[ March 20th, 2087 (Friday, Afternoon) | Niero's bedroom > Maison Bella Cafe > Sector 13-05 > Mega Ark-City 01: Radiant City > Earth ]
Late in the afternoon, Niero was taking a nap in his bedroom.
Business at Maison Bella Cafe had been slow that day, and his mom had insisted he rest instead of helping around the café.
So he did.
For once.
His nap ended not with a yawn—but with a familiar sound.
Beep… beep… beep…
Niero's eyes slowly opened.
"…That sound again?"
A soft chime followed.
Ding.
Right in front of him, a translucent holographic interface unfolded in midair.
> [STARGOD SYSTEM — STATUS UPDATE]
"Ah."
Now he remembered.
The recovery countdown.
The holographic window flickered, displaying his vitals.
> [STARGOD SYSTEM]
> HEALTH STATUS: 100% — FULL RECOVERY ACHIEVED]
Niero blinked once.
Then twice.
"…Wait."
Another notification popped up.
> [LEVEL UP]
> Lv. 13 → Lv. 16
His eyebrows shot up.
"Three levels?!"
Additional text scrolled beneath it.
> [Trait (Origin): What Doesn't Kill You…]
> Effect Activated:
> +0.07 boost to all base attributes.
Niero sat up straighter.
"Not bad…"
Then the system chimed again.
> [NEW PASSIVE SKILL ACQUIRED]
> [Skill (Passive): Electric Resistance — Lv.01]
He stared at the floating window.
"…Electric Resistance?"
A beat.
"Oh right."
Getting blasted with Mom's electric and lightning attacks during the sparring match apparently had benefits.
"Worth it," he muttered.
Maybe.
Probably.
Without another second wasted, Niero sprang out of bed.
He stretched his arms high above his head, joints popping in satisfaction.
"Finally!"
No more bandages.
No more lingering aches.
His body felt light again—responsive, alive.
Perfect condition.
Niero grinned at the holographic status window still hovering before him.
Not only had he fully recovered—
He had grown stronger.
Three levels.
Stat boosts.
A new passive skill.
He placed his hands on his hips, admiring the glowing interface like a proud gamer inspecting newly unlocked gear.
---
At the next moment, Niero settled onto his bed, cross-legged, closing his eyes.
With a deep, controlled breath, he focused inward, and the familiar pull of his consciousness tugged him away from the bedroom.
In an instant, he was back inside his inner pocket dimension—the [Ego-Space]—specifically within the [War Room], a sub-space of near-endless marble floors designed for combat training and simulations.
The expanse stretched endlessly in all directions, reflecting faint echoes of his energy and the soft hum of latent Mana.
Niero's eyes glimmered with barely-contained excitement. His body had fully healed, his stats had increased, and now he could finally push himself without limitation.
He clenched his fists and exhaled sharply.
Almost restless…
Almost… ecstatic.
"I'm ready," he whispered to himself. "Time to see what I've really got."
At that moment, Vuldyr appeared in her human form, arms crossed and brow furrowed, exasperation radiating off her.
> ["You just got back to full health, and already you want to jump straight into training for the final round with Mom?!"] she scolded, though a trace of amusement peeked through.
Niero's lips curved into a confident smirk.
"I've waited long enough," he said. "No more holding back."
She raised an eyebrow, floating a few inches above the marble floor, her arms crossed.
> ["Are you sure you really want to do this?"] she asked, her voice calm but laced with caution. ["After everything… after your unconscious berserk state, you once believed this could all go horribly wrong."]
Niero's gaze hardened, his fists tightening. "I know," he said, voice low but steady. "I almost let fear and frustration control me before. But now… I have to face it. I have to face *her*… and myself."
Vuldyr's eyes narrowed slightly.
> ["You know there's a chance you could lose again. Against your own mother. Are you ready for that?"]
Niero's smirk returned, confident and unwavering.
"I'll win. I'll show her what it takes to be a Marauder. And if I lose… I won't argue. I'll accept it, because that's what I promised her and I am a man of my words. But this time, it's not fear or frustration guiding me. It's my own will."
Vuldyr studied him for a long moment, her expression softening. Finally, she gave a small nod.
> ["Alright,"] she said, voice tinged with approval. ["If that's your resolution… then I'll support it. But tell me… how long do you plan to train?"]
Niero grinned, eyes gleaming with anticipation. "At least three weeks."
Vuldyr's jaw almost dropped.
> ["Three weeks?! Niero, even with the Ego-Space time dilation… that's—"]
He interrupted her, his tone filled with determination.
"I know. One year inside here equals one day out there. Three weeks in Ego-Space… that's barely an hour and twenty-three minutes in the real world. But in here? I'll become stronger than ever."
The [War Room] seemed to shimmer faintly, as if acknowledging the intensity of his resolve. Niero's heart pounded with excitement and anticipation.
"This time," he whispered to himself, "I'm taking everything head-on. No holding back."
Vuldyr let out a long, amused sigh.
> ["You never do anything the easy way, do you?"]
He just smirked. "Where's the fun in that?"
Vuldyr rolled her eyes at Niero's smug declaration.
> ["You're impossible,"] she muttered.
Then she flicked a finger in the air.
A holographic panel immediately unfolded between them, glowing softly above the marble floor of the [War Room].
> ["Let's review what you actually gained before you start acting like a conquering hero."]
The display stabilized.
---
> [STARGOD SYSTEM: ASCENSION REVIEW]
> [LEVEL UP]
> Lv. 13 → Lv. 16
> < Effect Activated >
> [Trait (Origin): What Doesn't Kill You…]
> +0.07 boost to all base attributes
> < New Skill >
> [Skill (Passive): Electric Resistance — Lv.01]
-
> [STARGOD SYSTEM: STATS]
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Unused Ascension Points] → 5 Available
---
Vuldyr crossed her arms as the window floated before them.
