Partnership?

For some who may question the previous chapters changes. The main reason I increased the time Philip spent on the Memories was to make his strength and achievements more concise with worldbuilding.

He'll be as strong as he was before, but a year and some extra weeks feels more believable for everything he did compared to the few months he spent there before, it shouldn't affect much otherwise, just one of the many small details I changed, but that's what matters.

Thanks for reading! 10K words

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—

'Open Main Status'

[Recalculating…]

[

Name: Philip Vinten

Race: Type 1 Human (+)

Home World: Earth (+)

Registered World: Eden (+)

Level 0

Class: N/A (+)

Title: Hunter Genius (+)

Exterminator of Nightmares

Ancient Explorer

One man army

Jack of all Trades

Number 1

-Vital info-

Mind> 4.3(21.5) (+)

Physical> 2.7(10) (+)

Energy> 2.3 (+)

Spiritual> 1.5 (5) (+)

Mystique> 6 (+)

Abilities:

Skills:

Gamerverse (+)

Intermediate Skill fusion Lv3 (+)

Traits:

Mind Bastion LvMax (+)

]

'It's quite bare… But there is some substance in here.'

'If I want to grow stronger… Then I have to improve it. And the simplest way would be…'

'How do I transfer my "skills" to this tab?'

[Unknown, this information is not in the database.]

'Now you gotta be fucking with me…'

'There must be a way… I can't let them be "wasted" on one Class.'

'Right now, there isn't much of a problem, but once I get another Class, I'll lose most of this strength… Although I'll have to wait and see about that.'

'Anyhow… Mind Bastion is providing me quite the boost. It has once again been raised to its limits.'

'There must be a way to improve it further.'

Philip took this chance to open the Trait tab:

[Mind Bastion LvMax

Type-Trait

Description: The strongest wall, the unbreakable fortress! The last and most solid line of defense.

Nothing shall pass this line! Everything that tries shall suffer the consequences!

Remain tall, sturdy, and everlasting. Through the darkness, seek the light.

May my will remain eternal!

Effects:

>Emotion mass control: Calms or enhances your emotions when they surpass a certain threshold. This effect can extend to those around you.

You may choose who to affect.

>Analytical computation: Greatly Improves all mechanical functions of the brain. Such as memory, learning speed, reflexes …

As long as the Bastion stands, it may work as a secondary processing Unit, allowing continuous parallel thinking.

>Perfected defenses: Massively boost defenses over attacks against the mind, up to a certain Level.

>Mind Paladin: A Mind Paladin protects the Mental fortress. His mere presence strengthens the defenses of the Bastion and will exist for as long as your mental fortitude remains. 

In case of death, he will reappear when enough mind power is gathered.

His strength grows as he is fed more mind power. But his strength can never surpass that of what the Fortress can hold.

]

'Strange to think how much this changed in such a "short" notice.'

'... Mental Paladin, huh… So I have a little knight inside my head? That's neat.'

'I wonder what it means by affecting those around me? Can I influence the mental state of others whenever I want? That seems quite potent… I'll have to experiment a little.'

Philip moved on, opening his Skill interface:

[Intermediate Skill fusion Lv3

Effects:

-Improves the efficacy of "skill" fusion.

-Has a small chance of detecting suitable skills for merge when they're created.

-Has a small chance of telling the end result of a fusion.

>Adds a small chance of "critical fusion". Greatly increasing the end result of the fusion

-Critical fusion considerably increases the skill Level and quality when triggered.

>Can bypass very weak restrictions.

]

'I've seen for myself what it can do. It's definitely my greatest tool. But it also relies heavily on me as for it to show any value, it needs me to provide it with materials.'

'The harder I work, the more chances I give it to shine.'

'Lastly would be my Titles I suppose… Hunter Genius is a direct evolution of the previous Hunter Prodigy. It gives a +3 to all Hunter related "skills", which is quite great.'

'However, the most notable aspect of this Title is the ability to push Skills beyond their Level, this allows me to peer slightly into their higher forms and train even faster.'

'It's not that useful to me now that I've mastered most of them. From here on, I need to carve my own path… Create my own techniques.'

'A max level Skill being boosted may sound impressive, but oftentimes, it's not really indicative of anything.'

'Some Skills may be pushed into more perfected states, realms beyond the conception of their creators, but that doesn't mean that's always the case.'

'Anyhow… I lack examples. Which is easy to solve.'

Philip smiled.

'Technically speaking, it has barely been half an hour since I awakened in this world. What I don't lack right now is time.'

'Moving on…'

'Exterminator of Nightmares is quite the strange Title for I don't know what it does. It's description is also vague.'

'I think it enhances my resistance towards the Great One's corruption, I think it was this Title that prevented me from succumbing to their presence like many others.'

'Ancient Explorer is pretty simple. It is an evolution from a series of "Explorer" Titles, it gives me many boosts depending on the place I am "exploring".'

'I acquired it as I moved around the world. It's a decent Title all things said, but I can't say how useful it is.'

'One-man army is the simplest of them all. It gives me stat boosts when I am fighting large numbers of enemies on my own.'

'I gained this when I fought against an army of sewer rats. I used dozens of traps to kill as many as I could... The numbers probably went to the ten-thousands.'

'That was a ridiculous mission. The result of thousands of corpses pilling up over the years of hunting and without proper care. The rats bred like crazy and… The rest isn't a mystery.'

'Jack of all Trades was rewarded when I mastered several abilities in different areas. It boosts the learning speed of new subjects. While increasing my talent towards "basic" activities.'

'However, I don't understand what it means by "basic". Basic like carving wood? Basic like running?'

'The way the System interacts with the world is quite odd.'

'And my newest Title. Number 1, but that's already self explanatory..'

'That's all for my Status; So much work and I just arrived in this world…'

'… Does the year I spent inside count?...'

'Is there anything else?... Well, I still have my Blood Echoes and Insight that I plan to spend eventually.'

'Increasing the Level of the Shop should also be a nice idea. It's essentially a walking wallmart for me so there's nothing bad in improving it.'

