Ice was a little bit harder than expected.

It wasn’t that I was doing anything wrong but there was a... mindset to the element that I had to adjust to I assumed. Fire was unthinking and quick to act. It spread with ease because fire was made to do so.

Ice was tricky. It was a slow encroaching pain. It was the path of numbness and cold. It stopped trying to cup my hand like I was grasping for fire and focused. Ice was a fragile thing... until it wasn’t.

I spread my hand like trying to catch something and my hands tingled.

Then my hand became covered in a light frost.

You have learned the skill: Frostbrand!

Frostbrand lv 1. Active. Spell: Coat a held object in cold ice. May use hands as a target. Cost 3 ENE. 4 ENE every ten seconds sustain.

Oh boy, that felt odd. I examined the hand covered in the white frosting. The cost was terrible compared to Pyro Infusion which was 10 every minute but it was a Rank F skill since it evolved, so the comparison wasn’t quite fair.

As a fun experiment, I had one hand engulfed in dark flames and the other in ice. The effect didn’t exactly want to play nice with each other. The ice wanted to melt to the stronger flames but I restrained the fire as best I could.

Ice Affinity gained!

Ice Affinity passive lv 1: Increase skill and mastery over the ice element.

I dropped the fire for the moment and redirected the ice to a pebble.

The rock grew little icicles over its surface and cold mist seeped off it.

Frostbrand has reached level 2! Increased power and increased time on sustain.

I grinned and focused fire and ice into the pebble. There was an imbalance and the stone simply cracked into useless dust. I tried again with the simpler Flamebrand with the Frostbrand.

Potential Linked skill detected. Skills required. Flamebrand evolution(gained!) Frostbrand evolution(3 levels left)

The energy dispersed harmlessly but I was on to something. After a few minutes of trying on my steel pole, the best I could do was a quick swap or a slow change that I couldn’t quite attack with or both skills fell apart.

Fire and Ice did not want to play nice.

King chirped he was done over our mental bond and I turned to see the brick tunnel was now a chamber of a gentle slope. The portal had kindly moved to the small altar King had made for it.

King has prepared a concealed space for the portal. You gain 5 EXP due to results.

Only 13 left and I would be level 3. I felt dizzy and then the excitement rising again.

“Make some side tunnels but if you hit a tunnel or open ground, keep away. We want no one to know we’re here,” I instructed and King was thrilled to get back to digging. Little guy was an endless supply of work ethic.

The Summon skill was ticking up faster but it would still be some time.

F-rank skills were no joke.

I figured I should give air and earth a shot along with water but I also had the issue that if I focused on elemental just now I’d be neglecting important survival skills. All my magic relied on ENE and I had one skill for SP.

My current energy wasn’t that high up yet. Melee skills and similar would not be amiss. I was liking the shield I used. It felt good to have protection.

But there was a valuable skill I wanted to quickly finish off.

I picked up a few pebbles and decided I wouldn’t just throw them. I’d see if i could angle some nice trick shots via my ever-useful Discard. Despite this place being a bit creepy, there were actually some challenging shots I could make...

I thanked my throwing proficiency for being aware of the distances and my rough sense of making the shot or not. It’d make this go a little bit faster.

About 40 or so minutes later, I had hit every train, pelted signs, and bounced a stone in one window to bounce back out the neighbouring window. It was amusing but the results spoke for themselves.

Small Projectile Throwing has reached level 9! Increased accuracy! 1 level until skill evolves.

Inferior Pebble Discard has reached level 5! Increased speed. Skill is ready to evolve!

“Let’s see the path choices,” I said, relaxed. The hot air was stifling and focusing on hitting things wore my attention span away fast when nothing exciting happened after the first ten minutes.

Inferior Pebbled Discard is evolving. Please choose a path!

The path of Stepping stones: Increase ability to launch stones, rocks, and other projectiles as large as your hand.

The path of the Avalanche: Allow discard to take to many pebbles at once.

Did I want the rain of many pain or the coup de grace via rock to the face?

Damn, the system gave me tough choices. I honestly shouldn’t be letting my collection quest get this dangerous. But I also lived in a world were someone with a mullet almost destroyed the world by becoming a butterfly from hell so...

