《I'm a Villain, So I'll Take Over The World!》


 Chapter 1 Strongest Awakening

    ?"Watch out, nerd!"


    Shouting out in an insulting fashion, a loud-mouthed student shoulder-checked the quiet, young man, causing him to fall over as he dropped the papers he held.


    In the busy hallway of the public college campus, this a normal, everyday urrence as students simply walked by or watched.


    Blossom View State was a unique college in that it operated as an extension of high school, as in acting as a general continuation of studies, including P.E. sses and such. This, however, along with its ease-of-ess, led to the same dynamics and hierarchies of high school to follow through to college.


    "¡ª" The sses-wearing student sat there in quiet anger for a moment.


    The jockughed, exchanging fist bumps with his groupies as they sneered at their victim.


    "Always such a pushover," one of the bullies said, anky sophomore with shaggy, blonde hair.


    "That''s Noah for you! This kid''s been a total loser since middle school," Another chimed in, a pudgier member of the group.


    "Seriously? That''s pathetic, man," the blonde oneughed.


    He couldn''t do anything but sit there on his knees as he collected his papers, trying his best to ignore their taunts.


    While reaching forward to retrieve one of his papers, Noah found a shoe stepping down on it, preventing him from getting it as he looked up to see the main proprietor himself looking down at him¡ª"Jacob."


    The star quarterback of his school''s football team was built like a grown man, and had everything going for him: looks, physical abilities, and poprity. Yet, Noah always found himself confused why Jacob used so much effort tormenting him.


    "Oh, look! How scary! Little Noah''s staring me down like he wants to hurt me," Jacob feigned freight, garnering moreughs, "Go ahead and try."


    Unfortunately, he was used to this; in fact, it was all too predictable for Noah as he knew, a second from then, he''d be kicked right in the nose.


    "Ghh-!"


    Though he was prepared for it, Noah still found himself wincing in pain as his nose was treated like a football by the  quarterback''s shoe.


    Still, some part of him, despite his inner cowardice and weakness, was so bitter that the words deep inside his gut left his lips as blood strolled down from his nostrils:


    "¡­I get it. You''re justpensating for what youck down there¡­" Noah shot back with a trembling smile.


    Thement infuriated Jacob as he went red, rushing over and kicking the downed, scrawny sophomore as his groupies joined in, stomping on Noah.


    "Piece of shit!"


    Amidst this bloodied assault as Noah found his ribs kicked and his lip split by the repeated blows, forcing him to curl up in fetal position, not even the teachers did anything to stop it.


    He didn''t know how long the beatingsted, but by the time it was over, he was aching over his entire body and drooling blood.


    As he looked around, he saw students he recognized¡ªEmily, a well-liked track star of the school; Akari, a geeky, yet popr sophomore who seemed to dye her hair every week; Freja, a foreign exchange student with top grades and unmatched looks


    ''One day¡­I swear, I''ll make you all rue the day you looked at me like trash,'' he thought.


    ¡ª


    It wasn''t his first time having to walk home with swollen cheeks and bruises, having to hold his head down as he could hear other passing students gossip or giggle.


    Noah was pale, thin, and inept socially; such factors led to him being an easy target most of his life.


    Though he knew of them, he was nothing but a fly to them¡ªnot a single helping hand was lent.


    ''I''ve always been the ''little fish'' in life; somebody that is an easy target to pick on, without any talents to speak of, and hopelessly average,'' he thought.


    Bringing himself home, as usual, there was nobody waiting to greet him as his mother was constantly working shifts at the hospital and his father was long gone. Left to himself, he simply grabbed a few slices of pizza left in the fridge and heated them up briefly before sitting at the dining room table by himself.


    As he took each bite, his face throbbed from the cuts and bruises, leaving him to only finish the one slice before going up to the bathroom to take a look at his face.


    Of course, it wasn''t pretty.


    "Ghh¡­" He winced when touching his own cheek.


    Looking in the mirror at his bloody-and-bruised face, he found intrusive thoughts seeping in.


    ''¡­If I had the power to do it, I''d make them all pay,'' he thought.


    As that thought crept through his mind, a loud noise rumbled above his head, prompting him to dart his eyes up as it unmistakably originated from the attic.


    "Huh¡­?" He let out.


    As he stepped into the hall, still holding an ice pack against his cheek, he pulled down thepactdder that led to the attic.


    A cough left his mouth from the stagnant dust that rained down from the attic entrance.


    ''It sounded like something heavy fell over. It''s kind of creepy, but¡­I guess I should check,'' he decided


    As he carefully climbed up with one hand, he pulled himself into the dusty attic, coughing out again before finding his eyes resting on an ominous book sitting alone.


    "A book¡­?"


    He knelt down and lifted it up, finding it to be surprisingly heavy.


    It stuck out like a sore thumb; it has a pitch-ck casing with a hardback that seemed as hard as steel. Most of all, there was a subtle, crimson glow from between the closed pages, as if waiting to be opened.


    ''How did this get here? It''s giving me the creeps, but¡­there''s something inside of me telling me to take it and open it,'' he thought


    Hesitantly, he ced his fingers on the cover before slowly opening it, unveiling it before¡ªFWOOM.


    "What!?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    A powerful wind sealed within the enigmatic book breathed out, causing the pages to rapidly flutter while the mystical, blood-red light within filled the attic, shining against him as he was left awe-struck.


    ''I can''t close it¡­it''s like my body wants it,'' he thought


    It was held in his hands, though even if he tried, he couldn''t let go; his arms and hands were frozen, forced to hold it open as the pages finally settled to one section.


    Suddenly, his entire body tensed up, being injected with a mystical force flooded directly from the book.


    [Your anger has been heard. ept the power cultivated for your resentful self and indulge yourself in chaos, Noah Greys. This grimoire is the embodiment of the rage stocked by those like you.]


    It was a malevolent, deep voice that spoke directly into his mind, ringing through his ears as he groaned, feeling an unknown force surge through his body. He was being altered on a fundamental level; cells were rewritten as his very DNA blueprint was fiddled with.


    "Noah Grays" himself was being changed.


    After a few minutes of this inexplicable pain as all of his muscles cramped, it finally came to an end as he breathed rapidly, finding himself caked in sweat.


    [Creator''s Grimoire System Awakened.]


    [Rating: SSS+ | Potential: Infinite]


    "System¡­?"


    It seemed repeating those words prompted something as information instantaneously entered his mind:


    [Level: 100]


    [Strength: 5000]


    [Constitution: 5000]


    [Mana: 9999]


    All of it was quite perplexing, but it part of the integration of the mystical ''Creator''s Grimoire System'' gave him the capabilities to understand and rationallyprehend what he was given.


    It felt as though his brain had been rewired; its fundamental nature remained the same, but he felt wiser and informed of his newly-gained power.


    Instead of freaking out from the mystical empowerment, his brain adjusted to this faraway reality, adapting instantaneously.


    "¡­This is real. For some reason, I know it is. I understand it, I think?" He muttered to himself.


    As he slowly stood up, the first thing on his agenda was testing the capabilities of his system, and if it truly was real in the first ce. Going to his backyard, he looked around for something to test his [Strength] on.


    What caught his eye was a head-sized stone sitting by the garden, which he picked up and held in one hand.


    "It''s light¡­" He remarked.


    While activating his muscles, he could feel a breath of unknown vigor exuding through each fiber of muscle.


    Though the real test was in destroying it, which was tested as he suddenly squeezed it in his palm.


    To his surprise, it shattered easily, breaking into dozens of smaller pieces as sediment ran over his palm. Saying it simply ''shattered'' might be misleading; it exploded from the simple pressure he applied to it.


    "¡­"


    He was left in shock briefly, but this soon turned to a smile as he began realizing what this meant for him.


    Still, he had one more test he wanted to do.


    "Creator''s Grimoire," he said.


    To his surprise, the call worked as manifesting from a small cloud of ck and crimson smoke was the mystical grimoire, which hovered in front of him.


    "Err, let''s try a¡­fireball spell," he said.


    He called upon what was likely the most basic and possible spell to exist. After a moment, he scratched his head, realizing it might''ve failed before suddenly¡ªglowing embers manifested around him, coalescing into one point before a sphere of mes was born in front of him.


    "Crimson Fireball" was the page the grimoire opened to likely find whatever was closest to his intended spell.


    "Woah¡­!"


    It was more potent than he expected; as he raised his hand, it seemed to guide itself towards wherever he pointed, but there wasn''t exactly anywhere safe to use it.


    "¡­There!"


    Pointing towards the sky, he finally unleashed it with his will, causing it to soar up towards the clouds before exploding into a shining beacon of embers.


    ''Holy shit¡­This is all real. I''m unstoppable,'' he realized


    Normally, such a development would likely make him much more ecstatic, though he was, the natural affinity with it that it provided allowed him to adapt to it seamlessly. Feeling pain still present in his cheek from his earlier beating, he decided to try another spell.


    "Healing?" He said, looking at the dark grimoire.


    The pages mystically fluttered, swiftlynding upon a spell bearing the name "Great Recovery", which manifested as a surge of vigor flowed through his body, easing the pain and mending his wounds.


    "...Woah¡­" He felt his healed face.


    Though there was a lot he wanted to do, there was more than enough time to do so, but for now, he went to bed, pondering all of the things he once deemed impossible that he wanted to do. However, one thing stood out that he wanted to do first thing the next day:


    ''I''ll introduce the world to the new ''me'','' he thought.


    It was as though his wish had been answered: in the hands of the tormented outcast, a tool of destruction and chaos was now held.

 Chapter 2 Test Ride

    ?With the dawn of the next day, he woke up, wondering for a moment if everything that transpiredst night was nothing but a far-off dream.


    Though as he rubbed his eye and yawned, he found the ck-cased grimoire manifesting in front of him as if proving its own existence.


    "Good," he smiled, "We''ve got a lot to do today."


    As he went into the bathroom to get ready for school, he threw on his uniform, only to find it didn''t fit anymore.


    "Huh? That''s weird," he muttered.


    Though when looking into the mirror, he figured out why.


    The activation of the Creator''s Grimoire altered him on a fundamental level; he had grown a few inches in height; his average, nd looks had sharpened, and the need for sses was obsolete as he discarded them, now wielding eyes that could see better than any others.


    "Do I have any spells that can adjust the size of my clothes? I doubt it," he mumbled.


    To his surprise, the grimoire fluttered to a page, bringing the spell "Disembodied Tailor", allowing him to manifest said spell with a snap of his fingers.


    The clothes he struggled to fit onto his filled-out, taller physique that was no longer skin and bones but also packed a respectableyer of muscle, adjusted to his new build.


    He wore a in, ck t-shirt and matching pants, pairing with gray sneakers as he looked in the mirror with his eyes that matched the gray shade of his shoes.


    "I can get used to this kind of power," he smiled.


    As he got ready to leave for school, he left the front door while adjusting the cor of his shirt, making sure it fit well enough.


    ''It''d be easy to get to school within seconds, I imagine, but for now, I want to keep things at least a bit on the ''low''--I''ll keep the chaos to a crescendo,'' he decided.


    There was a newly-gained confidence in how he held himself now, walking his usual route with his head held high and a smile on his face. A lot of looks came his way from recognizable faces, though they hardly seemed to recognize him as ''Noah.''


    A block away from the campus, the pathway just before the school gates was blocked by a sight all too familiar to his eyes.


    "I told you to have my money by today, or you''d be dead meat,rd."


    Issuing the threat, a delinquent held a much shorter, rounder sophomore by the cor of his umber jacket, who was shaking like a frightening puppy.


    "I-I-I don''t h-have it¡­I t-told you I needed an-another few days, Lars¡­" The chubby sophomore gulped.


    "''I-I-I''--quite stuttering and spit it out!" Lars barked, giving him a belittling p on the cheel.


    ''Timothy.''


    It was somebody Noah knew; one of his few friends. Though they weren''t particrly close, and more so allies in being outcasts, Noah still opted to intervene, though it was hardly with good intentions as a smile came across his lips.


    ''It''s always the same; the weak are trampled by the strong,'' he thought.


    Lars cracked his knuckles before forming a fist, rearing it back with a vicious look on his pierced face, "I''m going to knock out a tooth for each day you''ve beente, then. I believe this makes five, so¨C!"


    "Eep¡­!" Timothy flinched, closing his eyes.


    Before the knuckles of the tall, sour-faced delinquent could m against the chubby sophomore''s cheek, it was stopped dead in its tracks as a hand gripped Lars'' wrist.


    "Huh? What the fuck?" Lars muttered, looking to the side.


    It took a moment of dumbfounded squinting for the pierced-lipped bully to realize the one holding his arm was Noah.


    "Ain''t you the guy that got his shit kicked in by Jacob and his crew yesterday? The fuck you think you''re doing botherin'' me for?" Lars said, trying to pull his wrist away though it didn''t budge.


    The look of surprise on Lars'' face, who always relied on his bigger size to overpower smaller prey, was priceless to see as he kept trying to pull his arm free to no avail.


    "The fuck¡­?" Lars said.


    Timothy finally opened his eyes, looking up to see Noah, "...Noah? Wh-what''re you doing? D-don''t worry about me¨CLars will get you!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Still, there was a look of silent confidence on Noah''s face as he stood there with a smile, simply holding onto Lars'' wrist without letting go.


    "You should really just get a job instead of relying on easy change like this," Noan warned the delinquent, lightly squeezing his wrist, "One day, you might run into somebody who doesn''t shy away from a fight."


    Lars winced as he felt his bone being squeezed by an inexplicable pressure, beginning to sweat, "H-hey! Let go! Fuck¡­!"


    There was nothing in Noah''s eyes that looked as if he was ready to show any mercy as he simply watched Lars wince in pain, continuing to slowly squeeze.


    "Noah¡­? I-I think that''s enough¨C! Noah!" Timothy called out.


    It was only the soft nature of the short-of-stature sophomore that made Noah finally let go, causing the spiky-haired delinquent to stumble back before caressing his reddened wrist.


    "Ghh¡­What the hell is your problem, man?" Lars asked.


    As Lars quickly looked around, there were hardly any students passing by on their way to school, and those that were knew what that look from the delinquent meant¨Cto ''mind their business.''


    ''He''s about to do something pretty stupid,'' Noah deduced.


    And that was proven correct as Lars reached into his baggy pants, retrieving a red pocket knife that flicked open, causing Timothy to gasp and stumble back, hiding behind Noah.


    "I-I''ll have your money tomorrow! I-I promise, so don''t¨C!" Timothy stammered.


    Lars interrupted him, honing his bloodlusted, hazel gaze on Noah, who had yet to move a single step, "Shut your fucking mouth. This ain''t about money anymore. This little bottom-feeder disrespected me¨CI''m going to teach him his ce."


    "Oh?" Noah smiled.


    The small provocation made Timothy breath heavily as he tugged on Noah''s sleeve, trying to get him to follow him, "L-lets run! Maybe we can find a cop o-or something!"


    Despite the bleak situation, Noah was still standing there, wearing his same smile much to the dismay of Timothy, who began to realize there was something fundamentally different about his friend.


    "Just stand back and watch," Noah calmly said.


    Those words stuck out both to Timothy and the attacker, which prompted the short, pudgy-cheeked boy to gulp and stand back.


    Noah whispered to himself while watching Lars, "Grimoire, can you check his ''stats''? If he has anything like that."


    To his surprise, the grimoire manifested itself, beginning to flip to a page as if locating a spell for exactly that. Though he was caught off-guard by this as he didn''t n to reveal his newfound power just yet, but to his surprise, there was no reaction.


    Lars was still wielding his pocket knife, readying himself with a sour expression without batting an eye at the crimson-and-ck grimoire.


    ''Ah, so it can''t be seen by normal people, then? That''s convenient,'' Noah thought.


    The spell the grimoire located for him was ''Assess'', which activated with a brief shine of a crimson glow to his left eye, bringing the stats of the senior-year delinquent to his view.


    [Lars Baker]


    [Level: N/A]


    [Strength: 15]


    [Constitution: 10]


    [Mana: 0]


    It was eye-opening to see the disparity in stats between himself and the delinquent that just a day earlier would''ve made short work of him, but it wasn''t all too surprising considering the brief testing he''d done.


    Just as he obtained this information, the delinquent suddenly rushed him, sweating bullets as he lunged forward.


    With the meager stats possessed by his upperssman, it would be no different than handling an infant, or perhaps even less than that; this was simply the vast difference in their capabilities.

 Chapter 3 New Noah

    ?"Noah¡­!" Timothy yelled out, covering his eyes.


    As the sharp de neared his stomach, Noah was pleasantly surprised to find his reflexes had been sharpened to a high level, allowing him to easily react to the iing attack and counter it by grabbing Lars'' wrist.


    ''I doubt it''d even leave a scratch on me if I let him reach, but I don''t need such theatrics right now,'' he thought.


    "Grgh¡­?!" Lars looked in surprise.


    Noah smiled down at him, "Don''t worry. I''m in a good mood, so this time, I''ll take it easy on ya''."


    Just like that, a nasty crack resounded through the block as the delinquent''s wrist was snapped, gaining the attention of passing students that were too scared to watch or approach Lars, now gossiping and snapping videos on their phones.


    " Graaagh¡­!" Lars screamed in pain, falling to his knees as he held his flopped wrist.


    There was an immense level of satisfaction gained from the action as he smiled, standing over the thug as darker thoughts flooded his mind. Temptation rose to take things further, though he was taken out of this trance of darkness as a cop walked over.


    "Hey! What''s going on here?" The blonde-haired, middle-aged police officermanded an answer.


    Hardly any part of Noah felt the need to excuse himself as he cracked his knuckles, not afraid to stand against even an enforcer of thew. Though that bloodlust oozing off of him halted as a girl walked over.


    "I saw everything. Noah was just defending himself¨CLars here pulled a knife on him and lunged," the girl with hazel hair exined.


    It was somebody he recognized from his school: "Emily." She wore ck leggings and a short-sleeved shirt that had "BLOSSOM VIEW STATE TRACK TEAM" written on the back.


    ''She''s always been nice to me. I''ve always had a crush on her¡­I wonder how I''d do with how I am now?'' He wondered.


    Timothy added in, "Y-yeah, that''s what happened!"


    He couldn''t be less worried about the current situation, though it seemed to solve itself now with the alibis on his side.


    "...Is that right? Well, count yourself lucky that you know some moves, kid," the officer said, looking at Noah before hoisting Lars up by his arm, "C''mon, you''re going to the hospital then we''ll discuss what happened here with your parents. If you''re lucky, you''ll get a light sentence in prison¨Cbut I don''t count on you getting lucky."


    ¨C


    After an eventful start to the morning, he was surprised to find Emily approaching him first and foremost as the blue-eyed girl seemed to look at him with different eyes.


    "I almost didn''t recognize you, Noah. You¡­really changed," Emily said.


    "Yeah. Guess I did," he replied.


    He could recall it well; before, the way she looked at him was of pity, as one would treat a wounded puppy, but now, she looked up at him with a slight flush to her cheeks as if looking at a man.


    "I-I was going to say that, too! Did you have a growth spurt, Noah? You''re like a whole foot taller!" Timothy spurted out, "Y-you could join the basketball team now!"


    Noah looked over at him, scratching the top of his own head, "Something like that."


    As Emily and Noah were standing together, Timothy seemed to finally read the situation as he promptly went on ahead.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I-I''ll catch youter," Timothy said, "Thanks for saving me, Noah."


    "Sure," Noah replied.


    It was just the two of them left to themselves now, which Emily gave him a look as if asking with her eyes ''Want to walk together?", which since they were on the same route anyway, he obliged.


    There was no doubt that with his newly-gained abilities, less-than-heroic thoughts prodded his mind on the topic of women, but he felt little urgency.


    ''Everything is going my way; the world is operating in my favor now. I can just sit back and rx¨Ctaking things at my own leisure, when I want, how I want,'' he thought.


    "So¡­are you nning to get into any sports? You have, err¡­the build for it," Emily asked as her eyes lingered to his body.


    He noticed the up-and-down looks she was giving him but ignored it, "I didn''t n on it. Why?"


    "Just wondering¨Cit''d be beneficial, you know? It''s fun, and well, you can make friends, you know? Also, it can help you get more social! If you need it, I mean," Emily exined, twiddling with her hazel hair.


    As he nced to the side, there was an obvious amount of attention being drawn to the fact he was walking with Emily, who was somewhat popr herself, and though he had undergone changes in appearance, he didn''t quite have such a dramatic change in the hierarchy of poprity. Though he felt that was soon to change.


    Taking some initiative mainly for his own amusement, he slung his arm around Emily''s shoulder, holding a heart-fluttering smile.


    "Huh¨C?" Emily blushed.


    "Well, I wouldn''t mind trying out some sports. What did you have in mind?" He said with silver charisma.


    Emily seemed to rx with a small cherry hue to her cheeks persisting as they walked together, "I was thinking¡­the track team could use some help."


    "I''ll give it a go, then," he told her with a false smile.


    There was a natural charisma he obtained through his metamorphosis, though he only used it for superficial goals such as earning the girl''s fondness for himself.


    "Really?! That''s great!" Emily beamed.


    He simply smiled in return, finally reaching school premises as he crossed past those rose-decorated gates for the first time with confidence and without fear, now feeling as though he owned the ce.


    Through his heightened sense of hearing, he was able to pick up on the whispers and gossips of students in the courtyard; it was always surprising to him just how nosy students could be.


    "Is that Noah Grays? He looks totally different."


    "He totally does, O-M-G! Is he with Emily, too? I don''t me her¡­I mean, he doesn''t look bad, does he?"


    "Is that a new kid or something?"


    ¡ªThese murmurs only brought a small smile to his lips as the sense of chaos and attention brought to him that he never felt before as his once nd, uneventful self felt nice.


    He looked up towards the pale-bricked building that was Blossom View State, recalling all of the times he feared even to step into its bounds.

 Chapter 4 Exploitation Of Power

    ?"Noah? The first bell is going to ring soon," Emily called back to him.


    Focusing up again, he nodded and followed with a small smile, heading into school premises as he looked around, seeing things in a new light. It wasn''t just that his eyesight was improved, but before today, he always walked with his head down, scared of looking at anybody the wrong way.


    Now, he didn''t shy away from anything.


    This much was tested as when he walked down the hall beside Emily, turning a corner as they made their way to the first ss which they both shared, a familiar few faces were waiting.


    "Did you do your assignments for Ms. Harbows ss? If you didn''t, I can lend¨C"


    Emily cut herself off when talking to him as Noah came to a pause, stopping as he stood before the all-too-familiar few.


    Jacob along with a couple of his ''goons'' stood in the hall, having a conversation or more so listening intently to Jacob brag about a ''hot babe'' he scored after a football gamest week.


    Though as he showed up alongside Emily, the conversation stopped as the three looked at him.


    "Oh, shit. Is Little Noah wearing makeup or somethin''? I don''t see those ''beauty marks'' we left ya," The blonde-haired goonughed.


    The tall, heavier-set one of the three chipped in, "I bet he is. Trying to impress the girl? I wouldn''t have the balls to do that after getting my ass beat so badly! Ha-ha!"


    Jacob was silent for a few moments as he looked annoyed at the very fact that Noah was together with the hazel-haired girl.


    "You don''t have to take pity on the losers, Emily," Jacob said, moving closer as he looked down at the girl.


    Emily looked up at the quarterback, "I''m¡­not. Noah is actually a good person¨Cunlike somebody else I know."


    As Noah stood there, he was hardly listening to any words being said as memories of the times he was beaten, tormented, and belittled by the men in front of him surged to the forefront of his mind, causing a spike in his bloodlust.


    ''I was nning to keep things on the downlow, but¡­Who am I kidding? I want to let loose,'' he thought.


    Following his intent, the ominous grimoire manifested, unseen by the eyes of the uninitiated, flipping open to a page that held the spell he desired deep down. It was when his intentions were so crystal-clear and honed in that he was able to seamlessly navigate his Creator''s Grimoire System like an extension of his own body.


    As he raised his hand in ordance with the magecraft''s manifestation, Jacob raised an eyebrow, looking at him.


    "What do you think you''re doing? Trying to get¨C"


    ["Absolute Freeze."]


    Time itself was dragged to aplete halt, stagnating as those around him were now still as statues; Jacob was frozen midway through his words, standing there with his mouth agape and fury in his eyes, though helpless and ignorant to what was happening.


    It was a spell that stood at the peak of power: stopping all of time without any caveat.


    Noah stood there, meeting eye-to-eye with the jock who was frozen in time, "Don''t worry. This was a long timeing."


    As he clenched his fist, pulling it back, he threw it forward, mming it against Jacob''s cheek, though the impact didn''t manifest itself quite yet while time was halted.


    "That should be more than enough," Noah said with a small smile before moving on to his next two targets.<novelnext></novelnext>


    As he prepared to unleash a spell against the two underlings of the jock, he nced back, looking at the statuesque girl that was still present in the hall. Though his mind was engulfed in malevolence, he did find himself taking the effort not to use destructive magic with her in the vicinity, instead relying on his fists.


    With a simple blow to the gut for the blondie, and a backfist to the tall, hefty linebacker''s cheek, he finally moved back to his original spot, holding a satisfied smile.


    "--And, action," he said, snapping his fingers.


    As simple as that, time resumed before the impacts of his blows finally came to be, causing a shock wave to emit from the strength behind them as each of the three were flung back with blood trailing through the air.


    "Aaaah¨C!" Emily screamed at the sudden, inexplicable violence.


    Though Noah was silently witnessing the act with utmost satisfaction, he did realize he might''ve not understood just how much strength he put behind his blows.


    By the way the bullies mmed into the walls andnded on the tile flooring with puddles of blood forming, it was unquestionable that at the very least, life-changing damage was done, if not fatal.


    "N-Noah, what happened¡­? Did you¡­?" Emily stammered out, as pale as a ghost now before rushing over to check on them.


    After following through with such an act, he wasn''t in shock due to the implications of his evil deed, but at the power he wielded. Oveing those who tormented all of this time finally set into motion the abilities he possessed.


    ''I¡­can do anything,'' he thought.


    "Noah¡­! What did you do?! Jacob¡­isn''t breathing!" Emily yelled.


    Basking in his glory for a few moments further while the girl yelled at him, he finally approached, though Emily was clearly frightened of him.


    "Do you want them to live?" Noah calmly asked.


    Emily was stifled of her words as she looked up at the man; there was a look of utmost malevolence in his eyes.


    "Answer me. They don''t have much time," he told her.


    "I-I¡­"


    "Answer," he repeated.


    Blood was pooling beneath Jacob''s head as the other two were also in critical condition. To make matters more chaotic, other students reached the hall, screaming out at the sight; some ran, some were standing in shock.


    Emily finally answered, "...Yes."


    For some reason, Noah was disappointed by this answer but obliged as the grimoire fluttered through its mystical, archaid pages once more.


    "Alright, then," he calmly said.


    ["Total Recover."]

 Chapter 5 Artificial Bonds

    ?["Total Recover."]


    The healing spell cascaded through the hall, allowing a verdant light to graze through its narrow width before enveloping the injured, closing their wounds and cleaning the spilled blood in the process.


    Emily was in shock, looking around, "...What is this? What''re you¡­?"


    An aura of mystical force was visible around Noah as his shirt fluttered along with his hair as hemanded the benevolent magecraft. It was something of a greater power; stunning those that witnessed as it seemed far too far-fetched to be real.


    "What the hell¡­?"


    "Is this some sort of prank?"


    "I-I saw Jacob Harrow bleeding out just a second ago!"


    Talk from the shocked students flooded the halls as Noah simply concentrated on the spell before wrapping it up.


    "Are they¡­?" Emily began to ask.


    "They''re fine," Noah answered bluntly.


    Silence momentarily filled the premises of the school before Emily stood up with tears in her eyes, unable to process what happened as she looked at the young man, unknowing of what it truly was her eyesid on.


    "Who are you?..."


    Noah didn''t answer the question he found meaningless in the face of what wasing as his grimoire fluttered to a new page, bearing the next spell he intended to bring forth into reality.


    As some students raced to find staff, and some even blurted out their intentions to get the authorities, that all came to a halt as Noah raised his hand, holding a swirling, violet mana.


    ["Absolute Hypnosis."]


    A sh of violet light filled the premises of the school, flowing through every corridor, room, and the outskirts alike as hieroglyphics spun in the air around the caster, allowing him to freely manipte the memories and intentions of those caught in the scope of his magic.


    It emitted a perpetual hum of vast energy, emitting particles of varying shapes that held a kaleidoscope of varying colors iid in a mist around him.


    "...Let''s see¡­Who should ''Noah Grays'' be?" He questioned with a smile.


    It was an opportunity topletely alter the way each person viewed him; in the palm of his hand, he hadplete control over their experiences, memories, and perceptions, allowing him to even add false memories.


    As he fiddled with the mystically manifested consciousnesses of those around, he waved his hand, causing the threads of experiences and memories to spiral around as he reconfigured them to his whim.


    ''I think this''ll do¡­Let''s start from square one: this will be Noah Grays'' new debut,'' he decided.


    Finalizing the [Absolute Hypnosis], he squeezed his fist, causing the hum to momentarily re out before a sh of violet light swept through the premises, running along each surface as every mind in the vicinity was altered to Noah''s desire.


    As it finished, the affected people came to, blinking as they stood like deer in headlights for a moment.


    "Urgh¡­my head," a freshman held his head.


    "Same here¡­why do I have a headache all of a sudden?" Another groaned.


    Jacob and his underlings came to as well, slowly getting up from the ground with the same side-effects of a headache as some of the others.


    "The hell?...Why was Iying on the floor?" Jacob asked.


    Providing an answer for everybody was Noah, who held a smile of false charisma, "I just woke up, too. I think there might be a gas leak. We should tell the staff as soon as possible."


    "Oh, is that what happened?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Man, my neck hurts."


    "That sounds dangerous."


    As the students chattered, the quarterback approached Noah, still rubbing the back of his aching head as he stopped in front of the gray-eyed system-wielder.


    Noah looked up at him with a smile still held, studying him as if checking for sure of the [Absolute Hypnosis] was a sess.


    "Damn, my head hurts¡­You good, Noah?" Jacob asked sincerely.


    ''Looks like it worked," Noah thought.


    Answering the question, he nodded with brittle joy, "I''m fine. You should go to the nurse though if you''re not feeling well¨Cjust to be safe."


    "Right. Good idea¡­thanks, man," Jacob patted him on the shoulder before moving along with his two goons following close behind.


    After an interaction that couldn''t be farther from what was reality just minutes prior, Noah turned around to face Emily, who was still sitting on her knees and wincing from the headache.


    He extended his hand down to her, "You alright, ''Em''?"


    Despite using a nickname that spoke of unestablished closeness between the two that he never once uttered before, the blue-eyed member of the track team looked up at him with a smile before epting his hand.


    "I''m alright¡­How weird though," Emily said, fixing her hair as she was helped to her feet, "I wonder if they''ll cancel sses for today?"


    "Maybe," he replied.


    Emily smiled brightly, nting a kiss on the young man''s cheek, "Anyway, let''s head to first period! Even if school gets canceled, I don''t want to test my luck."


    "Sure thing," he smiled.


    As he walked to ss beside the girl who disyed unusual affection towards him, he was happily greeted by each student he passed by, sharing specific handshakes with them and memories that shouldn''t exist.


    This was the new reality forged by Noah''s [Absolute Hypnosis]: from the absolute bottom, he had risen to a local star.


    A few students had already gone to inform the staff of the supposed ''gas leak''; what began as a lie was forged in reality as Noah left sprinkles of hazardous gas in the hall for the staff to find.


    What proceeded were sses that did nothing to stimte his enhanced mind, though he did find joy in the newfound interactions he had with other students.


    "Hey, did you watch the new episode of The Stargazer, Noah?" A student named Tyler asked, a somewhat geeky, but well-liked individual.


    "Yeah."


    nting a seat by his desk, a member of the college basketball team, a tall, tan-skinned student, Miguel leaned against his desk, "Yo, Noah! Coming to my game tomorrow night?"


    He already knew that there was a basketball game uing against the school''s rival, Spring Forward High, by looking through the collective memories of the students earlier.


    "Maybe. I''ll have to check my schedule," he answered, "Are you sure you''re up for it though? Hard to believe you''re staying in tip-top shape when you were ying Steel Cog Online all night."


    "Hey! I was only on because you needed a full squad!" Miguel defended himself.


    Of course, none of that had actually transpired the previous night, but Noah made it believed as such.


    Augh was shared between them from the fabricated experiences, though to Noah, he had little issue with the thinly-veiled falsities he forged. Even if it wasn''t genuine, he was satisfied just to be experiencing the life he''d been missing out on.

 Chapter 6 The Gift Of Sentience

    ?While sitting in ss, something stuck out to him: the feeling of being watched. He sat closest to the window, obviously, feeling eyes on him through the ss pane.


    ''Somebody''s watching me, but who? Did I let somebody slip through Absolute Hypnosis? No, definitely not,'' he thought.


    As he perceived this, the unseen grimoire conjured itself, flipping to the desired spell he wished to use before he invoked it:


    ["Absolute Sensory."]


    ncing at the window towards outside, setting his sights on the far-stretching, pale-blue sky that sat above the affluent cityscape, a subtle expansion of his own mana spread itself far-and-wide. It epassed most of the city in an instant with a sh of crimson that was unseen to the naked eye.


    It was only for a split-second, but there was indeed somebody sensed that was watching him from afar, atop a nearby building, yet they vanished the moment they were registered in his sensory.


    ''...That''s not normal. Whoever that was, they have abilities like me, too,'' he realized.


    There was a serious look worn on his face as his eyes held a look of bloodlust at the thought of an unknown factor existing, but it was quickly swept away as his sleeve was tugged on.


    "Hey, Noah? Is everything alright?" Emily asked with a look of concern.


    "Yeah, I''m fine¡­Just didn''t get much sleepst night," he answered with a smile.


    Though he held a gentle expression, what swirled in his mind were thoughts of theplete opposite spectrum:


    ''Whoever that was, I''ll wring out whatever motives they have, then eliminate them,'' he thought.


    As his sses came to an end, he for the first time in his life felt disappointed that school was over; it had be much more thrilling with a wide variety of friends in his corner now.


    "I''ve gotta head to practice now so¡­I''ll text you tonight!" Emily said in a hurry.


    "Alright, good luck," he replied.


    They had just left the premises of the school as the pale-blue sky had turned to a soft hue of orange.


    "Head''s up!"


    Yelling out to him, the warning came a second prior to a football nearly hitting him in the head, though he caught it with pinpoint precision before even turning around to see it. For a moment, there was an annoyed look on his face, thinking it was an attack, but he turned to see Jacob pping his hands together, gesturing for him to toss it back.


    "Nice catch, man! Right here!" Jacob called out.


    "--" Noah looked at him for a moment.


    It was still difficult to fully adapt to the stark difference in the way people treated him, none more jarring than the one who once treated him as less than human, now being as affable as can be.


    Still, he obliged with a smile, tossing the football back as it drilled through the sky before Jacob caught it, though letting out a sharp exhale as it smacked into his chest.


    "Ghh¡­You''ve got a helluva arm on you, man," Jacobughed, brushing it off.


    After that encounter, he left the front gates of the school, but didn''t go his usual route home as he instead took a detour to a secluded off-section of a small park. If he could avoid it, he''d rather not have eyes on him while casting spells beyond the boundaries of reality. Though it would be a simple task to invoke [Absolute Hypnosis] again, it had its own problem of getting knotted in a convoluted thread of lies.


    ''I''ve been meaning to get a better idea of what I have to work with. For now, I''d like to see if I can streamline walking home,'' he thought.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Conjuring his Creator''s Grimoire, it flipped through pages before revealing to him just the sort of spell he was looking for: ["Spatial Warp"]


    As he etched it into his mind, he understood it at a fundamental level; it allowed him to bend space in such a seamless way that he could instantly bring himself from one location to another. However, this was more urate only in close-proximity as he needed aplete understanding of the space around him.


    This had a workaround however, when using it in tandem with another spell:


    ["Absolute Sensory."]


    Invoking the recon spell, he was able to imprint the structure of the affluent city into his mind, location his neighborhood, block, and pinpoint not just his house, but its internalyout as well.


    Next, it was simple:


    He held his hands together briefly: ["Spatial Warp."]


    A small wormhole opened around him, engulfing him in a cosmic hue as a sense of weightlessness took over for only a moment before he found himself standing in the middle of his room.


    "It worked," he said with a surprised smile.


    The sudden manifestation of the blinking wormhole that disappeared with his arrival caused his dirty clothes to scatter across his room along with disorganized papers.


    ''I should really tidy things up around here. I mean, now I have a girlfriend after all and friends of my own to bring over,'' he thought.


    Following his will, the grimoire hovered in front of him, revealing its seemingly boundless pages to him before giving him a spell that worked ording to his desire to ''tidy up'' his room.


    "Hmm. That''s not a bad idea," he said with his hand to his chin, reading the opened page of the mystical grimoire.


    It was a spell different from those he''d given a try to thus far, and it required a ''catalyst'' or ''base'' of sorts, which he looked around his room for. The state of his room was picture-perfect of a teenage boy who didn''t put much thought into a clean or responsible image, but as he was now, he wanted to start anew.


    As he scanned his posters and shelves, he found action figures of video game series and ''anime'' disyed.


    "Hmmm¡­" He thought to himself before settling on one that caught his eye, "That''ll do."


    Grabbing the six-inch figure of a red-haired maid, "Melly Treyfas", from one of his favorite anime series¨C"Super Maid Warriors"--he cleared a space in the middle of his room before preparing the spell.


    The grimoire hovered in front of his hand as he honed the invocation towards the small, inanimate figure.


    ["Sentience Bestowment"]


    With a snap of his fingers, the reality-altering invocation of his will was brought forth as a magical seal spawned on the wooden floorboards of his room, glowing a vibrant, purple hue before empowering the maid figure.


    As the process heightened, the figure that was norger than his hand expanded, growing to the height he had in mind, canonical to the character in the series at just shy of five-and-a-half feet with the PVC shifting into living skin as herplexion was undoubtedly lively.


    "...It''s really her," he muttered.


    It was perplexing above all to witness a fictional charactere to life as the figure in the scious maid dress with ck leggings and flowing, scarlet hair blinked at him with her shiny, amethyst eyes.


    "Greetings, Master Noah. What shall I do for you today?" Melly asked with a soft smile, bowing.

 Chapter 7 Thoughts Of The System

    ?"Greetings, Master Noah. What shall I do for you today?" Melly asked with a soft smile, bowing.


    He had a small tint to his cheeks at the sight of her barely-concealed bosom that was easily a G-cup, "Tidy up my room, please."


    "As you wish," Melly nodded, quickly getting to work.


    Melly was surprisingly efficient for being a glorified golem, and even more so, was shockingly human as she hummed a delightful tune while picking up scattered clothes and setting them in a bin for theundry.


    While she cleaned, he sat at his desk, fiddling with his grimoire as he studied the spells it contained, though he was mostly distracted by the scantily-dressed maid.


    ''How am I going to focus like this?'' He thought.


