AN: I'm so so so so SO sorry for taking so long with this! I've been busy with all kinds of schoolstuff, not to mention I've been binging on Youjo Senki (Tanya-chan is SO cute!), Code Geass, the whole Akito the Exiled movie series (Ayano's rivaling Kallen for best Waifu, and whoo boy, now I got a need for choking the life out of Suzaku, that hypocritical CUNT!) might do a little fic, which I hope to be an interesting one for you guys, but I'll wait.

Also, Lliono, my former Beta Reader is going to through a rough patch, so he's unable to continue being my Beta Reader, so good news, there's a spot open.

Now onto the story!

"Regular speech"

"This is a 'skill' understand?"

'Thought'

#Machine speaking/Lighthouse#

=Ignition Weapon communicating=

"a Guardian speaking"

[Game Data]

(Author Note)

Disclaimer: I don't own Gamer by Sung San-Young and Sang-ah, Boku no Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi or Tower of God by SIU. What I do own are my OC's Edward Smith and Bolt, Hachi was designed by Lliono, my former beta reader. Please support the Official Releases

'Well, shit.' Edward thought as he analyzed his current situation. While he did plan to reveal his Gamer ability to the important players of the canon story, he had planned to do so when the Submerged Fish test would be announced.

And it wasn't like he could blow Ship and Hatsu to smithereens, ala Killer Queen, he needed them both alive. If it were some Regulars who were fated to fail the test anyway, then he wouldn't have even hesitated to blow them up for extra EXP and loot.

However, he could make this situation work, he'd just have to be careful with what he revealed to these two.

"Well, this is a bit inconvenient." Edward sighed, a sheepish expression on his face, scratching the back of his head while keeping an all-around relaxed stance, showing that he wasn't going to attack.

"W-What the heck was that?" Ship asked in shock, while Hatsu looked at Edward with a wary expression, his hand slowly moving towards one of his katanas.

"Well, it's a bit hard, not to mention crazy to explain. But, I guess I could explain it." Edward said as he leaned against the bathroom wall to distract the two from him channeling mana from his feet towards them, ready to retaliate with Mana Ropes if either one of the two tried to attack or run and alert others.

However, he was pleased to see the two relax slightly, but Hatsu still kept his hand near his katanas.

"However, to explain what you saw, I do have to explain something that absolutely needs to be kept under wraps." Edward said as stared at both of them with hardened, cold eyes. Timeline be damned, he wasn't going to risk the F.U.G or anyone he didn't trust learning about The Gamer, so if either one of them couldn't keep their mouth shut, he wouldn't hesitate to go "Killer Queen" on their asses and blow them to kingdom come.

"Y-Yeah, sure." Ship gave a shaky thumbs-up while Hatsu nodded solemnly.

"No, I don't you understand. The ability that I'm going to explain to you, it can render all hard work meaningless. It can reduce the amount of time one would need to learn something that would take months to a matter of seconds and physical capabilities." Edward's words gave Hatsu and Ship pause, as the two took in Edward's words.

"So you're from a Great Family?" Hatsu questioned, finally speaking. Edward being from one of the Great Families would explain how he had an Ignition Weapon, and how he could create those explosions even before the Shinsoo lessons.

"Nope, one of a kind, as far as I'm aware of." Edward answered.

"Wait, you said that your ability can render all hard work ONE would need, as in any-ONE, not just you?" Ship inquired as he noticed the hint that Edward dropped.

Edward allowed a small smile to form on his face as he nodded. "Correct, my ability is one that can be shared to others, so, I think, and hope that you guys can understand why I'm not exactly keen on info about this ability spreading like the common cold."

"So, what exactly is this ability?" Hatsu asked as his hand moved away from his katanas. If he had intended to attack them, then he would have done so already.

