《Rhis: The alternative story》 1 Prologue Within a white room stood a figure in a blue robe, bunny slippers and a night cap as he waited for the ball of light that seemed to be watching the figure of the crimson haired boy disguised as a mariachi band player on the screen. The ball of light stayed silent as he continued to view of the crimson haired boy continue his journey through the multiverse. When the screening finished the man in sleep-wear turned to the ball of light "Well, what do you think?" he asked for the ball of light''s opinion "Interesting I guess. So basically ''ROB'' killed this version of me to win a bet against you and sent him to another world like one of those isekais." the ball of light flashed a bit brighter each time a word rang out "Correct, again I apologize for taking my anger out on you. I realize you were innocent but I suppose I was just acting childish at the time" the man said embarrassingly as he chuckled " Eh it''s all good, quite frankly the only issue I have with this would be that I don''t have a body anymore considering you destroyed it" the ball of light responded. If he had a face then his expression would be blank "Still, not cool man. By the way what do I call you anyway?" the ball of light asked "Since your counterpart refers to that other god as ''ROB''. I suppose you could call me Ray" Ray said as he tested the way his name sounded off his tongue "Alright Ray, so what happens now?" the light ball asked "Well how would you like to experience a similar experience as your counterpart?" he asked knowing the ball''s answer "If it gets me a new body again, then I''m all for it!" the ball said as it brightened up even more "I must warn you first that I am not as powerful as the one known as ''ROB''. So your wishes will be limited quite a bit and I may have to adjust them to make it work." Ray clarified bringing the ball of light down a bit "Don''t worry about it, wishes are wishes so I''ll try not to complain too much." the ball said. If it had a body then it would wave it''s hand "Well then, what are your wishes?" the god asked as he took a seat on the couch "Infinite ma-" the ball began only to be cut off "I am unable to give you infinite mana or a body that is completely invincible like your counterpart. Besides Infinite energy is overrated. 9 times out of 10 the person wouldn''t even be able to fully use all that energy properly anyway" Ray said as he ranted "Uh.... then could you give me the zanpakuto Hyorinmaru?" the ball of light asked hoping Ray could do it. The man is a god after all! The god sat there in silence for a moment as if thinking deeply about it. "I can, however it wouldn''t be Hyorinmaru" he began. Before the ball of light could question what he meant, he continued "I am able to make a weapon be soul bounded to you that will mimic what the zanpakuto does. However there will be no spirit for you to communicate and bond with. For the weapon to become stronger, you must have it absorb other weapons. Is that fine?" he asked as he finished his explanation "Uh, yah I could make it work I guess." The light ball acquiesced "Well for my second wish, since I can''t ask for invincibility... How about regeneration or mental defenses?" the ball of light asked "That would be alright, the regeneration isn''t instant but it will be noticeable and you should be able to grow back limbs, should the need ever arise. Will that be your second wish?" Ray asked The ball of light was surprised "I can have them both in the same wish?" it asked hoping he didn''t waste a wish "Consider it me doing you a solid, as some people would say" the god said with a smile "Sweet thanks, anyway for the third wish.... could I use it later? I honestly can''t think of anything right now." he finally asked "That''s fine" Ray said snapping his fingers. The ball of light grew brighter until a new body was formed. Revealing a short spiked white haired child with turquoise eyes donned in shinigami attire. "Sweet!" he said checking out his new body "I figured you would be fine with looking like that since you wanted Hyorinmaru" the god said amused at the 14 yr old appearance of the child "But enough about that, I need to explain to you about a few things before I send you off. First off, what will your name be?" Ray asked getting back to business Finished with his nerdgasm moment, the white-haired shinigami put on a face of contemplation. "I''m always terrible at coming up with names, I''ll just use my crimson haired counterpart''s name. Shiro Aversis" Shiro concluded as his naming sense was always terrible "By the way, will I also be able to spawn in food and drinks like the other me?" the short kid asked "The add-on for food and drink that was given to your counterpart requires a platinum buffet ticket from the gods of food and drink. ''ROB'' had one to spare, I could request one for you, but no promises. Also you won''t have a system that lets you travel the multiverse, getting permission for that is actually quite difficult unless you were ''ROB''." Ray said bitterly "It''s fine I''m just glad to have a body again. Oh wait for my third wish can I still have a system even if it''s just the AI? I just want a guy to be able to explain things I may not know about in the world I''m going to." the albino haired shinigami asked "It''s not impossible, it''s just unusual. Usually a system AI would come with at least a couple functions but if you just need a guide I suppose I can allow it." the man acquiesced as the shinigami fist bumped the air "Now then, I will need to talk with one of the original deities of this world about you taking residence there. You may have to do a favor for the deity but she probably won''t ask for much, so you don''t have to worry about it. I''m sure the deity won''t try to ask you to kill other gods or something ridiculous like that." Ray assured "When you say gods, how many gods are there in this world?" Shiro asked a bit intimidated by multiple gods "Quite a few lower gods, if you have any more questions then just ask your AI when you have the time. When I need to speak to you I will also relay my messages through your system AI. Now then let me get the teleporter set up" the god said as he pressed some buttons into a machine that came out of nowhere. As Shiro saw the portal appearing he got over-excited "LEEROY JENKINS!" the shinigami yelled as he charged through the portal "Wait I need to calibrate where you will end up!" Ray tried to call out but failing to stop the shinigami "Oh well, I''m sure he''ll be fine" Ray shrugged as he went off to see about those buffet tickets 2 Goblins, its always goblins In the middle of a forest located next to a mountainous path, a flash of light lit up the surroundings as an albino haired kid popped out of nowhere in the air "AAAHHH" Shiro yelled as he fell to the ground hitting his head "Shit, that hurts. Where the hell am I?" he asked to nobody in particular [Host is currently located next to MT. Burkal] rang out a robotic voice shocking the shinigami dressed human "Jesus you scared me! So you''re my AI?" he asked trying to calm down his nerves [Correct, System is capable of knowledge and translation function] rang out the voice of the system again "I didn''t think you would get a function considering I didn''t exactly ask for anything except a guide" the child commented impressed [A function was required for System to be bound to Host.] it stated a matter-of-factly to it''s host "Well, can you give me the general knowledge of the world?" he asked sitting down next to a tree to get ready for the info dump [This world is called Rhis. Each person on this planet is capable of leveling through their ''Status Origins'', which is basically just a stats page for a game. The most important levels are from 1-100. every 20 levels a person will be presented with class ascensions depending on the individual. After an ascension, the individual will be given a passive and an active ability depending on the class that the individual received. Rhis is inhabited by multiple races from fantasy such as dragons, elves, demons etc. There are 6 continents comprised of empires and kingdoms of their own. Multiple gods are worshiped that can provide blessings to Heroes and adventurers. System suggests Host to check his status] it suggested after the small info dump "uh, do I just say ''Status''?" the shinigami asked as a blue screen popped up infront of him. Name: Shiro Aversis Level: 1 [0/20]exp required Race: Human / Shinigami(?)Class: Frost Reaper Soul Bound items: Hyorinmaru(lvl0)/Shinigami clothes (self repairing) Blessings: NoneFamiliar Contracts: None STR: 15 (+10)AGI: 20 (+10)END: 12 INT: 30LUK: 7RES: 30 Actives: None Passives: Divine Mental Protection/True Regeneration/Cold Immunity ¡Þ "System... why is my luck so low?" Shiro asked staring at his abysmal 7 luck [Like your counterpart, Host''s luck is also equivalent to E+ Luck] the system stated in monotone "MyInt and Res seem high though. Can you run by what the stats do?" the shinigami asked hoping for clarification in case he''s wrong about something [Strength affects physical prowess. Agility affects speed. Endurance is host''s durability. Intelligence indicate host''s ability with the arcanes. Luck is very general. Resistance is durability against magic attacks] the voice informed "It''s too bad I don''t actually know any spells to make use of that int" Shiro lamented [Host''s status is actually quite high for a level 1. Normally an average level 1 adult would have 6-10 on each stat] the system commented bringing his Host''s spirit up "I guess Ray didn''t mess around when he made this body" Shiro smiled as he got up when he heard a branch crunch. The 14 yr old''s nerves were on edge as he gripped his katana. The moment he saw a green figure appear behind the tree, Shiro snapped and stabbed the figure in a frantic charge. [DING.... 30 exp gained] [LEVEL UP] Opening his eyes to look down at the figure he stabbed. It was a short humanoid with green skin, a goblin. "I may have overreacted, but in my defense that was my first kill. Also I leveled up from one kill?" Shiro asked surprised that a single kill was all it took to level him up once. [The requirement for experience will increase the higher the level. System suggests absorbing the club for your weapon] the system suggested as it clarified to it''s host Looking down, there was a worn out club. It had dry patches of blood and splinters sticking out of it. The shinigami touched the club with the tip of his blade as the club turned into white motes of light. [DING.... 1 experience gained] "Huh, neat. But kind of disappointing considering it only gave 1 point" the shinigami sighed [Host''s weapon will grow more powerful the higher level it is. Once Hyorinmaru reaches level 30, the ''Shikai'' will be unlocked. Reaching level 100 will unlock ''Bankai'' and then the weapon will grow with host''s level until it fully matures. Please try appraising your weapon by focusing on it] the disembodied voice instructed Staring at the weapon, the shinigami grew impatient after about 10 seconds until another box opened up in front of him. Hyorinmaru Rank: God/Level: 0 (1/20)exp Type: Soul-bound Growth weapon/Durability: Unbreakable Attack: 50/STR: +10/AGI: +10 Shikai: Locked/Bankai: Locked ¡Þ [System would also like to clarify that Host is able to will your weapon and shinigami garb back into your soul] it said as Shiro made his sword pop back in and out of existence "Sweet, but why my clothes to-" He didn''t get to finish as a sharp pain assaulted his left. "FUCK" Shiro screeched out as he found an arrow lodged into his shoulder. "ARRRGH" the shinigami grunted loudly as he pulled out the arrow to allow his wound to close itself [Poison cleansed from ''True Regeneration''. System suggests retreating] it said as Shiro didn''t have time to comment on the regen cleansing poison. "Why would I retreat when it''s just a gob...lin..." he finished weakly as he saw around 40 goblins pop out of the trees. "Okay, running it is then." Shiro blankly said as he bolted it towards the opposite direction ¡Þ Ducking beneath branches and jumping over small boulders. Shiro continued to run as he dodged the projectiles consisting of arrows and slinging rocks from his pursuers. Keeping his eyes forward he nearly tripped when he saw something incredibly stupid to him. "Why the hell are goblins riding on cats?" he asked as he saw goblins armed with what look to be staffs. The cats they were mounted on looked like a mix between a cat and an anorexic lion. The shinigami immediately turned right the moment he saw the tips of the staffs begin to light up in flames. "OF-COURSE THEY CAN USE MAGIC! BECAUSE WHY NOT!?" He yelled out his complaints as he had to worry about more projectiles. Shiro hissed in pain as a fireball hit him on the back. He could feel the burns healing up due to his regeneration but it still hurt like hell. Moving out towards a clearing, the turquoise-eyed shinigami saw a much larger figure compared to the others. [It''s a hobgoblin] He would have thought it was an ogre if the system didn''t inform him. Bringing out his zanpakuto, the 14 yr old charged at the hobgoblin as it intercepted him. The two clashed as the hobgoblin slammed down a large cleaver at the shinigami, forcing him back. Shiro charged again for a second round but the hobgoblin didn''t use the cleaver to meet his blade this time. Instead the large goblin used his full body-weight as it tackled the shinigami''s blade with his shoulder. The goblin took a gash on his shoulder, but managed to knock Shiro back flying as he lost grip of his zanpakuto. The moment Shiro landed on the ground, a large cage dropped ontop of him. Before he realized it he was trapped inside a cage carried by 4 goblins. His zanpakuto was grabbed by another goblin when he lost grip of it. [Host could recall his zanpakuto to cut the cage open] the system suggested ''I would but... I don''t think this would be the time to do that'' he thought as he looked around at about a hundred goblins surrounding him It would probably be better to wait it out 3 I canst feel my arm "Man you guys really know how to escort someone huh?" Shiro asked sarcastically as the mob of goblins continued to carry his cage somewhere. Looking to the side he notices the goblin who caught his zanpakuto. The green monster noticed the shinigami''s gaze and began to wave his spoils as if to taunt him. ''I swear, I am going to kill that little shit the second I get the chance'' Shiro thought a little annoyed at the goblin''s actions As the foliage began to give way, the shinigami started to see small houses. Well the more correct term would be huts. The place seemed to be a village of sorts. Directing his gaze towards the sound of cries, he tried to keep his face blank as he saw goblins cutting a man up to devour. To the other side he could hear sounds of sloshing and meat slapping. The groups of goblins were raping a couple of unfortunate girls. Their eyes were vacant, as they didn''t react to the multiple dicks filling their holes. They were broken. Even if Shiro decided to bust out of the cage to rescue them, it wouldn''t turn back time. Shutting his eyes to ignore the scene around him, Shiro calmed his head. When the small cage trap was dropped, he re-opened his eyes to see another cage ahead. There were 2 large cages. One filled with men while the other were filled with woman. This village was probobly the home of these people before they were raided. His cage opened as goblins started to direct him towards the men''s cage. Shiro made his way to the cage until he was stopped by a large figure. It was the same hobgoblin from before that intercepted him in the forest. Before he could question why he was stopped he grunted as a white-hot blinding pain assaulted his right. "AAARRRRGH" he yelled as his right arm was now missing. Completely separated from his body as the hobgoblin threw it to the side for a bunch of other goblins to fight over. It looked like the big one wasn''t taking any chances as he kicked the shinigami into the cage. Once Shiro hit the ground he didn''t even feel it as he was too busy dealing with the agonizing pain of losing an arm. Eventually everything went black when he lost conscience. ¡Þ Stirring up from his sleep, the shinigami noticed it was dark. The sun probably went out hours ago. "Woah, you''re still alive. Honestly everyone was surprised when your arm grew back while you were out of it" A voice was heard next to him as he felt someone position him upright. Looking down to his right, Shiro was relieved to see his arm back where it should be. Then he turned his attention to the man beside him. He was an