*creak* *creak*
‘Huh….I never knew Dungeon Safe Room doors actually creaked….’
Zenith muttered to himself as he opened that small, glowing door that had, eleven years ago, allowed him to survive in this strange, and formerly dangerous world, and even allowed him to come in contact with all that he had accomplished, or perhaps barely managed to accomplish, not too long ago. And now, a whole eleven years later, he finally opened this little door that had to him become nothing more than a decoration, a part of the wall, at one point.
((….they aren’t supposed to….strange.))
Alice says, no longer on the form of a window, or perhaps merely a box shaped window, but with a sweet, soothing, and to Zenith, lovely and charming voice. As a wiseman once said, love tends to make people blind, or in this young Spell Caster’s case, cause auditory hallucinations bordering severity, though in a way that he actually enjoys.
And yet his enjoyable disillusions were shattered when, the moment he stepped out, he was forced to come face to face with a being so hideous, so strong looking, and simply, to Zenith, so enraging for breaking his sweet moment, though he is perhaps the only one in existence who would consider a simple sentence from his loved one as a moment, that he decisively raised his arm and pointed his finger at it, and without even waiting for it to realise that a human had by some unknown sorcery appeared out of thin air right beside it, since Dungeon Safe Rooms aren’t visible to anyone till they are unoccupied,
“((Ut Incenderent Cinere))”
….*swoosh* *thud*
A delay of no more than a split second later, a pile of ash, a set of stinky leather armour, and a large, wooden club, fall to the ground. What remained of a level:176 Troll, was just that, nothing worth mentioning.
((What….how….eh?....huh….?))
“Huh?....what just….did something just go inside me?”
Zenith, ignoring the stupefied Alice, tilted his head in confusion, as he felt a strange, something, enter within his body. Something he had never experienced before, something that seemed to be foreign, yet also something that his body, mind, and even his soul seems to crave for. Something that seems….addicting.
“….experience….is it?....Status.”
((Eh? Ah. R-right away.))
Alice slips out of her confusion, reasonable confusion stemming from the fact that she had just witnessed a level:1 Apprentice Spell Caster turn a level:176 Troll, a monster that is known for it’s immense regenerative prowess, to a pile of ash before the poor thing could even show off what its race is known for, and brings up Zenith’s Status. Again, seeing his status, she witnesses another shocking result.
((Impossible! How can you only get 5.6% experience after killing something 175 levels above you!?))
“Huh.”
Zenith mutters to himself, as Alice shouts about how impossible this situation is. To Zenith, however, this isn’t much to worry about. After all, did he not come to know just eleven years ago that there are a literal infinite number of monsters out there in the Multiverse, waiting for him to kill? So what if a 175 level difference only gets him 5.65% experience? That just means he’ll have to turn another twenty or so of these Trolls into piles of ashes, no?
((This is ridiculous! This can’t be! Why!? I don’t understand….just why?))
Unfortunately, though, it seems his dear doesn’t share his view. Zenith could only shake his head, sigh, and ask her a few questions, and try to come up with an explanation before she turns into a broken recorder. As much as he likes simply hearing her talk, another symptom of typical lovesickness which I sincerely hope none of you readers come to experience(that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to find true love, though, so don’t misunderstand), he doesn’t want her to think too much on something that doesn’t involve himself, which is a pretty narcissistic and self centred view of himself, it must be added. Slightly sadistic too, if you want to interpret it that way.
“How is experience calculated anyway?”
((Ah? Y-yes, well, experience calculation is quite simple, really. Slaying anything the same level as yourself will net you 5% experience, and each difference in level, assuming that the whoever or whatever you slay is at a higher level than you, will increase experience by 2%. Every 5 levels of difference will increase experience by another 20%, every 10 levels of difference increases experience by 50%, every 25 levels of difference increases experience by 150%, every 50 levels of difference is another 400%, every 150 levels of difference is another 1500%, and so on. And every 100 levels of difference should increase the experience by 10 times. So, for a 175 level difference, it should be…))
“56,550% experience. A 2,000 in Intelligence sure helps….well, that’s even easier…since I got 5.65% experience, that just means my Class, an Unknown Class, needs 10,000 times more experience than other, regular classes. That, or the fact that my total stat count is a whopping 216,508, not counting the ??? for Life, has made it pretty hard to level up. Well, considering the fact that no one on the entire multiverse has managed to come up with ways to increase their stats permanently other than by getting 10 stat points per level up, which I honestly find rather strange, I’m equivalent to a level:21,650, I guess.”
