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Rating:

Mature

Archive Warning:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

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Gen

Fandoms:

Parahumans Series - Wildbow나 혼자만 레벨업 | Solo Leveling (Webcomic)

Relationships:

Greg Veder/Other(s)Greg Veder & Sparky (Parahumans)Aisha Laborn | Imp & Brian Laborn | GrueGreg Veder & Aisha Laborn | Imp

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Additional Tags:

The System (Solo Leveling)Alternate Universe - Canon DivergenceCanon-Typical ViolenceButcher Taylor Hebert | Skitter | WeaverGamer Greg VederClonesClone banterClone BrotherhoodParahumans Online

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English

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Fanfics I Wish Were Canon 3000

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Published:2025-05-14Updated:2026-02-14Words:90,632Chapters:15/?Comments:132Kudos:201Bookmarks:125Hits:13,910

Ready Player Greg

KingVessel

Chapter 8: Guild 2.3

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Tuesday, April 19 2011

R̶o̶s̶a̶r̶i̶t̶a̶ ̶C̶i̶s̶n̶e̶r̶o̶s̶ Roberta Veder

I hummed to myself as I watched Greg stagger away from our one-time training session together this morning. Apparently, this 'System' had recognized that I'd been apparently trying to teach him martial arts and had given him a power that would substitute all the merciless but necessary days that he would've needed to at least become an expert on it.

To Greg's own surprise, I had no negative opinion about it. If the System was going to achieve all ends to make my boy harder to kill despite dragging him into dangerous situations, I wouldn't mind it. For some unknown reason, the System was cultivating Greg for a purpose down the line and apparently didn't care much for what he himself did with his growing power, which he then thankfully chose to indulge in heroism.

Brockton Bay was filled with many who would act otherwise. I didn't get his reasoning for having Void Cowboy and Cryomancer act as his 'alternate accounts', but I'm sure he had a good reason for that. After all, filling the city with more heroes spared most civilians some nightmares, especially with Cryomancer publicly declaring himself an enemy of the Empire Eighty-Eight.

For a moment, I'd honestly considered mentioning the Wards to him. But only for a moment. As well meaning as they (probably) were, Greg presenting himself would open not just the tight lid I'd kept over my past, but also destroy all of Greg's freedom to act as he wished.

Something both my son and I appreciated, as long as it was within reason. It wouldn't do to have him dedicate himself to a worthwhile cause only to then have his capabilities restrained while his enemies wouldn't grant him the same courtesy.

"'Morning, Roberta." Daniel Hebert greeted as I encountered him.

"Good morning, Daniel." I replied, keeping pace with him for a bit. "Hey, mind refreshing me on the villains still here in the city? My son wants to make a project about it, and I'd rather not feel like I'm behind on current news."

"Huh... Taylor never mentioned anything like that... Must be a personal thing." Hebert muttered before shrugging. "Well, starting off from the least villainous... There's Über and Leet?"

Über and Leet. Über was a Thinker who could rapidly excel at any chosen skill, perhaps akin to Greg's System, while Leet was a Tinker with the broadest specialization I'd ever known, even if his Tinkertech tended to be unstable for some reason. But these two... were frankly too incompetent. Their crimes were video game-themed, something I wouldn't even have known if not for Greg's annoyance at their 'masterpieces'. According to him, they lacked 'presentation' or something. I myself just despised how incompetent they were without really losing their malevolence.

"Then there's the ABB, although Weaver's really crushed them down at this point."

The Azn Bad Boys. All of Asian ethnicity, they'd initially been a bunch of minor gangs before Lung had reforged them into his underlings, demanding tithes from all Asians in his territory that he hadn't already forced into slavery. Speaking of slavery, the ABB ran trafficking rings and sold drugs, even including women from Lung's own territory. However, Weaver had shown her inexpertise (or pragmatism or lack of empathy) in not noticing that the ABB had been smart enough to abandon the city just as Über and Leet had surprisingly done so. All that were left after Lung's death were just the hangar-ons, the various intermediaries between the capes and the grunts easily noting how Butcher XV restrained herself to the city and simply continuing their atrocities elsewhere.

With Lung deceased and Oni Lee incarcerated, the sole cape left in their ranks was Bakuda, who I still knew too little about.

"Then there's the Teeth who drove out and replaced the Merchants."

The Teeth. As Greg had once described, they were the 'Chaotic Evil barbarians' to the 'Lawful Evil bigots' of the E88 and I found myself agreeing. Fitting to the leader calling themselves Butcher, they and their subordinates lived a personal culture of violence and anarchy. Before Quarrel's decision to set up at Brockton Bay, they'd traveled between cities on a bi-weekly or monthly basis, looting and harassing as they pleased. However, it seemed that Butcher XV had slowly begun to rein in their worst habits, if the rumors about her retaining her sanity and previous heroism were true.

At the very least, all of their ruthlessness and malevolence were being directed at other villains... but what about when they either finally defeated or lost to the E88?

"And finally, the Empire Eighty-Eight." Hebert paused to spit to the side. "Assholes."

