5 Chapter 5: Challenges, Trials, and a Quest.

I sat at the table in my house glaring at the sandwich on the table.

[Observe]

Sandwich (Common)

A basic bitch mediocre sandwich made by Tavish Byrne. Is extremely bland.

I apparently neglected the skill in my rush to make and design machines. I knew that the skill was an indicator of how well I can cook, but I didn't realize I was this bad.

Cooking (9/100) Common

I cooked in my previous life, and I was decent at it. I could at least appreciate my own food. But this?! This is like eating a flavorless brick.

I just wanted a good sandwich, I even splurged a little and got some meat and cheese, I even sampled it before I put it in the sandwich, and it tasted delicious. But the second that I assembled the two between two slices of bread, it lost all of that flavor.

The cup of tea I made earlier was probably the only palatable part of the meal. Unfortunately, there was little in the way of variety to drink inside the walls. There was wine, beer, water, and tea. Juice and Milk were horrendously expensive and hard liquor is next to nonexistent. I tried that stuff that Pixis kept in a flask and it tasted awful.

I glance down at the tea in my cup and swirl it a bit watching it spin a little before settling down.

Maybe what's stopping that is the lack of resources and growing space. Honestly, I would kill for a good cup of coffee or a decent mead or something other than this crap. Hell, I would settle for better quality tea if it would mean something different.

But wait! If resources are the issue, I have my subterranean farms! I haven't focused on growing hops or anything for aspects outside of feeding people. Seeds for various crops are fairly inexpensive in the gamers shop, and it costs next to nothing to keep expanding underground. Now I just need to figure out how to distil and brew.

I take another sip from my cup of tea and grimace at the taste. While that is a good plan for the future, it still doesn't solve my here and now. And while I could just buy what I need from the gamer shop, I don't want to just buy a bottle of something and call it good.

If only the Marley agents brought something . . . .

Wait, what did they bring? I never actually figured out what was in their cargo. I just kind of assumed that the stuff we seized was gear that they were planning on using against that village. Most of it is still sitting in a warehouse at the foundry for study.

[Christa's POV]

I had dissected one of the grenades left by the Marleyan agents. While the stick grenades were a good concept, they were easy to set off. The grenades manufactured for the thumper were far superior in that aspect but maybe we should look at adapting some hand grenades for infantry use, if we ever get an infantry that is.

I look up and see Tavish scamper into the room. He was vibrating with visible excitement as he started digging through the Marleyan equipment.

Tavish was an enigma. His actions at times seemed completely random but with focus. His ideas were both insane, yet revolutionary. You could already see the effects of his actions around Trost. His invention of "lightbulbs" and "electricity" brought light to the darkness of the night. Areas once lit or warmed by fire were getting replaced with lightbulbs or heaters. This was causing a new spark of life to revitalize Trost. The site of his machines signified the promise of a better tomorrow.

When it came to his ideas for weapons and military applications, his concepts were downright terrifying. The guns he devised were both highly efficient and lethal to both titans and humans, yet the machines he created surpassed even his newest rifle designs.

He had the tech-priests working around the clock on these huge machines in a nearby cleared field, the skeletal frames gleaming in the sun. One was partially completed and roughly the size of a small house, I could see the tech-priests welding wings onto its frame. The second machine was almost double the size of the Trost fort and well over three times as long. I had no idea how he was planning on getting that machine to move. The engines going into it were truly massive compared to the engines he developed for motorcycles or trucks.

Those had turned into a common site on the streets for most military movement. The motorcycles couldn't be used well by scouts due to the nature of the terrain outside the walls, instead they were using the cargo trucks in place of carts and were slowly going through the process of switching to a Panzerhund mount.

He finally dug up a pot with a long press in the top, letting out a cheer. He searched around in that crate till he frowned and switched to a new one, and continued digging through their supplies. What was he after now?

[Time Skip]

[Eldian Prisoner]

My heart filled with dread as the boat docked with the island and we beheld the massive wall. This is where I, and fifty other children of Ymir, were to be executed.

I was a carpenter before all this, quietly practicing my trade in the internment zone. I made a decent living until a rival reported me as a rebel sympathizer.

My case was ramrodded through the court system and before I knew it, myself, as well as my family were being shipped to Paradis Island where we would be transformed into Titans.

We are shepherded onto the docks by the soldiers and slowly make our way towards the wall. As we draw closer, I can see a series of red clocked figures lining the top of the wall. They were all holding rifles of some sort. At first, I thought they were guards that were sent ahead but I could hear the murmurs of unease from the soldiers nearby.

Suddenly, gunshots and shouts echoed out from behind us and I turn to see winged beings wearing those same red cloaks engaged with the crews of the ships behind us. They were armed with these advanced looking rifles and their feet end in very sharp looking talons.

A metallic voice echo's out around the area, causing a halt in the soldier's actions.

-"Salutations soldiers of Marley. My designation is Magos Explorator Arcothiva, or Magos Arcothiva for short. I would like to discuss with you the terms of your surrender." –

I turn back around and almost jump. Not twenty yards away was another red cloaked figure, this one bearing several mechanical arms and devices on his back, his hands clutching a large battle-axe. Small sparks of energy jumping between the teeth of the cog-like blade. He was surrounded by a squad of figures bearing rifles and blades of an unknown origin, their eyes shining blue from under their hoods.

The Marley Commander shakily breathes in and asked; "And if we refuse?"

Laughter echoed from the figures around us. I move closer to my wife and children.

