Author Notes:
PLEASE READ!
Hey guys and gals! I DIDN'T DROP THIS FIC! I'm still writing it. I'm really sorry for the two-month delay here, but I had a mix of issues from personal life, to my work, to honestly just a massive lack of inspiration and desire to write anything. I've been bouncing back and forth, trying to write and just nothing happening. In my desire to write SOMETHING, I managed to make 3-4 different ideas for new fics, with the first chapters almost finished. Each one is around 5K or more so far.
I want to focus on this fic, my main one, but if I don't write anything, then I find that I lose my interest and focus, so I'm playing with different ideas. My HOPE is that by posting something, I will find the motivation to keep going.
Thank you to everyone who enjoys my fic and has made it this far, lets hope for the best.
I want to thank my Beta PHOENIX! Thanks man, you gave me the advice I needed to post this chapter. You can all thank him if you wish.
Enjoy the 5K chap. .
P.S. - Somehow, I still have readers who are butthurt by things I write. If my warnings page isn't clear enough, I honestly think you should go see a doctor, your IQ is dangerously low. Seek help.
Join the DISCORD channel to vote, ASK QUESTIONS, get spoilers, see fan art, Etc.
disc**d.(gg) / 43yCxTJ (I had to take the link apart to make fanfiction not ban it.)
^ NEW Discord link ^
"Somebody speaking."
'Somebody thinking.'
"Spells" and "Messages"
"Alerts."
Disclaimer: I do not own harry potter, solo leveling, overlord, bleach, akame ga kill, danmachi, pokemon, one-piece, CCG, Toriko, or any other anime/novel/manga that I may use.
Previously:
It was a bag with nine gumballs inside of it.
"It's just a small game~." (Magus)
'Mwuhahahah! *Evil cat laughing*.'
Present:
Life in Danmachi
A few days after the auction night:
Western Forests:
"RUN!" (Thug #1)
"Are we still being chased?!" (Thug #2 – also named 'Carl')
"Turn around and check!" (Thug #3)
"SHUT UP YOU MORONS! JUST KEEP RUNNING!" (Thug Leader)
A group of four thug looking brutes were running through the thick forest as fast at their legs could go.
'Shit! How the fuck did this happen!?' (Thug Leader)
It was just a typical day for our group. We harassed some small businesses for 'protection' money, played with some women who were walking around alone like usual, and then we got lucky and found some orphan kid with rare hair and eyes. Silvery white hair and wine-red eyes, that combination on such a young brat would sell really well in our circle, those rich nobles would love to play with a toy like this one.
We grabbed the kid and quickly ran back to our base to contact some buyers.
The kid stayed quiet, which was a nice change, and a few hours later, the nobles we usually deal with arrived.
As we were bargaining over the price, the only warning we got before everything went black was a short sentence.
"This should be enough for today." (?)
Next thing I knew, I woke up in this blasted forest at some kind of camp with all my underlings, the nobles we deal with, and their corrupt guards.
A total of around 40 of us.
The only thing in the camp was a campfire, a bunch of cheap iron weapons, some hobo looking dude who kept rambling in insanity, and a large sign that wouldn't break no matter how many fucking times I hacked away at the damn thing in anger.
It said:
"CONGRATULATIONS! You lovely scum have been specially selected for the Predator Program! You must have many questions but don't worry! None of them will be answered! Scum who rape, murder, capture and sell children into slavery, harass good people, and spread nothing but negativity for personal enjoyment do not get to ask questions!
The city of Orario is exactly southeast of your location. How far is it? Which way is southeast? Those are your problems!
Your mission is simple, RUN.
Reach the city and your safe, however, you will have to survive the predators hunting you and the trials that await you!
Have fun, and thank you for choosing our services! We hope you enjoy your experience and find redemption in your next life."
No matter what we did, the sign wouldn't break, and the hobo just kept muttering random things about giant cats.
The only warning we got was a loud voice that said, ARM YOURSELVES! In a booming voice before the hobo screamed and took off into the woods.
It was safe to say that no one knew what to do besides grab the weapons and follow in the direction the hobo went in.