"Indeed. Scumbags, down to the last one of them." I hummed in agreement. According to Greg's description, Lawful Evil still had the word 'evil' and it showed with those wretches.

Being the largest gang of them all, with the Nazi vermin having even more and separate groups across the world, their numbers reached hundreds of 'normal' members, both nondescript and blatant supporters. All of them willing to brutalize those born with the wrong ethnicity as well as those of their own ethnicity who would rightfully refuse to be associated with them.

Kaiser, the E88's leader, could make metal grow out of any surface. His parahuman lieutenants, all as bigoted as him, varied in lethality. Fenja and Menja, a pair of blonde twins with the latter now (and hopefully permanently) crippled by Butcher XV, could grow into giants with proportionately increased physicalities. Krieg, Kaiser's second-in-command, could manipulate kinetic energy on a level I'd been unable to confirm as a civilian. Hookwolf, a violent spree killer who ran dog-fighting rings with Cricket and his fellow brawlers, could metal spires from his body that he shaped into the form of a werewolf. Alabaster, a man with an appearance fitting to his name and a power that granted him a chronokinetic form of immortality. Crusader, who could generate ghostly duplicates of himself. Victor, the one parahuman I made sure to avoid if we ever met due to his vampiric ability ripping out years of effort and training from genuine combatants, leaving them remanded to mental wards. Othala, one of their youngest and a pure Trump who never left Victor's side for her own safety. Finally, there was Rune, the other youngest, who was a telekinetic limited to items she personally marked.

There was also Purity, who had apparently broken off from the E88 to become a hero for some reason, but neither Greg and I had been deceived, considering that she was clearly still a racist bitch who still attacked minorities. Criminal minorities, sure, but Greg himself stated that she still didn't count as a hero given that she had no civilian rescues under her belt. Something that I agreed with as Purity was clearly still lacking in that, something that even Butcher XV had accomplished despite her unfortunate reputation.

My boy had all these as his potential enemies... Thank goodness his power was actively making him more powerful at a steady rate.

Greg Veder

I half-hearted rubbed my sore shoulder once more after class let up, still feeling the aches from Mom's thankfully one-time lesson. It would soon be noon in an hour, and I had to get Void Cowboy and Cryomancer ready for their showdown.

STR: 230(C) → 295(C)

VIT: 245(C) → 300(B)

MAG: 200(C) → 245(C)

SP: 0

"I still think this is reckless." Sparky mentioned as she and Aisha followed me up to the roof. "It's good publicity, but the slightest mistake-"

"Relax, already!" Aisha butt in as she closed the door behind us, dumping a huge pile of sand against it to block it from easily opening. "Besides, you already came to school with all that Tinkertech. Don't get cold feet so soon to the deadline."

Sparky took a deep breath and released it. "...you're right. Greg, call them forth. I've already made the deals with those two anyways."

Snapping my fingers, my clones dropped right out of my Inventory, already dressed for battle in proper new costumes, thanks to Parian's hard work.

Void Cowboy's outfit consisted of a black buttoned-up vest over a long-sleeved crimson shirt with matching black jean trousers and combat boots. Along with that, he also had a black cowboy hat with a thick metallic plate at the front, a large "VC" stamped in the center, as well as a crimson bandanna covering the lower half of his face.

Cryomancer's outfit consisted of a zipped up sea blue jacket with forearm-length sleeves with matching pants and off-white boots, with the soles equipped with spikes and a thin line running down the center of each of them a darker pale gray. He also sported a white utility belt around his waist, which held four little metal capsules containing medical supplies hanging off the front(for when I didn't want to display my Inventory), as well as two black wrist guards with armor-like bracing and are accompanied by plating from his wrist to his knuckles. Finally above it all was a cross between a helmet and an icy crown, keeping the lower half of Cryomancer's face exposed.

"Damn." Aisha muttered in appreciation while Sparky brought out two tennis ball-like camera drones, letting them fly above the two clones and 'affix' themselves. "Maybe I should get a costume, too, if I ever feel like going hero."

"I'll pay for you girls if either of you feel like it." I replied. After I took the Job Change Quest later today, I'd finally be allowed to add them to my Party. I'd been unable to do so before, but the System had apparently needed me to complete this Quest first.

"Oh, good. I'll need some money right now, even." Sparky turned to face me, making some more adjustments on a Tinkertech tablet of hers. "The announcers I hired for this fight still need to be paid, after all."

Announcers? Well, whatever. Sparky told me to leave all that stuff to her, anyways. Time to use the Random Gift I'd gotten earlier from today's exercise.

-:|Random Gift: Damage Totems(x40)|:-

These are hand-sized effigies that are capable of redirecting all acquired damage onto themselves, sparing it all from the one who smears a drop of their blood against it. Each is usable only once and cannot function beyond ten minutes.

In addition to boosting my (and the clones' by proxy) VIT, this would be perfect!

Amy Dallon - Panacea

I crossed my arms in slight frustration while noting a few birds flying overhead, envying their flight capabilities while Vicky eagerly waited next to me. "I still don't even know why I'm here. Just because you want to see two parahumans beat each other up doesn't mean I have to, especially if they made the point of keeping away from civilians."

