Chapter 2: Part 2

- Arthas -

You have killed a Mutated Flame Boar.

+10,000 Exp Gained.

Level Up.

Militia: 11(2200/2200)

+33 STR +33 END +22 DEX

I quickly stored the drops but the trouble hadn't ended there.

The loud noises were going to attract other animals and I didn't have much time to run so I got back on the tree again but not before throwing the large boar's corpse inside my inventory.

Sure enough, within minutes, the whole area was filled with many animals.

Many of them fell into the trap in the commotion while some stood surrounding the hole in the ground.

I for one wasn't going to let this chance go so I quickly started sniping the animals one after another.

The thing with changing Classes was that I could only equip 1 class of each Tier at a time and I got the stats of only the equipped classes, though the active skills remain even if they are 50% less powerful.

So with the Level 20 Apprentice Hunter switched out with a Level 11 Militia, my damage was reduced by a lot but even then the poison made by Veena was very useful.

It was a total massacre.

In the next few hours, I was able to level up my Militia Class to level 18 not to mention the drops and in the end, I ended up sleeping on the tree itself.

By the time I returned back to the village, it was the afternoon of the next day.

I went straight to Gunter's Hut.

"Oh Arthas, it's you lad. How was your hunt?" he asked.

I noticed the people around me but right now I was not in the mood to delay.

"I would like to complete the quest for the Hunter's Examination."

"You completed the Quest! My my, that was quite fast if I do say so myself. Well, what are you waiting for, show me your Badge."

I passed on my Apprentice Hunter Badge to the guy and he did something to check it.

"Well….there was a talk about a secret final exam that the candidates have to find out for themselves." He said, scratching his chin.

….

At this point, I was getting irritated.

Sleeping on a fucking tree can make people irritable. Dulled emotions or not.

And thus, a few words slipped out of my mouth.

"Oh come on, do I need to learn Nen now?!"

Congratulations!

You have unlocked a secret Achievement.

Man of Culture!

Title Gained: Traveller

Reward: Unique Skill: Shingen-Ryu.

Keep seeking more of these secrets hidden in the world of Arcana.

I stood there still….looking at the notification in front of me.

"You've got to be kidding me."

At this point, there wasn't a doubt in my mind.

The Game Master….he was a transmigrator like me.

Gunter looked at my shocked look and laughed.

"Don't worry. Those are just rumours. You have passed the exams. These are just the exams for a Hunter and you did great. Here lad, have your badge."

He handed me a badge which I took absentmindedly.

Even the Quest completion in front of me was not enough to get over the shock.

Gunter handed me a new Badge.

Hunter's Badge.

+5 STR +5 END +5 DEX

T3 Class: Hunter Unlocked

Congratulations on being the first one from your Region to advance to a 3rd Tier Class.

Title Gained

One Among a Thousand

+20% increased Exp Gain.

Keep doing your best, Traveller.

I looked at notifications and instantly observed the difference.

The last time I remember it was addressing me as 'Player' instead of a 'Traveller'.

I quickly checked the Title I had received.

Traveller.

A Special Title given to those who complete the Hidden Quests, Man of Culture.

+1 to all stats.

+2% to Exp Gained.

Note: The Effect of the Title can be enhanced the more secrets the Traveller discovers in the world.

I couldn't help but look up at the sky.

The Game Master.

- Sirzechs Lucifer -

He looked at the sleeping figures of his family members.

It had been a day since they had fallen unconscious and entered the Game.

When the announcement appeared in the skies of the Underworld, many of them had been taken aback.

Such a feat couldn't be achieved by a normal man. This was someone far beyond him in power.

Most of the people in the Underworld didn't even understand what was happening as human games were not that easily available in the Underworld and thus were not that popular.

It was almost eight hours in that he was informed about Rias and her peerage by her Knight, the only one who had been out for a contract.

While he was there to investigate her condition, he was informed that his mother and Grayfia were both in the same condition.

Apparently mother had wanted to try the game she had heard about from Rias and had dragged Grayfia into it too.

They were not moved from the place carelessly, fearing that it might stop the game and take their lives.

Ajuka himself made sure that they could be brought to the Underworld and to the Gremory Mansion without disturbing the Game.

He was still getting updates about the devils who had been in the same situation.

The game Soul Art Online was massively popular as a marvel of technology and even Ajuka had praised it.

This had resulted in several devils playing the game.

And not only Devils, several members of other pantheons had done so as well and now each and every one of them were in a similar situation.

"Can't you do anything, Ajuka?" He asked his friend who had been checking up on them.

Ajuka got up and looked at him and shook his head. "The Magic is too strong and with the soul involved, I cannot take the risk. It would be beyond repair if something were to go awry."

He gritted his teeth as his power leaked out a bit.

"Control yourself, Sirzechs. There are patients." His father chided and he quickly reigned in his powers.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down. "I am sorry. I lost my composure for a moment."

"I know you are worried. I am too. But at such a time, losing your calm will not help anyone." His father explained slowly.

"Yes father."

Suddenly, the door to the room opened and a servant rushed in.

"M-my Lord. T-t-there's a body hanging from the top of Lucifer Castle." The man looked pale.

"What! Whose body is it?"

"I-i-it's….Rizevim Livan Lucifer."

….

….

….

….

Before he could get over his shock and ask more, he heard a familiar sound and rushed towards the window to see the same screen in the sky once more.

- Game Master -

He looked at the faces of the people of the Underworld, staring at the sky.

