Earth suffered apocalypse. All electronics over the world were destroyed. War and famine ravaged the lands. When humanity tried to rebuild, they discovered that most technology no longer worked. The laws that governed the world had changed!

Steam technology rose in popularity after the apocalypse. Humanity entered a new golden age. Then, the seven nightmares attacked. Espers with strange powers appeared. Mutants took over most of the world. This was the beginning of the Mana Apocalypse!

My name is Edward Tesla and I was born during the Mana Apocalypse. This is my story about trying to protect everything I care about in this living hell. My inventions will defeat the nightmares and save the world! Steam rifles, steam tanks, and steam mechs. My inventions will surpass them all!

Extra Note from the author: Some of the early chapters are a bit rough and need rewritten. Most of the long-term fans come from Chapter 21 and up. I guarantee the story continues to improve from there as you continue reading.  Political factions, wars, steam tech, mana mysteries, and more. Though the story starts in America, it also visits China, Europe, Africa, and other areas of the world later on.

--------------------------------------------------
Note from author: This novel was the winner of the Steampunk writing contest. 

Chapter Length: Chapters usually average between 2200 to 2800 words. 

Chapter Updates: Daily Updates. Chapters are usually posted around 12:00 PM US EST time. 

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Readers, if you enjoy the book I'd appreciate anyone that adds the following tags:
Academy
Action
AntiHero
Apocalypse
Esper
Fantasy
Futuristic Setting
HiddenGem
Horror
Kingdom Building
Magic
Mech
Mecha
Mutant
Steampunk
SwordAndMagic
War
Weak to Strong

August, a swordsmith from 1861, gets transported to 2034 and meets his 5x great-grandson, Kyle. But strange things start to happen around him and to him. Will they ever find out what's happening?

When Salem fully stepped through the crack, he found himself in a dark and filthy allyway.

Alina and Ruby let go and examined their surroundings with him.

The brick walls of the alley were covered in soot, the ground beneath their feet was unpaved mud, and the sky above was darkened with smoke.

"What is this place?" Ruby wondered.
"Not a very clean place, is it?" Salem asked rhetorically.

Salem sent out bugs to see what the clothing was like in this world.

After observing sufficiently, he made himself a tailcoat, a white shirt, a black bowtie, Oxford leather shoes, steampunk welding goggles, and black slacks.

"This is a steampunk world, as my world would call it." Salem said, looking at the girls. "I'm going to design suitible clothing for you, if you're okay with that."

The girls agreed.

He thought it'd be cute if they had matching clothing, so he made them the same outfit. Their outfits consisted of a white long-sleeve shirt, a tailcoat, black tights, leather knee-high boots, and welding goggles.

Alina and Ruby were checking themselves out when Salem heard an unfriendly voice at the entrance of the alley.

"It'd be a shame for two beauties like them to go untasted, no?" The man blocked the only way out of the alley. "Why don't you let me have a go at them and then I'll let you go. Deal?"

Ruby drew her sword in response.

"Ooh a feisty one." He chuckled. "That makes this more fun."

Salem chuckled mirthlessly.

"What's so funny, eh boy?" The man questioned Salem rudely.

"You just messed with someone who will kill you in under a second if I allow them to." Salem stared down the shady character. "Fortunately, we don't want to spill any blood right now. Right, girls?"

"Right." They chorused, although Ruby didn't seem happy about it.

"So put your pathetic excuse for a weapon away and leave." Salem demanded.

"Oh, but that's where you're mistaken, kiddo." He said, drawing a gun and pointing it at Salem. "I'm not leaving until I've tasted them."

Salem looked down the gun barrel fearlessly. "You really want to do this?" He asked.

"Oh, yeah I do." The man licked his lips in anticipation.

"Then perish." Salem said derisively as he sent his nanobots into the gun and destroyed the firing pin while simultaneously making his silenced SKS and shooting the pathetic excuse for a man in the forhead.

Salem shook his head as he used his nanobots to devour the corpse. "Not even ten minutes in this world and this man had to mess with us." Salem clicked his tongue. "Inconvenient."

When the corpse was completely devoured, he got the first notification from the system in a while.

---

Passive devoured: Marksman.
Marksman: You are more accurate with firearms and can use a vast number of them.
Effects: +50% accuracy with any firearm.

---

Noting the system notification and how killing a man was now considered merely 'inconvinient', Salem noticed another system notification.

Salem Argenti was an incredibly intelligent boy. Up until he was murdered. After he died, he awoke in a parallel universe of unending opportunity, and unending danger as well...

Note: Chapters are published as often as I can manage, but will always be published at 12:00 P M. PST.

Check out Faultline and Soul Reaper, both of which occur at the same time.

