"Master, why did you say to Shiara-san that I would defeat him in two weeks like that?"

"Because you are going to do exactly that. Aren't you excited? You get to beat your nemesis in two weeks! How sick is that? I bet you're shivering with excitement right now. Isn't that right, Rei?"

"Well... Even if that was possible, wouldn't it be bad?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't doubt you, you have shown me how strong you can be against the likes of him, but even if I do defeat him... Won't others who are stronger than Shiara-san come looking for me?"

"That's illogical. If he bothers with you and you alone, then none should come after you. Especially his lapdogs. Once you take down the leader, the barking dogs will stop their barking. Although, that's a bit unrealistic. I can see your point. But even so, you just have to keep on evolving until none in this area can best you. Master the leveling system and they will not be a problem. That's what I told you, remember?"

"Yeah, about that... How exactly am I going to get stronger and master the leveling system in two weeks?"

"I never said such thing. The only thing I said was that this kid Shiara was going to get his ass handed by you in two weeks. That's all for now."

At that time, Master's methods started to unravel, but only for a short period after, did I witness how terrifying they would be, ultimately, how terrorizing they would mark my own to be.

"I'll ask again. How in this little time, am I going to achieve the power to defeat him?"

"You think power is what you need at the moment?"

"Am I wrong?"

"No. But, you don't necessarily need power. Power is overrated. All you need is fear."

"That's what I'm about to teach you today."

...What a weird dream... No... Perhaps calling it a past reminiscence would be better... That's right. The past is long gone, maybe for the greater good or the greater bad. Also, this bed is horrible, it's almost unbelievable that this boat is almost a luxury. Plus, the turbulence noises are supremely loud, mainly the sea beasts' roars. It's quite frightening for the most part, but I suppose there are worse things out there. As my body stretches after a lousy sleep, the wood cracks from this old fashioned bed were listened loud and clear. Many would call it rustic, but I would call it rusty, literally. Though, there is one good side. By looking at the right side of this small woody room, Of course, my knowledge is lacking here yet amazing creatures that swim the ocean right next to my window are all over the place. Some are even... competing? That's what it seems like. Only after leaving my own dimension do I come to the realization that this dimension is so different but so different that certain things can't simply be explained by observing or analyzing it. Although, I suck at analyzing, but at observing, maybe not.

If my curiosity hits its peak, then there is only one place to go. Specifically, the place where a certain man is. Know I not the place, a search should be equally worth it. Speaking of which, he did sleep in a different room for sure. Yet I don't know where he is. I could ask Lodya, but I also don't know where she is. Oh, how troublesome...

Main doc.

"There he is..."

That took me quite a while honestly. This boat is huge. By the time we three got into the boat in the morning, I told Zakarias that I needed to sleep due to apparent reasons. Mainly because our sleep was really short. He was fine with that, therefore he, along with Lodya went to get our room keys from the main receptionist. Or the one who was in charge of the rooms. I don't care enough to remember such boring details. Either way, that was enough to let me sleep.

Normally, after waking up, one would be able to determine or at least create speculations about what time it currently is. How that is done, is through the observation of the sky. If one looks upon the sky and the sun is up, but not totally, then it's most likely morning or at least almost noon. If the sun is more towards the west then it's safe to assume that it's either morning or almost noon. If the sun is past west and has gone east, then it's quite safe to assume it's either noon or early night. Ultimately, the moon and the dark sky give the clear signal that it's night. Although... That only applies to my dimension! How am I supposed to know what time it is? Both the sun and the moon are up. Actually, in my dimension, the moon is technically sometimes visible, even in pure daylight. What made it distinguishable was the fact that, if it was a dark sky, it was night, otherwise it would be day. But, no such thing exists here. The sky is neither blue or dark. It's a color that I have never seen in my entire life. Maybe, but just maybe he knows the answer to that.

"Yo."

"Oh, Rei! Perfect timing! I need your help with something. Can you help me, please?"

