Reincarnated As The Ultimate A

Deep in the forest, leaves floated through the air as light flowed through the trees. A young man around 20 years-old awoke lying in the sparkling grass as a drop of rain fell from a tree on to his face. His name was Senku. The man had dark-red hair with orange eyes. He wore brown worn-out rags, similar to what most peasants wore.

"W-where am I?" Senku sat up with his legs crossed as he saw the low-quality clothes he wore. "What's going on...this place...these clothes, they seem unfamiliar to me. It's as if my very memory has been erased" As the confused male took a step forward, Senku heard movement in the bushes nearby.

Suddenly a large boar lunged out of the bushes headed right for him letting out a loud squeal. "What!?" Senku managed to evade the coming animal as it rushed past him, hitting a tree before turning around coming back around for another charge. Without thinking, he grabbed a stick lying on the ground to defend himself from the coming beast. 

"S-stay back!" Gripping his only weapon with both hands, Senku struck the boar in the head knocking it to the ground as it laid motionless for a moment before vanishing in a burst of wisps of blue light.

[Level 2 unlocked]

"Sigh, I feel pathetic at the fact I got scared by a mere boar. I'm not sure how strong others are in this world...but if I want to survive, I'll have to get stronger than a mere animal" Looking at the mere stick he held in his hand he tossed it aside in frustration as he ventured through the forest until finding a path that lead through the forest.

Before Senku could step out onto the path, he heard cries for help nearby. The man hurried through the forest making sure to stay out of sigh as the cries grew louder. Crouched behind a tree Senku spotted a carriage surrounded by two bandits dressed in brown clothing as they aimed their knives toward a young girl with brown hair dressed in a white dress.

"Hehe, just hand over all your gold and we'll be on our way, or would you rather we slice you up!?" The two men were ugly with scars but muscular. That's when a voice called out to the young man from within his subconscious:

"Warning : hostile's level exceed own current level, recommend retreat" It sounded like a male AI voice in his head as he could also see their levels with a lock-on focused on them like a video game. (I'm not sure who you are, but I won't let them harm an innocent girl even if they are higher than my current level!) 

Senku saw that they were lvl.5 while he was merely a lvl. 2 but knew if he didn't do something fast, the girl would be hurt or worse. Getting as close as possible, the young man lunged out of the bushes right for one of the bandits, sending a punch to the assailant's abdomen as they staggered back landing on the dirt path dropping their knife. Quickly he swiped the blade from his target just as the 2nd bandit attempted to stab him.

"you bastard, you shouldn't have interfered in our business now die!" The standing thug lunged at him with his knife when Senku stepped out of the way just in time causing them to just pierce his shirt before hitting the ground.

"I'm not really one to hurt others, but those who threaten the innocent, aren't worthy to be considered people anymore" With a cold expression on his face he gripped the blade firmly going straight for the kill as the two bandits closed their eyes waiting for the strike...

They opened their eyes to see Senku aiming the blade towards them with a serious expression. They shook in fear running away as the man lowered his hand, his heart racing. (Wow, I can't believe that actually worked)

[Skill obtained: Weapon Affinity] - Increases efficiency in all weapons by 75%

He sighed in relief before turning to the young girl. "Are you ok?" She nodded responding: "Thank you for your help, I'm the princess of Xuvria. If you would like, I could help you find some better clothes instead of mere rags"

With a slight smile Senku nodded. "That would definitely help, but are you sure it's ok? I don't think I deserve such a reward just for stopping those bandits"

She stopped him and ensured him the least she could do was provide him with decent clothes. They got in the white carriage making their way through the forest as they sat inside, the inside was covered in fancy pink cloth with jewels...

After about an hour of traveling the kingdom of Xuvria came into view. Senku looked out the window to see the large kingdom below the hill as they made their way to the gate where a Tall figure in dark armor stood guard along with three fellow knights who seemed weak in comparison to the knight in black.

The carriage came to a halt as the knights of Xuvria carefully inspected the carriage before spotting Senku. "Lady Nasara, do you know this man?" One of them questioned as a blade was aimed inches from the man's throat.

"Stand down knight, this man saved me from bandits who attacked me in the forest, I just wish to help him get some clothes and a room in the tavern inn so he may get a better start in Xuvria"

The knight glared at him with suspicion before lowering his blade as the gate was raised letting them through. "Sorry about that, as you can see the knights as well as my father the king are very protective of me. Don't worry I'll make sure they don't try anything" She smiled at him with her hands in her lap as they made their way through the medieval town as they came to a stop in front of a market filled with merchants selling many different items. 

She placed a small sack of gold in his hand telling him: "Make sure to find Something decent clothes and a room in the inn" with a nod Senku stepped out of the carriage waving to the young princess before making his way over to a merchant who was selling many types of clothing. To keep things simple he picked the first piece of clothing he liked which was a white cloak with a collar and matching white pants. (There, this will definitely make me look more approachable rather than seen as a peasant. 

Senku pushed open the tavern doors to see many different adventurers wearing mercenary uniforms as well as heavy knight armor. A few of them glared at Senku as he made his way up to the bar where a young woman with long blue hair and purple eyes wearing a black uniform stood behind the bar wiping the bar down before looking up at him. "Hello sir, how may I help you today?" 

"Yes, I'm new in town and would like to know if you had any quests for me to do for some money" (I've read many fantasy manga and know they usually have quests to kill a certain creature or save someone) 

"Actually yes, we have many jobs on our board over there, sadly you'll only be allowed to take on D rank quests since we start all mercenaries and adventurers at D rank" 

Senku turned to see a board with many quests pinned on the board. As he made his way over, an armored foot came out, causing him to stagger that's when he felt his body move on it's own as his hand stopped his fall before flipping back onto his feet. Everyone turned their attention on Senku who was glaring at a tall buff man dressed in black armor. He had long blonde hair with blue eyes and a smug look on his face. 

"What? You have something to say to me?" The man clinched his fist as a voice in his head announced: "Analyzing" Senku watched as the stats appeared in front of him/ (Hmmm, the adventurer is level 25. As much as I would like to kick his ass, he's in a completely different league than my own for now. But in time I shall catch up with him) 

With a sigh Senku walked past the adventurer over to the board. "Yeah that's right, seems you know who's stronger haha!" Senku thought about pulling out his knife he had taken from the bandits but knew such a common weapon would do little good against an adventurer like him. 

The woman behind the bar put down her rag calling out: "Knock it off Syrus, this is your 2nd time bothering customers. One more disturbance and you'll be thrown out" The blonde man glared at her as they started one another down intensely before Syrus chugged his mug of beer before slamming it down on the table storming out. 

"Don't worry about Syrus, he's stubborn but he's never actually hurt anyone without a good reason" Senku pulled off one of the sheets that had a D rank stamped on the top left of the paper. 

Quest: Kill five boars in the forest outside Xuvira two options popped up in front of him: Accept or Decline. He pushed accept as the paper crumbled into wisps of blue light as the objective popped up on the left side of his vision. 

CHAPTER 1 The 1st Quest 

Making his way past the kingdom's gate, he realized the sun was going down as it gave off a pink glow. "Looks like I don't have much time to look for these boar" Pulling out his low-quality knife he made his way off the path into the forest, carefully searching the area for any signs of movement. He checked nearby bushes and behind trees but found no sigh of any animals. 

"Hmm, where could they be?" 

"Analysis....most wildlife tend to stay by water sources such as ponds or rivers" The AI voice informed him. "Alright before I go any further, who are you? Or am I just going insane?" 

"Answer: I am your system's AI, I can help you when you are in need such as answering certain questions or sensing danger nearby. I have no name so you may call me whatever you wish" 

"Alright...then I shall call you Senjin" 

"Optimizing....optimization complete, I will know respond to Senjin" Without another word the low-rank adventurer made his way through the forest until coming across a stream that flowed through a part of the forest. He carefully followed it where it flowed into a large lake where many different kinds of wildlife had gathered such a deer, rabbits and boars. 

(Alright there's our target, now I just need to catch them by surprise and kill them) Making his way to the other side of the lake while crouching behind trees and grass he managed to get within just a few meters of a few boars drinking from the lake. Gripping the blade firmly in his grasp, he jumped out from cover, advancing straight for the group of animals. 

Each boar scurried off in a different direction while Senku kept his eyes focused on one specific one. With a deep breath he tossed his knife right for the boar piercing it in the back as it let out loud agonizing squeals. "Damn, I didn't realize how fast boars are and they're merely level two creatures" 

Using Senjin's analysis skill, he watched as the boar's HP slowly dropped from the bleed effect from his knife. As it's HP flashed red nearly depleted it collapsed into the grass before perishing bursting into light. "One down four to go" He quickly retrieved his blade from the puddle of blood washing it off in the lake before spotting another target hiding in a tall bundle of grass. 

"Focusing on target...target locked" Senjin notified him as his eyes glowed purple from his AI's skill. Closing the distance between him and the hiding boar, he threw the knife right for the boar, piercing right through it's face giving him an instant kill. 

"Sigh, that focus skill really comes in handy. Now then, where are the last three boars?" That's when he spotted the remaining three running from the water source going deeper into the forest. "Tsk, I don't have time to retrieve my knife and catch up with them, I'll have to come back for it. 