((I-I see….yes….it makes sense….so…. my Zenith is 10,000 times better than anyone else huh….hehe…. ))
Although spoken and written in an extremely soft voice and small font, Zenith, whose four digit senses make him find it hard not to notice them, chuckles silently, happy that his lover is happy that he is strong, as cringeworthy as that may sound. After all, when all is said and done, Zenith, while certainly not a virgin, has never felt the feeling that calls itself love. He is as inexperienced in the field of love as he is experienced in the field of spellcraft, a field where he might very well be called the best.
“Or rather, do I even have a need to level up? I can pretty much raise my stats equally by a thousand each in less than an hour, and that’s an hour to a Time Spell Caster like myself, so it’s a little more than a couple nanoseconds to the rest of the Multiverse. Why do I even have to level up?”
((Ah, that, didn’t I tell you about Secondary and Tertiary Classes? Us-….y-you can only get them if you level up your primary class.))
“Right, and why do I even need those classes? Can’t I just the skills instead?”
((Umm.…that’s….look at this class first….))
Says Alice, before bringing up the description of a certain Class. Zenith doesn’t show much interest in the beginning, merely glancing at it because his dear asked him to, but the moment he read through the description, his eyes instantly shone as he unconsciously clenched his fists, with enough force to crush the air around them, making a temporary vacuum, though Zenith himself didn’t care about that in the slightest.
((Researcher))
Description:A researcher of the fusion between science and magic, between technology and sorcery. Uses vast amounts of scientific knowledge to construct contraptions that, with the enchantments of magic, perform phenomena with unfathomable efficiency. ((Note by Alice:….r-robots can be….fused with….magic….and me))
Was there anything else that needed to be said?
“What….are the requirements?”
Zenith asks, trying his damn best to control his emotions, and most importantly, his excitement. How long has he been dreaming for this moment, when he would get a hold of a clue to creating Alice’s body? Well, not too long, really, but it was quite long to this spell caster, who got the idea of cuddling with his dear and couldn’t later get it out of his mind. Now here it was, a clear solution instead of his previously vague thoughts of somehow managing to do something after bringing up the Arcane Grimoires of Body and Mind and Ancient Grimoire of Souls up to level:10. Indeed, he had a clear path before him, presented to him by his dear herself. What more need be said?
But the moment Zenith saw the requirements, however, he could barely stop himself from nearly destroying the entire Dungeon in a fit of uncontrollable anger. A pity, Koarleina would never get to know she was almost wiped out of existence due to the absurd requirements of a secondary class.
((Requirements))
Level:1/10 or above in the following Skills.
