《Ilm.Proxy Isekai》 Chapter 0 - And so it came I left home in earnest seeking freedom and the world ¨C and not simply because my hard-headed father evicted me. It was a great day to start my new life too: the rays of the sun were smothered by a dreary overcast and a chilling wind stabbed at me with every step I took. I considered taking a moments reprieve and rest as it was the godforsaken-early-morning-hours where nothing living should be awake, but the pangs of hunger prevented me. It was a great day to start my second life, and it all came to an end so very fast. My heart felt like a bulging bag of water ready to burst. The throbbing sent me to my knees as the fiber of my being flared with searing pain. The earth rippled like waves in the ocean and the trees were twigs in a tornado. And the world stopped, frozen like a painting. I had nothing to lose except the clothes on my back, yet fear overcame my pain. Time stopped. And time¡­ time stopped for no man. From the heavens descended a voice. It could not be understood. It could not be comprehended. I clutched my ears in pain as it reverberated and hissed and boomed. And then it said, ¡°Rejoice.¡± Its words commanded the world. Once more it said, ¡°Rejoice, Ilm, you shall be my vessel in this war.¡± It spoke beyond my existence again. My throat cracked and constricted. Air struggled to pass through. I writhed on the floor in agony. It felt as I was being stretched and split like a child playing with threads. ¡°Soon,¡± it said, ¡°Your suffering shall end.¡± Its words meant nothing between my suffering and fright. But those words were true. Pain was replaced with paralysis. I could not move, I could not breathe. I could not see, I could not hear. My heart did not beat. The weight of an ocean crashed into me. The pressure weighed on reality itself. It was permeable and seeped into me through every pore and orifice.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. And so the world ended. No sensations. No sights. No sounds. My consciousness drifted in the black sea. - The being lifted his vessel, cracking and popping the joints throughout it. It methodically tested out the motor functions, opening and closing the hands to kicking and stretching the legs. ¡°This will have to do,¡± it muttered in the voice of the man. Viable hosts were few and far between in realms such as these; during the summoning process, beggars could not be choosers. However, having a capable host was always well received. It calculated the man¡¯s skills and physical parameters. Underwhelming was all it thought. However, all things considered, this host was optimal. Good physical condition. No economic or social status or attachment. The host was clearly lacking: no experience, no skills, no inherent abilities. But this was only a minor annoyance; cultivating the vessel was unavoidable in any scenario. A clean slate was fine by it. This Ilm would do just fine. There was not much time to waste. Dispatched intelligence officers have been gathering data for a while and it was time to act. However, the body was still adjusting and developing. Powers and abilities will take some time to emerge during the integration process. So it decided it would wait. First, he adjusted its clothes and snapped its fingers, unfreezing the chaos. Reality stitched itself back together and time began to flow. Trees re-rooted and the earth churned back into place. The black sky cleared and the sun broke through over the horizon. The being basked in the gross incandescence of the sun. Another sunrise. Another world. Another battle. Chapter 1 - Nu His body moved but not as he wanted. It moved without his consent. Otto was an observer in his own body. Panic and hysteria was only natural. ¡°Calm down,¡± his own voice told him. What¡¯s going on?! Otto tried to shout. Why can¡¯t I use my body? Who are you? A different voice intruded, occupying his inner existence, I am ---- -------. I have taken your body for my mission. Piece by piece his memories came back. Panic and confusion were replaced by fear, Wait, so are you a¡­ a god? The being openly laughed, ¡°Don¡¯t be foolish, Ilm. There are no such things.¡± ¡­Then, what are you? Otto asked. ¡°I am a transmigrant, a Gaikin. My name is ---- -------. I¡­ I can¡¯t understand that. Your name, that is. The being frowned. So Ilm from this realm can not comprehend such basic sounds. Disappointing. Then call me Nu. Nu¡­ Otto repeated. Nu looked at the sun overhead, ¡°It is time.¡± It got up and headed towards the road west on the horizon. Wait, wait, wait! Otto panicked, What¡¯s going on? ¡°My mission must begin. Sig operatives have fled my universe and infiltrated this one. Their transgressions will be punished ¨C they shall be purged. That is my duty.¡± Otto complained, Why me? I know I don¡¯t have much to lose, but you came out of nowhere and took my body and now I¡¯m in some war¡ª SILENCE, boomed Nu. I can erase your existence like many others Gaikins do to their host. Otto whimpered like a scolded puppy. Once the battle here ends, Nu said, Your body will be returned. So even if you lose, I¡¯ll get my body back? He asked. No. Then the procedure is to destroy this entire universe. Nu reached the road and looked down both ways. There was no one out today. ¡°Which way is the capital, Solhelm?¡± West, towards the ocean. You should go right. Nu nodded and proceeded towards the destination. Otto confined himself deep in his body, unsure of what to do. Nu spoke of war and destruction, and he was numb to it all; everything seemed unreal and he couldn¡¯t process any of it. Failure, Nu claimed, would result in the end. The end of everything. Was it his fault, he wondered? Did he allow this to happen by letting Nu take his body?The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. He was already punished for being a failure: just this morning his dad kicked him out for ¡®leeching¡¯ and ¡®not pulling his weight¡¯. Now he had a front row seat to a war he never asked to be a part of. ¡°I hear you,¡± Nu said. Huh? ¡°I can hear your thoughts.