-"I apologize for the confusion. This is not a choice. We do not negotiate with the terrorist state of Marley. You will be releasing your prisoners into our custody, and you and your men will be taken as prisoners. You will then answer any and all questions asked of you by the Eldian nation. Should you not comply with any of these steps, we will use lethal force against any and all enemy combatants. A peaceful solution will result in you being treated humanely and with respect. If you choose a more violent path, we will treat you like the war criminals you are for the aiding and abetting of the genocide of the Eldian people for the last 100 years after our withdrawal from the war. Choose wisely commander, I am not a patient being."- Magos Arcothiva stated.

Gasps echo from the other prisoners with me and some of the soldiers turn white at the implications. For years, we had been told that the islanders were ignorant devils. They never ventured out this far due to the presence of transformed Eldians keeping them behind their walls. The fact that they knew who we are and at least part of what's going on back in Marley, gave me just a sliver of hope that we could make it out alive after all.

[Time Skip]

[Tavish POV]

The Magos reported in as soon as his capture was successful. He also requested reinforcements to help modify their battleships and establish a forward outpost on the top of the wall. Thanks to his exploration we now had an almost perfect map of the area outside of the walls. The regular Skitarii patrols allowed for new territory to be recovered by the day, we even uncovered old abandoned mines that helped us acquire more material. The Pteraxii Skystalkers proved invaluable in taking the Marleyan ships. I take a sip from my cup of coffee and I glance at my newly acquired French press.

That coffee machine and the copious amounts of coffee beans that I acquired from the Marleyan agent's supplies was truly the highlight of my week. It was a flavor that I truly missed from reincarnating. It was made all the better by our newest breakthrough. I finally finished my titan extractor, designed to remove one of the nine titans from a human and turn it into a serum.

Zeke was my first test subject, and through him I was able to refine my process so I wouldn't cripple the wielders. So far, I have the Cart, Beast, Jaw, Attack and Founding titans removed from their holders and the serums stored safely in my inventory.

Annie was now laying on the table to have her titan extracted. I managed to reach an agreement with her that basically guaranteed her noninvolvement with Marley. She agreed to bow out of the conflict in exchange for her father and resettlement on Paradis.

"So, who will be getting my titan?" Annie questions.

"No one. If I had it my way, none of the nine titans will ever see combat again." I state as the machine dings and opens revealing a container full of serum. "Alright Annie, your free to go."

"Just like that?" She asked in surprise.

"Just like that." I affirm.

She nods, gets up, and leaves the room. Annie was always a woman of few words. Her ingenuity in simple refinement of the various idea's submitted to the engineering core has provided me with a little extra spare time on my hands.

This spare time resulted in the various circles and high Gallifreyan written throughout the room. I finally got the chance to study the big book of time and space, and boy was it a revelation. The language of the time lords was central in everything they did, from math, to science, and engineering. Each series of circles, when drawn in sequence, allowed for a Time Lord to subtly draw in ambient energies to manipulate things around them. This enabled the Time Lords to accomplish dimensional engineering, and pave the way for their ability to travel in time.

Within the walls of a Tardis, there was over twenty-seven million separate sequences that enabled the functionality of a Tardis. This is separate from the controls that allow it to travel through time and space. That ambient energy, allowed for sentience once a Tardis travelled enough or reach a certain age.

I however, am nowhere near that advanced. I have managed to expand the size of this room by roughly 1.5 times its original size, and even then, I can hear the room settle from time to time as it absorbed the ambient energy its drawing in.

On a different note, I technically prevented Eren from starting the rumbling, does that mean mission accomplished?

[You have most of the objectives for that quest registered. Do you want to turn in the quest?]

"No, I have a few things left before I actually want to turn in that quest." Something has been bothering me though. I expected the interior police to have shown up by now and try to kill me or shut me down, yet they have done neither.

In fact, I haven't heard about their actions for weeks. You could follow along in the news and generally track what crimes they were behind, but they have been silent for weeks. This was highly unusual, they never stop doing something, so what were they doing?

I walked out into the main work shop and could see Mina working on Bastion. Ganymede was perched on her head as she fastened cargo pouches to his front on certain unoccupied spaces. Bastion's hat looked familiar but I couldn't quite place where I remembered it.

"Hey Bastion, can I see your hat for a moment?" I question.

He tilts his head to the side and nods. I remove the hat and examine it. There aren't that many brimmed hats that are this nice, and I know Bastion doesn't have any money, so how did he get it? I flip the hat over and look on the inside and see a name scrawled inside the brim in neat handwriting.

Kenny Ackermann

I slowly hand the hat back to Bastion.

"Thank you, Bastion."

He whistles back appreciatively and places the hat squarely back on top of his head.

Well, that's one mystery solved.

[Hidden Quest completed]

The Secret Police

Objective: Defang the nobles of their secret hit squad. Neutralize Kenny Ackermann and the interior police directly or indirectly.

Rewards: 1 x Blueprint pack, 1,000,000 XP, $10,000, 2 x Challenge Tokens

This was interesting. I guess I can get extra goodies depending on how I play the game right Iris?

[Yup]

I pull out the challenge token and use observe.

Challenge Token

A consumable that allows the gamer to complete a challenging event. Has the potential to yield high rewards. Be sure to be thoroughly prepared before attempting as the challenge could take place anywhere.