'The problem is how expensive it got. And since reality isn't like a game, there was no such thing like Blood Echoes scaling with the difficulty of the monster I took down.'

'And now that I'm in reality, I likely shouldn't expect most creatures to drop items like Coldblood and similar materials… But as long as I can get Blood Echoes, I can buy everything else from the shop.'

'If not for that, I wouldn't be able to experiment as much as I had before.'

"Phew…"

Philip took a deep breath, finally finishing this chapter of his life.

'Now that I'm done… Let's see what this world has to offer.'

…

/Later…/

The minutes passed by as Philip kept himself calm and composed.

He further explored the System and learned as much as he could from it as he kept his eyes open for those around him.

But he wasn't the only one doing that.

Some of the dumber ones just showed off and bragged about their capabilities, while some of the smarter ones kept quiet. Exploring the System and their abilities in silence, often gathering with others to keep themselves protected.

/Chatter…/

'... They're too loud.'

Philip's enhanced senses allowed him to hear most of their conversations.

The geeks formed a circle far away from most, they seemed to be discussing their classes and abilities. Already drawing possible development routes and methods to further progress them.

They were by far the ones he paid the most attention to.

The rich kids were not confused by the situation. They kept themselves calm and collected as they went over what was happening in a rational and decisive manner.

They may not have adapted fully but they were certainly beyond most… Unlike the muscular guys who were the most lost after the Lolis.

'It's hard to believe most of those girls are adults with the way they're acting.'

'But no one from this group is normal… I'm almost beginning to believe they're the way they are because of some interference… After all, they did visit the university the day this was all planned.'

'There's definitely a degree of intention there.'

Meanwhile, the happiest of them all were the edgy kids who just seemed to be in the zone. Already showing adjustment and proficiency in their skills and abilities, or whatever they called them.

Philip even heard some mentions of "Leveled up" and "I gained a new skill", showing their fast progress.

'Some seem happy, others are concerned… A few others… Have already begun developing their abilities.'

'Looks like I wasn't the only one who adapted quickly to this situation, but then again, I had an entire year to think this through already.'

'Speaking of that… I wonder if the others have awakened unusual abilities like me also? I may be overestimating my uniqueness a tad much.'

'I must remain sharp at all times.'

/Chatter…/

/Ploft/

While Philip's eyes scanned his surroundings, someone approached him, sitting down next to him as they took a deep breath.

It was a blond man wearing a slightly open shirt.

He had a laid back expression as he pushed his glasses to his forehead, closing his eyes as he calmed down.

'Isn't this kid one of the popular guys? I think his name was… Roy?'

"Yo. Would you mind if I sat over here? Everywhere else is quite loud…" Roy asked as he tapped the ground

"Feel free to sit."

"Thanks, man. Those guys are simply way too loud for me."

/Thud…/

"I just want to rest my head a little and process this situation…" Roy said as he let his back slide to the invisible barrier, relaxing

Philip just nodded in reply, silently agreeing with his words.

The conversation ended just like that.

Neither of them made any effort in continuing the conversation. 

Until…

"Look at those guys…"

Suddenly, he pointed toward a group of people on the other side of the circle.

It was one of the delinquents, and from his expression, he wasn't happy.

'... A fight? Of course… Give a man money and he'll show what he truly values. Give a man power and he'll show who he truly is…'

'Those kids… The Depressed Kids? The Emo kids… Not surprising.'

'The oppressed are fighting back.'

"... Repeat what you said to me again? Say that to me one more time and I will give you a straight ticket to the Hospital!"

As he exclaimed, flames sprouted around his body, threatening to swallow them.

/Step back…/

A few onlookers stepped away silently, unwilling to be dragged into their mess.

"..."

'The soldiers aren't doing anything. They must've expected this was going to happen.'

'But it isn't good to let your soldiers fight like this, it brews distrust in your forces unless it's done very carefully. And even then, who can tell what one may think?'

'People like to joke that men turn friends once they fight, but can this be compared to a fight between two middle school kids in the park?'

There was much in his mind but little time for his thoughts to conclude.

/Smirk…/

As Philip watched the mess unfold, the other kid replied with a faint smirk, not intimidated by the boy's bravado:

"You are a fucking failure, Kim. It's no wonder your mom gives her ass in the alleys, look at the result…"

/Fwoosh!/

Before he could even finish, the delinquent boy sent a furious punch to the kid.

He didn't try to evade it all, smiling lightly as he saw the man run to him… 

Although it was evident he hesitated for a moment.

'That fool…'

/CLANG!/

/CRUNCH!/

"AH… AHHHH?! M-MY HAND! AHHHH…"

/Glister…/

A translucent crystal wall suddenly appeared in front of the boy. Blocking the Delinquent punch as it glistered lightly in response to the impact.

'Sigh… I see now. He was baiting the kid. Smart, but predictable.'

'Unfortunately, that brat didn't hold anything and ended up breaking his hand.'

"Ouch, I heard that crack from here…" 

Roy shook his head as he scoffed. But from his expression, Philip felt he expected this result somewhat.

"That kid was Kim… He has a very, very short fuse."

"He isn't one to think too much though, this was probably the most I've seen him talk in a few days…"

"The other guy is Vincent, one of the unfortunate kids that tend to be targeted by those guys. Looks like he finally showed his fangs… Well, his shell?"

"... You seem to know them very well."

'Kim and Vincent… Interesting.'

"That's being conservative!... I used to be part of the student council. I basically know everyone here!"

"Names Roy by the way, may I ask yours? Senior?"

"Philip."

"Nice to meet you Philip."

He reached out his hand for a greeting and without thinking much about it, he responded…

/Twist…/

But the moment their hands touched, Roy's face drastically changed. His expression went from calm to horrified, as if he had seen something horrendous.

'What… Happened?…'

'Ah… I see.'

Philip's expression soon changed as well, his eyes sharpening as they flashed red for a moment.

"You used a Skill on me, right?"

/Tighten…/

Philip increased the pressure of the handshake, causing Roy's expression to fall as sweat began rolling down his cheeks.

[Predator's presence LvMax has been activated]

"You better explain calmly and slowly, friend. Unless you want to end up like that kid over there."