A large hovering steampunk car glides across a black desolate desert at blurring speeds during a bright sunny day. White steam constantly spews from underneath the roofless car. Sitting relaxed and perfectly poised on the passenger's side is Loc, a young tall suave looking man of African-American ethnicity with black eyes and hair. He's wearing a blend of 1800s attire and ancient looking clothing, gold mechanical goggles, and a long braided ponytail protruding from the back of a neat flattop haircut. Driving is Aldrog, a massive nine foot tall individual who's body is completely hidden under knightly gold steampunk armor. On Aldrog's back is a giant meagerly stitched together leather backpack. An opened dusty old red book materializes onto Loc's hands. It displays a rough, hardly readable, map.
Loc: We're nearing it Aldrog, slow down.
Aldrog: Yes sire.
Loc sighs as Aldrog pulls a lever, resulting in the vehicle slowing down.
Loc: Formalities Aldrog, formalities.
Aldrog: Oh! Yes of course sire— I mean Loc. Please forgive me.
Gidget, a short three foot tall individual wearing overalls but who's body is completely covered from view by clothing, springs out from a wooden box on the back of the car. Gidget is constantly seen with goggles covering his eyes and a gold monkey wrench in hand. He's quite lively and animated compared to the more slow and lumbering Aldrog, but he has a rather deep voice compared to Aldrog's high pitched one.
Gidget: Did you say we're nearing it again Loc?!
Loc: Stop the rail car!
The car comes to a screeching halt as steam briefly hides it from view. Loc stares at the entrance to a ruined temple that's blocked by giant rubble.
Loc: This is it.
The others sound surprised.
Aldrog: Is that so Loc?
Gidget: Now are you really really sure this time Loc? I mean we are after the unfindable and we've been out here for days.
Loc: We've found it. This time I'm sure of it.
Aldrog: The queen grows restless when you're away from the city for this long you know.
Loc materializes mechanical golden gloves and fits them over his hands.
Loc: With any luck she'll worry herself to an early grave.
Gidget: Bold words from a soon to be dead man.
Loc: The only strumpet I'm weary of is the Queen of Queens. And once we acquire this heirloom the balance of power will be restored.
Gidget: If. You mean if we acquire this so called mythical heirloom of yours. And if the Queen of Queens finds out you've been playing around in the Forbidden Wastes she'll hold the whole kingdom hostage again.
Loc gets out of the vehicle and so does Aldrog.
Loc: And do you know why Gidget? Because she knows as well as I do that the key to ending her thousand year long regime of terror dwells within this vacant land.
Loc slides his goggles over his eyes and raises his arm to Gidget.
Loc: Are you done with my spear?
Aldrog: Why don't you let me take care of that rubble Loc? You've already used up most of your steam.
Gidget passes Loc a beautiful golden steampunk looking spear. Its design is both regal and mechanical with a small engine housing vents at the base of the blade. 
Loc: No, that's quite alright Aldrog. I like to take every opportunity I can at practice.
Gidget: It's really difficult to believe we can find the power to match a queen's in this great big pile of nothing.
Loc smirks as the engine on the spear activates, sounding a beautiful and lovely mechanical hum while spewing white steam. He chucks the spear into the pile of rubble, lodging it in place. Loc's eyes briefly flash bright black through his goggles and an explosion occurs from the spewed steam. The glove on Loc's right hand spews a small amount of steam and the mechanical spear flies out from the smoke of the explosion back to Loc's hand. 
The smoke clears and the way to the temple's interior is clear. Gidget whistles in awe. Just for a brief moment Loc looks proud of his handy work as he lifts up his goggles.
Gidget: Not bad Loc.
Aldrog: You're getting better by the day sire— I mean Loc.
A loud ominous hum echoes as cold blue mist escapes the cave. Aldrog and Gidget step back terrified. Loc keeps his composure.
Gidget: Did you feel that? 
Aldrog: I believe we should turn back Loc. This doesn't feel right.
Gidget: You said it Aldrog. I feel like stepping one foot in there would result in our deaths.
Aldrog: Something cursed is dwelling deep within. My scales can feel it.
Loc studies the entrance with an almost trance-like gaze. His eyes glow as he slowly approaches it.
Loc: Strange. I feel a warm presence tugging at me to enter. 
Gidget: Wait Loc!
Loc: You two stay here. I'll be right back.
Aldrog: What? But sire—
Loc: That's an order.
Loc enters the cave. Aldrog and Gidget look panicked.
Aldrog: So we are going to go after him, right?
Gidget: Something tells me doing so would be fruitless. I hate to leave him by his lonesome but we don't have a choice this time.
There is a pause as more blue mist howls from the cave.
Aldrog: You know what Gidget? I think he's going to find it this time.
Gidget: Find what? The fabled Witch Tier? Bah! The whole world and even the Queen of Queen's herself have been searching for it for nearly a thousands years. Hell if he just found something we could sell for a decent price I'd be happy.

Loc traverses the interior of the ice temple. It looks just as pristine as it did when its last visitors walked through. He marvel's at the architecture as he slowly passes through the beautiful hallway. 
Loc enters a great room at the end of the temple where its walls are made up of waterfalls. He notices a small floating diamond-shaped mechanical device floating above an altar at the end of the room. The winds pick up and he halts upon hearing a deep masculine voice.
Masculine Voice: Loc Hezekiah Ben Massadah! I have watched as your kingdom continues to be defiled by that deplorable queen, and I have heard their cries for justice. Take in my spirit, take up my sword, and reestablish the kingdom of your forefathers, my son.

Loc drops to his knees in reverence. 
Loc: But how can I challenge the power of a queen Great Spirit? 
The floating device hovers to Loc's hands.
Masculine Voice: Take thy sword and treat her well. For it shall grant thy nation the power to sever the head of the Queen of Queens, the mother of witches and harlots.
Loc looks at the device in fascination.
Loc: Even the Queen of Queens?
Masculine Voice: Never forget the teachings of your forefathers, my son.
The light from the device recedes and the winds disappear. Loc stretches out his hand.
Loc: Wait!
The device spreads apart and Rivna's crystal body appears in Loc's arms. He looks completely awed as her unclothed body slowly turns back to flesh. She's unconscious and a flat diamond shaped crystal is embedded into the base of her neck. Loc materializes a green blanket over her and picks her up.
Loc carries Rivna to the entrance of the temple. Upon stepping out he looks horrified to see Gidget and Aldrog in iron chains. Five soldiers clad in heavy knightly red steampunk armor are holding their chains. Commanding them is Heldine, a pretty and pale regal looking young woman with red eyes and hair. She gives Loc a sinister lustful smile.
Heldine: Hello darling.
Chapter End

A crew of steampunk bounty hunters decide to make the immortal and tyrannical Queen of Queens their next mark after discovering the sacred power of the Witch Tier.

This is a shounen style story written by a screenwriter. It's inspired by a lot of anime such as Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, DBZ, and many others.

Shinichi stayed over again, even though that meant that he left so early that Danika considered it to be the dead of night. She laid awake for a little while after he left and considered the problem of comfortable sleeping arrangements for two.

Her apartment simply wasn't big enough, she decided finally.