"Too bad. Aunt Sarah decided that you needed a break, and we should also survey the fight as closely as we can. Besides, I'm mostly sure she'd like us to recruit Cryomancer and maybe Void Cowboy for New Wave." Vicky shrugged, in costume as I was. Aunt Sarah wanted to recruit Cryomancer? No wonder she'd let us actually skip school... "Plus, it's not like we're the only capes here."

Thumbing to the side, I looked over and saw Parian standing a good distance away with her usual giant dolls acting as her guards. And not just her, Weaver and a few more Teeth members (Lis- Tattletale included) had just arrived as well. And then Rune and Crusader showed up too. Finally, some ABB grunts following a female cape I'd never seen before.

But it wasn't just villains that were here. My brow raised slightly when Assault and Battery showed up, along with Miss Militia. And with just a minute to noon left...

Three black portals of shadows opened up, two facing each other while the third was a few meters away from Vicky and I. As Glory Girl immediately put herself between me and it, two familiar figures and one unfamiliar one stepped out of the portal before us.

Über and Leet, accompanied by suspended pieces of their stuff following after them. As for the stranger, she was clearly a Tinker of some sort, clad in a full-bodied Tinkertech exoskeleton that hugged her figure well enough to display her femininity but was also closed well enough to not expose a single inch of skin, its silver glean making it shine under the sunlight while the Tinker's eye slots glowed whitish blue along with a glowing circle in her chest.

"Okay, boys. I'll leave you to set up here." The Tinker waved them off before stepping back into the portal before it disappeared, Über and Leet beginning to set up a table nearby.

"This has got be the easiest and best 2,000 bucks we've ever made." Über gushed as he put on a headset, gingerly tapping the attached microphone. "We're freakin' announcers."

"Screw that, did you see that chick's tech?!" Leet muttered with an excited grin. "Imagine what we could build together if this quest isn't a one-time thing!"

"What are you two doing here?" Glory Girl finally asked, hovering above them menacingly.

"Announcing, duh." Über scoffed before pounding on a metal box with a big red button just as Leet placed it on the table, causing a dome of translucent energy to flicker into existence around the duo. "Anti-Riot Shield deployed. Are we ready?"

"Sure. Cryomancer and Void Cowboy are finally on scene." Leet pointed towards the distance, prompting me to look and see the two capes themselves facing each other. Then as if things weren't surprising enough, two small drone-like orbs flew before Glory Girl and I as well as Über and Leet, each projecting a holographic screen that displayed third-person perspectives of the two capes themselves, their own drones hovering at a fixed distance behind and slightly above them.

"Ready to start it off?" Leet grinned as he raised his fist for a fistbump.

"Don't get cold feet." Über rapped his knuckles against his partner's own. "Your power actually let you go full ham on this, so let's not fuck it up."

Another big red button was slammed down upon, causing me to frown when I felt a buzz from my phone. "Hm?"

Pulling it out, my jaw dropped when an app I had certainly never downloaded in my life opened up a designed homepage with the caption 'Cape Battle' before it switched to a live video of... the two capes in the distance, showing it exactly as the drones before us were.

"Parahumans. Capes." Über began with an audacious grin, his voice also coming from my phone. "Let's be real. They're like rabbits; they're everywhere."

Leet nodded along conspirationally. "Any cape can be powerful and capable in their own right, but haven't you ever had that nagging thought: who'd win between those two?"

"In the red corner, we have the absolute annoyance of Parahumans Online!" Über roared. "The undisputed troll and conspiracy theorist! VOID COWBOY!"

"Booo!" Glory Girl shouted unmaliciously as I stared at her silently, my sister apparently drawn into this fiasco with zero hesitance. In her defense, Vicky wasn't the only one booing Void Cowboy as Assault and a few other villains did as well, all apparently aware of his online reputation.

And apparently, Void Cowboy knew it as well, clearly basking as he welcomed the jeers.

I sighed in resignation before leaning back against the wall behind me. "...this is insane."

Sveta

"Go, Void!" I cheered while he basked in the jeers. I didn't know how this feed (and that app) had invaded the computer I'd been given, but I certainly wasn't complaining as it let me finally see Void Cowboy in the 'flesh' for the first time ever.

He was as funny as I'd expected him to be!

"And in the blue corner, it's the latest known cape of Brockton Bay!" Leet announced. "The guardian knight, or mage, of Parian! The thrasher of Hookwolf! Give it up for Cryomancer!"

Cryomancer, as I could see in the screen, didn't really seem to be taking on a theme with his appearance like Void Cowboy had. But he certainly had his own flair as he raised his hand quietly before audibly snapping his fingers, the surprisingly loud sound heralding a surge of ice that coated the ground beneath him for several meters with such chill I could almost feel it myself.

""...damn!"" Über and Leet exclaimed in unison. I couldn't help but silently agree. Despite his calm demeanor, or perhaps in spite of it, Cryomancer's presence certainly couldn't be overlooked.