"I… I-I didn't… Use a Skill… Huff… Not exactly…"

He was having difficulty talking. Even breathing seemed difficult.

But that was enough for Philip as he could at least tell that Roy did not have any ill intent. Still…

'I let my guard down. In this place filled with people with strange abilities, letting myself go like this could cost me dearly in the future.'

'If it was before, I'd say I was going overboard, but after spending a year in that hell, there's nothing I value more than my own life. And I'll do everything in power to keep myself afloat.'

'Everything.'

"Go on. Tell me everything. We have time."

"It's… M-My skill…"

Roy kept stuttering as his eyes grew distant and his voice weak.

'I went too far, an ordinary person wouldn't be able to resist this much pressure.'

'Back then, even with Mind Fort I was barely able to face that spider monster and yet here I am pressing down a man without any sort of training or mental fortitude with a force far greater than such a beast.'

'I should commend him for keeping himself conscious.'

[Predator's presence LvMax has been deactivated]

"G-GASP!... That… That was terrible…"

"What are you waiting for? Start talking."

/Gulp/

Even after his Skill was taken down, Roy's heart kept beating fast as if about to jump out of his chest.

"I wanted a… a safe bet… No… I wanted… Security."

"..."

/Inhale… Exhale…/

He breathed in and out and regained his calm.

"Phew… You see, in this sort of environment where you don't know what is going to happen, sticking to safe bets is necessary."

"So I just decided to stick with…"

"Me? I'm your safe bet?"

"How did you determine that?"

"... Can we make a contract?"

"..."

"...Never make a contract!..."

Philip's eyes flashed with his memories, but even without them, he knew what to say, everyone would've said the same…

"No."

"Man…"

"Even then, I don't even know if a contract holds any meaning in this world. Why stick to such a concept in this situation?"

'Unless he has a Skill to make up for it, even then, how come he knew this was possible?'

'Did he infer such a process was the only way to guarantee an agreement between both parties? It isn't something hard to think about, but then…'

'Does he think I'm stupid? It's evident this was his goal from the beginning.'

'What does he want from me? What does he see in me that made him approach me first?'

Philip's expression remained the same, but his mind worked overdrive.

"You're right... I didn't think this far."

"At least a small promise? I won't say anything and you don't say anything about my skill?"

Philip looked at him sharply, his hands twitching:

"What is there for you to hide about me? What do you even know about me?"

"I-I know you're capable and I thought that… You'd want to keep that a secret…"

"Are you threatening me, then?"

'This guy… He's not stupid, but you can't negotiate if you don't have the skill for it, it's not easy to act like a character in fiction.'

'I can roughly tell the sequence of events that led him to me. He must've realized what was going on thanks to his ability, maybe he even saw something in the future related to either himself or the world around him. So he came to me because I can either offer him something, or I'm related to those events.'

'He's right to assume I'd want to keep myself hidden for now. But that doesn't mean I have to follow his line of thinking.'

'If anything, it pisses me off that someone was able to easily read my information without me even realizing it… I'll have to get used to this until I find a way to protect myself from such probing.'

'That, however, doesn't mean I'll accept being used that easily.'

Philip's thoughts rushed through his mind like thunderbolts. By the time he was done, Roy had barely started his next sentence:

"No! I just want to keep a good relationship between us! That's all."

"Go from the beginning, and I will think about your case. That's all I can say."

Roy hesitated, but in the end, he knew what had to be done.

He looked around warrily, then began speaking with an awkward smile:

"... I have a Skill that allows me to… Divine… That's the word. Divine…"

"And given how messy everything was… I used it to find the strongest in this circle."

"Apart from the knights, I found ten people. You just happened to be the most suitable person to partner up with."

"... Who are the other ten and how does my strength measure up to them?"

'He's evading my question and giving me a half answer, but I won't gain anything from pressing him right now.'

'It's clear his first thought wasn't to find the strongest here. It may have been but that wasn't the reason he approached me.'

'He wants something else from this exchange.'

"Their strength… I don't know exactly. I just know that you and the other nine are currently the strongest people in the circle."

"Can you be more precise?"

'Momentary strength means nothing, but if they awakened strong, there'll be at least some level of consistency from this moment onward if everything I've learned of the System so far remains correct.'

'People can greatly change with Abilities and Skills. Just as a weak person can grow stronger, so can someone strong… Although the contrary can already happen.'

'I guess this then turns into a question of… Potential.'

'Is this what he's looking for, perhaps?'

"I don't know everyone's name, but they should be:"

Roy slightly raised his gaze, looking around the place:

"Olivia… Olivia Crest. The blond haired girl over there."

She was quite pretty. Looking at her from afar, Philip had the impression she was a spirited girl, the type of feeling a cheerful countryside girl may give.

"Partison, the tall muscular man with the others in the corner."

"Vivian Gray, the small and seemingly shy girl with purple hair on the side, don't let her fool you though, she is smarter than she seems."

"Dae Kyoung, the korean dude with long hair over there, he is a recent transfer student, and also the student council president."

"Amagi Cecilia, a half-Japanese half-American girl with red hair."

"And lastly… Luize Hustin, the super hot girl with green hair over there."

"..."

'She is pretty, but the green hair is too much, she'd be better with… This doesn't matter now.'

"I don't know the other 4, but they are surprisingly among those dudes over there."

He pointed to the Geeks, Edgy, outcasts, and one of the rich kids.

'One girl and three dudes. Interesting. I am surprised none of the teachers or the department heads were named in his list…They seemed quite "special" to say the least.'

'In fact, none of my fellow students were mentioned… Well, I imagine there's little spark to be found on an overworked college student compared to a high school kid.'

'Then again… He could be lying to me. What I don't understand is how he chose me, the only one who wasn't from his school as his target.'

'I've seen him talk with at least two of the aforementioned individuals, claiming he has no intimacy with them is nothing but taking me for a fool.'

'This essentially confirms his intentions to me, but I can't put a finger on why he'd do so… He must've used an extra Skill on me.'

'It has to be that. He approached me to confirm something with another Skill, and when he did it, he was forced to improvise once I caught him.'