    Sitting there, a quiet growl of his stomach had him realize he didn''t eat much that day, leading him to look over, finding that the room was already spotless, only being cleaned of dust by the dutiful maid.


    "Hey," he called out to her.


    Melly spun around and gave her undivided attention to him with a soft smile, causing her chest to jiggle as a result, "Yes? What can I do for you?"


    "Are you able to cook?"


    "Why, of course I am! I happen to be quite good at it, if I do say so myself!" Melly answered cheerfully, holding her hands together before tilting her head, "Are you asking because you''d like me to prepare dinner for you at this time?"


    "Please," he nodded.


    "Leave it to me," Melly bowed her head before leaving his room.


    Though he was actually hungry, it also gave him some time alone in his room, undistracted by jiggling balloons as he studied his grimoire.


    ''I wonder if my stats have changed at all,'' he pondered.


    "System," he called.


    [Level: 100]


    [Strength: 5003]


    [Constitution: 5002]


    [Mana: 9999]


    There was some curiosity found in the fact that his stats did seem to improve, minimally but still improved, yet his level remained the same.


    "...Are these my only stats, though? I''d imagine I have ''EXP'' points or something like that, right?" He mumbled to himself.


    It seemed his utterances were enough as more advanced state lines revealed themself to him simultaneously.


    [Fast-Twitch: 3000]


    [Slow-Twitch: 2000]


    From what he understood, "Fast-Twitch" referred to quick-bursts of strength like swinging his fist or breaking a rock, while "Slow-Twitch" was more aligned with carrying heavy objects or lifting them.


    [Agility: 4000]


    [Wisdom: 1000]<novelnext></novelnext>


    [Wits: 1150]


    Though it was a stretch to believe his intellect had reached such heights in those stats, he found it to be the truth once realizing just how quickly he absorbed the information from his sses, understanding concepts of science, the Englishnguage, and mathematics within mere moments of being introduced to them.


    [Charisma: 1350]


    [Physical Attractiveness: 5120]


    "What''s the deal with ''Charisma'' and ''Physical Attractiveness''--I mean, those kinds of stats would be static, right? You can''t normally change that," he questioned to himself.


    [ANSWER: [Charisma] was increased by a factor of +[1000] today when obtaining a multitude ofpanions. [Physical Attractiveness] alters with your perceived appearance]


    The System informed him of the way the questionable stats worked, which provided a satisfactory answer for him as he leaned back in his rolling chair.


    "So¡­I can increase my stats without increasing my level, but it''s more of a specialized effort rather than general? I think I''ve yed some games that worked like this, if that''s the case, I think I''ve got the gist of it," he said to himself, tapping his chin with a pen as he began scribbling notes in a journal.


    After a few more minutes, Melly returned with a tray that carried a bowl of piping-hot soup that emitted steam.


    "It''s fresh-and-hot, so be careful," Melly told him with a bubbly smile.


    As the bowl was set down in front of him on his desk, he caught a whiff of what smelled like beef and a fragrant mixture of vegetables; ''immacte beef stew.''


    "Thanks," he smiled at the maid.


    It felt somewhat odd to engage in conversation with the figure that should by all means be an inanimate figurine on his shelf, but there was no doubting she was living, breathing, and made of flesh with her own personality.


    "Mhm!" Melly nodded, "Is there anything else you''d like me to do, Master?"


    He only pondered for a moment before snapping his fingers, "¡­Well, there is one thing.


    With just how real Melly was and urate to the fictional form he was attached to, lecherous thoughts naturally came to his hormonal mind. It was only suppressed at first due to his own focus on other things, but now with the night left to him, he indulged.


    "What is it, then? I''ll do whatever I can to help," Melly asked with a smile.


    "If that''s the case, then¡­show me what''s under that uniform," he brazenly ordered.


    Such a direct way of asking for the vulgar request caused the scarlet-haired maid to blush, but she obliged after only a moment of hesitation.


    A single tug of the cor of her revealing uniform caused her perfect, round breasts to pop out, bouncing as their pale, smooth form was revealed to Noah.


    Of course, for the young man who was still a virgin, the sight made him pitch a tent, though he didn''t shy away as he ushered Melly over for a closer view.


    It was his first time seeing them in person: uncensored, in-the-flesh, mounds of perfection. As he ced his hands on them, experiencing just how soft and silken they were to the touch, a quiet ''eep'' escaped the maid''s lips, causing him to retreat his hands.


    "Revert," he stopped himself, snapping his fingers.


    In just that casual snap, the life-sized maid returned to a small, statuesque shape as he picked up the figure and carefully ced it back on the shelf along with the others.


    The simple invocation reversed the effect of ["Sentience Bestowment"], though it was only temporary as he didn''t n on having a fictional character roaming his house, which could only cause a headache if his mother came home.


    Finishing up the soup, he decided to call it a night as he made some meaningful progress on understanding his abilities.


    ''As far as I''m aware, I should be unstoppable by conventional weaponry. If ites down to it, not even the army could stop me. For now, I''ll keep things small scale. Eventually¡­with this power, there''s no other choice but to take what''s mine: the entire world,'' he thought

 Chapter 8 Time Halts

    ?[??? | An Unknown Organization]


    Located in a foreignnd, embedded beneath a section of suchnd abandoned and kept away from civilization, beings that operated outside of known-level of government gathered.


    Sitting in a room of sleek steel, a group of enigmatic figures sat around a table. They varied in age and appearance greatly, as well as demeanor; youthful and old; caucasian, asian, or even of african descent.


    "Yukio," a grizzled older man said, dressed in a wrinkless, ck suit, "Now that the others are here, announce your findings in California."


    The one posed with this request was a youthful man, no older than his early twenties with the same ck suit that was the standard uniform for the mysterious organization, having messy, light-blue hair and ackadaisical smile.


    "Well, if ya really want to know¡­I found something pretty damn horrifying," Yukio leaned forward with a smile, "...Seriously, I felt like I was in danger of dying just sticking around for a few seconds too long."


    [Yukio | Level 50 | Loki System]


    Sitting across from the youth was a stone-faced, dark-skinned man who wore shy, diamond rings on his fingers with standout, diamond-shaped irises, interrupting Yukio.


    "We have ces to be and things to do¨C''Respect'': I know it''s a far-away concept to you, but try and respect our time, Yukio," the man spoke with a deep, silvery voice.


    [Jabni | Level 54 | Unbreakable System]


    Yukio seemed pleased to rile up a response, kicking his feet up onto the table as he held a joyful grin, "Lighten up, old man. Enjoy the little detours in life, would ya?"


    An annoyed look was shone in Jabni''s gem-like eyes as veins pressed against his skin from the youthful member''s words.


    "How about I teach you a lesson or two in ''respect''?" Jabni proposed.


    "Sure thing¨Cjust don''t be surprised when you get taught something in return," Yukio responded.


    The two were about to stand up in direct conflict as auras of malevolence shed, only stopping from a singr word from the gray-bearded man who sat at the forefront of the table.


    "Enough."


    [Elias | Level [REDACTED] | [REDACTED] System]


    There was unquestionable respect held by the others in regard to the older gentleman who had a lengthy, wellbed beard and matching hair kept in a ponytail. The grizzled look he had was entuated by the silver-iid eyepatch he wore over his left eye.


    "Continue, Yukio," Elias said.


    Yukio smiled before nodding, "He seems to have some sort of System that grants him an array of magical spells. I witnessed him heal three students from near death then he proceeded to brainwash the entire area. It was something unlike anything I''d seen."


    "Brainwash? He''s a danger to society then¨Cno question about it," a scarlet-haired woman seated at the table remarked.


    "I agree," Jabni added.


    Elias spoke once it quieted down, turning his gaze to the man with slicked-back, silver hair, who wore ck gloves in tandem with the matching suit, "Victor, I''ll leave this one to you. You may try to capture him alive, however, if you''re unable¡­"


    "I will eliminate him if I must," the silver-haired man said, adjusting his clear sses with a tap of his fingers.


    [Victor | Level 80 | Divine Armory System]


    "Does anybody oppose this decision?" Elias asked, looking around the room.


    Whether it was out of reluctance to hunt down the mysterious System wielder that had shown up or out of respect for their colleague''s capabilities, nobody spoke up.<novelnext></novelnext>


    After that was decided, the wizened man bellowed out, "That will be all for now. Let us maintain the bnce of the world that rests on our shoulders, ''Twelve Sentinels''."


    ¨C


    As he arrived at school the next day, he decided to make an effort to further increase his [Charisma] stat, and indulged in his own personal fantasies by doing something that could''ve only been a faraway dream before gaining his System:


    ''I''m going to build my very own harem,'' he decided.


    There were some girls he already had in mind for such an objective, all of which were previously far out of his league, but such problems were a thing of the past.


    Did he actually need to raise his [Charisma] stat? Truthfully, the answer was no. This. above all else, was simply him using the abilities he possessed to make the best out of his life.


    It was high on his ''bucket list'' of things to do with his newfound power, just short of ''World Domination'' itself, though that was for another time.


    As he stood there in thought within the courtyard just before the entrance to the school building, surrounded by golden-and-red trees of autumn, he was greeted by a familiar face.


    "G''morning, Grays!"


    yfully bumping into his shoulder to greet him was an energetic girl one year his senior, "Akari", who had flowing, deep-red hair with prominent eyshes and amber irises. She was somebody far out of his league once before, but now found himself warmly met by her.


    "Morning, Akari," he replied.


    "It''s rare that I can catch you this early," Akari said with a smallugh, "You''re usually swarmed by the others."


    "Sorry," he half-heartedly chuckled.


    Akari shook her head, "No, it''s fine! I''m just d I caught you for once."


    With how high his [Physical Attractiveness] stat was in tandem with his [Charisma] stat, a simple greeting and smile was enough to get the girl''s full attention, and seemingly more than that. The way Akari held her hands behind her back, constantly leaning forward when she talked to him, there was definitely interest beyond just small talk.


    "So, what''s up?" He asked.


    Akari''s smile faded as she huffed, crossing her arms as his simple question seemed to hit home with something on her mind, "It''s my stupid boyfriend, Abe¡­"


    They walked together through the promenade of the school, still having some time before the first bell would ring. On an autumn morning, a leisurely stroll was a pleasure with leaves scattering on the pavement like fall decorations.


    "Oh? I thought you both were doing great together," he said, feigning a sad look.


    "Well, it was going fine¡­I thought he was a great guy¨Ca bit loud and his long hair bugged me, but he was nice!" Akari sighed out.


    "Then what''s wrong?"


    "Yesterday was my birthday, and he totally forgot¡­I''m not that petty, you know? But, he also forgot our quarter-year anniversary, too!" Akari told him.


    It was definitely something he couldn''t rte to, nor did it strike him as something that should dampen a rtionship, but he saw a perfect opportunity for himself as a smile subtly formed across his lips.


    ''Sorry, Abe, but to the victor goes the spoils,'' he thought.


    With a snap of his fingers, he invoked one of the spells from his Creator''s Grimoire, able to manifest it instantly as he had a clear understanding of its existence.


    ["Absolute Freeze"]

 Chapter 9 Infinity Possibilities Of Power

    ?["Absolute Freeze"]


    Time grinded to a halt around him as even falling leaves were left stagnant in the air; the hundreds of students that were on school grounds were frozen like statues and the wind was nonexistent.


    ''It''ll be easy to win her over if I present her with a gift as if I remembered her birthday, but not her very own boyfriend. With my charisma as it is, it''ll be an ''ultimate attack'','' he thought.


    It was in the essence of stopped time that he reigned supreme, allowing him to pick-and-choose his next move at his leisure.


    ''Let''s see¡­Ah, that''ll do,'' he thought.


    Only a moment was needed for him to sense theyout of the city as it was already etched into his mind, leaving a satisfied smile on his face at the fruition of his n.


    Pressing his palms together, a wormhole shed open and closed around him as ["Spatial Warp"] was also invoked, moving him across the city in an instant as he brought himself within the interior of the locally famous mall in his city¨C"Brightview za."


    The floors were made out of reflective marble-like tile with snow-white railings; billboards and kiosks littered the mall, making it lively even within stagnate time.


    Time was stopped globally as even far away from the initial spot of activation, everybody and everything in the mall was frozen in time.


    ''What would a girl like Akari like¡­? If I recall, she''s actually a pretty big fan of those ''Domi-Domi'' plushies,'' He questioned.


    As if this was apletely normal, mundane thing to do, the sophomore leisurely strolled around the mall with his hands tucked into his pockets, scoping out for the right shop and right gift.


    He nonchntly whistled while taking his ''time'', finally finding the proper store in the huge galleria, which sold a variety of pop culture items. There were a lot of items in the store that caught his eye: limited-edition mecha figurines, anime merchandise that couldn''t be found anywhere else, and even manhua merchandise that he''d never even seen on the inte.


    ''Is that Baek-Hyoon from ''Leveling Up Is My Path''...I thought this figure was pre-order only. Well, I guess it wouldn''t hurt to snag it,'' he thought.


    Though he originally came for just one item, a little self-indulgence never hurt anybody, at least he thought as much.


    Allowing ["Absolute Freeze"] to persist for longer than before finally presented light drawbacks as he felt a sense of fatigue in his body, prompting him to finish up bagging various figures he got caught up with.


    ''Ah, that''s right¡­Akari''s gift,'' he remembered.


    As he ventured deeper into the story, he stumbled across just what he was looking for: a rectangr-shaped, cutesy monster plushie with bunny ears and a toothy smile¨Ca ''Domi-Domi.'' He didn''t understand the craze with it, but girls seemed to love it.


    ''This''ll do great,'' he thought.


    Stuffing it into his backpack, he then pped his hands together to warp back right where he initially came from, returning by Akari''s side with the entirety of the school still locked in time.


    As he snapped his fingers, it resumed without a hitch as the leaves that were suspended in the air continued trickling down and students began walking and talking again as if the ''y'' button on a remote was pressed.


    "You know¡­It''s kind of embarrassing, but¡­" He began to say, scratching his cheek.


    "What is it?" Akari looked at him, blinking a few times.<novelnext></novelnext>


    He reached into his backpack, retrieving the frighteningly-adorable Dori-Dori plush and presenting it to the scarlet-haired girl, "I meant to give this to you yesterday, but I never got the chance."


    Akari''s expression lit up as a big smile swept across her face and her amber eyes sparkled as if she was about to cry tears of joy.


    "You remembered?! Thank you, thank you!" Akari said.


    The energetic girl nearly jumped onto him, giving him a tight hug before epting the gift, holding the plush in her arms with a childlike grin.


    "Do you like it? I wasn''t sure if you had that one already¨CI know you''re a ''super-fan'' of those," he chuckled.


    "It''s perfect! I tried getting this a few months ago, but it was totally sold out!" Akari told him, wiping a stray tear from the corner of her eye, "...Really, though, thank you, Noah. It means a lot."


    "Don''t mention it. It''s only natural I''d get you something," he assured her with a smile.


    It was that smile that sealed the deal; by the look of awe on her face, there was no doubt in his mind that the seeds were nted for Akari to be added to his desired ''harem.''


    A small hint of pink was on the girl''s cheeks as she looked at him, fidgeting a little, "I''ll, err, message you tonight, okay? I''d really like to talk some more and catch up, okay?"


    "Sure thing," he replied.


    As it was getting close to sses starting, they went their separate ways as he watched the popr, yet somewhat geeky girl go to the west side of the campus.


    "Hey! Almost thought I wouldn''t catch you this morning."


    Without a second in between both interactions, he found Emily catching up to him, just arriving on school grounds as she looked as though she had to quickly get ready that morning, still holding papers in her arms.


    "Morning," he greeted her.


    "Were you with Akari?" Emily asked, ncing past him, "What was that about?"


    "Nothing much, really. She was just feeling down because Abe missed her birthday," he answered half-truthfully.


    "Do you like her?" Emily asked bluntly.


    He didn''t hesitate to answer, "Yeah."


    "I see. I''m fine with her, too," Emily smiled.


    Such a question was incriminating in a rtionship, though in this case, it was not so; there was a simple reason for this: in his usage of ["Absolute Hypnosis"], he made the concept of polygamy an epted idea among the girls at the school, though it only applied when being in a rtionship with him.

 Chapter 10 Another System Wielder

    ?As the initial bell rang to signal the beginning of ss, everybody began moving towards their first period ssrooms¨Call except for Noah, who was standing in the same spot when Emily began walking on ahead.


    The hazel-haired, blue-eyed girl turned around, tilting her head, "Noah? Are youing?"


    There was a disturbed look on his face as if he realized something dire, though he wore a reassuring smile for a moment.


    "I''ll catch up. I forgot I lent Miguel my notes yesterday," heughed.


    Emily smiled and nodded, "Oh, alright. Just make sure not to be tardy!"


    "Sure thing!" He waved her off.


    The moment she was out of sight and the students had entered the school buildings, he turned around with a serious look present on his expression.


    ''Somebody''s watching. Is it the same person from yesterday?...This time, I''m not letting you out of my sight,'' he thought.


    ["Absolute Sensory"]


    As the recon spell expanded throughout the area, he was surprised to find it immediately locked onto a registered ''hostile'' force, finding himself even more surprised that it was now quickly approaching.


    "--!"


    Like a bolt of lightning, a figure swept in, spearing towards him as the concrete shattered. It was only through swift thinking in tandem with his hyper-reflexes that he reacted and defended against the merciless attack.


    ["Absolute Barrier"]


    He held the chromatic shield in front of him, defending against a shining, goldennce that was wielded by a silver-haired man in a ck suit, who wore apletely deadpan expression.


    "Ah, so you defended against that? I gave this method of approach a seventy-percent chance of sess; it seems today is not my lucky day," the man said calmly, still thrusting the golden weapon forward.


    ''Who the hell is this guy?!'' He wondered.


    The impact caused him to slide back as his boots dug up the concrete in his path, though this was clear to him it''d lead to unnecessary annoyances with drawing attention to himself, so he released the barrier and grabbed onto the enigmatic attacker''s sleeve.


    "--?" The silver-haired man in the ck suit held a perplexed expression.


    ["Spatial Warp"]


    He transported both him and the unknown man to an area he knew was deserted¨Can abandoned construction site in the east sector of the city.


    ["Assess"], he invoked the spell while looking at the man. Though what he found was surprising above anything else he expected.


    [Victor] [Divine Armory System]


    [Level: 80]


    [Strength: 8000]


    [Constitution: 8000]


    [Mana: 2000]


    ''His stats¡­they''re high. He has a ''System'' like me as well? There are others?'' He deduced.


    The silver-haired man in the ck suit adjusted his sses, relinquishing his goldennce as it momentarily shifted into a liquid before reforming into a ymore.


    "You''re capable of teleportation? There is no doubt that power haphazardly wielded by a child must be extinguished," Victor said.


    Noah clicked his tongue, snapping his fingers, "Try me."<novelnext></novelnext>


    ["Absolute Freeze"]


    In that instant with the simple gesture, he brought time to a still, though he was somewhat surprised that it managed to work on the mysterious System wielder.


    ''Even if he has high stats, it doesn''t matter in the end¨Cmy spells are unbeatable,'' he thought.


    As he took his time approaching his frozen opponent, he stopped just in front of him before rearing his fist back, throwing a full-power strike geared straight at the bridge of Victor''s nose.


    He didn''t stop at just one; he unleashed an array of strikes before relinquishing his hold of time, allowing it to resume as each blow manifested simultaneously.


    THWAM.


    "--!" Victor''s eyes momentarily widened.


    The powerful strikes in session resulted in a small burst of shock waves, knocking the golden sword-wielding man. After being blown through one of the abandoned pirs of the construction site, the mysterious man picked himself up.


    "Huh?" Noah let out.


    It was a wakeup-call to see the man getting up casually, though he had a bloodied nose and a couple bruises, he was rtively fine, save for his shattered sses that he looked annoyed to discard.


    "Super speed?...No, that was much to ''instant''--time maniption, I take it? I see now," Victor mumbled to himself.


    Seraphic, golden liquid manifested around Victor, surrounding him before encasing his body in it, forming into a solid form of shining armor that was perfectly molded for his body.


    [Victor]


    [Level 80]


    [Strength: 12000]


    [Constitution: 15000]


    [Mana: 5000]


    Noah was surprised to find such arge jump in stats when the man wore the armor, prompting him to let his Creator''s Grimoire to flutter through its pages as he readied himself in response.


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Strength"]


    [Strength: 12000]


    He was able to match the [Strength] stat wielded by the man, though it was merely in preparation, he found the golden-armored figure mercilesslyunching an assault before he could properly react.


    "--!"


    A narrow dodge allowed him to avoid being pierced through the eye by the radiant de wielded by the Divine Armory System wielder, leaning back as he watched the exuberant sword pass just above his iris.


    In response, heunched a strike against the man''s breastte, only to find it having little effect as the impact resounded through thevish armor.


    ''No effect?'' He thought.


    "You''re too reliant on your own stats¨Cis this your first time being met with opposition?" Victor said before swinging his de swiftly.


    A sh etched itself across Noah''s chest in a diagonal cut, drawing blood as the young man winced.


    "Ngh¡­!"

 Chapter 11 Inexperience Versus Experience

    ?Before another strike coulde, aimed to remove his head from his shoulders, Noah used ["Spatial Warp"] to create distance between himself and the man before invoking ["Absolute Recover"] in the next moment.


    It easily mended the wound as his flesh closed up, even removing the stained blood from his torso.


    "Regeneration? Yukio''s intel was correct," Victor remarked.


    Still, Noah found himself pressed by the strength of the man, unprepared to face another superpowered person. Nheless, he was confident in his abilities, having been studying the contents of his Creator''s Grimoire.


    "I don''t know who you are, but I''m going to wring it out of you¨Cone way or another," he promised with malevolence in his tone.


    Victor felt a dark bloodlust oozing from the position of the foe that should merely by a college sophomore; though the silver-haired man raised his de, the spell was already whipped up by Noah.


    ["Imaginary Beasts: Axis Dragons"]


    The high-ss spell disyed its magnificent nature in the conjuration of elemental dragons, born from mystical seals etched into the sky as serpentine rulers of the sky swept in around Victor.


    "This is¡­?!" Victor spun around, swinging his golden sword tobat the draconic entities.


    The elemental dragons took the form of different shades of fire; one was bright-red, another a fantastic azure, and thest was a sublime emerald.


    While they spiraled around the mysterious man, breathing destructive mes onto him and forcing him to face them solely, Noah was given a chance to amplify himself.


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Agility"]


    [Agility: 9000]


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Dexterity"]


    [Dexterity: 5000]


    ["Weapon Construction: Vanta-ck"]


    Forging itself from winds of dark mana, a sword crafted of all-ck steel, embroidered with amethyst gems, was born into the grip of his right hand.


    ["Familiar Summon: Jester of Gods"]


    From his stoic utterances, the invocation led to an astral entitying to his aid in the form of a jester dressed in gold-and-white stripes, standing over three meters tall with a face that switched between varying clown masks.


    As he finished using the spells he prepared, the ethereal dragons were dispelled by almighty shes exuded from Victor''s divine de, casting golden light that cut through the magically-formed beasts.


    Though this was expected for Noah as he let out a simplemand for his summoned familiar, "Attack him, Jester."


    A permanent smile stayed on the Jester of Gods'' mask-like face before it spun around in a jovial dance, pping its hands together as mystical balloon animals in the shape of great beasts were summoned, surrounding Victor.


    "Honk. Honk," The Jester spoke only in honks.


    Victor huffed, beginning tobat the colossal balloon animals with sword strikes, having to summon further divine weaponry as projectiles heunched in order to circumvent the ustrophobic horde summoned by the Jester.


    Such creatures born of sentient balloons varied from faceless dragons to roaring chimera.


    "These games will not stop me," Victor stated.


    Though as the golden weapon wielded by the man popped one of the draconic balloons, he found the ck-haired adolescent already in front of him, midway through swinging the pitch-ck broadsword he wielded.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "No, but I will," Noah responded.


    Before Victor could attempt to block with his own de, evade, or counter with projectile-based weapons manifested around the two, Noah didn''t allow for any such possibilities¨C


    ["Absolute Freeze: Singr Motion"]


    It was a more condensed, smaller-scale usage of the time-stopping magic, used only against Victor himself in order to freeze the man in ce for his iing sword strike.


    "--!"


    As he swept the all-ck de across the air, it distorted space, bypassing the golden-armor entirely as if ethereally projecting through it, yet rending the man''s flesh nheless.


    Time resumed for Victor the moment the sh was finished, leaving him stumbling back as blood sprayed from the loose sections of his seraphic armor.


    "Ngh-!" The man winced.


    ''It''s as I thought: that armor is a nuisance, so using something like [Vanta ck] that bypasses armor is highly-effective,'' he thought.


    It wasn''t over yet, exhibited by the fact that Victor pushed past his wound without any hesitance, swiftly engaging him in battle against with that lightning-like agility, sweeping across the uneven gravel in an instant.


    A hefty portion of his own speed was put in prioritizing defense as he kept up with the man''s swordy, shing de-against-de repeatedly as shock waves rumbled the construction site and sparks danced in the air.


    Though he''d never swung in his life prior to this exchange, his [Dexterity] skill gave him the necessary base to keep up, though he found himself clearly outmatched in finesse by the older gentleman.


    The silver-haired, stern man moved like sparks circuing through wires, utilizing footwork that made it incredibly difficult to decipher his next move as each step he took left golden sparks igniting the stone he stepped over. Air itself was heated and expanded through the matter-surpassing agility at which Victor moved, pushing Noah to respond in kind.


    Abandoned pirs of stone and concrete walls were shattered through their fast-paced sword shes, though as he stepped backward, a single b of concrete caused him to lose his footing for a split-second, yet that was more than enough for Victor to break through his defense.


    "You''re a wrench thrown into the machine of bnce in this world¨Cfor the future of humanity, fall!" Victor yelled.


    Manifesting through portals of golden-and-silver essence, weapons of divine constitution were aimed towards him before firing off, breaking through the sound-barrier as they shot with the intensity of railguns.


    ''Am I¡­going to die?'' Noah thought.


    In his inexperience, such was the intrusive thought at the forefront of his mind as he watched with his hyper-reflexes as the destructive projectiles tore through the air, howling in his ears as his body was unable to keep up with his reaction.


    Just as the weapons collided at the spot he stood, the impact released a seraphic energy, unleashing vtile masses of energy that swallowed the young man up.


    Victor exhaled slowly, wiping the blood from his bottom lip as he stared towards the cloud of smoke, finding his job to be done.


    ¨CThough it only seemed so.


    ["Spatial Warp"]


    Appearing behind the man, Noah came through a wormhole, bearing bleeding cuts and bruises on his body as his shirt had been blown to tatters, but he was left intact, still fighting as he swung his pitch-ck de towards Victor.


    Noah found his sword stopped just short of reaching its target, shing against the golden de wielded by the man.


    "--So you survived even that? I''ll admit you''re tenacious," Victor said.

 Chapter 12 No Rest For The Wicked

    ?There was a different look in the young man''s eyes; the bored, ''high-and-mighty'' stare as gone as a fiery glow was embedded in his gray irises.


    Being pressed as so, a will of fire was born even in the darkness of the viin''s soul.


    "I finally have a life I can appreciate¡­I''m not letting you take it away!" Noah gritted his teeth.


    Victor looked at him, struggling to match his amplified strength, "You mean a fabricated life born on illusions? Do you really believe altering people''s memories creates genuine bonds? That''s the thought process of a viin; no, a child."


    Such words only further stoked the me inside Noah as he moved one hand away from the handle of his sword, grabbing hold of Victor''s torn sleeve again.


    "What¨C?" Victor reacted, but it wasn''t quite in time.


    ["Spatial Warp"]


    In an instant, the two were transported high into the sky, brought alongside the clouds, far above the prosperous city that seemed tiny now.


    ''He brought us to the sky?!'' Victor realized, ''Is he trying to take us both out¨Cno, he''s not falling!''


    Noah was prepared to take to the skies as he already invoked his desired spell: ["Levitation"], standing upright as if the air itself was a solid tform for him.


    Beginning to plummet downward, Victor iled his arms before an idea entered the experienced system wielder''s mind, prompting him to manifest mystical shields of seraphic gold beneath his feet.


    Noah was surprised to find that the silver-haired man had stopped falling, now floating just as he did via the airborne shields.


    Dressed in various wounds, Victor huffed, inhaling and exhaling deeply as his body was worn-and-torn from the conflict, though Noah''s wounds fixed themselves naturally through a simple spell.


    ["Absolute Recover'']


    "You''ll die if this keeps up," Noah told him calmly, levitating above him amongst the clouds, "I think we both know that you don''t stand a chance."


    "I didn''t take you for the type to show mercy," Victor breathed out.


    "I''m not."


    Assuring as such, Noah''s grimoire fluttered open as a destructive ability was pulled from the depths of its mystical pages.


    A coalescence of chaotic energy formed into a singr point above Noah''s palm; electrical sparks surged in a mixture of ck-and-scarlet hues, fusing into a sphere of destructive energy beyond simple elements.


    ["Absolute Destruction: Belial''s Breath"]


    Victor was clearly out of the fight, barely able to keep up with his own breathing as blood dripped from his variouscerations, only able to watch as the orb of destruction was aimed towards him.


    "Begone from my sight¨CI won''t allow my world to be intervened," Noah said.


    Just before the sphere of matter-erasing energy couldunch forward, a figure suddenly warped in beside Victor.


    "Yukio¡­?!" Victor said in surprise.


    The blue-haired, youthful man smiled, supporting the injuredrade of his by slinging his arm over his shoulder.


    Noah was left dumbstruck by this sudden appearance, but was toote to act as the one named ''Yukio'' warped away in an instant, taking Victor away with him.


    "--" Noah stayed there for a moment.


    ''There are more? I didn''t get to assess him, but a warping ability can be troublesome, Wait¡­Was that the one originally watching me?'' He deduced.


    With this development, he flicked the sphere of destruction away into dissipating particles, looking down at his body as his outfit was left in tatters.


    "Can''t show up to ss like this¡­" He mumbled.


    ["Disembodied Tailor"]<novelnext></novelnext>


    A snap of his fingers allowed him to mend his tattered clothing before he pped his hands together, invoking a warp while being able to see the school itself from his eagle eye view.


    ["Spatial Warp"]


    In order to make sure he wasn''t sure merely ''poofing'' into existence, he warped into one of the bathroom stalls on the campus, greeted by the unpleasant stench of the boy''s restroom.


    He sat there for a moment on the toilet in thought, taking in what had just happened; it was an eye-opening experience to know he wasn''t the sole person wielding supernatural abilities.


    ''Why did they attack me? Is it because I''m doing my own thing? Who cares? At the end of the day, once I adjusted, it was a cakewalk to handle that guy. I need to start preparing, though. If there are others like him, and stronger, I should be ready to fight at any time,'' he thought.


    While he sat there in thought, he was interrupted from himself as his phone vibrated in his pocket. He retrieved his smartphone, seeing a couple text message notifications:


    [MIGUEL: Hey! Do you have notes for Mr. Trouts ss? I sorta dipped out yesterday!]


    [AKARI: Thanks again for the DOMI-DOMI! It''s so cute!]


    Attached to the message from Akari was a photo of her holding the plushie on herp during ss, without any real regard for ''no phone'' rules in the ssroom.


    Lastly, he saw a message from Emily:


    [EMILY: Where are you? You know how Ms. Harbow gets! Hurry up! She''s already muttering about calling your parents.]


    A sigh left his lips as he smiled subtly, tucking his phone away as he sat up from the unorthodox seat. Giving a quick wash to his hands, he fixed his jet-ck tufts of hair that had been unkempt from the battle, finally making his way to ss.


    As he entered ss, luckily he made it in time before first period had ended; Ms. Harlow, a rather temperamental, middle-aged woman was scribbling on the chalkboard before stopping at the sound of the ssroom door opening.


    "Ah, if it isn''t Mr. Grays, atst. Tell me, what was so important that you missed out on learning the great triumphs of Iskandar?" Ms. Harlow asked, crossing her arms.


    All eyes were on him, though he was as cool as a cucumber as he took his seat beside Emily with a smile.


    "Sorry, Ms. Harlow, I had a family emergency¡ªit won''t happen again," he assured the teacher.


    The woman in the verdant blouse and gray skirt squinted at him from behind her sses before turning around, continuing to write out the important figures of "Iskandar, The Conqueror''s" time.


    "Do not make this a habit," Ms. Harlow said while writing.


    "Of course," he replied.


    After a few minutes, Emily had given him the notes on what he''d missed, whispering to him in the middle of ss.


    "Where were you, really?" Emily asked curiously.


    "Err, bathroom problems," he answered.


    "I see," Emily chuckled before cing her hand on his, "Just tell me if anything is bothering you, okay?"


    "Of course."


    While they were caught up in their conversation, the sound of scribbling on the board in the front of the ss was reced by chalk being mmed against it.


    Ms. Harlow cleared her throat abrasively to quell the chit-chat, which he feigned paying attention to the stern teacher, though ss was thest thing on his mind.


    In his mind, he kept pondering about the encounter and what it meant, and if it would happen again¨Csooner rather thanter.


    ''I''ll worry about this when I get home. I''ve got an idea in mind for how to prepare myself, anyway,'' he thought.


    As ss ended, he walked to his physical education period with Miguel after a brief goodbye with Emily, where he had to willingly restrain himself not topletely blow everybody else out of the water. Still, it didn''t mean he took things too easy on the others.

 Chapter 13 Physical Specimen

    ?"Alright! I''ll be timing your scores! Keep in mind, if your score is low enough, you''ll have to retake P.E. next year!" The P.E. teacher said, Mr. Simmons, a middle-aged man with a bit too much muscle for a simple job.


    They were out on the track, which was a trail of chalky dirt carved from the luscious, green fields of the school that neighbored the baseball field, which was currently being used for another ss.


    A collective groan left the mouths of the sophomores, though Noah was excited at the opportunity as he had his eyes on the true prize of this ss, another girl on his ''checklist'' for his harem: "Freja Limeon."


    She was a ''foreign beauty'' all things considered, as she was originally born in Denmark, having long, illustrious gold hair and emerald eyes, though she was known for her athleticism just as much as her beauty.


    The girls were first to do their physical circuit ofps, which allowed him to sit back and enjoy the show.


    Miguel whistled, yfully elbowing Noah, "Look at her go! That girl is a work of art," the basketball yer said, speaking of Freja.


    "Yeah, she is," he said, only half paying attention.


    It''d be simple to forge his harem through the use of hypnosis, but he felt that was a boring way to go about it. It was much more fun and satisfying for him to treat this almost as a ''dating simtor'', having to choose his options and watch the result of them.


    ''Freja has the top grades among sophomores, is athletic in all fields, and objectively has the beauty of an angel. If I''m going to have a harem of my own, she''s a must,'' he thought.


    Still, it was hardly difficult with his charisma and physical attractiveness stats.


    "Freja! Time: five minutes and forty-five seconds!" Mr. Simmons said.


    To the surprise of nobody, the Danish girl was the first to finish as a lightyer of sweat dripped from her body onto her white P.E. uniform, causing the shirt to grip to her torso as her more-than-respectable bust was entuated.


    "Five minutes¡­? That''s not far from the Women''s Record, isn''t it?" Macy, one of the least athletic girls noted, huffing as she caught her breath.


    "Freja is almost too perfect¡ªif she wasn''t so nice, it''d be annoying," Robin, a tan-skinned tomboy remarked.


    This was only fuel to the fire for Noah, who was still a teenager at heart despite the changes he''d undergone.


    As Freja passed by with the girls finishing their portion, it was time for the boys to line up as Noah shot the somewhat tall girl, who was just a half-head shorter than himself, a smile.


    "How about a little bet?," he asked her, "If I finish first, and beat your time, I think your number is a fair enough prize."


    "Big talk, but¡­I''ll bite, tough guy," Freja replied yfully, "But what''s in it for me if I win this bet?"


    "A free dinner date, wherever you want," he winked.


    "Cheeky, but I''ll take it," Freja agreed.


    ¨C


    ? He shook his limbs a bit to warm up, though it was only for show as it was entirely unnecessary as his blood was already running warm through his veins. When it came to impressing a girl, the archaic instincts of a male kicked into overdrive.


    "No hard feelings, right?" Miguel said, lining up beside him.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "''Course not," Noah held apetitive smile.


    It was clear that Miguel had the same goal as him, that was, impressing the green-eyed beauty that every male from freshman to senior seemed to have a crush on.


    As he looked around, he saw his fellow ssmates also ncing over at Freja nervously, gulping and readying themselves as the simple P.E. circuit felt a lot more intense than it should be.


    ''Sorry, fes. Today isn''t your day,'' he thought.


    Above all else though, Noah had utmost confidence as he gave a wink to Freja, which was practically an ''ultimate attack'', considering his [Physical Attractiveness] stat. Despite that, Freja was a prideful one for sure, and definitely the hardest girl so far he felt to conqueror as she only shot him a yful look as if saying ''Try not to break a leg.''


    At the start of the track, a singlep around was a quarter-mile, and they were set to do fourps to make a mile total, then do fifty push-ups, followed by fifty sit-ups.


    "Alright! Ready, set¡­go!" Mr. Simmons called out.


    Just as the signal was given, he burst forward like a spring, kicking up a cloud of dust that left some of his copetitors coughing and blinded, though it didn''t matter as he took an easy lead with agility that sat on the threshold of olympic prowess.


    "Argh, what the¡­?! He''s way too fast!" Jimmy, a skinny sophomore with freckles,ined.


    "...Is he a track star or something?!" Robert, a member of the school''s football team, coughed out.


    Though the only one still trying topete to impress the girl was Miguel, who gave everything he had, exerting himself just to be several meters behind Noah.


    "Raaagh-!" Miguel let out a warcry.


    A casual smile was on Noah''s face as he was barely exerting himself while sprinting at ''merely'' peak human speeds.


    ''Too easy,'' he thought.


    Though he realized he''d have to sell it instead of gloating as he pretended to grit his teeth, straining to keep up his momentum.


    The high-ranking of his [Agility] skill even when not pursuing superhuman speeds granted him wless form while sprinting, moving as if he''d been practicing for years on end.


    Freja was stunned while watching, "¡ª"


    "Noah Grays is so cool! He''s a looker, too," the curly-haired girl beside Freja said, watching Noah.


    Afterpleting fourps whilepletely ovepping and leaving the others in the dust, he passed by the wide-eyed teacher who looked as though he''d seen a ghost.


    "¡­.Time. Three minutes and twenty seconds," Mr. Simmons called before looking up, "Hey, Noah, you¡­sure you don''t want to join any sports teams?"


    "Sorry, don''t have the time for it," Noah replied with a smile.

 Chapter 14 A Backup Plan

    ?As he lifted his uniform shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead, he intentionally revealed his glistening abs to the girls watching from the sidelines.


    Miguel was second to finish,ing in over an entire minute behind Noah, panting and sweating bullets as he dropped onto the grass to catch his breath.


    "What the hell, dude?...Didn''t realize you were on ''roids," Miguel exhaled.