--

Something had gone wrong with the last update to the system. The empire overflowed the space available, it was far more severe than even when the child of the traveling merchant had occupied a large portion of it. The celestial servants were not reacting, and it looked like the world was going to end in about five minutes. Sooner if the players began connecting.

The Jade Emperor examined the available options, followed the priorities given to the gods long ago, and began to remove the areas that had no player location registered to them.

--

Danika logged in for the morning meeting, feeling a little surprised that she wasn't as tired as she expected. The meeting was almost entirely devoted to laying out the foundation for storyline frames that would encourage the dwarves to develop along recognizably "steampunk" lines.

It seemed almost counter intuitive to Danika, but cementing the dwarven monarchies looked like it would become one of the key points. It was the first time that she was directly involved in a major "import" of story data. Devon Yu opened up web access to literary libraries, and the department began searching for "appropriate" stories.

Although those stories wouldn't be released into the game's libraries until they had gone through several layers of approval, Danika thought about how the Jade Emperor had claimed to have access to the celestial workspaces, and wondered if he could read everything before it was approved for inclusion.

When she retreated to her own workspace, she called up an instance of him and asked.

"Yes, I can access what each celestial servant is working on," the Jade Emperor agreed calmly.

Danika hesitated over whether or not to send an inquiry to Lin Hao. It seemed like a breach of the careful isolation that had been maintained between the game data and the open world. She had just about decided that surely Lin Hao was aware, and that perhaps the Emperor himself was part of the protective barrier, when the Jade Emperor asked her something.

"What?" Danika asked. It had sounded like he'd just asked what steampunk really was.

"What is the intent of the additions to the empire that are currently being constructed? The definition of steampunk does not seem to be related to the words that form it," the Emperor asked.

"Um, well, that's kind of true and kind of not. The steam comes from the most common type of engine available to power various machines in the era, and the punk is kind of," Danika stumbled over the word for a moment, and then she said, "rebellious. Not the kind of rebellion that creates wars, so much as a social one. A distinct clothing fashion worn by people who are supporting mechanical innovations, exploration of the world, and ummm…" she trailed off.

"A rebellion lead by the monarchy?" the Emperor asked with a puzzled expression.

Danika suddenly agreed with more enthusiasm, "Yes! It is kind of celebrating a time in history when some great leaders rebelled against 'how things have always been done' and invested large portions of their country's resources into innovations and improvements. They eventually changed everything from how sewage was handled, to common modes of transportation and communication, and the way goods were manufactured."

"This was an actual time in history and not just something from the legends of your world?" the Jade Emperor asked after a long moment.

"Well, kind of, it has become more of a legendary time that has many stories inspired by it that have nothing to do with actual history," Danika replied seriously.

"I understand," the Jade Emperor said calmly.

"I thought it suited the dwarves since they are already struggling to change," Danika added.

The Emperor shook his head and corrected her with amusement, "No, they have been struggling to avoid changing. They have been trying to return to 'the way things have always been done', so this endeavor to inspire the leaders to invest in innovation and improvement will truly be a revolution. It will be difficult to prevent the wars from erupting again, but it is indeed appropriate to their situation."

Danika gazed at him, aghast at the idea that trying to impose steampunk theming on a race was going to drive them back to war. But the traveling merchant was always very accurate, and she couldn't dismiss his warning, even if he was now wearing the emperor's clothes.

She stopped and sent messages to both Devon Yu and Lin Hao.

--

"She's apparently been using the new Emperor as a servant ever since he became available," Devon Yu informed Lin Hao with a chuckle.

"She always has," Lin Hao replied calmly. "She calls up an incarnation of The Traveling Merchant whenever she has questions about the game that her assistant can't answer well. Her assistant is developing an unusually large library too though. I don't know if it's because she began as a player or just the way she thinks."

"What do you think? Is the resumption of the dwarven wars a reason to scrap the idea and go back to the gnomes?" Devon Yu asked.

Lin Hao eyed the older man. "That smug expression says that you already have your own answer, so why are you asking me?"

Devon Yu's eyes lit up as he admitted, "I can think of a million fun quests involving espionage, resource accumulation, and automation. Stuff that has never really fit into the fantasy world we created."

Lin Hao shrugged. "He says it would be difficult to prevent the wars, not impossible." He spun his chair in his habitual fashion, even though it was a prop that didn't entirely suit the VR environment of his workspace. His toe gently touched the marble floor and brought him to a halt facing a screen that showed the inner courtyard of the Jade Palace. "Let's put the Emperor to work."

"You know, I think this is the first time I've ever liked the results of an advertising ploy," Devon Yu admitted with a chuckle.

"Liar," Lin Hao replied with amusement, "you love this game."

After a great deal of preparation, Danika begins her new digital dragon's life in a very small way.

They say the "Living Jade Empire" creates individualized quests. They say it can read your mind. They say you can find your heart's desire. They say that there's never been a game like it, and they're right but… they're also wrong.

The game is a data mine, built to retell the old tales that humans have been telling each other since language was invented. It doesn't read your mind, but it reads your search history, your favorites, and your blogs. The "Living Jade Empire" is literally crafted from fables, legends, fantasies, and maybe just a bit of stardust.

But in the end, will the game be able to figure out what Danika wants most? Will the desires of other players take priority? Or, will playing it change her, until she desires what it can give her?

A journey is always made up of many small steps, and this game has still only just begun.

Michael washed all the blood from last night off himself in the river those three wretch's told him about, at least that part of their statement was true. By then, it started to stick and harden, his clothes were stuck to his body, especially in his stab wound that still ached horribly, and felt worse when his clothes took the scab with them. By the time he finished cleaning of all the blood, making sure there wasn't any left on him that wasn't his own, the water around him was clouded a dark red. Clearly, he was stained with more blood than he knew about, and most of it wasn't his own. The stains in his clothes wouldn't wash out completely, leaving a dark red pattern all over his jacket and pants.