That was a few hours ago.
Now I was left with only three men and no idea where anyone else was, people just kept disappearing, however, the screams I could hear every now and then, plus that goddamn annoying background noise was not helping.
( Epic Chase Music - Run)
"CARL'S GONE!" (Thug #1)
"NO! CARL!" (Newly promoted to Thug #2)
I turned my head and noticed one of my men was gone.
"FUCK! JUST KEEP MOVING!" (Thug Leader)
And just then, time seemed to slow down as I saw the spot my foot stepped on light up slightly before my surroundings changed.
I spun around in a panic to see I was in a much darker area of the forest with bloodstains on the grounds and trees. I also noticed my clothes were different.
'Where the fuck am I!? And why the fuck am I wearing a mouse costume!?'
"Oho, it looks like I got the leader this time~ Lucky me~." (?)
A deep, growling voice spoke out with excitement.
I felt a feeling of dread but turned toward the voice and felt my legs grow soft.
A massive pitch black panther with electric blue lines running along its body licked its paw and stared at me like I was a chew toy.
I swallowed hard and put the pieces together.
'A giant cat, bloodstains, and I'm wearing a mouse costume.'
The panther's eyes seemed to dance in amusement at my rapidly paling face.
Before I got the chance to say anything, it spoke.
"Welcome to the trial of the panther, you have a 2% survival rate.
Now run scum, and do try to amuse me." (Panther)
My survival instincts kicked in, and I took off running while trying to rip the goddamn mouse costume off me.
'I don't want to die!'
*Line Break*
In another area of the forest:
Specific members of the group that were strictly straight sexually or had an interest in and experience with young children found that after stepping on something that lit up, the area they were transported to was an underground cave with ten operating tables.
They were strapped to said tables spread eagle with slits that vertically ran down the center of the table, and no matter what, no one could speak.
The tables were inclined slightly, and in front of them was a massive screen with a giant lioness casually laying down on the side with a giant snake-like tail hissing at them and dripping venom from its jaws.
With a final flash, all the operating tables had a thug trapped on them.
The lioness rose, smiled sadistically, and spoke out.
"Welcome scum to the trial of the lioness. You have a 20% survival rate." (Lioness)
All the tables made a humming sound, and a blood-red spinning blade popped out at the bottom of the table.
"For the next 24 hours, you all will watch the program on the screen. Every time you avert your eyes, the spinning blade will move up 2 inches. *Sadistic chuckling*. Have fun~."
The screen turned on the opening title appeared.
"Icha Icha Yaoi edition. Let the power of youth, muscles, and men EXPLODE!"
The cave was filled with terrifying sounds, horror-filled screams, and sadistic laughter for the next 48 minutes before they all died down.
*Line Break*
In a third area of the forest:
Members of the thugs and nobles that had more sadistic tendencies with their victims found themselves standing on a stone platform floating off the ground.
All around the platform were floating rocks off all sizes that were moving slowly through the air, hitting each other, and bouncing off.
That wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the insanely hot temperatures coming from the reddish-black flames covering the ground and the massive nine-tailed fox lazily laying down in said flames.
The only time the fox spoke was when a new arrival came in, saying the same exact words to every person.
"Trial of the fox, the floor is lava, 10% survival rate."
After that, it just yawned and went silent as it watched every member on the platform.
If someone didn't leave the platform within 15 minutes of arrival, they were slapped by a tail into one of the floating rocks and forced to move.
*Line Break*
In a fourth area of the forest:
Members of the group who enjoy manipulating, enslaving, bringing despair, and playing with the lives of their victims were sent to a particular area.
In this area, there was a wide and straight path leading into the distance with solid rock smooth walls on both sides that reached high into the air.
Those who were moved here found themselves before a line drawn into the ground that said 'STARTING LINE!' while behind them was a walled-off area with….. a massive black lion type beast.
All it said was:
"Welcome to the trial of the Manticore, there is a 25% survival rate. Make it to the flagpole at the end of the 'Super Mario' path, and you pass." (Manticore)
And it kept adding on confusing lines in a weird high pitched tone such as: 'Beware the mushrooms and turtles' 'hit square floating stones with your head' 'Save the princess!'