"I suggest activating auto mode, you may only use it for a limited amount of time for now but could help in chasing multiple targets" 

"Sigh alright fine" 

"Activating Auto mode" Senjin announced as the man's orange eyes gleamed purple. His body dashed through the forest at a super-human speed, with auto mode active, his perception and reactive time was far greater, with each step the AI could sense everything around him within several meters while locked on to the three boars. 

The boars ran up a hill with Senku right behind him. Snapping off a branch from a tree the fast-moving warrior threw it right for the boar to the right knocking it to the ground leaving two left as they ran inside a large cave. Senku landed in front of the defeated boar as his eyes reverted back to normal. 

"Auto mode deactivated" The AI informed him as Senku realized he was back in control of his body. "Hmm, seems at my current level I can only use auto mode for 30 seconds or so. But from the sound of it, if I get stronger, I should be capable of extending the length at which I can stay in that state. Though, it would be boring if I just always stayed in auto all the time so it's best to just use it in dire situations" 

Making his way up to the large stone cave, he noticed something off, there were lights set up within the cave. (Strange, who would want to live up here in a cave, I have a bad feeling about this but the last two boars are in here and I need to kill them before I can head back to Xuvira" 

Carefully making his way inside he followed the small lights that aligned both sides of the stone walls of the cave. As he ventured deeper within the cave, he entered a large open part of the cave where he felt his breath stop as he found himself standing before a large dark-green troll sleeping before him. 

(S-senjin...analysis) The frightened man ordered mentally. "Analyzing...troll, level 10 weakness is fire" Senku knew he stood no chance in fighting a troll at his current level. That's when he saw one of the boar hiding near the sleeping troll. 

(Tsk that little shit) Taking a deep breath he picked up a rock and threw it right at the boar knocking it out before picking up another rock aiming for the remaining target. Suddenly it let out a loud squeal as it echoed through cave. Senku froze in place as he stared at the troll who stirred in it's sleep before it began to wake up letting out a deep groan. 

(Oh shit, Senjin is auto ready yet!?) 

"Auto mode still on cool down, estimated 30 seconds until available" The red-haired warrior watched as the troll stood up standing about 10 feet tall with it's head nearly touching the ceiling of the cave. It spotted the squealing boar before kicking it across the cave instantly killing it as it hit the wall beside Senku. At that moment, the troll spotted him. 

"Human, I shall crush you and crush on your bones!" It picked up a massive wooden club before lunging right for him. At that moment auto mode was finally ready as Senjin activated it just in time. Senku's eyes glowed purple once more as his perception and reaction time multiplied. The troll struck the floor of the cave with it's club with such force the cave shook with a large crack in the spot it had struck. 

"Where are you human!?" That's when the troll spotted Senku run out of the cave racing down the hill. The warrior looked back to see the troll come crashing out of the opening of the cave charging after him. "I won't let you get away!" As the human slid down the hill he watched as the troll leapt from the top, descending down after him like a bolder. (Shit, I have just a few seconds of auto mode left!) 

As he slid down the hill, he abrupply caught a branch pulling himself onto a tree just as his eyes once more reverted back to normal. He watched as the troll stumbled down the hill hitting the ground as half it's HP was lost from the impact. "Wow, it worked, maybe now I can take this monster on" 

Carefully making his way down the hill he stopped right in front of the injured troll who slowly rose to it's feet covered in bruises. "You are a very clever human, I may be hurt but still have enough strength to crush you here!" Clinching it's fist the troll threw a punch right for Senku, luckily he managed to doge it mere moments before it could connect. 

The red-haired human could feel a gust of wind brush past him from just the sheer force of the troll's strike. With his target wide open, the warrior jumped into the air and kicked the troll across the face. The monster didn't stagger but it seem to do just enough damage to lower his HP. 

"Huff...you may be bigger and tougher, but that doesn't mean I can't win. I'll show you that strategy can beat strength!" Charging right for the monster once more, Senku jumped into the air just high enough to meet eyes with the troll as he tossed sand into the creature's eyes blinding him. 

"Aaagh! You putrid human! Only you would pull something so desperate!" With his foe blinded, Senku sent a barrage of punches to it's abdomen as it's HP decreased more and more until it was at one HP. "Heh, seems strategy really does surpass strength" As the warrior prepared to throw the finishing blow, the troll's vision came back. It spotted Senku and kicked him with all it's strength sending him staggering through the sky landing in a tree. 

He let out a cough before hitting the ground with a red flashing outline around his vision alerting him that he was near the brink of death. "Y-you've got to be kidding me! Eight levels higher than mere or not, this is just bullshit! He clinched the grass in front of him as blood ran down his bottom lip as he slowly got up making his way back to the troll. 

The tall dark-green monster looked in surprise to see Senk approaching him with a cold expression on his face as his red hair covered his eyes. "Why did you come back human, you had a chance to escape yet you approach me once more. You're either even more of a fool than I thought or you just don't care if you die" 

"I-I won't die here, but I won't run away either. If I'm going to become stronger, than I need to finish what I started" The troll once more went to kick the warrior when Senku evaded the coming attack advancing right for his foe, punching him in the leg as the creature's health reached zero causing it to vanish like the rest. 

"Huff...huff. I-I won't run away from a fight if I know there's a chance I can win" 

[Level 5 Unlocked] 

[Skill Obtained: Self-Healing- HP recovers over time] 

Senku watched as it faint HP went up by one each second. "Good, looks like I've gained minor regeneration from beating that troll. It'll definitely come in handy next time I'm fighting a higher level opponent. Though slight healing isn't nearly enough to take on that guy Syrus. Maybe I should look for a sensei to teach me new skills to help better my fighting skills. Relying on auto mode is a lazy way to build my strength. Question is: what class should I learn from first?... 

After completing the quest, Senku made his way back to Xuvria as night fell and all you could see were street lights that lit up the kingdom. 

Senku wandered the streets until he spotted a man dressed in a dark-purple hooded robe with a red "R" inside a silver sun on the torso and back of his clothing. (Hmm, guessing by his clothing he must be a rogue or an assassin. If I'm right, this is probably the kind of thing some RPG have where you have to find the mentors throughout the world. I see myself more as a cleric or mage, but at my current strength I need all the help I can get) 

The young warrior approached the hooded man sitting on his knees beside a small house. "Hello? I was wondering if you could teach me so I can perfect my fighting skills against stronger opponents?" The hooded man looked up at him with a menacing glare as his blue eyes glimmered in the street light. 

"If you wish to learn the skills of an assassin, you must devote yourself to training and perfecting each skill until you know each skill as if it is 2nd nature to you" A screen popped up in front of him asking: "Learn Assassin Class?" Senku pressed yes as the screen shattered to pieces as if made of glass. 

[Novice Assassin Class Unlocked] 

"Would you like to begin your 1st lesson Senku?" His Sensei asked still sitting on his knees. "Yes I'd like to start training now sensei" The assassin rose to his feet and looked at him with his back to the warrior. Senku watched as his mentor abruptly vanished without a trace. 

"What!?" He quickly looked around for the assassin but couldn't find any trace of him. That's when a kunai was aimed at his neck just inches away as his teacher stood behind him as if ready to end his life at that moment. 

"What you just witnessed is known as the shadow step, this is one of the basic yet most useful skills of an assassin. To master the shadow step you must block out distracting thoughts and focus only on the direction you're going. Though it may sound easier said than done, you must focus all your movement into one thought therefore maximizing your speed" 

His teacher vanished before reappearing on the roof of the tavern a few houses down. "The best way to teach you shadow step is by having you try and reach me. You have a minute to reach me before I move to another location" Senku climbed onto the roof of an old house and focused all his attention on the assassin. (Block out distracting thoughts...focus on the direction I'm going) Taking a deep breath he charged towards his target as fast as he could, only to miss the jump by mere inches and hit the dirt. 

"Damn it!" Once more he got onto the roof and cleared his head of all other things besides his task. Instead of getting frustrated he let his muscles relax as he closed his eyes and shadow stepped just one roof away from his sensei. 

"Impressive, not many can even use the shadow step so early on in the training more or less get so close. You can't seem to move to the location you want, but you're beginning to understand how to let go of thoughts and feelings that would normally slow one down" 

Just then the hooded man vanished once more before appearing several houses down towards the castle. Senku smirked beginning to understand how to use the shadow step. As he relaxed his mind, he focused on the assassin's location before vanishing in an instant and reappearing face to face with his mentor. The man flinched from Senku's speed but smiled at how fast he learned. 

"Well done Senku, you've learned the shadow step and at an incredible time I may add. Continue to improve with the skill I've given you and we'll start our next lesson tomorrow" 

"Thank you sensei" He watched as his mentor vanished leaving him standing on the roof of a building... 

[Skill Obtained: Shadow step] 

The next day Senku awoke in his room at the tavern inn as sunlight shined through the window illuminating the small wooden floor as he got out of his white bed walking over to the window to see more people than usual walking around the tavern's entrance. He quickly made his way downstairs where Syrus and a few high-ranking adventurers one seemed to be a female Archer with long blue hair, green eyes wearing black mercenary garments. While the other was a young girl with long pink hair wearing a white hooded robe. 

(That must be Syrus' party, not surprising his party Consists of women, he gives off the toxic masculine vibe that seem to attract women even in this world) Making his way over to the bartender he asked what was going on. 

