He first went to the residential trusteeship council to end the task of having the council take care his house. Afterwards, Fatty took back his key.
Renting a car, he soon reached Street No. 919, and while carrying his bag, he walked eastwards for about 200 meters before arriving at the entrance to a small district.
Tian Xing Jian stood at the entrance feeling awkward. This was a medium-sized residential district and was also where he was born and bred. Returning after a long time would indubitably bring back complex feelings.
Just as he entered the gates to this small district, an old man came in his face, giving Fatty a look. Initially, he did not pay much attention to him, but just as he turned his head away, he felt something amiss and turned back to give Fatty a more careful look.
Finally, the old man was enlightened. Pointing at Fatty excitedly, he seemed as if he was having a heart attack and could not breathe properly. The next moment, he reacted like a sculpture coming to life; he flew back into the small district, running and shouting out, "Fatty is back, Fatty is back!"
Fatty’s eyes were brimming with tears of excitement. These were the old neighbors who had watched him grow up and treated him like their son…
Finally, he heard the old man’s mournful shout, "Those who have unmarried woman in your house, remember not to bathe!"
After that, the sound of countless doors shutting could be heard. The entire small district… became quiet and empty, not even a shadow could be seen—amidst the sounds of doors shutting, only a leaf falling in front of Fatty’s eyes could be seen.
Fatty was filled with tears. His infamy was truly great…
Tian Xing Jian grew up here when he was young. Just like a weasel in a chicken coop, he was truly thick-skinned, despicable, and shameless. He knew which house had a beautiful unmarried woman within, and as long as she went to bathe, this wretched person would prepare to go and peek at her. Even if they took precautions, it would be futile since this chap had plenty of tricks. Usually, he would love creating some mechanical electronic playthings that could punch a hole in the wall for him to peep. Eighteen different weapons used one after another with hundreds of tricks [1].
The neighborhood had almost turned the bath into a secret room.
Who would dare to treat this small bastard as their son? Though after catching him peeping, they would beat him up just like how any parents would beat their sons up.
The only family that had a daughter and dared to continue interacting with this small bastard was Father An’s family, just that An Lei’s family had eventually moved away; they spent quite a sum of money to buy a house outside this street. After moving houses, they were at least further away from the danger. Fatty was always full of regret. Whenever An Lei bathed, the scene would be truly moving. If she was to continue staying here, who would spare the time to peep at women from other families?
Pulling his luggage resentfully as he walked back home, the moment his butt landed on the sofa in the living room, Fatty started thinking over the matters. The more he thought about it, the more indignant he got before he finally shouted out, "Damn! Is it really that rare!? This bunch of ignorant ingrates! How good is watching those women in your family who have not developed well? No matter how good it is, it’ll still not be as good as watching An Lei bathe!"
"Darling Tian! You…" The moment the kitchen door opened, An Lei walked out embarrassedly with a steaming red face. She was wearing an apron over her figure while carrying a knife.
Right as Fatty, who placed his legs like a boss and hooting about the scene of watching An Lei bathe being much nicer than anything else, turned around, his felt his soul leaving his body.
They were, after all, just separated by a street and the An Family had the keys to this house as well. Fatty had silently gone off to join the military, and it was only when An Lei’s father had passed away did she discover that this house was empty. Usually, An Lei’s mother would spend some time to come over and help him clean the house. After all, the trusteeship council was not that meticulous.
After An Lei graduated from the military academy, she was assigned to the capital’s intelligence department. This time, An Lei’s new-found friend in Miracolo Planet, You Na, had given her a call, and only then did she learn that Tian Xing Jian was coming back.
As for the reason why he was coming back, An Lei was naturally much clearer than anyone else. She felt happy in her heart, and after getting the keys from her mother, she wanted to help prepare a meal for this damned fatty. After all, he had suffered quite a lot when fighting in the war, and this fatty had most likely not enjoyed a home-cooked meal for quite some time.
But who would have thought that just as she was preparing a meal in the kitchen, she would hear the flustered and exasperated voice of Fatty just outside, making An Lei so embarrassed that her entire face and ears turned steaming red? She did not have the time to place down the knife before rushing out the door.
Thank god for that gentle personality of An Lei. Even though she was embarrassed and angry, she did not go on randomly hacking that knife in her hand. Fatty had been able to escape this particular incident.
Even after finishing the meal, the blushing on An Lei’s face had still yet to clear. Just as she went to wash the bowls and chopsticks, she saw Fatty placing some equipment with a sly look. An Lei, who had come from the intelligence department, would surely have recognized these playthings. Even though they were kind of simple, after placing a micro-energy piece, these pieces of equipment would allow one to eavesdrop on others.
An Lei did not know whether to laugh or cry. This person whom she had grown up with could actually become the Federation hero despite having those things in his mind—this world was truly too frightening!
*************************
Afternoon, An Lei drove Tian Xing Jian to the grave of Father An.
As Tian Xing Jian looked at the name "An Quan" inscribed on the grave, he finally realized that this father-like person had truly left the world.
Right as this truth was placed in front of his eyes, Tian Xing Jian felt really unbearable and knelt down in front of the grave, attentively staring at that photo in front of him.
The Father An in his memory was a good person without a bad temper. He was an employee of a certain company and had lived a life of peace and safety. When Fatty was young, he always felt that Father An should be called An Wen instead [2].
Father An’s bravery wasn’t that great. This characteristic was quite similar between father and son, just that regardless of any other people’s impression of him, Father An was a hero who would support the heaven and the earth. Whenever one mentioned "An Quan", the entire neighborhood—even if the neighbor was an extremely picky one—would still call him a good person.
During his childhood, Tian Xing Jian had grown up in the An Family ever since he had lost his parents. Father An’s care and concern for his two children had reached an indescribable stage, thus everyone in this small, little district would be able to see this middle-aged person, who was kind of plump, chasing after two children while huffing and puffing out from behind, "Be careful! Don’t run too fast! Remember, safety first."
Ever since he was young, Fatty was a good-for-nothing. He was afraid of anything he had not seen before; he was frightened by dogs, by rats, by the honking from a truck, lightning, and boarding a transport ship… Just speaking in terms of his courage, he was not as brave as An Lei.
Every time Father An taught Fatty about how a male should be braver, Mother An would always tease him, saying that Father An was still afraid of lightning even now. When lightning struck, Father An would cover his entire body with his blanket. Father An would always reply after his shame turned into anger, "Shoo, don’t disturb! I’m here teaching a child." Mother An would then laugh, saying how Father An should educate this child only after he did not cover his face with his blanket.
These past matters were just like a movie, flashing across the mind of Tian Xing Jian. Seeing that smile on this middle-aged man, his tears fell like the rain.
Buried deep in those memories, these words of Father An had finally appeared in his mind:
"Xiao Jian, look at this. The courage of a man doesn’t depend on whether he is terrified of something or not. One who has a courage greater than the heavens yet isn’t willing to uphold the responsibility of a man will never be worthy of being called a man."
"Thus, the courage of a man represents responsibility! The responsibility for his friends and his loved ones."
"This responsibility means that when one is faced with a responsibility that one cannot give up, despite the terror, being a man means that one is willing to uphold this responsibility and face the terror without giving up. That is someone we call a brave person, a brave warrior!"
"Old An, the children are watching a movie. You are being really irritating!" That was the voice from Mother An.
"That’s right, father. I can’t even hear what they are saying in the movie!" That was the voice of An Lei.
"The two of you! This movie doesn’t even have any educational value. We should be teaching Xiao Jian proper logic, so don’t disturb!"
"Ah Jian, your courage is small by nature. This is something you are born with, but despite this, you can still become a warrior! Right now, it doesn’t matter that you don’t understand, but there will be a day when you will come to understand this!"
"Mn!" That time, he had been attracted by the fighting of those warriors in the movie and did not really keep those words in his heart.
Tears came flooding out as if his memory had opened up the sluice; he could not stop them no matter what.
Tian Xing Jian finally understood that it wasn’t wrong being a coward. The courage of a man was not about how high he climbed, how unafraid of death he was, nor how fierce and ruthless he was; instead, it was about shouldering the responsibility of the terrifying unknown.
Earning money for the family was a type of responsibility. Protecting the nation was also a type of responsibility.
Once the sense of responsibility became greater than the terror, the person would face all sorts of threats without fear and become a true man, a true warrior!
Father An was just an ordinary coward, yet he was a warrior who looked upon responsibility as something greater than life itself.
At this moment, the coward Tian Xing Jian had finally found his answer!
That smile of the middle-aged man etched on the photo was ordinary, yet it was filled with the dignity of a man.
 
