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[Gamerverse has activated]
[The Skill Gamerverse is looking for a class]
/Swoosh!/
The dark universe lit up with bright sparks as thousands of galaxies sprung up around him.
'... Here it comes…'
/FLASH!!!/
'AHHHH!'
The big bang of light ignited before him, blinding him.
[Gamerverse is narrowing down the choices randomly]
One by one, they all dissipated, except for one…
'Huff…'
The pain also disappeared… Giving him some time to think.
'Maybe this time it'll be a more normal universe?'
[Gamerverse has made a choice]
'That was faster than before.'
[Gamerverse chooses a class randomly]
/Shuaa…/
The last galaxy vanished as well, leaving him alone in the void with a single notification:
[Gamerverse has chosen a class]
[Beginning transferring process…]
[Injecting memories…]
[Due to the characteristics of this Class, you are being sent directly into *****]
As the System's voice grew fainter, Philip slowly fell into the abyss, being dragged somewhere.
And while he lasted longer than the previous times…
'The what now? I dont think I heard that correctly…'
He soon lost consciousness.
…
/Meanwhile…/
"... You should consider what we discussed today and answer me when you're ready."
"W-Wait… This is a bit sudden…"
In white room with nothing but a table, a man and a woman could be seen sitting before each other.
The atmosphere seemed quite tense as the man's eyes were sharp while the woman's eyes… Trembled.
"I'd gladly tell you more. But if you aren't sure of it, you're better off forgetting this ever happened."
/Clunk…/
Dae got up from his seat, putting something on the table as he walked away.
"I'll leave this to you. It's yours now."
"What… A-Are you certain? This is… Quite valuable…"
A white crystal contained within a glass cylinder. It shimmered faintly within a cloud of fog…
"To you, yes… To me, not so much."
"If you think this is worth it, come looking for me as I told you. I'll take your abscense as refusal."
Dae walked away, leaving her alone with a flabbergasted gaze:
"W-Wait!"
/Clack!/
As the doors closed, the room flashed with light. The white walls slowly changed, displaying trees and rocks as the ground morphed to glass…
All of sudden, she had been transported into the middle of nowhere.
"I…"
…
"Urg…"
Just like before, Philip felt as if his entire body was submerged in water.
He felt heavy and slow, as if a car was resting atop his chest. He knew this sensation; it was the feeling of having his stats forcibly suppressed, or rather, taken from him.
"Dammit… Not this again…"
'It's even worse than before. Back in the Simulation, I still had my stats, but right now… Do I even have anything? Even the bedsheets feel heavy.'
'Why does the System do things like this? It's such an upfront way of weakening me… At least it's a clear warning.'
'Now… Where am I?'
Philip looked around him; he seemed to be in one of those low-end box apartments.
The walls were dirty and the paint was peeling, the wood on the ground creaked, the sole window in the room was half broken as it couldn't close, and the only electronic products seemed to be an old fan attached to the ceiling and a square TV.
On the side, there was a heater, but it seemed so old he feared what would happen if he were to turn it on.
"Fucking hell… My head hurts… My breath stinks. Did I drink?"
'Or rather… Did this body drink?'
[You have acquired a new class through Gamerverse. Would you like to see the notes?]
His chaotic thoughts were brought to a halt by the System.
He swung his right hand, brushing the notification aside: "Sure, I need to know what is going on anyway."
Multiple notes suddenly appeared before him:
[Gamerverse has selected a universe]
[Metal Gear Universe]
"... What? Metal Gear?"
'The Universe of super soldiers and bizarre supernatural powers?'
'No… A lot of things are bizarre in this Universe.'
[Gamerverse has set its eyes on a Class]
[Descendant of the Jetstream]
[The Class, Descendant of the Jetstream has been automatically equipped]
[You have equipped a Class!]
[Your destiny changes...]
[Your Class morphs your reality]
[Due to your Class effects, an additional status window is being made]
[... Process completed]
[You have… Process terminated]
[Missing directives; scenario calculation has been postponed]
[Gamerverse is forcibly interfering with the Class transfer process]
[Gamerverse fills in the gaps in the *****]
[You have received a Beginner SwordMaster equipment package]
[A Class mission has been issued]
"... I suppose the System having a seizure is a common occurrence now…"
"Anyhow, let's take a look..."
'Although I have a pretty good idea about what this will be about...'
[Master the Rodrigues New Shadow School Sword technique and eliminate the disciple behind the destruction of the Rodrigues Dojo using only the sword]
Philip scratched his head in confusion as he read the notification.
"Not too far from what I expected. But something's missing…"
"Let's start with the obvious."'
[Opening...]
[You have received:
-Rodrigues Murasama, VT1.3 High-Frequency Blade x1
-Uradachi, The Murdering Sword manual x1
-Rodrigues New Shadow School manual x1
-Yagyu New Shadow School manual x1
-Basic Military Exoskeleton, pre-2014 x1
-Jetstream Sam ED x1
]
"Alright… That is a lot of things."
'But this doesnt make much sense, why did I gain another beginner's package?...'
Just as the question came, it went away… For he already knew the answer.