    Heughed, "I just do a bit of cardio before going to bed each night."


    After his world-record beating disy, he was approached by Freja, who still retained the proud look and air around herself like a modern day princess.


    "I will admit, that was certainly impressive," Freja told him.


    "Yeah? Impressive enough to get your number?" He asked with a smile.


    Freja held her hand out, gesturing for him to hand her his phone, "A deal is a deal."


    A sense of triumph flowed through him at yet another victory on his mission of building a harem, sliding his phone out of his pocket and handing it to the blonde-haired girl.


    He watched as she tapped her number into his contacts, taking in her features further as she wore a cute, verdant bracelet on her right wrist with green nail polish matching on her fingers. She definitely had  more voluptuous or curvy features than Emily or Akari.


    Amidst their interaction on the track, there was already gossip brewing as the meeting of the two was like Prince Charming and Cindere; Noah was head-and-shoulders considered the most attractive boy at the school with Freja holding the same title on the girl''s side.


    ¨C


    Still, Miguel sighed out knowing he''d been promptly outdone by his friend as heid back on the grass.


    "What a bummer. Can that guy do anything wrong?" Miguel mumbled.


    The tan-skinned basketball member found himself surprised by another person looming over him¨Ca meek girl he knew, wearing circr-rimmed sses and dark-brown hair kept in twin braids.


    "Delh?" Miguel said.


    "You were super cool out there," Delh told him with a smile.


    Miguel sat up, looking away, "Noah totally left me in the dust. That''s as uncool as it gets."


    It was unbing of the entric, shaggy-haired adolescent to act so defeated as he was usually as energetic and optimistic as can be, though it was simply the reality of watching somebody like Noah conquer everything with ease.


    A flick to the forehead was received by Miguel, who winced and covered his head,


    "Yow! What was that for!?" Miguel asked.


    Delh extended her hand down to him for him to stand, giving him a smile, "Stopparing yourself to others. I think the ''Miguel'' you are is perfectly cool."


    Those kind words enlightened the tall, tan-skinned man as he epted the girl''s hand, being hoisted to his feet despite a size disparity.


    "I guess I am pretty awesome. Strong, smart¡ª" Miguel began to yfully gloat.


    "Don''t get ahead of yourself now," Delh lightly poked him.


    "Ha-ha! Anyway, thanks. You''ve always been a friend I can count on!" Miguel told the girl.


    The two were childhood friends, but Miguel only saw Delh as such: a friend. On the other hand, it was clear as day that Delh looked at Miguel with different eyes, though was unable to properly voice her feelings.


    "¡­Yeah," Delh smiled.


    ¡ª


    Returning home that day, Noah felt a sense of delight in his aplishments, though he almost forgot about the entire encounter he was sucked into during the morning.


    As usual, he was home alone, though he had noints as total freedom was what he strived for.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The moment he walked into his bedroom, he snapped his fingers to reactive ["Sentience Bestowment"], returning the maid figurine to life as Melly appeared as living and breathing once more.


    "Good day, Master. What shall I do for you?" Melly asked with a smile.


    He set his backpack down while replying, "Spruce up the ce¡ªI might have some guests in the near future."


    "As you wish, Master," Melly nodded before getting to work.


    While the red-haired maid tidied up the house, he thought about his approach to the unknown system wielders he encountered.


    ''Whether I''d like to admit it or not, that person had the capabilities to kill me. If I made a wrong move, he could''ve taken my head off. I need to be ready,'' he thought.


    Raking his mind, he received a rare notification from his system in response to his current state of mind:


    [Noah, your stress levels have risen considerably. It is imperative that you maintain a steady head going forward. Do what you must to cool yourself.]


    Those words brought to his attention that he did indeed need to rx his mind and relieve some stress, and an idea quickly came to mind on how to do so.


    "Melly."


    With a snap of his fingers and a call of her name, he brought the lively maid to his room.


    "Yes, Master?"


    He looked at her before his eyes lingered on her prominent bust, "Take them out."


    "Are you asking for ''that''?" The red-haired maid''s cheeks were flushed,


    "I am."


    The words he spoke were absolute to the one he summoned with his own authority, leaving Melly, despite her shyness, to pull down the ''breast window'' of her maid uniform,


    Just as she tugged it down, herrge, pale breasts bounced out in full-view for Noah. It was a new sensation for him as he poked at the mound on the maid''s chest, witnessing a subtle, but cute reaction as a small noise left her mouth.


    ''Soft'', he thought.


    There was no doubt in his mind he had free reign over the two, heavenly soft objects as he moved his fingers across them, tracing the tips of his digits around the pretty, pink nipples of the maid he had created.


    "...Ahh¡­" Another small noise left her lips.


    ¨CJust then, it seemed he was taken out of his view of lust as he snapped his fingers, "Sleep."


    He returned the lively maid back into her statuesque figure for the time being, deciding to turn himself into bed.


    --


    As the weekend finally arrived, having spent a week at school with his mind stuck on the looming threat of system wielders, he finally got to work on setting up a new base of operations.


    Sitting at his desk, he nced back as his eyes for some reason watched his closet, finding an idea surfacing in his mind.


    "Hmm¡­"


    Standing up from his desk, he moved over to his closet, opening it as it was perfectly organized with clothes, having been fixed-up by Melly previously.


    ''I need a ce where I can freely use magic without drawing too many eyes. It might be a bit tacky, but¡­this''ll do,'' he thought.


    As his grimoire conjured, flipping rapidly to the desired page, he held it in front of him while pointing one hand towards the back of his closet, focusing on the dim wall.


    ["Sub-Space Creation"]

 Chapter 15 Fictional Creation

    ?A vast quantity of mana exuded around him in the form of cosmic air, swirling azure energy from his position as the magecraft forged something yet unseen before an intricate seal etched itself on the back of his closet.


    The entirety of his home rumbled, quaking beneath the output of energy like anything else as the shine of esoteric magecraft gleamed against the walls of his room, shining through his window briefly.


    "Ngh¡­"


    For the first time, he felt his muscles ache from a departure of mana, having to exude an ocean''s worth of magical energy to create what had yet to be seen.


    After it finished, it looked as though nothing had changed, however, that was intentional to keep a level of secrecy to the true nature of the woven spell.


    "Melly," he snapped his fingers.


    The simple call caused the maid to return to his side as she looked at him with a kind smile as always.


    "Yes, Master?"


    "Follow me," he said with a smile.


    He led the way, walking into his closet and stepping through the back wall itself as it had an intangible form that was unnoticeable unless knowing somethingid behind it. As he stepped through the secretive entrance, he entered the premises of a vast mansion.


    It was created perfectly to his will, using a certain billionaire''s home as a basis. It was built like a pacific lodge, though taken to exuberant extremes, using dous fir wood as the main material.


    "Wee to my new home: ''Xanadu 3.0''," he said.


    "Amazing. Your abilities are simply beyond this world, Master Noah," Melly said, "This''ll be quite the task for a maid such as myself to keep clean¨CI can already tell, this ce is quite expansive."


    ''Ny-thousand square feet, a library, gyms, endless rooms, food, and even a home theater. Though¡­this is the first time I''ve felt myself strained for mana after a spell. This was quite the task,'' he thought.


    The library itself wasrger than his house, and the gym put any public gym to shame. He made sure to create it with his favorite foods stocked in the cabs and fridge, keeping the entire ce electrically powered with his own mana, though that part wasn''t difficult.


    It was undeniably a feat straddling the threshold of godhood.


    "What would you like me to do, Master?" Melly asked.


    He looked at her after being deep in thought, "Hm? Ah, you can do whatever you''d like for now."


    "Really?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Even dutiful maids need days off," he smiled.


    "Thank you, Master Noah," Melly bowed her head before heading off into the vast interior of the mansion.


    It was disconnected from Earth itself, existing in its own pocket dimension that he linked directly to the closet in his room. Such was the perfect ce to be able to use his magic without a second thought, and a sanctuary.


    With that in mind, he didn''t intend to leave it so vast yet unupied as he briefly left through the front door, leaving the subspace and walking the dark closet of his room again.


    ''It''s time to finally start putting this power to some real use. If people out there want a fight, I''ll make sure they rue the day they thought of challenging me,'' he thought.


    His sights were set on the figurines that cluttered his shelves. The bulk of the figures he owned were of characters from ''shonen'' anime, usually super-powered heroes or viins, along with mecha builds that he''d spent far too much of his allowance on the past couple years.


    Towing these inanimate objects back with him through the closet that led to the subspace mansion, he neatly lined the figures up in arge courtyard upying the center of the spacious domain.


    ''Every king needs an army,'' he thought.


    Such thoughts were born not only from his cautiousness of the mysterious system wielders, but for grand ns of the future that he deep down yearned to enact.


    ["Mass Sentience Bestowment"]


    A massive seal of purple majesty was born on the floor, spiraling as hieroglyphics spun and carried the inner workings of the intricate magecraft. Such immense magical energy caused an ungodly pressure to expand outwards, rumbling the entirety of the vast mansion as particles of mana flooded out.


    Like a parade of colors, strands of crimson mana, azure bands, and shing violet swirled around in the presence of the supreme magecraft.


    "First things first, I need my own ''right-hand'' men, so to speak¡­I need fighters capable ofbating other system wielders," he mumbled to himself.


    One-by-one, the figurines grew to the canonical size of their fictional origins, gaining theplexion of living creatures as blood ran through their veins, given life by the Creator''s Grimoire.


    The first to awaken was the figure pertaining to the main hero of one of Noah''s favorite action manhwa: "Singr Leveling."


    He had pitch-ck hair and purple eyes that lightly possessed a shine, wearing a loose-cored, dark suit and wielding a massive greatsword that had a frosty-blue de forged of mystical properties.


    [Sung Hyeon, "World''s Strongest Hunter" | "King of Death" from ''Singr Leveling'']

 Chapter 16 Summoned Heroes

    ? ?"Sung Hyeon," Noah said, calling his name.


    The fictional character given life looked around, "What''s going on here?"


    "I''ve created you and given you life. I need you to be my ''sword'' from here on out. That is an order," Noah said.


    Through the fact he was the summoner and creator of the figure, he possessed unequivocal control over Sung Hyeon, giving him no choice but toply. Still, there was something frightening about the one he''d summoned.


    ["Assess"]


    [Sung Hyeon | Shadow King System]


    [Level: 146]


    [Strength: 15000]


    [Constitution: 18000]


    [Mana: 30000]


    ''No wonder I felt sick summoning him¡­His stats are above mine. It''s as I theorized then; ''Sentience Bestowment'' must connect an entity that exists in an alternate universe to a catalyst. It''s not just a fictional creation¡­I''m summoning a living entity,'' he deduced.


    "I think I understand the situation. I can still return to my world, right?" Sung asked.


    "Yeah," he answered, "I''m not trying to drag you under my control¨CI simply want an even exchange; when I need your help, I''ll summon you, and in return, you can have anything you need from this world."


    "Hm," Sung pondered for a moment, "I am intrigued, at least. Fine, then. As long as I''m interested, I''ll help you."


    More of the fictional beings came to life through the catalyst of figurines, possessing equivocal power of their forms that were kept only to pages of books before.


    [Magical Girl, Aki from ''Aki Magicka'']


    A youthful girl dressed in a flowery, pink-and-white dress with hair that possessed that same, vibrant pink coloration, wielding a star-shaped wand and a smile brighter and more benevolent than any.


    "Aki-Aki here to save the day!" The magical girl announced.


    Though, as a subject to Noah, there was hardly any good to spread in the world.


    [Lord Chief, "The Spartan" from ''Ring'']


    A space-marine dressed in futuristic, silver armor that sat far beyond the scope of modern technology in its capabilities. He stood well over two meters tall, remaining stoic and silent though ready for action.


    [Marbas, "The Gxy Sentinel" from ''Super Gunda Warriors'']


    A gundam that possessed a massive staturerger than a building, having topress itself into a smaller, more condensed form; it had a humanoid shape though robotic in nature, made of ck-and-gold steel. Its helm resembled a medieval knight''s, though created of steel and humming tech that was iprehensible to modern perception.


    There were many other gundam,ing in various shapes and sizes, wielding massive cannons or intricate, colossal spears or swords, though each fell under themand of ''Baal.''


    [King of Heroes from ''Destiny/Stay Night'']


    A prideful ruler and hero, summoned from fiction based on ancient epics, stood among those given life, dressed in exuberant, tinum armor that matched his slicked-back hair, wearing jeweled earrings.


    "Oh? You have the gall to make a king your subordinate? I can''t say I dislike your guts," The King of Heroes addressed Noah.


    Getting in front of the tinum-armored man was Sung, who leaned his colorful greatsword on his shoulder.


    "If you have a problem, you can take it up with me," Sung Hyeon said.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Oh? Perhaps I will," The King of Heroes said as a tinum aura gave off from his position.


    Though the inevitable quarrel was quelled as Noah pped his hands, enacting his power as their master.


    [Koichibi, "Icy-Hot" from ''My Heroic Academy]


    Though the figure wasn''t the protagonist of his story, he was Noah''s favorite character from the shonen series¨C"My Heroic Academy"; the adolescent figure had half-azure hair and half-scarlet, wearing a ck jumpsuit as his left side gave off a frost air, and his right side exuded heat.


    "¡­A mansion? What a drag¡­" Koichibi muttered.


    [Kazuya, The Fire Pir from ''Demon Hunter'']


    A man with a vibrant mane of orange-and-red hair that resembled mes themselves stood with a beaming smile, dressed in a red-and-gold uniform with a white cap flowing behind him.


    "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, myrades! Let us get along well in our endeavors!" Kazuya greeted everybody, speaking loudly as his scarlet irises gleamed.


    By the katana sheathed at his hip, he was clearly from the Taisho period; a samurai renowned in his fictional world for his demon ying prowess.


    [Mirumu, "The Lord of Monsters" from ''That One Moment I Got Reincarnated As A Slime!'']


    Taking the form of a blue-haired, androgynous human, the sentient slime that possessed mystical abilities of great power finally came to life with a sigh, stretching their arms in their newfound body,


    "Phew. Transported to another world again? I''ve got a real talent for this," Mirumu said.


    Approaching Mirumu was the pink magical girl, who held a look of surprise and curiosity after watching the figure bounce between the form of an azure slime and a human.


    "A slime¡­? How cute!" Aki squeezed.


    Mirumu chuckled nervously, "Ah¡­thanks."


    With that, the "generals" of his personal army of fictional characters were born, filling the courtyard with a sight that sat beyond dreams and illusion, now an unmistakable reality that made Noah''s heart flutter with excitement.


    "Where are the demons? Point me in the right direction, and I''ll give them a taste of my steel!"


    Announcing such with vigor, Kazuya unsheathed his katana with a smile, though he was only met with confusion from the others.


    "Demons?¡­" Aki gripped her magical staff, "Are those a new form of Nightmares?"


    Mirumu added in, "Demons aren''t so bad, ya know? Let''s just talk it out with them."


    As he watched the fictional characters, now living people, talk among themselves, he realized they weren''t given life with the same baseline understanding of the situation like Melly.


    ''I guess I fumbled bringing so many characters to life at once. Whatever, I can catch them up,'' he thought.


    "Wee to the real world," Noah announced with a smile.


    Though as he was excited to greet his favorite fictional characterse to life, as he spoke, he felt an overwhelming lightheadedness before his eyelids


    grew heavy.


    Around him, the courtyard seemed to be spinning as the trees were upside down for him; his bnce faltered before he fell backward¡ªlosing consciousness not a moment after.


    ''Ah¡­I used too much mana today,'' he realized.

 Chapter 17 Surreal Reality

    ?After an unknown amount of time of dreamless unconsciousness, he slowly opened his eyes to afortable, squishy sensation beneath his head and a warm on his forehead.


    "¡­Ngh¡­" Noah groaned.


    Parting his eyelids slowly as his vision was blurry, he could vaguely make out a slender, pink-haired figure looking down at him.


    "Aki¡­?"


    The magical girl had a gentle smile of relief at his awakening, stroking his forehead, "You''re awake! I was worried¡­You''re my master after all, aren''t you?"


    As he sat up, he realized he was using herp as a pillow, though he was reluctant to abandon such afortable ce.


    "You figured that out?" Noah asked.


    Aki shook her head lightly as her fluffy hair subtly bounced, "Sung Hyeon told everybody. Well, I already had an idea since I''m used to dealing with spiritual contracts! Still¡­I''m d you''re awake, since things got a bit out of hand."


    "What''re you¡­?"


    Before he could finish asking his question, he saw what was "out of hand" as colorful shock waves of magic propelled through the vast, arena-like courtyard.


    Engaged in battle, the purple-eyed ''Singr Leveler'', Sung Hyeon, was shing against the King of Heroes.


    For Noah, the spectacle before him was like something straight out of fan fiction, or at the very least, his wildest dreams.


    Sung Hyeon swept his mystical greatsword through the air, unleashing a gale force of azure energy that repelled the array of projectiles that the pompous King of Heroesunched at him.


    "Why''re they fighting?" Noah asked, standing up.


    Aki helped him stand, "Well, err¡­that King guy really didn''t seem to like the idea of taking orders from another and began questioning your strength after you passed out."


    ¡ª


    After having his diamond projectiles blown away, the King of Heroes let out boomingughter while keeping his arms crossed, simply summoning more mystical weapons.


    "You''re not half bad, mongrel! Still¡­a mere human should know his ce!" The King of Heroes yelled.


    There were dozens, if not hundreds of weapons born from the king''s will, pointing towards Sung as explosive energy swirled around their immacte form.


    "It doesn''t matter if you''re a king or a god, I''ll destroy you and be done with it," Sung Hyeon stated calmly as his purple eyes gleamed, lifting his de upward.


    ["Demon Lord''s Greatsword: Azure Tempest"]


    A condensed storm of lightning and fire birthed itself in the proximity of the fight, coiling the air with strands of mystical electricity that swirled around Sung.


    In addition to the imposing power emitting from his sword, the Shadow King invoked another ability:


    "Shadow: Kuma," Sung Hyeon uttered calmly and confidently.


    Manifesting from a mass of darkness, a colossal bear forged of shadows roared out, bearing an icy essence that ran in stripes along its form.


    The King of Heroes smiled, "Finally! A bout worthy of a legend!"


    Witnessing this, Noah knew such a fight was far too destructive to be any good, prompting him to act, though he found himself still weakened, stumbling over.


    "Hey! You''re still not fine yet," Aki said, helping him stand.


    "--" Noah huffed.


    [WARNING: Mana levels are at a critical low. Please rest immediately and consume calories to refill your mana.]


    Unable to step in yet, he was about to try brute-forcing amand to stop the two generals frombating, but before he could part his lips, another figure stepped in.


    It was just before Sung unleashed the storm sealed in his demonic de, and before the King of Heroesunched his magical weaponry, getting between the two, the adrogynous, small-in-stature ''slime-human'' arrived¨C<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Gluttony!"


    Mirumu shouted out, causing a power of enigmatic origin to spawn in the form of a beast''s astral maw that parted open like a typhoon, swirling with malignant darkness on either side that consumed both attacks from Sung and the king.


    "--?" Sung looked confused, still holding his stoic expression.


    "--?!" The King of Heroes seemed offended.


    The courtyard was ravaged by a storm born from the trifecta sh of immense power as the blue-haired, feminine-faced slime struggled, sweating before managing to condense the gluttonous ability down, swallowing both forces.


    "...Phew¡­" Mirumu sighed.


    Sung Hyeon was surprised but exhaled slowly, "I see. This world is more interesting than I gave it credit for."


    ? "On that, we shall agree," the King of Heroes said.


    To Noah''s relief, it seemed the interruption by the third-party was enough to bring them to their senses.


    "Good job, Mirumu," Noah said.


    A cheeky smile spread across the pale, blue-haired figure''s lips as they ced their hands on their sides, "Well, if I didn''t step in, everything would''ve been destroyed. Still, I''ve got something I want to talk to you about, err, Mr. Noah? M-Master? Can I just call you Noah?"


    "Sure," Noah nodded with a relieved smile.


    While the others seemingly got along, discussing tales from their own worlds, Mirumu and Noah went to a quiet section of the subspace mansion: a vast library that spiraled high, holding a calm lounge and firece within it.


    "This ce is seriously amazing. I''m sure Deluge will have architecture like this someday¨Cwell, that''s what I want to talk to you about," Mirumu said.


    "Deluge?...Oh, that''s your country, isn''t it? ''The Federation of Monsters''," Noah said.


    It was likely odd for the summoned figures that Noah knew them like the back of his hand, but it was only the truth as the adolescent had spent most of his youth engrossed in such novels.


    The azure-haired figure folded their arms, wearing a long, ck-and-gray coat, "Yeah. I have a duty as their ruler, you know? I can''t exin it, but there''s something inside of me that makes me subservient to you¡­I feel a bond to you, but still¡­I have my own people that rely on me. Friends. Family. I can''t just abandon them."


    "You''re not asking to return exactly, are you?" Noah realized.


    Mirumu shook their head, "I''m asking you to do what you did to bring me here, but for Deluge itself¨Cnow, don''t worry! I''m not asking ya'' to summon thousands of people here at once, just eventually."


    At first he was confused, believing this would be something he''d have to consider, though with the realization of how the magecraft he put into ce functioned, he realized it was much more simpler than that.


    "That won''t be necessary," Noah agreed.


    "Huh? Why''s that?"


    "You''re free to return to your world anytime you wish. I can summon you when I truly need your help, and that''s all¨Cin return, you can have anything you need from this world. I''m sure you miss certain manga series, right?" He told Mirumu.


    "Wait, really? Aww, that''s a relief!" Mirumuughed, "And totally! I need to catch up on Won Peace!"


    "Yeah, you do," Noah assured them.


    Noah could only count himself lucky that ["Sentience Bestowment"] made figures like Mirumu affable enough to him as if he were a childhood friend, otherwise he likely would''ve been attacked on the spot for dragging them from their lives.


    After fully exining the conditions of their summoning and that they could still return to their worlds and back to normal Earth as his call, he took his leave, finally returning to his room as he locked the ethereal entrance in his closet.


    "...Phew¡­"


    He immediately fell onto his bed, drained from the experience, though left in a surreal state that surpassed even the reality of his powers.


    ''They''re real. They''re seriously real. So cool¡­'' He thought.

 Chapter 18 Home Raid

    ?"Gah!" He let out, sitting up.


    The entire time, he had to contain his inner geek from exploding into pure ''fanboy'' from letting out in front of them, having to make sure he held the image of a well-adjusted warrior in his own right.


    Now that he was alone, his cheeks were burning hot and a smile on his lips couldn''t be dissuaded. At times like this, he realized just what sort of blessings he had, filling him with adrenaline and utmost excitement as he clenched his fists, wanting to do more.


    ¨C


    "Seal," he said as an invocation.


    Appearing on the back of his hand was a magical tattoo of his own creation, acting as a link to each of the fictional heroes he summoned so that he''d be able to bring them to his position at a simple call.


    "Return," he said.


    A verdant glow appeared on the mystical seal on his hand, invoking his will to return all of the figures left in the subspace to their rightful homes.


    ''Alright, that''s done now. When I need them, I can call them to my side, and since I already established a connection with them personally, there won''t be any issues in the heat of battle. I can''t lose now,'' he thought.


    However, this was only the beginning of a new age of darkness; indulging in his powers to such a degree at least, seeing what he was capable of doing, he felt a new high.


    As he refueled his exhausted body with a hearty dinner of a double-stacked sandwich and a chicken breast, his phone buzzed against his leg as he drew it from his pocket.


    There were text messages and missed calls from Emily, Akari, and Freja, which brought a smile to his lips as he felt his romancing tactics bearing fruit.


    ''I almost forgot¨CI was so caught up in ''fantasy brought to life'' that I forgot about them,'' he thought.


    As he replied to their texts, he suddenly stopped as something registered in his hyper-aware senses; it was subtle, but he heard a single leaf crunch beyond the walls of his home, just outside. He was sitting at the table in the dining room, ncing towards the front door of his home. The reason he was onguard was simple: he knew nobody else was supposed to being home at this time.


    A single ''thud'' hit the door, surprising him.


    ''Could it be somebody from school? I don''t remember inviting anybody,'' he thought.


    Just as he was about to stand up to check the door, he remembered the encounter he had earlier in the week, instead opting to rely on ["Absolute Sensory"]--though before he could cast the spell, the window directly to his right shattered.


    "--!"


    A grenade emitting pale smoke fell into the kitchen, catching him by surprise as he quickly responded with one of his passive abilities: ["Object Authority"]


    It was a passive spell that gave him telekic abilities, allowing him to lift the grenade up from a distance, flicking his wrist to send it back out of the window.


    The residual smoke that made it into the kitchen caused him to cough, though its effects were mitigated by his enhanced constitution, merely an annoyance.


    ''Who''s attacking? The police? Why? I made sure there was no evidence of anything!'' He thought.


    Before he could figure out what was going on, more windows were broken by gas-emitting grenades, filling the house up before callouts from the exterior of his home could be heard.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Move in."


    "Target confirmed."


    He heard the stoic, militarymands transmitting through radio devices before the front door was broken down by a kick. Pouring in through the entryway to the smoke-filled home, men dressed in all-ck military-grade gear with gas masks entered, equipped with assault rifles and digital goggles to see through the veil of smoke.


    Just as they came in, the squad got in position, pointing their automatic, high-caliber rifles at him before unleashing a storm of bullets in his direction.


    ["Absolute Barrier"]


    The chromatic shield was conjured before the bullets could reach him, pelting against its immutable essence while he tried thinking of a possible reason for this inexplicable invasion.


    ''S.W.A.T? What''s going on?!'' He questioned.


    While he was facing those that entered through the doorway, he heard windows being shattered on the second floor and footsteps dropping in above, prompting him to nce back to realize the unidentified agents wereing in through the back door as well.


    "--"


    He was mildly annoyed now, promptly countering the men at the door as he clenched his fist: ["Absolute Barrier: Reflect"]


    The extension of his defensive spell caused the bullets absorbed into the silvery mass to shoot back out, piercing through the military-esque attackers viciously as holes drilled through their bodies, sshing blood onto the walls.


    Just as he turned around, there were more of the all-ck uniformed agents swarming into the kitchen.


    "What the hell do you want?!" He yelled.


    As one pointed the barrel of his rifle towards his head, he dashed forward with speed untraceable by the naked eye, mming his knuckles against the goggles of the soldier as a resounding ''crack'' echoed through the smoke-filled house.


    Such a blow caused the unidentified, masked soldier to be flung back against the far way as his skull was split and his brains sttered on the wall.


    TAKKA-TAKKA-TAKKA.


    A pair of soldiers get into formation, spraying him with enough bullets to take down an elephant, though the piping hot rounds simply bounced off of his skin.


    Still, it itched his skin and inflicted a light burning sensation that annoyed the already perturbed adolescent as he huffed, dashing forward as his shirt was filled with holes from the iing bullet-storm.


    As he got within striking distance, the closest soldier flinched before Noah pushed the gunman''s head against the wall, cracking the sturdy wall and crushing the man''s head on the spot.


    Having a closer look, he saw the badge on the enigmatic soldier''s chest describing the organization they were affiliated with: "S.E.N.T.I.N.E.L"


    ''Sentinel?'' He thought.

 Chapter 19 Scorched Earth

    ?Bullets came through the windows, sailing towards him from multiple directions as he was drawn away from his discovery, being pelted by the irritating lead.


    Through the usage of ["Absolute Sensory"] he located the precise positions of the agents nearest to him, dashing over with his inhuman speed as he appeared right in front of a unit, taking the three soldiers by surprise.


    He held his hand forward, invoking a lethal spell: ["Singrity Point"]


    It was a maniption of gravitational forces, pulling the three soldiers into one small point that caused them to m together, crunching their bones as they were crushed andpact into a ball of fabric and flesh, causing blood to spray out.


    "--" He breathed out.


    This time, the air hissed as something of higher firepower was used:  a sniper round collided against the side of his head, directly aimed at his temple with killing precision, though it didn''t break his skin, simply leaving a small scratch.


    "Gh-!" He winced.


    The force behind the sniper round made him stumble to the side before he shot his gaze towards the source of the gunfire, using his enhanced vision to see past the window and across the street at the sniper hidden on top of his neighbor''s roof.


    ''Found you,'' he thought.


    Without another word, he invoked ["Spatial Warp"], teleporting just as more gunmen broke into his house, unleashing gunfire that missed as the adolescent vanished from their vision.


    Receiving a radio transmission in the form of a warning, the sniper ced his fingers on his headset before flinching at the gray-eyed sophomore appearing right in front of him.


    "--!" The soldier jumped up, attempting to aim his heavy-duty, anti-tank rifle at the adolescent.


    Before the barrel could even be pointed at him, Noah grabbed onto it, snapping the barrel before invoking another spell from his fluttering grimoire.


    ["Soul Plunder"]


    Without having to touch the sniper, the life was siphoned from the figure as his body mass shrunk, left hollow within moments. Taken from the soldier, a dark, purple essence flowed from his deceased body to Noah, filling him with vigor.


    [Experience: +1]


    [Mana partially replenished.]


    Not wasting a beat, he warped back inside of his home, catching the infantryman by surprise as he summoned a weapon of his own into his grip: ["Weapon Construction: Blood Dagger"]


    Before the soldiers could properly react, he dashed down the hall, swiping his crimson dagger across one of their throats.


    Toxic fumes densely filled the halls, but it was nothing but thick air to him as he swept through it, unleashing momentarily manifestations of ice spears to stab through a pair of agents: ["Ice Impaler"]


    As the others turned around, attempting to counter with gunfire that swept through the narrow hall, lightning it up with sparks and shes, Noah invoked the true nature of the dagger: the blood that spilled from the slit soldier''s throat formed into a dozen more crimson daggers, thrown as precise projectiles.


    Flesh squelched as the soldiers were pierced by the lethal, multiplying daggers, causing more to be born from the bloodbath.<novelnext></novelnext>


    He left one from the half dozen alive, standing over him as he wiped blood from his cheek.


    "Tell me, why''re you attacking me¨C?" He interrogated.


    Though the only answer he received was the injured agent giving a single code-word to his radio, "Code: Scorched Earth."


    Just then, Noah''s hyper senses kicked in as a ring whistle filled his ears only for a moment before an explosion was released.


    The windows shattered and vtile mes swept through the home, bringing everything down in an instant.


    Filling the streets, military-grade, bulletproof vehicles were parked on the street, blocking it off as dozens, if not over a hundred of the mysterious ''S.E.N.T.I.N.E.L'' soldiers surrounded the destroyed home of Noah Grays, pointing their guns at the burning rubble.


    Of course, the debris was blown back as Noah stood up; his ck t-shirt was nothing but loose fabric on his chiseled body, bearing marks of dust, but no injuriesid on his impervious flesh.


    However, the bomb did have an effect: Noah Grays was now angered beyond reason.


    Just as the gunfire began once more with the click of triggers and the smell of gunpowder in the dusk air, Noah wordlessly invoked his time-halting magecraft.


    ["Absolute Freeze"]


    Like a picture taken out of time, the world was grinded to a halt as bullets were left stagnant in the air and even the sh of newborn sparks and minuscule explosions of gunpowder were frozen.


    "If none of you will talk, I''ll take the information I need, then," he said bitterly.


    ["Absolute Mind Infiltration"]


    Through the manifestation of a violet light that emitted from his palm, the sh of its nebulous essence brought to him the inner thoughts belonging to the soldiers.


    As he tried to peer at the memories he held in the palm of his hand from the collective squadron, he was taken by surprise at what he found: nothing.


    ''Their minds are¡­nk?'' He realized.


    It was an inexplicable discovery; he tried delving deeper, individually looking through each nk soldier''s memories, only to find more of just ''nothing''.


    As he tore one of their masks and tactical helmets off, he found a bald, pale figure with no eyebrows or unique features. It was the same for another he checked, as if they were perfect clones.


    This realization left him to one conclusion:


    ''Are these soldiers specifically for dealing with people like me?...If that''s the case, is this ''Sentinel'' organization tied to those system wielders?'' He thought.

 Chapter 20 Untouchable

    ?Finding that route of information gathering to be a failure, he turned his attention back to the battle as rage still burned in his blood, looking towards the array of bullets frozen in time along with their firers.


    He allowed time to resume just as he conjured another spell from his Creator''s Grimoire, once more finding the sound of gunfire filling his ears.


    ["Dark Gale"]


    Manifesting around him was a whirlwind of shadowy winds, sweeping outwards and repelling the bullet that were shot in his direction before the dark air sliced up the soil and concrete alike, reaching the first line of soldiers.


    The spiraling storm of darkness eviscerated those in its path, slicing the agents into mincemeat before he allowed it to dissipate after finishing the first line of soldiers.


    ''Not a single one will escape,'' he resolved.


    Flipping through his grimoire again as he silently allowed bullets to carve through the air past him and digging into the grass, unflinching to them as a passive air shielded him, he unleashed astral entities that soared towards the soldiers.


    ["Koi of Hades"]


    The ethereal entities resembled enormous fish of light-blue energy, intangible to gunfire before they swept through the nk soldiers.


    Each life they took, vigor was replenished automatically to Noah as he watched.


    While he witnessed the astral marine life decimate the enemy forces, he looked up at the whir of helicopter des, finding multiple all-ck, assault choppers above his home.


    The grass was parted by the wind generated by the noisy helicopters, causing his jet-ck tufts of hair to be brushed by such howling winds.


    ''Annoying,'' he thought.


    More soldiers were being deployed, sliding down ropes from the airborne transports while heavy-duty turrets were being manned on the assault choppers.


    A spray of anti-tank bullets swept in, ravaging thewn of his destroyed home but failing to pierce his protective shield of wind.


    Invoking his ["Object Authority"] again to a higher degree than ever before, he pointed his hand towards one of the helicopters, taking hold of it as he clenched his fist.


    Out of rage, he swiped his arm right, causing the air to contort and hiss from the forcibly moved mass, causing the helicopter to smash into another, resulting in a massive explosion of mes and smoke amidst the air above, causing debris to fall onto the neighborhood.


    Screams from civilians followed the destructive collision, though he hardly cared as he was focused on wiping out all of his attackers.


    TAKKA-TAKKA-TAKKA.


    Even after the ["Koi of Hades"], there were still soldiers firing at him, prompting him to change his approach as he used ["Levitate"] to take to the air, soaring high before looking down.


    ''I''ll end this,'' he thought.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Before, he had been taking things lightly as he was running on an exhausted body and sparse mana, but now, annoyed and ready to be done with it, he invoked something truly heinous from the depths of his grimoire.


    ["Hail To The Shadows"]


    The air grew harrowingly cold; brisk to the touch like the frosted atmosphere of a hauntednd.


    Birthing through the cracks in the ground, running through the parted soil and split concrete, tendrils of darkness wriggled into the open air, stretching out with a nebulous cry echoing out like that of a whale''s call.


    The ground rumbled as if an earthquake had gripped the street, causing the grass to wilt from the sealed terror given way by his invocation.


    It spanned the vicinity of the block; the enigmatic entity from the depths of primordial horrors stretched its dark limbs out, curving them and snapping them towards anything that moved, ensnaring soldiers and even stray birds that passed.


    "Consume them all," Noah instructed.


    Wringing out the life from those caught in its hold, the abyssal entity from below dragged all of its victims back down through the cracks in the earth before they closed back up seamlessly.


    After seemingly wiping out the enemy forces, he descended, looking around at the aftermath of the battle as his home was reduced to ming debris and hiswn was torn up.


    Nheless, it was only a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things as he huffed, flipping through his mystical grimoire.


    "I should fix this before Mom gets home," he mumbled.


    ["Absolute Reversal"]


    An extension of the ability to manipte time, he was able to singrly target the existence of his house and the block itself, rewinding the damage done to it as the wilted grass flourished with life, soil coalesced, and his rubble-turned home rebuilt itself as though invisible handymen tended to it.


    It only took a few minutes before returning to its original state; stable and clean of the blood spilled on its premises.


    ? "Aaaagh!"


    "What happened?! Call the police!"


    Just as he was nning to head inside to get some quiet time to soak in what happened and try to finally rx, he stopped as he heard his neighbors around the block screaming out from the blood staining the street and damage done from the destroyed choppers.


    ''What a bother,'' he thought, raising his hand.


    ["Absolute Hypnosis"]

 Chapter 21 Unexpected Approach

    ?Expanding throughout the neighborhood, the mind-altering magecraft flushed through with a vibrant glow of pinkish-purple, freezing and ensnaring civilians within its scope.


    ''Let''s just chalk this up to a disaster from the police. This could help me in the future, should they stand in my way,'' he thought.


    After imnting false memories into the minds of those within his neighborhood, he finally returned to his house, sitting back down at the table and finishing his sandwich. It was a rewarding meal after handling an annoyance, filling his exhausted body with much needed energy.


    As he grabbed the remote, he turned the living room T.V. on, switching over to the local news station.


    [REPORTER: "It''s a sad day, folks. There have been over twelve found dead, and twenty-three in critical condition. We still don''t know what caused the police helicopter to crash down, but analysts predict it was simply a freak ident."]


    It was surprising just how quick the news got onto such topics as it was merely minutes ago that the disastrous event struck the neighborhood.


    ''Well, I''m not to me for this. They attacked me, not the other way around. Nothing wrong with defending myself,'' he thought.


    Deciding to check in for the night, he went to his room, about toy in his own bed as he sat on it, but his gaze was caught by his closet. Inparison to his creaky, twin-sized bed, he knew there was luxurious furniture awaiting in the subspace within his closet.


    Still, after an eventful day, there was something about ''ol reliable'' in his own bed that made him prefer it as he tucked himself in.


    Just as he closed his eyes¨CBZZZ. BZZZ. BZZZ.


    His phone vibrated against the nightstand, causing him to tiredly reach over as he was greeted by a host of responses from his friends and more importantly, to him: girls.


    [EMILY: I just finished my homework. Ugh¡­Why do I feel like my teachers hate me?]


    As he responded, all he sent in return was something simple as his mind urged him to rest:


    [ME: I know, right? Anyway, I''m off to bed, night.]


    Without wasting another moment, he set off into thend of dreams, passing out within moments of allowing his eyelids to rest atst.


    Amidst his dreams, there was darkness; pitfalls of malevolence that he bathed in, indulging in dreams that could be passed as nightmares to others, and such that could easily be mended into reality by his will.


    [....Destroy them¡­That''s the gift you were trusted with: unequivocal, unprejudiced chaos. Remember where you came from; treated as less than trash, discarded, and stepped on. Less than human, you were nothing to them. In your hands, you hold the power to override such a world. Destroy it, bathe it in chaos, and perhaps rebuild it. It is up to you, Noah¡­]


    As his eyes suddenly shot open, hearing the morning rm sounding off from his phone, he saw the bright-and-early sunlight seeping through his curtains.


    ''Destroy¡­Was my System telling me all of that? What''s the fun in destroying everything? I want to control it, not wipe it all out,'' he thought.


    Still tired from the previous day, the true effect of a tiresome, begrudged ''Monday'' was felt as hezily got himself ready with full reliance on his system¨Cdressing himself, cleaning himself, and preparing breakfast at the behest of spells.