older man that looked to be in his twenties. Like everyone else in the cage, he looked emaciated. The man was shirtless so it wasn''t hard to see the bones of his ribs showing. His hair was a little grey, so chances are he must have been through shit. "Thanks for the help, by the way how long did it take for the arm to grow back?" Shiro asked the man "About 10 minutes, everyone was crowding around you earlier when it happened! The arm just literally grew back from the stub that was your shoulder! By the way, the names Kargon." He introduced himself after describing the eventful show of a man regrowing a limb "Shiro Aversis." the shinigami said as he took in his surroundings. There were no goblins guarding the cages. Were they not worried that they could break out? "That name sounds foreign. You from the eastern continent?" Kargon asked as Shiro checked the area. "Uh, my heritage might come from there but I wasn''t born there." he replied wondering how large the world was A couple of smaller kids ran up to Shiro with stars in their eyes. "Hey! How did you grow back your arm? Did it hurt? Are you an alien?" they fired off multiple questions at the shinigami making him unsure of how to deal with kids "Behave you two, Shiro is tired enough as it is. Let him rest a bit more." Kargon scolded the kids "Aww" "Ok" they proceeded to back off from Shiro as they went back to the others in the cage "Well they are surprisingly lively considering were prisoners. Speaking of which, where are the guards?" Shiro asked "Hehe, those brats are made of tougher stuff even in times like these. And there''s no point in guards. Were basically surrounded anyway. Even if we were to break out, which we can''t. Were outnumbered." Kargon said with a sigh "There is nothing we can do. They keep us in here as livestock to take out like rations every now and then. They do the same with woman except they have it worst. When those bastards get tired of playing with a girl, they just grab a new one to replace." He said bitterly "I lost my wife... she was one of the first they took." Shiro noticed the man''s eyes begin to well up as he recalled the past "But everyone here has lost someone. We aren''t strong enough. The highest level among us is 12 and we have no weapons." he said defeatedly as he slumped his back on the bars of the wooden cage. "So that''s it?" was all Shiro asked "What do you mean that''s it? Of course that''s it. That''s just how life is sometimes." This time another man from the crowd spoke up "He''s right, we can''t even get out of this cage." Another man''s voice rang out Shiro raised a brow to that "So, if you could get out of this cage what would you guys do?" he asked guessing their answer "We would die fighting. We would die of course, but we were going to die anyway." Kargon answered Shiro smirked as he looked at the rest of the men. There were about 30 of them in this cramped cage. 7 of them were children, the rest were adults or elderly. Looking over to the woman''s cage, the situation was roughly the same. "Well, how about you guys assist me then?" he asked as he stepped closer to the rest of the villagers ¡Þ Outside of the prisoner''s area stood a couple goblins. Generally there really wasn''t a need for guards as none of the humans were dumb enough try and escape. As the goblin with the spear heard a noise coming from his guard partner, he was confused to see his partner wasn''t there anymore. Before he could make a sound, a katana pierced his throat as he looked into the glowing turquoise eyes of the shinigami. Step 1 Take out any guards Handing the 2 spears towards Kargon and another man he thought was named Imen. They made their way to the female''s cage. Step 2 free the rest of the prisoners "Kargon, what are you guys doing?" A teenage girl whispered out "Were going to fight or die trying" He said resolutely until Shiro shushed him of his moment "Oh, right sorry" Kargon apologized remembering stealth was important Step 3 Silently take out as much goblins as possible to steal their weapons. This job was mainly for Shiro as even though he was only level 2, his attack was apparently the highest of the group. [DING.... 30 EXP GAINED] [DING.... 35 EXP GAINED] [DING.... 30 EXP GAINED] [LEVEL UP] The sweet annoying sounds of dinging rang out as he continued to pick off sleeping goblins. Eventually they would notice something wrong but for now he''s going to milk this experience and enjoy it. The shinigami creeped in the shadows as he lunged at a couple of patrolling goblins. The first goblin went down instantly, the second one made a small noise as he punched it in the throat. Funny enough instead of a swordsman, Shiro seemed to be doing well as a rogue or assassin. [DING.... 40 EXP GAINED] [DING.... 20 EXP GAINED] [DING.... 25 EXP GAINED] [LEVEL UP] 40 goblins and still counting. According to Kargon, there were roughly 150-200 goblins. If he could confiscate and eliminate enough of them, it would even the odds. The main problem would be the hobgoblin that beat him one on one earlier. Shiro would have to hope he can level up enough times before taking him on again. As the shinigami continued his cowardly tactics, the rest of the villagers were steeling their nerves ready to fight. Even the children were given knives and rock slings. When Shiro made his 70th kill a cry rang out. He was so busy with keeping himself hidden, that he didn''t think of the villagers getting caught. A roar signifying a charge of angry humans was heard as the shinigami ran back towards the prisoner''s area. Name: Shiro Aversis Level: 9 [70/400]exp required Race: Human / Shinigami(?)Class: Frost Reaper Soul Bound items: Hyorinmaru(lvl0)/Shinigami clothes (self repairing) Blessings: NoneFamiliar Contracts: None STR: 42 (+10)AGI: 40 (+10)END: 32 INT: 30LUK: 7RES: 35 Actives: None Passives: Divine Mental Protection/True Regeneration/Cold Immunity 4 Experience!!! As Shiro continued to pick off goblins that were running towards the source of the chaos. His eyes caught sight of a certain little smug bastard. It was the goblin that thought he was all that when it taunted him earlier. The shinigami had a bit of a feral grin on his face as he instantly recognized the little bastard. He was sure of it, all the scars on that goblin''s face and body were burned in Shiro''s mind as he knows how to hold a grudge. Perhaps the goblin sensed danger but it turned it''s attention towards the shinigami. Before it could run, the turquoise eyes of the albino haired 14 yr old were already in front of the goblin. A vice-like grip lifted the goblin up by it''s neck as it was unable to call out for help. A sickening crunch was heard as the goblin fell limp, it died staring at the terrifying gaze of death. [DING.... 15 EXP GAINED] ¡Þ As Kargon kicked the goblin off the kid named Diz, he helped the child up only for another goblin to jump on his back ready to stab him. Blood spilled on Kargon''s back as he turned to look at Shiro all bloody from his killing spree behind him. "Well you look like you were busy" he remarked at the shinigami''s appearance "Yep" was the cheery response of the kid who killed nearly a hundred goblins in their sleep "So what now?" Kargon asked as the rest of the group huddled up to face off against the rest of the horde Shiro simply smirked as he yelled his battlecry "EXPERIENCE!!!" Strangely enough the rest of the villagers no matter the age or gender all roared the same thing "EXPERIENCE!!!" as they joined in on the shinigami''s death charge with high morale Shiro prioritized most of his attention towards the shaman goblins and archers. If there is one thing he hates, it''s being out ranged. As he continued to cut his way through the slow shamans without their anorexic lions for mounts, he was forced to jump back as a large cleaver slammed down at the ground in front of him. Looks like he''ll have a second round against the hobgoblin sooner than he thought ¡Þ "Well, let''s see how you handle me this time now that I''m not level 1 anymore!" Shiro exclaimed as he closed the distance. This time however he stepped to the side, although his stats increased with his level. He wasn''t completely confident he could deal with the big guy in terms of brute strength. As the cleaver came down again, Shiro side stepped and jumped on top of the cleaver bringing his weight onto it. He thrusted towards the hobgoblin''s eye but it did something the shinigami didn''t expect. It let go of it''s weapon to back off leaving Shiro in disbelief. As Shiro lost balance in his odd footing on the cleaver, the wind was knocked out of him as he took on the full brunt of the hobgoblin''s kick. As the dust cleared, the disheveled shinigami was standing with his sword supporting him. "Seriously, are you really a goblin? Weren''t goblins supposed to be dumb?" he asked unsure of if the hobgoblin could understand him. His breathing was ragged but he could still go on. [Host should enhance his body using mana.] The system''s voice rang out stopping Shiro for a moment as the hobgoblin kept it''s distance, waiting for the shinigami to make the first move. ''I don''t have any skill for that!'' he cried out in his mind [In this world, that is simply mana manipulation. Everyone is capable of it, as it is one of the basic techniques people use. Even those villagers are capable of using it in their daily lives.] the system informed stunning his host ''Wait so it''s not a skill?'' Shiro asked dumbfounded [No, simply try to focus your mana around your body or certain parts of it. This is not as dangerous as the Nasuverses version of ''reinforcement''] the voice instructed as it clarified it''s safety Shiro began to imagine his legs being surrounded by blue light. He felt a small drain on his mana supply within him. The ground beneath him cracked as Shiro lunged towards the surprised hobgoblin. Unfortunately the shinigami had no experience with this, so he was unprepared for the burst of speed as he rammed right onto the hobgoblin. Luckily enough his sword was pointed forward as it slid right through the hobgoblin''s heart. [DING.... 500 EXP GAINED][LEVEL UP] ¡Þ As the last goblin was slain, the crowd let out a cheer of joy. Unfortunate they weren''t able to stay happy for too long. Even though they were successful in turning the situation around, it cost the lives of a few more people. "Let''s bury the dead, then eat. I''m starving" Shiro said to the crowd as everyone agreed "Shiro, thank you. If not for you we would have all been left to rot in those cages." Kargon said as he was digging a hole next to the shinigami "Don''t mention it, I was caught too. If anything I''m glad you guys fought back, if you didn''t I probably would have just sneaked off by myself and left to feel regret that I didn''t stay and fight" he admitted as he really would have just ran away. The odds were against him and if he were alone then victory wouldn''t have seemed possible. "Still, because you gave us hope. We thank you. Also Shavina would like to know if you are single." The man added on at the end "Dude I''m 14" Shiro deadpanned "People generally get engaged around 15, I have heard of some nobles engaging at around 13 as well!" he smiled slyly at the teenager "I think I''ll pass. I don''t think I''ll look for a relationship until I''m atleast 16 or 17." Shiro said as he shook his head "A shame, she''s beautiful for a woman in her 20s" Kargon said disappointed "That age difference is a bit much for me" Shiro said not surprised as he did see the lady earlier. She was beautiful, shame he didn''t feel like getting tied down. Name: Shiro Aversis Level: 11 [235/820]exp required Race: Human / Shinigami(?)Class: Frost Reaper Soul Bound items: Hyorinmaru(lvl4)/Shinigami clothes (self repairing) Blessings: NoneFamiliar Contracts: None STR: 48 (+10)AGI: 45 (+10)END: 38 INT: 32LUK: 7RES: 40 Actives: None Passives: Divine Mental Protection/True Regeneration/Cold Immunity 5 Rarity "ACHOOO!" came the sneeze from the white-haired 14 yr old as he took refuge underneath a large tree. It''s been a week since he departed from the villagers. To his surprise goblin meat was edible. It was honestly a bit tough but still edible. Some of the woman got together to pack up plenty of dry goblin meat and some water when it was time to send Shiro off. At this point Shiro was getting tired of goblin meat. Listening to the pitter-patter of gentle rainfall, he couldn''t help but curse the fact that he hadn''t actually met anyone yet since he departed. The only thing he''s seen so far were other monsters on the road and he enjoyed fighting them for experience. "System, how long until I reach the dock town?" Shiro asked mainly because he wanted to have a conversation and the silence always spooked him [Judging from Host''s current speed, System estimates roughly 2 weeks on foot] the system responded with calculations Apparently they were in the western continent. While there were indeed kingdoms in the west the shinigami could visit, they were incredibly far away from him. Shiro decided to try and get to any kingdom or empire to steal as much weapons as he could to level up Hyorinmaru. Did he mind being a thief? Not really, while Shiro isn''t necessarily a bad guy in the sense that he won''t just go around killing people for crap like a ruthless MC. He doesn''t mind having fun and enjoying the thrill of a heist. "By the way, has Ray made any progress about that food ticket?" Shiro asked hoping he could finally stop eating goblin meat. [Wait one moment...] the voice responded ..... ... ... [Food and Drink ''Rations'' silver ticket acquired] the system informed causing shiro to raise a brow "Didn''t he say that it was a platinum ticket?" the shinigami asked remembering his conversation with Ray [Ray sends his regards and says: Apologies, my request was denied. However I was still able to get a Silver ticket, so better than nothing.] it said relaying the message "So what''s the difference between Silver and Platinum?" he asked unsure of the difference [Platinum ticket encompasses every possible Food and Drink in the multiverse including legendary creatures. Silver ticket does not include that so Host would be unable to get Fafnir''s blood like Host''s counterpart. Food and drinks from Host''s original world is possible though."] the system explained with the small infodump "Oh sweet, can I get a turkey sandwich with some water then?" Shiro asked until a water bottle and sandwich in a bag appeared infront of him. As the shinigami was about to take a bite from his food, he was forced to duck as he heard an odd sound through the rainfall. The tree that he was sitting under exploded into flames as Shiro readied himself as he looked for his ranged enemy. He saw the figure through the rain, he was draped with what looked to be a brown duster. The top of his face was covered in the shadow of his fedora. But what surprised him was "IS THAT A GUN!?" he exclaimed as the single barrel rifle in his hand glowed a slight blue before the gunner shot out a blue blast of mana at him ¡Þ The shinigami backed away and escaped in the foliage, using the rain to muffle his sound as he jumped ontop of a tree. Shiro wasn''t confident in deflecting bullets much less magic shots. He wasn''t some kind of baddass samurai! He was still new at this crap. As he waited, hoping for the gunner to show himself. Shiro continued to steel his nerves, staying patient until the right moment. Unfortunately for him, the man wasn''t going to fall for it as a shot rang out. The tree he was perched on began to collapse down as the shinigami was forced to jump off. Landing on the ground, Shiro found his leg encased in ice. An ice bullet perhaps? Not enough time to think, the shinigami broke the ice off the ground in a surprising feat of strength and ran with a frozen foot. Getting to safety behind another tree, the shinigami bashed the frozen foot with the back of his blade. The moment he freed himself, the sound of shattering Ice rang out prompting a shot to go right through the tree. The bullet this time was red, the pain literally shocked Shiro as his wound closed up. The bullet went right through his chest. Tired of being on the run, the 14 yr old stepped out into the open and charged at the man pumping as much mana as he could into his legs. Perhaps the old bandit was surprised of the kid''s decision, but he fired out a shot after a moment of hesitation. Shiro opted to take the pain on his shoulder as the magical red bullet pierced through it. While that happened, the shinigami threw out his katana towards the assailant. The katana was deflected by the man''s rifle. However the man became stunned as the shinigami closed the distance and held the same