Seeking power (remade)

The daytime on the second floor is beautiful.

The scenery of the tropical paradise, the beautiful wilderness untainted by anything sentient, and of course the azure blue and clear waters that reach the horizon all around them. A gem of natural beauty Death made to satisfy whatever's left that is human in him.

Upon this land that could be called paradise, three elves were resting with nothing but despair in their minds. Each in their own little space inside their large hut made of wood. It's incredible how well it's built in only two days.

'....'

A crushing defeat, one that's imprinted into their Souls as a warning and foretells their future course. How it'll be if they don't improve to meet the qualifications.

'I can't… I'm too weak to protect them…'

Manu, in light of this despair, found he has a lot more to learn and improve. His techniques, his Skills, his battle knowledge, they were all useless in the face of absolute might. Just brute strength is not enough, he must seek something, something more powerful, and quick too.

'But… what can I do now…?'

They've explored this entire island during their stay here, and there's nothing but vegetation and beautiful scenery. There was nothing but wilderness. Nothing…

'No… I can't lose hope yet. I must stay strong.'

Just then, he remembered there being a gate at the otherside of the island. He was the only one who knew, since he's the one in charge of exploring this island. Genna and Lily are in charge of foraging for wood and food.

'Maybe… I should go there again?'

The gate was heavily fogged, which was a very strange occurrence since there wasn't any fog anywhere. Looking from the sides, it's normal, just clear blue water and nothing else. But in front, there is fog. This deterred Manu away from exploring it and ended up in trouble. If he's separated and can't go back, then it'll be dangerous for the others since they lack a frontline.

'Lily can do it with her Spells. She's smart and resourceful, but there's still a limit.'

A Mage, an existence that's comparable to even the Gods who wield Miracles.

'She's incredible, and beautiful as well…'

Manu, who is a teenager in elf age, felt these feelings of admiration and honest adoration for his long time friend. This reaction made his face lit up reddish.

'.....'

But, once again this isn't the time for such things.

'After we get out of this hell… maybe, maybe then it'll be time.'

He's unsure of his feelings, and it was close to crossing the line he has made. His father, although he was young at the time, taught him extensive knowledge of the body and even described in detail how one particular organ works. It was ridiculous, yes, but also something that must be done to avoid confusion and disturbing things to happen.

He made a code to himself after gaining that knowledge, and that is to not have an intimate feeling with the opposite gender until his feelings are sorted out. And that time seems to be close.

'Well… first things first I'll use the daytime to go there.'

With that in mind, he was the first who got up. He walked over to Lily, who was resting against the wall with a rather troubled face despite sleeping.

''Lily, hey Lily."

"Uhmmm… huh? Manu, why did you wake me up?"

"I'll leave for today, I may be back late though, so try and hold out a little without me for the first few hours when night time comes."

"Huh? Manu, what are you-"

"Please, I need you to trust me on this one."

"...Alright, just go already."

With a sigh, Lily gave Manu permission to go. He smiled, and went to exit the hut. His new mission is now to seek power, and the first step to it is exploration.

'As father says, the unknown possesses many things, and power is the most common one of them all.'

He ran through the forest that's densely packed with palm trees, something Manu has never seen before since he hasn't explored the outside yet.

The sunlight shines through the trees and lightly warms Manu while the tropical breeze cools him down. He made it to the gateway with the fastest speed possible. The fogged gateway was ominous, giving him a bad feeling that hardly stopped him.

'Don't be afraid, just move forward even if it's just one step at a time.'

Determination to progress, to grow stronger in order to protect what's dear to him. It kept his mind steady and his body from shaking. The unknown, in this place, it could kill him with just a slight bit of carelessness on his part. Death is seemingly just around the corner to greet him. That's the sort of feeling Manu's getting, if he walks through this gateway into the unknown.

'Welp… no time to think about the future now. We won't have a future unless we're stronger.'

He accepts the situation as is, and takes the first step into the fog.

......…

I've prepared the necessary things to give them a fighting chance. Power, knowledge, and also Items. I've prepared and scattered them across the multiple islands that's connected with each other via a fogged gateway. It's not some special teleportation mechanic, just a simple fogged gateway that leads to the next island after walking for a few minutes.

Luckily, the boy, Manu, didn't explore them just yet. If he did, it'll be harder to give a reason why something like that is there.