> ["I have to admit,"] she said slowly, eyeing the numbers. ["After the beating your mother gave you—both when you were conscious and when you went berserk—you actually gained quite a significant jump in power."]
Niero leaned forward slightly, studying the screen with clear satisfaction.
"Three levels," he murmured.
Vuldyr nodded.
> ["That's not normal growth for a single combat encounter,"] she continued. ["And the system even rewarded you with a new passive ability."]
Her finger tapped the line in the display.
> [Electric Resistance — Lv.01]
> ["That lightning your mother uses clearly left an impression on your body,"] she said dryly.
Niero rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah… I noticed."
Vuldyr looked back at him with a faint smirk.
"Getting struck repeatedly by a Rank-S Mana Art user tends to do that."
She glanced again at the stat increases.
> ["And that trait of yours—[What Doesn't Kill You…]—is proving to be quite dangerous."]
Her expression turned thoughtful.
> ["Every time you survive something that should have crushed you, your entire foundation improves."]
She waved her hand lightly, letting the holographic screen rotate.
> ["In other words…"]
Her golden eyes locked onto him.
> ["The stronger the adversity you survive…"]
Niero grinned.
"The stronger I become afterward."
Niero felt a sense of pride that he get stronger.
"So getting beat up by Mom was basically a training method?"
Vuldyr gave him a flat look.
> ["Don't get any stupid ideas, Kiddo."]
Then she pointed toward the bottom of the display.
> ["You also have five unused Ascension Points."]
The numbers blinked quietly.
> ["Which means,"] she added, ["you now have decisions to make before we start training."]
Her lips curled into a small, knowing smile.
> ["Because if you're really planning to spend three weeks inside the Ego-Space, then we're going to turn those points—and that new resistance—into something that might actually help you survive the final round."]
Vuldyr flicked her wrist again, and the holographic window shifted, new lines of information unfolding beneath the Stargod System interface.
> ["Actually,"] she said, her tone turning slightly proud despite herself, ["your sparring match with your mother gave me something far more valuable than a few stat increases."]
Niero raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
Vuldyr tapped the air, and a second interface appeared—this one bearing the symbol of the [Astra Codex], the system's combat analysis archive.
> ["During your fight,"] she explained, ["I was constantly collecting combat data. Every strike, every movement pattern, every Mana fluctuation from her Mana Art: The Wrath of Raijin (Rank-S)."]
Lines of analysis began scrolling across the hologram.
> ["Using that data, I've synthesized a new combat simulation model."]
Another panel appeared.
-
> [ASTRA CODEX — COMBAT SIMULATION DATABASE]
> Target: Emmy — Combat Analysis
Simulation Variant:
• Version 1.0 — Physical Combat Model (Complete)
• Version 2.0 — Physical + Mana Art Integration (Complete)
• Version 2.5 — Partial Sororitae Combat Model (Incomplete)
• Version 3.0 — Full Sororitae Analysis (Data Insufficient)
-
Vuldyr gestured toward the list.
> ["The original Version 1.0 only analyzed your mother's physical combat capabilities—her speed, martial techniques, reaction time, and raw strength."]
The display shifted to the next line.
> ["But after your sparring test, I obtained enough combat telemetry from Wrath of Raijin to build Version 2.0."]
Her eyes gleamed slightly.
> ["This version includes her lightning-based Mana Art combat patterns."]
Niero whistled softly.
"So basically… a stronger version of Mom's previous combat dummy."
> ["Correct."]
Then Vuldyr pointed to the next entry.
Version 2.5
> ["This one,"] she said, ["includes partial analysis of your mother's Sororitae Form and several of her higher-level combat abilities."]
Niero leaned closer.
"Partial?"
She sighed.
> ["Your level is still too low for the system to fully interpret the deeper mechanics of her Sororitae just yet. The data is incomplete."]
The holographic line flickered slightly.
> ["Even so, the simulation can still run."]
Her voice lowered slightly.
> ["Just don't expect it to be entirely accurate."]
Niero's grin widened.
"That sounds perfect."
Vuldyr folded her arms.
> ["And the final variant—Version 3.0—will only unlock once we gather enough data to complete a full Sororitae combat profile."]
The line labeled Data Insufficient pulsed faintly.
> ["That version,"] she added, ["would essentially simulate your mother at near-authentic combat capacity."]
Niero let out a low whistle.
"Yeaaahh. Let's… maybe not rush into that one yet."
Vuldyr smirked.
> ["That's surprint. A wise decision...from you?"]
"Shut up."
He stretched his shoulders and cracked his neck slightly, looking across the endless marble expanse of the War Room.
"So for now…"
He pointed toward the simulation list.
"I just have to make do with what we have."
Vuldyr watched him carefully.
Even after hearing he would be fighting progressively stronger simulations of his own mother—
He looked excited.
Not intimidated.
Niero glanced back at her with a sincere grin.
"Still," he said, "thanks for putting all this together."
For a brief moment, Vuldyr looked caught off guard.
> ["…It's my duty...as your Logoi."]
"Yeah," he replied lightly. "But it's still appreciated."
She turned away slightly, hiding the faintest hint of a smile.
> ["Hmph."]
Then she snapped her fingers.
The War Room darkened slightly as simulation grids began forming across the marble floor.
> ["Enough talking."]
Golden lines spread outward like circuitry.
> ["Let's see how long your enthusiasm lasts."]
Niero stand at the edge of the War Room, the cool marble floor stretching endlessly in all directions, the simulation grids of his mother's combat profile flickering faintly around him. He exhaled slowly, feeling the residual pulse of Nova-Spark energy beneath his skin—a reminder of just how close he had come to losing control during his last sparring session.
