A Nerfed Gamer in Avia Chapter 5 - A Talk with the King
“Fight Start!” the monotone voice sounded out as I stared at Benjamin Avernus.
I raised an eyebrow as Ben stayed still, his eyes watching me as his Qi Cloak flared to life. I decided to keep mine off.
Our physical capabilities are too far apart, using Qi Cloak would be overkill.
If he wasn’t going to engage then I would.
I ran forward as I threw a fist at him. I watched with surprise as he moved faster than I thought he was capable of. His left palm pressed against my forearm, pushing my blow off its trajectory.
The next moment an impact slammed into my stomach, I knew it was his fist and I knew Qi Fist was layered on it but there was something else… something different.
As his Qi exploded against me from the punch, I was sent tumbling backwards. I got my feet under me and stopped my momentum.
I looked at Ben expecting him to be on me about to attack instead he hadn’t moved, still stood in his original spot, still in that stance as he watched me.
I let out a chuckle, I underestimated him. That punch hurt quite a bit, my Qi Cloak flared to life as it set about healing the injury.
I smirked, it was obvious to me at this point, Damien had the raw power whilst his brother had raw skill.
This time I Qi Stepped in, I saw the surprise on his face as I appeared in front of him.
My fist flew forward, I was taken by surprise. I could see he was still surprised at my speed and yet he had already slipped my punch by bending his body backwards.
Then I ducked as I saw his fist flying to my face. I was saved by my overwhelming speed.
I narrowed my eyes as I got serious.
I pushed forward catching him off guard, he was still recovering from his dodge.
I was able to land a punch to his chest as I pushed him back. My second attack was dodged as he pivoted to the side, a kick flying to my face as I slipped it.
As I went to follow up I was caught by a punch he had flowed into. He was moving with grace flowing from attack to dodge and vice versa.
The punch was hard hitting, it slammed into my cheek, my Qi blocking most of it but again, the punch was layered in something that was Qi, I could feel it making his strike stronger.
The hit made me stumble, he capitalised as another punch slammed into my gut, a third hitting me in the other side of my face before a kick slammed into my chest, Qi blasting into my chest from Qi Kick as I was sent tumbling backwards.
I pulled myself up off the ground, I was surprised yet again, he hasn't followed up. I thought he was being cocky but as soon as I laid my eyes on him I realised why. He was tired.
Whatever technique he was using to enhance the power of his blows was tiring him. He was using much more Qi than me.
I would win eventually but I decided to step up the pace, I glanced at my father with a questioning look. He seemed confused for a second before realisation set in and he shrugged.
He didn’t mind. I nodded as I stood up straight Qi surging around me as I took a large quantity of my Qi, infusion as much as I could fit into my body. My muscles bulged, my body increasing in size.
I appeared in front of Ben, his eyes widening. I saw his body already moving to try and counter me but it was painfully slow. I punched him in the gut sending him flying to the edge of the arena as he slammed painfully against the shields.
Immediately I dropped the technique whilst I could do the initial form, it still took a lot out of me.
Immediately Ben gave up as he let out a pained chuckle, his Qi already trying to fix his injuries. Once the shields dropped his father moved over and refilled his reserves.
Ben quickly got up with a grunt of pain as he moved over and stuck his hand out “no hard feelings?” he said and I nodded as I grabbed his hand and shook it.
“Also that technique is bullshit” he said as an afterthought as he turned to stumble away. He was stopped as his father slapped him on the back of the head.
He rubbed the back of his head as George glared at him “stop swearing! If your mother catches you, she’ll kill both of us” George warned.
“Too Late” Damien said, getting our attention as he pointed at the door, Alina Avernus stood there with my mother as she glared at George and Benjamin.
Ben immediately attempted to use me as a shield, George copying him, he used my father as a shield.
Alina stormed over before she grabbed both of them by their ear and dragged them both out of the room as they both pleaded to her.
Mother moved over and let out a chuckle.
“She is just as fiery as always, isn’t she dear?” Father said to Mother as he chuckled.
“Yep she is” mother let out a chuckle.
“They are always getting into trouble with mother, they’re both childish, it seems with a partner to mess around with, father’s childish side has come out” Damien said as he sighed.
Yep these next few days are going to be fun.
-{POV Return}-
After a scolding from mother she let me go back to my room since I was very tired.
I immediately flopped down on my bed, as I went to sleep I remembered something.
I quickly got up and locked the door as I turned back to my room, opening my menu.
