Chapter 22: Titanfall, or a makeshift bombardment.

[3rd Person POV]

Screams echoed out as the first of the seafolk step from the ocean. An overbearing lovecraftian like being lead the large contingent of associates.

"Kneel before us landwalkers! We are the seafolk are taking our rightful place as rulers of everything above and beneath the ocean." He roared, his minions attempted to grasp the surrounding humans only to be intercepted by Stinger.

"-Ah. Another insignificant creature without the decency to meet at a negotiating table."- A new voice causing everyone to halt to find the source.

A being in a red cloak steps into view, an axe with a cog like head grasped in its metal hand.

The seafolk with the tentacles chuckles; "And who are you supposed to be? Another of those silly little heroes'?" It questioned mockingly.

"-My designation is Secutor Markroth of the Iron Legion. We stand as the faithful creations of the being currently identified as Atlas. Tell me worm, do you wish so desperately for his wrath to demolish your species?"- Markroth questioned.

The seafolk laughed at the cloak clad being; "Why should I? Seafolk are the strongest beings on the planet. Why should we parlay or fear inferior beings such as yourselves?"

Markroth hummed in though; -"So it's not ignorance, but stupidity? That would certainly explain your brazen actions."-

"Well you have to give them some slack, that makes them both ugly and stupid after all." A new voice interjects.

Stinger lands in front of the Seafolk, his bamboo shoot held loosely in his hands as he grins lazily.

"-An interesting consideration Stinger, I shall take it into account when evaluating their incompetence."- Markroth comments, humor seeping into his tone.

The Seafolk were currently working themselves into a rage while listening to the byplay.

"How dare you take light of us!" Their leader roared bringing its fist down on Markroth.

The tech priest dances out from beneath the fist, his axe slicing the hand off at the wrist.

It roared in pain as the hand flopped around the priest

"-Let me make it abundantly clear for you moronic fish. If you continue with your aggressions, we will rain fire upon your kind."- Markroth stated, all traces of humor from before gone, his axe head crackling with power.

More Seafolk emerged from the ocean, the others eying the priest warily.

"There is only two of them! We can take them!" A voice shouts from the back, emboldening the others.

-"Very well. Stinger, would you care to kick it off? My compatriots are on their way, but they need a few more second's."- Markroth comments, readying his axe as servo arms unfold from under his cloak.

"Sure, but what do you mea-." Stinger's question was interrupted by the explosion of several something's impacting the ground behind them.

War horns blare out as three Vorax-class battle automata emerge from the dust, their rotor cannons revving angrily.

-"Sorry if this next bit hurts. The Vorax class tend to go overboard."- Markroth stated dismissively, dust kicking up behind him as more objects impact the earth.

-"Worry not Secutor. While they be savage in nature, they soften up targets nicely for myself and my brethren." - A new voice interjects.

A Ronin-class titan steps out from the smoke shortly followed by a Tone-class and an Ion-class.

"What the hell?" Stinger states, starring up at the towering machines.

-"Well met young Stinger. Let our enemies fall before our combined might."- a deep voice from the Tone responding to Stinger's surprise.

The roar of the rotary cannons interrupted further conversation as the automata started tearing through the Seafolk.

-"Save everything for later, keep the damage to a minimum while we evacuate the civilians."- Markroth orders, prompting Stinger to jump into action.

Markroth glanced at a nearby building, a nano pilon now visible on its roof. The pilon slowly was reconfiguring to a weapon platform sporting an Icarus Autocannon.

His thoughts were interrupted when half of a shark man landed next to him courtesy of Stinger.

"Hop to it slow-poke! Otherwise, I'll down more of them than you!" Stinger shouter cheerfully prompting a chuckle from the Tech-Priest.

-"In your dreams."- Markroth replied jumping into the fray himself, his axe humming with power.

[Tavish POV]

I just wanted to fight the seafolk.

Not a lot, but I wanted to test out some of my new gear on them.

Unfortunately, I got looped into a responsibility reserved for parents and guardians.

The dreaded parent teacher conference.

Normally I wouldn't worry about something as petty as that, but Eleanor brought home a note from the teacher specifically requestion my presence at the school.

Thus, I was diverted to something less exciting in the meantime as I walked with Eleanor to the school.

"You happen to know why the teacher wanted to talk to me specifically?" I ask Eleanor as we walk towards her school.

"So hypothetically, how much trouble would I be in if I beat the crap out of some classmates?" Eleanor deadpanned, causing me to trip in surprise.

"Sheesh, that bad huh? Did you at least happen to have a good reason for it?" I question, getting silence back from Eleanor.

"Eleanor, you need to tell me what happened. I can't defend your actions if you don't let me know what went down." I coax causing her to start.

"Defend? You would defend me against the principle?" She asked wide eyed.

"Course I would. You of all people should know I'm a huge proponent of talk shit, get hit. Especially if they deserve it. While you have a lot more freedom than other kids, I trust you to make the responsible decision. One of those decisions being, if you need help, ask." I explain, coming to a halt on the street.

She still looked hesitant so I continued; "Look kiddo, while we have a somewhat odd relationship due to rapture and all the crap tied to it, I took on the responsibility of being your guardian. I'm not about to hang you out to dry if some kids were hazing you and you took executive action in that regard."