Eagerly asking me that, on the tip of the boat's board, the blonde man who I have been searching for the past twenty minutes lies here. More so, to my surprise, he is literally sitting in a place where none in their right mind would be right now. The wind was so strong, that my hair automatically flipped itself all the way back. To ensure that the gusty wind would not get in my way any longer, by elevating my right elbow, protection to my eyesight could be formed. Yet that's a bit irrelevant right now. Yes, right now there is a more peculiar factor that picked up my curiosity...

"Zakarias... What is that?"

"My new weapon. But, it's in its formation phase right now. That's why it's like this."

Strangely enough, from the position that Zakarias was, there was one place that he could freely gaze from there. The commander's room. More oddly enough, Zakarias's current form resembled a bit of the commander's. With clothes that are essential for a sea captain, it was nothing special, but Zakarias seemed to be copying them for whatever reason... Now that I think about it, during our time in the Island, he did transform himself into a fireman. I think that was through his self made page that he mentioned a while back... Could this also be...

"More importantly! I just remembered something. You said you come from another world, or dimension since you call it like that. Are there any legendary figures that appear in fairytales or something like that? Do you know about them?"

...Legendary figures..? Wait, could it be that he is thinking of... Still, legendary figures, huh? Samurai, I guess? In Japan, the Samurai were the living legends that were truly something noteworthy. Maybe there are more, but that's all I can think of at the moment.

"Yeah, I do know about one. But, can we go back inside? It's so windy here."

"I can't do that. Or else the formation phase will be shattered. If you don't mind staying here, could you describe to me the one you know about? It would help a lot!"

Two things to note here are that, by going inside the boat, it would appear that Zakarias's formation phase would be shattered... Yet why is that? I can take a guess on that. Even when I said 'Yo' to him a while ago, he has not taken his eyes off the sea captain. Plus, his eyes are green which is not usual. His eyes are normally blue. This could very well mean that he is utilizing an ability. A skill or a spell perhaps? Ah, it sucks not knowing it. The other thing to notice is that he is holding a book on his right hand. That right hand is elevated up in the air, in a position where he could firmly read it while still being able to look at the captain. Just another guess, but he probably needs to watch the captain otherwise his formation phase will not be completed and ultimately, it could shatter. Given that, wouldn't it be better to freely look at your target without occupying the other eye?

"Zakarias, is there any reason as to why we can't just go inside?"

"...Do I really need to explain this?"

"No, but it's just weird. The fact that you are constantly gazing at the captain like that, could it be that you are..."

"Rei. I'll kill you."

"S-Sorry."

He knew full well what I was going to ask, but in all likelihood, that would be a dumb question to ask. Zakarias is most likely just looking at the captain because his formation phase probably requires the conjurer to actually look at the target or something.

"I need to focus my eyesight on my target for the formation phase to start. Therefore, I can't go inside, or else I will lose all progress. For your information, I've been here for six hours already."

In the end, that wasn't too hard to determine.

"I see... But, if that's the case, then why the book?"

"I'm bored. I need something to kill time. After all, I just need one eye to focus on my target. The other is completely free if I want. Therefore, by reading a book I can do something more productive."

"What's the book about?"

"Tell me about your legendary figure first and then I'll tell you about the book. How's that?"

Zakarias is relatively secretive. He never, but never, tells you something for free. Speaking of which, it just occurred to me, but I... revealed one of my secrets to this person already... When Master told me not to. That's bad. That's really bad. Master is always on the look for those things, therefore I need to make sure that Zakarias doesn't tell anyone about it... Just how could I forget that... Master even told me that I was forbidden to use my abilities for some reason. But, I've used them once, against Zakarias, which broke his hand, soon after only to be repaired. There is one big flaw here though... How am I supposed to defend myself if I don't use my abilities!? If that's the case, then why would Master forbid me to use my abilities... He said only in case of emergency. Therefore, whenever I encounter a deadly danger. Thus, using them for another purpose is out of the question. Gotta keep that in mind.

"What's wrong? You've been silent for a while. Not interested in the book anymore?"

"Ever heard of the Samurai?"

"No... That's new for sure. Tell me more, if you may."