I asked the System like in the dirty min maxer I was.

System suggests thinking ahead. What would be good for your build in the future. As you are now a flame using shield with lots of health... you are suited for a tank. Tanks are front range and often won't have space. Turning range would require double the time to train two sets of styles.

“So...”

Suplex the moon into the arrogant ghosts. System thinks that would be most amusing.

I selected the path of stepping stones. My head pounded as the deeper knowledge pushed out from where the skill had nestled. It was like a toothache in the brain with a hammer helping it along.

Inferior Pebble Discard has evolved into Minor Rock Discard

Minor Rock Discard. Active. Physical. Lv 1: Infused a stone or item (up to size of fist) with energy which propels that object forward at high speed. This skill may grow to do large objects and even more than one at the same time later on. Cost 3 ENE (for max size)

Everyday I stray from God’s light by travelling this path. Thankfully I was going to butter up Maria so she would sneak me in past the pearly gates.

King got my attention and I started to feel like he wanted to show me something. I jogged over the chamber and saw a tunnel on either side big enough I could crouch through. King was... to the left so I went that way.

The tunnel sloped down even more and I was worried King might have hit a water pipe or such but I found him in a dark tunnel that was man-made. I was momentarily scared we had hit some subway train but the tunnel was collapsed from both sides.

I used Pyro Infusion to set my hand alight. I was tempted to light a nearby barrel full of wood up for light but small space and no airflow meant smoke was bad.

King was waiting for my command, his aura already beginning a clean of the space around him. I turned slowly and guessed this was some sort of planned tunnel out of the station when it was being built but it looked to be abandoned before it was done.

The steel tracks were missing on one side and there were no lights installed anywhere.

It looked like a place that had been forgotten by the world. I glanced nervously at the patchy stone roof.

“King... could you make some pillars or would that be too much to ask for?” I asked very quietly. King thought about it and went off to try.

“And make some tiny holes to the surface, please?” I whispered quickly. I left quickly. King could be resummoned. I wouldn’t be so lucky.

“Don’t suppose I have extra lives, do I?” I joked to the System nervously.

Yes.

“Excuse me?!” I said in shock, hitting my head off the smooth tunnel.

Only due to the nature of this world. System was able to argue that since death is not the end of end here, you should be able to take that path. If you die willingly and not get murdered. You have a short chance while being a ghost to be purified to the Soul society. If you die there or become a Hollow, then you will cease to exist. However, this was mostly to secure Russel as many benefits as possible. System does not think it is wise to go to the Soul Society. New arrivals do not have great conditions to live and living long enough to master energy and take the rite to become a reaper is... dangerous.

“Yeah, living in basic huts and wearing no shoes is not my ideal heaven,” I agreed.

“How many benefits did you get for me? Is it because of the no-Gaia thing?” I inquired as I made it back outside to the wonderful open air.

As many as could be. System knew that making a good impression might lead to more copacetic harmony between us. System wanted a much better experience than last cycle. System unclamped conflict drive so you were not bound to Ichigo Kurosaki and his antics. System argued for access to the inner layers of the world to create entrances to Malice Zones. System was forced to reduce popular skills to a lower efficiency to offset balance. Meditation, pure mana constructs, so forth... but System will do her best to make sure User: Russel has the best chance he can.

I stared at the box for a long time.

“You don’t even know me... why do all that?” I asked with confusion.

Because you made System laugh. It has been a long time since System has enjoyed herself with a User. But... think nothing of it. Please do not die, Russel. I think I would like to spend more time with you on this journey.

“You said ‘I’, not ‘System’,” I pointed out amused.

System thinks you must be wrought with tears at System’s kindness and made a mistake. Understandable.

“I still got some time before Maria is free... I think I’ll Retrace and Holy Glint. If I find something worth digging into, see if I can scavenge skill up.

Multitasking 3 things. System is proud. Excuse System, one of her many hands is balancing all cells of your body at once with System barely trying.

“There’s the sass,” I chuckled.

---

Maria handed me a spiked mace club. It was old, some of the spikes looked chipped but the weight was solid.

“Where did you get this?!” I asked with incredulity.