Well, this is something I am absolutely using in the near feature. I am probably going to gear up to do just that. I am honestly exhausted by all the paperwork required to run a regiment and I could use a break. I tried to delegate the work to a tech-priest and it worked fine at first, until Rico found out. It was then forbidden for me to delegate these "sensitive documents" to my machines.

Honestly, Rico needs to lighten up a little. I think that she is just jealous of my ability to delegate paperwork like that.

Regardless, I decided to gear up for a challenge. With the neural link provided by the pilot helmets, we were able to successfully implement servo harnesses without the need for the invasive surgery required for augmentation. This did require me to modify the helmet of the praetor suit to a pilot helmet in order to interface. The harness granted me four extra limbs to work with that folded into a metal backpack when not in use.

The upper two arms were equipped with a storm shield/ Harkonnen combo, the massive length of the barrels collapsing into itself behind the shield. I honestly wanted to figure out if it would actually work or not so I am bringing it along to test out. The bottom two arms were equipped a little differently. My right arm was a servo arm with an omni tool attachment, while the other has been attached to a multi-melta. I placed my ODM in my inventory since I couldn't use it in conjunction with the harness.

I also packed an emergency duffle and medical supplies. I didn't know where I would end up and I couldn't guarantee that I would go somewhere without people. I have most of my stuff in my inventory, but the duffle will give me an excuse if I have to grab something.

It's night by the time I finish grabbing stuff. Everybody has gone home for the day and I was ready to depart.

Hey Iris, will anyone notice my absence?

[No, the challenge usually takes place in another world. Anytime a gamer leaves a world that is not his home world, time pauses for that world. It resumes normally upon your return.]

Alright good to know. I look down at the challenge token in my hands. It gently shifted, its surface switching to different images seemingly at random. One picture had a battle of machines versus humans, another showed a gameshow of some sort, yet another portrayed an alien invasion. Whatever the case, I hope I was ready. I snapped the token in half releasing a burst of energy that condensed into a portal. It shimmered with a blue outline while the inside looked like the void.

With that it was all or nothing as I took a running start and plunged through the portal, off in search of adventure.

[Welcome to the world of Horizon: Zero Dawn gamer!]

[Aloy's POV]

They were losing.

No matter how many machines they killed, more always came to take their place. We were getting pushed further and further back into Meridian. Everyone was forced to fight with whatever came to hand whether it was with Shadow Carja death bringers, or weapons ripped from machines. Some of the Oseram attempted multiple times to build fortifications with the remains of machines, but they kept getting overrun or destroyed whenever they try to take advantage of the gaps between waves of enemies.

What was worse was Helis stole her spear. He somehow got wind of the fact that it contained a shutdown code for Hades and who knows where he had gone. I fire another arrow causing a Sawtooth to release a Carja soldier. I checked my quiver. I could see that I was running low on arrows.

I didn't quite have enough time to scavenge for supplies before I spotted a Thunderjaw bearing down on Erend and several other Oseram. They were trapped, cut off from the rest of the defenders.

I tried to reposition and fired my last tear blast arrow, ripping off one of its disk launchers. I need to leave to find Helis, but if I even let up for a second, the city will be overrun. If I don't leave, the entire world will be overrun with the activation of the Faro plague.

Suddenly, up above a blue shimmering whirlpool opens in the sky and a figure falls from within.

Two devices extend from its back and start firing projectiles into the Thunderjaw, tearing into the massive machine before it lands on top of the machine causing it to collapse. The armored figure reaches down and offer a hand to Erend.

[Tavish POV]

I am slightly disoriented as gravity shifts and I am suddenly falling into a huge battle. I adjust my trajectory and aim for a group of besieged fighters. I recognize the big machines, but I can only just make out the human fighters. The upper arms unfold and Harkonnen barrels extend and I start firing the 30mm rounds into the Thunderjaw. It's actually kind of weird trying to aim the cannons with my servo arms but I got it done. They were surprisingly responsive and accurate as the rounds ripped weapons and armor off the machine exposing its core.

I stopped firing as I neared the machine and drew my arm back and brought my fist down. The machine buckled and the metal sheered away and crumpled as I smashed through the machine with my landing.

I got up and stepped away from the wreckage over to the now recognizable Erend. I offer a hand and he takes it as I help him up.

Challenge quest added

[Prevent the reactivation of the Faro Plague]

In this timeline, things have gotten a little out of hand. Help Aloy deactivate the AI Hades to set things back on track.

Objective 1: Stop Hades

Objective 2: Defend Meridian

Objective 3: Survive

Rewards:?

"Well met stranger, what brings you by?" Erend asked cheerfully.

"Heard the world was supposedly ending, it's generally bad form to let that happen." I reply back.

"Don't suppose you could do that again?" He questions, his demeanor taking a more serious tone.

"I'll see what I can do." I comment.

"LOOK OUT!" Someone screams causing us to look up.

Several death bringers had unleashed a huge volley of missiles and bullets at our position.

I bring a Storm shield to bear and dig in as the impacts hit the shield, causing massive arcs of lighting to arc out around the shield. I could feel the strain that the shield was put under as I returned fire with a Harkonnen, blowing off bit and pieces of it weapons and armor. I brought my multi-melta to bear, causing its armor to melt and expose its internals for the 30mm rounds to rip through.

I suddenly felt a cold burning as chill water was launched at me from a nearby Bellowback.

[-1750 HP]

It's been a while since I felt that sort of pain as ice caked up my armor. I pull out my Heavy cannon and put several rounds through its chillwater containers causing a massive ice implosion.