'Right, people aren't meant to get more than one Class in the first place… Although this level of support is a little unbefitting the System…'
'Everything is self-explanatory, this leaves only one thing to do…'
"Open Secondary Status!"
[Disclaimer: Due to the nature of your Class, some of your Main status' skill effects have weakened while some of your Traits have been partially suppressed]
[Both basic and physical abilities have been molded to fit the scenario]
As he read the notification, he stretched his arms, pensive "That explains why my body feels so goddam heavy… But it's nothing unexpected either."
'If I put everything together, I can easily assume what's happening.'
'While in the Dream, I was put into the body of a Hunter trainee, and while he was weak, he was still stronger than me. So I felt little change when I took over.'
'In the Simulation Room, it limited access to some of my Titles and Traits, indirectly weakening me. And now, it's essentially throwing me into another body.'
Philip looked at his hands, still feeling a faint connection with his previous body, 'It's a strange feeling, but I can still feel my old body. My Traits haven't been completely removed, they're only suppressed as explained in the notification.'
'This is quite an interesting thing. For this is the second time this has happened, it has become a pattern. One that shows me what would happen to me if the System were to completely vanish.'
'Much of its power would leave with it, however, some aspects would remain, those being the ones directly bound to my existence. In other words, aspects that aren't powers given through it but reflected or eased by it.'
'The System doesn't only grant power after all, it also reflects and quantifies one's hard-earned achievements, which is likely why it's glitching out so much. But I went over that enough already.'
Philip quickly checked his main Status, but unexpectedly, he failed to do so.
"It seems my Main Status has been locked… I didn't expect that, but no matter."
'I don't need it around to understand what's going on with my body anyway.'
Without further ado, he opened his newest Class Status:
[Name: Philip Vinten
Class: Descendant of the Jetstream
Abilities:
Rodrigues New Shadow Technique Lv0
Brazilian Superhuman Martial Arts Lv0
Taito Flash Draw Lv0
Skills:
Blade Mode Lv0
Explosive Draw Lv0
Traits:
Strengthened Body
Sword Heart
Inventory (+)
]
It took him but a glance to understand what was going on, and with it, a series of memories passed through his eyes: "As expected… I ended up becoming him…"
'A game I played almost a decade ago… How time flies…'
'This Class seems to be about one of the game's main villains. Which is a first for me… Or is it?'
'I can't say much about my previous Class, but in the first one, was I the story's protagonist?'
'From a timeline perspective… No… The Good Hunter came much later down in time while I stepped foot in that world in the later days of the Old Hunters when some were still active. And while most were dead… It doesn't matter anymore…'
'Well… I'd take being a side character over being a main protagonist in this world anytime… Most of them seem far too eager to die for my liking…'
'Although being a villain doesn't please me either. At least I'm not a nameless soldier patrolling a base while they're around… That would've been awful.'
'Who would want to be against monsters that can take down armies alone? I have a chance to live like this…'
"That said, the pieces have fallen in place."
'Before anything though… I need to remember.'
'I wasn't someone interested in the convoluted lore of this world, but whatever I saw or read before… As long as I processed it before, I can remember.'
'My Trait may have been suppressed, but I still have a pretty strong memory. And that's enough for now. Better a strong memory than an unremarkable mental ability which would lead me into a lab a hundred meters inside a mountain.'
…
After a few minutes of deep thinking, he got up from his old bed, his eyes stern.
"Hum… I think I grasped the gist of the situation, but at the same time, this may be quite challenging."
'This universe isn't that different from my own, but this Earth took a rather strange path due to how fast technology advanced and the presence of the supernatural.'
'For example, during the Cold War, technology was already advanced enough to produce giant robots capable of shooting nuclear missiles across the globe...'
'The arms race kept pushing things forward as each country attempted to outdo each other, leading to things derailing into madness as shadow organizations kept clawing at each other from the dark. Trying to take over global economies and businesses in an extreme display of capitalistic greed.'
'Bigger and more efficient machines, who could build the biggest, baddest war weapon…'
'Super soldiers, super drugs, cloning, genetic modifications, supernatural abilities, and other ridiculous oddities sprung up in this unholy mix.'
'Then, give the pot a few decades to stir, and you will have things like super soldiers with mechanical enhancements with borderline supernatural powers.'
'Androids were already common by the 2010s, being the paws at the center of most conflicts; Still, even decades after the Cold War, those giant machines still strike fear in the hearts of many.'
'... The moment you heard the word, you'd have to reconsider your actions…'
'Metal Gear. The pinnacle of this world's technology…'
"If I were to describe my current situation, I'm an ordinary human with nothing but a sword and a dream tasked to kill a drug lord with such advanced weaponry in his arsenal…"
'Did I mention that I'm forced to do it with a sword?... Quite the jarring condition…'
'That is… if I remember everything correctly. From what I recall, this mission relates to this body's original goal before the game's events.'
'Samuel Rodrigues… This is the name of the character I've taken over.'
'A descendant of a long line of swordsmen tracing back hundreds of years ago. The inheritor of a traditional Kenjutsu Dojo.'
