Chapter 5: Red and Purple

It is now day 2 of Atlas being unable to go out on quests. Since then, IF had not heard from the young wizard since. She, however, was positive Atlas had no idea how much of a commotion he made. It was only yesterday that he made a fool out of Mestros, and the media went crazy over it. Most praised him for doing what he did, confirming that the Red Wizard rumors were in fact true. Some, however, who were probably fans of Mestros, obviously sided with Mestros. But Mestros got the hate, and Atlas got the praise.

Of course, she knew that once Atlas heard about it, he'd act all proud. However, hearing that he did not leave his apartment since yesterday, it grew a bit worrisome for the guild agent. She had no obligation to help the young wizard, however, she couldn't get him off her mind.

And so, here we are.

Riding up the elevator, holding a plastic bag full of food from the Guild, she tapped her foot on the floor, waiting for the elevator to reach the floor Atlas was on.

"I find it hard to believe he didn't once leave his apartment. I would've thought he just go out to a dungeon and fight monsters regardless...technically there isn't anything stopping him...Yeah, shouldn't tell him that." IF thought. She had a pretty good feeling Atlas would do just that if he found out, so if IF kept quiet about that detail, he would stay in Planeptune. She had a feeling he wasn't smart enough to think of that, despite being 11, so keeping her mouth shut was the for the best.

With the elevator door opening, IF exited it and walked down the hall towards Atlas's apartment. It wasn't a very long walk, in fact it was rather short, just a few doors near the elevator. Arriving at Apartment 345, If was about to knock on the door, however, she suddenly felt something emanating from inside. She felt a impressive amount of magic power emanating from inside the apartment building, and the only one inside was Atlas as far as she knew.

Having been handed a room key by the clerk downstairs from yesterday, IF unlocked the door and opened it. But the flying object that slammed into the side of the door, just near her face, wasn't at all inviting. Shocked at the sudden attack, she looked over at Atlas, whom she could see from the couch due to his red hair, and knew dead on that the power was coming from him. IF walked over to him, avoiding any of the other flying objects flying around the room. Such as a lamp, coffee cups, plates, etc. When IF saw Atlas, he had his eyes closed and a calm yet serious expression on his face.

She had simply intended to tap him on the shoulder or something to get his attention at first, however, before she could do just that, she was hit by one of the flying books that slammed directly at her head. Trembling from sudden anger, her actions were more fast than her thoughts. She raised her fist and slammed it down on Atlas, instantly getting him out of his focus.

"YOU LITTLE RUUUNT! ! !"

"OW!? WHAT THE HELL!?"

"Why the hell did you hit me?" Atlas growled with a irritated and annoyed look on his face, all while a steaming large bump was present on his head. IF sat on the other side of the couch, looking through her phone with a pissed off expression. "Whatever the hell you were doing was sending stuff flying all over the room, and I simply stopped you."

"I was boosting my MP!" Atlas retorted with a comical pissed expression. This caused IF to sigh in annoyance as she held onto her nose.

"Again, with Magic...Magic this, Magic that, is that all you actually think about?"

"Of course not! I also think about food...sleep...dungeons..." Atlas paused as he kept a blank face on..."...dungeons..."

"You already said dungeons..." IF groaned in irritation. Atlas was so obsessed with Magic that it wasn't funny at this point. It was like a drug, Atlas would take each and every chance to get his hands on ways to get more Magic, or anything similar or even remotely related to Magic. It was all he thought about, the only others things he did think about were basic human needs like food and sleep.

"Whatever!" Atlas exclaimed with a serious expression. "I got a goal to reach and sitting around doing nothing ain't gonna help me!" IF merely sighed, knowing that he wouldn't change his mind.

"Jeez, you're too obsessed with Magic, you know that?" IF said in a defeated tone.

"I'm gonna be come the worlds greatest Wizard, so I gotta get lots of Magic! The strongest and most awesome magic!" Atlas exclaimed loudly. IF knew that was all he would keep saying. Sighing, she got up and put her phone on her pocket. "Look, I get you wanna be the greatest wizard and all that, but being holed up in your room for days ain't gonna make you great."

"EH?! I'VE BEEN IN HERE FOR DAYS?!" Atlas yelled loudly in realization. "THEN THAT MEAN'S I CAN GO ON QUESTS AGAIN!"

"No, it's only the 2nd day. After tomorrow, you can."

"Then why did you say I've been holed up for days, you Shitty grandma?" Atlas asked with a irritated and pissed expression. Vein marks appearing on IF's face, along with a light shadow over her eyes, which have turned into those of a demon's, she started grinding both her fists into Atlas's head with a pissed off expression.

