NOVEL NEXT Chapter 31: An incomplete World
11 K words!
See you around!
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/Sheen…/
Slowly, like light bulbs in a stadium, the empty void was filled to the brim with colorful galaxies.
They glistered faintly before him, as if asking to be chosen...
'Here I go again…'
Philip recognized this pattern, what was about to happen...
The lights slowly grew stronger and stronger… Blinding him...
He tried to close his eyes, but remembered a crucial detail…
'I… I can't close my darned eyes!! Ohhh shiii…'
/FLASH!/
Bright white white burned through his cornea, and once it passed, a low bell echoed in his ears:
[Gamerverse is narrowing down the choices randomly]
For some reason, he felt as if there was an emphasis on these words… Not that it mattered right now.
'AHHHH!'
Slowly, the lights began to dim and vanish. And all, except one, disappeared.
At the same time, the lingering pain soothed. But its memory persevered...
[Gamerverse has made a choice]
'Huff… Huff… I hate this part.'
Philip turned to the chosen galaxy.
'It looks like the Milky Way… Not like I know how it looks, to be honest.'
'I've seen documentaries, but it's hard to directly compare both…'
/Shuaa…/
'Hm?... '
However, as the sole galaxy shone in the bright sky, it suddenly scattered away, sending him back into the fleeting Void.
'This is new... Did Gamerverse choose something else? Could it be that things aren't so random after all?'
[... Lacking parameters have been detected… Processing…]
"..."
'That doesn't sound good…'
[A solution has been found]
[Gamerverse chooses a Class randomly]
[Gamerverse has chosen a Class]
A spark of light ignited in the darkness.
[Beginning transferring process…]
/Drag.../
He felt himself be pulled towards it, and midway through, he blacked out.
…
"Urg…"
Philip felt as if his entire body was submerged in cold water, but as quickly as the feeling came, it vanished.
The back of his head hurt a little, his senses were in disarray, he couldn't understand what was going on, and neither his body.
Like being hit in the face by a strong wave, he couldn't tell up or down.
So he just stood in the dark, lying on the ground. Otherwise, he felt his dinner would come up...
"Huu... What happened to me this time?"
'Where am I?... And why do I always wake up in a dark place?'
Philip had the inkling of an impression he wasn't in for a good time.
He looked around but saw nothing aside from a few white lines stretching into infinity like the edges of a cube, or rather, it was as if he was inside one.
A cube made of mirrors, reflecting its corners into each other, mirroring realities that do not exist.
They seemed to have no beginning or end, but he could see them clearly.
Despite the disorienting feeling, he could at least tell he was within a squarish room, making true to his initial first impression.
"Dammit…"
'There are so many games out there with pretty ladies in them, and I'm forced to train in the gutter… At least make it an easy one without so much pain…'
[You have acquired a new class through Gamerverse. Would you like to see the notes?]
His thoughts, however, were suddenly cut by his System.
"Why not?... It's not like I'm going anywhere." He said out loud as he waved his right hand in the air
[DING]
A series of notes spread out before him:
[Gamerverse has selected a universe]
[Your Only Move is Hustle Universe]
"What?..."
'What the hell? I've never… Hum… Wait a minute. I've heard of this before.'
'... Ahhh…! My friends played this.'
Then realization fell:
'I've never played this before…'
[Gamerverse has set its eyes on a Class]
[Room Master]
[The Class, Room Master has been automatically equipped]
[You have equipped a Class!]
[Your destiny changes...]
[Your Class… INTERRUPTED]
"?..."
'This is odd, for the System to glitch now… This could be bad.'
'I still have Gamerverse, but if the Class transferring process breaks apart, I could end up with an incomplete or… Well…'
Philip had realized long ago that he'd often lose himself in his thoughts, worrying over things he had no control over or that had yet to happen.
So he let go of his worries, throwing them back to the back of his mind.
Either way, this wasn't his stage to dance in:
[Assessing…]
[... Process completed]
[You have/// E33OR!]
[Gamerverse is forcibly taking over the Class transfer process]
[Gamerverse fills in the gaps in the *****]
[An error occurred in the formation of the Class, Room Master. Gamerverse is correcting the deviation according to *****]
[Class, Room Master, has incomplete parameters. Reformatting…]
"Hm?"
/Sheen…/
Light shone before him, and a small, black System panel appeared before him.
But just when he was about to interact with it, another notification flared:
[Class, Room Master, has been repurposed into the Skill: Simulation Room]
[Skill, Simulation Room has been transferred onto the Main Status]
"WHAT?!"
[Resuming…]
[A Class mission has been issued]
[Clear the corrupted data within the simulation and fully claim it as yours]
[Disclaimer: Due to the nature of your Class, some of your Main status' skill effects have weakened while some of your Traits have been partially suppressed]
With that, the notifications halted, leaving Philip entirely and utterly alone.
/Silence…/
The faint white lines shone light onto his body, casting a near-invisible shadow onto the obsidian black ground.
No reaction…
"... I can't tell if this is better or worse than waking up in a sewer…"
Philip scoffed as he scratched his hair, almost pulling it off.
'I can't take this… Sigh.'
'Once again, I've been sent into who knows where with no pretty ladies in sight... Heck, I can give up on them, just send me elsewhere more... Tolerable.'
"At least… There isn't anyone to bother me here..."
'Let's go over everything from start to finish…'
'First, this universe, or rather… Lack of one.'
"What do I remember… Not much…" He muttered to himself as he massaged his temples
'My friends played this game before, but not for long.'
'This is... A fighting game, and from what I remembered from their discussions and the few clips I saw of it, the game was about managing your character frame by frame as each player fought each other. That may be the reason why this Skill is called Simulation Room.'
'This game was essentially all about that… Though you could say that about any game…'
"That goes for where I am… Now for the following issues…"
'Why did the Class transfer process break?'
While the problem was far beyond his understanding and power to think about, he had a decent idea of why everything went downhill.
'If everything I've gathered from Gamerverse so far has some degree of truth, then I can infer the reason...'
'Simply put, this world… Has no story. Everything around me is both its beginning and end…'
'This is… The Universe.'
'But Gamerverse and the world of Eden work around the river of Time and Fate. The moment the System tried to create or transfer the Class to me, It glitched because there was nothing for it to base itself on.'
'This game is, for the lack of a better word… A sandbox. Not as in a sandbox game as even some have rather complex stories, but in the sense that you literally create everything about it.'
'What Fate is there to a world focused solely on two players? It begins and ends with them.'
'The players match, they fight, end of the story. There is no reason why, there is no consequence for it, there is no in-between.'
'Maybe that was why it broke down. There was no substance… But at the same time, I'm a little suspicious.'
'Gamerverse could've chosen one of the game's inherent Classes. It had a few to choose from… That might've been enough to stabilize the process. If that was the issue that is...'
'Yet it chose none… It chose to make me the "Room Master"... What does that even mean?'
'Like uh… The Host of a Server? But if that's the case, then things don't match. Gamerverse chose a Class randomly; how can it choose something that doesn't exist?'
'Players always choose a character; it's the only thing that exists in this universe, so it's not like I can take the role of a nameless NPC or side character in a story!… Unless it's not limited by anything.'