Eleanor smiled and gave me a hug; "Thanks Tavish, I'm just used to figuring out stuff on my own." She replied.

+10 Affection with Eleanor Lamb (55/100)

Eleanor Lamb

Lvl- 50

Thoughts: Happy you're willing to be a supportive parental figure.

"But next time, can I get a bit of a heads up first? I need some time to prep." I state causing her to laugh and break the hug.

"I thought you just flew by the seat of your pants?" She ribbed as we continued walking.

"I do. But a little bit of an edge never hurt anyone." I comment impishly.

We continue on our way as she explained what happened during the altercation.

[Time Skip]

Walking through the school, we were the target of much whispering and speculation as we walked towards the principal's office. I was distinctly reminded of my size difference. The door frames of much of this school had to be ducked under in order to safely continue. When we arrived, I slide the door open to reveal one off the children in question and her very angry parents.

Their daughter, was sitting next to them with her arm in a sling, a smug look on her face.

Goddammit. Did I walk into a situation of the rich bratty girl getting her parents to bail her out when encountering difficulty?

"Well at least it was a new experience." I muse to myself, ducking under the final doorway to the office.

I run a basic facial recognition on the parents revealing the father to be the CEO of a large corporation. The mother owned a law firm, so they both appeared to be fairly successful. But that was just a surface scan. From there, I put my net running skills to work, copying their personal devices and snatching every bit of potentially incriminating data.

It was basic run of the mill stuff that I expected, bribes, a few mistresses, a couple of flings, but it wasn't until I got to the daughter's phone did I find anything exceptionally juicy.

I salvaged the fragments of some deleted video from her phone detailing some of her previous "victims" and some rather candid pictures within a hidden folder did I find my leverage.

Digging deeper, I traced the video to one of her friend's devices that had been recording the altercations and pulled a full history detailing extortion, blackmail, prostitution, and a variety of petty crimes that would seem minor in comparison.

I was broken out of my thoughts when the mother started screaming at me; "So You're the little bitch's father?! You should feel ashamed for yourself! What parent in their right mind would allow their child to go around breaking peoples arms." She raged jabbing a finger into my chest.

"You broke her arm?" I ask Eleanor who nodded her assertion.

"She wouldn't take no for an answer." She stated quietly causing me to nod in approval.

"Good. We can work on your strength later. Breaking an arm is good, but ripping it off and beating them with it sends more of a message. You'd be surprised at how few people snitch after that experience." I supply helpfully, causing the Mother to sputter at my blasé nature.

"Is it because they bleed out?" Eleanor questioned as I continued ignoring the raving mother.

"Actually, its because they figure out your serious and not an easy target. You see, people like her tend to act out unless disciplined properly. They move from person to person inflicting as much pain as possible because their is no consequences for their actions. When someone like you are ready to smack a bitch back into line, they whine and act like a victim because they think someone can bail them out from the consequences of their actions. In this case, she got her parents involved." I sagely explain, causing the parents to turn red in anger.

"I see. So how do you get around such situations. From the way she was bragging, her parents had enough clout to make it very difficult if people fought back." Eleanor continued to question, a smile creeping onto her features as I held this impromptu lesson in the middle of this supposed meeting.

"Well the first option is to throw about as much cash as they are to make people see our truth, but I find particular pleasure in whipping out blackmail material." I reply, causing all noise to stop.

"What do you mean?" Eleanor asked, enjoying the silence.

"Well say for instance Mr. Young here. Say hypothetically that he bribed a variety of public officials to help cover up the death of one of his mistresses. He hypothetically paid a sum of four hundred thousand just to cover up the fact that she was pregnant." I answer light heartedly gesturing at the now named Mr. Young and watching the color drain from his face.

"Are there other methods?" Eleanor asked, jotting down notes on a pad she got from her bag.

"Why yes of course! "Another Hypothetical piece of blackmail would be if Mrs. Young had been intimately involved with a client five . . . no, six times, and "hypothetically" had abortions after four of them." I state jovially, watching the horror grow on Mrs. Youngs face.

"It seems like most of those are "affair" based though. Are their other types?" Eleanor continued, acting an avid student.

"Absolutely! You can catch them in the act of a crime! Sometimes, they're stupid enough to actually record themselves in the act. This is the one that we are going to be using today so pay close attention!" I reply, my grin turning savage as I pull a tablet out of my pocket. Hitting a few buttons to bring up the desired video, I hit play and hold it up for the whole room to see.

In the video was the daughter and some of her friends as they proceeded to beat the shit out of another student and take her money, before tossing the students items into the train tracks of a subway. It was honestly a miracle that the student managed to get their bag and escape before being hit by the train.

Hitting the pause button and observing the silenced room I address the principle; "It appears that you have gang activity running rampant at your school. This is just one of many video's detailing various instances of blackmail, extortion and prostitution that I have found occurring based at this facility." I state drawing a panicked look from the principle.

"No! Wait! This has got to be a misunderstanding!" The reedy looking man starts stuttering.