"I never said you have been holed up for days, and I know you would hole yourself in your apartment doing whatever the hell you were doing. And who the hell are you calling a shitty grandma, Huuuuh?" IF asked darkly.

"OwOwOw! Dammit, that hurts! !" Atlas yelled, trying to free himself from IF's twisting fists. After a moment, Atlas was released from IF as he rubbed the sides of his head.

"Anyway," IF resumed "You don't have to hole yourself in here, go outside and take a break. As far as I'm concerned, being the best ain't gonna run away from you." IF said as she walked towards the door. "Take some time to relax a bit, but don't get into another fight. Got it?" IF asked, the last part with the exact same expression she had from earlier.

Atlas, who was reluctant to accept her advice, remained silent for a few seconds, before finally giving in to it. "...fine..." Atlas mumbled, but somehow, IF had heard him. Regaining a normal expression again, she softly huffed and walked out of the apartment. She knew how obsessed with it he was, but she could tell dead off that he really loved magic. She didn't know why he loved magic so much, and kept insisting that he'll be the best wizard in the world, but there was no way she could comprehend his love for the power.

"Such a weird kid..." IF mumbled, trying to wrap her head around why he wouldn't stop messing with magic for at least part of the day.

Atlas sat back down on the couch with his legs crossed, sitting in silence and actually taking what she had said into account. As much as he wanted to keep trying to increase his magic power, it probably was a good idea to actually get out and take a break. That, and a sudden growled that came from his stomach signaled him to get food, and he still didn't get any food from the store to keep in his house.

"...Well, I'm starving, so let's get some food."

Walking down the street, Atlas had his staff in his right hand as he used it like a walking stick. During the week or so he had come here, he never actually taken a look around before. However, actually taking the time to look around was nice in it's own sense to Atlas. However, right now he was on a quest to eat something delicious, and eat something delicious was what he was going to do. However, there currently wasn't anything that sounded very promising to Atlas, in fact, most of the shops he passed didn't sound that good to him.

"Hmm...I wanna go to that one café dammit...what happened to that?" Atlas mumbled, wondering about the one café he had visited yesterday. However, even if he wanted to eat there specifically, he had no idea that the staff nor owners would let him dime there anymore. Some of the staff would've loved to have him dine at the café, however, the owners wouldn't have it.

But it's not like Atlas knew that.

Despite all that, he kept looking around where he had heard food was famous. But even then, not very many restaurants interested him. Some were packed, some were too fancy, and some just didn't seem very appetizing to him. He marched on, continuing to search for food.

"So hungry...damn it...why do all of these places suck...?" Atlas complained as he simply continued to walk...however, he eventually stopped when he saw a small building called the Game Dice Pub. It wasn't a very big place, and it didn't stand out on the outside. However, for some reason, it peaked Atlas's interest. Deciding to go inside, knowing it was a restaurant. When he did open the door, he knew straight away that it was a bar. There were a few tables sitting around the room, and of course, seats along the counter. The inside of the bar was mostly made of wood, giving it a old style feeling. However, what stood out was the weapon that was on display above the ale and drinks. A silver glaive, decorated with wings on the ends of the blades, and a ruby on each blade base, was hung up for all to see. Behind the counter, was a man cleaning a glass with a rag stood with his back turned.

He wore a white button up shirt and a black vest on top, along with a loose black tie around his neck. Although not seen, he wore black pants and black shoes. He had neck length dark violet hair, and had short facial hair on his chin, the exact same color as his hair. Although his age isn't exactly identified, he appeared to be a young, handsome man, along with being averagely muscular. Although seeming ordinary, he appeared to be the type of person who would one could come to for help, and by help, I mean Advice.

Noticing that someone had entered his pub, the man looked back at the door, revealing his blue eyes, and a look of curiosity.

"Hm? A boy?" He asked, slightly confused. However, as he got a good look at Atlas,who immediately recognized him. "Aren't you that Red Wizard everyone's talking about? The one who joined the guild?" He asked, as Atlas lit up, joyed that someone knew about him.

"Yeah, that's me!" Atlas answered, trying to keep his composure to be more cool.

"Thought so," the pub owner said. "Not every kid with red hair carries a wood staff everywhere with him." He said, clear amusement in his tone. "What brings you here? Looking for a drink? I can only serve juice to you, but..."

"Food?" Atlas asked, walking up to the counter.

"Oh, yeah, sounds simple enough. Haven't been busy lately, so I can whip up something real quick." He said. He cracked his fingers and started to walk to the back. "You can sit down, it'll take a minute or two."