"Every now and again adventurers will raid dungeons in hopes of acquiring a rare relic. If you go with Syrus' party this could be your chance in obtaining a rare relic. If Syrus tries anything he knows he'll lose his rank as an adventurer" Syrus gave the bartender an annoyed expression before turning to Senku. "I'll allow you to come with us to the dungeon, but if you get either of my party members killed...I can assure you I'll kill you myself regardless of the penalty" 

Senku frowned but just gave a nod. The archer approached him introducing herself. "My name is Asumi, I specialize in light-based long-ranged attacks as well as the scout of the party" She looked at him with a neutral look neither mad nor happy. Next was the young pink-haired girl in the white robe. She walked over with a smile. "Hi my name is Sohira, I'm the healer and support of the party!" 

"Nice to meet you" The red-haired adventure greeted. He was surprised one of them would act so friendly towards him. (I'm not sure about the archer, but Sohira seems genuinely happy to meet me. I might have to persuade her to join my party and leave Syrus at some point, but for now I'll just leave it alone for the time being) 

The buff warrior turned his back on Senku and informed them that they needed to head for the dungeon while the sun was still out so they wouldn't have to venture back in the dark once they completed the dungeon. "Senku, I'm disgusted at the very thought of you joining my party for this raid, but I shall allow you to join us in hopes it will make you stronger and a possible rival for me to crush" 

"Thanks, I guess" The young adventurer responded unsure whether that was an insult or a compliment... 

They made their way out of Xuvira going north instead of south where the young adventurer had first entered the kingdom. "Making our way north shall lead us to the dungeon, though if I was informed correctly, we'll be cutting through the forest of undead. Keep your guard up, I'm told it's filled with many creatures that won't hesitate to kill anything with a pulse" 

Senku was uneasy but knew if he wanted to grow as a warrior, he had to overcome many hard challenges. The party marched down the dirt path when a white mist came into view. "There it is...the forest of undead, some tales say if you get lost within the mist, you begin to hear voices that slowly drive you insane" The tall-armored man commented. 

Senku could feel a tightness growing in his chest as they grew closer towards the mist. The once healthy and blooming trees were now dark and rotting trees with no leaves along with dead grass and the mist flowing around them. They continued forward as the green forest vanished behind them with nothing but the feeling of death and despair surrounding them. 

As they ventured through the forest, a skeleton lunged out from the fog right for Senku. Using the shadow step, the young warrior reappeared behind the undead, gripping it's bony heel before slamming it to the ground causing it to fall to pieces. (Sigh, that shadow step really comes in handy though it still takes a good amount of stamina to use so I shouldn't use it in succession unless it's my only option) 

"Hmm, not bad novice, though that was merely a level one undead, let's see if that same tactic will work on the high-level undead deep in these woods" The party leader commented making his way forward. Just then Asumi signaled the party to stop by illuminating her body in an aura of golden light. 

"I hear movement ahead and it sounds like more than just a few mere undead" She whispered quickly pulling out her bow manifesting an arrow made of golden mana. Before she could find her target, an arrow came darting out from the mist ahead of them, piercing the side of her cheek causing her to stagger, landing on her back. 

"Asumi!" Syrus pulled out his large black great sword. It seemed to be made of a black steel with a silver handle. "Those who attack my party shall be cut down where they stand!" Without thinking Syrus charged into the mist leaving Senku and Sohira beside the wounded archer. 

The pink-haired girl aimed both hands at her fallen teammate. "Heal!" Senku watched as a green light surrounded the archer, healing her wound before slowly fading. She stood back up gripping her bow once more. "Thanks Sohira, they caught me off guard, but it won't happen a 2nd time" With a determined look in her eyes, the archer prepared to fire as she listened closely in the mist hearing where their leader was fighting..."There! Holy arrow barrage!" 

Four arrows of holy magic fired from her bow as they soared into the mist striking four different targets defeating them. Senku was tired of just listening and charged through the mist, only to see Syrus fighting of a legion of the undead as if they had been waiting for them. Syrus spun in a quick 360 motion knocking a group of them back as they were defeated in mid-air but more and more surrounded him. "Tsk! You undead are so tiresome, I would've liked to have saved my MP for the dungeon, but seems I'll have to fight a little more seriously if we're going to get past this" 

Gripping his great sword with both hands, he raised it up as flames engulfed it with immense power. "Blazing strike!" Syrus struck the ground before him as a trail of flames split through the crowd of undead leaving a path in front of them between the two crowds of undead. "Sohira, clear the rest of them out so we can hurry to the dungeon" Their leader commanded as he pointed forward. 

"Yes captain" Putting her hands together she closed her eyes while Syrus blocked any skeletons who attempted to get close. "Holy magic: Dome of purification!" All watched as a massive barrier of green mana formed around a mile of land, instantly turning all the undead to dust from the holy damage. 

"Ah, great work Sohira, let us make our way to the dungeon before anymore show up!" Syrus suggested placing his sword back on his back before running down the path with the others close behind him. 

[Level 9 Unlocked] 

(Hmm? Strange why did I level up? Could I be getting exp from them since I'm doing a raid with them? I know some RPG have shared exp I guess it's possible since this world has similar rules of an RPG) With a smirk on his face he followed right behind them as they ran through the woods before coming up to a large door that was attached to the side of a mountain as if someone had randomly put a large door there. 

Syrus approached the door slowly placing his palm against the massive black door as a loud creak rang out. Senku watched as the large doors slowly opened reveling a ray of blinding purple light. Raising his hand to cover his eyes he realized they weren't outside anymore, he found himself in a large steel hallway with no doors or windows. 

They cautiously made their way through the dark and empty hall with only Sohira's floating sphere of pink mana being their way of seeing within the darkness. "This doesn't feel right, what rank did the tavern woman say this dungeon was?" Asumi questioned with slight fear in her voice. 

"She said it was a mere B rank dungeon, though this doesn't feel like your normal B rank area, we could possibly handle an A rank but even that would be a slim chance. We'll just have to hope the boss isn't too difficult" 

"So, what's are plan captain?" Asumi asked...but there was no answer. They looked around, only to realize Syrus had vanished. "C-captain?" Sophira choked out now filled with fear as her hands shook. The archer placed her hand on the healer's shoulder letting her know it'll be ok. "Don't worry, this isn't the 1st time something like this has happened. Captain said if this happens that I'd be captain for the time being until we find him" 

(S-senjin...analysis) The AI prepared to scan the area when purple rifts began manifesting from both walls beside them. Tentacles made of darkness grabbed the two girls as Asumi was pulled into the left rift while Sohira was pulled towards the right. Senku quickly grabbed the healer's hand trying to save her, but with nothing to hold onto, he was pulled inside along with her. 

Senku opened his eyes to hear the ominous sound of water dripping on the floor along with chains rattling slowly. He helped Sohira up as they found themselves in what looked like an old dungeon. The floor seemed aged with dried blood on the floor. He slowly walked down the sone path with cells on both sides of him. The bars were rusted with corpses lying in their cells with horrific expressions on their skeletal faces. 

Sohira walked behind him gripping his cloak tightly as they kept walking with faint light from the lanterns that slowly swung above them. "I'm scared Senku, I want to leave" The young warrior nodded as he saw more and more death along the path. Just then they came to the end of the hall where a figure made of shadow manifested before them. A sadistic smile appeared on it's face as it looked at them. 

Senku lunged toward him throwing a punch right for it, only to pass right through it and hit the wall leaving a crack. He looked behind him only to find no one there. "W-we're just seeing things, we need to hurry before something else happens" She nodded grabbing his hand as they managed to find a rusty door. Senku kicked it down as they were blinded by a blinding light. Opening their eyes the pair found themselves withing a throne room, though the room seemed to be made of dark mana. 

Senku looked to see a dark muscular figure sitting on the throne without a face. It's cheek rested on it's fist. When it noticed them it vanished. Seku looked away for a second before finding the figure inches from his face moving at immense speed. As it reached for the warrior, Senjin activated auto mode just in time to evade the coming foe as it staggered past him before stopping itself just a few feet behind them. 

(Analyzing...target level 30...chances of victory...1%) Senku began to quake with fear on the inside while his body remained in auto mode. He knew he'd only have 30 seconds before it ran out. The dark figure charged toward him, throwing a barrage of strikes at great speed luckily auto mode increased the warrior's reaction speed to nearly instant as he moved his head out of the way with each coming blow before sending a kick to the target's abdomen sending him staggering back. (Shit, if I don't think of something it's all over) 

Just then Sohira threw both hands out aimed right for her ally. "Heaven's blessing!" 

[Buff activated: Stats increased by 10%] 

The warrior's body outlined with a golden aura as he felt his body tingling with power. (This isn't nearly enough to beat him, but should be enough to keep me alive) The pair advanced toward one another as the figure shot it's fingers out like tentacles nearly missing the enhanced warrior. With his enhanced stamina and speed added to the fact he was in auto mode, Senku began using shadow step repeatedly, Sohira lost track of her ally as he struck the boss in the face with a fierce kick, vanishing before striking him in the back with a sheer blow as he continued to strike the Manique-like creature when he suddenly stopped landing onto the dark surface as auto mode deactivated. 

"Damn I'm out of time!" He watched as the dark-purple figure moved straight to him grabbing him by the throat as it looked into his eyes. The fact it had no face just made it that much more terrifying. As Senku closed his eyes waiting to be killed, he heard a slice from a sword as Syrus came falling from a whole in the darkness above. 