"Well, it's a bit tough to explain, but to put it simply, my ability allows me, and anyone I invite, to live like a video game character, and as long as your physical and mental prowess is high enough, you can absorb any ability that is written down. Clearing trials that you face, like defeating strong enemies, will award you experience that will boost your Shinsoo and health." Edward explained with a smile on his face. Now to see how they reacted.

Hatsu and Ship blinked in surprise as their faces twisted to a look of disbelief. "Seriously?" Ship asked, doubtful of Edward's words. While he had seen some things beyond his imagination ever since he arrived onto the second floor, and heard some interesting tales from his teacher, he had never heard of an ability like that.

"I'm not joking, just watch, [Party Creation, Invite: Ship, Hatsu]." Edward smiled in satisfaction as the two young Regulars jumped in surprise when two screens appeared in front of them.

[Outer Tower: Zahard's 5th Floating Castle...]

"Mmm… Sugoii…" Jaina mumbled in her sleep as she laid her face down against a pillow, her dark room illuminated by the multiple screens of her Opera.

"Okay, so you weren't joking." Ship admitted, as Hatsu pinched himself to check what he saw was real.

"Nope. So, what do you guys say, will you accept the invite? You are free to walk away from this, as long as you keep quiet about it." Edward said. To be perfectly honest, a part of him was hoping that they both declined his offer, in case that they could see both his and Baam's status' as Irrergulars.

"I thank you for the offer, but I have to refuse." Hatsu said as he gave a respectful bow.

Edward raised his eyebrow at Hatsu's question. He figured that he would accept his offer, but then again, it was good that he didn't.

'Must be something about honor or some crap like that. He definitely seems the type.' Edward thought. Honor or pride didn't matter in the kind of fights that were in their future, idiocy like that would only get you and your comrades killed. But on the other hand, if the opponent assumed that the fight was going to be one fit for knights of yore, then that simply meant that the idiot wouldn't see a pragmatic strike before it was too late.

"What, you're serious? If this works like he says, then clearing this test will be way easier." Ship however, was more vocal with his opinion.

"While that may be true, I want to clear this test through my own efforts, without relying on a power that makes everything a mere game." Hatsu explained himself. His honor wouldn't allow himself to advance through this test by constantly boosting himself with the power of somebody else.

"Well, that's okay, just remember to keep quiet about it." Edward said, not offended by Hatsu's description of his ability in the least. And why should he, it was a pretty spot-on one. His ability did make most things a game, but so what? He was getting stronger due to it, and it didn't have any negative side-effects.

Hatsu nodded in confirmation.

"So then, what'll be your answer Ship? Will you accept my offer?" Edward asked, interested in whether or not Ship would follow in his friend's example, or would he accept the power that was offered to him. If he did, he might have to take him aside to make sure that if or when he saw Baam's status as an Irregular he wouldn't blow the whistle on him, metaphorically speaking. He might actually make a little white lie, perhaps something along the lines of "If you attempt to tell anyone about Baam being an Irregular, your brain will be blown to bits before you can do or say anything." although, that would kill any possibility of Ship agreeing to work with him in the future.

Ship looked at the screen in front of him, in the middle of an internal debate. On one hand, if what Edward told him about this ability was true, then not only would his chances of passing the Position Test shoot up drastically, but his fighting skills would also get better. But on the other hand, Hatsu was kind of right. If he did accept Edward's offer, then could he even feel proud of passing the test if he did so by relying on this ability? Could he even face his Master or Wave proudly if he relied on a power that was simply handed to him? Granted, from how Edward described it, this "Gamer" didn't outright boost his overall power, it just boosted the rate that his power grew at.

"Hey Edward, can I take some time to make my decision?" Ship asked as he looked at Edward.

Edward allowed a small smile on his face. "Sure, take your time. Come knock on my door when you have your answer." He said as he moved past Ship and Hatsu and reached for the door's handle, but stopped short.

"Oh, and one more thing." He said, turning towards the two. "I really admire both of your guts, not many people would reject a quick-easy way to power, really, I do." Edward smiled as he clapped his hands.

