The same red light that once engulfed Akari now shone upon me. From within the pillar of light, I could see my body changing… no, it would be more appropriate to say that something new was wrapped around me.

At first, it was vague and unclear like a puff of smoke, its color barely a visible crimson. But the deeper it became, the more solid it turned out to be. My legs, which were already cut off, started to grow again, and were covered in a pair of red, steel boots like a knight’s attire. The same thing happened to my arms and torso—my lung was healed almost immediately, and on my chest appeared a solid red mail with a white “X” mark running from side to side. On my hands were a pair of gauntlets, each having sharp claws instead of the regular blunt gloved structure. A helmet covered my head, and while I couldn’t see what its shape was, the hexagonal shapes that my vision now saw told me all that I needed to know.

Once the light faded, the dual swords that Akari once held appeared in my hands as well. Like the armor, they felt like the highest quality steel, their shine reflecting the moon to create a mesmerizing gleam.

[Congratulations. You have acquired the item “Red Demon”, Due to the Transformation effect, “Red Demon” is automatically equipped.] The mechanical voice finally sounded.

[Due to inheriting your partner, you’ve gained experience based on all of their battles up to this point.]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

A string of buzzing sounds, all with the same two words bombarded my head. Akari and I had been through many near-death experiences, but I never expected that there was something like this.

[You’ve unlocked the unique skill, Master of Weaponry. Would you like to check the skill?]

“Yes.”

[Unique skill: Master of Weaponry. Able to wield any object as long as the Player deems it a weapon. Effectiveness depends on the Player’s understanding of said object and the Player’s physical strength.]

In other words, it’s useless. I spat in my thoughts. Even I wasn’t such a fool to be immediately pulled in with a bait like this one. The system never said that I would be able to deal damage or use the weapon proficiently, it just mentioned that I could use anything as a weapon. Anyone could swing a sword around, but only a master would be able to actually cut someone down with one.

As if reading my mind, the voice once again sounded.

[You’ve unlocked the unique skill, Top-Down View. Would you like to check the skill?]

Though it had just been given reign to do its things, I’d had a decent grasp of what this “system”, or rather, the fragment of the Dragon God, could do.

Despite being a part of a once living being, it had no personality and no sentience of its own. Somehow, it had resulted in a digital-like tone that looked like a game interface. If I were to will the holographic screen that I once encountered into reality right now, it would show up. However, that was everything that bore resemblance to an actual game that it had. Even the level up announcement just now had no meaning whatsoever.

This world was no game world—it was real. Painfully real. And to prove it, I needed one more definitive piece of evidence.

“... Activate skill.” I tried a different command.

Immediately, I received my answer.

[Character “Blue” is standing 50 meters to your right.]

[Character “Yellow” is standing 50 meters to your right.]

[Boss monster, “Left Leg of the Dragon God (Phase 2)” is 30 meters up, 50 meters to your left.]

[The wind’s direction is 3 km/h, eastward.]

[The ground is torn. A softer surface would result in worse performance in jumps.]

[The clouds were…]

My head almost exploded from the plethora of information being fed directly into my brain. However, it proved that my initial guess was right.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

For some reason, the fragment was only imitating the game-like guidance. The vague skill descriptions, and now this, were the biggest nails in the coffin. In short, there were no “cheats” to these skills—they merely enabled me to do things, but they didn’t let me use those things I was given. To reach their fullest potential, it was entirely on me.

“Blue, Yellow!” I called out. “Ready for battle!”

“R-Right!” The two, confused by the events that had transpired, were still able to respond to my call. And it was just at the right moment, as the mass of energy that was the Dragon God part had finally noticed us.

[Boss monster is about to unleash the unique move, Heavy Storm. Time until activation: 5 seconds. Distance covered: 135-degree cone in front of Player, with a radius of 50 meters.]

“Tch, it leveled up,” I clicked my tongue in annoyance. “Move to the side, guys! And try to run forward as well! This thing will blast in a cone!”