Acoustics, Adenology, Aerobiology, Aerodonetics, Aerodynamics, Aerolithology , Aerology, Aerostatics, Agrobiology, Agrology, Agrostology, Alethiology, Algedonics, Anemology, Angelology, Angiology, Anthropobiology, Anthropology, Archaeology, Astrogeology, Astrology, Astrometeorology, Astronomy, Astrophysics, Asteroseismology, Avionics, Axiology, Bacteriology, Barology, Biochemistry, Biogenetics, Bioinformatics, Biology, Biophysics, Botany, Biotechnology, Brontology, Cacogenics, Cardiology, Catacoustics, Chaology, Chemistry, Chirography, Chronobiology, Cosmology, Demonology, Diabology, Dioptrics, Ecology, Egyptology, Electrochemistry, Electrology, Embryology, Enigmatology, Entomology, Epidemiology, Eschatology, Ethology, Futurology, Gastronomy, Gemmology, Geography, Geratology, Gigantology, Glaciology, Glossology, Gyrostatics, Harmonics, Hedonics, Heresiology, Hoplology, Horology, Hydrodynamics, Hydrogeology, Hydrokinetics, Hypnology, Immunogenetics, Immunology, Immunopathology, Irenology, Kinematics, Kinetics, Koniology, Linguistics, Loimology, Magnetics, Mammalogy, Metaphysics, Metapsychology, Meteoritics, Meteorology, Molecular Biology, Myology, Mythology, Nanobiotechnology, Nephology, Nephrology, Neurobiology, Neuropsychology, Neurypnology, Nomology, Nymphology, Oceanology, Odology, Oenology, Oneirology, Ontology, Optics, Orthopaedics, Osteology, Palaeoanthropology, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeontology, Physics, Physiology, Pneumatics, Polemology, Political Science, Pseudology, Psychogenetics, Psychology, Psychopathology, Psychophysics, Pulmonology, Pyrgology, Pyroballogy, Radiology, Rheology, Runology, Satanology, Seismology, Selenology, Somatology, Statics, Teleology, Thanatology, Thaumatology, Theriatrics, Thermology, Toxicology, Uranography, Virology, Vulcanology, Xylology, Zoology, Zoonomy, Zoophytology
“Who….the….bloody….hell….designed….this….class….?”
The window representing Alice visibly shivered as a sense of intimidation came over her. Realising he was scaring her, Zenith immediately controlled himself, but alas, while she was fine, the damage had been done somewhere else, in a far, far away corner of the Multiverse.
((*shiver* *shiver*….E-Esteemed….En-Entity….?))
The System felt a shiver run down its non-existent back, though it could only vaguely guess the reason for that.
Back to Zenith, however, he could barely stop himself from snapping in anger. Taking deep breaths, he looked at the requirements closely, finding a total of 150 skills in there. Six of them, he noticed, he already possessed at a high enough level. At the same time, however, he realised that the requirement was merely a level:1 for all 150 skills.
“….ah! What about the advanced classes? You said there are ten advancements to each class, right?”
((Yes. A Class can be advanced at level 10, 30, 60, 100, 150, 210, 280, 360, 450, and 550. For the ((Researcher)) Class, the requirements for the ninth Class Advancement are 150 level:10 Skills, and the requirement for the final Class Advancement are the possession of ((Research)), ((Experimentation)), ((Simulation)), ((Magic Theory)), and ((Mathematics)) at level:10.))
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
“….why maths?....like seriously, why Level:10 maths at the last Advancement?”
((Umm….I think it’s because even The System agrees that maths is one of the toughest subjects?))
“Huh….whatever.”
Zenith shakes his head, and looks at the cave-like structure of the Dungeon he was in. Now that he had a goal, he would, obviously, do all that is necessary to accomplish it. But quite clearly, that would take far more time that he could possibly wait for.
“If that’s the case….((Shift)).”
A spell matrix the complexity of which would only lose to that of the ((Recollection)) spell appeared around Zenith, completely surrounding him within hundreds of thousands of archaic runes, symbols, and many obscure lines and diagrams, all of which served the purpose of interposing his will onto mana, of changing reality to accommodate his wishes.
And the next moment, with a surge of nearly 15,000 MP, a cost far, far less that he would have otherwise have to pay had he not gotten into possession the Ancient Grimoire of Space, the spell matrix flashed a bright white, and Zenith himself disappeared.
Only to reappear in a familiar, small, dimly lighted room, with the smell of chemicals in the air, and also the horrid smell of decay. And as Zenith caught whiff of this smell that he had more often then naught experienced during his experiments,
“Ahh! God! I forgot! Damn!”