¡± Otto didn¡¯t reply, feeling his privacy was violated. ¡°It¡¯s natural to feel as you are. All I can tell you is to not worry. I will not lose.¡± Telling me not to worry won¡¯t magically solve anything. I¡¯m still stuck in this! I¡¯ve lost my body and got a war. ¡°I can put you to sleep and wake you once my mission ends if that is what you wish.¡± It didn¡¯t sound like a bad idea to Otto. Maybe, but this is my body. I can¡¯t leave it unsupervised ¨C who knows what you would do! ¡°Very well. Don¡¯t be a nuisance and there will be no problems with that.¡± Nu maintained a sprint down the road not even breaking a sweat. Was my body always capable of this? Otto asked. ¡°No. As far as hosts go, you were lacking in every area, especially physical characteristics.¡± So this is your power? He asked disappointed. ¡°Yes. I can tell you¡¯re curious ¨C want me to explain?¡± I mean, if you can, that would be nice. Otto had nothing to do but be curious. ¡°There is a process to leave a universe and enter another realm, but conventional methods require a host. The more compatible and developed a host is, the more of the being¡¯s existence can be transferred over. In this case, for an Ilm, you are a very compatible host, yet underdeveloped. I can access many of my power and abilities on a limited scale. The more your body develops and the integration grows, the closer I reach to full power.¡± Huh, I see. What is an ¡®Ilm¡¯? You keep calling me that. Aren¡¯t I human? Aren¡¯t you, I think, human? ¡°Many from my universe, many Gaikins, are human. Neither you nor I are. Ilm are a step below humans, a precursor. As such, any transmigrants will run into compatibility issues, humans trying to integrate with a non-human entity. There is a limit for such integrations.¡± So why would they bother coming over if they just end up worst? ¡°The alternative is death,¡± Nu said. ¡°The war for them is nearly lost in our universe, so they flee through the multiverse. They infiltrate a universe and cultivate life towards producing human vessels. Once they exist, they can move their people en masse in hopes of restoring their empire and avoiding their punishment. Our goal is to purge them before their plans can become complete in any universe. Hence battle is done through using Ilm such as yourself as proxy. Thus, the Ilm Proxy Wars.¡± Nu trekked off the path towards the forest line. It cracked knuckles and stretched out the back. Otto said, That¡¯s pretty interesting, actually, but what are you doing now? Thought we were heading to the capital. ¡°As I said, I must develop your body to harness my full power. I sense life in the brush. They are numerous and small. Since this is an F-type universe, it¡¯s possibly goblins or kobolds ¨C perfect specimens to test my power and begin that process.¡± Goblins?! Otto screamed. He dreamed of becoming a hero or an adventurer and working his way up killing goblins to dragons, but it never worked out. If a slime was too much for him, then a goblin was sure death. Are you sure this is a good idea? Adventures were regularly killed and tormented for underestimating them. SILENCE, boomed Nu. ¡°We are the closing things to gods you will see. So sit. And Watch.¡± And Otto felt time had stopped again. Chapter 2 - Closest thing to gods They were small, green, and disgusting -- something that remained true in any F-type universe. Nu sensed that before even seeing them. It walked into the thicket and rummaged through the brush picking out the goblins. Many of the goblins looked thin like a bag of bones. Several had sticks fixed with sharp stones but many had nothing. I thought you were going to kill them, Otto asked. ¡°I will. I¡¯m gathering intelligence, their strength and capabilities. This should suffice, however. Goblins are goblins no matter what the universe.¡± Nu took a position in the middle of the goblin group. They number 24. Six of them were hanging in the trees acting as scouts. Ten of them were scattered in the area, foraging and checking the area. The rest were bunched together by the forest¡¯s edge, a clearing where the tree growth wasn¡¯t as dense. Wait, are you going to fight them without a weapon? Nu clapped its hands and brought them apart. A polearm materialized in the space; a fauchard hovered in midair. ¡°Of course not,¡± it said, twirling the ornate polearm around Otto¡¯s body. Nu slammed the butt into the earth and Otto felt the flow of time. The goblins finished their motions as if nothing had happened. It took a second for them to realize a man stood among them. Several jumped back in fright. Others brandished their impoverished weaponry. The goblins charged at Nu with feral howls. The fauchard spun around Nu and it glided through the goblins like a dancer. One side of the polearm crushed the green monsters, shattering their bones. The other sliced them clean. Nu moved the polearm in grand sweeping motions that flowed from defense to offense addressing each of the goblins that crashed into it. Otto took in the power of the being called Nu. It was only goblins ¨C monsters that any soldier or adventurer could eliminate. But, it was Nu¡¯s skill, his movement that impressed. Back in his hometown, every year there was a festival to mark the harvest season and the tournament was always the main attraction. It featured many local upstarts looking to make a name or brag to their friends, but many travelers stopped by and threw their weight in the ring. Otto got to see many warriors and fights over the years. Nu displayed a brilliance of movement and precision he had not seen before. Three goblins launched at Nu from the tree canopies. Nu paid no attention, sensing their approach. It spun its polearm above and swatted them away like a kid would bat away a ball. The goblins were smacked lifeless to the ground. Nu walked up a tall tree, ¡°All that¡¯s left is the trash up here. I can smell their fear ¨C they hope to avoid death in the leaves above.