“Real life game character?”

Miko and Momo were confused by what Hina.

“I knew it.”

That was when Tia looked like she finally understood something.

“I’ve been seeing a strange but familiar power lurking inside him since he got here. Hearing what you said, I’ve finally figured out.”

She looked towards Ace.

“You’re a Boost Player.”

Ace smiled at her and then-

*Thud!*

He suddenly got on his knees and bowed in front of her.

“Forgive this foolish one for not noticing such a divine beauty as yourself! I was blind, but now I can see!”

He suddenly started worshipping her.

“I’m not a religious person, but now I know what true beauty is!”

He kneeled and clasped his hands in a prayer.

“Thank you for showing me how dull my imagination was. Amen.”

In response, Tia-

“I like him.”

She looked very pleased. She even pointed at him and said-

“Miko, let’s keep him.”

“As long as you feed him and take him on walks, it’s fine.”

Miko replied.

“…..He’s on the same level as a dog in their eyes.”

Said Momo.

“How dare you.”

Ace stood up and said.

“I guess even he would be mad after that.”

Said Momo.

“I can walk myself, thank you very much.”

He said while taking out a collar from out nowhere.

“I’m so sorry! He just doesn’t know the meaning of shame or dignity.”

Hina apologized to Momo, who looked like she couldn’t comprehend what was happening in front her.

“No….I’m used to it. My family is pretty similar in that aspect.”

She said as if recalling some bad memories.

“Anyway, what did you mean by Boost Player, Tia?”

She asked.

“Oh. Boost Player is the name of a relatively new form of magic that fits in with the current times.”

Tia then said-

“Basically, it’s a magic that grants the user the abilities of a game character.”

“There’s such a magic? It’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

Momo responded.

“Like I said, it’s pretty new compared to more mainstream forms of magic. It hasn’t even existed for a century yet.”

Tia replied.

“Is it related to the spells used to enter games?”

Miko asked.

“Nope. That’s something completely different.”

Hina said.

“It’s better you show them, Ace.”

“Alright.”

Ace agreed with a nod.

He then approached one of the golems that Miko was training with and lifted his arm in the air.

“Arm Boost X2.”

Suddenly his arm had an explosive increase in size and muscle mass.

“?!”

Miko and Momo were shocked when they saw the arm that was twice the size it was just a moment ago. It looked so out of place on Ace’s body that he looked like a toy that had one of its parts switched out.

“Ohh!”

Ace then swung his fist down on the golem.

*Boom!*

Miko saw the golem explode into dust, after coming in contact with Ace’s fist.

“That just now was Ace boosting his arm to twice its limit. It’s similar to when you use experience points to boost the strength of a character. The only difference, he did it only to his right arm.”

Hina explained.

“Boost Player has turned Ace into a living game character. Meaning, he can do everything a game character can do like boosting his strength.”

She said.

“Boost Cancel.”

After Ace said that, his arm went back to normal.

“Of course, its all temporary.”

He said.

“Amazing. I never knew that there was such an ability.”

Said Momo.

“Of course, its very difficult to learn and it has severe risks too.”

Said Tia.

“For example, you need to have a certain mindset to even attempt to learn it.”

“Ah.”

Momo remembered what Hina said earlier.

“The world looks like a game through his eyes. To him everyone are game characters following their own narrative.”

“I see. Not everyone can see life as a video game. For you to do that, your mind must be very unique.”

She mumbled.

“That’s right. Ace’s mind is wired differently from everyone else’s to fit Boost Player. He can’t bring out his full strength that easily, but can push past his limits by ignoring the possible strain that comes with it.”

Hina explained.

“He also needs an unique composition that allows him to control his body like a game character. All in all, it’s very hard to learn and even harder to master.”

“Wait. Earlier you said that he can’t use his full strength, but you then contradict yourself by saying that he can push past his limits. What’s with that?”

Miko asked after listening to everything Hina. He figured that she was withholding information that would allow someone to really grasp how Ace’s ability works.

“I appreciate it if you trust me a bit more.”

Hina sighed.

“I was getting to that. You see, Ace can’t use his full strength that easily because of the way his brain is wired. It’s more of a machine now than an organ.”

She continued.

“Inside of his brain, most of Ace’s abilities are segmented from each other into special zones that he can access overtime.”

“So in other words, his abilities are restricted can be used only under certain conditions. Why go through the trouble?”

Momo asked.

“What you said isn’t wrong. Your senses, your physical abilities, your magical abilities, even your mental abilities; all of them are isolated from each other, and also have to be trained separately. In other words, [Boost Player] users improve at slower rate than everyone else. This can be seen as wasting your potential.”

Ace replied.

“Then why?”

Miko asked.

“It's true that my growth seems slower than everyone else, and I definitely have to work twice as hard as everyone else. But that's only on the surface.”