katana he just smacked away in his hands again. Shiro stabbed straight through the man''s heart, leaving no chance for the gunner to survive. [DING..... 8390 EXP GAINED] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [ LEVEL UP] ¡Þ "What the fuck, why are there guns in this world?" Shiro asked as he held up the bandit''s rifle in his hands to inspect [In the past, heroes from other versions of earth were summoned to fight the demons when relations between the races were at their worst. One particular hero was what Host could call a ''Gun nut'' named Kiri. She revolutionized the world as she introduced fire arms. The mages in particular took great interest in the technology. Now magical fire arms that do not require bullets, but instead use mana are common in the middle continent.] the system informed with it''s infodump on history "Well, that''s cool I guess. Still annoying, if I wasn''t a cheat guy with regen I''d be dead from the blood loss." Shiro said as he appraised the firearm Old Crawford Rank: Unique/Type: Enchanted Firearm/Durability: average Attack: 700-1100/STR: +10/INT: +20 .... ... ... "This is freakin broken!" the shinigami cried out as he checked the stats that outclassed his katana in attack. "No wonder it hurt so much, if that guy landed an explosive shot on me instead of that penetrating bullet...." Shiro shuddered as he imagined his body completely exploding with no chance of regeneration [Will host use the rifle?] the system asked Shaking his head "Nah, if it''s this good then... how much would it level Hyorinmaru up?" Shiro asked with a smirk. Touching the rifle with the tip of his blade it turned into pink motes of light absorbed into the katana. [DING.... 3500 EXP GAINED] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] the shinigami just had a wide smile as he listened to the melodious sounds of his weapon leveling up. Checking his katana he was satisfied with the upgrade. Hyorinmaru Rank: God / Level: 20 (300/2000)exp Type: Soul-bound Growth weapon / Durability: Unbreakable Attack: 400 / STR: +25 / AGI: +20 / INT: +15 Shikai: Locked / Bankai: Locked ¡Þ "Hey system, what are the ranks for weapons in this world anyway?" The shinigami asked as he trekked down the dirt road [Raritys go from: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Unique, Epic, Legendary and God. Common equipment are generally made from basic materials. Uncommon equipment are made from slightly rarer materials, Rare equipment generally are simply made from some of the rarest materials. Unique equipment generally have a type of enchantment or magical reinforcement placed onto them through a multitude of means. Epic equipment have even stronger enchantments and reinforcements placed onto them and can possibly become growth equipment. Legendary equipment are reinforced not only with magic, but also divine energy siphoned from priests or saints and can also become growth equipment. God ranked equipment are less than 10 in this world, they require an actual god or multiple gods to assist create in the process. Host''s weapon is the only god ranked growth equipment] The system explained causing the shinigami to get dizzy from the infodump "I think I have a headache now" Shiro complained rubbing his temples [Host should get used to more infodumps in the future whenever Host asks questions.] retorted the system 6 Cliche robbery "System, how does this bag work?" Shiro asked as he held up the shabby storage pouch he retrieved from the gunner''s body [Magicians who have attained high mastery of space magic are required.] the disembodied voice replied as Shiro dug through the bag The bag was filled with some old rations, water jugs, coins and explosives? The explosives looked like dynamite sticks, there were even some match sticks to go with them. Picking up a gold coin, the shinigami realized he didn''t have any money until now. "Hey system, what''s the currency in this world?" he asked wondering if the coins are worth much [Bronze coins are the lowest form of currency. Silver coins are worth 50 bronze coins Gold coins are worth 100 silver coins Platinum coins are worth 100 gold coins] the system listed to it''s host counting the amount of money, the man had 11 gold coins, 30 silver coins and 63 bronze coins. "Does this mean I''m rich?" Shiro asked with stars in his eyes [An average wealthy person will have roughly 30 gold coins] the system responded bringing down the shinigami''s excitement. The winter haired protagonist stopped when he noticed something ahead. A caravan surrounded by armed men mounted ontop of oversized lizards. "Could this be the cliche road robbery!?" Shiro exclaimed with starry eyes ¡Þ It was a simple job, distract the driver, surround the target and loot everything of value. There was no need for any bloodshed. But Scald just couldn''t keep his dick in check. He just had to try to grab a girl just because she looked alright. The idiot, now we actually got a fight on our hands. As I gave an eye signal to Bronc, we readied to put down any hot-head who thought themselves a hero. "ARRRGH!" Until I turned to the sound of Kenny with a blade sticking through his chest "BACKSTAB!" It was difficult to comprehend who said that, but it probably came from the bastard that killed kenny "You killed Kenny! You bastard!" Looks like Bronc noticed it as well, this isn''t good. Kenny and him and a thing going on. Neither Scald nor I ever mentioned anything about it, but it was pretty obvious. "Bronc, calm dow-" I didn''t get to finish as he jumped off the driz. If you''re going to charge at someone like an idiot, why would you jump off your mount!? "I''M GONNA MURDER YOU, YOU SON OF A BITCH" Bronc roared as the white haired brat kicked Kenny''s corpse to him. "NOBODY MOVE" the kid yelled as he held up orange sticks between his fingers. Dear gods the kid''s loaded with high-grade dynamite! He''s gonna kill us all! ¡Þ [System believes this to be a terrible plan.] The voice stated as the shinigami held up the lit dynamite. Maybe the system was right, running up to someone and yelling ''BACKSTAB'' was probably not the best idea. Looking towards the faces of the bandits, at least they were terrified. Then again the people on the carriage seemed to be terrified too, so maybe using lit explosives to threaten people wasn''t the greatest idea. "Scram before I blow this place sky high!" the winter haired shinigami yelled as the bandits didn''t move "You''re bluffing! If you use that, it''ll kill the others as well!" one of the men that looked to be the leader said calling his bluff "TRY ME! I WILL KILL AS MANY PEOPLE AS IT TAKES AS LONG AS YOU ARE ONE OF THEM!" Shiro yelled out with a menacing grin on his face perhaps his bluff worked because the boss''s face actually seemed a bit troubled. Good because there wasn''t much time left until he was forced to throw the sticks. "Scald! drop the girl and let''s get out of here." the bandit leader finally called out "But boss! He killed Kenny!" the man holding their dead comrade''s body cried out "And we will deal with him eventually, but for now we should bury Kenny" the boss said carefully. Looked like the grunt agreed as he got back on the lizard and rode off in another direction. Shiro let out a deep breath as he saw them disappear far off. "YOUR HANDS!" a man from the carriage yelled out as he pointed towards the shinigami with a horrified expression [System suggests throwing the explosives] rang out the voice of the system as Shiro looked down at the dynamite in his hand that were about to explode. "OH SHIT" he cried as he chucked them as far as he possibly could with mana enhanced arms. Over at the bandits "Don''t worry guys, that brat will get what''s coming to him" the boss assured to his underlings as they came to a stop to look for a place to bury their friend It was in that moment that a thump was heard on the ground next to them. Looking closely it was the sticks of dynamite. "OH SHIT!" was the last thing the boss said when a massive explosion boomed off creating a mushroom cloud that was seen in the distance. [DING.... 2940 EXP GAINED] [DING.... 1850 EXP GAINED] [DING.... 1700 EXP GAINED] [LEVEL UP] ¡Þ [Congratulations host on reaching level 20. As a gift from ''Ray'', he has chosen to give you his blessings to help in your future endeavors. First Ascension, host has gained Brinicle Shell(Active) and Silent steps(Passive)] Informed the system as the shinigami was feelin good Name: Shiro Aversis Level: 20 [900/8200]exp required Race: Human, Shinigami(?)/Class: Frost Reaper Soul Bound items: Hyorinmaru(lvl20) / Shinigami clothes (self repairing) Blessings: ''Ray''s Blessings''/Familiar Contracts: None STR: 105 (+125)AGI: 90 (+120)END: 60 (+100) INT: 55 (+115)LUK: 7RES: 60 (+100) Actives: Brinicle Shell Passives: Divine Mental Protection / True Regeneration / Cold Immunity / Silent Steps ¡Þ [Ray''s Blessings: +100 to all stats except luck] [Brinicle Shell: Consumes mana to conjure a sphere of mana-enforced ice around a target. The larger the target, the more mana will be consumed. Can be strengthened with more mana] [Silent Steps: User''s steps will not make sounds unless the user starts to run.] "Dear gods, that''s a lot of stats." Shiro said in awe as he looked at the increase in his attributes [Host''s status is enough to be on par with levels 35-50. However System must warn host that despite the difference in level, Host can still be defeated by those around the host''s level if they are skilled enough. System analyses host to over-rely on regeneration, should enemies adjust to deal with it then host may die] the system warned as Shiro did start the develop a habit of just tanking hits since he can just regen aslong as his body isn''t completely destroyed "Well that just bums me out, maybe I should join a school for sword training, also why is my class still the same?" The shinigami asked as he noticed he was still labeled as a Frost Reaper despite reaching level 20 [When Host''s body was created, the custom Frost Reaper class was given to Host. If there is a large change to host''s body, the class may mutate] explained the robotic voice "Um... do you always talk to yourself?" came the voice to shiro''s side. He looked to the side to see one of the merchants he saved. "Yup, don''t worry about it." Shiro waved off the man''s concern. The man didn''t look convinced the shinigami was alright in the head 7 Above 100 "Father, why do we have to come out here so far from the mainland?" The black haired girl with some gray tips asked as she looked to the tall 7 foot giant of a man. His face was stoic, his black hair was tied up in a topknot, the armor he donned was black and encrusted with gold. He never took his sight off the girl who was speaking with the governor of the city as he responded to his daughter. "The Imperial princess realizes her siblings will make a move on her soon, so she decided to get away from the mainlands." He kept his hand tight on his halberd, ready to kill anyone who made any suspicious moves. Even the governor was not to be trusted, in fact he was the most likely target to attempt something on the little girl. "But why? We do not have as much troops at the ready here for when they do make a move on her." The daughter pointed out confused "Rei, it is not always about the quantity of troops, but the quality." He stated as he used his daughter''s name whenever he tried to teach her. "And since we are this far out, the other imperial children will be hard-pressed to send anyone who can stand up to us." "Rei! Lolz! I finished my business with the governor." A little girl in expensive looking robes said as she called out to her retainers. The girl looked to be around 11, her face was a bit pudgy but smooth. If anything she looked like your average rich kid. "Lady Mirrah, please be more cautious. We are still on alert." The older man scolded as he continued to keep his guard up. This was Mirrah Sol, a child of the emperor with her two retainers Lolz and Rei Sol. The retainers took up the name in the past due to them not having surnames at the time as they were simply wandering warriors. "It''s fine, it''s still daylight! Who would be stupid enough to try during the day?" the little girl waved off "And I have you two looking out for me so I should be fine." Mirrah finished off with a bright smile "Of course we will do everything we can to protect you, but it''s still just two of us." Rei affirmed as only the two of them were chosen to accompany the princess as her bodyguards. "But enough of that, what did you think of the governor?" She asked as the two didn''t have a chance to be formally acquainted with the man "He seems like a nice person, I don''t think he would do anything to me" the princess responded as she felt the man was a decent guy "That may be so, but even the most decent of people can be pushed to do things they don''t want." The armored man spoke as if from experience "Well alright, I''ll try to be more careful then." Mirrah relented as the trio made their way towards a bath-house. ¡Þ "Have you heard from Crawford?" The slightly older than middle aged man asked to his assistant. This was the governor of the city. The city itself was a trade city that shipped materials from the middle continent to the western continent. Merchants would frequent the place each day for profit. The city itself was more of a capital of trade. "This morning he left saying that he was going to hunt to calm his nerves. However he hasn''t returned since." The old butler responded. Crawford, a high-level mercenary who specialized in many areas thought mainly combat. His assassination record so far was 13 successful kills from afar. While magical firearms are common, the western continent do not use them as much as the others, so finding a mercenary with a unique weapon was great for killing the princess. "sigh.... I really wish there was another way." The governor said bitterly. It was not money he was offered as he was the governor of a trade capital, but information. There was apparently information about his son who had left for the main continent a year ago. The information should be authentic since it''s coming from an imperial prince. Why can''t siblings just be nice to one another? "Hopefully Crawford returns, if not then I will have to use my own guards." Generally people high up will have their own shadow guards to protect them. Using his own would be risky since he himself had enemies that would jump at the chance to take him down from his position. ¡Þ "So.... all I have to do is put my hand on the ball?" Shiro asked as he looked at the crystal ball skeptically. "Correct, since there are no records of you. We require you to register for an identity to allow you within the city. Do not worry, it is only to have on record in case you were to do anything to disrupt the peace." The guard assured to the shinigami as he explained the process It''s been less than a day since the shinigami ''saved'' the merchants, who were still a little afraid of him since he seemed like a ticking time bomb at the time, literally. However they still allowed him to travel with them towards the trade capital. The shinigami thought there weren''t any kingdoms near him but apparently to the system, the capital didn''t count as it was under the control of an empire. Since it was a city, it should have their own military. With a military, they should have weapons. And with weapons! His katana could level up! "Well, does it cost anything?" Shiro asked sort of not wanting to pay despite having a decent amount of money "50 copper for the I.D card" the guard informed the shinigami "Well, alright then." the shinigami said as he reluctantly parted with 50 copper. Placing his hand on the crystal ball, it began to glow a soft light. A beam shot out from the ball towards the blank I.D set underneath it. Shiro Aversis Class: ???