Companions (Limit: 1)
Hobgoblin(Unnamed):
Race: Hobgoblin
Level: 1 (0/1000) (Peasant Tier 1)
Abilities: None
I completely forgot about the companion I got. A Hobgoblin. A relatively weak creature. It was a humanoid creature, green skinned, tall, with beady red eyes and sharp teeth.
Hobgoblins were pretty weak. How do I summon it?
I decided to try it like I used my skills. I simply thought about summoning it and then willed it to happen.
Blue particles materialised out of nowhere as they morphed into a humanoid shape.
Soon a Hobgoblin stood in front of me. It was exactly what I expected to see.
It stood at about 6ft, tall and lanky. It had a sickly green coloured skin. Two beady red eyes with sharp pointy teeth as he stared down at me.
It was male and all it had covering its body was a loincloth which covered its privates.
It simply stared down at me with a toothy grin as I went back to its menu.
Companions (Limit: 1)
Hobgoblin(Unnamed):
Race: Hobgoblin
Level: 1 (0/1000) (Peasant Tier 1)
Abilities: None
I clicked on Abilities
Which Ability do you want to consume and give to your Companion?
I immediately cancelled that as I nodded, that was telling. It seems I could give my skills to my companions. That was very interesting but I don’t think I want to give any to a Hobgoblin.
If I remember right, It was a rare pull that gave me this Hobgoblin, I shrugged and unsummoned the creature before I moved into my bed and fell asleep.
I woke up earlier than usual, I had a quick bath and then found myself sat on the end of my bed, looking at my Inventory.
Inventory
2 Gacha Tokens
3 Gacha Token(Rare+)
I had gotten these from some achievements, I was going to save the Rare+ ones but I decided to use the 2 regular ones.
Gacha
[Equipment] [Skills] [Perks] [Companions] [Special]
Let’s do both on Special, I got the Upgrade Cards from them so i’m interested what else we can get.
Rolling Rarity…
Rolling Rarity…
Rarity Rolled: Rare
Rarity Rolled: Rare
Rare Roll: EXP Gem Tier 1
Rare Roll: 5X Upgrade Card
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
I took the EXP Gem from my inventory, it was a small blue gem, similar to a sapphire in colour. I used it like I used other things, just willed it to happen.
Would you like to use EXP Gem Tier 1?
Y/N
I decided to try something, I pressed no then willed it to be used on Busoshoku Haki.
Would you like to use EXP Gem Tier 1 on Skill Busoshoku Haki?
Y/N
I pressed no, it could be useful but I wanted to see exactly how much xp it gave and the only way to do that is to use it on myself, I was also 200 exp off my next level so it was a no brainer.
Would you like to use EXP Gem Tier 1?
Y/N
I pressed yes.
Name: Benjamin Avernus
Level: 8 (800/10000) (Knight Tier 3)
It gave 1000 EXP. That was a decent amount, obviously there were bigger tiers, how much would an Epic rarity give or a legendary one.
I couldn’t help myself, so I decided to use one of the Rare+ Tokens. I was getting addicted to this and that was not good. I used it on Perk.
Rolling Rarity…
Rarity Rolled: Legendary
YES!
Legendary Roll: Mp User
I simply stared at the screen in front of me with wide eyes, my mind racing. I pulled up the perk menu faster than I ever have before.
Mp User - Legendary:
The User gains a secondary energy pool dedicated to Mp. This second energy pool works the same as if you only had one and it is separate from the users QI. Control must still be trained.
I stared for a solid 3 minutes… This was insane.
It hadn’t settled in until now how unreal this system was. I could already feel the second pool of energy. It was weird.
My Qi and… Mp (that was crazy to think about) were kind of interlaced together, they existed in the same space somehow. I had no clue how this worked, the nature of Qi and Mp and how the power system of this world worked made it impossible to have both.
Time for a lesson. You see, before you started training in Qi or Mp, you had something called Blank Slate Energy that resided in your gut.
It was metaphysical, if you cut someone's gut open, you wouldn;t be able to touch their Qi or Mp.
The reason it was impossible to have both was because the Blank Slate Energy can only take one form. When you begin training in your chosen energy type, you will it to take the form of Qi or Mp.
That Blank Slate Energy evolves to match your desires and then it takes the form of Qi or Mp as you learn to control it.
It's why an Instinctual User of either can immediately freely manipulate the energy in their body. Usually your energy pool would slowly change its form as you practised control. It's why it is so hard to control at first and why it takes so much time to gain decent control of.