"The only misunderstanding that seems to be happening, is how this was allowed to go on for so long without anyone being aware of it. Never fear, I took the liberty of contacting the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of the students!" I beam at the principle. Sirens broke the silence shortly after that statement causing the daughter to pail further as she realized how much shit she was in.

[Time Skip]

Within thirty minutes, we were sitting together outside of the school. Eleanor had given a statement to the police and I could see the Young's daughter residing in the back of a cop car.

"While that was impressive, how the hell did you get so much blackmail material in such a short period of time? You were in a room with them for maybe twenty seconds." Eleanor asked, a small frown marring her features.

"I snagged enough data from their personal devices to follow previous trails left in cyberspace. They were actually fairly sloppy in cleaning up after themselves." I reply, downloading the remaining videos to a drive and passing it to Eleanor.

"I didn't know you were capable of that with your powers." She stated, turning the drive over in her hands.

"Yeah. A world or two ago, I had quite a few different cybernetics installed. One of the pieces of cyber ware installed was a fairly high-end cyber deck, or a built-in computer designed for hacking, running programs, and advanced processing. It was child's play to crack into their "top of the line" phones to grab what I needed." I explained further drawing a wide-eyed look from Eleanor.

"That sort of thing is possible?" Eleanor asked, fully vested in the conversation.

"Yup! I even served as a doctor that specializes in the installation of cyberware. Maybe one of these days we can show you some examples, or better yet, take you to that world to see the sights." I reply drawing a happy nod from Eleanor.

"That would be fun." She returned

My phone started ringing, interrupting our scheming.

"To all hero's, the situation in city-J has escalated from Tiger, to Demon. Requesting a response from Hero's class-A and higher." The dispatch blared out from the phone.

"Duty calls. We done here officer?" I ask a nearby police officer, receiving the affirmative.

[Flight Core Activated.]

My armor starts folding out around me as I get ready to head to the scene.

"Alright, I'm going to go reduce some of the collateral damage. Give me a call if you need anything." I say with a smile before launching skyward.

[Secutor Markroth's POV]

My hydraulics strain as I slice through yet another of the Seafolk. The various defenses deployed beforehand held out valiantly against the continued assault, but one by one, they fell to the destructive capabilities of the Seafolk.

This usually wouldn't be problematic except for one factor, the Deep Sea king.

His arrival changed a war of attrition into hit and run tactics combined with a full-fledged retreat.

The titans and battle automata fell quickly when he arrived on the battlefield, his fists rending metal in an instant. The nano pillar defenses we set up beforehand doing little to hamper his progress as we tried to divert his path away from the shelter. The Spartan's continued to fight gamely on, but even they had to withdraw due to their casualties.

Lightning Max had just fallen, so prediction algorithms dictated that Puri-Puri Prisoner would be engaging shortly.

Glancing down at the dead Seafolk one last time, I jump onto a nearby building and start running towards one of the destroyed nano pillars. Scavenging the core, I use the scrap to start assembling something that could stop that insane regen that the sea king possessed.

Melta weaponry proved ineffective at slowing him down thus far, so plasma would be my next attempt to take his head.

A distant boom broke me out of my thoughts and prompted me to start running once more as alerts about the breach of the shelter.

-Overclocking systems.-

-Estimated time til arrival: 2:45-

-Hail The Creator!-

My speed increases exponentially as my new nano core compensates for the stress I'm putting on my mechanical body.

I quickly came into view of the shelter, the dome partially caved in on the one side.

-Protocol 4: Protect the innocent!-

-May the Machine God hear the plea of this disciple!-

-Grant your humble servant the ability to purge this abomination-

-Let the creator's will be carried out!-

-And the pursuit of knowledge be maintained! –

A new sensation broke through my transmitted battle cry.

Perk Activated!

[Aspect of the Machine God]

01010100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101101 01100001 01100011 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100101 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01100100 01101001 01110011 01100011 01101000 01100001 01110010 01100111 01100101 01100100 00100000 01101001 01101110 01110100 01101111 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 01110010 00100000 01100011 01100001 01110010 01100101 00101110 00001010 01000110 01101001 01100111 01101000 01110100 00100000 01110111 01101001 01110100 01101000 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101101 01100001 01100011 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100101 00101100 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01100111 01110101 01100001 01110010 01100100 00100000 01101001 01110100 00100000 01100110 01110010 01101111 01101101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110011 01101000 01100001 01101101 01100101 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01100100 01100101 01100110 01100101 01100001 01110100 00101110 00001010 00001010 01010011 01100101 01110010 01110110 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101101 01100001 01100011 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100101 00101100 00100000 01100001 01110011 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110111 01101111 01110101 01101100 01100100 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110110 01100101 00100000 01100110 01101001 01100111 01101000 01110100 00100000 01101001 01110100 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00101110

I quickly start translating the newly received code as a new glow suffuses the plasma modification I made to my axe

-This machine is discharged into your care.-

-Fight with this machine, and guard it from the shame of defeat.-

-Serve this machine, as you would have fight it for you.-

New fury surges through my frame as I close the distance and dig my axe through the back of the Sea King.