'Rather than choosing, it could be closer to… "Generating" a suitable Class.'
'From the perspective of Gamerverse, which may as well be mine, it makes sense, but when the main System tried to do its job, it failed like it did multiple times before, forcing it to take over.'
"But… What if it was deliberate?" He muttered out loud as his eyes sharpened
'Gamerverse has a clear will; it activates whenever it wants, and sometimes it seems as if it's there, listening…'
'What if Gamerverse is attempting to shatter the main System? Maybe as a way to raise its authority?'
"That could be the case, but I can't confirm it either… I barely know anything about this subject… No, I know nothing."
'Worse, I was told not to think about it often… I don't think it applies here, but better be safe than sorry.'
"Hm… Either way, this doesn't seem like something I'll have an answer for anytime soon."
'Despite my theory, it also breaks apart when you consider how whenever Gamerverse acts, it tries to create something within the System itself and not outside of it entirely.'
'It may need it for its existence, but it clearly has powers that go beyond it… Either that, or the System itself may be more chaotic than I originally imagined. Maybe that's just the natural order of things.'
'If it weren't for that strange thing I fused with, I would've believed this conjecture…'
Philip closed his eyes, clearing these thoughts as he moved on:
"So the solution was to break apart the incomplete Class and turn it into a Skill. Very well, that solves most of the issues, I suppose."
'But what comes after this? What 'Fate' is there to achieve? Which aspect of this world am I supposed to master?'
'How am I supposed to move on from this Class?'
"..."
"... I thought my second time would be a bit better than the first, but it seems I was just thrown into the same dilemma."
Finally, he turned to the faint screen floating before him, pulling it closer to give it a proper read.
"... This is a little confusing."
Dozens of options appeared before him, each opening up even more options into a sea of possibilities.
He scrolled through each option quickly, getting a feel of what he was seeing.
"Hm… I think I understand now."
As he said that, he interacted with the board, and someone unexpected appeared before him…
/Creak…/
An old man swayed in his old, creaking chair…
A pale face, sunken eyes, and disorderly white hair covered by a hat…
"Heh, old teacher… Never thought I'd see you again."
'Gehrman.'
/Creak…/
But the old man did not reply, acting as if he wasn't there.
"Simulation Room… I think I understand what I'm supposed to do."
'A space of my control to bring forth what I've experienced so I can try again… And if that doesn't suffice, I can alter that too.'
'This Skill has no level, meaning it's already at full potential. Maybe it can be changed and evolved like Mind Fort was, but that's another matter.'
"Honestly… A little underwhelming, but I won't refuse it."
'I was in dire need of some sparring partners. There isn't much hands on experience can't solve.'
He played with the options with a faint smile, having Gehrman disappear and someone else replace him.
/Swoosh…/
Light condensed, and a tall woman stood before him, her arms crossed.
"..."
"... Damn."
'Now that I took a better look at her... At least without the threat of a punch... When she's silent, she's quite pretty…'
In all of his wisdom, Philip materialized his instructor, Berinou Gargo!
"..."
As he looked at her, his eyes narrowed.
With a cheeky look, he pinched her cheeks…1
"This is… Far more realistic than I thought."
/Pull…/
He pulled one of her hairs, but as expected, she barely reacted.
"This… Could I…"
He looked down, but as soon as he did so, he shook his head.
"I'm a teenager no more, dammit…"
/Honk…/
Even so, he couldn't resist it. With a good grasp, he honked both of them.
"... Not bad, not bad at all… Wait a minute… She's not wearing a bra? Oh shit…"
'Did she come to class every single day without wearing one?!'
"I knew she was crazy and tomboyish, but woah…"
After having a good feel, he shook his head, cleansing his impure thoughts.
"It seems like my Trait is nearly non-existent here. I'm losing control of myself a little too easily."
He smiled faintly, laughing drily...
'Not that it's bad, but at this rate, if I let go of myself a little too much, next time I meet her and I so much as glance at her chest, she'll likely twist my back as if I was a tube of skittles.'
'Worse, someone may see these memories, especially that fucker… That would be no good at all.'
Philip acted as if he hadn't tried to convince Gamerverse of something just as equally as mischievous before…
'Take a deep breath… Namaste Amitabha… Or whatever…'
Philip took a deep breath, calming down.
Despite what he said before, his Trait was still active, even if faintly.
Looking at the control panel, he thought about what to do next.
"I think I got the gist of it for now. There are still… A hundred pages of options left from the looks of it, but I'll manage. My memory's not the issue here."
'Right now, time is distorted outside. I have all the time in the world to figure things out and train here.'
"While that's true, I don't think it would be good for my sanity to remain here for long… I think spending time in a nightmarish world is probably less taxing on my mental health than being left alone in a room with no one."
'... And no matter how many dolls I'm given, regardless of how well they look, it won't help me much in the long run.'
"Maybe I can have them simulate their real selves? Is there an option for this?"
After looking around, Philip found something and activated it…
/Crack…/
And Berinou immediately reacted.
"Oh? It worked!"
"Yeah? Had fun?"
"What…?"
"Honestly, while this situation isn't the weirdest I've been in, I thought you were better than those buffoons."
"Huh?..."
"You listened, you asked questions. That's all there was to it... For once, I thought..."
"I'm a simple lady, but by no means an easy one… A little disappointing, to say the least."
Berinou reached for the back of her head, sighing lightly as she smiled faintly.
"... Ohhh shit…"
Philip immediately understood what was going on.
Berinou smiled as she cracked her fists.
"Hope you had a good feel of'em… IT'LL BE YOUR LAST!!"
Just when he realized what was about to happen, he tried to reach for the console, but he only saw a fist take over his vision…
"Fu…"
Until the end, he didn't close his eyes.
/BLAST!!!/
Philip was punched right in the face. What happened after… Was better not described.
…
In the world of darkness, Philip reopened his eyes
[You've been taken out]
[Simulation completed]
"... Note Number 1… Exert extreme caution whenever bringing forth anyone's ego… Over."
'I'm lucky this ended quickly. In any other scenario, she might've cut my arms off or worse… And she's certainly not the only one who'd do such a thing.'
"Huff… If I simulate anyone else, I better be mindful of their tendencies before toying with them… That said…"
"Who shall be my first opponent?"
After putting some thought into it, he knew exactly who to call.
/Step…/
A knight clad in bronze stepped before him…
"This guy will do."
'A Royal Knight… A fake one, but a strong guy nonetheless.'
"Let's gauge how strong I truly am, without anything to stand between us!"
/Silence…/
"Oh… I forgot to turn it on… Erm… This, and this… I can change the environment? Hm... That's nice, but I'll stay with this… Huh? I can do this, too?... Cool…"
"E-Enough of this!"
Philip shook his head as he pushed himself away from the window, stepping toward Yer-Al as he unsheathed his blade.
"Pitiful being. Do you even understand who's before you?"
"Heh, feels just like yesterday I blasted you into pieces."
"Humph, your delusions end here, Human."
"I could say the same."
'This Yer-Al is the same one I fought, but without the memories from his death.'
