Escalation

[A/N: For thousands of years, I laid dormant.]

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Birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and it was far too early to be awake.

Covering my mouth, a yawn bellowed out from within me. MY jaw unhinging as I stared at Salter's stern figure, her expression surprisingly calm. In fairness, I suppose that's what a month of the same routine did to someone. "Ah~. So, what is it that you want out of me this early in the morning?" I asked, my hand moving to scratch at my belly. "If you want to do it now, you're going to have to wait. My batteries are dry, I'm afraid. Though, with the number of times you've wrung me, it shouldn't be too much of a surprise."

A stifling giggle left her lips, her arms crossing at her stomach, her body falling towards me. "Fufu~. No, none of the sort, unfortunately." She huskily whispered, her hands drifting over to my back as she pulled herself upright. "Frankly, your intelligence is quite lacking as it is."

My stomach recoiled, an imaginary blow impacting with my solar plexus, the wind in my lungs flying out. "Yes, the same fallings occurred with your previous iteration. Though, I was too lovesick to do or say anything about it." My brows furrowed, eyes squinting, a deadpan on my face. "And based on your reaction, it seems we have much to do, right?"

Well, I wasn't doing anything besides training with All Might… and going to UA was one of my other plans… Shrugging my shoulders, I acquiesced. "Fine, fine. You got me. But, what will we do to improve it? It's not like studying can increase my stats, that much I've learned working out."

She huffed, a pair of fingers grasping at her chin, a few items flying into my range of vision. Then, it dawned on me, just what exactly she was planning to do. I was set up. And with no way out, I was as good as dead. "While you are correct on that end, it is only partially. With the increase of your intelligence stat, your mental faculties have also increased proportionally."

The cogs in my head turned, twisting ever so slightly in the right direction, a ping echoing in my mind. "So you want me to read these?" I pointed towards the books, a strained smile on my face. "Dear, I'm going to be honest with you, I don't like to read books. I don't think anyone does. Wouldn't it make more sense to invent some other way? Especially since you've known me very well so far."

Salter shook her head, a weight pressing down on my shoulders as the situation dawned on me. She was serious about this, completely. The rate of my breathing picked up by a tad, teeth biting at my lower lip. "Worry not, for your skills will surely dispel such thoughts from ever appearing. Or at least, I hope it will."

Clicking my mouth, a groan left my throat, lazily grabbing the nearest book. "Alright, I'll do it. If I'm to enter the top hero school, in this future age, then I'll certainly have to brush up. Who knows what kind of technological advancements have been made during the new age of quirks."

Optimism piqued in my head, sitting myself on the desk in my room. The sparks of enthusiasm I had were swiftly squashed without much of a fight, the glossary peeling itself slowly, but surely. I was thoroughly surprised, littered from head to toe, were advertisements for heroes and their respective agencies, all of which dabbled in the sciences to some degree.

This was an odd sight to say the least.

Removing myself from the seat, I looked towards Salter, who was now leaning against the frame of the door, her head peaking out like one of those cartoon characters. "I'm going to assume you're here to observe my reaction? No, that wouldn't make sense, you can feel my emotions through our bond, after all."

"Mine original plan was to make sure you read at least one page of the book…" She paused, dragging out her words. "However, upon closer inspection, it seems that breakfast is far more important. So, if you could please prepare five beef bowls, that would be very much so appreciated."

A smile broke on my face, spreading across as my head tilted, moving towards the kitchen. "Sounds good. I hope we can keep this agreement up in the future?"

The swordswoman giggled, her arms wrapping around my back once I had passed her. "Mou~. But that would impede on your progress, we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Pondering this for a fleeting second, I shook my head. "Good, good. But, I believe that changing up my methods would be beneficial for the both of us. Give me a hour to prepare everything, and with my help, those tests will be nothing more than a passing breeze."

Brimming with confidence, she dismounted off me, seating herself on the dining room chair, my familiar next to her. Speaking off, she's been rather docile, as of late. Often referring to Salter more affectionately, and being less hostile in general.

Something was off, no doubt about that. Though, in all honesty, I don't think there was much that I could do in the end. Salter and her likely had full access to my every waking thought, and even questioning it would give me dagger-like looks. Hell, even now I could feel their gaze practically piercing a hole into the back of my head.