Eventually, the owner brought out some food for Atlas, which wasn't very surprising, considering Atlas' age, but Atlas didn't seem to complain or notice what the pub owner brought out. What he had brought out, however, was none other than some chicken nuggets, and fries. Along with a side of juice.

Atlas simply started choking down on it, despite being served a children's meal. The pub owner was ultimately expecting him to get mad over it, considering how defensive he was with his staff yesterday. However, he felt slight relieved that no complaints came his way.

"You've been causing quite the uproar kiddo." The pub owner said, pulling out a small glass. "Picking a fight in the middle of town...sure got a pair on ya." He laughed, pouring himself a glass alcohol called Nep Divinity.

"I didn't start it, that loser touched my staff." Atlas retorted with a irritated expression, recalling the incident.

"Haha, well, whatever your reason, you doing that really got some people liking you." The pub owner said. "Mestros ain't exactly the likable kind of guy, so a good blow to his face was just the thing people needed." He said.

"Hell if I care about that, he touched my staff!" Atlas retorted.

"You keep sayin' he touched your staff...but is it important to you?" The owner asked, looking up at the staff Atlas let rest against the counter. Appearing to be no more than a ordinary wooden staff, the pub owner wondered why it was so important to Atlas. A childhood treasure maybe? Maybe it was some sort of gift to him? Either way, he was quite fond of it, and that's putting it at the lowest level the pub owner could.

Atlas set his glass of juice down and looked over at his staff, slowly putting his hand around and examining it.

"Yep." Atlas responded. "It's the staff that's gonna help me become the world's greatest wizard!" Atlas exclaimed with pride.

"The greatest wizard...huh...?" The pub owner thought, feeling like he had heard such words before. Pondering in his thoughts for a moment, he let a small smirk slip and a quiet chuckle. "Now where o' where did I hear that line from?" Atlas noticed he was smirking, and immediately took it the wrong way. "HM!? Why the hell are you laughing!?"

"I'm not laughing." The owner responded. "In fact; I think it's a perfect dream." He continued on. He leaned lower down to the counter giving a smirk as he held his drink. "The names' Zect. I own this joint, if ya haven't noticed." Zect introduced himself to the young wizard. Atlas was still a bit unsure of whether or not he thought his goal was dumb, but after hearing that his goal was a perfect one, he seemed to loosen up on his thoughts.

"I'm Atlas." Atlas introduced himself as he started eating again.

"Atlas, huh...?" Zect mumbled, recalling that name. "Red hair, wood staff, Atlas, short fuse and "troublesome" attitude...yep, he's the kid alright." Zect thought in amusement. "Well Atlas, you're more than welcome here anytime." Zect said.

"Yeah," Atlas nodded. "I will come back." Atlas responded with a smirk as he finished off everything he had left on his plate. "Next time I'll prepare something I think you'll enjoy more though..."

"Meat!" Atlas quickly responded. Zect paused for a few moments and nodded with a weak smile.

"Sure, sounds good to me..." Zect responded. "He's definitely him! ! !" Zect thought, erasing all doubts from his mind. Atlas then sat up from his seat and grabbed his staff.

"Well, that was good." Atlas said as he spun his staff with his hand and let it rest on his shoulder after a few spins. "Whelp, see ya." Atlas said as he began to walk out. "Eh? That's it?" Zect wondered as the young wizard began to leave. "That was surprisingly quick." Zect said, as Atlas looked back at him.

"Hm...Well, I was looking for something to eat, and then I planned to get some food for my fridge, so..." Atlas said.

"Planning anything afterwards? If not, store doesn't close until later tonight, so what's the rush." Zect asked.

"Well...I was probably gonna go back home and boost my magic again...hmm..." Atlas said, but as he continued to speak he tone began to go into a sense of uncertainty. For some, doing nothing but boost magic alone seemed a bit dull, and Atlas began to realize that a bit. The last thing Atlas didn't want to become was a Loner, but the only people he knew were, excluding the friends in his village, The witch, Rachel, IF, and Zect. So really, he was borderline loner since he hasn't really talked to them much, but Zect was someone he just met, and he seemed pretty cool.

"Hmmmmm...!" Atlas kept thinking of what he wanted to do, which momentarily, his face became red. Zect, becoming confused, slightly tilted his head in wonder. However, his confusion was short lived due to Atlas suddenly yelling, jumping from his is thinking expression in a rage like action.

"AAAAAGH! ! ! ! I can't decide! ! My head is hurting now, dammit!" Atlas yelled.

