my son now. You will achieve great things in your lifetime. And the first great achievement will be freeing Menoetius, my brother -- the Devourer. I believe you will be the first one to bring me back a piece of my dear brother. You fill fulfill this prophecy."

    He believes I''m capable. Even more capable than the others. He was right. I would be the first to break through the defenses of the Light Aligned mages. I would bring back the arm of the Devourer for my father.

    But out of my five brothers and sisters, I inherited the weakest of abilities...

    The abilities I was born within this new life were Shell Rebirth and Inherit.

    The latter ability allowed me a rare chance to gain the skills and abilities of those who stood against me. It had a simple and powerful premise, but it never activated.

    This made it worthless.

    For most of my upbringing, I had thought that the former skill was even more worthless than the latter. I had started with nothing while my brothers and sisters had started with everything. Matter manipulation, pocket dimensions, shadow-stepping. These were some of their abilities. Not one of my abilities activated, not once, for the first twelve years of my training -- for my entire upbringing.

    It wasn''t until the first time that I died in the chasm, that I realized I had two great abilities after all.

    The former ability Shell Rebirth granted me an insane ability -- the ability to return from death -- to rebuild myself in the safety of a cocoon made of scabs. This occurred once I''ve received a fatal strike.

    These two skills worked in tandem.

    While Inherit never allowed me to steal skills from my opponent, if my opponent managed to kill me and Shell Rebirth kicked in-- Inherit would then activate-- and grant me the newly acquired skills in my next life.

    Because of this, I''ve found myself in a weird predicament. Whenever I come across skills and abilities that I want all I simply have to do is die by the person who has them.

    Welcome to my story which I aptly titled...

    KILL ME ONCE.

 Virgo 2 - Imminent Darkness, Part 2

    <blockquote>

    [Virgo]

    </blockquote>

    I polished the emblem on my general''s hat with a damp red cloth from my jacket pocket. I continued to polish the oversized medallion until it gleamed like glittering gold.

    This golden symbol, which was surrounded in thin golden metal strips like rays of light, represented my task force within Outer Legion; my unit, my family. The golden circle was engraved with a blind skull wrapped in vines and forget-me-nots.

    Holding my military cap by its thin visor, I put it on and brushed my long black hair out of my eyes.

    This hat, this general''s overcoat, and most importantly this golden emblem represented all that was me. Everything I fought for since birth was distinguishable by these three things.

    Beside me rested the bodies of my enemies -- a family of five.

    Even the youngest of them had to be eliminated.  Enemy pilots came in all sorts and sizes. Had the humans not trained their children how to pilot and summon I wouldn''t have to deem them a threat. It was their own fault. Any of these poor souls could have the powers of the gods at their disposal. I couldn''t take any risks leaving any alive.

    The civilians of this city served as my unit''s dinner as we fed off of the revitalizing red mana that pooled from their veins.

    I peered from out of the shattered windows of the ruined apartment complex.

    In the distance, I could see a tower.

    It was my current objective.

    The Clocktower was the last bastion of the Crane family and their operations, which resided in the light -- but it wouldn''t for much longer.

    The pilots in there were accessing other worlds, obtaining abilities from other realities to use against Epimetheus. The technology they used was stolen from us. The dimensionalists had stolen capabilities only a true Dem''i should possess.

    And somewhere in that tower was what I seemed most of all -- the right arm of the devourer.

    Even just the arm of the devourer held limitless power. It fueled their technology and allowed them to abuse the ability to travel worlds as the Dem''i once did when they were a race of omniscient dimensionalists.

    My armed forces pushed through the borders of the city. With us traveled the dark tendrils of Epimetheus'' reach. The lands we seized became covered by the night sky -- covered by imminent darkness. On one side, was a bright illuminated city, and on the other side, where we marched in formation, was a darkened city in ruin and chaos under an overhanging pitch-black sky.

    We placed pillars, called obelisks, that generated mana. With each corrupted pillar more land turned to Dark Alignment. Darkened land produced more red mana, and with this, our numbers of fallen grew from the corrupted populations of this city. These pillars shifted and changed the earth terrain to the terrain of the sunless lands of Vana -- the surface realm of our dark homeworld.

    Within the Clocktower resided traitorous scum.

    My twin sister had abandoned our cause and abandoned the Dark Alignment.

    Most of all, she abandoned our father Epimetheus, even after being granted a second chance at life by his great powers.

    How pathetic.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    She would be brought to justice for aiding Caius Crane and his renegades. Brought to justice for her cowardice and denying acts against her own family.

    I dipped my hands into black paint and covered my neck with it. Letting the paint drip from my fingers back into the small bowl in front of me, I stared into the abyss of dead essence.

    ¡°Pyrrha has claimed the next obelisk for Outer Legion, General. She moves forward with her units,¡± said a legionnaire soldier at attention.

    ¡°And what of the enemy pilots? Do they still fight?¡± I asked.

    ¡°They are in retreat as our terrain creeps towards their city.¡±

    ¡°Good. Mobilize our units,¡± I commanded my legionnaire, ¡°Let us be the first of our kind behind those hideous white walls.¡±

    ¡°As you command, Sir,¡± said the legionnaire as he saluted, and made his exit.

    I had found one pilot amongst this family of five living in this apartment.  A little girl who had a memento hidden underneath her bedding. With this memento, I had acquired my first summon.

    I soaked the memento in the bowl of dead essence and show the proper verse.

    "Show yourself, servant," I commanded.

    A shadow emerged from the wall -- a silhouette of a woman.

    "Master..." spoke the shadow.

    "Reveal yourself to your new master."

    The shadow traveled from the wall to the floor and swelled into a pool of darkness. A woman covered in black robes materialized from the pool of shadows. She had long white hair and covered eyes.

    "You''ve killed my Summoner," said the woman.

    "Why did you not try and stop me?" I asked.

    "Because I couldn''t," she admitted.

    I laughed at her honesty.

    "Surely, an attempt would''ve been worth it."

    "I''m an Enchanter-class. We are different from other Summon class-types. Summons usually are the combatants, but Enchanters are different. We do not normally fight. We provide buffs for our Summoners from the shadows and let them fight in their own bodies. But, even while buffed my Summoner was no match for your inherent abilities."

    "What a shame," I laughed.

    "Tell me your name, Enchantress."

    "I am the Greek Goddess of the Night, Summoner -- My name is Nyx."

    "How fitting for my first summon," I said, "we are both creatures of the night."

    I pulled my overcoat off of the chair next to me and slipped into it. Nyx helped dress me, buttoning my jacket up.

    "And what can you provide me, Nyx? You won''t cower in the corner in our next fight, will you?"

    "I am a shapeshifter, Master. I am capable of copying the stats and form of an enemy. I can siphon their mana and leech their health from the shadows as well."

    "Interesting. And what is your ultimate?"

    "Living Shadows..."

    "Ah, those things we killed on our way here," I said, "That sad display was your ultimate?..."

    "They are strongest when I''ve siphoned mana, but my previous Summoner did not allow me to do so."

    "And that is why she''s dead," I laughed, "I expect you to eliminate that rule at once. Drain as many as you please."

    "Yes, Summoner. I will do as you command."

    "But remember this. If you fail to be interesting I will shatter this memento. You are here to benefit me. If you hinder me for even a moment you will not hesitate to shatter this precarious gemstone of yours."

    "I...I..."

    Nyx paused, speechless.

    "I will cease to exist if you do that..."

    I smirked.

    "Yes, Master...", Nyx reluctantly replied.