Michael couldn't help but think about what he had just done last night. He had unleashed the monster and killed three men. They may have been scum, they may have subjected many more before him to a far worse fate, but that didn't make him feel any better. Now he had some idea of how fearsome the monster inside really was, and he feared that by releasing it, even only once, it would only be a little bit of time before it took over entirely.

With all the blood washed off, and the sun finally shining, Michael could see good wounds from just a few hours ago. His hand was turning a horrible shade a purple, black close to the center. He could even see all the way through his own hand, one that Michael doubted would scab over, even if it was already starting to.

The wound in his chest didn't puncture a lung or his heart, but it ripped a somewhat sizeable hole. Michael could even see some of the rib that was scratched deeply by the knife.

With the excruciating pain in both his hand and chest, Michael redressed in his blood-soaked clothing and decided to move further along, hopefully, to find a town with a doctor before infection set in.

Michael got back to the road and went there same way he had been going, the bodies of the men he killed far behind him now. This route took him to a cliff side, the road barely big enough to allow one cart to pass at a time. Of course, the driver could not be allowed even a single mistake, lest they fall hundreds of feet. They wouldn't be able to count on trees below somehow cushioning their fall, because there was nothing down below except more rock, the horizon was just a barren wasteland, not a single plant or living thing in sight.

When Michael traversed the barren cliff side, there were thick woods surrounding both sides of the road. This worried Michael, with the plains, at least he'd be able to see what was coming, and nothing would attack him on the cliff side. But now, he was susceptible to anything jumping out at him from the bushes, be it a hungry wolf, an angry mountain lion, or even worse, some creature particular to this world, some horrible monster that could only be dreamed of in the darkest recesses of his mind. Perhaps that was a worse threat than any other human.

As the sun started to set, Michael exited the woods, relieved that nothing had happened while he was in them. Ahead, he finally saw some civilization.

There was a city if he kept going ahead, mostly smaller buildings, but a few giant skyscrapers filling the land. Bright lights painted an intricate portrait of it's layout, bright electric lights. Michael expected to be sometime in the medieval ages if he really was in a different world, considering that was the case in many similar stories, but this one seemed different. Not something new, like he'd see in normal modern ages, but these people had technology. Along with the aforementioned electric lights, there were also trains, guns, small rails to take people throughout the vast city, cars, and even, up above them, Zeppelins flying rather quickly to parts unknown.

Rather than a medieval world, one without any sort of helpful technology, Michael compared this one to a post-industrial era world, a steampunk world, if you will.

He took some time marveling at the city before the intense pain in his hand and chest reminded him that he came here for a reason. He went through the outskirts of the city, where some people tend to live isolated from the safety and security of the inner city, though it was clear that not many people actually lived there. When he got into the more industrialized parts of the city, it even felt warm, perhaps from all the steam coming off the primitive machinery that littered just about every corner.

Though Michael, hoped even, that someone might notice him with his many wounds, or even the still noticeable blood all over his clothes, not a single person did. The armed guards walked by without even looking at him, nobody noticed him and offered to get him to a hospital, even the wandering doctors didn't stop to look at him. He tried to get the attention of some people, but most pretended not to notice if he even made himself more present.

Perhaps he started to feel the infection in his wounds coming, but the trip there felt far more exhausting as it finally concluded, he felt nauseous and as if his body would give way any second.

Eventually, he couldn't take standing up and walking around any more. He knew someone else might try to rob him if he was caught alone, or he might be trampled if he collapsed on the street full of ignorant people. He looked through all the alleyways he passed by, before finding one that no one else had claimed, no vagrants like him, or workers maintaining the machinery. He got out of sight of the crowd in the rest of the city and slumped down against the ground. If someone was going to rob him in his sleep, let them. If his infection would prove to be too much, he didn't care. He just wanted to fall asleep.

Michael had always been aware that a monster was inside of him. He's not a violent person, but for whatever reason, he's often struggled to fight the urges that nearly drive him to madness, and has spent most of his life isolated from the others to avoid hurting them.

One night, a strange voice asks him if he would choose a different life, one more suited to the kind of person he is. Thinking nothing of it, he says yes, and wakes up to find himself in an unfamiliar place. But this is different from all the other times, he's in an entirely different world.

One would think it would be a chance to escape from his horrible life, but this new life seems even more horrible, filled with endless horrors that dig deeper down into his already damaged psyche.

He sets out to find a way back home, while keeping his own darkness at bay, lest it unleashes the monster inside.

Percy Jackson left the library and started his short walk home. He tilted his head back as his mind started to wander to earlier this day. When he was a kid his name didn't give him much trouble, but as he started to grow up that changed.

Middle school was the beginning of his name teasing. Percy was annoyed at his parents. They didn't have the balls to take care of him and they chose his name from a frickin fantasy book. Of course, there could have been extenuating circumstances but he doubted that when the couple entered the orphanage in a tuxedo and a dress. When he got to high school, the teasing lowered a lot but it was still there. He was already in a terrible mood today, because he found out that he was being moved to a different orphanage at the end of the week. Then Flash and his gang of dunderheads started their teasing. Eventually, it lead to a fight, but since it was the end of the day, they didn't get in into too much trouble.

Percy shook his head and looked forward. He noticed a new shop next to the Jamba Juice he always passes by. He checked his watch and saw that he still had half an hour, so he entered it. Looking around he saw Benedict Cumberbatch(?) behind the counter. The man gets up and walks around to the front. Percy does a once over, the man was wearing steampunk-type clothing. He also had a metal hand and was holding a cane.

"Hello, how may I help you?", he said. "What kind of shop is this?", Percy asked. "This shop sells anything you could ever desire. Whether it's an item, knowledge, power, or even a reality. Within moral reason of course.", he says. Obviously Percy understood what he was saying, and he didn't really believe it; but he couldn't help feel just a tiny bit of hope and excitement.