-Take Heart! For the creator stands with us!-

-Renew your Strength! For the Machine God guides us!-

-HAIL THE CREATOR!-

-HAIL THE OMNISSIAH!-

My message transmits to my brethren taking cover among the wreckage, a call for action, a defiant rebellion against standard protocol as the Skitarii opened fire from a distance. Spartan's closed the distance as they met fury against the unstoppable might of the Deep Sea King.

The King tried to turn me to scrap only to experience surprise as my blade rended through his fist.

-"Your rampage will go no further abomination! Our fury will know no end as we hunt you! If I may fall, my brothers and sisters will rise to take my place! You will know not peace for the rest of your days, for you have drawn our ire! We are unending, we are relentless, we are the Iron Legion!"- My shout was followed by the war cries of my fellow units.

They knew they would probably get demolished, but the objective was to buy time. And if we could find a way to kill the son of a bitch, all the better.

Fortunately, it doesn't appear we have to wait long, as more heroes appear from within the crowd join the fight.

[Time Skip]

[Tavish POV]

Tapping into my internal network, I start calculating trajectories based off of existing units fighting the Sea King.

A Scorch Titan had managed to launch the Sea King outside of the shelter and was bathing him in a sea of burning thermite.

While he distracted the Sea king for a few seconds, it bought me enough time to run a trajectory on him.

I wasn't particularly in favor of causing more damage to the shelter, but needs must when the devil drives

Perks activated!

[Rage perks activated!]

[Afterburner]

[Charge]

[The Only one They fear is you!]

[Until it is Done]

[Pain Train]

…

I continued activating perks as I get closer and closer to the shelter. I activated my final perk as I plunged through the back of the shelter.

[Blood Punch]

"Get fucked fish man!" I roar, plunging my fist into his face, sending him flying further away.

[Hellfire Fist]

Flames dance up my arms as I follow up in that instant in a barrage of strikes as we are propelled further from the shelter. His bones shattered under my hands, exploding out of his back as burning shrapnel.

Finishing out the combo with an axe kick slamming him into the asphalt.

As he struggles to get up, I slam my boot on the back of his head and activate my thrusters in conjunction with charge, launching the both of us down the street, the sea king serving as a makeshift sled.

Shreds of fish man flay off his body as I grind my foot into the back of his skull, his regeneration attempting to compensate for the brutal assault.

The rain that was empowering him previously dispersed as the clouds overhead scattered, the wind dropping the temperature, causing frost to form on the still wet streets. The ice swiftly turns into spikes that shred through the Sea King further, the speed of the violent ride beginning to expose bone.

Disabling my weight reduction runes, the Sea kings skull shatters at the weight impressed upon it as I slam my boot into his skull once more. The sleigh ride comes to an end, a disgusting bloody trail left behind me.

Quickly extracting a DNA sample from the body, I observe the remains for a few minutes before heading back towards the shelter to analyze the damage.

The sheer number of machines in and around the shelter surprised me. I was hoping for a higher effectiveness against the Sea king, but this was the unfortunate result.

However, this trial by fire also bore unexpected fruit. Many of the Spartan's were damaged but the ones in possession of Sentinel power cores were in the process of evolving to become stronger and faster.

The same held true for all the machines, from Skitarii to battle automata, the most impressive being the Titans.

While few in number the surviving Titans had evolved into new variations. The spunky Scorch class that took the Sea king on in a head-to-head fight evolved into something with volcanic like power.

[Magma Class Titan] (Epic)

No longer restricted by mere thermite, this titans capabilities draw from the volcanic power of the earth. It received this prestigious honor for holding out for so long against the Sea King.

-"Sir, the defense of the shelter was successfully defended against the invaders. Permission to initiate clean-up and a withdrawal?"- the Secutor's voice breaks into my thoughts prompting me to glance at the tech-priest.

I had sensed the activation of aspect of the machine god, and it was quite interesting to see its effects.

It looked as if Makroth's axe had been supercharged, the energy of the power weapon acting like an eager puppy as it ran up and down the length of the weapon.

If I had to hazard a guess as to why that was, I would say the machine god awakened its machine spirit.

+2 Rep with Deus Ex Machina (28/100)

My blood ran cold at the latest message from the system. This is the first time a god was actively paying attention to my actions. I should be all right, but gods as a general rule tended to act unpredictability to how humans would react.

The temporary nervousness faded quickly at my next realization. What was a machine spirit exactly? They were fairly important in the 40k universe, but why were they so revered by cult mechanicus? They potentially could affect our whole battle doctrine.

"Permission granted Secutor. Your efforts today were commendable, please make sure everyone receives proper R&R along with sentinel cores." I respond, mulling over this new development.

Observing the remaining hero's receiving medical treatment, it looks like everyone got off lighter this time around.

I noticed two presences still missing though. Genos and Saitama.

Neither appeared to respond to this incident so I was curious to their whereabouts.

Interfacing with various CCTV footage around the city, I was picking up various other fights occurring across the city as the Sea Folk continued to fight.

I detected Genos assisting a group of Ronin class titans as they tore their way through the streets of City-K to assist other heroes as they desperately tried to defend other shelters.

Saitama was meandering around the beachfront nonchalantly flicking back any reinforcements trying to reinforce their brethren on the surface.