Vuldyr appeared beside him in her human form, arms crossed, exasperated but focused.
> ["Remember,"] she said, ["this three-week training isn't just about improving your strength or agility. You need to refine your Nova-Spark control, its output efficiency, and learn how to channel it without triggering another berserk state."]
Niero's eyes glimmered with determination. "I get it. I've already lost two rounds, and I've felt the weight of what that means… but if I don't push now, I'll never be a Marauder. I can't let that happen."
Vuldyr tilted her head slightly.
> ["Good. But don't forget—this is also a chance to develop the abilities you've recently learned and gained."] She gestured, and holographic readouts of his Psionic Techniques appeared:
* [Dancing Blade] – telekinetically manipulates flying daggers with precision and speed.
* [Ghost Blades] – compresses psychokinetic force into invisible, razor-thin slashes.
* [Skill (Replicatus): Slingshot (Lv.01)] – An ability replicated from his little sister, Daisy. Capable of launch objects telekinetically, including blades, at extreme speeds while temporarily bypassing mass and inertia.
> ["You're going to need all of these,"] Vuldyr continued, ["especially for the final round. But don't forget your five unused Ascension points. You'll need to allocate them wisely if you want to survive and improve efficiently."]
Niero closed his eyes and focused, feeling the familiar hum of his Stargod System in his mind. With a slow, deliberate mental command, he summoned the Status Window, a translucent holographic panel hovering before him. The readouts flickered as his current stats appeared, each one a reminder of how far he had come since his last sparring rounds:
> [ STARGOD SYSTEM: STATS ]
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
He narrowed his eyes, analyzing each attribute carefully. The five unused Ascension Points glimmered at the top of the window, waiting to be assigned.
Niero clenched his fists, feeling the familiar buzz of energy through his veins. "Lets see.... Strength, endurance, agility… maybe a touch of perception and intelligence for precision. I'll make every point count."
After a moment of contemplation, Niero began allocating them with precision:
* Strength:
* Agility: +1.00
* Endurance: +1.00
* Perception: +1.00
* Critical Rate: +1.00
The Status Window blinked, the numbers immediately updating:
> [ STARGOD SYSTEM: STATS (Post Allocation) ]
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
-
A faint shimmer of Nova-Spark energy coursed along his veins as the boosts settled into his body. Each movement felt slightly sharper, faster, heavier—like his muscles and instincts had been subtly rewritten by the new points.
Niero exhaled, a small grin forming on his face.
"Perfect," he muttered. "Now, let's see how far I can push this…"
The War Room stretched before him, endless and waiting, as he prepared to channel every ounce of strength, agility, perception, and precision into mastering his abilities for the final round.
---
Niero stands on the edge of the War Room, his eyes scanning the near-endless marble-like floor as he focused his mind.
"Vuldyr," he said, his tone sharp with determination, "pull up ten Goblin Orkoids and one Berserker Orkoid. I want to warm up and see how much I've improved since the last time I fought them on Radiant Day."
Vuldyr's manifested in her humanoid form appeared beside him, surprised yet patient.
> ["Are you really starting with goblins again? You're already at full recovery, and your stats have skyrocketed. You could probably handle more than this."]
Niero shook his head.
"Not yet. I need to gauge myself first. I can't jump straight into Mom's simulation without knowing exactly where I stand."
A few moments later, the War Room shifted as the room emits blue cube-like energy akin to digital pixels, forming into the requested familiar figures. Ten small, green-skinned [
Curious, Niero tilted his head.
"Vuldyr, are there more monsters I can fight in this space besides the Goblins, Orcs, Mom, and that....Hachishaku-Sama?"
Vuldyr's eyes flickered as she accessed the Astra Codex data in real-time.
> ["Technically, yes. The Bloom Dominion Codex has records of more creatures across the Ark.Net, especially dangerous creatures that was found and catalogued from the Fog, the Fringe, and the Hollow. But the data is… rudimentary compared to what I've synthesized here. The War Room can only partially recreate their stats and behavior from available data. Your best bet for accurate combat simulation is what's already scanned and loaded from real-time encounter and combat—these goblins, orcs, and even your Mom. Anything else would be… "bootstrapped assumption" at best."]
Niero's gaze sharpened as he studied the enemies before him. Floating above each Goblin Orkoid's head was a clear, unmistakable display:
[
And behind them, the towering Berserker Orkoid stood like a wall of muscle and violence:
[
"…So it does show their stats now," Niero muttered, rolling his shoulders as faint arcs of Nova-Spark energy flickered along his arms.
"Vuldyr, I have been wondering for some time. How exactly does this level system even work? This feels way too… game-like."
Vuldyr appeared beside him, arms folded, her expression calm but analytical.
> ["That's because it is translated that way—for your convenience."]
She gestured, and a small holographic panel expanded between them.
> ["The Stargod System uses paracausal information processing to interpret reality—living beings, energy signatures, combat potential—and converts it into a structured format you can easily understand. In your case, that format that you would understands, which is in the form that resembles an RPG-style leveling system. It is for the best due to the fact that you would probable go mad or "bat-shit insane" if you were exposed to the true machination of the Stargod System, which I highly discourage it."]
"Yike. I really shouldn't not challenge that." Niero raised a brow. "So their 'levels' aren't literal?"
> ["Correct,"] Vuldyr replied. ["They are relative values, scaled using you and the ambient force as the reference point. Their 'Level 10' or 'Level 20' is measured against your current overall capability."]
Niero's eyes flicked back to the Orc. "Then what about ranks?"
Vuldyr's tone sharpened slightly.
> ["That's where the real difference lies."]