    ''I''m still not fully recovered. It''s not just mana; my body itself is sore. I really pushed myself yesterday creating all of that,'' he thought.


    As was his new weekday ritual for skipping out on a monotonous morning walk, he pped his hands together to activate ["Spatial Warp"], vanishing from the interior of his house and popping into the boy''s restroom at Blossom View State in an instant.


    "That never gets old," he mumbled to himself.


    Properly buttoning the cor to his zer he wore as it cooled down in the autumn season, he left the bathroom stall, washing his hands before entering the premises of the school.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Arriving so early, there was hardly anybody in the halls yet, which left it nice and quiet; preferable for the early morning while his brain was still adjusting.


    Actually, it was surprisingly empty. Checking his phone, it showed him that it was eight-o''-clock on the dot, which was just a few minutes short of when the first bell should ring.


    ''I knew I slept in¡­what''s the deal? Is it a holiday I don''t know about?'' He questioned.


    Sliding his phone back into his pocket, he brought his gaze back up to find a figure now upying the hall, leaning against the wall casually.


    It was somebody he recognized, though it took him a moment to figure out who it was. The youthful figure with spiky, light-blue hair, dressed like a student attending the school.


    ''He''s the one from that day¨Cthe one who saved Victor!'' He recalled.


    Naturally, he activated ["Assess"], though it didn''t provide the sort of answer he was looking for:


    [Yukio | Loki System]


    [Level: 50]


    [Strength: 1]


    [Constitution: 1]


    [Mana: ???]


    "Yo," Yukio greeted him with a cheeky smile and a wave of his hand.


    Without responding in kind, Noah rushed over with aggressive speed, grabbing the entric fellow by his neck and squeezing, not wasting any time handling the system wielder.


    "Woah there¡­" Yukio still smiled, struggling to push his words past his clenched throat.


    "Tell me who the ''Sentinels'' are and what they want with me," he demanded.


    Yukio looked at him, "...Are you sure you want to be doing this? It''s not a good look, Noah¡­"


    As he was told such by the mysterious fellow, he raised an eyebrow before suddenly finding the quietness of the school hallway now filled with chatter, looking around to find it upied by students.


    "What¡­?" Noah breathed out in disbelief.


    There was no doubt about it: it was empty just a moment prior, but now it was lively, and eyes were on him amidst the scene he was causing.


    ''An illusion? No¡­it''s more likely I was already in an illusion before, and this is reality,'' he deduced.


    "Mind letting go now?" Yukio said, holding his hands up in peace, "I''m not here for a fight¨Cpromise."

 Chapter 22 A Terrible Mistake

    ?"Mind letting go now?" Yukio said, holding his hands up in peace, "I''m not here for a fight¨Cpromise."


    A moment was taken to weigh his options before Noah finally released Yukio''s throat, causing the youthful, azure-haired man to cough out before caressing his neck.


    Though it was smoothly yed off by the sly system wielder as he slung his arm around Noah''s shoulder, "Such a prankster, man! Ha-ha!"


    "Yeah¡­" Noah went along with it.


    As such an impromptu excuse managed to work, the two walked towards an isted, empty section of the school building as right when they turned the corner, bloodlust oozed from Noah''s pores.


    Yukio was quick to assure he was there in good faith, "Hey! Hey! I told you¨Cnot here for a fight, man! We both know I''d lose, anyway."


    "Then what''re you here for? It better be to give me some answers," Noah said, squinting at him.


    "Sure thing, but I''ll need to let you know a thing or two before we get down to business," Yukio told him.


    "Yeah? What''s that?"


    "I''ve got a ''Dead Man''s Hand'' of my own in case you do try to kill me. That is, I''ll make everybody in this city immune to your hypnosis¨Cthere will be no twisting everybody into your friends or hiding your misdeeds," Yukio told him, "I have authority of illusions and deception, ya know? Would be an easy task."


    Such a threat was something that had weight against Noah, though it only served to anger him as he felt as though he was being ckmailed, which Yukio seemed to sense as he wore a bubbly smile quickly.


    "But, hey! That''s just a ''what-if'' if you decide you want to off me! I''m nning on us getting along nicely, actually," Yukio told him.


    Noah watched him carefully, "Why''re you trying to act all ''buddy-buddy'' with me now? Aren''t you with the enemy? Those soldiers that attacked me yesterday¨CI''m certain they''re affiliated with you and that other guy."


    "Ah, that?...I''ll tell you," Yukio grew serious.


    Right before the blue-haired, youthful man could divulge such information, the morning bell rang, echoing through the halls as Yukio looked up, wearing a changed smile.


    "Well, that can wait untilter!" Yukio beamed.


    "Hey, wait a second¡­this is important!" He insisted.


    Yukio stuck his tongue out, waving at him as he began to take his leave, "I''ll contact youter after you get out of ss, alright? Just have some faith in me."


    "--" He looked at the enigmatic man.


    After Yukio turned a single corner, he nced down the hall to see the mysterious man had already vanished from the premises.


    Though he didn''t hold an ounce of trust in the stranger affiliated with the enemy, it was the only potential source of information he had.


    ''I''ll go along with it for now. If he ends up trying to y me, I''ll crush him,'' he thought.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ss proceeded as usual, though he was antsy after being surprise attacked on multiple asions now. He found himself continuously looking out of the windows, hardly paying much attention to ss. In the scope of his abilities and what was out there, it felt so minuscule, especially considering the strength in the palm of his hands.


    "Hey, are you feeling alright?" Emily whispered to him, seated beside him.


    He had been staring outside the window, tapping his pen against his desk repeatedly for some odd minutes, only taken out of his thoughts from her words as he gave her a reassuring smile.


    "Yeah, I''m fine¨Cjust slept the wrong way," heughed it off.


    "Oh¡­I see. Well, you should make up for the rest you lost when you get home," Emily smiled.


    "Yeah, I''ll do that," he nodded.


    ¨C


    Nothing of note happened during school, though it was partly due to him actively avoiding others while his mind was gued by thoughts and paranoia. It felt as though there was a third-party, lurking and watching his every move¨Cthe elusive "Sentinel" organization.


    As he walked home casually like any other day, he was hyper aware of his surroundings, waiting for Yukio to show himself, either for his promised alliance or for an ambush¨Ceither way, he was prepared to respond.


    ''I just want answers already. Maybe they know more about this ''system'' stuff, too,'' he thought.


    While passing a corner mostly upied by old stores, mainly local businesses that were dying out, it was a less affluent part of town, resulting in no-good thugs loitering around.


    He didn''t even take notice of the thugs that intruded in his path, waiting by a dark alleyway as he passed by, being stopped as one of them got directly in front of him.


    "--" He looked up at the man.


    The tan-skinned man with blonde cornrows huffed from a cigarette, blowing the smoke directly into his face, "Hey, we''ve got somethin'' to show ya''--c''mon."


    It was an obvious, thinly-veiled trap that was crystal clear by the smug, malicious grin present on the man''s face. Behind him, a pair of thugs were blocking him from moving back.


    As he was already not in the best of moods, he went along, as the secretive nature of the alleyway was beneficial to him, too.


    "Sure," he said coldly.


    Thinking they just snatched ''easy'' prey, the thugsughed, giving each other looks that were hardly secretive in their flimsy n.


    The sophomore simply walked into the alleyway, cracking his knuckles before turning to face the trio of hoodlums that now blocked the entrance to the grimy, repugnant alley.


    "Drop all yer'' shit right now," the tan-skinned, blonde one in the red basketball jersey demanded, pulling out a pocket knife.


    "Dumbass," the bulkier, brown-skinned one added with augh.

 Chapter 23 Twisted Alliance

    ?"Drop all yer'' shit right now," the tan-skinned, blonde one in the red basketball jersey demanded, pulling out a pocket knife.


    "Dumbass," the bulkier, brown-skinned one added with augh.


    Noah didn''t respond, finishing cracking his knuckles as he did the same for his neck, standing his ground with a cold expression worn on his face.


    The thugs looked confused by his obvious preparation for a fight despite being outnumbered and not having the traditional look of a hardened fighter.


    "What''re you waiting for? Come at me," Noah challenged.


    Of course, his invite to a fight was met with perplexion and almostughter from the sheer absurdity of it.


    "Huh? Is he fuckin'' serious?" Thenky one with curly tufts said.


    "Must have brain damage or somethin''," the foremost thug with cornrows said with a smile, tapping his forehead.


    "Dumbass kid, let''s just¨C"


    Before the burly one of the three could finish talking, Noah took the initiative out of impatience, mming the man''s head straight into the wall, face first as the thug''s teeth were knocked out in the process.


    The brick wall cracked from the brutal impact, leaving the hoodlum drooling blood as he began to fall over, unconscious.


    "What the fuck¨C?!" The red-jersey wearing thug let out.


    Yet, that didn''t save him from the adolescent''s merciless violence as he was caught before falling, being mmed down into the ground as the concrete caved in.


    ["Soul Plunder"]


    Curing his exhaustion, he absorbed the life force from the bloodied-and-beaten man, causing his skin to turn gray and his body to shrink, drying out as his soul was converted into sustenance that flowed directly into Noah.


    [Experience: +1]


    It was the death sentence, carried out right then and there without a second thought as Noah cracked his neck side-to-side again, letting out a sigh of relief from his newfound vigor.


    "That''s the stuff," he mumbled.


    Caught in a web of fear, the other two abandoned their friend, turning the other way to run but being cut off as the exit from the shadow-filled alley was now blocked by the one they tried to run from.


    "Ditching your friend like that? ''No honor among thieves'', huh?" Noah remarked casually.


    "...What the?! How the fuck did he get here?!" Thenky one asked.


    "I don''t know!...Urgh, fuck this!" The jersey-wearing hoodlum gripped his knife, lunging forward.


    Before the knife could reach Noah''s neck, he caught the thug''s arm, snapping it by the elbow as a gut-wrenching ''crack'' echoed.


    "Aaaargh¡­!" The knife-wielding thug screamed out, falling to his knees.


    Noah had no patience for the figure, simply holding his palm out in front of him, aimed directly at the thug''s head: ["Soul Plunder"]


    The soul-siphoning spell caused the man to wilt like a flower, bing a mummified corpse in an instant as Noah took in his life force, leaving just one hoodlum left.


    [Experience: +1]<novelnext></novelnext>


    "H-hey, man! I-I didn''t know! I was just going along with them!" The curly-haired one slowly backed up.


    "Is that so?" He quietly replied.


    "Yeah! That;s¨C!"


    Before the figure could continue their desperate plea, Noah waved a single finger, causing the figure to not simply have the life wrung from their pores, but crumble to dust with a simple invocation.


    ["Soul Decimation"]


    All that was left of the figure was sprinkles of dust, allowing the condensed form of his soul to be left as a violet orb of life force that Noah took, consuming it like a snack.


    [Experience: +1]


    "Bitter," he said, disliking the taste.


    The sensation of eyes watching him caused him to spin around, flexing his arm, ready to engage inbat once more, only to find a familiar, blue-haired figure standing at the entrance to the alleyway, leaning against the wall.


    "Yukio," Noah muttered, putting his arm down.


    "Don''t worry, I''m not here to reprimand you for what you did. That''s precisely why I''m leaving the Sentinels," Yukio assured him.


    Noah adjusted the cor to his chest, fixing his naturally well-kempt hair as he left the alley, being apanied by the azure-haired man on his way home now.


    "You still haven''t told me what the ''Sentinels'' are," he said.


    "Oh, right¨CI forgot!" Yukioughed, "To make a long story short, ''S.E.N.T.I.N.E.L'' is a top-secret organization formed by the government as a force against anomalous threats that can''t be handled by conventional means."


    "Anomalous? Do you mean like us?" He asked.


    "Bingo!" Yukio pointed at him then at himself, "It''s an anti-system wielder defense force that''s headed by system wielders, since it''s not exactly usible for standard weaponry to contend with systems, as I''m sure you found out already."


    As they walked down the street, Yukio''s entricities are disyed in how he handled a simple hike: the man kicked cans left on the sidewalk, spinning around in a dancing mood, and talking with a bright smile.


    "Yeah. So, howe I was set to be eliminated rather than join this ce like you did?" He asked.


    Yukio grinned at him, "There''s two reasons: your system is far too much of a threat, and you proved yourself quickly to be nefarious."


    "--" Noah looked at him.


    "That''s just the truth," Yukio assured him.


    "If that''s what you think, then why are you running to my side? I''m sure I seem outnumbered by your perspective, right?" Noah asked.


    Finally arriving at his home, they stopped just in front of the entryway to finish their conversation as Yukio slid his hands into his pockets, holding a look in his tinum eyes that truly disyed his nature that certainly wasn''t of a hero.


    "It''s simple really; I''m like you, Noah. I want to bend this world to my will, live life like a king with the power I have," Yukio spread his arms out, taking in the gentle breeze, "I love life¨CI want a bed full of women, enough money to buy a country, and absolute power. We were the lucky few blessed with a system¨Cso why not use it to its fullest? There''s too much to enjoy in life to squander this opportunity."


    There was no denying that such words were the truth when looking into Yukio''s eyes; he held the same thirst as Noah did.


    Yukio continued, "I joined the Sentinels because it was either join them or be killed by them. I served them, biding my time until I saw an opportunity for the tides to turn¨Cuntil I found you. Let''s twist this world to our will, Noah."

 Chapter 24 Noah Grays; Free

    ?Atst, above all else, the sophomore found himself warmed by the realization he wasn''t alone in his power and desire, finding in ally amidst the world of deception that bonded with him on a fundamental level.


    "Don''t worry, though," Yukio smiled, "I''m a follower; I n to support you, not hog any of the spotlight."


    "I see. Let''s take the Sentinels down, then," Noah said, epting Yukio''s hand.


    With their alliance forged, the two went their separate ways with Yukio leaving only his number for future contact, though Noah was certain he''d be seeing the entric man popping in-and-out of his life at a whim.


    That night, he felt something click within his brain after listening to Yukio''s speech of indulging in the joys of life with their unmatched power. Instead of simply tucking away in his home for the day, he looked up towards the sky.


    ''Who''s going to stop me if I have some fun?'' He thought with a smile.


    Warping upward, he transported from the street several miles into the sky, arriving above the clouds as he levitated, walking beside the clouds as he stepped on the air itself.


    A smile formed across his lips from the act that everyone shared as a child, though deemed as an impossibility.


    He guided his fingertips through the pale, fluffy clouds, finding the sensation to be ticklish as moisture met his digits.


    A hum filled his ears as he turned around, seeing an airne sharing the skies with him, though instead of avoiding it, he snapped his fingers with a yful expression.


    ["Absolute Freeze"]


    He levitated in front of the pilot windows, warping in as he stepped into the aircraft, getting a close look at the hundreds of intricate buttons before moving on to the passenger section of the ne.


    Frozen in time, the people, varying in skin, culture, and experiences were helpless to his whim as he walked between the aisles of seats, ruffling a child''s hair and taking his lollipop for himself.


    It wasplete control; he was able to do whatever he wanted, however he wanted, whenever he wanted.


    After taking a stroll through the airne, he decided to finally take his leave as he transported outside of it, warping back down to the city, instead going down to the downtown area of Sacramento.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It was lively, thriving with people that filled every block as billboards shined with digital ads and businesses were running around the clock, yet it was all frozen to a still for him.


    ''So quiet,'' he thought.


    Leisurely strolling down the sidewalk, he looked at the people frozen in time; white-cor workers in the middle of conversations on their phone, petrified in time between steps. Though he hardly had a necessity for cash when he could take what he wanted, he looked through the wallets of the more wealthy-looking folk, slipping cash out for himself.


    Due to the vigor he obtained from using ["Soul Plunder"] multiple times, his revitalized stamina allowed him to maintain his time-stop for a much longer period of time than usual.


    As he walked around the time-stopped downtown, he passed by restaurants he never got to try before, entering a bar-and-grill that was filled to the brim with customers.


    "Don''t mind if I do," he said.


    He picked food directly from peoples'' tes, trying out savory steaks, beer-battered burgers, and rich cheesecakes without anybody being able to reprimand him.


    "Yum," he remarked.


    After having his fill, he returned to the streets of downtown, using ["Levitation"] to peer through the windows of higher story buildings while lounging in the air. It was like snapshots of the time: in the hotel rooms, people partied, some slept, and others had more ''interesting'' activities going on.


    He stopped at the twentieth floor of one of the famous hotels of the city, levitating in front of the window as he caught sight of a man and a womanmitting the deet on the snow-white sheets of the hotel bed.


    "Have fun with that. Ciao," he said, pping his hands together.


    Utilizing ["Spatial Warp"], he set his destination to be the top of the tallest skyscraper in downtown, a banking tower as he reappeared from a wormhole at its summit, overlooking the bright lights of the lively city as he snapped his fingers, allowing time to resume once more.


    He sat atop its summit, letting his legs dangle above the brisk, night winds as the blue-skies had long since given way to the pitch-ck, star-filled sky.


    ''This is life; I haveplete control. Still, I''m not even close to done yet. Soon enough, I''ll have the entire world recognize me,'' he thought.

 Chapter 25 In A Faraway Land

    ?His freetime was spent as such from now on; indulging himself in whatever he liked¨Cstealing, viting, and at times plundering the souls of those who simply looked at him the wrong way.


    After a couple weeks of this tyrannical lifestyle, managing to stay undetected throughmitting such acts in stopped time, he was atop one of the skyscrapers again, holding a smile as he felt fulfilled with this new life.


    FWOOSH.


    ncing back, he found the shift in air pressure to be a result of his azure-hairedpanion warping in just behind him.


    Yukio stood beside him while Noah was sitting on the edge of the building, taking in the view as well.


    "It seems like you''ve been living the life, I take it?" Yukio asked.


    "You can say that," Noah replied with a smile, leaning back as he looked towards the stars.


    Flicked between the entric system wielder''s fingers was a note, conjured by verdant embers before he handed it down to Noah.


    "What''s this?" Noah asked, sitting up as he took it.


    Yukio looked at him with a sly smile, "That''s the location of one of the Sentinel''s bases."


    "...It''s in the middle-of-nowhere Antarctica?" Noah raised an eyebrow.


    Standing beside him as his ck suit withstood the high-altitude winds atop the building which presented digital billboards to the tens of thousands of people below, Yukio tucked his hands into his pockets.


    "You should know by now that the Sentinels are an overly-cautious organization, especially as things are right now. Let''s just say you''ve riled things up, after what you did to Victor and their assault squadron," Yukio told him, "That base there is part of a research facility tucked underground, it''s headed by one of the ''Twelve''--a troublesome guy named Asiimov. Word around organization is that he''s responsible for developing a weapon capable of taking down a certain troublesome somebody¨Cyou."


    "He''s got a system, too?"


    Yukio nodded, "Each of the ''Twelve'' do. As for Asiimov''s system, well¡­I don''t know much about it myself, but I do know it''s called the ''Reath System''."


    It was enough information to get Noah into focus as he stood to his feet, slipping the note bearing the address in his pocket.


    "I take it you''re going to head there immediately?" Yukio asked.


    "Is there a problem with that?"


    "Not at all, but I''d advise you to move forward with caution. I''ll admit your ''Creator''s Grimoire'' is the scariest system I''ve seen, but in a battle between systems, the more skillful and experienced fighter will win a majority of the time," Yukio warned him.


    "Duly noted."


    With that, he used ["Spatial Warp"] to fling himself into the domain of clouds before propelling himself in the direction of the far-offnd.


    ''Ah¡­right, I''m probably going to miss school tomorrow. I should tell Emily so she can vouch for me,'' he thought.<novelnext></novelnext>


    While flying through the skies, he spun around, casually flying backward as he took his phone out from his pocket, beginning to dial up Emily''s number.


    [EMILY: Noah? I didn''t expect you to call sote. What''s up?"


    "Hey, Em. Yeah, sorry¨CI''m just feeling a bit under the weather, so I''m not going to ss tomorrow. Can you tell the professors and the others?" He said, speaking into the phone while speedily traversing the skies.


    [EMILY: Oh, err, sure. Are you alright?]


    "Yeah, I''m fine. My mom practically forced me to take a day to rest, though," he chuckled.


    [EMILY: Alright! I''m d you''re fine¡­Get better soon!]


    Getting his intended message across, he hit the "End Call" button before sliding his phone back into his pocket, kicking off the air with a sonic boom as he bulleted forward like a jet, sweeping through the clouds.


    There was an urgency in confronting the enigmatic organization, as it was the singr entity standing between him and the utopia he dreamed of. Beyond that, handling the Sentinels alleviated him of the paranoia of being ambushed again.


    ''This time, I''m striking first, and hard,'' he thought.


    Soaring towards the stratosphere, he shattered the sound barrier multiple times over as the sky cracked and clouds parted in his path before he reached the upper-levels of the world, able to look down and look at Earth as though gazing at a map.


    ''...Let''s see, he scribbled a rough map and estimate on this. So it should be¡­somewhere around there,'' he deduced.


    Setting his sights on the massive chunk of frostednd that was ''Antarctica'' he invoked ["Spatial Warp"], phasing through a wormhole before instantaneously reappearing in a foreignnd.


    Beneath his shoes were thick sheets of ice, stretching on for what seemed to be forever as a roaring snow storm swirled around him, swallowing thend in unequivocal cold.


    ''Dome R''; it was a sector of Antarctd imed by Russia. Just from standing there for a few seconds, he could feel just how cold and bitter of a ce it was.


    ["Cold Resistance"] ["Internal Heat Amplification"]


    It was only with these two skills that he was able tofortably exist in the barrennd without having his fingers and toes go dumb and ice fill his lungs, beginning to slowly march forward as he looked around.


    There was nothing of note; it was empty and deste, filled only with raging snow, however¨Che knew this was a lie.


    ''An underground facility, right? Well, let''s flush it out,'' he thought.


    As he knelt down, pressing his palm against the snow, he invoked ["Absolute Sensory"], sending a signal of his mana propelled through the sheets of ice and into the Earth below, scoping out what it hid beneath its skin.


    It resounded like a bat''s echolocation, bouncing off of the nothingness below before he finally discovered something of interest that existed below the surface.


    "Bingo," he muttered.

 Chapter 26 Depths Of Technology

    ?He detected an entrance of some sort that led downwards for quite some ways, multiple miles buried into the Antarctic.


    As he moved over to where the entrance to this elevator shaft was, he pointed his hand towards the sheet of snow that obscured it.


    ["Heat Wave"]


    Emitting from his palm, heat waves that distorted the air pressed against the snow, filling the surroundingnd with steam as he melted the veil that hid the entrance to the Sentinel research facility.


    ''Found you,'' he thought.


    His eyesid on it; a metal hatch that led to his desired destination, grabbing onto the handle and casually lifting the heavy-duty, thick seal of metal. The hatch itself was forged of clean, unblemished metal, making it doubtless that it was what he was looking for.


    Peering below the hatch, he found an elevator waiting below, which he hopped down into as the metallic flooring echoed beneath his shoes. After hended, the hatch automatically closed itself with a loud ''thud''.


    "...Alright¡­How do we get down?" He mumbled.


    There were a few buttons in the jet-ck, steel elevator, though nothing was exactlybeled, so he had to guess.


    ["Divination"]


    It wasn''t a certainty to find the answer he was looking for, but in this situation. ["Divination"] was his best solution as it secluded an answer for him from a simple enough process.


    Using the passive spell to find a light gust of mystical air swirling around the circr green button, he pressed it before a ''buzz'' sounded out.


    VRRRRR.


    Finally, the elevator began to move downward, sliding down the tunnel that led deep below the Antarctic surface.


    As he stood there, simply waiting for the elevator to reach its destination at the bottom floor he instructed it to go, casual ''elevator music'' began ying with a rxing chime.


    "Huh," he remarked, surprised to hear music.


    Distracted by the existence of music, the elevator suddenly stopped, opening up to a random floor that definitely wasn''t the lowestyer he requested.


    ''It stopped¨C?'' He realized.


    Bringing his gaze forward, he watched the thick, metal doors of the low-profile facility open to reveal multiple turrets pointing towards him from the room ahead.


    "Really?" He narrowed his eyes.


    Before he could get another word out, the set of turrets unleashed a storm of lead towards him, ring out as steaming bullet cases bounced and rang off the floor, filling the elevator with smoke from the barrage of gunfire.


    After a solid minute of rapidfire bullets, the turrets finally winded down as steam exuded from their barrels.


    Revealed past the veil of smoke, the ck-haired sophomore was standing there with a displeased expression, holding a chromatic barrier in front of him that had caught the projectiles.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ["Absolute Barrier"]


    Just as the ceiling-mounted turrets began winding up again, he quickly dismissed his mystical shield and acted swiftly as he dashed over while summoning a weapon into his hand.


    ["Weapon Construction: Vanta ck"]


    Bringing the all-ck sword into his grip, he leapt up, swinging it with a line of darkness etching itself in a curve that decapitated the turrets as sparks sprinkled down from the destroyed technology.


    "...Now, where the hell am I?" He questioned to himself.


    Looking around, the room he found himself in seemed to be an unusedb of some sort, housing experiments that were held from public light. He leisurely looked around for a minute, finding tubes on shelves that held morphed fetuses of creatures that barely resemble humans.


    ''Secret experiments? Can''t say it doesn''t fit the bill of an Antarctic facility,'' he thought.


    There was technology that seemed at least a decade ahead of what was normal for the rest of the world; handprint-scanning keypads for heavy-duty doors,ser-protected shelving, and robotic limbs that upied workstations, fiddling with constructing new tech.


    Though none such security mattered for him as he simply sted through the next door with a propulsion of drilling air pressure, walking into a vast, metallic dome that was eerily empty.


    "--" He looked around.


    Suddenly, the entire dome began to rumble before it locked down around him; the doorway at the end of the chamber and the ce he came from were heavily barricaded byyers of unknown metal and white-hotsers.


    A voice came in through a speaker system, addressing him directly:


    "You''re earlier than expected, but expected nheless, Noah Grays."


    It was a masculine voice inteced with a light, Russian ent that spoke elegantly with silvery words.


    "Asiimov," Noah said.


    Even his quietly spoken word was picked up by the chamber as the voice on the inte responded in kind.


    "Ah, so you know my name? It''s as I suspected; Yukio has defected, then," Asiimov dribbled on the speaker, "...I warned the Boss as much. I knew that man was a snake. It wasn''t just me, either. Nheless, it changes nothing. You''ve only expedited your execution bying here, Noah Grays."


    "Is that so?" Noah responded.


    "Very much so," Asiimov replied.


    The speaker went silent before a hum of vibrating metal resounded, emitting small tremors beneath Noah''s shoes as he witnessed panels in the floor open up, allowing an entity into the locked-down chamber with him.


    A massive lion infused with technologicalponents growled, having half its body be of a pitch-ck metal with apletely mechanical tail that housed aser on one end.


    "Tacky," he muttered, not intimidated.

 Chapter 27 Vanta Black

    ?In a room that resembled a deep, dark arena, it felt like the perfect ce for such a fight. Still, he yed along as he stood his ground, keeping one hand tucked into his pocket as he pointed a single finger towards the cybeically-enhanced beast.


    ["ze Bolt"]


    A crimson bolt of lightning shot out from the tip of his index finger, directly hitting the salivating lion as a small explosion of mes released from the casual spell.


    As he lowered his hand, expecting the simple, offensive spell to have been enough, he was caught off-guard to find his hyper senses picking up on rapidly approaching movement.


    "What¨C?"


    Through the billowing of mes, the cybeic lion rushed out, hardly affected by the ["ze Bolt"] as heavy steps from its enormous weight echoed against the steel floor.


    Through the inte, the voice of the Russian Sentinel came through in a confident tone:


    "Surprised, are you? The material used on my ''Chimera MK II'' is nothing like what you''d find natural to our world. That''s the beauty of my ''Reath''--beyond the boundaries of our scientific limitations, I''ve reached new heights," Asiimov proudly imed, "You''re an obstacle in the evolution of mankind. Through your arrogance and conceited hedonism, you will hinder the beauty of mankind''s development. That''s why you will die."


    It was through the pride of the scientist himself that Noah picked up on information that he wasn''t privy to prior, readjusting his approach as he evaded rapid, powerful swipes from the cybeic lion.


    ''It may be more durable than a normal beast, but it''s nothing special besides that,'' he thought.


    Though such a thought was mitigated as his ears picked up on a hum of rising temperature through metal, looking up to see the artificial tail of the beast pointing its white-endedser towards him.


    ["Weapon Construction: Vanta ck"]


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Godskin Sharpness"]


    Summoning his ck de back into his grip, forged of shadows, he swiftly enhanced it with conceptual sharpness to its edge, swiping it forward as it easily cut through the beast''s tail like butter.


    In response, the cybeic lion roared out in pain, its call distorted by its mechanicalponents that worked in tandem with its organic flesh.


    Before the beast could retaliate, infusing its metallic ws with the white-hot essence of itsser-fueled energy, Noah casually dashed close into its range, passing by it after swiping his de. The sh cleaved the beast of otherworldly material in half, leaving a mixture of inorganic and organic innards falling onto the floor.


    "What?!" Asiimov''s voice came in through the inte before cutting off, seemingly speaking out by ident.


    Noah looked up towards the pitch-ck camera that watched him, speaking directly to the Russian Sentinel, "It''s stronger than any other metal on Earth, sure, but I''m stronger than anything else on Earth, too. I guess I was just the superior one."


    His words drew frustration from the man, clear as day from the grunt that emitted through the inte before a response.


    "Don''t grow cocky! I expected as much! Here! Taste the power of my ''Reath Metal''!" Asiimov yelled.


    Coming in through panels in the floor, multiple cybeically-enhanced beasts showed up: goris, lions, and grizzly bears, all seemingly enhanced at a base level from organic augmentations as well.


    There was nothing urgent in his actions as he casually responded to the superpowered beasts, witnessing the colossal gori, d in highly-durable steel, leap towards him before mming its fists into the ground.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Amidst the shock wave emitted from the gargantuan blow from the gori, Noah stood there, unphased, though the cybeic silverback would no doubt be an entity that could terrorize an army alone.


    Nheless, he simply swiped his sword forward, slicing through the goliath''s torso just as thepletely artificial grizzly bear charged him.


    It lunged towards him with its jaws open, though he countered it with a powerful kick, causing it to stumble to the side before he raised his hand.


    "To me, Sung," hemanded.


    Manifesting at his side, the ''King of Shadows'' appeared, wielding his azure de with a malicious look in his amethyst eyes towards the beasts.


    "Handle a few of them, will you? After that, you can take your leave," Noah requested.


    Sungplied as he strolled forward with his mystical greatsword in hand, "Sure thing."


    As the massive, metallic grizzly that was a few times the normal size of such a beast threw itself back onto its feet, roaring out a distorted, robotic howl, it rushed towards Sung Hyeon.


    With a flick of his wrist, Sung summoned an array of daggers that were manipted through his will, piercing through the durable hide of the beast with little effort.


    "Ifrit," Sung said, summoning a familiar of his own.


    Born from shadows, a knight d in darkness with a fiery, crimson essence seeping through the grooves in his pitch-ck, ethereal armor came, bursting forward with mes in his step before wrapping multiple of the cybeic beasts within chains of mystical heat.


    Intertwined rings of fire burned through the mysterious ''Reath'' metal, bisecting the beasts caught in its hold.


    "What?!" Asiimov called through the inte.


    ''It makes no sense!'' Asiimov thought, ''He simply surpasses logic! Where are his limits?!''


    It only took a few moments for Sung toplete his mission of handling ''a few'', taking his leave no moment after.


    "Nice work. You can leave," Noah said.


    Sung didn''t respond, only nodding before dissipating back into magical pollen, transported back to the state he was in before.


    Deciding to wrap up the show himself, Noah raised his hand, invoking a malevolence, bleak spell that stifled the theatrics as he grew bored of the lowly beasts.


    ["Slice And Dice"]


    It was a conceptual enforcement of his own de''s sharpness, causing the vicinity of the chamber to be inteced with the very idea of ["Vanta ck"] being swung.


    The result of this spell was an air of darkness swirling around him, exuding an atmosphere of dread, slicing through the cybeic beasts like butter, leaving them as sparking mincemeat.

 Chapter 28 Surprising Counterattack

    ?Slices cut through pipes and pirs, cutting into the sturdy walls and flooring of the chamber as well.


    In his secluded chamber, Asiimov was led stunned; a middle-aged, snowy-haired man wearing an all-white coat watched from multiple angles what the possessor of the Creator''s Grimoire System had done.


    "...I see it now," Asiimov mumbled to himself, "...This man, Noah Grays, he is an anomaly among anomalies. For the future of mankind, its prosperity and safety, I must deal with him, here and now, before he grows further¡­!"


    ¨C


    Left without any further words from the Sentinel member, Noah was surprised to find the barricades that were meant to keep him contained in the room were naturally let down, allowing him to move on.


    ''Guess he gave up on that? At least he''s not stubborn,'' he thought.


    There was no sense of worry held by Noah as he strolled through the secretive research facility, almost treating it like an eventful outing and nothing more.


    Multiple sets of footsteps sounded out,ing from both in front of him and behind, bringing him to a stop as he found more Sentinel soldiers arriving to cut him off.


    "Come on. Are you that desperate that you''re throwing meat shields at me now?" Noah sighed out.


    Before even a single bullet could leave the barrel of the trigger-pulled weapons, Noah countered with dark magic, invoking what resembled spider-woven threads of darkness.


    ["Soul Weaver"]


    Utilizing the threads, he whipped them around, ensnaring the soldiers and wrapping the pitch-ck threads around their bodies, siphoning their life essence as he caught them.


    [Experience: + 5]


    [Mana partially replenished.]


    Draining the others of their life, he turned to those left, finishing them as he dashed through the tunnel like a bolt of lightning, zapping through them.


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Electro"]


    [Experience: + 5]


    Constructing from the ceiling, another turret dropped down in front of him, this time not spewing bullets but igniting before sending a tunnel of mes in his direction.


    "Really?" He said with a raised eyebrow.


    It was simply enough to stop with one hand as he brought into reality a spell to stifle the iing inferno: ["Heat Negation"]


    Annihting it from the very core of its essence, he snapped his fingers to invoke the magecraft, whisking the mes away into nothing more than embers that crumbled in the stagnate, underground air.


    "Seriously, Asiimov? Don''t tell me you''re that desperate," he spoke to whatever cameras were observing him in the tunnel.


    Suddenly, the floor he was standing on gave out, sliding out from beneath him as he began plummeting downward through a series of dark tunnels.


    "--!" Noah looked up.


    The howlingughter of Asiimov met his ears through the inte, "Did you really think some fire was my trump card? Do you take me for a caveman?! Eat your heart out in the depths!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    As he fell downward, he activated ["Levitation"] to try and go back up, however, an array of turrets, grenades, and weapons carrying unknown feats of tech¨Cspewing sound waves andsers, shot against him from above, keeping him down.


    Asiimov''s voice echoed through the intes, "For the future of mankind, we must ovee you! You''re an evil that must be purged! Before you topple what has been established, before you hurt more people, the Sentinels will stop you, Noah Grays!"


    He was unable to get a word out as he was repeatedly mmed into with missiles while simultaneously being shot down by powerful shock waves that sent tremors through the vast tunnels.


    "Ngh¨C!" He winced, gritting his teeth.


    Due to the mixture of sound waves ringing through his ears and a constant barrage of anti-tank weaponry, explosives, and gasses being used in tandem, he was unable to properly orientate his mind, resulting in the inability to conjure a counterspell to the assault.


    ''I can''t¡­focus!'' He thought.


    "Do you feel it?! This is the development¨Cthe progress, the ingenuity of mankind! This is the sacrifice my soldiers, myrades, have made!  It is not my achievement alone, but also those who came before me! You, arrogant child, wish to topple it all for the sake of your own hedonism?!" Asiimov''s voice boomed through the inte.


    After an entire minute of the endless barrage of technological might, he finally fell through the end of the tunnel, finding himself plummeting down into a vast, empty room that stretched far-and-wide, housing steel and the smell of sewage.


    "...Huff¡­" He breathed out.


    His clothes were left in tatters; bruises and cuts that drew blood were etched onto his body¨Cmeager wounds for such an assault, yet the Sentinel of Scientific Development felt hope in this sight.


    ''If he can bleed, he can be beaten,'' Asiimov thought.


    As Noah caught his breath, he looked up as a hum met his ringing ears and sparks of light emitted from above.


    Before he could even have a proper moment to regain his lost breath as his lungs ached, having breathed in smoke and embers, he found an array of top-secret missiles sailing down towards him,unching from missile silos embedded in the ceiling of the facilities'' low level.


    "Enough¡­!" Noah yelled out, spitting blood from his lips.


    He clenched his fist tightly, swinging as he took control over the ck-painted missiles with his ["Object Authority"], swiping his hand as he mmed them into the leftmost wall, causing a bright, powerful explosion to fill most of the secretive chamber.


    Once again, it only seemed to be a distraction as he looked forward, finding something constructing itself from a panel in the floor ahead of him, across the scope of the room itself: it was a massive, sleek cannon forged of Reath metal, empowered by swirling energy encapsted in humming tubes.


    ''A railgun¡­?'' He realized.


    "You continuously undermine humanity! For that, you will find yourself reawakening in the fiery pits of hell, Noah!" Asiimov roared from the inte as his voice boomed.


    Just as Noah raised his hand with the intention of invoking a barrier¨Che was toote in his reaction as the railgun fired, unleashing a visible shock wave that didn''t reach his ears immediately.


    ''It should''ve been activated¡­! Why?!'' He thought.


    He was able to deduce the fact that his mind, dibobted from the unprotected sound waves that had infiltrated his ears and subsequently, his mind, threw his focus off enough that his spell-flinging capabilities were hindered.


    The projectileunched by heightened kic energy rose to levels once thought impossible by modern standards, mming  into Noah''s chest before the sound met his ears.


    "Grgh-!" He let out as blood spilled from his lips.

 Chapter 29 Confrontation

    ?Being pushed against the wall by the astonishingly powerful kic force, the cannon-ball sized projectile of Reath metal was attempting to bore through his chest, putting immense pressure on his diaphragm as he struggled to breathe.


    ["Absolute Freeze"]


    As he invoked the universal time-stop to freeze the projectile, he felt a momentary sense of relief as he was able to invoke the spell, however, that hope soon crumbled.


    ''What¡­?!'' Noah thought.


    The projectile was still spinning viciously, pressing against his chest as he put his hands on it, attempting to slow it down though it scraped against the skin of his palms.


    ''It''s not stopping¡­?! Is this material immune to my time stop?!'' He thought.


    There was nobody else to me for this fumble but himself; allowing the sound waves to dibobte him diminished his abilities temporarily, but it was enough to give Asiimov such an opening. Yet, even such a mistake was not enough to ovee the Creator''s Grimoire.


    Either way, he relinquished time-stop as he it held no benefit in the current moment, instead bolstering his own strength: ["Absolute Enhancement: Strength: Hercules"]


    The advanced form of enhancement caused his physique to bulken with his muscles swelling up and veins pressing against his skin, granting him herculean strength as he gripped the sphere tightly while gritting his teeth.