[1] Figurative language referring to him having many tricks.
[2] 安稳 - An Wen here means stable.

In times of war…

What is a Battle Mecha engineer expected to do? Are they expected to do research and realize their imagination? 

How about a Battle Mecha pilot? Are they expected to enter battle with their mechas as they display their exquisite control through bizarre and bewildering techniques? 

What about a member of the special scouts? Are they expected to infiltrate deep into the enemy lines as they use stellar unarmed fighting skills to suppress the enemy with a single move? Or are they expected to make use of disguises and stealth techniques to take out the enemy?

And what about a military officer? Are they expected to analyze the outcome of a battle? Or are they expected to create brilliant strategies to triumph over the enemy through a miraculous move?

For someone who excels in human psychology, deceit, assassination, and disguise, what happens when that person is merged with all those professions? 

This is the story of a cowardly, wretched, and despicable fatty.

--------------
Releasing: Mon, Wed, Fri, and Weekend

Hello, NewUser064. The system scanned Rio's device on her wrist and allowed her into the restaurant. It wasn't the same one she had come a few days ago. Rather it was on a tiny complex deep in street five. The receptionist noticed her. 

"Hello. How can I help you?" said the receptionist. 
"Umm, there's a task here that I've to do," said Rio showing her wrist to him to read. 
"Newly appointed?" 
"Yes," said Rio hesitatingly. She didn't have any proof that she has been doing these things for a couple of years, would anyone believe without that? 
"The power source is in the backyard. Here's the way." the receptionist showed her the way from where he stood. Remembering the directions, she headed towards the backyard. 

The first work after getting the device was at a restaurant. The device showed her the direction with maximum time she can spend doing that. There were many more steps to complete her first work. She would have to check the speed of the machine that was working before fixing, then do whatever was needed and then record the new speed after fixing. 

She had only half an hour doing that. Looking at that, she couldn't understand why one would need such a long time. Even if one doesn't have that spray, one shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to clean that. 'It's only dust. Not your typical glue' wondered aloud. 

She used only her trusty screwdriver to get rid of stubborn dust. It normally takes a brush to remove those, but it looked like someone sprayed water on it. It was stuck so hard with the surface. 

Her mind was on her task only. But how much would they pay me for this? A question struck her mind. She brought her wrist nearer to have a look at it. 85 COH. They wanna pay that much just because they can't clean it themselves. Will they get their hands bloodied the way she saw in her dreams? 

After finishing with the locking mechanism of the power backup, she opened the door to have a look at that. She looked around to make sure it was disconnected. She went ahead and moved her hands as fast as she could. 

After a while, the receptionist appeared from behind. He intently saw her working. 

"All done?" asked the receptionist. 
"Just a minute. Could you please turn it back on? I need to check the speed." said Rio hurriedly closing the compartment and dusting away her hands. Glittery dust flew in the air as she dusted her tools. 

"You don't look like a newbie." said the receptionist. 
"Yes. Cause I've been doing the same thing for the last three years," said Rio, noting the readings and confirming in her task sheet. 
"Then your device showed…." 
"It showed because I lost my card this morning," said Rio looking at the apologetic face of the receptionist. "To be honest, I accidentally burnt it." 
"Have you been working with the card all these years?" 
"Yes. Do we get anything else during our internship?" said Rio. She doubted there was anything else other than the work card. 
"No, I mean didn't you get the device on your…." his inquiries went off as Rio interrupted, "No. I don't know why I didn't get it after I turned eighteen. But that doesn't matter now." she prepared to leave the location. "I've got a lot to do." 

She reached the reception desk to scan her device that confirmed her work and it blinked as it received her first 85 coins of health. Was her first day of work looked like this? It was cheerful but she still has to do a lot. At least to have enough to give to her mother, if she didn't want her to know anything about this mishap. 

The first day had places that were quite high profile. Hospitals, cafes, shopping centers, and even banks. Isn't the chairman worried about this? So many places are lacking work speed and this person doesn't seem to worry about anything. Of course, Mr. Maning is worried about his family drama instead of this. 

Not every place had such an understanding of receptionist or even an employee. Many were lost on the TV screen with the repetitive headlines of Mrs. Maning. They were too busy to care about 'who the new silver dust cleaning girl' or even 'isn't it the girl who is on the screen'. They looked at Kner sympathetically which burned Rio's heart. 

Some even had time to question her new identity. Funny thing was that no one asked her name. Was she lucky today? Or they didn't mind? Who cares when you have to have money to handover to your mother else she would swoon and upon waking her would run off to the scary swirl? 

Another thing that struck her mind was what if her dreams have become a reality? What if Kner had left her in the figurative swirl in the city and runoff, laughing? What if her mother would push her off the ground? What if she gets her hand bloodied just when she touches the glittered dust? Her screwdriver fell right on her foot, making her alert. She was on the top of the tower that controlled traffic. It worked on its own. The view of the city looked a step away from being perfect. What was the mess, she couldn't tell it right away. But it looked as if a storm had just passed by, destroying everything in its way. 

Her palm-reader on her wrist vibrated, showing her a notification. Clicking on it her jaw dropped. 

'The future chairman' s ex-girlfriend speaks the evil language of Zolzeim. ' 
Rio didn't feel like its anything about her. She was sure it must be someone else. Reading more about that, her mind whirled seeing it to be the claim made by Mrs. Maning. Does she know anything else other than this? Her eyes didn't believe as she read further that it was indeed written about her. 
'Rionora Tarnilier, the intern who looks innocent but is not.' She sighed reading the sentence. That doesn't explain anything. 
'The one who should focus on her work wandered around with my son. Despite my objections, she never listened to us. Everyone is aware of the cheap tricks of the workers but sadly my son didn't know any of it. 
Forgetting her limits, she coaxed him to give her higher posts before she completed her projects. Instead, my son had to give her something else. He even had to pay her from our treasury just because she didn't get what she wanted. The workers, don't even know that's how it doesn't work. But sadly they stay where they are, don't even know the basic knowledge of the work thingy works. 
When he decided to give her a nice post in our company, he asked something from her in return. But she dared not to obey him and along with it, she even threatened him the evil language of Zolzeim. I fear she has secret trades with them and conspires against our country. 
I want immediate the police to arrest her for her crimes. It's not my word, it's my son's demand. If the city wants its next chairman to be healthy, do him justice. Get rid of the girl. 
Our next chairman would be the next Gliustav Maning if everyone supports him now. He needs your help in this darkest time. 'she finished reading the article in one breath. 

Her head felt heavy going through the article. She slid on the floor of the traffic control room, trying to catch her breath. When was she warned before? The only warning she ever got was on Kysop' s birthday. And what was the evil language she is talking about? Rio doesn't know anything other than her Katokein tongue. It was him who wanted the password and he threatened most of the time, even bullied her and her mother. She couldn't remember a thing said to him, let alone words of threat. He indeed took her outside or even treated her with nice things. Wait, it was mostly nice restaurants for dinner. 'I want to get away from home for a while', that were his words when he took her along with him. So the dinner at those places cost him a million? She couldn't think of what she should do now. The news that was between a few people is out now. Everyone would get rid of her. She even ordered an arrest. Did the matter reach that extreme and she didn't even realize any of it? Had he told her to stay away one single time, she would have stopped working there. She just wanted her certificate after a few days of working. Oh, occasionally she did ask him for any stable job in a nice place. 'I can even give you the companies in my hand', indeed were his words. The scenes ran in a loop in her head, making her close her eyes. Gladly there was no one in the control room, else it would have been embarrassing to cry in public. How can he just lie like that to his mom? Doesn't he know what was going on between them? Rio even stopped asking him for work since the last week, let alone the stable job after the internship. 

This news must have gone to her mom. She would finish her for sure. Her heart twisted thinking about what she would do at home. She decided not to go home early. But where should she go if not home? The whole city must be looking for her. Will her mom hand her over to the police? Was her nightmare becoming a reality?

"There are wounds that never show on the body that are more deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds."

-Laurell K. Hamilton

"So you're the brat that Sensei said would join us?"

He carefully drew up the little muscles that composed the entirety of his lips. Just enough to qualify as a smile, but too little to be 'actual' happiness. He directed his eyebrow to twitch and fall just a slight bit lower. In the end, it formed the expression of irritation and calm. He preferred oxymorons, in contrast with the rest of the figurative language spectrum. The beauty of controlled chaos... The irony of a deliberate mistake...