> ["Rank supersedes level. A Rank-F Lv.10 is insignificantly weak compared to a Rank-S Lv.10. Rank represents the quality, evolution, and potential ceiling of a being, while level reflects their current measurable output."]
She paused, letting that sink in.
> ["Right now, based on your recent growth…"] she continued, ["…you are approximately operating at a Rank-E threshold."]
There was a brief silence.
Then—
Niero's lips slowly curled with a grimace.
"…So you're telling me," he said, cracking his knuckles, "I'm basically on the same rank as these shit-flinging goblins now?"
> ["More or less,"] Vuldyr replied dryly. ["Though your physical capabilities, adaptability, skill diversity, and Nova-Spark potential place you far above them in practical combat, at the very least at the Orc's level."]
That was all he needed to hear.
=====
Niero rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms, joints cracking softly as he loosened his body. Each breath steadied him, each motion deliberate—controlled. His eyes flicked across the battlefield, already mapping out movement patterns, angles of attack, and openings.
Ten goblins. One orc.
A warm-up… but not something to take lightly.
"I'll train hard… for three weeks in here," he said quietly, his voice firming with each word. His eyes narrowed, a quiet fire igniting within them. "Not just to survive the final sparring test… but to prove that I'm ready to be a Marauder."
His fists clenched.
"No excuses. No fear. No hesitation."
Vuldyr watched him in silence. For a brief moment—just a fraction—her usual composed expression softened.
>["…Good,"] she said. ["Let's see if your resolve can match your ambition."]
The **War Room** responded.
The air trembled.
Energy surged.
Simulation constructs flickered violently into place as the battlefield came alive—goblins snarling, the orc stamping forward like a war drum made flesh.
Niero stepped forward.
The moment his foot touched the marble floor—
BOOM.
A violent burst of Nova-Spark energy erupted beneath him, blue plasma flaring outward like a miniature explosion, cracking the pristine surface with spiderweb fractures of light.
He grinned.
"Alright then…" he muttered, eyes blazing with confidence, "let's see how the 'Rank-E' ME really fights."
The Goblins shrieked and charged.
The Berserker Orkoid roared.
And Niero—
vanished.
In the next instant—
KABOOOM—!!
He reappeared in their midst with a detonating surge of Nova-Spark energy, a blazing plasma eruption that tore through the formation like a shockwave of pure force. Blue light devoured the space around him, swallowing the goblins in a storm of heat, pressure, and raw power.
The battlefield shook.
The moment the explosion faded—
—they came at him.
All ten goblins surged forward in a chaotic swarm, their shrill cries piercing the air as they fanned out, circling, cutting off every escape route with crude but effective pack tactics. Behind them—
THOOM.
The Berserker Orkoid stepped in, its massive club tearing through the air with a brutal, bone-crushing swing aimed straight for Niero's skull.
But this wasn't the same fight.
And he wasn't the same boy.
Niero's eyes sharpened.
His body moved.
He slipped between claws and crude blades with fluid precision—footwork light, controlled—each step calculated. He weaved past a goblin's lunge, twisted his torso to avoid another strike, then ducked low as the orc's club howled overhead.
Too slow.
"Got you."
In a single explosive motion—
CRACK—!!
Niero's leg snapped upward, his foot slamming into the orc's descending club—
—and stopping it mid-swing.
The impact rang out like metal colliding with steel, shockwaves rippling through the air as the orc's massive weapon halted dead in place.
The creature's eyes widened.
Niero didn't stop.
He launched upward—
His body coiled and released like a spring—
WHAM—!!
A brutal somersault kick drove straight into the orc's chin, snapping its head back with a sickening jolt as the sheer force lifted the massive creature slightly off its feet.
And before gravity could reclaim him—
Niero spun.
A full 360° rotation.
His leg carved through the air in a sweeping arc—
A Capoeira helicopter kick—
BOOOOM—!!
The strike detonated outward with a burst of Nova-Spark energy*, slamming into the surrounding goblins and sending them flying like broken dolls.
Two of them didn't even scream.
They were simply—
gone.
Erased by the sheer force of the impact.
Niero landed lightly, one hand brushing the ground as he steadied himself, blue plasma flickering faintly around his limbs.
His breath was steady.
His eyes were sharp.
And around him—
the remaining goblins hesitated.
For the first time—
He felt it.
The shift.
The difference.
The Berserker Orkoid roared and brought its club down again—faster, heavier, angrier.
A blow that would've crushed bone like brittle wood.
Niero didn't dodge.
He stepped into it.
THUD—!!
His palms met the descending stone club—then his fists followed, striking, redirecting, deflecting the monstrous force. Each impact echoed like a drumbeat of war, shockwaves rippling through his arms as he absorbed and diverted the blow.
The ground cracked beneath his feet—
—but he held.
"Too obvious."
The orc growled, dragging its weapon back—
—and that was the opening.
At the same time—
The remaining eight goblins lunged in.
From all directions.
From above.
From behind.
A perfect swarm.
A perfect kill zone.
But Niero's perception had already expanded—his awareness split, layered, tracking everything at once.
Front.
Back.
Above.
All within his control.
The orc slammed its club into the ground—
BOOM—!!
—and in that instant of overextension—
Niero moved.
His fists blurred—
BAM—BAM—BAM—!!
A rapid barrage of punches hammered straight into the orc's exposed face, each strike snapping its head back, each impact laced with Nova-Spark energy that crackled like restrained lightning.
At the same time—
He turned.
Not fully—
Just enough.
His body pivoted on instinct—
—and his legs exploded into motion.
WHIP—!! WHAM—!! THWACK—!!
A barrage of Taekwondo kicks lashed out mid-air—precise, devastating.
One goblin was struck mid-leap—
its body folding in half before being launched away.