It lasted for about ten minutes or so. In all honesty, the information I gave him was quite mediocre. I'm by no means a history expert when it comes to the Samurai, so I could only give him so much information about them. Humans that live by the sword, and just like any human they live by certain philosophies that correspond their wills. Some, even go as far as to follow to Bushido code. The most noticeable part is that some Samurais would go as far as to commit Seppuku in order to atone for their failures.

Samurais who often committed Seppuku were embarrassed over their failures in battle thus their fatal decision. Furthermore, they served as watchmen who protected nobility. Although, while some dedicated their sword(s) to protecting nobility, there was a small or sometimes bigger faction that was traveling around the land to meet strong opponents. By receiving the battle experience against strong opponents and killing them, a Samurai's strength would grow even larger. Nevertheless, the actual reason as to why the Samurai even bothered to participate in such deadly events was so they could find a place to die. To die with honor is worth a thousand lives with honor. While they did value life, some prioritized death above all. Maybe that was how they viewed their actions and ultimately, their battles overall.

"From who did you learn this?"

"None."

"So, this could entirely be fake?"

"This isn't fake. I just did some self-research..."

"Self-research?"

Actually, it was only from reading some manga, but if I told him that, then I don't know what kind of reaction he would have. Zakarias is the type to not hold back when his switch is flipped.

"I read it from a book. So, I don't know just how accurate it is."

"Hm... I see. In your opinion, how accurate do you think it is?"

"If I had to say, then... Maybe it's fifty-fifty? But, why do you need this information?"

"I could tell you that. But, if so, then I won't tell you about the book? Are you fine with that?"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Again with the secrets, he really doesn't like trusting anybody, unless it's for his own benefit. Not like I can't empathize with that feeling, but am I really a threat to him? No, perhaps it's not a matter of 'who' but something beyond that.

"Yeah, sure. I'm not a fan of books either way. I get too bored whenever I read them."

"Smart choice. You asked me why I needed this information, right? It's because I eventually plan on obtaining a samurai form. To obtain a form, I need to fulfill a few conditions first. To start off, I need to have an image on my mind of what I want to form to be like. Or to be more precise, I can simply form this image by directly looking into the one I want my form to be. At the moment, you might be wondering as to why I'm looking at the Captain.

Eventually, in fifteen minutes I will obtain his form as a Sea Captain. However, that by itself is not enough to obtain a form. Thus, the second step comes. I also need to know what the form revolves around. For example, for me to gain the fireman's form, there was a need to make some self-study. By that, I mean, to know what exactly a fireman is, what it does, and so on. I need to know every detail about the form that I want to achieve, to every last detail. It can be a bit tiring, that's for sure, but in the end, it's somewhat worth it. Not always though. Since I've said this, I will say this, otherwise, it wouldn't make much sense, but, the book that I have on my right hand is a book about a Sea Captain's job and a lot of other things. By learning and reading this book, I can fully interpret the captain's profession, ultimately, gaining the full-fledged understanding. To summarise so far, the first step is to observe, but mainly to visualize while the second is to gain an understanding of what I'm visualizing and to be able to also be one with the form. In other words, this is just a part of the process that I have to follow for this form. Sometimes it differs, as some require fewer steps while sometimes some forms require more steps. Fortunately for me, this one requires only three steps. Got everything so far, Rei?"

...For someone of little words, Zakarias sure knows how to hand down words. If he was in my school, he would probably be a genius or something. I can't imagine how someone like him was stuck on that Island for so long. Talk about a waste of talent. So... To observe and then understand... That explains it, that's for sure. But, he said that there are different steps to take depending on the form. His ability seems to be a lot complicated for the most part, but it's perfect for a pilot like him. Still, that doesn't fully explain it.

"Yeah, but that's not all, right?"

"True. The last step has to come. By writing what powers I want the form to hold it can uphold those powers. To ensure that, it's necessary to write on the recipe. However, it's not as easy as it sounds, for every power there is one consequence. No, to be more precise, for each power I write, I get another consequence. For example, let's say that I ask for a power, I will get a consequence. If I ask for a second power, I will get two consequences, but it's not under the same power. This is to say that, even if I list the first power, a consequence is always to come. I can't stack under the same power, so I have to write a second power separately, therefore, there will be two consequences for the second power, while there is already one for the first one. So, three consequences. But, it doesn't end there, if I proceed to ask for a third power, separately, then I will get three consequences, thus forming six consequences in total.