'From the looks of it, I can make him stronger than he originally was by messing with the options. I can strengthen his body, give him new techniques… But I can't push it any further than anything I haven't experienced yet.'
'Although this makes me wonder… Does Simulation Room improve with what I see and experience directly, or does it consider all of the books I've read before?'
'If so, does it apply to all or only to those I've read and comprehended?'
"So many questions…"
/Step!/
Philip stepped forward, approaching Yer-Al.
Like before, he was arrogant, unwilling to start the fight, as if conceding Philip the first move.
Oh well, what could he do…
/CLANG!!/
Their blades met yet again.
…
/Many hours of goofing around later…/
/SLASH!/
"It's over."
/BOOM!/
[Simulation completed]
As the cloud of dust receded, a man stepped out, his sword tainted red…
Immediately after, he froze as the simulation halted under Philip's command.
"As expected, Yer-Al was far stronger than everyone else."
'I had wondered about this after we clashed. But Yer-Al wasn't given the chance to use what he knew. By the time he went past his superiority complex and got serious, he was defeated by the combined effort of me and the Mental Knight.'
'No matter how skilled you are, facing one is far different than two. It's not as simple as in fiction, especially considering how unusual the Mental Knight is.'
'In a battle between superhumans, figuring out what your opponent can do is half the battle, and if you realize you can't deal with what your opponent is throwing at you, a retreat may be necessary.'
'I suppose that's why Dae prepares as much as he does. Even if he doesn't have a solution for everything individually, he'll have a partial one. And like when programming, if it works, its good enough.'
'That said, while Yer-Al called himself a Royal Knight, he wasn't that talented from their view. If he were, he wouldn't have been sent to such a distant post.'
'On Earth, if you dreamed of rising through the ranks, the last thing you wanted to see after being promoted was being thrown into some countryside branch with nothing to do.'
'Yer-Al believed it was his chance to prove himself and rise officially, but it's clear that was never an option.'
'Even so, despite not being talented, he possessed the foundation of a Royal Knight, much of it he didn't use.'
Philip crossed his arms, pensive.
"Well… I suppose this is it for this test."
"The Chieftain lasted longer than expected, but he lost in all five attempts we gave him. Although he got close once. Even then, in all five trials, Yer-Al never treated him seriously. It was even worse than when we met him originally."
"He's right."
/Nod…/
In some strange twist of fate, Philip managed to multiply himself…
Now, standing side by side were ten Philips, each observing the fight, thinking in unison…
"The Great Chieftain was quite great; his combat style was ferocious and heavy, but as he said before, they were farmers before warriors; whatever they learned likely came from the Elves or self-learning."
"I do think there's worth in understanding it, but learning it isn't necessary."
"Philip Three is right. We should focus on Yer-Al…"
"Calm down, Philip Eight, how can we know if whatever Yer-Al learned is trustworthy?"
"Elaborate P-Five."
"Well… Urg! Look! Don't call me P-Five! P-Eight!! Tche!"
"Why not? I think it's pretty cool."
"No! It's a little confusing."
"How can it be any less confusing than calling ourselves by name followed by a number? Shortening it feels better. Especially since I'm starting to grow numb to my own name!"
"P-Eight is right, the sentiment is shared."
"Not you too, Philip two…"
"It's P-Two now."
"... Fine. If everyone agrees…"
""We do.""
"... Then we move on… As I was saying…"
"Yer-Al was just a throwaway agent of the Elven Crown; how can we study the forms they gave him if they were so ready to throw him out to bury this project?"
"I think it's a much more worthwhile endeavor to study the application of Mana and Aura displayed by all of them instead!"
Philip Five finished his speech by turning to the other Philips, who followed suit, forming a circle.
"Hum… You have a point… But I could use your argument against you, too. I say we can trust it EXACTLY because he was going to be thrown away."
Philip Eight retorted, causing Philip Five to snicker.
Either way, they all listened patiently.
"According to his diary, Yer-Al was originally Jiu-Al's follower, acting as a trainee of sorts before he betrayed him for the sake of the First Prince's or whoever's plans."
"He, together with the other knights, were all once part of Princess Larin's guard. Escorting her through the Continent before they struck when they least expected it."
"It wasn't properly written how long this period lasted or even how long he trained as a Knight, but it was not something that went on for just a few months. This went over years at the very least."
"Elves live for centuries, and their training can take just as long, especially for a Royal Knight. And don't misinterpret things. Yer-Al was by no means utterly talentless. He was extremely skilled, maybe just not as much as a Royal one was meant to be."
"I interpret he may have been a knight of a lower stature back when the princess was in the Elven Kingdom before she decided to leave, but he was still of a high enough position to be granted the surname Al. Although it's possible he was given this name by someone else, given Jiu-Al addressed him as such."
"Regardless, as the Princess left, she took him with her, which, by proxy, made him part of Jiu-Al's squad. And even if by necessity, an incredible honor by their standards nonetheless."
"I could even say the Princess may have knighted him just to maintain her image, be that her will or not. That's how things are with nobility."
"Following that, in this undetermined time, Yer-Al was enticed and manipulated into changing sides, seeing he wasn't advancing as steadily as he believed he should, as written in his journal. Thus, wouldn't it be fair to assume the Prince gave him something "worth his time" to ascertain his loyalty?"
"There's even the possibility he gave him a secret art so that he would fall under his grasp quicker. And in the end, no matter what he shared, death was his only fate, and with it, any loose ends of their dealings."
P-Eight crossed his arms, shrugging:
"According to one of the books we added to the Phantom Library, Asminthum is a sacred tree of the Elven Empire, and they tend to name their techniques based on that. There's a high possibility his technique, Blue Asminthum, is genuine."
All Philips nodded silently at P-Eight's conjecture, but not all were convinced.
"How about we just torture him?"
""...""
All Philips turned to the side...
"What? If that's not enough, we can just ask him. And if it doesn't work, we can keep trying until we get it right. We basically have a save file here!"
"That's not the issue P-Seven… But even if we wanted to, it wouldn't work. Do you all remember?"
/Nod…/
Philip Three cleared his throat, saying:
"Like P-Four just said, it wouldn't work. The simulations are based on what we experience plus a few other unknown factors, but those factors aren't enough to fully recreate the person."
"We can't recreate the King here and manipulate his look-alike into telling us all his secrets. Otherwise, we could've just had Dae come here and teach us everything we needed to learn before moving on."
"The simulations are very real and almost flawless, but it's impossible to tell if who we summon are their real selves because we've only ever been exposed to that side of the person."
"The only way to see how effective they are is by spending more time with key individuals and drawing a line as our relationship grows closer… That said, I believe the simulation recreates them well enough with things we haven't even experienced, but obviously, far too much is missing."
He stretched his shoulders, a bit disappointed as well.
"If this wasn't a thing, can you all imagine what would've been possible?
""...""
"Anyhow, we already discussed this before; It was one of the first things we thought. You can't keep distracting us like this, P-Seven."
"Well, I still think it's worth a try. What else is there to lose anyway?"
"Not much, but enough! What if their personalities are like AI? They could end up saying a bunch of nonsensical things to fill in the void."