Another took a heel straight to the jaw—
spinning violently before crashing into the floor.
A third—
CRACK—!!
—was intercepted by a rising kick that sent it flipping backward like a ragdoll.
All while—
his fists never stopped.
BAM—!! BAM—!! BAM—!!
The orc staggered under the relentless assault, its massive frame reeling as Niero dominated both fronts at once—offense and defense flowing seamlessly into one another.
No wasted motion.
No hesitation.
A goblin lunged—
CRACK—!!
Niero's fist drove straight through its guard, folding its chest inward before it collapsed like a broken puppet.
Another rushed from his blind spot—
—or what should have been a blind spot.
He pivoted.
WHAM—!!
A snapping kick caught it across the skull, sending it spinning across the marble floor in a limp heap.
Six left.
And the orc.
His breathing remained steady—controlled.
Even as the battlefield pressed in from all sides.
---
>["Reminder,"] Vuldyr's voice echoed calmly in his mind, cutting through the chaos, ["you still have access to your available arsenal. Metal pipe. Goblin's Dagger. ElectroMagnum."]
As if on cue—
A holographic flicker pulsed at the edge of his perception.
Weapons.
Options.
Efficiency.
Power.
The orc roared again and charged.
The goblins followed.
Niero rolled his shoulder, exhaling slowly.
"...Not yet."
He stepped forward.
Barehanded.
"I need this."
He ducked under a goblin's slash, letting the jagged blade graze past his hair—
then drove his elbow into its throat.
THUD—!!
It collapsed instantly.
He continued moving—flowing—never stopping.
"It's like learning to ride a bicycle before jumping onto a motorcycle," he muttered under his breath, weaving past another strike.
A goblin leapt—
He caught it mid-air.
SLAM—!!
—and drove it into the ground hard enough to crack the marble beneath it.
"If I rely on weapons now—"
He twisted, slipping past the orc's sweeping arm—
—and countered with a sharp body blow that sent a shockwave through its torso.
"—I'll just end up dependent too much on them."
The orc swung again.
He parried.
The goblins closed in.
He adapted.
Every movement was sharper now.
Cleaner.
More efficient.
His body learning.
Refining.
Evolving.
Blue sparks flickered faintly across his knuckles.
His stance lowered.
Eyes locked forward.
"I need to make this body mine first."
Another goblin charged—
He stepped in—
BOOM—!!
—and erased it with a single, perfectly placed strike.
Three goblins left.
One orc.
---
Niero rolled his neck, a faint grin forming despite the pressure closing in.
At that moment—something in Niero *clicked*.
The hesitation vanished.
The doubt—gone.
He lifted his hand.
"…Vee. I'm taking your advice."
A ripple of energy surged from his core as he manifested his weapon—
[Goblin's Dagger]
A jagged, serrated blade coated in a sickly, rainbow-oiled sheen of toxin.
A weapon born from his first real kill.
A reminder of what he had survived.
Vuldyr's voice came, steady but curious.
> ["And your tactic?"]
Niero didn't look back.
He grinned.
"Kick back… and watch the show."
Then—
He moved.
BOOM—!!
A burst of Nova-Spark energy erupted beneath his feet as he launched forward at terrifying speed, tearing across the marble floor straight toward the remaining enemies—
Three goblins.
One orc.
---
The first goblin lunged—
Niero didn't slow down.
He didn't even flinch.
Instead—
He threw the dagger.
"Psychokinetic Technique: Dancing Blade."
The moment it left his hand—
the blade twisted mid-air.
Then—
it spun.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster—
SHRRRRRRK—!!
The dagger pierced the goblin's body—
—but didn't stop there.
Under Niero's telekinetic control, it moved like a living sawblade, carving, slicing, spiraling inside the creature's body with surgical brutality.
A storm of invisible cuts tore it apart from within—
limbs twitching—
body splitting—
until it collapsed in pieces.
No hesitation.
Niero didn't even look at it.
---
The second goblin charged—
screaming—
closing in fast—
Niero raised his right hand.
Two fingers extended.
Calm.
Focused.
Cold.
"Psychokinetic Technique: Ghost Blades."
Invisible.
Silent.
Deadly.
SLASH—SLASH—SLASH—SLASH—!!
The air itself tore open.
Razor-thin, compressed psychokinetic blades carved across the goblin's body—
cutting through flesh—
tearing skin—
splitting eyes—
but stopping just short of bone.
Too shallow.
Niero clicked his tongue.
"Tch… not deep enough."
No mercy.
No waste.
He adjusted—
A second pulse.
Finer.
Sharper.
SLASH.
This time—
it went straight through the throat.
The goblin staggered—
hands clutching at its neck—
before collapsing, gurgling, lifeless.
---
The third goblin leapt—
lunging at his blind spot—
"Now."
"Skill (Replicatus): Slingshot"
The dagger vanished.
Recalled.
Instantly.
Into his palm.
Niero didn't stop moving.
Didn't slow.
Didn't even look.
He twisted mid-run—
and in one smooth motion—
he fired his dagger.
WHOOOOOSH—!!
The dagger shot from his palm like a high-velocity rail round—
inertia bypassed—
mass meaningless—
speed absolute.
The goblin's head—
vanished.
A clean, precise shot.
A flash of light blinked in his vision.
>
Energy consumed.
Efficiency measured.
---
Niero didn't falter.
Didn't even smile.
Because ahead of him—
the Berserker Orkoid still stood.
And he was already running toward it.
"Three goblins down…" he muttered, breath steady, voice low—
"…now you're next."
---
At that moment, Niero's instincts kicked in—sharp and familiar.
His eyes narrowed as he lowered his stance, preparing to slide between the Orkoid's legs—
Just like before.
Just like the alley.
