Just like that, the sands of time began to churn, ever so relentless. The first day soon turned into a week, and weeks soon turned into months.
One year later...
My ninth birthday came and went last year, and I had turned ten years old. It has now been a decade since I was brought into Zemuria. Oh how time flies!
The scenery had changed once again. I mean we were still on Nemeth Island, but not near the resort. No, far from it. Turns out, along the way, a new Instance Dungeon formed, which offered me a new Quest. Instance Dungeon III - Nemeth Island Edition!
In response to that, I heard a familiar voice call out to me.
"Now's your chance, Naoto. Take 'em down!", Fie shouted after hearing her shoot some orbal bullets out of her two daggers. Fie is very similar to Joshua when she attacks. They aren't long daggers like what Joshua uses. Much shorter. But in response, her weapon is just like Rutger's. They're two pistols with blades attached on each one, allowing Fie to effectively fight both close-range and medium-range.
"Already on it. Let's get these monsters in one go. Azure Mirage!", I exclaimed back.
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has used Azure Mirage. -7500 EP.]
Similar to how Enforcer No. 2 does his body-splitting technique, I suddenly danced around in place, and an illusory image began to split off from me. It wasn't tangible by any means. This clone-like image of mine behaved more like Campanella. After all, it was temporary. I didn't have a true clone technique like Loewe did. Still, it was enough. After I used Azure Mirage, more Gamer Notifications came through. These are monsters after all. So why can't I have a little fun using the Skills I have?
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has used FrostFire Enchant!]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's Weapon: Glistening Moonlight has been enchanted with the Water Element.]
[Ding! An additional parameter has been detected. FrostFire Reversal has been triggered.]
[Ding! Spark Herb x5 have had their Water Efficacy reversed! 50% -> 150%.]
[Ding! Doble x3 have had their Water Efficacy reversed! 50% -> 150%.]
[Ding! Deva Bird x1 has had their Water Efficacy reversed! 50% -> 150%.]
[Ding! FrostFire Pulse II has been triggered. Inflicting additional 100% Water Efficacy onto targets!]
[Ding! Azure Mirage has been used. Inflicting additional 20% Water Efficacy onto targets!]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's Crafts have been overwritten with the Water Element. Any other element type will no longer apply!]
"Good. Good. Vermillion Eyes.", I said next.
Shiiing!
My eyes turned from its golden color to a vermillion red. A bunch of information started to get displayed directly into my head. There was a minimap. This showed not only the current island I was on, but the entirety of Nemeth Island. Imagine zooming out, and you had an uncapped limit to that. I could see everything here. Many, many dots were around here on the blocked off areas of Nemeth island. Most colored red as monsters, but there were some purple, and even a few black-colored dots on the Minimap. But right now, I focused on what was ahead of me.
"Detect. Scan all.", I uttered. It was as if I had heard a scouter-like sound strike against my mind. Beep. Beep. Beep. Before I knew it, monster information began to get relayed. I had gotten quite used to using Detection over this last year, along with my Vermillion Eyes. I'll go over what's been improved later, but we were in the middle of combat. I wanted to see how these monsters changed after using those Skills.
[Spark Herb] x5
Level: 50
HP: 12,000 EXP: 250
STR: 575 ATS: 500
DEF: 250 ADF: 200
SPD: 90
Water Efficacy: 270%
[Doble] x3
Level: 50
HP: 13,500 EXP: 275
STR: 650 DEF: 350
ATS: 50: ADF: 125
SPD: 95
Water Efficacy: 270%
[Deva Bird] x1
Level: 50
HP: 20,000 EXP: 500
STR: 800 DEF: 400
ATS: 500 ADF: 250
SPD: 110
Water Efficacy: 270%
"Heh. These guys are no match for us. Change Title: Friend of the Vermillion Knight. Moonlight Requiem!", I exclaimed. Energy surged from within me, and also applied to my phantom. I began to shine brightly, only to turn into a luminescent blur.
All of a sudden, I appeared on the other side of the monsters. BANG! BANG!
Striking out with Glistening Moonlight, I delivered blow after blow onto each one. Unlike Piercing Light and Crimson Swallow, Moonlight Requiem is an AOE, or area-of-effect, which hits all within the radius. They were grouped quite closely together, with the Deva Bird fiercely flapping its wings out of anger. But it couldn't even attack before I saw huge damage numbers appear on each target. Seriously, I think something is wrong with this Gamer System of mine. Is this how it's supposed to look?
[Ding! Gamer Naoto inflicted 116,330 damage onto Spark Herb!]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto inflicted 122,278 damage onto Spark Herb!]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto inflicted 131,329 damage onto Spark herb!]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto inflicted a critical hit onto Spark Herb. 303,541 damage received!]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto inflicted 118,236 damage onto Spark Herb!]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's Phantom has inflicted 58,997 damage onto Doble!]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's Phantom has inflicted 69,752 damage onto Doble!]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's Phantom has inflicted 77,218 damage onto Doble!]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has inflicted a critical hit on Deva bird. 259,273 damage received!]
[Ding! The battle has won. Ending combat...]
"Switch Title to True Harem Seeker.", I uttered as I struck out with my last blow onto these nine monsters before us.
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has switched Title to True Harem Seeker. Stats have been readjusted.]
[Ding! Three girls have been detected in Gamer Naoto's Party.]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's Current Party: Naoto - Lv50, Sherryl - Lv50, Fie - Lv50, Emma - Lv50, Van - Lv50.]
[Ding! Additional parameters detected. Now calculating Tactical Bonus...]