Zenith kneeled onto the floor, trying his darnedest to keep himself from puking. Granted, he hadn’t eaten a morsel nor drank anything other than Ether Essence for eleven years now, and yet he still couldn’t help but tremble as his stomach threatens to rebel against his will. Now don’t get him wrong, Zenith is in no way not accustomed to the smell of death and decay. But that is for the Zenith of old, not to the sixteen, or perhaps, thirteen year old Zenith. Indeed, he had forgotten that he was, at the moment, a thirteen year old inexperienced with death. In fact, had he used some other spell, like say an Earth spell, to crush the Troll before, he would have most undoubtedly felt sick from looking at the blood and gore.
“*pant* *pant* *pant*….*huff*….God Damn….*huff*….”
With a four digit willpower, however, Zenith soon gets a hang of himself, before realising that he hadn’t heard from his dear in a while now.
“….Alice?”
Nothing. That was when he realised that this little room of his completely isolated him from the outside dimension, not allowing anything or anyone other than himself to enter. It was a good thing for him, however, since he definitely didn’t want to show an embarrassing side of himself to his dear.
“She’s probably worried huh….sorry dear, but I have to keep you waiting for a while….”
Taking a deep breath, Zenith decided to do that which has to be done now that he was nothing more than a teenager.
“I have to get used to death….and to experiments….”
So Zenith walked, to the origin of that gut-wrenching smell, as he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, his willpower working overdrive to keep him from retching. As he looks at the small bin into which he had not too long before his departure thrown that which now looks like nothing short of a decayed piece of human flesh, a mangled mess of flesh and bone and blood and rot, Zenith once more kneels, as his eyes redden unconsciously.
“Damn it!....get used to it already!”
Hardening his resolve, Zenith slowly, extremely slowly, extends his hand towards the bin, but the moment his trembling hands touch the rotten flesh, as his fingers transmit the squishy sensation of the flesh, and the wetness of the blood, and the sudden hardness of the broken and powdered bones,
“*puke!*….*puke!*..*puke!* *cough!* *cough!*….*puke!*….huff….huff….gah!..*puke!*”
His stomach couldn’t handle it, as the acids form inside flowed out through his mouth. He tried to cover his mouth, yet the moment he contracted his hands, the smell from the flesh that he had touched, that had stuck to his fingers, became much stronger, making him puke even harder. Gasping for breath, he couldn’t help but shiver, yet his willpower kept him from giving up, for he knew that, as much as the self torture might pain him now, it was more than simply necessary.
“God….Damn….it!”
Zenith, for the first, or perhaps, the second time in his life, struggled, the first being the time when he initially killed one of his fellow humans. And just like the first time, this time as well, he held on. Even as he puked, even as he knelt onto the ground, and even as he clenched his teeth hard enough to crack his jaws, he held on. And he succeeded.
“huff….huff…damn it….huff….that….took….way too long….”
Slowly, Zenith rises back to his feet. A simply spell cleans out his puke and washes his throat and mouth. And looking at his finger tips, smeared in blood and rotten flesh, all that remained within his mind, was a sense of discomfort. He had, yet again, gained and lost something deep within him. He had gained a familiarity with death and gore, and lost a small part of humanity.
“….((Shift))…”
Once more, the spatial transference spell matrix appears around him, as he vanishes with another flash. This time, he reappears on top of what was once considered the highest peak on Earth, now nothing more than a place where he and some other Sorcerers constructed a an altar to purify Earth’s air, converting the smoke and dust into actual, breathable oxygen. A favour to our fellow humans, as a testament that we have not yet lost what humanity remains within us, as said by one of Zenith’s few good friends, Lincoln.
“Alice?”
((There you are! I finally found you! How could you!? How could you leave me behind!? Do you know how scared I was!? Idiot! Bastard! Why did you push me away!? Why didn’t you warn me before!?))
Listening to Alice’s shouts, filled with anger, Zenith couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Yes yes, I’m sorry I forgot. Alright? The place I went to only allows me entry. Next time I go there, I’ll bring you along, ‘Kay? Now calm down. Why would I leave you?”
((I was…I was so scared…you..*sniff*…))
Listening to her silent sobs, Zenith couldn’t chuckle this time. Instead, he could only bear the pain that sprung up within his heart. Even if he was inexperienced with love, he knew that that pain was from hearing her cry. And also, from the fact that he couldn’t even console her with anything other than words.