I get tackled by a charging Frostclaw and knocked onto my back where we start exchanging blows in extremely close quarters. It keeps trying to slash me with its claws and gets me a few times as I manage to flip him off and climb back up.

[-2630 HP]

Not giving it any time to breath, I use my multi-melta to melt the bear like machine in half as I rip into it.

This pattern continues, the machines and Shadow Carja trying to advance and the defenders beating them back. I kept taking serious damage from the element-based attacks and I was barely keeping my health out of the red with a combination of glory kills and my own regeneration.

The storm shields were a life saver in that regard, providing me with adequate cover while I dealt with the death bringers. It felt like someone adjusted the difficulty significantly to the point that some of the machines were able to keep up in terms of speed.

More than once, I was cornered by a Fireclaw or a Frostclaw and was forced into close combat. I finally switched to my thunder hammer to actually counter these wild charges these bear like machines attempted. Aloy left to hunt down Helis leaving Erend, myself, and the Carja defending this position. We managed to retake several positions with Oseram cannons and helped us establish more of a foothold.

This allowed us to take a breather and re-establish supply lines and redirect troops.

"So, I never did catch your name?" Erend starts off drinking from a wineskin.

"Tavish Byrne. And yours?" I return, taking a drink from the skin I was offered. This was probably some of the most flavorful wine I have had in a while.

"Erend of the Oseram. You really saved our bacon back there, what kind of weapons are those? And that armor, it looks more advanced than anything I could make. How did you get it?" He returns.

"I didn't find it. I built it. The armor, the weapons, everything." I state.

Erend spits out the contents of the wine skin and stairs at me in disbelief.

"No way. That stuff is close to the ancient one's level of tech. You would need to be one of the smartest people in the world to accomplish that stuff." He exclaims.

Technically I probably am, I just cheat with the gamer ability.

"Well believe it or not, I did. It took a lot of time and effort getting to this point." I explain, reaching over with my servo arm, and opening and closing the grip as he inspects it.

"Fascinating. Can you feel what the arm feels?" He questioned.

"No, it's more like I am aware of where the limb is and what it's doing, but I don't feel it like a real arm."

Our small talk was interrupted by Aloy approaching with her spear. It looks like she managed to track and kill Helis when she wasn't trying to defend a losing battle.

"We need to hurry! The Spire could activate at any moment!" As she finishes her sentence a massive pulse of energy comes off the spire.

"That's bad right?" Erend questions.

I quickly put my helmet on and grab them, one under each arm.

"Hold on!" I state as they protest and I take off running.

Erend is screaming and Aloy is laughing as I sprint, jump and vault over any obstacle that gets in our way as I run towards the Spire. I have to remember to throttle my speed so as not to give them whiplash. I also have to remember not to break the sound barrier because they probably couldn't survive the experience without injury.

I launch myself up the mountain where the spire resides, hopping from foot hold to foot hold. We finally reach the top clearing by the base of the spire and I set Erend and Aloy. By the base we can see Hades in the remains of a Metal Devil. All that was left of it were several arms and its head. There was a Deathbringer and many corrupted machines guarding the way to get to Hades.

"Alright, I'll creates some space Aloy, but you need to shut down Hades got it? Whatever I do you need to get there, got it?" I remind her and she replies back with a quick affirmative.

I open fire on the Death bringer with all of my armaments. The Deathbringer returns fire forcing me to block his shots with one of my storm shields while I melt through his armor with my multi-melta. I keep having to divert my attention to take out any machines that tried to attack Aloy. My 30mm rounds ripping through Glinthawks, Watchers, Sawtooth's and Stalkers.

A Stormbird swoops down and slashes at me with its electrically charged tail.

[-2430 HP]

The lightning arcing from the giant raptorial-like machine was running along the outside of my armor. This was causing some interference with a good portion of my electronic systems. I pull out my ballista and fire a couple of shots into it, causing it to back off.

The Stormbird screeches at me, and then starts bombarding me with blasts of electricity. I keep trying to dodge and return fire but the electricity causes my muscles to spasm at odd times while I try to recover.

Due to a repeated action, a new skill has been developed.

[Shock Resistance] (1/100)

Reduces shock damage by 1% per level

I run toward the body of a ravager and grab its pulse cannon and aim it up at the bird and fire. The pulse blasts blow up the blaze canisters causing the shock blasts from the machine to be interrupted while it recovered. I drop the pulse cannon and rushed towards it bringing my thunder hammer down on its head, taking it out of action completely.

The waves of machines come to a halt as Aloy drives her spear deep in Hades' eye. The override code takes over disabling the Spire for good and sending out a deactivation sequence for the Faro Plague. We watch the light in the Metal devil slowly die out.

The three of us gather around Hades AI core, we stand there for a moment be for I reach out and pull the spear from Hades. I then fire my multi-melta into the core, melting it down to slag, preventing any resurgence of the AI.

Quest Complete!

Rewards: Zero Dawn Machine Blueprint Bundle, Companion Gem (Aloy), 100,000,000 XP, $4,000,000, Gacha tokens(common) x 10, Class scroll x 2, Perk Gacha x 2, Home base unlocked.

[Level Up!]