[Ding! Nine instances of Overkill have been applied. 0.9.]
[Ding! One instance of Unscathed has been applied. 0.2.]
[Ding! One instance of Speedster has been applied. 0.3.]
[Ding! One instance of Vanquisher has been applied. 0.4]
[Ding! One instance of Party Stomper has been applied. 0.3.]
[Ding! One instance of Switcheroo has been applied. 0.5.]
[Ding! One instance of Tenderizer has been applied. 0.2.]
[Ding! Two instances of Superstar have been applied. 1.0.]
[Ding! One instance of Overpowering has been applied. 0.3.]
[Ding! Tactical Bonus has finished calculating. Overall Tactical Bonus: 4.1.]
[Ding! Now calculating Total EXP...]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto 13,150 EXP has been obtained.]
[Ding! After detecting three girls in Gamer Naoto's Party, True Harem Seeker has been activated. Now increasing Total EXP by 90%...]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has received 25,000 EXP.]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's Azure Mirage has vanished.]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto - Level 50 (25,000/265,000).]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's Quest Log - Instance Dungeon III - Nemeth Island Edition has been updated.]
Mission 1: Defeat 891/1000 Nemeth Island monsters. -> 900/1000.
Reward: 5 Levels. 2 Custom Quartz. 1 S-Tier Boots.
Seeing the battle now over, I saw Fie turn back toward me, and raised her hand out, proceeding to do a V sign.
"Piece of cake.", Fie happily said.
"You sure stole the limelight there, didn't you, Big Brother?", Sherryl said, quickly approaching me.
"Haha, sorry about that. This ability of mine is somewhat overpowered. I didn't think I'd knock all of those monsters out in one go. Sorry if you were looking to get some action in, Sherryl. How do you feel now compared to a year ago?", I said, wondering about Sherryl's current condition.
"I've never felt better, to be honest! That drug is really improving my blood flow. I've been conditioning my body this last year, and defeating these monsters is a good sign of how much I've improved. I'm not really too sure what these 'Levels' mean yet, however.", Sherryl answered.
"You'll get the hang of it in no time. It's good enough that you all decided on joining the Party. It's a shame Ennea has to sit out, but she has a lot of combat experience as it stands. Isn't that right?", I asked. I saw Ennea approach not too far away. Even if the Party is limited to six people, that doesn't mean more people can't follow us. They just won't get the benefits received by the Gamer System.
"That's right. Compared to a year ago, you all are already looking quite good. I'd expect no less of you, Master.", Ennea said, smiling back at me.
"Haven't I told you countless times to not call me that? Why don't you call me Naoto like the others do?", I asked, wanting to face-palm.
"I swore fealty to you. To me, you are Master. No more, no less.", Ennea said, not backing down from her words. As you can see, that kind of happened. Unlike the rest of us, Ennea had nowhere to go. So she made a decision of her own.
To follow me.
During this last year, Ennea swore fealty to me. I'm now her Master. Not that I mind. I enjoy Ennea's company. She'll be one of those who resides in my shadow, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Because of this, I am not sure if she will work with Ouroboros any longer, but only time will tell for that.
A lot has happened this last year. For one, we mostly focused on the Instance Dungeon. A thousand monsters is a lot! But as you can see, We're nearing the end of this Instance Dungeon. It turned all of Nemeth Island into one. Pretty crazy right? It was around fall now. Like I said, my tenth birthday came and went, and I'm ten years old now. I think I've been improving steadily with each passing month.
The cool part is this Instance Dungeon has no duration, allowing us to solely focus on our growth. It's a Level 50 Instance Dungeon, and those beside me all became Level 50, including me! As for Ennea, on the other hand, her Level is actually higher. Not surprising, knowing that she is an ex-assassin and all. Van actually had some Levels to his name thanks to his street fighting, but it wasn't a whole lot. Fie too, but it hasn't been that long since she joined Zephyr. Emma and Sherryl started out at Level 1, and quickly gained experience due to how obtaining experience works. Tio was also nearby, but unlike us, she's the youngest and isn't exactly used to fighting on the frontline like us. Her sensors grew sharper, and because she wasn't in the Party, she couldn't benefit from it. More than likely, Tio's around Level 1. Rufus and Lechter are nearby watching her so she doesn't get hurt.
If you're really underleveled, you get a superboost in experience until the points start to flatten out. Once you reach that median, the entire Party will become around the same, meaning no one is stronger over the other, unless you further boost it externally. That's Trails fashion to its finest.
I can't believe a year has passed already like this...
My thoughts consolidated ever since I made that declaration to the Jaeger King. On top of that, Emma was also keen on joining Zephyr too. Her resolution only grew with the passage of time. Fie showed a lot of excitement during this, and well, the result is clear. Fie joined us to tackle these one thousand monsters. Zephyr allowed it, and said it would be a good opportunity for Fie to grow and all. They had no reason to deny such a request.
Which brings me to my point. It is S1196 now, and we're still on Nemeth Island.
It did not take long for us to get acquainted with the other members of Zephyr. They're so laid back you'd hardly believe they're hired mercs. They're one of the most prominent Jaeger corps in all of Zemuria, haha! They all behaved like anyone else would. They ate. They drank. They struck up conversations. They battled each other through combat drills. They knew how to have fun. Overall, it was a blast hanging out with Zephyr.
There was one thing to mention about Zephyr. Most members were now with them, minus one.
There was no sign of one of Zephyr's other Captains. A guy who calls himself Trap Master Xeno.