"Well, we should take this moment to state that this Cape Battle will be following a certain guideline of rules." Über declared. "First off, no outside help! This unfortunately means that if one possesses any Master ability that affects other people or is a Master with that as their sole power, its usage counts as an automatic loss!"

Huh. Not only did this imply that this could end up becoming a regular thing, but also ensured banned Master capes like Heartbreaker from participating.

"However, Masters with nonsentient minions are permitted." Leet revealed. "Such as Weaver with her bugs and Crusader with his duplicates. Personal Note: Cape Battle does not endorse the views of Nazism and will preemptively ban all supporters of such beliefs from participation."

I couldn't help but giggle at that. Nobody liked a Nazi, after all. One could think up the most horrific stuff that could be done to another human being, and very few people would complain if the target was a Nazi.

"Wait, back up on the Master bit." Über interrupted. "How would someone like say... Bitch of the Undersiders factor in?"

"Hmm... Well, I'm not gonna say that her minions exactly count as people, given that they're dogs. But very few people can actually shrug off dogs getting brutalized, me included." Leet admitted. "Well, in the end, it'd still be her own choice to participate if she ever feels like it. She'll be PETA's problem, not Cape Battle's. As likable as dogs are, they're still never rising above the status of 'pet'."

"Okay, then." Über accepted. "Second rule: All combatants must contract themselves to a Damage Totem. These little babies are like reverse voodoo dolls, redirecting any inflicted damage from their targets unto the themselves."

Leet brought out three small glass-like humanoid effigies from a box, standing them up as Void Cowboy and Cryomancer approached the table. Taking a Tinkertech knife from Leet, Void Cowboy and Cryomancer each made small cuts on their hands before swabbing the Damage Totems with it, the blood immediately getting absorbed into a visible core within each effigy.

"Now for a quick test for proof of authenticity!" Leet gestured to Void Cowboy and Cryomancer, who immediately entered a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors that swiftly ended in the latter's favor.

"FUCK!" Void Cowboy declared before he was suddenly skewered from below by many ice spires. For one long second, my breath stalled as my friend's blood stained the ice that had killed him before his form seemed to glitch and suddenly slid off, his 'wounds' completely gone while the ice that had impaled him fell off him to reveal unblemished abs beneath his costume.

...Void Cowboy had abs? I was so distracted by such a thing that I almost missed Void Cowboy's Damage Totem shattering apart.

"...okay, I know that this is filthy rich coming from a Tinker like me, but this is bullshit!" Leet raged.

"And there you have it!" Über declared. "With a temporary way to avoid certain death, this will allow our combatants to fight at their absolute best with no need to fear the demise of their opponent."

"Y'know, I just realized that we're gonna do serious damage to our costumes." Void Cowboy muttered as he reapplied his blood to the last available Damage Totem. "...loser has to pay for the winner's repair fees."

"Bet." Cryomancer replied as Void Cowboy Warped them back to their previous spots.

"Now that we got that covered, its time to begin!" Leet pumped his fist out.

"IT'S TIME FOR A CAPE BAATTTTLLLLEEEE!" Über roared before suddenly calming down. "In the app you have received, please place your bets on who you believe likeliest to win. That part's just for fun, so it's totally optional."

Checking the app, I saw what Über had referred to and immediately voted for Void Cowboy.

Dinah Alcott - Omen

50.0 percent chance that Void Cowboy wins.

Despite the expected headache, my jaw still dropped. A perfect even match? How the hell did that happen?!

Still, I couldn't help the smile that crossed my lips at such a scenario. It felt almost fun to truly bet on chance for once. "I'll vote for... Cryomancer."

Void Cowboy and Cryomancer slowly approached each other, dramatically staring each other down. Until...

"Before we start, your shoelace is untied." Void Cowboy suddenly stated, gesturing downwards with his own gaze.

"Please..." Cryomancer scoffed... then looked down to check.

Which immediately left him open for a sucker punch that smashed into his cheek and launched several meters off his feet.

"And Void Cowboy starts off with the classic of a sucker punch!"

"...what."

Taylor Hebert - Butcher XV - Weaver

"Are you shitting me?!" Sabertooth raged as he lost the bet to who'd land the first hit, especially groaning when the screen briefly flashed to Cryomancer's Damage Totem and showed a noticeable crack form across the face. "Why'd he fall for something like that?!"

"Sucker punches are a fact of life!" Butcher roared in approval. "Get over it!"

I paid little mind to them as Cryomancer swiftly recovered from the sucker punch. Almost immediately, ice formed into boots around his own before he was off, skating across the ground at a speed fast enough to match vehicles while leaving spreading trails of ice in his wake. Pretty inventive for a Shaker.

"Yeah, we kinda have to be. Shakers sound powerful on paper, but we're pretty limited when you think about it... until we have to get creative." Sanguine muttered in speculation before sighing. "I should've made an instant transport subset with my own power."

"I wish you had, too. Landing that final headshot on you was one of the worst mistakes of my life." Reflex suddenly spoke up, his tone slightly glum. "It doesn't seem like either of them are using any Tinkertech weapons."