    ''If I can''t affect its properties directly with magic, then¡­I''ll stop it myself!'' He thought.


    Managing to get aplete hold of the inhumanly powerful kic sphere, he finally moved it off of his chest before mming it down into the ground with a resounding thud.


    "...Huf¡­"


    As his muscles returned to their normal size, he found arge, purple bruise left on his chest that throbbed with a scathing pain.


    ["Absolute Recover."]


    Mending all of the wounds he had acquired thus far, he wiped the residual blood from his lips as a look of utmost anger sat in his eyes when looking towards one of the ceiling cameras.


    ''Yukio was right. If I don''t take this seriously, I could die. Fine then. If you want to y, I''m game,'' he thought, ''I''ll cut the theatrics and kill you if that''s what you want so badly.''


    ["Absolute Sensory"]


    As he expanded his search through the facility, he found his sensory being contained within the metal walls of the room he was currently in.


    "--" He paused.


    ''This Reath metal¨Cit''s able to negate magic? It must be part of Asiimov''s system, able to stand immune to the effects of System abilities. Still¡­that won''t stop me,'' he thought.


    There was no more bickering from Asiimov through the intes to his surprise, though he didn''t care as he bolstered himself with enhancements.


    ["Absolute Enhancement:  Greater Strength"]


    [Strength: 20000]


    The spell caused the veins visible beneath his skin to turn to a subtly glowing crimson as he exhaled slowly before bursting forward, running straight towards one of the vast walls of Reath.


    With a m of his fist of amplified, godlike strength, the wall blew inward, caving in and allowing him to break through.


    It was a less than elegant method, but he was focused and driven enough by his own frustration that he weed it, tearing through the durable walls like paper.


    Any barrier that stood in his way was broken as he went from room-to-room, wreckingboratories and spilling unknown experiments without any care.<novelnext></novelnext>


    As more Sentinel soldiers flooded into one of the rooms, surrounding him with enhanced weaponry that he analyzed from a nce, he didn''t waste a moment sweeping through them.


    ["Blood Maelstrom"]


    After tearing through a handful of soldiers with his brute strength alone, tearing through them with swipes of his arm, he used their own spilled blood, mending it into a whirlwind of crimson that minced the others.


    A bloodbath was left in the aftermath of this spell.


    "Where are you?!" He yelled, pointing his words towards the observing cameras.


    In response, more turrets and cannons protruded from the floor, ceiling, and walls around him, emitting shock charges, sound waves, and a storm of bullets.


    None of it was even the buzz of a fly''s wings to him at this point as he stomped his foot down, issuing a shock wave that repelled all of the projectiles, throwing theb equipment across the room in the process as the floor caved in and the walls cracked.


    "...Fine then. I''ll begin tearing it all down," Noah said quietly, holding his hands together.


    ["Absolute Destruction: Nuclear Condensement"]


    Nuclear force gathered in a controlled, yet unstable sphere between his hands, emitting a bright-blue glow that began rumbling the foundation of the facility.


    There was still no response besides more automatic weaponry constructing from the floorboards in an attempt to stop him, but he birthed the condensed nuclear power, wielding it in the palm of his hand as he swiped his arm forward.


    A beam of bright-blue, swirled with unstable yellow energy, shot forward at speeds that surpassed physical matter, cutting through the Reath foundation of the facility like butter while leaving explosive trails along the length of the beam''s reach.


    It pierced far into the facility, bringing down the pirs of its foundation, causing floors to crumble as the nuclear force swept through it, humming with a vibrational call of destruction.


    Explosions rained down around Noah, who stood firm as the facility fell around him, melting and giving in to the explosive repetitions.


    "Now,e out," Noah said.


    The aftermath of ["Nuclear Condensement"] left a matter-erasing trail of erasure through pivotal points in the vast structure''s stability, causing everything to begin falling apart as it all seemed to crumble, leading to the bottom level.


    As debris fell with steel beamsnding on Noah, they were cut by a passive aura held around the adolescent as he levitated downward to the bottom floor, that was being rained down upon by ming steel.


    Waiting on the bottom level was the member of the Twelve Sentinels himself, Asiimov: he was as pale as snow with a mask that covered his mouth-and-nose from tucked-away scars, having messy, pale-white hair.


    ["Assess"]


    He didn''t waste a moment getting a look at the man''s stats atst:


    [Asiimov]


    [Level: 68]


    [Strength: 1000]


    [Constitution: 1000]


    [Mana: N/A]


    "We meet atst, destroyer," Asiimov greeted him with contempt in his voice.

 Chapter 30 Clash Of Power

    ?Noah looked down at him, hovering in the air before slowlynding atop a pile of debris amidst the unstable facility.


    "That''s right. You''re a ''destroyer''; nothing more. You''ve encountered existences of supreme mysticism and intrigue beyond the realm of known science, yet you don''t strive for answers," Asiimov said, "Thatck of innate curiosity is the very evidence that your humanity has left you, Noah Grays."


    Without any further words, Asiimov tore off hisboratory coat, revealing a mechanical core on his chest that expanded like nanomachines, stretching over the surface of his body as it d him in pitch-ck, sleek steel.


    "You may have formed your own theories, but my Reath metal can vary in strength greatly. Spreading it thin to create this facility, the foundation is the weakest; crumbled by your abilities like paper," Asiimov exined as his suit of Reath armor hummed with systems booting up, "--However, my personal suit of armor is my most advanced, precious creation of Reath. Try and ovee me, destroyer."


    The exoskeleton armor constructed itself fully as the armor ting stabilized into multipleyers, allowing azure hues of light to give off in the grooves.


    "h, h, h¡­Let''s just get this over with," Noah replied.


    "On that, we can agree," Asiimov replied.


    As the battle began, Noah found his options inbat tremendously limited against somebody like Asiimov; the full suit of Reath made his spells unable to directly have an effect on Asiimov.


    ''He''s a perfect counter to me. I''ll have to rely on self-enhancements,'' Noah surmised.


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Electro"]


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Bullet Time"]


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Kic Absorption"]


    ["Weapon Construction: Vanta ck"]


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Godskin Sharpness"]


    All at once, he invoked a series of enhancements that bestowed his body with abilities far beyond their normal stats.


    The moment Asiimov pointed one of his electrokic, palm-sized railguns at him, he moved with blinding speed, only leaving a trail of azure electricity behind as his gray eyes now held a glowing, blue hue.


    "Electro" granted him the speed of lightning and infused his attacks with that very element.


    Turrets constructed themselves on Asiimov''s shoulders as he moved back, levitating with propulsors on his boots. The turrets began rapidly firing special bullets, recognized by Noah with his enhanced reaction, as being made of Reath.


    "At least in death you will make reparations for your damage done to humanity," Asiimov said as his voice came off with a robotic filter through his mask, "I will dissect you and your system."


    Before they could hit him, he watched as the bullets approached in what seemed as slowed time before moving out of the way like a bolt of lightning curving around, though such magic wouldn''t be able to affect Reath; it was simply his enhanced reflexes.


    "Bullet Time" gave him reflexes at such a level that even hypersonic speeds seemed to move in slow-motion to his eyes.


    Every step he took unleashed a small shock wave, pursuing the man wearing the exoskeleton, nuclear-powered armor of Reath while more bullets came his way.


    The core surgically embedded in Asiimov''s chest unleashed a hum, vibrating the air before a gargantuan shock wave that flooded the chamber propelled outward, hitting directly against Noah.


    It had no effect though as Noah remained sturdy on his feet.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Kic Absorption" allowed him to negate the effect of the attack, feeling it seep into his skin like a sponge siphoning water.


    Launching forward like a bolt of lightning that red like thunder, he closed the gap between him and Asiimov in an instant, gripping the handle of Vanta ck tightly.


    He already knew that the innate ability of his pitch-ck sword wouldn''t be able to bypass Reath, but with ["Godskin Sharpness"], it would be able to at least cut through it.


    Assimov countered before the de could reach him, using a propulsion of shock waves and fuel to move back quickly.


    Though the Russian system wielder evaded the iing strike, he found Noah gone from his sights again as the air heated up and expanded with static charges sweeping in.


    Noah already closed the distance in an instant, still midway through his sword strike as strands of lightning followed his eyes.


    ["Spatial Warp"]


    "--?!" Asiimov reacted in shock.


    The entire initial sh had taken no more than a few seconds from their beginning preparations to the moment that the abyssal edge of Vanta ck shed against Asiimov''s torso, cleaving into the armor.


    Behind the blow was herculean strength that knocked Asiimov down harshly, mming into the metal flooring, caving it in beneath the impact.


    "...Grk¡­!" Asiimov spit out blood within his helm.


    The singr sh had cleaved through the hulk of the exoskeleton, leaving sparks fizzling as wires were left exposed. Aceration was etched across Asiimov''s pale torso, but it wasn''t anything lethal due to the armor stopping most of the cut.


    ''Even my most refined Reath¡­he cut through it so casually. ''Anomaly of anomalies''--I was frighteningly correct in my assumption,'' Asiimov thought.


    Undeterred in the face of Noah''s godlike abilities, Asiimov propelled himself to the side before picking himself up, evading a plunge of Vanta ck as Noah crashed onto the ground, stabbing the abyssal de into the floor.


    The impact caved the flooring in before the ck sword was pulled out with Noah looking over with his glowing, azure eyes before dashing over as lightning just as Asiimov picked himself up to his feet.


    In an instant, Asiimov fixed the damage in his armored exoskeleton, manipting the Reath and the technology ingrained in it before shing with Noah.


    ["Reath SURGE: Level Four"]


    The system ability possessed by Assimov caused the nuclear core in his chest to overflow with power, amplifying his physical capabilities, allowing the Sentinel to swiftly evade the iing sword strike with a clean duck.


    Asiimov countered with a strike, hitting Noah in the stomach with no effect to his surprise, being forced to jump back as the adolescent followed with another swipe of his enhanced de.


    "Nrgh¡­!" Asiimov winced as he leapt back.


    Even when simply slicing air, the darkness of Vanta ck parted the winds briefly with a shock wave, cutting through Asiimov''s helmet as the right side of his face exposed from the shattered armor.


    ''...Even more power? Just the wind pressure of his shes alone? What a monster,'' Asiimov thought.

 Chapter 31 Monstrous Collision

    ?The level Noah had reached through stacking enhancements put him in a realm of his own, as to the Russian Sentinel, it felt as though he was fighting an uphill battle as tall as Mount Everest.


    Asiimov huffed as his breathing grew heavy and uneven, clenching his body as he forced the surge of energy to continue pouring from his core.


    ''SURGE even at level four is too straining¡­It feels like I just ran a marathon. Still, I must go further¡­! If I don''t stop him here, it could very well mean the end!'' Asiimov resolved.


    As blood seeped from the cut on his forehead and on his chest, Asiimov forged further nuclear force from his core as the bright-blue energy heightened, shifting to a fiery-orange then to a pure-white.


    ''A world under the rule of a selfish tyrant like him¡­That''s not the kind of world I want my daughter to live in. It''s not a world that promotes progress, ingenuity, nor selflessness¨Cit abandons that which makes us human! I will not allow that,'' Asiimov decided.


    ["Reath SURGE: Level Eight"]


    The heat giving off from Asiimov''s position caused heat waves to distort the space around him, causing steam to give off with vibrations exuding outward.


    Each second, the joules exuded from Asiimov''s hyper-advanced, system-built armor surpassed that of humanity''s greatest weapons, such as the ''Tsar Bomba'', and yielded more power than natural disasters.


    Noah watched curiously before enhancing himself further, taking no further risks: ["Absolute Enhancement: el"]


    The self-enhancement spell caused his thoughts to elerate along with his own body as if for him alone, time itself was a league faster.


    "Nngh¡­graaaagh¡­!" Asiimov roared from the pain induced by his own means.


    Stabilizing himself in the presence of such power, Asiimov strained his body just to move as his muscles tore from the overwhelming forces hemanded before finally¨Che moved. It was a sh of light unlike any other, stifling all sound.


    In that singr moment, Asiimov surpassed physical matter, tearing away the barriers of established limits as he moved as light itself, encircling the chamber and Noah himself hundreds of times in a nanosecond.


    "--!"


    Noah''s eyes widened, reflecting the sh of light giving off the Reath system wielder as both ["Bullet Time"], ["Electro"], and ["el"] worked in tandem, his neurons firing off in such a small scope of time that it was immeasurable to human perception, all to react and match the speed possessed by his foe, ducking down just as Asiimov blitzed by as a sh of light, thrusting his fist forward.


    The missed blow sent a shock wave booming through the crumbled facility, tossing the debris as if a tornado had swept through.


    Once again, Asiimov swirled around as stratifications of light, unleashing ear-filling whirlwinds in the wake of his movement before appearing directly behind Noah, raising his leg in preparation of an ax-kick.


    "The Sentinels must protect this world from the shadows! It''s a thankless duty! But it''s a mission we must do¨Cif not us, then who else?!" Asiimov roared.


    Before the nuclear-infused heel could m into Noah''s head, he reacted with those all-seeing eyes that witnessed time at perceptions beyond measure, catching Asiimov''s ck-metal ankle.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Gh¨C!" Asiimov gritted his teeth in preparation.


    With the armored system user in his grip, Noah mmed Asiimov into the ground, cratering the steel floor and causing the already unstable facility to rumble.


    "You''ve been running your mouth this whole time about what a stain on humanity I am, but if I recall, you were the ones who came after me first," Noah said, gripping onto the being''s leg, "--I''m just responding in kind now."


    ["Atom-Splitter"]


    The spell used as a direct invocation of his abyssal sword came as a sh that split atoms on a minuscule level, enacting a chain reaction despite the edge of the de being evaded as Asiimov managed to duck to the side.


    ''Dodging changes nothing,'' Noah thought.


    As a result of the atomic sh, nuclear fission was born as an explosion of catastrophic proportions ignited at point-nk range.


    The nuclear explosion annihted the underground facility in its entirety, leaving it revealed to the deste territory of the Antarctic as a massive cloud of smoke and vtile energy reached up towards the sky, inducing a shock wave that rumbled the far-stretching tundra.


    Landing on the surface of the Antarctic again as his shoes stepped onto the thick sheets of ice, Noah was unscathed by the st thanks to his ["Kic Absorption"] and overall constitution.


    "I know that didn''t take you out, old man," Noah said calmly.


    Stepping out from the smoke that billowed atop the scenery of ice that sat below the pale-blue horizon, Asiimov stepped out with his exoskeleton armor burnt, yet intact.


    "...Beyond monstrous¡­" Asiimov quietly stated as his armor hummed, beginning to power up once more.


    Noah looked at him, holding Vanta ck amidst the radiatednd of snow, raining down ck, radioactive rain from the sky that fell onto the bitter first.


    "Are you finally realizing that it''s hopeless to try and take me down? If you just stood back and let me do my thing, I would''ve let you in on the fun," Noah said.


    Shaking his head slowly, Asiimov''s helmet dismantled as the nanomachines revealed his paleplexion; blood seeped from his nostrils and ears from the strain of "SURGE", yet his icy-blue eyes stood strong.


    "...The more I see what a monster you are, the more I realize that I must do everything I can to stop you¡­Even if that means sacrificing myself in the process," Asiimov said, breathing heavily.


    Just then, the Russian Sentinel gripped the nuclear core imnted in his chest, gripping it and twisting it as it clicked.


    ["Reath SURGE: Level Ten"]

 Chapter 32 Villain Of Mankind

    ?["Reath SURGE: Level Ten"]


    Summoning forth an amount of energy that shoveled away the snow around him, sending cracks along the thick ice, Asiimov nearly keeled over from the strain ced on his body as ckened blood leaked from his eyes and ears, dripping from his lips.


    "This is¡­?" Noah watched in surprise at the suicidal act.


    Asiimov smiled, "...Everything I''ve got, Noah Grays¨C''viin to mankind.''"


    An unequivocal source of energy spiraled around Asiimov, sending tremors emitted through the region of the Antarctic; ciers the size of cities began to crack, being pushed, and melting through the inexplicable power being wielded by the man.


    ["Assess"]


    Checking again, as he predicted, Asiimov''s status had changed with the usage of ["SURGE"]:


    [Asiimov]


    [Level: 99]


    [Strength: 22000]


    [Constitution: 22000]


    [Agility: ???]


    Before he could react and establish further enhancements of his own, he was taken by surprise as Asiimov took off with a single step. That singr movement caused the entire valley to rumble as the ice was etched with cracks.


    A sh of light appeared before his eyes as his hyper-reflexes attempted to catch up to the ludicrous speed honed by the man''sst stand, though all Noah could do was raise his arms just as a kick mmed against his forearms.


    The impact sent a shock wave equal to a bomb cascading through the valley of frost, breaking through Noah''s guard as his the strength behind the unseen, light-speed kick chimed through the marrow of his bones.


    "Ghh¡­!" Noah winced.


    It immediately caused Noah''s forearms to bruise, swelling up as his bones were no doubt fractured despite his ["Kic Absorption"] being overwhelmed.


    Assimov''s eyes had gone bloodshot from the strain as blood leaked from every pore in his body with each passing second of the self-annihting power, causing him to immediately follow up with a thrust of his right fist.


    This time, Noah''s enhanced perception adjusted enough for him to react, using [''Spatial Warp"] to teleport into the sky for a momentary respite to gather himself.


    ''I didn''t expect him to have this kind of trump card,'' Noah thought.


    ¨CNot even a moment was afforded to him as he looked down, finding Asiimov gone from the ground floor, only listening to the air whistle behind his ear for a fraction of a fraction of a second, realizing the Sentinel was now behind him.


    In those brief moments, Noah was outssed and bewildered.


    Just as he began turning around, he witnessed Asiimov, shrouded in light,ced in de, andthered in nuclear energy, gritting his teeth as he propelled his jet-fueled boot towards his nose.


    Before the kick couldnd, Noah responded with another ["Spatial Warp"], teleporting directly behind Asiimov and tossing him down to the ground.


    It was brief, but he gave himself a moment to prepare now as he invoked more spells for himself:<novelnext></novelnext>


    ["Armor Construction: Quicksilver"]


    For the first time, he felt as though he needed augmented armor, magically constructing the mystical, silver exoskeleton around himself that had grooves running along its sleek form that gave off chromatic light.


    It was specifically made to bolster his reflexes and agility to higher proportions, allowing him to focus primarily on his offensive tools.


    ["Weapon Construction: Vanta ck"]


    Summoned into his other hand, he wielded a copy of his abyssal sword, dual-wielding the malignant des and crashing downward to try and take the initiative against Asiimov.


    It was now a sh of speed beyond humanprehension; amidst a rain of ck snow, shock waves emitted repeatedly through the isted tundra with the two armored system wielders racing at unorthodox levels of agility.


    Though their agility was near equal, there was a clear difference in mindsets between the two: Noah knew he''d be able to recover from any received blow, but Asiimov had already forfeited his life.


    This mindset that Asiimov held, fighting dearly for something greater than himself, allowed him to enter a zone of focus that made him nearly impossible tond a direct blow on. Asiimov managed to dance around the edge of the dual-wielded Vanta cks, though the smallcerations thatnded began to build up.


    Meanwhile, Asiimov was failing tond a significant blow on Noah, who perceived every actioning his way, drilling through the winds like an unstoppable bullet of light, unleashing rangeless shes of darkness.


    It wasn''t as though Noah''s abilities were being equaled by Asiimov''s, it was that by being pushed by an enemy greater than any other he''d faced, he was exploring new heights of his power, pushing higher and higher with each passing moment.


    "Grrgh¡­!" Asiimov pushed himself further.


    Flipping back, the Sentinel briefly stood on his hands, spinning around into an acrobatic kick that mmed against the sturdy torso of Noah''s armor, knocking him back with a valley-rippling shock wave.


    "Phew¡­"


    Noah was as calm as a stillke, passively activating ["Absolute Recover"] to automatically mend any damage done to his body, minor or major alike, as he caught himself, flipping back to regain his momentum before stomping down and raising both of his abyssal swords.


    ["Territory Rend"]


    Gathering an enormous amount of shadowy mana around the form of his dark des, he dragged them downward, unleashing a dual-set of shes that reached up to the clouds and dug into the crust of the Earth, ripping forward towards Asiimov.


    The result of the gargantuan shes carved canyons into the Antarctic, reshaping it permanently, though not reaching Asiimov.


    "--!"


    Noah looked up, sensing the figure as the bloodshot-eyed defender was diving down towards him with a fist d in nuclear energy.


    Before it could crash into his skull, Noah warped away, witnessing Asiimov''s fist crash into the ground before unleashing a physical impact that transmitted deep into the tundra, invoking an earthquake that shaved the snow off mountains into avnches and split new ravines into thend of frost.


    Asiimov moved as a ray of light, distorting his physical appearance amidst his travel, melting the frost in his path before wrapping around Noah, who was only a nanosecondte in his reflexes before the Reath system wielder unleashed a barrage of blows like a rapid fire machine gun.


    It was as if natural disasters were being born with every move enacted from either of the two; this led to an unspoken thought process shared by both Asiimov and Noah in that moment as the Antarctic trembled:


    "I''ll finish this with my next attack."

 Chapter 33 The Sentinels Arrive

    ?Asiimov gritted his blood-stained teeth as he clenched the steaming, air-rippling core from his chest, gushing arterial fluid from the new hole revealed in his torso as he held the core of his very system forward, aiming it like a cannon.


    In response, Noah flicked both of his wrists as he de-manifested his swords, invoking magecraft from the farthest pages of his Creator''s Grimoire.


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Sure-Hit"]


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Mana Amplifier"]


    ["Beyond Level 100 Magecraft: Universal Sector"]


    It was a section in the grimoire that he had not yet had the opportunity or necessity to tap into, but atst, he found something that required its usage to firmly be put down.


    ["Absolute Destruction: Breath of Creation"]


    The light of the cosmos emitted from his outstretched hand, showing shes of miniature gxies, spiraling like discs of infinite life and potential. It was a condensed aspect of the very force of the "Big Bang" itself; a taste of it that withheld its capacity for territorial destruction and inhabited its ability to erase.


    If it was truly an unrestrained version of the "Big Bang" the damage would be far too catastrophic for Noah''s intentions, which were to control, not to destroy.


    In the wake of power dimensions higher than perceived possible, the region shook and the skies became an aurora; dancing with greenish-blue lights in a reflection of the cosmos'' arrival.


    "Disappear."


    With that single, icy-calm word leaving his lips, he unleashed the ["Breath of Creation"] in response to the pure, unrefined energy released from Asiimov''s core.


    The destructive aspect of the cosmos swept forward like astral winds, sparkling with the essence of stars and a riptide of creation, spawning foremost from the destruction.


    "Ah¡­" Asiimov''s eyes opened to the bleak reality of the rousing sh.


    There was no contest in raw output; Noah''s destructive spell swept through Asiimov''sst ditch attack, swallowing it and moving forward without obstacle, epassing the Sentinel in its creational wrath.


    It onlysted a few seconds before he lowered his hand, allowing the ["Breath of Creation"] to fade away after leaving a charred-ck, eradicated valley carved through the Antarctic.


    "You''re one tough old man, I''ll give you that," Noah said.


    Despite facing the full wrath of primordial forces of destruction, Asiimov remained standing, though clearly moments from death as his exoskeleton was cracked and crumbling apart, one side of his body had its flesh burned away as he stood there, hardly conscious by the looks of it.


    "--" Asiimov didn''t respond.


    In hisst moments, Asiimov was more focused on the core he held in his hand; the very heart of his system and being¨Cit was crumbling apart as well, softly blinking as the final droplets of power left.


    BEEP. BEEP. BEPP.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Curious, Noah walked over, manifesting a sword into his hand: [''Weapon Construction: Vanta ck"]


    As he stopped just in front of the man, looking at him for a moment to wait for any final words, his ears were met with nothing as Asiimov''s dreary eyes watched his core continue to blink.


    "Well, ciao," Noah said.


    Almost in a bored way without any theatrics or grace, the young man simply slid the pitch-ck de through the man''s chest, dealing the final blow.


    [Experience: +150,000]


    As expected, killing a person of such power granted him experience beyond the scope of any gain he''d seen before.


    [Level 100 -> Level 100]


    ''Huh? I didn''t level up? Is one-hundred the max? Oh¡­my stats went up,'' he realized.


    [Strength: 5000 -> 7000]


    [Constitution: 5000 -> 7000]


    It was the same for all of his minor stats as well, but he didn''t have time to check them in detail as his attention was drawn to Asiimov again, who coughed out blood before holding a smile unbing of a defeated man.


    "What''re you smiling for?" Noah asked with a raised eyebrow.


    Asiimov held the blinking core up, disying it to the adolescent''s eyes as he held a triumphant expression, "...My core¡­I rigged it specifically for this situation¡­If it were to weaken, signaling my end¡­it would alert each of the Sentinels to my location."


    It took a moment for Noah to understand what was being implied before his eyes suddenly widened, "--What?!"


    "Here is onest tidbit for you, Noah Grays¡­It''s the nature of these ''Systems'' themselves. It''s mostly impossible to study systems when they truly possess no tangible form to dissect; it''s as though trying to rationalize the divine¨Cit is simply fruitless. However, I dide across one piece of information¡­" Asiimov told him, "...These systems are perfectly tailored for us. They are embodiments of your will; personifications of your aspiration. Such indiscriminate malice wielded in your hands¡­It makes me wonder what pain you had to go through to be the monster you are now?...You''re no older than my daughter, yet you''ve turned into this. In the end, it doesn''t change anything. The damage done to your psyche is irreparable. What you''ve done cannot be undone. All that''s left is to stop you¨CI may have failed, but they won''t."


    BEEP. BEEP¡­.BEEP¡­


    Finally, the core stopped beeping and blinking as it went silent. It dropped to the ground, falling onto the ckened soil of the desecrated tundra, leaving the snowy-haired Sentinel passing on with a smile on his face.


    ''All of the Sentinels?...All at once? If there are others at his level, then¡­!'' He thought.


    There wasn''t any time to react as already, he felt multiple presences arrive as a rift appeared a few dozen meters ahead; the nebulous portal gave way for an array of figures walking out¨Cten in total.


    It was the Twelve Sentinels, or rather, now the Ten Sentinels. Noah didn''t waste a moment gathering intel on them as they were all right before him.

 Chapter 34 Overwhelming Odds

    ?["Assess"]


    A scarlet-haired woman stood proudly with a look of contempt written on her face, wearing the same ck suit they all seemed to wear, but having a fur cape hanging from her shoulders.


    [Rose] [Level: 60 | Mythical Tamer System]


    Standing taller than any human he''d seen, anky, pale-skinned man with a suit that had to be tailor fit for him and a tophat atop his head stood with a pale-white mask worn on his face.


    [Shen] [Level: 78 | Nightmare Contortionist System]


    A blonde-haired man with a fair face and a smile stood, wearing an unorthodox suit that had the signature cape of a superhero flowing off his back.


    [rk] [Level: 80 | Superhero System]


    Though he didn''t have time to assess all of the Sentinels before him, he got a read on the silver-bearded senior among the group, who despite his age, oozed an imposing aura.


    [Elias] [Level: 98 | Command System]


    The reason why he didn''t have time to read all of their statuses was he was immediately confronted by one of the Sentinels: a dark-skinned man, bald man with tribal tattoos and unique, diamond-shaped irises.


    [Jabni] [Level 58 | Unbreakable System]


    The foe threw a heavy blow, mming his fist into the snow as it missed Noah, sending a tremor through the ground.


    "Asiimov was a good man. He had a wife and daughter¡­I''ll make sure you die a painful death," Jabni said with conviction buried in his irises.


    "Try me," Noah challenged, leaping back before dashing forward towards the man.


    As he attempted to cleave through the man with Vanta ck, the edge of the sword failed to pierce Jabni''s skin, simply bouncing off as if hitting immutable steel.


    ["Unbreakable System''], such a name was clear as day witnessing Jabni''s impervious stance after the failed assault.


    Still, this didn''t deter or bother Noah as his quick-acting mind, still enhanced by ["el"], calmly analyzed the fact he''d need to try out further enhancements on his weapon, or perhaps use property-altering spells.


    "Noah¨C!"


    Before he could follow through with casting a self-enhancement, he turned around to find the familiar face of Victor, the wielder of the ["Divine Armory System"], fueled by rage that was shown in the trembling eyes behind his sses.


    "You, again? Didn''t you learn fromst time?" Noah said.


    As multiple, exploding projectiles were flung his way, the adolescent blitzed past them in his lightning-shifted form, reappearing beside Victor and kicking him with a sound barrier-shattering impact, knocking him hundreds of meters away.


    "Victor!" Jabni shouted.


    "Nrgh! Brat!" Rose yelled, manifesting imposing unicorns to her side that exuded steam from their nostrils.


    Multiple Sentinels approached him all at once, to which he simply snapped his fingers in response, enacting ["Absolute Freeze"] as time crept to a halt.


    "I was worried at first, but it turns out this is a good opportunity," Noah stated, raising his hand, "I can finish you all at once¨Chere and now."


    As he was preparing to activate the same spell that wiped out Asiimov, a chill ran down his spine amidst frozen time as he witnessed something truly unnerving¨Ca feat that surpassed orthodoxpletely.


    The silver-bearded man by the name of "Elias" was silently approaching him, walking past his statuesque colleagues with a stern, stone-like expression.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''He''s unaffected?'' He realized.


    As his hyper-reflexes allowed him to register the fact that Elias was parting his lips, about to emit a word, every instinct in his body, mind, and system yelled at him not to listen to the malediction that would pour from the Sentinel Leader''s lips.


    ''...If I let him speak, it''ll be bad!'' He thought.


    pping his hands together, he invoked ["Spatial Warp"], teleporting up into the air as time resumed.


    ''I''m safe¡­?'' He questioned.


    From up above, the Sentinels were still able to be seen, half of which had yet to act as they seemed to have utmost confidence in Elias'' abilities.


    Elias looked up towards him, speaking a single word that somehow reached Noah''s ears as a whisper straight into his canal:


    "Fall."


    Without any exnation, Noah found himself overpowered by an unknown, unseen force as he was yanked from the sky, brought back down to the ground within moments.


    He was on his feet, standing upright, though confusion filled his body as he stood there like a deer in the headlights.


    ''...What the fuck was that?'' He thought, utterly perplexed.


    There was something deeply unsettling about Elias; the one-eyed elder looked down at him, resting his hands atop a lion-headed cane forged from what seemed to be Reath. After experiencing the nebulous ability possessed by the man, dread flooded his veins.


    Just as he tried to move, Elias stifled any attempt at a counterattack or retreat with another, single word:


    "Freeze."


    As if stuck in time himself for once, Noah found his entire body paralyzed, unable to twitch his fingertips or blink, though fully conscious.


    All he could do was watch as the Sentinels gathered behind Elias before the elder spoke one,st word:


    "Explode."


    SQUELCH.


    Without any way to resist, Noah''s entire body swelled up as hisplexion shifted to a strained red before he popped like a balloon of flesh, dying the snow in fresh crimson.


    "Is it done?...It''s hard to believe somebody like that killed Asiimov," a member of the Sentinels with shaggy, hazel hair and a scruffy beard spoke.


    [Jiao] [Level 82 | Xianxia System]


    "--" Elias stood there silently, looking down at the bloodstain that was all that was left of Noah, "No. It''s an illusion."


    "What?!" Jabni reacted.


    It was revealed to the Sentinels after Elias said as such: the pool of blood and flesh left in the snow vanished, revealing itself only to be an illusion.


    "...Yukio¡­" Elias muttered, squeezing his cane in anger.

 Chapter 35 Returning Home

    ?[??? | Antarctic | Several Hours]


    "Gah¡­!"


    Hundreds of meters from the area of conflict, Noah gasped out for air as his body was finally able to move again, holding his throat as sweat left his pores from the intense encounter.


    "...I''m alive¡­" He remarked.


    Standing in front of him with a small smile was the azure-hairedpanion of his, "Thanks to me, of course."


    "Yeah¡­thanks," Noah said, returning to his feet, "Still, why''d you show up?"


    Leaning against a pile of solid snow, Yukio retrieved a small badge from his pocket, tossing it over to Noah, who caught it.


    It was a tiny retriever, only made to ry signals, which led Noah to be perplexed by what its meaning was to his question before realizing.


    "...Asiimov''s distress signal," Noah deduced.


    "Yup," Yukio said, "I''m technically a Sentinel still¨Cwell, after that stunt, I''m as wanted by them as you, but I was shown that signal, too. I realized you''d seeded in defeating Asiimov, then realized what that meant when I remembered what the distress signal was for in the first ce. Figured you''d need a hand."


    "Yeah," Noah minimally responded.


    They were far enough not to be detected, but it was definitely not somewhere Noah nor Yukio felt like sticking around with the presence of all ten Sentinels nearby in the apathetic tundra.


    "Anyway, I''m sure you''ve realized it now, but the Sentinels are no joke," Yukio said.


    "You can say that again. Thanks for the warning, by the way¨Cwish you would''ve told me Asiimov was that capable," he replied.


    "Ha-ha!" Yukioughed, "I did warn you, though. Anyway, let''s head back home¨Cor well, for now."


    "What do you mean?" Noah asked.


    "We can save that forter. I mean it though, let''s get out of here. If we stick around too long, they''ll catch on, then we''ll seriously be toast," Yukio insisted with augh.


    It was certainly something he could agree with after experiencing the terrifying, mysterious power held by Elias as he nodded and put his hand on the azure-haired, Japanese man''s shoulder.


    "You need a proper, clear sight in order to warp right?" Yukio asked.


    "Yeah, how''d you know?"


    "Just a hunch," Yukio smiled, gently pressing his fingertip against Noah''s forehead, "Here."


    Temporarily overwriting Noah''s vision was a clear view of his neighborhood and his home, inplete detail. This was enough of a catalyst for his ability, allowing him to safely teleport.


    ["Spatial Warp"]


    In an instant, they both vanished from the bitter Antarctic, traversing the world before reappearing in the backyard of Noah''s home.


    The shift in temperature was jarring, going from the frostbite-inducing cold to the warm, soothing temperature of California autumn, surrounded by a lush backyard and yellow-leaved trees.


    "Your teleportation is way better than mine, I''m jealous," Yukio chuckled, looking around.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Whatever," Noah said, heading inside.


    As he walked in through the backdoor of his home, he looked around, making sure nobody was home or that specifically, no unwee visitors had forced their way in.


    BUZZ. BUZZ.


    He had almost forgotten about his friends and multiple girls, who happened to be friends. After returning to his hometown, his phone signal returned as he found himself flooded with messages, responding to them orderly.


    Just as he finished smooth-talking multiple girls and reassuring Emily he was alright, along with finding a host of messages from Miguel for dating advice, he heard the rattle of a chip bag behind him.


    As he turned around, he saw Yukio with his legs kicked up on the kitchen table, opening a bag of chips from his own kitchen pantry and digging in without any shame.


    "Seriously, dude?" Noah raised an eyebrow.


    Yukio looked at him, responding while chewing, "What? I used a lot of energy saving your ass, man."


    "Whatever," Noah shook his head with a sigh, "What were you talking about earlier, anyway? If I had to guess¡­You''re thinking I should relocate."


    "Bingo," Yukio pointed to him with a mouthful of chips, swallowing them before continuing, "The Sentinels already know you live here. After what you did to one of their own, they''ll strike with impunity. Even with the both of us, I don''t think it''ll end pretty¨Cnot with Elias around."


    That much seemed true after experiencing firsthand what sort of power was held by Elias as Noah pondered it, sitting down across from Yukio at the table.


    "What was that ability, anyway? It was like anything he said invoked an ''absolute''mand¨Cmy body responded to his words against my own will," Noah asked.


    Yukio finished off the bag of cheese-powdered chips, crunching up the bag and tossing it to the garbage bin, "It''s as you''ve guessed: Elias'' words can twist reality. Nobody knows how his System grew to such a state as he was already in the nies when the current Sentinels were formed."


    "He wasn''t affected by my time-stop¡­How is that a part of his system?" Noah asked.


    "That¡­I don''t know," Yukio said, "Sorry, I wish I did. To be honest, Elias is the main reason I was stuck obeying the Sentinels. One word and he could end my life just like¨Cthat."


    Representing the severity of the man''s power, Yukio snapped his fingers in tandem with thatst word before leaning against the table, ruffling his own azure tufts.


    "That''s why it''d be best to relocate. You''ll never be able to lower your guard for a second if you stay in this city. Think about it: with thebination of our abilities, it''d be easy as cake to stay under the radar," Yukio suggested.


    "I won''t," Noah sternly answered.


    "--" Yukio looked at him as if he had a screw loose, "Did you¡­hear anything of what I just said? Maybe the part where Elias could kill us with a word? ''Cause to me, that''s good enough of a reason to hike it across the globe."


    "I¨C" Noah opened his mouth to respond before being interrupted.


    DING-DONG.


    Amidst their conversation, the doorbell rang, taking both of the cautious, tired individuals by surprise.


    "Expecting anybody?" Yukio asked.


    "...No," Noah replied, slowly getting up as he approached the front door.

 Chapter 36 The Truth

    ?As he carefully walked to the front door to his home, he readied a shadowy essence in the palm of his hand, staying prepared for anything. cing his hand on the handle, he slowly opened it, pulling the door open as sunlight seeped through.


    "Emily?" He said in surprise.


    To his confusion, the hazel-haired girl he''d just got done texting was on his doorstep, holding tupperware in her hands.


    "Hey! I thought I''d check up on you for myself¨CI was already on my way over before you texted, actually," Emily smiled before frowning, "...Is it a bad time?"


    "Err¡­" He scratched his head before shaking his head with a smile, "No, it''s fine."


    As he stepped aside to let her in, his heart skipped a beat as he remembered Yukio was still in the house, though as he looked towards the kitchen, there was no shine of the azure-haired man.


    ''Nice thinking,'' Noah thought.


    It definitely would''ve been a difficult one to exin, having a male like Yukio who had rather ''shy'' aspects to his appearance like ear-piercings and dazzling eyes, being alone with him while he was ''supposedly'' sick.


    "Are you feeling alright? Sorry if I made you get up from bed," Emily asked, apologizing as she looked up at him.


    He closed the front door behind the girl before faking a cough, "No, it''s alright¨Cdon''t worry."


    It was the first time he''d actually brought Emily inside his house, and the first time he had a girl from school alone with him in his own home. Though he wasn''t as flustered as he once would have been as his mind was currently filled with thoughts of a more grand scale.


    For the moment, he tried using the opportunity to calm down and take a breath, though, as he brought Emily to his room.


    "Is anybody else home right now?" Emily asked, ncing around the hall.


    "Nope," Noah answered, "My mom''s always busy with work, same with my dad but well, he''s been out of state for awhile."


    "Oh¡­so you''ve been all alone, then?" Emily said to him.


    He didn''t know why, but her question struck a chord within him for a moment, but he brushed it aside with a smile, "Yeah. It''s nice, though."