'This is probably why he is making things up on the spot, that's why he's revealing so much information at once and poking holes in his reasoning.'

'If he had ulterior motives to approach me, they definitely did not include this exchange we're currently having. However, given he isn't backing down, it leads to what I inferred before. He likely wanted this to happen somehow, albeit not under these circumstances.'

'Unless he's really bold.'

Philip thought about the possibility of him overthinking Roy's reasoning, but then again, he could just act upon it.

Why think about it when you can just do it?

'Hm… Let's try pushing it further.'

"So. What was this about a "deal" that you wanted to strike with me?"

"You still want to keep that? Yes! Okay, it's like this!" He said as he adjusted his shirt

"I just want you to protect me for a while. Just help me with minor mistakes. Until the situation settles down. Even if nothing happens I will still give you my end of the deal."

"And what is that?"

"Remember my skill? "Divine"? I can give you a chance to use my ability once."

"..."

"O-Once per week!"

"... And why should I care about your Skill?"

'I don't even know what it does. I have no room to make promises when I barely know what's at stake.'

"What? Come on man! You can divine the future!"

"You make it sound incredible… But all lies started out as truths if even for a moment."

In short, if he was going to move, the price better be worth all this mess.

It would be a lie to say Philip wasn't interested in his unusual powers, experiencing something like that first hand would definitely be worth his time…

But that didn't mean it was worth his effort.

"Twice!"

"That's too low for me... Four times, and you'll use your ability once before me. Only then will I make a decision."

"COME ON! It has such a long cooldown! Three times or nothing!"

"... Add an extra use every time I have to protect you."

'Despite this long cooldown it doesn't seem like he's unwilling to use it four times a week, it likely has a cooldown over half a day long, but definitely shorter than two days.'

'I can't tell how great an ability is from that alone since I have no Skill with such a lengthy cooldown, but I'll assume it's better than average.'

"Urg... Why don't you take my left leg…"

"..."

"D-Deal! Consider those extra uses as front pay, but I want to add one more thing! If you don't use one of the chances, they won't accumulate to the next week!"

"... I am fine with that."

"Then it's a deal! Do you want to use my ability now?"

"There's no such thing as a deal yet… I'll make my choice after seeing your ability in action."

"... Very well. What do you want to know?"

"Use your ability on me, Divine my future." He said deeply as his eyes turned dark

'Technically speaking, I have no Fate, however, I'm a fake one. That said, he should still be able to Divine my future. But that's just my theorycrafting.'

'Even if I ask the System, it'll just say it possesses no resources to reply to my question.'

'That said, I'll confirm this now, and at the same time, figure out the capabilities of this man.'

'What is a Diviner, truly? And what can one do…'

"That is actually pretty simple…"

"Before you begin, I have a question. If you approached me, it means you used your ability before, yet here you claim it has a cooldown, why was that the case?"

"!... A-Ahem… I wasn't trying to deceive you!... I… My Skill automatically activated when I synchronized or whatever so it didn't count to the cooldown."

"Technically speaking, this shall be my first time testing it out."

"Hm…"

Philip did not question him, after all, he was the same, Gamerverse activated outside of his control. It remains the case even now. Otherwise he would've done so.

'Does this mean he also has a Skill with a degree of autonomy? The others weren't like that. I've seen a few of them activate their own Skills and Abilities…'

'Another interesting piece of information he shared.'

"Phew… Just give me a moment… And your hand."

"..."

/Flash/

Philip gave him his hand, and Roy held it with focus, tracing the lines on his palm as his eyes flashed with light.

"You… A great choice is upon you…"

A strange feeling took over Philip's body, as if he was being watched, but he bore with it for a few moments.

"T-There's… Two of you… A path… Unbelievable words…"

"Urg…"

Roy pulled his palm from Philip, touching his eyes as he yelped in pain.

Soon enough, the feeling went away.

"Huff… Huff… Okay. That was it."

"... Can you tell me more about it?"

"N-Not really… I saw two of you, or better said, I saw your backs…"

"It's hard to describe, I feel as if I was looking at the same person yet... Not."

"Then I saw a point… A choice… I felt a feeling of disbelief, words…"

"My Skill is still very much confusing to me. I have no idea what feelings belong to me and what are yours, this is the best I can give you now."

"Do you think this Skill is worth your time?"

He awaited in anticipation. 

"Hum…"

'Two of me… A choice… Possibilities?'

'Will there be a choice that'll shape my future? Does this mean that what he saw were possible versions of me?'

'A feeling of disbelief… Words… Something I'll learn? Hear? Is he talking about the message I heard from the principal?'

'Could it be he's Divining the me from the future and the me had I not interacted with the principal's footage? That can't be it, otherwise it wouldn't be true Divination, would it?'

'Nonetheless… I believe it's worth the shot. If I keep having him use his abilities like this, then his Skill should Level Up once or twice. Once that happens… Maybe I can have him try this again.'

'The issue is that I feel he's still hiding something.'

'Without me knowing the conditions of his Skill, letting this continue will only degrade my control over the situation… If I even have any.'

'However, not believing the "prophecy" may as well as well end up fulfilling it, like many stories once preached and mocked in the past.'

'Worse, what prevents him from withholding information or Divining about me in secret? Maybe his patience since he can't waste his Skill usage on me alone, but still…'

'Fate… Has it truly been written from the beginning? Such an annoying thing…'

'How does one break free from this situation?'

"Alright. I'll hold my end of the bargain. When can I next use your Skill again?"

"W-What? A-Already?"

"What is it? This was only meant to be a test, if I want to use your ability again, give me a time."

"Erm…"

"What is the cooldown of your ability?"

"..."

"... It's fine if you want to keep it a secret, as long as I can use it when the time comes."

'Looks like he has some backbone. To keep himself straight after all that happened.'

Philip thought about pushing him again but he realized this wasn't how he wished to do things. He wasn't willing to act like a tug and push people to do his bidding.

At the very least, Roy had yet to give him a reason to treat him like a beast.

"If I can't use my slots before the deadline ends, we'll be having this conversation again."