Well, that would limit Void Cowboy's options. Not that he seemed to care as a portal opened up just before Cryomancer, the cowboy cape himself diving out feet first to stomp Cryomancer's face. However, Cryomancer thought otherwise as he suddenly snatched Void Cowboy out of the air by his leg. Oh, right: he had a Thinker power that gave him short-ranged spatial awareness.

"Wait! Is he really gonna-?!"

And then proceeded to smash him down against the frozen earth beneath, causing deep fissures to spread out for at least a half-mile, the screen briefly changing to show Void Cowboy's own Damage Totem getting cracked as well.

"Holy shit, he's got curb slammed!

"And Cryomancer's clearly not satisfied with just one! Look at him going for another!"

Then Cryomancer did so again three more times, causing further damage with each strike until he flung Void Cowboy away.

"Well, that's definitely cause for a hospital visit. Assuming he hasn't gotten a healer on speed dial."

"I'm more jealous of how his body didn't take way more damage than that. Lucky Brute."

"...well, there's that super strength of Cryomancer's." I muttered in acknowledgement. Still, the fact that Void Cowboy had gotten away with such little damage to himself despite literally getting ragdolled showed that he most likely also had a high Brute rating along with his Mover power.

Stomping forward, Cryomancer sent forth a huge surge of ice that immediately engulfed Void Cowboy just as he'd made a portal, imprisoning him and causing the portal to disperse into wafts of darkness.

Walking towards the downed Void Cowboy, Cryomancer strode towards while yanking a chunk of ice free from the ground, the ice rapidly growing larger as he levitated it up above his head. "Time to make you a statue like I promised, Void."

"Void Cowboy's become frozen in place! Is it over for our challenger already?!"

An ominous crack suddenly formed through the ice holding Void Cowboy down, before it shattered apart the next second. Stepping forth from it, Void Cowboy made a show of shaking some snow off his cowboy hat. "At the risk of sounding cliché... is that the best you can do?"

"And he's free with a vengeance! How will Cryomancer respond to such a callout?!"

Cryomancer tilted his head as if considering something, then he apparently made up his mind with his next word as he dropped the iceberg he'd been levitating. "No."

A huge plume surge of snow exploded off him immediately, rapidly growing and swirling around Cryomancer while light glowed from within. A few seconds later, a massive glowing limb shot upwards into the sky before crashing down hard enough to shake the ground for miles. But the surprise didn't stop there as more of the snow disappeared to finally reveal Cryomancer levitating within a giant dragon that seemed to be made out of translucent and glowing ice.

"This is the best I can do." Cryomancer imperiously declared from within his creation, his arms crossed as he literally looked down on Void Cowboy. "At the risk of sounding cliché... any last lines to say?"

"Cryomancer became a dragon! Or he created a dragon!"

"Holy shit, we've entered into a Final Boss Stage!"

"...yeah, he's fucked." Sanguine declared, and not even I could disagree if Void Cowboy had nothing more to use. Without any weapons, all he'd could now do was run away.

"Oh, if only Lung was still alive just so we could see his face! We could've had a hero vs villain dragon showdown!"

If something like that ever happened, I'd have somehow convinced Dad to have us move.

Sabah Nur - Parian

"Oh, if only Lung was still alive just so we could see his face! We could've had a hero vs villain dragon showdown!"

If something like that ever happened, I'd pack up my wares and abandon Brockton Bay immediately. I liked Cryomancer, but not that much. Ever since he'd been willing to unmask himself to me as Greg (which was my fault, admittedly, as I'd forgotten to tell him that I didn't need him unmasked to measure his head's dimensions), we'd had a pretty friendly working relationship.

In my defense, my friendless background had left me a bit too... unsure of how to treat my relationship with Cryomancer. Leaving aside the gap of at least five or six years between us, Cryomancer had never once shown any actual interest in me as a woman. Maybe he had another girl (or boy) that he liked. Maybe he was plainly just uninterested in romance.

It was a fresh breath of air compared to the pushiness of that man from her university years, a relief to know that I had at least one parahuman friend who would certainly come to save me without incentive if I ever needed him. I̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶l̶o̶n̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶e̶.̶ In this city, powerful allies were a necessity that had been scarce to me due to my independence as a rogue.

And now, my client/friend was displaying himself as one of the city's most powerful capes before who knew how many people. I'd only lasted so long by not showing off so much! If Cryomancer was going to act otherwise, even he'd get cracked down upon!

"What's Void Cowboy gonna do now?!"

Missy Biron - Vista

"What's Void Cowboy gonna do now?!"

I held in my gasp at the sight of Cryomancer's dragon looming over Void Cowboy, briefly replacing the ice with flames I'd seen from video reports of Lung's rampages. Deep down, I knew that Cryomancer and Lung were very different people, but I couldn't swallow my trepidation at the idea of Brockton Bay having another dragon.

And that was desperately ignoring the fact that it looked Endbringer-sized.

And his opponent was Void freaking Cowboy. All internet-savvy Wards knew him, and his onscreen behavior certainly matched what I knew so far, especially with his powers finally being confirmed with my own eyes. Movers tended to either be simple in nature or very complicated teleportation, but Void Cowboy's portals had already got me making comparisons between our powers.