'He's now going to explore the first island out of seven…'

Seven islands connected to each other, and each have at least 3 things in store for the explorer of the group. He's destined for greatness, I can feel it. I can see it, even. His Soul, it's tougher than most, fit for those who challenge the unknown and conquer them.

'So, who's better than him, one of the best fantasy explorers in my entire collection, to train this boy?'

The one I'm speaking of is also a Shadow General, a pretty eccentric one at that. He would be qualified as a Shadow King based on his eccentricity alone. An explorer that's also a Transmigrator, an existence that has crossed Worlds before.

'Hopefully the kid isn't scared of him at first…'

I gave explicit orders not to do anything too over the top, but I don't have much hope for that Shadow. I've used him on multiple occasions, so I'm well aware of his tendencies.

'At least he isn't laying over 80 traps… as a welcome gift.'

......…

The other side of the unknown. Some may see this concept as a terrifying thing, leaving from somewhere comfortable to face the pitch black dark that most likely contained nothing.

Humanity has faced that primordial fear, and it was their Goddess who gave them light and showed them their ways.

The Elves have also faced the unknown, and they once conquered it with might and knowledge, and now, untold years from that beginning, their Race's descendant is once again going to conquer what they have done before.

'.....'

And what's on the other side of the unknown after walking a few steps is a familiar, yet very different view of the island that he previously stayed on.

'Huh… that's a very pointy mountain.'

The first thing he sees, aside from the obviously very large trees on both sides, seemingly planted there with a purpose, was a large mountain that has a very pointy peak all the way in front of him. It was so large that the forest that's closer in front of him now seems small in comparison.

'...Oh, there's a forest.'

The trees that inhabit this island are called Kutan, a very sturdy tree that has thick roots and spiky barbs all across its body. Its leaves are yellow in color, and they switch to a brown color every 3 months on Earth standard, every 5 months in New World's Humanity standards.

He walked forward and entered the lustrous and beautiful forest. The yellow leaves were able to reflect the sunlight shining on them, and this made the forest much brighter than normal forests. With each of his steps, the leaves underneath his feet crunch and make a sort of uncomfortable sound, like metal being scraped and crumpled a million times over.

'The leaves here are… interesting.'

After he stepped on a few more leaves, he decided to pick one up and examine them closer.

''Ouch!''

But, what came after was a sharp sensation that cut his finger. Small trickles of blood welled up from the cut, and he was forced to suck on the injury to recover quickly.

'Are these… metallic?'

The leaves were indeed sharp on the edges, but they could be easily folded if applied force on its sides. Manu crumples the one he's holding without injuring himself and picks up a new one. This time, he throws it towards one of the trees. The leaf flew quite flawlessly, no different than a throwing dagger, and stuck halfway into the body of the tree.

'Huh…'

After knowing how dangerous these leaves could be, he stood up and avoided stepping on the leaves as much as possible. He doesn't want to have an accidental slip and cut himself gravely on this field of knives.

'.....'

After a while of exploring this eerily quiet forest, Manu came across a larger tree, one that's devoid of the spiky barbs and had a hole on it 10 meters above ground. The large tree also seems to have pushed the other trees around it away as it created its own space.

[You have discovered the {Golden Tree} landmark]

[20 EXP has been given as a reward]

"Woah?!!"

Suddenly, a strange sign appeared before him. He falls down, luckily no leaves were there when his butt hits.

"What…"

[Error… User has yet to manifest..... creation complete, welcome, System Holder]

"...."

Silence, a complete silence as the screen in front of him changed shape and lengthened. He looked at the screen floating in the air, and it also turned to him for him to read.

'What… is that?'

He's confused as he looked at the system screen. It once again changes length as words form inside it.

[Welcome, System Holder, may I ask for your name?]

'...It's using the Common Language…? Name… it's asking for my name?'

Confusion started to build up, but he knew that it wouldn't help. Right now, he's faced with an 'unknown' that won't be solved if he stays silent.

"Then, tell me your name and what you are first."

[If that is what the System Holder wishes. Gladly]

Then suddenly, the box came right up to his face and was several times larger both in length and height.