Letting go of a sigh, I placed the thinly sliced beef into the ripping hot frying pan, bubbles of oil jumping up and burning my fingers. If I had to guess, it was likely a case similar to stockholm syndrome. But, with no way to prove it, I was shit out of luck. At the same time, what could I do about it?

Deeply breathing in, I grabbed more than a few bottles from the cupboards and poured out their contents onto the meat, a wonderful mix of smells entering my nostrils. Worse yet, she was controlling most of my life, and there was nothing I could do about it. My incompetence has caught up with me, and there is little else I can change.

My lips parted, a click leaving my mouth as I used my telekinesis to prepare the rice, filling several bowls all at once. "I really need to fix my situation." I muttered under my breath, tired of my past failings to do anything about it. "For someone with an unlimited amount of power at their fingertips, I'm pretty useless in everything else." The crux of my circumstance, the origin of my plights.

Pushing those unhealthy thoughts out of my head, I decided to focus more on the present. Ruminating would do me no good after all. The past was in the past, and there was nothing I could do about it now. Better to fix the future while I still could.

With the aid of a little bit of magic, I was able to finish cooking for all of us in less than an hour, beads of sweat trailing down my face as a smile shone from my lips, a job well done overall. Sitting down at the table, I grabbed my spoon and fork, digging into the fruits of my labor with intense fervor, my brows arching at the taste. Perhaps it could use a little citrus?

"If I may?" Salter perked up, taking center stage. "I apologize if I might have come off as a control freak, it was never in my intentions to do so, and if it has disturbed you in any way, then I take full responsibility for my faults." Bowing her head, my arms droop down to the table. "I merely wished to ease the stresses of your life, I never thought that doing so would have such an effect on you. It was foolish of me to be of that mindset."

My mouth opened to reply to her gesture, however, it felt only half true. Like there was something just behind the curtain I didn't have enough clearance to opening. The temptation to call her out gradually rose, my fists balling up as my cheeks puffed. "I'm afraid I can't answer you on that just yet."

Sighing for the umpteenth time, I took a deep breath, and accepted it as it was. Only, I couldn't. A feeling of irritation breaking up my mind, a constant buzzing forcing me to stop. To cease the thought process. Never letting go for even a moment. My head lit a blaze, hotter than even when I over used my magic. There was something wrong, I just didn't know what could be causing it.

"Are- Are you alright?" Salter asked, appearing by my side, her arms resting on my shoulders. "Hold on, I'll grab you some pain kill-"

Moving my hand up, I waved for her to stop, shaking my head as I stood up. "Everything's fine, perfect in fact." My back straightened to its peak, towering over the white-haired girl by a few inches. "I got it all under control, trust me, okay? You don't have to worry any more. Because from now on, I'll strive- no- I will become better than the Luke you previously knew."

A pulling sensation was brought to my attention, my cheeks spreading apart, a grin forming on my lips. Wonderful, truly wonderful. Finishing the last bits of my food, I stood up from the table, departing without another word. If I wanted to change my situation for the better, something had to be done. And only I could do it.

…

The door slammed in front of her face, shutting it from her mind. Looking towards Caroline, her expression seemed partly confused, though, she doubted the little girl could care any less. Whatever happened, Artoria couldn't make heads or tails of the situation, her thoughts jumping from one conclusion to another.

Ideas shot out at random, firing off one after another at what could have possibly happened. Her mental link, the one that bound her to Luke, was sever- neigh- blocked. As if an unbreakable wall split them apart. Anxiousness gradually piled on her shoulders and back, the saber's head reeling ever so slightly.

Following his example, Artoria left the dining room, with her little "daughter" in tow. Entering one of the spare rooms, she sat herself on the bed, beckoning the little ghost princess to sit with her. Obliging the request, the girl laid her head on the silver-haired woman's lap. A soft purr echoing from her throat, a hand reaching out to gently pat her hair, combing through its kinks.

On the other hand, Artoria reached for her laptop, a pair of glasses manifesting on her head. None of this would help her current condition, not in the slightest. Still, she had to prepare for the future. If the current events were any indication, then events would play out drastically more different than they did last time.

This time, they couldn't as easily get away with massacring an entire gang. They were lucky to have eviscerated any evidence of their involvement thanks to little Jack's help. But, Salter knew she didn't have the same luxuries this time. Nor did they have the luxury of an infinite amount of wealth at their fingertips.