"He only seemed to think for a few seconds though..." Zect mumbled. "I won't force ya if you have to do something, you just seemed to be in a hurry." Zect explained, with a barely noticeable hint of concern in his tone.

"Hmm...I would be out completing quests if I could..." Atlas began. "Quests?" Zect asked in curiosity.

"...Yeah..." Atlas mumbled...and then a vein mark appeared on his head. "But that dumb witch banned me from doing it!" Atlas yelled.

Zect remained quiet for a moment, before coming up with a idea moments later. If Atlas couldn't go complete quests, he could still go out and defeat monsters. There wasn't anything stopping him, and it didn't look like Atlas didn't think of that yet.

"You..." Zect began, he somewhat had a feeling he would regret telling him this, but he decided to just do it. He had high spirits, and Zect already knew Atlas had access to powerful Magic. So, maybe it would work out and he'd be fine...Probably. "You know you don't have to have a quest, right? You can just go into a Dungeon and defeat monsters to get stronger."

"..."

Atlas slowly looked at Zect with a blank face. His mind was blank upon realizing this fact, and the entire world around him just stopped moving as a result. He never thought of that. He thought taking quests was the only reason someone would go into the dungeon in the first place! Never once had he taken into consideration that someone would just go there without a quest for fun or something!

Without saying a thing, he turned back around and exited the pub. As soon as he did that, he bolted so fast Zect didn't him through the window. Zect laughed to himself as he finished off his drink. However, as he stopped moving as he set his glass down, he realized.

"Crap! I forgot to charge him!"

"Fulgur Sagitta! ! !" Atlas exclaimed loudly, as he struck a Viral Fenrir with a powerful lightning strike, finishing it off as pixels and data flew everywhere.

"HAHAHA! Awesome! That's the 5th Fulgur Sagitta I managed to cast! !" Atlas exclaimed in joy, taking breaths in between yells. He was having the time of his life right now, partly knowing that he beat the system with Zect's help. The best part about it, Atsuka didn't know where he was or what he was doing, so it all works out.

"Hah...Haha..." Atlas slowly took in breaths, still joyous about the fact that he was able to fight monsters, instead of getting stronger the boring way. It was a effective method, however, this just provided more entertainment to Atlas. But even still, Atlas had his limits. Even though he felt like he could keep going for days on end, he still felt tired and weak in the knees. And after deciding to rest for a moment, he sat down on a rock close by, leaning back to his back, inhaling and exhaling.

"That...was great...I really should've thought about this eariler!" Atlas mumbled. A minute passed for Atlas to take a break, and he sat up and used his staff to help get to his feet. "Alright, back to it then!" This moment of determination didn't last long though, due to the sounds of trees collapsing and the sound of battle happening just a distance near Atlas.

"Ah?" Atlas hummed in confusion. "AH! Another monster! Sweet!"

Just a distance away from Atlas, several monsters, 4 in total, were getting the best of a preteen girl. She is a fair skinned girl with light purple eyes and a matching shade of hair. It's shoulder length with somewhat messy bangs with many strands sticking up and few framing her face. She wears two gamepad-shaped hairclips, and she stood at 146 cm. She wore a big white hoodie-like dress with purple striped cuffs, lining, and a purple hood. The outfit had pale, ice blue and light lilac accents. As well as a zipper section, two big round pockets, a big zipper with an N on it, and strings resembling a plug. Around her neck she wore a simple white choker. Her lilac shoes have blue and white accents and are also worn with blue and white striped stockings.

"Wait wait wait, this is total hax! It's my first appearance and the stats on these Monster is too high!" She complained. However, the dragons didn't care in the slightest about what she was saying, and intended to attack her. "Wait, isn't there supposed to be a retreat option?! I'm gonna get a Game Over at this rate!" She yelled once more before the dragons all attacked her.

"Oh Man!"

"Anger of the myth's, vengeance as prey! The serpents of the infuriated skies rage down! Come down and hunt!" The girl heard someone yell. She had no time to see who it was, due to the attack that was fired at the dragons from above where she was at. "Dragon Lightning!"

When the voice yelled that, 5 serpent dragon made completely of lighting came down and attacked all four dragons, creating a large explosion, which the ground had to cover her eyes to block it. "NEPU?! What was that?!"

As she questioned it, she then saw a figure standing in front of her. When the explosion died down, she saw Atlas, holding onto his staff as he stared at the dragons, who were driven back due to his attack.

"Nep-What?! A little kid character! That's new! Wait, did he do that?! Awesome, he's totally OP too! Wait a second! He's not gonna be the type of character that blows my clothes off when he sneezes, is he?! We'll have to change this to a M rated story if that's the case!" She exclaimed. Atlas looked back at the girl, just now noticing her presence.