What's worse is that I don't get to choose those consequences, they are randomly chosen. Furthermore, I can only choose a power that aligns with the form itself. So, I can only choose water powers, for the most part. This sounds all bad and all, but there is a good side to this. I get to choose the power to this, which is fantastic. Not the consequences, though. That's about it."

At first, I was quite excited to hear what his ability would be like and don't get me wrong, I still am. But, it's just that... It has too many restrictions! Plus, he doesn't even know what kind of consequences it will have upon him... Though, after this explanation, I think I can finally come to an understanding. Zakarias wanted to know about this legendary figure because he wanted to be able to understand this legendary figure. He needs to apparently visualize with his eyes the form that he wants to obtain, therefore, he can't possibly obtain the Samurai form, if he wanted to.

"Um, is that a spell or a skill?"

"If you are talking about my forms, then it's neither of them."

"W-What? But aren't there only spells and skills?!"

"Hahaha, what? No way. You must think of that because of the Atlas. Listen, an Atlas is cool and all, but it's only remarkable because it can hold both skills and spells in it. Otherwise, there really isn't anything remarkable about it."

That's certainly new. I thought that Atlas's were supreme or something. It's somewhat shocking to me because Master is always using them, so the assumption that Atlas's were something incredible came right into my mind. Well, Master isn't always using them, there are other things besides Atlas, I think.

"Then what is it?"

"Original ability. You have it too, don't you?"

"No..."

"Hm? That can't be. On the Island, you revealed it to me, was that not your original ability?"

This is bad. If I answer this the wrong way, Zakarias will know for a fact that it wasn't my original ability, but something else... Ah, what kind of excuse should I make this time around... If only Master didn't tell me that then I could answer Zakarias freely yet that can't happen. Just for what reason did you forbid me from telling him, Master?

"That was a skill, actually. Sorry for not telling you about it..."

"Is that so? There's no problem with it, really. It's just that I was impressed by it, back then so I thought that it was definitely your original ability back then."

Another issue at hand is this 'original ability', just what the hell is an 'original ability anyway? There are far too many things that I don't know about this dimension... No, perhaps it's the Leveling System at hand? Ah, damn it. Master, why did you only teach me...

"Oh, time's up."

"What is?"

"The formation phase process. It's done at last. That took me seven hours if one includes the remaining time that we spent here exchanging words. I'm somewhat curious about this 'Samurai' that you talked about. Unfortunately, I really need to see the real thing or else the formation phase will not commence. As thanks, wanna see what this new form can do?"

"Before that, can't you get a cool name for it? Saying formation phase is really... lame."

"It has a name, I just didn't say it because it would confuse you. My original ability is called 'Tenebris'. It stands for the word ' Darkness'. Because, the ability itself, can only steal and be made for my own greater good. Which is something that only people who have embraced the darkness within themselves are able to do."

"You should call it that. That sounds a lot better! Anyway, I'm curious now, show me!"

"Alright then. Barheima forma, activate!"

Exactly like the Sea Captain above, Zakarias's Barheima forma takes form. The resemblance is perfectly equal. At the top, there was a Sea Captain's hat, while starting with a pure white color on top, the mid and the tip of it are black, exactly like the Captain's hat. Though, it contains some gold sharp shards, again, like the Captain's hat. Next is the black blazer with a golden necktie. Just like the hat, it contains some golden shards, mainly along the black sleeves. In the end, it was quite fancy, since the rest of the clothes were Navi's pants. Lastly, white Navi's shoes. Seriously, what an overkill.

"Zakarias, aren't you showing off too much?"

"No. This is just how the form really is. Plus, it's not my fault, but rather, the Captain's, for being well dressed up. I gotta say, if this form didn't have its downsides, then I would wear it more often. Also, you can't really criticize someone's sense of fashion with that hair of yours."