But all of that paled before the primal terror of facing a monster that looked like it could (and would) fit you in its mouth. At least, that's how I imagined how capes regularly felt when they had to drive off Leviathan or Behemoth.

Void Cowboy spread out his arms wide, as if welcoming the challenge. "It's fucking high noon, Cryomancer! From the very start, I came here with the intention to plant my boot in your face! Now! Take! Your! Shot!"

Cryomancer's dragon inhaled deeply before unleashing a roar that blasted out a wave of cyan energy that immediately engulfed Void Cowboy and the wide landscape behind him, freezing over everything that hadn't immediately been blown away... and then a lot more beyond that.

"H-Holy shit..."

"There's no way Void Cowboy survived that-"

"ABANDONED BUILDING DA!" A huge portal opened up right above Cryomancer's dragon, as wide as it was long as it Warped out an entire (and hopefully truly abandoned) skyscraper onto it.

"What a comeback! I've seen wrestlers go grab chairs or table from outside the ring! But Void Cowboy just went and crashed out a whole building!"

And right above the wreckage was Void Cowboy himself, falling downwards with his fists cocked.

-:|Alert!|:-

Skill 'Strike Barrage' has been activated.

"MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA!"

Void Cowboy unleashed a furious onslaught of punches down at his buried opponent, the very air rippling and bursting from the sheer speed and power as compressed shockwaves literally blanket firing the entire area.

"AND IT'S OVER! MUDA!" Void Cowboy fired one last punch that unleashed a great deal of force and wind pressure, devastating the entire area and spreading shockwaves out for miles.

I could even feel the ground shake beneath my feet. I had guessed that he probably was a Brute earlier, but this was crazy! The screen then flashed to show Cryomancer's Damage Totem, which was now riddled with severe cracks and breaks. If Void Cowboy deigned to throw just one more punch.

Dropping down nearby, Void Cowboy instead cheered in his imminent victory. "WRRRRRRYY! Victory is MIN-"

And then a giant dragon hand burst out of the dust plume to crush him, the screen flashing to show his Damage Totem immediately shattering. The dragon then slowly dispersed into snow, letting Cryomancer walk out and approach Void Cowboy's spot. "Don't ever overestimate yourself again. But you made me seriously work for this win, so I'll give you that."

""KO! THIS CAPE BATTLE'S WINNER IS CRYOMANCER!""

I gasped as Void Cowboy was immediately resurrected, clearly looking despondent at his loss.

"This match was surprisingly close, despite how obvious who the winner was going to be."

"I think we all made that reasonable conclusion of underestimating Void Cowboy. As a surprisingly capable Mover, his best bet would be surprise attacks, especially since he has no weapons to use."

"Ironic, given that he modelled himself as a cowboy but reasonable when you think about it. He is honoring the Unwritten Rules just like we all are, but is clearly limited without any Tinkertech artillery."

"But we definitely can't say that he wasn't creative. I mean, who the hell sees an abandoned building and treats it like ammo?! Void Cowboy, apparently."

"Cryomancer himself was obviously no slouch. It's worth noting that beyond the initial sucker punc- Pff! Sorry, but that was funny to remember. Beyond that and Void Cowboy's final assault, Cryomancer firmly remained untoched. I can only imagine how well his rep is going to get bolstered after this."

"Well, that's all for today so I think we're gonna end this here. Until next time, this is Über-"

"And Leet!"

""-signing off on Cape Battle!""

I blinked as the feed closed, the 'CB' app staring at me until my Ward phone immediately began to ring.

"Vista here."

"Director Piggot has ordered a meeting." Armsmaster spoke with a measured tone. "I'm on my may past your school in my civilian wear, so I'll pick you up."

I blinked at that. Armsmaster using his civilian identity was a rare occasion. "Did you go and watch like that?"

"The match provided valuable data and my nondescript appearance kept away fans that would've been distractive."

Ah, that made sense.

Greg Veder

"Hmm... Well, at least I was led to an empty spot this time." I muttered as I raised up my key and brought it out. While my clones duked it out, it was child's play to easily skip school for the rest of the day, allowing me to tackle this endeavor. The chosen location for the Job Change Quest's Gate was a few miles out of the city itself, and unlocking it immediately let me know why.

Purple lightning struck the ground just in front of before morphing into a large Gate, space constantly glitching and distorting around it. It seemed that the System would really be following its trend of making each Dungeon way harder compared to the previous one. Even with the Skill I'd gotten from Mum, I was still just a bit leery about entering a new hell.

But I was savvy enough to know that if I procrastinated, the System might actually force an unknown penalty onto me, or worse, chuck me right into the Job Change Quest with zero preparation on my end.

So here I was, willing to step forward on my own terms. Plus, the Job Change Quest on its own was a significant boon I couldn't ignore. Other than the expected EXP and rewards, this would also let me gather new Skills specifically tailored to me. Such Skills would then let me become a Hero on my own rather than send out Void Cowboy and Cryomancer as proxies.

"Alright. Looks like I'm moving past the tutorial stage now. I wonder what's waiting for me inside?" With my mind set, I stepped through the portal and into darkness.