"Huh? Who's she?" Atlas mumbled.

"Hold it! This has to be one of those hero saves the girl scenes! But instead of a dark dreamy hero, it's a little kid! Y'know, I knew this was bound to happen, but I always thought it was gonna be a the dark dreamy hero shtick most people always go with, but I can totally go with this!"

"The hell is she talking about?" Atlas thought, confused. However, the 4 other dragons that were present came charging at the two. Knowing he wouldn't be able to do a proper incantation in time, he react quickly by rushing and throwing the girl over his shoulder and jumping high into the air, dodging the attack.

"Nepu?! This proves it folks, he's a total powerhouse! I can so totally work with this! Much better than the brooding hero expectation I had!" The girl exclaimed, each word she said confusing the young wizard. However, he didn't have time to do say something due to the dragons shooting fire out of their mouths at Atlas and the girl he was holding onto. Barely managing to dodge thanks to his staff, Atlas landed a distance away from the dragons, set the girl down, and pointed his staff at the dragons.

"Master's of the sky, o' great lightning lord! I command you to strike down my enemy! Lightning my anger! Thunder my might! Bring me clouds as black as night!" Atlas yelled, as black clouds began forming above the dragons. "Fulgur Sagitta! ! ! !"

When Atlas yelled that, a large lightning bolt, big enough to completely cover the 4 monsters, shot down at them and exploded violently. Atlas had to use his arm to cover his eyes, but didn't break focus from the sight. When he was able to see clearly again, he saw that the ancient dragons were gone. Completely obliterated by Atlas' attack.

"Heh!" Atlas smirked in victory.

"Hey, uh, you can let me go now, y'know."

"Ah?" Atlas looked down at the girl he grabbed onto and just simply let her go. "Nepu?! Hey, be a bit more gentle would'ja?!

"But wow~, I never thought I'd be saved by a kid! I always thought it'd be someone like Nep Jr. saving me or whatever." The girl said. "You are pretty strong for a kiddo, you know?" The girl complimented, and Atlas crossed his arms with proud smile.

"Hm, I know, pretty awesome." Atlas said proudly.

"Yeah, you're like one of those kids in Lowee games on Routes, but you're like, a gagillion times stronger! ...But ya know, I can't but feel a bit...meek...right now." The girl said, unsure of how she should be taking being saved by a kid.

"Eh?"

"Ah, don't mind this Nep, My name is Neptune, what's your name?"

"Nepyua...? Blah, that's too hard to remember! I'm callin' you Nep!" Atlas responded with a annoyed tone, but this wasn't very surprising to Neptune.

"There it is. The whole bag of not being able to pronounce my name properly so I get a cute nickname as a result. And it's the name Iffy calls me too..." Neptune complained, but the name Iffy got Atlas's attention. "You know Iffy?"

"Eh? Wait, you know Iffy?!" Neptune asked in surprise, as Atlas nodded.

"Yeah," Atlas responded. "She's really mean and hits me a lot." Atlas bluntly said with a annoyed expression, obviously recalling badly of IF.

"Yep, sounds like Iffy alright. She can be a meanie sometimes, but she's really nice once ya know her like I have." Neptune said with a smile, but Atlas wasn't very convinced. The most he saw was IF yelling at him for doing stuff, and sometimes hitting him and yelling more.

"Oh, I never did get your name yet." Neptune remembered.

"Ah, my name is Atlas." Atlas answered, introducing himself.

"Atlas?" Neptune asked. "Bleh...I feel like I heard that name from a lecture from Histy...well, no point thinking over it now or whatever." Neptune thought with distaste. "Anywho~, you are really strong y'know?! You gotta be a level 90 Mage or something!" Neptune said, quite impressed with how strong Atlas was. Atlas simply smirked proudly at the praise.

"I know, I'm pretty awesome." Atlas responded cockily.

"Yeah yeah!" Neptune responded. "You are really awesome, how'd you get so strong? Tell ol' Nep your secret!" Neptune asked, wondering how Altas could be so powerful despite his age.

"..." Atlas seemed to think for a second, confusing Neptune as Atlas answered her question before she could speak again. "I guess I'm just a natural born wizard!" Answered Atlas with sparkles in his eyes.

"...Well, a kid is still a kid after all." Neptune said while giving a weak smile while sweat dropping.