No point in denying it, I suppose. My hair is entirely messy yet that's because I never bother to actually fix it. Meanwhile, Zakarias's hair is perfect. He is the polar opposite of me when it comes to something like fashion.

"You said downsides, you mean the consequences?"

"Just the natural ones, not the imposed ones. Each form takes a physical toll on me. That's normal. Anyway, wanna see one of my powers?"

I was right, he is a showoff. Otherwise, he wouldn't ask me this anyway. But, I can't blame him. If I was in his place then I would test them right away. Just what are his powers anyways...

"Are you sure that you can use it? You don't know the consequence to it."

"It's precisely because of that why I want to test it out... Let's see... A weak one should do for now... Are you ready?"

"Of course. Whenever you want."

"Ok."

As the wind gust rises even further, Zakarias starts to close his book that resided in his right hand in a resonating way. After that, he finally looked at me, which was surprising, because after all this time he was observing the Captain just so he could achieve his form. Wait... If he only looked at me now then how could he have noticed about my hair? Since I'm on his right he could have simply taken a peek at me through one of the book's sides, but that's just so difficult. Could it be that he just assumed that my hair was messy, to begin with? Either way, Zakarias seems to be moving his right hand...

"Are you searching through the menu?"

"Yes. I've got to find a safe area to use this new power, or else this entire ship and everything around it will go down. So I will choose an area that has the most deserted water."

"W-W-What do you mean the ship will go down?! Didn't you say it was a weak ability?"

"Yeah. It is my weakest ability in this form."

"If it's the weakest then how come it will sink the ship?!"

"Just because it's the weakest it doesn't mean it can't contain any strength to it. It's the weakest, true. But that's because all the others are just that stronger. Anyway, I'm done. Wanna see what my ability looks like?"

"As long as it doesn't sink the ship."

"Are you an idiot? Why would I sink the whole ship...? Anyway, take these."

Just as we finish our worrying conversation, Zakarias hands me binocles, which could very well mean that I am supposed to pay attention to something very far away. It really makes me wonder what type of ability it is. Also, I just want to get the hell away from here if possible. The wind is chilling down my spike as we speak. Also, I'm not too fond of the ocean when it's this close, it makes me remember some painful place that I went three years ago.

"Look at the east side for a while. Don't take your eyes off for ten seconds."

"Gotcha."

"Tsunami, unleash."

Hm? What did he just say? Ah man, am I hearing things or what? Tsunami? The ocean is so calm, how can a Tsunami suddenly erupt out of nowhere? It makes no sense. If I remember correctly, a Tsunami needs certain conditions to be formed, that much I know. Although, know I, not those actual conditions. How ridiculous would it be for someone to actually have such ability in the first place? Although, Zakarias has some restrictions to his arsenal, so it won't totally be like that. Wait, I'm assuming that he actually has the ability to form a Tsunami in the first place.

"Seven, eight, nine and ten. Can you see a small wave from afar?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Zoom out the binocles for a bit."

"...Is that..."

"I can't blame you for not being able to recognize it. A Tsunami when close is gigantic beyond words. However, from afar, it's nothing more than a small wave. Just now, you were able to recognize it because you zoomed out for a tiny bit. By doing that you could witness how a Tsunami is from afar. Don't worry. The Tsunami is very, but very far away. About 430 kilometers, I think. Also, you can now see the length of it, can't you?"

"I can. It's enormous, even bigger than an average Tsunami, I think."

"Oh? You have seen one and managed to live to tell the tale? I'm impressed."

"Ah, no. I just saw footages of real Tsunamis. Never did I actually witness a real Tsunami. But, hey! Isn't that Tsunami coming to us?! What are you going to do about it?"

It would really be troublesome if we got hit by a Tsunami, especially one that was created by Zakarias. Speaking of which, the Tsunami looks bigger than the ones that I know of. Officially, the biggest Tsunami in my dimension happened several times ago in Alaska. It had 523 meters, in terms of height. Yet this one is clearly bigger than that. How in the hell is that possible!?

"Relax. This is my power. One and the only. As its owner, I can simply disperse it. Watch closely. Tsunami, disperse!"