    "I see. Well, I''m always avable if you need somebody to hang out with," Emily told him.


    "Thanks. I''ll take you up on that," he chuckled.


    As he entered his room, allowing the track member inside, the girl looked surprised by how clean and organized it was: all of his papers were neatly stacked on his desk, wiped clean of any crumbs or dust, his bed was bed without a wrinkle on the bed sheets, and the wooden floorboards were sparkly clean.


    "Wow, your room is really¡­tidy," Emily remarked.


    "Is that surprising?" Noahughed.


    "N-no, it''s just¡­I guess I imagine most boys to be a bit messy, is all," Emily smiled.


    After a few moments of awkward silence, as Emily seemed unadjusted to the idea of being alone in a boy''s room and Noah not particrly being in the most affable state with his exhausted body and worn mind, Emily seemed to remember the very item she held in her hands.


    "Oh!" Emily said, handing him the tupperware.


    "What''s this?" He asked, epting it.


    As he posed the question, he popped the lid open, being greeted by a sweet aroma of sugary desserts.


    "Cookies?" He said in surprise.


    "Mhm. Baked them myself," Emily said with a proud smile.


    They were sizable, chunky chocte-chip cookies¨Camong his favorites, though he was a bit confused on how they served something that was supposed to be sick, but he appreciated it nheless, closing the lid.


    "They look delicious, thanks," he smiled.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Oh¨Cyou don''t need to eat them right now, they''re just for when you''re feeling better," Emily assured him, returning his smile.


    Another few moments of silence persisted as the young man''s mind was clearly stuck on other things, which Emily seemed to notice as she stood up.


    "I''ll let you rest up now, alright? Just text me if you need anything, okay?" Emily said.


    "Of course. Thanks, Emily," he nodded.


    As he saw her out, going to the front door with her, they exchanged a small kiss before he closed the door behind her, letting out a quiet sigh.


    "Quite the yer, I see."


    "--!"


    Noah was caught off-guard by the familiar, yful voice as he turned around to see Yukio leaning against the hallway wall.


    "...You never left, did you?" Noah asked.


    "Nope," Yukio smirked, "Just made it so neither of you could see me."


    "Well, stop that,," Noah said, walking past him as he headed back up to his room.


    Yukio followed him up the stairs, "You mess with people''s perception all the time, don''t you?"


    "Don''t push it," Noah told him sternly.


    "Alright, alright," Yukio put his hands up in submission with a smile, "Still, you could sense me if you tried with that ''sensory'' ability of yours. It''s not like I was trying to hide from you, just the girl."


    Noah ignored his words as he headed back into his room, letting out a sigh as he fixed his unkempt, jet-ck tufts.


    "Still though, she''s a looker, that one," Yukio said, peering out of the window momentarily, "You''ve got good taste, my friend."


    Still not responding, Noah moved over to his closet, parting the fine-wooden doors as they creaked before he moved his hanging t-shirts out of the way to reveal the locked, magical seal.


    "I feel as though I''m being ignored here," Yukio teased.


    Noah nced back, "Remember what we were discussing earlier?"


    "Huh? Oh, you mean about tucking tail and high-tailing it out of this city? Yeah, sorry, friend, but a few minutes didn''t sway my mind," Yukio said, brushing his fingers through his azure locks.


    Without directly responding, Noah simply swiped his finger across the dormant seal, unlocking the magecraft that locked the closet doorway to the subspace as he gestured for Yukio to follow him.


    "...Err, what''re you showing me? Narnia?" Yukio joked.


    "Just follow me," Noah said, "I''ll show you why running isn''t necessary."


    Curious, Yukio went silent as he obliged his ally''s words, following Noah through the unseen doorway tucked away in the closet as they both stepped through the hidden rift.


    As the Loki system user stepped through, blinking a few times as his eyes adjusted to the change in scenery, he was taken by surprise by the sight of the exuberant mansion that he now stood in, surrounded by luxury at every corner: vast rooms withvish furniture and paintings, home theaters, and pools embedded in the floor.


    "What is this¡­? An illusion?" Yukio asked in awe.


    Noah opened the fridge in the sparkling-clean kitchen, revealing a host of items stored within it as he took out an already prepared smoothie, pouring the strawberry-banana smoothie into two cups, one for him and his guest.


    "It''s not an illusion," Noah told Yukio, handing the youthful man the nutritional drink, "This is real."

 Chapter 37 Joyride Of The Villain

    ?For a moment, Yukio peered down at the pink smoothie, swishing it around in the cup as the scent that found its way to his nose proved itself to be real before he tested the substance itself. As it met his lips, in texture and vor, it waspletely true.


    "...Noah, something like this¡­You created it?" Yukio asked.


    "Yeah," Noah casually answered, sitting on one of the ck stools seated at the kitchen counter, "It took a lot out of me though. I still haven''t been at full strength since creating it."


    It was a feat on par with godhood to Yukio, something that surpassed the frightening awe of destruction and sat on a divine threshold of creation.


    "So, this is what you meant then? If you have something like this¡­An isted space of your own, there''s no need to run," Yukio asked.


    Touring around the vast mansion, the ck-suited man explored one of the dozen ''recreational rooms'', which had a pool table, a chess board set on table, a shelf stocked with enough board games for a lifetime, and even arcade machines lined against the wall, featuring ssics like "Pag-Man", "Super Tony Bros", and "Sanic The Rat."


    Noah walked alongside him while sipping the smoothie that he had enchanted with a special rejuvenating property to help rx and recover his tired body, "That''s right. You''re free to use this ce, too."


    "Really?! Sweet, man!" Yukio celebrated before settling down with a question, "...Can I bring chicks here, too?"


    "I suppose," Noah said.


    "Woo-hoo!"


    It seemed to be a rousing sess, that is, winning over his ally on the idea of staying within the city. After taking his leave from the subspace, leaving Yukio inside with the ''key'' to get in-and-out, he looked at his bed for a moment.


    ''...I think a change of pace will be good tonight,'' he thought.


    ["Spatial Warp"]


    With a p of his hands, he warped into the sky above the illustrious city, now finding the sun setting as the azure skies shifted to a warm orange.


    "Hmm¡­where do I want to stay tonight?" He asked himself.


    There were a host of options in the downtown area of the city; as it was a tourist-heavy area, hotels had to maintain high quality in thepetitive market.


    "...Always wanted to try that one out," he mumbled.


    That being said, he set his sights on "Bornrose"--a highly-regarded hotel chain that had a whopping cost of two thousand per night, but for him, it didn''t matter. It was a standout building in the city, being made of ivory material withrge windows that allowed customers to have a dazzling view of the cityscape.


    ["Spatial Warp"]


    Bypassing the need to go through the normal order of business, he simply appeared in the empty suite that was the highest room, which also boasted the most expensive price, though it was clear to see why.


    There were multiple queen-sized beds with silken sheets and fluffy nkets, also having a mini-bar and arge floor space almost akin to a small house.


    "Yeah, this''ll do," he said with a smile, jumping into bed.


    The bed was heavenlypared to the worn one he was used to in his room, feeling his body sink into the cloud-like mattress as a rxed sigh left his lips.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''I can get used to this¡­'' He thought.


    It didn''t take long for him topletely slip into slumber, sleeping like a log in the unregistered suite that he shamelessly helped himself into.


    There was no need for dreams amidst his state of rest, as such fabrications of reality couldn''tpare to what he could conjure at a snap of his fingers. As a result, utter darkness, nk of stimtion was what he experienced when unconscious; it was a way to elevate the level of recuperation gained from slumber.


    "...Grah¡­"


    A yawn left his lips as he naturally woke up, feelingpletely well-rested as his worn body and mind felt at one-hundred percent capacity.


    Blinking slowly, he sat up from the heavenly bed, looking to the right to find it was already morning, somehow, as the sun peeked through therge window panes that acted like walls for the suite.


    ''Ah¡­that''s right. I''m out sick today for school. No need to worry,'' he reminded himself.


    As he stretched his arms over his head, he got out of bed, scratching his hair as he felt a tad dirty, realizing he hadn''t showered since the ordeal in the Antarctic.


    "That''s not a good look," he mumbled to himself.


    With that in mind, he found an excuse to try out the borate, walk-in shower that came with the four-figure suite.


    The warm water helped fully wake him up as he whistled casually beneath the showerhead, utilizing the minty body wash andvender-scented shampoo before finishing up, feeling like a brand new man.


    Tossing his ck t-shirt and pants back on, which he cleaned with a snap of his fingers, his attention now lingered towards the mini bar present in the room.


    Of course, he wasn''t exactly old enough to drink at the age of neen, but that wasn''t going to stop him by any means as he grabbed a cold bottle of hard seltzer from the fridge.


    "Gotta start someday, right?" He said to himself, swishing the ale in the bottle.


    Instead of prying the bottle cap off with a bottle opener like a normal person, he lightly flicked his thumb, causing the cap to rocket off.


    As he brought the bottle under his nose, he took a whiff of the sour scent, feeling it burn his nostrils as he reared his head back, wondering how such amonality could hold such a revolving smell.


    ''Must not taste half bad then, right?'' He thought.


    Finally bringing it to his lips, he let the amber liquid slide onto his tongue and down his throat before immediately pulling the bottle away and gagging, spitting out what he didn''t already swallow.


    "Guh¡­!" He held his tongue out.


    He looked at the bottle of alcohol like it was a nefarious potion, brewed by a witch, questioning again how people drank it.


    ''So bitter¡­'' He thought.

 Chapter 38 Bloodbath

    ?Before he could give another brand a try, a knock suddenly came to the door of the suite, catching him off-guard as he sighed to himself.


    "Well, that''s probably not good, is it?" He muttered.


    He was hesitant to open the door, knowing it was no good, but after the knocking didn''t stop, he finally gave in and opened it.


    Behind the door was a disgruntled looking middle-aged man with a bushy mustache, wearing a neat tuxedo with a nametag on it stating his name¨C"Harold." It was clear by a single look and the attire he wore that this was the person responsible for running the establishment.


    "Sir, I''m going to have to ask you to leave before I call the cops," the hotel manager said sternly.


    "Give me a break, man, I just woke up¡­" He sighed, rubbing his own head.


    The manager held a disgusted expression, waving his hand in front of his nose as if trying to dispel an unwanted stench.


    "Your breath¡­have you been drinking? I don''t know who you are and how you got in, young man, but that''s it! I am calling the police here right this instant!" The manager said, jabbing his finger towards him.


    Though he was willing to go, word of the police getting involved changed things as he groaned, raising his hand.


    ''It''s a drag, but I guess I''ll have to make him think I''m an esteemed guess,'' he thought.


    ["Absolute Hypnosis"]


    ¨COr so he thought.


    Attempting to conjure the spell, nothing came as the pitch-ck grimoire of his didn''t manifest itself either.


    ''What?'' He thought.


    The hotel manager stood in the corridor, looking at him like he had a few screws loose as Noah had been standing there with his hand outstretched, though no spell was born.


    "What''re you doing, sir?...Are you drunk?" The hotel manager asked with a disgruntled expression.


    Ignoring the man''s words, he tried again to invoke his hypnosis spell, then tried anything¨Cfire conjuration, teleportation, the whole nine-yards, but nothing came.


    ''What''s going on¡­? The grimoire isn''t appearing¡­I can''t ess any of my spells!'' He thought.


    While he was left perplexed by this unexpected problem, he nced up to see the middle-aged man taking a phone from his pocket, tapping "9-1-1" on the keypad.


    "No¨C!"


    Without thinking as his mind was left in knots from his current predicament, he reached forward, attempting to reach for the man''s phone, but the manager looked over in horror as Noah''s hand identally went directly towards his face.


    Forgetting his own strength in the absence of his magic, Noah found a sickening crunch resounding through the hotel as his hand mmed the manager''s head against the wall, breaking through it and stumbling into the room across the hall.


    "Huh¨C?" Noah let out, realizing what he had just done.


    Falling onto the carpet, the manager''s body was limp as his skull had been caved in t with fragments of it mixing with the rubble of the wall, forming a blood of crimson beneath.


    "Aaaaagh¡­!"


    A bloodcurdling, feminine scream met his ears as he stood there in momentary confusion, looking over to find the current resident of the hotel room witnessing the brutal manughter.


    "I didn''t mean to¨C" He quietly tried to exin himself in shock.


    "---Aaagh!" The woman continued to scream.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Again, his first instinct was to attempt to cast a hypnosis spell or stop time, but no such solution was at his fingertips in the moment as he looked down at his blood-soaked right hand then at the body of the manager.


    As the screams continued and the sounds of doors opening around the halls met his ears with curious murmurs of hotel residents, he ran out of the room, sprinting down the halls with his superhuman athleticism.


    At the very least, despite the current absence of magic, he found respite in the fact his stats remained the same, allowing him to bolt down the hotel halls, finding people drawn towards the source of the crime he abandoned.


    ''I don''t know what''s going on, but¡­I need to find Yukio¨CI have to get home! He''s had a system longer than me¨Che might know what''s going on!'' He decided.


    "What happened here?!"


    "Somebody call the police!"


    "Already on it!"


    He could hear the shocked voices of people finding the fresh crime scene as he raced swiftly down the halls, forcing a hotel worker to have to move out of the way as Noah kicked down the door to the stairwell, mming it off its hinges as he wasted not a single moment moving.


    ''I don''t know what could be causing this¡­!'' He thought.


    Racing down the spiraling staircase of the hotel, there were many floors he had to descend, and quickly, hearing it grow increasingly noisy within the hotel itself.


    There was a part deep inside of him that was utterly frightened at this inexplicable issue: deprived of his spells for unknown reasons, he couldn''t hide behind them any longer¨Cthere was no twisting the truth or simply warping away.


    In the eyes of those around him, the truth was unable to be nketed.


    Finally reaching the lobby of the illustrious hotel, he arrived amidst a crowd of shocked people who looked at him in horror as if he were a monster.


    As he looked around, he realized the looks came from his disheveled appearance with sweat dripping down his chin and a blood-soaked fist that leaked onto the marble flooring.


    "That''s him!"


    "Somebody stop him!"


    "Hold him until the police get here¨C!"


    People recognized him as the killer, getting in his way as he was desperate to get home and find Yukio.


    "Move¡­! Move¨C!"


    In his desperation, he wasn''t gentle, once more identally unleashing his innate strength as he grabbed the shoulder of the burly man in front of him, yanking him out of the way  and in the process mming him hard enough into the marble to crack it.


    Such an impact was an instant kill for a normal person as the bald-headed manid there in a quickly-forming pool of blood as screams and gasps of horror echoed in the lobby.


    "I¨C"


    ? Before he could try to make an excuse for himself, two men, despite witnessing the strength he possessed, attempted to restrain him by grabbing onto both of his arms, though he easily resisted.


    "--You idiots!"


    Enraged by the continuous acts of folly from those who were merely ants inparison to his power, finding himself flooded with anger at his own situation and the obstacles in front of him, he threw one of the men off before punching the blonde-haired one directly against his nose.


    The strength behind the blow sttered the man''s head, prompting him to huff as he looked forward, finding nobody else daring to block his path as he mmed through the locked front doors of the hotel.

 Chapter 39 Most Wanted

    ?Car horns red and the bustling city was filled with murmurs of citizens, finding himself overwhelmed by it all in his moments of vulnerability, now drenched in blood from his vicious acts.


    ''...Shit¡­'' He thought.


    This thought process came from the unmistakable sound of sirens wheering in the distance, approaching swiftly as cabs and passing vehicles in the street moved to the side, allowing for the police cars to arrive in front of the hotel.


    He was surrounded with the streets cut off by a half dozen ck-and-white police vehicles with the ring sirens still going off.


    "Suspect found," one of the policemen said into his radio before pointing his handgun towards Noah, using his car door as cover, "Hands in the air!"


    There were at least a dozen, all standing ready with their guns pointed at him and hundreds of onlookers, blocked off at each end of the downtown street.


    "Hands above your head! If you don''tply, we will use lethal force!"


    He didn''t listen to the orders barked at him, shaking his head in frustration of his own thoughts as he gritted his teeth.


    "...Why do you keep getting in my way¡­?" He mumbled to himself before yelling out,  "...Just stay out of my way and you won''t get hurt! It''s that simple¨Cbut none of you get it!"


    As he took a step forward with his bloodied fists clenched following his aggravated, heartfelt words, the readied policemen took it as a sign of his violent intentions, firing off dozens of rounds towards him.


    The sound of gunfire filled the air, surpassing the monotonous sounds of the police sirens as smoke billowed from the shooting. Though as it settled down, the policemen were in for a rude awakening as the closest officer to the left, who was equipped with a shotgun, was taken by surprise at the inhuman speed of the suspect.


    There wasn''t a single wound on Noah''s body, only holes plucked through the fabric of his shirt as he burst forward, eating a full st of pellets from the shotgun before mming his fist against the rookie officer''s jaw. The blow ripped the man''s jaw off cleanly before Noah was pelted with further gunfire.


    "Officer down! Officer down!"


    "Call for backup!"


    It was a dreadful sight for the citizens that watched from the streets blocked by the cop cars and those who spectated from the surrounding buildings; it was something straight out of fantasy¨Cthe adolescent was unaffected by the gunfire, only annoyed by it as he dashed over to a pair of officers.


    "Ghh-!" The blonde-haired male officer flinched.


    ? Before the frightened policeman could pull the trigger again, Noah grabbed onto the barrel of the handgun, snapping the sturdy item in half before impaling his fist through the man''s gut.


    "Gyuh¡­!" The officer spit out blood from his mouth, unable to speak as the breath was siphoned from his lungs.


    "Lewis¡­!" The young, female officer screamed.


    In the vicinity of such bleak, swift death, the woman lowered her weapon in disbelief, though Noah, with his gray eyes painted in malevolence, pulled his arm out from the man''s gut before grabbing onto the woman''s chin, snapping her neck.


    There was nothing the police officers could do with their low-end firepower, fruitlessly unloading rounds into his immutable body as piping hot bullets simply bounced off of his blemish-free skin.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "--" Noah stood there for a moment with his arms drenched in blood.


    After a few minutes, he''d massacred the entire unit of policemen as the street was painted in blood and bullet casings decorated it like fallen raindrops, yet Noah was not pleased by this victory.


    [ON-FIELD NEWS REPORTER: "I-I don''t know what we''re seeing, but it seems the suspect has killed the officers that arrived on the scene. We all heard it¡­they were firing at him, but none of it put him down.]


    Looking towards the sky with absent eyes in the face of the unavoidable conflict, his ears first met with the sound of helicopter des spinning before multiple of such vehicles came into view.


    ''Police?...No, not all of them. News¡­'' He realized.


    It was worse than the authorities arriving; the presence of the news team brought upon his worst fears: his atrocities were broadcast, unable to be altered without ess to his grimoire.


    Though it wasn''t just police now: SWAT trucks stormed into the street, carrying with them fully-armored agents, geared with superior weaponry than the first responders.


    "Suspect ahead."


    "Move out."


    The ker-d SWAT unit deployed from the back of the armored trucks, carrying assault rifles, shotguns, submachine guns, and other equipment¨Cas such was quickly disyed to Noah.


    As he stood there without any fear for his own safety, he watched as smoke grenades were tossed over to his position.


    Of course, the chemical agents had no effect on him as he stood in the smoke before rapid gunfire pierced through the veil, bouncing off of his impervious skin as he took a deep breath in.


    ''Let''s get this over with,'' he thought.


    The first sight the SWAT members saw was the young man bursting out from the smoke with a tattered shirt, running towards the absent police vehicle before flipping it into the air with a simple p of his hand.


    It was such an unorthodox, inhuman action that a couple members of the tactical unit froze, simply looking up and watching as the car soared above them before mming down, crushing them. The crunch of their bones filled the block as screams from onlooking citizens were heard.


    The news helicopter aired all of it, not pulling away:


    [ON-FIELD NEWS REPORTER: "The suspect is still atrge! I-I don''t know if anything they throw at him will work! We still don''t understand what''s going on down there! The suspect seems to be inhuman!]


    Simply barging through and beelining for his house wasn''t a perfect option as he''d be followed anyway, but as he tried, SWAT officers holding riot shields lined up to try and prevent him from leaving the scene.


    ''It''s your funeral!''  he thought in response to their action.

 Chapter 40 The Superhero System

    ?Simply barging through and beelining for his house wasn''t a perfect option as he''d be followed anyway, but as he tried, SWAT officers holding riot shields lined up to try and prevent him from leaving the scene.


    ''It''s your funeral!''  he thought in response to their action.


    Thrusting his hand forward like a spear, he pierced straight through the riot shield, stabbing through the sternum of the tactical unit.


    He was bombarded by gunfire, hazed by shotgun pellets and hundreds of bullets from rapid-fire assault rifles, though it stung his skin, he pushed on without hindrance, sweeping through the SWAT unit with unequivocal physical might.


    Taking one of the riot shields, he used it to shield from the storm of gunfire before using it as a bludgeoning weapon once reaching the other portion of the unit, bashing one of their skulls in with a single m before cleaving another in half by mming it down on their waist.


    ''...I need to get to Yukio¡­It doesn''t matter if I have to bloody my hands for now. I can still ovee this¨CI just need my grimoire again,'' he tried to rationalize, ''If I don''t hurry, the Sentinels will show up¡­I can hold my own against whatever they throw at me with strength alone, but without my grimoire¡­a Sentinel would be too much.''


    As he managed to obliterate the SWAT unit, he huffed, looking around as something of supernatural origin was born around the block: a ''curtain'' of distorted space like an outward mirror isted the block, secluding the civilians from the zone.


    ''What is this¡­? It seems like something meant to hide what''s beyond it¨Cif that''s the case, that means the ones behind it are¡­'' He began to realize.


    "--The Sentinels," he remarked, looking up.


    Coming to that conclusion, his eyesid on a figure dressed in a ck jumpsuit, wearing a flowing cape as his well-kempt, blonde hair was brushed in the wind.


    "That''s enough, viin," the man spoke with amanding, but gentle voice.


    The man hovered in the air, descending as the curtain was deployed to hide the presence of the Sentinel from public view.


    It was a figure he recognized from the Antarctic encounter, knowing full well that he posed a threat by his level alone.


    [rk] [Level 80 | Superhero System]


    "You''rete," Noah said.


    Though the inability to use his Creator''s Grimoire was a handicap unlike any other, Noah squeezed his fists, knowing a fight was unavoidable.


    Before he could even raise his fists properly, his ears popped as the wind broke, finding the figure of the fair-faced Sentinel disappearing from above before finding a harsh impact mmed against his chin.


    He couldn''t perceive the speed, unprepared for the aggressive initiative taken by rk as the force behind the blow knocked him back, causing his entire body to momentarily go limp as blood spewed from his mouth.


    ''He''s fast, and strong,'' Noah remarked.


    Regaining his motor function, he flipped around to retake momentum after being flung back by the blow, digging his shoes into the concrete to stop himself.


    "--!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    rk was already in front of him, swooping in with his natural flight, though this time Noah was able to react as he jumped back, avoiding the wind-carving punch.


    "Don''t think for a second I''ll show you any mercy after what you''ve done, viin," rk said with steel-like convictioncing his words.


    ''Too close,'' Noah thought.


    Though he was given no time for even the smallest windows of reprieve as he witnessed rk''s eyes glow to a vibrant red beforesers shot from his ocr organs, shooting towards him with swift precision.


    It took every ounce of focus and drive from his enhanced reflexes to move out of the way from rk''sser vision, though still finding his shoulder barely grazed. Even such brief contact caused his skin to be erased by the extreme heat and pressure.


    ''Heat vision¨C? You''re kidding, right? Don''t tell me his system is really molded after¨C'' Noah thought.


    Without even being able to finish a single thought, he was forced to flip backward repeatedly as the temperature dropped severely with a powerful exhale of the caped Sentinel, finding rk''s expulsion of breath to turn into a wind that encased the street in frost.


    As he came to a stop, he brought his gaze up to find the sound barrier being shattered with the Superhero system wielder flying towards him with a powerful blow being reared back.


    ''Shit¨C'' Noah thought.


    Trying to move out of the way with only a split-second to take action, he realized his legs had been caught in the man''s frost breath, locking him down before¨C


    THUD.


    The wind howled as a shock wave propelled outward from the impact of rk''s gloved fist mmed against Noah''s cheek, shattering the nearby windows of the sky high buildings and blowing vehicles off the road.


    As he flew back, rk caught up to him, mming his knuckles straight into Noah''s stomach, causing him to plummet down into the concrete as it cracked and caved in multiple meters.


    "Gah¨C!" Noah spit out a mixture of blood, saliva, and the breath from his lungs.


    rk stood over him with a look of disdain in his eyes that heated up with a red glow of hisser vision, "If this is all you''ve got, I don''t see how Asiimov failed to finish you. You must''ve used underhanded tactics¡­I bet that traitor, Yukio, helped you. He''s next."


    It was only due to his superhuman statline that he was able to endure such attacks, though it didn''t allow him to match the disparity in physical prowess as he was naturally a caster, unlike the Sentinel who seemed like the embodiment of strength.


    ''If only I had my grimoire! Dammit¡­!'' Noahmented.


    Filled with resentment at his unfair situation, he suddenly kicked himself up with a newfound vigor, taking rk by surprise as he threw his fist against the man''s body, continuing with continuous blows.


    Each blow was unrestrained; enough to cause the air to ripple with each impact, yet by the end, his physical might wasn''t on par with the self-proimed superhero, feeling as if he was mming his fists into an immutable wall.


    "Is that all you''ve got, viin?"

 Chapter 41 Forced Into Darkness

    ?Raising his arms into a guard, rk''s fist rocketed against his forearms, breaking through his guard before a burst of heat vision followed, aimed towards his face before Noah managed to evade it, lunging forward.


    "Ghh¨C!" Noah gritted his teeth.


    Flexing his muscles as they coiled with his utmost strength, he threw a punch with all of his might, causing the air to crack as he connected with rk''s nose.


    To his dismay, the tall, well-built man was standing there, unphased by the blow as only a trail of blood trickled down from one nostril.


    Just as he went for another fruitless blow, he heard the air sizzle, looking up to see the man''s heat vision bubbling up with lethal intensity.


    "...Shit¡­" Noah mumbled.


    Expecting to besered straight between the eyes, he was surprised to find rk moved right past him, instead using his heat vision on a random section of the road.


    "How disappointing. That''s all you had," rk remarked, talking to seemingly nobody.


    ''Huh¡­?'' Noah was left perplexed.


    Before he could find an answer, he was suddenly grabbed by an unknown figure, finding himself warped away from the block and into a dingy alleyway.


    "Wha¨C"


    Stumbling for a moment, he found himself standing before the azure-haired man he was desperately trying to find anyway.


    "Yukio-!" Noah said.


    "Miss me?" Yukio teased.


    "What happened? What''d you do?"


    "Well¡­I saw what went down on the news and headed down right away," Yukio exined, "It wasn''t looking good, Noah. I had to use a wide-cast illusion that could take the heat off of you¨Cand you had some serious heat."


    "What''d you do¡­? Tell me," Noah insisted.


    As they stood in the quiet alley, tucked away from the disastrous events urring on the blood-painted block of downtown, Yukio looked at him straight before answering:


    "I made the world believe Noah Grays is dead," Yukio told him.


    "...Huh?"


    "Everybody in the city saw it, and most importantly, all the news outlets have your death caught on live feed," Yukio exined, pointing at him, "As of this moment, Noah Grays died on this day."


    Amidst such heavy news that took a few minutes to process, he eventually remembered the entire reason he sought Yukio, approaching him with hope of an answer.


    "Since this morning¡­I haven''t been able to conjure any spells. My grimoire won''t conjure at all, either," he exined, "--Do you know what''s causing this? Has your system ever just¡­stopped?"


    Yukio looked at him for a moment before smiling, "Oh, that? Yeah, it''s happened before."


    "Really?" Noah looked at him with hope.


    "There''s an easy solution, actually! Hold on, I''ve got this," Yukio assured him, cing his hand against Noah''s chest.


    To his surprise, Yukio seemed to emit a simple ''transmission'' of his system through his body, jolting his system back into gear.


    ''I feel it¡­!'' Noah thought.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The Creator''s Grimoire manifested, much to Noah''s relief as he let out a sigh of relief before invoking ["Absolute Recovery"], mending the fractured jaw and bruises he sustained from the brief encounter with rk.


    It seemed clear that Noah was about to attempt something, but Yukio stopped him, "...Before you try and use your mass hypnosis to set things back into a favorable position for yourself, I''d reconsider."


    "What?" Noah raised an eyebrow.


    "Consider the fact that the Sentinels also believe you''re dead. We can use this toy low and build our strength¨Cthink about it: we can use our abilities to begin taking control of this city while remaining under the radar," Yukio told him, "It can be temporary, but for now, let ''Noah Grays'' be dead."


    "Let myself¡­be dead?" Noah repeated.


    Yukio smiled, extending his hand for a handshake to synchronize their resolve, "Let''s use this chance to begin our world domination¨Canew."


    It was a difficult decision for Noah as he checked his phone, seeing a flood of texts from his ssmates, and more specifically, Emily, though he knew that this was the best route towards his end goal.


    ''...Even with all this power, I still have topromise?'' He thought.


    epting Yukio''s hand, he discarded the life he once livedfortably, deciding to abandon thest remnants of humanity he anchored himself to.


    Though something ''snapped'' in him on that day, experiencing an unavoidable loss at the hands of the Sentinel, the malevolence he buried down deep within him bubbled up.


    There was very little still tethering his humanity to himself; even if they were rtionships built on artificial maniption, Noah truly felt as though the friends he had made were real, and that his rtionship with Emily was as well.


    ''I''ll be back. I promise,'' he thought.


    ¡ª


    [A Month Later]


    As he was a "dead man" to the world, Noah stayed out of society, within his subspace, which he rerouted at will to be essible on any surface, he and Yukio used Xanadu 3.0 as a base of operations.


    Throughout the weeks passing from the incident that caused the current situation, he studies his grimoire continuously, figuring out new abilities andbinations for optimalbat and ease of life. After being helpless against Eliad and angered by his encounter with the Superhero system user, he was more motivated than ever to master his own abilities.


    In the training room of the mansion, built with enchanted walls meant to be indestructible, Noah tested unused spells, unlocking further versions through prior usage of their lesser forms.


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Godstrength"]


    [Strength: 25000]


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Godspeed"]


    [Agility: 25000]


    Granted unequivocal raw power and speed unlike what he''d used before, Yukio helped him train, snapping his fingers to create a downpour of rubble that fell from the ceiling.


    There were tens of thousands of pieces of debris and sediment, all raining down from various points up above, but Noah moved calmly, using his godlike speed to race around the room, catching and destroying each piece.


    It was as if time was slowed down for him, but it was simply the speed at which he moved, seeing the flood of sediment stagnate in the air as he used the walls as leverage for his speed, getting every piece.


    [0.0000001 second(s)]


    ¨CThis was the time it took for Noah to stop the thousands of pieces of sediment, not allowing a single speck of it to touch the furnished, wooden floorboards.


    Yukio whistled, pping his hands, "Wow, scary stuff. Nice job."

 Chapter 42 The Plan

    ?Yukio whistled, pping his hands, "Wow, scary stuff. Nice job."


    Without warning, the azure-haired, frivolous man snapped his fingers, causing a boulder forged of ovepped titanium to manifest, falling directly above Noah''s head.


    "Think fast," Yukio warned yfully.


    This was the test of his [Strength], in which Noah promptly pulled his fist back before thrusting it upward into a wind-splitting uppercut, crushing the titanium sphere and splitting it in the process.


    "Nice, nice," Yukioplimented, leaning against the patio of the training courtyard.


    Noah caught his breath, relinquishing the enhancements as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking off in the distance.


    ''It''s not enough. If I want to match that Superhero System Sentinel in terms of physical prowess, I need more. I''ll beat him at his own game," Noah resolved.


    There was a surplus of free time given to him as he no longer had to attend school or deal with any outside problems, being left in the massive mansion to do as he pleased.


    It wasn''t as though there was a shortage of things to do, as the multiple recreational rooms were designed to be near-infinite sources of entertainment, housing arcade machines, board games, and consoles to use.


    This oftentimes included him ying video games with Yukio, who was surprisingly adept at them despite looking like a pampered ''pretty boy''.


    "Urggh¡­" Noah groaned, setting the controller down.


    The two had just finished a bout in "Ultra Block Warrior 2"--a mechanic-driven fighting game that Yukio was particrly annoying with in his high-level of skill.


    "What''s wrong? Did I whoop you too hard? Sorry, I''ll use a bottom-tier instead," Yukio teased.


    Noah leaned back on the beanbag chair, "It''s not that, it''s just¡­I hate staying in the dark with what''s going on in the world."


    "I''ve been grabbing the daily paper, though," Yukio said.


    "Yeah, but it''s not exactly all that much¨CI mean, I wish I could make the inte function here, but establishing a connection between dimensions isn''t exactly logical," Noah said, shrugging his shoulders.


    Yukioughed heartily, earning a dirty look from Noah who was still on edge with the current predicament he was in with the world.


    "What''s funny?" Noah asked.


    "Nothing," Yukio smiled, "Just didn''t take the mighty superviin as somebody who was reliant on the inte."


    "Well, that''s about everybody," Noah sighed.


    A sudden p to the shoulder was given from Yukio to Noah, who smiled, standing over him as Noah red up at him.


    "What''s the point inining? You''ve got all the interaction in me, your buddy ol'' pal!" Yukio said, pointing to himself.


    "Ugh," Noah groaned, turning away.


    "Hey! What''s that supposed to mean?!" Yukio reacted.


    Though it felt like time was simply being wasted inside the mansion, although entertaining most of the time, Noah understood the importance of the time of rest and building his strength further. It was all in the shared end goal between Noah and Yukio: "Project New World"--a coborative effort to topple the world''s infrastructure and establish themselves as rulers of the world, using their systems to mend it to their whim in a result of utmost self-pleasure.


    Still, there was a long way to go, considering they had yet to even begin the first step.


    However, after an entire month was spent stowing away, that time had finallye.


    ¨C


    Lounging on the silken cough of the soothing living room, Yukio held a newspaper in his hands, keeping up with the daily news circting in the outside world.


    Sitting across from him, Noah was being served a silver tter of well-done steak and potatoes  by one of the many maids he created for the subspace mansion, picking up a knife and fork for his hearty dinner.


    "Anything of note happening today?" Noah asked, guiding a hefty b of juicy steak into his mouth as he looked at Yukio.


    The azure-haired man set the papers down, shaking his head, "It''s been quite boring, though that may be fortunate."


    "I''m talking about news of me," Noah corrected him.


    Yukio looked up at him, "Ah. Well, the Sentinels are quite handy. They managed to spin what happened on that day to just being a gang shootout."


    It was still frustrating to him, how it all crumbled down from a short-lived disturbance in his own system; the life he carefully forged for himself was swept away from him.


    Noah tapped his foot repeatedly after finishing his meal, looking around boredly and impatiently, though Yukio seemed to pick up on this.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I was thinking it''s finally time to set into motion the beginning of our ns," Yukio told him.


    "Go on," Noah said.


    Yukio took a paper out from his pocket, sliding it across the table to him. As Noah picked it up, he found multiple addresses listed on it, some in different states altogether.


    "Those are the headquarters of powerful gang factions," Yukio told him with a smile, "To us, though, those are where our ''perfect soldiers of chaos'' are waiting. These are people ''off the radar'' for the most part, and that their crimes and misdeeds will be attributed to their lifestyles, anyway."


    It only took a moment for Noah to pick up on what hispanion was insinuating before a smile slowly formed across his lips at the sign of some fun.


    "If we have soldiers across the country, nted low and equipped with high-grade weaponry of their own, our n will be a rousing sess," Yukio informed him, "Since it won''t be clear that this is the doing of a System, at least not right away, the Sentinels won''t interfere¨Cnot until it''s toote. By then, the country will be destabilized and ripe for the taking."


    Taking the paper of addresses, Noah stood up, tossing his all-ck hoodie, tossing the hood over his head to obscure the face that belonged to a man dead to the public.


    "Destroy and rebuild from the ground up our own utopia," Noah said, "...That''s the n."


    "I''ll leave the field work to you," Yukio said with a smile, "You have the ability to create the necessary equipment for our precious soldiers."


    ¨C


    As he left the front door of the subspace mansion, he exited through the wall of a tucked-away alley, ncing at the paper before heading to his first destination: "Los Angeles."


    Through a developed usage of his ["Spatial Warp"], he managed to travel to the famous "City of Angels" within minutes, hovering high over the city as he his hoodie fluttered gently in the wind, looking down at the city, illuminated by countless lights in the night.


    "Let''s see¡­" He said with a smile.


    ["Absolute Sensory"]


    Gaining aplete understanding of the highly-popted, cultural city on a three-dimensional level, he figured out where he needed to go and how to warp there in an instant.


    While standing on the sky itself, he pped his hands together, invoking ["Spatial Warp"] as he moved from the sky down to the front of an abandoned warehouse.


    Through his ["Absolute Sensory"], he could see through the rusted walls of the warehouse, counting over a dozen figures loitering inside.


    ''Looks like you were right on the money, Yukio,'' he thought.


    Without any tact, he simply opened the squeaking door to the warehouse, being greeted by the sounds of guns being cocked back.


    "Who the fuck are you, ese?!"


    Looking up without any urgency, he found the gang members upying the warehouse all standing up, pointing their pistols at him.


    The one who greeted him abrasively had apletely bald head, inked in tattoos with multiple teardrops inked beneath his eye, holding the gun sideways.


    He didn''t respond, simply entering the premises while looking around, taking note of the equipment they had, or theck thereof, as the highest firepower they had was an automatic pistol.


    "This is our territory, homes!" Another member of the gang yelled out, wearing a red bandana over his mouth.


    It seemed he interrupted a card game, mixed with other activities as the smell of head-swirling herbs filled the dingy warehouse.


    Without answering their questions, he simply raised his hand, invoking ["Absolute Hypnosis"] and its violet light before any of the gangsters could pull the triggers to their weapons.


    In that singr moment, everybody within the warehouse was left frozen as their minds were rewritten to the caster''s whim.


    "Alright then¨Cwee to the faction of the ''New World''," Noah said with a smile, snapping his fingers.


    It was aplete override of their loyalties and ambitions, embedding in their minds utmost allegiance to himself and the goal of overtaking the world, but foremost, flipping the country over from within.


    As the hypnosis was finished, the gangsters blinked,ing back to consciousness as they stood in respect to the adolescent now, lined up like soldiers.


    "Sir!"


    "Sir!"


    Noah smiled, "That''s good. Alright, let''s get you some proper gear."


    Holding his hand forward, he invoked ["Object Creation"], manifesting from nothingness a crate filled with military-grade weaponry and armor. There were grenades, recon equipment, assault rifles, and even RPGs, all of which he left to the men ced under his control.

 Chapter 43 Path To World Domination

    ?"Alright, make sure to recruit all members of your gang into this," Noah told the tattooed-headed man named ''Marco''.


    "Understood," Marco nodded at his orders.