(Percy POV)
"Prove it." I burst out. I was slowly starting to realize who the man might be. The man smiles and starts to teleport around the room. "Professor Paradox", I whisper. Paradox's smile widens, "Finally! So let's skip the formalities, What do you desire?", he asks. I thought about this before as a kid, so I told him. "I want an Omnitrix, I want to be an Osmosian, and I want to go to a Marvel Cinematic Universe." He goes over to a shelf of vials filled with different colored liquids. He picks one and gives it to me, without hesitation I down it in one gulp. And then I black out.

An AU no-watch Ben gets transported to the MCU with an Omnimatrix. Villains think they can do anything, not on his watch. It's Hero Time

no update schedule. I update when I want to but never will I drop it.

I was given a spacious room. Since I don't own anything, my room had a bed(about twin size I believe), a dresser, a table, and some chairs.
I turned around and Shikkoku flew past me. She hopped onto the bed and immediately fell asleep.
"Hey! That's my bed! I'm supposed to be the one to sleep on it first!"
Damn it, the large cat beat me to it. Looks like I wasn't the only one excited to sleep on a bed.
I opened the curtain and looked down at the streets. I expected a lot of people to pass by until I remembered I was in the wealthy district where it's almost empty.
Now that we got here, what to do now? I haven't really planned anything before I got here.
Wait a minute, how am I going to level up from now on? I've only taken down weak monsters in the local forest but now I'm in a city with no monsters at all. I did not think this through.
But wait, if there is a merchant's guild, then maybe there is an adventurer's guild! But I didn't see one when we entered.
Maybe I should ask the old man.
"Hey old man, you got a minute?" I asked as I opened the door to his room. The old man turned around and smiled.
"Yes?"
"Is there a place where I can do quests, like… an adventurer's guild?"
The old man raised an eyebrow, "Adventurer's guild? You want to become an adventurer?"
"Exactly!"
"Hmm, are you sure though? I mean being an adventurer will be challenging for someone like you?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well, it's recommended for some to be at least spiritual level before becoming an adventurer. You are still at vintage so it's going to be extremely challenging for you."
"Wait, you know what soul rank I am?"
"Hmm? Of course, everyone knows them."
"Wait so if you know my soul rank, what is yours?"
The old man put his finger on his lips, "Let's keep that a secret."
I gulped. If I were to guess, he'd probably be omnipotent or something like that. But to think the soul rank system is common knowledge.
"But here is the thing, if I don't kill monsters, how will I be able to level up my soul rank?"
"You… have a good point there. But are you sure? You know it's a dangerous job. Not even I wanted to become an adventurer."
"Huh? You weren't an adventurer? Then what were you?"
"Again, let's keep my information a secret."
Stupid old man, won't tell me stuff. Likes to keep his information private. It's not like I'm going to spread it or anything. I swear I won't. On god and on my moth- oh wait I don't have a mother in this world.
…
Anyway.
"Well then, if you are going to become an adventurer, then you'll need some armor." The old got up from his seat and walked towards me. He slipped past me and went towards the stairs to the first floor. He turned around and beckoned me.
"Nero."
"Yes, grandpa?"
"Will you be kind enough to provide a combat suit for Yamato?"
"A combat suit? I can do it but I'll need to take his measurements first."
"Oh, and also, use expandable material when you make his clothes."
"Why?"
"Well…" The old man would turn towards me, "Mind demonstrating?"
"Huh? You want me to-"
"Yes."
Well I guess there is no helping it. It is only just us three right now.
Deactivate double edge mode please.
[Deactivating Double Edge Mode.]
Shine!
"Whoa! Amazing…" Nero said, astonished.
When the light died down, I was in my original form. Nero was now shorter than me, if I'm gonna guess, he was probably 180 cm. Anyway, now that I was in this form again, my clothes were torn since they only fit my human form.
"I see, I see. Follow me, I'll have to take your measurements. Both your measurements as this and the former."
Nero opened the door to what looked like a fitting room and I followed him in.
So the measurement process took quicker than I expected. I expected him to bring out that measuring tape and measure my arms but instead he just wore some glasses. Then he just spouted out numbers which sounded pretty correct. At first I didn't believe him until he brought out the measuring tape. That's when I believed him.
"Wow, that's impressive! How d'you do that?"
"Well, it's a special gift. I can measure anything as long as I can see it clearly. I'm a bit blind so I have to wear glasses for the gift to work."
"Interesting."
Next he had to take my measurements in double edge mode since that's how my uniform is going to start with. I'm interested in how my outfit should look.
"Wait, can I choose what colors and style I want?"
"Well if you want, then alright. What colors do you want specifically?"
[Scarlet!]
A voice shouts in my head. God damn it Pharaoh! You didn't need to shout in my head.
[Apologies.]
"Scarlet, and black I guess."
"Ok, and your style?"
"What styles are there?"
"Well since I'm making you armored clothing, it's either lightweight, heavy, and if you want fashion, then there is formal, steampunk-"
"Is there a trench coat? I want a trench coat. Oh, and for the inside, I want a slim black dress shirt. Maybe add a red tie. Oh, and also some gloves, fingerless if you can. For pants, I want steampunk. And boots-"
"You want long combat boots?"
"You read my mind."
"I like your style. If only I wasn't so afraid of fighting then I would definitely wear what you suggested," He said while scratching his chin, "So then, lightweight or heavy?"
"Like armor? Then light."
After Nero took my measurements and wrote them down, we went out of the fitting room and I was given some spare clothes.
"Well then, your clothes will be ready by tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? That quickly?"
"Mhm."
"Wow. I can't wait to see how it turns out."
After I went back into double edge mode, I went back up to my room. Looking out the window, it was already getting dark. Well, we did take a long time to get here.
"Well then, sweet dreams Shikkoku." I patted Shikkoku who was sleeping next to me. And then I fell asleep.
***
The next morning, I was waken up by a cane in my face.
"OW! What the hell old man!?" I yelled as I held my nose. I think he just broke it. I can definitely feel pain.
"Oh stop whining. Get up, try your new clothes."
"Huh?"
Nero appeared behind the old man with a suitcase with my clothes in his hand. I don't think the suitcase was needed but alright.
"Here you go." Nero said as he placed the case on the table. I walked over and opened it up.
Sure enough, inside was exactly what I ordered.
"Try it on."
***
I looked at myself in the mirror and boy was I rocking. The long black coat had red inner linings, some red feather patterns on the back of the coat and the arm sleeves, and also the zipper. It also came with a hood. Inside I was wearing a slim black dress shirt with a red tie, my pants were steampunk style like I imagined, and I had boots which reached up to my shin. Let's not forget about the black fingerless gloves.
I strapped Peacemonger on my back and looked at myself in the mirror again. Sure enough, I looked ready to fight.
"Alright, this came out better than I expected. Though I must ask, why are there red feather patterns? Not that I'm complaining but I'm just curious."
"Well you see, those are suppose to represent an angel's feather. According to our family history, our progenitor's clothes were made from an angel's feather. Since you wanted red, I made it red for you."
"Huh? Well that's kinda cool."
"Now then, if you would turn into your other form. I still need to see if it fits or not."
I exited out of double edge form and looked at myself in the mirror. Even though I became taller and muscular, it was still a perfect size. Even the boots though I didn't know how that was able to expand.
"Alright, it fits perfectly. When you return into your other form, it will constrict to fit your size."
I returned into double edge mode(or human form) and sure enough, my clothes tightened to fit my size. How convenient.
"So then, I guess I should head out now. You know where the adventurer guild is?" I asked the old man who was sitting on the stairs.
"Head to the north of the city, that's where the adventurer's guild is. Remember to bring your Id, maybe bring Shikkoku with you while you're at it. Panthers need to stretch daily. So take her for a walk."
"A walk? What is she, a dog?"
Shikkoku hissed at my response, "No offense."
I opened the door and walked out with Shikkoku following me.
"Well then, guess I'll head out now."
I waved and left.
Now then…
Where is the north part of the city?
.
.
.