Just like the night the **Rank-D Berserker** nearly ended his life.
But the Orkoid wasn't stupid.
It stomped.
Hard.
BOOM—!!
The marble-like floor cracked like brittle glass, black fracture-lines spiderwebbing outward as the shockwave disrupted Niero's footing.
For a single heartbeat—
his momentum faltered.
A single heartbeat was all it needed.
The Orkoid's eyes burned with bloodlust as it swung its stone club in a brutal, frenzied arc—
a swing meant to crush skull, spine, and pride in one strike.
Niero's pupils shrank.
His body moved before his mind did.
He snapped both fists up—
and met the club head-on.
THUD—!!
The impact detonated through the dojo like thunder.
The club slammed against his forearms—
and Niero answered with a barrage of punches, striking the stone weapon again and again, each blow exploding with force.
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
The air shook.
The floor trembled.
It wasn't a block.
It was a clash.
Like two storms colliding.
For a moment, the Orkoid's raw monstrous strength pressed down on him, forcing his boots to grind into the ground, cracks spreading beneath his feet.
His arms screamed.
His bones vibrated.
His muscles burned—
but he didn't bend.
Didn't retreat.
Didn't break.
And then—
Niero realized it.
His lips curled.
Not in fear.
In certainty.
"…This is it?"
His fists drove harder.
His stance stabilized.
His shoulders squared.
"This is a Rank-D Berserker?"
The Orkoid roared, trying to overpower him—
but Niero's eyes sharpened, burning with something deeper than adrenaline.
Resolve.
"This… is nothing compared to my mom."
The memory hit him like a knife.
The alley.
The blood.
His leg—
crushed, mangled under that same kind of club.
The sound of bone splintering.
The sight of his flattened leg.
The agony so intense he almost couldn't scream.
The sensation of dying while still awake.
That fear still lived in his nerves.
Still haunted the back of his mind.
For a second—
his heartbeat stumbled.
His breath tightened.
His hands trembled.
But he forced it down.
Crushed it.
Buried it.
Because he wasn't that weak boy anymore.
Not after Round One.
Not after Round Two.
Not after being beaten until the world went black.
Not after clawing his way back from the edge of death again and again.
Blue Nova-Spark energy crackled faintly across his arms.
His grip tightened.
His fists slammed forward.
And his voice dropped into something cold and dangerous.
"I survived you once."
His punches came faster.
Harder.
More precise.
"And now?"
The Orkoid's club began to shake under the repeated impacts.
Niero leaned in, eyes gleaming with ruthless confidence.
"…I'm stronger than the thing that used to kill me."
Then he shoved forward with explosive force—
and the balance shifted.
Not in the Orkoid's favor.
In his.
And the Berserker finally realized—
It wasn't fighting prey anymore.
It was fighting a predator that had already learned what pain was.
And decided—
**never again.**
At the pinnacle of the clash, the Berserker Orkoid swung its stone club down with murderous force—
and Niero answered with a single punch.
A punch charged with Nova-Spark energy.
His fist collided with the stone weapon—
CRACK—!!
For a split second, the world froze.
Then—
BOOOOM!!
The club shattered like glass.
A violent burst of blue plasma erupted from the impact point, blasting jagged stone fragments in every direction. Shards tore through the air like shrapnel, slicing across Niero's cheek and striking the Orkoid's face—
but neither of them flinched.
Neither of them blinked.
The Orkoid roared in rage.
Niero's eyes burned with cold determination.
He didn't retreat.
He didn't hesitate.
He surged forward.
"...I'm done with you."
His fists became a storm.
A relentless barrage of strikes, each punch laced with crackling Nova-Spark energy, each impact detonating against the Orkoid's flesh with scorching force.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Blue light flared with every blow.
The Orkoid's skin blackened where Niero struck, sizzling as if branded by a heated blade.
Enraged, the Berserker threw its own barrage—wild, frenzied punches meant to crush bone and pulp organs.
Their fists collided again and again.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
It was like two engines smashing together at full speed.
For a moment, they were equal.
Monstrous strength versus human will.
Savage instinct versus sharpened skill.
But Niero didn't stay at "equal."
He pushed further.
His breathing deepened.
His muscles tightened.
His Nova-Spark output climbed—
and the tempo shifted.
His punches grew faster.
Sharper.
Heavier.
Each strike landed like a hammer wrapped in lightning.
The Orkoid tried to match him.
Tried to keep up.
But its rhythm broke.
Its guard loosened.
Its body began to lag behind its rage.
And that was all Niero needed.
His fist slipped through the Orkoid's defense and slammed into its jaw—
CRACK!
The monster's head snapped sideways.
Another punch struck its ribs—
BOOM!
Another slammed into its face—
THUD!!
The Berserker stumbled, its roar turning into a choking snarl.
It was losing.
Under the weight of Niero's relentless barrage, the Berserker Orkoid began to falter.
Its swings grew sloppy.
Its guard cracked.
Its rage stayed sharp—but its body couldn't keep up.
Niero saw the opening.
He struck with his left hand, not as a punch, but as a redirecting sweep—circling his arm in a smooth arc, swatting the Orkoid's hands aside like they were nothing but dead weight.
The monster's balance broke.
Its massive frame tilted—
and for a split second, it was exposed.
Niero inhaled.
His right fist ignited.
Nova-Spark energy surged like liquid plasma, coating his knuckles in a violent blue-cyan glow. The air around his arm shimmered, trembling as if reality itself couldn't handle the pressure.
Then he stepped in.
And drove his fist forward.
BLAMMM—!!
His punch didn't stop at the Orkoid's chest.
It went through it.
Bone cracked.
Flesh tore.
The Berserker froze, eyes wide, mouth hanging open as if it couldn't even comprehend what had just happened.