"They could also say things just to reinforce our thoughts, which isn't healthy, or even just lie because they don't know."
"From their perspective, if we give them full sentience, it would be like waking up in a dark room surrounded by clones of your enemy that keeps asking something you don't know."
"You may realize that something's wrong since you can't even remember much about yourself, but the more they torture, break, and shatter your body, unwilling to accept you know nothing?"
"To survive, what would you do if not lie? Even if it meant just buying yourself a few extra minutes?"
"Hm… I guess you have a point P-Three. Still, I don't like leaving behind something untested." He said as he crossed his arms, taking a step back
/Nod…/
The Philips nodded in agreement to P-Seven.
"We can add it to the list… Let's say… 'Test' how much they know about themselves. We can start with simple answers and note whatever they say so we can inquire about those things and their real selves once we meet them again."
"How does that sound?"
/Nod…/
"Excellent, it seems we agree. Then, moving on… What do you all think about our previous discussion? Should we go with P-Five's idea or P-Eight's?"
"I think both are correct in their own right. However, we're wasting our time analyzing a technique when we already have so many to study."
"It's not like we lack the understanding to move on; we still have access to the Main Status and the Mind space to some degree."
"It would be far better to just sit down and slowly master those books and practice what we have instead. Only then, when we lack a direction, should we return to these for such in-depth analysis."
"There's no wrong in referring to our past battles, but trying to reconstruct their techniques? Can you be any less shameless?"
"Think of the background needed to master a Royal Elven technique and compare it to everything we learned to begin training in the Secret Arts of the Empire. Unless that elf begins blabbering everything there is to know about it, we're not getting anywhere!"
"We aren't some martial sage! We don't have a Nanomachine to break down his martial arts!... So I vote for us to put this behind us and move on with it already!"
""...""
All remaining Philips went silent as they all collectively reached for their chins…
"... Sigh. P-Nine has a point. We're overthinking this… Again."
"That wouldn't be the first time. This is inefficient."
""Hm?""
"Elaborate, P-Ten." Philip Two asked as he adjusted his glasses, causing them to glimmer
"#!!... First of all, why do you have a pair of glasses?! We don't need them anymore!"
"I thought something to differentiate myself from others necessary…"
"That's exactly my issue!... Look, I think the idea of having more of us to be ingenious, but at this pace, we're going nowhere."
"Think about it; we're all exactly the same, and even if we can reach different answers for similar problems, we only have two possible lines of reasoning for everything that end up perfectly divided between us."
"There's a chance this line of thinking will become more divided over time since we can't share our thoughts, but it's far too slow for that."
"We're ten people being put together to solve the same issues… To maximize our ability, it'd be best to set each of us a different goal. The problem is that we can't share memories, making whatever any of the other nine Philips learns or comprehends irrelevant, unless we directly convey it to the original, which takes time and may be prone to distortion!"
"In fact, even if we could share memories, I'd be against it due to some very obvious consequences! Above all, I think this should be abolished!"
Philip Ten looked at the original, pointing at him with a heavy expression.
"Look at you, creating ten clones of yourself! Not a bad idea at first, but think about how this sounds to others."
"..."
"You're going mad! That's what they'd think!"
""That's not the case, though."" The others replied in unison
"O-Of course it isn't! We aren't that weak-minded, but that's how it looks!"
"You feared becoming lecherous due to your power within this place, but this is just another heap of problems."
"If you want to be effective, then use us in a way that is! Or, at the very least… Make use of the simulation."
"!! We already discussed that, Ten!" Philip Two exclaimed as his face contorted
"I know, I know… Using the simulation to create versions of us with varying memories and personalities may lead to… Issues, but my point stands."
"Right now, we're already naturally differentiating between ourselves for thought variety. If this is how we will be, we may as well do things right."
/SNATCH!/
Philip Ten stole the System interface and began playing with it.
"Number ten! Stop right this moment!"
But no one did, everyone just kid of stood there, watching, including P-Two as he waved his arm like an angry grandma…
"... Annnd… Done."
/Swoosh!/
A figure materialized before them.
""?!""
As soon as they all got their sight on it, they froze, including Philip…
"H-How can you do this P-Ten?!"
""...""
"Heh, this is what's about…"
Philip Ten took a step forward, approaching the figure…
Before them was a tall woman with a rather gifted body… One they knew very well…
Like Berinou, this time, even if indirectly, Philip materialized Eriny, the hot Archmage lady…
"Take your shirt off!!"
"Dammit Ten! You're embarrassing us!"
""...""
"S-Say something, all of you!"
"Heh, stop lying P-Two, we're all the same…"
P-Ten's expression sharpened as he looked at the horizon.
"With great power comes great responsibility. If not to see some, what else has God given us this power?"
"You're pushing it now. Stop being embarrassing." P-Seven said with a scoff as he waved around
""Yeah…""
Everyone kind of agreed, it was funny at first...
"Ahem… Let's end this then."
"Yeah, let's just move on P-Ten, we got your meaning…"
But P-Ten's face sharpened.
"Lift it."
/Swoosh/
""...""
"She's wearing a bra. It's purple… Can't say I didn't see that coming…" P-Four said as he laughed lightly
""As expected."" They all muttered in unison
"Humph…"
/RIP!/
P-Ten approached her, ripping apart her bra.
""...""
They all observed in silence, until they all spoke at the same time:
""Nice.""
"You all thinking the same?" P-Six asked as he snickered
""9.2""
"9"
""...""
"What the hell P-Eight. What do you mean by nine?"
P-Eight's expression sharpened as he took another glance at it...
"Erm… It's a nice pair, but uh… Wait... Why are we even talking about this again?"
""...""
"Sigh... Let's start this over…" P-Ten said as he ended their simulation, causing all extra Philips to vanish
"..."
Philip reached for his hair, then his eyes, and finally, he materialized a chair to sit on as he looked at the distant void.
'Nobody can ever know this fucking happened.'
…
/Time passed…/
A day of excitement quickly ended as Philip sorted through his thoughts.
A week of experimentation came to be as he explored the limits of this world.
A month of learning flew by as he applied everything he learned into practice.
…
/Half a year later…?/
/SLASH!/
[Simulation completed]
"Huff… I can finally consistently take down that Knight at full power with nothing but pure skill."
'No more relying on supernatural powers. Only sword skills… And a little bit of Mana application.'
"I need a better opponent now. I grew tired of this guy… How long have I been here again?"
Philip closed his eyes, but the passage of time was hard to follow.
He did alter the room to that of a large, Japanese-style manor with a large grandfather clock in the main room overlooking a garden. Why?... Because he liked it.
He did this to maintain his sanity and assist him in keeping himself grounded in reality, as regardless of the stimulation fighting gave him and the help his Trait provided to his mental stability, spending days in a pure dark world would drive him mad over time.
After all, he already knew his mind was susceptible to long-term pressure.
He made a small place to call home, even if fake, seeing the sun rise and fall every day and sleeping in a good bed soothed him a little.
It helped him cope with being trapped in this unknown world.
"Should I try training with the Purple Knights?... No… There isn't enough data to copy them faithfully, even if I weaken them severely."