"What does that mean?" Atlas asked, feeling as though that was a insult. However, Neptune simply waved it off. "Bah, it's nothing. Anywho~," Neptune said before continuing. "What are you doing out here? Were you fighting monsters out here by yourself?"

"Yeah, I started hunting monsters a few days ago." Atlas answered, but then his expression changed into that of anger, irritation, and annoyance. "But a stupid witch keep stopping me from taking quests so I can only come out here killing random dumb monsters! I'm starting to get really bored!" Atlas continued, obviously still displeased that Atsuka banned him from taking quests for a period of time. Neptune's reaction was that of surprise, due to the fact that they banned him from taking quests.

"Wha-!? How cruel! Preventing such a lass as you pursuing him dreams!" Neptune said, Atlas made unaware that Neptune was faking this. Why, you ask? Well, the answer is simple.

Atlas does all the work at the guild - Planeptune's shares are raised - Neptune doesn't have to work! It's a total win-win!

"Right!? It sucks! Like a lot!" Atlas responded, still angered. Neptune, in truth, felt a bit sad for Atlas, but this could obviously work in her favor. So, Neptune came up with a plan. To her, it was flawless, and was possibly the greatest plan she had.

"Hey! How about this?" Neptune spoke up, gaining Atlas's attention. "I had to take a whole load of stuff to do, which is waaaay too much for a Nep like me to handle. So, since it seems like you're free to go~...How about I let you do 'em, and I turn them in! It's a win-win!" Neptune suggested, offering her quests for Atlas to complete. The only thing she had to fear was for Atlas to decline, since he himself wouldn't get the credit for it. However, this doubt was quickly wiped away due to Atlas taking Neptune's hands, his eyes full of sparkles, and with a overjoyed expression.

"I ACCEPT! ! !" Atlas answered.

"Total Victory!"

"I beat the system yet again, you dumb witch! HAHAHA!"

"Anger of the myth's, vengeance as prey! The serpents of the infuriated skies rage down! Come down and hunt!" Atlas yelled, pointing his hand at a horde of Kupokitties. "Dragon Lightning!" Atlas yelled as he fired a serpent dragon made out lightning at the horde of monsters, hitting them dead on, but only managed to kill 3 out of 6. With 3 left, the remaining monsters came rushing at Atlas, but Atlas jumped in the air, avoiding the attack. As Atlas came down, he managed to hit two of the monsters on the head, staggering them a bit, before being left with the Kupokitty in front of him. Reacting quick, he slammed the monster with his staff, and sent it back a few feet before bursting into numbers and pixels.

The other two then recovered from Atlas's surprise attack, and both rushed at him. Atlas then retreated back and pointed his staff at the two Kupokitties. "Lady of the Bright moon! Lord of Sight! Release the arrows that blind the night! 7 Arows of Light!" Atlas yelled, as he pointed his hand at the monsters, a light magic circle spawning in front of it and firing 7 blasts of energy shaped like arrow tips. The attack hit both kupokitties and exploded on contact. When it dimmed down, the monsters were defeated.

"HAHA! Victory again!" Atlas yelled, still overjoyed. It had been a few hours since Neptune had offered her quests for Atlas, and he was enjoying every bit of it. Neptune simply stood back, cheering him on.

"...T...that was the 20th horde of Kupokitties he defeated...maybe I should tell him we finished the quest already..." Neptune thought, in reality tired. She had been with Atlas all day and he kept seeing him exhaust himself further and further defeating monsters and using magic. However, instead of rushing off after more monsters he knew were on the quests, he stood in place, confusing Neptune.

"Heeey! Are you okay!?" Neptune asked, running up to Atlas, who saw him breathing in and out, sweat running down his face as he held onto his staff, supporting himself.

"Yeah...I'm good...just a bit out of breath...just a breather and I'll be back and at it!" Atlas responded.

"Uh...hate to spoil yer fun kiddo, but you already defeat nearly all the monsters in the dungeons we visited."

"Huh?" Atlas went dot eye'd at the info. "I did?"

"Yeah! You beat up all~ the baddies! You were like POW and BOOSH!" Neptune exaggerated.

"...So...we beat all...the quests...then...?" Atlas asked, his breathing taking up most of his sentence. Neptune nodded as a response.

"yep! Out of the 13 quests I had to do, you completed them all! Like, WAAAY completed! We were only supposed to kill 10 Kupokitties, and you go and beat over 100 of them!"

"Oh...really...? Hah...haha...I wasn't...really...countering...haha...hah..." Atlas laughed, his signs of exhaustion finally showing more and more. Neptune, who had thought this was a good idea, started to actually worry now. Sure, he was up for hit, but he was still capable of only so much.