The force was definitely larger than what was portrayed in the anime, but not insurmountable.

I raise my axe and shout a word that echoed around the city.

[Inspire]!

[3rd Person POV]

A single action that cemented Atlas's title as a hero. As a being strong enough to lift the world back onto its feet.

The city lit up with light, the source quickly becoming apparent.

The many pieces of graffiti placed around the city lit up in a rainbow of vibrant colors as Tavish's combined bard, and artificer prep took effect.

Heroes were suddenly empowered by this strange occurrence as they beat the Seafolk back.

Mumen Rider was seen crashing through multiple Seafolk, obliterating the monsters as the chain on his bike glowed red hot from friction.

While in that same instant, steam poured from the wounds of fallen heroes as their wounds knit back together.

Stinger raised his head from where he collapsed, his swollen face recovering as bones snapped back into place.

Regular people lost their fear as determination set in. People rallied behind the cry as they took up make shift arms, and reminded the Seafolk of one of humanities most basic instincts.

To hunt and kill.

Cities around the world watched in awe as people took blades and bats to the invaders, ganging up on Seafolk and processing them down to the fish they were.

[Time Skip]

[Tavish POV]

The cities managed to pull through the conflict with minor casualties on our part.

I was honestly surprised that the people rose up to fight against the Seafolk. When I originally developed my plan for Inspire, I was only planning around its effect on heroes. I completely forgot to account for its effect on civilians.

While it did work out this time, I would definitely need to factor that in for next time. It would end in all sorts of bad if they used that same sort of reckless bravery against someone like Boros.

I feel that the world would tear me apart if I caused more casualties due to my actions. But it was an easy fix to send Bosco's to alter the runes hidden within the art.

I had actually moved on to another hobby after the clean up for the Seafolk invasion was resolved.

Culinary arts.

An odd hobby that had the benefit of combining foodgician with bardic talents. I tended to dabble in it to create presentable dishes at fantasia, but after unlocking the bard class, it escalated to a whole new level.

Especially since most of the meals made at Fantasia were a show to begin with. People registered my cooking as "entertainment", thus my experience in the bard class grew.

But, to put on an exceptional show, I needed exceptional ingredients.

Enter the Culinary World Dungeon.

Walking through the portal to this world swept away my breath at the view of untouched wilderness.

It looked like a standard forest at first, until I spotted a rich brown sap leaking from nearby trees.

[Pancake Tree] (Uncommon)

This strange maple tree retains a green foliage as its leaves ripen until they reach a perfect golden brown. Its sap is a rich maple syrup that slowly flows down the trunk. Butter lichen likes to grow around its base to feed off the Pancake tree's sap.

Reaching up to the foliage, I hold one of the gently thickening leaves in my hand and observing the maple leaf shape of the pancakes.

Already the food of this world was defying anything that I would call a norm in any sense of the imagination.

Reaching into my inventory, I pull out a special Bosco.

[Culinary Bosco] (Epic)

This special unit is designed for long term expeditions, cataloging a variety of flavors, and identifying the genetic makeup of anything within the culinary world.

He had a specialized backpack attachment containing batteries, sensory equipment, and data relay equipment to support this little guys expedition.

It would be more convenient for him to begin charting out where certain ingredients could be found, than to go through and do it by hand. I knew their were some ingredients that I would have to wrangle and chart myself, but Bosco would serve as a good start.

Setting him off on his merry way, I step back through to the portal to my workshop.

[Time Skip]

This world continued to be a place that both confused, and fascinated me at the same time.

It wasn't something that I picked up at first due to setting things up, but it was an unconventional fact that could not be ignored.

Most of the world governments were gone.

In their place, was an odd combination of the hero association and the world government.

The World Government came about thanks to the rise of mysterious beings. They brought down governments one by one until something unexpected happened.

China and Japan's emergence of heroes.

In an odd twist of fate, these countries were able to naturally produce heroes capable of pushing back the mysterious beings.

Refugees of other countries managed to start producing a few Heroes of their own and together, they managed to push back the tide.

Since then, heroes and monster attacks became a part of everyday life, the world government slowly piecing the world back together in an uphill battle against the monsters.

When the world fell to chaos, many artifacts and pieces of history were lost.

These "artifacts" varied from painting like the Mona Lisa, to the sarcophagus of King Tut. On a passing glance, some of these artifacts didn't give off anything out of the ordinary, but others turned out slightly strange.

[Anubis Motif] (Rare) (God-touched)

This ancient tablet depicting Anubis used some of its remaining power to alter the monster cells in the area, creating "Anubites" or Jackal-headed people. While a less common monster, they all seem to worship this tablet as a gift from their god.

I found this on discovering these supposed Anubites. One of my satellites was picking up some strange energy readings and I discovered this small tribe going about its day to day in Egypt.

Honestly, they were the first monster that I met that wasn't trying to inconvenience me in some way, and were fairly welcoming on my approach.

My inquiry into their current state led to meeting their head priest and eventually spotting the tablet.

The God-touched tag on the artifact prompted me to make the executive decision to leave it the fuck alone. God's messing with the power structure of this world? I was honestly curious on what they planned on doing next.