/Job: none Race: Human, ??? Level: 20 "That''s strange, it seems you have a heritage that even the device is unable to read." The guard pointed out with a strange look "You''re not surprised that my class isn''t displayed?" the shinigami asked as he noticed the guard wasn''t focusing on the class "Giving one''s classes are optional. Well I believe it should be alright, enjoy your stay while you''re here kid" the guard waved off the class as he handed over the I.D card "Thanks, by the way is there a place to stay and possibly get a shower?" Shiro asked hoping to get all the dirt off him. His shinigami clothes do not self-clean so he smelled a bit stinky. "Head towards the commercial district, there will be a bath-house you can use. When you''re done just ask for the residential district if you need a place to stay." the guard answered as the shinigami gave his thanks and sprinted for the bathhouse ¡Þ ''Dear gods, this is what I miss'' Shiro thought as he soaked in the hot water of the bath. The bathing area was incredibly spacious, there were at least 60 people here. It was a uni-sex bath, but the shinigami was more focused on relaxing on his soak than female bodies. He spent weeks covered in blood, dirt and other fluids of the things he killed on the way here. Honestly he was itching every now and then so this was like heaven for him. They even offered to clean his clothes! Such great service! [System believes host should purchase armor in the future] the system A.I voiced it''s opinion ''I guess I should, I can''t just rely on my regeneration all the time.'' The shinigami admitted. His shinigami clothes don''t actually protect him despite being soul-bound to him. They were just normal clothes that self-repair he supposed. ''I guess I''ll try to see if I can buy something tomorrow. Sleep first though, that carriage ride felt uncomfortable as hell.'' Shiro decided as he wanted to sleep in a bed again since he hasn''t slept in one since the moment he was sent to this world. It was then that Shiro noticed someone soaking next to him. A 7 foot giant of a man was sitting still as a statue next to him. It freaked the shinigami out considering it was weird for him to not notice a person of his size. [WARNING! System detects the man to be above level 100. Accurate calculations inconclusive.] The system rang out as Shiro began to pale like a ghost. The large man opened his eyes as he looked down towards the white haired kid. "Are you alright child? You seem pale" the large man asked. With every word his chiseled abs seemed to vibrate with silent intensity freaking the shinigami out even more. Shiro didn''t say a word, he simply bolted out the bathroom in fear of dying from an accidental touch. Lolz Sol was left confused that day, he felt perhaps he just wasn''t good with children. His daughter seemed to be laughing at the fact that her father just scared away a little kid. 8 Danger "This armor is made from the scales of a turtle dragon. I guarantee it''s defensive prowess, even those of level 80 and above will find it difficult to dent it." the merchant presented to the shinigami in awe "And how much does this cost?" Shiro asked drooling as he looked at the imposing dark blue armor "100 platinum coins!" Something inside the shinigami cracked as he was broken out of his stupor. Turning his gaze towards the merchant from the armor, he gave a ''Are you serious'' look as if the man was insane. He just came into the shop and asked if he had any armor and the man just went ahead and showed him a masterpiece he couldn''t hope to afford! ''Is he trying to mess with my feelings!? Where is the justice!?''Shiro thought as he was still staring at the merchant incredulously "Um, do you have anything cheaper? Preferably in the 11 gold price range?" Shiro asked a little embarrassed that he wasn''t worthy of even looking at the armor Moments later the shinigami was sent flying out the door by boot. ¡Þ Shiro sighed as he continued to loiter around the commercial district in search for armor. "Magic infused silk armor! 300 gold!" "Savage King Snake''s leather boots! 170 gold!" "Emperor Armadillo''s Pauldrons! 600 gold!" Everything was freakin expensive! His 11 gold didn''t seem like it could buy anything [The equipment here is overpriced due to them coming from the main continent] The system''s voice rang out ''Still, at the very least I want to get something to help keep me alive.'' Shiro thought as he kept looking around. The shinigami stopped as something caught his eyes. It was a blue hat, one of those bamboo hats that farmers and samurais wore. Honestly, he should be looking for armor but he was sort of a weaboo for this kind of thing. The old shop lady noticed the snow haired boy''s look and smiled. "That hat was from an eastern warrior. He died in a city raid, I picked it up afterwards. I''m not sure of the material, but it''s pretty sturdy. For you lad, 10 gold!" The elderly merchant lady said "10 gold for a hat?" shiro said cocking a brow, sure he found it cool. but 10 gold for a hat? Are you serious? "It''s a rare find around these parts, I am already quite generous to offer 10" The shop owner smiled causing the shinigami to give her a look "5 gold" he responded "9 gold" she countered "6" "8" "7" they both finally said Shiro felt ripped off but still, he felt pretty baddass. Although the blue hat didn''t really match with his shinigami robes in terms of color scheme, it still looked nice. [System believes host has forgotten why host has come here] the system responded bringing the shinigami out of his moment of joy "Ah! Right, I should find the military barracks." He recalled as he came to the city to feed weapons to Hyorinmaru [System meant host was supposed to purchase armor] "Ah.... well I''m pretty broke so it''s not like I can buy anything good" Shiro said with a bitter smile as he left the commercial district to ask for the location of the barracks. However something else caught his eye at the last moment. An imaginary light-bulb lit up over Shiro''s head as he got an idea! ¡Þ "Drop it here!" called out the cat-eared soldier as he directed the fisherman to drop his load on the ground. "I love this job" the soldier said as he took in a nice whiff of fish. Today new recruits were being inducted in and the menu for the night was fish. Lots and lots of fish, hence a truck-load of fish being delivered to the barracks was part of the deal. The beast-man listened to the plopping sound of fish hitting the ground. "That''s all of it!" the fish merchant called out "Thanks, the vice-commander will deal with the payment" The soldier directed as he looked at the large pile of different-sized fish "Thank-you for your patronage!" the merchant said before leaving The cat soldier had a big smile on his face as he continued to inspect the goods, the only downside to this job would be moving all the fish to the kitchen. He''d have to pick out a couple of the fresh recruits to help with that. He raised a brow as his cat-eyes caught something. A huge bass nearly 5 foot long! The man drooled a bit as he picked it up. It was a bit heavier than he expected but I guess that just meant there was just that much meat on it. His face froze when he found something strange at the bottom of the fish. A face. Turquoise eyes looked back at the charcoal-yellow slit eyes of the cat soldier as the two had a moment of silence. Come to think of it, fish don''t have arms and legs of a humanoid unless it was a mermaid. No, even then it would be half man, half fish. This was literally a face sticking out of the bottom of a fish. Before the cat soldier could break out of his life questioning daze, he was knocked out by the ''Fish man'' smacking the cat with another fish. "Well that was easy" Shiro commented as he looked down to the knocked out guard/soldier. This was the shinigami dressed up in a fish suit, he even stuck his sword inside of one of the fish. If not how was he supposed to knock the guard out? Purchasing a fish suit, then hiding himself in a payload of fish being delivered to the barracks. Shiro felt like a genius! Now he just needed to tie up the guard and make his way to the armory. "Ara... you look like you''re doing some pretty risque play there hmm?" came a strange voice alerting Shiro as he was caught tying up the cat-man. Turning around he was greeted with an incredibly muscular man that radiated danger. But the danger wasn''t the life-threatening danger, it felt more like a need to cover up his backside danger. "You are tying him up all wrong, honestly the youth these days. I don''t understand the whole dressing up as a fish fetish, but as for bondage... let me help you with that." The muscular man said as he sauntered towards the shinigami as all his danger signals lit up. Maybe he could use the poor cat-soldier as a sacrifice. 9 Mcwiggles "Now when you get to the tail, in most cases you leave it out. Most beast-men''s tails are sensitive so it makes a nice place to tease see?" The large man said as he stroked the bound cat-soldier''s tail getting a reaction out of him. "You said most, there are exceptions?" Shiro asked intrigued at the bondage lesson that''s been going on the past 20 minutes. The cat soldier was gagged and tied up magnificently. "Yes, you may encounter someone of the lizard tribe. Their tails aren''t as sensitive, but you could still get a reaction when caressing it. Just be sure not to have them bound too tight or else they may lose feeling." He informed seriously making Shiro wonder what the lizard people looked like "Bondage has predated back in the ages of old, it actually began as a military technique when binding prisoners. It was simply much easier to use rope back then and over-time they would begin to use it for theater. It has continued to evolve from that until you have what we know as bondage today." The man said as he opened the shinigami''s view of the art of bondage itself. "MMMHHNNN" the cat soldier let out a muffled moan as the man gave him a slap. [Bondage skill gained from Bondage-master] ''Huh, so other people can impart skills to me'' Shiro thought as he checked the passive Bondage skill in his status. "Well this was an enlightening experience" the shinigami admitted "But I got to get going mister..." "Mcwiggles, Sergeant Mcwiggles" Mcwiggles said as he introduced himself with a stage bow "Ah well I''m a new recruit and I should be getting out of this fish costume. Do you know where the armory is Mr. Mcwiggles?" Shiro asked as he honestly didn''t know where the armory was at. "Right, you don''t want to miss initiation. Head down the hall past the mess hall, then take a right and you can''t miss it." Mcwiggles smiled as he directed the shinigami. A thud was heard as Mcwiggles was knocked out by the fish-katana. "Thanks Mcwiggles" Shiro said with a smile as he left the room after tying up his bondage-teacher ¡Þ The shinigami casually walked towards the armory instead of trying to ninja it by sneaking around. Unfortunately he had to leave behind the fish-suit as it would have attracted unwanted attention. Instead he took the cat-guard''s uniform, although it was a bit too large for him, it was better than the bondage teacher''s size. Reaching the door to the armory, the shinigami noticed two guards stationed there. ''Well I guess it was too much to hope that the armory would be unguarded'' Shiro thought as he didn''t plan for there to be guards "Halt, state your business" One of the guards commanded "I need your help, Sergeant Mcwiggles and another guard was found in the storage room tied up! I''m off to alert the commanding officer, can you two deal with them?" the shinigami spoke a bit frantically as to increase the gravity of the situation "Alright, let''s go" the man said to his fellow guard as they both ran off towards the storage room leaving the shinigami alone ''Hehe, that was almost too easy'' he thought as he strolled into the room Spears, swords, maces, bows and other weaponry were lines across the walls. Each weapon looked like they were copy-pasted as they all looked the same to their counterparts. ''All of these look like your average common weapon. Oh well, beggars can''t be choosers, guess I should start absorbing them.'' he concluded as he got to work on feeding his katana ¡Þ The two guards reached the storage room to find two tied up men hanged from the ceiling. "Free Sergeant Mcwiggles, I''ll free the cat" He ordered as he removed the gag and blindfold from the cat-soldier "*Cough* *Cough*" The beastman hacked out "There''s an intruder!" he exclaimed to the men who were removing their binds. [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] The sounds of his katana leveling up came to an end as he ran out of weapons to absorb. Disappointed that it stopped at 29, he supposed that quantity just doesn''t win out against quality. Shiro basically stole an entire armory of hundreds of weapons for the guards and soldiers in the city. He sighed as he was just 1 level away from being able to use the shikai. The door busted open revealing a group of guards pointing their weapons towards the shinigami. ''sigh well, I guess it''s time to make my grand escape'' Shiro thought as he held up his last 2 sticks of dynamite A large explosion was heard across the city alerting everyone. ¡Þ "SIR! The armory has been ransacked! The intruder is being pursued" an officer reported as the governor was surprised of what transpired. He didn''t feel too bad about the current chaos, in fact he felt that it was an opportunity. "Inform the commander that he may use any methods to locate the thief." he calmly said as he waved the officer to leave. "Men, assemble" the governor spoke to nothingness as a group of black clothed men appeared kneeling in front of him. "This is the perfect chance, we can no longer wait for Crawford. No matter what, you must make sure that the princess dies today! To those of you who die, I will compensate your families for them to live luxuriously for the rest of their lives. And to those of you who live, should you succeed, I guarentee you riches await you!" he exclaimed as blood began to rush within the stoic guards "GO!" he ordered as the men disappeared as if they were never there ¡Þ The sun was setting over the horizon as the shadows became longer. Mirrah and her retainers were alerted by the large explosion that everyone heard. "What happened?" The princess asked as the armored man returned "It seems someone has broken into the armory" Lolz said as he looked at the many frantic guards running around like headless chickens searching for the thief The princess was surprised someone would be dumb enough to try and break into the armory of a city barracks "Did you find out who it was?" Rei asked interested in the thief The man shook his head "All I know is that it is a boy with white spiked hair. Supposedly he snuck into barracks and tied up a Sergeant and a guard. Then he redirected the soldiers at the armory and used that time to take all the weapons." "But why would one boy need all those weapons?" Mirrah asked in wonder. It''s not like they would sell for much considering they were mass produced weapons for the average guard. "I am unsure, however we shouldn''t concern ourselves with it" the man said as it wasn''t really their problem since they were just visitors. The other two nodded as they agreed. Beneath the black armored man, his shadow became larger until it sprang to life engulfing him. The two girls watched as Lolz disappeared from the area with wide eyes. Rei immediately deflected a barrage of daggers with her twin crossed blades. "Apologies but we don''t have much time. Please don''t make this harder than it needs to be for us." Came a voice from the shadows as a group of black-robed men surrounded the two. ¡Þ Shiro could hear his heartbeat as he continued to still himself. While most would think that he would run the moment the explosion rang out, the shinigami simply hid himself in the same room. Two sides of the walls were destroyed as only a few people were around now inspecting the area. Shiro''s disguise was destroyed in the explosion, it even took out a chunk of his body but he took his time to regenerate as he hid inside a crate. What surprised him the most was that the explosion actually didn''t kill anyone. He knew that if it did, he would have gotten experience from it. The plan now would be to wait until night fell, then he would sneak his way out of the area. "Man, to think that it was just a single kid that did all this" A voice was heard near the shinigami. Probably just a guard stationed at the area, strange that they were stationed at a place that had nothing to guard since Shiro took everything of value. "I feel you, what level do you think that kid was at to be able to do all this?" "Probobly 50 maybe 60." he guessed "What would a level 60 need with all the junk weapons?" "Not sure, but the chances of him escaping the city are pretty much zero. The commander declared a lock-down on all entrances" this information made Shiro''s face pale "Guess the commander''s pissed" one of them chuckled "Well of-course he wouldn''t be too happy if people found out a kid was able to infiltrate his barracks and steal an entire armory. It''s basically a slap to his face" he stated. He was correct, a child being able to do all that was basically showing that the commander was incompetent. "Well, glad we don''t have to run around looking for that ki-" A thud was heard as the other guard looked over to see his friend on the ground unconscious "Wha- AGGH" Shiro