Niero's arm was buried to the elbow.
For a heartbeat, the world fell silent.
The Orkoid trembled.
Niero thought—
It's dead.
But then the monster's body twitched.
Its muscles clenched.
Its dying will screamed louder than its broken lungs.
The Orkoid's arm began to rise—still trying to kill him, even with its heart impaled.
Niero's eyes widened.
Too close.
Too late.
Then instinct took over.
His Nova-Spark flared.
SSSSHHHIIIIIUUUUUU-
And he detonated.
BOOOOOOM!!
The explosion erupted from inside the Orkoid's chest like a bomb going off in a furnace.
Green gore and shattered organs blasted outward in a scorching storm, splattering across the marble-white floor and raining over Niero's face, shoulders, and arms like burning sludge.
The Berserker's lower half of the body collapsed in pieces.
The stench hit like poison.
Putrid as the innards of its Goblin bretherens.
The heat lingered.
And Niero—
dropped to one knee.
Then to the ground.
His chest heaved violently as exhaustion slammed into him all at once. His whole body shook, not from fear—
but from the aftermath of forcing that much power through his veins.
Even now… even after he'd become stronger…
the Orkoid's last desperate attempt at a close-range kill had almost caught him off guard.
Niero stared at the ruined remains in front of him, breath ragged, fists trembling.
"…Still almost getting killed...again," he muttered.
---
As the last Berserker Orkoid collapsed into ruin, the battlefield didn't remain stained for long.
The corpses of the goblins… the shattered chunks of green flesh… even the Orc's scorched remains—
all of it began to dissolve.
Pixel-like motes of light peeled away from the gore and bone, de-resolving into shimmering fragments before vanishing into nothingness, as if the War Room itself was rewinding reality and erasing the evidence of violence and back to the sterile horizon of the War Room's training dojo.
Niero remained on the ground, breathing hard.
Sweat clung to his skin.
His muscles trembled from exhaustion.
But inside his chest—
something burned with satisfaction.
Vuldyr manifested beside him in her humanoid form, arms crossed, her expression caught somewhere between annoyance and reluctant approval.
> ["…You're faster and stronger than before,"] she said bluntly.
Niero slowly looked up.
Vuldyr flicked her wrist, summoning a floating holographic timer.
> ["The last time you fought these same opponents in reality,"] she continued, ["you barely survived after one hour and thirty-seven minutes of desperate struggle."]
Her eyes narrowed.
"This time?"
The timer flashed.
> [00:06:14]
Niero blinked.
Then his lips curled upward.
A grin formed despite the ache in his bones.
"…Six minutes," he muttered.
Pride swelled in his chest like a rising flame.
He wasn't the same boy who got hunted in an alleyway.
He wasn't the same weakling who nearly lost his leg to a stone club.
Vuldyr's gaze softened—just slightly.
> ["And your new techniques and abilities, they are effective,"] she admitted. ["But they're still inefficient. Your execution is rough. Your energy control is unstable. And your timing still relies too heavily on instinct."]
Niero chuckled weakly.
"Yeah… yeah… noted…"
He pushed himself upright, sitting on the marble floor while wiping sweat off his brow.
Then his eyes narrowed in thought.
"…Hey. About something."
Vuldyr tilted her head.
> ["Speak."]
Niero stared at his hand, recalling the moment he used Daisy's replicated skill.
"When I used [Skill (Replicatus): Slingshot], the system consumed energy points."
He glanced at her.
"But when I used my Nova-Spark energy or my psionic technique such as the Dancing Blade and Ghost Blades… it didn't consume anything. No EP drain."
Vuldyr's eyes narrowed, her expression turning analytical.
She lifted her fingers, and multiple holographic graphs unfolded in the air—heartbeat patterns, neural spikes, energy flow signatures, and several unknown waveforms that even looked alien.
After a moment, she spoke slowly.
> ["…Because they're different sources."]
Niero frowned. "Different?"
Vuldyr nodded.
> ["Your Nova-Spark energy and your psionic energy output are… independent of the Stargod System's EP energy pool."]
She paused, as if the conclusion annoyed her.
> ["But Replicatus skills—copied abilities stored in your archive—appear to draw directly from the System's internal energy reservoir."]
Niero's eyes widened slightly.
"So… I've got multiple fuel tanks?"
> ["Exactly,"] Vuldyr said. ["And you don't even know what half of them are labeled."]
Niero exhaled sharply, half amused, half unsettled.
Vuldyr continued, voice quieter.
> ["It seems that the Nova-Spark Energy is represents a form of biological energy, while your Psionic Energy represents your mental energy. I can't fully explain why. Not yet. The nature of these energies… their boundaries… their overlap… it's still a mystery."]
Her mechanical halo rotated slowly behind her head.
> ["But if your level increases… if the Stargod System's processing expands…"]
She looked directly at him.
> ["…the mystery itself slowly peel back and we might get answers soon."]
Niero clenched his fist, feeling the lingering heat of Nova-Spark still humming beneath his skin.
He stared at the empty training floor where the monsters once stood.
"…Then I'll just have to train more," he said.
Vuldyr sighed.
> ["Of course you would say that."]
Niero smirked, the fire in his eyes returning.
Because training wasn't just training anymore.
===
After several minutes of hard-earned rest, Niero leaned back against the marble floor, chewing through one of Mom's cheese sausage breads like it was battlefield rations.
Grease. Salt. Warm dough.
Simple comfort.
He washed it down with a bottle of water, the cold liquid soothing the burn in his throat.
For a moment… he just breathed.
Then his eyes sharpened again.
Rest was over.
Niero pushed himself up with a grunt, rolling his shoulders as his joints cracked. He stretched his arms, twisted his waist, then spread his stance like a predator preparing to hunt.