Your energy is not only evolving into something you can actually use but its also getting used to you. Some people believe your energy has a bit of sentience to it but there is no proof of it.
An IQU in my case is born with Qi, that blank slate energy never existed in my body. It was Qi right from the start of my life. No one knows why it happens, I believe it may be a genetic mutation of some kind or something like that. This world isn’t advanced enough to be able to figure that out.
Because an Instinctual User already has their energy formed and they’ve lived with it for usually 5 years, it has already grown used to their body and because it doesn’t have to evolve and change its form, controlling it is astronomically easier to do.
Now I am not an Instinctual Mp User… wait.
Perks
Instinctual Qi User:
You are an Instinctual Qi User, a very rare ability to possess.
It allows you to use your Qi like you have been practising controlling it for years.
Disease Immunity - Epic:
The User is immune to most mundane diseases. Diseases with a magical origin, created by a magical spell or have any amount of mana or Qi in them, you do not have an immunity to.
Mp User - Legendary:
The User gains a secondary energy pool dedicated to Mp. This second energy pool works the same as if you only had one and it is separate from the users QI. Control must still be trained.
Nope I'm not. Which means I need to train my control… but this gives me an idea.
I have both Qi and Mp, if I can get my control up for Mp, would I be able to combine them together to create something new?
It’s something to keep in mind for the future.
Granted a lot more just got thrown onto my plate but this is too special for me to not make the most of. Qi and Mp both have their weaknesses but with both under my control those weaknesses are nonexistent.
To put it in simple terms, Qi is bad at range and versatility whilst Mp is bad at amplifying and protecting the body.
The day's training went by quickly and soon we were at the dining table, all eating.
I was focused on my thoughts about Mp but something took my concentration. “The princess is sooo cool!” Floria squealed slightly as father chuckled.
“Wait what did you say?” I ask, giving father an intense stare which seemed to catch him off guard.
“Ummm… The princess of the royal family is rumoured to be able to control both Mp and Qi, but they are just baseless rumours, no one has seen her actually do it” he said with a mocking tone.
With my eyes wide, my mind raced. It is impossible to have both Qi and Mp… unless you have the system. The Princess is from my world, she’s like me.
“Father, what is the princess’ name?” I asked, my name was still the same so I guessed it may be the same for the others.
He gave me a confused look as he raised an eyebrow, “Princess Yuki Iciya” he said. I am not sure what my family and the Zeroth family expected my reaction to be but it was definitely not for me to immediately stand up straight, my chair pushed back, scraping along the floor.
I blink “father, I know it sounds ridiculous but how could I meet the Princess?” I stared at him. My family were all staring at me with wide eyes, they had never seen me so intense before and I had never been so serious before.
He seemed to notice my seriousness as his eyes narrowed, he quickly stood up and moved over to the door whilst gesturing for me to follow “everyone me and Benjamin are going to have a talk, don’t wait up for us” I quickly followed after him as he led me to his office.
Soon I found myself sitting across from my father, a serious look on his face as he stared at me. “You’re not as good an actor as you seem to believe you are” he said with a chuckle “you’re different Ben, you always were, even as a 1 year old you had an intelligence not seen in a child. Like you already knew who you were, you did things with familiarity that a child shouldn’t have, is incapable of having”.
My eyes went wide, panic setting in before he gave me a calm smile as he waved a hand.
“I don’t mean any harm by my words, I don't want to cause you any fear. There was a time when I thought you had been possessed or were a changeling or something like that. I am sorry for the invasion of your privacy but I convinced your mother to use magic on you.
She assured me that you were Human and you were our son. You are related to us magic can detect that and you aren’t possessed or Alina’s magic would’ve picked it up”
I calmed down a little as he finished what he was saying “what’s the point of telling me this?” I asked with a frown.
“You’re different, I know that and your mother does. After she performed her scans and assured herself and me you were our son, I decided no matter how abnormal you were, I would raise you like I did with your brothers.
I have no idea how you seem to be more mature, like you’ve lived longer that you actually have. You have wisdom a child… hell not even a teenager would have”.
I started to get worried again but he waved me off “I don’t intend to convince or force you to tell me how. I simply want to tell you that we know, your siblings don’t of course. I would like to know how but I’ll wait for you to be comfortable enough to tell me yourself” he gave me a kind smile.