[System Name: W3N4Y-3324]

[System Primary Model Function: Physical Training/Strengthening]

[System Directive: Grant the System Holder the power he seeks]

[System Built-in Features:

+EXP analysis and incorporation module

+Combat instruction module

+Combat tips module

+Physical conditioning module

+Mental conditioning module

+[Friendship] module

[System Notes: A fairly new A.I created on behalf of someone]

The thing it displayed confused him greatly, even more so than its existence in front of him.

"What… are you, exactly?"

[This is the graph for my specifics, my functionality along with what I'm tasked with. System Holder, I ask you again, what is your name now that I've given you an answer that you asked for?]

A separate window appeared below, and after reading it he replied with a smile, a nervous one.

"I'm Manu, just call me that for now."

[System Holder's name acquired. Calibrating system folders]

Again, the weird things that this mystical floating sign was making seems so foreign and strange for Manu to comprehend. He wasn't smart nor quick on the uptake like Lily, or had the brave undaunting confidence like his late friend Charles, but one thing's for sure. He's always the one to explore everything first even if his emotions and primal instincts got in the way.

"Hey… the name you gave me doesn't really make any sense…? They're just strange symbols and numbers."

[Ah, right. System calibration process halted]

[........You may call me Wendy, Manu]

With that, Manu let out a bemused hum as he stared at the Name part again.

'Wendy…'

Although unsure if it's correct, Manu accepted it as it is and called out to the floating signs.

"Alright, then Wendy… What were those first lines that you gave out? The one after the-"

[.....System Error...… unable to produce satisfactory response...]

"Wendy? What's-"

[Apologies, Manu. It seems like I'm not authorized to give you the answer you seek. Forget that question forever and don't ask me again]

With a rather blunt and quick response after that collapse, Manu was stunned silent again as he gazed at the new screen.

'Not authorized… that's a new word.'

Manu didn't know what the word was, as it's a rather complex one that used a mixture of the Common Language along with his common Elvish language. He puts the word in the back of his mind for now and addresses the thing that bugs him the most.

''Wendy, what is the reason that you're here right now?''

[I am here to give you what you seek, along with being your companion. I am Wendy, designed specifically to give you the power necessary to overcome your trials. I shall assist you in this process with the best of my capability, but it'll be all on you to achieve what you desire in the end]

The machine, Wendy, gave Manu her directive in a more detailed explanation. This gave him a rough understanding of the machine, even though he doesn't call it like that.

'What is this Miracle…?'

All things unknown can be explained using the simple term of Magic, and when that didn't satisfy, they refer to it as Miracles, the power of the Gods. So, with this strange occurrence happening in front of him, he couldn't help but think so. His suspicion grew as this theory arrived to his concern, and at first he thought that the Elf's Guardian God was the one who blessed him with this Miracle. But, something was telling him otherwise.

'Can she even see where I am…?'

Gods, they have very mysterious powers at their disposal. Something that he was taught by his father was that if you say a God's title or more so, their True Name, they would turn their attention to you wherever you are without fail.

'So… could it be her?'

Although he's never really cared about it, he's technically a pseudo believer in their Guardian God by order of his father. He prays to her every night, but doesn't ask for anything in return, his friends are no exception either. So, if anything he suspects the Goddess of the Moon is the one who gave him this.

'She must've realized my wish…'

However, what he doesn't know is that although Gods, Divine Beings, are close to omnipotent, they weren't mind readers. Unless one is an existence like Absolute Death with his ability to see Souls in real time, not one Divine Being can confidently say they know what their opponent or follower really wants until they say it directly.

'Well… I guess speculations should be saved for another time.'

With that in mind, he began to examine the place that the System called the Golden Tree, a landmark in this island from the way it's referred to.

'But… What is this EXP thing?'

The foreign concepts intrigued Manu's explorer-positive mind and made him question everything about this floating sign's existence. What it says, what its mannerisms are, and what word it usually uses as well. Everything, he wanted to know more.

"Pheeeewwww, that's quite the… huh, earlier than expected."

But, that seems to be put on hold as an unfamiliar voice resounded behind him.

"But to be fair, I didn't set up any traps in advance to give you a warm welcome… well, maybe a cold one if I'm to be honest."

"Who are you."

Immediately on the wary and defensive side, Manu got his weapons out and raised it towards the figure in the distance. A dark green cloak, one that made any attempt at looking at the inside impossible. Even his face, it was cloaked in a shroud of darkness that not even the refracted lights manage to illuminate.