It really did disperse, although... I sincerely hope that there isn't anyone close or else you might have just killed someone accidentally, Zakarias.

"Oh! Nice, I slew some sea monsters! I guess the Tsunami dispersal was so strong that it killed some sea creatures along with it. Very nice! Hm? That's awkward..."

"What's wrong, Zakarias?"

"I didn't gain any experience points. That's really weird because a notification came to my menu saying that I was successful in slaying two titan whales. Why isn't it giving me the experience points?"

Now that's really awkward, whenever you end up slaying something you are bound to get experience points. That should be it, no exceptions. No exceptions... Could it be that there are exceptions to this, if so then the exception to this would most likely be...

"It must be the consequence, don't you think so, Rei?"

If that's the case, then it really makes me wonder for a second. Zakarias said that he can't stack the same power under the same power, therefore he had to write down separate powers, that is, assuming that he got more than one power, which I would very much like to assume. If he can't stack the same power, then I wonder if the same consequence can stack under all power. Let's say that there is a consequence to this which strictly says that when one uses this power, he cannot gain experience points. Then, does that mean that this consequence can stack on the other powers that are among the Barheima forma? That's really disadvantageous if so. It wouldn't really make any sense for the consequences to stack upon each other, I suppose. I hope not, however, in such circumstance, the Barheima forma might just be useless for killing monsters, which would ultimately add up to more experience as a whole.

"I thought so too. But I thought of something else too. Can those consequences stack among each other? You know how the powers can be given consequences, furthermore, if given more powers then the consequences will increase. Could it be that those consequences apply to every power?"

"They do stack on each other. Otherwise, it would really be overpowered to have such abilities to your arsenal. Don't get me wrong, being able to form a Tsunami right away is overpowered, but I don't benefit anything from it, in the end."

As I thought, they do stack on each other. Zakarias is quite the risk taker then, to take on so many risks like this is something praiseworthy. Still, he is wrong about something. He said that he didn't benefit from it, but that's only if you can maintain your current perspective about the world and keep perceiving it the same way. With that said, he could very well just decide to use his Tsunami and drown an entire town or something like that.

"Couldn't you just use it to kill people around the lands of Ceulonia? You could even eliminate any problematic person you may face just by forcing a tsunami on them?"

"Rei. Do you really think of me like that? Do I really look like someone who would kill someone for the sake of killing? For the sake of pleasure? Power in the right hands is something that should be used for the greater good. The ultimate goal is peace. That's what I believe at least. Should the time arrive when I use power for something that is not the greater good, can you kill me, Rei?"

"W-What are you saying all of the sudden? I was just joking, just joking! Haha..."

"Hahaha, I was joking as well. Let's go inside, shall we? It's freezing out here."

"Oh yeah, what time is it?"

"7am."

"I slept for almost a full day!!"

"Perfect time for breakfast, right? Maybe we will find Lodya there."

And so, our idle chat began once again, releasing all the negative vibes that came from our previous exchange of words. Right now, we are on the boat to Kralima. We are not the only ones that are as well. Since this boat is quite big, it contains a lot of rooms and halls. Mainly, the amazing plaza, which is where we are directing ourselves to, at the moment. There are a few things that I learned just from this conversation. Zakarias is a serious person for the most part yet in contrast to that, he knows how to relax and have fun. That's an ideal characteristic that I wish to have. Nevertheless, by obtaining a new form, Zakarias was able to add more power to his arsenal now that I think of it. Although it has an undeniable downside to it, he can't gain experience while using which makes things a bit harder for him. While that is slightly unfortunate, he is able to produce and unleash a Tsunami at his will. At first, I was somewhat worried but Zakarias seems like someone responsible, unlike someone that I know. Ultimately, even though I learned a few things this morning, there are still some questions that remain unanswered. What caught me by surprise was the fact that Zakarias's original ability 'Tenebris' was neither a skill nor a spell, it was, as mentioned, an original ability.

Maybe, but just maybe, if I'm lucky. I can get one too. But for that, I need to know how to get one in the first place.