-:|Alert!|:-

You have begun the 1st Phase of the [Job Change Quest]. Until you complete the Quest, you cannot exit the dungeon.

-:|Alert!|:-

All Perks have been blocked for this Quest.

Access to the Shop has been blocked for this Quest.

Automatic Status Recovery upon Leveling Up has been blocked for this Quest.

"...that's worrying." I frowned at these limitations. Losing {Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing} and {Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Power} would require me to pay more attention to my injuries than I normally had to. Thankfully, I wasn't yet accustomed to {Sapiently Protective and Intelligent Droid Entity[Spidey]'s Program}, so it's absence meant nothing to me.

So on top of the super difficulty ahead of me, I absolutely had to avoid injuries or wasting my NRG. No doubt the System banned me from the Shop to prevent me from simply buying any HP and NRG potions or something. I should've stocked up on those. In fact, I should've used the Shop a lot more.

Another thing to rectify later, especially as I could see my first opponent approaching. Within this castle-like hallway, the enemy was surprisingly modern.

[Hollow Soldier]

It looked exactly like a SWAT trooper, with all 'human' features covered in visor goggles, body armor and tactical equipment.

*PSHEW!*

Which apparently included plasma carbines! Thankfully, it was surprisingly slower than I could move, letting me reach it and dodge aside just as it fired. Swinging hard, I smashed my first into the side of its head hard enough to cause a small shockwave. To my shock, it ate that punch and immediately kneed my stomach in retaliation. Fighting the urge to curl up, I remembered Mum's training and rolled with the hit, landing and immediately charging at it again before it could fire its weapon at me.

This time, I aimed my punch at its neck, trying not to grimace at the crunch my extended fore-knuckles made upon impact.

+9,000EXP!

Level Up: 33 → 34

+25SP!

+New Skill(s)!

-:|Status|:-

Name: Gregory Garcia Veder

Level: 34

EXP: 3,913/34,999

NRG: 330,000/340,000

Job: ?

STR: 295(C)

VIT: 300(B)

MOB: 200(C)

MAG: 245(C)

SNS: 200(C)

SP: 25

-:Quirks(Explosion(Explosive Speed, Stun Grenade, Howitzer Impact, AP Shot, Land Mine Blast), Frost(Glacial Rampart, Cold Surf, Cryo-Telekinesis, Ice Time, Permafrost Landscape), Warp Gate, Whirlwind(Air Ball, Air Blast, Gale Slice, Air Pull, Asphyxiate), Double, Scalemail, Earphone Jack, Rewind):-

-:Perks(Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing, Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Power, Sapiently Protective and Intelligent Droid Entity[Spidey]'s Program):-

-:Skills(Defendu Arts(Strike Barrage, Taunting Warcry)):-

Budget: 364,400 gold

I sighed as the Hollow Soldier began to seep some sort of black fluid from its body after collapsing. "It's reckless of me to not just blow you up or freeze you in place, but I'll need to spare all of my NRG for the boss..."

True to the earlier warning, while my NRG gauge had increased, the available NRG itself had firmly stayed unchanged. Without healing, a retreat method or even assurance of recovered NRG at hand, I wasn't liking my chances ahead. But when did a dungeon ever care about what I wanted?

Sure enough, a whole group of Hollow Soldiers had already began to approach me. The temptation to just freeze them in place was almost too much, but I resisted it for the sake of getting my body used to the Defendu Skill.

MOB: 200(C) → 225(C)

SP: 0

I charged forward at the closest one and punched right into its abdomen just as it raised its own plasma carbine, my punch sending it flying back into two more Hollow Soldiers behind it.

+9,000EXP!

Without waiting to finish off the remaining two out of three, I swung my boot hard into the nearest Hollow Soldier's chin, causing its head to gruesomely twist aside.

+9,000EXP!

Spinning to a stop, I aimed my punch right at the next Hollow Soldier's neck, killing it instantly before I stomped into another one's knee to break it, leaving its head open for me to grab and viciously twist.

+9,000EXP(x2)!

Level Up: 34 → 35

+25SP!

+New Skill(s)!

-:|Status|:-

Name: Gregory Garcia Veder

Level: 35

EXP: 4,914/35,999

NRG: 330,000/350,000

Job: ?

STR: 295(C)

VIT: 300(B)

MOB: 225(C)

MAG: 245(C)

SNS: 200(C)

SP: 25

-:Perks(Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing, Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Power, Sapiently Protective and Intelligent Droid Entity[Spidey]'s Program):-

-:Skills(Defendu Arts(Strike Barrage, Taunting Warcry, Redirect)):-

Budget: 364,400 gold

Dropping down, I immediately used {Redirect} to have the last two Hollow Soldiers aim their punches at each other before finishing them off.

+9,000EXP(x2)!

"This is a nice pace. Soon enough, I'll-" I stilled before before instinctively spiking up ice around me, causing an invisible enemy to flicker into view while impaled.

[Hollow Scout]

"There're invisible ones here, too?!" I gasped as it died as well, black blood staining my ice while a knife it'd been holding slipped from its grasp. If it wasn't for my SNS stat...