    As he took his leave with his hands slid into the pockets of his hoodie, he nced back to see the gang member turned soldiers of his ''New Order Military'' equipping themselves in full-ker armor, preparing their weapons.


    ''They''ll all probably be wiped out, but the damage they''ll do won''t be undone. Alright¡­There''s a few more gangs in this city I need to pay a visit to,'' he thought.


    Using ["Spatial Warp"], he repeated what he''d done at the warehouse, casually infiltrating the territory of gangs. One such gang that ruled an entire sector of the city had their headquarters located inside a tucked-away, gang-ran bar.


    ''The ''Onyx Tears'' gang; this is one of the ''high priority'' targets Yukio specifically marked down. It seems they have over ten thousand members around the county. All I need to do is alter their leader''s minds and the rest will be inducted by proxy,'' Noah thought.


    It was privately used for members of the dangerous gang, so one he opened the door, he was immediately met with an abrasive response¨C


    BANG. BANG. BANG.


    "I told you they werein'' to raid the ce!" A scar-lipped, tank top wearing gangster yelled to hispanions while shooting.


    ["Object Authority"]


    Bullets shot towards him, but he raised his hand, stopping them in midair as they froze a foot away from his outstretched palm. Usually he''d allow gunfire to simply bounce off of his body, but he didn''t feel like having his clothes tarnished once again.


    "--Huh? What the fuck?!" The scar-lipped man said.


    Anky, pale member of the gang was sweating bullets, "Who the fuck is this guy?! How''d he do that?!"


    Before any questions could be answered, Noah simply smiled before snapping his fingers, using an efficient conjuration of ["Absolute Hypnosis"], simply repeating the same maniption given to previous gangs as he overwrote their minds.


    After which, the scar-lipped man with frizzy, blonde hair lowered his weapon with a nk expression, blinking a few times, "Oh, it''s you, Boss."


    Noah didn''t respond, simply walking past the now subservient men and into the bar as he summoned multiple crates filled with gear: ["Object Creation"]


    After creating the supplies made with the intent of assaulting the city police and government, Noah pulled his hand away, turning towards the scar-lipped leader of the gang: "Muerto."


    "Can I trust you to get all the members prepared for the mission?" Noah asked.


    Muerto nodded, "Of course, Boss. I''ll call all the captains over and have them bring their squads¨Ceven the new recruits. Dontcha worry about a thing¨Cwe''ll raise hell in this city."


    "Good to hear," Noah patted the man on the shoulder.


    An idea sprouted to his mind that went against the ns Yukioid out, but Noah found himself thinking a step ahead, perhaps intoxicated by his own power, thriving in the chaos.


    ''...Let''s make things more interesting¡­''


    Pressing his hand against Muerto''s chest, he invoked a form of magecraft he had no prior use for in his solo acts: ["Absolute Enhancement: Strength"] ["Absolute Enhancement: Inferno"]


    The other members looked in awe as Muerto held the same surprised expression, looking at his tattooed arms as he managed to manifest mes from his limbs.


    "What is this¡­?" Muerto asked in disbelief.


    "Make good use of that¨Cit''s a gift from me to you," Noah said with a smirk before leaving.


    The same was done for those he established as the ''captains'' of his New World army, giving the leaders and standout members of the gangs supernatural abilities of their own.


    ¨CIn the span of three hours, every gang within the scope of Los Angeles was forcibly recruited, brought together against the worst fears of the government into one group: "The New World Order". Over thirty-thousand members gathered over the course of the night as Noah spectated from above at the event yet toe.


    To the gang members, Noah Grays was somebody they followed without question, akin to a divine leader. All of them fell under the same mission, staking their lives to it, to wage war on the city itself and overthrow the government.


    ''Los Angeles is just the start. It''s one of the most influential cities in the country¨Cif we take it over and take control of its resources, it''ll weaken the country¨Cfrom there, it''ll only be easier,'' Noah thought, ''after Los Angeles is under my control, I''ll have them move out to the capital and San Francisco.''


    Sitting atop the grand center that overlooked the cityscape, through his keen vision he could see the ''New Order'' soldiers under his control gearing up from their bases, having a parade of members lining the streets in preparation for the chaos.


    Marching through the streets, swooping in with vehicles that didn''t adhere to trafficws, the New Order soldiers swept through the streets, focusing on government bodies such as police vehicles and government institutes, lighting them up with gunfire.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It began.


    The city immediately fell into uproar as screams echoed, sparks and shes came through as an exchange of gunfire came between the city police and the New Order soldiers.


    Police sirens filled the nightly air though, blockading the street leading to the city hall of Los Angeles¨Ca tall, standout building of pearly white stone.


    BANG. BANG. BANG.


    On the archaic street of the City of Angels that still housed old buildings, the New Order soldiers found themselves overwhelmed by the density of officers that focused their forces around the perimeter of the city hall.


    "Backup needed! Send the SWAT teams out!...Scratch that, bring out the whole damn National Guard!" The bushy-bearded officer yelled into his radio, "Why the hell are they attacking now?! What balls did they grow?!"


    Sweeping through the street, a bright-blue ze turned multiple officers into a charred crisp, originating from Muerto, who held a smile of delight in the chaos, spewing the azure mes from his arms.


    "Aaargh¨C!" The bushy-bearded officer screamed out as the me swallowed his entire vehicle.


    The police vehicles lost theirposure, exploding into clouds of smoke and vtile mes from Muerto''s mes.


    [Muerto | Captain of "Onyx" Team of New Order | Level 30 | Ability: Fire Maniption]


    On the neighboring street, another one of Noah''s New Order captains bulldozed through the police''s repelling gunfire¨C"Leeroy." A dark-skinned gang member with a build like an ox and skin that turned to a tinum-esque sheen, he was unable to be prated by bullets as he roared withughter, carving through the street and taking out each officer with a single blow.


    ? [Leeroy | Leader of "Silver Dor" Team of New Order | Level 28 | Ability: Steel Constitution]


    Amidst the chaos was a more refined squadron of the New Order, tackling the police station head-on to cut-off reinforcements and seizing more resources of the New Order, were suited men.


    Leading them was a middle-aged, burgundy-haired man in an umber suit and red scarf, smoking from a cigar as he walked through the front entrance of the police station while his subordinates seized it.


    "Boss! Watch out!" One of the suited goons warned the burgundy-haired man.


    There were SWAT-geared officers waiting, holding assault rifles and shotguns as they began firing down the marble corridor towards the infiltrating members of Noah''s army.


    "Just stand back and leave the rest to me," the burgundy-haired man said, moving the cigar from his lips.


    Casually breathing out the rich smoke he inhaled, the dead-eyed man manipted the gaseous substance into a mystical form, allowing it to catch the bullets within its mass. The velocity of the projectiles were canceled out immediately once making contact with the veil of smoke.


    "What the¨C?!" An officer reacted in shock before turning to his colleagues, "--Fire! Keep firing¨C"


    Before the order could be fully given, the leader of the subjugated mob further manipted his smoke, repelling the bullets empowered by the magical gas outward, shooting through the officers.


    It swirled around the man like a sentient lifeform before he brought his lit cigar back to his lips, inhaling the mystical smoke back into his body.


    [Michael Arvo | Leader of "Arvo Mafia" Team of New Order | Level 33 | Ability: Smoke Maniption]


    While the teams of the New Order werebating the police forces of the prominent city for the most part, one factionid waste to the city itself¨Craiding stores and iming ''property'' in the name of the New Order for Noah, though using it as an excuse for destruction.


    "Bring it down! Bring it down! This is the anarchy of the New Order!" A pale-skinned,nky man with a tall, bright-green mohawkughed.


    He wore a ck, studded vest, riding a motorcycle in jovial fashion while flinging explosive sparks through the street, leaving a trail of explosions in his path, oftentimes hitting his own subordinates.


    [Jax | Leader of "Hades" Team of New Order | Level 28 | Ability: Explosion Maniption]


    "C-cap, be careful!" One of the biker gangsters said, swerving out of control from the frequent explosions.


    Not paying the words of his followers any mind, Jax continued flinging explosions throughout the street, taking out officers before they could even point their guns in his direction.


    Watching from the highrise tower up above with his feet dangling from the building, Noah smiled at the starting sess of the surprise revolt.


    ''...Come on out, Sentinels. You won''t be able to stay away from this, will you?'' He thought.

 Chapter 44 God In The Sky

    ?Finally arriving at the chaotic scene that swept through the city that was now embroiled in mes and bloodshed between the police and the New Order, with the New Order havingplete control over the war, the SWAT arrived in full-strength.


    "Move out! Move out! Hold them off until more backup arrives!" A captain of the SWAT team issued orders.


    There was unseen organization to the perceived gang members, unknown to the police forces that they were under a new rule and leadership; the New Order fought together, covering each other''s angles and using cover properly as well as precise aim.


    This was in part thanks to Noah''s ["Absolute Hypnosis"], giving them the necessary skills tobat even the most well-trained armies.


    The ze of gunfire exchanged on both fronts heated the brisk, night air, though even the elite SWAT found themselves surprisingly outgunned as the New Order soldiers utilized shrapnel grenades to get past the riot shields and armored vehicles.


    "Shit¨C!" One of the SWAT officers said, reacting to the thrown grenade.


    The shrapnel broke through the line of riot shields, allowing the New Order to push closer to the city hall. Buildings were razed by the thrown grenades as people were evacuated by police, almost as if full-well knowing that the poorly-armed city police didn''t stand a stance now.


    Noahughed out, standing on the summit of the highrise building as he held his arms out, watching the glorious sparks of his world revolution begin with utmost fruition.


    "This is just the beginning¨Csay hello to your new king," Noah proimed, looking down towards the war torn city.


    Watching the unstoppable sess of his overnight army, he realized there was no result but his victory before he turned his attention away.


    ''I''ll bring Yukio the good news,'' he decided.


    He ced his palm against the t portion of the skyscraper''s rooftop, creating a temporary doorway to his subspace base.


    As he slipped inside of the mystical doorway, he went from the noisy gunfire and explosive city of Los Angeles and into the quiet mansion he built from his own authority. Moving over to one of the recreational rooms, he found Yukio ying games by himself, a cart-racing game called "Tony Kart 3D"--engrossed in it.


    The recreational room had been decorated, mainly be Yukio''s own taste in pop culture with posters of iconic games like "Mertroid Prime", a sci-fi shooting game; "Zenode Tales", a fantasy roleying game, and misceneous arcade machines, though it was all built by Noah''s magic.


    He approached, standing beside Yukio, who was sitting on a beanbag chair, "Los Angeles is about to be under our control."


    Yukio nced to the side, pausing the game, "Really? That was quick. I guess a little motivation directly to the mind and some military equipment does that."


    "And a little something else," Noah added with a smirk.


    "Something else?" Yukio raised an eyebrow.


    Sitting down beside him, Noah slipped his hands out of the pockets of his hoodie before cing them behind his head in a leisurely position before answering.


    "I decided to expedite the process," Noah said, "--A little extra firepower was given to the leaders of each gang. Call it a sessful experiment."


    "Noah¡­" Yukio sighed out, slowly shaking his head, "Are you trying to get the Sentinels on our asses already, man? Even if we gave them tanks and jets, the Sentinels wouldn''t interfere¨Cbut abilities only possible from a System? They''ll make their move."


    "That''s the n," Noah corrected him.


    "What¡­?" Yukio was perplexed.


    Though it became clear just what sort of motivation was swirling in Noah''s mind as he held a look of disdain at the mention of the ''Sentinels'', squeezing his fists as veins pressed against his skin.


    "I''ll wipe them out¨Cwhoeveres," Noah resolved, "It won''t be likest time. I''ve evolved from who I was."


    Yukio was hesitant, but seemed to give in as he shrugged his shoulders, seeing this as an opportunity as well, though a risk, "I guess you''re more of a ''short term'' guy¨Cthat''s fine, too. If this is how you want to do things, then let''s do it. As long as it isn''t Elias, I''m sure you can handle the Sentinels¨Cbut that''s the thing; until we figure out the source of Elias'' abilities, we need to avoid him. Got it?"


    It took a moment for Noah to ept Yukio''s advice as he was filled with contempt towards the Sentinels, who stood as his one and only obstacle in the path he intended to forge. Though there was no doubt that Yukio knew what he was talking about.


    "Got it," Noah said before his fierce expression rxed into a smile, picking up one of the controllers, "Anyway, how about a round or two while the New Order secures us our first victory?"


    "It''s your loss," Yukio joked, taking up his offer.


    While the two system users yed against each other in a match of Tony Kart 3D, jovial and carefree amidst the peaceful mansion, the cityscape of Los Angeles resembled the fiery pits of Hell.<novelnext></novelnext>


    There were hardly any losses on the New Order''s side as theypletely overwhelmed the police force present within the city, de-uniforming and taking away the weapons of any officers who surrendered.


    Together, the captains of the New Order swept through city hall, which put up no resistance as the government officials hid or ran away and the guards stood down, allowing the building to bepletely upied by the gangsters-turned-soldiers.


    "In the name of the New Order, Los Angeles is under new rule!" Muerto proimed from the highest window of city hall.


    ¨C


    Noah was able to sense this triumph as he stood up from his seat, setting the controller down as he looked over at his ally, "It looks like Los Angeles is seized."


    "Well, I''d suggest paying the hall a visit¨Cshow the world who they have to fear," Yukio suggested


    "Great minds think alike," Noah smiled, cing his hand in front of his own face.


    While Noah agreed with this notion, he used ["Object Creation"] to create an all-ck mask to cover his mask and nose in order to conceal his identity, not yet wanting to reveal that "Noah Grays" was alive.


    As he left through the front door of the subspace headquarters, he returned to the summit of the skyscraper, seeing the mes that gripped the city and the destruction that was left in the aftermath of the New Order''s debut.


    ["Spatial Warp"]


    In an instant, he reappeared within the center of the city''s government activity: the city hall, finding himself greeted by his soldiers as they stood guard with their weapons held.


    "Wee back, Boss."


    "Good to see ya'', Boss."


    Greeting him as he strolled through the marble halls with his hoodie and mask worn, the soldiers were beaming with triumphant feelings, high-fiving each other in the aftermath of the single-night war.


    As he ascended the staircase to the mayor''s office, passing by quartz pirs and american gs that he nned to soon tear down, he was greeted by the captains of his New Order army.


    "Good work," Noah said, passing by them.


    Muerto flexed his arms as azure mes lightly manifested from his tattoos, "Hell yeah! They didn''t even know what hit ''em! The Onyx team blew straight through!"


    "It''s as that one says," Michael said, taking a hit from his cigar, "Their forces crumbled quickly."


    As he walked into the mayor''s office, iming it for himself under the new rule of the New Order, he found a smile forming across his lips at the first establishment of his ns, making his intangible dreams into a reality.


    "What now, Boss?"


    Posing the question as the leader of the biker gang faction, Jax, who stood beside the other captains.


    Witnessing the utter chaos that held the city so tightly with mes ascending the height of buildings and everything, knowing it was chaos that he himself controlled, Noah wanted more. A taste of power weed more¨Cyearned for it.


    The sight of the burning city stoked the mes of malice burning within his gut, sweeping away any hesitance as he took control of the n fully into his own hands.


    "This was just the first step¨Ca greeting from us to the world; a promation of war," Noah said, facing the window as he spoke to his subordinates, "...Now, we continue. The momentum is ours, the country is shaken, and it''s ripe for the taking. We''ll take control of the west coast. Right now, while the world slumbers."


    Nothing else had to be said; the conquest of the New Order continued without further word as the bloodshed that spawned within the borders of the country continued its malignant march.


    Mere hours passed as he bestowed his soldiers with new figure: ["Absolute Vigor"]


    Granting them a perpetual surge simr to an adrenaline rush, he granted the New Order newfound energy before sending them off throughout the west coast.


    ["Absolute Hypnosis"]


    Like a malevolent god in the sky, the masked man hovered with his hands stretched out, warping the minds of those within nes as violet light emitted from him.

 Chapter 45 Leader Of The New Order

    ?Hijacking trains and using his hypnosis on pilots, he spread his New Order soldiers to the four corners of the west coast, cing his trust in their abilities after getting a taste for it.


    "Boo-yah!" Muerto celebrated, looking out of the passenger window of the airborne ne.


    With him were his trustedrades of the Onyx gang, who were dressed in full ker, ready for action.


    ["Spatial Warp"]


    With a snap of his fingers, he transported each captain and their specially selected crews onto each ne, giving them the initiative in the important mission.


    The nesnded in the pivotal cities of the west coast: San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, and Seattle.


    Through the cities in between the prosperous targets of the west coast, the New Order soldiers that moved onnd vehicles swept through like a natural disaster.


    Police stations were bombarded by rockets and gunfire, cars were hijacked as the New Order grunts spread chaos through the streets of California, leaving hellfire in their wake.


    "Ha-ha! Go! Go!"


    A skinhead goon of the New Orderughed, hanging halfway out of the passenger window of a car while it sped through the streets of San Diego, firing his gun off without a care as bullets shattered the windows of neighboring windows.


    ¨C


    "On the ground! All of ya''!"


    "We''ll light your asses up like swiss cheese if ya'' don''t listen!"


    The trains that connected cities by subways were taken over by the New Order, with the grunts abusing their newfound authority by robbing the pockets of normal civilians, forcing them to strip down andy on the ground.


    Spectating from the skies like a king too revered to stand on the ground of mere ants, Noah watched with malice swirling in his gray eyes as thendscape of California lit up through the cmity of the New Order bulldozing through.


    "It will all be destroyed and rebuilt," Noah said, hovering in the skies, "Suffer briefly and flourish tomorrow."


    The world-changing event was ryed by every news outlet, even some from foreignnds:


    [DELTA NEWS: "We have confirmation that Los Angeles has fallen into enemy control!--Right now, other cities in California are currently under attack! It''s dangerous even for us to be here right now¨C" BZZT]


    Even the middle-aged, dark-skinned man¨Cthe field reporter for Delta News, had the live broadcast cut-off by stray gunfire.


    [ENTERPRISE NEWS: "Please stay inside, Americans! These are trying times¨Cwe will need full belief in the army!"]


    ¨C


    While the influential and highest popted cities were overtaken by the New Order, he personally went to Washington, D.C, going to the heart of the country and its power¨Cthe "White House."


    Through a ["Spatial Warp"], he appeared with a breeze cascading through the perfectly-trimmedwn of the country''s most pivotal domain.


    It seemed since the raid on the west coast had begun, the National Guard was prepared for an attack to find its way to the President''s home as dozens of army vehicles were waiting with mounted turrets and an entire battalion of soldiers waiting.


    "Yo," he greeted the soldiers lined up on the grass fields in front of the snow-white estate.


    The soldiers barked orders down the line in response to his appearance, "He''s here!"


    "Prepare to engage!"


    "Fire!"


    As hundreds of bullets shot towards him with sparks fluttering in the now daytime air, he didn''t flinch, simply raising his hand in response.


    ["Object Authority"]


    None of the bullets reached him, pausing in the air before him as shocked expressions swept over the battalion''s faces.


    "I''ll return these back to you, don''t worry," Noah muttered.


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Explosive Augmentation"]


    Enchanting each bullet with a brisk radiance, he flicked his wrist, sending them back towards the U.S battalion, causing them tond with explosive detonations, bombarding thend just before the white house itself in destruction.


    Walking through the explosions, unharmed through a protective, unseen barrier around himself, Noah swept by with speed like a thunderbolt, eviscerating the soldiers with invisible slices of wind before they could react.


    [Minutes Later]


    The verdant grass was painted red, caked in the ashes of a ughter that could not be called a battle; tanks were flipped over, ripped open as those who stood in the way of the wicked adolescent were broken, torn, or mangled.


    Noah stood there with his hoodie and mask intact, standing amidst a graveyard of unburied bodies, looking up towards the windows of the White House, meeting eye-to-eye with the President who hid behind its walls.


    Before the very eyes of the wizened executive of the country, the young man disappeared, causing him to flinch in anticipation, standing in the eerily quiet, oval office.


    "--" The white-haired, wrinkled president kept his eyes on the window.


    "Yo," the frivolous, but malignant voice of Noah met the man''s ears from behind.


    Just as the President gasped, spinning around, he froze like a statue as Noah pressed a single fingertip against his forehead.


    "Don''t worry, the country will be in good hands," Noah nefariously assured him.


    "T-take it, just let me¨C"


    Unable to even properly beg for his own life, the senior''splexion drained as his body shrunk with its life essence being drained at a simple touch.


    ["Soul Plunder"]


    With the one in charge of the United States taken out, there were no figureheads standing in his way as Noah turned around, finding himself in the world-famous oval office, standing at the g-decorated desk before slowly sitting down.


    As he sat behind the president''s desk, he feltplete authority being seized by him¨Cit was all his.


    From the beginning of the attack on Los Angeles, it took only three days for the west coast to be subjugated by the New Order; a feat of raw power held by the unorthodox army''s supernatural abilities.


    It wasn''t just that, but the oval office itself was taken over by the "unknown" leader of the New Order, spiraling the stability of the country into unforeseen levels of mayhem.


    ¨C


    All he was short of was a crown, but he felt it was undeserved quite yet; after all, to him, there was still much left to conquer before celebrating in full.


    That much was clear as after being in the oval office for a day, getting news of the New Order''s victories on the west coast as they began moving to the midwest, he found himself greeted by visitors to his new home at the white house.


    As he nced out of the window at the roar of engines and rumble of heavy vehicles, the sight of the U.S army in full tow filled the scenery of D.C; there were dozens of tanks and turret-mounted vehicles, rolling over the streets and fields alike towards the white house.


    This was war.


    Standing from his desk with a look of cured boredom, he unleashed a brief ry of sensory mana, getting an idea of the forces he was facing.


    ["Absolute Sensory"]


    ''Four¡­five¡­six thousand¨Clooks like they brought an entire regiment,'' Noah thought with a smile.


    Cracking his knuckles, he opened the window to the oval office up, standing partly out of it as he looked over the military might that pointed their destructive capacities towards him.


    "Have youe to bow to your king?" Noah asked.


    Of course, he knew this wasn''t the case as a silent signal from one of themanders prompted the tanks to ruthlessly open fire on the sacred building of America, lighting it up with missiles.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The air was filled with the sound of tank shells mming into the building, shrouding it in smoke as sediment grumbled down.


    Yet, in the face of conventional weaponry, the young usurper was unharmed and unflinching, though as the smoke faded, the regiment had lost track of him.


    The stern-facedmander of pale skin looked forward, yelling out, "Eyes on the enemy! Find him now¨C"


    Though themander of the regiment couldn''t finish as he was pierced through the chest from behind, looking back in disbelief to see the gray-eyed figure standing behind him.


    "Ciao," Noah said before ripping his arm out from the man''s chest.


    While standing on one of the tanks, he looked around with a smile, waiting for the dozens of other war-perpetuating vehicles to shoot towards him.


    "Oh? Afraid of hitting your buddy in the process?" Noah asked, "Let me make it easy for you."


    As he jumped up, the tank barrels pointed up, lobbing heavy-duty shells at him, though he expected as much as he held his hands forward with a smile.


    ["Object Authority"]


    Stopping the massive, explosive shells in midair, he took control of them before sending them straight back to where they came from.


    "Aaargh¨C!"


    "Grrg¨C!"


    The screams of the soldiers echoed out amidst the destruction caused in front of the white house, razing the streets as concrete was ripped up and tanks were desecrated by their own shells.


    After decimating the tank unit, he found hundreds of soldiers approaching, though most moved in squadrons, using trees as cover around the park as they surrounded himpletely.


    "Here. I''ll y on your level," Noah said.


    ["Weapon Construction: HK35]


    Manifesting into his right hand was a military-grade assault rifle with optic sight andplex features, though he amplified it with his own desired features.


    ["Absolute Augmentation: Railgun"]


    As the soldiers opened fire on him first, their bullets carved up the soil before bouncing off of the invisible barrier directly around him as he casually lifted his own weapon, aiming towards a group of five soldiers that were taking cover behind a mound of soil.


    "Boom," he whispered, pulling the trigger.


    Just as it clicked, the ["Railgun"] augmentation caused a sonic boom to ignite in the air as the bullet traveled with electrokic amplification, carving through the wind before blowing straight through the mound, annihting the soldiers behind it.


    Though it quickly became boring to use such a weapon as he discarded it, instead opting to use magic from the darkest depths of his grimoire:


    ["Hail To The Darkness"]


    Cracks opened in thend, parting sections in the concrete of the streets and the soil of the park before abyssal limbs stretched out in the form of malignant tentacles.


    The soldiers were stunned by the unknown malevolence, unable to react properly before the abyssal tentacles whipped around, ensnaring them and dragging them back into the depths beneath the crust of the world.


    Resealing the gaps in the ground with a snap of his fingers, saving wide-eyed soldiers moments away from being consumed by the eldritch horror below, Noah looked around, finding he was no longer being shot at.


    "Perhaps you understand now," Noah said, "It''s impossible to stop me. If you stand down and pledge your loyalty to the New Order, your lives will be spared."


    It was an enticing offer to many soldiers after witnessing the godlike abilities possessed by the strange figure.


    Though as some relinquished their weapons, opting to leave the fruitless battlefield, the sound of air whistling in the distance caught Noah''s ear.


    ''...You just don''t know when to quit, do you?'' He thought.


    As he nced back, he could see all-ck jets approaching from the distance, sensing them as they approached at speeds beyond sound.


    ["Levitation"]


    Launching into the air at fearsome speeds, he opted to meet the jets halfway as he hovered at their level amidst the smoky skies of the wartorn region.


    ["Binding of The Elder Gods"]


    The spell allowed him to manifest all-ck tentacles from the sleeves of his hoodie that expanded in size while stretching out towards the iing, five jets. Even moving at the speeds they were, the jets were ensnared by the ungodly limbs, being held and squeezed tightly.


    "Mayday! Mayday!" One of the air force pilots yelled.


    "Consume," Noah said.


    Those words gave full reign to the abyssal tentacles, allowing them to secrete a primordial, pitch-ck substance on the nes held in their grip, absorbing them into the unknown depths of their being.


    Finishing them off, he nced back, seeing another ensemble of sonic jets piercing through the air towards him, flying overhead before dropping a cluster of bombs from above.


    "You''re that desperate to take me down? Your own soldiers are down there, you know," Noah mumbled, looking up at the explosions without fear.


    Raining down, the bombs covered Lafayette Square in explosions, ripping the streets up and desecrating the northwn of the white house as well.


    ["Energy Absorption"]


    Raising his hand, Noah put an end to the explosions while casually standing in the center of their destruction, coalescing the vtile might into the palm of his hand before absorbing it in full.


    "Thanks for the meal," Noah said, popping the vtile sphere of energy into his mouth.


    [Mana partially restored.]


    It was a hopeless battle for the army defending the United States; despite the barrage of tanks, high-caliber weaponry, and carpet bombing¨Cnothing hadid a scratch on the man''s body.


    "Feel free to try that again whenever you want," Noah announced, "Though I''ll be a lot less lenient next time."


    ¨C


    In the oval office, which he cleaned of blood, he brought in a singr news crew, one that had nation-wide coverage, such that it would even reach beyond the scope of the nation.


    "A-are you ready, sir?" The young cameraman gulped, holding therge camera on his shoulder.


    Noah was sitting at the president''s desk, leaning his elbows on it before he nodded, "Roll the cameras."


    What followed was the most haunting message ryed across not just the country, but perhaps the world: the nation touted as a world superpower was overthrown within mere days.


    ["Hello, people of America, I am here to inform you that the nation has fallen under new rule. That is, under me¨Cyou can simply refer to me as "Noir". The New Order has taken control of the west coast and will continue to extend our reach across the nation, to all fifty states. This is not a revolution in hopes of making the world a better ce; this is my deration of war to the world: the New Order will not stop here. I will not stop until the world is mine in totality. There will be no negotiations, only two options: fealty from your leaders or death."]


    After the message finished broadcasting, Noah had a pleased expression, kicking his feet up on the renowned desk without any respect for it.


    The cameraman was trembling, lowering the video-capturing device as he looked down, "C-can I¡­?"


    "Go," Noah allowed.


    Nothing further needed to be said before the cameraman, taken from the news outlet, rushed out of thepromised white house, leaving Noah, or now known as "Noir", to bask in the triumph he''d achieved.


    ''I don''t have to hold anything back now. Everything in this country is mine¨Cit''s products, it''s women¨Call of it, mine,'' he thought.


    [Noah Grays | "Noir" | Leader of The New Order] [Level: 100]


    [Current Position: Emperor of The United States]

 Chapter 46 Birth Of A Villain, Rise Of A Hero

    ?The world was trembling.


    In the scope of a civilization that had endured wars, natural disasters, and cataclysms, this was an event that stood above it all, evoking unanimous fear in mankind.


    The renowned superpower of the world, the United States of America, a nation feared for its unequivocal military might, had been ruthlessly crushed and usurped by one man and his unstoppable followers.


    In just over a month, the entire country was now under the rule of the "New Order" and its mysterious leader¡ª"Noir."


    ¡ª


    Noah, or as the public knew him as the masked tyrant "Noir", stood atop the White House, watching as his soldiers rebuilt the city on his orders. Since the beginning of the internal invasion of the country, he recruited more and more soldiers from gangs around the world, giving more abilities to those with potential.


    The "New Order" forces, after casualties from the war, were at one-hundred and fifty-thousand.


    "I still can''t believe this went so smoothly."


    Appearing beside him was his azure-haired aplice in world domination: Yukio.


    The world had been turned upside down, and they were there to witness it from the summit as the status quo was toppled.


    "Of course," Noah replied with a smile, "This is what the world deserves after wronging me."


    The nce that Yukio gave to hispanion was one of intrigue as he noticed the shift in mental state from Noah, but smiled nheless, "Right. That''s what this power is meant for; altering the world to your desired image¨Cbe it a utopia or a sea of mes."


    Standing up, Noah looked up towards the smoky sky as embers flowed through the wind from the aftermath of the war.


    "Got something in mind?" Yukio asked.


    Noah pped his hands together, answering briefly, "I''m going to pay my home a visit."


    Just as he gave that information to hispanion, he warped away, continuously teleporting across the sky.


    Stopping for a moment amidst the clouds, something met his ears; the wind was vibrating as if something was piercing through the sky, and fast.


    "Hm?" Noah turned around.


    Just as he turned around, he found himself being rapidly approached by a figure that broke through the clouds with sound-barrier breaking speed before ramming straight towards him.


    ["Absolute Barrier"]


    "--!"


    He held his hand out in front of him, projecting the chromatic barrier just as the figure''s fist shed against it with tremendous, sky-rippling force. Even blocking the blow, the shock wave caused his mask to be flung away as his dark tufts were brushed in the wind.


    It was somebody he recognized; a figure daunting in his own right, but to Noah, he found himself stumbling upon a wished opportunity.


    [rk] [Level 82 | Superhero System]


    "Noah¨C!" The blonde-haired, caped man yelled with anger fueling his scream.


    "Some superhero you are!" Noah smirked, "You''rete!"


    ["Absolute Rejection"]


    The extension of ["Absolute Barrier"] caused an unseen force to propel outward against rk, knocking the Superhero System possessor backwards through the air, flipping through clouds.


    Doing away with his barrier, Noah readied himself from the few moments of space given to himself:


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Godstrength"]


    [Strength: 25000]


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Godspeed"]


    [Agility: 2500]


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Elemental Infusion: ALL"]


    Stacking amplifications upon himself, his muscles tightened, coiling with supernatural physical abilities as elemental power flowed through him, manifesting through crimson and sapphire streaks across his form to represent fire and lightning.


    It was timed just well enough for him to be ready as rk propelled through the sky towards him again, bolting around and sailing towards him with his mighty fist reared back.


    Too obvious, Noah thought.


    He managed to catch rk''s fist, stopping it outright and canceling out the power behind the blow as the wind cracked around them.


    "--?" A puzzled expression came across the blonde-haired man''s face.


    "Surprised? You fought me when my System was deactivated," Noah smiled, pulling his fist back now, "--Let me show you what you missed out on."


    Thrusting his fist through the air with his heightened strength, he mmed his knuckles against the chest of the stalwart man, unleashing a shock wave that rippled through the night sky.


    "Grrgh¨C!" rk spat out blood.


    The Superhero System wielder was flung back, flipping violently from the force of the blow before catching himself with his flight, countering as his eyes conjured a crimson glow.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Lasers? This will be a good chance to try this," Noah muttered with a smirk.


    A beam burned through the sky in the form of heat vision, piercing towards Noah before he countered by condensing a stream of mes, mixed with his mastery of lightning to create a blue-and-red beam of elemental energy that he shed against the heat vision with.


    The air expanded from the sudden magnitude of heat, causing the clouds to part around the two as their powers shed amidst the sky.


    "Grrgh¡­! Argh¨C!!!" rk strained himself, putting everything he had into the exchange.


    Only a look of satisfaction came across Noah''s face as he heightened the output of his elemental st, causing it to break through the man''s heat vision, mming against him into a massive explosion of crimson.


    THWOOM.


    The smoky skies were parted, leaving rk plummeting down into the city below like a falling star.


    Noah watched from above as the Sentinel fell, crashing through the streets of the lively town below as the durable man scraped through the asphalt like a meteor beforeing to a stop.


    It seems like I overprepared. This is too easy, Noah thought with a smile.


    ["Spatial Warp"]


    Appearing on the same street, Noah watched the man as heid on the street, coughing out smoke as his uniform and cape alike were tattered, his skin beneath covered in scratches and bruises.


    "Aren''t superheroes supposed to stop viins like me?" Noah asked, "Maybe I''m being too unfair; this is reality after all, not someic book. This is how the world works now."


    The civilians witnessing this spontaneous scene screamed, froze, or outright ran away, though people quickly began to recognize Noah, or more infamously known as¨C"Noir." Even without the mask, he kept his clothes consistent and those malignant eyes of his alongside his superpowers were unmistakable.


    "Grh¡­" rk coughed out blood, sitting on a knee as he struggled to stand.


    A nefarious idea sprouted in the chaotic mind of Noah as he noticed the frantic civilians spectating the scene in the desecrated street.


    "I think you need some proper motivation, hero," Noah said.


    "What¡­?" rk looked up, his eyes widening at the realization of what those words entailed.


    A fireball conjured in front of Noah''s hand, which he pointed to the right of himself, directly in the line of sight of dozens of inhabitants of the city.


    "No, don''t¡­!" rk yelled out desperately, reaching out.


    It was toote.


    The mes howled as the sphere of destruction carved through the street, approaching towards a grouping of people¨Cincluding a family with a father standing in front of his children fruitlessly.


    "Dadda, what''s going on¡­?" A small girl said.


    The father clutched the small girl close to him, protecting her as he kept his back to the iing, massive ball of mes, "...Don''t look! Just keep your eyes closed!"


    Desperation was heard in those words, and in the hearts of the innocent; that existence of dread and yearning to be saved was felt by rk.


    In that moment, the wielder of the Superhero System was overwhelmed with a mystical sensation; like lightning threading his veins, shooting through his body with a resurgence of vigor.


    To Noah''s surprise, the bloodied-and-bruised Sentinel who was on his knees a moment prior, coughing up blood, vanished with speed and force that cracked the street.


    It all happened within seconds; as the fireball reached the sidewalk, it exploded in a brilliant shine of orange embers, breaking the windows of nearby shops.


    "...Woah there, where''d thise from?" Noah muttered.


    In total surprise, the people on the street found themselves not to be reduced to ash by the mes, looking back to find the man wearing a tattered cape, covered in burns and bruises, standing with his arms out as a shield for them.


    "Are you alright?..." rk asked, wincing as he coughed out crimson fluid.


    "...Mister¡­" The man holding his daughter mumbled in tears.


    Witnessing the heroic act, Noah felt disgusted by it, but more so perplexed as he looked upon rk''s sturdy back, finding that it was still intact; the flesh didn''t melt off from the mystical mes nor did his skin burn to a crisp.


    He had endured.


    The act of selflessness resounded as the people of the city stopped screaming and running, instead looking towards the blonde-haired man as he stood there, regaining his breath after sustaining such an attack.


    One by one, people began talking.


    "That''s him¡­! That''s Noir!"


    "Seriously?!...Crap¡­"


    "But who''s that other guy? Is he fighting Noir?"


    "...I don''t know who you are, but please! Take Noir down!"


    "You can do this!"


    The encouraging words bestowed to rk seemed to have an effect on him as his body bolstered; an air of unequivocal determination swirled around the man in the burnt hero costume as he looked towards the people on the street.

 Chapter 47 Ascension Of A Villain

    ?"Get out of here¨Cnow!" rk told them.


    "R-right!" The man said, picking up his daughter and running.


    Noticing this, Noah casually raised his hand as lightning coiled around his arm, shooting a lethal bolt towards the man and his frightened daughter, "I''m still here, you know¨C"


    Before it could reach the civilians, the bolt was intercepted as the broad, stalwart figure of rk somehow appeared in its path, deflecting it with his fist. The blonde-haired man''s expression didn''t falter when casually subverting lightning itself, staring Noah down.


    What''s this? Something''s different about him, Noah thought.


    ["Assess"]


    [rk]


    [Level: 85]


    [...]


    [Level: 90]


    [...]


    [Level: 95]


    It was a surprise to Noah''s eyes, finding the man''s level continuously rising before his eyes before stopping: [Level: 98]


    "How did you¨C"


    As Noah began to pose his question, there was no mercy from the wounded hero as rk flew forward with superspeed that riled up the rubble on the street, beginning to m his fists towards his enemy.


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Bullet Time"]


    Having to enhance his reflexes to keep up with the heightened speed of the man, Noah weaved through the blows, flying backward as he found not only the swiftness of rk to be increased, but each blow rang the wind like a bell, slicing by his eardrums.


    [Superhero System: Innate Ability: "Pir of Hope"]


    Forced into the skies, Noah could no longer simply dodge through the explosive punches thrown towards him, having not to deflect them and counter while rk relentlessly pursued him with newfound aggression.


    Still, even with his ["Godstrength"], the physical abilities possessed by a type like the Sentinel before him was the embodiment of such raw power, honed to a ludicrous degree as each blow echoed through the skies like a heroic anthem. Each impact reverberated through the marrow of Noah''s bones as he found simply guarding to be ineffective.


    ["Absolute Barrier: Perfect Bracers"]


    He summoned chromatic shields that covered his lower arms, allowing him to safely guard against the mighty blows.


    As he finally broke through the relentless assault of the wounded hero, he was met by a sh of heat vision unlike any before as rk screamed out, unleashing a kic st of crimson energy directly against Noah''s chest.


    "--!" Noah''s eyes widened from the unexpected attack.


    A sh of gleaming red filled the night sky as the crowds of people watching in anticipation cheered on rk.


    Revealing himself from the smoke, Noah caught his breath as his sweater and shirt beneath had been reduced to dust, leaving his bare chest on disy. His torso had been badly bruised by the impact.


    ["Absolute Recovery"]


    To his surprise, the healing was mitigated, working slower than usual as the pain still throbbed in his chest.


    What?! Is this a new effect of his heat vision?! Noah questioned.