It was possible that this was Anubis's attempt at gathering power. God's sometimes derive their existence from belief or a follower base. Or I could just be reading too much into it.

I was aware of possibly one or two gods that existed in this world, so Egyptian gods popping up out of nowhere really threw me for a loop. It would kind of explain the large variety of monsters that kept cropping up.

Their was a gorgon like monster in the series, so was it possible that the monster was created when it came in contact with a Greek artifact like Aegis or something similar? Possibly a neglected temple of Athena? Yet another mystery to explore.

It was this resurgence of mysteries, that prompted the deployments of multiple Skitarii scouts and Bosco units.

Their objective? To comb the earth and discover its secrets. Many of them were sent beneath City-Z to start mapping out the Monster Association's hideout. Their research into monsters would prove beneficial moving forward, plus I might recover an artifact or two.

My own exploration already netted me some interesting artifacts.

[Fragment of Yggdrasil] (God-Tier)

A fragment of the World Tree from Norse lore. It still possesses a sliver of power.

[Pablo Escobear] (Legendary)

A taxidermy black bear that overdosed on cocaine in 1981. Legend states that after consuming 75 pounds of cocaine, it became the apex predator of the continent for eight minutes before succumbing to its drug overdose.

Abilities:

?

?

?

?

The fuck?

Putting aside the fragment of the world tree for a moment, how in all that is holy did this poor bear become a legendary artifact?

Does that mean anything with any sort of historical value has the potential to be an artifact?

I was honestly a little nervous to look into this artifact but those damn question marks were making me curious.

Was he a golem type artifact? Was he a production type artifact? Extensive study was required.

The fragment of Yggdrasil was quite different and much more easily determined on what to do with it.

Synthesizing new tree's has always been a mainstay for many of my operations, so having a sample of a World Tree was like a gift that kept on giving.

New Seed Created!

[World Tree Seed] (?)

Enables a random World Tree to grow from the seed.

If I wanted to successfully implement the project I had in mind, I would need a very special person to oversee the project.

[Time Skip]

I had grabbed Harley from the Cyberpunk world for this next bit. Hopefully Ivy would hold off on trying to rip my head off before hearing me out.

Hopefully this open plain would serve as a decent spot to negotiate with her.

"What the heck are we doin' out here Mista' T?" Harley questioned as we came to a halt.

"Finally scraped up enough cash to summon Ivy. Thought you'd want to be here for that." I comment, pulling her companion gem out of my pocket.

Shattering the gem in my hand, a figure with green skin and red flowing hair coalesced in front of us and opened its eyes.

"Ivy!" Harley cheered, jumping on her and wrapping her in a hug.

+20 Affection from Harley Quinn for holding up your end of the deal. (64/100)

Ivy's pupils dilated as she tried to escape Harley's stranglehold for a few seconds before resigning herself to Harley's smothering.

I wait a few minutes before I cough quietly and interject; "Harley, while this is entertaining to observe, could you please allow me to talk to Ms. Isley for a bit." I request, prompting Harley to poke her tongue out at me.

"What's wrong Mista' T? can't handle a little girl on girl action?" She asked impishly, squashing Ivy's head further into her breasts.

"Quite the contrary, but I do think that Ivy needs to breath at some point." I comment idly, causing Harley to look down at Ivy contemplatively.

"That's fair. . ." She states, reluctantly loosening her hold on Ivy and causing her to inhale a lung full of air.

"My apologies doctor, while I was expecting Harley to be enthusiastic in her greeting, I didn't anticipate this enthusiastic." I state to the ruffled femme fatal.

"This is standard practice for Harley, but it begs the question, who are you and where am I?" Ivy questioned as she stated straightening up and observing me.

"Ah how rude! Where are my manners! Tavish Byrne at your service Ms. Isley! As for where you are, you're in a different dimension at the moment." I offer joyfully causing her eyes to bug out and look around frantically. It took a moment for her to settle down after her little panic. I could feel the plants under my feet surge for a moment before calming down slightly.

"What do you want.?" She asked her eyes narrowing. I could feel the plants under me rapidly growing and waiting under the earth.

"I want to hire you!" I state enthusiastically, beaming at the weary botanist.

"In all seriousness though, I want to employ you on some ongoing projects that I am working on." I state, dropping the jovial tone and pulling a tablet out of my inventory.

Tapping a few buttons, images, designs and on-going projects are projected into the air for Poison Ivy to see. These projects detailed my forays into my tree experiments and one or two fringe projects surrounding Zero Dawn.

Watching her eyebrows shoot up into her hairline as she reads through my initial results and experiments.

Time trickled by for roughly fifteen minutes before her eyes shifted up from the tablet and observed me for a moment. I could sense the plants underneath me relax slightly.

"This is unlike anything I have seen before. Do any of these actually work?" She commented, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.

"I can show you the actual grove if you like?" I offer, prompting her nod.

Snapping my fingers, a blue portal opened up behind me, I lead the two through to the Glowing Forest I had created in the Cyberpunk world.

"The forest here, it feels so vibrant and alive, yet toxic. As if it's fighting off tons of pollution." Ivy stated, recoiling slightly.