Tavish Byrne

Level – 100

Class – Martial Artist – Lvl 100/100 [Max]

Prestige Class – Slayer – Lvl 100/100 [Max]

Production Class – Engineer – Lvl 100/100 [Max]

Race – Transcendent Human

Alignment – Neutral Good

HP- 10,100 [2020 per minute]

MP- 5450 [1,090 per 30 seconds]

SP- 10,100 [1320 per 30 seconds

Soul Well (3936/1600)

STR-1035

END-1010

DEX-1265

INT-545

WIS-545

CHA-100

LCK-240

Mana Regen = WIS X 2

MP = INT X 10

SP/Health Regen = END X 2

Health = END X 10

SP = END X 10

Stat points (600)

[Opening portal]

The Blue portal opens on the other side of the clearing drawing everyone's attention.

"I guess I'm done here." I state handing Aloy her spear and start approaching the portal.

"Wait! Where are you going?! What is that? Who are you?!" Aloy exclaims.

"Me? I'm just a traveler that helps people out now and again. But people usually call me Tavish." I inform her cheerfully. And continue; "Aloy, your journey is just beginning, and we will cross paths again at some point, but other people need my help, so I leave you with some advice that a great man once left to myself and many others." I take off my helmet and smile at her.

"Never be cruel nor cowardly, always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind. There is a world waiting for you to uncover its secrets so venture forth and find them! And lastly, laugh hard, run fast, and most importantly, be kind. Goodbye Aloy, chosen of GAEA. I name you Horizon Seeker, for your journey towards the eternal horizon." I turn towards the portal.

"What if we need your help again?" Erend questions. Glancing at the swirling portal.

"I don't know, make a wish maybe?" I say shrugging.

I step through the portal and get whisked away once more.

I walk out into the bridge of a ship of some sort. I glance behind me at the still open portal.

"Iris, where am I?" I ask.

[Welcome to your Home Base. This is a place where you can relax and unwind between worlds. Having access allows for easier establishment in new worlds. Since you unlocked it, I thought we would take a quick stop here to familiarize yourself with the facilities.]

I walk up to a nearby panel and press some buttons. A diagram of the base appears before me, I don't know how I didn't recognize it. I glance around at the gothic style architecture of The Fortress of Doom.

[That is where we drew inspiration from. Let's start with the basics. That console allows you to upgrade the base and add-on to the base. You can store resources here for easy deployment in new worlds. Everything costs money or materials to start the building process but everything else is pretty much automated.]

I select the option to add a farming section, and with a rumble I see a new floating island come into existence outside the window.

[Each new section has its own controls for how you manage the space.]

[The Home Base doesn't physically exist in the world you are currently visiting, but the surrounding space will display the world which you are currently active in. This can be customized if you find a particular world you like.]

[These features, along with several others, let you change and customize your base into a home.]

Well, while I'm here, I may as well manage my bases as it were.

The First thing that I pull out is the Perk Gacha tokens.

[Perk Gacha]

Gives you a random Perk.

I snap the tokens and grab their perks.

[Ghost in a Shell]

You don't register with technology without your permission

[Attritional fire]

Firing consecutive shots with a Pistol or Revolver at the same target increases damage by 10%

Hell yeah! The Ghost in a shell perk would be super valuable in a high-tech world. Can I get perks through the standard Gacha?

[Yes. The chance is a bit lower because it is mixed in with all the other things you can get in Gacha. The perk Gacha is specific to perks.]

Got it, thanks Iris!

I open up the blueprint bundle next.

[Horizon Zero Dawn Blueprints]

A series of blueprints detailing the machines that exist within the universe of Horizon Zero Dawn.

Jackpot! The designs were very detailed, and it even included the GAEA system in all of its aspects. Out of curiosity, I looked over the project documentation for the HADES AI. Its setup is surprisingly sound. If Ted Faro or whatever his name was hadn't altered it at the last moment, it would have done what it was supposed to do. I have work that can use these AI's, I just have to make them.

I buy a manufacturing room for my base and put half of the facility dedicated to making Skitarii, and the other half to manufacture GAEA. Some Adjustments would be made to accommodate for new functions. GAEA is going to help oversee my bases on the worlds I travel to, and manage the other subordinate functions so I didn't need to watch them personally.

Once I have basic manufacturing setup, I head to my room and collapse on my bed. Today was a bit long, and I still have to finish several more sub functions before I head back to the AOT world. Plans and schemes filled my head as I drift off to sleep.

[Time Skip]

Within several days, the Skitarii scouting party returned and with them were the Marleyan soldiers and the previously captured Eldians. There was no way to conceal the presence of the new comers and new spread like wildfire throughout the walls. Most of the Eldians quickly found themselves work and a home. The soldiers were sent to the prisons where we held the captured agents where they were interrogated.

The military determined that we could look into releasing the general rank and file soldiers and integrate them into the population after we had secured the Island from the titans. Possibly set up some sort of parole system? The details were a little fuzzy on that one.

I have set up several mining locations into the base of the walls at strategic locations. Their objective? Destroy the Colossal Titans within the walls and replace each one with an ultra-hard concrete compound with reinforcement. I end up modifying the design for the Bosco robots and constantly manufacturing more. I equip each one with a melta attachment and a material dispenser in place of its usual weapon systems and mining gear.

A tether can be attached to the unit for longer operation, but that quickly becomes obsolete with the number of Bosco's manufactured. In total, we can destroy over 200 Colossal titans a day and that number keeps increasing as more Bosco's are manufactured. I was even able to send a crew of Bosco's to the Shiganshina district to reseal the wall. There is always a steady stream of Bosco's entering and leaving the foundry with supplies materials or trading out other units to recharge.