"Vee," he said, voice calm but edged with obsession. "Double them."
Vuldyr materialized beside him, her human form already looking tired of his existence.
> ["…Of course you would say that."]
He lifted a finger, laying out his plan like a commander issuing orders.
"Week one: Goblins and Orcs. I grind them until they're muscle memory."
His eyes gleamed.
"Week two: Mom's combat dummy. Version 2.0."
A pause.
"And week three…"
His smile faded into something sharper.
"…Version 2.5."
Vuldyr's gaze narrowed.
> ["That one is incomplete. It includes partial Sororitae synthesis. The risk of unpredictable moves and backlash is higher."]
Niero's jaw tightened.
"I know."
The words hit the War Room like a blade.
"But I'm not here to losing again."
For a second, Vuldyr didn't respond.
Then she exhaled through her nose, annoyed… but not arguing.
"…Fine."
She lifted her hand.
The marble dojo floor rippled like water.
Then—
SHHHHKKK.
A wave of black-cubed distortion surged outward.
One by one, enemies appeared.
First came the Goblins—short, green-skinned, hunched bodies armed with crude blades and jagged clubs.
Not ten.
Not fifteen.
Twenty.
Their red HP bars blinked alive overhead:
[Rank-E Scrapper Orkoid (Goblins) — Lv.10] - < HP: 100/100 >
Then the air shook.
Two massive silhouettes formed behind them, towering like living boulders.
Two Orcs.
Their thick muscles flexed as they stood there like executioners waiting for permission to swing.
[Rank-D Berserker Orkoid (Orcs) — Lv.20] - < HP: 120/120 >
They didn't move yet.
They simply stood idle—silent, lifeless—
like NPCs awaiting activation.
Niero stared at them.
A slow grin stretched across his face.
"…Perfect."
---
However, before he could launch himself forward—
something else surfaced.
Something colder than combat.
Something that crawled out of the back of his mind like a parasite.
The nightmare.
The desert.
The corpses.
The blood.
And that black figure.
Niero's fingers twitched.
"…Vee."
Vuldyr glanced at him.
> ["What now?"]
His voice dropped.
"That thing… in my dream."
Vuldyr froze.
> ["The one in the arid desert. I have see it in your dreams...but...]
Niero swallowed, his throat suddenly dry.
"This time, it wasn't just watching. It wasn't just… standing there like some stupid horror movie jumpscare."
His eyes narrowed.
"It got close."
His heartbeat picked up just remembering it.
"It strangled me."
For the first time in a long while—
Vuldyr's expression cracked.
Shock flashed across her face like a glitch.
> ["…It what?"]
Niero's stomach tightened.
He didn't like the way her tone sounded.
He didn't like the way her eyes sharpened, as if she'd just discovered a fatal error in reality.
Vuldyr stepped closer, voice suddenly serious.
> ["That is… unexpected."]
Her gaze flicked away, as if scanning invisible data streams only she could see.
> ["Usually, that black figure manifests in your... unaccessable vision or your "nightmare"—from what you told me is that it normally sees you from a far, or jumpscare you awake... but doesn't cross into direct lethal engagement...does it?."]
She looked back at him.
> ["But the strangulation is different."]
Her voice dropped.
> ["Whatever that black figure is...wether its nature...it means it's...escalating."]
A chill ran down Niero's spine.
He knew for a while with these nightmare besides the vision of...something...that related to the Stargod System as well as the newly introduced Empyrean Reliquary.
Yet both he himself and Vuldyr, essentialy an administrator of the Stargod System, could not began to answer.
He forced himself to stay steady.
"…Do you still don't know what it is?"
Vuldyr's lips tightened.
> ["I wish I do, Kiddo."]
The answer hit harder than any Orc punch.
She continued anyway, eyes narrowing in frustration.
"I can't analyze those visions...or in this case, nightmares. They're not normal dreams. They don't behave like standard REM patterns. They don't behave like your previous visions either."
Her fists clenched at her sides.
Niero's stomach twisted.
"…Then what should I do?"
Vuldyr stared at him.
"Tell me everything you remember."
Niero closed his eyes, began to explain the nightmare he experienced.
The red-blue twin suns.
The sandstorm.
The alien ruins.
The dead armored bodies.
The blood on his hands.
And that faceless black silhouette with white-dot eyes—
choking the life out of him while radiating a sense of vitriolic hatred, like a living curse.
He opened his eyes again.
"…I didn't recognize anything," he admitted quietly. "No symbols. No words. No faces."
His voice became hoarse.
"Just… the feeling."
He clenched his fist.
"Its like as if it...hates...me."
Vuldyr's expression darkened.
> ["I'm sorry, Niero. I wish I can help...but for now, I have no answers. I can't even began to answer why I can't even examine those nighmares...]
> ["But remember this."]
She gestured toward the twenty Goblins and two Orcs waiting silently on the floor.
> ["If something out there is getting closer—"]
Her eyes glowed faintly.
> ["—then your best option is to become strong enough that these unanswered mysteries will be unveiled, and even your nightmares can't kill you."]
Niero's lips curled.
> ["Regadless, I'm always by your side. So lets grow stronger and uncover these mysteries... together."]
The fear and uncertainties didn't vanish.
But it hardened into determination.
He stepped forward, cracking his neck.
"Activate the simulation."
The Goblins twitched.
Their heads snapped toward him.
Their mouths opened.
A chorus of shrieks erupted.
The Orcs roared like war drums.
And Niero—
raised his hands into his stance.
Blue Nova-Spark energy flickered along his arms like living flame.
His eyes sharpened.
"Come on, then…"
His voice trembled—not with fear.
With hunger.
===
<<<[ Ch 20, Part 06 - END ]>>>