'I suppose these Skills and manuals I received refer to the teachings of this Dojo. Quite a heavy name for a sword technique… The Murdering Sword… I wonder what it is about… Humph.'
'Hm… This is about it from what I remember of his past… Although I know quite a bit about everything he'll do in the future.'
'Samuel would eventually become a mercenary and join Senator Amstrong in his plans to heat up war with Afghanistan, which would lead to him likely amassing more votes during the US 2020 presidential election.'
'Alas, he fell at the hands of another warrior… Or rather, that was exactly what he wanted. A fitting end for an established swordsman; his goals achieved, he ultimately fell doing what he was good at. The end.'
'But that's not what I want.'
"... There doesn't seem to be a time limit, though I'm not too keen on spending years in this world either."
'Even if it's beneficial in the long run, I must refrain from staying too long where I don't belong for my own sanity. Otherwise, next time I meet Dae and the others, I'll be a decade or two mentally older.'
'Even if I have to force myself to leave…'
Philip frowned as he walked around the room in circles before sitting again on his terrible bed.
"There are many things I need to understand first."
'How strong I am? What is my condition in this world? And how much stronger can I become?'
'What year is it? Where am I? How this world works and so on…'
"In either case, things seem quite bleak. This Class seems to have less potential for growth than my previous one…"
'At least the previous Class gave me a Skill I could use effectively, like giving me a large block to build something with.'
'But this one is like getting an odd-shaped piece. I can make it work, but it'll take a while.'
'I can't complain though. And in any case, this is just the start; I can properly evaluate this Class after reaching its maximum potential. Perhaps I will be surprised…'
Philip immediately opened his inventory and took out his stuff, one sword inside a strange metal sheath, three small pen drives, a large metallic exoskeleton, and lastly, another small USB drive… Or it looked like one at least.
Seeing this made him frown once more. He looked around the room but to no avail…
"Hum… I dont have a computer…"
He got up from the bed and started to search the apartment. From the small living room to even the small bathroom on the side, but there wasnt anything in there apart from a few meds and a few old bloodstains on the sink.
He also found a large amount of hard cash under the bed inside a suitcase, the total amount was displayed on a digital counter outside of the suitcase when he touched it, likely reacting to his bio-electronic signal.
The value totalized to around 10 Million USD.
"Jesus Christ… Why do I have so much hard money with me?"
'Did I rob a bank?'
"... I severely lack information about myself."
'It should all be inside these electronic devices, but I can't read them. Should I just buy a laptop or something like that?... No, it's too dangerous. It wouldn't be hard to trace or hack into, even if I left it outside a network.'
"Hum…"
'Before doing anything rash like leaving my room, I should review everything I have first.'
If he couldn't inspect the drives, he went to the things he could.
His first option was the exoskeleton hanging on a metal stand.
He couldn't tell if it was there from the start or if it appeared after he received his package, either way, after he opened it, it appeared there.
The exoskeleton was fully gray. It didn't look like an exoskeleton but more like a piece of clothing, being extremely thin overall.
Aside from a few sections around the chest, upper arms, and waist connected by large mechanical tubes, he would've taken it as a diver's suit.
A curious detail was that touching those thinner areas made them glow faintly.
[User recognized. Welcome]
At the same time, a mechanical voice welcomed him. Activating the suit as it sprung up to life.
/Step…/
The suit stepped forward in his direction, forcing him to step back, slightly startled.
After going through his immediate surprise, Philip put it on according to the Virtual intelligence's commands.
He was thankful it was no AI. Otherwise, it may have momentarily questioned his lack of knowledge…
The exoskeleton, as an entire piece, felt a little odd to wear, but he got used to it after a while.
The suit's fibers seemed to move per his movements as if waves constantly pushed him around. But rather than being washed around, the suit's strength was minimal and controlled, ending exactly when it should.
/Sheen…/
As he finished wearing it and moved his arms around, a blue hologram appeared in the air before him, but it wasn't from the system but from the computer system installed within the suit.
There was a tiny sensor on the side of the facial section of the suit, from which light came. It was also where the hologram originated.
Such technology was fascinating yet familiar to Philip. It was like being thrown back home, if only for a moment…
"Ah! I see it now…"
When he realized that, a spark of enlightenment passed through his mind as he took out Sam's diary and plugged it inside a compartment of the exoskeleton, once again after asking for assistance from the virtual intelligence.
/Sheen…/
The hologram updated as a perfectly organized collection of logs, videos, documents, and more appeared before him.
"So here they are… 'My' documents."
Philip found multiple IDs and several temporary passwords for numerous bank accounts, as well as other details such as his mercenary code.
Trying to live in a modern world without an identity was pretty much suicide. But from the looks of it, most of these were fake; Meant to be used and discarded when their purpose was fulfilled.
'Maybe that was why Samual walked around with so much cash in hand.' Philip thought as he scrolled through the files
He read the files one by one, understanding his situation, grimacing as he did so.
"So… I am currently guilty of murder, and I am considered a criminal in a few countries in Europe… Yikes. At least I am not being chased here in the USA."
'It's not like I'll go back there anytime soon. Even if I do so, it's not like I ever entered there legally. Samuel wouldn't care about that.'