I participate in several excursions to leave the walls and help forge a trail to Shiganshina. Radio communication allowed me to keep in touch with the foundry and the other Skitarii units in the field. The Panzerhunde made it possible to travel across open plains being able to accelerate faster than a horse, and can take most titans in a one-on-one confrontation allowing for a supply chain to be established.

This went on for a bit before an opportunity arose.

[Flashback]

"You want me to what?" I question Erwin. He showed up today with a large portion of the Scout regiment.

"I need you to perform a medical evaluation on everyone. Especially the scouts that were enhanced. It will serve as a good baseline test so we can tell how much a soldier has improved if they went through the enhancement procedure." Erwin explains.

My eyes scan over the crowd. I can see Reiner and Bertholdt towards the back and get an idea.

"Alright I can do that. I am going to have to draw blood though." I explain.

"That's fine." Erwin agrees.

So, one by one, the scouts get a base physical and some blood drawn. No one batted an eye when Reiner and Bertholdt take a few minutes longer to have blood drawn.

[Flashback End]

I hold the vials containing the Armored and Colossal titan powers up to the light before storing them back in my inventory. I am curious to the reaction that I am going to get when they realize that their powers are gone. Oh well, I am going to file that under "not my problem" and move on.

I finally got the chance to pick up my newest classes. For my main class, I had unlocked a new support class category. I also picked out a new production class.

[Doctor] (15/100)

(+5 to INT and WIS per Lvl.)

Diagnose and treat patients for a variety of anomalies and injuries the non-magical way.

Alchemist (25/100)

(+5 to INT and Luck per Lvl.)

Craft Potions of many different substances both good and bad.

Doctor came in useful for the medical knowledge that I received and helped me understand the basics of several fields that I had delegated to tech-priests. Plus Dr. Byrne had a certain ring to it.

Alchemist was just pure fun! You experiment with different mixtures, infuse mana and boom, you have a new potion. Of course, it's a little more complicated than that. Certain ingredients tended towards certain things, you have to chart their properties and match it up with a binder and another ingredient to get the required result.

Say you wanted to fuse wood to metal. I would have to find an ingredient that alters the woods properties and an ingredient that alters the metals properties. I would then have to find a material that causes the two ingredients to bind together.

This is part of the reason I have a tree of steel growing in front of the foundry. The other part was that Ymir dared me to do it. It's actually fascinating to watch. It sheds its leaves every few days leaving these piles of steel laying around its base. I am currently debating the merits of replicating that particular experiment under sunlamps and several other conditions. It would certainly reduce our raw materials cost at budget meetings.

I kind of want to see if I can get a similar result from other materials and tree types. Think about it, the ability to grow my own materials would have me set for life. Possibly something to mull over.

I finally was able to take the Technomancer class as well.

[Technomancer] (25/100)

(+5 to INT and WIS per Lvl.)

You are one with the machine. Your capable of assimilating and working with machines in such a way that seems vastly superior to anyone else.

The world seems . . . . different now that I am a Technomancer. Area's full of machines gave off a sort of chatter that I didn't here before. And places without any tech at all just had a sort of silence to it.

I got quite the scare when I went to repair my servo harness after the battle. . .

[Flashback]

I move to adjust the positioning of the multi-melt and I get a notification.

[Augmentation detected]

[Would you like to integrate this technology?]

[Yes/No]

I fall back and land on my ass staring at the new screen. I hesitantly click yes and the entire harness just disappears.

[Would you like to activate this augment?]

Yes? I say before I feel a weird shifting sensation in my body. I can feel portions of my back harden until I have the metal backpack of the servo harness. I experimentally extend the arms and they unfold from my back and configure themselves. I can sense the calculations their running, but more importantly, it feels like I grew extra arms.

I reach over to a nearby desk and pick up a pipe. It feels like I am actually holding the pipe in my hand.

"Can I deactivate this augment?" I ask.

[Deactivating]

My body rearranges itself back to normal. The arms receding into my skin. I was able to remove the technology but damn, that felt weird.

[Flashback End]

Since then, I have to be careful about any tech left lying about.

My machines have been acting differently too. Apparently, when I channeled mana into my machines, I was doing a form of crappy technomancy. Unlocking full Technomancy unlocked its full effects. I am not sure if the tech-priests are supposed to collect toasters and proclaim them to be holy relics, but it needs to stop. I'll have a talk with them tomorrow on that.

I filled up my soul well enough to pick up new slayer perks.

[The only thing they fear is you] (Humanoids)

[The Crucible] (10/100) (3/ per rank a day)

Enables the use of one of the Slayers most powerful weapons in his arsenal. While a limited number of uses a day, its continued use strengthens it and extends the number of uses the more it levels up. Costs three uses to disable a titan class demon.

This explains why I couldn't quite make the crucible before. Leveling up further revealed new perks, and the crucible was a perk. I pulled out the blade and activated it. It expanded out from its hilt, the red energy arcing around the runes etched into the blade, glowing in a harsh light.

I suddenly hear a proclamation from one of the advance teams of Bosco's over the radio that makes me smile. I put away the crucible and go to call a meeting.

[Time Skip]

"So, what did you call this meeting for?" Pixis questioned.

"This morning, I received a report from one of our advanced units. The breach in wall Shiganshina was sealed completely. The flow of titans into the walls has been halted." I announce.

Everybody's attention is on me now.

"Are you sure? Did those little machines actually manage to seal the breach?" Zackly questioned.

"As positive as I can be without laying eyes on it myself." I reply.