¡± It swung the spear around holding the sharp end and smashed the butt into the base of the tree. With a thwack a part of the tree disintegrated. Nu repositioned himself a few steps as the tree groaned and shook from the loss of support. It was unable to keep itself up and toppled down straight into another tree with a crunch. Between the splintering and crushing of falling wood the two heard the pained cries of the goblins hiding in them. Nu held the fauchard straight and let it go. It disappeared into the ground creating circular ripples of light like dropping a stone in calm water. Nu clapped his hands together and dusted them, ¡°Not bad. This body is underdeveloped, but the high compatibility makes up for it.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. I¡¯m glad you like my body¡­? Otto remarked unsure how to feel. Nu displayed a level of power and skill he would never be able to touch; Nu was utilizing his body to a level he was never able too, and it wasn¡¯t the one living in it for over 24 years¡­ Nu did not reply instead leaving the forest back to the road. It was a long walk to the capital. In fact, it would be several days by Otto¡¯s estimate. When he left home he thought he would head there and look for work, but decided against it as he was uncomfortable with the idea of a big city. Say, Nu, would you mind if I ask some more questions? I want to learn more and we have plenty of time. ¡°No objections.¡± Great! Otto said. He didn¡¯t expect such a quick and positive response so he didn¡¯t have anything prepared. Otto thought for a moment and asked, So, part of this war, you have to eliminate all the enemies that came over here right? How do you do that? How do you even find them? ¡°It¡¯s not easy,¡± Nu replied, ¡°But there is one way to find out. In non-complete integrations you see with Ilm, the irises will display odd behaviors. For instance, you cannot see but since I am in full control your eyes are shimmering gold and white. Any Gaikin will experience the same phenomenon. In cases where the host retains control but utilizes the Gaikin¡¯s power, typically only one eye will display this. The only way to avoid it is by having the Gakin exist dormant in the body with the host retaining full control with no access to powers and abilities. On top of that, when humans from my universe release their power and energy, it is sometimes detectable depending on the type or nature of it.¡± Shimmering gold and white eyes? Are you sure? I don¡¯t know how much you know but many people in this world have heard of something like that before¡­ ¡°Of course, it¡¯s part of many native religions here. One common name is ¡®Heaven¡¯s Iris¡¯, is it not? Said to be a sign of someone of celestial origin: a god or godkin or angel.¡± I mean, not only that but, several royal families have things like that, you know? The Lantasig Dynasty from which this county¡¯s emperor and many other royal families have lineage have that. ¡°Exactly,¡± Nu said with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s hard unless they make it easy.¡± Pfffft, Otto could not contain his skepticism, So you are telling me this world is ruled by some secret group from another universe that¡¯s cultivating society so they can transplant people from their empire here to avoid defeat in a war? ¡°Quite so.¡± Well, ain¡¯t that some shit. Nu stopped Hey, hey! It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t believe you it¡¯s just that¡ª ¡°Somethings coming.¡± It whizzed at them like an arrow and swept them off their feet. A moment later the two were plummeting to the earth Prepare for a rough landing, Nu said. It clapped the hands and a warm light enveloped the body. They crashed into the earth like a meteor. The earth ruptured and shockwaves rippled the ground. Nu lied in the middle of a crater with only scratches and bruises. Nine walked towards the craters edge looking down upon them like insects. They were garbed in clothes embroidered in gold and silver. Their weapons and armoring shined majestically in the sunlight. The one in the center walked into the forefront and announced, ¡°We found you, ----!¡± Nu had already straightened and looked coldly upon them. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be able to track me.¡± He laughed, ¡°Normally we wouldn¡¯t, we both know this. However, with a mix of this world¡¯s magic and some of our world¡¯s technology, we were able to come up with something. It alerted us as soon as you dogs started trespassing. We won¡¯t let you stop us this time. Your minutes are numbered, devil.¡± Otto, panicked, asked, What the hell is going on?! The Sig Federation, my enemy, has found us. Nu, what do we do then? I will fight. You will go dormant. Wait, what do you me¡ª Otto was banished into the darkness. ¡°Are you sure nine is enough?¡± Nu taunted, releasing all the constraints on his power. It could feel Otto¡¯s bones and joints creaking under the pressure. His body was nowhere near developed, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. ¡°Nine might be too much,¡± laughed the ringleader. ¡°Look at you, ----! Still so weak. We figured our best chance was to kill you while you still haven¡¯t fully integrated.¡± Nu shrugged, ¡°Not a bad plan. But ideas mean nothing if you can¡¯t execute.¡± The man atop of the creator barred his teeth and readied his weapons. ¡°Kill him!¡± He curtly yelled and the eight flew at Nu. Nu released his power and went to war.