'So… If I got this right… This should be right after Samuel finished his preparations.'
'To summarize, around the early 2000s, Samuel's father was killed, and he went abroad to train and prepare, becoming a mercenary, which is where this money came from.'
'After many years, he returned to Brazil to hunt down the man who betrayed his father and everyone associated with the event.'
'It's currently 2012, and Samuel was about to perform his last contract before going to Brazil. This job was nothing more than a means to an end. A way for an international criminal like him to enter another country. It's something he's used to.'
'There are many out there willing to get him in their country so he could provide them his services, its the kind of thing that comes with having a name in the industry.'
'Sam used this fact to investigate and formulate a plan to strike down his enemies back in his home country… That's a few questions down.'
'I know where I am, the time, and why I'm here… The context is set.'
'Now, Samuel's goal is to strike fast and sharply. He isn't stupid, but it doesn't look like he has any plan to solve this situation that doesn't involve going inside the enemy's headquarters and gutting them open.'
'A carefully laid plan so he can hit them all before they escape or gather together. The gaps in the plan will be solved by gathering more information as he moves around.'
"How brutal. If his plan works… It'll work… He'd likely end up killing hundreds before leaving the country for good."
'He wasn't a famed figure for nothing.'
Within a folder, Philip saw a list of faces and locations with several dates tied to them.
Their actions, behaviors, patterns, everything was written there… A degree of meticulousness that made even him frown.
"This makes my job rather easier… But I was wrong. I do have a time limit."
'If I take too long, this information will become irrelevant. And if I fail to follow the plan, this information will also change.'
'It's like a game where right now, I'm undetected, but if I am, then the whole area will be alerted, and the game will be thrown into hard mode.'
'I may even be forced to escape the country and learn the ropes from scratch, which may take years...'
'This would only make my mission take longer, and I'm not keen on being stuck in another world again. If I'm to stay, it has to be by my own choice.'
'I could also fail the Class Mission… It hasn't happened yet, so I don't know if it's possible, but just like dying, the consequences of that are something I'd rather never find out.'
'It wouldn't be a challenge with sizable rewards if a considerable penalty wasn't tied to it...'
"So this Class mission is about being a hitman. I must kill the targets when available until I expose the final Boss."
'All the while upgrading my skills and improving my techniques.'
'Samuel should be strong enough to take them all on by now, but I'm not. I'll have to learn it all on the fly… Which isn't something I'd like to do when my opponents have robots and other war machines at their disposal.'
'I'm not fighting a mega-corporation, only small to big-time cartels, but that doesn't mean they won't have something dangerous stashed away somewhere.'
"Sigh… Learning sword techniques while your enemy shoots a bullet at you wasn't on my to-do list…"
Philip frowned again as he scoffed out loud: "This is hard, I don't even have the time to rest…"
'My earliest target is tomorrow at 6 Am at a bar, just a bit over half a day to prepare… Then the next one is right after as well."
'I barely have any skills… According to what is written here, the target is someone protected by guards, who are all heavily armored.'
'I only have a sword and a few martial arts. My strength isn't even that high. No matter how well Samuel is trained, he's just as ordinary as any Human being. Likely as capable as athletes or a little above.'
"Then, after I'm done with him, I'll have to move to take out another target somewhere else… There's barely a gap in the schedule. I may have to stay awake for several days at a time."
'There is one good thing at least, and that's the fact this plan is well made. Which only shows how bad my situation will be if I lose my timing.'
'Even if I'm to fail, I have to learn as much of the process as I can so I can try again without much issue later.'
"... I can think about the rest on the way…"
Philip checked the time, he still had a little bit left before he needed to move. He also thought it'd be proper to scout and prepare the area for his operation early.
'First, I'll finish the diary and read as much as I can from these flash drives.'
For the next few hours, Philip did just that, studying the contents of each drive as much as he could.
He was surprised by how well-detailed they were. Easy to understand, descriptive, full of images, videos, and some even had simulations for him to observe and study.
While the simulations weren't good, that seemed to be a limitation of his exoskeleton and not the drive itself.
His exoskeleton could even imitate some of the moves, allowing him to get a grasp of their flow ahead of time.
By the time the sun set, Philip was done reading everything as he closed the final electronic manual…
…
[DING]
[You fully understood the basics behind the Yagyu New Shadow School technique]
[Your Class-related skills have received a massive amount of proficiency!]
[Rodrigues New Shadow Technique Lv4 -> Lv6]
[Brazilian Superhuman Martial Arts Lv5 -> Lv6]
[Taito Flash Draw Lv5 -> Lv7]
[Blade Mode Lv2 -> Lv4]
[Explosive Draw Lv4 -> Lv5]
[Disclaimer: Hidden Quest complete! The Rodrigues' Inheritance]
[The necessary amount of proficiency to master all of the Rodrigues Family's techniques considerably decreases]
"..."
Seeing the numbers go up made him smile, but at the same, it greatly disappointed him.
"Haa… I can't think like this. On the contrary, I should be happy that I was even given such help."
'The manuals and the diary were both here to guide me and give me an initial boost in my skills. Thanks to that, I feel a little more confident…'
"But it isn't enough."