Erwin lets out a cheer in excitement, the other commanders had looks of shock.

"Do you have an estimation on how long it would take to kill the remaining titans within wall Maria?" Zackly asked. His expression brightening as he realized the implication of sealing the wall.

"Initial Skitarii reports are filtering in, Magos Arcothiva sent in an initial estimation that 57% of the titans within the walls have been eliminated. 37% of these kills can be attributed to the Scout regiment and their excursions to make a path to the breach. He reports that most of these titans are from the initial breach of wall Maria, we have a relatively low number of titans that had entered the breach since then." I report.

"Do you have any idea about the status of the Armored and Colossal titans? What would stop them from breaching the wall again?" Pixis questioned.

"Both the Armored and Colossal titans have been disabled. They cannot transform into their titans. All titans except the Warhammer titan have been extracted from their hosts. This includes Eren. Personally, I am in favor of destroying it." I state drawing looks of surprise from the other commanders.

"You extracted Eren's Titan? Why!? Erwin exclaims! He probably had several plans regarding the titan.

"Eren volunteered it willingly. The titan powers impose massive strain on the user's body. This strain causes the users body to give out exactly thirteen years after they receive the power." I explain. Erwin seemed mollified by the explanation.

"What was done with the hosts of the Armored and Colossal?" Nile asked.

"They are currently serving in the scout regiment, unaware that they no longer posses their powers." All of the commanders stopped and looked at me strangely.

"The medical exams . . ." Erwin realized causing me to smile.

"That's right. The blood tests identified both titans and it was a minor matter to divert the culprits to have the titans extracted during examinations. They were ordered by Zeke when they were children to smash through the wall." I explain.

"Who were they?" Zackly questioned.

"Reiner Braun was the holder of the Armored titan, and Bertholdt Hoover was the Colossal titan. To my understanding, there is a training program in Marley specifically for training Eldian children to inherit one of the nine titans." I state.

"How did you find that nugget of information?" Nile asked suspiciously.

"Pieck, the former Cart titan, has opened up to more questions recently. She is more talkative about common knowledge and parts and pieces of daily life on Marley." I inform.

The meeting continued on as we rewrite various plans to account for the sealing of the wall. One thing that kept coming up was what to do with Marley once we had everything in order. Marley was obviously trying to pick a fight with Eldia, and their had to be other countries out there. So, it was decided that once the walls were secure, that political envoys were to be sent to other nations to open possible trade and alliances.

[Time Skip]

Quest Completed

[A long road to your Apocalypse]

Objective 1: Prevent Eren Jaeger from starting the rumbling [x]

Objective 2: Find another way to deal with Marley [In progress]

Objective 3: Find different hosts for the Nine titans [Failed]

Bonus Objective 1: Leave current hosts alive [Complete]

Bonus Objective 2: Disable the Colossal titans in the walls [x]

Bonus Objective 3: Remove the nine titans from this world completely[x]

Bonus Objective 4: Cause the Paradis Island Operation to be a complete and utter failure. [x]

Bonus Objective 5: Bring Eldia up to a technological level that matches and/or surpasses its neighboring countries. [x]

Reward: 1,000,000 XP, 1 x Mythic Gacha, $10,000,000,000, World travel unlocked

[Congratulations! You have reached a pause point in your world.]

[This indicates a large period of time will pass or a period of peace is about to occur.]

[You now have several options]

Option 1: Travel to a new world. The next world is completely random and will pause this world while you are away.

Option 2: Restart this world and your progress. Didn't like a previous path? Try a different one.

Option 3: Continue playing in this world. This remains available until you get to the next story arc or you complete the main objectives of that arc.

Option 4: Take a break. Pause your adventures and hang out at home base for a bit while you make your decision.

The tech priests finished the assembly of our first Thunderhawk gunship, So I had it go out for a test flight.

To Marley

To extract the Warhammer titan.

In the middle of the night.

The operation took several hours in total. Thirty minutes there. One hour to locate the Tybur estate. Another hour to sneak past all the guards and then fifteen minutes to extract her titan. Then it was a simple matter of sneaking out and getting back to the ship for the return flight.

This resulted in the acquisition of the Warhammer titan with no one the wiser.

I honestly just want to laze around for a bit truth be told. Maybe kick back, relax, watch a movie. Now that I think about it, has it been three or four years since I last saw a movie? I've kinda lost track of time.

Option 4 it is. Take me away Iris! A blue portal opens up and I step through into the fortress.

I find the entertainment area and turn on the big screen. There are streaming services that I need to set up. As I am going through the options, I hear a ping and a box lands on the coffee table in front of the couch.

Congratulations on finishing your training world!

Please leave a review on your experience.

As per tradition, here is a gift from the admins.

This will enable you to keep track and contact the friends you meet as well as several other functions.

-Management

I open the box and pull out a smartphone of some unidentifiable brand. It's got a black case that came with it. I quickly use observe on it.

[The Gamers Phone]

A smart phone that interfaces with certain functions of the games system, as well as a basic search function. This enables social interaction with the various being you will meet in your travels.

Huh, neat.

Its odd having access to a phone again. AOT was just getting to the point where we used radios for communication. Having a smart phone is helpful though, it even has its own version of a troubleshooting forum.

The phone starts ringing, listing an unknown number. I hit accept.

"Hey what's up? This is Tavish right?" an unknown males voice comes through the speaker.

"Yeah, that's me. Who's calling?" I question.