"Hehe did you miss me you dark bastard!" With a grin Syrus swung his blade down on the boss as it struck the entity with imense power causing a shockwave sending Senku staggering across the room landing on his back. He watched as the armored warrior aimed his massive steel sword toward the boss. "Hehe, been waiting for a challenge. Not sure what you did with Asumi, but that just gives me another reason to kick your ass! Blinding pierce!" In a sudden barrage of slashes, the boss was sent staggering back with slashes of red light covering it's body. 

Just then the room began to shake as a purple aura radiated from the figure's body. "Oh? You're actually fighting serious now? Then let's see it!" Syrus charged toward his opponent when he abruptly threw his great sword right for the boss. The massive blade struck the entity in the abdomen causing it to stagger giving the armored brute an opening to attack. Syrus charged in striking the figure with fierce blows to the face with a grin on his face as black blood-like liquid spewed out of the enemy. 

Just as it seemed like victory was assured, the dungeon bosses' right armor formed into a blade as it pierced the warrior's armor with ease. The party members watched as blood dripped from his armor. "Hehe, your dirty bastard, seems you'll do anything to kill me huh? Well, if I'm dying here, I'm at least taking you with me!" Grabbing the figure by the back of the head he head-butted it repeatedly, the strength of his head shaking the floor. "Heh, choke on that you b-bastard" 

Senku watched as Syrus fell to the ground in a pool of blood just as their healer aimed her palm toward him. "Heal!" Green light filled the room but her captain didn't get up. "S-sohira, it's too late for me...I'm sorry I couldn't kill this bastard like all the others, please continue to grow as a mage and help those in need. I may have been a bastard...but that doesn't mean I never cared about my party members, you and Asumi were the only ones who stood by me even at my worst...Senku, though you may be weak, I appreciate you protecting Sohira even if it was just to buy time. You have my thanks, I appoint you p-party leader while I'm gone, d-don't fuck it up...you...bastard" 

Sohira broke down in nears as the light left Syrus' eyes, his body lying motionless before the boss who had a slight crack on it's faceless head. "Sohira, don't cry just yet, I'll get us out of here so your leader's death wasn't in vain. I thought he was just some cocky asshole, but in his final moments, seems he really was a good guy deep down" 

Using shadow step Senku moved to Syrus' great sword before reappearing back beside the healer. "This sword is heavy, but thanks to my weapon affinity, I can still fight with it even if I'm a little slower. I might not know much about Syrus, but if he's willing to put his trust in someone as weak as me, then I won't fail here!" 

Using shadow step constantly, he moved right for the assailant, swinging the blade with all his strength as he struck it's head with fierce force. The crack began to grow as Senku moved as fast as he could with shadow step, striking him with the great sword before thrusting it into the bosses' cracked head, breaking through as the entire figure cracked apart with dark mana flowing out of it. "This is what happens...when someone puts their trust in you" 

Sohira watched as the boss burst in a blinding ray of pure light. Senku dropped the sword as he fell to his knees out of breath drained of stamina. That's when a door of golden light appeared in front of them by the throne The warrior was out of breath when he spotted a white ring with a golden aura around it which meant it was a legendary item (A legendary?) He reached out picking up the high-tier item studying it closely. 

(Analyzing...results: Ring of mammon, perk - Gain a random skill from defeated enemies) Senjin informed him after scanning the item. (No wonder this is a legendary item, a ring with the ability to steal skills from anyone I defeat is definitely awesome!) As he slid the ring on his middle finger he turned back to Sohira who began to cry at the feet of her fallen party member. Senku placed his hand upon her shoulder letting her cry as he looked down at the warrior lying in a pool of blood. He kept a calm look but felt bad that his only friend had to go through such a hard loss. 

"Not only did we lose Syrus, but Asumi is nowhere to be found. We should get out of here before something else appears, I know the boss is dead, but that doesn't mean there isn't more creatures lurking nearby" Sohira looked up at her party leader with tear-filled eyes before nodded getting up and wiping the tears away. The young adventurer hugged the girl before they made their way towards the exit...

[Level 13 Unlocked]

[Passive Skill Unlocked: Lethal Prediction - Sense when an opponent attacks. Attacks of Super-sonic or above aren't sensed]

(Alright my first passive skill! With this ability I should be capable of dodging attacks from most humans and mid-tier monsters. Though, even with lethal prediction there's still many warriors and high-tier beasts that could crush me with ease, better not let this go to my head)

CHAPTER 2 Power Beyond Human

Senku returned to the tavern with Sohira, wielding Syrus' great sword on his back as to honor his friend's fallen ally. "Welcome back Senku and Sohira! Where are Syrus and Asumi?" The red-haired warrior looked down at the bar with a guilty expression on his face before answering: "Syrus is dead...as for Asumi, I'm not sure if she's dead or not, there was no sign of her body but I couldn't risk Sohira's safety looking for her ally. If it turned out she had been killed as well, it was best to leave rather than possibly finding another horrific scene she'd have to live with"

"They're dead? I knew Syrus was a jackass, but the thought of him dead...it just hurts me inside. He was a jerk but when things got rough, he was there to help in his own way. Well, I'm sorry you lost your party members, I know it won't help much, but here's your reward for completing the dungeon"

She set a small sack of gold down in front of them before going back to wiping the counter as she always did when she wasn't serving other customers. Senku looked up at her with a guilty look and told her: "Before he died, he appointed me as party leader with his dying breath. Me, a mere low-rank warrior. The moment he said that, I knew he wasn't the cold-hearted brute I thought he was. I now carry this sword on my back as a symbol to him and will grow our party into a thriving guild he would be proud to see"

Sohira gasped Turing to him. "A-a guild!? Are you sure!? Growing a guild is difficult, not only do you need an immense amount of gold just to buy a base for the guild, you'd need to buy utilities and many other things along with finding enough people to form the guild!" 

"Don't worry Sohira, I said I'd grow this party into a guild and I will, no matter how long it takes! Are first step would be to find two more members to add to our party, no one will take us seriously if our party isn't even full" Senku gave her a smile placing her hand on her head as she looked up at him with a surprised look.

"Y-yes captain!" She agreed with a smile on her face. "Let us build up our strength before doing another dungeon, when we enter our next dungeon...we'll defeat the boss with ease" The sun began to go down so Senku gave the bartender two gold pieces as their rent for the night. As Sohira made her way upstairs, Senku asked the blue-haired woman what her name was. She blushed telling him that no one's ever asked what her name was before.

"M-my name is Masuna Katsuya. She blushed more before looking at him. "What about you Senku, do you have a last name? The man shook his head informing her how he couldn't remember anything before walking up in the forest wearing merely rags.

"Since all I had on when I awoke was mere rags, I assume I was poor or some kind of peasant. But thanks to this 2nd chance I've gotten, I've slowly climbed up from being a weak nobody to an average adventurer. I'm not where I want to be, but for now it's progress. Masuna poured a mug of beer and passed it to Senku with a smile on her face.

"You started with nothing but got back on your feet and are stronger for giving yourself a 2nd chance. You'll never know how powerful you actually are until you're pushed to the limit. Have a good night Senku" He gave her a nod drinking the beer in one gulp before placing it on the bar and making his way up to his room.

He opened the door to find Sohira's healer robe on the floor with her only wearing a red bra and panties. Senku blushed quickly looking away. "Sohira why are you just wearing bra and panties!?" The pink-haired girl looked at him with a smile responding: "This is what Syrus said I should wear to bed since it would be more comfortable so I've just been going to bed wearing this ever since"

The warrior kept his eyes closed thinking: "Syrus you perverted bastard, I may like admiring girls but only if it's a girlfriend, not this!) Lowering his hand he sighed getting in bed facing away from Sohira as she climbed in beside him before wrapping her arms around his waist resting her head on his back.

Senku blushed more. "S-sohira...how old are you?" She raised her head responding: "I'm 19, why is this making you uncomfortable?"

"N-no just was making sure" (Sigh, at least I know she's only a year younger than me. Fantasy world or not I at least know what's bad and what's acceptable) 

The next day...

Senku woke up with sunlight shining through the window onto his eyes blinding him for a moment before he sat up rubbing his eyes. As his eyes came into focus, he looked over at his great sword resting in the corner of the room. The adventure carefully got out of bread letting his friend sleep while he placed the sword on his back making his way downstairs to the tavern.

As he walked towards the bar, Senjin announced: "Warning incoming threat" In an abrupt motion, Senku stepped to the left just as a fist came flying past him. Looking behind him he saw three buff guys wearing heavy armor stood in front of him with hostile looks on their face. The middle guy wore golden armor with long green hair and hazel eyes while the left had bronze armor with short blonde hair and blue eyes. The one on the right wore silver armor with long brown hair and hazel eyes.

"You bastard! You killed Syrus didn't you!? I was informed you joined his party to the dungeon when he died! Kind of suspicious the moment you joined his party he happen to be killed. Admit it!" 

Senku glared at him with a calm but serious look. "I had nothing to do with his death, I may have hated him at first, but never wanted him dead. Not only that, Syrus made me the party leader just before he died which further proves I wasn't the cause of his death" 

The man in gold gritted his teeth in rage preparing to strike once more. "THAT PROVES NOTHING!" Those in the bar watched as the enraged warrior threw a punch straight for Senku once more. The instant his assailant prepared to attack, the red-haired warrior could see a transparent duplicate of his attacker moving a moment faster giving away the direction of his attack. Senku evaded the attack once more as the blow was so powerful it sent a wave of force past him knocking over tables and chairs.