“My home is a very old building. I found it in a drawer in the rooms that never get cleaned from when Dad took some amour apart and lost parts. He hid it in shame. I also research your games and now I know your many sweet ass terms. Such as the send off for dead players. ‘Move on spirit, bless be this teabagging, may it free you!’” she chanted and did a weird squat.

System just busted something important in a fit of laughter.

Maria didn’t see this yet since she wasn’t in the party but...

“Maria, please do not teabag the demonic forces,” I said with pain. She frowned.

“Am I doing it wrong? Do I need to say something? I researched really fucking hard, I swear,” she jabbed a thumb into her chest as if to prove her point.

“It’s not respect, its disrespect. Since guys squat to- you know it's just to show dominance and be rude. So, don’t worry about it,” I said quickly.

“If I’m going to be smiting the fuckers anyway, do I need to respect them? Ghosts, fine but evil spirits need to be shown who's boss,” Maria nodded seriously. We stood outside the hospital and despite the fact it still felt a little bit serene and calm... there as a slight itch that was there before.

Malice was already creeping back in due to that asshole ghost. I invited Maria back into the party and she focused on getting her status sheet up.

“It looks different than you said it would but here’s what it says,” Maria began to draw and write on a notepad.

“Any chance of sharing screens?” I asked the System.

It's a matter of respecting others right to share their information or not. If someone is unpleasant or trying to hold Russel back, System will translate screens but there is an issue of party members not being directly infused with the System. Much power is already being diverted to affecting them enough to allow growth and gains. Having exact Data on every parameter is hard to maintain. Screens will get simpler as more people join to the point they might not even function past a certain point. Same for the growth potential.

“Keep the party as small as needed. Makes sense that I can’t just infuse everyone and their grandmother with Gamer grinding growth,” I agreed.

Maria held up the notepad for me to see.

“I hope it looks okay?” she said uncertainly.

Maria Mercy

The Priestess of Loneliness

HP: 100%

Energy: 100%

Strengths: Combat experienced. Weapon of faith(rosary). True belief. Healthy body. Developed Spiritual Sense.

Weakness: Single weapon. No long range attacks. Human level of durability. Focused on one versus one. May be unaware of basic traps and monsters that aren’t Demons or Hollows.

Strongest skill: Chain user (G-Skill): Lv 6

Weakest skill: Holy Strength(G-Skill): Lv 1

Estimated power rank : G-3

I read this over and frowned.

“No level?” I asked curiously.

System will develop more accurate information on Demonslayer888 as she fights in the party. It will be easier to monitor growth from here on out.

I put my mace away and nodded at Maria.

“It looks like a great start,” I said honestly. She grinned before clearing her throat.

“I will be Fenulop, the priestess of the rising sun. I shall praise God and his gift of light as I whip the unholy into hell. I think we can say we meet at an inn and got a quest-” she went on as I looked at her, baffled.

“- I took a level in barding because it sounded fun as well!” she finished a moment later.

“Maria... why do you have a backstory?” I asked confused. She crossed her arms with a confident smile.

“I am prepared to LARP with you. I’m fucking set to be known as the Priestess of Dawn. If you need time, you can make a backstory while I exorcise the ghost. I can’t wait to see what you make!” she announced and walked into the hospital.

I followed her, speechless.

---

“But I put so much effort into it!” Maria said with a slump to her walk as I tried to explain that just because I had the powers of Games, she didn’t have to act like a DnD character to help me out. I hesitated.

“It did cheer me up after a minute so if you want we can play some rounds of the game when we’re free?” I offered.

Maria bit her lip before shaking her head.

“I researched LARPing is all about the mindset. I’ve never been invited to anything so I’m going to keep doing it and it means I’m not just Maria but also like a fucking ass-kicking superhero!” she smacked her fist into her other hand.

“Don’t you have friends?” I asked and wanted to hit myself for asking such a stupid question. Maria took it in stride but she did lose a bit of her cheer.

“Sometimes but then I see a Demon Bug whispering self-doubt or watch as Demons stroked the fires of drug addiction of my classmates or I see a spirit about to go Hollow on someone and I... I do rituals or I scare them off when I banish them. I usually get known as the girl sees monsters or those who experience some of my world get too scared to go back,” she shrugged.