"Welcome to Night City California. The year is 2077. Most world governments have been turned into puppets for Megacorporation's, removing such pollution blockers such as the EPA and other government agencies. This world has encountered four separate corporate wars, all of which have included chemical weaponry to nuclear warheads. In addition, this forced global climate shifts that push this world further and further to the brink of extinction." I explain, watching a Strider stroll into the grove and start grazing.

"And these are the machines and plants capable of reversing the damage?" Pamela asked, watching the Strider process the earth.

"Yes. This world is currently serving as a test bed for these inventions and marvels. But this remains a temporary home. Eventually, the test bed for the project will be moved here." I state, pulling up a new blueprint I got recently, and projecting the hologram into the air.

[Installation 00/ The Ark] (Legendary)

Installation 00, also known as The Ark or The Lesser Ark, is an enigmatic Forerunner installation from which all the Halo Installations across the galaxy can be activated simultaneously. In addition, it functions as a safe haven from the Halo network's strategic pulse, as well as a facility to construct and repair any of the Halo Array.

An image of the Fortress was projected within the center of the structure.

"What is the purpose of this structure?" Ivy questioned observing the diagram.

"Originally, it was designed to create and repair a superweapon designed to wipe out entire galaxies. However, the design has been altered to a more benign purpose." I explain causing her to cock an eyebrow.

"Why do you need such a weapon?" she drawled rolling her eyes.

"I don't. Which is why it's being altered from such a potentially disastrous state. I want to emphasize its secondary purpose." I reply, bringing up some of the sub diagrams into view for her to read.

Her eyes got wider and wider as she continued to read the documentation before locking eyes with me; "Theoretically, you could seed the beginnings of life anywhere in the universe if you have the proper genetic material on file." She stated, awe creeping into her tone.

"Indeed. I want to recreate the array to turn into a sort of R&D test ground for all sorts of environments, plants, animals, and projects to learn and develop from." I state filing the blueprints away.

"Let me be blunt Ms. Isley, I am a dimensional traveler. My goal is to see every corner of time and space across the entire omniverse. I would like to recruit you for my R&D division as head botanist. I hired Ms. Quinzel on the premise of continuing her study of psychology and reuniting her with you. My offer is the chance to observe catalog and experiment with any of the flora I come across in my travels. What would it take to gain your particular skill set?" I propose, watching her reaction.

This was a lot of data to overwhelm her with, but I was serious about acquiring her services. Setting aside the fact that she was a literal aspect of plant life, she has a spectacular skillset to compliment it, holding a doctorate in botany. A second pair of eyes understanding what I am trying to accomplish would do wonders for advancing many of my tree-based projects.

"What would be required of me?" She asked shrewdly, switching to full business mode in an instant. I could see her eyes sparkling with interest and the possibilities presented to her. But their was an undercurrent of wariness to her demeanor.

"Discovery, and the implementation of some projects. Truthfully, I'm fairly hands off as far as what you get up to in your personal time. I supply funding if you need it, or acquire materials that can substitute. You have the option to explore the worlds I visit, or you can take a vacation as needed. We lodge at a Space Fortress in its own separate dimension so if you sign on, you'll have your own separate quarters for whatever "me" time you may need." I answered, watching her struggle with herself for a moment.

"Would you make the same offer under a truth-serum?" She asked pulling a small vial out from somewhere on her leaf dress.

"That dress has pockets?" I question, receiving a giggle from her.

"Come on, a woman has to have some secrets." She stated, a coy smile fliting across her features as she awaits my answer.

"I would make the same offer. However, I'm not sure it would work on me. Could we state it under a magical vow by chance?" I request causing her to blink.

"How would that work?" She asked prompting me to snap my fingers.

A glowing gold diagram spirals out under our feet surrounding all parties.

The gamers shop had all sorts of books regarding mysticism. Anyone could do it really, but you needed a whole library to support and design the spells you need.

Mystic Spell

[Zone of Truth]

A magical lie detector in its most basic state. It glows green for a truth, and red for a lie. This variation is not magically binding.

"This is a Zone of Truth. A basic lie detector. All parties within the circle can affect the diagram. The gist of it, is that red means lie, green means truth. Go ahead and test it out if you like." I explain, feeling the plants get agitated under the earth.

"Alright. I never robbed a bank." Harley stated, causing the diagram to flash red.

"I once made the dean's list." She tried again. The diagram lit up a soft green glow.

"Really?" I ask her, causing her to stick her tongue out at me.

"Fair enough. Now then, were you serious about your earlier offer?" Ivy questioned, interrupting the back and forth.

"Absolutely." I state without batting an eye, the green glow under my feet remaining.

"And the truth serum?" she continued, watching me closely.

"I believe that my regen would process it so fucking quickly you couldn't use it proper." I explain, causing the diagram to flash green once more.

"Why do you feel like the earth? I can sense the power within you." She asked, switching tactics entirely.

"The earth granted me a fraction of its power from defending it from a demonic incursion. It allows me to control the earth and plant life." I reply, a tree growing quickly next to me.

She stayed silent as the diagram stayed green, staring at the tree that had just sprouted in the clearing next to me.