"But…there's a point where mere guts just doesn't cut it anymore." He said with a somber tone as he stopped clapping. "And, when that does happen, and believe me, it will, you're left lying on the floor, with your guts hanging out, so do think this over properly." He said, before exiting, not bothering to wait for Ship's and Hatsu's reaction to his words.

=Well, you sure fucked up there, revealing your ability like that.= Haensing snarked as Edward walked down the halls.

"I know, but what the fuck you suppose I should have done? I couldn't kill them, and if I just ignored them, then they would have gone to the Rankers." Edward growled as he headed towards the gym. He had some steam to let off, and he might as well gain some stats while he vented his frustration. How could he have been so stupid, just re-appearing in the middle of the fucking room like that, like a fucking DOLT! Now he had to reveal his ability to Ship and Hatsu, which on the bright side weren't the worst people to reveal it to, but definitely not the best either. He just hoped that wouldn't wouldn't let his secret slip accidentally.

'Note to self: from now on, only deploy and de-activate Illusion Barriers while inside my own room.' Edward thought as he massaged his temples in an attempt to stave off the headache of trying to do further damage control if his secret got out.

The absolute last thing he needed was non-important Regulars coming to him begging him to share his ability with them, since that would draw the attention of the Rankers, and more importantly, Yu Han Sung and the F.U.G. God knows that an ability like The Gamer would be a damn enticing bait for the F.U.G to attempt to obtain, so they'd either try to kidnap him, or the more likely one, kill him off so that it couldn't be used against them.

So yeah, the smaller the amount of people who knew about The Gamer, the better. And it wasn't like he could blow up any of the useless Regulars, since that would besmirch the little nice-ish guy charade he had been building for himself, not to mention the attention it could draw from the bigger fishes.

=Well, you could have lied and said that you were testing out a cloaking skill, pretty sure that they would have bought that.= Haensing suggested, knowing that there were different methods of turning invisible in the Tower.

'…I'm a fucking idiot!' Edward internally raged, Gibbs-slapping himself for missing something so simple. Sure, it probably would have drawn some questions, but ones infinitely easier and less risky to answer than revealing The Gamer to them this early. Of course he had planned to reveal his ability, but that would have been when the Submerged Fish test would've been issued, since by then, most of the unimportant Regulars would have been weeded out.

'But, what's done is done, no use crying over spilt milk and all that.' He begrudgingly thought, trying to calm down as he continued his walk towards the gym. He couldn't afford to lose his temper, not yet at least. Wouldn't want to accidentally break some equipment or someone in his rage. He didn't know if the damn coffee machine trap would car all that much, but some of the others, like Lero-Ro might get on his case if he accidentally blew up one of the Regulars.

He didn't want to get kicked out into the uncertainty that lied outside the Inner Tower, and moved away from the group that would graduate from this batch of Regulars, the group whose future he more or less knew for certain.

[Later…]

#Alright Regulars, time to head to your dorms! Can't focus on the lessons if you stay awake the whole night!# A cheerful voice shouted from the intercom.

Edward didn't say anything as he exited the gym, rather pleased with the fruits of his labor. In the four hours he had spent in the gym, he had gained 15 points in STR by weight-lifting, followed by 32 in AGI, and from doing that non-stop, he had gained a nice 36 point boost to VIT, and those were with the modifiers granted by the "Best Seed" title and the Gym, the latter of which had changed its modifier from a 100% stat increase to a 50% one to his slight disappointment. Sure, overworking his body like that had earned him some damage, 220 to be exact, but no pain, no gain right?

=You're not going to sleep, are you?= Haensing asked, a knowing look on his face as he peaked his head out of Edward's pocket. Turns out, unless Haensing was in his grasps, his buffs didn't apply, which had been a most welcome piece of information to the Ignition Weapon.