“You’re the first person who has powers like me. So I want to see if we can do more together,” she admitted and turned into the Director’s room.

“I look forward to seeing what we-” I began before Watari Mori appeared, screaming at us.

“GET OUT! THIS IS MY-” he began but Maria screeched and she threw more pocket salt at the ghost. How much of that stuff did she have?!

Watari clutched at his eyes.

“It stings! I can’t see!” he cried. It actually touched the ghost to my surprise but...

It didn’t do anything than regular physical salt wouldn’t have done. It was like empowering salt just to throw in a ghost’s eye. Impressive but also head-scratching.

“Maria, meet the resident pain the ass. He’s the one I need some chanting and holy smoke to wedge loose and get him on to the next plane,” I explained calmly as both parties were back to yelling at each other and screaming.

“I’m not going anywhere! This is my hospital! Get out you losers!” he sneered again.

“Okay, broken record. Can you do it?” I asked. Maria glared before reaching into her bag she had brought along.

“We can try minor things before going for the big book,” she said as she opened a sports bottle, squirting water at the ghost. The water passed through but Watari’s chain seemed to shudder slightly.

“As expected. Holy Water won’t do too much. He’s not evil despite his sin of greed but humans are flawed in many ways. Let’s try something else,” Maria nodded.

I sat down to watch. This was going to be interesting.

---

Candles, trying to get a confession of sin, lighting types of herbs, praying... Maria did it all and Watari looked...

A little lost. Not like he was confused but like he was unsure of what happening. His anger had melted away but he was still defensive about everything. Maria’s tactics had ebbed some of his obsession away but it hadn’t done much to the overall problem.

“A Shinto priest or perhaps someone of the Buddist faith would have more luck as this man is feeling outside my powers at the moment. I think he has passed through the walls of the Soul Society once or twice,” Maria said with a huff of breath.

I stood and walked closer to her.

“I may risk sounding like an idiot but what do you mean?” I said as Watari tuned us out to think about something. Maria quirked a smile and brushed some dark hair out of her face.

“I don’t have the time or all the information to go into detail but the few people I met that knew about the other world let things slip. Reapers help lingering spirits move on. Their system is one of the reincarnations kind so souls go and return in a circle of movement. Souls that go and return back into new people carry a... certain influence of the Soul Society. Like the realm has left its mark on them as they passed through," Maria made a vague motion of touching her own chest where her heart was located.

"I believe this helps Reapers located and find these souls much easier. It also increased the ease of future attempts of helping a spirit move on whilst causing other realms to lack a proper grip to convert them,” Maria thought for a moment about her next words.

“I feel it with Hollows and some spirits. They have this... feel to them. Like a wheat field in the sun or a fish left to rot in the case of Hollows. I don’t think I can fully release this spirit since he has been through the cycle of theirs more than a few times. I think each successful cycle must enhance the effect?” she shrugged.

“What about the Church? Does it have the same effect?” I asked, interested in the idea. She gave me a bemused look.

“Souls going to Heaven, Limbo, or Hell tend not to come back barring some extreme cases,” she reminded. But then she looked a little nervous as she went on.

“Not that I know. I want to believe that my own faith is pure but the Bible does have some stories to share that I can’t ignore. Our darkest of foes was once our brightest of stars. We have a pit of torment to have souls suffer for their sins until they are absolved. Perhaps in Limbo, there is a way back and they too might be claimed?” she said, a little ashamed to have spoken bad of her Church.

“Nothing is perfect,” I said in agreement. I nodded to the ghost.

“So what can you do?” I mused aloud and the room suddenly seemed brighter as Maria grinned. My subject change was not subtle but it was effective.

“I can restore him some time before he falls. Let him rest for a short period before his chain becomes too heavy again. It would give time for a Reaper to find him!” she offered.

“And how would you do that? Oh, Priestess of the Dawn?” I grinned back. Maria looked unreasonably happy at my use of her LARP title.

She pulled out the biggest Bible I had ever seen and held it above her head with pride.

“Me and the J-man will abolish some of his built-up sin!” she said proudly. I raised one brow and she grinned.

“Power of love and forgiveness, that shit is out of this world,” Maria promised.

For some reason, I didn’t doubt her.