If no one moved within ten minutes of arrival, its sharp scorpion-like tail would stab them in non-vital areas until they moved forward.
The only time it said anything different was when the hobo popped in and screamed in a high pitched voice at the sight of the manticore.
It smiled and spoke again with that high pitched weird tone.
"Oh~ Welcome back Apollo, have fun~!"
One hour later, no one reached the flagpole, but that hobo made it pretty damn close.
*Line Break*
Mansion courtyard:
Magus POV:
Once I cleaned up, I shadow traveled back to the courtyard in my manticore form to see my girls relaxing on a couch with cold drinks.
Smiling mischievously, I pounced over and licked them with my giant tongue.
"Ah! Magus! Stop!" (Bella)
"Hey! You're going to spill my drink!" (Yoru)
"Bad kitty." (Akame)
Once they were thoroughly licked, I turned back into my human form, feeling satisfied.
I laughed at their ruffled appearances before waving a hand to cast a spell to clean them up and plopped down on the couch.
"Did you girls miss me~?" (Magus)
I got three pairs of annoyed looks.
"Revenge will be sweet." (Bella)
"A war you have started, revenge I shall have." (Yoru)
Akame just stared at me with cold eyes.
I laughed and pulled her into my lap for a kiss and started petting her much to her delight.
"Haha~ sorry, sorry, I couldn't help myself. How did your sides turn out?" (Magus)
They let the licking go for now and spoke.
"It was fun~! It felt good to hunt prey even if they were trash." (Yoru)
"Agreed, it was fun to give them a taste of their own medicine for all the innocent victims they played with." (Bella)
"Mn, they burned well." (Akame)
I smiled wryly at my girls.
'I know it was my idea, but it's scary when you truly anger women like that.'
After the auction, my AI informed me of a few sketchy thug like characters that it tagged and was monitoring. Over the last few days, it tagged all the accomplices in a specific underground group while others were still being monitored.
We originally planned to just kill them until I caught sight of how many remnant souls were hovering around these thugs and nobles.
The remnant souls of tortured men, women, children of different races who were manipulated, played with, raped, tortured, and much more all for the pleasure of these trash.
Will I go out of my way to scan the city and save people? No. But will I walk away and do nothing if I witness it happen? Fuck no. I will give them the same despair they dished out before allowing them to die.
According to dad, when someone dies, their soul is judged based on their karma. Those with more positive karma will reincarnate in more comfortable lives, while those with more negative karma will have harder next lives. The more significant in any direction, the more extreme the next life or next few lives are.
So technically, scum will get their due through death. However, when my girls used magic to see the remnant souls, the fates of those scum were sealed.
We made a game out of it and transported anyone we captured into an area deep in the western forests.
The area for miles around it was littered with teleportation arrays that would bring those who fall under specific requirements to one of our trials if they stepped on the array.
Was it possible to escape without entering one of the trials? Yes, it was, but the chances were less than .5%. And just because they pass one of our trials does not mean they won't step into another one.
I got inspiration from the Skypiea arc in One Piece, and the girls and I each made our own trials.
Yoru played a hunting game with each scum dressed in mouse costumes that she would play with and use as chew toys until they die in despair.
Akame used the game 'The floor is lava' and turned it into a deadly version that would slowly roast and burn those who tried to escape. Even the floating stones were scorching hot. It was a burning hell like trial.
Bella…..Bella has bad memories of her time enslaved to death eaters. She moved past those memories, but that doesn't mean she does not still have an extreme desire to rip apart any similar scum she runs into. She made her trial for the sexually straight-minded rapists of adults and/or children and forced them to watch a Yoai movie with Ichiya from Fairy Tail, Guy from Naruto, Major Armstrong from Fullmetal alchemist, and Kaido of the hundred beasts from One Piece. And the worst part? Everyone was under an illusion that they saw themselves included and ganged up on in the video. It was safe to say they were all split in half from the crotch up within less than an hour.