"Hey hey, how about we take a break? Like, sit down and relax or whatever?" Neptune asked, still keeping up her carefree spirit. Atlas paused for a moment, seemingly like he knew that Neptune was a bit concerned about him, but he smirked as a response.

"Alright...just a short one..." Atlas responded. Deciding to sit down by a rock, the two leaned against it to take a breather. Of course, Neptune was perfectly fine, but Atlas was the one who was the most exhausted obviously. Neptune, at this point, did feel bad that she didn't help out Atlas, even if only a little, but Atlas seemed to be having the time of his life while doing it. After a little bit of breathing time, Atlas began to calm his breathing, his normal pattern returning to normal.

"So...you feeling alright?" Neptune asked, as Atlas glanced at her.

"Yeah, I feel fine. Why?" Atlas asked.

"Well, your SP has to be pretty low by now, so I was just curious if you were doing alright."

"I'm okay, Im'ma bunch a' strong." Atlas said. "If I can't handle few monsters, I won't be able to be the greatest wizard! So this much is perfectly normal for me!"

"Yeah, you can! That's for sure!" Neptune said, complimenting him. Of course, she still had a feeling she had heard of Atlas before in some lecture provided by a certain individual, but she couldn't put her finger on it, partly because she wasn't listening to said individual. However, something that he said caught her ear.

"Hold the phones, what did you say?" Neptune asked, wishing to hear that sentence again.

"So this much is perfectly normal for me?"

"The other part!"

"If I can't handle a few monsters, I won't be able to be the greatest wizard?" Atlas asked, as Neptune nodded at that.

"Yeah, that part!"

"What about it?"

"You wanna be the greatest wizard?!" Neptune asked, as Atlas smirked as a response. "Yeah, that's right!" Atlas answered, standing up. "I'll become the greatest wizard in the world, learn a whole bunch of Magic, and become so famous even the Goddesses will know who I am! That's my goal!" Atlas said, looking back at her.

"Oooh~! That's pretty cool! It's like my dream to become the greatest retro gamer ever!"

"That's right! It's like that!" Atlas exclaimed. "You wanna be a retro gamer, and I'll be the greatest wizard ever!" Atlas said.

"That's awesome...! But...why do you wanna be the greatest wizard?!" Neptune then asked, her tone not changing from the pumped one she gained moments ago.

"Because I like magic!"

"Anything else?!"

"Yeah!" Atlas said, before he plopped back down onto the ground. Holding onto his staff, and looking up at the tip of it with smirk. "I'm gonna fulfill a promise..." Atlas said. Neptune was about to make a response, saying that the mood Atlas suddenly created was replaced by a happy, inspiring one, but that was cut short due to what seemed to be a (imaginary) fire suddenly engulfing the outlines of atlas's body. His expression suddenly had one of confidence, anger, and happiness. "And I'm gonna punch some stupid guy straight in his stupid face! Like the stupid jerk he is!" He said, gripping and releasing his fist as his eyes seemed to spark.

"W-What's with this total feeling of revengeance I'm getting here...?" Neptune asked herself, sweatdropping at Atlas's reason for his goal.

"Ah, We should head back! Histy is totally gonna start worrying about me if I stay out too late!" Neptune said, standing up.

"Huh? We're done?!" Atlas asked with a complaining tone.

"You already completed the quests, my young friend!" Neptune responded. "Plus you beat them all! Wait, monsters always respond when it's dark out! Oof, but some weird green monster will probably explode when our backs are turned or something..."

"Hmm...well, whatever, I guess I'll go home." Atlas sighed, quite bummed that the day was done, also forgetting the fact that he could do quests again the day after tomorrow. Neptune obviously saw that he was bummed out, but quickly assured him! "Ah, don't you worry my friend! I'll find ya so you can do quests till you can accept your own!" Neptune said.

"Will do!" Atlas responded, instantly up and at it again in terms of positivity.

"There! That's the spirit! So let's get back now!"

As the guild had just begun to finish up on quests, the Guild Members turning in what they had got done before the guild closed up for the night, the only desk that didn't have any turning in quests, was a beautiful young girl, who was also dubbed "the witch", Atsuka.

"...huh...? Th...this is strange...why am I the only one who doesn't have any adventurers reporting...?" Atsuka thought, confused yet broken on the inside as she simply sat in her seat. Of course, all her other co-workers who knew her, only had one thought for her.

"Poor Atsuka..."

"Hey there!" A voice said, as Atsuka was snapped out of her thoughts of rejection as she saw the same purple haired girl named Neptune that Atlas met earlier today. Atsuka's reaction to this girl, however, was quite unexpected.