Did lovers not swear during marriage that they would make sure their better half would be kept happy, and away from all sadness and despair? That they would make sure to keep their vow with their own happiness and life on the line? And what did he do? Make her cry even before he made the vow?
For the first time, Zenith realised what regret felt like. A sense, or perhaps a feeling, that tore apart his heart. A feeling that nearly drove him mad. That was what regret felt like to Zenith. Why couldn’t he have recalled it? Why couldn’t he have warned Alice that they might be separated? Why couldn’t he have taken down the barrier the moment he entered his base, and let Alice come back to him? Why? Just because he didn’t want her to seem him suffering? Because he wanted to maintain his image in her heart as an invincible existence? Because of something as insignificant….as pride? Is that the really the reason he caused her to cry?
Regret. That was what consumed Zenith’s mind at the moment. Even hearing Alice’s cute cries of ‘Idiot’ and ‘Stupid’ did nothing to decrease the amount of hatred he felt towards himself at the moment. Why did this have to happen? Because he was inexperienced in love? No. Because he was careless enough to not consider how Alice, who had no idea where he had gone, would have felt when the man who proposed to her, the man who had succeeded in snatching her heart, disappeared, leaving her on his own accord. Yes, it was his own inconsideration, and not his inexperience, that caused this to happen. It was not a mistake, it was pure negligence on his part, negligence to the one he loved.
And then he remembered something else he had thought of not too long ago. What was that he thought? He loved Alice so much, he wouldn’t be like those idiots who would be willing to part from her just cause they are making their loved ones feel uncomfortable? That he wouldn’t leave Alice, and wouldn’t let Alice leave him, even if she herself no longer wants to stay with him? Really? If that was indeed so, why, then, was he unable to even speak at the moment? Why isn’t he able to say a single word? What is he feeling regret, a feeling he had never, not once, experienced in his long, long life? Why is he unable to come to forgive himself?
Not a hypocrite? Bullshit. There might not even be another alive who is as hypocritical as Zenith.
And when he realised that, that he was no different than those lovesick idiots who would consider their partner’s feelings as worth more than even the entire Multiverse, some of whom who would be willing to give up everything, and be willing to sacrifice anyone, even innocent people, and even be willing to start massacres and slaughter cities and countries worth of lives, just to please their partners, just to make sure their better halves are safe, Zenith could finally open his mouth.
“I’m….sorry. I…didn’t think you’d be so worried.”
((Wh-who’s worried!? I’m not worried! If you disappear, I would get my contribution points deducted! Yes! I-I was scared that my priority would decrease because of you!))
Hearing her try to justify herself, embarrassment clear in her voice now that she had finally gotten over her worry and anger and had realised all that she had spouted out, Zenith finally felt a little relieved. His regret, however, is something that will remain within his heart for the rest of his long, long life, constantly reminding him of his mistake, no, of his blunder, of the time when he made his dear cry. And it would remain a thorn within his heart and mind, forever making him conscious, that every time he repeated his mistake, it would only serve to hurt him more than any God or Devil or Dragon could ever hope to.
“*cough*….right, so, Welcome to Earth, Alice. How is my world?”
Alice exclaims, shock apparent in her voice.
((So this is your w-what!? Earth!? Did you just say your world!? You mean we are in another dimension now!?))
“Uh…you didn’t notice?”
((And who’s fault do you think it is?....but seriously, you actually passed through Gogam’ dimensional locks….))
*cough*
Zenith awkwardly coughed as that thorn within his heart suddenly grew a few inches, pricking his conscience. Although he couldn’t say much, on the inside, he was practically crying.
‘Oh come on! I barely calmed down and you just go ahead and remind me of that!? That’s unfair!’
Shaking his head, and giving a wry smile to how childish, or perhaps simply young his thoughts had become, to the point where he even joked around, Zenith concentrates on the reason for coming back here.