"Who am I… yes, everyone always asks that question. Though you're not the usual type, I'll answer anyway. The name's Robin Hood, King of the Forest, and master in a type of warfare that you might be familiar with, guerilla warfare."

The cloak finally parted as the figure underneath is revealed, his arms raised to boast his sentence. A tight fitted archer uniform, with the brown shirt a long sleeved one that reaches the wrist, one that's very similar in design with the combat uniform he saw once worn by his father since he was just 5 years old.

"I am the ruler of this place, and now, you are trespassing without my permission."

He slowly retracted his arms to his cloak, hiding his figure once more as his tone took a more threatening vibe.

"So, as ruler of this place, I have the authority to punish you."

"W-Wait, I didn't-?!!"

But before Manu could set himself straight, Robin Hood dashed forward. The distance between them was nearly 20 meters, closing in an instant when he just moved forward a single step.

"However, I am willing to bypass this misjudgement of yours if you can survive my onslaught. Prepare to put your life on the line, pretty boy."

He didn't do anything, not even revealing his hands to attack, but the mere presence himself made him terrifying for some strange reason.

[Aura detected, faint hostility detected, Fear debuff imminent]

Suddenly, a mechanical voice resounded inside his mind, echoing inside very clearly. His head immediately thought Wendy, and so he distanced himself with every amount of strength he had. His legs throbbed as they're pumped full with Aura, and he leapt backward which resulted in a destructive crater in its quake.

'Hmmm…'

Robin Hood was smiling underneath the shadow, his intrigue rising a few meters. After the first brief confrontation, Manu was stressed out while Robin Hood stood at a safe distance. But then, the situation took a turn for the worse for the former.

"Now, shall we truly let ourselves loose?"

Now with his hands fully visible, Robin Hood crouched down slightly with a red glint appearing in his shadow veiled hood.

"You're in my sight."

With a short sentence that sounded like a command, Robin Hood manifests a bow made of green Aura. He very quickly pulled back the bowstring and several arrows of yellow light appeared.

"Concentrated Tracking."

He let go of the bowstring and let loose the arrows. At first, they seemed to have flown in completely random directions. But then, they suddenly shifted trajectory and came blitzing at Manu.

'Woah!'

[Danger, find cover quickly]

Following the monotonous mechanical voice, Manu went and used the trees as cover. He tricks the arrows and hides behind the tree at the right moment to avoid getting hit. But, what he completely forgot was the leaves.

''Gotchaaa~."

From around the corner of Manu's eyes, Robin Hood showed up and in between his fingers were the sharp dagger-like leaves. He tossed them out in a fan, but there's something wrong with them.

[Danger! Fatal damage imminent!]

The leaves, which were thrown without a care for accuracy, tracked Manu's movement as they homed in on him. There was one more arrow, and now there are these leaves as well. His senses were overwhelmed and he was wounded in several places. The cuts varied but still they stung him painfully along with the aftereffects.

"Burst!"

A new Skill he learned that he got to name while doing battles for the past days. Burst being its name, one would consider it a damage increasing one but that's far from the case. It's a burst of healing, and after he activated it the wounds all slowly closed at a speed the natural eyes can discern.

"Woah, very nice, got the basic Aura usage checked out. Good, good, this will improve your survival rates by a small margin."

Within Robin Hood's hood revealed two more glints, red and blue in sequence.

"Let's see how you respond to this~!"

He raises his Aura bow and pulls back the bowstring again.

"Empower, Force Concentration, Aura Unleash: Burst Fire!"

A single, large arrow of light was released and came his way with incredible velocity. Then, it burst into multiple smaller projectiles.

[Alert! Death imminent!]

'Shit!'

He was pushed, so on preservation instincts he activated one of his new, more powerful Skills.

"Give me strength, grant me the power to overcome my challenges, even if the price to pay is blood or life—"

The Aura around Manu thickened and turned red.

"Maximum Overdrive!!"

Then, a burst of wind violently let out a whistle as he went on the offensive for the first time. His semi-Ultimate Skill, Maximum Overdrive, increased his strength to a level matching the willpower he has. And of course, due to the massive amount of Aura being forced onto his body, circulating at a rapid speed, rampaging and destroying his muscle fibers and even attempting to break his bones, every pore in his body was leaking droplets of blood from them. It was a rather disturbing sight.