cringed as this guard didn''t immediately pass out as he had to smack him more than once. "Hey what''s going on here!?" a flash of light came over the area as the shinigami already left the scene "Shit! Alert the commander about this!" At least Silent Steps would finally come in handy tonight 10 Blasting off "This box looks suspicious" the guard stated to his squad as they all eyed the strangely out of place crate in the middle of the streets "Probably just merchants that dropped their goods, we should just leave it here for now in case they come back." Inputted another guard The leader of the squad shook his head and walked up to the crate and signaled for someone to help him. As they both lifted the crate up and looked down they saw nothing beneath the box. "Well, guess I was just being a bit too paranoid" he admitted "Don''t worry about it, I thought it was a bit strange too." a female guard said as she pat her leader on the back "Well, let''s just leave it for now in case someone comes back for it, if it''s still here in the morning then send it to the lost and found" he ordered as they all went back to looking for the thief Within the box, a certain white haired shinigami could be seen holding onto the insides of the crate for dear life as sweat dropped from his forehead. The plan was to be like a video-game stealth character and pray nobody would notice the box. Real life just isn''t like the games is what he learned in that moment. "Give it up princess, you''ve ran out of mana" Shiro heard a voice a bit away from him but still enough to hear ''princess'' The white haired shinigami peeked out of the box to see a disheveled looking little girl surrounded by shadow guards. Now if Shiro was in his normal state of mind, he would have put together that they were there to kill the girl. Unfortunately in his stressed out state of playing real-life metal gear solid, he just thought ''IMPORTANT HOSTAGE''. The 14 yr old boy leaped towards the princess using mana augmented legs and held her slightly up in the air with his blade directed at her neck. "DON''T MOVE OR SHE DIES" he cried out to the dumbfounded assailants ¡Þ Lolz Sol was livid. First he was separated from his master, then he was surrounded by suicidal idiots. "You honestly don''t believe this is enough to kill me, do you?" He spoke as he gazed to the 20+ shadow guards. He was a warrior who was in the awakening stage, meaning he was above level 100. He was level 235 and had plenty of time to reach the second awakening. The group of shadow soldier''s eyes hardened as one replied to the black armored warrior "No... but at the very least we should be able to keep you here long enough. We are prepared to die for this! BROTHERS FIGHT!" the man roared out to his comrades as they attacked. The slight look of irritation along with the visage of respect was seen on Lolz''s face. Gripping his halberd, he made the first swing. ¡Þ Mirrah Sol was not doing well. First, Lolz disappeared to gods knows where. Then She was separated from Rei as they tried to escape. Now she was on her last leg without any mana. To make matters worst, some idiot is holding her up with a blade pointed to her neck. Her mouth was covered up by his dirty hand. The nerve of him! She was a princess! You can''t just casually touch the lips of royalty! The 11 yr old princess of the Sol empire had no mana left. But she still opened her jaw as wide as physically possible and clamped down on the hand of the ignorant person who dared to make a mockery of her. ¡Þ Shiro felt nothing for a moment. Then a raging pain assaulted his hand as he yelled out "FUCK!" he actually began to shed tears as the little princess didn''t let go of her bite. "YOU BIT ME!" he exclaimed. Who bites the hand that holds you hostage!? Is she not afraid of the blade that is literally an inch from her neck!? The shadow guards finally snapped out of their confusion. The leader of the group just shrugged to his subordinates "Kill them both" the order came out as they all released a hail of throwing knives. The turquoise eyes of the shinigami widened along with the princess''s. Out of fear for his life he blurted out "[BRINICLE SHELL]" Mana began to drain from him as a layer of ice encompassed the two. The mana-enforced knives became stuck on the barrier as a few were able to pierce through, lodging them in Shiro''s flesh. "WHY IS IT ALWAYS THE SHOULDER!?" he cried out as he began to run with the sphere of ice as if he were a hamster in a ball. Some of the shadow guards were unable to react to the bizarre sight of the human sized hamster ball as they were knocked out of the way or outright flattened by it. ¡Þ If one were to be observant of their surroundings they would notice a human sized hamster ball made of ice leaping over a fence into a courtyard. Shiro''s breath was a little ragged, he was really pushing himself to keep up the shell as he was afraid of more hidden weapons being thrown at him. He looked down to his ''hostage'' with an annoyed look. "Why are they even trying to kill you!? How can I use you as a hostage if people want you dead!?" he complained to little girl Hearing this, Mirrah Sol got a bit teary eyed. "It''s not like I asked for this! My brothers probably paid someone to get rid of me." she continued to cry indignantly Why was she being questioned by someone who threatened to kill her a few moments ago? Where were her overpowered retainers? Why did things have to go so badly this far out away from the mainlands!? Shiro let the useless hostage down to remove the daggers lodged into him. Then he had a thought. "Hey you''re a princess right?" he asked as as he looked down to the girl again to confirm "That''s right, I am Mirrah Sol! the 3rd princess of the Sol Empire!" She dramatically introduced herself as she puffed out her non-existent chest The 14 yr old shinigami just had a blank look on his face. "Shiro Aversis. So.... does that mean you could get the guards to stop chasing me if I help you?" he asked returning the introduction. Mirrah raised a brow "Are you the idiot who stole all the junk equipment in the guard''s barracks?" She asked recalling her retainer''s description of the thief. Short spiked white hair, roughly 14 years old and a bit shorter than 5 feet. "I''m not an idiot! and what do you mean junk, it was an armory! Why would people keep junk there?" he said indignantly. He worked hard to plan his way into there "And yet you only stole the most common of equipment for the basic guards of the city, if you were trying to get something valuable you should have aimed for the blacksmith''s vault or even the governor''s collection." She countered to the ignorant bumpkin "Well I didn''t know they existed, back on topic though. Can you get the guards off my back?" He asked filing away the other places in his head. "I should have enough authority to pardon you if you were to help me." She confirmed his thoughts "Sweet, so I help you and you help me. Deal?" Shiro raised out a hand for a handshake Mirrah looked at the hand held out towards her and just sighed "Deal, now can you transfer some mana to me?" she asked as the shinigami raised a brow "Transfer?" he asked with imaginary question marks over his head "How do you even not know that? Never-mind just focus your mana to your hand and I''ll do the rest." She instructed He just followed her instructions and flared his mana on his hand. He felt a tug on his reserves, he felt he could stop it but decided not to. After a short moment the princess let out a breath. "You have an abundant amount on you, are you a mage?" "Uh, nope. I just swing a sword around" he said as he held up his zanpakutou "Well, get ready then. were surrounded." She said as the shinigami was amazed a little girl was able to sense around them when he couldn''t. Geniuses are hax was his thought. ¡Þ Lightsabers, elegant weapons that weigh next to nothing and are easy to carry around. Shiro nearly had a nerdgasm moment when he saw the little girl take one out. He wondered how it worked, unfortunately he probably would never get to use one since he had a zanpakutou but it was still cool to see one. "Dear gods, your weapon is badass!" he complimented as he was in awe of the light blade. The little girl smirked as she continued to cut down another assailant. "Of course it is! This was custom-ordered from Arcana. A coalition of Mages and dwarves who seek to make the ultimate magic weapons!" Some of the shadow guards were beginning to get annoyed that their foes were more focused on talking to eachother instead of them. The boy literally had daggers sticking out of him. Some of them were poisoned! That poison would be enough to take down water beasts in the swamps! Not only that, any opening that they had to injure the princess would be blocked by the boy who used himself as a meatshield! Does he not fear death!? If they had known killing the princess would be this difficult, they would have asked some of the higher levels to stay back. But they were tasked with holding off the retainers. The wall on the other side broke down revealing an enraged armored girl with twinblades. "PRINCESS!" she cried out as she threw out her crossed twinblades cutting down the rest of the assailants. In most cases, Shiro would be happy to see his enemies quickly disposed of. That is until he noticed the spinning twinblades heading towards him as well knocking him back through a wall to the next courtyard. ¡Þ "Wait, he''s with me!" Mirrah tried to call out to Rei to no avail. She was pissed and was eliminating anyone who was an unknown. Shiro could practically hear his bones creak as he blocked an overhead slash from the crazed twinblade berserker. The wind was knocked out of him as the woman kicked his chest sending him flying back again. He could feel his broken rib-cage reconstruct itself as it regenerated. Unfortunately the berserker and the broken rib-cage was the least of his problems as he picked up his black and blue bamboo hat. [System detects the above level 100 entity again] rang out the system as something crashed onto the ground causing a ripple in the large pond in the courtyard. The shinigami didn''t have any time, a figure simply just appeared in front of him out of nowhere. As if by his survival instincts, he immediately blurted out "[BRINICLE SHELL]" Unfortunately the mana-enforced ice just shattered like glass the moment it made contact with the casually swung halberd that continued to head straight for Shiro. By some freak of miracle, the halberd didn''t destroy his hat that was held up like a shield when it made contact with the halberd. The shinigami''s bones felt like they were being completely crushed as the swing sent him flying in the air as if he was a baseball flying towards a home-run. Shiro finally knew how team rocket felt when they get sent blasting off into the sky. Over a hill, a short way from the city. A silver-haired girl could be seen gazing at the city as her eyes tracked what seemed to be a blue comet flying out of it. She whistled at the sight that her eyes caught "Well, someone looks like they had one hell of a night." She commented as she continued to make her way to the city to visit her old friends. 11 Unexpected meeting Far from the trade-city, within a crater situated in a forest. Broken trees and shattered boulders could be seen. In the middle of all that was a small crater. A mangled body of a certain snow-haired shinigami could be seen. His bones could be seen sticking out of his legs, his arms twisted in the wrong direction and his head was bloody. [System is amazed of Host''s survival. System calculated Host''s death to be imminent, yet Host was capable of avoiding death. Truly remarkable.] the system''s voice was monotone so Shiro was unable to know if the system was speaking frankly or being sarcastic His everything hurt. This was an excruciating pain that didn''t seem to end. At least when his arm was cut off, he just blacked out. Shiro felt like he was going through torture despite feeling his body putting itself back together. Honestly it was kind of gross listening to the crinks and cracks of his shattered bones reforming and moving around his body. After about 10 minutes, Shiro was finally able to stand on his two feet again. However instead of checking how his body was doing, he immediately scanned the surroundings for a certain object. His eyes lit up when he found what he was searching for. On top of the remains of a shattered boulder laid his hat. The blue/black lined conical hat that was capable of taking the blow of someone who was over level 100 without a scratch. "Hey system, do you know what this hat''s made of?" [System does not have a scanning function for equipment. Does Host wish to soul-bind the hat?] The disembodied voice asked "I can do that? I thought it was just my clothes." if he could bind the hat, it would basically be a life-saving tool he could bring out in desperate times. Plus it looked cool to wear! "Bind it!" he said excitedly [Binding conical hat of unknown materials... Binding successful.] the system confirmed as Shiro made the hat disappear and reappear. "Sweet, now to check up on my sword." the shinigami said as he brought up the sword stats. Hyorinmaru Rank: God / Level: 29 (1300/4200)exp Type: Soul-bound Growth weapon / Durability: Unbreakable Attack: 650 / STR: +35 / AGI: +30 / INT: +20 Shikai: Locked / Bankai: Locked ¡Þ "Nice, just one more level and I can start throwin around ice dragons!" he said gleefully as he imagined spamming ice dragons He then brought up his own stats Name: Shiro Aversis Level: 24 [3600/11400]exp required Race: Human, Shinigami(?) / Class: Frost Reaper Soul Bound items: Hyorinmaru(lvl29) / Shinigami clothes (self repairing) / Durable hat Blessings: ''Ray''s Blessings'' / Familiar Contracts: None STR: 125 (+135) AGI: 110 (+130) END: 75 (+100) INT: 65 (+120) LUK: 7 RES: 80 (+100) Actives: Brinicle Shell Passives: Divine Mental Protection / True Regeneration / Cold Immunity / Silent Steps ¡Þ Looking closely, he didn''t actually level much. It was to be expected since he didn''t actually kill anyone besides some shadow guards who''s levels he wasn''t sure of. They were mostly killed by the little girl and insane twinblade berserker. "I need to raise my level up eventually" Shiro frowned as he couldn''t just go around killing people. Sure he was fine with thievery, but he honestly didn''t like killing people if he didn''t need to. [Host could use magic cores to gain experience] the system suggested "Magic cores?" Shiro asked hoping for clarification [Magic cores are extracted in beasts from ''Disassemblers''. In times of peace, when people aren''t in all out war. For people to level up, they would not only hunt monsters, but harvest the corpses for magic cores to absorb for experience. Disassemblers will charge a fee depending on the beast, and the quality of the core depends on the beast. Should someone attempt to harvest a core without the skills of a disassembler, then the core itself may be destroyed in the process.] came the infodump causing Shiro to rub his temples. "Well, for now I guess I''ll just make due with hunting and hope I can find a disassembler in another city" Shiro was not planning on returning to a city he just robbed. Despite the princess probably pardoning him, he didn''t feel like going through the trouble and taking the chance. "Sigh, things really aren''t going my way" he said until he came to a stop as he stepped on something that made a crinkling sound. It didn''t sound like a twig or a leaf. Peering down he saw something unexpected. A flyer with the a strange symbol in the middle. From the translation function it said ''Your wish will come true''. "Isn''t this one of those devil summoning flyers from DXD?" Shiro was confused at why something from another universe would show up here [System believes this to come from System''s senior] the system said as it gave it''s conjecture "Your senior? Since when do you have a senior?" The shinigami didn''t understand how System AI hierarchy worked [More specifically, the System AI who was bound to host''s counterpart] it stated causing Shiro''s eyes to widen. Then he had a genuine smile of joy on his face. Perhaps things would go his way after all. ¡Þ "PFFTWAAAHAHAHAHAHA!" an incessant laughter continued to sound out from a silver-haired woman as she held her stomach and shook in her seat. She donned a short blue obi with a red sash, her boots were gilded with an unknown steel and on her sides were two sword handles. They didn''t have a guard or even a blade and looked like they were for katanas. Across from her sat a little princess who Shiro would recall as ''the hostage who bit him''. Behind