'...Strongest huh…'

'After all I went through, are there still some people who measure up with me?.. How do I compare to them and what sort of classes did they receive?'

'And what's the reason for Roy to come to me instead of remaining with his group?'

'Questions…'

…

"..."

'How much longer do I have to wait? Soon enough it'll be…'

[Time limit has been reached, the Beginner help info System is deactivating]

[May you achieve "transcendence" Good luck host!]

"Hm?..."

'Deactivating?... Right, this was temporary.'

'But transcendence? What was that about?'

/Cronk!/

/Creee.../

The large artifact behind Philip began to creak and turn, slowly returning to its original appearance as its rings returned to their previous alignment.

/Stop…/

Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at the ancient artifact.

/Silence…/

And after a minute, It stopped moving, sealing the strange matrix inside the metal rings.

/CLAP CLAP!/

"Alright everyone! It has been around twenty minutes or so. It's time to explain some minor things and get going."

"..."

'How does he know what a minute even is?... Wait. If the previous Heroes came from Earth, then that isn't that strange.'

/Whispers…/

To his words, everyone stopped chattering in an orderly and polite manner. By now, they had already understood that things were far from ordinary and that it was best to listen then to rebel.

Most at least… 

"Hm…"

Lupio nodded in satisfaction as he looked at everyone.

"I am sure many of you are excited and some are afraid. So let me finish this quickly so all of you may rest in your rooms."

"Adapting takes time, and we'll deliver your answers in due time. I only ask for your patience."

"And yes, each of you will receive a room and all of your necessities will be taken care of, the specifics will be discussed later."

"For now I would just like to show you all this:"

He picked a small tablet stone from a silver tray on his side, it looked very, very old.

There were a few other items on the tray, but it didn't seem like he had any intention of grabbing any of them.

"This is a "naming" stone. Each of you will receive one and only one."

"Crushing the stone with your fingers will give you access to our language and a series of common values used in our nation and some used in outside Kingdoms."

"You may question why the need for it given you already understand me, but this is only a temporary and highly impractical solution."

"The correct course would be teaching our language over time, yet that isn't practical."

"One of our summoned heroes of the past related this item to a "Dictionary", I hope this may help you in understanding what this is."

/Step step…/

As he spoke, the purple knights moved around handling the stones. Because of this, no one, even the bold ones, tried to cause trouble.

"As I said, make sure to break them in your hand, don't worry, they crumble fairly easily when you apply force. No matter what, don't throw them on the ground or have another person break them for you."

"Erm… Ex-Excuse me…" 

"Yes, young lady?"

"H-How does these… Work?"

"That would take too long to explain. But in short, 'neutral' memories and knowledge are extracted and 'pooled' inside a special chamber that when handled by the correct expert can then be solidified into what is essentially a bundle of experiences and understanding."

"These experiences are very tame and gentle, so they can't remain inside the mind for long, they merely function to pave in an outline, like blocking a river before building a dam."

"Over time, you'll learn the language and once the stone effects dissipate, given you practiced the memories, you shall possess mastery over our language."

"Simply put, it's a skill that will naturally translate that particular language to one that you are most proficient in. It will increase in proficiency as you are exposed to that particular language. Becoming more and more capable of translating it until you master it fully, which will then change it from a mere translator to a gauge of your skill with the language itself."

"In its current state it can't translate slang and regional accents very well, so be wary of that."

"You may deactivate it any time you wish. The Skill proficiency will increase even when it is deactivated. This is just one of the many skills you'll learn while you're with us."

"Aside from being artificially made, these stones are also rarely found outside, but their price remains the same, so make sure to not mess it up since it's quite a hassle to make another."

Lupio raised his left wrist, looking at his wristwatch.

"The High priest's spell should be ending soon as well… Hush hush! We don't have a lot of time left."

""...""

/Chatter…/

"..."

'I don't like things that mess with my mind…'

"Excuse me Hero, here."

One of the knights approached Philip with a tiny stone gently stored inside a wooden box, like a wedding ring on display.

"Thank you."

'Let's see… Does this have a description?'

Philip played with his System interface, finding the right option:

[Skill stone

Description:

An artificial stone containing information within. The information can vary from stone to stone depending on the methods used in its creation.

Effects:

Use it to gain the Skills, "Arlua Language Lv3, Barion Language Lv1, Elios Language Lv1, Drumben Language Lv1 "

Contains System related information.

]

/Chuckle…/

"Haha… So we break this and gain proficiency in a language? Meaning we can read, talk and write?..."

"All of those years studying English when such a thing existed…" 

"..."

Roy pretty much summarized Philip's current thoughts.

"*@!#*$@#... ^!@#&$@!"

Slowly, Philip began losing sight of everyone's speech, including Roy's.

It seemed the High Priest's Spell had cleared a little sooner than expected, maybe due to his strengthened mental power?

"... I guess we can only break this."

'But… This could be a test as well.'

'They could be looking to see if we're obedient or to test how strong we are.'

/Nod…/

Roy turned his head to look at Philip, he could see he thought the same thing.

/Grasp…/

So to make things more believable, he used his two hands and slowly tried to break the stone between his palms.

/Crumble…/

But the stone was really too weak, it crumbled with the minimum amount of effort, leaving Philip baffled.

It was like crushing hard sand…

'Am I too strong or is this too feeble?'

[Ding]

[You have gained the Skill. Arlua Language Lv3] 

[You have gained the Skill, Barion Language Lv1]

[You have gained the Skill, Elios Language Lv1]

[You have gained the Skill, Drumben Language Lv1]

[The system codex has expanded]

'Hum… I don't feel very different… I guess this is why we have to practice them, otherwise we'll lose mastery over them.'

[DING!]

[Intermediate Skill fusion Lv3 has detected a fusion opportunity!]

[Fuse Arlua Language Lv3, Barion Language Lv1, Elios Language Lv1, and Drumben Language Lv1 together?]

"..."

Had it not been for Mind Fort, Philip would've shown his surprise.

'What?... What a time for you to activate… But should I do it?'

'What they fuse into some strange language no one else can understand?...'

'Well… Worse it can happen is that I don't understand the others and they're forced to give me another stone.'