It was a kind of rotten purity all by itself.

It seemed like he took a little too long to answer, as the white haired man started to itch his neck of all things.

"Yes, I would be the brat you are speaking of," He looked at Kurogiri's relative position and came to a understanding. "I assume that you are the leader around here, then? Sensei's protege that he spoke of? It's a pleasure to meet you." He finished off his performance with a fake smile that looked true and genuine.

Despite the very small gaps that existed in his ensemble of hands, it was actually quite clear to see when his eye widened in anger.

"...Why are you calling him, Sensei? Why does your scrawny little weak ass think that you can call him Sensei?!"

He seemed to feed off the anger in his own words, as he slowly inched closer, with his many hands primed and ready. Like a little cub intimidating a big lion- most likely Sensei- he strode forward with a deliberate clang in his step. He projected his killing intent into the world, but the thing about killing intent was this; it leaned heavily on comparison. If you were able to withstand the murderous intentions of a beast, then it was natural that you would be able to withstand the intent of a cub. Only in the case of a change in quality or quantity would the other beast be able to frighten him.  But no matter how much the cub tried to be the lion, it hadn't grown up enough yet. Mentally or physically.

"As to why I can call him Sensei, there is a reason to that."

"Spit it out."

"Like I was saying, Sensei implicitly spoke to me on that very subject. More specifically, he said I could call him Sensei."

The words seemed to have diffused most of the man-child's anger, but a sliver of anger still existed. A fraction of madness that lay stabbed deep within the heart itself. It was evidenced by the slightest crease of a brow, and the faint indecipherable glean in his wine-like eyes.

'It seems that I've managed to piss off the boss of this whole operation so easily. How quaint. Why does All for One put him in charge? Perhaps it could be his quirk... How any one person can affect the number 1 hero is doubtful though. I need to reevaluate All for One if white-hair was put in place for strategic purposes... I'm still missing something. Something big.'

"If I may ask, what are the organization's current goals?"

The answer came back immediately.

"Kill the useless piece of trash that is All Might!"

'He definitely doesn't seem like the strategic type... It sounds like a personal grudge, which could provide some interesting twists.'

"How are we going to achieve that? Do you have any plans?"

Kurogiri who was staying silent up until now, opened his mouth and answered instead of the white haired man.

"We are currently in the process of recruiting. With more manpower-"

'Could they be planning what I think they're planning.. No, it couldn't be. All for One would get competent subordinates. I can only probe.'

Deku simply looked Kurogiri dead in the eye and asked a simple question.

"You want to kill the world's greatest hero relying simply on human wave tactics? I simply cannot see the possibility of that working out."

"You're saying that getting more people on board is wrong?"

'He's not wrong but... There's more to it than that.'

Deku let his gaze wonder, until he found a rather nice (ripped up) poster of All Might.

"Of course not, the deciding factor of wars is never the tactics," He took a step forward. "It's not the strategies, either," He was right in front of the poster now. "It's always the numbers that get the win in the end. One man will drown if ten thousand others spit. But, you are forgetting one thing."

Kurogiri's 'eyes' were barely visible slits of light, and the white haired man looked like he wanted t0 kill him immediately, but Deku simply continued to talk. His face was as placid as a stone, his eyes were as still as a frozen lake, his entire being radiated calmness. Perhaps that was what made them stay their hand. A lion grazing out in the prairie was not to be despaired: they were predictable, out in the open, and could be avoided. A viper on the other hand... They hide in the grass, in the shadows. They struck out when their target was least aware, and it was always lethal.

"You are forgetting that All Might isn't the only hero that exists. Even if you gathered a big army the likes of which the world has ever seen, All Might isn't without his either. A single call from the World's beloved Symbol of Peace will gather heroes from all over the world like moths to a flame. And what do you need when armies are of similar size? You need tactics. Strategies."

"You need long-term plans," He strode to the side to grab a dart off the table.

"You need me."

The dart hit the middle of All Might's forehead.

(Villain Deku; My Hero Academia Fanfic)

Think to yourself, just this one little question-
"What if the Sludge Villain never got away?"

Warnings: Gore, Brainwashing, Murder, Suicide, Bullying, Depression, Self-harm.
I don't own the cover, and if the artist wants it taken down I will do so immediately.