His dark-red hair blew in the breeze before walking past them heading for the exit. "Where you going!? We aren't done here!" In a calm tone Senku responded: "I'm not running, I just don't want to cause any more trouble for Masuna with you brutes trashing her tavern. If you want to fight, then I'll take each of you one on one outside" With his index finger he motioned for them to fall as he walked outside.

"Outside or inside doesn't matter, either way you're going to pay for killing our friend!" They stood outside in the middle of the street with the three men standing before him with furious expressions. Senku held his hand out motioning for one of them to attack as a crowd began to form around them watching the growing tension.

"TSK! JUST DIE ALREADY!" The one in gold charged toward him pulling out a blazing sword, going right for the man's throat. Once again lethal prediction gave away his target's path as Senku used shadow step to vanish for a moment appearing behind the enraged brute. (I might not be that strong, but fighting someone blinded by rage should be simple)

With a sudden movement he struck the armored foe in the back, sending him staggering forward as they landed on their stomach in front of the crowd. "Flailing around like an animal will get you nowhere. I may seem strong, but it's merely the fact you don't think when you attack. If I didn't use my skills strategically then maybe you'd be an actual threat"

Shaking with rage the golden warrior stood up gripping his blade tightly. "Sai, Keno...attack him all at once!" The pair nodded as the other two pulled out an ice and lightning sword. The trio lunged toward him from different directions as Senku closed his eyes...

(Auto mode activated) His eyes snapped open glowing purple as the world around him seem to immensely slowdown from his perception and reaction speed moving many times faster. Pulling out Syrus' sword, he used a barrage of shadow steps to pierce through the assailants in a fierce combo of slashes.

(Auto mode deactivated) As his eyes reverted back to normal, time began to move normal again as slashes of blue light pierced through his targets causing them all to collapse to the ground motionless. 

Analyzing the trio's stats, he saw they all were at 10% health. "So, are we done here? I'd rather not kill friends of Syrus or Sohira. But if you attack once more, I'll have no choice but to finish you off" He lowered his sword standing over the wounded group as the crowd watched in shock and amazement. 

The warrior in gold slowly looked up at him covered in bruises with a trail of blood running down his face. “Fine, I Saito…surrender, but I assure you…this won’t be the end of this fight” The moment his assailant admitted defeat, Senku’s ring Illuminated with golden wisps of light as a red orb was pulled out of each warrior floating over to the red-haired man. He watched as the orbs cracked open in a flash of red light revealing the skill: Iron defense. Reaching out he touched the floating energy absorbing the skill as all three Iron defense fused together into Iron defense tier III 

[Skill Acquired: Iron Defense Tier III – Boosts DEF by 95% for 30 seconds ] 

Looks like this fight’s over, you better not show your face around me again or I won’t go so easily on you next time” The trio of warriors laid there in pain while Senku made his way back into the tavern over to the quest board. Seeing all the different A rank quests along with a few S rank which were considered the highest rank jobs. 

He walked over to Masuna asking her: “I’d like to take my adventurer rank mastery test, I'm told that’s how you go up each rank” She nodded telling him she had already raised his rank from D rank to C rank just a moment ago. “But I haven’t taken my test yet, why did you promote me?” 

“In a mastery test, you duel an adventurer of that rank, such as if you want to be promoted to B rank, you must defeat someone of that prestige in order to be promoted. The fact you just took on three B rank warriors in a near 1V3 fight, granting you C rank is the least I can do. Unfortunately, you must wait a day before taking your next test both so you can rest and also we don’t want adventurers just getting promoted all the way to A overnight” 

Senku gave her a confused look before responding: “A? What about S rank? Surely that’s the highest possible prestige of an adventurer” The woman nodded but told him how S rank were rare and the highest ranked warriors in the kingdom were merely A rank aside from maybe one or two Xuvira knights who guard the king himself. “There might be an S rank amo9ng their knights but it’s only an assumption. But it’s not easy to get an audience with the king. I’d suggest just worry about A rank for the time being” 

“Alright, thanks Masuna” Paying for a quick drink he made his way up to his room above the tavern where he found Sohira looking out the window wearing her white healer robe as she watched birds fly through the sky. 

“Hey Sohira, I see you’re finally up, I was planning on hunting monsters and magical beasts in the forest if you want to accompany me” She walked over with a smile on her face and nodded as she followed him outside. They walked north towards the forest of the undead since there was higher chances of encountering stronger monsters rather than going south through the green forest where most creatures were just wildlife. 

“So what exactly are we looking for here Senku?” 

“This ring gives me the ability to steal random skills from anything I defeat, if I kill enough high-tier monsters I should gain some useful skills to the point I could handle A rank monsters and warriors. Masuna told me the highest ranked adventurers are A rank so I need to grow stronger than them” 

Just then a group of skeletons began approaching them wielding swords and shields instead of armless like before. “Hmm. Seems these undead are higher level than before but there isn’t as many of them as before. This shouldn’t take long” His healer watched as Senku pulled out his great sword moving right for the group at superhuman speed. With his affinity for great swords increased he was capable of moving faster while holding the blade with one hand. “Crippling thunder slash!” 

In one quick motion Senku advanced past the undead unleashing a barrage of sword strikes before standing past them with his back to them. Sohira watched as all the undead fell to pieces in a pile of bones. “Heh, looks like I'm getting the hang of being a swordsman, maybe I'll try using a katana sometime” 

That’s when a ray of orange light lit up the mist before the pair as a large fire ball came soaring right for them. “What!?” Thanks to lethal prediction Senku was able to see the projectile’s path and duck out of the way as it flew past them setting a dead tree ablaze. “Wow, I almost got hit by that fireball, luckily lethal prediction activated just in time, though it didn’t warn me as fast as it usually does” 

“Tsk, your reaction time is impressive adventurer, though it seems you lack the ability to detect magic, such a flaw will spell your downfall human” They watched as an undead in a torn black mage cloak floated out of the mist standing before them. It had glowing purple eyes with a worn-out skeletal body. 

“I sensed your presence the last time you entered these woods...you seem to have grown stronger since then. However, for someone who can’t use magic, just how long can you last against a high-class mage!?” 

(Analysis... 

undead mage 

level 27 

results: possible chance of victory) 

(Well, actual good news from you Senjin for once. If I beat an advanced mage, I could obtain a magic skill which could be a great advantage since I have no magic skills) He turned to Sohira telling her not to hold back in this fight. She nodded aiming both hands toward their target, firing pink fireballs straight for the monster with Senku running in between two flaming spheres. 

“Task! Such low-tier magic will never reach me!” Throwing his bony hands out in different directions a blue magical sigil manifested beneath his feet as a magical barrier formed around him just as the flaming projectiles struck his shield. The healer watched as her ranged attack burst on impact but couldn’t break through the mage’s magic defenses. 

“Poor girl, surely you can do better than that” The undead looked up to see Senku lunging right at him with his great sword when the magic caster aimed his palm toward his approaching foe. “Destroy item” As a dark-purple aura surrounded his skeletal palm, Syrus’ great sword shattered to pieces before the remains vanished in a sparkle of purple light. 

Senku came to a stop inches from the magical barrier, staring at his now empty hands with nothing left of the weapon. (S-syrus' sword...it’s...gone) A sudden feeling of anger began to build up within him as his eyes widened and shook with rage. “H-how dare you...YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS!” 

(Warning...RAGE buff activated) Sohira watched as Senku’s eyes lit up red as a dark-red aura outlined his body like flames as he walked up to the mage blind with rage. Placing his hand upon the magical barrier, he began putting all his strength into the sphere of mana as it began to crack like mere glass. 

“W-what is this!? No mere human can have this much power!” The enraged man stared his target dead in the eye as the cracks grew across the dome until finally shattering apart as it vanished. “This is blasphemous, you're just a mere human with no magic!” Without a word, Senku sent a fierce blow to the skeleton’s abdomen as his HP dropped to 10% 

The man stood there with his red hair covering his eyes with just a frown on his face. “No! I refuse to be defeated by a pitiful human who has no magic prowess at all!” Ascending into the air the undead mage put his palms close together manifesting a powerful sphere of flames as it grew larger in mass until it was above his head the size of a blimp. “TIME FOR YOU TO LEAVE THIS WORLD BY BURNING TO ASH!” 

Sohira ran over to Senku who stood still with an emotionless express on his face as the forest lit up by the sun-like sphere of flames as the forest shook by the sheer magical power emanating from it. (Iron defense tier III activated) An abrupt blue aura swarmed around Senku combing his rage buff with his defense buff creating a violet aura with his ATK and DEF stats far stronger than before. As the ball of flames descended upon them, Sohira used all of her magic to slow it down with their enemy pushing back as the fire ball went back and forth between the two forces. 

clinching his fist tightly, Senku ascended into the air at super-sonic speed, striking the sphere of magic with all his strength. An immense shockwave traveled through the forest in all directions as the fire attack was sent right back to the caster as the undead was set ablaze in a blinding ray of light. 

“RRAAAGGHH! YOU LITTLE MAGOT’S!” Senku landed on his feet beside Sohira as they watched their target fall from the sky landing in front of them covered in burns with most of his robe burned off. “Y-you’re a monster...no human should be this strong. You don’t deserve such power. I’m more worthy than any human to live anormal life rather than trapped in some forest for all eternity! You both have no idea what it’s like being trapped in an undead body, hiding from the sun in the mist with your only company a legion of the undead too ignorant to speak!” 