“What do you mean?”

“It's an undeniable fact that I have to train everything separately; but what do you think would happen if all the abilities that I worked so hard to train separately, suddenly come together?”

Miko thought about it suddenly came to a realization.

“It's just like what you’re thinking. I'll have an explosive power up. Well I can't really call it a power up, since it's just my true power that was forcibly restricted being released. But that would be enough to switch the tables on my opponents.”

Ace said.

“I have a something I call Characters stored in my brain. Each character governs over certain abilities. If I choose one of these Characters, I can gain access to the abilities that they govern.”

“It’s like picking a character in a fighting game or RPG. Each character comes with an unique skill set.”

“Correct.”

Ace replied to Momo.

“Now after all this information….”

Ace smiled and said-

“Would you want to fight someone like me?”

“…….”

Miko was quiet, that was because Ace would be an annoying opponent to fight against. After all, it would be incredibly hard to gauge his strength, and he could switch up his fighting style and tactics just by switching his character.

Yet-

“I would.”

Miko answered as such.

“Oh?”

His answer surprised Ace.

“While it would be a pain fighting you, it also come with its merits.”

Miko said.

“For example, I can improve my ability to react to changes as well as my flexibility in battle. Both which are very essential to growing stronger.”

He said.

Hearing that, Ace smiled and wrapped his arm around Miko.

“As I thought, you’re a really funny guy.”

He said with a laugh.

“I now recognize you as a player like myself and not a NPC like most people. I can already tell you have a bright future.”

“Wow, its rare to see Ace praise others.”

Hina said.

“If someone can say something like that to me and with a determined look, I’ll have to praise them.”

Ace replied.

“Miko, I’ve now acknowledged you as one of my limited guy friends. They can only be no more than ten at a time so you’re lucky.”

“Why are you deciding that on your own? I never said I wanted to be friends with you.”

Miko replied with an uncomfortable frown.

“How about I spar with you from time to time?”

Ace asked.

“Deal.”

The two shook hands as if coming to an agreement. Ace then skipped over to Tia.

“Tiamat, now that I’m friends with Miko I’ll be at your service, day and night.”

He took her hand and pledged.

“I think that’s servitude, not friendship.”

Momo said with a sigh.

Later that day, Ace and Hina returned to their home in Gael.

“Man, that was pretty fun talking to a goddess like that.”

Ace said.

“Miko was very interesting as well. Although, it seems that he has his guard up around us.”

“Well, it can’t be helped. He doesn’t look like the type to trust people 100% or maybe even 70%.”

Hina replied.

“I mean, look at me. I’m his favorite author, and he still watches my every movement like a hawk.”

“Well, you can come off as suspicious.”

Ace replied.

“Maybe he’s just like that. I mean, wasn’t he targeted a lot as kid? That might be the reason. Besides, I’m sure he realizes that we’re hiding our true powers from him.”

“Well, it’s not like we could tell him everything.”

Hina said.

“Besides, everyone has their secrets.”

By that time, the two arrived at the front door of their apartment. They both paused a bit before entering.

“Ugh….”

When they entered they saw countless people scattered all over the lobby, groaning in pain.

“Friends of yours?”

Hina asked.

“Nope. I don’t associate with NPCs like these.”

Ace said.

That’s when they heard music playing from the higher floors. They immediately looked like they figured out who caused the scene in front of them.

Smiling, they walked past the broken bodies and entered the elevator and took it the living room floor. Once they arrived, they saw even more bodies scattered everywhere. From the butt sticking out the window, it was safe to say that some were thrown out there as well.

They ignored the bodies and headed towards the source of the music. Once they arrived, they saw someone playing a guitar in a room that had a balcony outside it.

This person was little over 6ft tall, dressed in a white jacket varsity jacket with azure stripes and a white t-shirt underneath, light blue jeans, and blue and white sneakers. They had ash blonde hair, light blue eyes, an attractive yet boyish face, and was wearing a necklace with a G Clef pendant.

“Sora, you’re back.”

Hina said to the person, who stopped playing after hearing her.

“Yeah, the tour was long but I’m finally back. When I arrived though, I found these idiots trying to steal our stuff. You guys should really lock up if you’re going out for a while.”

Said the person, Sora.

“Well, even if they stole anything Hina could make them over.”

Ace said.

“True, but these guys seem to be special.”

Said Sora.

“They were most likely sent by Nebulous.”

“……So he’s starting to harass us again.”

Said Hina.

Sora then spoke with a serious expression.

“I’ve been thinking. I think it’s about time we take take back our lives and get our revenge.”

Those words shocked Ace and Hina.

“You mean…”

Sora nodded and said-

“Let’s take down this country’s Crime God.”

Virtual Training Arc Ends!!!

Underground Wars Arc Begins!!!!!