As he had expected, someone had tried to mess with his plans and it was none other than the spoiled son of Lucifer.

So he decided to show them the consequences of such actions.

"Well hello everyone. I didn't expect to see everyone so soon….oh who am I kidding. Of course I did. I knew there would be idiots who wouldn't pay attention to my warning. Seriously, was it so hard? I did warn you about Angry Me, didn't I? And guess who it was?"

He paused a bit to let them digest the information as the screen changed to the top of the Lucifer Castle where the dead body of Rizevim was hanging.

"Bingo! It was the spoiled son of Lucifer. Seriously, these idiots have more pride than they are worth. Did he think he was special because his daddy was the Big Bad Devil? Or was it because he was a so-called Super Devil? The dumb moron was the weakest of all three of his kind and yet had the biggest ego among them."

He looked at the ugly looks on the faces of the devils.

"You morons put too much weight on that silly title and in doing so you forget a very simple thing….a super ant….is still an ant. I can eat them for breakfast lunch and dinner and not even burp. So….know your fucking place. I am not like others who would bear your tantrums for the sake of world peace. I would simply erase anyone who annoys me. If that's the whole race….then so be it. Is that understood? And this…." He pointed towards Rizevim's body "Was just a small example."

The entire underworld had gone silent.

"It seems that I need to show how serious I am about my Game. Then so be it. Let me repeat myself once more, for the last time. The only way the game will end is if the players win the game. If anyone tries to use any other way, well hold on a moment, let me show you what I will do." He shifted the camera to another location .

The screen was filled with the sight of a large beast with characteristics coming from different animals like a lion, a leopard, a bear, a dragon, etc. It has seven necks, seven heads, with ten horns, as well as seven long thick tails of different shapes. It also has four stout arms and two legs that are even thicker than its arms. Its main body is that of a primate leaning forward and is covered in black fur and what appears to be scales all over its body. Its size is well over several hundred metres.

Even through the screen, anyone could feel the strength of this beast.

"This is 'The Beast of Apocalypse - 666', the Beast that brings the end of the world and all. You must have heard about it in many of the myths, even in the Bible… Oh, especially in the Bible. After all, the being the God of the Bible had locked up even knowing that it might lead to his own end. 'The Beast Of Apocalypse - 666' or as it is called, Trihexa."

"The Big Guy from the Bible was severely weakened due to sealing him after all. He was barely at 5% of his power in the Great War. What? How could you little Devils and Fallen Angels ever dream of matching him at full power? The so-called Super Devils of the current age would have been snivelling babies in front of 'THE Big Guy'." He laughed and none of the Devils or Fallen Angels on the screen spoke.

"Nah… the guy was dying as it was, so he decided to cull the numbers to such a degree that the leftovers didn't battle even if it was just to save themselves from extinction. Anyways, let's not go off topic. So, if anyone tries to stop or even interrupt the game, I will release our little pet in their houses."

He then paused and looked at them, his lips curling up into a smirk. "Oh, and if they by some *pfft* divine miracle, survive that, I will," He zoomed out to show himself and his three lovers, "take personal fucking action against them."

With his speech done, he decided to show them a small glimpse of what he could do. "Now for the punishment for the ones who made the first offence. Don't worry. I am not a beast. I will not take any more lives today. But something needs to be done to keep you idiots reminded of the consequences." The screen shifted towards a familiar floating island.

Agareas.

He snapped a finger and the entire island was covered in bright light, completely vanishing.

"No more fancy chess pieces for you. I believe you have already recovered your population enough. Now think about managing them properly rather than keeping on increasing them with disposables. Alright, gotta go. I have a game to supervise. Ciao. Keep being good children or the Angry Me might come next time and go full Thanos on you." He looked at the confused looks of the people.

"What, you all don't know Thanos? The guy who wiped out half the life in the Universe in his over-the-top family planning scheme? The purple guy. 'I am inevitable' 'Snap' Thanos? Tch, what uncultured people."

With that he shut the screen off.

"Seriously! No culture in this world at all." He complained.

"I doubt they even know your definition of culture." Tiamat rolled her eyes.

"Well, if they did, they wouldn't have to throw all their hopes on a guy with a vocabulary of a single word, breasts."

"I personally thought it was hilarious." Red laughed.

Their conversation was interrupted by Ophis of all people.

"Someone…."

"Hmm?"

"Someone got the 'Man of Culture' achievement in the Game."

"Huh?!" He thought he misheard.

"Someone got the 'Man of Culture' achievement in the Game." She repeated again.

He shot up from the chair and went to the screen and saw the scene play in front of him.

"Oh come on, do I need to learn Nen now?!"

Nen.

This wasn't even a reference any one could get by mistake.

His face lit up as he looked at the blue haired boy on the screen.

With a single wave of his hand, all the information about him was in front of him.

Arthur Strauss.

A super genius with slightly muted emotions.

The more he read the information about the kid, the more he was sure.

"Arthas! Is he for real? Could he be any more obvious with that username?"

"Is he someone from your world?" Red asked, peeking over his shoulder and on the screen.

"Yup. A reincarnator."

"Hahahaha, looks like your theory might really be correct. But anyways, you got a fellow 'Man of Culture'." She laughed.

Oh, that he did. That he sure did.

"And it seems that this junior of mine was quite bored of his normal life." Or else, he would have never jumped into 'SAO' of all things. "In that case, let's see how he does." At least the work he had put into all those hidden references all over the game wouldn't go to waste.