"Hohooo!!?? Well then, looks like you're not holding back now!"

Manu headed straight through the barrage of arrows, destroying them with only his body. Not a single scratch was dealt, but the blood dripping out from his skin doesn't make it look like he's good.

"Arrgghhhhh!"

Maximum Overdrive takes a lot out of Manu, and the first time he used it he was knocked unconscious for almost the entire day, only waking up shortly after the next nightfall had begun.

"God, this is a good one! I like this one!"

Robin Hood shouted for something, or rather someone, which made him seem mad at first.

[Note: 60 seconds left]

'Dammit… just a little more!'

When he got up close with Robin Hood, he slashed away with his short sword and knife in both hands. His frenzied attacks obviously miss the agile figure of Robin Hood, not even cutting his cloak. This made the dark green mystery man pop a blue glint, but this time it stays rather than disappearing.

"Hahahahahahahaha!"

With each failed attempt at scoring a hit, Robin Hood laughs in amusement. This makes Manu grit his teeth as his 60 seconds quickly got down to only 10 seconds left.

'Shhhiiiitttttt!!!'

His eyes were bloodshot, his nose dripping with blood along with the two corners of his mouth. His entire body was practically drenched in blood and his consciousness would soon slip away.

''....Well, I guess this is my loss~."

Suddenly, out of nowhere Robin Hood jumped backward and landed within the hole on the Golden Tree landmark. This breaks Manu's concentration and releases the effects of Maximum Overdrive, making his body feel heavy like a massive boulder has suddenly been placed on him.

"Guh!!"

He let out a grunt as his body collapsed onto the ground. Luckily there were no sharp leaves greeting him on his fall.

"You gave it a good shot, and you barely pass by the way, but first impressions aside, I'm quite confident now that I've seen your capabilities."

Another glint, a green one, flashed and the bleeding and internally injured body of Manu was instantly healed to an acceptable degree.

"Grahh… hah, hah…"

But, a jolt of pain still registered in his mind. His body aches badly and his bones feel ready to break like brittle twigs.

'...'

[Warning, physical body upper limit has been breached, do not attempt any strong body movements]

"You'll have to rest for a bit, a few hours if I were to guess, to reach a full recovery. Don't worry, I'm not such a foul douche as to kill you right now when you're all defenseless."

Robin Hood sat down on the edge, watching Manu shake as he tried to slightly move himself. But, the intense pain made it incredibly hard for him to move even if he has nerves of steel. His body is hot, every muscle in his body was screaming for him to just stay put, but the situation was too much of a compromise for him to listen.

"Oi oi, didn't you hear me? Let your poor body rest, will ya? You'll damage it beyond repair at this rate."

"Kuh…''

He let out a grunt as he finally decided that it's enough. He puts trust in Robin Hood's words, for now at least.

"So, now that the first impression's over, what do you think of me?"

"...You're powerful, extremely so."

His power, although it differs from his last big hurdle, was on par with the Dark Beast in his opinion. He couldn't touch Robin Hood, and it looked like he didn't need to try and was seemingly able to dodge every swing on a whim. It was absurd, too absurd. But Manu has met face to face with absurdity before so it didn't make him despair all that much.

"Hahaha… is that so? Then, glad to receive a favorable comment. But you don't know just how much stronger… one can get to."

Then, there was silence as no more words were exchanged anymore. This prolonged silence was quite awkward, but Manu didn't let it bother him.

Then suddenly, Wendy's messages appeared before Manu's eyes.

[Accumulated EXP has been calculated]

[Distributing EXP to enhance System Holder's body in his stead]

[Do you want to proceed with the procedure?]

He stares at the last prompt with a calm gaze, and soon gives his approval.

'Yeah, go ahead.'

[Approval received]

[Distributing appropriate EXP]

[Beginning body calibration during enhanced healing process]

[Warning, slight discomfort is imminent]

'Slight… discomfort.'

He survived through the short but fierce battle just a few minutes ago, so a little bit of discomfort is nothing to him right now. But, perhaps he was underestimating, or rather Wendy was giving quite a mild description, but the incoming pain was on par with the pain of him using Maximum Overdrive.