As for me, I used the classic Super Mario game to make a real-life edition and filled it with pitfalls, angry mushrooms I animated to try and bite to death any human, murderous turtles with impenetrable shells that will immediately start moving randomly at high speeds if the turtle was killed, and floating square stones with question marks that IF hit only on the bottom would spit out potions that looked like health potions but were in reality, hallucinogenic potions that would make things much harder and more terrifying. The path was straight, but the elevations also went up and down, and there were tunnels that people could fall into that would continue underground. As a final touch, I threw the TMNP group in there as the final boss's If anyone reached the last ¼ of the path.
We kept Apollo trapped in the area and only gave him a chance at freedom when we brought new groups of scum in. I trapped his soul to the base camp, so every time he dies, he will reform in the same spot. His mind was already breaking, but the girls and I decided another few years should do fine for him. The usual scum only deserves to die in agony once but him? The amount of despair he has caused has left an ocean of innocent souls swarming around him.
We ONLY send members who genuinely deserve it to the game.
I was shaken out of my thoughts from something touching my cheek. I turned my head to a smiling Bella.
"Love, how many times must we tell you to stop getting lost in thought?" (Bella)
Yoru got behind me and jumped on my back.
"Mhm~ are you saying your thoughts are more interesting than speaking to us~?" (Yoru)
I couldn't help but chuckle at their antics.
"I would never dear~ Now come on, let's go take a herbal bath to wash off the scent of blood, I think there are a few kittens who need some attention~." (Magus)
I kissed Yoru to distract her while I wrapped my tail around Bella before she could react, and with Akame, who was just chilling on my lap, I shadowed over to the hot springs.
Felines are needy for attention, and I am perfectly fine with that.
*Line Break*
Hephaestus's Personal Forge:
{Bang} {Bang} {Bang}
The sound of a hammer being swung continuously rang out.
Standing over an anvil and hammering a piece of metal with extreme precision was Magus.
By his side, Hephaestus was watching with professional focus.
Over on Hephaestus's desk were two pairs of knives.
One was the original gift that Magus gave her during their first meeting, and the second was Hephaestus's response to his challenge to make something better out of the same metals.
Magus received a call from Hephaestus a few hours earlier to come to her office, after some greetings they both entered their 'craftsman mode' and studied their creations to compare them and see who won the challenge.
Hephaestus was a literal goddess of the forge, but she is limited to knowledge from a single world.
Magus has knowledge from a few worlds, genius-level talent, hard work, and OP abilities, but his skills can't compare to the countless years that Hephaestus has spent honing her craft.
The result? It was declared a tie.
Hephaestus did the best she could with the foreign metals of Stalhrim and Ebony, but she didn't have enough spare ore to practice with. Every type of ore requires trial and error to find the best way to process them.
Meanwhile, Magus has the knowledge from Skyrim on how to best process it as well as the shit ton of weapons he forged to practice.
Both of them agreed to the tie without any hard feelings, and they decided to help each other improve.
Magus agreed to demonstrate the best way he knows to use the metal while Hapheastus would observe and help him improve his technique. It was a fair trade.
Hephaestus POV:
'Fascinating…'
Looking at Magus's work was something I could appreciate.
Steady hands, full focus, no signs of fatigue that could impact the final result, a calm rhythm.
He had a sincere professional attitude and skill, something that's hard to find in someone so young looking. You would be able to see something similar only in those fanatical blacksmiths who have spent decades honing their skills and doing almost nothing else.
And…. it's a massive turn-on for me.
I moved my eyes from the weapon being hammered on to Magus himself.
He was wearing a tank top that exposed the chiseled and perfectly cut muscles of his upper body. His hair was pulled back and went down his back. And the forge's flames lit up his glistening sweat enough to make me feel hot despite being immune to fire.
I got lost in a trance for a minute before I pulled myself back together.
'Damn it, focus girl! Don't let your mind focus on those…..wonderful….muscles….NO. Arg! Focus! This is new knowledge!'
"*Sigh* That should do it" (Magus)
I tore my eyes off of Magus and hid my blush by focusing on the blade that he was working on.
'Why is this so hard?'