'Do it.'

[Fusing… Fusion complete]

[Proficiency is being recalculated...]

[You have acquired a new Skill, Western continent language(Incomplete) Lv0]

'Incomplete?'

'I guess that's fine, you can't fuse four languages and hope to be able to speak every single language on a continent.'

'But Western continent… So this is where I am.'

'This implies there is an Eastern continent, and one in the middle. And that these Continents are recognized by the System as well.'

"..."

Philip looked around and saw that Roy broke his stone without much trouble as well.

"It's just like a large chunk of chalk, it looks strong but when you apply strength… It just breaks." Roy said as he shrugged 

The others showed similar results… Only some of the weaker kids seemed to have difficulty. But they soon broke their respective stones.

"It seems everyone is done! Allow me to explain those four languages!"

"The four languages you all just learned are the most common ones used across the entirety of the Human empire."

"The Arlua language is the most used language. Our mother tongue."

"The royal family together with the church makes sure that every single Human in its territory will receive proper education and grow up to be able to at least talk in this language."

"The Barion Language is the language mostly used between merchants. It's a slightly more complex language used by those of higher class since it's quite difficult to learn compared to the Arlua language. But nevertheless, you will most likely see the language being used commonly inside big cities."

"The Elios Language is a special language. It's a neutral language made in order to allow all races to properly communicate. It's the second most important language for merchants and people who constantly leave the country."

"The Drumben Language is a written scholarly alphabet. Its main aspect is how complex it really is. It's mainly used among scholars to compress information into books. We gave you all this language because 85% of all of the books in the royal capital are written in this format."

"Now I am sure you all must be tired so we will end our activities here for today. Please follow the maids towards your resting grounds. Any questions and inquiries can be made to the head butler of the castle. He will be waiting for you all in your dormitories."

/Silence…/

"... If no one has any questions, please, follow the maids."

/Chatter…/

Chattering quietly, everyone followed the maids in lines.

It wasn't because no one had any questions, much on the contrary. Philip could see that many people were dying to ask questions, but were either too afraid to ask them, or they were thinking about getting the information on their own or from someone else.

'They think they're being sleek and smart… I'm not any different from them.'

'They should have a library somewhere…'

…

While they made their way to the dormitories. Given the Maids were far more approachable than the knights of the noble, people began asking them questions, especially the adults who had already gotten accustomed to their surroundings.

Philip on the other hand kept his ears up, listening…

/Step…/

"..."

'This place is quite… Fantastical.'

The castle was simply phenomenal…

The Nadir Royal garden… Named by one of the heroes from the first generation.

In short, ever since the birth of the empire, every one hundred years, a Hero summoning would commence.

In other words, this place was one thousand years old.

Supposedly, this place is a separate part of the Royal castle. Deep in the mountains, far away from normal civilization…

According to the maids, this "palace" was located in the Royal castle gardens. Around the middle, between its border and the castle itself.

To maintain the safety of the Capital, the royal garden was basically an entire valley limited by a mountain range, or as they said, "everything to the North of the Royal Capital."

This place was kind of like a "summer" house for the Crown. A place normally used by the princes and princesses of the royal family as dozens of Palaces and Manors had been built along the expanse of the many forests and rivers before the mountains.

Despite that, they had yet to see anyone of Royal blood aside from the King himself, which made this place feel rather desolate.

Philip immediately understood why.

'This place is likely a heavily secured Military outpost. At least right now.'

'Given how important this summoning is, I doubt they would let anyone who wasn't qualified and trustworthy inside, that's why I only see Soldiers and Knights patrolling everywhere.'

'This garden can also be seen as a Major strategic point of the Empire, a fortress protecting the North from invasions through the mountain ranges. But I'm assuming things here.'

This place has several things:

First was a church. A massive place built to house the artifact used to give the Heroes their "Heroic roles" and to also house the artifact that brought them into this world.

He knew they were two different objects from the way the Maids spoke of them.

They were stored somewhere inside in different locations where both remain a tight secret. 

It's a heavily protected land, you could see that by looking at the number of purple knights tasked with protecting that singular hall.

They weren't the only guards of this place. Everywhere you look, you will probably see blue and purple knights patrolling around the area, and if you were lucky, sometimes you would see knights wearing armor with a mixture of purple and red paint.

Those were the elite corps, right below the Red knight, the king's right hand, and military commander.

The elite… Of the elite.

Apart from the church, there was also the royal library.

There is supposedly no library in the main castle. Not a big one at the very least.

The only place suitable to be called "Royal library" was this place. It contains a massive selection of books collected and revised over the centuries.

There is a series of small things like a training camp, pools for relaxation, massage rooms, and even a Zoo containing all sorts of exotic animals for study and observation.

But they aren't there purely for our entertainment. No…

They are also there for the "Heroes" that had some sort of animal-related Class.

That's also the reason for the greenhouse.

'This is far too much infrastructure for a leisure area… This place is meant to train us. To have us get used to all sorts of aspects of this world and our own abilities. Maybe even a research institute between the centuries to prepare for the next batch."

'And to some degree, I think they don't trust us either. t's rather subtle, but I noticed their eyes. They are keeping an eye on us at all times.'

Philip's memories flared again:

"Leave immediately! Form a group or go alone. Find a way to go away from the *****."

'Sigh… Looks like things are not going to go smoothly… I don't think I can evade such a tight monitoring. Nor would I try when I have no idea what they can do.'

They did awaken his Class, so one could wonder what they could do next…

'Well, I just got here. Perhaps I will have a chance later or better yet, have no need to leave in the first place…'

'Anyhow, my main target right now is the Royal library.'

His memories flared again, making more sense with each step he took:

"Titles that you MUST acquire: Reading all of the books on the oldest shelf of the royal library, number 021..."

'From the list of things the old man gave me, this seemed to be the easiest one to get. And seeing how difficult Titles are to acquire… My expectations for these Titles he emphasized are only getting bigger and bigger.'

'And considering it involves reading books, it may give me the information I need to get some of the other Titles.'

'Finish all of the basic weapon training… Create one martial or magical technique while in the lowest state… Receive a blessing from the broken fountain… Those were the things I was meant to do.'