((…..it’s true…there really aren’t any monsters here….or even a single Mage….or sorcerer… or a single warrior with stats higher than 15….what a weak world….))
‘Weak huh?’
Zenith chuckled hearing Alice’s words, making her pout(at least he thinks she pouted) and ask him what he found funny.
‘Well…a small diversion shouldn’t be so bad….I’ll just think of this as a date.’
“Let me see you say that after I show you Earth’s most feared weapons.”
((Humph! I’ve seen Artefacts that can wipe out entire villages and small towns! And they can even destroy things that are hundreds of miles away!))
‘Wait till you see a nuke….or an aircraft carrier….or even that space station ISRO managed to launched a few weeks ago….or better yet….I’ll take you to that one summer time project I made as a kid….’
With such thoughts, Zenith used a ((Shift)) spell to make his way to one of Earth’s largest Oceans, the Atlantic Ocean.
((The Ocean? It’s….nice, sure, but what weapon is in here?))
“Patience, dear, patience. See how patient I am, to show you my world even though I can barely stop myself from kidnapping some scientists and absorbing their memories and getting the skills I need to make you body? Learn from me a little, will you?”
((….that was long….))
Indeed, Zenith was quite unnaturally talkative, but only he himself know that that is because of how happy he is. After all, who wouldn’t be happy when on a date with the one they love? Sure, he might not be able to hold his beloved’s hands, or see her smile, but still, that did little to dampen his mood.
“And there it is, one of Earth’s humanity’s most dreaded weapons. Appraise it.”
((Wh…..what is……what is that!?))
What came out from beneath the vast, blue ocean waters, is indeed something even those humans that created it hold in dread, though if they were to come to know of what Zenith himself did to it, they might very well faint from fright.
((USS Michigan(SSGN-727)(Revamped:CLASS ZERO))
A ballistic missile submarine (SSBNs or boomers in American slang) which carries submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads for attacking strategic targets such as cities or missile silos anywhere in the world.
This particular Submarine was scheduled to be dismantled, but was later borrowed by Spell Caster Zenith Zero, and converted from a nuclear submarine to a mana powered full scale ballistic cruiser that is capable of running indefinitely. Maintaining itself at 30% fuel efficiency, this machine is capable of ramping its mana generation capabilities by utilising the inbuilt Philosopher’s Stones, increasing its cruise speed to 417 knots, and a maximum speed of 724 knots for three hours. Radars, sonars, and other detection and surveillance systems have been replaced with mana sensors, life sensors, and movement capturing spells that have a passive range of 1.4 miles and an active range of 3.7 miles. Nuclear warheads, the submarine’s main purpose, have been replaced by miniaturised fission based perpetual mana locked Nuclear reactors that, upon impact, cause catastrophic devastation.
Formerly only capable of strategically taking out cities, this submarine now has the capability of launching 114 consumable nuclear missiles, each capable of decimating landmass of upto to 1.6million square miles, and 498 rechargeable mana powered compressed plasma covered in shells of thin mana crystals and etched with explosion spells, each capable of rivalling a military class strategic Tomahawk. It also has in its possession an incomplete armament that its repairer had not had the time to finish.
At 100% efficiency, this machine can operate for 240 hours before needing to enter a recuperative sleep mode for 2,400 hours. At 100% operation, this machine is capable of recharging its’ ammunition at a 10% of maximum capacity per second.
Current Armaments:[114 Fission Based Nuclear Warheads] [498 Plasma Based Land to Air Missiles] [1,998 Mana Based Land to Land Cruise Missiles] [14,998 Magnetic Based Short Range Interception Blasts] [1 Incomplete *#*€’@9:4’@“&)29:§$>~{}^>?]
‘Ahh….a folly of my youth….I can’t believe I made something like this just cause I had a free summer and the council of Sorcerers didn’t want to meet up….’
((……..Z-Zenith….please….don’t ever….get too angry….in Gogam….alright?))
“Ah, yeah, sure thing.”
Zenith could only awkward laugh. Then again, who asked him to come up with and even end up making something as monstrous as this?