For a second, Klein's act of casually sweeping his gaze paused on that familiar person's figure.
He immediately sensed the abnormality in his reaction since a demigod's spiritual perception wouldn't fail to notice it.
His back muscles tensed up as his mind raced, producing figurative sparks.
He didn't immediately move his gaze away as he continued looking at the demigod suspected to be from the Black Emperor pathway. He smiled at Macht and said, "This place really isn't just for veteran officers."
This sounded like a result of careful observation, but it was nothing but meaningless chatter.
Macht chuckled.
"Any club will exceed its original restrictions when it further develops itself."
His answer didn't seem to offer anything, but on careful consideration, it did seem to imply something or perhaps something that was the complete opposite.
At this moment, the broad-shouldered and long-armed gentleman in a black suit had also naturally turned his head. He looked at the two men, and he noticed that the tycoon who had donated 15,000 pounds was looking at him and his companions while engaging Member of Parliament Macht with a whisper.
This made him feel that his look of surprise was more of a natural reaction towards learning of his occupation.
Then, he retracted his gaze and continued his topic of conversation.
And at this moment, Klein's back was covered in a layer of cold sweat, and his legs were going limp.
Although he had, in a way, faced the demigod before and had even fought with him, to have such a close encounter in such a small place, with danger happening in a split second, this was a first. And more importantly, he was far from prepared to face a demigod. Not only did he lack a marionette, all he had on him was Death Knell, Azik's copper whistle, and the adventurer's harmonica.
The Sea God Scepter was impossible to bring on his person. Furthermore, the usage of it had strict environmental limitations; otherwise, it would result in massive damage. If he kept Groselle's Travels on him for too long, he might be pulled into the book world. When that happens, it would become troublesome trying to exit it. Creeping Hunger was still lacking a seal, so it needed to feed every day. Unless necessary, it was impossible to take it out ahead of time. The Fate Siphon charm was made from a Worm of Time, so it was an unknown if it would attract Amon. Unless he could use it very quickly, Klein obviously lacked the courage to bring it on him.
If the demigod who was suspected to be from the Black Emperor pathway had discovered something wrong with him, there was only one optimal solution he could think of.
It was to blow the harmonica and summon Miss Messenger to get her to help him escape Backlund via the spirit world!
He had never thought of letting Reinette Tinekerr engage in a direct battle while he held Death Knell from the side to find an opportunity to fire. This was Backlund, the home ground of the official Beyonders. With Miss Messenger's unique appearance, that man could easily pin a crime on her, and what awaited Klein would be a joint attack on him. There was bound to be increasing numbers of demigods and powerful Sealed Artifacts.
How harrowing… Klein moved his gaze away in a manner that adhered to logic. Using the Clown's ability to control his legs, he walked to the door in a completely normal manner.
He didn't ask Macht who those people were, to appear uninterested as a way to prove that it was all just a casual glance.
However, that person turning to look at him had exposed his appearance to Klein.
He had thick but unmessy black brows with a short and hard crew-cut of the same color. He had dark blue eyes and a high nose-bridge with a bushy mustache spreading out from his mouth. He had a long face with accentuated outlines as well as callous curves.
He had strong masculine vibes and was probably in his thirties or forties. It was difficult to determine.
Just on his appearance alone, Klein felt that he looked more like an Arbiter pathway's demigod rather than one of the Black Emperor pathway.
Of course, this demigod's bearing was closer to that of a Warrior's, but he was too short.
Having had a clear look at him, Klein didn't need to inquire further. He could directly get Arrodes to answer him. Even if he was still wary of the magic mirror, he could always commission Miss Xio, Miss Sharron, and company to do a simple background check.
He believed that no matter how well-hidden this demigod was, it was unlikely for him to have a low-ranking position. It would be easy to figure out who he was.
One step. Two steps. Three steps. Klein left the East Balam Military Veterans Mess in a normal manner.
When he boarded the carriage, he leaned on the wall, closed his eyes, and kept silent for a few seconds. Inwardly, he let out a long sigh.
The disconnected trail of clues leading to the truth of the Great Smog of Backlund has finally been connected again…
He didn't open his eyes or say a word, as though he was recounting the business problems he had previously discussed. But in fact, it was to quell his emotions that had been left in an upheaval.
During this process, Klein realized that Richardson had tried to speak a few times, only to shut his mouth again, doing so as though he was stumped.
Ultimately, he didn't say a word, focused on preparing marquis black tea for his employer.
Due to his previous encounter, Klein momentarily didn't have the capacity to be bothered about him and had pretended to not notice it.
Amidst the silent atmosphere and grinding wheels, they returned to 160 Böklund Street.
When he reached the third floor, Klein was just about to head for the bathtub that had been prepared by the lady's maid when Richardson, who was holding his hat and cane, took two steps forward and respectfully said, "Sir, are you heading to the Southern Continent soon?"
"Yes," Klein replied frankly. He had even prepared 500 pounds in cash to hand to Housekeeper Taneja for daily expenses needed for the Dwayne Dantès residence during his time in the Southern Continent.
Meanwhile, he had a deeper understanding of the importance of having a butler and valet in high society.
There were many things that a master couldn't keep from them; therefore, any conflict in faith and political inclinations necessitated a change.
Richardson hesitated and said, "Sir, I was born in the Southern Continent and am fluent in Dutanese. I'm also very familiar with the various local traditions. I should be of help to you."
Dutanese was a common language of the ancient Balam Empire. In present-day East and West Balam, the citizens still used this language. Only people of the middle- and upper-class knew foreign languages like ancient Feysac, Loenese, and Intis.
Klein felt lucky with regards to this because ancient Balam was once a unified empire with a true god existing in it. Therefore, although the different states had different accents, they all used Dutanese. The written language was likewise the same. This saved him plenty of trouble.
If I were to encounter dozens or more than a hundred dialects and languages, that would be a headache… However, Dutanese and ancient Feysac doesn't belong to the same system. I'm unable to easily grasp the various branches by learning the latter. Finding an interpreter is necessary. Oh, Anderson seems to be fluent in Dutanese. He never seemed to mention having any problems with communication in West Balam… Klein finished listening to Richardson when he suddenly realized what was stumping him.
As a valet, he needed to follow whenever his employer headed out. There was no need for a butler to do so.
This also meant that a valet was like a secretary for the master's daily life. In certain cases, they would also play a role as a business secretary.
Clearly, Richardson enjoyed his life in Backlund and everything it had to offer. He didn't wish to return to the Southern Continent to see scenery or matters that would make him recall his past; therefore, when he got into the carriage, he had tried to mention his traits but was unable to voice it out. He wished that Dwayne Dantès could find a better candidate.
Klein thought for a moment before saying, "I can tell that you don't like the Southern Continent. Why are you telling me this?"
Richardson slowly bowed his head and looked at his toes.
"You gave me a chance to gain experience to mature. I-I believe I can help you."
Very simple feelings of gratitude… If you hadn't said so, no one would know that you knew Dutanese. After all, you were born and raised in an East Balam colony manor… Klein carefully sized up Richardson, chuckled inwardly, and made some silent poignant comments.
However, he didn't plan on letting this valet of his follow him to the Southern Continent. Firstly, it would make it inconvenient for him to carry out certain operations. Secondly, if he was recognized by some Nation Reestablishment Society member of the Numinous Episcopate, it might end up affecting the rest of his life.
Klein laughed and replied, "I have plenty of friends there. They're all fluent in Dutanese and are aware of the traditions there.
"Hmm, you have more important things to do. Stay in Backlund. Help me deliver some gifts to my friends at fixed periods of time. I'll be giving you a name list when the time comes. Also, read more papers and take note of investment opportunities and also perform on-the-ground checks. Finally, give me a corresponding report. I will get Ma'am Taneja to specially prepare some funds for this."
Richardson was somewhat surprised before saying in pleasant surprise, "Yes, sir. I-I will work hard!"
At that instant, he felt that he was being put in an important position as his eyes blurred up.
From the moment he was born, this was the first time he felt hope for his future. It was something to look forward to.
After dismissing Richardson, Klein took a comfortable bath to soothe his tense nerves. Then, he wore his pajamas and returned to the bedroom. Taking a pen and paper, he drew a symbol that was a mixture of concealment and mystery prying.
The full-body mirror's surface ripples with aqueous light as silver light formed Loenese text:
"Exalted Great Master, your puny, loyal and humble servant, Arrodes, is here to answer your summoning!
"Are you about to leave Backlund again?"
Klein nodded and said, "Yes."
Without waiting for Arrodes to mention that he could question it, he asked, "Can I still contact you in the Southern Continent?"
"Of course! As long as you take out that magical radio transceiver." On the surface of the mirror, silver words quickly formed. "However, you cannot leave it out in the real world for too long or use it too frequently. There are plenty of beneficiaries of the Mother Tree of Desire. 'She' can use it to detect you."
Klein nodded gently and asked, "What do you know about the Mother Tree of Desire?"
Arrodes suddenly fell into silence. It was only after a very long time that its silver luster formed a complete sentence:
"I don't dare to mention it, nor do I dare to show it."


With the rising tide of steam power and machinery, who can come close to being a Beyonder? Shrouded in the fog of history and darkness, who or what is the lurking evil that murmurs into our ears?

Waking up to be faced with a string of mysteries, Zhou Mingrui finds himself reincarnated as Klein Moretti in an alternate Victorian era world where he sees a world filled with machinery, cannons, dreadnoughts, airships, difference machines, as well as Potions, Divination, Hexes, Tarot Cards, Sealed Artifacts… 

The Light continues to shine but mystery has never gone far. Follow Klein as he finds himself entangled with the Churches of the world—both orthodox and unorthodox—while he slowly develops newfound powers thanks to the Beyonder potions.

Like the corresponding tarot card, The Fool, which is numbered 0—a number of unlimited potential—this is the legend of "The Fool."

A bolt of crimson flashed through the forest in a heartbeat.

Kokuo extended its chakra, trying to find a route without people around. Even though they had gotten quite far from Iwagakure, there was still a possibility that a hunting squad was still trailing them. They couldn't stop just yet.

Instead of going in a straight line, they took a winding pattern, zig-zagging around the trees. Whenever they encountered a trace of civilization, they would move around and find another path.

"Trees. Trees everywhere… This land is so fertile."

No matter where they go, the forest kept spreading as far as his eyes could see.

"Is it not normal for the Land of Fire to be fertile?"

Kokuo replied half-heartedly.

"Land of Fire?"

Was that another nickname? The spirit beast did call the U-Tsang's northern mountain as 'Land of Earth'. Perhaps this Land of Fire thing was just a fancy way in the future era to call the place that he knew.

Dusk descended into night, night gave way to dawn. A new day had arrived with the sun taking its rightful throne up above the clouds.

They had managed to cover a large distance thanks to Kokuo's inexhaustible chakra. There hadn't been any sign of Iwagakure pursuers as well. It should be relatively safe after coming this far.

But… this density of trees… not even the Nanman region could compare. They hadn't gone that far south as well.

'Hmm, whatever, I'll just figure it out later.'

They finally stopped near a small creek. The red chakra cloak covering his body dissipated into thin air alongside the white steam produced by Boil Release. The overwhelming heat that ravaged his body was replaced by the gentle morning breeze, which made him feel a bit ticklish.

"...Huh?"

The comfortable sensation didn't last long as his knees involuntarily gave out. His muscles, which were completely fine mere seconds ago, suddenly ached all over. Moreover, he felt his body devoid of energy as if he hadn't eaten anything for months on end.

"Your stamina is drained from extensive use of This One's chakra. Take some rest."

Kokuo calmly explained, looking like everything was perfectly normal.

"..."

No wonder it had abruptly stopped in this random spot... 

Oh well.

Yao Huang laid on his back, controlling his breath to enter a meditative state that would hasten his recovery. The onslaught of pain and fatigue was actually a bit nostalgic.

Just like other immortals, Yao Huang had a spiritual body made entirely out of qi. He no longer had any need to rest or eat, only requiring qi to rejuvenate himself.

But now, he once again had a mortal body, along with all the shortcomings that came with it. He didn't know whether he wanted to laugh or cry.

"So this is what it feels to be 'alive'..."

While he was busy stabilizing his strength, Kokuo was growing restless within his psyche, looking left and right with sparkles in its eyes.

"Well? I did keep my promise, didn't I?"

Kokuo harrumphed, refusing to reply. However, it was clear that the white beast had eased up around his presence.

It wasn't as if their problem had been solved just yet. The spirit beast was still embedded in his soul, and the threat of him dying upon extraction didn't seem to be a lie. It should be possible if he could use mystic arts, but that would require a higher cultivation base, something that would take quite a while to achieve.

Yao Huang could only hope that Kokuo would be satisfied with this arrangement for the time being.