her were her two retainers Lolz and Rei Sol who looked much more relaxed than usual as they waited for the silverette to compose herself. After a brief moment the laughter finally died down to small chuckles as the girl leaned back in her chair. "So, not only did you bite him. But Rei nearly killed him after a misunderstanding." She said after reeling back her chuckles "Miya please.... he looked suspicious." Rei said embarrassingly with red cheeks. "By the way Lolz, did he really survive?" the girl referred to as Miya couldn''t believe a kid could survive a blow from the tall warrior. He nodded his head. "Yes, there was no notification of experience. So I can say with certainty that he is still alive." Lolz confirmed. Truthfully he was dumbfounded at the fact that someone could survive not only one of his strikes, but to also survive the fall after being sent that high into the air. "Did you find out who he was?" the silverette asked interested in the thief who lived "We checked the files of people who entered the city recently." Mirrah said as she pulled out some paper. "Shiro Aversis, so he didn''t lie about his name. Class unknown, no job and he''s human but there was one bloodline that was unidentifiable in the scanner. He was level 20 about 2 days ago when he came here. There are no records of him existing anywhere else." Mirrah listed out the snow-haired shinigami''s info "20? Old man, did you get rusty?" Miya asked the retainer. It was inconceivable that a level 20 could survive not only fighting shadow guards that were around level 60-90, but also not instantly die from the old man who was level 235. "He wasn''t normal. When we fought together, he ran right for the daggers that were going for my blindspots. And I''ve seen his wounds heal at a startling rate. Honestly I thought he was immortal." Mirrah said as she recalled Shiro''s regeneration "Wooowww. Now I''m really interested, well it was nice seeing you two again. If I see him, want me to send a message?" the silverette asked as she prepared to leave. "If you do meet him, inform him of my gratitude and he was pardoned of his crimes. However that despite being pardoned, news still broke out about him. Also tell him he''s welcome in the Sol Empire if he visits in the future." Mirrah said as her friend left the place in a flash. ¡Þ As Shiro watched a crimsonette rise up from the magic portal. He waited for him to take in his surroundings. When he noticed the red-head''s eyes widen he smirked "Sup, I''ll give you a second to guess who I am" Shiro said as the crimsonette continued to look at him for a moment "Well this was unexpected" He finally said 12 Fafnirs blood A silver-eyed crimsonette could be seen on the edge of a small pool of blood. He had a bored expression as he kept his hand ontop of a patch of white hair. Bubbles could be seen appearing sporadically as small glimpses of thrashing arms swung about. "5, 4, 3, 2 and 1" the red-head finished as he let go of the drowning victim. "GAAAAHAAAAAU!" A certain albino haired 14 yr old could be seen greedily breathing air for dear life. "FUCK! DID YOU HAVE TO DO THAT!?" he yelled angrily at his crimson haired counterpart "Ofcourse, you had to drink it too. So any changes to your stats?" the red-haired Shiro asked as he changed the subject "I..." he began [ERROR ERROR. FOREIGN SUBSTANCE DETECTED. ATTEMPTING TO INTEGRATE... INTEGRATION SUCCESSFUL] [Fafnir''s Blood Armor, Dragon blooded, Dragon heart gained] [Fafnir''s Blood Armor: +400 base increase in End and Res] [Dragon Heart and blooded: Increased mana capacity, aura of dragon can be felt by other dragons] [Class mutation: Frost Reaper -\u003e Draconic Frost Reaper] Multiple notifications lit up the younger Shiro as he got his bearings. "Weird, why didn''t my skin go tan like Siegfriend?" He asked as he checked his skin didn''t seem to change color [System stopped the color change, however System was unable to stop the dragon mark on Host''s body] the voice rang out as he did notice a white mark on his body that was sort of in the shape of a dragon "Enough of that, how''s your stats now?" The silver-eyed crimsonette chimed in as the white-haired kid checked his stats Name: Shiro Aversis Level: 24 [3600/11400]exp required Race: Human, Shinigami(?) / Class: Draconic Frost Reaper Soul Bound items: Hyorinmaru(lvl29) / Shinigami clothes (self repairing) / Durable hat Blessings: ''Ray''s Blessings'' / Familiar Contracts: None STR: 125 (+135) AGI: 110 (+130) END: 475 (+100) INT: 100 (+120) LUK: 7 RES: 480 (+100) Actives: Brinicle Shell Passives: Divine Mental Protection / True Regeneration / Cold Immunity / Silent Steps / Fafnir''s Blood Armor / Dragon Heart / Bondage Skills ¡Þ "Woah, I feel like I could face-tank a everything now!" the white haired Shiro exclaimed with starry eyes Seeing his younger counterpart so excited, the older Shiro shook his head "You''re not invincible, you''re just able to shrug off the normal weapons and spells." He began as he got closer "The more stronger stuff though" he said as a pressure froze the albino haired shinigami in place. A quick slash passed by his face as a bit of blood spilled out of a cut only to be instantly healed. "You''ll have to watch out for" The younger protagonist gulped "Yeah, but still I doubt I''ll run into anyone as OP as you So I should be good" he said as the chances of that happening were pretty slim "Well, now that that''s over with." The older shinigami grinned "Let''s get you some experience" ¡Þ "Is this really necessary?" the turquoise-eyed shinigami asked as he hid on the roof of a school building with his red-haired counterpart and his nekoshou girlfriend. "Look, when you''re as hard to kill as me. You get as much fun as you can out of moments like these." the silver-eyed shinigami said as he presented the view of a group of devils, angels and fallen angels hidden within a barrier as a bespectacled dominatrix presented herself with a large group of magicians. "So, are you two related?" The nekoshou named Kuroka asked as she eyed the two "Uh, you could say that. But were technically the same person, just from alternate realities if that makes sense" the younger Shiro tried to explain Before the conversation could continue, the crimsonette shushed the two as he motioned for the two to listen closely for the right moment. "Ohoho, Michael nailed it! No one wants to live in a world where God and the Devil King''s deaths are covered up. So since you have clearly failed we will take this decaying realm and reform it for ourselves!" The fallen dominatrix declared while gesturing to the realm with wide arms The sound of mocking laughter was heard from the fallen governor causing the bespectacled devil to narrow her eyes. "Azazel. What do you find so amusing?" she asked "Wait for it!" the shinigami whispered as he got ready The laughter softened "Decaying? Reform? How cliche, come on you have to know that the first villains to die always say crap like that" the man explained The red-haired counterpart immediately disappeared flaring out his spiritual pressure. The younger Shiro saw his counterpart say something to the devil dominatrix before he smacked her away with a giant bass. When he finally caught up after nearly tripping with his newly-learned flash step, he heard his counterpart voice loudly "Kuroka! hit it!" he called out towards the black haired nekoshou as she pressed the button on the portable stereo with a wry smile "Vocal percussion on a whole ''nother level. Coming from my mind!~" As the beat and chorus came out, the shinigami began to slide and dance. The younger Shiro waited for his moment as he stood to the side in a Jojo-esque pose. "I..... want golden wind~ (kono me amareri maroreri merare maro)" As the funky music continued he began to sync with his counterpart''s dance as everyone watched in silence at the two''s odd dance moves. ¡Þ As the albino-haired shinigami from another world cut down the human magician of chaos brigade, he stopped all movements the moment he heard something he didn''t expect to still hear in another world. [DING.... 27921 EXP gained] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] ''Holy shit DAT EXP!'' he thought unsure of why these magicians gave so much xp [They are technically rare mobs considering they are from another world. So increased exp is to be expected] the system clarified the shinigami''s confusion Shiro''s eyes became blank as the magician''s could feel a cold chill creep up their spines. A glint flashed across the otherworlder''s eyes as he yelled "EXPERIENCE!!!!" A look of hunger and savagery could be seen on his face as he dashed towards the frantic group of magicians. "AH-ARRRGHH!" the horrid cries of the members of chaos brigade could be heard as they tried to bombard the shinigami with spells to no avail. With his newfound resistance and endurance, ordinary spells weren''t enough to take him down. Getting closer to a fleeing mage, as Shiro quickly cut him in two. However he was broken out of his frenzy as he looked in confusion. There was no sound of experience. He looked to the side as a blue-haired exorcist girl with a large blue sword was seen next to his prey. A tear fell out from one of his eyes. "You kill stealer!" he pointed indignantly at the blue-haired swordswoman as question marks floated around her. ¡Þ [DING.... 24684 EXP gained] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL 40 REACHED NEW SKILLS ACQUIRED] [Ice Clones: Two Ice clones can be made for every 20 levels. Each clone copies the original''s current stats. Clones are unable to use spells, however weapons will be copied for the clone. Clones are unaffected by blessings.] [Spiritual Energy Manipulation: Due to being a Shinigami, it is only natural that you would be able to use the power of your soul. Mastery is based on user] "Woah" He was pretty happy to get a new skill. "Clone!" because Shiro was unsure of how to activate the skill, he just spoke it out loudly depite being embarrassed. The shinigami felt a drain on his reserves. Despite having much larger reserves after drinking dragon blood, he could feel it took 1/10 of his mana just for 1 clone. The sound of crumpling ice could be heard as another body was formed. The clone looked exactly like the original! He noticed the clone checking himself out "This is actually pretty cool" Shiro was surprised to hear his clone speak. "Talk later, experience now!" He said to his clone as he started to make more for efficiency reasons The remaining mages of Chaos brigade looked in horror as they had enough trouble dealing with one. "Why did we even come here!?" one of them cried out as he started to escape. As Shiro and his 4 clones got ready for the all-out massacre. He halted when he felt a large concentration of holy-energy in the direction of his counterpart. "FISH...CALIBURRRR!!!" a roar of passion was heard as a red and golden light lit up the area. He saw the barrier in the sky shatter apart as mages began to run outside the barrier "SHIT, THEY''RE TRYING TO RUN!" the shinigami cried out as he and his clones frantically tried to hunt down as much of the escaping mages as they could for experience. It was basically a field day for the 14 yr old shinigami 13 Meeting Ray again Name: Shiro Aversis Level: 46 [22150/28700]exp required Race: Human, Shinigami(?) / Class: Dragon-Blooded Frost Reaper Soul Bound items: Hyorinmaru(lvl29) / Shinigami clothes (self repairing) / Durable hat Blessings: ''Ray''s Blessings'' / Familiar Contracts: None STR: 180 (+135) AGI: 200 (+130) END: 530 (+100) INT: 165 (+120) LUK: 7 RES: 535 (+100) Actives: Brinicle Shell / Ice Clones Passives: Divine Mental Protection / True Regeneration / Cold Immunity / Silent Steps / Fafnir''s Blood Armor / Dragon Heart / Bondage Skills / Spiritual Energy Manipulation ¡Þ "Thanks again man, I was honestly feeling under-powered before but now I think I can handle myself" Shiro thanked his crimson-haired counterpart His experience so far on Rhis hasn''t been so good. He thought he could be one of those OP transmigrators that destroyed all their enemies with cheat powers. But since he was left in this world, he''s been dismembered, shot and sent flying. At least three times of near death experiences was enough to make him depressed. "Not done yet." The red-haired shinigami said shaking his head "Eternal Sanctuary" he spoke out as the next thing the white haired Shiro saw was white light followed by large red eyes. "Awesome" He said in awe as he looked up towards the giant Ice dragon "Skasa wanted to talk to you" the silver-eyed crimsonette said leaving them alone as he left towards a fiery area Turning his attention back to the Ice dragon, Shiro noticed her getting smaller. He watched in silent amazement as the 60 meter dragon shrunk down. When it was over, the turquoise-eyed shinigami took in the dragon''s new form. A beautiful girl at around 5-6. She donned a dark blue dress that matched her forearms that were covered in ice that resembled claw gauntlets. There were two small horns still poking out of her blue hair. "Pleasure to meet you Shiro." She gave a charming smile as the protagonist snapped out of his daze "Ah- sorry it''s just you are really cool and I really like ice dragons" he admitted scratching his head Silence was all that was heard for a long moment until "KUAHAHAHHHAAHA" loud laughter reverberated within the field "Ah come on, you don''t have to make fun of me" he groaned covering his face It took a minute for the laughter to die down "Ah hehe... apologies it''s just, the other you said the same thing when we first met" She gave a smile as she reminisced "But enough about that, I''m here to tell you that there''s another me." She stated getting back on subject "Another you?" "Right, I could feel a connection to her when you summoned my friend over there" She directed towards the crimsonette who seemed to be playing tag with a giant bird of fire "So what should I do?" he inquired "Well if the world is still the same as my own was. Then you could manage to make a familiar contract with her." She smiled "Normally dragons would never make a contract with other races even if they were to die. She moved closer as she raised one of her frozen hand-claws and lightly tapped Shiro''s forehead as it glowed for a moment. "But I just left a bit of my will in there, the other me should be able to feel you if you get close enough. She''s currently weaker than my current self, but she should be still powerful in this world''s standards" "How do I find her?" he asked as he rubbed his forehead "In the past I ruled a mountain named Mount Thundermine." she answered "Although I am unsure if the name is still the same, however chances are I will probably be where the weather is coldest. Usually the north." "Thanks" Shiro bowed politely towards the ice dragon "Don''t mention it." She smiled amicably "Honestly I think it would do the other me good to have a friend. Before I met the other you, I was honestly incredibly bored." She faced the short white-haired shinigami "Please take care of the other me." She requested while bowing back "You got it!" Shiro grinned as he gave a thumbs up ¡Þ "One last thing before we part" the silver-eyed shinigami said as he pulled out a powerful looking sword and presented it to his younger counterpart "This is Ascalon. Originally it was given to Issei in my world. But Issei seems to like using my fish more than this, so you can use it for xp" he explained as Shiro grabbed hold of the legendary sword [Item of another world unable to be scanned] the notification lit up "I guess I can''t see the stats, oh well." he said as he pulled out his zanpakutou The legendary dragon-slaying blade turned into white motes of light as it was absorbed into the zanpakutou. [DING..... 9#$!