Senku looked down at the mage as his buffs vanished. He was still angered about losing his sword he was given by Syrus, but at the same time, felt bad for the undead. (What if the princess hadn’t helped me...what if I was stuck to wonder the woods in nothing but rags or looked down upon by others because I looked like a peasant) These thoughts went through his head before walking over to their combatant. “What if I could give you a new body, one not trapped in this undead mist” 

“Why would you help me? What do you gain from such a deed?” 

“For some reason...i want to help you, if it wasn’t for others there for me, I'd either be dead or alone like you. I can’t forgive you for destroying something precious to our party, but that doesn’t mean I'm going to just leave you here to either die or wander alone for eternity” 

“But Senku, how are you going to save him? Resurrection spells are hard to master and I've never met anyone capable of using such magic” 

“Don’t worry Sohira, I have a better way of freeing him from this place. By the way, what’s your name if you don’t mind me asking” 

“Renkai, I was a powerful mage before I died, but was killed by a dragon that destroyed my village. Most of the forest of the undead is the remains after the dragon burned everything to the ground. The mist you see is the dark magic the dragon used to slaughter the many innocent people. For years I've done nothing but relive that horrifying night in my head repeatedly” 

“Well if Sohira pulls off this spell it should help you escape this forest and then we’ll just need to find something to revive you. So, let’s begin by pulling your faint soul out of your body. By one I can tell, your life force was placed inside an undead which means Sohira should be able to pull it out and we can find a better vessel for your life force” 

“Wait, if you don’t know how to use magic, how do you know all of this?” Renkai questioned with curiosity. Senku told him that he must’ve heard something about it in his past life since some things seemed familiar to him. “Alright Sohira, since you’re familiar with different kinds of magic, you should be able to sense his life force within the undead body. You need to find it and use your magic to extract it from the vessel” 

The healer was nervous but gave a nod as she sat on her knees before the mage extending her hand out before closing her eyes. Using magic sense, she focused on the faint source of magic within the creature’s bones as she began to pull Renkai’s faint soul from the vessel as it manifested into a purple flame with a white orb around it. “I-I got it...this is Renkai’s soul” 

“Good now we just need to find a new living body to place it in” Just then the soul floated into the air as Renkai’s voice could be heard from the entity. “Seems even in soul form I’m coherent and capable of movement as if this was an actual body” 

Senku reached out holding the soul sphere in his hand looking closely at it. “Can you see me right now or feel anything?” Renkai responded: “I can’t feel anything, as for sight I can sense you both nearby which I use for sight, through my vision, everything looks like a world of light, the trees give off a green essence while Sohira is a pink silhouette” 

“Well now that we managed to extract your soul, we just need to find a body to merge your soul with. It might be a challenge since body’s vanish a few seconds after the creature or person dies, so our best chance is to kill a monster with a humanoid figure and place your soul inside before the body shatters” Placing the soul in Sohira’s hands he asked her to protect Renkai while they searched for a useable vessel. 

[Level 15 Unlocked] 

[Passive Skill Obtained: Magic Sense – User is capable of sensing any kind of magic within short distance] 

(Hmm, seems I did get exp and a skill from beating Renkai even though it didn’t really feel like a victory since we saved him from his injured body. But with this new skill I’m one step closer to being capable of using magic) 

Slowly making their way into the forest, Senku used magic sense to find any creatures with high traces of magic, as they finally made it through the undead forest, they found themselves in a beautiful green forest. Senku saw many different colors of mana flowing around him like fog which meant there were magical beasts and people nearby. As they continued forward the adventurer noticed large houses in the trees above, not small tree houses but full-size homes that seemed like they wouldn’t be able to fit in a tree. 

Just then an arrow came barreling out of a tree right for him. Luckily the young warrior managed to lean his head to the side just as it flew past him just missing his neck as it struck the dirt behind them. “An arrow? But who shot it?” Just as he spoke, multiple forest elves popped out from the trees surrounding them aiming their bows at them. 

“Don’t move human” One of them threatened as they walked up to him. It was a tall female elf wearing a green robe that seemed to be made of some kind of large leaves. Her hair was brown while her eyes were aqua blue. “Trespassers, we don’t allow humans in this part of the forest, for your own safety, I suggest you go back the way you came” 

Sohira looked at her party leader was a worried look still holding Renkai’s soul in her hands. Senku frowned. “I’m not leaving, we’ve come to find a new body for our ally to put his soul end since he was trapped as an undead within the undead forest for years. Would you happen to know where we could find a vessel to place him in?” 

The elf just glared at him as if looking down on him before moving her hand attempting to slap him. Seeing the coming strike, Senku caught her hand gripping it tightly to keep her from moving. “I have nothing against you elves, any race that want to live in harmony and not hurt others I respect, but for those of you who see humans as trash and willing to crush weaker races beneath their heal...I won’t hesitate to return that right back at you” 

All watched as the pair started one another down when a voice called out: “What’s going on here?” All looked to see an elderly elf wearing a green cloak with a white beard walking over to them. “Princess Astra, what have I told you about causing trouble amongst the humans?” The elf spoke calmly like most friendly elderly people would. 

Astra pulled her arm away from him stuttering to come up with an excuse. “W-well father, I was merely defending myself from this human, me and my troop were just minding our business when these humans showed up and started attacking us” Her father looked unamused, not falling for the lie. “Young lady, you forget even with my old age I can still sense the life essence of those around me, that includes hostile feeling. I sensed no hostile thoughts from these two, only you and your troops gave off killing intentions and here I thought I taught you better than that” 

He walked over to Senku asking for his forgiveness. Senku nodded. “Don’t worry, as long as no one got hurt you have nothing to be sorry about. I do hope though your daughter is less hostile towards any other innocent people that find their way in this part of the forest” The elf princess sneered at him before looking away as she folded her arms. The elder elf gave the archers a nod signaling them to lower their weapons. 

“Now then, how about you join us for a feast? We haven’t had visitors in ages” 

“Are you sure sir? I wouldn’t want to cause you anymore trouble” Senku answered unsure if the other elves would be ok with a human eating with them. The elf insured him that most of their race were on good terms with humans so long as they weren’t hostile, they were always welcome. Senku and Sohira followed the village elder into the village where they climbed up a later into a large tree where the feast was starting. 

“Everyone, these are our guests for today, they shall be joining us for the feast, be sure to show them the proper respect you would show anyone from our village” The large tree house looked like a cafeteria inside, rows of wooden tables with a similar set up. Along with a large table in the middle against the wall where the elder and his daughter would sit. All the elves waved at the guests with smiles as some sat at tables while the others were carrying food. 

“Now then, how about your friend here gets to know people while you and I talk in my private quarters” 

“Alright, Sohira, I'll hold onto Renkai while you try to relax and find people to talk to while I'm gone” The healer nodded a little nervous but didn’t argue. The princess and her troops stormed off while Senku followed the elder to his private quarters a few bridges away since the village were all connected using wooden bridges in trees. 

As they entered the small wooden house Senku saw a small wooden stump with a purple cloth over it and a candle in the center illuminating the room. They sat with their legs crossed as the adventurer placed the soul on the table. 

“So how may I help you? You seemed as if you needed something. I’d like to help any way I can” 

“Thank you elder, my ally is stuck as a mere soul and I'd like to find a new body to place him in” The elf brushed his fingers through his beard pondering for a moment. “Ah, I thought I sensed something odd about that item you were carrying. I may be able to help you though you might not like the solution” 

Senku looked up at him with curiosity. “What is it!?” The old man closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. “I’m willing to give up my life and let your friend have my body” 

“What why!? You’re the elder of this village, many elves seem to admire you as their leader” 

“Yes, yes I'm aware, but my daughter has been acting odd lately, I’ve felt as though she plans to kill me and take the throne. So, I've planned to crown Tera the new queen of the forest. She has been loyal to this village for years acting as my 2nd hand for when I need help. I originally planned for Astra to be queen...sadly I feel she is no longer worthy of such a title” 

Just then Renkai began to speak: “But are you sure you’re ok with a human taking your body? As much as I want a body, I wouldn’t want to take a life for it” 

“I’ve already decided, I shall have Tera herself preform the ritual tonight so your friend may live again and so I can rest knowing the rightful king is watching over the elven forest. Meanwhile outside the window a spy of Astra’s troop hid outside listening to the conversation before vanishing... 

Later That Night... 

In the main eating hall, their elder was laid on the table as Tera began the ritual before everyone. Many of the elves were in tears at the thought of losing their beloved leader. Tera had long blonde hair with green eyes wearing a green dress as she placed Renkai’s soul beside the body. 

Senku stood next to him and asked: “Before it’s too late, I would like to know your name great elder” The old man looked at him as a flow of green mana flowed out of the elf's body while Renkai’s purple life force flowed in. “M-my name is Eldacor Greenworth. Tera...watch over them all while I'm gone” He said weakly as his eyes finally shut the moment the ritual was done. 

Senku placed his hand on the old man’s shoulder while the elves broke down in tears knowing their leader had finally pasted. Just then an arrow flew through the wind piercing the wall just inches from the human’s skull as everyone turned to see Astra and her troop marching towards them. 