Stepping closer toward the kid, Kokuo lowered its head.

"Your name."

"Hmm?"

"Tell This One your name," Kokuo repeated. "Do you prefer This One to call you 'kid' all the time?"

"Ah. Right."

Yao Huang pointed at himself with a thumb.

"My name is Yao Huang."

...

His words before the name were normal, but when he reached the most important part, his pronunciation returned to his old memory's language.

Kokuo couldn't understand.

"...Pray repeat it again."

"Yao. Huang."

"..."

Kokuo was in a dilemma.

It was proud of its intelligence, capable of besting humans in all fields, let alone simple linguistic comprehension. However, it felt like its figurative tongue would get tangled up if it tried to imitate those words.

"How... to write that?"

In the end, it went for the easier route. As long as it knew the kanji, it should be possible to find the correct pronunciation.

Yao Huang proceeded to write his name on the dirt with his finger.

"..."

Ah, heck, was that even kanji?

"Kid, how do you read these characters? What do they mean?"

Yao Huang pointed at the first character.

"This is my surname, 'Yao'. "

He then moved to the second character.

"This is my given name, Huang. It means 'brilliant'. The one who had given me this name wished for me to become a strong person, strong enough to protect those dear to me."

He avoided the spirit beast's gaze at that last second.

Kokuo had been paying attention to the kid's explanation. Aside from the two words, everything was said in normal language, so it could finally see the reasoning behind the name.

"This One understands."

It proceeded to write another character with its hoof.

"Light (Guang)?"

"From now on, This One shall use this name and call you, 'Hikari'."

Yao Huang felt something weird with the way Kokuo said it, but he shook it off. Perhaps it was because of cultural shock. After all, this era's language had changed so much from his time.

"Then, please take care of This One."

"Likewise."

The tailed beast lifted its hoof, which Yao Huang grabbed in response to imitate a handshake.

Suddenly, Yao Huang jumped back to his feet.

"..."

"What is it? Iwagakure pursuers?"

Kokuo went alert at once, but Yao Huang just looked at him strangely.

"...No. I just need to answer nature's call."

"..."

Oh.

Oh…

Yao Huang felt irked by Kokuo's thousand-yard stare. He was also surprised, alright? It had been thousands of years since the last time he had to do business in a loo. He had almost forgotten how it actually feels like.

They were in the middle of a forest, so there was no need to be polite. Yao Huang dived into a nearby tall bush and started to pull his pants down.

"..."

Wait, the feeling was a bit… different...

Meanwhile, his hand instinctively grabbed at a certain place, only to find that he had failed to grasp anything.

As a last resort to keep his sanity, Yao Huang commanded his body to exhume the liquid waste right then and there, just to see where it would come out from. The experiment concluded with his behind getting wet all over due to letting it out while standing.

Owh…

"Venerable One. Are you there?"

"...This One is right here."

"Give it to me straight. Am I a eunuch?"

"...What is a eunuch?"

Yao Huang was quickly losing his composure. His hands were maniacally grabbing, scratching, even slapping that place, but what was lost wouldn't magically appear just because he did so.

"It's gone!"

"What is?"

"My little sword is gone, damn it!"

"Little..."

The white beast's eyes turned into swirls. 

"Venerable One, please tell me! Does sealing a spirit beast into one's body turn you into a eunuch? Is that the price to pay?! What kind of backward demonic technique is this!?! If I see the person responsible for this, I'll smack his head so hard his skull will come out of his ass-"

"Calm! Down!"

Kokuo manifested a tail out of Yao Huang's body, and then used it to smack his head.

Alright, now that the kid had sufficiently calmed down, they could finally have a proper conversation.

"Answer This One first. What is a eunuch?"

"Obviously, it's men whose 'thing' had been cut..."

Yao Huang replied flatly.

"..."

Kokuo regretted ever asking.

"So... you're saying that your... 'thing'... has gone? As in, you lost it?"

Yao Huang nodded furiously.

Kokuo felt his head pounding.

"But... kid, logically, it's easier to think that you didn't have one to begin with."

Yao Huang felt his heart pierced by a sharp needle.

Of course.

It is a distinct possibility.

It was also the possibility that Yao Huang had tried to reject the most. He was born male. When he created his spiritual body, he had also been a male. He had been a male for so long that he just couldn't entertain the thought that his reincarnation could be... could be...

While the kid was still standing like an idiot, Kokuo smacked him once again with his tail, throwing the kid into the creek.

As he lifted his head off the water, a reflection slowly formed on the surface.

Staring back at him was a pair of large, round eyes. The shoulder-length brown hair clung to his neck, still dripping water down his shoulders.

Ah, wrong. It wasn't 'him' anymore, but 'her', right?

After all, what looked back at Yao Huang was clearly a young girl's face...

She blinked a few times, then turned back to Kokuo. The beast just gave her a slow nod.

A bright smile blossomed on her face.

And then, she promptly fainted.

The creek produced a huge splash as she sank into the shallow water like a rock.

"..."

Kokuo manifested all of its five tails from the girl's back to push her out of the creek. And then, the beast dragged her motionless body into a thick bush. It could just wake her up by force, but she still needed to recover from her fatigue nonetheless. It couldn't understand why the girl suddenly fainted like that, but the timing was just right. Taking a few hours to sleep should be fine before resuming their journey.

"..."

"..."

"...?"

The beast's slumber was cut short when it sensed a presence rapidly coming closer.

Without a warning, the bushes parted ways. However, what popped out was different from Kokuo's expectations.

*Bark!*

It was a puppy.

Covered in white fur and decorated with a pair of drooping ears, the little creature strut closer toward the fainted kid, sniffing and nudging with its nose, tail wagging all the way.

Kokuo froze momentarily, not knowing what to do. If it was an enemy ninja or a pursuing nin-dog, it could just blow it away with Tailed Beast ball, but it would be absurd to do so against a little puppy.

"...Lesser beast, go away."

Kokuo spread out its presence, creating an illusion of its real form in order to scare the puppy away.

The little puppy noticed it immediately. Its fur stood up on its end as it stared at the shadow of a horse-like monster. It wanted to feign bravery with barks, but what came out were mere whines. It retreated one step, two steps... Finally, it couldn't take it anymore and leaped toward the fainted kid, hiding under her body.

"..."

Why did it have the opposite effect… maybe it should just manifest the tails once again and throw the puppy away. That might be faster.

While Kokuo was pondering over what to do, a loud voice suddenly boomed through the forest.

A human's voice.

"Akamaru! Where did you go!"

There was a sound of hurried footsteps, and then the bushes parted once again.

Kokuo quickly erased its presence, taking refugee once again inside the kid's soul.

As for the puppy, it let out a happy bark as if it had found its salvation.

"There you are! Why did you suddenly run away... huh?"

That day, a boy who had initially wanted to walk his dog... had ended up finding a human instead.

Deity-level cultivator Yao Huang had finally decided to re-enter the circle of reincarnation. When he was enjoying the taste of Five-Fragrance Tea, another cultivator wreaked havoc in the underworld, destroying the wheel of karma and mixing up the pool of reincarnation. Yao Huang was accidentally knocked down into the now-chaotic pool, where his soul was threatened with disintegration lest he managed to escape. Without seeing his destination, he jumped into the first path that he could find.

When he opened his eyes once again, his soul had reincarnated into the body of a little girl. At that moment, a mysterious voice echoed in her head.

"This One's name is Kokuo. This weak and small vessel... This One shall devour you whole!"

Oh, also, it seemed that she had grown five tails out of nowhere...

Forced to live in a world reigned by warriors called Ninjas, the former cultivator was joined by her reincarnated allies to find a way to return to their original world.

Meanwhile, the karma of the past slowly caught up to them, bringing up tragedies desired to be forgotten...

---

Is a Naruto Fanfic. Written just for fun. Update schedule is whenever I'm free. My lore isn't the best so don't think too much and just have fun~

---

Addendum: Since people kept on getting trapped, here's the caution list (also check tags in case author added more... twists)

-Gender Bender: For MC and some other characters
-Species Bender: For 1 character (and technically another one actually)
-Confused MC: Think of it as characters from cultivation novel transferring to Naruto world. They had no prior info beforehand so expect a lot of blind grasping over the world concept. No system or anything else to help.

Suddenly it came to him. Why struggle to come up with a name, in a world with such a simple naming convention. Typing in the name 'Winged Wolves', he didn't even feel bad about how generic it was, since everything here was named in the same fashion. Keeping the name simple, also added some credibility to the creature.