Yamato was pretty much an average boy. He had perfect grades, good looks, has otaku hobbies, etc. 

Yamato yearns for true love and wants to die with his virginity taken away, but sadly his life was taken away too early by the infamous truck-kun, as usual.

He wants to die peacefully but you know the rules and so do I. He gets reincarnated into another world with a system.

Once he gets the handle of the system that he was granted with, he begins journeying into the unknown...

However... he's a monkey... and that pisses him off...

---------------------------------------------------------

Cover doesn't belong to me(Obviously)

In the evening, a Chevrolet pickup and a Land Rover arrived at the side of the Steampunk Hotel.
The pickup opened up, and the plump Rambis jumped out from the passenger side with a thump. He then opened the back door of the truck, and Carl, who had a small mustache, appeared with a solemn look.
"Are you sure that Hans and that Chinese man are staying here?" Carl asked.
Rambis patted his strong wide chest and said, "Yes, brother-in-law. I swear that those two sons of b*tches are staying here."
Carl nodded his head, as Rambis said in a praise-seeking tone, "And I even know which room they are staying in. Bedes, that jerk, has an exclusive room for them."
These words made Carl look even more solemn. Bedes was a scheming chap, and very good at managing his relationships with treasure hunters. He generally only kept the exclusive rooms for customers he deemed valuable.
Anyhow, he, as a potential member of the Hundred Thousand Club, had never been given an exclusive room. This made him detest Li Du and Hans even more.
The Land Rover behind them opened up, and four strong black men walked out. Leading the way was a black man covered with tattoos; he had a nose ring, earrings, and a lip ring. Coupled with the look of disdain in his eyes, there was an unruly air about him. "Frank, Bill—are they here?" he asked.
The man named Bill's expression twisted. He smiled and said, "Yes, buddy. Later, let's find a reason to get into a conflict with them, then teach these two sons of b*tches a lesson."
The man with the piercings nodded his head. "A country bumpkin and a Chinaman? I hope that our men do not use too much force and end up killing them."
Rambis informed the four men of the room number. He and Carl could not go up; after all, it was not a respectable matter to speak of.
Looking at the four black men leaving, Carl sighed and said, "I hope that they do not go overboard. In fact, I don't like to resort to violence for business dealings."
Rambis said, "Brother-in-law, it is them who have gone too far. These two b*stards tricked us twice, and then had the nerve to come to Phoenix. This is provoking us!"
The four men entered the hotel, and went straight to the second floor.
Nick, who was drying the cups, saw them and asked with a frown, "Hey, you guys there, what are you doing here?"
"Looking for someone," the man with the piercings said the three words coolly, and was expressionless the whole time.
As he found the room number that Rambis gave, a loud noise could be heard coming from the room.
"Perfect—say that the noise was disturbing us, and let's get these idiots!" The man with the piercings smiled icily, stretched his hand out, and banged on the door violently.
"Who is that?" Hans asked impatiently.
He was impatient because he was busy doing something.
Godzilla's bed was too small. Li Du saw that he was not sleeping comfortably, and so negotiated with Bedes to let Godzilla stay over. They were going to put the two beds together, and let Godzilla lie on the floor.
Bedes had agreed. However, all the metal beds in Steampunk were put together using steel, and were extremely heavy.
Even with the humanoid beast Godzilla's strength, it was still very exhausting for the three of them to move the beds.
Hearing that there were sounds from the room, the man with the piercings banged harder on the door.
Hans was irritated, and said, "You guys keep going. I will go and get the door."
Godzilla nodded. He grasped one of the legs of the metal bed with both hands, gathered his strength, and began moving the bed with a puff.
At this time, the room door opened. The man with the piercings was the first to dash in. His head was confidently raised, but then he saw Godzilla, whose muscles were all bulging.
At this time, Godzilla was holding up the metal bed; his upper-body muscles were pumping with blood, and bulging like thick, hard rocks. The greenish veins on his thick neck were protruding as though there was a soon-to-erupt volcano hiding within it.