'If I had a few weeks to train… No, even a few days would've been enough.'
'While I've taken over Samuel's place, it's hard to say if I've taken over his body… Either way, growing used to this strength and techniques will take a while.'
"At this point, I may as well just fight with the Imperial Swordsmanship…"
'Even if I can't bring forth even a fraction of its intended power, I'm far more used to it then these ones… The issue is that performing ordinary swordsmanship won't help me triumph against guns.'
"I understood a lot just from reading the books and seeing the videos and simulations, but to level it up further, I will need to use these skills on the field."
'Only then can I make those techniques mine and effective.'
"I only need to live through these first few days first…"
'I'll get all the time in the world to study and research these once this mission's over. Until then…'
Philip looked at the sword stored inside a long suitcase, gently picking it up before raising it.
'These techniques aren't that impressive on their own, but when paired with a proficient master…'
/FWOOSH!!/
In the blink of an eye, Philip drew his sword and cut a fly in the air in half, his sword too fast for the human eye to trace!
A combination of Taito Flash Draw and Superhuman Martial Arts…
But this wasn't everything Philip could do…
"I see it now, the potential of this Class, it may not increase my strength immensely, but if I could pass some of these skills to my main one, maybe… I shouldn't be thinking about this now."
'If I can do this with a "normal" Human body, imagine what I can do with an already superhuman one… In theory, it sounds good, but only time will tell though.'
'It actually makes me curious about what else this world has to offer.'
'Of course, I do have some practice to make this possible, only being given the strength to do so wouldn't allow someone to replicate what I just did.'
Philip turned to his skills, going over them one by one:
'The Rodrigues New Shadow Technique is, simply put, one of the many forms of sword techniques derived from the Japanese Yagyu Shinkage-Ryu swordsmanship style, which is where their name comes from, as Shinkage-Ryu can be translated as "New Shadow".'
'There is nothing great or special about it; in fact, I can actually research about it on the internet by using the Exoskeleton navigation feature… Since it came from Japan, it might be beneficial for me to research more about their martial arts when I have the time.'
'That's why both manuals were with him; Samuel inherited everything from his father moments before he was killed.'
'Meanwhile, Uradachi, The Murdering Sword, is the central doctrine of their Dojo, their philosophy sharpened over centuries.'
'The Rodrigues New Shadow School teaches their disciples to wield the sword for combat and violence, to master, wield, and accept the blade for what it is and always will be, a weapon meant to kill people.'
'Regardless of its purpose, a sword will always be a tool to hurt others in the end…'
'It's all interconnected, so dividing those techniques like this is redundant. They all lead to the same point: The Rodrigues New Shadow Technique.'
'According to his diary, Samuel has slowly changed the technique to fit his desires, which has been described in detail. Thankfully, both the original and modified forms are still here for me to refer to if needed.'
'Next up is the incredible Brazilian Superhuman Martial arts, a technique made by Samuel himself after an entire life of testing and experimenting with his body.'
'It combines the multiple martial arts he learned throughout his life, that when paired together, creates a martial art that allows a normal Human to fight toe-to-toe against a mechanically enhanced Android.'
'This probably makes the least sense out of everything I've seen so far. This is at a level comparable to the supernatural…'
'Of course, this can only be achieved when said Human receives proper, gruesome physical training. And above all, a cold, focused mind to follow through with the movements in the face of a certain death.'
'At the same time, it has a lot of room for growth since its potential is based on how many martial arts I can seemingly incorporate into it and how efficiently I do so.'
'So rather than a proper martial art, it's more of a mismatch of techniques incorporated into his swordsmanship to bring forth the most out of it.'
'It's still incomplete, but likely because it's still years from when it appeared in the original timeline. However, given how he kept striving to outdo himself, maybe it was never truly completed…'
'Next, Taito Flash Draw. It's simply a martial technique, nothing more to add.'
'A stance focused on maximizing draw speed and inhuman precision. It's actually something based on real martial arts. I can even research it on the internet… Although, since it is a System Ability, there is certainly more to it.'
'Time will tell as I level it up.'
"However, the next two Skills make this Class truly unique…"
/Slow…/
As Philip said that, the world around him began to slow down, almost halting as he looked around.
/Flap…/
The mosquitoes flying in the air moved so slowly that Philip could see the flap of their wings…
His eyes began to redden as his veins bulged…
'This is Blade Mode, it increases my concentration to an unbelievable state, and not only that, it also allows me to move just as fast during its activation. Albeit only for a short, flimsy moment.'
/SLASH!/
/SPLAT!/
Philip swung his sword while activating Taito Flash Draw. The speed was such that the poor mosquito was killed by the wind pressure alone, disintegrating before him.
/Speed…/
The world went back to its normal speed, or better put, Philip's concentration was broken as he reached for his head…
"Haa… It's quite potent, but the mental and physical stress I feel afterward is an issue."
/Cough!/
Philip coughed faintly, and as he looked at his hand, he saw a faint stain of blood on his gloves.
"Urg…"
'I feel as if I just ran half a marathon… Perhaps its because I used it for too long despite its low level?'