People wouldn't be so quick to assume that it was a foreign creature. Zanir knew he could just tell them that it came from somewhere really far away.  With the prospects lined up for a viable air force, he just had to let the eagles breed to increase their population. 

There were plenty of wolves ready since the animals bred to capacity. Any excess that would result in overcrowding, would be stored away by the system. Thinking about it, he hadn't checked the numbers for storage in a while.

Double checking the display, he confirmed that there were tons of stuff inside the system's digital storage space. Not figurative tons, but literal tons of animals and produce. Quietly producing and storing, the system had been running continuous loops for a few weeks now.

Curiously, he checked the space and saw that it was at 99.99% free. Apparently, everything that had been absorbed and produced so far wasn't even a drop in the bucket. Either that or the display was stuck. Given the system's power, he was leaning more towards the first guess.

Once again, he the system had already completed all of the orders, but he had to take a few days off. He needed to keep up the appearances that the raw product was being teleported, then worked on at another location, and finally teleported back to him.

This meant that, unfortunately, he had to take a few days off, purely as a vacation. It was a sacrifice he was willing to make for the team. Usually, during the time off, he ended up negotiating even more deals. It practically counted as work, he definitely wasn't goofing off.

Moving on to the next thing that got his attention, he brought out the relay shells. As he was analyzing the specs, the alchemy team came back from their meal. Greeting Zanir as they entered, they were naturally curious as to what he was working on.

Joining the research, Marcus pointed something out. Being slightly familiar with the shells, he knew that focusing the energy on the center of the shell was more efficient. Calculating the information, allowed the system to focus in a direction, instead of having to run random scans.

Watching the simulations, everyone saw the system computing the reactions from various angles and shapes. Eventually, after a few minutes, it brought up a strange design with the energy coming from several thinner points.

Checking the printouts, the team began to discuss the results. Seeing the most efficient route, they wanted to know why it was better. Once they started bringing up technical terms, his eyes glazed over as it went right past Zanir's head.

Leaving it to the experts, they thanked him for the new toy to work with. He had faith in the team, they were his research and development people as well. On his way out, he pointed out the charts for the animals, telling them to brainstorm for animal merging ideas.

Now that business was taken care of, and he had some free time, he could explore the Rangers headquarters. Teleporting back to his tent, he left, emerging into the bazaar outside. Touring the stalls, he confirmed that everything was in order, before proceeding on.

Greeting the guards, who were familiar with him at this point, he didn't see Nathan. Chatting with the guards, it seemed that he had the day off. Moving into the valley itself, he wanted to stop by the medical ward and check on the wounded.

Stopping by, Oscar greeted him enthusiastically, asking about the medicine he brought last time. Apparently, it had been very effective in treating the wounded. Some of them were even completely healed, passing their thanks along to Zanir.

Never one to take all of the credit, he could only thank his wonderful team for their hard work. Answering his questions, he explained how the pink salve was a blended healing compound, that had been produced using a secret method.

The development of an economical solution to healing, that was lightweight and portable, amazed Oscar. He was even more impressed when Zanir told him that it only the first product and that others were still being tested.

Happy to cheer up Oscar with some good new, he chatted with him for a little bit longer, before departing to explore the rest of the area. Finally exploring the valley, he found that it was very similar to a military barracks.

There were sections for housing, barracks for the troops, and a few various stores. Due to the nature of the organization, the majority of the shops were functional. Things like general stores, blacksmiths, and armorers as opposed to stores that sell decorative items.

In lieu of a theatre or other entertainment buildings, they had a variety of obstacle courses that had been set up. Not only would people compete against the trials, there were stands where the audience observed. Some were even betting on the matches, or against time trials.

Looking at the course, he saw that a race was going to start soon, as several Rangers were warming up. Watching them practice on a few of the sections, he saw the system brought up an overlay. Analyzing the patterns, it could offer a rough prediction of their performance.

Finding a spot in the stands, he decided to observe a match first. If someone were holding back during their warmup, the projections wouldn't be accurate. As the match started, he observed how each contender was performing, while listening to the nearby gamblers conversations.

Once the system had more accurate information, he could see if the coaches might be interested in buying a training plan. He was sure that the system could help them make adjustments for a much better performance.

Join our protagonist Zanir Coffey as he unlocks the mysterious Dimension System which allows him to absorb the environment around him.

Seemingly able to absorb an endless amount of material, he will have to use this new system to survive in a brutal new world.

Armed with the knowledge of modern day technology and his ability to manipulate the world around him, he will craft an empire the likes of which have never been seen.

To reach his final goal he will have to go far beyond a single planet, in a single dimension. His journey will take him to the stars and beyond.

WALTER MASAMUNE's POV

The next day, I opened my eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling.

'Oh, right. Adopted.', I clarified my situation 

I looked out the window that was near me and saw that the sun was beginning to rise. I sighed and dropped back onto the bed with my arms sprawled out, so I could think clearly.

'Hmm... First lets recap on my current life: I was born on the 7th of April and lived a fairly normal baby life until around age 2. 

When I was around 2 to 3 my father left and my mother became more agitated. At age 4 my mother started to abuse me, and half way through age 4 she started drinking and bringing men over. 

Age 5 was when I started getting bullied due to being more nervous, jumpy and scared, or in other words, I obtained a weak mentality.

Age 6 is when everything became even bigger, I started getting abused and 'bullied' even further and this developed an even larger scale of abuses from both parent and surroundings that could be determined life-threatening.'

I sighed once more and then decided to do a small recap of my previous life, considering that in my previous life I had somehow made it to the hundred of millions in terms of age.

'In my childhood I was an orphan who was left in the woods by the orphanage, because they needed to get rid of someone, and they got rid of me considering that my body was both weak and had a weak immunity system. My immunity system was so weak that it couldn't even be improved by that era's modern medicine, although I did somehow manage to live long with that mediation technique I learnt.

Soon, I was found by an old lady who brought me in and taught me everything she knows at the cost of doing her a favour when I'm strong enough. 

I was taught enough for almost all my masteries in weaponry to reach 'Master Tier' and I eventually gave up and decided to specialise in the sword and magic, but gave magic up due to me hitting a figurative road-block. I then continued to train my swordsmanship by figuratively and literally throwing myself into dangerous situations, and I also got betrayed a lot.'

"Heh.", I smiled when I reminisced all those times I took my revenge.

'Anyway, back onto topic. After spending more than a hundred thousand years in training myself, I went back to the person who took me in and she told me what she wanted, and I agreed seeing that it was fairly simple.

Simply put, what she wanted was a fight to the death. She wanted to die a warrior, and I granted it. Our fight took approximately a thousand years but it finally ended when her old age got to her and she made a fatal mistake. My sword pierced her heart.'

I smiled when I remembered that she died with a smile on her face.

'After I adventured to many places, made many allies, got betrayed double the amount of times I made allies, in search to further my swordsmanship.

I eventually fell into a space rift which contained my ideal sword-style called 'Lordos Spathiou', and apparently it was possible it was left behind by a former reincarnation or a 'former' 'me' as in order to even unlock the vault to enter I needed 100% soul compatibility.

Years, later I decided to straight up search for strong opponents and then decided to even fight against the gods. I fought, defeated and killed many gods like: the Sword God, War God, Demon God, Evil God, Hunting Goddess, Sun and Moon Goddesses, Star Goddess, Spirit King and many more.

They even had to bring all the gods, even the minor gods and demigods to try and kill me, but in the end I decided to just apologise and explain my reason as to which I went on a killing and defeating spree. 

Eventually, they pointed me to the known strongest god in hopes that I wouldn't kill them, and yes. That god was the Dragon God. The Dragon God was honestly the best fight I had ever experienced, but sadly time takes away everything and I soon fell to my lifespan after mine and the Dragon God's battle near the end. Luckily, or unluckily, I managed to kill him at the end of my life. Story End.'

When I did the shortest possible recap of my former life, I had one thought due to my current life's morals and my previous one colliding.

'I lived a long life, unknowingly.'

Afterall, in this life humans barely live up to age 100, due to mana manipulation and qiqong absorption not being common.

'Now then, I have one last question for myself.'

I sighed once again and practically shouted in my mind:

'How has a measly 6 years changed so much of my perspective on life!'

I've lived more than a million years and for some reason just 6 years was enough to reshape my personality. Was my former personality so dull? I mean, it may be influenced by the surroundings considering that the food business and the entertainment is leaps and bounds of my former life's world.

I thought for a while more and I reached one conclusion.