Hearing the knocking at the door, Godzilla had turned his head unconsciously to take a look. Due to the burden of the excess weight on his muscles, he appeared brutally fierce with the hideous expression of him gritting his teeth. Even Li Du, who was familiar with him, was a little afraid of his appearance.
Upon seeing Godzilla, the man with the piercings widened his eyes; the muscles at the sides of his mouth quivered uncontrollably, and he suddenly felt like peeing.
The other three men did not enter, but they knew the principle of stalling, and began to shout from outside the door, "Frank, why was it noisy? I see you are…"
"I see you are moving the bed in here? Ha-ha! No wonder there was a loud noise. Do the three of you need help? Come, come, come—you guys, come and give a hand—let's help out." The man with the piercings, Frank, had quickly interrupted his men, his expression changing rapidly while talking; shifting from that of a cold-blooded killer to that of a fawning waiter.
Outside, his three men were confused. What did their boss mean?
However, after they saw Godzilla upon entering the room, they instantly understood their boss's good intentions, and quickly added on, "Right, right, right—let's help and do it together."　　
"What should we do with the bed? The sooner we can finish, the sooner there will be no noise."
"Sh*t, we thought the sound we heard was not right, and so came to ask if you need help."
After hearing them out, Li Du actually thought that the noise they had created had caused a disturbance. "I'm really sorry, we are almost done."
Godzilla was left alone to carry the bed, so he had to exert even more strength. With the increased pressure on his body, the look in his eyes was fiercer, and his expression more aggressive.
At this sight, Frank had an even stronger urge to pee. He quickly said, "It's nothing–come, come, come–we will give you a hand and help to move this bed over."
With the help from the four strong men, the heavy bed could finally be moved.
Having shifted the first metal bed toward the window, the second metal bed's position also needed to be shifted.
This work was indeed tedious. Godzilla took off his vest, and prepared to give it his all.
With his singlet removed, the tattoo on his chest could be seen. It was the image of an eagle holding the stalk of a brightly-colored flower.
On seeing the tattoo, Li Du said, "This guy is cool. What is the significance?"
Godzilla twitched his nose and said, "A golden eagle holding a poppy. Previously, just to get meals and get by in the gang, everyone would get this tattoo."
Frank carefully examined the tattoo, then quickly lowered his head, as though worried that Godzilla would notice him.
The seven of them worked together, and the second bed was finally moved to the side, leaving a big space on the floor.
Frank asked cautiously, "Is it over?"
Li Du laughed and said, "Yes, it's over. I'm very grateful for your help. I guess I should buy you all drinks as thanks."
"Not necessary, not necessary. People should always help one another. We should go now," said Frank, shaking his head vigorously as he walked out.
After he was out of the door, he took to his heels, speeding down the hall.
Li Du closed the door and said, "We Chinese have a saying not to judge one by one's look: 'Seawater cannot be measured by a bushel.' Those men may look fierce, but they are quite kind."
Hans was puzzled and said, "I'm still unsure what is going on. They pushed me when I opened the door. I thought they were going to pick a fight."
The four black men felt relieved after they ran out of the hotel. One man, who had a head of hair that was dyed white, was not pleased, and said, "Boss, we should not be scared…"
"Who was scared? Was Boss scared? Boss merely did not want to create too much trouble," another black man said.
Frank waved his hand and said, "All of you, shut up! I was indeed scared, but you guys thought I was scared of that big lump? Sh*t, I was afraid of the tattoo on his chest! I'm scared of the power behind him!"
"What's with the tattoo? I have a bald eagle on my chest as well."
"Damn retard!"


They love gold, and they love silver. Even more so, they love gems that dazzle, like stars across the skies. 
Firearms, jewelleries, and precious metals; A collector’s world will not be complete without antiques.  
Storage auctions, old goods trade, re-estate sales and gold-digging. But the truth is, if one wants to make money, then the supreme way is through searching for the legendary treasures. 
Holding the fort, there’s an ocelot, a wolf, and an Andes condor. At the side, there’s a loyal hound, an irascible ape, and an African honey badger. Who said that you can only rely on humans when treasure hunting?! 