Without another word, Aozaki and Yamabuki left their hiding spot to rush forward. They didn’t split, so both were running towards the left of the creature. I, however, didn’t have the luxury to do so.

“If only I could do Akari’s slash…”

[Note: the unique skill, Endless Zero, is still locked.]

“Yeah, thanks, you stupid fragment. I know that much.” I spat. It was the culmination of her entire life’s worth, as well as her emotions towards me. Of course I couldn’t just pick it up like in a video game.

I needed to have my own way to fight. Without Akari, these dual swords were my only means of physically fighting others, but I had no technique to call my name, and my strength was still lacking to say the least. However, I had other ways to fight.

[Due to the effect of “Red Demon”, your jumping force is enhanced. The unique skill, Red Flash, can now be used. Number of times left: 3.]

“Three jumps left until either this armor breaks apart or my legs give up on me…” I mumbled. It meant that I had to time my jump perfectly to avoid the attack. In other words, it was business as always.

I was never a warrior or an assassin. If put into gaming terms, I was a summoner. And for a summoner, speed and timing were the two most crucial qualities.

“Activate Top-Down View, maximum output!”

In order to win, I had to push my eyes and brain to the absolute limit.

The creature had two seconds left until the attack finished charging. Its wings had risen to almost perpendicular to its body. Its head was tilting upward, which meant that its 360-degree vision was now directed to the sky. The natural wind was slightly to my left, so I would gain the most movement by directing myself that way, similar to my other teammates. The ground I was standing on was battered from the previous attacks and jumps from Akabane, so it would be harder for me to gain a good footing, but it wasn’t a big issue.

I leaned my body towards the left, bending down my knees to gather force in my legs. With two swords held in reverse, I was ready for my counter.

“Fly!”

As the words left my mouth, my legs stretched, flinging my body forward like a bullet. I could only hear the roaring wind barely grazing my back, while the scene of the creature’s neck was right in front of me. Cutting that down, and…

Wait, it doesn’t have a physical body anymore! Then how do I kill it?

But it was too late to reassess my judgment, as my arms had already moved according to my instinct. It was a shoddy slash at best—the swords didn’t even clash properly, and the lines shown on the mass of energy were nothing more than two random slashes de-synced with each other, both in timing and location. The result was obvious: it didn’t even make the thing flinch, even for just a second.

[Boss monster is about to unleash the ultimate move, Supersonic Scream. Distance covered: cylindrical shape, 10 meters in height, 3 meters in radius. Time until activation: 1 second.]

“Shit!”

The blast from its scream was much more devastating than before. It was not only deafening, there was actual wind mixed in with the sound waves, resulting in an invisible spiral drill that struck directly at the ground, grinding it to oblivion with torque large enough to rip an average person in half. Thanks to my timely jump, I was able to make it out with everything intact, but…

“Damn it! This is nothing different from before!” I punched the ground in frustration. “My partner died, I had to give in to this stupid system, and for what? A slightly better pair of eyes?”

[Clear conditions: defeat the boss monster.]

“Yeah, I get that, you bastard! But how am I exactly able to do that?”

The system was silent. However, it only lasted for a second, before the same annoying sound ran through my mind.

[Player level deemed inefficient… Recalculating clear conditions…]

[New clear conditions updated: Learn the unique skill, Endless Zero.]

[A new quest has appeared. Do you want to accept?]

“... I guess you want me alive as well, in your own twisted way, huh?” I let out a sigh. “Yes.”

[Quest: Mastering the dual blades.]

[Objective: Learn the dual wielding skill tree by repeating the action of “slashing”. The skill tree includes: Single Strike → Cross Strike → Cross Flurry → Endless Zero/Bounded Infinity.]

As much as it had made things simple, it was still no game. There was no instruction to it, nor was there a number for me to reach. All I had was the name of the techniques, and while those hinted at what to do, the only way for me to learn was by naturally acquiring it. In other words, learning by repetition.

Gripping my blades, I let out a tensed grin. “All right, stupid fragment. Game on.”