Typing away at her keyboard, she entered an online messaging board, scrolling through each of the chats keenly. Going to these types of sites might have been morally corrupt, but they somehow needed to stay afloat. Besides, it was a good way to help Caroline practice her skills. Or so she tried to justify it.

Over the past month, she had not stay idle like Luke. Instead, taking to "sell" her services for the highest bidder. Some exceptions applied, but that was neither here nor there. As long as it helped further her goal, then it didn't matter. Scrolling down her list of requests, one of them in particular caught her eye.

"I've got a job for you." The title read. Normally, this wouldn't have bothered her too much, seeing as most of them follow this description, but what caught her attention was the small line of text just below that. "You've been quite busy. After only a month of being active, and with the number of hits you've successfully accomplished, that must be a record. But, I'm not here to praise you. There's a group of high-profile targets that I need you to eliminate. What method you use, doesn't matter, as long as it's done."

The king's eyebrow quirked upward in interest, eyeing the message intently. Returning the sender a message, it didn't take long for her to get a response, a tinge of skepticism reaching the back of Artoria's mind as she read the reply.

"Thank you for answering my request. Give me a day to set up a reservation, and we can discuss the detail then." Again, her gut was telling her that the person on the other side was up to no good. The signs were on the wall, written in blood. Though, she didn't have much to lose in all reality.

Nobody in this world could touch her, and Caroline could certainly kill anyone who ever dared raise a weapon at her… Besides, it was a good opportunity to teach the young lady about diplomacy, she was a princess after all. Or at least, of nobility.

…

Laying back, Game relaxed in the nexus that was the digital space, comfortably spending his time on a wonderful beach chair, the warm rays of a fake sun shining down on his equally fake skin. Everything was good, until his newest problem decided to rear its ugly head.

Without a word of warning, a chorus of roaring beeps boomed in his ears, disrupting whatever semblance of peace he had. The sky bled red, with big bold letters splattered all over. "System Mutation – Code GM, Mutation Code: "

The issue wasn't that serious. However, should it be left to simmer in its own pot of degeneracy, then it could have disastrous consequences. "Shit, what the fuck is it now?" He cursed, a blue window appearing before him, expanding to increase visibility. "Damn it Luke. I take my eyes off you for a moment, and you've already messed things up. What is it now?"

Scrolling through the logs, his expression only became more and more irritable. Taking a deep breath, he continued to stare at the screen. Before throwing it at the floor, shattering into a million tiny pieces, disappearing into green lines of code. "Make her a Yandere, he said. Change things up, he said. Who the fuck said your advice was worth using- oh-. That's right, me."

System Request

"How about system wait a minute. You ever heard of that?" Game sneered at the prompt, returning to the crisis that had been laid out before him. "This… Well this just isn't good, not a single bit."

System Reque-

"I get it, just let me try and fix-" He paused, looking up at the new window. An update, it's been quite some time since one of those happened. The system itself, it was asking for this, right? Looking through the change notes, a grin gradually spread across his digital face, his eyes gleaming with a brilliant light.

This one changed things. Majorly at that. Booting his world back to factory settings, the digital wonderland that he had created vanished, leaving without a trace. For what it was worth? This was amazing, the best he could've asked for. From deep within him, bubbled up a chuckle. Which quickly devolved into maniacal laughter.

"The ball is in your court, Luke. Now, it's your turn to entertain me. Grow stronger, faster, defeat all that stand before you. And when you're done, enjoy life for what it is. Because you won't have any of that while you're here." Clearing his throat, a glass of water materialized in his hand, raising it up into the air. "System: World Edit."

The machinations of his new home came to life, lines of code flying all throughout his new space. "New World Order: Escalation." But that wasn't the end just yet. "Skill Edit: Plunder."

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[A/N: Two things, I'm going to be disregarding most of the math. That also includes stat pages. Second, spells have to be learned. Though, I won't be using this to pull bullshit out to save Luke's ass. Copy and paste stuff below.

Anyways, if you find anything wrong in the fic, let me know. I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and what I could have done in place of what is present.

Also, join discord server. I have one.: discord . gg / eTb2kPab4z

I also have a pa- tr eon at pa- t reon / balls1124 I'm not telling you to join it, but it would be nice.

With that being said, I'm brimming with motivation.]