"Of course not." Edward answered, a smirk on his lips. Now that he had grinded up his Stats, he'd spend the night grinding up his level in the Zombie ID. He'd just have to be careful not to trigger a Legion Zombie rearing its ugly mug. He wasn't so arrogant to think that his chances were anything but a snowball's in the burning pits of hell. Oh sure, he might be higher leveled than the common Regular, but that didn't mean jack shit in the big picture.

As he was right now, he was just a big, explosive fish in a small pond. And hell, he wasn't even the biggest fish around, no, he was maybe the 12th biggest, and that was the optimal estimation. He knew that the moment he tried any fancy shit, he'd get his shit smacked by either the Rankers, Hwa Ryun, Androssi or Anak. While he might have seen the Levels of Hwa Ryun and the princesses of Zahard, their stats and levels seemed way off when he compared them to others, so maybe it was something like hiding your power level?

…Knowing Murphy's Law, it was probably that, and the slight update that came with unlocking Shinsoo also changing the levels to more accurate ones, considering how the Gym's buff was also nerfed.

'Well, no use complaining, just gotta grind my levels higher and higher.' He thought as he opened to door to his room. However, he stopped dead in his tracks as he saw Hwa Ryun sitting at the end of his bed, her sole visible eye looking at him with no discernable emotion to be seen.

[Observation]

/Mysterious Guide\
Hwa Ryun LV: ?
|Guide|

HP: ?
MP: ?

[Your level is too low to obtain further information]

"…" Edward merely blinked as he slowly closed the door.

'WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!' he internally screamed, biting his left pointer finger. Why was Hwa Ryun in his room? She obviously wasn't there for a quickie, he wasn't arrogant enough to think that out of all the different guys in the Tower, she'd go for him, so that wasn't it.

Did the books he absorbed in his Illusion Barrier also disappear in the library, and the Coffee Machine sent her to investigate? No, that couldn't be it, as they shouldn't have anything that can link him to it. Did they notice him disappearing for a while? Shit, that was probably it.

Fucking hell, now he'd have to try and lie his ass off to avoid revealing The Gamer. Ship and Hatsu were relatively harmless to reveal it to, but not Hwa Ryun, she was the furthest thing from harmless. Her loyalty was anything but certain, but for now at least, she worked for the Coffee Machine and Rachel, the two people he didn't want to reveal The Gamer to and allow to live.

'Shitshitshit! Okay, calm down Eddie, think of a game plan to avoid revealing shit to F.U.G.' He thought, his nervousness put on the backburner as The Gamer's Mind kicked in, and started to count the options he had. He could just walk in and listen to what she had to say… or, he could just ask her to leave, and yes, he meant ask since she was probably holding back during the exam, and there was no way he could actually throw her out.

Ah, who the hell was he kidding, he'd just have to walk in, answer her questions while trying to keep any important stuff, especially the Gamer hidden, and hope that she left after getting her answers.

And so, with a heavy sigh, he re-opened the door and walked right in, shutting it after him. "Alright, talk. What do you want to ask?" He looked at Hwa Ryun, who merely gave an amused smile in return.

"Whatever do you mean? I'm here just to see what the bed is like in another room." She laid her back onto the bed, feeling the texture, knowing full well what Edward meant. But taking some joy in seeing how he'd react. Which was actually part of the reason she decided to visit, as the parts where he appeared on The Path were getting blurrier and blurrier, sometimes showing one outcome and sometimes another.

"Cut the bullshit act, what the fuck does the F.U.G want with me?" Edward asked, smoke escaping from his clenched fists as he started losing control of his temper, but still held himself back. If they came to blows, not only would he lose, but he'd also get kicked out from the tests. And he couldn't afford to let that happen. To be thrown out into that world full of uncertainty.

"What makes you think the F.U.G wants anything from you?" Hwa Ryun asked, looking up at the ceiling. The fact that he assumed that the F.U.G wanted something from him implied that he had something worth value to them. Whether it was his Ignition Weapon or something else didn't really matter to her, not now at least.