$% EX@ GAI# ERROR] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] [LEVEL UP] The dinging that indicated levels continued until. [LEVEL 100 HYORINMARU REACHED. UNABLE TO CONTINUE LEVELING UNTIL USER HAS PASSED LEVEL 100] [SHIKAI UNLOCKED..... BANKAI UNLOCKED] [CAN NOW CONVERT WEAPONS INTO MAGIC CORES INSTEAD OF EXPERIENCE] Shiro''s breath stopped for a moment as his excitement peaked and the first thing he did was yell out "BANKAI!" he immediately blacked out ¡Þ "Ugghh" Shiro awoke feeling like his body had no energy "What happened?" he asked out loud [Host attempted to use bankai without having enough Mana to support the form thus causing host to black out from complete mana exhaustion] the system explained "Wait, but I thought I got a larger reserve after the dragon''s blood thing." he said as he slumped to a wall behind him [Host indeed has much more mana than someone without a magic core should have. However it still isn''t enough to support the Bankai form] "Magic core?" Shiro recalled the system telling him he could find those in monsters [For humans, when they reach level 100 it is called the First Awakening. It is the stage in which a human would form their magic core in their body to allow for a much larger amount of mana to be generated. Currently Host''s body actually has mana comparable to a person with a magic core, but the Bankai requires more] "So... basically I just need to get to 100. Got it." He said tiredly as he took in his surroundings it was incredibly dark but he could still see some holes that let a bit of moonlight in. He seemed to be surrounded by incredibly hard ice walls. "How did I end up here?" he questioned [Host''s counterpart had to leave after Host passed out. So he placed the Host within an ice box for safety reasons] "That makes sense but.... where''s the exit?" There was no obvious exit. It was completely closed off on all sides [Host should be able to escape by manipulating the ice with Hyorinmaru. A message from Ray for when Host is able to unlock shikai: "Meditate with your sword"] it relayed to the shinigami "Well, not like I have the energy to do anything else anyway" he said lethargically as he got in a lazy cross legged position with his sword on his lap. He closed his eyes and his vision went from dark to white. ¡Þ "Incredible, I honestly didn''t expect for you to receive help from your counterpart" Shiro heard a familiar voice as his vision began to clear up. He saw a familiar man wearing a blue robe, bunny slippers and a night cap. "Ray! I didn''t expect to see you again." he admitted, he didn''t feel tired anymore. Perhaps it was due to him being in his soulscape. He took a look around and noted that his soulscape didn''t exactly look like his counterpart. His soul was a snowy area. Nothing else, no mountain, no tree, no volcano. Just a snowy field. "Well this place is unsurprisingly still blank." Ray commented as he gazed around the shinigami''s soulscape. "Kind of depressing, will it always be like this?" he asked the deity "Of course not. Your soul will change with you as you continue to live out your life. Don''t look so down, this isn''t completely blank. The fact that there''s snow is something. Completely blank means it would just be a white void of nothingness" Ray said cheering up the albino-haired 14 yr old "Well anyway, right now I''m here to pass onto you what you need to use your new powers. Come closer" he gestured as Shiro moved closer Shiro wasn''t able to react as Ray pulled out a stick out of nowhere and smacked him upside the head. He then fell to the ground as he felt an excruciating pain burn into his head. Like waves of information just flooding into his head and being seared into his mind. To hid credit, after experiencing so much pain he had gained a sort of tolerance to it and didn''t yell out much in the process. Ray looked approvingly as the shinigami took it like a man. "You should still be able to hear me so I''ll continue speaking. In the world you are in, only few are actually able to use spiritual energy. However the main energy used is still mana. I doubt anyone will be able to use Spiritual energy as well as you in the future, for now you should be able to begin to use spiritual sense. It will allow you to feel out the area around you and in turn allow you to manipulate the moisture in the area." "Ofcourse this will require both mana and spiritual energy. In the future, try to practice with both. I even added kido spells for you to learn in there! It will take time, but you should know it will be worth it. Now I''ll leave you here, as the information intake will take about another hour. Good luck" He waved as he disappeared leaving the shinigami writhing on the ground 14 Dango The next day The sun was blazing early in the morning, making the weather extremely hot and humid. Under the rising temperatures, the large box of ice stood defiantly without losing a single drop of moisture. The white haired shinigami sat as still as his cage. Suddenly opening his eyes, he gripped his blade and stood up relaxed. "Haaaah" he let out a deep breath as the prison of ice began to melt around him. [Congratulating Host on releasing yourself] the system rang out "Thanks, surprisingly just manipulating the moisture in the area didn''t take much from me" he said amazed as he checked his reserves From the information Ray jammed into his head, he could spread out his spiritual energy to get a feel for the moisture in the area. Then he would manipulate it using a bit of mana which didn''t drain much from his reserves. Shiro felt like he should get a better feel at what he could do at the moment with his current capacity of mana. Lowering his stance he held his blade forward "Reign upon the frozen heavens... HYORINMARU!" the temperature in the surrounding area immediately dropped as the skies darkened with clouds His body seemed to know what to do as frost spewed out from his blade, he guided his blade until the released ice shaped itself into a serpentine dragon. Shiro continued to move his sword as he sent the ice dragon crashing into the ground near him. A cold explosion was released while a large shard of ice was left on the ground. Shiro whistled at the sight before him "Well that''s pretty damn impressive!" he grinned as he took in the towering shard of ice While the attack looked impressive, Shiro noticed a glaring issue. It took up about 1/5 of his reserves. Which means he can only use that move 5 times at most. Shiro looked down in thought, then swung his blade towards a tree as frost eveloped and froze it solid. Just manipulating a simple frost attack like that, without the dragon costed him roughly 1/20 of his current capacity. He really needed to get to the so-called first awakening if he wanted to properly spam these attacks. Shiro then turned his gaze towards the dark clouds above. Just releasing Hyorinmaru seemed to have darkened the sky. "System, will that happen every time I release shikai? I thought controlling the weather like that was a skill" He remembered the squad 10 captain calling it ''Tenso Jurin'' or something [If Host specifically says ''Reign upon the frozen heavens'' then yes. However if Host just calls out ''Hyorinmaru'', then host does not have to worry] Shiro listened to it''s explanation and nodded Suddenly an idea came to him. Thinking out ''Clone'', an ice clone formed next to him. "Can you do it?" the original asked The clone positioned himself as it called out "Hyorinmaru!" a crack immediately appeared on the clone''s face stunning him as he fell to pieces. "What just happened?" Shiro asked confused [The clone attempted using Shikai without enough mana, causing it to be unable to keep itself materialized. Originally the skill did not allow the clone to use spells, however it looks like Host''s sword does not count as a spell. If host injects more mana into a clone, theoretically it should be possible for the clone to be able to use shikai] the system gave it''s analysis "Sigh, the amount of mana it costs to make a normal clone is pretty high to begin with, adding more would be seriously draining." Shiro concluded. It seemed having his clones throw around ice dragons would have to wait until he had enough mana to throw around ¡Þ The dock town resided a few miles off the trade city. Generally goods are received and shipped there. If one wanted to move continents they would have to find a dock town. "I just realized I''m broke..." Shiro sighed as he checked his funds. He had nothing, all his remaining money was lost when he got sent flying away. He was lucky there wasn''t any fees for visiting. "So what will you do?" a feminine voice asked beside him "Not sure, I''ll probably just have to sneak my way into one of the boats as a stowaway." Shiro replied absentmindedly as he checked out the sea and air ships that were in his vicinity. The airships surprised him at first since they looked pretty futuristic for a fantasy world. But then again if there are guns, why can''t there be airships right? "Do you always resort to breaking the law?" the female voice was heard again "Only for small stuff, I''m not a psychopath or anything. But I''m definitely not above thievery, of course I wouldn''t steal from small-time shops or anything, that would just be in bad taste." He explained as he nodded to himself Then he snapped open his eyes and just realized he was talking to a random person. He turned his head to see a woman in a short-blue obi. Her silver hair was tied up, but the main thing that unsettled Shiro was her eyes. Her piercing silver-blue eyes made him feel like she could see through him. Her face seemed focused as she was bent over while scrutinizing him closely as her eyebrows twitched questionably. Another thing that freaked him out was that she sort of looked like Miyamoto Musashi from Fate Grand Order "Are you a god?" she asked "Eh?" he said dumbly as last time he checked, he was human. She straightened herself back up as she grinned "Oh, where are my manners. Name''s Miya Sushi" "That''s the dumbest last name I''ve ever heard of" was his instant retort [System detects she is in the stage of 2nd awakening which is at least level 300] "I mean that is the greatest name ever!" he changed his tune as he got cold sweat Meanwhile the female swordswoman seemed to be wondering if he was bi-polar Before she could respond he just blurted out "So do you like sushi?" he attempted to change the subject and not die Her eyes lit up. "I do! it''s my second favorite dish!" she exclaimed as she placed her hands on her hips to fist bump the air "By any chance is your first dango?" Shiro asked "No it''s udon, what''s dango?" it seemed dangos weren''t a thing in this world He immediately spawned in a stick of multi-colored dango stuck on it. "Sweets" he replied as he held up his peace-offering Either it was stupidity or just not caring if it were poisoned or not, she took the stick and eyed it closely. After a moment she took her first bite. Her eyes seemed to glow even brighter than before as she gobbled the rest. She then grabbed the shinigami''s shoulders and declared. "Delicious! From now on you can call me big sis Miya!" Shiro was unsure of how it developed to this point but at least he didn''t have to worry about dying anytime soon. "By the way, is your name Shiro?" She asked with a smile as she didn''t let him go "How do you know my name?" He was freaking out, is she some kinda mercenary here to hunt his head!? He was technically a wanted man after all! "Little Mirrah told me about you! She wanted to say you''re welcome to visit her if you were ever in the mainlands. Also Lolz says he''s sorry, don''t hold it against him. He''s just protective of Mirrah" She finally let him go "Oh, so you''re not here to hunt me down for some grand reward?" he dumbly asked "PFTWAAHAHAHAHA. Grand reward? All you did was rob a commoner''s barracks." Shiro was beginning to get embarrassed. What do you mean commoner''s barracks? This dude had to work hard to infiltrate that place! "Sigh, well nice to meet you I guess. Anyway if you''ll excuse me I need to figure out how to get to the north continent" he said as he turned his attention back to the ships "Yosh, let big sis here help you out!" She gave a wide grin as she patted his shoulder "If you want to get to the north, there aren''t any ships here that will take you there" Miya explained "What? But why!?" If there weren''t any ships heading to the north, how would he get there? "All of these ships directly head towards the central continent. If you want to head north, you should head there first then find a ship to the north." "Sigh, well I guess I''m not in a rush anyway." he facepalmed himself as he thought of how long it would take just to go form one continent to another. "Cheer up, I''m headed to the central continent for some business anyway. So I can let you tag along." She gave a side hug with one arm "Really!?" if he could get a free ride, it would save him a lot of trouble "Sure, but on two conditions." Miya nodded her head as she held out two fingers. "First, spar with me. I want to see how you survived after taking a hit from little Mirrah''s guards." Shiro gulped as he felt like he was going to get his ass kicked "Second, you feed me" She said still grinning ¡Þ "Uh, so just to be clear. this is just a spar right?" Shiro asked as he moved a distance from Miya "Mmhmm, don''t worry I''ll just use this." She took out a short dagger hidden underneath her obi "Any rules?" "Nah, you''re free to use anything you want. Just impress me" She said as she relaxed instead of getting into a stance Shiro unsheathed his blade from his back as the sheathe disappeared. He lowered his stance while keeping his eyes on the female swordswoman. It would be a lie to say he wasn''t excited to see what someone above 300 could do. This was also a chance to test some moves out. Letting out a small breath he tightened his grip. A clang of steel was heard as the Shiro disappeared from view as he flash-stepped next to Miya. His eyes widened as she effortlessly blocked the quick attack. He could feel her eyes never leaving him as he looked into those piercing eyes. He backed off for a moment before charging back. After Ray stuffed his head with info on how to use his blade, he also learned the 10th squad captain''s swordplay. Shiro unleashed a flurry of quick stabs only to be dumbfounded. Miya stood in the same spot, never retreating. Her arms blurred out of view as she deflected every single stab. The smirk on her face never left her. However she was momentarily surprised to notice a chain coiling around her dagger. "Surprise!" Shiro yelled out as he thrusted towards her while she was essentially disarmed. "Surprise" She retorted with a smile as she didn''t let go of the dagger. Instead she gripped it even tighter and swung her arm around, dragging the shinigami with the chain. "The fuck!?" he cried out as he was smashed to the ground like a flail. "I don''t get it, you''re swordplay is great. But it''s like you''ve never gotten into a fight before." Miya said with a questioning tilt of her head It was true, while he did have the 10th squad captain''s swordplay. His moves felt stiff to the experienced swordswoman. "Give me a break" he whined as he let go of his sword and jumped back "Are you sure about abandoning your weapon?" she asked in a teasing manner Shiro smirked as the sword appeared back in his hands startling his opponent. Miya watched as 4 ice clones formed around the turquoise eyed shinigami. "Good skill" She praised as she stood her ground against the 4 ice clones. She immediately noticed the dagger was unable to pierce the skins of the clones. She raised a brow and gave a kick towards a clone. Seeing the Kick made the original drop his jaw. As if the sound barrier was broken, the clone was sent flying back. Cracks were apparent over the clone stunning the rest of the clones. "Jeez, how much endurance do you have?" She asked as if she was complaining All the clones were feeling annoyed. ''The hell are you complaining for!? We have 530 Endurance without blessings! Weapons bounce off us and a single kick from you was enough to put one of us down!'' The rest of the clones were quickly kicked away leaving only the original. "Screw it" Shiro sighed as he lowered his stance Miya immediately had a strange feeling as she focused her attention towards the original with great interest. From beneath his conical hat, his sharp turquoise eyes sent a shiver down her spine. "Sit upon the frozen heavens... HYORINMARU!" Miya witnessed the skies darken around them as an ice dragon coiled around the shinigami. She instinctively felt like the dragon itself was looking down on her, which made her a little excited. The dragon began to move with the blade as it flew towards the swordswoman. A blast of cold air rang out as the familiar towering ice shard was formed. Shiro let out a breath he didn''t realize he was holding as he stabbed his sword to the ground for support. He wasn''t sure how much damage that actually did to her. But he found out the next moment as cracks began to spread on the ice. The ice shard shattered, leaving Shiro in awe as he looked towards two giant red and blue swords floating in the air. As the spirit swords were hovering in the air, Shiro felt the same piercing gaze from before. Except this time it was much more noticeable. He kept his eyes on the woman who was loosely gripping two handles on both sides. The blades of clear blue light formed giving it the look of two nodachis. In any other time, Shiro would probably be having a nerdgasm. But right now he couldn''t keep his eyes off her silver-blue eyes. He could feel a terrifying sense of hunger from those eyes. He wasn''t sure what that meant, but he felt like a dear caught in headlights. For a moment he couldn''t feel his lower body. Most likely due to his upper and lower body being separated from each other. 