"The name's Glenn, I am your orientation buddy to the social aspect of the gaming system. Is it alright if I come over?"

"Sure?" Before I even finish my sentence, there was a pop and a short, pink haired hobbit landed on the couch next to me.

"Great!" He says, snapping his flip phone shut and offering a hand. "Glenn. A pleasure to meet you Tavish!" He exclaims.

"Like wise." I reply and I use observe on him.

Glenn

Alignment- Chaotic Evil

Bloodrager

Lvl-?

Glenn see's me reading his stats and grins.

"Nervous about the big bad bloodrager?" He asked.

"A little, but realistically, we are both just playing a game, we just have different ways of play."

"Well said! That line of thought is what we appreciate in the gamer social network." He reaches out and with a wave of his hand, conjures a few bottles of beer and passes me one.

"My job is to serve as a point of contact when you have questions regarding social interactions with other gamers. Everyone has a different style of play, so the first and most important rule, is don't interfere with another players game." He said popping the top of the bottle and taking a sip.

"Is there multiplayer? How would that rule apply? I ask popping the top off my own beer. This tastes pretty good.

"Good question, and yes there is multiplayer. A multiplayer game can be played with a predetermined set of rules in place. Say you decide to play Mario Cart. It is within your right to fire a red shell at another gamer ahead in the race. Basically, as far as anything else goes, as long as both players consent, have fun!" He explains while swirling his beer.

"Now, second rule: The social hub is not a PVP zone. You don't have complete access to the social hub so it doesn't matter yet. But that place is for only hanging out. If you want to fight, take it to a PVP zone."

"And finally, all transactions need oversite from one of our notaries. This is to have a third-party help officiate a trade incase somebody gets butt-hurt. Any questions?" He said as he finishes his beer.

"Seems fairly cut and dry. Want to hang around for a bit or do you have someplace to be?" I ask. He seems like a decent guy.

"Nah, thanks for the offer, but I have several time sensitive players to visit. If you have any questions, feel free to text or call me. I'll add you to my friends list so we can meet later though." He said standing up, his beer bottle vanishing.

I receive a ping and a notification popped up.

[Glenn has sent you a friend request. Would you like to accept?]

[Yes/No]

I hit yes and a new box popped up.

[Glenn has been added to your friends list.]

[Multiplayer is now available.]

"Sweet. Alright, see you later Tavish! You know where your going next?" He asked.

"Not a clue. You?" I return.

"I have a dxd universe, an animal crossing universe, and a John Wick universe left to visit today." He explains.

With that, Glenn snaps his fingers and he disappears off to his next universe.

Well, that was informative. I generally don't play many multiplayer games, but it may be fun to team up with another gamer and go play a few rounds of something. I settle back down onto my couch and finish setting up my movie.

The mention of John Wick really got me in the mood for the series.

[Time skip]

I spent a full week in the fortress.

Granted, I didn't spend that entire time relaxing either.

I established manufacturing facilities to put together blueprints and my own personal designs, and I bought a kitchen.

I ended up trying for several days to make a decent batch of eggs. Results were varied. However, my cooking leveled up to fifty-three over the course of all these attempts. I can now consistently make average eggs.

I used a bunch of Gacha tokens and got a mishmash of stuff.

[Fuzzy Bunny slippers] (common)

[Super Soldier Serum] (rare)

[CEL-3 Cauterizer] (rare)

[Fake dog Poop] (common)

[Ashe's Hovercycle] (epic)

[Tactical Hobo] (Legendary)

[Malorian arms 3516] (Legendary)

[Queen's Greatest Hits CD] (common)

[B.O.B. Companion gem] (rare)

[A Single Fuck] (common)

[Smart grenade] (rare)

[EWR-115 blueprint] (rare)

Ok, some of these items bear investigating.

[Tactical Hobo]

Designed by the gamer Harvald, this Hobo will tactically serve all of your hobo needs.

I feel like that leaves me with more questions then answers, but moving on.

[A Single Fuck]

A singular fuck, to be given when there are no more fucks to give.

This is getting kind of ridiculous. Iris, I am probably ready to take off to that next world at any time now.

[Alright, head to the portal room.]

I walk through the cavernous hall ways of the fort until I get to the command deck. I put on my repaired armor and head through the portal Iris formed. I step out into a filthy alleyway and the portal closes behind me.

[Interlude: If you believe in magic!]

[AOT World]

[Hange POV]

I woke up this morning feeling refreshed. Time to start some new experiments! I grab my goggles and put them on. Today is going to be a good day! Everything looks brighter, the birds are singing, flowers are blooming. Its like the world woke up to greet me!

I brush my teeth, put on my uniform and I head outside. Rainbows are everywhere today! And I have a happy little tune playing in the back of my head. I hum along with it as I walk to my lab.

Wow! Moblit sure is cheerful this morning! He's playing with some rainbow sparkles at one of the work tables. That looks like fun! Maybe he needs my help!

[Time Skip]

[Erwin POV]

"Ok, please explain what happened again Moblit." I say while massaging my temples.

"Hange came in wearing a different pair of goggles this morning sir. After exchanging greetings, she decided that the lab needed more "Rainbows and Sparkles". She then proceeded to burn down the lab, several nearby buildings, Captain Levi's house, and our titan enclosure. No injuries thankfully" Moblit reported.

I picked up the pair of goggles in question and examined them. There was a little tag with writing on the side that I read.

Pyro vision goggles: a MANN CO. product