Magus POV:
"*Sigh* That should do it." (Magus)
Utterly unaware of Hephaestus's inner turmoil, I finished hammering the knife I was working on and showed it to Hephaestus before I quenched it.
{Ssssss}
'Ah, there is always something extremely satisfying about hearing that sound when you quench a hot piece of metal.'
I pulled it out and examined it with satisfaction.
"I see, so that's how you work with it. It's indeed different from how I usually handle metals I'm more familiar with." (Hephaestus)
I nodded.
"Yeah, I have experience with quite a few types, but stalhrim and ebony are a bit special. It's one of the reasons I was excited to issue the challenge to you haha~." (Magus)
Hephaestus humphed and swatted my arm before throwing a towel at my head.
"Yeah, yeah, anyway, I noticed a few areas that could be improved on, move over, it's my turn." (Hephaestus)
I complied without issue and wiped my sweat with the towel.
This is how it's been for almost three hours now.
I would forge a knife with my techniques, Hephaestus would watch and then switch off with me to use her experience to improve my technique. We already have a nice pile of finished blades forming on the side.
I smiled as Hephaestus got to work.
'What a fun feeling. Having someone to compare skills with is always fun but rare.'
I used to compete with Bella in our potion-making skills, but she quickly surpassed me while I focused on forging and enchanting. Yoru was the same for arrays and wards, she promptly went beyond my expertise. Akame's divination and talisman creation skills were unique, so I never competed with her, but we still spar a few times a week.
And now, I can finally compare my skills to someone above me and push myself to grow.
Also, getting to see a beautiful woman like Hephaestus work in a tank top and doing the thing she has a divinity for is a treat for the eyes.
Dancing shoulder length fire red hair, slightly tones arms and stomach, and a professional composure that's almost like watching moving art.
It was a war between focusing on her craft to learn and falling into a trance while looking at her.
Little did I know that the same battle happened for Hephaestus when it was my turn.
*Line Break*
Dungeon floor 25:
"FINALLY! WE ARE DONE WITH THOSE DAMN FLOORS!" (Magus)
Upon reaching the end of the stairs from the 24th to the 25th floor, I couldn't help but shout in joy.
I know it would be considered insanely fast compared to other adventurers, but those floors pissed me off.
Floors 19 to 24 was the section of the dungeon commonly referred to as the 'large tree labyrinth.' Just imagine floor 22 from last time but more extensive and complex for 23 and 24.
Was it hard? Not for us. Was it stupidly big and took a lot of time to find each individual monster? Yes, yes it was.
Thankfully I learned a little cheat. I could use my shadows to search for the monsters, but I had to kill them myself at least once. My direwolves, Kneazles, and spiders helped immensely with the search. How the hell else was I supposed to find fucking ant-sized insect monsters hiding in a completely random place on that floor.
After that, I would let my shadows roam and kill to level up a bit. No one evolved, but they did improve. My owl seems to love torturing any poor monster it deems 'worthy' of its attention.
Anyway, we finished, and now we are on floor 25, the beginning of 'The water city.' The 25th floor marks the beginning of the Great Fall, a vast waterfall estimated to be 400 meters wide and twice that in length, which lasts until the 27th floor. The 25th floor was also described as being a paradise of water. To move on to the next floor, adventurers must navigate through a series of passageways varying in elevation around the waterfall to reach the stairs at the bottom of their current floor.
I turned to the girls.
"So, how should we do this?" (Magus)
Yoru smirked with her slit eyes and feline ears standing up straight.
"I'm gonna go play with the fishies~" (Yoru)
In a small flash of lightning, Yoru was off.
"Haha~ The kitty couldn't wait to play with a floor full of fish monsters, that doesn't surprise me." (Magus)
Bella and Akame shared in my laughter.
"I think I'll use a lift this time." (Bella)
Bella gave a mischievous smile before her personal shadow summons, the basilisk, rose from beneath her and took off into the floor, slithering at a fast speed like a tank.
With a flash of fire, I turned my head to see Akame mounting the now pidgeot sized dark phoenix.
"The hunt begins." (Akame)
And they were off, leaving me alone at the entrance.
I smiled wryly.