“Now that my dear father is gone no one shall stop me from claiming my right as queen of the elven forest” She grinned manifesting a green flame in her palm as her troops aimed their arrows toward the others. “Surrender Tera, otherwise I'll kill you and take the throne by force” 

Tera stepped forward facing the entitled princess as she unleashed a green fireball straight for her and the archers. The squad ducked down while Astra quickly fired one back to cancel out the projectile. “As you can see Astra, you’re not the only one capable of using offensive magic, I've studied many different kinds so that I would be ready the day someone would attempt to kill our dear elder, though I didn’t expect it to be you” 

The Villigers all ran outside leaving Senku and the others inside as Tera prepared to strike. “Ice magic: Piercing tide!” Swiping both her forward a tsunami of water washed over the room, headed right for the assailants. They put up their guards as water rushed past their feet when Tera smirked swiping her hand upward. The water then froze instantly as all of her targets were frozen from the feet down in thick layers of ice. 

“Seems like you weren’t expected that to happen. Now that you and your squad are trapped, I can defeat you all with ease” 

Astra smirked replying: “Are you sure about that?” Just then vines shot out of the walls and floor, wrapping around Senku’s and the other’s bodies as they were also pinned in place. “I may not be able to move my legs, but I can still cast spells with my hands you ignorant fools” 

At that moment, an immense magical aura began to radiate from the elder’s body. “T-this magical presence, what is this!? I saw father die. C-could a human really have this much magic essence!? The body stood up as Renkai opened his eyes now in his new body. 

“I can breathe again...now that I'm alive, I can use magic far more easily” the princess groaned in anger firing off a fire ball right for Renkai when the mage stopped it abruptly with his bare palm. “Please, your level of magic is nowhere near my mastery” As the flames fizzled out, the magic caster aimed his palm towards the elf, sending a force of magical energy right for her face. Her eyes widened as she was struck with a mental attack. “Your troop should give up. I've cast a spell that’s shattered your feeble mind. Most would go for a physical attack, but I find mental attacks to work more efficiently. Though these kinds of spells are harder to use when in a mere undead body” 

As the princess and her troop were banished, Tera thanked Renkai and the others for stopping Astra. “Thank you Renkai for stopping her, I'm fascinated by  by how skilled you are in high-tier magic!” 

“It was no trouble, I’m just glad to finally have a living vessel to possess. Now I can reshape it the way I want” Snapping his fingers his appearance began to change as the elderly elf was now a tall young human wearing a purple hooded-robe with black hair and purple eyes. “Looks like I managed to reform my 20 year-old appearance around my new body. So then Senku, shall we head back to town?” 

Renkai smirked, rejoicing at the fact he was finally human along with reverting himself into a younger version of himself… 

CHAPTER 3 Power Of The S Rank Mage 

The party made their way back to Xuvria after 3 hours of traveling by foot with the moon illuminating their path. As they walked into the tavern, Senku walked up to Masuna while Renkai looked around the tavern with excitement at seeing something aside dead trees and undead. 

“Hey Masuna I’m finally back from my exploration and managed to gain a 3rd party member who’s a skilled mage in many types of magic” The bartender turned to see Renkai reading the quests from the board, blushing at how attractive he was. His face seemed smooth with the glowing purple eyes that seemed to match his black hair. 

“H-he certainly is an attractive man. Where did you find such a powerful mage? In the kingdom of Sinkosu past the forest of undead?” 

“Actually we found him in the forest, we never made it to Sinkosu, we were attacked by forest Elves and headed back here once things calmed down. Me and my party will probably head back out after some sleep, can’t have my party drained from lack of sleep” Walking over to the stairs of the tavern he had his party follow him upstairs where he and Sohira sleep in the same bed while Renkai got his own room. 

“Here you go Renkai, there’s only room for two people per bed so I paid for your own room” Renkai walked past Senku looking at the small wooden room with just a window, a bed and a nightstand beside the bed. “Senku…Is this really where you sleep? In a small room above a tavern?” 

“I’ve had planned for something better than this but I haven’t gotten around to it yet” A smirk grew across the mage’s face beneath the hood as he walked out the door telling his party leader to follow him as they made their way back outside in the cold night with no one outside. They made their way into the green forest south of Xuvria until they were near the center of the forest. 

“Watch Senku, as I create a home worthy of our party” Clapping his hands together a green aura swarmed around his body as a large house made of wood formed before them. The red-haired warrior was amazed at how much Renkai was capable of just because he wasn’t trapped in an undead body anymore. 

“Renkai, why couldn’t you use this much magic while you were in the forest while you were an undead?” 

“Think it Senku, if one’s life-force is weak then it greatly weakens one’s magical power. But with this new vessel, I have a living body that’s strengthening my life-force therefore maximizing my magic. I was an S rank wizard before I died so I achieved great feats before I was trapped within the darkness. I’m in your debit for freeing me from that hell and will willingly join your party and help anyway I can. But I do hope to find the dragon that destroyed my village and end it’s torment once and for all!” 

The Next Day… 

Senku awoke in a wooden bed with leaves as the mattress as he looked around to see the large wooden house had several rooms even a 2nd floor instead of it being a small cabin you’d normally see in the forest. Rubbing his eyes he got out of bed walking across the wooden floor when he spotted a few slimes hopping around the house. (Yes! I’ve heard they have a skill I need, seems they were in this forest instead of the undead forest) 

Excitedly running outside he charged right for the three blue slices, punching one of them head on sending it flying into a tree before landing on the ground as if unharmed. “Hmm, my punch damaged it, but surprisingly it looks unphased by my attack. Whatever, I guess I’ll just wear it down until it’s defeated!” As Senku prepared to advance for a 2nd, he watched as the two other slimes bounced over to the wounded slime as they merged together into a large slime, it’s level increasing from 5 to 15. 

“Sigh, I don’t know weather this makes it harder or easier, either way…seems I’ll have to try harder!” Using shadow step the adventurer moved around the massive slime before suddenly striking the back of the monster with a strong kick. That’s when he realized his foot was stuck in the slime as he was slowly pulled in side. “Oh no you don’t you fat blob!” 

With all his strength he threw his foot upward, sending the blob soaring through the air hitting another tree as it broke, falling to the ground with a loud thump. “Damn, and here I thought slimes were supposed to be easy targets” 

Just then Senku looked up to see Renkai descend down landing beside him as they faced the big blue blob. “I see you’re struggling with a mere slime, mind if I help you?” He grinned aiming his palm towards the monster. “Pierce lightning” Senku watched as a purple strike of lightning came down from the sky hitting the target head on as it’s HP went down to 1%. 

“Heh, you’re using long distance attacks, it’s different if I’m stuck fighting close range!” The party leader commented with jealousy as the mage manifested a fireball in his hand. “Well then we’ll just need to teach you some ranged attacks before you die to something as weak as a slime” Renkai fired the fierce sphere of flames straight for the creature as it was engulfed in flames leaving nothing but a puddle. 

They watched as two skills floated over to him as he touched the blue orbs revealing the skills… 

Skill Obtained: Slime absorption – Absorb any lower-level or weakened creature with a slime particle. 

Skill Obtained: Slime Duplication – Create an exact double made out of a slime. 

Senku read both skills and was confused on how they actually worked. (Hmm, I don’t fully understand how these work, but only way to truly understand a skill is to use it! Slime Duplication!” The pair watched as the adventurer threw his hand out as purple Slime gushed from his hand forming a silhouette of him before the Slime faded revealing a perfect copy of him. “Oh! It really is a clone of me! When I read slime duplication, I thought it’d actually be made of slime, looks actually like me” Senku stepped closer looking at his duplicate that stood motionless as if frozen. 

“I if it can fight on it’s own. Duplication, fight me!” The doppelganger looked at Senku with an emotionless expression before advancing straight for him. The warrior quickly guarded as the copy struck his wrist with fierce power. “Strange, this is a copy of me yet it feels more powerful than I am!” 

(Analyzing…slime copy has no emotion therefore no need to hold back, as well as can harden it’s body for stronger blows. Lastly, with no human mind, it can react much faster than you) The young warrior sighed in frustration as he was pinned against a tree on the defensive with his duplicate sending piercing blows to his guard. 

(Damn it, at this rate he’s going to break my guard or get my HP low enough to one shot! I’ll have to get it to stop before my guard Is shattered) With his arms still taking the fierce beating, Senku sent a kick to his copy’s abdomen sending them staggering a few feet before it caught it’s balance. Just as he was about to command it to stop, the doppelganger came flying right at him, punching straight through the thick tree, inches from his head. 

“Duplication stop!” Senku shouted as his body shook from the fear and adrenaline. “Damn it, to think a copy of me is more threatening than the original. But with the increased reaction time and no need to hold back I guess that would make a great difference in a fight. Alright Renkai let’s go get Sohira and see if there’s possibly a dungeon we can raid to test your S rank level magic” 

They made their way back to the tavern where they found Sohira sitting at the bar chatting with Masuna drinking a mug filled with juice. They turned to see Senku and Renkai walking back into the bar. “Hey captain, I was surprised to find you gone when I woke up, but I guess I should expect that from you at this point since your goal is to become the strongest adventurer” 

“Well, we’re headed over to a dungeon up in the ice mountains west of us and was wondering if you were well enough to join us unless you’d rather stay here with Masuna” The young girl took a drink of her juice before looking at them with a frown on her face. “I’m sorry Senku, but the memory of Syrus dying still makes me uneasy, I don’t think I'd be in the right state of mind in a fight if I go in another dungeon” 

The party leader walked over to her placing his hand on her head, softly pulling her close to him as she rested her head on his chest closing her eyes. “He was a good party leader...” 