"You work for the F.U.G. Thus, if you're here, then it means your superiors have something they can't approach me directly about." Hwa Ryun scoffed at Edward's statement. She, working for the F.U.G, and them being her superiors? Please, they were just a temporary ally, one that they couldn't afford to throw away. Guides of her skill weren't exactly something you simply find off the streets.

"What makes you so sure that this isn't something personal?" She asked, sitting up to look at him.

"…Okay, sure, let's say that I believe you, what do you have to ask of me?" Edward asked, leaning against the wall while charging up mana, ready to defend himself if it turned out that she had deemed him a danger to the future she saw. Even if he would get kicked out, he wasn't planning on dying here, at least not before passing his power onto Baam. Considering the shitstorm the kid was headed towards, he sure needed all the extra power he could get.

"It's simple really." she rose up, wiping away any dust, not that there would be any, considering how the dormitories got cleaned of any impurities when each Regular was out during class or a test.

"I want you to ignore Rachel, and let her continue on her path. You do that, and I'll forget to mention to my "superiors" that you know some of the important and incriminating things about their organization." She said. All of the paths that she could see involving Edward still showed him eliminating Rachel accompanied by comments mentioning information that he could only know of if you could see into the future, and she couldn't let Rachel be killed, not yet anyways.

"So, you took a little peek into the future, didn't ya? And you're willing to let the original future unfold? I can see why your race are called witches." Edward scoffed, scratching his head as he looked downwards to hide his scowl. If she could see far enough into his future, especially to a point of time where he revealed his true nature, then he was in bigger danger than he initially thought.

"It's not that bad to be honest, all you need to do is let things go the way they should go." Hwa Ryun shrugged her shoulders at his insult. She had heard worse and more inventive insults, so Edward's little barb meant nothing.

"And let that monster be released?! Do you even realize the amount of destruction that monste-"

"Which will be taken care of. All we need to do, is to make sure that Baam has the motivation to keep climbing, and the skills to survive the challenges ahead." Hwa Ryun cut in, a frown making its way to her lips. She knew full well what kind of destruction and death White would cause if he were to escape the Hell Train, and she also knew that him and Baam would eventually face off against one another. Not to mention the other opponents Baam would have to face in his journey.

"Look, it's obvious that you have plans for the boy, as do other people, but you know what happens if he doesn't reach his full potential." Her voice turned sharper as she stormed over to him.

"So, I am merely asking that we work together to make sure that he becomes strong enough to survive what's to come. And frankly, the F.U.G is the best option he has available. So, do we have a deal?" she asked, looking straight at his eyes, a strong fire burning beneath those near-emotionless eyes.

"Ugh, fine" Edward groaned as he looked at Hwa Ryun, the corners of her lips twisted upwards in smile of victory. He knew that he was without any real allies here, so his only chance of making any real changes hinged on whether or not he would pass this Floor, and considering that the director of the test was a part of F.U.G, he had to dance along their tune, for now…

"But, if making sure that Baam is capable of taking on the shit that'll be coming his way is your goal, then I only have one suggestion for you; Let him make friends, don't treat him like some symbol that can't be allowed to make friends." Edward said. If he couldn't prevent Baam's unfriendly training trip, then he might as well try to make it less rough. Hwa Ryun crossed her arms and simply raised her brow in question.

"I've seen a similar situation many times, you give a naive, lonely kid a goal and precious people to fight for, and they'll fight tooth and nail to make sure that those friends are safe." He explained his point. "Rachel won't keep Baam motivated forever, and by targeting those friends he makes will be the perfect motivator for the little chestnut to keep fighting and climbing. And if need be, they also serve as good hostages to keep him in line." He added.