"I could just strengthen Yer-Al… Again… But I can't stand him anymore."
Lost in thought, Philip opened his Main Status:
[
Name: Philip Vinten
Race: Type 1 Pure Human (+)
Home World: Earth (+)
Registered World: Eden (+)
Level 0
Class: None (+)
Title: Apex Evolver(Mental Lord) (+)
/Resonation Effect: Decodifier/
All Titles:
Exterminator of Nightmares; Hunter Genius; Ancient Archeologist; Jack of all Trades; Scholar; Martial enthusiast; Magical enthusiast; Mental Lord; Blessed; Apex Evolver; Soldier; Contender; The Silent Legion
-Vital info-
(+)
Mind> 167.2 (199.9)(+)
Physical> 137.8 (165.4)(+)
Energy> 124.3 (+)
Spiritual> 109.6 (130)(+)
Mystique> 50 (+)
Abilities:
Mental Force Lv13 (Hybrid)
Mental Force Manipulation Lv17 (Hybrid)
Mental Domain Lv6 (Hybrid)
Arcane Manipulation Lv8 (Hybrid)
Draly-Apyer Secret Sword Arts Lv8 (Hybrid)
Falling Fist of the Beast Lv6 (Hybrid)
Pthumerian Combat Art (Modified) Lv13 (Hybrid)
Skills:
Gamerverse (???)
Advanced Skill Fusion Lv8 (Hybrid)
Western continent language Lv6 (Hybrid)
Scholar Vision Lv7 (Active)
Combat Genius LvMax (Passive)
Predator's presence LvMax
Somnium Courier Lv2 (Hybrid)
Simulation Room (???)
Traits:
Castle Town ***** (Weakened)
Hardworking
Unyielding
Incorruptible
]
"My progression has been a little slower than I originally expected, given everything I did."
'I'd expected that after so long in isolation, I'd be far stronger… But I think I know why that is.'
"My Stats haven't changed, and I haven't gained new Skills to reflect my progress… This place is disconnected from the System, and parts of my Status aren't reflecting what they should've been."
'Even if my Physical body isn't here, my Mental and Spiritual Stats should've risen a little, but they didn't budge an itch regardless of how much I trained.'
'At the same time, in here, I can do little but reflect on my own, while outside, I would've taken my sweet time gathering knowledge and increasing my repertoire of books within the Phantom library.'
"What will likely happen is that even if this place is disconnected from the System, once I'm back, things won't remain like that."
'Everything I did will be accounted for all at once. This is the difference between this and my last experience in the dream.'
'I believe this is the case because I can't use my Dream Skills here nor can I communicate with the Messengers or even enter my Mental Space.'
'I've been rummaging through the implications of this fact, but I have no solution for either.'
'There's also the fact this time, Gamerverse chose a universe rather unusual… It could repeat in the future, but I think that's unlikely.'
"I could stay here and read more books and train further, but I don't think that's worth the hassle anymore."
'There's no escape button, but there is a Class mission for me to follow, even if the Class itself doesn't exist anymore.'
'What bothers me isn't doing the Class, it's the limitations I've been imposed with… They piss me off.'
'Maybe it's too much to be given years inside another dimension to train and grow stronger, but I can't help but feel the chance was robbed of me.'
"I can complain all I want, but there's no one here to listen but me." He said with a sigh as he tapped his foot on the ground
"... I held this back long enough."
/Fwoum…/
A new opponent materialized within the room.
/Crackle…/
A tall man slowly formed before him… However, he didn't finish materializing, stopping halfway, remaining only as a faint outline, or rather, as if shrouded in darkness.
His body trembled faintly like a broken television screen, his skin glistering with faint green light as if he wore a full bodysuit.
He stood still with his weapon in hand, waiting. However, unlike the other simulations, he still moved slightly occasionally.
He wasn't frozen but merely still, observing him from afar.
"Hm…"
'I think I know what this is.'
'For a fighting game to exist, there must be characters to be controlled by the users.'
'But what corrupted them?...'
"I've been having this feeling of being watched recently, I imagine this was your fault?"
/Step…/
The figure had enough waiting. It took a step forward, approaching him slowly…
/Fwoosh!/
"!"
/PIERCE!/
The swordsman vanished, reappearing behind him as it stabbed toward his back!
/CLANG!/
Philip parried the strike by drawing a similar sword from thin air before kicking his chest and sending him recoiling backward.
In this world, he could simulate whatever he wanted whenever he wanted… A simple blade took little effort.
/Fwoosh!/
"?!"
'What!...'
/SLASH!/
/CUT!/
As the swordsman was thrown back, his body turned into smoke, and the ground was covered in fog as Philip adjusted his stance.
In the blink of an eye, his blade struck from the fog, hitting his leg and sending him sliding to the side!
"Tsk."
Barely blocking the strike, Philip recovered his footing as he raised his guard.
'Impossible. Did he just use Quickening? And this fog…'
/Fwoosh…/
/CLANG!/
The swordsman reappeared next to him, punching down with his free hand.
/Grab!/
/Throw!/
/BAM!/
Philip readjusted his body, evading his blow as he grabbed his arm, throwing him against the ground before pulling out his gun and shooting his face with it!
/Fwoosh!/
/SMACK!/
The swordsman disappeared within the fog before the bullet struck him, reappearing before him as he punched forward!
"Humph!"
/SLASH!/
But Philip saw enough.
In the time it took for his punch to reach his opponent's face, Philip drew his blade, cutting the swordsman in half!
/POOF!/
[Simulation completed]
[DING]
[Corrupted Data has been cleansed. The structural stability of Simulation Room has increased]
"... This… Took me by surprise." Philip said out loud as he grew pensive
'This thing just copied my abilities… Not only that, it even invoked the effects of some of my tools… How?'
'Is it because it's corrupted? Like a mangled mess of data, it has access to what it shouldn't otherwise have?'
'Hm… Was it a mistake to postpone this? I did it because I wanted to train as long as possible, but now I'm having second thoughts.'
"If this Skill is like an operating System and the corrupted Data is like a virus, it'd be best to clear it out before it causes too much damage."
'While my Status doesn't show it, my body is a little weaker than in reality due to the limitations imposed onto me. Still, if every opponent will be like this one, there isn't much to worry.'
'Even so… I'll take them out as soon as possible.'
Philip moved on to the next scripted opponent…
/Fwoum…/
This time, a man…
/FWOOSH!/
Philip dashed with his sword in hand, delivering a devastating cut through the man's neck, cutting off his head in the blink of an eye!
[Simulation completed]
[DING]
[Corrupted Data has been cleansed. The structural stability of Simulation Room has increased]
"Humph."
'This is the simplest way to solve things.'
/Fwoum…/
/BAM!!!/
[Simulation completed]
[DING]
[Corrupted Data has been cleansed. The structural stability of Simulation Room has increased]
/Fwoum…/
/CRACK!!!/
[Simulation completed]
[DING]
[Corrupted Data has been cleansed. The structural stability of Simulation Room has increased]
Philip bulldozed through each challenger without letting them react at all. Or to be more precise... Before they even could react.
No need for fairness, there was no space for mistakes here. Even if it meant losing a portion of what these beings had to offer.