15 Pirates Shiro POV You know, the feeling of being literally bisected from the waist down doesn''t actually hurt much. Like I literally can''t feel anything, maybe my body''s just in shock or something. Either that or I''m just so used to pain at this point that I can shrug this kind of pain easily now. Wow my body is pretty fucked up now isn''t it? "Ahh! I''m sorry I killed you please don''t haunt me!" I heard the sound of the overpowered girl who seemed to be panicking as she nearly pulled out her hair. "I can''t believe it happened again!" she started to cry actual tears. Wow, I guess that thing with the glowy eyes happened in the past. Feel kind of bad for the poor fool who had to stand up against it, because that was quite frankly terrifying. "You know, it''d be difficult to haunt you since I''m not dead." I decided to speak out. "KYAAAAAAAH!" She seemed to have been horrified at the sight of a talking upper body. "How are you alive!? Are you an actual god!?" Didn''t she ask if I was a god earlier? "No, I''m just not a big fan of death. Now could you please bring my lower half to me?" Honestly I stopped my regeneration since I was wondering if my body could just attach itself back together. Miya seemed to snap out of her little moment as she dragged my bottom half to me. I let my regeneration do it''s magic as my lower half began to merge back with my upper half. "Much better." I said satisfied as I checked my waist for anything missing. "As disturbing as that was, it was sort of cool?" Miya seemed to be unsure of what to think of me being able to reattach my body. "Well, was that good enough?" I asked getting back on subject. "Okay! that was interesting enough. Alright! Let''s get going!" she exclaimed as she dragged me back towards the docks. ¡Þ Shiro found himself looking around the airship in fascination. The ship looked like the size of a football stadium in both height and width. He wasn''t sure why they were taking the big fancy ship, but he wasn''t complaining. The fact that it was a flying ship powered by magical energy made him excited to figure out how it worked. Although there was something that bothered him. "Hey Miya, why is air travel the only way to get to the main continent?" he asked since he noticed that all ships headed towards the continent were all airships. "Guessing you''re not very knowledgable in history." Miya seemed to glance at him oddly as she began to explain. "Well it''s due to the chaos tides." There was a great war a couple hundred years ago between the Gods, World Apostle and Hero. The final battle was fought at the western sea, which was in between the Western and Central Continent. While there isn''t much details regarding the battle itself, the aftermath was plain for all to see. The waters around the area of the battle became corrupted from the chaotic power of a light and dark god joining hands. The Apostle of that generation was known as Dark Cloud Apostle, while the Hero was supposedly an Evil Hero who was cut down at the end of it all. The Light and Dark god who sided with the Evil Hero were forced out of the central continent. It wasn''t surprising considering the Hero and two gods were outnumbered against the Four Elemental Gods and World Apostle. But the point was, their battle caused the seas to become corrupted with chaotic energy. Simply getting too close to it is a death sentence to most people. However the main issue is the aquatic beasts who mutated due to the chaotic energy. Now the only method of crossing was either being powerful enough to traverse the chaos tides or riding an airship. "What''s a World Apostle?" Shiro asked intrigued at the title. Miya seemed surprised at his ignorance but continued anyway. "World Apostles are essentially the ''World''s Champions''." she emphasized with finger quotes. "They are given a World Core which basically gives them access to the energy of the world itself to empower them." "That sounds baddass, how do the apostles get chosen then?" "It depends, normally one can be chosen every 500 years. However, if a World Apostle were to die then another one would be chosen 10 years after their deaths." Apparently there could only be 10 apostles alive maximum, at any given time. "World Apostles aren''t immortal then?" Shiro asked as he made some food for the two. She shook her head at his question. "No, the status origin would only give each person at most 1000 years the moment they hit the cap of 500. There are of course other methods of prolonging your life however even those won''t be enough to make you truly immortal." At level 100, a person would gain 200 years at level 300 a person would gain 300 years and at level 500 a person would finally gain 500 years to their lifespan. "Back on topic though, an apostle is chosen through a deathmatch between the gods. Each god is able to choose a single candidate to represent them. This includes even the Lesser Gods, however it''s generally always won by the Greater Gods." It was more like a war as the candidates could receive assistance from other sources such as kingdoms and armies. "The victor at the end of all the bloodshed would become the World Apostle and the God that supported them would be given an increase in divine power worth roughly a thousand years of faith energy." Not only that, any empires or kingdoms that supported the Apostle would be in their good favor. ¡Þ Shiro stood on the main deck with all the other passengers as he gazed down at the corrupted sea. The sight was intimidating with the purple waters giving off an overbearing pressure. It took a moment for Shiro to steady himself as he got used to it. Above the ship were dark clouds completely blocking out the night sky. The only sources of light that weren''t from the ship were the purple sparks in the clouds and the glowing tint of the waters. "It''s truly an overwhelming sight isn''t it?" Shiro turned around to see a uniformed beast of a man with an eyepatch. His coat was a little torn but still wearable, his presence seemed to command respect. "Uh yeah, I was just thinking." Shiro scratched his head as he relaxed "About the fact that all of this was created from a single battle?" the man grinned knowingly as he hit the nail on the head. The man stepped closer to the rails and puffed his cigar. "Name''s Fullmont, Captain of the Vilmark." he introduced himself "Shiro Aversis, nice to meet you captain." Shiro returned the greeting "Aversis?" The captain seemed to have recognized the name but shook his head after a moment. "What brings a kid like you here?" he asked making conversation. "Eh, just adventuring." Shiro spoke honestly as he really didn''t have much goals besides adventuring. Even finding Skasa would be an adventure. "You and thousands of others that have been on this ship kid." Fullmont smirked as he flicked his cigar to the sea. "Well, you can relax. I''ve never failed to get my ship to it''s destination in my 140 years of being a Captain." Shiro chuckled at the claim until a blue explosion shook the ship''s barrier. "What was that!?" Some of the other passengers became startled and panicked. "Captain! Were surrounded!" A crew member''s voice came over the speakers as Shiro started to see other airships surrounding the Vilmark. Fullmont''s expression hardened as he took heavy steps towards the sound of laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHA!" a figure could be seen on each front of the hostile ships. "Pirates." Fullmont spat out as the sky pirates had the Vilmark completely surrounded. 16 Stab i "KYAHAHAHAHAAHA! Fullmont! I bet you never thought the day would come where all of us got together!" A heavy voice sounded out through the sky. "All of you?" Fullmont raised a brow. "Correct! For it is I! Red-Beard!" Shiro blinked as he looked at the man who really did have a red beard. "And I! Black-Beard!" He turned his head to see a guy with a black beard "And I! Yellow-Beard!" "Blue-Beard!" "Neck-Beard!" "Tentacle-Beard!" "Rainbow-Beard!" Many other pirate captains with beards announced themselves from their own ships. "Oi, you don''t have a beard!" Shiro pointed out "You brat! I''m Lip-Beard!" the man retorted "THAT''S JUST A MUSTACHE!" "And I am No-Beard!" this time a woman actually announced herself. "And I is Prepubescent-Beard!" A toddler announced as he actually had a beard on him. "So, you lot think you can take down the Vilmark do ya?" Fullmont spoke as three golden eyes manifested above him. A powerful pressure seemed to drown the skies as the other Captains released their own eyes in response. Shiro felt himself buckle down as the ungodly pressure forced him to the ground. He clenched his teeth as he tried to resist it with all his power. However in an instant, all the pressure disappeared. Shiro looked up to the sound of footsteps approaching the front of the deck where Fullmont stood at. "You guys might want to consider trying another time, since I''m here." Miya stood infront of Fullmont as 6 golden eyes flared out above her. The power from her eyes completely invalidated the combined pressure of all the other Pirate Captains. "Oh but you see this Captain Beard, came here just for you. Sword Empress!" A larger ship bursted through the dark clouds as Shiro saw the sight of a man who''s entire face was literally just a beard. "Oh? Are you sure you aren''t overestimating yourself?" She smirked at his dramatic entrance. "Aye. If I were alone, then there would be no chance of defeating you." The Beard-faced Captain admitted with his arms behind his back. "However, each Captain here has the same ironclad level 100 skill that boosts all fellow pirates here. Since we''ve all come together, you can imagine how serious we are about making this your grave." From within his dark beard, his eyes could be seen glowing straight towards her. Miya Sushi''s confident expression didn''t change as she placed her hands on the handle of her swords. "Then why don''t you show me your resolve before I cut you down." Her eyes flashed menacing light as the pirates expressions hardened *BOOM* However, it wasn''t any of these powerhouses who made the first move. Instead, on the deck of one of the pirate ships. A cold explosion startled everyone as the entire ship started to freeze over. The cry of a dragon sounded out as the Sword Empress smiled at the sight of Shiro assaulting a Captain completely out of his level. "EXPERIENCE!!" was his battle-cry ¡Þ Shiro POV Okay, perhaps I didn''t think this through. But dear gods that was fun! I think to myself as I pointed my blade straight at the tentacle-bearded Captain. "PREPARE YOURSELF CUZ I AM BOUT TO WRECK YOUR SHIT!" I shouted despite being outclassed. I''ve noticed that the pirates that I froze over seemed to be breaking out of the ice. I''m guessing that thing they were talking about earlier about buffing their fellow pirates wasn''t a bluff. These guys are pretty tough, if I didn''t have Fafnir''s armor then I would be dead right now. "Kill the brat before he damages the ship any further!" I''ve noticed that while there are barriers to protect the ships from ranged attacks, it doesn''t stop people from straight up jumping right through them. I created two clones but they immediately shattered when the damn tentacle beard bastard used one of those floating eyes again! Seriously, the fuck is that anyway!? It''s honestly supressing me, but I think Miya offset the pressure so it''s not as bad as before. Dodging magic blasts and kicking pirates overboard, I notice that I''m starting to get surrounded here. I don''t want to waste too much energy on just this ship, but I might have to. Before I could use up more energy, someone seemed to have dropped right onto the group of pirates as the sheer weight of their armor crushed them to the next floor. Besides the mouth, his plate armor completely covered his body. I can''t even see his eyes through the slits of his helmet. The newcomer seemed to gesture to me for a moment but I didn''t understand until. [Translation: I will hold them off here, find the core of the ship.] the System translated the sign language as my eyes lit up in understanding. "Alright! Take care of yourself!" I shouted as I ran off into the ship in search of the core. ¡Þ "Stop him!" The Captain shouted at his men as he was too pre-occupied assisting the other Captains in the main assault. The armored figure stood in front of the mob of pirates that attempted to go around him. With a single stomp, the pirates seemed to have lost their balance as the force of the stomp was enough to shake the entire ship. The pirates found that they wouldn''t be able to chase after Shiro without going through the armored knight. ¡Þ Shiro POV I will be the first to admit, that I am completely lost. Where the hell would the power core of a ship be located at? I''ve been running through this ship for at least 5 minutes now and all I''ve found are storage rooms, living quarters and the occasional restroom. I wonder if they dump their waste from the ship into the sea, that sounds gross. Reaching what I believe to be the bottom of the ship, I look up to see something unexpected. "System, how the hell am I gonna destroy that?!" I asked as the power core was literally composed of a floating sphere with runes spinning within it. It gave off a massive amount of energy from where i''m standing, I''m honestly unsure if I can destroy it. [Stab it] I rolled my eyes at that response. "How the hell am I going to stab it? I''m pretty sure this is a super ball of power that wouldn''t give a damn about the amount of times I smacked it." [Master Shiro, while it''s true that in normal cases. A person wouldn''t be able to simply ''stab'' it, however you have a god ranked weapon that is literally 100% made of divinity. If the power source had a physical wall to block it, then you might have problems. But that is completely energy based.] the System clarified. So basically, I can completely shit on anything if it''s pure energy is what he''s saying. I took another look at the ball of pure power with an insane grin on my face. ¡Þ Tentacle-Beard was focused on the barrier of the Vilmark, the original plan was for Captain Beard to hold off the Sword Empress as the rest of the captains focused on the barrier. Technically speaking, a barrier of this size would consume an abundant amount of power and if it were to be strained to a certain point. It might just affect the ship''s main power. It was already an agreed upon strategy as even with all of them together, they wouldn''t be able to defeat Fullmont and the Sword Empress in a head on fight. Especially that damn Sword Empress, however they could definitely drown her in the chaos tides. *BOOM!* "WHAT!?" the Tentacle-Bearded Captain panicked as he turned his head to find his ship completely wrecked from the inside. He couldn''t understand what happened as he fell down towards the sea. The armored man and the surrounding pirates also started falling towards the sea as the sound of an ice dragon''s cry rang out through the air. Shiro rode the serpentine ice dragon as he grabbed his armored ally. "Oh shit!" He nearly slipped as the dude''s armor was insanely heavy. {Translation: My thanks] the system translated the sign language again. "YOU DAMN BRAT!!!!!" Tentacle-Beard opened his mouth as a corrosive beam shot straight through his dragon before he was finally eaten by a corrupted beast. "Good thing I don''t need the full dragon." Shiro sighed in relief as the beam literally split his dragon in two. However he just needed to control the ice that they were riding on. "TENTACLE-BEARD IS DOWN!" One of the other Captains shouted out as they noticed what happened. "What now!?" It was hard enough fighting against the Sword Empress before, now they were weakened after losing one of their main buffers. Captain Beard seemed to scowl behind his beard. He looked over to the Sword Empress who stood on one of her spirit swords as her fighting spirit never dropped. "Congratulations Sword Empress, it seems you get to live today." Captain Beard spoke as he ordered the retreat. "RETREAT!" "Oh? You really are underestimating me if you''re willing to turn your back to me." Miya''s eyes seemed to flash as a sword hymn echoed through the skies. Those present could feel a shiver of death crawl up their spines as in merely an instant. 7 out of the 11 remaining ships were split in three. "Holy shit." Shiro whispered at the sight.