'It's possible that when I regained my memories, it was added as something similar to something like a secondary hard drive. This life's memories probably could be considered as the 'main' memories, which makes sense considering that I've lived my own life in this life and just recently regained my former memories.'

I coughed and thought once more:

'So rather than my previous personality being influenced by this life, it could be said that it's the other way around and it's actually this life's personality that's being influence by my previous life.'

I thought of other solutions and decided that this was probably the most accurate solution I could think of.

I nodded in satisfaction, and once again looked outside the window to see that the sun had nearly fully risen.

KNOCK KNOCK

I heard someone knocking on the door.

A legendary swordsman called by many names, by many people, tested his mettle against a Dragon God because he felt that he had reached the peak of swordsmanship and at the end of their battle to the death, the Dragon God granted him a wish.

NOTE: This is a Highschool DXD fanfic hence the timing will probably not be accurate and there many be plot holes. I don't own DXD itself only my MC and maybe some other made up characters.

Another Note: Don't own the cover.

Liu Chuchu picked up the seahorse's storage ring before tossing it to An Lin. "You guys saved me in this battle, so you deserve the spoils of war as well."
An Lin didn't refuse. He immediately refined the storage ring to inspect its contents.
Tina also retrieved the seahorse's silver spear. This was a high-rank spirit tool, which was a fantastic weapon. A sense of longing appeared in her eyes, but she still gave the spear to An Lin as promised.
An Lin looked into the storage ring to find that there were no golden Realm Essence Crystals, to which he was a little disappointed. However, there were six white Realm Essence Crystals, which also just so happened to be the worst type.
He brought out the Realm Essence Crystals. When he tried to absorb the energy within by activating his cultivation method, he found that he could not do so.
It looked like he could only absorb golden Realm Essence Crystals…
An Lin shook his head and continued to rummage through the contents.
There were thirty-six vital stones, three spirit tools, five spirit pills, and a bunch of other crap.
Perhaps it was because he was too rich already, but he felt zero joy at rummaging through the storage ring of such a beggar.
"What is it? There's no good stuff inside?" Liu Chuchu asked when she noticed An Lin's disdainful expression.
"Nope. There aren't even any immortal pills or immortal tools. What a poor b*stard!" An Lin sighed.
Liu Chuchu: "…"
Their concepts of wealth were far too different for them to converse on this topic.
An Lin stowed all these items into his own storage ring before bringing out a frosty longsword. The temperatures around them instantly dropped to below freezing upon the emergence of the sword.
"You did well, Tina. This is an elementary-rank immortal tool Heart Lotus Ice Sword. It's quite suitable for you as it can change its size according to your will. Feel free to tell me if you need any other weapons too," An Lin explained as he passed the longsword to Tina.
Tina stared blankly at the longsword in An Lin's hand. "Giant An Lin, are… are you really giving this to me?"
She could feel that this was a weapon of an even higher rank than holy tools.
"Of course. It's not doing anything in my storage ring anyway, so I might as well give it to you to improve your combat prowess. I didn't have a chance to give it to you before as the battle erupted so suddenly, so I'm giving it to you now!" An Lin said while smiling at her.
Tina refined the immortal tool, and it immediately shrunk according to her will.
A bright blue lotus flower blossomed on the hilt of the sword, making it appear especially beautiful.
Tina was so happy; she couldn't bear to let go of the sword. She charged toward An Lin excitedly before giving him another big hug.
Splat!
An Lin couldn't really feel anything from her hug, but he still smiled with a doting expression.
Tina had risked her life to battle the sea monsters without hesitation at An Lin's behest. This was enough for An Lin to treat her as a valued ally and friend.
Liu Chuchu's lips twitched upon seeing this. Who casually hands out immortal tools like that?
"Do you have any plans, Mr. An Lin?" she asked after a momentary hesitation.
"I have to find the Huge Starry Mountain as well as more Realm Essence Crystals," An Lin replied without hesitation.
Liu Chuchu offered with a slight smile, "How about we form a team?"
An Lin nodded. "As expected; I'm a man who gives everyone around me a strong sense of security!"
Liu Chuchu's face convulsed slightly, but she decided to stroke An Lin's ego. "My flaws were highlighted to me during this battle. I'm a skilled markswoman, but I fall under great danger whenever melee combat is involved. None of the representatives that were able to enter the Ancient Tai Chu Realm are weaklings, so I hope we can form a partnership where I will be the sniper, and you will be responsible for protecting me as well as dealing with melee combat. Together, we would forge the perfect team!"
An Lin nodded. "I understand. You'll act as ADC[1], and I'll be the meat shield."
Liu Chuchu: "Yeah… And we'll split all the treasures we obtain from enemy storage rings equally among the three of us, what do you think?"
An Lin's eyes immediately lit up. Tina's share obviously belonged to him as well, so this was quite a good deal.
"A cultivator's main pastimes are murder and robbery! I accept your proposal; we'll be members of the same team from now on!" An Lin replied with a smile.
Liu Chuchu heaved a sigh of relief before extending a petite hand with a wide grin.
An Lin extended a hand of his own to give her a high five.
Tina didn't understand what they were saying, so she continued to fiddle around with her newly-obtained Heart Lotus Ice Sword.
An Lin paused for a moment before tossing a Tai Chu Language 101 textbook to Tina. This was a book that was written by Da Bai when he taught the White-Scaled Wolf God the Tai Chu Language, and it was tailored especially for members of the Ancient Man Tribe.
Tina held the book that was several dozen times bigger than herself. With a confused expression on her tiny face, she asked, " Giant An Lin, what… what is the meaning of this?"
"This is just some reading material for you. Everyone you'll be encountering from now on speaks the Tai Chu Language, so you better read through this book carefully if you don't want to look like an illiterate idiot!" An Lin explained in a friendly tone.
Tina: "…"
She carefully opened the book to find a series of familiar terms and characters next to unfamiliar ones. The unfamiliar terms were broken down into syllables with a definition on the side to facilitate pronunciation and interpretation.
Tina began to make a series of unfamiliar sounds as she tried to pronounce the terms in the book. Her top priority was to be able to speak the Tai Chu Language.
An Lin nodded with a content smile as Tina embarked on her Tai Chu Language journey.
Back in the day, he was able to master the Tai Chu Language just by imitating a dog's barking. Hence, it was quite an enjoyable experience for him to see others struggle to master the Tai Chu Language.
The after-effect of using the Origin Energy of the Netherworld still hadn't receded, so the three sat down to rest.
Liu Chuchu was quite short and petite, and she leaned against a giant rock and tucked her legs under herself. A white light began to glow from her hands, and she set about inspecting her pink longbow.
An Lin couldn't detect the energy fluctuations of a spirit tool or immortal tool from her longbow. Instead, this was a special energy fluctuation that he had never felt before, thereby prompting him to inquire about the origins of the bow.
Liu Chuchu smiled after hearing his question, and she revealed the origins of her bow to An Lin without reservation. As it turned out, this longbow was something she had materialized with a small portion of her essential bloodline, thereby setting it apart from other weapons as it was a type of bloodline weapon.
An Lin was extremely impressed upon hearing this.
Bloodline weapons were an extremely unique type of weapon that he had only read about in books.
Only people with super powerful bloodlines could materialize a weapon like this, and even then, it would take a long time for the weapon to take shape.
The benefit of having such a weapon was that the user could fuse the power of their bloodline into the weapon to achieve maximal offensive power. On top of that, the weapon could move according to the wishes of its user, thereby enabling great flexibility and versatility.
However, its flaws were also quite apparent. The weapon was connected to the user's bloodline, so any damage to the weapon would result in a backlash to its user, and sometimes, the damage would prove to be irreversible. This was why backlash weapons were extremely rare; no one wanted to expose their bloodline in the open for their enemies to attack.
Liu Chuchu was like a gaming character who had expended all her skill points on damage output! Not only was she extremely fragile herself, but even her weapon was also just as fragile! No wonder she was so eager to form an alliance with him…
 Four hours later, An Lin and Liu Chuchu had both fully recovered.
 "Let's go!" An Lin waved his arm.
"Go!" Tina chimed in.
Liu Chuchu turned to Tina with a bewildered expression. "You can speak our language now, little fairy?"
Tina turned to Liu Chuchu. With a confused expression, she asked, "What kind of fairy would I be if I can't even speak a language after applying myself and studying for four whole hours?"
Liu Chuchu: "…"
An Lin: "…"
It seemed like he had underestimated the learning ability of fairies. Were languages that easy to learn?
He was starting to feel a little distraught.
[1] ADC is a gaming term that stands for Attack Damage Carry. "It is an archaic term used to refer to a unit that deals strong, continuous damage with their basic attacks and scales with attack-related stats" - League of Legends Wiki.