'However, the broken fountain and the last one… Those two were cut out from his explanation…'

'I wonder what they are.'

…

/Stop…/

'Hm… This must be the place.'

After walking through the long halls of the church and taking a walk around a park, they arrived at the foot of a wide and tall building several floors high.

(Image?)

It had a rather Gothic appearance, being very magnificent. Its doors seemed to be made out of some sort of translucent crystal.

"Ahem…"

There was an old man standing in front of the doors. He was wearing the usual butler outfit together with a monocle in his right eye.

His eyebrows were thick, so thick that I couldn't even see his eyes.

He also had a thin and long mustache. He exuded the aura of a calm old man.

His ears were pointy and long and his earlobes were even longer.

The old man who was waiting for us bowed and greeted us.

(Image)

"Welcome, young heroes. My name is Alfus. Keeper of this Palace."

"In front of you all is the "Adrius Palace" that housed every single Hero generation ever since the birth of the Empire, with the exception of the first one as despite building this place, not all of them had the chance to use it." He said with some regret as he looked at the top of Palace's central tower

"It was built in the old era when our nation was still in its fledgling stages. It has passed through many reforms in order to keep it up with the times. I'm glad to be its keeper and to present myself before you like those before me did."

"The boys and girls are separated into the two wings to your left and right. Please be understanding of this."

"If any of you have any requests, I will try my best to accomplish them. The only thing I can't do is to provide each of you with a singular room."

"Unfortunately, we only have around eighty functioning rooms, of which, only sixty are currently available for accommodation."

"Barely enough for everyone. We weren't expecting so many Heroes this time around. So we didn't prepare an adequate amount of rooms."

"The twenty rooms not currently available are special rooms dedicated to those who have accomplished great results during the course of our introductory week."

"It is… Not something I'm happy to see or proclaim, but it was a given that those who try their hardest be given the chance to achieve their full potential…"

"If not go beyond it."

"If you wish to stay alone, or if you wish to stay with a group, talk with Lingy over here."

He pointed to a veiled blue-haired girl standing on the side and somehow, despite all this time, Philip hadn't noticed her.

It was as if she was invisible…

'I have this strange impression… It's as if I'm stuck in one of those Nightmares again where reality twists and bends…'

Although the veil was completely opaque, he had this sensation that behind that veil, an incredible beauty resided.

(Image)

"For now, let's settle the issue of the rooms. Then we can think about other things…" He said as he took a clipboard from a stone podium next to him.

"Please, follow Lingy for now."

"For the Ladies and gentlemen of… A more refined age. Please follow me for your accommodations."

"Any questions?"

One of the teachers lifted his hand, looking at his coworker with a frown.

"When you say "refined" age. What is the exact number?"

"Oi… Why are you looking at me?!" One of the older teachers asked as she looked at the man

"Nothing nothing…"

"An excellent question mr… It was my oversight, please forgive me, everyone."

"All of those whose age precedes that of 25 may stay. The others are to follow me. Don't worry as I will answer all of your questions on the way…"

"Ex-excuse me, mister… May I stay with my students?... My age isn't exactly that high either… I-I am only 25…"

"That's quite old miss Mary." Said one of the delinquents with a scoff as he crossed his arms

"##!!"

'These darned brats!'

She got visibly angry but kept her cool.

"Humm… I think it's proper to leave an adult or two to take care of the young ones. Do any of the male teachers want to stay?"

There were a total of six people who would classify as teachers.

Three from the university and three from their school.

Miss Mary was one of the three teachers from the school alongside two other women. None of which Philip recognized.

From the university side, there were two middle-aged men and an old woman. They didn't seem enthusiastic about taking care of teen kids, and he could very well understand why.

"I will stay, can't let Mary stay alone." One of her colleagues said as she sighed audibly 

She didn't seem enthusiastic about taking care of those brats even in another world.

"If that's the case. Then I can't be the only one left."

In the end, all teachers remained to watch over the kids.

"..."

'I think I heard the children talk about them…'

Miss Mary, 25, rather shy but professional. She has long dark hair and wears casual modern clothes making her seem like a university graduate. Which in fact, she was.

Having just started her professional career, she was met with this situation. She was the current history teacher.

(Image)

Miss Danielle, 28. A force looking girl that talks and acts fierce!

She has a tomboyish look with her clothes consisting of tank tops and shorts although she wears a gym jacket most of the time. 

Her skin is slightly tanned due to her passion for beaches and swimming. She was the current PE teacher. 

(Image)

And finally, Miss Charlotte. A short "29" or so she says. Most likely a 34 or higher…

She has a very strict look, wearing thick glasses and a rather long skirt that hid her knees, which didn't help to make her seem younger.

Her dark hair was braided into a ponytail. She would be beautiful if her fashion sense wasn't so old and stiff. As such it was to no surprise, she was the Math teacher.

(Image)

Just like the previous two, she was also single. How? Don't ask me… 

'People whisper way too much. Why are they even talking about their ages… When did this become the subject of discussion?'

Philip rolled his eyes. 

"If no one has any other questions… The others, please follow me."

/Step step… Chattering…/

Everyone whose age was beyond twenty five followed the old man. This included the department heads some students, and Philip's teachers. 

In fact, Philip was rather distraught when over half of the students left with them.

'... Is everyone so damn old in this darned discipline?...'

Even though many left, we still had over eighty people left.

"Everyone… Come with me…"

A beautiful and calming voice entered their ears.

How to describe this voice?... It was soothing yet charming…

'Hum… She has quite a sweet voice… It's making me tired…'

'Right, I'll just go inside and think about the rest later. I do need a shower…'

[Mind Bastion LvMax protects your mind from outside forces]

"..."

Philip was stunned to hear that message.

'Wh-What happened?'

But no one was there to answer him.

'… Yeah… I am alone this time…'

'Did she try to hypnotize me?... I don't think so. It wasn't something similar to hypnosis…'

'It's more like guiding… Influencing. Mass emotion control like my Trait.'