He focused solely on ridding his Skill of these viruses, for it was already everything he needed out of this Class.
"Only one left."
'Once this ends, I'll get inside the Academy and move on with the schedule.'
'I hoped for a little more time, but even if I lose some of it, this is for the best.'
Philip tracked down the cleansing of this world based on a unique option within the System Window.
Like dragging files from a folder to the trash bin, each time he opened the simulation and cleansed it, another one of those files was deleted, and now, only one remained.
/Fwoum…/
Philip did not wait for his opponent to form, immediately cutting down with his blade.
/CRANK!/
"Hm?... !!!"
/Fwoosh!/
The moment his sword fell onto the man, his body fractured, glitching out before fully reforming.
/SMACK!/
"GHA?!"
He delivered a fast uppercut against Philip's waist, sending him sliding down before he climbed back up.
/Fwoosh!/
"!"
/BAAAAM!!/
Before he could recompose himself, the man reappeared before him, his right fist glistering with energy as he delivered a mighty blow against his stomach!
"GHA!"
/Grab!/
/SMASH!/
He then grabbed Philip's head, shoving it against the ground!
/Crunk…/
At that moment, the world changed, and the cold central mountains of the Never-Ending mountain range sprung from the void.
This sudden change didn't shake the man; however, the altering scenario caused the ground to shift into soft snow, cushioning the blow as Philip shoved the man aside with his mental power, hurling him down the mountain peak as he pushed himself off the ground.
"Cough!... Shit."
Philip spat out some blood-stained snow as he cleared his nose, looking down as the man clung to the mountainside.
/Shuaa…/
A frigid wind cut against his skin as he tightened his hands. His heart tensing as the worst possibility came to be.
'I knew something was wrong. This guy just used Berinou's technique.'
'An instantaneous burst of power right at my chest. If I hadn't changed my Titles to increase my Stats, this would've been far worse than just some residual pain.'
/Climb… BOOOOOM!!/
/Quake!.../
"Tsk, this is ridiculous…"
The simulated warriors climbed the mountain peak before stopping.
He raised his right hand, delivering a powerful strike against the mountain, splitting it open as the world around them shook!
/Crunk…/
As the earth split apart, a gigantic avalanche rampaged through the land. And while some would flee or hide, the two found this chaotic space their battlefield!
/BANG!/
"Hupp!"
As the mountain crumbled, atop a loose bolder, Philip raised his left hand, causing the air to ripple as he launched a deadly impact wave at the faceless man.
/JUMP!/
But he evaded it by jumping high into the sky!
/Crack!/
/SMASH!/
As their combined attacks ravaged the mountain, Philip raised his left hand again, pulling the man from the sky with telekinesis before punching him down the hill!
He jumped after him, sliding past the avalanche before slashing down with his sword!
/CLANG!/
The man blocked the blade, the impact sending him down onto the snow, blasting it all around him!
Philip turned into smoke before reappearing next to him, slashing down from his right, cutting into the mountain as he aimed at the man's head!
/CLANG!/
He parried his blade, countering it with a poke at his neck, which Philip evaded before a gun appeared on his free hand…
/BANG!/
A shot rang, piercing into the man's shoulder… Or so it seemed at first.
/Shua…/
"!"
'An afterimage?...'
The man turned into fog, reappearing at the bottom of a nearby mountain.
/Gather…/
"!"
His right hand began to glow faintly. Philip knew that stance…
"Dammit!"
'This isn't just mere copying it anymore! This guy is perfectly replicating everything within the database!'
Philip knew he had no time, so he did what he felt best and used all his strength to move away from the mountainside…
/PUNCH!/
The man released the Falling Fist of the Beast with such power it blew away that mountain's side! Scattering all of the snow like a rock being thrown into a river!
"HUPP!"
Philip reappeared next to the man as he dashed through a mound of snow, and an intense exchange of blades resounded!
/CLANG!/
/SLASH!/
/SWIPE!/
/CLANG!/
"!"
/CUT!/
/SPLATTER!/
'I'm…'
/KICK!/
The man kicked Philip in the stomach, hurling him against the mountainside!
"GUAH!... Huff…?!"
With barely any time to recompose himself, he tilted his head to the side as a slash cut through the mountain…
/SPLATTER!/
But at the same time, while he avoided his neck being cut off, the cut went deep into his shoulder, almost reaching his chest!
'This form… The Imperial Sword technique… But far better than anything I can do.'
'That slash just now was Aura. I've trained for quite some time, but I can't do it yet.'
/PUNCH!/
The figure stepped closer to Philip, punching the mountain as Philip drove a knife through his armpit.
/SLASH!/
/KICK!/
"!!"
He then pushed his blade through the man's back, but he didn't just let him.
/CRACK!/
The man drove his knee straight into Philip's chest, cracking his ribs before clenching onto his face, crushing it with immense mental power!
"UUUURRRRG! AHHHH!!"
/Swoosh… SMASH!/
Philip turned into smoke, but against his expectations, he was still hit straight in the face!
/Fwoosh…/
He slowly fell onto the ravine in between the mountains, pensive…
'This isn't going well.'
'His physical ability is greater than mine, and he can effortlessly bring forth other techniques in a state greater than what I can do.'
'But… There's one thing he lacks. His movements are robotic… Predictable.'
'Otherwise, that last punch would've been dangerous.'
'At the same time, it doesn't look like he can imitate the abilities of everyone I've met. Otherwise, he would've copied Berinous physical strength and ended me far sooner.'
'He's strong, but its not hopeless!'
/JUMP!/
Just as he sorted his thoughts, the phantom figure jumped from the mountain's edge, going after him.
/Crackle…/
"Shit…"
He raised his hands high in the sky, and a strange formation of pure energy manifested above it…
Philip immediately realized what it was. He had only seen it once but it was a unique Skill belonging to one of the Heroes…
When they used it, the Skill failed due to their lacking abilities, but right now…
/BURN!!/
The sky rippled as a crack opened above them…
/SHAAAA!!/
From within, a large boulder slowly fell, igniting as soon as it made contact with the air.
A Hero's unique Skill, Conjure Meteor!
"I'm not all out of ideas yet!"
Philip conjured the room's control panel and immediately altered the terrain!
/CRACKLE!/
The world shifted as they were both suddenly thrown deep underground!
The ruins he so deeply hated, even if not a real place he visited. They had been sent into a pretty good replication of the Pthumerian Dungeons!
/TREMBLE!!/
Meanwhile, the world around them shook as the meteor landed against the surface, causing the cavern around them to shake!
/DASH!/
This didn't impede the man as he immediately dashed after him, his blade in hand!
/CLANG!/
Philip rolled on the ground, evading his strike before turning into fog and pushing his left hand forward.
/Stop!.../
The man stopped for a moment as the blood flowing through him froze, and while he quickly recovered, Philip struck a resounding blow against his chest before jumping backward.
/FLASH!/
A magic circle broke down beneath the man as a powerful beam of light took over him, blinding him!
/KICK!/
Philip kicked the man onto the wall, causing it to collapse as he changed the scenario again, sending them straight into a large city!
The Foot of Paradise, the city built around the Academy!