'In the game, an energy bar was required to use this ability, but since I am not an android, my body's stamina takes the brunt of using this.'
'There doesn't seem to be any requirements for me to use this. What I mean is that despite this Skill being called Blade mode, I dont really need a blade to use it… But I bet my hand would implode if I tried to punch anything while using it.'
'I wonder what Samuel had to do to achieve something like this, or if this is just another gift from the System just to make do with his in-game appearance.'
"On that note, maybe that's why I have the Exoskeleton. It's currently deactivated, but I can activate it to help me with some physically taxing activities, like what I just did."
'My last Skill would be Explosive Draw, and it's pretty much an extension of the Taito Flash draw, being required for its activation, together with a trigger mechanism.'
'On that note, its similar to my Riposte Skill from my first Class. It also needed a trigger item for it to function.'
'As in the name of the technique, this technique requires some sort of trigger to function, and that comes directly from Murasama's sheath…'
'Samuel modified his traditional blade, turning it into an HF, vibration blade. Right now, it's still in its early versions, but soon enough, it'll go under rapid modifications.'
'Its sheath has been changed to charge the blade at all times while also being fitted with a trigger function that launches the blade outside, hence, the "explosive" part…'
'Samuel literally shoots his sword out of its sheath just so he can cut his enemy a little faster… But that's the line between life and death in this field.'
"I will have to experiment on it as time goes by; perhaps I can make it even faster… But I'll take my time. Otherwise, if I go any faster and the Exosuit can't keep up… My arm may just rip off…"
'With the items and skills out of the way, the only thing's left now are My Traits, and they're pretty simple:'
'Strengthened Body is a manifestation of my Main Class in this body, since most of my Stats were nerfed/sealed, this is the only thing left.'
'It only maintains my body at its physical limit. However, it could also indicate Samuel's exceptional genes and hard work throughout his life, which allowed him to become the master swordsman he is today.'
'Sword Heart, on the other hand, is a little more immaterial; it's a Trait that enhances my affinity for anything sword-related. Rather ambiguous, but I can't do anything about that.'
'The manifestation of his talent for swordsmanship? Hard to say…'
"Those aside, I also have a lot of money, so I should consider buying some gadgets, perhaps a new exoskeleton…"
"I dont need to be like Samuel and keep the same exoskeleton until his death. He basically used the same one for years."
'But then again, that goes to his philosophy. Samuel had little to no Cybernetic enhancements. Only the basic ones required to function in society.'
'However, I'm pretty sure he'll modify his arm to push his sword drawing technique to a new stage… Likely after a gruesome defeat that will leave him crippled… But that's years in the future.'
"The mission tells me to eliminate the disciple using only a sword… Not that I need to do everything else with it."
'So I can buy a gun just in case, right?... But uh… How do I get one?'
"That said, I wonder if taking off my arm and putting a mechanical one would be considered cheating?..."
Philip looked around the place and nodded to himself.
"This is pretty much all. But its not the end for what this world has to offer."
'To fully master the Brazilian Superhuman Martial arts, I'll need to study and fuse other martial styles into it. Even after reading and comprehending all of Samuel's notes, I doubt I'll reach its max level.'
'Considering such a martial art can be conceived in the first place, I wonder what other interesting things lay hidden and scattered around this world? All ready for the taking…'
"I still have some time."
'I'll warm up a little first.'
/Unsheathe… Swing!/
He still had a few hours before his target left the bar. So it was time to train.
/Fwush!/
In the silent night on the old apartment block, the sharp echo of cutting wind could be heard faintly amidst car horns and passersby…
…
/Gleam…/
As the sun was about to rise and dye the sky pinkish, most would be relaxing in their homes and readying themselves for another day, but Philip was in no way relaxed.
/Tap tap…/
Inside a coffee shop by the street, he tapped his fingers on the table as he sipped some coffee.
He was waiting for his target, an old businessman, to leave the bar drunk after an all night of drinking and partying.
"..."
'I'm too tense. This isn't good.'
'Most problems can be solved if you keep your head level-headed and think, but I just can't do it.'
"Sigh… Hm?"
"Here is your toast, sir."
A waitress appeared next to him, placing his order on the table with a faint, undiscernible smile.
"Will there be anything else?"
"Thank you... A straw for my drink, please." He replied with a small smile as he stretched his shoulders
The waitress went to the counter and back with his straw. And Philip turned to his food, ready to eat, for he had eaten nothing all night long.
He stood up the entire time, training and studying, barely taking a rest.
He knew it wasn't healthy, and maybe the lack of sleep and food was why he felt so restless, but between sleep and training a bit more, he chose the latter.
"Hum?"
'What's this?...'
As he raised his cup, Philip noticed a small note with a number on it.
Whispering to himself in disbelief, he read the note with a dumbfounded expression: "Holy shit…"
'Is this the fabled, cute waitress number?'
'Never have I even gotten a girl's number before… She has good taste but terrible timing.'
'Such a shame… I have someone to murder.'
Philip shook his head, thinking it might've been the change of clothes.
He wouldn't call them fashionable, but they weren't ugly either. To hide his exoskeleton, Philip put on a large coat that went to his legs.