[Flashback] 

The Story Of Syrus 

A young man wearing black mercenary arrived in Osudon, a kingdom in the far east, he had long blonde hair with blue eyes as he walked through the large city with buildings and larges houses rather than small houses and merchants like most kingdoms. The young man was Syrus, a 20-year-old warrior who was a mere level 10. “Finally, I made it to Osudon, the kingdom of chance, the kingdom of the rich. I’ve heard many great stories from Osudon, mere adventurers that go on to become knights and legends of history. If I’m going to claim glory in this life, this place is my best chance” 

The young man made his way down the large stone path where he made his way into the guild hall where those looking for a party or guild would go. He made his way through the tall blue doors into a large room with stone walls and wooden floors that looked like a much larger tavern with tables and chairs spreads out. He spotted an old man behind a counter and made his way over, the old man had a handlebar mustache wearing a black fancy suit making him look like a butler. 

“Hello good sir, my name is Syrus and I'm looking for a party to join, perhaps there’s one available?” 

“Why yes good traveler, there are indeed parties looking for moments, though at your low level, I doubt any would be willing to take you in. You see good sir, Osudon in a place for the rich and high-ranking knights, I'd suggest you leave town before some of the...“unfriendly” knights show up, some of them can be awfully rude. But I do wish you luck in your endeavor!” 

Syrus made his way outside where he saw a group of adventurers preparing to set out as they packed their weapons in the back of a carriage, The middle was dressed in black rouge clothing concealing his face while the one to his left wore red knight armor with short brown hair and green eyes. The one to his right was a mage wearing a black and gold robe with black hair and green eyes. 

“Hello fellow adventurers, I noticed you’re missing a 4th in your party, I was curious if you would allow me to join you on your quest” The party looked at one another before bursting out with laughter. “You think you can accompany us on a quest!? We’re level 30 while you’re merely a level 10, in short...you’re still a novice. You should leave before you get hurt” The rouge told him crossing his arms. 

Syrus walked away as it began to rain while the trio watched him walk off. Syrus felt himself grow cold as the rain soaked through his clothes. He found a shaded house to sit beside keeping the rain away as he sat there with a sad look on his face. (Osudon...the kingdom of chance huh? Somehow, I'm not seeing any opportunity for me to grow as a warrior if those here only look down on me for my level) 

After falling asleep, he awoke inside a carriage, his arms tied behind his back along with his feet tied together and his sword gone. “W-where am I!? What’s going on!?” He struggled to free himself from the bonds but struggled in vain as it seemed to do little to no good. 

A man’s voice could be heard: “Seems a novice like you doesn’t know the 1st thing about living in Osudon, never drop your guard. It’s common sense when becoming an adventurer boy” The carriage came to a stop as Syrus was dragged out of the back by his shirt by an old man in a black hooded cloak as he found himself before a large cliff. “Your sword was of great quality, it’s a shame it was being wasted on someone like you. Here's a true test of an adventurer, should you survive the fall, perhaps you do have the potential to be a great warrior” 

Without another word, the old man kicked Syrus off the high rocky cliff into the forest below... 

Syrus awoke hours later, the bonds torn from the fall, but his HP at a mere 5% from both the fall and rocky terrain he must’ve hit on his way down. “I-I'm alive...I really am meant to be an adventurer! But my first task is to get my sword back from that old geezer! Sadly, it’ll have to wait, with this low of health I could end up dying if I fought him or got attacked by some magical beast somewhere in these woods. It’s best to let my body heal before anything else” 

After a day of rest in the forest and surviving off fruit and water from the stream nearby, Syrus began his journey back to the kingdom. After three hours of walking around the cliff and walking up a path he had finally found, he made his way into the city. (Now, I just need to find that old man, I doubt he knows I survived and is probably somewhere in this city. 

He searched through building after building but saw no trace of his target. He was about to give up when he spotted a man dressed in the same cloak but this time the hood was down reveling their face. The old man had a long pony tail with white hair and green eyes. “Hmm, that could be him but I'm not sure. I’ll have to follow him to confirm my suspicions” 

As the old man paid a merchant for some foot, he got in his carriage and began making his way down the stone path. Syrus followed close behind, moving through alleys and hiding behind large crates to avoid being seen. After a few minutes of falling the suspicious man, he saw them making their way to a small house just outside the city. 

“Nothing suspicious yet, but I wouldn’t expect it to be that easy to find anything, he must be doing something in there. I have to get closer” As the old man went inside his house, Syrus careful snuck through the dark over to a window thew man had left open. Checking to make sure it was clear, the young swordsmen crept through the window finding himself in the living room with many crates of food piled around the room. 

(This is strange, he’s not a farmer so I know this isn’t his foot, he must be feeding something or someone. I’ll have to check the basement since that’s the most obvious place to look) Grabbing a knife from the kitchen, Syrus made his way down the hall, his feet slightly creaking as he found a door at the end of the hall. Slowly opening it he found the stairs that lead to the basement. 

“Ah, hello my darlings, hope you’re all doing well this evening” Syrus could hear the old man talking to someone downstairs. Slowly he crept downstairs into the basement gripping the knife tightly, as he touched down on the cold stone floor, he saw three girls locked in a large cage with chains on their hands. 

The sight of the girls trapped like animals disgusted him, no person would do something so vial to others. He gritted his teeth in anger trying to suppress his rage as he hid behind a large crate just a few feet from the old man. 

“Now you girls behave while I go get you three some foot I bought from the store” He smiled at them before making his way upstairs. The moment he was gone Syrus rushed over to the cage. Two of the girls were Sohira and Asumi while the third was a young girl named Yukami who had long black hair with hazel eyes. They seem to only be wearing their bra and panties. “Don’t worry I'm going to get you three out of here!” Stabbing into the lock with the knife he managed to lock pick it as the lock hit the ground and the door opened with a loud creak. 

“Hurry! You three need to get out of here!” The three girls ran out of the cell when the old man came back dropping the crate of food, oh Sohira, Asumi and Yukami, how could you leave without my permission?” He smiled with his eyes closed while a radiant aura of dark magic swarmed around him as the basement shook. “I shall never let you take my girls from me you brat” A demonic hand, made of the dark magic reached out to crush the young warrior when Sohira threw her hands out casting a spell. “Holy shield!” 

A barrier of holy magic stopped the hand as the man struck the shield with his immense aura but to no avail. “Tsk, you are starting to make me mad young lady and you know what happens when I'm pushed too far. Dark magic: Piercing bullets” The assailant formed his dark mana into spikes, firing them off like needles as they hit the field of light but still couldn’t break it. 

“Take this you perverted old man! Light Javion!” Asumi fired a spear of holy magic, piercing the man in the chest as blood dripped from the wound. “Ack! You ungrateful bitches! I gave you food and a place to stay and this is how you threat me!? Just then he noticed Syrus was missing. 

He turned to see the swordsmen lunge from behind with the knife, stabbing it right through his heart. “How’s that for ungrateful, now lay there and die you perverted bastard” 

[End Of Flashback] 

“Ever since that night, me and Asumi were a part of his party, he may have become an overconfident jerk to others, but he never mistreated me or her”

“Well just relax here and we’ll come check on you when we finish the dungeon. With Renkai’s immense magical capabilities I’m sure we’ll be back in no time” Senku patted her head before making his way outside with Renkai close behind. “I’m told this is going to be an S rank dungeon, are you sure you’re up for this?” 

Renkai smirked looking at his party leader with purple gleaming eyes. “Don’t worry, an S rank mage going into an S rank dungeon should be fun. As long as you stay close nothing should go wrong” Using flight magic, Renkai flew through the air with Senku floating beside him with a blue aura around them from the fly buff. Thanks to this ability they reached the ice mountains in just a few minutes. 

The pair landed near the top of the mountain within a strong blizzard as snow rained down, limiting their view to just a few meters. That’s when the magic caster raised his hand above them casting a spell. “Flame magic: Heat field” A transparent orange barrier formed around them, keeping them warm and filtering out all cold as they ventured through the blizzard. 

(Renkai is a very powerful caster, it seems like he keeps using new spells while I only have a few skills after days of nonstop fighting along with the ring of mammon which basically let’s me cheat my way to power. As much as I hate cheating, I need to be ready for any strong enemies that could come after us…I never know what could happen, no matter how strong my senses become..) 

After about three minutes of waking, they finally reached a large steel door with an “S” Made of pure mana. Senku was uneasy but didn’t want to seem afraid in front of his ally, he followed behind Renkai who placed his hand upon the magical door. The door slowly opened as a red ray of light filled the area… 

As the light faded they found themselves in a large arena with a red floor that looked as if it were made of blood with flames blazing across the stone walls around them. “Heh, this should be an interesting dungeon, I haven’t be in a dungeon in years!” 

Just then a red rift opened on the floor in front of them as demons began to manifest in large groups. The demons were tall with red skin, dragon-like wings, black eyes along with a black aura swarming around their body like black flames. 

“Hmmm, haven’t fought demons before, let’s see just how powerful you are!” The demonic creatures let out sadistic roars charging right for them. “Senku stay back! Holy magic: Chains of atonement!” Renkai clenched his fist as chains made of golden light shot out of the ground, bnding the arms of the demons in place as the holy damage turned them to ash. “Tsk easy, you demons are weak when it comes to holy magic”