Philip sent them straight into the central park because it was the first place he thought of. Nonetheless, it would have to do.
He hoped that constantly changing the scenario would force his opponent to adapt and break his rhythm. And while that also applied to him, he didn't have as much to lose…
"Huff…"
'This was my first time using magic for real… Well… Outside of my simulations. Can I take this as one?...'
/BOOOM!/
"!"
From the park's center, the man raised his sword high into the sky, causing a beam of blue light to shoot into the clouds!
'That technique… That Elf, haunting me even in his death…'
/SLASH!/
The blue light fell down, cleaving a ravine through half of the park and into the house behind him as Philip evaded the strike, dashing onto an alley nearby.
/BOOOM!/
As expected, the man did not follow him, choosing to destroy everything instead by swinging his sword sideways…
/SLASH!/
But at that moment, Philip stepped out of a door made out of fog, plunging a blade straight through his chest!
"Sh…"
/SMASH!/
However! He missed the man's heart, receiving a mighty blow against his face, being sent crashing down through a nearby house!
"Cough!..."
'It's always my face…'
/BOOOOOOOM!/
The house turned asunder as the shadowy figure replicated the effect of his cannon…
/BOOOOOOOM!/
/BOOOOOOOM!/
/BOOOOOOOM!/
Three more shots were fired quickly, causing dark smoke to cloud the skies as flames rose higher than the nearby buildings.
/Crackle…/
/Step…/
"Honestly… This is fun."
Philip stepped out of the rubble, his skin burned and scarred, but still very much in one piece.
His clothes were a mangled mess, and if not for him changing his pants, he'd be fully naked now.
"I've tried to craft an opponent suitable for me, but I never succeeded."
He smiled.
"You lack a lot of things, but I can't help but want to drag this a bit longer… Still…"
"I have places to be."
'If you could as much as fight properly and combine all of those things you possess, I'd be dead for sure.'
'But like the reasons I failed to make an opponent before, you can't do much aside from replicating and reusing what I've experienced.'
'There may be some degree of fluidity, but that's exactly what makes you so deadly, that little amount of organic ability all other simulations lack… And for that, you must go.'
'I can't tolerate such a dangerous being around me.'
Philip changed his approach, and this time, he summoned his DarkLight Sword, getting in a stance as the man ran after him.
Amidst the many things he had learned about the creature, there was one he found particularly interesting…
The man could only alter his equipment and abilities whenever Philip invoked the room's control window, which meant that, like him, he was manipulating it in his favor.
Philip used it to simulate the effect's of some of his Skills, those he couldn't use anymore to surprise the creature, after all, if he couldn't use it, then neither should it!
However, there was one thing he didn't understand: the man's obsession with his blade.
He could've replicated so many fighting styles, yet, in the end, he always returned to the sword… Using everything else for a fraction of a moment... Almost as if he wanted to challenge him.
Either way, there was no time to rummage through it all. Round two was about to start!
/BAM!/
The figure jumped after him but collided head-first into a metal wall!
Philip had altered the terrain again, but this time, it wasn't a magical place or some long distant land…
/SLASH!/
While the man was distracted, he cut through his back before kicking him against the metal wall!
"Recognize the place?"
/BAM!/
/COUNTER!/
The man punched back at Philip, but his strike was caught by his right hand!
Philip delivered a powerful counterattack against his face, sending it deep against the metal!
"I came here once with my parents, beautiful place…"
/CRACK!/
At the same time, he twisted his right hand before pulling upward, breaking the man's arm!
Even if he was stronger than him, in such a position, he could outpower him even if it was just for a moment!
/FLASH!/
"But it was too crowded…"
Philip struck down with his right hand as it flashed with light…
[Falling Fist of the Beast Lv6 -> Lv7]
/BAM!!/
He focused all of his strength into a single point, and with it, the man's head…
"?!!!"
The moment Philip's fist made contact with the man, Philip felt his entire body go numb!
'S-Shit!'
His body had been paralyzed! But it didn't make any sense!
He was supposed to be immune to it or, at the very least, extremely resistant to it due to his augmented body!
/PIERCE!!/
In this fleeting moment, the shadow pushed back at him, punching straight into his chest!
/SPLATTER!/
"!!!!"
In the blink of an eye, Philip's heart... Was pierced open!!
His blood slowly drained through the gaps on the ground, raining down… The Eiffel Tower.
"Haaaaa... Huff… Of course... I know... The crowd was a pain in the ass."
"?!?!"
At that moment, the faceless being spoke, in a tone very much familiar to him...
/Bzzz!/
"!!!"
His body glitched, gaining color as his distorted outline vanished.
What appeared before Philip... Was none other than himself!
"Y-You..."
"Yeah... It's me... Or rather, I should say you're me."
Two Philip's now stood before one another!
"How... Is this even possible? I never made a clone!"
'Did he take over my Data? Could this be one of those...'
"Stop it, I can hear your thoughts from here... It's not hard to figure out what I'd think." The fake Philip said as he shook his head with a smirk
Philip tried to take control of the situation by slowly healing himself, but the fake Philip merely smiled, crushing his heart even further, causing Philip's face to turn ashen as his breathing grew rigid.
"Give up. I know all of your tricks."
"Do you... Huff... Even understand?... If you're me, then you must understand..."
'Shit... This is the absolute worst scenario. I...'
However, the fake Philip did not reply.
"Stop it; I don't want to see myself begging for my life; it's utterly embarrassing." The fake Philip said as his eyebrows sharpened
No matter how much he joked around, he knew how dangerous the being he held at mercy was, so he kept his eyes on him constantly without blinking.
"..."
"But really, I thought you'd remember... I'll give you a hint."
"This isn't our first time meeting."
"?"
"... Haaa... As expected... It seems my plan worked."
"Wha..."
"I'll give you a tip... I'm the real one."
"!"
The gears in Philip's head began to shift.
What was the truth, what was false?
He didn't understand what was going on anymore!
"Ever thought about why you weren't progressing as fast as you should've? It isn't because this place is incomplete... Not quite really..."
"It's because you, at your core, is incomplete."
"!!"
"You're nothing but a copy of me, made by me to be my opponent... Like those clones of us once suggested. Ironic really... They were right, and my stubbornness has led us to the very situation we feared."
"!!! You were listening..."
"Always. I've been watching your every move. All of your actions reflected mine from beginning to end, with the sole difference being your lacking progression, and the consequences of this ineptitude."
"You are nothing but a reflection of an inferior me that has already come to be."
"That... Makes no sense... How did you even use the Skills of the other Heroes?! How did you train your body?"
"Humph, the same way you used our sealed skills... I 'simulated' them. After all, even though you took it from me, I was still close enough to reaccess the interface during our fight, even though I couldn't use it to delete you."
"As for how I became this strong... It seems you misunderstood something."
"We're exactly the same. The only difference between you and me is how much we each went down our paths. That's all there is to it."
"Urg..."
'I...'
"Let me ask you a question."
"Does your head still hurts?"
"Wha..."
/CRUSH!/
Philip crushed the fake one's heart without answering any of his doubts, causing him to disappear with a dumbfounded expression.