"L-L-LADY NEPTUNE?!" Atsuka shouted, surprisingly gaining no attention at all from the other adventurers in the room.

"Heya! I'm here to turn in all these quests here!" Neptune said, handing a bunch of folded papers to the guild clerk.

"Oh, oh of course! Right away!" Atsuka responded, quickly checking the details of the papers, checking off on the signatures and processing them in the computer. It took a minute or two to finish, as Atsuka did the professional procedure and smiled. "Thank you for waiting, I have finished processing all 13 Hunter quests. Here is your reward, which comes to a total of 39,000 Credits." Atsuka said, handing the credits to Neptune, who surpringly held her hand up.

"Ah, can I ask you to do something?"

"Yes? What is it, Lady Neptune?"

"Can you save those credits for a little kid named Atlas?" The moment Atsuka heard that name, it felt like she was stabbed right through her body. Her facial expression unchanging, she tried to keep calm with her tone as she asked. "W...Why would...you...ask something...like that...? M'lady?" Atsuka asked, creaking towards shouting.

"Well~, earlier today, he kinda saved me from a whole whoop load of monsters, and I kinda wanna thank him for it! So, if it's not too much to ask, could'ja do it for lil' ol' me?" Neptune asked, as Atsuka really couldn't really decline the CPU herself. "Very well, I'll save these credits for Atlas. Thank you for your hard work Lady Neptune." Atsuka replied.

"Thanks a bunch! See ya later or whatever!" Neptune said, turning around and leaving the guild building. Atsuka waited until Neptune was completely gone, and she suddenly swung her head around to Rachel, just a distance away, who jumped at the sudden killing intent she gave.

"RAAACHEL...? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I made sure that that little runt couldn't accept quests for as long as I could ban him, riiiight?" Atsuka asked.

"Y-Yes...that you did."

"And that specifically means that he can, under no circumstance, take a quest, riiiight?"

"C-Correct..."

"So...HOW, IN WHAT WAY, DID HE SAVE LADY NEPTUNE FROM MONSTERS?!" Atsuka screamed in anger, finally releasing he anger on Rachel, who said she was certain was the culprit.

"H-Hey now! He doesn't have to take a quest to go out into the dungeons, you know! It's not my fault!"

"Eh?"

"He could just go out and defeat monsters on his own! Did you think he needed to have a quest to go out into the dungeon...?!" Rachel asked, defending herself from the wrath of Atsuka. Atsuka simply remained quiet for a moment, processing this piece of info. A minute later, she turned as white as paper at the realization that the guild could only do so much to Guild Members.

"I...I didn't think about that...Someone must've told him, he isn't that smart...!" Atsuka thought...which lead her to look back at Rachel.

"...Then who told him?!"

"Huh? Uh...are you, by chance, suggesting that I, if by any chance, told Atlas he could do this...?"

"WHO ELSE WOULD? ! ? ! ? !"

"Oh uh, whoops! It's way passed my shift! Better get going! See ya tomorrow!" Rachel said, escaping as she rushed out of the guild.

"YOOOOOOOU! ! ! !"

As her co-workers and the adventurers watched the scene unfold in a awkward silence, the co-workers simply had one thought, and the advent where's also had one of their own, all the same thought as the others.

"Atsuka's so cute when she's mad..."

"She's really scary..."

As Rachel walked down the streets of a less than busy area, she exhaled in relief as she escaped safely from the wrath of Atsuka. She obviously was not the culprit in Atlas adventuring on his own accord, but she had a feeling that Atlas wouldn't have been able to figure that out on his own. Someone must've told him, and she knew that it wasn't IF.

"We'll, I'm sure that he's fine..." Rachel mumbled, continuing towards her home. However, as she took the same route towards her house, her eyes caught the movement of something moving down a alleyway that she had to pass. Of course, she didn't stop to check it out and simply kept walking. But that seemed to be the last thing she remembered before something suddenly put a rag to her mouth, and lost consciousness.

Hello friends, this will be my first Author note on this story. I'm going to respond to these people here real quick, so here we go.

D.T. Daniel Tomahawk: There is a reason, but I don't wanna spoil anything, so bear with it for another chapter or two. But I hope you keep reading and enjoying the story.

KRKing: I don't wanna spoil anything, but the answer to your Question is an OC.

And thanks you to those who Reviewed/Followed/Favorited the story, and I hope I can do what I can to keep it being an enjoyable read for you all.

And if you got the time, check out the new story I posted RPG Neptunia: Hyperverse!

Until next chapter!