On modern-day Earth, An Lin seems to have been abandoned by God. 
When his father suddenly disappears, An Lin is left with his father's immense debt, putting his life at risk. 
After being forced to a rooftop by his pursuing creditors, An Lin is unexpectedly swept off his feet and brought to the ground safely.
    
After learning that he was saved by an Immortal, An Lin is gifted, seemingly out of pure generosity, the 'God Of War System,' and a pass to a new realm.
Follow An Lin as he experiences a whole new world of legends, meets many new friends, acquires legendary weapons and tools, and starts on his path of becoming a powerful cultivator. There is never a dull time in An Lin's new life with his ‘great’ new system!

The Undying Emperor's Fist was currently the most powerful divine ability at Bai Xiaochun's disposal. Especially the quintuple strength version. After all, even back when he wasn't a deva, he could still use it to fight with someone in the mid Deva Realm.
Now, he was in the early Deva Realm, and although he had not yet stabilized his cultivation base completely, he could still fuse with heaven and earth. Furthermore, he was a rare Heaven-Dao deva, which in itself made up for many of the weaknesses caused by not having a chance to stabilize his place within the realm. As such, he had just unleashed... what was essentially a perfect attack!
With it, he completely blasted away three devas. Of course, these were not ordinary devas, and they had been working together. Although they had been grievously wounded, they had not yet reached the point where they couldn't keep fighting. However, the shocking attack they had just sustained didn't just wound them physically; it was a severe blow to their courage!
The drastic phenomena caused by the fist strike caused everyone in the River-Defying Sect to be shaken to the core, regardless of their rank in the sect.
The shockwave from the attack was still spreading out, and yet, things weren't over yet. Even as blood sprayed out of the mouths of the three devas, and they fell back in terror, Bai Xiaochun's eyes flickered. Although he didn't look any different from before, the truth was that he had been significantly drained in terms of fleshly body power. He hadn't been completely emptied out, but was vastly weaker.
And yet, no one would be able to discern that from his facial expression. He had no special plan in mind, and yet, took another step forward.
As he did, his cultivation base surged, and his will strengthened. The enormous face in the sky above grew clear, and seemed to radiate the energy of the Undying Emperor's Fist, causing the lands below to quake violently. Then, Bai Xiaochun's foot landed, and he growled, "The River-Defying Sect is not the type of place that you can visit uninvited, and then leave without permission!"
The same words roared out from the mouth of the face up in the sky, making Bai Xiaochun seem dramatically impressive to everyone watching.
Except for Chen Hetian, Li Xiandao and Bai Zhentian, whose eyes suddenly glittered.
"Something's off here!"
"What's the point of being so wordy in the middle of a fight...? Wait, don't tell me that he's actually out of power because of that fist strike?"
"Is he trying to get us to retreat?"
The three deva's spirits lifted. Without hesitation, they all spun in place, transforming into flashes of light that, instead of fleeing, shot directly backward toward Bai Xiaochun.
Their energy surged as they prepared powerful attacks. Although they were still being cautious, they were not holding back in terms of deadliness.
However, in almost the same moment as they began to speed back toward Bai Xiaochun, he smiled. And as soon as the devas saw that smile, their hearts lurched in their chests.
"Not good!"
"Dammit, he tricked us!!"
Suddenly, a mark appeared on Bai Xiaochun's forehead, which opened up into a third eye. The power of his Heavenspan Dharma Eye erupted out, sending violet light shooting toward the three devas.
Before they could react, the light surrounded them, making them feel as if a huge, invisible hand had grabbed them. Simultaneously, Bai Xiaochun performed an incantation gesture with both hands and then waved them out in front of himself.
"Frigid domain!"
Rumbling sounds could be heard as indescribably cold air erupted out from Bai Xiaochun. Everything in the area began to freeze over, and at the same time, 27 frigid projections materialized.
Each of the 27 projections looked exactly like Bai Xiaochun, and as soon as they appeared, they pounced on the three devas!
From the murderous aura which surrounded the projections, it was easy to imagine what would happen if they reached them. Although they wouldn't be killed, they would definitely suffer grievous fleshly body injuries.
Now was not the time for the devas to ponder the situation. Thunderous rumbling sounds erupted from Chen Hetian as he drew upon a secret magic that caused three rifts to open up on his face. Bone was visible beneath those rifts, and after they were fully open, Chen Hetian was suddenly given access to immense power.
He struggled mightily against the power of the Heavenspan Dharma Eye, and then suddenly shot backward 3,000 meters, placing him a safe distance from any of the frigid projections.
Only he knew the true price he had just paid to evade that attack. The three rifts which had been sliced open onto his face reduced his longevity by at least a sixty-year-cycle, and also dropped his cultivation base by roughly half a realm.
It caused his heart to drip with figurative blood, and yet, he had had no other options. In fact, he wasn't the only one to make such a decisive, drastic decision. Bai Zhentian and Li Xiandao both used similar secret magics, and paid extremely heavy prices to retreat from the frigid projections.
As a result of their quick retreats, the frigid projections pounced on nothing but thin air, and then faded away into nothing!
Although they had seemed impressive and dangerous earlier, the truth was that they weren't backed by very much power. That caused extremely unsightly expressions to appear on the faces of Chen Hetian, Li Xiandao and Bai Zhentian.
However, as of this point, they already weren't willing to trust their senses. Originally, they had taken Bai Xiaochun to be strong in appearance only, which was why they had attacked. Although he had counter attacked with what was essentially a feint, they were now too unnerved and hesitant to try again.
The threat of Bai Xiaochun's Undying Emperor's Fist was simply too great, and they currently had no way of assessing his true strength.
Even as they hesitated, Bai Xiaochun stuck his chin up, waved his sleeve, and looked at them with cold, domineering eyes.
"Chen Hetian. Eccentric Bai. And you, third guy who I don't know. Do you want to fight, or not? If not, then screw the hell off!" As his voice echoed like thunder, the cultivators of the River-Defying Sect looked up with looks of profound excitement.
The three devas had very unsightly expressions on their faces, and had hearts filled with anxiousness. On the one hand, they feared escalating the fight, but on the other hand, didn't want to back down.
It was in that very moment of hesitation that the three devas suddenly looked up. There, off in the distance, the clouds churned as numerous beams of light appeared. Within moments, a massive formation of troops became visible.
One figure after another shot out into the open. Thousands. Tens of thousands. Soon, it was fully 100,000!! Battle cries filled the air, making it clear that a shocking army was incoming.
It was none other than Bai Lin, Zhao Tianjiao, Patriarch Steel Veins... and the armies of the five legions!
"Who dares to harm one of my major generals!?!?"
"The Hall of Steel Veins campaigned for years at the Great Wall. Now that one of my major generals is back, who dares to cause him grief!?!?"
"You've pushed things too far, Patriarch!"
"Master..."
As the voices rang out, the newcomers suddenly caught sight of the battlefield, and their eyes went wide with disbelief.
Those who had cultivation bases at the level of Bai Lin or higher could sense the lingering fluctuations that would result from the death of a deva's nascent divinity. And those who could not sense such things could see the shattered fleshly body of Patriarch Starry River, as well as his severed head!
Even more shocking was the current state of Bai Xiaochun and the other three devas.... Bai Xiaochun hovered there in the air looking completely domineering and arrogant, facing Chen Hetian, Li Xiandao and Bai Zhentian, all of whom had blood dripping down their faces, and were clearly weakened and in very bad shape.
Furthermore, it was obvious that the three devas had been working together... and yet weren't a match for Bai Xiaochun!
Everyone, Bai Lin included, was left gasping in shock. Most taken aback of all was Patriarch Steel Veins.
"He struck fear into the hearts of three devas?!" he thought. "He actually injured all of them!?"
His eyes flickered in a way that no one would be able to detect. As a powerful deva expert, he was able to clearly sense the evidence of the deaths of Patriarch Starry River and Patriarch Dao River.
Furthermore, he could easily see how badly wounded the three devas were, as well as the evidence of how the fight had ended!
"They... just used secret magics!?! This Bai Xiaochun actually forced Chen Hetian, Li Xiandao and Bai Zhentian... to use dangerous escape magics!?!?!?"


With a thought, the land becomes a vast sea. With another thought, it transforms a field of mulberries.

With a thought, a thousand friends are killed. With another thought, ten thousand Immortals are slain.

Only I alone… shall be everlasting. 



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