"Haa... I can finally rid myself of this nightmare."
[Simulation completed]
Slowly... The fake Philip's body glitched out, vanishing as the Simulation froze.
"I... I did it... I finally took it down!"
Philip sat down with his back on the wall, blood dripping around him as he gasped for air.
'This darned thing almost killed me!'
[DING]
[Corrupted Data has been cleansed. The structural stability of Simulation Room has increased]
[Disclaimer]
[All of the corrupted Data has been cleansed, Simulation Room's instability has been utterly corrected - Locked features are now available]
[Simulation Room is being updated]
/Tremble…/
The world around him shook as everything slowly vanished, sending him back into the empty void he was far too tired of seeing.
His body was healed as if nothing had happened, making him breathe in relief...
[Update has been implemented - Corrupted Data has been reformatted]
[DING]
[You have completed your Class Mission, and with it, Simulation Room's limitations have been lifted]
With that message, the system interface appeared before him.
At first, he didn't recognize it, given how much it had changed, but after a little while, he understood what it was.
As he saw a big button that read: "Disconnect", Philip exhalled loudly, satisfied.
"Never again!" He exclaimed out loud as he spat on the ground
'I almost died in my own simulation. That's what I get for playing around!' He thought as he gnashed his teeth
This all began over half a year ago when Philip attempted to create an enemy to assist with his training. But whenever he tried to make a suitable one, he failed.
So he thought... Why not himself?
So he made a clone of himself, but as he modified his clone to keep up with his demands, he failed to realize the lingering changes within it...
In a moment of carelessness, the clone took control of the System panel, corrupting it and taking away his control, banishing him to a place between the Simulations.
"Over half a year ago, I tried to make a clone exactly like me the moment I entered this world. But in a moment of carelessness, my clone took control of the System interface and "ended" "me", or better put, my simulation."
"This was possible because from the clone's perspective, I was the clone, so the Simulation room actually simulated itself... Which simply came to be giving the clone administrative authority."
"But as redundant as that was, it was merely the command over this world jumping from me, to him."
'Like that, I was sent to a side room exactly like this one, but with one exception... I was alone and without the ability to interact with the System.'
'Maybe I was lucky. Or maybe its because I'm "real", while everything else is fake. But what matters is that I wasn't deleted... Exactly how the corrupted Data came to be.'
'Meanwhile, I could see everything my clone did like a reflection from a mirror. A constant reminder of my mistake.'
"There was one good thing though, and that was the fact the clone's memory was corrupted."
'Before I was sent here, I delivered one fatal blow to his head, which, in a normal scenario, would lead to the simulation ending. However, as he was the admin, Simulation Room just restarted him. However, he lost all sense of identity from being a clone, acting as if he was me all the time.'
'That was why he woke up with extreme pain at the back of his head... That was my desperate attempt at avoiding this from happening.'
'I quickly realized this and used it to my advantage, but by then, my plan hadn't yet been born.'
'Over the months, my clone kept doing the same things I did before, training, growing, goofing around... It made me think about the inevitability of Fate, for all that's worth.'
'That aside, eventually, I had an idea.'
"Before I made an opponent, I also rid this world of the corrupted files, but before I cleared it all, I postponed it. That was the only difference between me and my clone."
'My clone chose to finish it all due to his lacking ability and move on while I chose to keep the corrupted data and train for longer because I felt strong enough to keep going.'
"My plan was simple; I just had to wait for him to fight the 'Corrupted Data' again eventually."
'Nothing but a reenactment of what I fought before; however, this time, given I was technically the enemy, I knew that sooner or later he'd have to face me to complete his mission...'
'So I trained like a madman. All the while watching him grow... Each day that passed, I assured myself of my victory as his progress grew stale, but I knew that I could never drop my guard.'
'After all, my enemy was none other than myself.'
"I tried to end him as quickly as I could, but I sure am one lasting cockroach..."
'I tricked him into thinking my movements were stiff. And to some degree, they were... I practiced for days on end just to trick him, and it worked.'
'From here, I suppose I need to slow down and incorporate what I've learned into a cohesive combat style for whatever I've done... Isn't healthy in the long run.'
'And while I have that time... I'd rather leave this place for once.'
"I've had enough of this place. I'll go mad if I remain here any longer." He said out loud as he touched his forehead
Philip reread the notifications in the system, getting himself used to the changes.
"New features... That's great… But these notifications are quite bare."
'I expected a Title at the very least after everything I did, but it's so empty that I'm beginning to think something's wrong… But it's likely just due to the System's dissonance or whatever's happening.'
'Even though I said those things, it's still true that something's missing in this place.'
'Still, if things don't sort themselves once I'm out of here, then I'll worry a little…'
"That said… Am I free to act as I want?"
'Can't say I'm not worried… I've spent quite some time here... I didn't count the time at first, but I did do so when I was trapped.'
'If I say we did the exact same things... Probably around a year... A little more most likely.'
"Far too long either way."
'Even if time passes differently here… Given that this is my first time alone, I'm skeptical.'
'A day passing outside would already be considerable. A week would press me considerably. A month would be catastrophic.'
"Huff... I need to calm down first."
'I'll spend some extra time figuring out the changes to the Skill and sorting out my thoughts before moving on.'
'I still have much to experiment with.'
Philip cracked his neck before stretching his back.
[
Name: Philip Vinten
Race: Type 1 Pure Human (+)
Home World: Earth (+)
Registered World: Eden (+)
Level 0
Class: None (+)
Title: Apex Evolver(Mental Lord) (+)
/Resonation Effect: Decodifier/
All Titles:
Exterminator of Nightmares; Hunter Genius; Ancient Archeologist; Jack of all Trades; Scholar; Martial enthusiast; Magical enthusiast; Mental Lord; Blessed; Apex Evolver; Soldier; Contender; The Silent Legion
-Vital info-
(+)
Mind> 167.2 (199.9)(+)
Physical> 137.8 (165.4)(+)
Energy> 124.3 (+)
Spiritual> 109.6 (130)(+)
Mystique> 50 (+)
Abilities:
Mental Force Lv18 (Hybrid)
Mental Force Manipulation Lv22 (Hybrid)
Mental Domain Lv10 (Hybrid)
Arcane Manipulation Lv16 (Hybrid)
Draly-Apyer Secret Sword Arts LvMax (Hybrid)
Falling Fist of the Beast LvMax (Hybrid)
Pthumerian Combat Art (Modified) LvMax (Hybrid)
Skills:
Gamerverse (???)
Advanced Skill Fusion Lv8 (Hybrid)
Western continent language Lv8 (Hybrid)
Scholar Vision Lv7 (Active)
Combat Genius LvMax (Passive)
Predator's presence LvMax
Somnium Courier Lv2 (Hybrid)
Simulation Room (???)
Traits:
Castle Town ***** (Weakened)
Hardworking
Unyielding
Incorruptible
]
He looked at the empty void and scoffed faintly.
"Time to get to work."
…
/Time passed…/
...
.
.
.
Notes
Thank you for reading!
I liked this chapter and hoped I didn't extrapolate in my non-sensical ideas.
I hope everyone had a good read, peace!