"At least it seems their having fun. I guess it's my turn~." (Magus)
I looked at the layout of the floor. It was a mixture of land and deep water ravines and rivers. You could basically cross the entire floor in the water if you wanted, but all the monsters were water-based.
A childish thought came to me, and I couldn't help but laugh before taking a deep breath and shouting.
"Hehe~ Gyarados! I choose you!" (Magus)
…
Nothing happened aside from me looking stupid, so I tried again a little more forcefully.
"Gyarados!" (Magus)
Nothing.
With a severe twitch for looking stupid, I turned my head to look at my shadow.
"Oi! Sea serpent! Get out here!" (Magus)
With a hiss, my shadow grew, and my sea serpent rose up and gave me an empty but confused look, I never really named it Gyarados, but it was the thought that counts! Understand my intentions, damn it! You killed my pokemon dream.
"*Sigh* Whatever let's go. Your name is Gyarados from now on." (Magus)
{Hiiisss}
With a nod of acknowledgment, it moved into the water, and I jumped on its head with my excitement coming back.
"Now, Gyarados! Forward! I want to be finished before dinner!" (Magus)
{HHIIIISSSSS!}
With its own type of roar, it sped forward while my dream of being a pokemon master (or hunter) was revitalized.
'I will be the very best! Wait, what was my original goal?'
I was the first to finish the floor, but rumors of an adventurer riding a massive beast and screaming commands like 'Use hydro pump!' and 'Dodge and use tail whip!' were almost circulated if my wizard summons didn't run damage control and obliviate them.
Chapter end.
PLEASE READ THIS: Author Note: I'll try to write some more, PLEASE give me your thoughts in the reviews. What do you all think about my fic so far? Do you like the slice of life moments? More action? Some lemons? Should I just skim through the Danmachi world? I would appreciate your views.
Novel recommendations:
Fanfiction:
Carl the jumper by AngorMike – This is a really fun jumpchain fic! It has a great word count, a fast update speed, and it's a hell of a lot of fun. The author really knows how to just flow with it and do what he wants. IF YOU DO NOT like a certain arc world, you can easily skip it and not miss out on other arcs. It's just one of those types that you can jump in whenever you want. It starts in buffy, then to pokemon, Farmville, Kenichi, sword art online, monopoly, harry potter, Against the gods, and now stargate.
Post-Apocalyptic Potter from a Parallel Universe by burnable – WOW. I have NO idea how I missed this one. What a masterpiece. This is a Harry potter X Marvel fic, and it's done so god damn well. Really, you guys gotta read this one. It's over 550K in length.
A Lifetime of Chances by The Wandering Delusion – a pure Naruto fic. This is a REALLY unique and all-around incredible fic that I randomly found. It's the same general idea throughout the fic, but it's like a train of one-shots that are all connected. And it has Naru/Saku/Sasu in a super close family bond. It's really great and warm.
Dining with Divinity by SoulReaperCrewe - A Naruto X Percy Jackson fic. This was recommended to me by a friend, and it was SUPER warm and fun. It's a really great slice of life.
Celestial Ascension by Kronium345 – I love this author, this is an OC in Highschool DxD fic. Enjoy the ride, it's a great one.
Solaris, the Solar God by Kronium345 – once again, I love this author. This is a DBZ x Justice League fic. I'm honestly not much of a JL fan, but this fic was really great. I highly recommend it.
The Prodigy Namikaze by SoulReaperCrewe – Pure Naruto fic. It's a bit cringy, but it's a nice way to imagine the Naruto world. Naruto X Kurotsuchi pairing.
Hadrian Black: The Other Twin by Souen11 – This is an interesting HP fic. It's in the format of someone telling the story about their past. It's a good read and well written, but you need to adapt a bit to enjoy it.
A World of Wonder by SolanaLeonhart – another One Piece fic. It's an OC added to the straw hat crew, but it has a unique twist. I dropped it halfway through, but some of you guys might like it.
QuestionableQuesting:
Breaking Fate by Zaralann – a fate X Campione crossover. This is a really cool and over 200K long fic that really deserves some attention. It's really well written.
Novelupdates: Death Mage