"And if any of those friends happen to die in his arms? Well, he'll make sure that whomever responsible for taking away his friends will pay, and it'll be even better if that friend delivers few last, raspy and tired words telling him to keep fighting as they die in his arms." He continued, a grin making its way to his face as his mind went back to the anime he watched before he died, specifically to the scenes where the protagonists friend or love interest died. just an arm's reach away from them. The expressions on the faces of those heroes were exhilarating.

"You seem oddly giddy about seeing Baam going through emotional strife." Hwa Ryun commented as she listened to Edward's explanation. It was actually rather similar to what F.U.G was planning to do, allowing Baam to make friends during the Position test, only to use the threat of them being killed as the leash to keep him working for them.

"Oh, no no no, I just happened to…reminisce about a few stories with similar tragedies while I talked." Edward said, smiling awkwardly. Now wasn't the time to reminisce about those days of joy. He wasn't back home, where he hardly had to worry about things. He was in a world where only those who were either born under lucky stars, or trained in hell would survive. He couldn't afford to drop his guard.

"I see. I look forward to working with you." Hwa Ryun nodded, exiting the room.

After a while had passed, Edward sighed heavily, gripping his head in frustration as he sat on the end of his bed. 'It's not that bad. Just need to let canon take its course, and then, I'm free to help Baam and Koon.' He thought, trying to justify agreeing to let that cunt stab Baam in the back, and letting her get away with it.

He didn't care if her only role was to be bait to reel Baam higher and higher up the Tower, he wanted to see her suffer, horribly. But, if he did that, then he'd either be killed by F.U.G before he even succeeded, or be forced to take her place.

"Fucking dammit…" he grumbled, plopping down onto the bed. No use crying over spilt milk, the only thing he could do now was buff the rest of the Golden Team up, and more importantly, grind until he could grind no more. And would you look at that, he had plenty of frustration to misplace.

"[ID Create: Zombie]." He growled, the world around him shattering.

AN: That's all folks! And once again, sorry about taking so long to publish a new chapter, but RL has been a bitch, not to mention that I've been drawing up drafts for some of the stories that I'll posting into a Miscellaneous box, and I've entered a JoJo RP forum.

Also, on an unrelated note, any mythology buffs among you guys? I'm in the need of one.

Anyway, about future updates, from now on, I'll be updating the stories in the order of the amount of people following, favoriting and reviewing them, so next up is Quincy DxD. Also, I'm now on RWBY Amino, so if you guys have anything to ask, or just want to chat, but you don't have a account, head there, I'll be going with the same username that I use here.

So, some of you might have noticed that Edward has had a pretty easy time, and so have I. So, do expect things starting to go pear-shaped for him, starting with practically being threatened to not interfere with what's going on in the Test.

Current Stats for Edward.

/Irregular\
Edward Smith LV: 19
/Power\
Exp: 1350/1900

HP: 310{+220}
Mana/MP: 140
BP: 250

STR: 44{+210}
INT: 37
VIT: 60{+160}
WIS: 38
DEX: 23
AGI: 48{+30}

Points: 39

Perks/Buffs/Debuffs:
High Shinsoo Resistance LV1: the ability to resist Shinsoo.{-62.3% damage taken from BP attacks. Ignore AGI Debuffs in areas with High or lower amounts of Shinsoo.}

[Unanswered Reviews from last time:]

Quest (January 1, 2017: Well, if you're unhappy with the work, how about you start writing? Let's see how well you do.

Geez (November 30, 2016: Well, what would you suggest? I mean, I do have something…relatively unique planned, but it never hurts to have some outside suggestions.

Kyros (November 5, 2016: I'm glad you enjoyed it.

fgt (November 3, 2016: Ah, I'm sad to hear that, I hope this alleviated your balls?

Overlord Susanoo(October 30, 2016: We~ll let's just say that the Director will be…interested if or when he finds out.

And here's the Question of the chapter:

What Arcana from Persona do you think fit the Naruto series characters the most? I'm asking this because I have a little project planned for the Miscellaneous box.