I nodded, deciding not to hold anything back. “I will eventually. It's hard to explain or I guess it’s more that it’s hard to believe. I’ll think about it”.
“Now obviously you have a good reason to want to meet the Princess or at least I trust that you do. So you are in a better place than most because of our status as a Kingdom. I could potentially get a meeting with the king but that would be hard and it’d take years.
One of the King’s advisors has always hated me and he’d block any chance at us getting a meeting. There is another way however. The Iciya tournament”. He said with a smirk.
I raised an eyebrow “how would a tournament help me?” I asked, confused.
“It’s hosted by the Kingdom and the royal family. They attend and watch. It is a great tradition for the Kingdom and people from all over come to compete or watch” he gave me a smirk “so to meet the royal family and gain their attention all you’d have to do is win, all you’d have to do is beat every other fighter.
People that have years of experience over you. Also anyone at any age can enter, the only requirement is you have to be at least Earth Tier 1”. I narrowed my eyes as I sighed.
“Father, can I trust you?” I said seriously as I stared at him.
He got up out of his chair and moved around before crouching in front of me with a smile “I would happily die for any of you, you’re my family and I’d do anything to protect that. If there is anyone in this world you can trust, that’s me”. I nodded as I sighed.
“Okay the rumours about the Princess are most likely true, i can do the same” I said with a shy smile.
His eyes widened as he looked at me with shook “You can control both Qi and Mp?” he asked and I nodded “I can, I can’t control my Mp very well though, I only just got access to it”.
He nodded as he stood up before he pressed a button on his desk. A few minutes later Mother walked in and looked at us both. Father gave her a look and she seemed to realise what we talked about as she gave me a smile before moving over and giving me a hug “I love you son” she said with a smile as she planted a kiss on my cheek.
I chuckled “I know mom” she nods at my words as she looks at father “what’s up?” she asked.
“Benjamin can use both Qi and Mp, I’d like it if you could train him a little, he’s way ahead with Qi. I’ll be teaching them some advanced techniques soon but it can wait”. Father said.
Mother’s eyes widened as she nodded. “I won’t have much time to train you and the girls, as well as take care of my other responsibilities. I can get you some materials that can help you. And if you have any questions I can answer them” she said with a sad smile.
“We could get someone from the guild to train him” father suggested. Mother raised an eyebrow and nodded “I’ll look into it, I’ll have a maid bring you the books to your room sweetheart” she said to me before leaving the office.
“So about the Iciya Tournament, I have a request of you son, '' father said as he looked down at me, having stood up when mother came in.
I looked at him with a questioning gaze.
“I want to get the Avernus Kingdom on the map. I want us to be seen by the public. Already we’ll have a lot of publicity when your siblings go off to their respective academies.
People will see how strong we are. As much as Damien would hate to admit it, you are the best of us. I have no idea how but you’re a prodigy amongst prodigies.
You’ve developed your own martial art. You take to Qi techniques with an ease I haven’t ever seen. You’re strong and you’re only going to get stronger.
So I want you to show the world how strong the next generation of the Avernus Family is. I’ve had this talk with Damien already and he’ll be doing the same.
I want you not only to win the tournament. I also want you to demolish your competition”.
I nodded as I stood up and smiled “I’ll need some help then. When is the tournament?” I asked.
“They do one every year, this year’s has already passed. The next one is next year, about 10 months away. You obviously don’t need to go next year” he said as he smiled at me.
I shook my head “I may not win next year’s, but I’ll place high and then the next year I’ll win it”. I said with conviction.
My trump cards, Haki and the Sharingan and if it’s up to scratch magic would win it for me. Nothing like those have ever been heard of before.
It means I have an incredible advantage. Also if I pull out the Sharingan or Haki in a tournament as widely known as this one, there is a very good chance my friends could see it.
That’s my motivation. I’ve potentially found Yuki, I’m not as close with her as my three best friends but we are still friends.
I don’t really want to reveal my face to the world but I have no choice if I want to find my friends.
I’ll just have to deal with the repercussions.
I don’t want to reveal Mp. It’s something impossible. It can’t happen under normal circumstances so people would be suspicious of such a thing.
I need to improve Haki and the Sharingan. First though I need to increase my Level so I can gain more Qi.
I’ll practise Mp as a side project for now. It isn’t something that will bear fruit so soon. I don’t want to put all my time into training it when I could train almost everything else whilst levelling.
Soon I found myself sitting cross-legged on my bed, a book in my hands as I read the title “A Guide to Mp Training”.