It went pretty well since it was rather thin, and the coat did a pretty good job of hiding it, although it made Philip look twice as muscular as he should've been.
He also wore a hat to hide his face slightly, but that wasn't the main use for it.
According to Samuel's diary, he wasn't worried about others recognizing him at all. He was an international mercenary working primarily in the Middle East. His sole goal in hiding his face was to avoid international hitmen and bounty hunters from coming after him.
He wasn't afraid of them, but he had a mission to fulfill. Philip only inherited that aspect.
He hid his face and would continue to do so to avoid his enemy's recognition so they would drop their guard around him. Although that wouldn't last for long.
He was quite recognizable.
'Honestly, hiding my face is almost impossible anyway. There are cameras, robots, and people with advanced augmentations everywhere. And without a method to meddle with those, my face is as good as exposed.'
'Sam's Exoskeleton does help with that a little, but I doubt he had it on him all the time. Someone definitely knows I'm here already, the question becomes if this information would get into the hands of someone who cares.'
'I've prepared a little, but it won't do much. Sam didn't even bother with that.'
Following Sam's diary, Philip had left his temporary house three hours before this mission. He passed through a nearby black market and bought a simple FRI device.
Face Recognition Inhibitor. It would prevent most cameras from properly recording his face.
'Either way… He's sure taking his sweet time...'
He stole the coat from a drunk guy he found walking around on the streets. It wasn't dirty and seemed quite expensive, so he took it for himself.
He did pay the man; he wasn't that heartless… He also bought a small hand pistol from the black market and stored a few more tools inside the special suitcase resting by his side.
A large black suitcase with some special features… Honestly, it was mostly just a sheathe for his blade.
He couldn't just carry a sword around the place, much less a bunch of dangerous gadgets and a gun in a country that prohibits it. He would be detected immediately by the robots and safety measures around the city.
Thats why he bought this case for a few hundred thousand dollars… Not like he will need this money after he leaves this place so its better to use it all on high quality stuff.
"...! There he is."
Philip shoved the last toast into his mouth, took out a few notes, and dropped them on the table before getting up. He smiled at the waitress and left, leaving the change as a tip for her.
…
/Wobble…/
"Urg… L… Letsha gouu s-home…"
On the other side of the road, Philip saw his target as he wobbled out of the club, almost falling several times as he walked to an expensive car parked nearby.
The man was visibly drunk, being escorted by two massive guards with a serial number on their forehead. These could only mean one thing in this world…
They were modified human androids.
Seeing them enter the limousine, he thought: 'If I were in the game, I would've just walked close to the car and slashed them in the face, right?'
'Since I am playing Sam's memories, I should think about how he would've acted… He survived long enough to enact his revenge. I should be able to do the same.'
'A shame some details were left in the open. How he managed to take down an entire cartel alone was never mentioned…'
Philip inspected the camera angles around him one last time before stepping forward.
The timing was just right. Hesitation meant failure.
…
"... Is everything ready?"
"Yes, just waiting for confirmation."
Inside the limousine, the two bodyguards conversed as they turned on the car.
"How's traffic?"
"Clear."
"What about his condition?"
"He fell asleep, no other issues have been found."
"Roger that, we'll transport him back… Wait, who is that guy over there?"
Before the limousine was a strange man with a large object in hand. Blocking the way forward.
The guards couldnt really identify what it was from their angle inside the car, so one of them just hit the horn.
But instead of leaving, the man…
/THUD!/
"Hey…"
He jumped on top of the car's hood and looked directly at the two bodyguards.
His smile was the last thing the two of them saw.
/CUT!/
Like a flash of lighting, Philip neatly cut through the entire windshield, bisecting their necks swiftly!
/Clunk…/
He got down from the hood and opened the door inside the limousine…
/Vroom!/
The limousine soon drove off into the distance… Its owner snoring loudly as he slept on the back of the car, without noticing the bodies near him.
The assassination of the guards and the kidnap was too quick for anyone to notice; no blood was spilled, and the sound was barely audible. That was just how fast and sharp the sword strike was.
…
Several hours later, in an abandoned parking lot, Philip received another large suitcase of cash from his contractors, along with a small bonus since the target was captured alive.
Most importantly, he got his ticket to Brazil.
[You completed your first contract!]
"Oh?"
[All of your Class related skills will gain an average amount of proficiency]
[Rodrigues New Shadow School Technique Lv6 -> Lv7]
[Brazilian Superhuman Martial Arts Lv6 -> Lv7]
[Taito Flash Draw Lv7 -> Lv8]
As his skills leveled up, faint traces of ideas and images passed by his head. They were distant and foggy, but he felt that if he stopped and thought about them, he'd be able to follow them just fine.
'My two Skills did not level up, but this is fine. If I gain this sort of reward every time I complete a contract, I will have no trouble Leveling everything.'
"Next target… All the way in Brazil."
'The only thing left to do here is to pack… Wait, I don't have anything to pack…'
Realizing all his possessions were inside the large suitcase in his hand, Philip dejectedly made his way to the private airport where his flight awaited him.