    "I know that''s not enough to take you down!" rk roared, flying forward, "--You''re a virus¨Ca cockroach that thrives on misdeeds and the torment of others! I am the cure for that! I will stop you!"


    Angered by this development, Noah clenched his fist and screamed out as his magical energy output skyrocketed with a swirl of mystical light giving off from him, "--Juste and try, you wannabe hero! I''ll show the world that fakers like you don''tst!"


    ["Absolute Enhancement: Shadow"]


    The dark hair he had turned to an even darker ck, swaying as if not made of hair, but of shadows; his gray eyes shifted to an absolute darkness as well with a swirl of shadows armoring his fists and legs.


    ["Absolute Freeze"]


    As he dragged time to a still, he raced forward like a jet of darkness through the night sky, using his mastery over the shadows to conjure a spear forged of malignant nothingness before mming it directly against rk''s chest.


    Allowing time to resume, the impact created an explosion of dark forces, though it failed to pierce past rk''s skin as his muscles endured the piercing abyss.


    "Tch," Noah clicked his tongue, "You''re hard to break."


    "I''m theirst hope," rk responded, catching his breath.


    Still, none of it perturbed Noah as he continued unleashing an array of spells from his grimoire:


    ["Tyrants of The Eternal me"]


    Summoned around the superhero Sentinel were colossuses formed of primordial mes, wielding weapons forged of such heat before unleashing gargantuan attacks against the man that exploded into explosions of fire.


    "Ngh!" rk grunted.


    Once more, that evolved heat vision of his was put on disy as it carved miles through the sky in an instant, sweeping through the clouds like a ray of decimation as it did away with the me-born manifestations.


    ["Devil Thunder"]<novelnext></novelnext>


    Ominous clouds closed in quickly, swirling above rk''s head as he looked up to immediately find himself attacked by bolts of dark lightning, striking against him mercilessly.


    "Arghh¡­Enough!" rk shouted, breaking past the electric barrage and pushing forward.


    How is he doing this?! He''s shrugging off everything! Noah questioned.


    As he looked around, Noah found that there were multiple news helicopters in the air, broadcasting the battle as well as vans parked on the streets¨Cit was being spread not only nationwide, but across the world.


    [NEWS REPORTER #1: I-it''s finally happening! Somebody able to stand up to the tyrant "Noir" is here! Please, send your prayers for this brave hero!]


    [NEWS REPORTER #2: If the police have failed, and the army has been wiped out, this is ourst hope! Everybody at home, believe in this unknown caped crusader!]


    Noticing this, a theory popped into Noah''s mind as he used ["Assess''] once more on rk,ing to a jarring realization and confirming his suspicion:


    [rk]


    [Level: 105]


    The man had surpassed his own level, now possessing an unequivocal level of brute strength. What was the reasoning for this that Noah deduced?


    Belief, Noah thought, that Superhero System of his grants him strength based on the belief people have in him, and how he fights for them! What bullshit!


    As he reached this conclusion, he was struck at speed that surpassed the stratifications of lightning that aimed towards rk, surpassing the boundaries of physical matter. Through his constant growth when fighting for the sake of humanity, rk had reached a new height: the speed of light.


    Backed with such velocity, and in turn, strength, the collision of the hero''s fist against Noah''s cheek caused his neck to harshly spin to the side, cracking.


    "...Gh¨C!" Noah spit out.


    For a brief moment, his irises disappeared as his brain bounced off of his skull rapidly with his spine being fractured by the echo of such a blow.


    By all means, such injuries would be fatal to a normal being. However, Noah was an exception.


    In that moment, tasting the bitterness of death on his tongue as blood seeped from his pores, he had awakened.


    ["Dormant Skill: Unsacred Evolution | ACTIVATED"]


    [Level Limit Broken]


    A new level was reached once being pushed against a corner¨Cthat limitation once hardset had shattered like the chains on an ungodly beast.


    ["Absolute Death Defiance"]


    Even though he had the clear advantage in that moment, rk sensed an unmatched level of animosity pouring from the man, instead retreating back just as a massive reservoir of darkness cascaded off of Noah''s body.


    Once again, his entire physique altered itself as his skeleton expanded against his skin, bulging against his flesh before his body grew to adjust. What was once the body of a neen-year-old turned into that of a mid-twenties man bodybuilder.


    In the wake of this mystical growth, the hurricane of darkness swirling around his position, which caused rk to raise his arms to not be scratched by the malignant winds, it vanished in an instant.


    Rather, all of that surplus power was condensed, squeezed into Noah''s new body before an aura of irreverent darkness d his form.


    "What happened¡­?" rk muttered.


    Instead of waiting around, the hero was the type to charge in with reckless abandon, circling around the city in an instant to nk the reborn figure, sending his fist towards the back of Noah''s head with his light speed punch before¨C


    It was stopped.


    "What?!" rk let out.


    The man''s fist had been caught in Noah''s hand, who didn''t even turn to look at him, instead treating him like a pest as he casually ced his attention elsewhere.


    "System," Noahmanded.


    [Level: 250]


    [Strength: 40000]


    [Constitution: 40000]


    [Agility: 40000]


    [Mana: 500000]


    "Interesting," Noahmented to himself, seeing his improved stats.


    It seemed I had a secret ability in the event I was pushed this far? That settles it, then; I am meant to do what I''m doing, Noah surmised.


    Struggling to withdraw his fist, rk grunted, trying to pull away though the grip belonging to the matured figure didn''t budge.


    "Grgh¨C!" rk strained.


    Hearing the struggles, Noah finally turned to face the hero with a look of boredom in his eyes, "You''re no longer a threat."


    Those words were an undeniable truth with the utter authority in which they left Noah''s lips. Still, rk rebelled, attempting to throw another punch, though was countered before his knuckles could reach the man:


    ["Howl of The Abyss"]

 Chapter 48 Clash Of Heroism And Villainy

    ?["Howl of The Abyss"]


    A st of darkness, forged by intertwined creatures of the abyss and howling spirits of the damned, spread through the sky, shooting across the entirety of the city as it engulfed the hero in its mass of matter and soul-eating energy.


    The unleashment of the abyss shrieked and howled, ringing the ears of those who watched from below as the hero of the people was mmed into the mountain lining the outskirts of the city. As soon as the stream of the abyssal energy reached the mountain formation, it exploded into a mass of deathly, harrowing darkness,pletely eradicating the range of mountains in totality.


    Noah was surprised at the bolstered capabilities of his own, looking at his own hands with a small smile, "There''s no need to worry anymore; I can''t be touched¨Cnot by the Sentinels, not by anyone."


    Manifesting in front of him, the Creator''s Grimoire flipped through its pages as cosmic seals bearing swirling hieroglyphs spun around its form.


    [Level 250 Reached: [300] new pages of the grimoire have been unlocked.]


    Fueled with a new arsenal, Noah waved his finger like a conductor, causing the book to rapidly flip through its papers as he discovered a new spell to test amidst the battle, almost paying no mind to the threat of the wounded hero, who was stillying in pain from thest attack.


    Noah set his sights on the city below, finding himself intrigued by the possibility of one of his new spells:


    ["Universal Authority: Conceptual Sphere of Life"]


    As he pointed down to the city of Seattle, the spell encapsted the entirety of it, invoking a cosmic light that sprouted from the outskirts of the city before condensing it rapidly. In a sh, with the civilians inside screaming from the jarring magecraft, the massive city was scaled down into a sphere, resembling that of a snowglobe.


    Noah brought it into his hand, levitating above the massive crater that sat in ce where Seattle used to inhabit, peering into the sphere that contained the living city.


    "Interesting," Noah remarked.


    Inside, cars still drove on the roads and people screamed at the sight of the man who appeared colossal to them.


    Witnessing what had just happened, rk stumbled out from the desecrated crater which the mountain range once sat, witnessing the horrific destruction thatid in the wake of simple gestures from the evolved viin.


    "...No¡­" rk muttered.


    The man was covered in wounds from the abyss'' terror as bites marks were left in his flesh and bruises o'' plenty blemished his skin.


    "Noah¡­!" rk yelled out, shooting up from the ground as the barren soil shattered from his takeoff.


    As the battered hero charged towards Noah, who was distracted while studying his improved grimoire, a punch was thrown towards the Creator''s Grimoire user, though the man simply leaned back while still keeping his eyes on the grimoire.


    rk grunted, continuing to swing aggressively without any form or n, angrily thrusting his fists in Noah''s direction as he yelled, "I''ll stop you."


    "I''m waiting," Noah calmly replied without moving his eyes from the pages.


    Each blow was dodged effortlessly as Noah showed something akin to a sixth sense, able to casually hover out of the range of each punch, much to rk''s frustration.


    This was due to a new skill unlocked, a passive ability: ["Universal Instinct"]


    Giving up on fisticuffs, rk''s eyes lit up with a crimson glow before he shot a wide-spread burst of his heat vision towards Noah.


    Finally, the man lifted a finger in response, though still not even paying the Sentinel a moment of his gaze.


    ["Universal Gate"]


    In front of Noah, a portal opened, filled with a kaleidoscope of cosmic apparitions within before the heat vision shed against it, flowing straight through the portal as another opened to the right of rk.


    "Huh¨C?" rk paused, ncing to the side.


    From the second kaleidoscope gate, the very same flow of kic heat unleashed, mming directly into the Superhero System user.


    To rk''s surprise, thesers were more potent than anticipated as it sent him crashing back down against the ground, leaving his body steaming as half of it was reddened from a light degree of burns.


    "...Huff¡­" rk breathed out.


    Noah hovered above him, "I amplified your heat through my Universal Gate, if you''re wondering why that took the breath out of you."


    Picking himself up slowly, rk''s body was left in a deathly state, breathing heavily as blood trickled from his lip, yet still holding that unbreakable resolve in his eyes.


    "...Why do you keep getting up?" Noah asked.


    "You wouldn''t understand," rk told him, taking in a breath, "...It''s my sworn duty to protect this world. Unlike you, I love humanity; the power I obtained, I vowed it to them¨CI want to protect their futures, their dreams, their smiles¡­To do that, I''ll stop you."


    Looking down at the man for a moment, his grimoire began flipping through its pages as he briefly closed his eyes before opening them once more¨C<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Be my guest," Noah replied.


    Rushing towards him once more, rk threw his fists, though it held little merit as once again, the hero failed to so much as graze the stoic viin.


    "What happened to that fire in you? You were stronger than this," Noah asked, intercepting the man and cing his finger against his chest.


    ["Universal Agony"]


    From his pointed finger, Noah inflicted an otherworldly level of pain onto rk, stifling him mid-punch as the man convulsed from the full-body surge of agony.


    While the Sentinel was stunlocked from the overwhelming pain that gripped his body, Noah reached his hand out towards the man''s head.


    "Now¡­let''s poke around your head a bit and see where the other Sentinels are¨C" Noah said.


    Before his fingertips could touch rk''s blood-slick, blonde tufts, the man suddenly came to, breaking free from the cage of agony as he knocked Noah''s hand back.


    "--?" Noah looked more confused than anything.


    [Superhero System: Innate Ability: "Final Stand"]


    An ability unknown even to rk himself, of which activated at the premonition of his own demise. Yet, headstrong and fearless, the man stood tall as his veins flowed with a bright, chromatic glow.


    "I see," Noah remarked, readying himself, "An evolution in response to an evolution."


    The hero''s eyes shined not of crimson heat, but a kaleidoscope of silver, emanating a supreme flow of energy.


    [rk]


    [Level:150]


    "...Don''t be mistaken. Heroes don''t fall that easily. Somebody as weak-willed as you wouldn''t understand that, though," rk said.


    A golden radiance surrounded the Superhero System wielder''s body, like a cloak of godliness flowing off of his body. As a breath left the lips of the blonde-haired man, it escaped him in the form of a chaotic gust.


    "Oh?"


    Noah could feel the mighty winds pushing against his body, yet he remained as still as a statue in the air, though it was an impressive feat of raw, inhuman power nheless from the Sentinel.


    There was an unrestrained pressure exuding from rk now; as he flexed his muscles, they coiled with a tremendous strength.


    ''¡­As I am now, I can''t hold anything back. It feels as though I could crush mountains with my fingertips. This is my will given form¨CI can''t lose!'' rk thought.


    Noah epted the challenge, finally meeting eye-to-eye with his foe as he lifted his gaze from the Creator''s Grimoire, "Come, then. I''d like to test my new capabilities."


    Nothing more was needed as rk''s will and rage manifested through his response to the open invitation from the world''s viin; in a sh of golden sublimity, the hero warped forth with his incredible speed.


    Noah''s irises tracked the movement of rk, following him seamlessly even at the swiftness that surpassed light itself swirling around him.


    As a blue of seraphic light, the Sentinel rushed in with his arm cocked back for a massive swing iing, to which Noah reacted instantly¨C


    Swerving out of the way, he witnessed the missed punch prate the skies with a massive shock wave; through the sea of clouds, it cut through like a de, parting their dormant form.


    "Careful now. If you''re careless, it''s not me you''ll be hurting with those wild blows," Noah said, ncing over.


    It was clear what he was referring to as rk realized such as well, obviously not adjusted to his increase in power: civilians still upied the region, watching hopefully for the victory of the Sentinel.


    "You''d like that, wouldn''t you? You take joy in the despair of others," rk said in a disgusted tone.


    Noah took a moment to respond, "At times."


    The malignant reply sent rk into a fury as he flew forward in a rush, expelling the supreme heat from his eyes as the sh of red shot towards the wielder of the Creator''s Grimoire.


    "Try not to be so predictable," Noah calmly said, raising his hand.


    ["Universal Gate"]


    Once more, he manifested the colorful gate of spatial distortion, siphoning the ray of heat into another dimension entirely. At the wave of his hand, he manifested thepanion to the first gate, which spawned directly above rk with a redirection of his own magnified energy.

 Chapter 49 Dark Victory

    ?"--I won''t fall for that twice!"


    With a vicious shout, rk spun to the side before kicking off of the air, beelining straight for Noah once more as the redirected attack failed to catch the Sentinel.


    "I was hoping it wouldn''t," Noah taunted with a straight face.


    There was a certain confidence that exuded from the viinous, evolved man as he openly met the physical powerhouse that was rk in open air. A simple reason existed why he neglected to counter with long-range spells:


    ["Universal Enhancement: Divine Master of Combat: Stage One"]


    A silver light etched itself into his irises as tattoos of the same glow were drawn on his body, iying a new self-enchantment onto him.


    Just as rk threw a wild haymaker towards him, Noah seamlessly countered with a sidestep in the air before redirecting the power of the blow and tossing rk to the ground. It was a masterful usage of martial arts, borrowing from the likes of Aiki and Judo.


    This was the nature of the ["Divine Master of Combat"] enhancement: it granted Noah temporary mastery over many styles of fighting, able to replicate the supremacy of lifetime masters with a single buff.


    "Ghh¨C!"


    From the sublime redirection, rk was sent plummeting into the ground below like a meteor befalling the Earth, crashing harshly.


    Noah was in no rush to follow-up, instead slowly descending from the sky as he savored the battle, allowing himself to experience the new evolution to his system.


    Just as his feet touched the surface, the ground violently shook as cracks extended and chunks of rock were flown away from where rk hadnded. A massive release of energy propelled outward from the desperate hero''s body in the form of golden-and-silver lightning¨C


    "Enough¡ª!" rk''s singr yell boomed, causing the air to crack.


    Noah was unphased, though the surroundingnd wasn''t as a storm brewed around the enraged Sentinel, who found himself driven against a wall.


    The Superhero System wielder presented speed more impressive than before, and a warcry that boomed through the valley like a roaring thunderstorm. Moving as a construct of light, abandoning physical matter as such inessible speeds were used, rk circled around the evolved viin at a rapid pace.


    "This again?" Noah boredly said.


    The radiant light warped space around itself, contorting to perform an instantaneous attack, yet even that was perceived by the unequaled viin. Light itself could not reach Noah as he simply leaned out of the boundary of rk''s attack before reaching out, grasping the seemingly intangible material.


    It was as he gripped the arm of the Superhero, whose fist missed its target, that the man was forcibly turned back into his physical form.


    "Got you," Noah said.


    "Ngh¨C?!" rk winced.


    Strength monstrous enough to powderize mountains was what squeezed around rk''s arm before Noah flung him up then mmed him down with a thunderous impact.


    "You''re weak. Don''t they always say that those who fight for others are stronger? Funny how that works out," Noah said.


    There was an ungodly difference between the viin now and from the start of the battle.


    rk was helpless to such power; even as he ignited his heat vision whileid out on the ground, Noah simply redirected the st into one of his immutable barrier spells.


    "I won''t let you¡ª! You can''t get away with this!" rk growled, "Power doesn''t belong in your hands!¡­A fiend! A monster! That''s what you are!"


    The words spoken from the hero''s bloody mouth left as maledictions as rk returned to his feet, though wobbly as if a strong breeze could knock him over,


    "A monster? Maybe. All I am is what this world made me¡­but I''m not making excuses for myself," Noah smiled, "I love it. If it makes me a monster to use my power to do what I want, then call me one."


    rk huffed, "¡­I may not be the one to do it, but you''ll fall one day. If it isn''t me, another will do it. It''s only a matter of time."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "You''re boring me now."


    Without any semnce of mercy, causing the Sentinel''s words to simply fall on deaf ears, he pointed a finger at rk before invoking a new spell:


    [Universal Petrification]


    Before rk could defend himself, a ripple across the air passed against his body, causing his skin to shift into an encasing of stone, paralyzing him a it quickly stretched over his body.


    "Die along with your childish ideals, ''hero''," Noah apathetically said.


    The stone gripped the Sentinel''s body, who weakened as he was, couldn''t fight against it as it already petrified him from the neck down.


    "¡­Yeah. I''ll be passing, but my ideals won''t die with me. You''re mistaken if you think humanity will ept you without a fight. This is just the start, Noah grays," rk warned, "¡ªBe ready for when you get that wake up call."


    The final word was gotten in by the Superhero System wielded as the petrificationpletely enveloped his body following hisst words.  Like a statue risen in the valley made hollow by the battle, the Sentinel''s battle met its end.


    For a moment, Noah watched the now stone-turned figure with his arms crossed over his chest.


    ''I have to thank you for providing me with a meaningful evolution at the very least, naive hero,'' Noah thought.


    The transformation he had gone under was still a mystery to him in many ways, but the power it granted him was undeniable. After dismantling the heroic Sentinel, he took his leave from the valley with a snap of his fingers¨C


    [Universal Warp]


    ¨CJust like that, he warped back to the White House, the historic centerpoint of the country that he now called: his.


    As soon as he arrived, there were strange looks from his subordinates, and some of reverence; there was no doubt the changes he''d undergone from his evolution spurred from a near-death experience were drastic.


    Still, none of the subordinates he created through the bestowment of powers said a word; it was ruling through fear. There wasn''t much left to do in the city; the capital was already his and defending it was a piece of cake. What truly had his attention was the growth in power he had undergone.


    "Hey, you guys," Noah called out to some of his trusted fighters.


    "Yeah, Boss?" A man with fuzzy, golden hair responded, bearing tattoos of radiant light.


    "Hold down the fort¨CI''m going on a trip," he said.


    "You got it!" The man saluted.


    Without wasting a moment, he used [Universal Warp], bringing himself in front of a mirror in a random, unupied room as he checked on his own appearance. There was no doubt he''d grown several inches of height, along with gaining some muscle mass and his hair itself having grown to some length.


    ''Weird. I suppose even death is not enough to defeat my system. Maybe I am destined to make this world my own, then,'' he thought.


    Either way, he decided it was time for some fun for himself, though he''d need to make sure he wasn''t recognized as himself, seeing as he was now an infamous man.


    With a snap of his fingers, he invoked [Universal Tailor].


    Though the name of the powerful spell did pertain to being able to weave his battle-damaged clothes into more  "casual" wear, like a pop culture t-shirt and gray sweatpants, it allowed him to manipte other facets of his appearance as well.


    He trimmed his lengthened hair, bringing it down to the length of his chin before checking the mirror again, finding himself satisfactory.


    Pressing his palms together, he set his destination for his desired free time: [Universal Warp: Tokyo, Japan]

 Chapter 50 Ethereal System

    Pressing his palms together, he set his destination for his desired free time: [Universal Warp: Tokyo, Japan]


    In order to avoid freaking the people walking around the bustling city, he made sure to warp into an empty alley, walking out as he was greeted by a lively city; streets were filled with people, mainly Japanese but a few tourists as well. Digital billboards loomed over, ying advertisements and the such.


    At first, he couldn''t understand anything being said by passing people, nor could he read the signs.


    ''Let me fix this,'' he thought.


    [Universal Trantion]


    For his own perception, he altered any foreignnguage he perceived, whether by reading or hearing it out loud, to automatically trante into English for himself. Being quite the degenerate enjoyer of media himself for arge part of his life, Japan was a ce he always wanted to visit, and with seemingly boundless power at his fingertips, it was a simple dream to fulfill.


    "Man, this fried chicken is the bomb!"


    As he walked through a block of the city filled with pop-up shops, all of which were food rted, he could hear the denizens of the city speaking clearly.


    [Universal Freeze]


    It was time for one of the tests of his new evolution of power: how long he could keep time stopped. As he brought everything to a halt, the city-filling noises of chattering and digital billboards stopped.


    "Alright," he muttered to himself.


    There was always an unequaled feeling of freedom while stopping time; the people around him all became living statues, caught in the moment; the goods of establishments also becamepletely open to his whim.


    The first thing he did was indulge himself on the culinary treats of the city, walking by casually and nonchntly choosing from ready dishes whatever it was that caught his eye. Whether it was spicy noodles or saucethered fried chicken, he had his fill.


    It wasn''t even that he was hungry, really; Noah simply had a new habit of just indulging.


    "Yum."


    As he walked around casually while time remained stopped, something caught his attention as he moved down the street, finding an odd sensationbing over his back. It was his own senses, for some reason; those enhanced instincts of his red as he checked behind him.


    "¡ª"


    Behind him, somebody stood there, frozen in time, yet they were watching him intently¡ªat least, it appeared so. Time had been stopped long enough for him to walk a few blocks, so somebody looking at him beforehand didn''t make much sense.


    The person was a Japanese citizen with short, tinum hair and irises that stood out as they were subtly golden. Noah found himself staring back at the figure frozen in time before shrugging it off, turning back around.


    "You''re not wee here."


    ¡ªJust as he turned around, those words met his ears with malicious intent as a sense of bloodlust was felt, forcing Noah to spin back around just as he witnessed the tinum-haired man right in his face with a katana driving itself towards his chest.


    "¡ª!"


    [Universal Pulse]


    In that split-second, caught in surprise, he unleashed the spell between him and the assant, sending a shock wave against the katana-wielding man that rippled through the street, knocking him back.


    It was shocking enough to him that the figure was able to move within stopped time, but [Universal Pulse] didn''t seem to inflict any meaningful damage either as they got up quickly.


    ''A system wielder? Is he a part of SENTINEL?'' He questioned.


    What perplexed him further were the movements of this empowered stranger: the swift figure ran along the sides of the shy buildings as a blur, leaving afterimages in his wake with speed that embodied confusion more than sheer swiftness.


    "Noah Grays¡ª''destroyer'', ''viin''¡ªyou''re not wee here."


    The katana-wielding stranger''s voice echoed as he moved around as a blur, circling around Noah who remained standing in ce while the rest of Tokyo remained statuesque in frozen time.


    Noah held his hand out, choosing not to y cat and mouse with the empowered stranger.


    [Universal Pull]


    Using a singrity in front of him that had the sole conceptual power of dragging forth the speedy, tinum-haired stranger, he awaited the figure to be ced before him, although it failed to drag the man inward.


    Instead, the agile figure came in of his own volition, unleashing an unstable strike directly against the back of Noah.


    It certainly caught him off-guard: the stranger''s ability to resist [Universal Pull] struck him as odd, but whenbined with the fact they were seemingly immune to the stoppage of time as well¨Che began to realize something.


    "You''re using REATH metal, aren''t you?...Or something like it," he muttered under his breath.


    Though a sh had etched itself across his back, it was quickly mended through [Universal Recovery], rewinding the wound entirely both to his flesh and the fabric that covered it.


    "I do not indulge the questions of murderers," the stranger spoke, "I only give them retribution."<novelnext></novelnext>


    The tinum-haired man stopped a dozen meters before him, standing between the statuesque people of Tokyo as his ck trenchcoat swayed, unperturbed by the stoppage of time.


    It was now that the system prompt finally showed Noah who he was dealing with:


    [Haru | Level X | Ethereal System]


    There wasn''t much information given to him beyond just the name of the System wielded by the man named "Haru", though it began to give him an idea of what he was dealing with.


    ''Ethereal System, hm?'' Noah thought.


    As Haru rushed him again with that mesmerizing speed that operated on a different wavelength of agility entirely, Noah chose to go on the defensive for the time being while watching his opponent.


    [Universal Instinct]


    Heightening the natural reflexes of his body to a supernatural level, he perceived the iing shes, allowing his body to dodge from them automatically as he watched the golden-eyed man move.


    It was a further test for himself as he was also surprised at the fact he was able to sustain activebat along with other spells in unison with [Universal Freeze] for this extended amount of time.


    "Yokai Shudder."


    ¨CSuddenly, Haru''s body flickered before an unexpected direction was taken to his assault: the silver-haired man dashed through Noah''s body itself, moving as an icy-cold air that swept past the foreign viin in an instant.


    Noah felt a force ripple through his body, though was quick to counter it with a snap of his fingers:


    [Universal Absorption]


    Before any damage could spread through his body from the unorthodox attack, he converted the force itself into usable energy before spinning around to where Haru had ended up behind him.


    [Universal Expel]


    Flicking a bright, crimson sphere of energy in the direction of the Ethereal System user, Noah blew a chunk off of the street of Tokyo in the attempt to annihte his foe.


    "You will not hit me."


    Through the smoke, Haru revealed himself to be unharmed by the [Universal Expel], standing there without a scratch on his pale skin as he cast away the billowing smoke with his katana.


    "Hm," Noah squinted.


    ''That didn''t hit him? "Pull" didn''t seem to work either. I''m beginning to wonder¡­is he even tangible?'' He thought.


    Beginning to understand the thrill of such a duel, Noah cracked his knuckles with a smile appearing on his lips, "Come on¨Ctry and take down this ''viin''--if you can."


    Haru seemed fully intent on shedding blood that day, racing across the frozen city and going for a strike against Noah before¨Cthe figure vanished before the man''s golden eyes.


    "Over here," Noah yfully said from behind.


    "--!"


    Haru spun around with a freezing sh of his katana, but once again, only struck wind as there was no sight of the foreign viin.


    It was a continuous usage of [Universal Warp], used in session at a rapid rate, it made him essentially intangible himself, hardly appearing but for a fraction of a second before vanishing again before the edge of the de could reach him.


    "Stop these games," the stranger breathed out in frustration.


    To Noah, such encounters were less than even skirmishes; games that held no impact on his own life. There was already a clear idea he had in his head about the true nature of Haru''s System, though he spent a minute warping around the figure before actually putting it to the test.


    [Universal Soul Shock]


    Warping behind the silver-haired figure and cing his hand against his back, he unleashed a nefarious force through Haru''s body that bypassed the need to assault a physical body, but instead aimed for the soul instead.


    "Nnngh¡­!" Haru let out in pain.


    The force at which the man had his soul rattled was anything but "gentle", as Noah kept his hand pressed against his back, continuously emitting the nefarious, stygian force.


    "So, it looks like attacks directly on the soul work," Noah remarked.


    Releasing his hand from Haru''s back, he allowed the man to fall over, out of breath and panting as he was left in pain on the ground.


    "Once I figured out the nature of your System, it was pretty simple to beat you," Noah exined, "It''d work on most System users, but you see, I''m pretty versatile myself. You''re essentially a ghost; that body of yours operates regardless of time or physical hold."

 Chapter 51 Deception

    "Once I figured out the nature of your System, it was pretty simple to beat you," Noah exined, "It''d work on most System users, but you see, I''m pretty versatile myself. You''re essentially a ghost; that body of yours operates regardless of time or physical hold."


    "Nnn¡­" Haru gritted his teeth, picking himself up to a knee, "You''re a fool unlike any other."


    "Huh?" Noah raised an eyebrow.


    The air shifted around the man who should''ve by all means been defeated, but Noah found himself perplexed in that moment.


    "Your eyes deceive you. Your mind deceives you. You have deceived yourself."


    Haru''s words came without any sense of injury as he rose to his feet, staring straight at Noah, who was beginning to watch the scenery of Tokyo crumble. The scenery of thend he sought to visit revealed itself not to be so, even though he specifically recalled warping there.


    ''What''s this?'' He questioned.


    It was then that Haru''s appearance itself peeled away, revealing a familiar head of gelled, blue hair that made him question everything.


    [Yukio | Level X | Loki System]


    "Yukio? What''s going on?" Noah asked.


    The singr man he called an "ally" in this world stood before him after his disguise peeled away, looking at him with eyes that did not look as though theyid upon a friend.


    "You should''ve trusted your instincts," Yukio said, "I''m not somebody you should trust¨Cafter all, I am the user of the ''Loki System'', Noah."


    The scenery of Tokyo crumbled awaypletely as Noah found himself in an unknown chamber, where time had never been stopped, seeming to be forged out of a mystical metal that itself was familiar.


    ''REATH metal?'' He questioned.


    "Yukio¡­what''s the meaning of this?" Noah asked.


    As he tried to invoke his System abilities, he found chains of REATH metal wrapped around his limbs, pulling him down to the ground as they contained his power from being exposed.


    "Ngh¡­!" Noah struggled.


    Yukio looked down at him, "All that power, yet you''re so naive, Noah Grays. It''s almost enough to pity you¨Cif you weren''t a soulless, irredeemable killer."


    "Don''t try and sit on your high horse¡­You aren''t meless either, Yukio!" Noah growled, trying to look up, "You sat there and watched! You could''ve helped those people, but you didn''t!"


    "You''re right. I''m hardly better than you, but I am the lesser of two evils," Yukio calmly said, kneeling down, "I am not naive enough to think I can take the world by force like an entitled toddler trying to im everything as his own toy."


    The confusion was fresh on his mind; Noah''s mind raced as he found himself in a helpless spot he could''ve never imagined.


    ''Even in death, Asiimov¡­You still cause me so much trouble! I can hear it¨Cfrom Hell, you''reughing at me!'' Noah thought.


    "Truth be told, taking somebody like you down requires a certain ability to ignore atrocities. I hate to admit it, but you''ve got the power of a God there at your side, Noah. I doubt even Elias would be able to take you down in a head-on confrontation," Yukio said, "That''s why I didn''t."


    Noah continued to struggle, though he could feel the very essence of the REATH metal suppressing his internal power, not allowing him to muster even a single spell from hismand, leaving him helpless on the ground.


    "So, what is it you n to do?...You''re still a part of SENTINEL?" Noah asked.


    "Hm," Yukio watched him, "You''re mistaken, Noah."


    "Huh?"


    "Not everything I told you was a lie. I truly did abandon SENTINEL; I left it and sought you out. I used the power you had and the distaste you had for SENTINEL to thin their numbers while I set this all up," Yukio exined.


    "Then what is it¡­? If we want the same thing, then why are you doing this?! Yukio!" Noah yelled.


    Yukio stood back up, snapping his fingers as he revealed the dormant seals inscribed on the metallic walls, which seemed to bear some sort of magical inscription.


    "What''s¡­?" Noah began to say.


    "I''ve studied what "Systems" are for years now. A mysterious force¨Cseeming tailor-made by some sort of force of the universe, or perhaps God itself. In that research, I''ve discovered a way to¡­let''s say, ''decrypt'' these Systems¨CI''ve learned how to take Systems, Noah," Yukio admitted, "Here¡­I''ll stop hiding it from those prying eyes of yours¨CI''ll disy it for you."


    It was without the guidance of his own System, but he was shown the truth by Yukio, who revealed his unfiltered status to Noah''s eyes:


    [Yukio | Loki System | REATH System | Superhero System | Level 250]


    "You¡­You took their Systems? How? I just defeated rk," Noah said in disbelief.


    Yukio''s former expression of frivolity was gone as he presented a serious side never before seen, "Unlike you, Noah, I am diligent; I followed your every move¨Ceverything. I prepared this for years. This is what proper nning looks like¨Cthis is proper viiny."


    "Then what is it?...What is it you truly want?" Noah asked.


    "Freedom," Yukio admitted.


    "''Freedom''?" Noah raised an eyebrow.


    "I don''t want to rule the world like some sort of bloodthirsty tyrant; I wish to free it from the shackles of an archaic government," Yukio said, "Call it anarchy, but I call it freedom¨CI''ll let the world shape itself however it desires once its free from these old rules, but in the meantime, I''ll live my life how I want."


    It seemed Yukio was truly intent on this goal as he spoke of it passionately, pacing back and forth with a serious expression worn on his face.


    "So high and mighty, but you miscalcted one thing¡­" Noah said.


    "Oh?" Yukio nced over.


    Just then, the chains restraining Noah''s limbs shattered as he flexed his body and tore through their hold, breaking through their toughness with his physical strength alone. That was the miscalction; Noah''s System wasn''t the sole necessity for his strength¨Cit had altered the baseline physiology of his body entirely.


    "--Ah, I see," Yukio reacted.


    In that quick moment of sudden freedom, Noah ripped away the straggling pieces of REATH metal from his body before regaining ess to his System, not wasting anytime:<novelnext></novelnext>


    [Universal Freeze]


    Bringing time down to a total halt, he summoned an enchantment to himself: [Universal Enhancement: Lightning Time]


    The amplification of his reflexes and twitch movements allowed him to close in instantly, though he found his initial punch blocked by a single arm from Yukio, who managed to move within stopped time.


    "--!" Noah reacted.


    "Surprised?" Yukio looked at him, "--I told you; I have been diligent. I''ve imnted REATH metal into my body. I knew there was a chance this would happen."


    [REATH Surge]


    As the neat, ck suit that Yukio wore had its sleeve torn from guarding the punch, it revealed a gauntlet of REATH metal protecting his arm with a snow-whiteplexion.


    [Universal Incineration]


    Noah pointed his hand forward, unleashing a ze straight from Hell that roared against his enemy, shattering through the wall behind Yukio with the bright-crimson heat. The heat surpassed the temperature of the Sun''s core itself, yet even that wasn''t quite enough as Yukio''s voice was nonchntly heard.


    "Haven''t you been listening? I''m prepared for you."


    ¨CYukio''s confident words met Noah''s ears, who swung around, instantly enhancing himself [Universal Enhancement: Godspeed]


    In that moment, even the ever confident Yukio found himself at odds with the sudden skyrocketing in speed as he was kicked sharply, being flung through one of the metal walls. Noah didn''t let up, using [Godspeed] to move like a sh of light through the wind, following the man he kicked outside of the unknown dungeon into what looked to be some sort of underground, abandoned facility.


    "Urgh¡­That smarts," Yukio said before flipping himself around, catching his bnce.


    Just then, Noah had already summoned [Vanta ck] into his grip, swinging it towards Yukio who weaved through the iing strike and responding with a colossal blow of his own straight against Noah''s chest. The punch actually stunned Noah for a moment as he slid back, finding a dull ache fluttering against his chest.


    ''This strength¨Cit''s greater than rk''s own. How is he so strong?'' Noah questioned.


    "Surprised? I told you¨CI''ve studied Systems for years; I know how to unlock their full potential better than anybody," Yukio exined.


    "I don''t care about your high and mighty bullshit," Noah interrupted him.


    "Huh?" Yukio raised an annoyed eyebrow.


    "...All this crap about dismantling the government, anarchy, giving the people a choice¡­My dreams aren''t so grand like yours, sure, but they''re real," Noah said.


    "--" Yukio watched him.


    "This world burnt me. I experienced discrimination and prejudice my whole life¨Ceven the slightest, most meaningless differences, and people will use that to stamp you out like rubbish on the road. More times than I can count, I was left bloody and beaten for nothing more than being a bit more frail than average, or wearing sses," Noah exined, "Yet, I don''t want to burn the world in return. I don''t seek death or retribution; all I want is to be somebody revered for once¨Cafter years of being on the receiving end of those scowls, I want to be king."


    "Yet you''ve already burnt your fair share of it, haven''t you?" Yukio asked.


    Noah seemed caught by those words, but didn''t shy away from them as he instead faced them head-on, holding his pitch-ck sword up as he manifested a mystical armor around himself. A sleek silver design, honing in on speed.


    [Armor Construction: Quicksilver+]


    "You''re right¨CI have," Noah admitted, "but, I''m going to change my approach. I have the power to take the world without burning it down."


    [Universal Enhancement: Elemental Mastery]


    [Universal Enhancement: Champion''s Insight]


    [Universal Enhancement: Strength: Hercules+]


    [Universal Enhancement: Shock Absorption]


    [Universal Enhancement: Status Reflection]


    The mass amounts of self-enhancements allowed Noah to burst forward with speed thatpleted bent space around his form, allowing him to blitz Yukio, who barely defended himself with his Reath armor.


    "Ngh!" Yukio gritted his teeth.


    ¨CAmong all the calctions one could make, it was clear that trying to apply reason or logic to the [Creator''s Grimoire System] was an exercise in futility as Yukio quickly found himself physically overwhelmed.


    Even with the [Superhero System] providing a godly level of physical prowess and the [Reath System] granting a powerful armor and engine for Yukio, the sheer speed and power of Noah was too much; he contorted space, warping in his movements and leaving trails of cosmic rays in his wake.


    Avoiding the colorful beams that swept through the underground interior, Yukio swiped his hand, causing one of the attacks to bepletely diverted by a distortion, "That System of yours is the ''One Above All'', Noah Grays! I''m sure you understand that well, but you don''t use it to its full potential!"


    Noah didn''t respond as he intended, swept by as a construct of light before kicking his leg, unleashing an array of explosions just from the simple attack that blew Yukio back.


    Still, Yukio seemed rtively unharmed as he caught himself, "But I can! I can bring out its full potential!--The ability to warp reality as you please! The power to make falsehood into truth! My Loki System can only pretend to be what your System is!"


    "Oh, yeah?! Try and take it then!" Noah shouted.


    [Universal Disaster: Grand Tornado]


    Spawned from a thrust of his hand, he manifested a chaotic tornado within the underground area,pletely sweeping through with a wild torrent of destruction that tore away the pirs and brought the facility crumbling down.


    The tornado was by all means magical in nature, with the spiraling winds it produced being able to cut through steel itself as it swept through the facility within moments.


    "Ngh!" Yukio winced, being thrown back by the tornado.


    It was de-manifested quickly as the pirs holding up the undergroundir were annihted, leaving everything falling down as the ceiling of stone copsed from above. Noah still didn''t let up, however, as he used the essence of light itself to burst forward, grabbing onto Yukio and breaking through the walls and into the open world.


    Thend they were in was vast and devoid of civilization; open mountain ranges that Noah sped through with speed that surpassed any man made piece of technology, blitzing through the mountains with Yukio in his grasp.


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