+9,000EXP!

Something crackled in the distant darkness of the hallway, causing me to duck as a lightning bolt seared through the spot my head had been a second ago.

[Hollow Psion]

This one held absolutely no weapons, but the constant tendrils of electricity arcing off its hands told me how little need it had of them. It also looked vaguely female compared to the male Soldiers and Scouts. Stepping out from behind it, a few more Hollow Soldiers rushed me while raising their weapons to fire.

Charging into the fray, I put them between myself and the Hollow Psion as I worked my way through them at a harried pace. All together, the three represented the RPG trio of Fighter/Mage/Rogue, thus requiring differing stats to handle each one.

STR to help me put down the durable Hollow Soldiers, SNS to help me avoid the Hollow Scouts' sneak attacks and MOB to help me avoid the Hollow Psions' literally lightning-fast attacks.

As I rushed through them all, I really fought the urge to start using my Quirks despite now starting to get swarmed and hit. The only thankful thing was that my high VIT kept me from tiring out with such an extended battle. And by the time the enemies stopped coming, I was surrounded by 'leaking' corpses while covered in bruises and electrical burns.

+9,000EXP(x32)!

+15,000EXP(x10)

Level Up: 35 → 45

+250SP!

+New Skill(s)!

+New Items(s)!

-:|Status|:-

Name: Gregory Garcia Veder

Level: 45

EXP: 37,924/45,999

NRG: 329,900/450,000

Job: ?

STR: 295(C)

VIT: 300(B)

MOB: 225(C)

MAG: 245(C)

SNS: 200(C)

SP: 275

-:Perks(Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing, Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Power, Sapiently Protective and Intelligent Droid Entity[Spidey]'s Program):-

-:Skills(Defendu Arts(Strike Barrage, Taunting Warcry, Redirect, Moon Step)):-

Budget: 364,400 gold

The moment the opponents finally stopped showing up after a full minute, I shamelessly laid down flat on the ground and dug into my Inventory for a snack. When I felt rested enough, I checked on the Items I'd been getting while too busy fighting. Come to think of it, I haven't really experimented with gear much.

-:|Item: Hollow Soldier's Vest(B)|:-

A vest that reduces your sense of pain to a negligible threshold, allowing you to retain your rationality despite any gained injury. This requires a minimum VIT stat of 300.

-:|Item: Hollow Scout's Boots(B)|:-

A pair of boots that lets you phase yourself and desired objects out of space, rendering them incorporeal and just as easily make them corporeal again. This works by automatically transferring body parts that otherwise would have been in contact with the overlapping matter into a separate dimension. Everything you touches, including your clothes and even other people, become intangible too. This requires a minimum MOB stat of 300.

-:|Item: Hollow Psion's Visor(B)|:-

A visor that provides you a mini-map overlay that details your immediate surroundings and constantly updates as you move through the environment, highlighting points of interest, potential threats, and strategic vantage points. This requires a minimum SNS stat of 300.

Wow, what a haul.

MOB: 225(C) → 300(B)

MAG: 245(C) → 320(B)

SNS: 200(C) → 300(B)

SP: 25

And now to Equip it all. For a moment, the various armaments adorned my body before suddenly they turned invisible. "Wait, what?"

Looking around, I could still see the mini-map at the corner of my vision despite no longer feeling the visor on my face. "Unequip {Hollow Psion's Visor}."

The mini-map vanished as the Item reappeared in my hand, causing me to grin when equipping it back returned the mini-map while the visor itself disappeared. "I guess this will let me put all of this stuff on constantly without it being uncomfortable or having me stand out."

Still...

I grimly turned to regard the large ornate entrance I'd reached a long while ago. The mini-map didn't show me anything beyond the entrance, but my SNS stat itself practically let me see wisps of power seeping from the door's margins. "Just how bad is it going to be on the other side?"

Still, I wouldn't be able to leave here anyways without getting through here. Pressing my hands against the ornate red and gold entrance, I shoved the doors open. The moment I did so, an unearthly chill rushed out past me before suddenly reversing and sucking me in, slamming the doors closed behind me.

It was a wide but rough throne room with leagues of walkable space. There were no needless pillars. No lavish candlelights. But instead, there were blood red banners with frayed ends and cracked walls displaying sculptures of orcish warriors underneath the flickering flames of torches.

But all of this was negligible compared to the figure waiting at the throne. His entire form was shrouded in a robe-like mass of purple-tinged darkness, which somehow did absolutely nothing to hide his muscular form as a collar of skull-like protrusions hung across his shoulders, along with a massive skull-like effigy with horns jutting from his right shoulder while glowing red lines of power cut and crackled across his chest akin to arcane veins.

"Young Player..." The Boss of the Job Change Quest sat up from where he'd been leaning on his elbow, a tusked smile warping his tattooed crimson face to expose a full set of jagged teeth. "I bid you welcome."

[4th General of the Shadow Legion, Almighty Shaman Tusk]

Notes:

KingVessel: Well, see you readers later~!

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Chapter 1406 - 8