"Kugrahhhhh!!!"

The jolts of pain made him scream out loud, prompting Robin Hood to take notice of him.

"Huh? Are you good there or…"

"I'm… fine! Arrghhhh!"

"Woah, that's a pretty rough fine you're in…"

Robin Hood looked down on Manu as he wriggles and convults, his body an erratic mess.

'Kuhhhh… it's, more painful than I thought! Is this the slight discomfort Wendy said?!!'

It was more than what the machine had said, but this didn't bother Manu much. He's been tempered by his father in pain tolerance, so he doesn't shrink much when it comes to tanking non-fatal hits.

'But damn… this is really edging my nerves.'

His training was rough, and this reminded him of his training with his father. The years, now almost uncountable days, that he would spend hitting and getting hit by wood always made him throb. Pain was something he's accustomed to, and experiencing it again is nothing less than walking a path he has taken long ago.

'How long is it… going to last.'

The pain was continuous, not building nor declining as time went on. Soon, half an hour has passed with nothing much has changed.

'Dammit… Wendy, how long is the process going to take?'

[Calculating remaining EXP for calibration process]

[...........EFT in 12 minutes]

'EFT…?'

[Estimated Finish Time, please think about it before you question anything, Manu]

Wendy went silent again after giving her answer. Manu was forced to endure just a little bit more, a little bit more.

'I need… to hold on.'

Soon, when there's only 10 minutes left, his body began to feel lighter. The continuously jolting pain subsided little by little. And when it's done, his body has been healed back to its original state and not just that, he also felt more invigorated and powerful. He touches his muscles, from his calves to his forearms, everything felt hardened like tempered metal, but still slightly moldable to show that it's still flesh and tissue.

'This is… strange.'

Of course, the whole procedure to arrive at this outcome was strange as well, a great deal of pain as he's healing his wounds.

"Have you recovered your energy yet?"

"Yes… somewhat. I feel… stronger, faster, lighter. What, is this?''

"Haha, don't sweat the small things. Just know that it's a miracle, that you're still standing that is.''

"..."

Manu was suspicious of the last part, a 'miracle' he said. Although it could be just something thrown at random, it's still worth to take notice in Manu's opinion.

'....Maybe I'm reading too much into this.'

He sighs, thinking if he's gone mad or something. He stares at nothing in particular, wondering what he should do next. But Robin Hood, he already knew what they'll do.

"So, now that first impression's over and done with, let's take a walk, aye?"

"Huh…? Why?"

"I don't know, fresh air? Something to dispel this awkwardness we're having? Anything, really."

"...You said that if I manage to win, or something. You would let me go, right?"

"Yep, pretty much it, so? Wanna take a stroll?"

"...Why are you being so casual? This is suspicious."

What his father always has taught him over and over again is to never trust in anything one-sidedly from the start. Kindness can often be poison in disguise if offered unnecessarily or forcefully. If you take it, then your senses will be dulled and wither with the most terrifying thing being you might not even know it.

''..."

"Hey, no need for suspicion. It's just to soothe the loneliness this King of the Forest has, I'm still a sentient being."

"And you might not even need companionship, since it's common for something, someone like you, to be a solitary monster."

"Now that's just awful, calling a full-fledged human a monster. But, you're not too far off the mark, I suppose. Part of being human is being a monster within, so I guess you make sense somewhat."

Robin Hood sounded like he's rambling on about something philosophical about human nature, but Manu wasn't having any of that now.

"Forget what I said about you, why do you want to take a stroll with me? This is suspicious, you aren't going to poison me or put me to sleep, are you?"

"What? No, of course, not while you're aware of it. It's just bad tactics when your prey's guard is up tight. But for your previous question, I just want to know you better. Since, you know, maybe you'll visit this place again."

"And why should I? And if I did, I don't have any reason to converse with you, let alone meet you."

"True, but hey, I'm always open to something similar to what we did minutes ago."

Robin Hood said so, and with a shrug he just leapt away. Strange and alarming thing is, he disappeared as he became airborne. This startled Manu, as he scans the surroundings to get a read on his whereabouts.

"Don't worry, I'm just going to stay somewhere. You do you, until you want to do something with me instead."

That sentence could be taken out of context so badly. Manu sighs, and decides that he should look for something that'll help him expand his horizon.