Philip looked around and noticed how everyone was suddenly rather calm and silent, some even seemed… Infatuated…

'They are definitely under her control… I need to act like them for now. The last thing I want is to provoke her and get her attention.'

Philip's gaze relaxed as he followed them inside…

...

The inside of the Palace was rather bland compared to the outside, but if you looked at the furniture, you would realize this place is without a doubt high class.

'They certainly didn't hold anything back with this place… The wood… Is that?... A lamp?'

'Looks like I underestimated the technological development of this place…'

'Well, in my defense, up until now, I saw knights wearing heavy plate armor walking inside a medieval-style castle… Who would expect them to have electricity?'

'But… This lamp could also be "magic".'

'I saw many things that I could only explain as if they were magic… Of course, it could be a piece of technology so advanced that from my perspective it's nothing but magic…'

'But thinking I'm the country bumpkin here is… A little infuriating. Just a little…'

'Well, at the very least, I don't see a cable anywhere…'

"Everyone… Get into a line so we can quickly and efficiently assign you, a dream room!"

Her melodic voice once again clashed against his Mind, causing Philip's eyes to twitch as he noticed a faint bell tingle inside his skull.

[Mind Bastion LvMax protects your mind from outside forces]

But once again, he prevailed!

/Step…/

"E-E-Erm… Excuse us…"

The first ones in the line were the delinquents who right now were no different from dogs with their tails down from how tame they looked and acted.

"I see you are already in a group! Would you like a big room so that you can all stay together? You are all friends, right?"

"Ah… No… I mean… Yeah… Isn't that right, boys?"

"Yeah yeah… Friends…"

"Of… Of course… Anywhere is fine… Isn't that right, Kim?"

"Uhhhh…"

"... Is your friend okay?"

"H-He's just overwhelmed… Broke his hand just a few moments before…" One of them replied as they looked away

It was evident they were all embarrassed and flustered.

"That's such a shame… I hope he gets well soon." She said gently as she moved around slightly 

[Mind Bastion LvMax protects your mind from outside forces]

"..."

'Even faint gestures can make a man fall… What a scary woman…'

Philip's expression was tense as he tried his best to act like everyone else, but it was like fighting himself.

His Mind was telling him to walk away but he had to remain, this made things all the harder.

'It's not hard to resist but it's hard to keep looking at her with a straight face… Please go a little faster…'

"I will provide a room for all of you so that you can stay together!... Next, please!"

...

Slowly and efficiently, she grouped everyone into their respective rooms, having over eighty people settle down in less than twenty rooms.

Strangely enough, no one ever asked to be placed in a single room… Although she did place some people into single rooms seemingly at random.

But that wasn't the case. Philip could see that she was carefully choosing people based on their personalities and common traits in order to avoid as many conflicts as possible.

Like placing the geek girl together with the mean girls… That's only asking for trouble.

He was fascinated as to how quickly she managed to read into their personalities.

/Step…/

After ten minutes, it was finally his turn…

'My acting should be perfect. I'll just ask for a single room and be done with it… I hope this doesn't provoque her much.'

"..."

For a split second, she tilted her head in surprise as she took a glance at Philip, and before he even had the chance to say anything, she said:

"You seem like someone who would like to remain in a room alone… Or would you prefer to stay with someone?"

Her voice was captivating, her beauty was…

[Mind Bastion LvMax protects your mind from outside forces]

"... Single room… I am fine with a single room."

'Is this what a succubus looks like?'

/Clap…/

It was quite strange… Her body stiffened for a moment, but soon enough, her eagerness returned as she clapped her hands.

"That's great! Do you have any preference?"

"?..."

'She didn't ask that of the others… What does she mean by that?'

"I just like privacy…" He replied without putting much thought into it

"I see… I hope you enjoy your stay here with us!" She said the wind brushed across her veil, revealing a portion of her face

"!!"

[Mind Bastion LvMax protects your mind from outside forces]

[Mind Bastion LvMax protects your mind from outside forces]

[Mind Bastion LvMax protects your mind from outside forces]

Throughout the entire time he saw her face, Mind Bastion began working to maintain his focus.

A strong urge to grab her suddenly spread in his mind… But he easily managed to resist it.

And he could tell from the faint smile he saw… That she was doing this on purpose!

'She seems to be having quite some fun teasing everybody… Anyhow, I don't care. I just want to lay down and think.'

What could be she trying to achieve? Philip wondered as he walked away from her.

Did it matter? He wished it didn't, but deep down, something seemed to tell him that…

Things were far from over.

…

Philip walked to the side, sitting in one of the many couches near the entrance as he waited for Lingy to finish sorting everybody.

After she finished, she gave each person a Key with a number on it.

The key was beautiful, it seemed to be carved from jade.

(Image)

She then went on to explain the many rules of the dormitories, but honestly speaking, they were so numerous Philip's head began hurting…

Even so, he memorized them all, here are a few:

-All are to return to the dormitories after 10PM and their respective rooms past 12AM.

-Do not enter the opposite sex section without a Maid or Butler present. Unless it's an emergency.

-No fights inside the dormitories under any circumstances.

-No Skill testing inside the dormitories under any circumstances.

-Do not use your skills inside the dormitory under any circumstances.

-The three rules above can be scrapped in the case of emergencies.

-Don't enter the prohibited areas unless under supervision. Even during emergencies.

-No weapons and gear inside the dormitories' common areas.

-You may talk with any of the dorm staff in case you have some sort of inquiry or request.

-No pets unless they have been approved by the staff.

And many more…

Lingy explained all of the rules and why each was necessary. Making sure they remembered each.

In case they forgot any or decided to study the rules in a deeper way, she also gave them a small rulebook a few pages long,

The rules were… restrictive but expected. Nothing terrific, in fact, they are quite lax.

For example, Philip could say he is going to stay in the library for the night. And they would most likely approve of that.

Anyhow, they still had the rest of the day before their "training" starts… That only meant one thing…

It's time to do some exploration!

…

.

.

.

Notes

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

I plan to add more action to make things flow better since we had a LOT of exposition. Zero fate was always know for that but adding a little more spice between chapters should be acceptable.

Thank you for coming this far, see you later!