He followed the news attentively, but none was released to the public; whoever his contractor was, he did a pretty good job hiding things. Maybe that was why his bonus was quite significant.
But such is the way of the world. How many politicians/businessmen die every month in this way? How many individuals were manipulated, coerced, and abused in the shadows?
A pure person in front of the camera could be a devil in the dark…
Exhaling out loud, Philip closed his eyes, muttering, "I'm glad I chose engineering over law…"
…
/Half a day later…/
Philip woke up from his flight and was escorted outside, where a car awaited him.
A private airport has its own rules... As long as you have the connections and the cash.
After they arrived at their destination, he was given a small suitcase full of documents, it was the last bit of the payment for his previous contract.
They weren't going to last long, but they'd do.
"... Did we arrive?"
Philip opened the airplane's window cover and saw a massive statue on a mountain overlooking a beautiful metropolis—one of the world's seven wonders, Christ the Redeemer.
"Never been to this city; I wonder how it is in this world."
[Download completed]
A notification from his Datapad stole his attention. He bought it on the Black Market. It cost quite a penny, but it was rid of any devices that may track or expose his location and activity.
As the flight would take several hours to complete, he searched the Internet for martial arts and related information, downloading whatever he could before going to sleep. For he would need all the energy he could gather for what was to come.
When he woke up, he studied more of the diary and other files within his drives.
"Woah… I forgot how it felt to have wifi… If even for a few days…"
'Man… What I wouldn't do to play a match again… Sigh.'
'That life is behind me now.'
The plane landed, and Philip stepped away, making his way out of the airport towards a Hotel Samuel had already scouted prior to his takeover.
Without complaint, the driver took off.
…
/A few days later…/
/BEEEP!/
/BEEEP!/
/BEE…/
"Stop… Please, I'm up…"
Philip woke up in a gorgeous bed in a high-class hotel overlooking a beautiful beach, inside a large, elegant room...
His alarm clock rang nonstop at a desk beside him, prompting him to roll around to reach it.
/Clack!/
"Yaww… It's been three days already… Time to hunt the next target."
Three days ago, Philip arrived at this beautiful city; he didn't know much about how it was in his previous world, but in this one, technology had already perfectly fused with its infrastructure, and thanks to this country's booming economy as a rising giant, it made things relatively accessible despite him being on a second world country.
Philip remained low-profile for the past three days, barely leaving his hotel room. Training and studying as much as possible to get used to his abilities before the mission.
It wasn't even his intention to raise the level of his skills; his sole focus was on learning the doctrine of the Dojo so he could perform just as well as Sam.
He also used this time to probe further into his targets, to mild success. Not that he needed to, given how much research his predecessor had left for him.
"Some of the targets have bounties, and if I add all of the contract times together, I will spend, at most, a maximum of two weeks in this country."
'And everything checks out. Samuel didn't prepare to stay for long either. His time in this land is already over. He's just here to close the chapter of his life he left behind.'
'After that, I can focus on learning more about this world and traveling around… Until then, I have to make the most of my remaining time before I start to move.'
"Open Secondary status."
[Name: Philip Vinten
Class: Descendant of the Jetstream
Abilities:
Rodrigues New Shadow School Technique Lv7
Brazilian Superhuman Martial Arts Lv8
Taito Flash Draw Lv8
Skills:
Blade Mode Lv5
Explosive Draw Lv6
Traits:
Strengthened Body
Sword Heart
Inventory (+)
]
'My skills haven't changed much, but that doesn't matter. I'm completely different from who I was before.'
'What's fazing me is the inventory feature, I can't store anything there. I only used it when I retrieved the items from the Beginner's Package. Never again.'
'My guess is that this is only a medium for my rewards to be given to me. Similar in a way to my previous one.'
After stretching on bed, Philip took a shower and put on some clothes as he called for the hotel service to bring him his breakfast and after he was done, he started his preparation to eliminate his next target.
/Catching!/
Loading a round onto his gun, he looked at a hologram map of the city and said, "The first one. Let's try to keep things clean."
The first target was easy to find: a gang headquarters located on the city's periphery inside a Favela. It wasn't hard to spot; the police raided the place from time to time.
His target was their leader, a militia lord. As for the ones who put up the bounty?... The Brazilian Special Operations Brigade: Brigada de Operações Especiais - Bda
Because they were usually occupied with internal and international matters, likely due to things like the emergence of the War Economy, the BDA often contracted Private Military Companies to perform drills around the territory.
While Samuel was not part of any PMC, he was still good enough to act as a hitman and take out selected targets, which was exactly what he specialized in.
The usual job for a mercenary.
If he did his job quietly and efficiently with minimal damage to the infrastructure and the citizens, the government would be more than willing to ignore his actions.
And given Sam's targets mainly were criminals… He had no issue cooperating with them either.
Making money by taking out his old enemies… Why wouldn't he do it?
With a smile and sword in hand, Philip approached the target.
This time, he'd be the one raiding the place!
…
.
.
.
Notes
What are your opinions on this Class? Underwhelming? Decent?
What Class did you expect/want? I am here to hear your opinions.
There will be more to come! Peace!