After a moment, I felt the plants underneath me withdraw and settle.

+30 Rep with Poison Ivy for making an honest deal with her. (30/100)

"Very well then. It appears I'm in your care now Mr. Byrne." She said, a smile creeping onto her face.

"Please, its Tavish. I've never been one for ceremony." I reply, reaching out and shaking her hand."

[Time Skip]

After getting Ivy settled at the Fortress, I returned to the One-Punch world.

Shipments of new minerals and materials were still being retrieved from the space surrounding earth, so I started funneling a portion of these back to the fortress to assist with the construction of the new facilities.

The sheer amount of materials required for the Ark would guarantee that it would be a long term project. So the best way to take advantage of that would be to acquire a better understanding of forerunner tech.

Searching the gamer's shop, I find a series of blueprint packs holding designs from the Halo universe. It was a little more expensive the more specific you made your request. For instance, a general blueprint pack would be substantially cheaper, than specifying a blueprint pack containing tech from the Forerunners of the Halo universe.

Regardless, that didn't stop me from pulling some interesting stuff from the packs.

[Forerunner Constructor]

[Promethean Crawler]

[Forerunner Collector]

[Promethean Soldier]

[Guardian Custode]

[Cryptum]

…

Most of them would bolster my collection capabilities and advance my space flight ability, but others like the Guardians? What the actual fuck would I do with those? The Cryptum? I've got a TARDIS. I basically got the designs to a giant floating ball. Sure it could jump into slip space, but could it travel through time?

Truthfully, much of the tech designs I get these days was better used as a reference point when designing newer tech to supplement my arsenal. The Prometheans would probably be integrated into my existing forces. I unfortunately may need to find a way around using the Composer.

Could I just create an advanced AI and feed it to the Composer? I might be able to bypass the organic requirement that way.

The true value I received from the Forerunner tech was the hard light tech they possessed. Instantaneous materialization of troops and weapons? That would be a dream of any commander.

While the Promethean troops were still a way out from being built, the hard light tech was way simpler to integrate.

[Forerunner Frying Pan] (Rare) (Unique)

A frying pan created using hard light technology.

Adding a Hard Light generator to my Nano Core was a piece of cake, and I was getting the hang of creating basic stuff like this.

[You received a piece of tech, with such a vast amount of potential.]

[And you used it to make this?!]

Well, yeah. Completely eliminates clean up after.

[ . . . . . . .]

Its non-stick too! Did you see the air time I got on that pancake earlier?

[You're a moron sometimes you know that right?]

Hey! I'm not a moron! I'm practical! Think about how much inventory space I'll save without that extra cooking gear.

[You don't have an inventory limit.]

I could have always made a back scratcher. Would you have preferred that?

[ . . . . . .]

Plus, it could come in handy, remember when I killed that guy with a frying pan?

[You turned his head into a paste . . .]

See?! Now I have frying pans on demand for if that situation arises again!

[We really should have you tested.]

[There is definitely something wrong with you.]

We did! Harley gave me a clean bill of health remember?

[As your system, I need a second, possibly a third opinion.]

[Preferably from someone other than a former psychopath.]

God damn it Iris!

:P

[Omake: The start of a Pokémon adventure.]

[Ash's POV]

Waking up late and being last in line to get his first Pokémon definitely put a damper on his day.

Just when he had resigned himself to losing out on getting a Pokémon, Professor Oak stepped up with an alternative.

A Pikachu!

A very stubborn Pikachu.

After getting struck by lightning multiple times, I set out to become a Pokémon master!

Thus, I found myself dragging that Pikachu up a mountain.

It was a public path, so it was no surprise when I encountered other trainers, but the tall redheaded trainer was definitely a strange one.

Like me, he was dragging his stubborn Pokémon up the mountain with a leash, but his Pokémon was unlike any I had ever seen before.

It was a humanoid with blue skin, purple hair, and one angrily glaring eye, as his trainer dragged him up the mountain. Surprisingly the Pokémon was screaming obscenities at his trainer, some were words I had never heard before!

"Unhand me you redheaded fuck! How dare you do this to me! A destroyer of galaxies! I will ram a spike up your ass and mount your shitty body on the prow of my ship you filthy ape! How dare you interrupt my fight and trap me in that prison . . ." The Pokémon raged as the man finally caught up to me.

The man examined me and the Pikachu before throwing a lazy grin my direction.

"Pokémon, Amiright?" he said with a chuckle.

"Y-yeah, they can be stubborn sometimes." I replied, examining his strange Pokémon.

"Oh well, nothing I can do about it at the moment. Come on Boros, we need to start training to beat the Gym leader in the next town." He directs at the struggling Pokémon.

"Bite me bitch!" the Pokémon snarled back.

"Hey watch the language! There is a child present! Show some decorum you pedantic fuck!" The redhead scolded before stopping and turning to me.

"Ehm, sorry. I would advise you to ignore what you may or may not have heard within the last few minutes. It might get you into some serious trouble if you repeat it." He said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"Sure. . ." I reply.

We parted ways shortly after that.

I definitely had some questions about the enigmatic man, but I had a feeling I'd see him again.