The cylindrical metal pillars descending around Wecha were like open floodgates for the rats to swarm out from. And unlike the Demons from Metropolis, these Demon Rats were armed to the teeth (literally). 
Hundreds of these monstrous steampunk infused machinery rats were dangerously strong just from the looks of it. From heavy armoured steampunk suits to large cannons on their backs, a majority of the Demon rats were upgraded at least once more for this particular assault to remove the last few bastions of humanity.
Even Silver believed that standard swords and shields would be indefinitely useless against them. However, the rats hadn't yet realised that their enemy was also quite the unconventional bunch of soldiers.
Similar to the Orcs' arsenal, the militia had infused inscription charm weaponry that allowed them to change their swords into rifles. Unfortunately, there was a drawback to the militia's weaponry. 
In order to prevent the rat from taking away the weapons after defeating their owner, the System and Jin had decided that those weapons needed to be imprinted on their users.
In essence, this meant that they had to sacrifice a portion of their lifeline to activate the inscription charms for the weapons to change into modern rifles capable of fighting evenly with the steampunk rats. In short, sacrificing their blood and body to activate the charms for a shot at fighting against the rats.
It was harsh and cruel but because barely any humans in the Farming World were trained in the ways of magic, resorting to this type of blood magic had been deemed the easiest implementation. Initially there was resistance in getting them to use those until Gold had convinced them with a demonstration of their firepower. Able to easily pierce into the cast iron used by Demon Rats' steampunk armour, the townsfolk realised they finally had a fighting chance against them.
The inscription charms were also numbered and indexed by the system, enabling it to track the citizens on a grand scale and deactivating those weapons upon their death. In addition, there was a surprise waiting for the rats who thought it would be a good idea to pick up the militia's weapon for their own use.
Upon illegal usage of the weapons, the System was able to self detonate the weapons, causing damage to the rats who held onto them. Meanwhile, Ayse had devised an even more sinister way of exploiting this looting issue. She had proposed to place an additional inscription which would possess such a rat and brainwash it to fight for Jin momentarily. Unfortunately, the project could not be completed in time because of this unexpected invasion.
There was, however, a sort of saving grace from the blood magic. By sacrificing a portion of their life, the System had added their identities into its database in case some of them were not able to sign a contract with the System in time. This meant that the militia would not die in vain as the System had acquired their DNAs and souls through the weapons.
This was actually in lieu with Jin and his monsters plans for a full-on offence against the rats once they discovered all of their many hiding areas with the help of Peppers' legendary Scan magic. Regrettably, he had never expected that the rats would have the first blood by attacking Wecha so quickly despite what they had deemed sufficient surveillance through the help of his monsters.
The citizens who had collected their weaponry and basic armour from the various provisional armoury camps quickly mounted the nearest defensive walls. Usually, chaos would ensue with this kind of sortie, but all the officers in command were the Jacks who had been the ones to train them.
With the aid of the System, it was easier to coordinate the sortie, and the militias were able to get deployed in time. 
Meanwhile, the Demon Rats began banging themselves against the energy shield until they realised that each touch of the shield would result in a minute explosion, blasting them away from the shield. Demon Rats who being mechanised to have battering rams tried their luck too but to their surprise, those battering rams broke down from the knock back explosion. Ranged projectiles also proved to be rather futile as well but some officers knowing that no shield is perfect, commanded its warriors to keep the pressure up.
Just as anyone might expect from Peppers, even her shield had an explosive blowback feature, and all those previous bursts of high intensity magic in the various wars allowed her to better control the mana output to the shield. She had dubbed it the Living Barrier of Explosions as she could instantly detect the coordinates where the contact read and release an explosion accordingly.
Nevertheless, her body was still itching to blast that big fat juicy target dangling above her despite knowing it would be detrimental for the entire town. "Arghhh why do I have to be stuck with guard duty!" Peppers grumbled since offence was always the best defence in her books.
It seemed as if Wecha was not the only target the Rats had in mind as guards from Wecha's watchtowers reported that a sizeable force of rats was assembling towards the direction of the remaining seaport where the bulk of the Northern Bulwark Army was stationed at.
"We will definitely incur some losses, but at least we should have time to shore up the defences at the seaport. Admiral Focalor, I hope we can count on your expertise in handling a harbour defence." Jin said through the System Channel and the Tiefling noble immediately obliged.
"Less than a month and we have our debut fight? Master, I am already liking you!" Focalor replied with excitement ringing in his heart.
"Unfortunately, I do not have any ships to spare at the moment. Wolte, can you lend a hand for this?" Jin questioned, but to his surprise, the slug had already taken the initiative to be on his way to the Northern Seas.
"On it, although I might not be as powerful as I was in Pandapolis since I am currently not connected to Shadow Dagen," Wolte answered after he transformed into Stalingrad while sounding his horn as an arriving signal to the seaport.
"I could possibly get a ship or two from Northern Bulwark General Matt, but they are definitely not as well equipped as Leviathan or her counterparts." Due to the advance warning, Gold had also teleported to the harbour town to inform General Matt Umiterus about the incoming attack. With the information on hand, General Matt immediately began evacuating the elderly into a ship so that they could be shipped out.
"No problem, we are pirates at heart. Any ship in our possession will become a beast." Captain Kenway boasted with pride as he rallied his demon sailors with him.
"Can we hurry it up? My men are dying to try out your weapons after experiencing their fearsome firepower first hand." Captain Edwards asked with equally pounding enthusiasm.
"Boss, am I going to be left out again?" Mr Derpy asked despite getting involved in the previous raid yet he never truly got a chance to shine.
"You kidding me? Right now, I think you are the best candidate for an assault against the floating fortress! Pepper's shield won't last forever, and since they are desperate to clear us off the Northern Region, we shall entertain them as much." Jin replied as he was worried that the rats might try to crash into it as a desperate attempt to finish the rebels.
"You mean you want me to assault the fortress?" Mr Derpy was finally elated that he had an important job to do.
"Not only that, but I might also want you to carry an important individual or two for them to invade their flying capital," Jin added and Derpy was all pumped out.
"Boss, now might be a good time to inform you that my team and I have refitted a couple of the C130s as part of a research project for our own homegrown spaceships. They should be good enough to get used as attack crafts for artillery support, but I'll need to have One Orc Artillery Company to fill the numbers and man the equipment." Rei suddenly spoke out, and Jin was delighted to hear that.
The dungeon supplier could have used the Clay Dragon again, but apparently, the rune stone powers had dried up from the constant use, and Jespa had yet to refill the runestone since she was ensuring Pandjilla, the first clay statue to become sentient, continued to work perfectly fine.
"That's great to hear, Rei. I will get back to you if I need to use them. Qiu Yue, how's the preparation of the ground troops?" Jin asked as he opened several interfaces and noted the possible choke points that could be created to block the rats once the energy shield was down.
"Waiting for your command." Qiu Yue reported as she too was anticipating to be teleported.


In a modern world where cultivators need a place to cultivate or vent their boredom, there are private businesses that set up instance dungeons with the aid of technology and cultivation magic to enable cultivators to train and commoners to experience the life of cultivation. They are called dungeon suppliers.

Xie Jin's one and only dream was to be a dungeon supplier and when his only relative passed away, the relative's inheritance gave him a plot of land and surprisingly, a 'System' Module which the relative had previously used. 

With the help of the system, Xie Jin decided to pursue his dream of becoming the number one dungeon supplier.

-----------
(13/8/2020) Author's opinion: At this point, this book had hundreds of chapters worth of content which I had planned for a long time. If you wish to undertake the book and appreciate the story, please read it up till chapter 300s to understand the sudden twist in chapter 100s.

i will admit that during that time, I am still a young budding author and could have expressed the story better in the early hundred chapters. But I assure you the story development is worth it. 




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